Five On The Road

Five years ago today around 6:30 p.m. Central time The Folly pulled out of the driveway of what had once been our home in Louisiana to begin our new adventure of fulltime RVing. And what an adventure it’s been! Though there were some initial bumps along the way adjusting to this new lifestyle, neither of us would trade the time we’ve spent exploring this great country, experiencing new things, and making new friends. We’ve had the opportunity to spend more time with family in the last 5 years than we did during the previous 25, and have reconnected and gotten closer to friends from our past. And we're still friends with each other!

This past year we made our annual month-long trip to St. Louis visiting friends and family, went east to see Russ’ sister and family in NJ, and Susan’s sister and husband in DE. Once again we made our trek out west and were fortunate enough to be able to camp host in Yellowstone for a month. It gave us the opportunity to stay longer than the allowed 14 days in our favorite national park, and then we moved to another site and stayed another 30 days since it was now after Labor Day. Each year since we started coming to Yellowstone, we’ve stayed longer and longer, and now we are camp hosting here again which allows us to stay and enjoy the area for at least 4-1/2 months.

During the winter we camp hosted just outside of DC at Greenbelt National Park and enjoyed trips into our nation’s capital many times day and night. There’s just so much to see and do for free! Only down side to our time there was that we lost our beloved Mikey who had just turned 15 years old. Life seems strange without him around.

Throughout our travels we traveled new roads and discovered new things. We’ve hiked those trails that we were able, are constantly amazed by what we see and learn, and marvel at the stars we can see without the light pollution of large cities. We have taken many pictures over the last five years and have many fond memories. We don’t know where this journey will continue to lead us, but we are truly appreciative for all that we've experienced and look forward to another great year…and more!

FIVE YEARS BY THE NUMBERS
42,497 RV miles
42,411 Saturn miles
11,158 feet highest elevation
5,676 gallons of diesel
2,311 monthly health insurance premium
625 longest 1 day drive
222 National Parks/Monuments Cancellations (in our National Parks Passport book)
151 most consecutive days in one place
115 campgrounds
106 highest temperature
95 National Parks/Monuments visited
80 cost of an annual National Parks pass (well worth the investment)
45 cost of our C2C campground membership (best investment we have ever made)
40 states traveled in
38 states spent the night in
35 annual maintenance fee for our campground membership
26 nights spent in Wal-Mart parking lots
23 Sweet Adelines choruses visited
23 Saturn mpg
20 Junior Ranger badges earned
19 nights spent in Camping World parking lots
18 lowest temperature
18 family members visited
12 Missouri Tigers football games
11 State Parks stayed in
8.1 RV mpg
6 St. Louis Cardinals baseball games
4 MLB parks
3 ferry rides
2 ferry rides that included the RV
2 states of residence
2 countries visited
2 shuttle launches
2 fish caught
1 St. Louis Rams football game

