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Old 08-06-2007, 05:06 PM   #21
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Beware of Airstream Fever!!!

All I have to say, is last August my DH and I went to a Airstream Vintage Open House in Temecula and two months later we were the proud parents of a 3,500lb Aluminum Bambi!!!! And when It comes to campgrounds with peace and quiet, they are all over you just have to look. But, I agree boondocking is the way to go.
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Old 08-06-2007, 05:15 PM   #22
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Here's a website for a campground just down the road from you:
River Creek Campground
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Old 08-06-2007, 06:01 PM   #23
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We bought our first Airstream just a little over a year ago and it was instant love. We did like was previously mentioned and bought a used one. First Rally and we knew we had made the right choice. Sold the first one last month and have already updated with a newer Airstream. Love it even more than the first one.

I still have 1 1/2 years before I can retire and we can begin doing some serious traveling. In the past year both of the Airstreams have been worth every penny we have spent in the mental health therapy they have been able to offer. Just a night here and there of "drive-way camping" can make me feel like we're miles and miles away. There's just something magical about entering an Airstream and closing out the rest of the world behind you. Our big, fancy king sized bed in the house just doesn't feel nearly as cozy and restful as the twins in the Airstream. And you wouldn't believe how much better just a plain ham and cheese sandwich tastes in your Airstream versus in the house. The list goes on and on.

My advice is to jump in. I really don't think you will ever regret your decision.

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Old 08-06-2007, 06:35 PM   #24
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I've been to 5 Georgia state parks and fully enjoyed each one. I'm a State of Tennessee employee and get 50% off any stay in our parks. I have found one to have sites extremely too close to each other. I will never go back there. One park is less than 20 miles and has a number of gravel sites more conducive to shorter than 25 foot trailers. Some sites are OK and after spending 4 days there one time, I will be back. Another nearby was so over shaded as I drove through that I'm not sure I want to bring the trailer through with my solar panels possibly hitting branches. Another park was really shady and I definately had to disconnect the truck to park at an angle so that I was not in the road. I'm sure there were other sites with longer parking areas but I did not get a chance to really look around that much. I am ashamed to say that I have not camped out at any of the other TN. parks but I'm working on it.

I make a yearly trip to Ashland City Lock A and Dam overseen by the Corp. of Engineers. They have a great campground and I will keep going back especially to the sites 20 feet from the river water. I also boondock over 20 days a year during Turkey/Deer season on one of the State game preserves.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are places you can find that you will really enjoy, some that are so so and some you will never go back to again. The important thing is that you have the freedom to make any changes you wish to make. Like a friend of mine who workkamps in CO. told me, it got too hot for her so she went a little farther north for the summer and will come back down when it starts cooling off.

As you get ready to retire, spend time on this great community to get ideas of where some of the members have been and why they enjoyed their stays. Some things won't interest you and others will tickle your fancy. I was born and raised on the Gulf coast of TX. and love seafood. One member mentioned they were on the New England coast and stuffing themselves with shellfish. Since I used to have a cousin who lived in Conn., I've spent a few times gorging myself with scallops, crab, lobster and steamed clams. I want to take a trip and stay up that way for over a month eating all that stuff until I can't stand it any more. Maybe sometime in the future.

Whatever you do, do not let any one group decide what you will do for the rest of your life. That is your decision and I say go for it until your gut says you have had enough and you're ready to try something else.
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Old 08-06-2007, 07:10 PM   #25
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campground

Campgrounds come in all sizes and shapes. Many of the smaller mom & pop campgrounds are really wonderful then again some are run down.
I have found the larger campgrounds usually have narrower spaces and on some weekends can be very crowded.
We prefer to camp during the week and very rarely have we had a problem with a neighbor camper. In fact the only time I can remember was a holiday weekend in FL with a full campground police had to break up a family squabble.

The attached picture should read 5/2 (loaded the date wrong) but shows what many campgrounds look like during a school week. There was less than 20 campers here all week and only 1/2 full on the weekend.

Garry


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Old 08-06-2007, 07:50 PM   #26
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Thumbs up So glad you are giving it a second thought

Oh dear if crowded parking lot rv parks were all there was to camping I wouldn't do it either.

