I needs tips on making the route the destination!

As some posters said, stay off the sterile interstates and take the secondary roads. And do some research on interests along the route you plan to take. I’m a great planner, right down to the nat’s eyebrow. But that seems to satisfy my urge to plan and when I leave I just wander indiscriminately. If I see something of interest I may take off in an entirely different direction. I’m a history buff, especially military history, so I try to hit those places. But the route there may be quite erratic. Works for me, no stress, no schedules, and no reservations. And no big cities, freeways or interstates.

In the west it works fine locating a camp spot, there’s a lot of public land. Elsewhere it is probably more difficult. But the few times I’ve been in that situation the DW just looks up a CG in range and calls ahead for a spot. I don’t recall even not getting one.

First, you need to get off the interstates. The secondary roads are just fine for RVs. Then you have to figure on adding some miles to that trip. Now you might be going straight up through Georgia. However, you can get to the U.P. many ways through different states.

You can even go through Wisconsin to the U.P. Travel along the coast to Mississippi and drive the Natches Trace up Mississippi. Explore the many wonderful Alabama State Parks. Arkansas and Missouri have terrific state parks and Corp of Engineer parks.

Once there, go to the local Visitor Center for ideas on what to do around the area. Explore a 50-mile radius.

If you have special interests, zero in on those - fishing, car museums, quilt shops for the lady, etc.

This is the way we enjoy our travels. We've full-timed for 16 years and still haven't seen all there is to see! Have fun!!

Every state has a tourism website and will send you free information. Just Google "Florida tourism" and you will amazed at what you can find. Also, there a lot of factory tours available...... another Google "factory tours".

Happy trails!

Trip Adviser is another good source for places to see and where to eat. I am amazed at some out of the way attractions we find when traveling. It is also a good source to find restaurants.

I like to use Roadside America when traveling to our destination.

I route our trip, locate stops about 250 miles apart, then start researching the area. Chambers of Commerce and city websites are a good starting point. Once we check in at the campsite, we look for brochures or ask the person in the office what to see and do in the area. We also stay about 4 days to a week depending on how much there is to see in the area. Usually the campground has a weekly rate that saves money too. If you like factory tours, there are books and websites for those. If you like museums or Civil War sites, you can find them online. Depends on what you like to do. Relax and enjoy the adventure of finding. It's like a treasure hunt!

Out west we have certain routes designated as "scenic". We use them as much as possible.

Research cities and towns along the way or near your route, evenings online _before_ leaving. Enter the town name into Google; look at the results; click on the ones that look to have tourist info. Save in a file folder, or print out, for referral on the road.

Jim, "Some days, the best thing about my job is that the chair spins."

No time restraints.......

Travel secondary/back roads as much as possible
Travel MAX of 250 miles per travel day
Stay a week at each stop.......then explore local area


That's been our basic routine for past 6 yrs.