The Parks

After staying in a couple of KOA campgrounds as we first got our bearings in the RV, Big Bertha, we decided to avoid them wherever possible. We soon found out that most state and national parks and forests have drinkable water, showers, bathrooms, and some even have electrical hookups for the RV too. But the great benefits of staying in a park are that there are usually trails for running, you are closer to nature and farther away from other people. While I admit that staying in an RV is nothing like the “real” camping we used to do as kids where we hiked our stuff and tents up a mountain, found a flat spot to set up, went trout fishing and then cooked over an open fire, slept on the hard ground next to my snoring brother and woke up with icicles hanging from the top of the tent or a wet sleeping bag from the previous night’s rain, it is just the right amount of camping for our family. We do occasionally sleep in a tent, but the older I get the more I need my pillow (and my sleep!). So, here we are. The state parks have been incredible. We have stayed in them in Mississippi, Arkansas, Utah, two in Colorado, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Each one has offered peace and quiet, bathrooms, trails, playgrounds and coyotes.