Monday, April 25, 2016

Fulltime RV'ing.....Are we Doing it Right?


The other day waking up in another Wal-Mart parking lot I turned to Barb and asked her “When we got married 30 years ago did you ever think we would be spending nights in the Wal-Mart parking lot?" She turned to me and in a serious tone responded “Yeah, I knew there was a good chance”.
Sometimes I wonder if we are doing this fulltime thing the right way. When I look at the fellow RV friends we have made in the past two years, no two of them seem follow the same guide when it comes to how they approach their campsites.
We have friends who would never consider spending the night anywhere that did not have full hook-ups let alone a Wal-Mart parking lot! Others are members of Thousand Trails jumping from park to park taking advantage of their membership. With the cost of state parks ranging anywhere from $10-$35/night and private parks usually from $35 to over $100/night, where you stay is an important financial decision. It’s not like it is for one weekend a month where $50/night is not a big deal, this is a decision that you have to make 365 days a year! Even at $25/night you are looking at an annual expense of almost $10,000. So how does one offset or mitigate this expense? Some of our friends volunteer at a park for part or all of the year and receive their site for free, this is a great option and one I am sure we will take advantage of at some point.
When we plan our travel we do so thinking about what we want to do or see, where we are going to stay is not the primary consideration. Once we plan our destination and route THEN we think about where we are going to stay. This is where Barb gets busy; our primary tools are ALLSTAYS, Ultimate Campgrounds and the blogs of other FT’ers. Our ideal situation would be to find a full hook-up site for free, but since we don’t tend to stay in an area long enough to volunteer that has never happened. Using these tools Barb searches for the best campsite that fits our itinerary. For us, we rarely stay in an RV Park that has full hook-ups instead opting for dry camping in State Parks, boondocking in remote areas and of course the occasional Wal-Mart. We spend most of our time hiking, exploring or other outdoor activities. Many days we leave the rig early and return just in time for dinner. While other days we will just spend lazing around the rig reading, working on the blog, cleaning and doing other busy work. Since we don’t take advantage of the amenities in the larger parks why spend the $35+ per night? Maybe one day we will but for now we would rather save that money for some fun activities or going out to eat!
Luckily Barb and I are on the same page when it comes to this approach. Although they can be noisier, we have found Wal-Marts, truck stops and rest areas perfectly safe. There are usually other likeminded RV’ers there that you can stay somewhat close to. Only once have we moved locations because it looked a little sketchy.
In the end we decided that there is no right way, you do what fits your lifestyle and if you are happy you must be doing it right! 
A remote boondocking site we found outside of Cave Junction in National Forest land
Which leads me to where we are this week….Leaving the coast of Northern California we headed inland to Cave Junction, Oregon where we visited Barb’s 95 year old grandmother. We spent the afternoon getting caught up on the lives of Barb’s aunts, uncles and cousins as well as looking at pictures and hearing stories of her mother and grandmother in their younger years. Although she does not get around as well as she used to, her mind is sharp as a tack and you can almost see her memories come to life as she looks across the room and tells her stories. Visiting is always a highlight of our time in this area.
Grandma Merriman
We collected another stamp in our passport book while in the area!
Barb at the mouth of one of the caves
 Late that afternoon we drove to Grants Pass where we visited Barb’s aunt and uncle. They have a beautiful home right on the Rogue River. Again we spent the afternoon getting caught up on the lives of her dad’s side of the family. Living so far away we didn’t get the opportunity to see them very often so we now try to stop by whenever we can.
Barb with Ron and Diana
Time to get back to the coast! We pointed the truck west to Charleston, Oregon. We had been there each of our previous trips to the coast and knew of a free boondocking area that we always wanted to stay but never could with the big rig. This time we were going to do it!!!!!!
It was a disappointment to say the least. When we arrived there were signs everywhere limiting camping to 24 hours, there were transients in tents scattered throughout the area as well as 3 burned out and abandoned travel trailers. You could hardly blame the local residents for wanting to limit or eliminate the camping in this area if that is the way it was being treated!


The camper in the background was burnt. The van drove up that night and 5 guys spent the night.
Not letting this ruin our adventure we found a quiet little spot and tucked into the trees for our one night.
Our free spot on the beach for the night
The next day we moved just up the hill to Bastendorff Beach County Park campground which had off-season rates of $20/night with water and electric.
 
