Infiltrating the RV Full-timers’ Cult Compound
Man, this Escapees RV park (it’s called Rainbow’s End) is very, very strange to me. It is definitely an isolated bubble, a world all its own. Campsite Types... Read more.
The Epic Quest to Become Texans
Currently we’re camped at the Escapees headquarters, the club that helps us with residency paperwork. This place is far from grand, but more on that later. Here’s... Read more.
The Campground as a Night on the Town
I’ve finally figured out how to wrap my head around why in the world people flock to crowded campgrounds where they show abject disdain for nature. When I lived... Read more.
Too Busy for Alligators
We leave this national forest north of Houston today to go just a little east to the Escapees’ campground, where we’ll take care of more business (we hope).... Read more.
Whom Can You Be Naked in Front Of?
My sister (yeah, I quote her a lot) used to say that you can be naked in front of your mother and you can be naked in front of your husband, but you can’t be naked... Read more.
Headed Down South to the Land of the Pines
That line’s from Wagon Wheel and it’s about North Carolina, but it’s been on my mind here in Texas, oddly. We’re only passing through Texas... Read more.
Candies among Cookie Cutters
Maybe 90% of the RVs we see are the same brown/white or grey/white standard campers with slides. They have different model names on them, but there are only a handful... Read more.
“The Show” Reunites!
Flashback The setting: 1978, a colonial home in rural Virginia: the living room has a stone hearth and stone benches surrounding a large fireplace. The characters:... Read more.
I Can See Why People Get Strange Here
Both Army Corps of Engineers campsites where we’ve stayed in Arkansas (plus the last one in Missouri) the past couple of weeks have been downstream of flood-control... Read more.
A Break from Prose
Finally, U.S. news items have broken my spirit—as well as being surrounded by Trump yard signs and photoshopped flags and stand-up dolls and his name in sidewalk... Read more.
Come along for a Travel Day
Join me as we leave our two-night campsite at Bull Shoals Lake, Arkansas, and tow our home to our next stay for five nights at Nimrod Lake, also in Arkansas but... Read more.
They Call Me the Breeze; I Keep Blowin’ Down the Road
You’d have to know me pretty well to figure out why me having a Lynyrd Skynyrd song in my head would make me feel like my mom. I don’t like the band. I don’t... Read more.
You Can’t Choose Your Neighbors, Either
The Harper Lee quote is about not being able to choose your family, but it applies just as well to neighbors in campgrounds. Every time we pull in to a new location,... Read more.
Better than Lakes and Sunsets
I’d lost sight of how long it’s been since we saw a friend. Heck, or even had an in-person conversation with someone else that lasted longer than a few seconds.... Read more.
Missouri: Where are my warm lakes and bright sunsets?!?
Our last night was at that Swan Lake state park where we stayed just one night, which was thoroughly undocument-worthy. We did pull over in Iowa to make grilled... Read more.
Google Maps, Dumpsters, and Other Gripes
The park we’re staying in—for one night on our way through Iowa to Missouri—is beautiful, but we went on only one walk before a storm hit, and I left my phone... Read more.
Never Hand a Gnome Your Beer
The town we’re in, New Ulm, Minnesota, is the most-German town in the U.S. (I read that but now can’t find the source; it makes a good opener anyway though,... Read more.
Almost Had to Add “Peacock Replacement” to the Budget
We’d put it under the column, “Banjo,” of course. What happened was we were walking in the formal gardens at historic Schell Brewery when we surprised... Read more.
Tip: Know Which State You’re in Before You Critique It
I’m in Minnesota, and but I’ve gotten that wrong twice now: when complimenting the helpful associate at an AT&T store while she was hooking me up with unlimited... Read more.
Ignoring the 2-2-2 Rule
We’re in Minong, Wisconsin, where Tracy spent several summers as a kid because his grandparents lived here and ran the town grocery. He took me on a tour as... Read more.
Time to Migrate South
Lake Superior is so alive and accessible and multifaceted. The NorthWoods are lush and cool. The culture is a type of weird I’ve never encountered. But it... Read more.
Yooping
All broken things aside (my laptop is officially toast, as is my bike tire and pump), we’re making the most of our non-fixing-things time here. We’re... Read more.
Deer Skull Boiling: We’re Not There Yet
We made it to Hancock, Michigan, which is right on the canal that sets apart the tip of the Upper Peninsula. According to signs, there’s a lot of these activities... Read more.
Goodbye Perch Lake + Planning
We’re leaving this gorgeous lake today and headed for our final northern camping spot in Hancock, MI, before big plans. Here are a few final photos. Banjo’s... Read more.
The Mosquito Hike
You know things are quiet around here when I follow a post about seeing a bird’s nest with one about taking a three-mile speed walk around a wetland. ... Read more.
Eagle’s Nest Island
I’m one of those pitiable people who grew up when bald eagles were endangered and never saw them. I was in my 40s when I’d occasionally see one over the Potomac... Read more.
The Sky on the Lake
I just can’t get enough of it. I would have spent more time on the water this evening had I realized when I got in the boat wearing my rainboots that eventually... Read more.
Watching the Ducks Go By
That’s about as exciting as this campground gets. Of course Banjo’s all over that. These ducks are used to being fed by campers so they creep up to our... Read more.
Why I Do This
This is where we live this week. It’s just a site by a lake, in the woods, on the upper peninsula of Michigan. Nothing exotic: it’s not the Keys or the... Read more.
A Couple-hour Vacation
Here’s how I enjoyed this campground the most: by packing as if for the beach and driving through the campground—a full five minutes—to a pull-off by the lake,... Read more.
