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agesilaus

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Posts posted by agesilaus

  1. 4 minutes ago, starsite said:

     After Missouri, onto Hot Springs, AR for a few days then to: Monument Valley > Sedona > Petrified Forest NP > Arches > Mesa Verde NP > then heading home. The trip is already baked regarding reservations for camping and any of the national parks that needed reservations such as Arches entry.

    A more sensible route would be Pet Forest->Sedona->Monument Valley->Mesa Verde->Arches

  2. I agree seems like an odd trip plan, zing-zagging around.  Maybe look at a map and plan a more direct route. Roads are generally good but in that section of the country expect steep grades.

    Reserve Mesa Verde tours online well ahead of arrival or you will be disappointed. Arches will be very crowded and hotter than Hades. Get there as early  as you can to avoid the heat and take twice as much water as you think you need. They lock the gates at Arches when the max number passes thru.

  3. It has -some- boondocking locations on the map. Not a lot but you can click on a spot on the map and add it with a description as a destination. My Garmin RV actually has started adding boondocking spots tho.

     

    In theory you can use RVTW as a real time nav aid, I have not got it working very well tho. But having the Garmin I don't need it and have mot really tried. The two apps come up with different paths frequent, the Garmin is often the shorter of the two.

  4. First I am not sure what you mean by annual since you seem to be thinking of getting rid of your RV. A park model?

    As for economic stability, the bluer the state the better that will be with the current political map. But inflation is afflicting the entire country. Even blue states are seeing climbing park rents, in Florida south of I4 for example.

    So my guess is that a semi-rural blue state area will be the safest location for the near future.

     

  5. So far as I know Jacob Lake has one CG, mot a resort and has water restrictions since they are having water trucked in. One small FS CG right at the town. This puts you and hour or so from the gate and the park village is another 15 miles.

    Kanab and that area is at least another half hour. Why there is a lot of boondocking in the surrounding NF there are also a lot of boondockers. We were there on opening day last year.

  6. We have been down the Blue Ridge/Skyline drive twice and really enjoyed it. Lots to see and do. The Great Smoky NP is at the southern end.

    We went up the Natchez Trace, mostly, last year and it was not as impressive. I made an error tho and assumed that it started at Natchez and missed the south leg which starts at Jeckson IIRC. So maybe that is more interesting.

    There is a lot of free camping on the Trace tho,

     

  7. For the most [art you will not find a State Highway SR that is RV unfriendly in Florida. The state spends it's highway funds fixing the roads tho some are a little rough while waiting their turn fort repair. And considering that the highest point in the state is less than 400 ft there are no major grades in Florida.  So SR 20 should be fine. We've probably been down it tho I done specifically recall that road. Lake City is about 35 miles from us.

  8. We spent a week at Dream Catchers last October. The place was still mostly empty and there was nothing going on socially. The folks running the place were helpful and friendly. The park itself was bare dirt with some saplings and we thought it looked new.

    I suspect that you may be in error about the hookups in the Saguaro park. Hard to believe that park only has two sites with hookups. We spent a week in Benson at another park several years ago and went by the Escapees park any number of times.WE did not know before booking the other park that there was a SKP park there. Benson itself seems to be very RV friendly> Deming did not impress us. We had a hard time finding a propane fill there.

  9. I just went thru the process to get my VA Disability rating upgraded from 20% to 50 or 60%. Not sure yet but the dropped almost $3000 in our account. Went to the DAV rep at the local VA hospital and got the forms filled out. Back in Nov 23, they pay back to the date you started the process.

    Learned about this at an Escapde, suggest you contact the DAV rep and talk to them. I wish I'd done it years ago.

  10. Thinking seriously about getting starlink. Looking for any suggestions by those that have it. Probably looking at RV stationary antenna the white plates I see hooked to the RV by a cable. I understand there is a noble version but we do not need it.

    What is the delivery time after you order it.? Any accessories needed? Any other advice or suggestions?

  11. I was in Environmental  Engineering before I retired. Water  unless it get contaminated by an eternal source it should be OK. If it was good when it went into a clean tank,.  Water has been storied in metal cans in the 1950's Fallout shelters and is still potable unless then can got rusty.

    Chlorine is added to municipal water sources to deal with possible influx into the piping systems fom leaks Water from water wells is drunk straight from the pump, untreated, and can be tens of thousands years old. Once it has been tested when the well is installed and passed.

    Still just to be extra safe it does not hurt to go thru an annual dump, fill and superChlorination once a year.

    A bigger concern is the unknown quality of the parks drinking water. I can assure you that the quality of the Departments Of Environmental Health vary greatly from state to state. Did Elko ever deal with that arsenic problem? Theoretically the USEPA supervises them but we saw ONE USEPA visit/inspection in my 32 years working as an Environmental Chemist. They spent maybe 2 hours onsite.

