RENTAL CARS

 I am changing the name of this section to "RENTAL CARS."  Most of my experience has been with
Enterprise, as they pick you up.  However, I want to add a section on renting from Hertz.


INSURANCE ISSUES

I'm at the point where having a car that I store in a garage while I travel in my RV is starting to become inconvenient.  I have come home to dead batteries a couple times. .One time, I was able to start the car with a device such as this one, and another time, I was unable to start it, and had to have it towed to a dealer.  So, I am researching the idea of not owning a separate car (which would save me on storage rental charges, as I could downsize) and just using rentals when I need one, even when I'm at my "home" area and not technically traveling.  I ran the numbers, and NOT owning a car may not necessarily save money. The reason is that if you do not own a car and you rent a car, you really should buy the "optional" insurance which is pretty pricey.  Or you could take your chances and not buy the optional insurance.  When you own a car and carry insurance, the insurance usually transfers to a rental car.

I contacted one major insurance carrier to inquire about getting an insurance policy to drive rental cars, and was told that there is "no such policy."  I did some googling, I found this:  Non-Owner Car Insurance .  According to this article, "Non Owner Car Insurance" only covers liability if you are at fault.  It doesn't cover the actual vehicle, because you don't own the car.  Therefore, if you have the "non-owner" insurance, you can decline the "optional" liability insurance on a rental, but you should still take the "optional" collision and comprehensive.

On the other hand, major credit cards may or may not have adequate coverage.  This article explains some of the benefits.

Bottom line, between the Non-Owner car insurance and what your major credit card may or may not offer, there may still be "gaps" in the coverage which suggest you should consider paying the rental car insurance, even if the rates are totally ridiculous.  

I am continuing to research this.






HERTZ

To my knowledge, Hertz doesn't pick you up.  But, if you can take alternate transportation to get a car from HERTZ, AAA Motor Club has great discounts.  Pretty easy to reserve from the AAA web site:

RESERVE A HERTZ CAR HERE

Make your reservation and pick out a promo code.  There were a lot of codes to choose from for a variety of discounts. What I liked was that you didn't have to give out a whole lot of personal information.   I once took a county bus from where I was staying to a HERTZ location, this worked out fine for me.


 ENTERPRISE


ENTERPRISE Rent A Car will either pick you up and get you to their office. Click here and enter the city and state you are currently located to get office hours for your location.

The only issue I have with Enterprise is that their current practice is to pass your phone number to a third party that will contact you after your rental for "market research." When I rented a car in Spokane, I screamed and stamped my feet and said, "I don't want the call" and I never got it. When I rented in Grants Pass, I tried to scream and stamp my feet and I was told, "we don't have any control over this." My understanding, under the DO NOT CALL rules, is that if you insist that you are on the DO NOT CALL list, and you insist that you don't want to be called, they are obligated to honor that request. I sent a formal complaint to the Regional Office, and I was told I was put on their internal "Do Not Call" list. However, the manager who did this for me didn't know whether the internal list covered nationwide, or whether it covered just that Region.

IOWA

DES MOINES/ALTOONA, IA

While working at  Adventureland in Iowa     I made frequent use of  Enterprise on Euclid Avenue.  I walked to the RV park office and had them pick me up there.

COLORADO

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

In May 2011, I stayed at  Fountain Creek RV Park in Colorado Springs.  The branch office is on the same street as this campground.  Car got delivered to me, no problem.  The office was a couple miles from the campground.

NORTH CAROLINA

RALEIGH, NC

In December 2011, I stayed at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds on Blue Ridge Road.  There is a branch office right around the corner on Hillsborough Street.  It's 2/3 of a mile to walk to this office if you are in the mood to walk.                  

OREGON

GRANTS PASS, OR

There is a good selection of RV Parks in Grants Pass ( http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Oregon/Grants_Pass.html ) where cars can be delivered to you. The two closest RV parks are Jack's Landing and Rogue Valley Overnighters.

NEWPORT, OR

There is an Enterprise site in Newport. Here are some RV parks available. I haven't personally stayed at any of these sites, just noting that it's there.

WASHINGTON

ANACORTES, WA
You can stay at either:
Fidalgo Bay RV Resort
or
Pioneer Trails RV Resort
and have Enterprise pick you up to get a car for the duration of your stay.

ELLENSBURG, WA

The college town of Ellensburg, WA now has an Enterprise Rental Car  company.  If you stay in Ellensburg area, you can get a car from this place.  The only RV parks I am aware of are E & J RV Park which is an RV park located with a motel; and Yakima River RV Park.  I have stayed at both.   However, if you stay in Vantage (30 miles away), this is not in their jurisdiction so they won't pick you up there.  During March 2015, I camp hosted at the state park in Vantage, WA and got a rental car from Enterprise.  A nice person gave me a ride from Vantage to Ellensburg to pick the car up; and again from Ellensburg back to Vantage when I returned the car.  However there is a taxi service that can come get you in Vantage if you need.  It's Rodeo Town Taxi at (509) 929-4222.   I spoke to them by phone and was told they charge (as of this date) about $2.50 per mile. 

SPOKANE, WA

If you stay at Riverside State Park, there is an Enterprise office at 1426 East Francis Avenue. This office indicated to me that they were the closest to the State Park and can pick you up. I tried this option. I called in advance and THOUGHT I had made a reservation, and was even quoted a final price, but somehow I didn't get a confirmation number. I called on the day of pickup and found out I didn't have a reservation, but no problem, plenty of cars, they will redo the reservation. I showed up and called for them to pick me up. They picked me up, no problem. I got to the office, and STILL no reservation, but no problem, plenty of cars, they will give me a car for the price quoted. Despite the reservation snafu, I got a car, a PT Cruiser. THEN! I show up at the State Park. Park Ranger tells me that the rental car is ok, as it is within the "one RV and one car" allowance. However, the Camp Host told me that since I did not TOW the car in, it was considered an "extra vehicle" and I would have to pay the "extra vehicle" fee. NO WAY! The Park Ranger over-ruled that one! Other than the snafus, everything went fine. I returned the car the night before I left, and left the next morning.

