When we first started talking about this adventure, one of the common questions was, “Do you have an itinerary?”. While it’s exciting to think of just heading where the wind takes us, when you’re hauling a 37-foot 5th wheel camper AND have certain places and people you want to see AND want to avoid snow at all costs AND don’t want to drive more than 3 hours per day…you have to do a little planning. Andrew is the chief planner and navigator (since Michele STINKS at that). He plans out 3 – 4 months ahead of time (for instance, as of October 15, we basically had the itinerary set through late January). Using planning tools like RV Life Trip Wizard, he evaluates routes and campgrounds to ensure we have a safe, interesting, and efficient path forward. 

Thanks to his deep research into campgrounds, we have yet to find one that we hated—in fact, we’ve found something to love about almost all of them! Our favorite so far is Clear Creek RV Park, nestled in a city park in lovely Golden CO. We could walk to town (fun shopping, yummy food, and coffee) and explore fabulous trails that took us high up into the surrounding mountains (in one case, a little higher than Michele expected to be on a solo walk!). 

One thing we never expected to have to plan? Where we would purchase gas! But with diesel between $4 – $6/gallon and a Ford F350 that gets pretty crappy mileage, Andrew uses apps like GasBuddy to locate the least expensive diesel in each location, AND he’s added a wide variety of gas loyalty cards next to his beloved Costco card in his wallet!