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Old 03-29-2009, 03:42 PM   #1
RKassl
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OK, How Do We Do It?

Finally in May we are retired and becoming Long-timers. We have a 4600 mile trip from Wisconsin to Glacier to Lauglin, NV to the Grand Canyon and back to the Grand Kids in Minneapolis. So far the only reservation is at Glacier. We don't want anymore schedules so what do I to make sure we can get into the resort in Nevada and Williams AZ? Do you just wing and and hope for an open spot? This seems to complicated, what am I missing?

Thanks!
 
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Old 03-29-2009, 03:58 PM   #2
rving2us
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We made a trip to Grand Canyon a few years ago and reservations where very important even at the KOA in Williams. I would suggest at least making that connection at the Grand Canyon. No matter which camp ground you decide on. Jon
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Old 03-29-2009, 04:02 PM   #3
RKassl
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Thanks for the information!
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Old 04-26-2009, 11:16 AM   #4
sreigle
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When you are a day or two out and know for sure when you'll arrive you could then call to make a reservation.
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Old 04-26-2009, 12:45 PM   #5
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Bob & Nancy, our CGs are booked through September. I think we are a bit anal about this but it works for us. I would suggest that you, at the very least, make reservations for over any holidays, especially if you are at a "Destination Location". Sometimes these fill up quickly with local folks and regulars. I have not worked up the nerve to just take off. I know a lot of folks do and do it well. Maybe someday we will resort to that. Anyway, enjoy the lifestyle, We do!!!!!
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Old 04-26-2009, 03:11 PM   #6
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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Several years ago, I took my mother on a "Remember When?" tour of all the places she and my dad used to stay when he was alive and they camped all over the US. My mother insisted that we be free spirits--"Your father and I never had to make reservations except at Taylor Lake (Colorado)." I was too polite to argue with her (never won, anyway!) The fact that her camping days were before RVing became so popular meant nothing to her.

Sure enough, on the last leg of that trip, leaving from the Cooke City end of the Bear Tooth Highway and heading back to Texas, we found ourselves facing a "No Room at the Inn" situation on Interstate 25 between Buffalo, Wyoming and Trinidad, Colorado. I was pulling my old pop-up camper and will never, ever forget pulling off the interstate over and over in search of a place to camp or rent a room--nothing--and then having to back that camper out of those little motels where we'd pulled in to check on a room.

Cowboys and western enthusiasists knew that Cheyenne Frontier Days were in full swing, but at the time, we didn't. Every motel, hotel, campground, and private RV park for hundreds of miles in each direction was full. I even stopped at a police station somewhere in Colorado and asked if I could park and sleep out front for a bit; the answer was no--no sleeping on the street. So, I drove and drove and drove until I reached Trinidad and couldn't drive one more mile. I pulled into a Holiday Inn (no rooms) and asked nicely if I could park at the edge of the lot and sleep in the car because I'd been driving all night and was so tired that I couldn't go any farther. I think the answer was NO, but I pretended not to hear. My mother and I slept for 4 hours in that parking lot and then drove on in to Pampa, Texas, where her brother lived.

I guess I could do that again if I had to, but I'm not sure I want to take my chances sleeping in a place that's not a designated RV spot. I hate being tied to a schedule, but if I know I definitely, positively need or want to stop somewhere, I will make reservations in advance.