Site #34 at the county park
This is the third time we have been here in the past two years and during each of the previous trips we had gone crabbing and clamming. The seals and sea lions were so frustrating last year that we decided to forego the crabbing, but we did get out clamming twice! We got enough clams for several meals of clam strips and chowder!
A limit of Gapers
We had heard that the local marine biology center was having a fund raiser call Aw Shucks Oyster Feed. Although raw oysters are not our favorite they advertised that they were cooked a variety of ways, so we thought why not! We arrived to find out that they were being prepared; fried, sauteed  and steamed so we thought that we would try a platter of 12 sauteed and fried oysters. They could not be that bad, others were sitting around gobbling them up like crazy. So with oysters in hand we found an empty table. I dipped a fried oyster in garlic butter and started to eat it. The look on my face must have said it all because Barb said “Are you going to throw up?” I had to concentrate of swallowing it as it really did want to come up instead of going down! OMG, they were horrible! Barb said they can’t be that bad and popped one in her mouth. It was at that moment that I saw what I must have looked like a few seconds ago! Ever courageous we thought the sauteed ones must be better so we each tried one. Nope, equally as bad. By then several others had joined our table and we watch their expressions closely as they popped one after another into their mouths without even flinching. Must be an acquired taste as it certainly wasn’t for us. When no one was looking we slipped them into the trash next to our table and ran out of there! All afternoon those oysters rebelled and tried to make their way up but we were able to hold them down!
The signs looked friendly enough

We won't be eating oysters for a while.....
Our next major destination is Newport, Oregon where we are going to visit Barb’s aunt on her mother’s side. We had several days until we had to be there so we slowly made our way north along the coast spending a night in Florence and Seal Rock. We stayed at the Casino in Florence one night where we each got $10 for enrolling into their Players Club. Barb turned her $10 into $24.50 while mine was reduced to $6. A free stay and $30.50 equals a great night!
 
Cape Arago Lighthouse in Charleston


Umpqua River Lighthouse, Winchester Bay 

 
 Seal Rock RV Cove is another Passport America Park ($15/night with PA discount). It is located right along Hwy 101 with full hook-ups, free Wi-Fi/cable TV and great views of the ocean. Definitely worth stopping by if you are passing through.
A shot of the coast with Heceta Head Lighthouse in the background
 
Heceta Head Lighthouse Florence
 
Sea Lions catching a wave!
Devil's Churn
 
Our site at Seal Rock
 
We will leave you with a few shots from our walk along the beach at Seal Rock...... tomorrow we are off to Newport!



 
 


41 comments:

  1. I thought oysters were an aphrodesiac? Not true? It looks like you are enjoying that pick-up camper quite a bit. Are you selling your fifth wheel? Enjoy your trip.

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    1. No immediate plans to sell the 5th wheel although we found we can live in a much smaller footprint. As for the oysters, I think they have the opposite effect.

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  2. Love the pics!

    While I LOVE seafood and fish - I cannot eat oysters! YUCK! I give you credit for trying them!

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    1. We had a variety of oysters when we were with Steve and Deb in Louisiana, we only likes the grilled ones. Thought maybe fried would be just as good, we were wrong!

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  3. Well, we're among the RV friends who do occasionally Wally Dock, but we've also been finding casinos are a good option and usually quieter than a Wal Mart! Plus if I'm too lazy to cook dinner they have restaurants open 24 hours a day, bonus!

    Have a great trip north! Dale and Ruth

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    1. We tried Elk Valley Casino in Crescent City, would not recommend it. We ended up moving. Three Rivers Casino in Florence on the other hand is a great place to stay!

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    2. Let me know if you need recommendations on the WA coast, having formerly lived in the Seattle area, the Olympic Peninsula was one of our favorite getaway locations.

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    3. We always welcome recommendations! As of right now our only plans are to visit Olympic National Park.

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    4. Absolute favorite in the coastal park of Olympic National Park is Kalaloch, especially the sites right on the edge of the bluff. We also really liked Heart of the Hills, near the start of the drive up to Hurricane Ridge, couldn't fit the 5ver in there but you truck camper should give you options. We also love camping in the Dungeness Rec area, it's a Clallam County park, with easy access to hiking the Dungeness Spit. WA state parks are very overpriced, in our opinion, However, if you're going to Port Townsend, we like Fort Townsend State Park, not nearly as crowded as Fort Worden. Enjoy and feel free to ask for other recommendations, we spent a lot of time on the Olympic Peninsula.

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    5. Thanks for the info! We are going to try to hit a couple of those on our way through.

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    6. I would add Salt Creek Recreation Area, also a Clallam County park. If full, the front row overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca is first come, first served and would fit your truck camper nicely!

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    7. Thanks for the advice, our time here was way too short. Looks like we will have to come back!

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  4. What a disappointment the oysters must have been. Stop at Pike's Market in Seattle for the best seafood anywhere. Don't you just love the Oregon coast? Can't wait to get back. Florence is where we did the dune buggy ride that was crazy fun. Let the adventure continue.

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    1. It was certainly a waste of $20. Unfortunately we will not be going through Seattle, it would be cool to see Pike's just for the entertainment.

