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The Freedom to Stay, and the Freedom to Go
I found a campsite by a lake in South Dakota where the 4Runner fit beneath the trees and there was room to sit outside. Before I had even settled in, I could picture what a longer stay might look like. Coffee in the morning. A few hours of work. Time beside the water without…
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This Overnight Stop Made the Miles Feel Easier
I left Minnesota and started making my way toward Devils Tower, but I did not want to rush through all the miles between them. There are museums I want to visit along the way and pieces of unusual local art I would miss if I treated every travel day as a race toward the…
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I Car Camped Arizona for a Full Year. It Never Felt Like One Climate.
Arizona can change dramatically without ever crossing a state line. Low desert gives way to mountain country, pine forests, and high plateau. Temperatures shift with the landscape, sometimes enough that a few hours of driving can completely change what a campsite requires. After spending a full year car camping across Arizona, that range became…
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Why I Sometimes Visit a Campground Without Staying There
Not every campground visit ends with me setting up camp. Sometimes I drive through, look at the sites and leave. That short visit gives me information I cannot always find through photos, reviews or campground maps. The location may not fit what I need that day. Still, it could become a useful overnight stop,…