Carolyn

PS: In retrospect, my mother and I would probably been safe sleeping on the side of the road because who, in his right mind, would want to tangle with two old English teachers?
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Old 04-26-2009, 03:48 PM   #7
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Carolyn, That brings up a very good point. Many times we don't know what is happening in a particular area and that may prevent us from finding a place. We were in a CG in Oregon a couple years ago and we wanted a friend to join us in his TT. I gave him the phone number of the CG and he called and they were booked. He called me back to tell me that and I said no way. The next morning we woke up and there wasn't a spot anywhere, not even a tent camping site. Seems there was a National Beach Volleyball tournament at the beach that weekend and everything was booked. Glad we had a spot already.
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Old 04-26-2009, 04:32 PM   #8
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Others have offered some good advice here. We seldom make reservations more than a couple of days in advance of our arrival. We just don't like being tied to that rigid a schedule. With a couple of days notice we can generally find a place. May not be our first choice and we may have to travel a little farther to view the local attractions but that is a price we are willing to pay for our freedom. It does pay to familarize yourself with special events at known destinations. We got kicked out of Hayward Wisc. after 4 days due to the world lumberjack competetion. Darn, I really wanted two more days there.
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Old 04-27-2009, 03:33 AM   #9
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As Steve says two or three days out we will call for reservations. Also will get reservations for holidays and special events usually long in advance. I find if you book Monday or Tuesday for a week or more you can usually get your pick of CG's. Nost people will plan on arriving on Friday and leaving Sunday as they are still in the workforce.
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Old 04-27-2009, 09:41 AM   #10
Glenn and Lorraine
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In the nearly 6 years of fulltiming we have rarely made a reservation any where.
All the years we worked we were on a schedule 24/7/365. Every Monday you get up and go to work at a set time, come home from work at a set time, do household chores, watch a little of the boob tube, maybe post a reply to the MOC than go to bed. Next day repeat the day before and continue repeating it for 5 days. Weekend finally arrives and you get out of bed and do the yard work, wash the car and more chores. If your lucky and the weather permits you get to play a round of golf. Before you know it, Oh Oh it's Monday again and guess what.
Upon retirement and within reason, we refused to ever be scheduled to be any thing or any where on a specific date or time. (Of course this does not apply to MOC rallies but even there we usually wait til the last minute. Case in point is the up coming NE rally. Those reservations will probably be made sometime mid May. Same goes for the Great Lakes rally in Michigan. Those I will handle in mid July.) The fall rally is possibly the only reservation I will make well in advance.
In our experience we have only had one instance where we were unable to get a site and had to travel an extra 20 miles. 20 miles is nothing in the overall realm of full-time travel.
The other point against reservations is simple. Say you make a reservation for attraction XXX for Saturday the 15th. While en-route to XXX on Thursday the 13th you find another attraction you were unaware of and really would like to stop BUT because you are already committed to a reservation at XXX on the 15th and XXX is still 800 miles away you are forced to move on or lose your reservation and your deposit.
Quite often during our travels we have discovered places that we were unaware of and because we were not committed down the road we were able to stop for a few days.
It works for us and we see no reason to make any changes.
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Old 04-27-2009, 10:18 AM   #11
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To each his own. Sometimes we make reservations; sometimes we don't. It depends on where we are going. If it is a highly traveled tourist area, we are inclined to make reservations.

Orv
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Old 05-01-2009, 06:28 PM   #12
Texas5er
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We only make reservations for holidays or times when there is someting special going on in the area. Traveling in summer and in highly traveled tourist areas, like the Oregon Coast, Disney World, Top Sail Hill SP, etc., we make reservations. We have yet to be dissapointed in not being able to camp where we want to stay. Woodalls has a listing in front of the state you are traveling in that has some of the special events going on each month. You can also go online and research the city you are going to and see what events are going on and when.
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Old 05-02-2009, 06:39 AM   #13
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We find that if we are traveling in high tourism spots and want to stay in State or National Parks you better make reservations. We were just at Zion NP and A&B loops with 30amp power were full everynight. $18 per night sounded really good compared to 35-50$ per night for private CG. So needless to say we made reservations. Bryce has not kicked into full swing yet and you could probably drive in and find a spot, not the case in Arches and Moab, snowbirds are heading home slowly and things where the weather is good are full. I'm glad that we plan ahead, alot like Phil and Cathy, making reservations for the summer months to ensure that we have a spot where we really want to be and not just somewhere we have to be. You can always change your plans if you happen upon something you just have to explore. Great summer travels for everyone. If you plan on being in the Hill City, SD area we will working at Rafter JBar Ranch until Sept. 20th.
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