First Big Trip Planning Jitters

[NeedToRetire]

So, I am getting closer to a fantasy I’ve been dreaming about for years, retirement. This fantasy includes more traveling, in the comfort of my own portable house, my pillows, my bed. I’ve cleared a few of the major hurdles. One: purchase a trailer large enough to be comfortable for us being gone a few weeks at a time. That is a 28’ TT with a slide. Two: buy a truck to properly tow the trailer. Both of these tasks are completed. I am now in the tweaking the camper, with added battery capacity and solar, so we can be off grid here and there while we are away.

We’ve been wetting our feet with long weekend getaways and we are going to be on the road in March for 3 weeks, off to warmer spaces. My new task is starting to plan the big “You just retired” trip planned for this coming September, which is to go experience Yellowstone.

We live in the Great White North of NW Pennsylvania and the plan is to hit the road the first week of September and to do something I’ve never, ever done” not have a set date of return”. Here’s the problem: I’ve been a planner my whole life and enjoy the planning nearly as much as our traveling experiences and destination. I’m an addict. Step one is admitting you have a problem, right? LOL. I desperately want to lose some of the rigidness of scheduled everything with this trip. The problem is, I mentioned my fantasy trip to a friend at work who’s been out west and he says “You better get reservations now, or everything will be booked at key places.

Hearing this sent a chill down the spine of the recovering planner guy, who’s trying to kick the habit. Like a lot of addicts in recovery, I had an immediate relapse. As sweat poured down my brow, I whipped out my credit card and got a subscription to Rv Life Trip Wizard. I then hit the internet looking at spots. One of the spots we want to be for a few days is “Black Hills/Custer area”. I went on to Custer State Parks website and began looking for camp sites and my work buddy was correct, they’re nearly all booked up, 10 months out! AHHHHHH! So now what? What’s a guy to do? Jump back in & plan the Ba-jesus out of our trip like I’ve always done, or throw caution to the wind and let the chips “camper” land where it may?

Here's what I need from the forum. I want to leave PA the beginning of September and return sometime in October “5-6 weeks” with the main goal of experiencing Yellowstone and the Black Hills in that time frame and anything else along the way that time allows. The concept would be to hopefully make an interesting loop there & back and not retrace any path if possible. Here are my questions.

1: Do I even need to recover? Should I go ahead & plan the shirt out of my trip? One of my biggest fears of unplanned travel, is the time wasted while away, trying to figure the “What’s next”. I have plenty of time to put into planning now, so why not? High breed trip planning/happy medium I’m thinking, is booking the number of days in the key spots and then leave the in-between loose and variable . Example 4-5 days booked at Custer State Park booked, but the week before left loose getting there and the week after going to Yellowstone loose? Then book spots to stay at YS?

2: I am Harvest Host, Campendium, Hip Camp & etc friendly as well as just signing up with the wizard. So, I’m near certain with all of those, overnights in between the hot spot shouldn’t be an issue. With us going in September, how prebooked do we need to be at our main focus spots like Yellowstone and Custer?

3: I have a pretty good sense of our route going out, like heading to Chicago and then over towards Sioux Falls and then onto the Badlands, Custer area and then onto Yellowstone. The problem is I don’t have a good vision of our return route at all. I’ve hunted & experienced Colorado a lot, so I do not want to redo that, but if we drop south to head back, how far south to dip? What is my best bang route of interesting destinations as well as a sensible route back? Denver to Kansas City? Because of the main focus, I’m uncertain what time will be left. I know this, I don’t ever want to drive more than 6 hours a day, so I need at least a week just in driving time to get back to NW PA. I would like to make the route back, filled with cool stops as well and will adjust timing to do so, but where to?

4: Should I reverse my route and be more South going out and come back the Northern Route after hearing about the Buffalo Round-Up in Custer the end of September? I’m a little worried the later in Sept we are North of the potential of cold inclement weather. Is the Buffalo Drive as cool as its sounds?

5: What do we need to do and see knowing my focus spots? Being that far west? Feel free to chime in with any “Don’t miss X’s”

6: How many days each is a minimum for getting to experience Yellowstone and Badlands/Custer area? Right now I was thinking 4-5 days in Custer and at least 7-8 days in Yellowstone.

7: I started typing the 7 and drew a blank, a senior moment.

I know this is a lot of ask’s, feel free to choose a question number and address it or as many as you wish. Thanks in advance, I’ve already learned a bunch here on the forum.

[Tony Ramirez]

First off, CONGRATS! Here are a few of my thoughts, having In Laws in Chicago & living in So Cal, I've gone back & forth mutilple times, usually checking out stuff along the way. It is just MY opinion.

By Sept, most school is started, so reservations should be easier to come by, especially midweek. I might go ahead and & make some reservations in Yellowstone, but if you stay flexible, you will probably be okay everywhere else. you might find an area you like & want to stay for more days, or find an area that one or two night is plenty, time to move on. We almost never make resevations ahead of time, usually making our stop based on how I'm feeling about how much I want to drive. Some days at noon, I can go for a lot more, others it's "let's get to a spot for the evening. With cell phones & the internet, it's a lot easier than when we started in '96.Plus, there's always Cracker Barrel, Cabela's, & Bass Pros for just an overnighter.

