Best trips you took this last season

[DrtEmaxChvy]

So I am in the midst of planning our next season. I wanna know how the whole lot of you faired and where you went.

Where did you go?
Would you recommend it?
What's would you change if you went there again?


Thanks all

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by DrtEmaxChvy

So I am in the midst of planning our next season. I wanna know how the whole lot of you faired and where you went.

Where did you go?
Would you recommend it?
What's would you change if you went there again?


Thanks all

Actually, we took only one trip this summer, roughly a 8,000 mile trip that went EXTREMELY well. (That trip was in addition to the ~3,600 mile round trip I made solo in the spring to pick up the trailer and bring it to AZ.)

In broad strokes, our trip went from northern AZ, through the 4-corners area to CO near Ft.Collins, east to southwest lower MI to visit friends and family, south east to Front Royal, VA (Skyline Drive & Blue Ridge Parkway) where a storm path forced us to abandon the BR Parkway and follow the Atlantic Coast through the Carolinas, GA, and FL. We spent roughly a month in FL; 2 weeks in a couple of state parks and then 2 weeks in Ft.Wilderness - primarily for the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. Then we followed the Gulf Coast, then to near Austin, TX, to El Passo, TX, west through southern NM, and then AZ and home.

Whenever reasonably possible, we avoided expressways, tried to plan to drive about 250 miles per day, planned to boondock 4 days (we have two, 12 volt batteries) and then stay in a campground with full hookups for 2 nights.

What I enthusiastically recommend, is joining both Passport America (for discounts at campgrounds) and Harvest Hosts (for boondocking - EVERY boondocking night we spent was at a Harvest Host). We used them both extensively on our trip and will use both again on our next trip.

What would we change? The next trip like that, we will have a generator capable of running the air conditioning. We planned on spending more nights boondocking, but the weather was hotter than we planned. To get a good night's sleep, we stayed frequently (at the beginning of the trip) in campgrounds; usually with Passport America discounted rates, but that was not always possible. The extra we spent in campgrounds would have paid for 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a generator.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by DrtEmaxChvy

Where did you go?
Would you recommend it?
What's would you change if you went there again?

This was our first season pulling a TT so we picked a few State Parks closer to home to begin with. Of those we most enjoyed Cape Disappointment on the Washington coast at the mouth of the Columbia River. A nice variety of things to do - easy beach access and hiking. Lots of history to learn about in that area as well. I would definitely recommend it. We were there in mid-June and the weather wasn't the greatest - mostly overcast and windy. So when we go again we'll plan to go later in the season for some warmer days.

We finished off the season with an 8 day ~2400 mile round trip to Kanab in Southern Utah. The main focus of that trip was to spend some time at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary doing some volunteer work. Turns out that they have 2 very nice and secluded RV pads with full hook-ups and some of the darkest night skies I've seen in a long time. We were fortunate enough to get one of those pads for that trip. Our youngest daughter lives further south in AZ and was able to come up and camp with us as well.

We absolutely love the southwest, especially the high deserts, so for the upcoming season we've already book-ended it with another 8-day trip in April to Southern Nevada - Valley of Fire State Park - and then another 8-day trip back to Kanab and the Animal Sanctuary in mid-September (made the reservations this past September). What we are going to do different for these upcoming trips is not dawdle so much along the way so that we can spend a couple extra days at the destinations. It's a compromise given my current work schedule makes it difficult to get more than a week off at a time. Even so, it beats the view from 35,000 feet any day which is why we got the TT

[pawpaw]

Our favorite trip of 2015 was a 5 week long, approx 6,000 mile trek through NM, AZ, NV, UT and ID from late Sept through early Nov. The best parts of the entire trip were the Grand Canyon and visiting the 5 National Parks in Utah - they were absolutely beautiful and we can't wait to get back there again some day. The red rock areas are stunning! There were so many things to see and do that 5 weeks wasn't nearly long enough. The next time we go to that area, the trip will be broken up into a couple of more concentrated trips rather than trying to see as much as we could as quickly as we could. That was a mistake! That area is much to scenic and there's to much to do to rush through like we did.
I'm happy to report that we had no problems at all. I also learned a lot about pulling a TT in the mountains, and I'm happy to say that our truck did an awesome job! The steepest grade we encountered was 10% - scary, but manageable. We had made a previous trip through the Smoky Mountains two years ago, but the grades there were nothing like the long steep ups and downs on this trip.
We stayed at RV parks the entire time (no boon docking), and I'll be happy to give a report on them to anyone who is interested.
Happy Travels!

