VISITOR CTR, Texarkana, TX

Visitor Ctr, Texarkana, TX

RUN BY:   State of Texas

LOCATION:  33.470037   -94.056462

UTILITIES:  NONE

COST:  NONE

DISCOUNTS:  N/A
Last Visited: 11/30/2018

OUR RATING (1-5):  Category III.  Score 5

NOTES:  If you just need to get off the road to sleep and want security and a good telephone signal, this is your Texarkana place.  There are only about four places.  There is a nice grassy area with picnic tables right by you. The visitor center’s toilets are, of course, open all night. 

Environment:  city

Amenities:  None

Dump:  No

Public Water: In the bathroom  

Toilets:  Yes

Showers:  No

Laundry:  No

Phone Service: good Verizon 

Nearest Propane: unknown

Location:  Be careful. Many directions are more complicated than necessary and misleading. We were heading west so we got off at the North State Line Avenue exit, went across the intersection and stayed on the west-bound service road to the visitor’s center.

Proximity to shopping:  you have all of Texarkana

Camping Population:   N/A

Sites:  room for about four fair sized rigs.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.  

JAY-O RV PARK, Denmark, TN

Jay-O RV Park, Denmark, TN 

RUN BY:   Private RV park

LOCATION:  35.595881  -89.052005

Last Visit:  11/29/2018

UTILITIES:  Full-Hookups

COST:  $30

DISCOUNTS:  AAA, Good Sams

OUR RATING (1-5): Category I.  Score 3+

NOTES:   We’re not RV “park” people, but the owners of Jay-O were nice and we had a pleasant experience.  We felt the price wasn’t bad for full hook-ups. We needed to flush our tanks and temps were in the twenties. This was a good place to attend to matters. There is a truck stop quite close and you get a lot of interstate noise.  On the internet they got a 4.3 out of 5 rating.  I’d say that’s about right.

Environment:  Pine grove

Amenities:  Camp store, small swimming pool, laundry

Dump:  N/A

Public Water:  N/A 

Toilets: Yes

Showers:  Yes

Laundry:  Yes

Phone Service:  adequate Verizon 

Nearest Propane: unknown

Location:  At exit 68 on I-40 go south on TN-138. A very short distance, on your left, you will see the campground sign. Just follow the signs to the campground. Can’t get lost.

Proximity to shopping: There is a TA Truck-stop, country store, camp store and a few other similar places nearby. Otherwise I do not know where you would go for serious shopping.

Camping Population:  Mixed. Almost all of us were from different states.

Sites:   Typical private campground. Pass through close together. 

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.  

MAYVIEW COMMUNITY CG, Mayview, MO

Mayview Community Campground

RUN BY:   Town of Mayview, MO

LOCATION:  39.054962  -93.836276

Last Visit: 8/25/2018

UTILITIES:  Full Hookups

COST:  $10

DISCOUNTS:  None

OUR RATING (1-5):  Category I.  Score 3+

NOTES:   We are giving this campground a 3+ because, even if it was basically camping in a parking lot, the community was putting a lot of effort into developing a pleasant and affordable place to stay. Actually not really different than most private RV places we’ve seen where you’re as close together as possible to make the maximum use of room.  The community foundation, which is working very hard to revitalize the town, bought the old school. Part of the school is turned into a store, and there are showers and laundry. The camping is in the school parking lot which has been redone to include some grass. We ended up going to the grand opening of a tavern in town. The whole town was there for a barbeque. So good to see people working together to support one another.

Environment:  central Missouri rolling wooded hills.

Amenities:  Full hook-ups with showers, laundry and camp store.

Dump:  N/A

Public Water: N/A 

Toilets: Yes.

Showers:  Yes

Laundry:  Yes

Phone Service: marginal for Verizon 

Nearest Propane:  (unknown)

Location: Interstate-70 in Missouri, take Exit 41 (Highway O) Go north a short distance to North Outer Rd and turn right. Follow this road to Marshall St and turn left. Follow Marshall St to Orchard St, turn right. You will go around a left turn and be on Main St.  Take Main St to Long RD and turn left. Cross the rail road tracks and keep to the right. Follow this street around to the RV park.  

Proximity to shopping: Very little in Mayview. I don't know the nearest shopping area. Sorry. 

Camping Population:  I think we were all travelers who either saw them advertised on the internet or the signs on the interstate.

Sites:   pull-through typical of the average private RV park.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.  

JUNIPER CG, Theodore Roosevelt NP, ND

Juniper CG, Theodore Roosevelt NP North Unit, North Dakota

RUN BY:   Nat’l Park Service

LOCATION:  47.595320  -103.339077

UTILITIES:  NONE

COST:  $14

DISCOUNTS:  50% with Senior Access

OUR RATING (1-5):  Category I. Score 4

NOTES:   A very nice campground. It is called Juniper. I do believe it is the only campground in the northern unit.  Large open sites. I can't find my campground pictures but here's a picture of the park.  The campground is in a meadow and quite level. 