I would start North, the South can still be pretty warm in Sept, which can be fatiguing. Remember, stuff happens(weather, breakdowns), so don't set a schedule that isn't flexible.

If you thinking Yellowstone, You might want to plan Glacier also, if you feel like going a little farther North. We have also done the tours of the park on a bus, so we can just relax, hear some pretty useful insight & not have to worry about driving & parking. The tours are usually fairly reasonable, & you can see a lot of the park in a short amount of time.

The Arches & Canyonlands parks outside Moab, UT are pretty neat, consider them.

Depending on what you want to do or see, IMO, I think 7-8 days in Yellowstone might be long, but that's just me. Same w 4-5 in Custer. Unless you just want a couple days just to chill.

Enjoy it & keep us posted!

[Jay D.]

we generally just wing it most of the time we will try and reserve an attraction we want to see. like we went to the grand canyon we left from the Oregon coast the only reservation we had was at Williams AZ. there are many privet camp grounds around Yellowstone.
Jay D.

[Unplanned Tourist]

We very seldom make reservations when we're traveling. ALLSTAYS RV is a great app to have. Just look up a small town in the area you think you'll be in the afternoon, call to see if there's a spot. If there's lots to see in the area, stay a night or 2 longer.

IMHO making reservations long in advance puts a damper on the fun of RVing. No time to spend extra time and see more. Also, how many times have you told yourself that you'll have to come back and see more of a certain place and you never get back?

[RVfixit]

Welcome to the Forum and Congrats on the "soon to be retired" and travel plans!

So, I am going to sit on my thumbs to keep this as short as possible otherwise, I will ramble on and on about retirement! I have been retired for almost 2 years now and thought that it was going to be wonderful, relaxing and best of all, no stress, staff meetings, reports or commuting. Now, all of that is very true but I found myself missing something all of a sudden. You work all of your life for this moment and then poof, its here.

RV traveling and seeing new things has really filled much of that extra time although I hate to admit I ended up doing a little consulting work from home for fun!

On my first month long trip I did exactly what you are planning. I made reservations, took into account travel days, layovers during travel days, things to see, places to go and it was well planned, but also exhausting. I found myself wishing that I could spend more time in one place or another, or wished I had planned shorter travel days and was back on an itinerary just like work. Don't get me wrong, my wife and I had a great time but if I could do it over again, I think I would have considered the time of year and if reservations were even needed then. There will always be the hard to get into places so maybe then make reservations, but I wouldn't schedule out the whole trip again. That in itself was stressful.

I have not ventured to the East yet as I live in California but I will be this summer. For your travel questions I will have to defer you to the more seasoned travelers. For the West, yes, Utah is beautiful with a lot to do and see. That is one of the stops I wish I had spent more time in. Oregon is beautiful as well with a surprising wine country near Grants Pass if your into that kind of thing.

Anyway, Congrats again and Safe Travels!

Larry

[hamm2018]

NeedToRetire, while in Yellowstone plan on going to the Grand Tetons NP and go to Jackson, within 70 miles of Yellowstone's South Entrance. In Jackson, go and see the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, we enjoyed it.
If you go to Cody, I will say go to "Heart Mountain", it is very eye-opening experience there. Also in Cody, go to the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, very nice place.

While Yellowstone take a day and explore The Beartooth highway to Red Lodge, if the road is still open. Make sure you go to Lamar Valley area.

[SafariBen]

If you think it will be too much shock to not have a plan, maybe try a three day weekend an hour away, and do nothing. Or one small activity the middle day, and nothing but an hour of travel the other two days.



Staying North in September is extremely unlikely to delay you more than 24 hours even with a freak snowstorm. That wouldn't be a factor for me.


There are often NF campgrounds, or BLM boondocking spots nearby NPs if they're full, that's a good backup if you're willing to rough it, and have an tow or towed vehicle.

[Brunnie]

IMHO... (and this is what I do) Plan the route, if you want to see something "popular" like Yellowstone and make reservations, the rest of the trip will take care of itself and "wing-it" for places to stay. They may be campgrounds or they may be boondock overnight stops.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Brunnie

IMHO... (and this is what I do) Plan the route, if you want to see something "popular" like Yellowstone and make reservations, the rest of the trip will take care of itself and "wing-it" for places to stay. They may be campgrounds or they may be boondock overnight stops.

I'll second the above.

For your important stop... Yellowstone, and especially if you want to stay IN the park itself, make a reservation. You can judge how long it will take to get there so you'll know when to make the reservation by figuring how much you want to drive each day. 300 miles was the top for us and often, a lot lower miles. If you map out the first 300 miles then look on maps to see what's ahead and if you want to spend an extra night or two doing some siteseeing before moving on again. That way you can more easily judge when to make the BIG reservation. Also, there are many good RV parks, national forest campgrounds or boondocking spaces right outside the Yellowstone gate that, in September, you'll be able to find something without reservations. Bone up on 'boondocking' and you'll never need a reservation. We loved it! However, for Yellowstone, the park is huge and if you can get a site inside that would be great. Try for Madison campground which is in the middle. Fishing Bridge if you want hookups. . Sept. can get some cold nights... or bring heavy blankets.

