Is the rambling life still possible?

[Richard Davis]

Originally Posted by TZBrown

We travel all over the US, East areas are a bit more challenging, FL has quite a few spots that with research are free or half price for seniors.

Lots more COE camps in the areas Georgia to Texas. Most everything in TX is private property, so it is either campgrounds, or city and county parks.

BLM land all over the west, and hide out small spots all up the area to MT.

We also like to visit small businesses, Breweries, distilleries, we don't belong to Harvest hosts or Boondockers Welcome, but usually many will allow us to park in their back lot for the night.

In 2015 we did a 3 month ramble, followed Lewis and Clark trail from St louis the the west coast. We stopped at Grand Canyon on a whim, asked for a 3 day permit to hike to the bottom and stay 2 nights. We had to delay for a day before we could start, camped in the admin parking lot 2 nights and left the following day.



Being very flexible is key, we plan our stops during lunch breaks for that afternoon.

Thanks for this. Your experience makes it sound as if our preferred travel style might still be possible. COE campsites stumped me initially, then the penny dropped. We had stayed in them along the Natchez Trace quite a few years ago. Sites were well used in October back then, and I’d assumed all sorts of factors would have made them unavailable these days. I hadn’t realized the few Natchez Trace campsites were only a tiny part of a much larger Army Corp network. I think I might start looking for a replacement FG trailer!

[Jon Vermilye]

Be sure to check - many of the COE campgrounds have dropped first come sites and require reservations. They are popular so sometimes difficult to get into.

I generally stay at COE, state parks, etc and have found that during my southern route trip fall to & spring from NY to AZ there is usually space during the week, but some parks are filled on weekends, even stopping at 1:00...

[Raz]

We pulled into a campground in South Dakota to find a telephone and a sign that said call for reservations. That was my first encounter with reservations only. It was 2016 as I recall. Shortly after the DEC campgrounds in New York contracted Reseve America to handle their reservations. FCFS was still allowed but there was a $3 registration fee added. I was told by the attendant Reserve America charged the fee for every occupied camp site to cover the cost of using there software. Of course the fee was passed on to the customer. Reserve America got the Recreation.gov contract which covers all federal campgrounds. They were later outbid by the current contractor, Booz Allen Hamiton. Covid brought reservations only. Campgrounds would no longer take cash, which eliminated attendant positions. Costs were shifted to the customer in reservation fees. The "two weeks vacation" folks love it. Those without an itinerary, not so much. Even campgrounds with same day reservations require you use the system. And if you want to stay an extra day or two be prepared to pay the fees provided the site hasn't been reserved by someone else. Gone are the days of the iron ranger. The NFS is the exception. They still have FCFS in some locations. I'm sorry to say as long as most people tolerate it, reservations only is here to stay.

[Richard Davis]

Sadly, Jon and Raz's replies confirm what I had suspected. Probably back in 2016 or 2017, we talked to a campground employee about Oregon State Parks' relatively new (at the time) reservation system. She saiid the campground occupancy rate was much higher with the reservation system than it had been previously, which -- when you are managing public money spent on campgrounds -- is a good thing. And there's been a lot of water under the proverbial bridge since then, especially as software developers create "product" to sell to governments or campground operators so they can have more business. I get that. But I'm glad I "wandered" when I did!
I appreciate that various forms of "wandering" are still possible, and I hope those who seek the life can find their homes-away-from-home for the night. As Tolkien said, "Not all who wander are lost"! Thanks for all the replies to my initial post.

[Raz]

I've always stayed in campgrounds atleast in part for safety, But after my experience with a group of loud and drunken campers with the host nowhere to be found, I'm not sure Walmart is any less safe. The android app Park Advisor shows Walmarts, truckstops, rest areas, etc.many with reviews. Judging by the response to this thread, I don't see reservations only going away any time soon.

[Steve Outlaw]

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

...As Tolkien said, "Not all who wander are lost"...

This is probably the most often Mis-quoted quote of all time. It's actually:

All that is gold does not glitter, "Not all those who wander are lost"; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Steve Outlaw

This is probably the most often Mis-quoted quote of all time. It's actually:

All that is gold does not glitter, "Not all those who wander are lost"; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

The slight abbreviation does not change the sense of the statement. However, it is often applied out of context. Aragorn the Ranger was a wanderer, but there was nothing rambling or aimless about his journeys. He was no tourist, but a guardian.