There is an old joke about asking your wife to choose the next trip by throwing a dart at a US map. So we are spending a week camping next to the baseboard in the laundry room.
I am frequently poring over maps and Google Earth looking for interesting places that tickle my curiosity. If I find a particularly interesting spot, I then do internet searches trying to find a trip report or some on-line reference. If I do not find one then I know I have found a destination. This has led us to some fantastic spots to boondock with great scenery and solitude. It has also led us to some pits of despair that we couldn't wait to escape. On a few occasions it resulted in campsites I drove into easily enough, but had extreme difficulty negotiating the rig out of there and had to cut trees to maneuver. Oh well, it is all part of the adventure.
One site in particular -- a friend told me of a spot he found right where a stream entered a lake. Large shady trees overhead, and overlooked the lake and meadow. Google Earth confirmed it. It looked great! The access road seemed OK. We made it in without too much mishap. Had to remove some fallen branches and logs from the forest two-track, and a few places were pretty tight (Another coat of paint and we would have scraped). But the site was great -- fishing at the mouth of the creek a few steps from the campsite, a wildflower filled meadow out the window, with deer and elk grazing in the morning, waterfowl on the lake, and not another person in sight. It was heaven. A week later it was time to leave and found a very large ponderosa pine fell across the road during our stay, blocking the road. No cell coverage, too large for my little camp saw. I backed up the road a ways, unhooked the trailed, and by limbing the log and cutting the top, I was (barely) able to skid the log in 4wd low. At least enough room to snake the trailer through.
Another site was nice and quiet, a small glen in the forest. A nice boondocking site -- until dusk. Then the mosquitoes emerged in a stygian horde. A black cloud enveloped you as soon as you stepped outside after dark. We lasted one night.
One RV park looked nice enough on the website. Couldn't find any negative reviews, but when we arrived after a long day of driving, it looked like a third world refugee camp. Trash, stink, loose dogs running all over, cars up on blocks, and every RV in the place looked like it was held together with duct tape and rust. Since it was a one-night travel stop we stayed, after making sure everything was locked up and secured.
On the flip side of that, last summer we were looking for a place to spend the night between Watford City, ND and Great Falls MT. Not a lot to choose from. On google maps we spotted the Kiwanis Club Campground in Lewistown MT. Evidently, it was a small parcel of land next to the airport the local club bought as a service for people like us -- a one night spot to camp. No hookups, but was grass, and some picnic shelters. A voluntary donation was requested. We figured, "For one night it will be fine. Nothing spectacular, but convenient." It was lovely! Despite being right on the highway and next to the airport, it was quiet (DW says once I take my hearing aids out I wouldn't hear a 747 taking off). A grocery store directly across the highway allowed us to restock the larder. We were expecting a gravel parking area but found a really nice place to camp.
As far as destinations go, one I think I won't bother returning to is Blue Mesa Reservoir in Colorado. The internet writeups all describe it in superlatives, but I found it meh. Fishing was good, but that particular area did not strike me as any more noteworthy than anywhere else. I also found Crater Lake NP as not worthy of a second trip. The lake is beautiful, no dispute there. The rim drive has frequent overlooks, and every one is spectacular. However, other than look at the lake there is not much else to do. Not a great hiking park. So it is checked off our bucket list, but I won't return. Too many other higher priorities to visit.
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