Environment:   A large meadow of mostly big old cottonwood which is frequented by animals.

Amenities:  NONE

Dump:  Yes

Public Water: Yes 

Toilets: Yes

Showers:  No

Laundry:  No

Phone Service: None 

Nearest Propane:  Watford City

Location:  Enter park from US-85 fourteen miles south of Watford City, ND and follow the signs. 

Proximity to shopping:  Watford City,  14 miles north 

Camping Population:   Typical mix of the national park

Sites:  roomy and open.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.  

PETROLIA LAKE, Winnett, MT

Petrolia Lake, Winnett, MT 

RUN BY:  (unknown)

LOCATION:  46.942479   -108.235625

Last Visit:  8/17/2018

UTILITIES:  NONE

COST:  NONE

DISCOUNTS:   N/A

OUR RATING (1-5):  Category II. Score

NOTES:  Lots of wildlife on the way from the highway to the lake.  It is a small fishing lake with camping on both sides. One side was dominated by fishing boats and RV.  There was another spot but we couldn’t figure out how to get there. We ended up just backing into a road (two tire tracks) with our window facing the lake.  Fishing guides in Montana say that it is an excellent fishing lake which produces some trophy size fish. 

Environment:  High prairie

Amenities:  NONE

Dump:  NO

Public Water: NO 

Toilets:  NO

Showers:   NO

Laundry:  NO

Phone Service:  NO 

Nearest Propane: (unknown)

Location:  On MT-200 east of Winnett, turn south on Petrolia Bench Rd. There will be a sign to the lake.  You will come to an intersection. Three of the four roads are Petrolia Bench. Turn right and follow to the lake. When you come up to the lake you will see the dam to your left and a road going right. The place we parked was straight ahead. 

Proximity to shopping: I have no idea what is available in Winnett. 

Camping Population:   mostly local fishermen

Sites:   N/A dispersed camping.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.  

STODDARD FSCG, Spencer, ID

Stoddard FSCG, Spencer, ID  

RUN BY:   Nat’l Forest Service

LOCATION:  44.417456  -112.217455

Last Visit:  5/2/2018

UTILITIES:  None

COST:  during season, but don’t know how much.

DISCOUNTS:  I would assume 50% with senior pass

OUR RATING (1-5): Category I.  Score 4.

NOTES:  You have to remember that Idaho is mostly at higher elevation and, like Montana, spring doesn’t come early. To the contrary, even May is still closer to winter than spring. This very nice little Forest Service campground was open but no one there either to camp or collect money.  It is just off I-15 just before you enter Montana.  The exit is marked.  It sits on the side of the mountain and is quite lovely. We arrived rather late so I didn't get any campground pictures.  This picture is from their website and a good example. 

Environment: mountains

Amenities:  None

Dump:  don’t think so.

Public Water:  during season

Toilets:  during season

Showers:  No

Laundry:  No

Phone Service: none 

Nearest Propane: (sorry. No idea)

Location: Exit I-15 at Exit 184. Go west on USFS Rd 33. Follow this road to the campground sign. (A left turn) 

Proximity to shopping: Spencer, ID is closer but Dubois appears to be a bit bigger.

Camping Population:  no idea. We were alone

Sites:  nice and roomy.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.  

MURDOCK CG, Sawtooth NF, ID

Murdock CG, Sawtooth NF, Ketchum, ID

RUN BY:   Nat’l Forest Service

LOCATION:  43.804810  -114.420192

Last visit:  4/30/2018

UTILITIES:  None

COST:  Probably – see Notes

DISCOUNTS: 

OUR RATING (1-5):  Category I. Score 3+

NOTES:  This was one of those last minutes changes of plan that really worked out well. We were going to be traveling further south and west out of Boise, ID but there was a big storm brewing. We decided to turn into the Sawtooth mountains to avoid the storm. We figured that we’d rather face snow that high winds and torrential rain. The campground gate was open and rangers drove by but there was no signage or fee information/envelopes at the registration kiosk.  There was quite a bit of snow on the ground. I’m sure that there is a fee when there’s no snow. We had a lovely two days. Lots of snow but beautiful. 

Environment:  Heavily wooded high mountains.  

Amenities:  None

Dump:  No

Public Water: Probably during season.  

Toilets:  During season

Showers:  No

Laundry:  No

Phone Service:  No 

Nearest Propane: (Sorry. No idea. I would guess Ketchum.)

Location:  Idaho State Rte 75 to Ketchum.

Proximity to shopping: Ketchum is a sky resort town. Should have just about anything you want.

Camping Population:   No idea. We were alone.

Sites:  Roomy. We had a great view.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.