Home Is Wherever We Are Parked

Since this week has been somewhat uneventful (only had to do one other repair to the bed) and we got in 4 rounds of golf, I thought I would tell you about the different types of campgrounds we have stayed in during our trip.

Let me start by saying that each and every one is different than the one before. You really never know what you are getting into before you arrive. I do all sorts of preliminary work ahead of time prior to making the reservation but nothing really gives you the true feel for the place. Basically, except for the one time in PA where we did the RV damage, we have made pretty good choices. Of course some have been just stopovers on the way down the road, so an easy in and out right off the Interstate is fine for that. We keep earplugs near the bed for the highway noise. When we have extended stays I try to find a place further from the main roads. There really is nothing better than to have the windows open at night and hear nothing but quiet.

One thing we learned very quickly was that Monday through Thursday was the quiet times in most campgrounds. Weekends the campgrounds fill up and the “campers” come out. There is a difference between the big motorhomes that are folks everyday homes and the RVs that weekend campers use. The smaller RVs don’t have much room inside so folks spend most of their time outside with all their stuff. They usually have a campfire at night so the campground gets really smoky. Most are respectful of the campgrounds “quiet hours” but sometimes you get the rowdy group that parties on too long into the night. Again, the earplugs come in handy.

Campgrounds, RV Parks, RV Resorts or whatever you want to call them have many different configurations. There are pull throughs where no backing is required. We have had one pull through that was over 100 ft long. The campground was set up so that we didn’t even have to disconnect the Jeep. And since it was just a one night stopover, we didn’t. Sure made life easier the next morning. Another type is pull ins. That is what we are in now (photo above). This usually happens if you are lucky enough to get a site on the water. The biggest window in the motorhome is the windshield and with that facing the water it provides a very nice view. The last kind is the back in sites. This is pretty much the norm. Most that we have found and have been pretty easy to get in or out of without much trouble.

Another factor that is different in campgrounds are the utilities provided. Some are full hookup — electric service, water, sewer and sometimes cable. And then there are any variation of the above. Most times we are in a campground that has full hookups but we have stayed in some without sewer hookup. These are fine for overnights or short stays. We can go about 2 weeks without having to dump our black tank. We have learned we can go a week without dumping the gray tanks if we really conserve. That means no laundry gets done, navy showers, and really being careful washing dishes. We have stayed at only one campground where we only had electricity. We made it about 4 days on the water in our tank. That was really conserving. Cable isn’t much of an issue since we have Direct TV sattelite however, there have been many times where trees block the line of sight. We have used the cable on those occasions or even over the air stations.  Most of the campgrounds have WiFi for Internet access although some are better than others for connectivity.

I do have to share this. At the campground where we had a site without sewer and we were there a week, they had what is called a honey wagon. Basically it is a tank on wheels. We went to the campground office where they had them stashed behind the building. We hooked it up to the Jeep and towed it to the motorhome. We dumped our gray tank into the honey wagon and then towed the honey wagon to the dump site and dumped it. Here is what it looked like.

Other variables in campgrounds is the space between sites, views, and amenities. Amenities are things like pools and hot tubs, fitness rooms, and sometimes other types of outdoor recreational activities. We haven’t used most of what is offered except for fitness rooms. In most cases, they are pretty lame but at least I don’t have to exercise in the motorhome using the bands.

So now you have any idea of what our surroundings are like. Here are some photos taken at some of the campgrounds.