Trip Philosophy; Leave on July 18th

 Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana

When I'm traveling, I can usually be ready to pull out of a campsite in about 30 minutes. This time it is taking me about 3 weeks. I hope to get back to the 30 minute time on this trip. One thing I've learned since traveling is that all RV'ers are different in terms of how they travel, where they camp, how long they stay and what they do while camped. I've mentioned my way of RV'ing before in this blog, but feel the need to repeat it. I decided from the beginning of my travels to move campgrounds often. Moving every three to four days seems to suit me well. Normally, at the beginning of my trip planning, I'll pick a destination located far away and begin to choose campgrounds, roughly along the route, located about 150 to 200 miles apart. Rarely is this route a straight shot to the destination. Once I decide on a campground, then I'll look around the area for things to explore. This may seem backwards, but I've discovered that there are things to explore just about everywhere, so the campground type and location is more important. Usually, I'll have one or two things to explore within about 50 miles of the campground. It has been my belief that the number 1 & 2 things at the next stop are usually better than the number 3 & 4 things at my current stop. With this in mind, I'll show up at a campground in the afternoon of day one and after setting up camp will go to town to get something to eat while Liberty is cooling down. On days two and three, I'll explore the area. Moving-day is day four, which is day one of the new area. I repeat this process until I get tired and need a longer rest to "let time catch up". Traveling that quickly and always seeing new things will cause my mind to get foggy. I guess it is like when a computer is slowed down by an overload of input. Usually, it only takes an extra day or so of doing nothing to "let time catch up". 

I started my travels in April of 2014. I don't know the exact number of campgrounds I've stayed at since then but I'm pretty sure it is close to 300. Maybe I'll count them up this winter. I've been coast to coast and border to border. I use campgrounds as a base camp to explore an area. The only thing I need in a campground is a secure campsite that is somewhat level and has an electrical connection, preferably 50 amps, although 30 amps is OK if the weather isn't super hot or cold. Most campgrounds have a fresh water source that I use to fill my fresh water tank and a means to empty my waste tanks. Sometimes, these two things are at the campsite and sometimes they are located elsewhere in the campground. I don't need the other amenities that attract weekend campers. I don't have a problem with other campers since I'm usually out exploring an area and not hanging around the campsite. The number one campground I look for now-a-days are U.S. Army Corps of Engineer campgrounds. With my Senior Pass, I can camp at half price. That half price is usually between $8.00 and $13.00 per night, which is really good. They are usually well maintained and laid out in a logically manner. Not always, but 99% of the time. 

So now, after saying all of that, let's see where we're going. I've chosen the Teddy Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota as the initial destination point. The reason for choosing it is simple, it is cooler up north in July and August. Of course there were other places up north I could have chosen, but I haven't been to North Dakota so it seems like a good place to go. I'll roughly follow the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to get there. The following picture shows the route and stops for the first 8 campgrounds. I have reservations at all eight, except for one, which doesn't take reservations. 

All campgrounds are Corps of Engineer except number 2 and 7. I'll arrive at stop #8 on the 8th of August. All stops are for 3 days except #2 which is for 2 days and # 6 which is for 4 days. 

I'll try to make another post before I leave on the 18th.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.