Snowing here today

[Eagle]

When I got up this AM and looked out the window, everything was white...the grass was covered with SNOW! A beautiful sight, mother nature wrapped in white on the grass, the trees just starting to turn green, and also the building roofs.

The ground was warm enough so the streets/driveways/sidewalks were just wet. The snow continued thru the morning and it's still coming down now but the temp has raised to just under freezing so accumulation on the ground is minimal. The temps to be below 32 evenings for the next several days and cool during the day until warming next Sunday/Monday ~ IF the forecasters are even close to being correct.

It's no wonder the vast majority of the campgrounds don't open until May.

[Michigantraveler]

Please do not send it east!!!

[Chirpz]

Spring has sprung and its time to dust off the FF's and get ready to get out there and enjoy the land. We are in the process of planning our summer trips. This year we hope to tour lots of State Parks in WA state and geocache each area in the process. In the past, we avoided parks in favor of boondocking....so we'll see how it goes. We have a 1/2 price senior citizens discount for WA.

[Eagle]

Originally Posted by Chirpz

Spring has sprung and its time to dust off the FF's and get ready to get out there and enjoy the land. We are in the process of planning our summer trips. This year we hope to tour lots of State Parks in WA state and geocache each area in the process. In the past, we avoided parks in favor of boondocking....so we'll see how it goes. We have a 1/2 price senior citizens discount for WA.

We had a weekend outing planned a few weeks ago but the state park was booked full and the private campgrounds didn't open until May.

It is not possible for us to make reservations more than a few weeks in advance and that severely limits our outings to places we'd like to go.

Had we known most campgrounds/state parks booked up a month or more in advance, may not made the purchase. And for those who boondock on BLM lands ... none within hundreds of miles. Primarily, our outings are limited to 2 day weekends and a few 3 day weekends so distance plays a strong factor.

[Chirpz]

Originally Posted by Eagle

We had a weekend outing planned a few weeks ago but the state park was booked full and the private campgrounds didn't open until May.

Our state parks are the same way. In our case, we are now able to camp during the week and avoid weekends so there is almost always an available spot without reservations. We are planning to leave on Sunday afternoons or Monday mornings and camp all week then return home for the weekends. We can get away with this since we are retired.

[Michigantraveler]

So far we have 20 nights booked at 10 places around Michigan, mostly State Parks and mostly in the Upper Peninsula in September. And Canada Aug 1-5th.
June 2-21 is messed up due to my husband's cataract surgeries and my dentist appt.
Need to reserve some more places in July and Aug soon...but we too are fortunate to be able to book midweek since we are retired. Things are quieter then.

[Chirpz]

Originally Posted by Michigantraveler

So far we have 20 nights booked at 10 places around Michigan, mostly State Parks and mostly in the Upper Peninsula in September. And Canada Aug 1-5th.
June 2-21 is messed up due to my husband's cataract surgeries and my dentist appt.
Need to reserve some more places in July and Aug soon...but we too are fortunate to be able to book midweek since we are retired. Things are quieter then.

With your purchase of a Shasta FW, you are bumping up to a different league! We will no longer see you backing into the swamps and tight places around the state.

On our last trip to MI, we found this charming little niche to camp for the night and flog the mosquitos. (This is our old trailer)

[Michigantraveler]

Originally Posted by Chirpz

With your purchase of a Shasta FW, you are bumping up to a different league! We will no longer see you backing into the swamps and tight places around the state.

On our last trip to MI, we found this charming little niche to camp for the night and flog the misquitos. (This is our old trailer)

So you don't like Michigan eh? You think it's full of swamps and mosquitoes? We do have 11,000 natural lakes and thousands of rivers and streams. But you are far from correct in your assessment. Half of your State rains constantly and the other half is dry as a bone, right? Not to mention the snowflakes. Stereotypes are silly aren't they?

P.s. I got zero mosquito bites last year.

[Chirpz]

Originally Posted by Michigantraveler

So you don't like Michigan eh? You think it's full of swamps and mosquitoes? We do have 11,000 natural lakes and thousands of rivers and streams. But you are far from correct in your assessment. Half of your State rains constantly and the other half is dry as a bone, right? Not to mention the snowflakes. Stereotypes are silly aren't they?

P.s. I got zero mosquito bites last year.

Oh, we like MI. Our daughter lives there in Traverse City where she is a top notch RN. We have made two long trips to visit making a lap around the lake each time and avoiding the big cities, Boondocking all the way. We like the lighthouses and the potaski stones and that beautiful big bridge where the Giant Hot Dog is.

You are right about WA, lots of rain where we live but not like the rain forests farther west. We get about 65 inches a year vs 165 in the RF's.

That spot in the photo above was the worst spot on our trip for the little black birds. It was not a camp ground, just a spot in a swamp where we could back in for the night off of a back road. The cloud was so thick you had to stay inside. I ran out and snapped the picture for our journal but I bundled up first and sprayed myself down. I took the picture and then dove back inside then killed all the intruders.

My daughter has gotten used to it. When she sweats, it smells like DEET and she claims they never bite her.

[Eagle]

Hummm ~ spent a year living in Saginaw Michigan, early 80's when managing a 350 unit lease property. Don't recall any skeeters tho. One thing MI had was lots of regulations and lawyers although never had any real issues & used their regulations to my advantage. LOL

Also lived in Tacoma Washington (a ways north of Battle Ground) in 1966/67 when stationed at Fort Lewis before shipping out from McCord AFB to SE Asia. I think the fort was built on a gravel pit with all the rocks. Don't recall any skeeters there either but then they never bother me much .. not even here in SD.

[Marti]

State parks are that way here too. Very few private RV parks where we live and most of those don't have any open spots because of full timers. We ran into that when we made our last trip to Missouri and had to make an emergency stopover in a small town.

I believe most of the parks around here have a time period where you can cancel reservations without penalty, a few days to a week before the arrival date.

[Michigantraveler]

Try these apps.....
ParkAdvisor
Or,
Allstays
Or
Ultimate Campgrounds

[Kansas newbie]

So, Eagle, you just had to send that snow south to Kansas, didn't you?�� Thank goodness it didn't make it to my side of the state, but we did get lots of cold rain and cool temps! Suppose to be warmer towards the end of the week. DH was going to de-winterize the FF this past weekend, but he developed a bulging disk and the weather didn't cooperate...maybe this weekend if his back will allow.

[Eagle]

Originally Posted by Kansas newbie

So, Eagle, you just had to send that snow south to Kansas, didn't you?�� Thank goodness it didn't make it to my side of the state, but we did get lots of cold rain and cool temps! Suppose to be warmer towards the end of the week. DH was going to de-winterize the FF this past weekend, but he developed a bulging disk and the weather didn't cooperate...maybe this weekend if his back will allow.

Actually, no snow here either.

I think it moved out of Colorado and went east.

I haven't de winterized my camper yet either ... but will next week. Have an outimg planned over Memorial weekend and was able to make reservations at a Good Sam campground in NE Minnesota near Pelican Rapids.

Bulging disc is no fun and nothing to mess with ....... had two back surgeries due to same.

[Kansas newbie]

Wish we could plan something for that weekend, but DH plays in a city band on Memorial Day, and he'll miss a play date when we go to Custer in June!