We mentioned to several people that we planned to camp in Meaher State Park near Mobile, Alabama. The response was always similar to, “That’s a nice little park.” What stood out to us was that people who knew the park consistently included the word “little” when describing it.  How little was “little” when we arrived? Meaher may be the smallest state park we have camped in up to now, but it was surprisingly nice. It was more of a campground than a state park, but had some great trails through the bayou and marsh.  The sign was near the boat launch, not at the park's entr ..read more

Some places make you happy by just being there. Several Florida state parks we frequent fall into that category and so does this Alabama state park. Having said that, we were again confused about paying for our reservation when we arrived because we added on a military discount as we checked in and ended up owing more than the amount quoted on our reservation paperwork. I guess I’m glad that we only asked for one discount or we could have ended up owing more for our fees.  Sign over the road at Gulf State Park It was a snap backing into our site, which was paved with asphalt ..read more

Our last Rosie adventure camping in the Pensacola area was memorable. (Rosie is the name of our Airstream trailer.) Our trip was cut short when that campground closed because of a hurricane in the Gulf. As Yogi Berra said, “It seemed like deja vu all over again” as we packed to go to a different park along the Gulf and we saw news stories about a new hurricane coming up the coast. We could not help but wonder if this was going to be another abbreviated trip.  Before we left home, we called the Ranger Station at Big Lagoon State Park to talk about the possibility of that park closing. Yes ..read more

We camped in Alabama's DeSoto State Park multiple times before this trip. Our visits included both tents and later Rosie, our Airstream trailer. It is difficult to say which trip was more memorable to us, but the two that stand out in my mind were during our tent camping days.  Sign at entrance to the park The first contender for “most memorable visit” was when our children were small and they loved climbing on the rocks around this campground. We can still see in our mind's eye our children playing in this park.  The second contender was when our son and his family, inc ..read more

We were looking for some campgrounds to enjoy the leaves changing colors and the online reviews of Tennessee's Edgar Evins State Park were very positive. The location was good so we were convinced to give it a try. There were a few reviews that weren’t glowing, but those could easily be dismissed as cases of hard-to-please people.  Sign at the entrance to this park You cannot talk about this park without focusing on what makes it unique. Each site was on a substantial elevated wooden deck that went out over the steep slope of a hill. Some of those sites had water views. We wer ..read more

Several of the campground review sites we trust convinced us to make reservations for Rock Island State Park. Their reviews were positive and we decided to check it out for ourselves.  The RV GPS was helpful in that it alerted us to multiple sharp turns and narrow roads as we weaved our way through Tennessee's hills to get to the park. It became clear that you had to travel some state roads to reach this park. After checking in, we were given a map to our site.  Bridge heading into the park Sign at the entrance to the park We found ourselves saying “Oh my” as ..read more

There is always an element of chance when making reservations for the campground at Fort Pickens National Seashore. While it is hard to get reservations there, keeping them is harder.  Our previous trip to Fort Pickens is a good example. The ranger on duty at the check-in station was turning everyone away because the road to the campgrounds was flooded. What was frustrating to us was that the park closed three days earlier, but no one bothered to inform those traveling there. That wasn’t the first time we were surprised as were arrived at Fort Pickens.  Signs for Pensacola Be ..read more

When we think about memorable trips pulling Rosie, our Airstream trailer, the first thing that comes to mind is the beautiful scenery we have experienced along the way. RV'ers know that half of the enjoyment of camping is enjoying the views heading to the campground. Since our destinations are usually state or federal parks, we also enjoy the memorable sights there.  Sign at entrance to the campground This qualified as a memorable trip, but not for its scenic beauty. We were heading to a state park along the Gulf coast during the Fall. There were several storms in the Atlan ..read more

For the most part, getting directions from one campground to another is easy. We compare the results from our GPS, Google and Apple Maps and pick the route that appeals to us more than the others. The problem was that our navigational systems all agreed on two alternative routes. Their preferred route took us to Atlanta, a terrible city to drag Rosie, our Airstream trailer, through. The second route went through the north Georgia mountains on two-lane roads with an abundance of sharp switchbacks. We were not comfortable with any of these routes.  Our fears about the mountain route w ..read more

Our original plan was to stay home during July and August, typically the hottest months of summer. That turned out to be a good idea as we survived a week of 100+ degree temperatures during June. Then the temperatures moderated a little and we started talking about how we needed another Rosie trip. (Rosie is the name of our Airstream trailer.) It didn’t take long to convince ourselves that a week or two in the woods was just the ticket for us.  Of course, the problem with “spur-of-moment” camping is always getting reservations on short notice. Some of our camping friends like to brag abo ..read more