On Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:01:15 -0500, JustWait wrote:

On 12/27/2012 7:55 AM, GuzzisRule wrote:
On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:19:08 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Wednesday, December 26, 2012 6:57:17 PM UTC-4, GuzzisRule wrote:
On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:22:47 -0500, wrote:



On Wed, 26 Dec 2012 09:05:28 -0500, iBoaterer wrote:



They don't have anything like this is North Carolina



http://gfretwell.com/ftp/alaska/Glacier%20lake.jpg



or this



http://gfretwell.com/ftp/california/...big%20tree.jpg



or this



http://gfretwell.com/ftp/colorado/Ju...kes%20peak.jpg



or this



http://gfretwell.com/ftp/dakota/Devils%20tower.jpg



Duh! So, what's your point? Are you saying that you can't hike and tent

camp in those areas???





I am saying I was not willing to drive to those places and trying to

pack your camping supplies on an airplane is not tenable.



At that point you are left with camping where you are willing to

drive.

My neighbor was an RV "camper" . He always had a six figure RV in his

driveway or in a paid parking lot facility (most of the time).

He always ended up losing about $50,000-100,000 when he traded them.

They were a maintenance black hole, got about 4-5 MPG on the road

towing another car. The campgrounds were not cheap and he still had to

buy food in or out.



I can't see the six-figure motorhome. At least I've got something to drive when the trailer's hooked

up, and I don't have to tow a toad.



We sat down and compared his cost to me and my wife, flying 1st class,

staying in suites in nice hotels, renting an SUV and cooking in

or eating out.

We came away cheaper and we got a lot more actual vacation out of our

2 or 3 weeks (unless driving a bus is your idea of fun).



Absolutely, especially if his was a diesel. There is some time lost driving, but much of this

country is nice to drive through. Kansas does get boring, along with Nebraska, Oklahome, most of

Texas and South Dakota. But, there are sights to see in every state, if one will slow down and take

a peek. My neighbor had a software program that calculated costs, given various assumptions, and

camping often won out.,



Unless you actually go camping 4 or 5 times a year, locally, the hotel

is always going to be cheaper once you actually add up all of your

expenses..



We've been averaging about twice a month since we got the first trailer a few years back. One of

the nice things about an RV is that you sleep without other peoples' bed bugs!

Our national broadcaster consumer protection series did a couple episodes exposing germs etc in a half dozen hotel chains...Some considered higher end.
It was a bit gross...They had an expert go undercover with the gear needed to go the inspections. Some results are scary.
I've always carried the anti-bacterial cloths to wipe door knobs, tv remotes, sink faucets etc but will now include a bottle of Frebreeze to mist the bed after I toss the comforter onto a chair.

I'd rather not worry about the ones in the cracks the mist doesn't reach.


Had to sleep in a motel a while back for a family funeral trip. Oh man,
it was gross, just the smell of the place in general... I seriously
doubt that I will ever try to stay in a motel again, I really had
trouble sleeping just smelled like socks in the place.

The last time I was in one was while motorcycling West Virginia with my brothers. (Who, BTW, ride
Harley's, so they had a rough time keeping up.) We stayed in Elkins for night in a Best Western.
Like you say, stinky and rough. I'd brought a sleep sack - and I crashed on the floor thinking it
was probably cleaner than the bed.