We’ve stayed at a lot of campgrounds in our eleven years of fulltime RV travel, some really nice places, and some not so nice. There are campgrounds that we return to on a regular basis, and others where one stop was more than enough.

RVers often ask us what our personal favorite campgrounds are. Sometimes I feel like that would be akin to telling you where my favorite fishing hole is. What if the word gets out and pretty soon the place is so full that they don’t have room for me?

But what the heck, there’s always Wal-Mart if my favorite campsite is not available, so here are my Top Ten favorites, and why. Please be aware that the reasons I like a campground may not be important to you, just as the things you look for may not meet my needs.

Elkhart Campground, Elkhart, Indiana – No question about it, this is our favorite campground in the entire country. It is centrally located to a lot of places we regularly frequent, Elkhart is the capital of the RV industry, the campground is clean and well maintained, the RV sites are wide, the interior roads are all good, and owners Bob and Gita Patel treat us like family. 

Escapees Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama – I don’t think we’ve ever been to an RV park with roomier sites than this Escapees Club RV park. We like the Alabama Gulf Coast area, the small towns in the area are all friendly and clean, and the park itself has a lot of great amenities and activities.

Tra-Tel RV Park, Tucson, Arizona – There is nothing fancy about this small RV park, the spaces are tight, and you get noise from nearby Interstate 10 and the railroad tracks on the other side of the highway. However, it’s clean, the staff is very friendly, they have a nice pool, and for us, location is everything. Tra-Tel is a comfortable, convenient place to stay when we visit our family in Tucson.

Escapees Sumter Oaks RV Park, Bushnell, Florida -  I would say that this is our favorite campground in the state of Florida. We love the giant live oak trees that shade the park, they have a great indoor pool, a fine rec room, and because it’s an Escapees park, it’s always friendly. Miss Terry loves wandering through the nearby huge Webster Flea Market looking for bargains.

Escapees Raccoon Valley, Heiskell, Tennessee -  This is a regular stop for us, and another favorite Escapees Club RV park, because we love the area. The campground is just a mile or so from Interstate 75, and close to Knoxville, but has a rural feel to it. Twice a week local bluegrass musicians come to the park and hold free jam sessions. We haven’t been to Raccoon Valley since the recent remodel, and we’re looking forward to seeing the improvements.

Thousand Trails Verde Valley Preserve, Camp Verde, Arizona – Again, location means a lot. We stay at this large Thousand Trails campground often when it’s too hot to be in Phoenix or Tucson, but still too cold to go to our old hometown in Arizona’s White Mountains. There is a lot to see and do in the Verde Valley, from exploring historic ghost towns and ancient Indian ruins, to riding a vintage steam train.

Country Roads RV Park, Lake Delton, Wisconsin – Our friends Terry and Terri Michael, owners of Country Roads, bill this campground as a place for adults, and if you want a super clean, quiet location that is just minutes from all of the hustle and bustle in Wisconsin Dells, you’ll like it too. Amenities include a pool, very nice RV sites, and a welcome that will make you feel like you just came back home after a long absence.

Escapees Turkey Creek Village, Hollister, Missouri – Located on the shore of Lake Taneycomo, just minutes from all of the shows and attractions in Branson, we have stopped at Turkey Creek many times, and look forward to getting back again. The RV sites are nice, the area has more to see and do than you could get done in an entire season, and the local folks are all very friendly.

Hershey Thousand Trails, Lebanon, Pennsylvania – We’ve only stayed here once, and we’re looking forward to going back for two weeks in September after our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally. The campground is a short drive from Hershey if you need a chocolate fix, it has a lot of great amenities, and this is another part of the county that we really enjoy spending time in. The love the green, rolling countryside around the campground.

 Fisherman’s Landing, Muskegon, Michigan – I have to admit that I have a love/hate relationship with this city owned campground. The sites are fine, and it is a great place to stay when we visit my cousin Berni and her husband Rocky, not to mention that there is a lot to see and do in the area, and we can launch our kayaks right from the campground. However, the downside is that on summer weekends there always seems to be at least one large group of rowdy campers who disturb everybody else, and management never seems to be aware of it.  Still, we go back every year, so I guess the good outweighs the bad.

Okay, now I’ve told you mine, so don’t hold back on the rest of us. What are some of your favorite campgrounds, and why?

Thought For The Day – One man’s religion is another man’s belly laugh.

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Yesterday morning, after dropping the last of the new issue off at the post office, we drove 110 miles south to Tucson to visit my cousin Beverly McKiddy. My parents and all of my siblings passed away years ago, and except for my two kids and my two granddaughters, the only blood relatives that I have left are a few cousins scattered around the country, and some nephews I lost track of years ago.

My cousins are all nice people, but I’m really only close to three or four them, because I seldom get to spend much time with the others. Beverly and I have been very close since we were little kids, and we never miss an opportunity to visit with her when we’re in Arizona. She is one of my favorite people in the whole world.

