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The tools we use to plan an RV Trip
While Jennifer and I are big believers in serendipity travel – taking advantage of the unexpected sights and attractions we spontaneously encounter on the road – we came to the realization a long time ago that the more information we have ahead of time, the better of travel goes.
So once we have determined a destination, we turn to a variety of resources, both physical and virtual.
The physical resources are in the form of paper maps and books which we've collected for you on this list.
The virtual resources consist of a couple of great online tools.
We discuss them all in the podcast and in the video version, we show the different products.
Here are links to the resources we share:
Online resources we use the most when we plan an RV Trip
- RV Trip Wizard – https://rvlifestyle.com/rvtripwizard
- Drive Weather – https://driveweatherapp.com
- Harvest Hosts – https://rvlifestyle.com/hh
Books and Maps we use to plan an RV Trip
- National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways, the 275 Best Drives in the US – https://amzn.to/39DLzL0
- National Geographic Guide to State Parks of the United States and Canadian Provincial Parks – https://amzn.to/2FCP6f3
- Fodor’s Complete Guide to National Parks of the West – https://amzn.to/37HHYK4
- Amazing Festivals 100s of Hometown Celebrations – https://amzn.to/37JC0s2
- Rand McNally 2023 Large Scale Road Atlas – https://amzn.to/3QDpiCt
- Rand McNally Folded Paper Map of U.S. – https://amzn.to/3QOgFp0
And again, we've collected all our favorite paper resources on this list on Amazon.
Plan an RV trip to our Gathering at the Buffalo River!
With this podcast, we just announced our fall rally/meetup: The RVLifestyle Gathering at the Buffalo River in Tennessee!
It will be October 17-20 and is open to all RVers, no matter what kind of rig you have.
Each ticket is good for one RV and two adults and includes full hookups in the campground – water, electric, and sewer. Also included with the ticket is an awesome fried chicken picnic dinner, campfire, and s'mores on Tuesday at Ridgehaven Farms near Linden, TN, and a good old-fashioned block party and catered meal at the beautifully restored Commodore Hotel on Wednesday night.
There will be lots of opportunities for hiking, kayaking the beautiful Buffalo River (the trees will be in full autumn color!), exploring, antiquing, a visit to an award-winning winery and even a chance to come see the property Jennifer and I bought in the area and are turning into our own personal RV retreat.
You can get the complete schedule and all the details at https://RVLifestyle.com/BuffaloRiver
This event will sell out so be sure and get your tickets as soon as possible.
And we've been talking about this for some time now…
Mike and Jennifer's Official Travel Guide – Michigan's Lower Peninsula is now available!
You are in for a HUGE adventure. While some of our guides are designed to explore an area in 7 days, this one can take an entire summer to see it all. We chose to start in Detroit and travel north up the “Thumb” region, but you can pick and choose any section you want to begin your adventure.
Each Stop in our Guide gives you at least 3 places to camp while exploring the area! The state is particularly well suited for RV adventurers and the Michigan State Park system is one of the nation's best. But don't forget the beauty of boondocking. State forests abound, most offering rustic and dispersed off-the-grid camping. We hope you pick this up and enjoy one of our favorite places in the US to RV!
Maybe you want to explore ALL of Michigan – in that case…
Finally! Mike and Jennifer's Michigan Bundle
(Michigan's Lower Peninsula AND Michigan's Upper Peninsula)
This Michigan Bundle contains our ever-popular Guide to the Upper Peninsula PLUS our newest Guide on the LOWER Peninsula! Here's a little on both ebooks (not a printed book):
Michigan's Upper Peninsula Adventure Guide: This ebook is a seven stop guided exploration of the Michigan UP. We provide a suggested route and itinerary, links to multiple campgrounds and boondocking spots, and the best spots to see along the way. Don’t plan your trip to the Upper Peninsula without it!
Michigan's Lower Peninsula Adventure Guide: This guide explores the Lower Peninsula, also known as ‘the Mitten.” You can easily spot its mitten shape on the map. Most of this guide follows the coast of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, with a little bit of Lake Erie down near Detroit.
You are in for a HUGE adventure with this ebook bundle of the best of Michigan for RVers!
July 06, 2022at4:33 pm, Richard Kellogg said:
I think I saw on one or your emails a spreadsheet some RVer’s use for keeping track of fuel purchases and costs using the Open Roads Fuel card. If you have information on this I would appreciate a link where I can get that spreadsheet. Thank you so much!! Happy and safe travels.