BEST/WORST- 6/19/08

National Park
Picking the best National Park is a tough one. We are going to go with Shenandoah Valley for its sheer beauty and solitude, and Gettysburg for its significance and the most humbling experience. There really isn't a "worst" National Park. Updated 6/19/09: Badlands National Park has to rank as one of the best. We still have not found a bad one. Updated 6/19/10: Badlands may not even be in the top 10 anymore. Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, and Devils Tower are all amazing in their own right, and are listed in no particular order. Updated 6/19/11: Now that we’ve had the chance to explore Capitol Reef, we may need to add it to the best list though we still haven’t found a “worst” National Park. Updated 6/19/12: Since we keep returning to Yellowstone, guess you could say it’s at the top of our list.
Campground
The Fiesta Key KOA in Long Key, FL, with its view out the front window of the Gulf and sunsets is hard to beat. Shiloh's RV & Travel Resort in Monroe, LA, was by far the worst. Updated 6/19/09: Hart Ranch in Rapid City, SD, and Pine Island RV Resort in Jay, OK, are two of the best. Although Shiloh is still the worst, Frosty Acres Resort in Schenectady, NY, comes close. Updated 6/19/10: Long Key State Park has to be added to the best…ocean 20 ft. in front of the RV. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Location
Long Key, FL, and Front Royal, VA, were equally enjoyable. No need to rush, no traffic, just the time to spend as you like. See Monroe, LA, for the worst. Updated 6/19/09: Add Rapid City, SD, to the list of best. Updated 6/19/10: Long Key State Park and any of the national parks of the Colorado Plateau. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Restaurant
If you ever make it to Titusville, FL, Dixie Crossroads is the place to eat. If you ever make it to DeFuniak Springs, FL, Bo's Family Country Cafe is a place of last resort. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: Café Diablo in Torrey, UT, has been added to the best. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Pizza
Lombardo's in St. Louis, MO, is hard to beat. Think it has something to do with the cheese! Buck's in Denham Springs, LA, leaves a lot to be desired. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: No change. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: Outlaw’s in Gardiner, MT, is pretty good but Lombardo’s still ranks the best.
Roads
Georgia and Texas seem to consistently have the best roads. Louisiana is the worst with New Jersey not far behind. Updated 6/19/09: Illinois and Minnesota have joined the ranks of bad roads. Although we are beginning to realize our federal highways are all in need of repair. Updated 6/19/10: Not sure that they are getting better. Updated 6/19/11: A lot of money being spent but still not much better. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Wal-Mart
The best Wal-Mart was in Front Royal, VA, and had only been open a few days when we visited. The worst is in Berlin, NJ, and we can understand why Russ' sister is not big on Wal-Marts! Updated 6/19/09: With Wal-Mart being our choice for basic staples, we do see a lot of them. Almost all of the newer ones are very nice, and one we visited outside Columbus, OH, is now #1. Updated 6/19/10: No change. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Supermarket
The Schnuck's in Eureka, MO, was great. We have never been to a Piggly Wiggly that is worth the price of admission. Updated 6/19/09: No change. Updated 6/19/10: Sweetbay in Clermont, FL, is added to the best. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: No change
Bakery
Tellico Grains Bakery in Tellico Plains, TN, was fantastic. As far as the worst, is there really a bad bakery?? Updated 6/19/09: We have stayed away from bakeries! Updated 6/19/10: No change. Updated 6/19/11: No change. Updated 6/19/12: Haven’t really seen many bakeries on our travels so no change.
Moment
Another tough one. Watching the shuttle launch, seeing the Milky Way from the Keys, and a big black bear on the Appalachian Trail. The worst moment....was that the awning?!?! Updated 6/19/09: Niagara Falls and Walt Disney World at Christmas can be added to the best, and the awning still ranks as the worst. Updated 6/19/10: Grizzly bears, eagles, and walking The Narrows. Updated 6/19/11: Watching wolf pups frolic in the sage and a mama grizzly teaching her cubs to forage. Updated 6/19/12: Elk surrounding the RV and observing them during the rut was pretty cool. Added to the worst…who moved the road and fence post?!?!

A FEW THINGS WE'VE LEARNED
1) A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.
2) There are 10,000 species of spiders, and most have visited us.
3) Gnats do not taste good.
4) The average person standing on any street corner of any city or town in this country has more common sense than the entire U.S. Congress combined.
5) There are as many varieties of camping vehicles as there are people out doing it.
Updated 6/19/09:
6) Our house batteries are important…take good care of them.
7) Anything under 32 degrees Fahrenheit is cold.
8) We will again watch fuel prices rise throughout the summer.
9) We have more fear coming down the mountain than we did going up.
10) Financial experts/advisors are pretty much worthless. Once they get your money, they never recommend selling. They seem to use the same pitch as the market continues to plummet, “All my big clients are buying because we are near the bottom.”
Updated 6/19/10:
11) Time is short and passes quickly.
Updated 6/19/11:
12) As a campground host, you find that everyone is pleasant and super friendly until you have to tell them they cannot do something and then watch out!
Updated 6/19/12:
13) No matter the species, mamas are super protective of their young.
14) People are pretty much the same no matter where you go.