Say, Asheville isn't too far down the road from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, perhaps you haven't yet seen the campgrounds there? Inside the park itself Elkmont is wonderful, especially the riverside campground, you can put your feet up and listen to the sounds of the river as it tumbles over the rocks, cool your toes in there, fish too if you'd like...ahhh.
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Old 08-06-2007, 08:07 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by levi2
Well Folks,

I'm kinda sad because I was fairly excited about getting a airstream and talking off & seeing this beautiful country . But after looking over the RV parks-top picks-on RVers online, it just seems to me awfully expensive to be jammed up against other people with trailers everywhere , bands playing until 11pm, kids running around, etc. Can you really go anywhere anymore during peak season and have privacy in an RV park ? Seems the time to go was back in the 50's, but now ? It seems like the average space between your trailer & the next one is about the size of a picnic table ! Just not for me.
You must be talking about camping in commercial parks in California during peak season.
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Old 08-06-2007, 08:33 PM   #28
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levi2

I find motel/hotel stays even worse for congestion. People right on the other side of the wall, ceiling and floor. Cleanliness is subject to someone you don't know. You have to lug your stuff in and out of a room every time you head out, and if you want to do anything outside your room at the location you are sharing the exact same space with all the other folks lodged there. I have lived in hotels for work for years and it is very wearing and intrusive.

We have camped for so long I'm afraid to say but all our married lives as well as when we were kids with our families. The memories we have and the places we've been able to experience that no one staying in a local motel/hotel/B&B can equate to is one of the reasons we love the RV life. We sleep on beds that are always comfortable, we can carry all the things we need, we can stay over longer if we choose to, and through out the entire trip we have our privacy.

We have had experiences over the years with unruly campers and cramped quarters but they have been extremely few and far between, and we learned to stay away from the big commercial CG's on busy weekends, and to ask our fellow RV'ers for suggestions on where to camp next when heading in a direction they are from.

We love the campgrounds nestled in the forests, those along a creek or along the ocean, high in the mountains and out in the prairies. Small towns often have great little parks and the locals are quick to adopt you. Not every camping trip is great - rain and wind are low on my list when I'm hooking up to head home, but it's all part of the overall equation and IMHO there is absolutely nothing like an RV for exploring, sharing experiences, and maintaining our sanity. Rally's are great but they are only one view - you may want to pull into state and town parks as you are traveling and have a look at what they are like. My wife and I have spent so much of our work time with other people that often when we go to camp we just want to spend time with each other and there's no better way than in our Airstream for us.

Barry
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Old 08-07-2007, 08:43 AM   #29
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Welcome to the Forums

Hi levi2, I am just down the road from you, I-40 near Hickory. You are welcome to visit and look around and "talk" Airstream if you wish. I have been camping in the AS trailers for more than 25 years. Mom and Dad were not campers, so they deprived me of an enjoyable childhood. We travelled for vacations in a car and stayed in motels. Questionable cleaning practices and noisey TV's from neighboring rooms are memories I had rather forget. Mom and Dad always said not to talk to strangers. In motels, it seems, everyone is a stranger. I have met some really great neighbors as I camped. Shared many campfires, potlucks, fishing poles, and bicycles, with complete strangers that I ended up being friends with at the end of a weekend. Get started, great memories await.
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Old 08-07-2007, 09:13 AM   #30
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Camping in the Federal Parks is still like it was in the 50's...
No power, water, or sewer.
Lots of room between campers.

You just have more options now.
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Old 08-07-2007, 10:06 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by levi2
OK, We're coming. My daughter works at John C. Cambell Folk School, so we'll stay in Brasstown, NC with her & come over for lunch & the home show. Many thanks. Oct 26th it is then..............
Wow, look at all the responses you got since yesterday and they almost all say the same thing! Glad you'll be joining us on the 26th of October. Our group will be on the side of the Highway opposite the main entrance to the Fairgrounds and offices. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself and meet lots of friends you didn't know you had. We're in site #48 so drop in to see us. Happy hour starts at 5:00...doesn't it? Of course Jimmy always sez it's 5:00 somewhere.
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Old 08-07-2007, 10:18 AM   #32
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We just spent 4 days (during the week) at the Kerr Reservoir near Wilkesboro NC AND THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE THERE!
Consider buying a pair of Honda 2000s with the kit to connect them to run your AC.
Another great place is Brazos Bend State Park south of Richmond, TX....widely spaced campsites and great trails.
Plus...if you make reservations 3-4 months in advance for a weekend (no kidding!) you can visit the onsite observatory...largest telescope in the US that is open to the public.
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Old 08-07-2007, 10:59 AM   #33
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Smile

