Keeping a Journal

I keep mine on an Excel sheet, and have often been accused of being OCD about it, though really I only keep basic data.

But it is amazing how often we wind up in the same area again, and it's handy to recall what worked for us previously.

I keep a basic daily journal. I usually write down which campground, campsite, and highlights of our stay. When we stay for more than one night I only make one entry for that specific stay. While in Florida for 3 months I keep it fairly short and only note interesting things we did during our stay. When we've done a long trip I will include miles traveled for the trip and occasionally for the day if it was a long haul. In the past I used to note good campsite numbers for a campground we'd likely return to in the journal, but now I just use the campground map, if there's one handy, and map the sites on it.

I do both a Blog and an on line journal with more photographs (links are in my signature) as well as a spreadsheet of campground & fuel costs. I did everything on paper for years, but found that adding photos as I traveled was more useful for both myself & friends that wondered where I was. It is also easier to find a location doing a google search through a journal than trying to find it in a paper journal.

Keeping a blog on Blogspot isn't any more difficult that doing it on paper...

Journalling is a great idea-- and that is exactly the reason we have a blog -- to remember stuff. Otherwise it all becomes a blur. With a narrative and pictures, it is amazing how much clearer our memories are, compared to the old days with no trailer and no internet.

Years ago, we did have photo albums, but they were so limited that they were almost useless. Now, with the blog, I can go back and add details, I can change the text, etc. We refer to it all the time when we are making travel plans.

If you have a minute, click on the "trips" link in my signature, and see if it is similar to what you have in mind.

Make it simple and make it easy or it won't happen enough to be valuable to anybody.


Very true. I must be overthinking it. Thanks

Dog Folks wrote:
This appears to fit what you are looking for and what we used for years before going full time.


http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/campers-daily-log-binder/2152

Hope this helps.

Thanks, it is kinda what I am looking for. Its a start.

Margos,

Make it simple and make it easy or it won't happen enough to be valuable to anybody.

I have been a navigator all my life. Log books are a feature of that life. These days, I keep it on a laptop and store it either in a flashdrive or in my DropBox. (Not in the unit HDD - that lesson learned.) I do it in what ever text editor (word processor) I like today and Start each day with departure time, weather and planned destination. My wife drives a lot, so I keep it up during the day's travel and at EOD (End Of Day) I log the time and indicated miles.

These are simple and I frequently pass the file to someone with questions about an area that we have traveled.

Matt

We journal in a small spiral notebook when we take an extended trip with lots of driving. I keep track of route, mileage, stops, weather, and anything interesting that happens. It varies from a page per day to sometimes a few sentences.

Like a good little Full time RV'er I started out daily journaling.

Thought it also would be a good selling point when it came time to sell the RV. Maintenance, mileage etc.

That lasted about one week.

I use a spiral notebook I keep next to the driver's seat. Each day I list across the top of the page: gas, mileage, food, and lodging. I leave space at the bottom of the page for comments. This method works great when you are traveling with a friend and sharing expenses-just initial who paid for what. My travel buddy and I enjoyed reading our log years later remembering the trip.