The fastest route between Mesa and Tucson is down Interstate 10, but what fun is that? Whenever we can, we choose the two lane roads, which in this case is State Route 79, also known as the Pinal Pioneer Parkway, south from Florence Junction to connect with State Route 77 at Oracle Junction, and then south on SR 77 to Tucson. It takes a few minutes longer, but it is a much nicer, more relaxing trip.

Traffic was light most of the way, and as we skirted the edge of the old community of Florence, we passed the imposing gun towers and razor wire fences of the Arizona State Prison, glad we were on the right side of the fence and the law, and free to travel when and where we want to.

South of Florence we passed the memorial to old time cowboy film star Tom Mix, who was killed here in a one car accident in1940, when he drove his convertible into a dry wash, and a heavy suitcase in the back seat slammed into him and broke his neck.

We spent the day visiting with Beverly, and took her out to dinner at Luke’s Italian Beef on Fort Lowell Road, which is one of our favorite restaurants in the country. The lack of ambience is more than made up for by their huge, delicious sandwiches, and the best French fries we have found anywhere in our travels. We had a wonderful time with Beverly, and all too soon it was time to head back to our home on wheels.

We left Tucson a little after 7 p.m., and got home about 9:30. Since my night vision is poor, Terry drove back, and we enjoyed the ride, listening to good music on the radio and talking about how lucky we are to have the life and the relationship that we share.

Before I close this blog post, I need to clear up something about the Yuma Fairgrounds, to hopefully save folks some problems. At our previous rallies, the different fairgrounds had RV hookups that they rent to the general public, and have allowed RVers to come in several days ahead of the time and stay until the rally began.

But in Yuma, the fairgrounds does not have RV sites open to the general public. They have so many events going on that they just do not have room for RVs to stay there unless they are part of an activity. The fairgrounds manager has also told us that part of that policy is because they do not want to get into any hassles with the many RV parks in Yuma. They are allowing Terry and me, and a couple of assistants, to come in early and park in a far corner, so we can handle last minute rally details, but I’m afraid that folks arriving in the area a few days early will have to find other parking options.    

Fortunately, there are some good alternatives. In addition to the RV parks in town, there are many places to dry camp nearby, including north of Yuma along U.S. Highway 95, and west of town, across the state line in California. We apologize to anybody who didn’t understand this and assumed that they could arrive a few days early, but unfortunately, we have no control over the fairgrounds’ policy.

Thought For The Day – How often do you apply the knowledge you spent so much time and effort seeking?

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We were talking to a couple who are considering extended RV travel, and one of their concerns was safety. They have heard urban legends about RVers being attacked while they spend the night at places like Wal-Mart, small town parks, and rest areas.

We assured them that those kind of things almost never happen and not to spend a lot of time worrying about them. As I told them, they are in more danger from a traffic accident then they ever will be from a criminal, as long as they use common sense, keep their doors locked, and don’t spend any nights parked in an inner city ghetto. We have spent many, many nights dry camping in every corner of this country, in truck stops, highway rest areas, commercial parking lots, even in wide pullouts on back roads miles from nowhere. We have never felt threatened.

However, that does not mean that any of us are ever completely safe. You never know what that idiot coming down the road at you, riding a ton of steel might do, You can be as vigilant as is humanly possible and still become a victim in an instant, as these pictures show.

One of our subscribers sent me the photo on the left the other day. She was driving down a city street when a car driven by a seventeen year old girl who was text messaging somebody on her cell phone crossed the center line and hit her head on. Fortunately her airbag deployed and she was not injured.

Of the four girls in the other car, the front seat passenger had some cuts and bruises, but that was all, fortunately. Our friend said what really ticked her off was that the girl driving the other car never apologized, and never showed any concern for her own passenger. She was too busy being freaked out because her cell phone got broken in the accident! And there are airheads like that driving on every street and highway in America!

I took the photo to the right after a near miss I was involved in a few years ago in Tucson. I was driving down the street when the light gray car in the foreground roared passed me, driving halfway on the sidewalk. Two blocks down the street he ran a red light and slammed into the white car, which burst into flames. Fortunately, the older couple in the white car escaped uninjured. As the story turned out, the driver of the gray car had stolen it and was making his getaway. He jumped out and fled the scene on foot.  

No, I sleep just fine at night, wherever we are parked. It’s driving down the highway that sometimes scares the hell out of me!

Thought For The Day – You’re getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.

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We have a Campground Reviews section on our website, but I thought I’d share our Top 10 Favorite Campgrounds and why we feel that way, and see how they compare to yours.

1. Elkhart Campground, Elkhart, Indiana – Every year when we pull into Elkhart Campground, we feel like we have arrived back home. We know most of the regulars and see many people we know passing through every year. The campground is huge, and our regular site has 50 amp electric and water, and we usually don’t have anyone parked on top of us. Owners Bob and Gita Patel have become very good friends, and they have allowed us to work on several upgrade projects on the bus while we have stayed there.