LOCATIONS WITH GOOD PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICE

New additions will be shown at the top in green, then later moved down to alphabetical order, by State, then by city.

MASS TRANSIT

CALIFORNIA

EUREKA, CA

I have to tell you, Eureka, CA is NOT RV friendly.  Don't even try to shop in your RV in Eureka.  The access points to all the parking lots for "big box" stores have this "dip" that causes you to scrape bottom.  I scraped bottom at Rite Aid because I parked there take my EGO bike to a repair shop two blocks away.  Also, I tried to go to Costco and had the same problem, scraping bottom when I tried to get into the parking lot.  I did see a WinCo Foods that looked promising for parking next time I come here (when I pick my bike up), or, I may just set up in an RV park and take a taxi to the bike repair place, then ride the bike back to the RV park.  

COLORADO

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

These three RV parks are very close together (within a five mile range), and all three of them are located on Mountain Metropolitan Transit Route #3:

Fountain Creek RV Park - Colorado Springs, near shops, banks, and restaurants
Garden of the Gods Campground - in Colorado Springs, Colorado (very close to Manitou Springs)
Pikes Peak RV Park & Campground - in Manitou Springs, very close to shops

I stayed at Garden of the Gods Campground and I rode three of the bus routes. The online schedules don't publish "transfer" information to other buses, and the downtown transfer terminal didn't have any printed schedules. Maybe they want to save paper by not having these. However, there was a kiosk where you could map out your trip, but it wasn't real user friendly to me. On the good side, the downtown terminal did have employees who could direct you to what buses you need to take, so that was helpful.

TOWAOC/CORTEZ, CO

If you stay at Sleeping Ute Mountain RV Park in Towaoc, Colorado; the casino has an hourly shuttle that will take you to Cortez (10 miles away) for any needs. Although I did have a nice overnite stay at the RV park, I didn't personally try out the shuttle. I'm just noting that it is there.

I D A H O

COEUR D'ALENE, ID

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho has become quite the resort town. The city has a small transit service called "City Link" that can take you up and down the main part of town, or to other nearby points in Idaho, such as the Coeur d' Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho. Guess what, it's FREE!!! If you stay at River Walk RV Park , you can catch the City Link bus three blocks away at the Riverwalk Transfer Station.

IOWA

DES MOINES, IA

I worked at Adventureland in Iowa .  Although there is a bus system, it didn't go to locations or run with the frequency I preferred.  I made use of Capitol/Yellow Cab  (they are basically the same company) and of  Enterprise Rental Car.  When I worked there in 2014, I used the rental car service a lot.   In 2015, I found that it was cheaper to just use the taxi service when I needed it.  For trips of short duration, my EGO Electric Scooter got me to Wal-Mart, a Vet for my cat, and a doctor's walk in clinic when I needed them, all within a mile of Adventureland.

NORTH CAROLINA

RALEIGH, NC

TRIANGLE TRANSIT operates in Raleigh, NC.  I checked the web site and Triangle Transit appears to have frequent service to most places you might want to go to.  I did not get an opportunity to ride the transit system, however. 

MINNESOTA

EAST GRAND FORKS, MN

If you stay at Red River State Recreation Area  in East Grand Forks, you are right in the middle of downtown East Grand Forks.  You can walk a brisk short distance and catch Cities Area Transit (CAT)     Bus Route 11  in front of Cabela's and ride around the area.

OREGON

CURRY COUNTY/GOLD BEACH, OR


If you stay in one of the many fine parks in Gold Beach, OR, you can ride  Curry Public Transit from the park you are staying, in to Gold Beach.   However, the service is rather limited.  If you are staying in an RV Park outside Gold Beach, the Dial A Ride will pick you up at 9:30 at the earliest, and you can get a return ride back to your park at 2:00 PM at the latest.  The Dial A Ride will pick you up at your RV site.  But.... this service only runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday (not Thursday or weekends).  The Coastal Express will take you up and down Highway 101 from North Bend, OR, all the way down to Smith River, CA and runs Monday - Friday.

With the limited schedule, it's impossible to use the transit system to "spend a day" away from Gold Beach.  Just to go to Brookings, you would have Dial A Ride pick you up at 9:30, then you can ride the Coastal Express at 10:00 and arrive in Brookings at 10:45.  But, you would have to return  on the 11:15 bus back up to Gold Beach to catch a Dial A Ride back to your RV site.  If you miss the 11:15 bus from Brookings, there isn't another bus until 3:00, which is too late to get a Dial A Ride in Gold Beach.  Not a problem if your RV park is in town.  But if you are staying in an RV park outside of town, you can have the Coastal Express drop you off along Highway 101 and you can walk back to your park.  

Another option if you are staying at a park outside Gold Beach ( Turtle Rock Resort, for example, 1.5 miles south of Gold Beach), is that you can get on Curry Public Transit by walking 3/4 of a mile to Highway 101, and standing on Highway 101 and flagging them down.  If you do this, you need to call the phone number shown on the website and let them know you are doing this.  You could go Northbound as early as 7:45 AM and as late as 3:30 PM, or Southbound as early as 10:15 AM or as late as 5:30 PM.

If you plan carefully, you can use Dial A Ride to get most anything you might need in Gold Beach.

On the other hand, there are two places in Brookings and one place in Gold Beach where you can rent a car.  

