reserve a few places and wing it the rest of the time. Popular areas we book. Weekends and holiday we book. By weekends we mean Friday and Saturday night. If it's Sunday thru Thursday nights we call ahead to see if spots open and arrive early in the afternoon. No problems doing it this way for 5 years. I use www.mapquest.com to map our route and sort of plan stops. I use www.woodalls.com to locate 2 or 3 campgrounds in the area. I check them on www.rvparkreviews.com to make the final decision. We always have a "Plan B" campground as an alternate if our first choice is booked due to rally or event in area.