The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men…and Campers

I’ve been staring at a computer screen for so long now that I’m starting to see double.

Never content to do today what I can put off until tomorrow, I’m just now getting around to planning a nine-day multi-state camping odyssey set for the week of Memorial Day. Yes, that’s less than two weeks away and includes a notoriously busy holiday weekend.

RV’ers who camp with full hookups in RV parks would be positively flummoxed by the prospect, but that’s the beauty of boondocking on our nation’s public lands. No one has a reservation, so we’re all in the same boat whether we planned months or even years in advance, or only at the last minute for slackers like me. Campsites will be free, and likely positively gorgeous. I’m optimistic that we’ll have no nearby neighbors.

I’d like to think that I make up for my sloth by having to put more into the planning than those RV park types…once I finally get around to doing it. I can’t simply find a campground in a directory and call to make a reservation. Instead, I’ve got to scour maps, satellite photos, online site reviews and Forest Service roads looking for those perfect spots. I’ve got to plan destinations and find gasoline, water fills and dump stations at the right intervals in between. I’d like to find interesting sights to see along the way to film for our Grand Adventurers.

And I’d like to visit areas that I haven’t been to previously, which only makes the task even harder. But in a somewhat sick and twisted way, I actually enjoy this stuff.

Right now I’m torn between a couple of options. One thought is to head west across northern Nevada along America’s Loneliest Highway, also known as US-50, which would be the least likely to be burdened by other holiday weekend campers but also lacks most basic services. Another would be to head north across eastern Idaho into Montana. One option desert, the other option mountain. One brown, one green.

It would also be nice to make a last-minute decision if the week’s weather looks better for one route or the other, so maybe I’ll even plan both! The ability to decide at the last minute would be something truly special for a last-minute guy like me.

Let us know in the comments below how you plan for your own Grand Adventures. Are you a fellow procrastinator, or a control freak who effectively anticipates every minor detail? If you’re planning a boondocking trip of your own, we shared our method for finding perfect campsites way back in our Episode 6: Boondocking 101. There must be a whole lot of planning going on out there, for this is still our most viewed episode ever.

Whichever way we head at the end of this month, we’ll be bringing our cameras along to film our adventurers for you, our viewers, so stay tuned!

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ABOUT US

Welcome to Grand Adventure, a YouTube channel that focuses on RV-centric outdoor activities including not only of course camping, but also mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, skiing and more, nearly always filmed in stunning 4K.

We’re based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and invite you to come along as we travel all around the western U.S. My wife Patricia and I, and our dogs Zoe and Maggie are avid boondockers, so you’ll seldom find us in RV parks or even dry campgrounds. Instead, we’re usually camped in some of the most remote and beautiful spots that you could ever pull a travel trailer into. And unlike most other RV channels on YouTube, we’re not RV dealers or full-timers — we’re weekend warriors just like you!

We’ll provide tips and insight on equipping and maintaining your RV, trip planning and travel videos to make your next adventure a grand one indeed! So, subscribe to make sure that you catch every episode, and remember…life is nothing but a Grand Adventure!

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admin

Grand Adventure is the creative video outlet for Marc Guido, a 50-something outdoors enthusiast who first added an RV to his gear bag in spring 2017. Outside of ski season he travels the U.S. in his fifth wheel RV trailer with his lovely wife Patricia, and their overly-caffeinated Labrador retriever Zoe. During winter, they base their RV in Salt Lake City for the skiing.