[DrtEmaxChvy]

Excellent input everyone. Thank you. I will pencil these down on our list to choose from.

We took the RV to a lot of local places here and one week long trip to Coronado Island in California (San Diego). That was my favorite part.
-kayaking
-sailing
-biking
-swimming

Wife and I with our two you k kids had a great time.

[Swinepartner]

Disney world and Ft wilderness was the best and longest trip last year. We love FW and can't wait to go back. Well worth it to us.

[Dan]

This was our first season of camping as TT owners and we are hooked to say the least. Our best trip was our first (other than a one night stay at a local CG) which was an 11,000 mile, 45 day trip to Alaska. The funnest place we stayed on the way there was Olympic National Park in Washington State. It is hard to say which area we enjoyed the most in AK, but if I had to choose, it would either be Valdez or a CG north of Homer in the Kenai Peninsula. Both locations offered great fishing, which is always a big draw for us. I'm not sure what we would do over, but we plan on doing the entire thing again someday!

[DrtEmaxChvy]

Originally Posted by Dan

This was our first season of camping as TT owners and we are hooked to say the least. Our best trip was our first (other than a one night stay at a local CG) which was an 11,000 mile, 45 day trip to Alaska. The funnest place we stayed on the way there was Olympic National Park in Washington State. It is hard to say which area we enjoyed the most in AK, but if I had to choose, it would either be Valdez or a CG north of Homer in the Kenai Peninsula. Both locations offered great fishing, which is always a big draw for us. I'm not sure what we would do over, but we plan on doing the entire thing again someday!

That would be amazing wow

[geezerbob]

Dan ..ak again for us 8500 miles 6 weeks last time..going back to valdez, Homer, haines, maybe seward. Did you fish for reds at valdez? Camp near fish hatchery??
Bob

[Fairenatic]

Originally Posted by Dan

This was our first season of camping as TT owners and we are hooked to say the least. Our best trip was our first (other than a one night stay at a local CG) which was an 11,000 mile, 45 day trip to Alaska. The funnest place we stayed on the way there was Olympic National Park in Washington State. It is hard to say which area we enjoyed the most in AK, but if I had to choose, it would either be Valdez or a CG north of Homer in the Kenai Peninsula. Both locations offered great fishing, which is always a big draw for us. I'm not sure what we would do over, but we plan on doing the entire thing again someday!

Sounds awesome. What a way to break in a TT.

[Cdash]

Our big trip last year was from Michigan to Colorado. We stayed in Colorado Springs for 3 nights, Rocky Mountain National Park for 7 nights, Mesa Verde for a couple nights, the Black Canyon of the Gunison(I think that was it) and the Great Sand Dune. 4600 miles. Not sure I'd change anything. We never expected that it would be the last big trip in our old camper, but when that new camper bug bites you, it's over!

Just got done making reservations for Glacier National Park for this July. Should be another good summer two weeker! Can't wait. Just need to figure out where to haul 4 bikes, 4 kayaks and a generator with the new camper.

[mtdawg]

We left our home in NW Montana, stopping in Minnesota and North Carolina to visit kids and grand kids. On our way back we spent a couple days in Kentucky partaking in the Bourbon Trail. This is a fun way to learn some American history and taste some awesome (and all American) whisky. Loved it.

Jim

[DrtEmaxChvy]

I think this year I want to make a trip with the family to fort wilderness and stop off in Charleston SC for a few days. Love that town!