A.  BROOKINGS:  In Brookings, as of this writing, basically the prices are $39.95 a day (24 hour period) wir eth 50 miles included and 25 cents a mile charge for miles over 50; or $59.95 a day with unlimited miles.  One of the rental car places (Carpenter Auto) is located next door to where the Curry Public Transit drops you off in Brookings.  The other (Little Bay Motor Company) is a ways down Highway 101.  It's not a drop off place for Curry Public Transit, but you can request to be dropped off there.  Curry Public Transit is pretty flexible about "stops" as long as the "stop" is on the route.  (I used Carpenter Auto because of their proximity to the Curry Public Transit drop off point.) 

B.  GOLD BEACH  The Port of Gold Beach  has two cars and rents them for $25 a day and 25 cents a mile, there is no option for unlimited miles.  However, the pricing at the Port is not based on 24 hour periods, it's based on "days."  For example, if you pick up a car at 10:00 AM on Monday and return it at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, you will pay $50 (plus 25 cents a mile), not $25, even though it's a 24 hour period.  The rationale is that you had the car on two different days.  So, pick it up as early as possible on pick up day and return it as late as possible on return day, it doesn't really matter.  Port of Gold Beach will not do "turnaround" rentals.  For example, if you are returning a car on, say, Tuesday morning, the Port will not re-rent the car to someone else the same day.  

I recommend using Port rentals for local travel around Gold Beach (use Dial A Ride to pick up the car).  For trips farther out, I recommend taking Curry Public Transit down to Brookings and renting a car down there. 

TILLAMOOK COUNTY, OR

If you stay at RV Parks along Highway 101 in Tillamook County, Oregon (anywhere from Pacific City, south of Tillamook, to Cannon Beach, north of Tillamook), you can ride a bus anywhere up and down Highway 101 between these locations. Here is the route schedule: http://www.tillamookbus.com/route-schedules.htm . Keep in mind, depending on the location, there are only 3-6 routes a day, daytime hours, and Monday through Saturday. However, within the city of Tillamook, there are many "town loop" routes during the day for sightseeing (such as, the Tillamook Cheese Factory within Tillamook. I stayed at one RV park south of Tillamook, Pleasant Valley RV Park that had a bus stop at the entry way. I did not get an opportunity to try out the bus line, I am just noting that it is available.

W A S H I N G T O N

LONG BEACH, WA
If you stay at Andersens RV Resort, you will be staying right on the dunes! However, this park is a few miles out of town. Pacific Transit has daytime only service on Monday - Friday, limited service on Saturday, and no service on Sunday.
If you stay at either Driftwood RV Park or Sand Castle RV Park , you will be right in town, along Highway 101, close to most businesses. At Driftwood, you are a couple blocks, very short walk, from the beach. At Sand Castle, you can still walk to the beach, but it's a bit farther, more of a "brisk" walk. For both RV parks, there are some places within walking distance, other places are a "brisk walk," and you can take Pacific Transit for anything else you might need in Long Beach. I have stayed at both parks previously.

OCEAN SHORES, WA

I camp hosted at Ocean City State Park near Ocean Shores, WA during December 2010.  Grays Harbor Transit has service between Ocean Shores and Aberdeen, but it's at limited times.  However, to just go to Ocean Shores, you can stand outside the entrance to the State Park and flag down any bus going between North Beach Casino and Ocean Shores.  You just stand there and wave, and the bus will stop for you.  The Dispatcher told me to use the"Ocean Shores Chance a la Mer" column and subtract 15 minutes.  

On the other hand, if you are staying at one of the private parks in Ocean Shores, such as Quinault Marina & RV Park you can contact Dial-A-Ride at 360-532-2770, have them pick you up where you are staying, and take you to the Chance-a-la-Mer Bus Station.  At that Station, you can take another Bus from Ocean Shores to Aberdeen Wishkah Station.  Then, you can walk a short walk to Hertz Rental Car. Unfortunately, there isn't an Enterprise Rental (the company that picks you up) in Aberdeen.  This can be done, but it takes some planning.  And, the rental cost for a car in Aberdeen isn't cheap!  Because it's a rather remote station, there are a myriad of fees that practically double the rental rate.  I obtained a one week rental in this area and it cost me about $400. 

PORT TOWNSEND, WA

JEFFERSON COUNTY TRANSIT operates in Port Townsend, WA.  You can take Jefferson County Transit to most locations in the Olympic Peninsula area. You can travel and transfer to the following bus systems to go around the Olympic Peninsula:

Clallam Transit  for travel to Sequim, Port Angeles, and Forks
Grays Harbor Transit for travel to Aberdeen and Ocean Shores
Kitsap Transit  for travel to Bainbridge Island, Kingston, and Bremerton
Mason Transit for travel to Shelton and Olympia
Island Transit for travel via Washington State Ferries to Coupeville, WA

I went from Port Townsend (Jefferson County) to Port Angeles, (Clallam County) and it only cost me $3.75 for the whole trip!  Driving a car would have cost much more!

The  JEFFERSON COUNTY TRANSIT website has a Trip Planner that you can use as a guide.  However, I wouldn't depend completely on it for inter county transportation, just use it as a guide.  Consult the individual county transit schedules and plan accordingly.  The trip planner assumes the closest transfer, even if it's ONE MINUTE.  One minute is too close for my comfort. I used the suggestions given by the trip planner and ultimately needed two bus drivers to intervene because the transfer was too close.  The trip planner suggested I do the following for a trip from Port Townsend to Port Angeles:

11:35 AM, take Jefferson Transit Route 11B to Haines Park & Ride to transfer to Route 8
11:45 AM, take Route 8 to Sequim
12:45 PM, take Clallam  Transit Route 30 to Port Angeles

I boarded the Route 11B at 11:45 AM, only to have the driver tell me the transfer was "too close" and I would miss it by 2 minutes.  Route 8 to Sequim has infrequent service (every 2 hours or so).  The very nice bus driver for Route 11B radioed the driver of Route 8 and asked him to wait.  The gracious Route 8 driver agreed to wait.  As a result, I had a pleasant trip to Port Townsend.  My thanks to those two drivers! 

