Why Did You Go Where You Went And When

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Appreciate some patience and understanding here if you will but as best we can describe it .............

Picture this: Just retired, have familiar RV, been RVing for many years but now totally "Free To Roam" with zero commitments to be anywhere at any specific time. YEAH!

With so very many places and regions/areas that you want to see (on your bucket list), assuming weather aside, what made you turn left or right when you left your driveway for the very last time?

Restricted on our time allowed in the USA to under 6 months, naturally we would be snowbirds for the most part, but why would we target say Arizona over the RGV or California or Louisiana, or even Florida (there's something that appeals to us about ALL these areas and more)?

I guess what we are trying to establish is what makes non-working, uncommitted to any area FTers go where they go, why, and when they decide to? Obvious on North in the summer and south in the winter, we get that for weather comfort typically but with so many choices what makes you chose where you go, why and when you do? Sometimes we just feel overwhelmed with choices, and where to take the first bite of the elephant on the outset. For example, why would you chose to say do the California Coast over Utah State Parks over Alaska this summer versus another if all appeal equally to you on wanting to visit?

Commonsense tells us from a financial viewpoint of stretching our budget to try to pick a region and cover that as much as possible rather than zig zagging, but which region first and why?

Purely curious, but do so many folks spend the majority of the winters boon docking at Imperial Dam/Quartzite BLM etc purely from a financial aspect or is there genuinely other reasons and if so what are they? For sure we can appreciate the opportunity for geocaching, ATVing, Hiking etc, but to stay in one location doing that day in day out for maybe a couple months or more is it for the joy of or as suggested budgeting purposes primarily?

Thanks for sharing where, how and why you travel the way you do? It's so appreciated to gain a true understanding and settle yet more nerves that seem to crop up the closer and closer we get to the off.

[Texas_Roadrunn1]

We, as so many others, enjoy our National Parks. We are trying to see as many as we can, without consulting atlas can't remember how many we've toured. Some we've visited several times, e.g. Yellowstone and Tetons for example. Initial visits were to take our sons now we are taking our grandson. We usually do a lot of other sightseeing around said parks, but they are generally our destination. Sporting events, usually golf tournaments, are another motivation for travel, again with nearby sightseeing as another activity. Fly fishing is another motivation for travel, so we seem to find ourselves in or near mountains a good deal of the time, which is not a bad thing in July and August. Aside from visiting the National Parks, activities seem to determine a lot of our travel.

[covered_wagon]

I've found a greater sense of security, less stress not worrying about where to stay each nite by staying off the interstates. It seems the back road routes have much to offer, esp. when you get into recreational areas, there are a lot of unfilled campgrounds and nicer people without the crowds. The smaller off the route towns seem to have better places to eat also, otherwise the locals will stop going there. I do ask the locals which place is best too.

Some nice people in them tiny towns.

[Geocritter]

When it comes to heat I’m a total wimp. I found I like to winter in Sierra Vista in SE Arizona. The RV parks are reasonable, it’s beautiful country with adjacent 9,500’ mountains, at 4,600' it's cool without being overly cold, and there’s excellent quail hunting. As for summers, the past two years have both been a little different. Winter of 2015 I found myself in Houston TX with a failing RV engine. During the spring I traveled to a friend’s place in San Marcos TX where I replaced the engine myself, but still burned up my travel budget. 2015 was one hot miserable summer for me! I was sooo happy to get back to Sierra Vista last winter! Spring of 2016 I acted on a 48 year old dream of driving to Alaska on the Alaska (Alcan) Highway. I’ve recently returned after two months and over 12,000 miles traveling and living in my 26mpg Dodge Caravan. I’m currently roasting in Sierra Vista, thankful that I’m not in Tucson or Phoenix. For August I’m relocating in my RV to Ruidoso NM and then up north to visit friends scattered throughout Illinois before I return to Sierra Vista for the coming winter. For next year, I plan to explore the Pacific Northwest and Montana, staying where it’s cool. I’m hoping to learn to fly fish next summer.

Steve

[buc1980]

I like to go to the mountains in the summer,Tx is to hot.

[JAXFL]

Back a few years ago I looked at that question and found myself looking a Coast2Coast resort/campgrounds. I started in Florida and said I could spend a week at each one... they are spread out a little. It ended up being about 7.5 years before I would make the circle and without ever coming back to the starting point. Now I am thinking just make a right out of the drive way and drive 4 hours and stop for a week, then do that again....and again.

[Matt_Colie]

We lived on a ketch. When she was hauled, we got to say a grandmothers house and she had a TVset my father had built for her. We got to watch Mickey Mouse Club. Now I am finally getting to go lots of those magical places. Still have some to get to, but we are planning two serious excursions next year. One to the center of the solar eclipse (August 17) and the other a PCH tour San Diego to Somewhere Washington.

Matt

[Roy_Lynne]

Ours is also the journey, not the destination. Our last trip evolved around seeing friends and relatives, birding and visiting Native American Nations. Our next trip is planned around the same thing. Just waiting for summer to be over because we find we rather travel in fall, winter and spring and let other go in summer with the crowds

[clikrf8]

jamesu wrote:
Being in the NW corner of the country, whenever we travel anywhere "new" we pretty much have to back track over old territory on our way home. We love going to new places, and we have some extended trips in the planning stages outside the NW, but we have a route in this state which is east of the Cascades which I enjoy because the scenery is so darn gentle on my soul whenever I travel through it.