2. Sumter Oaks, Bushnell, Florida – We always get a friendly welcome at this Escapee park, we love the huge live oak trees that shade the park, as well as the indoor pool and opportunity to see so many of our Escapee friends.

3. Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama – This is another favorite Escapee park with us. The sites are huge, there is a lot to see and do on and around the Gulf Coast, and we enjoy the laid back feel of the area.

4. Tra-Tel RV Park, Tucson, Arizona – There is nothing fancy about Tra-Tel, the spaces are a bit tight, but we usually spend a month there every year. Everybody is very friendly, they always make us feel welcome, and we have family in Tucson we enjoy visiting.

5. Country Roads RV Park, Lake Delton, Wisconsin – Owners Terry and Terri Michael are good friends of ours and whenever we visit their campground we feel like we are part of the family. The park is very clean and has every amenity we could ever want or need.

6. Thousand Trails Colorado River Preserve, Columbus, Texas – This membership park has over 125 full and partial hookup sites, an activity center, pool, hot tub, and lots of wide open spaces. A huge herd of deer live here also and are frequent visitors to the campsites. We spend a lot of time just enjoying the wildlife.

7. Thousand Trails Verde Valley Preserve, Camp Verde, Arizona – This membership campground has 265 full hookup sites, beautiful views, and is convenient to everything in central Arizona. Since the campground sits down in a bowl, we are glad we have our Wilson Trucker antenna and booster to get good air card coverage there.

8. Toad Suck Ferry Corps of Engineers Campground, Conway, Arkansas – Don’t let the name fool you, this is a wonderful campground located right on the Arkansas River. From our site we watched riverboats push barges through the lock and dam.  Our site had 50 amp electric & water, a central dump station, and did I mention the great views?

9. Ray Behrens Corps of Engineers Campground, Monroe City, Missouri - We have never been to a Corps of Engineers campground we have not liked, but this is a favorite. Huge spaces, some with full hookups, very clean, and it is situated on Mark Twain Lake.  The only drawback was very slow air card service.  

10. Turkey Creek RV Village, Hollister, Missouri - This Escapees Club RV park is our favorite place to stay when visiting Branson. The park has 68 full hookup sites, clean rest rooms, a laundry, club house, and a beautiful setting on Lake Taneycomo. Turkey Creek is just minutes from all the attractions of Branson, yet laid back and peaceful.

So there we are, our own Top 10. What about you? What are some of your favorite campgrounds, and why?

Thought For The Day – Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.

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Our month in Tucson has gone by much too quickly, and we have not had the time to do half of what we had hoped to while we were here.

We did get the chance to stop and visit with my uncle, Jack Compau, who is 84 and still holding his own. He’s slowed down a bit, but looks good, and we enjoyed our visit.

We also visited with my cousin Beverly McKiddy several times. Bev has a special place in my heart, and she’s one of my favorite people in this world. We’ve had a close relationship since we were youngsters, and when we were both single parents raising our kids, we leaned on each other a lot. We never miss an opportunity to get together.

Yesterday Bev drug a dozen or more old photo albums out of her closet and we spent some time reminiscing. I love looking at old family photographs. They are a tie to my history. It was amazing to look back over 50 or more years of pictures and remember cars my Dad owned, or see my parents and uncles and aunts as young adults just starting their own families.

Looking at those old pictures brought our youth back to life. Christmas mornings, summer vacations, and high school heartthrobs preserved forever in Kodachrome. Were any of us really ever that young and slender? And what’s with those wide lapels and sideburns anyway? Whose idea was that?

It was interesting to see old World War II photographs of my father and uncles, younger men than my own son is today, going off to fight the Nazis and Japanese to bring peace back to the world. Some of them landed at Omaha Beach on D Day, others island hopped across the Pacific from one bloody beachhead to the next, while others did their fighting in the sky over Europe. One of those uncles never made it back, dying on a battlefield in North Africa.

Another album held photographs of my generation going off to fight our own war. Bev’s brothers Bob and Sonny looked like little boys playing soldier in their uniforms, as I do in the pictures of myself in those days. But those boys both distinguished themselves in combat and made it back home a bit banged up, but ready to get on with their lives. Now there’s a new generation, and a new war, and somebody will be adding new photographs of little boys in uniform.

I think you could look at any family’s old photo albums and trace our society’s history. It’s an interesting trip down memory lane.

Today we’ll fire up our old bus and say goodbye to Tucson. We’re headed for Apache Junction and some more family time, with Terry’s parents and sisters. We’re playing a waiting game, biding our time until it warms up a bit more in Arizona’s high country, so we can get up to Show Low and spend some time with my daughter Tiffany and her family.

Thought For The Day - The only true measure of success is happiness.

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