For my return trip, the Trip Planner suggested the following:

3:40 PM take Clallam Transit Route 30 to Sequim
4:20 PM take Jefferson Transit Route 8 to Port Townsend Haines Park & Ride
5:30 PM take Jefferson Transit Route 11B back to my destination

Instead of taking the 3:40 bus, I decided to leave at 3:10.  Good thing!  Route 101 had an accident which slowed down traffic, to include the bus I was on.  Had I taken the 3:40 bus, I would have been 5 minutes late for transferring to Route 8, which ran infrequently (about every 2 to 2.5 hours). 



Again, use the Trip Planner on the Jefferson Transit web site as a guide, but check each transit system schedule and plan accordingly.  With some good planning, you can have a pleasant trip from Port Townsend to most places in the Olympic Peninsula using Public Transportation!  Or you can just use Jefferson Transit to travel around Port Townsend! 

SPOKANE, WA
Park Lane Motel and RV Park is located on Sprague Avenue on a bus line with frequent daily service to downtown Spokane. The initial bus you would need to take is #90. Check here for schedules for Bus Route 90: ( http://www.spokanetransit.com/ridesta/routesschedules.asp ). This RV park location is also good if you wish to attend an event at the Spokane Fairgrounds.


W Y O M I N G

RAWLINS, WY

There are basically three campgrounds  in Rawlins, Wyoming.  I stayed at Western Hills Campground in Rawlins, Wyoming in late April 2014, with the intention of staying one night and moving on.  However, due to a wind storm, I ended up staying four nights.  The three campgrounds are on one end of town, the shopping area is at the other end of town, not withing walking distance.  It was too windy to ride my EGO bike.  I got desperate to get out and go somewhere.  So, I did some googling and found out there is actually a taxi service in Rawlins, Carbon County Cab (307-324-9442).  So, I called and got a ride for $8 to the grocery store.  They came within 20 minutes after I called, picked me up at the campground.  When I was ready to call them back for a return ride, I noticed another taxi service picking up other passengers at the same grocery store (City Market, which is part of the Kroger chain).  This one did not show up when I did a google search, but it is also in Rawlins.  S&W Taxi at 307-324-9466.  I used them to go back to the RV park.  They charged $7 per ride.  


***********************************************************************************
ZIPCAR -  This is an option I want to try one of these days. It's a car sharing service.  Costs appear to be cheaper than a rental car.  However, they are located only in VERY MAJOR cities, and not in locations I usually travel to.  But I do intend to try them one of these days!

PLACES WHERE YOU CAN BIKE OR WALK

New additions will be shown at the top in green, then later moved down to alphabetical order, by State, then by city.


 


C O L O R A D O

COLORADO SPRINGS/MANITOU SPRINGS, CO

These three parks  are within walking distance of a lot of things:

Fountain Creek RV Park - Colorado Springs, near shops, banks, and restaurants
Garden of the Gods Campground - in Colorado Springs (very close to Manitou Springs)
Pikes Peak RV Park & Campground - in Manitou Springs, very close to shops

At Fountain Creek RV Park, you are close to a really cute "older" area of Colorado Springs, with shops. This park is one block from some fast food restaurants, and a brisk walk to the Safeway grocery store. You can also walk to some banks.

At Garden of the Gods Campground in Colorado Springs, there is a Mexican restaurant across the street. However, there are no sidewalks in this particular block, it's dicey to cross the street. Some banks and a Safeway grocery store are a few brisk blocks down, but you have to be very careful as it takes three or four blocks before you get an actual sidewalk.

Pikes Peak RV Park & Campground is actually in Manitou Springs. You could walk to shops if ou are ambitious, or take a short bus ride (see "Places with Transportation" section).

I D A H O

CALDWELL (Sand Hollow), ID

This location is a little stop just west of Caldwell, off Exit 17. Country Corners RV Park is a small park, very inexpensive. The owner brags that in the summer, he has a vegetable garden and guests can pick what they want, no charge! I wish I had stayed here in summer! If you don't feel like cooking, there is a small cafe withhin a very short walk from this park. Good for an overnight stay while enroute on Interstate 84.

COEUR D'ALENE, ID

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho has become quite the resort town. If you stay at River Walk RV Park, you are close to the North Idaho Centennial Trail, a good place to walk or bike. It's a brisk walk, or a short bike ride to the Riverwalk area where you can get to the trail.

MOUNTAIN HOME, ID

Mountain Home RV Park is located within a short, but brisk walk from a very large Wal-Mart. Just remember, if you are walking, don't buy more than you can comfortably carry, or else you will be lifting weights while you walk back. Mountain Home RV Park is a lovely park, great for full-timers. And, if you need a mailing service and want to use an Idaho address, UPS Store is conveniently located also within that short, brisk walking distance. Also, next door to the park is a Chinese restaurant that the RV park hosts highly recommend. 

MINNESOTA

EAST GRAND FORKS, MN

Red River State Recreation Area  is located within downtown East Grand Forks, MN 
This state park was created after the flood of 1997.  Once you are in the park, you don't really "feel" the city, except for the overhead freeway in the distance.  You can walk to a good selection of restaurants, a Cabela's store, a movie theater, and a day spa. 


M O N T A N A

Fairmont Hot Springs

Fairmont RV Park is open May 15 - October 15, and is located on Exit 211 off Interstate 90.  The park is located within a short walk to Fairmont Hot Springs Resort,  which is open year round.