Don't forget about Grand Teton Nat'l Park which is connected to Yellowstone to the south. Even though they are close on the map it's a great distance to try and do justice to both parks from one campsite. Move to the other. Gros Ventre campground in the park is very nice and if you're lucky they have a few electric sites.

When traveling the interstates to get out west you can always find a site to stop for a night or two without reservations. Also, try traveling off the interstates and there will be some very nice parks on secondary highways. We rarely drove interstates during our years of full-timing. You'll see more of the country that way!

Don't hesitate to choose bare bones RV parks. If you're siteseeing you won't be staying in the park much anyway so you don't need the full amenities.

You'll do just fine. You'll feel some uneasiness but will soon get the hang of it traveling without a slew of reservations.

[andy29847]

Originally Posted by Brunnie

IMHO... (and this is what I do) Plan the route, if you want to see something popular like Yellowstone, make reservations. The rest of the trip will take care of itself. You can "wing-it" for places to stay. They may be campgrounds or they may be boondock overnight stops.

Pick a target, make a reservation. You can normally wing it from there.

The big parks are great. That is why they are so crowded. I've checked off a few of them in my 10 years of retirement. I've also found that the areas around the big parks offer lots to do and see. Near Yellowstone you can visit Cody, WY (Buffalo Bill Museum, rodeo, the cowboy music theater), and Beartooth Pass, Red Lodge Montana. In fact, I only spent one day in Yellowstone, but it was a great day (Old Faithful, ate breakfast at the lodge, Yellowstone Falls, lots of wildlife photos).

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f38/summ...ys-260000.html

My travel habits have changed a lot in 10 years. I used to put in long days on the road to get to a destination. Recently, I aim for ~300 miles a day. This means I can get a leisurely start and be off the road by 500P. I like to stay in formal campgrounds when I travel. Power, water, and security are the big reasons. The cost for campgrounds is low compared to the other expenses of RVing. When traveling to a destination, I start looking for a campground for the night on my lunch break.

[Tskadberg]

I’m sure many get into RVs because they have a wing it personality. But in your post you said you enjoy planning and did not mention how your love of planning has negatively impacted your life.

So why the drive now to change yourself?

The only way I see being a planner negatively impacting an rv trip is if you are unable (emotionally and mentally) to modify your plans when the need arises. The need will arise. It may cost you some cancelation fees. Just the cost of doing business. If you can deal with that I say enjoy the planning. Personal change is resource intensive make sure it’s change you really want.

[Donskiman]

Unlike most of the others here, we enjoy planning our trips. By always knowing where we’re going to stay, it alleviates any worries about trying to find a place to stay. We won’t stay in a parking lot, truck stop, etc. We don’t boondock. We’ve planned and reserved every stop on every trip we’ve taken in the 4 years we’ve been doing this. All our trips for next year are all planned and reserved already.

As for the Black Hills and Yellowstone, we were at both in September. We stayed at Fishing Bridge in Yellowstone and reservations started a year in advance. It was completely full all 6 days we were there. However, Bridge Bay seemed to still have open sites. We also stayed 5 nights in West Yellowstone. Yellowstone is huge and the various attractions are many miles apart. Even in September it was still crowded. We also stayed 4 nights at Colter Bay at Grand Teton National Park prior to Yellowstone.

From Yellowstone we went to Glacier for 10 days. Still really crowded in mid September. Parts were already closed for the season.

Then we traveled to Spearfish at the north end of the Black Hills. Lots to see in that area. 4 nights there. Then to the Custer area for 6 nights. We were there for the Buffalo Roundup and it was disappointing. Many hours of waiting and when it finally started, it was over in about 20 minutes. Lots to see and do though including Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Highway, Jewel Cave, Wind Cave and the tour of president statues in Rapid City. Lots of places to stay in the Custer area besides the state park.

[MKwilli]

There's a lot of great information and tips. We retired five years ago. Enjoy the ride. Here are a few tips we learned the hardway:
- Don't travel on the Monday holidays to avoid the traffic
- In the popular state parks, don't arrive on Saturdays as the parks are crowded with vehicles parked willy nilly around sites making it hard to navigate and get into your sites
- Try to arrive Thursdays and depart Monday to avoid crowds/people coming in or lining up to dump.

[Unplanned Tourist]

Originally Posted by MKwilli

There's a lot of great information and tips. We retired five years ago. Enjoy the ride. Here are a few tips we learned the hardway:
- Don't travel on the Monday holidays to avoid the traffic
- In the popular state parks, don't arrive on Saturdays as the parks are crowded with vehicles parked willy nilly around sites making it hard to navigate and get into your sites
- Try to arrive Thursdays and depart Monday to avoid crowds/people coming in or lining up to dump.

I have been retired for 13 1/2 years now. We try to organize mid week outings when we're going to be with friends. They're all retired as well. It took a while to get out of that weekend mindset.

For extended travels, we just take whatever we can find that's decent. Then tour around with the toad. It works for us.