Monday (54) - This post is sort of a followup from the video I posted on the my last blog post. After the video uploaded, I started to wonder about some of the missing locations. It took me a while to remember where all of these places were. And these are just those since we picked up this coach in Georgia. Not the ones from the last trip which ended in Alaska last May.
Tuesday (55) - I think I counted the days about right, though I may be a couple of days short. They were probably in Thousand Trails (TT) parks. In December, we upgraded from the TT Camping Pass with two zones to the Basic Elite membership. The upgrade had a pretty steep one time upgrade fee but the annual fee is about $700 which includes access to the Encore RV parks. In the last seven months, we used our TT membership for 55% of our nightly stays and stayed in RV parks for 87.5% of the time. So far, the TT nightly cost is $6.19/night. Compared to the average RV park at ~$30/night or even the bargain Needles monthly rate at $10.60/night (+electricity). What the membership gets us are three week stays, 120 day reservation window, and being able to go park to park within their system. This was nice here in Texas and we think it’ll be really nice when we venture to Florida and the east coast. We made a slew of reservations starting in June for parks along the OR coast just in case we opt to not return to AK this summer.
Along with the TT membership, we have an Resort Parks International (RPI) membership. These parks aren’t free though the nightly cost is heavily discounted. We have yet to try them out. And this is not a very good time with all of the uncertainty. Hopefully things will improve by the middle of May.
BTW, the Apple Watch virtual badge for the March challenge- was for walking 58.6 miles. I was 3.75 miles short today so guess how long my walk was today. Just over 3.75 miles. What to do in an RV park when everything is shut down.
- Clarksville, TN - Cracker Barrel free RV parking - 1
- Kearney, NB - Cabella's free RV parking - 1
- Laramie, WY - Private RV park - 1
- Snowville, UT - Private RV park - 1
- Baker City, OR - Private RV park - 1
- McMinnville, OR - Harvest Host - 1
- Corvallis, OR - County Fairgrounds - 5
- Sunriver, OR - Thousand Trails RV park - 7
- Redmond, OR - Freightliner Parking lot - 2
- Sand Hollow, ID - Private RV Park - 1
- Springville, UT - Walmart free RV parking - 1
- Payson, UT - Walmart free RV parking - 1
- Santaquin, UT - Harvest Host farm - 1
- Milford, UT - City Park free RV parking - 1
- Leeds, UT - Private RV park - 5
- Las Vegas, NV - Thousand Trails RV park - 6
- Virgin, UT - Private RV park - 3
- Page, AZ - Private RV park (no picture) - 2
- Cameron, AZ - Private RV park (no picture) - 2
- Black Canyon City, AZ - Harvest Host cafe - 1
- Casa Grande, AZ - Encore/Thousand Trails RV park - 7
- Tucson, AZ - County Fairgrounds - 7
- Benson, AZ - Encore/Thousand Trails RV park - 14
- Tucson, AZ - County Fairgrounds - 1
- Tucson, AZ - Casino free RV parking - 1
- Ajo, AZ - Private RV park (no picture) - 2
- Quartzsite, AZ - BLM LTVA - 7
- Casa Grande, AZ - Encore/Thousand Trails RV park - 14
- Needles, CA - Private RV park - 31
- Picacho Peak, AZ - BLM - 1
- Benson, AZ - Encore/Thousand Trails RV park - 4
- Deming, NM - Harvest Host winery - 1
- Anthony, NM - Harvest Host winery - 1
- El Paso, TX - Private RV park - 4
- San Elizario, TX - Harvest Host farm - 1
- Marfa, TX - Roadside turnout (no picture) - 1
- Big Bend Natl Park, TX - Private RV concession - 4
- Kernville, TX - Cracker Barrel free RV parking (no picture) - 1
- Lakeville, TX - Thousand Trails RV park - 14
- Harlingen, TX - Encore/Thousand Trails RV park - 14
- Del Valle, TX - Harvest Host farm (no picture) - 1
- Whitney, TX - Thousand Trails RV park - 15
- Gordonville, TX - Thousand Trails RV park - 18
Lot-docking: 10
Harvest Host: 6
Encore/Thousand Trails: 113
BLM: 8
Other RV parks: 69
Along with the TT membership, we have an Resort Parks International (RPI) membership. These parks aren’t free though the nightly cost is heavily discounted. We have yet to try them out. And this is not a very good time with all of the uncertainty. Hopefully things will improve by the middle of May.
BTW, the Apple Watch virtual badge for the March challenge- was for walking 58.6 miles. I was 3.75 miles short today so guess how long my walk was today. Just over 3.75 miles. What to do in an RV park when everything is shut down.
Now that's getting your money's worth of the TT membership!
ReplyDeleteThat's a goal. I think I have another ten weeks or so reserved into July sometime…
DeleteYour stats for TT are impressive! And good for you for being able to document all that! We might consider TT if we decide to stop volunteering in the (probably distant) future. Thanks for sharing, too.
ReplyDeleteWhen we picked up this RV, we were sort of unsure which way we would go. Predominantly boondocking or predominantly RV parks. We decided that this is not designed for boondocking so we went ahead and made the investment into TT. The other option would have meant lots of solar, a couple of inverters and lithium batteries. Not much difference in cost. I still see a modest investment in solar just to reduce generator hours. But still keep the flooded batteries for now.
DeleteWe’ve heard a lot of opinions on TT but we think it’s a good deal if you are able to use it often.
Yep, agreed, and the other downside of boondocking is the tank capacity and finding dump stations, etc. We can go 5 days, maybe a week, but certainly prefer to have hookups.
DeleteSounds like tt membership is a good set up for you. It’s a crazy time to be out on the road but you (and Dom) seemed to have things working out. We have one reservation at the Oregon coast this year in June. I’m pretty sure they are going to cancel it though.
ReplyDeleteIf it’s at a state park then there is a good chance. We have reservations in OR at TT parks starting around the end of May. We’ll see how many don’t get canceled.
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