“How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof … it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make – leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone – we all dwell in a house of one room – the world with firmament for its roof.” –John Muir
Lake Powell — It was here that I spent my first night in my brand new RV, which I call Gypsy Lee — Photo by Pat Bean
I Chose Lake Powell’s Wahweap Campground
Make reservations or go with the flow?
The campground meets my desire for a scenic place for me and my canine traveling companion to take a pleasant walk. — Photo by Pat Bean
That’s a question often on my mind as my canine traveling companion, Pepper, and I roam the country in Gypsy Lee, our 22-foot home on wheels.
I actually do both.
Knowing I have a place to stay for the night lets me enjoy my dawdling sight-seeing ways without worry. Not having a reservation means I can go as few or as many miles as I want before stopping for the day.
There have been times when I’ve traveled as few as 15 miles before seeing an inviting place to stay and stopped. There have also been times when I’ve driven 400 miles because nothing captured my fancy – or there was nothing. I really hate the latter situation, but it’s happened to me both in Texas and New Mexico, where there are a lot of wide-open spaces with nothing appealing in between.
And Gypsy Lee, left, has a place to park with a view of the lake. — Photo by Pat Bean
What I want in a nightly roosting place is a scenic landscape, a hiking trail and internet access. I know I’ll find the first two at a state or national park, which are my favorite roosts, but the latter is iffy, especially if the campground is much distance from a populated area.
But that’s changed a lot during the eight years since I traded my Ogden, Utah, home for Gypsy Lee. I started my travels using my phone as the modem for internet connection, and often had to drive into town to make a connection. Today, I have my own Verizon hot spot and the times when I have to say “I can’t hear you” are getting fewer and fewer.
And the flowers were a bonus — Photo by Pat Bean
Since it was a weekday, I hadn’t called ahead for campground reservations the day I visited the Grand Canyon on my way to Zion National Park. Nor did I check my Trailer Life Directory for potential places to stay. I knew Lake Powell’s Wahweap Campground lay directly in path. It was the place I stayed my very first night on the road in Gypsy Lee. It had it all.
Bean’s Pat: 10,000 Birds http://tinyurl.com/6ogapq3Go birding in Namibia.
*This pat-on-the-back recognition is merely this wandering/wondering old broad’s way of bringing attention to a blog I enjoyed – and thought perhaps my readers might, too. June 12, patbean.wordpress.com
Pat Bean's blog 
Oh, I so want to go. And I’m working on it. Your pictures always inspire me.
Thanks. Go, go, go…
You are living my dream, Pat!
I hope some day it comes true for you.
I”ve been reading your blog for about six weeks now and I love it. I’m 57 and WAS using that excuse (too old) not to take off on my own. After “meeting” you I guess I can’t do that anymore. Thanks for all the encouragement. Bless you.
Joni
I didn’t get on the road until I was 65. As long as the body will take you go, go, go…. And thanks for the kind words.
Whatever type or length of roadtrip, that’s the question. We’ve had both options work our well, and not. I like that you set the benchmark for good sites first up.
I decided early on that I didn’t sell my home to park somewhere I didn’t like. Having a nice place to stay, with a pleasant landscape and a place to walk, is something I’m not miserly about. I compromise on the budget elsewhere. I sledom eat out, don’t buy much stuff, occasionally eat ramen noodles and rarely eat out, and shorts or cargo pants and T-shirts are what I wea,r and except for cheap dangly earrings I’m not at all into jewelry.