O R E G O N

BEND, OR
If you stay at Scandia RV Park (no web site), along the south end of Business 97, you can walk to fast food restaurants, pizzeria, and a good supermarket (Fred Meyer, which also has a gas station if you need). There are signs along Business 97 indicating bus/transit service, but apparently, transit service is a "political hot potato" in Bend right now. The transit service was started around early 2007 even though voters voted "no" twice. Then they had problems with the busses. As of this writing, I couldn't find the web site for the transit service, and didn't see any busses running.

DEPOE BAY, OR
If you stay at Fogarty Creek RV Park or Sea and Sand RV Park along Highway 101, you can walk to the beach. There are also a couple of restaurants and a good grocery market within walking distance. The city of Depoe Bay is two miles south from these RV parks. There is a bike path along Highway 101, which is a pretty busy and well-traveled highway, so be careful!


FLORENCE, OR
If you stay at Heceta Beach RV Park, you can walk to the beach. You can bike in to Florence. I rode my electric bike down through Florence and got a flat tire. I had to walk my bike 6 miles back to the RV park. Flat tires on a bike/scooter are no fun!

GARIBALDI, OR
Garibaldi is a cute small town with a harbor and plenty of fresh seafood. If you are a deep sea fishing enthusiast, there are several charter boat trips you can try. If you need a cup of coffee and a donut to get you going for those 4:00 AM charter rentals, Bay Front Bakery opens at 3:00 AM with coffee and great donuts; and you can purchase sandwiches for your charter boat trip.
Three RV parks are located in Garibaldi that are within walking distance of the harbor and the charter boat trips, or anywhere you would want to visit (restaurants, grocery store, pharmacy, museum):

- Biak By The Sea

- Harborview Inn & RV Park

- The Old Mill

All three parks are along the harbor. The first two parks are near a Weyerhaeuser lumber plant, and could be quite noisy during the day. If you don't want the lumber mill noise, stay at Old Mill. Personally, I'm not saying any of the parks are better or worse than the others (I stayed at Harborview during my visit). These are the parks available if you just want to kick around Garibaldi, and all are within walking distance of anything in Garibaldi. Regardless of where you stay, you must walk to Fishermans Korner for the best Fish & Chips you have ever had!

If you want to spend more than a couple days in Garibaldi, but want to venture out, you can catch a Tillamook County Bus in Garibaldi and ride up to Cannon Beach or down to Tillamook. There are 6 routes a day, Monday - Saturday (excluding holidays), and daytime hours only.


GRANTS PASS, OR
If you stay at Jack's Landing RV Resort, you are within walking distance of lots of restaurants, both fast food and sit down. Jack's Landing is a nice place to relax for a few days. Grocery store is about four blocks down. 6th and 7th Avenues, which are bothone way streets and are "main drags," have bike lanes if you wish to journey further. Another place you can stay is Rogue Valley Overnighters. I walked past this place, I would only use it for exactly as the name says, "overnight."

Most of the surface streets of Grants Pass have bike lanes.

MANZANITA/NEHALEM, OR

If you stay at Nehalem Bay State Park in Manzanita, you can walk right to the ocean! You need reservations to stay in Loop A (closest to the beach), even in the winter time, even if it's not full. In the off season, you can stay in Loops B and C without reservations. On the other hand, the state park is maybe a couple miles from town. If you need supplies, you may need to walk or ride a bike. If you are willing to take a brisk walk, you can walk to a restaurant on Highway 101.

S O U T H D A K O T A

MITCHELL, SD

If you decide to overnight in Mitchell, South Dakota, there are some good options:

Exit 330 off Interstate 90: If you stay at Lake Mitchell Campground, you are within a brisk walk of a good grocery store, ShopKo, and some pizza restaurants.

Exit 332 off Interestate 90: You can dry camp overnight at Cabellas. There is a no cost RV dump station in the Cabellas RV Parking section. (Here is information with directions from FreeCampgrounds.com) You can walk to Wal-Mart.


UTAH

MOAB, UT

If you stay at CanyonLands Campground, which is located at the south end of Main Street in Moab, you can walk to most anyplace in downtown. I didn't get to stay there, but just observed it in passing.


W A S H I N G T O N

BIRCH BAY, WA
If you stay at Birch Bay State Park, you can walk to the little town of Birch Bay. It will be a hefty walk, but it can be done if you are in reasonably good health.

CASTLE ROCK, WA
If you stay at Mt. St. Helen's RV Park, you can bike, or ride a scooter around. The side of the road has a small narrow shoulder lane that bikes could ride along. In fact, at this park, you are about 4-5 miles from the Mt. St. Helen's Visitors Center. On the other hand, if you want to go to Coldwater Lake or Johnson Ridge, those will require a car.

CLARKSTON, WA
If you stay at Granite Lake RV Resort (which is now part of Premier Resorts, http://www.premierrvresorts.com/ click on Locations, then Clarkston), you are within walking distance of a Costco warehouse, and an Albertsons grocery store.

CLE ELUM, WA

Cle Elum, WA is a cute little town just east of Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90 across Washington.  There is a great little RV park called Whispering Pines.  Even better, this park is next door to an RV service and repair establishment.   This park is within walking distance of Cle Elum, but you do have to walk on an overpass to the freeway.  There are some good restaurants, and a Safeway grocery store.  And, if you need to "lighten your load," there is a great thrift store where you can donate used goods.

MARBLEMOUNT, WA

There are a couple of RV parks in Marblemount, but the best one to stay at is Alpine RV Park. However, this park is two miles east of Marblemount, kind of a hefty walk. Right now, the prices are pretty cheap, and even include free WiFi. Rumor has it that the park is under new ownership and the new owner has grandiose plans for the park. Right now it's just a relaxing "getaway." If you have bicycles or scooters, you can ride into Marblemount. However, US Highway 20 tends to be somewhat busy as it's the gateway to the Cascade Mountains. Marblemount doesn't have much to do, but there are a few restaurants if you don't want to cook. The best one is Buffalo Run.  During the summer, they have outdoor dining.

