I only made reservations once, I wont do it again unless there is a point of interest that I want to be sure to camp at. I wasted a lot of $ on my first trip out west. Even had a saltwater fishing trip reserved only to find out there were 8 foot waves lol. The fishing boat did however give me a rain check for a later date so I saved that. My problem is when I get started someplace I've never been I find a lot of cool places I want to stop, But with reservation's your on a schedule because you loose money when you have KOA's reserved along the way and don't show up. So for me Vacation's and schedule's don't mix. I like being a free bird and make it up as I go. But its to each his own and some may find this strange.
