Does anyone do resolutions anymore? The headlines seem to convince you it isn’t even worth trying since by mid-January, we have failed already. I gave up resolutions years ago, but hung on to my annual goal-setting. Based on my record, they are more wishful thinking than blueprint for my year. However, living in a RV (especially one that is 36 feet long) means at least one blueprint is required – developing a travel plan for the year. At the least, you need a directional plan and a few supporting reservations to ensure you have a place to park.
While some folks plan the full year before January 1 has finished its countdown (I see you, GK!), I am not in that camp. One, I seem to have a hard time wrapping my head around a new year until we are already in mid-January. And two, I like the idea of spontaneity. Of course, in today’s world of millions of RVers and limited good weather seasons in popular destinations, spontaneity must be planned. An oxymoron but possible. It usually looks like a few holes in our calendar to make last minute decisions, knowing that we might have to switch if we can’t find a good campground or more often, changes to set plans when we hear about a great spot from another traveler or we discover a friend is nearby. However having a plan helps to make spontaneity easier.
Step One – The Set Data Points
The first question to ask when travel planning is where do we have to be and when? Are there places that we need to be, in the RV? For instance, if you want to attend annual events or festivals like the Tulip Time in Holland, MI, then you have a data point for the travel plan. Work and family commitments also have to be taken into consideration. Even when we fly to the family wedding, we have to plan to be near a good airport for the best fares and choice. For this year, our set data points are work commitments near Houston in January and Salt Lake City in May. Plus, we want to be in Montana in September ahead of Camp Carpe Diem.
Step Two – Bucket List and Desires
These data points gave us direction as we considered the next question – what do we want to see or do? Barry’s wish list of places to photograph is long, but he decided he wanted to photograph the Oregon coast this year. That seemed easily done after Salt Lake City so our travel plan quickly developed into a trip to the Pacific Northwest with “detours” along the way. This first pass at planning usually involves an atlas (something about a paper map makes planning fun!) and a quick look at options.
As we consider where to visit, we keep in mind a few things like weather forecasts and season to determine where to go and how long to spend. While we don’t mind cold, we don’t want to go too far north before the heavy snow season is over. And we definitely don’t want to be in the desert in summer!
We also consider where we have already been and if we want to revisit. For this trip, while we could wait out winter easily in AZ, we did that in 2021 and want to try somewhere new this year. As for length of our stay, sometimes it is up to campground availability especially since we are trying to do longer stays this year. After four years on the road, we want to go a little slower to give Barry time to see the area and to relax a bit more. Since Barry works full-time during the week, we usually drive on weekends so longer stays mean more weekends for him to get out to explore.
Our Travel Plan so far
Since our year is starting in Galveston, Texas and we need to go west, our first “detour” was easy. Despite growing up in Texas, I have never visited Big Bend NP! This makes me less of a real Texan, so we are fixing that right away. And now that we have Starlink, Barry can stay connected to work even that far in the boonies. Plus it is good timing for weather. It will be chilly at night but pleasant during the day. March is long before it gets Texas hot!
Leaving Big Bend, we will head north. We have not gotten our New Mexico sticker since we have really only driven through it in Big Al so we will make a stop at one of my favorite places, Santa Fe before going into Utah. Utah has several spots that I want to visit, but we might only have time for one national park before heading to Salt Lake for work. We are planning to spend several weeks there as I love those mountains and we might be able to still ski or see snow in May. Plus there is a bookstore in Provo that I want to visit and several mountain towns to visit. And since we will be in the “neighborhood,” I hope to make it to North Cascades National Park and Leavenworth before we leave the Pacific Northwest. We have been to Olympic but never further north in Washington.
Step Three – Campgrounds or Boondocking
With these destinations in mind, I begin to plot out our journey with tentative dates and begin researching campgrounds. At this point, I find the RV Life Trip Wizard to be really handy as it easily shows how far I can travel within a set number of hours or miles per day. It also shows me all the campgrounds along the way. If we are only stopping for the night, I might pop over to Harvest Host. I enjoy sprinkling in Harvest Host stays during drive weekends to gives us a little taste of local culture or at least, an easy dinner for the night. Maybe as we leave Washington, we will return to one of my favorites, Dru Bru in Cle Elum where I had my first glitter beer (it was honestly good) and good pizza.
Of course, then the fun begins as I start calling campgrounds and researching boondocking spots. How do we decide which to do? This is usually based on length of stay in an area and whether we know it has large boondocking options. Honestly, unless we know the area and can arrive on a weekday to get a jump on weekenders, it can be stressful to plan on boondocking. It is hard to find a campground last minute with our size rig. And when we do boondock, we will alternate with a campground stays, so we can can replenish water and do laundry. However on a trip like this that includes several desert areas and Colorado where we know boondocking is possible, we like to plan on a few weeks. We love finding that great spot among the trees where you feel all alone under the stars!
I am excited to use a new resource this year since we are headed to the northwest. When we spoke to Mark, the founder of Campgroundviews, about his fascinating new product, they were really focused on the west. Since then, they have expanding east but we haven’t had the chance to really use it. With this tool, we can not only check availability at a recreational campground but we can even see the actual campsite and roads leading to it. This should be a great tool for those state parks and recreation.gov campgrounds that we love using.
Step Four – Tracking our Plans
One thing I have learned in doing research is to keep track of who you called and which campgrounds show full online so you don’t duplicate efforts. I hate to admit, but I have double booked us more than once because I wasn’t keeping good notes. I love using digital planners to record calls and reservations. It is also important to note cancellation dates and fees just in case! We also add reservations to our shared calendar. This year, Barry is leading on the Oregon coast planning since he has a definite idea of where he wants to be, so adding notes to the calendar ensures we both know the travel plan.
Step Five – Timing
The hardest part of planning is timing. Knowing how long to stay in an area or when we will likely get to a new spot. Many campgrounds are stricter now with cancellations and certainly more crowded, but you can still find some that understand the challenges on the road and will allow you to shift your dates slightly. When I really don’t know for sure, but want to have a reservation in hand, I make a reservation at a KOA, where I know I can cancel two days prior without a charge as a member.
Like I said, I would love to be spontaneous with our travel plan but certain times of year – holiday weekends like Memorial Day and July 4th – require advanced reservations. Of course, sometimes those weekends can be used as driving weekends, especially for longer trips, and we stay at a Harvest Host. We learned last year that Harvest Hosts fill up on busy weekends too, so be sure to make those plans in advance when possible. Of course, there is always Cracker Barrel and our last resort – Walmart. But in these changing times, be sure to call ahead or check in when you get to the parking lot to be sure they still allow overnight camping. Many cities are passing ordinances that do not allow this and even resources like RV Life Trip Wizard and campendium area not always up-to-date.
Step Six – Know You can Return
The biggest issue I face when planning our travels is the vast amount of options and information. I can so easily go down rabbit trails as I start researching what to do or see. And of course, I want to do it all. I have to keep reminding myself, we live in a house with wheels so we can travel. And while a travel plan sometimes means we cannot extend our stay, we can always return to favorite spots and see what we missed.
For more information on our travel planning tools, check out this article. And leave a comment below to let us know your plans for this year. Hopefully our paths will cross!
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