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  5. Sad that they had to limit the camping to just 24 hours. Definitely can understand why! Coast looks awesome!!

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    1. We could sit and watch the waves crash into the rocks all day long, so cool to watch! Coming from the Midwest we are just in awe of the ocean.

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  6. Oh, how I love Newport! I had a "big splurge" there at Local Seafoods in 2014. It was so great, I hope to do it all again in another month or so...if I ever get out of SoCal, that is. ha!

    I have made note of Seal Rock Cove PA rate. Thanks for the great tip! And yes, I would say you were "doing it right." Good to mix it up. ;-)

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    1. Thanks Suzanne, mixing it up is good and we meet quite the variety of people. You won't regret Seal Rock Cove, it is a nice little park.

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  7. Great shot of the sea lions. I could watch those waves all day.
    Safe travels!

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    1. That was Barb's picture. She took about a dozen of the playing in the water, I thought that one was pretty cool.

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  8. If anyone was to post a photo of a couple 'doing it right', I'd say you two would be in the running! The pickup camper for your Alaska trip was a brilliant idea, in my opinion. You two always seem to have fun, and that's all that matters!

    Those surf photos are amazing, Jim. Have a great trip north!

    Jim

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    1. Thanks Jim! We really love this lifestyle and want to make the most of it. We are still amazed that we don't feel crowded in here.

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  9. What a great campground. That is definitely going on my list. And I am totally with you on the oysters...yuck!!

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    1. We have really gotten our money out of Passort America. You just need to watch the restrictions. I can't even look at that oyster picture without getting queasy.

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  10. It's great that you both are on the same page (camping style as well as the oysters). Having a partner that is often a reflection sure makes this full time travel journey so much more fun... (I type as my bride of 26 years says to me.... those broiled oysters we had in New Orleans we're amazing weren't they :-)

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    1. Being on the same page makes a huge difference. Some of our non-RV'ing friends don't think they could spend that much time with their spouses!

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  11. You guys are seeing some great areas!!! We will be in Grants Pass, our old stomping grounds, in a few days.

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    1. It is a great little town with lots to do. Make sure you stop by Cary's Toffee Factory!

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  12. Great read on how we all do it differently but correct:) A tip we learned when we tried a Walmart that turned out to be in the wrong area! When you decide on your Walmart, check to see if there is a Starbucks near by. This will let you know that this is a better area. Almost every Walmart we stay at has a Starbuck right near by. No Starbucks...stay away:)

    Looks like that new truck camper is working out perfectly to get you into awesome spots. Nice to have time to see so many family members:)

    Sorry the oysters were so bad!

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    1. That's a great tip on the Starbucks, but that could get expensive!

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  13. I think we share a lot of our camping choices with you two. But alas, we differ on the oysters (and I have the pictures to prove it ;-) Might have to recap on fb Ha! It's always great to visit family and it looks like you had a great visit. Love the beach pics too!

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    1. We saw the pictures you posted on FB! We will pay you back for that someday!

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    2. Hey, did you forget about the geocache-don't-be-like-steve thingy? ;-)

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    3. Oh yea, I guess I did forget about that!

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  14. Great post, I don't think there's a right or wrong way to fulltime. We try and either workamp as we've been doing this winter and last summer or stay on our own lot, we're trying to stay free half the year. Can't stand those slimy oysters but Dave is looking forward to next winter on the TX Gulf so he can indulge. We spent a few weeks vacationing on the WA/OR coast a number of years ago, hope to get back there one of these days.

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    1. We have been lucky enough to spend 4 months at year at a friends resort for free the past two years. This will be the first summer we are not staying there. We are going to miss it. It will be interesting to see how our campground fees are on our Alaska trip.
      These is some great food on the TX Gulf, Dave can have all the Oysters and leave the good food for us!

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  15. Wow....awesome pics and great tales from Oregon! The truck camper looks cosey too!
    Looking forward to seeing you in the Great White North!

    Safe travels,

    Les and Sue
    www.ramblingrvrat.blogspot.com

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    1. Oregon is a great state with lots to see, we tried to stop at all the lighthouses along the way. We hit BC tomorrow!

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  16. Hi! I'm excited to see seal rock cove RV park mentioned in your blog. We are considering doing some workamping there. Any thoughts on the park itself, management, and the area in general to hang out for a couple months? I would appreciate any thing you might be able to comment on. Thanks!!

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    1. We did not get a chance to really explore the Seal Rock area itself. The beach in front of the campground was great for walking and exploring. You are really close to Newport which has a lot of nice shops and restaurants. We are not sure if we met the owners but we think we did, they seemed very nice. It is obvious they take pride in their park as it is well maintained and up to date. It is one of the better maintained parks we have stayed at in a while. I think you will like the area and the park.

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