Check out the State and County Parks, and especially the Corps of Engineer campgrounds at the dam/lake projects! They always have water and electric, and bath houses, and the sites are wide. They are away from the highways. If you don't like kids, then don't go camping anywhere in June, July, or first two weeks of August. Better yet, join a WBCCI unit and camp with them. Or, check out some of the local units own parks that are just for Airstreamers. We have traveled all over the country, and two provinces of Canada, in tents to Class A's...and sometimes it's noisy, just don't go back, or leave earlier than you planned. Generally the bugs will run most noisy people inside before 10 or 11 ish anyway. Don't give up a great way to get away, just because of a particular survey or ratings group...Enjoy this great country of ours !!!
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Old 08-07-2007, 11:03 AM   #34
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Oh yeah...almost forgot...the Corps campgrounds (t flood control dams) are free (first come first serve) during the fall to spring...so you can "dry camp", or "boondock", whatever we are calling it these days ! And they have security going through all the time...so it's not bad at all.
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Old 08-07-2007, 11:47 AM   #35
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My thoughts exactly

Quote:
Originally Posted by azflycaster
Who said you have to park in big private RV parks. Smaller state and federal parks as well as just finding a nice spot somewhere might be more of your likeing. Airstreams come with water tanks, holding tanks and batteries. I say, use them!
You could go to Big Bend National Park in the western part of Texas. It's about 600,000 acres with not a lot of people. I sure hope you don't give up based upon what an RV magazine says. Keep in mind that many people that go to RV parks wouldn't survive without full hookups.
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Old 08-07-2007, 12:14 PM   #36
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Don't give up because of what others say. How many times have you read movie reviews written by experts to only find they were way off base! We have some friends who have one of those SOB fifth wheel things and could never stop talking about this one RV resort. On and on they would go about how wonderful it is. First, if it is listed as a RV Resort figure 50% are not what you want. Anyway, we finally decide to join them for a long weekend. The $82 a night should have sent up red flags! YUK! Half of the place was filled with fulltime trailer trash. Golf carts running amock, three giant pools, game rooms, TV rooms, organized activities, live bands etc. This is not for us and probably not for you either. Last year we traveled over 7K miles on just one trip and we never stayed at one of those RV places. Found lots of very nice smaller camp grounds all across the country. Get out there and explore and you will be amazed at what you find. Look for a local WBCCI club to hhok up with and do some rallies and caravans. You can go to Disney World (not) or a local riverside state park (yes).
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Old 08-07-2007, 12:27 PM   #37
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Levi2, Hello from Marshall-just minutes away from you. Feel free to get in touch and if you need help in looking at an AS to buy, just hollar, 649-0400. Will be glad to help you inspect one or more. We are not experts, but have had quite a bit of hands on with our '68 Overlander. It needed more work than anticipated, but we got it figured out and consider all the effort as time will spent.
As for Falluminum, don't miss it. Lot's of information, good folks and a lot of shiney aluminum. We made it over there last spring, but the dates don't work out for us this fall.

Hank A,
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Old 08-07-2007, 01:39 PM   #38
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You can go to Disney World (not) or a local riverside state park (yes).
Don't knock it until you've tried it. We've been four times in the first year that we have owned our Airstream and never had a bit of disturbance and didn't spend all of our time in the theme parks either. In fact, one trip we didn't even go into the parks at all. Oh, did I just admit that.
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Old 08-07-2007, 01:49 PM   #39
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In fact, one trip we didn't even go into the parks at all. Oh, did I just admit that.
Better watch it Cubby, don't let the dwarfs hear you say that....they'll take away your mouseketeer ears and that cute little sweater!

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Old 08-07-2007, 01:51 PM   #40
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Better watch it Cubby, don't let the dwarfs hear you say that....they're gonna take your mouseketeer ears away!

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I know, I know....
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