PORT ANGELES, WA

This is a very cute seaport town with lots of antique stores to look around. I got here by traveling from Port Townsend, WA, by bus, and transferring between the different county busses.  Only cost me $3.75 round trip!  I did note that an RV park named Peabody Creek RV Park is located right in town, and within walking distance of most things you might want to visit.  I didn't get to check the park out.  You may wish to consult RVParkReviews.com and scroll down to Peabody Creek RV Park and check the reviews before you decide to stay there.  I had a great Fish Taco lunch at Smugglers Landing .                   

PORT TOWNSEND, WA
 

Port Townsend is a quaint Victorian town. If you stay at Point Hudson Marina and Resort, you can walk to downtown Port Townsend. The RV park seems to do a good business.  Mid week, you can get in without reservations.  But for weekends, reservations highly suggested, even in winter!  Water view spots are $5 extra.  However, I had site 303, which isn't a "water view" site.  But if no one stays next to you in sites 305 and 306, it will be like getting a water view site without paying the $5 extra!  You can watch sailboats, and watch one of the fabulous Washington State Ferries come in to Port Townsend from Coupleville (Keystone), WA.  The park is at the end of Water Street, but you do have to do some weasling around some narrow streets to find it. But you do stay at the marina and have a view of the bay.  I paid $30 in April of 2012, and it was well worth it for me!  However, in summer, their rates go up to $50+!  Recommend staying during winter, well worth it. 

- Fort Worden State Park

If you stay at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, no need for a car for a few days as long as you are stocked with food. This is a beautiful state park that used to be an Army installation. It is now used as a conference center, to include two great RV campgrounds: one "upper"   campground in the trees, and one down on the beach. You can buy food cards in increments of $5 and use them at the "commons." It's highly recommended that you try the "Sunday Brunch" which is offered first Sunday of each month.

On the other hand, if you need to travel into nearby Port Townsend, then you may need some type of transportation.

SEQUIM, WA

If you stay at Gilgal Oasis RV Park, which is right in town, you can walk or bike to most businesses you might need! There is a good QFC grocery store and a Les Schwab Tire Store one block away. There is a Costco and a PetCo (for Pets) within biking distance. Also, if you have a pet and need medical service for it, there is a Veterinarian ( http://www.greywolfvet.com/ ) less than a mile away.


TWISP/WINTHROP, WA

If you stay at Riverbend RV Park, which is two miles north of Twisp, you can bike to either Twisp or Winthrop. Keep in mind, Highway 20 is pretty busy! Walking might be a bit much. There is a good grocery store in Twisp. Also, if you have a pet and need medical attention for it, there is a Veterinarian two miles south of Twisp, and another one in Winthrop. My cat suffered a medical emergency and the Twisp Vet, Dr. Dan Deweerts of Valley Veterinary, took care of my cat on a Saturday even though the clinic was closed.


W Y O M I N G

In Southern Wyoming, along Interstate 80, there aren't a lot of campgrounds. In April 2009, I was driving along I-80 in horrible fog, you could not see five feet in front of you. I tried to stop at Curt Gowdy State Park near Cheyenne. The park was 12 miles off the freeway, and once I found it, I couldn't find the "hookup" area. So, I got back on the freeway. I tried to stop at Arlington Outpost, because it was mentioned in a Wyoming tour guide, but once I saw it, I decided I would rather keep driving in the fog. Larmie, Wyoming has only a KOA available during winter months. However, I will not stay at KOA's because I got junk mailed (by the KOA organization) after staying at one. But I thought I would mention it for anyone else. Decided to keep on driving in the fog. I ended up at Rawlins dealing with an oncoming snow/wind storm.

RAWLINS, WY

These three campgrounds are located in Rawlins:

Western Hills
RV World
Rawlins KOA

I also saw one called "Golden Eagle" Campground, but I couldn't find a web site for it. I stayed at Western Hills, but RV World is also close by. Both parks are within walking distance of a restaurant. However, reviews of this restaurant that I found in the internet were just so-so. After the snow and fog cleared, I rode around the area. Both Western Hills and RV World are very close to an urgent care clinic and a hospital, if you need medical services, but Western Hills is closest. I didn't get a chance to see the KOA.

CURRENT FINDS

The Interpretive Ranger at the state park where I'm currently hosting told us how to prepare for a.........

Z O M B I E   A P O C O L Y P S E!!!!

 The children loved it!

 Didn't know Zombies had a Food Pyramid!

 Good tips to follow in the above picture. 
 

SIGHTSEEING

NATIONAL ROUTE 66 MUSEUM, Elk City, Oklahoma

Visited National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma.  There aren't any good places to park an RV.  Just cross your fingers you are there on a "low visitor" day and you can park your RV across 10 parking spaces, like I did.  It helps if you have AAA Motor Club, because you can get in for $4 as opposed to $5. 

FOUR CORNERS, USA
The Four Corners Monument ($3 entry fee) has a place to boondock in your RV.

US SPACE & ROCKET CENTER - HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA

There is a small RV park (phone number 256-837-3400) within a brisk walk from the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Prices as of this writing are relatively reasonable, $18 a night for water/sewer/electric only, no additional amenities. The RV park doesn't require a credit card deposit to make a reservation, although reservations are recommended. In my case, I did have a reservation, but the park ended up overbooking. So, they let me plug into a 20 amp connection on the side of their office building and charged me $5. It wasn't very level, but for $5, I couldn't complain.

AIR FORCE ACADEMY - COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

My nephew graduated in 2011 from the Air Force Academy.  Graduation was on May 25, 2011.  This worked out perfect for me! I stayed at Fountain Creek RV Park , which was about 1 mile from the Enterprise Car Rental place.  Enterprise delivered a car to me, no problem!  I got to attend my nephew's graduation.  It was wonderful!  THREE HOURS LONG, but it was very special!  The Thunderbirds entertained afterwards.  Also, I was very impressed with how employees of the Academy directed traffic.  Once I got back to my rental car, I got out of there very quickly! 

