We've lost a state!

[DonandBonnie]

One thing on our bucket list is to spend at least one night in our Big Sky in each state. Since we took possession of our rig in October 2012 we have stayed in what we thought were 16 states and one province of Canada. Now we find out that we have to give back Tennessee.

After Christmas we stayed in what we thought was a Tennessee campground, Holiday Trav-L Park. Their address is Mack Smith Drive, Chattanooga, TN. However, after looking closely at a map, we find that this park is actually about a quarter mile beyond the actual street address which places it in Georgia. Does truth in advertising apply here.

[Recumbent]

Georgia has claimed that a large portion of Tennessee in that general area was supposed to be in Georgia (Atlanta trying to get access to water from Tennessee River) but the surveyors and/or map makers got it wrong, a fuss developed, and some court ruled that after two plus centuries (of adverse possession) TN could keep the land. So, for over two hundred years people near there had unknowingly lived in and paid tax to the wrong state. I recommend keeping the sticker and only redo if passing through some other area of the state

[Art-n-Marge]

DonandBonnie, What are your Big Sky plans for Hawaii? Have you already thought about how you are gonna get there with the Big Sky?

Things like what recumbent describes occur everywhere. My address and zipcode are for Murrieta, CA. However if you look at the official map, my house is outside the borders of the city of Temecula and in county land (not actually in Murrieta). The story goes that the post office in Murrieta had extra manpower and space at their location so they picked up our neighborhood and since the zip code was declared in Murrieta, then so shall our neighborhood. Both towns were incorporated around the same time in the early nineties and this is how they handled the rapid spawl as both towns grew so fast and needed borders drawn and mail delivered. It is no unusual for residents to use Temecula or Murrieta in their addresses and the mail gets delivered just fine.

[K0LCB]

Old time surveyors used a compas, staff transient and a metal chain. They made a few mistakes. I remember one law suit in Iron County, Missouri where 3 people owned the same 1/4 section, one was in Madison County, but the surveys overlapped

[DonandBonnie]

Speaking of Hawaii, we were passed today by a motor home with Hawaii tags. Wish we could have caught up with them to ask how they crossed the big ditch. Thought about spraying the bottom of the rig and truck with Flex Steel. You know, the stuff that seals the screen door in the bottom of the row boat? Then I found that the receiver in the back of the Big Sky wasn't strong enough to support an Evanrude outboard motor.

[Art-n-Marge]

Now why am I not surprised you are thinking about solutions to get there. Too funny.

[twindman]

I think I read on here (?) that someone was shipping the Montana to Australia for only $3200. That seems cheap to me, since it costs $140 or so to go 10 miles or so to Vancouver.

[Art-n-Marge]

I didn't know Australia was a state... LOL. Sorry, couldn't resist.

[twindman]

Okay Okay!! I was just pointing out it shouldn't cost a million dollars to ship to Hawaii!!

[DonandBonnie]

That reminded me that when we took possession of our Big Sky in Oct. 2012, the dealer was preparing a new Montana for shipment to Europe. Seemed strange to us that a dealer in Clyde, Ohio would be shipping to Europe. He said that they have sold many rigs to overseas destinations.

[DQDick]

Our daughter lives down there and the states still don't agree the boundary is right.

[WeBeFulltime]

Next time thru Chattanooga stay at CW just on other side of I-75 from Holiday. It is in Tennessee and a decent place to stay.

[richfaa]

Folks use many criteria to mark those maps. If we were in the State with the Rv we mark the map. I figure if the Rv is attached to the truck we must be Rv'ing. I think we have stayed in all the states marked but we keep no record.

[Art-n-Marge]

Our criteria is unintentional and has been overnighting in a state. We've only overnighted in three states. So when one realizes that the states are California, Nevada and Arizona, their size and the locations we stayed allowed for this. If we ever get up the desire to head East, and it's easier to drive through several smaller states before needing to overnight, the criteria may change to what Richfaa does. I better have new tires before we try that. I currently have Marathons that are 6 years old - good thing we haven't gone too far, so far.

[TheCoachPotatoes]

I think a little cheating is in order here! I vote for "you thought you were in Tennessee and therefore you were!" Close enough! Go ahead! You certainly have my permission! I'm sure no one else would mind either! Life is just too short!

[padredw]

I don't usually include "my map" on this forum, but this discussion brings to mind one of my "missed states." We had a long standing reservation to stay in a state park near Sioux City, Iowa. When we got there there was no way we could stay in that site. At the last minute, late in the day we called around and found a KOA just over the state line in South Dakota (a state where we had already stayed a week on that trip), so we scooted on over there. Considering the time we spent in that Iowa state park and the difficulty we had getting out of there, I relaxed the rules and colored in Iowa without shame: "To thine own self be true; there is no law beyond this!"

[Art-n-Marge]

Sounds like a good decision, padrew. I don't think I've ever heard anyone declare how long of a time period. Even an overnight can get interrupted. That's doesn't mean you didn't set up camp and want the credit for it.

Great map and I see that it looks like Alaska, Massachusetts and New Jersey are still not covered but Hawaii is covered. How'd you do that? Almost made a mistake you didn't visit Lake Michigan but that's a lake.

[padredw]

quote:Alaska, Massachusetts and New Jersey are still not covered but Hawaii is covered. How'd you do that?

Thanks, Art n Marge. Honest confession, I have no idea about how Hawaii got covered. We have been there a couple of times to our great pleasure, but never with an RV.

We down here in Texas have to be careful not to talk condescendingly about some of those "little states" [and we are still reluctant to talk about that state that took away one of our bragging rights] but it just happens that they are the only ones we have not spent at least a night in our RV (except Iowa). Not so obvious on the map but add to the ones you mentioned: Rhode Island and Delaware.

We added South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas on a great trip in September 2012, then Montana, Washington, and Oregon in July of 2013. (I'm not listing here states we passed through or camped in but where we had already stayed in before each of these trips.)

Now, I've said far more on the subject than necessary, but I've enjoyed this whole thread. Maybe we will yet fill in those small, but important, states yet.