I grew up in the rural blue ridge mountains of Virginia a couple miles from Shenandoah NP so I have a natural affinity for the Appalachian mountains. I think there is nothing so serene as a stroll through the eastern forests of dense oak, poplar, spruce, maple, hickory. The fall foliage is incomparable for its beauty. There is something about being in the dense canopy that is surreal and encompassing.
I am leaving tomorrow for a long weekend at my favorite camping spot in the foothills beneath the Blue Ridge Parkway.
That said, I took my first big RV trip west this year after years of flying out for vacations and the beauty and vastness is breathtaking. The panoramas out west cannot be beat. The best thing out west are the boondocking opportunities. It is hard to find places to put a 35' coach in the Eastern national forests, but out west, you can pull over just about anywhere on BLM land it seems. Interestingly, I found the roads equal to or worse than eastern highways. They weren't as busy, but conditions were not great. Also, I found it considerably more expensive for fuel and food west of the Mississippi. I loved it and will be back often, but after three weeks, I missed the deciduous trees of the east! Even with more people in the east, you can feel more isolated due to not being able to see as much from the ground through the trees. Often you have to be almost on top of something before you know that it's there. I'll post some pictures from this coming weekend that are sure to make you appreciate what the east has to offer.
I like both and will continue to enjoy both as long as I am able. It's kind of like food, you can't have too much variety and too much of any one thing will put you in a rut but "its all good." ;D
I am leaving tomorrow for a long weekend at my favorite camping spot in the foothills beneath the Blue Ridge Parkway.
That said, I took my first big RV trip west this year after years of flying out for vacations and the beauty and vastness is breathtaking. The panoramas out west cannot be beat. The best thing out west are the boondocking opportunities. It is hard to find places to put a 35' coach in the Eastern national forests, but out west, you can pull over just about anywhere on BLM land it seems. Interestingly, I found the roads equal to or worse than eastern highways. They weren't as busy, but conditions were not great. Also, I found it considerably more expensive for fuel and food west of the Mississippi. I loved it and will be back often, but after three weeks, I missed the deciduous trees of the east! Even with more people in the east, you can feel more isolated due to not being able to see as much from the ground through the trees. Often you have to be almost on top of something before you know that it's there. I'll post some pictures from this coming weekend that are sure to make you appreciate what the east has to offer.
I like both and will continue to enjoy both as long as I am able. It's kind of like food, you can't have too much variety and too much of any one thing will put you in a rut but "its all good." ;D