 PIKES PEAK - MANITOU SPRINGS, CO (near Colorado Springs)
If you stay at any of the following three campgrounds, public transportation is the way to go to get to the Cog Wheel Train!

Fountain Creek RV Park - Colorado Springs, near shops, banks, and restaurants
Garden of the Gods Campground - in Colorado Springs (very close to Manitou Springs)
Pikes Peak RV Park & Campground - in Manitou Springs, very close to shops

Don't try to take a car to the Cog Wheel Train, parking is crowded and limited. All three of the above campgrounds are located on Mountain Metropolitan Transit Route #3. You can take a short ride on this transit route to the Cog Wheel Train. Ask the bus driver to let you know which stop to get off. The bus stops where there is a sign directing you to the Cog Wheel Train. However, after you get off the bus, there is a bit of a hike (a smidge over half a mile) UPHILL to get to the Cog Wheel Train. I took the train, on the day I went, we could only go up to 13,000 feet due to too much snow at the top. They gave us a discount on the ticket price because of this ($25 instead of $32). The picture on the left is the perma frost that the train traveled through. The picture on the top right is at 13,000 feet, from the back of the train. The picture on the bottom right is at the "tree line" (the elevation where trees can't grow), somewhere between 10,000 and 11,000 feet. When you come back from Pikes Peak, you can explore Manitou Springs, a very cute tourist area, before taking the bus back to your campground.
MASSACRE ROCKS STATE PARK - AMERICAN FALLS, IDAHO
This state park has spectacular views of the Snake River, and has good fishing (trout, sturgeon) and some great hiking trails.



NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM - BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY
For those that like corvettes, the National Corvette Museum is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I didn't stop to visit, but I did drive through the parking lot and noted that there are spaces in back of the museum to park your RV.

PIONEER PLAYHOUSE - DANVILLE, KENTUCKY
Danville, KY has a small summer stock theater (Pioneer Playhouse) with an RV park nearby. Apparently, one of John Travolta's first acting jobs was here. At the age of 15, John Travolta played a doctor and had one line. Also, Lee Majors (under his birth name of Harvey Yeary) and Jim Varney have also appeared here. The RV park has about 25 spaces, some with electric only, and some with water and electric. The RV spaces are somewhat cumbersome to navigate into, but what the heck, the price is right ($18 as of this writing) and for $27 (as of this writing) you get dinner and a delightful theater show. I saw the show "Lend Me a Tenor."


LAKE CUMBERLAND STATE PARK, and KENDALL RECREATION AREA - JAMESTOWN, KENTUCKY
Lake Cumberland Resort State Park near Jamestown, Kentucky has camping places, a store, mini golf, a pool, and the Lure Lodge. All you would need, to include hiking trails. You won't have to travel anywhere. Lure Lodge features the Rowena Landing Restaurant. The word from the "locals" is to get the lunch buffet as opposed to ordering off the menu, it's much faster.

Kendall Recreation Area is near the Wolf Creek Fish Hatchery, and features good camping spots. The recreation area is six miles from the entrance to Lake Cumberland State Park Resort, and the amenities to the State Park Resort are another six miles in from the entrance. I rode my E-bike from Wolf Creek Fish Hatchery (where I workamped) to the Lure Lodge inside the State Park. This was 12 miles one way. My E-bike gets about 25 miles on a charge, and I was able to ride the full 24 miles round trip.
MAMMOTH CAVES NATIONAL PARK - KENTUCKY
Mammoth Caves National Park has a variety of cave tours. There are plenty of places to park your RV while you go on a tour. Get there early if you are in an RV. If the car parking area gets full, the cars start parking in the RV spaces. If you are there in the middle of the day and have pets with you in the RV, be mindful of them, and make sure they are able to stay cool in the RV. I left my vents open and left an ice bag in the RV with my cat. Kitty did fine. Also, you are not allowed to take any bags in the cave tours. They mean it! I thought purses didn't count, but apparently, they do! I had to rent a locker to keep my purse while I toured the caves.

KENTUCKY STATE FAIR - LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
At the Kentucky State Fair, RV's can park in Lot F. You have to drive through the main gate, and pay both Admission and the parking charge. Then, you proceed to Lot F, where you check into an office and pay an additional $10 (as of this writing), to stay overnight in the RV lot. No hookups, but generators are allowed. Basically, I had to pay $16 to park my RV (the $6 daily parking charge and the $10 RV overnight charge). This fair is huge! Lots of horses, as well as other animals. Also, the "community" area has lots of interesting booths. I had a good time attending this fair.

OREGON CAVES NATIONAL MONUMENT - OREGON
The road up to the Monument is very steep with a lot of banked hairpin turns. It is not recommended to take RV's and travel trailers up there. However, I did observe smaller RV's (24 feet or less) drive up there. Also, you can take a Josephine County Transit bus from Grants Pass to Cave Junction, but there is no public or commercial transportation up to the Monument. There are two ways you can visit the monument without having a tow car:


A. Stay at a park/campground near Cave Junction and ride a bike or scooter up the road. This web site will give you a list of campgrounds about 8-10 miles from the monument. Personally, I don't recommend doing this option unless you are Lance Armstrong. Even on a scooter, it would be tough, as there isn't much of a shoulder to ride on, and the curves are blind. The road up to the monument is narrow, steeply graded, and full of sharp hairpin turns that are banked. These two pictures are an example of the type of turns. However, these two pictures are not the worst areas for turns and steepness, they were just the two places I was able to photograph. The worst hairpin turns and steep areas were in the shade and there wasn't enough light to photograph them.

