[VAC] Re: Boondocking and cheap camping

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Bob,  

1 - You give us more credit for analysis and organization than we deserve.
Out of 52 weeks in a year, our long term planning is about = where we'll
stay during the Christmas Holidays, specific family celebrations and certain
weeks at favorite campgrounds.

Our short term scheduling is = coming up with 2-3 options each day before
we move to a new campground. All of us have our share of being delayed by
foul weather, or long back-ups on the Interstate, or a change of heart about
where we'll go tonight or how soon we'll stop for the day, or having our
truck need service immediately (10 minutes ago).

Most choices on "routine days" (the ones where we wing it), occur as a
result of spontaneous planning or insight gained from past blunders. By far,
the simplest choices are when we're rally hopping, courtesy parking or
traveling with a caravan.

Part of the fun for us is looking for unexpected ways to work in some of our
general goals, i.e. visiting all 370 National Parks or staying at all of the
900 Corps of Engineers Campgrounds.

Will we make more blunders? Yes, most definitely yes. Every week Sandie and
I make mistakes. It's a good thing we're from the old school that believes
the greatest mistake we can make is to continually fear we will make one.

As a result, the name of the game for us is to make short term plans (which
means short term mistakes). Then, recovery from our mistakes can occur
quickly and we can put together another plan (hopefully one that works).
When we're good at it, our days are successful, but we're far from perfect.

2 - Bob, you asked about recycled memberships and if campgrounds honor them.
Simple answer is, "Yes they do." We've had a recycled membership for years,
we use it regularly and each park in our membership system honors it. Making
the process work smoothly sometimes takes a little finesse, but what else is
new in life?  If you asked me what percentage of the time we use our
membership system, I'd estimate 25%. The other 75%, we stay at places on my
list of "Other Types of Campgrounds."

That list is constantly growing. If you're a member of the Escapees Club,
you can buy a computer disk with hundreds of parking spots like this on it.
Find the "Days End" column and you'll find the address and price.

If you want to buy into a campground membership system, look at the
classified section in old trailer magazines. Most have that data. It helps
when we ask in the campgrounds we visit. In our opinion, home parks are not
created equal. Each has advantages and disadvantages which are independent
of the features we want for our style of camping and traveling. I tend to
learn more when I stay open to different viewpoints than when I lock down my
thinking and ignore other options. The disadvantage is I'm always revising.

3 - Here's an answer to a question you didn't ask. I'd strongly encourage
you to join the Escapees Club (www.escapees.com). The magazine is worth its
weight in gold to me, plus the RVers who stay at SKP Parks are among the
most knowledgeable about full timing. You'll quickly notice there are other
publications by SKP members that provide precise details on most RVing
topics. If you haven't read "Phred's Poop Sheets" (150 pages) on the
internet, that's required reading.

Terry
mailto:tylerbears@airstream.net