    So unless you notice strange odors, tastes or appearance I would not worry.

  12. Well you've been using COE cg longer than we have. We used one or two before 2020 bur really started using them more after that. Starting in GA/AL and a few in TX to start off and then using most of the Missouri River dam sites. Last year TN/IL and and the Mississippi River sites north of IL.

    I do not recall seeing any First come during that period.

    That link just goes to Riffle Run Campground on Res.Gov not a generic COE listing. You can force Res,gov to show COE sites in a particular state tho. I agree that site is the best for COE info, The actual COE websites are just about worthless like BLM websites. Indeed the only halfway useful fed websites are the NPS sites in my experience.

    The classical  COE source is CAMPING WITH THE CORPS, no available as an ebook. But I find it not very helpful myself.

    It should be noted that COE sites are found min eastern states with a big exception of Florida (which only has two small boating site). And a few states west of the big river. The Missouri dam sites are an exception they may be shown as BuRec but are basically COE clones. The Columbia River also has a number of good sites that we have used.

  13. We have camped at many COE cg in the last few years. Maybe 30-40 of them and I have not seen any first come cg they all use the federal reservation system online. I have sat at the gate and made a reservation online for that night tho.  Sunday thru Thursday you usually get a site. Friday and Saturday are often filled by locals far in advance.

    They are also in the process of eliminating the paid contract hosts and going to all volunteer hosts

  14. We did this from Navoo Ill up to Minneapolis last summer. We stayed at quite a few COE cg and mainly found that they were older camps and generally were w/e only. But still good spots.

    We intended to follow the river north of Minneapolis but gave it up after hearing reports of an unusually severe bug season further north..

    It was an interesting trip. But we did not enjoy the Minneapolis area which was having riots at the time.

  15. We bought a 30 gal water bladder from Amazon, about 30 bucks IIRC. Have not had a chance to use it yet and the access cap is too small for our battery operated water pump.  I think I can use a drill mounted pump on it tho.  Our water tank is only about 40 gal do this will extend our ability to stay.,

    We were using 6 gallon jugs which worked but are a PITA.

  16. From the FL Parks: FYI

    "

    We are excited to share a new benefit for Florida residents about making reservations for overnight accommodations at Florida State Parks.

     

    Effective Jan. 1, 2024, at noon Eastern time, only Florida residents may make reservations for cabins and RV, tent, boat and equestrian campsites 11 months in advance. Non-Florida residents will be able to make reservations 10 months in advance.

     

    To take advantage of this new benefit, Florida residents will need to provide a valid Florida driver’s license or ID card number at the time of booking. Starting today, Florida residents may update their profile associated with the Florida State Parks Reservation System to add their valid Florida driver’s license or ID card number. This information, which will be validated with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, will need to be verified annually.

     

    Before making a reservation 11 months in advance, Florida residents be asked to attest to the following statement:

     

    I understand and attest that this camping reservation is being made under the Florida Residents Preference provisions outlined in s. 258.014(2), Florida Statutes. I am a Florida resident, and I agree to provide my Florida driver’s license number or Florida identification card number issued under s. 322.051, Florida Statutes, as proof of Florida residency while making this reservation and upon arrival in the state park during check-in. I also acknowledge that this reservation is not transferable. Any attempt to use this reservation by anyone other than this account holder will result in cancellation, forfeiture of all fees associated with this reservation, and assessment of the cancellation fee pursuant to the Florida State Parks Fee Schedule. Furthermore, any attempt to circumvent the spirit and intent of Florida Residents Preference by this account holder, including the sale or transfer of overnight park reservations, may result in suspension of the account holder’s ability to make future reservations.

     

    We are excited to welcome you to our beautiful state parks.

    "

  17. There is no direct replacement, MS Streets and Trips is also discontinued. Trip Wizard is the best trip planning and nav package now but it is part of a subscription that incl uses cg reviews and is a pricey $60/yr. I get it for free since I;ve submitted over 200 reviews.

    Lots of people drop back to goggle maps which is free but not very good

  18. Exchanges don't have better prices anymore so far as I can tell. You pay sales tax and the prices aren't any better than Walmart, and maybe a bit worse than Walmart. I am service connected and we can use FamCamps and the base facilities. We are at Ft Harrison right now. The BX here is very tiny, barely a minute market.

    I don't know when the price shift occurred but they are no longer a bargain. It was more than 10 or 12 years ago since we visited my son at the Sam Antonio base and went to the exchange there.  They do have a lot of military gear tho.

    Getting your non Vet wife on base can be a pain in the rear depending on the security level of the base.

     

  19. I doubt that they would be interested in the block but I no feline expert, use the plastic boxes if you are worried but that greatly limits where you can put the blocks. Ask a vet about your cuisine question

    But poison is the only effective method that we found, Traps and repellent do not work well enough to clear an RV. We have been Rodent Free from a week or two after using the blocks.

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