B. If you are staying in Grants Pass, there is an Enterprise Rent-A-Car, where they can deliver the car to your location. If you stay at either Jack's Landing RV Resort or Rogue Valley Overnight, the location is within walking distance. If you have AAA Motor Club, you get a 5% discount on the rental. I rented a car, no problem. However, keep two things in mind:

1. When you get to Cave Junction, make sure you have at least half a tank of gas. I had a quarter tank, and I started to drive up (17 miles from Cave Junction). I got 2/3 of the way up, and the gas tank was almost empty! You do not want to be stranded on that road, as there are no shoulders to pull off on, and there are many blind curves. I managed to get turned around, put the car in neutral, and coasted the car all the way back to Cave Junction. I got some gas and drove up again.

2. The road up there has so many banked hairpin turns that I was quite nauseated when I got up there and did not take the tour. When I drove back to my RV in Grants Pass, I was still nauseated.
TILLAMOOK COUNTY, OREGON
If you stay along Highway 101 in Tillamook County, Oregon (anywhere from Pacific City, south of Tillamook, to Cannon Beach, north of Tillamook), you can ride a bus anywhere up and down Highway 101 between these locations. Here is the route schedule. Keep in mind, depending on the location, there are only 3-6 routes a day, daytime hours, and Monday through Saturday. However, within the city of Tillamook, there are many "town loop" routes during the day for sightseeing (such as, the Tillamook Cheese Factory) within Tillamook. There is an RV park right across the street from the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I didn't stay here, if you want reviews of this park, check with RVParkreviews.com. I stayed at one RV park south of Tillamook (Pleasant Valley RV Park) that had a bus stop at the entry way. I did not get an opportunity to try out the bus line, I am just noting that it is available.

FLIGHT 93 - SHANKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA
The Flight 93 Memorial Chapel (left) can accomodate an RV if no one else is parked in the parking lot. I managed to park and go through the beautiful memorial garden in the back.

The Flight 93 Memorial (right) is easily accessed by RV's. The actual memorial has plenty of room for RV parking as long as there aren't any tour busses at the time you are there. I parked in the "tour bus" area.

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK - UTAH
You can either take your RV in to the Visitor's Center (RV parking area) and ride a bike up to the Park Avenue hiking trail (the cars are required to share the road with bikes), or you can take your RV to the Park Avenue hiking Trail. There are some RV parking places at the Trail Head. The road is paved, but it is narrow with some switchbacks. There isn't much shoulder area on the road. Those kinds of roads scare me, so I didn't take the RV up. However, I did ride my EGO and made it just fine. Here is a map of the trail area. I made it to the Control Towers.

FORT CASEY STATE PARK - COUPEVILLE, WASHINGTON
This is a small state park that is located near an old Army Fort, and includes a beautiful lighthouse that is open for tours. The old Army Fort area is a wonderful area for children with an imagination to play in.  The park itself is good for learning how to dry camp as  there are no hookups. The best thing about the park is it's proximity to the Keystone Ferry dock.  There are spectacular views of Puget Sound, and you can watch the ferries come and go.  Plus, if you have ferry reservations, I highly recommend staying  here the night before so you don't  have to get up early and rush to get there.

This is the view from one of the campsites.  You can see the Ferry arriving near the dock. 

MT. ST. HELENS - WASHINGTON
If you stay at Mt. St. Helens RV Park, you can bike or ride your scooter to the Mt. St. Helen's Visitors Center. However, Coldwater Lake and Johnson Ridge will require cars or some other transportation arrangements. (However, there is a Mexican restaurant right off the exit. I don't recommend eating there. The food server charged me 50 cents more for the item I ordered than the price shown on the menu. The item I ordered showed that if you ordered beef it was $9.50, chicken was $9.75. When I got the bill, I had been charged $10.25. When I asked why, I was told it was because "chicken was more." I said, I was aware of that, but the chicken price on the menu was $9.75, not $10.25. Food server still insisted that "chicken was more." I argued, food server agreed to reduce the price. However, when I asked for a receipt, I found I was still overcharged. Food server had charged me $9.95 (twenty cents more). I didn't notice it until I got back to my RV. This was a blatant attempt to extort and see if anyone notices.....

UPDATE:  In May 2012, I decided to try this restaurant again.  This time, they didn't have separate prices for chicken and beef, and I wasn't overcharged.

OUTLET MALLS

TANGER OUTLET MALL - LOCUST GROVE, GEORGIA
I stopped at this Outlet Mall in Locust Grove, Georgia in February 2012 while I was visiting a friend in Georgia.  This is one of many Tanger Outlet Malls around the country. I drove there in a rental car from Enterprise Rental.  There didn't appear to be good places for RV's to park, unless you parked across two head to head parking slots.  However, I wouldn't try this as this mall appeared to be very busy even though it was a Wednesday.  Good, easy access off the freeway.



TANGER OUTLET MALL - WILLIAMSBURG, IOWA
I stopped at this Outlet Mall in Williamsburg, Iowa. This mall has practically every store you can imagine. Apparently, this is one of many Tanger Outlet Malls around the country. Although I didn't find any special area for RV's to park at the Iowa outlet, I was able to park my RV comfortably across two facing slots. Good, easy access off the freeway.

NEBRASKA CROSSING OUTLET MALL - GRETNA, NEBRASKA
I stopped at this Outlet Mall located off Exit 482 on Interstate 80 near Gretna, Nebraska. This mall didn't have the wide variety of Tanger Outlet in Iowa, but had some decent stores. Again, I didn't find specific parking for RV's, but was able to park comfortably across two facing slots in the parking area. Easy access on and off the freeway. 

SEASIDE FACTORY OUTLET MALL -  SEASIDE, OREGON
I drove past this mall, didn't stop.  If it's not busy, you could park your RV in a "head to head" spot, but it appeared to me that the parking area wasn't really set up for RV's.