The first stop is at a SP in Yakima where we visit with relatives for a few days, and then the rest of the trip is through miles of wheat fields, coulees, river crossings , and then back over the mountains and back home. 950 miles. W. Washington and the Puget Sound has a lot of people and lots of traffic congestion now days. E. Washington: nope. A week/week and a half over there rejuvenates me.

My point is I believe camping closer to home can be just as satisfying as long haul explorations. If you love TT camping it really doesn't matter where you are. Sometimes is just nice to go sit in my TT parked next to my garage.

Ditto for us. We avoid I5 so take 20 either east or west depending on if 20 is open through North Cascades. It is easier to vary our trip heading East due to all the back roads in eastern Washington. We have probably been on every logging road in the Olympic Peninsula. Lots of variations in Eastern Oregon also. When we head down the coast once into Oregon we usually head east from Coos Bay but this varies also. Once into NEVADA, again, as in many back roads especially between highways 50 and 6. Usually, we encounter very few people. From Nevada we head into Utah, ARIZONA, New Mexico, etc. Or from Washington into IDAHO and Montana and Wyoming. We rarely venture further east than Colorado. So much to see in the west.

[rexlion]

Priorities. Decide where you most would like to go, first second and third choices. Then go to those places as soon as it's practical. One never knows the future.

[jamesu]

Being in the NW corner of the country, whenever we travel anywhere "new" we pretty much have to back track over old territory on our way home. We love going to new places, and we have some extended trips in the planning stages outside the NW, but we have a route in this state which is east of the Cascades which I enjoy because the scenery is so darn gentle on my soul whenever I travel through it.

The first stop is at a SP in Yakima where we visit with relatives for a few days, and then the rest of the trip is through miles of wheat fields, coulees, river crossings , and then back over the mountains and back home. 950 miles. W. Washington and the Puget Sound has a lot of people and lots of traffic congestion now days. E. Washington: nope. A week/week and a half over there rejuvenates me.

My point is I believe camping closer to home can be just as satisfying as long haul explorations. If you love TT camping it really doesn't matter where you are. Sometimes is just nice to go sit in my TT parked next to my garage.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

we went west because we're from Florida and wanted to see mountains. So it depends on where you are and what appeals to you. If sunshine and beaches are calling, CA, FL would be good choices. I would not do the desert heat in July or August. Best to do AZ, NV later in the year. I would split the US into 4's and tackle one at the time. TX and CA should be their one "region" because they are huge. In the NW, we loved The Tetons, Glacier, Redwood trees, Oregon coast, Yellowstone, Washington state along the coast. This year we are going up the east coast.

[NCWriter]

I think it's kind of a Bucket List thing, and I loved everything about National Parks as a kid.

When we got an RV, we bought our age 62 $10 Lifetime senior passes to the NPs - what a gift! Then a relative gave me two National Geographic books with lots of pictures - one on National Parks and one on State Parks. Those gave me lots of ideas for trips to plan.

Our first long (two-month) trip was to the Four Corners Area, and it was an unforgettable trip of a lifetime for me. So many fantastic parks to visit. Such incredible red rock scenery!

And, by the way, those parks were full of European visitors and many from Asia who all were thrilled by our country's great treasures that I had never taken the time to see.

What I truly love about our RV trips is that they expand my interests so much... history, geography, geology, etc. - kind of like school for grown-ups except so much more fun because you pick what you want to "study," make all the decisions, and spend as much or as little time there as you wish.

You get ideas from friends and other RVers, one thing leads to another, and then your "Bucket" is always full of exciting new places to go.

[Jim_Shoe]

When would be in 1954. I was eight years old. My Dad had just been promoted and had 3 weeks vacation for the first time. He borrowed a homemade teardrop trailer from a friend and bought a bumper pull hitch. We went from Cincinnati, Ohio to someplace in South Dakota. I didn't notice much of the trip because my folks bought a lot of comic books and rationed them to me. My Mom and I slept in the trailer and my Dad slept in the back seat of the car.
We stopped along the road one day to watch a movie being made. Charlton Heston was the wrangler for a wagon train. Later, we stopped at a drug store to buy more "6-12" insect repellant. The man behind the counter said they didn't have any. Or any other brand. He said South Dakota didn't have any standing water, so no place for mosquitos to breed. And he was right. That's probably not true anymore.
Funny what a seventy year old remembers.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

Huge thanks to those that have taken the time to share and the thoughtful comments directed at our initial OP. This is turning into very interesting reading I'm sure for many.

Naio, it was encouraging reading your comment "I had to ask my dad when I first started out the same questions".

As I said, we know the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, we're just not sure where that first bite should begin with oh so much on our bucket list of what we want to experience. Like 2gypsies, we love it all, oceans, rivers, mountains and to a degree deserts = too much to do and not enough time LOL. We appreciate that there is always next year (for most of us hopefully), but we're not sure just how many of those "next years" there will be hence why we sought the guidance of others that have gone before us as to what were their first destinations and why particularly.

Old Biscuit, I have always been most envious of your ability to be able to retire before hitting 50, and encouraged by your 13 years later loving every minute of it albeit now in a SnB again. Do you mind sharing how you ended up coming off the road after 7 years? We for sure don't envisage doing this forever but we have no end in sight until circumstances might dictate otherwise.

Thanks again everyone, it's truly fun and interesting reading, keep them coming.

Happy Travels, FTW.