fdkoh99
Junior Ranger
RMBL- INN – Second Hundred Nights.
One of our goals after I retired was to visit all the National Parks – so a big piece of the second one hundred nights was our various excursions to knock off some of the parks.
There were three of four trips that we took RMBL-INN with us and then one East Coast trip where we decided to fly and rent a car.
The first trip was to the South West – we left our son’s home in Colorado and headed south – hitting Great Sand Dunes, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad and Big Bend Nation Parks but there were other awesome spots along the way – like Canyon De Chelly, Tombstone (my favorite movie), Tent Rocks, Old Route 66 spots… so much history in this area – especially for the indigenous peoples. This was one of our long hauls.
The second big trip was heading East. We left Seattle and stayed North – we had already been to Glacier so our first stop was Teddy Roosevelt NP in North Dakota. He is one of my favorite presidents as he established the forest service added several National Parks and was quite the outdoorsman. The we stayed north and went to Voyager NP. We hired a fishing guide and my wife caught her first ever Walleye – and we had it for lunch at a wonderful old lodge that would cook your catch. Then it was off to Michigan and Isle Royal in Lake Superior. We left the TD in Cooper Harbor at the state park and jumped on the ferry. It was a rough ride but we loved the park. Next up Indiana Dunes on the south end of Lake Michigan, then Cuyahoga NP near Cleveland in Ohio. That was the farthest east we took the TD. We then went south to Mammoth Cave and Hot Springs in Arkansas. Then back up to St Louis and Gateway Arch NP which was an amazing spot right on the Mississippi and they had a excellent museum talking about the big migration westward in the mid 1800s.
At this point we took a trip during COVID to the east coast to finish those parks with a rental car.
Our third big TD trip was to pick up the parks in California that we hadn’t already visited. Lassen, Pinnacles, Channel Islands, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Sequoia NPs. So at this point we had been to all the NP in the lower 48, Hawaii, and two in Alaska. Not sure we will finish all those up there as they are very hard to get to and expensive – but what a journey.
To finish off the second hundred nights, we volunteered with the YMCA to build tiny homes on the Lakota Indian Reservation in Dupree South Dakota. Some could stay in the Y, but we chose to stay in the TD while we were there working. One week in 2024 and one week in 2025. We did a few nights on the way home in Wyoming and Idaho along the Oregon trail, route 30 north off I-80. We did night 200 at “Farewell Bend” State Park in Oregon.
We are in our early 70s and still absolutely loving the TD. Sleeping off the ground but cooking outside with an awesome galley ready for making some great meals. Do we wish for a toilet in the middle of the night – sure, but we try to find a spot close to the restrooms or a very private spot. We were backpackers back in the day – so really no big deal (yet).
Keep on Camp-Inn
One of our goals after I retired was to visit all the National Parks – so a big piece of the second one hundred nights was our various excursions to knock off some of the parks.
There were three of four trips that we took RMBL-INN with us and then one East Coast trip where we decided to fly and rent a car.
The first trip was to the South West – we left our son’s home in Colorado and headed south – hitting Great Sand Dunes, Petrified Forest, Saguaro, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad and Big Bend Nation Parks but there were other awesome spots along the way – like Canyon De Chelly, Tombstone (my favorite movie), Tent Rocks, Old Route 66 spots… so much history in this area – especially for the indigenous peoples. This was one of our long hauls.
The second big trip was heading East. We left Seattle and stayed North – we had already been to Glacier so our first stop was Teddy Roosevelt NP in North Dakota. He is one of my favorite presidents as he established the forest service added several National Parks and was quite the outdoorsman. The we stayed north and went to Voyager NP. We hired a fishing guide and my wife caught her first ever Walleye – and we had it for lunch at a wonderful old lodge that would cook your catch. Then it was off to Michigan and Isle Royal in Lake Superior. We left the TD in Cooper Harbor at the state park and jumped on the ferry. It was a rough ride but we loved the park. Next up Indiana Dunes on the south end of Lake Michigan, then Cuyahoga NP near Cleveland in Ohio. That was the farthest east we took the TD. We then went south to Mammoth Cave and Hot Springs in Arkansas. Then back up to St Louis and Gateway Arch NP which was an amazing spot right on the Mississippi and they had a excellent museum talking about the big migration westward in the mid 1800s.
At this point we took a trip during COVID to the east coast to finish those parks with a rental car.
Our third big TD trip was to pick up the parks in California that we hadn’t already visited. Lassen, Pinnacles, Channel Islands, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Sequoia NPs. So at this point we had been to all the NP in the lower 48, Hawaii, and two in Alaska. Not sure we will finish all those up there as they are very hard to get to and expensive – but what a journey.
To finish off the second hundred nights, we volunteered with the YMCA to build tiny homes on the Lakota Indian Reservation in Dupree South Dakota. Some could stay in the Y, but we chose to stay in the TD while we were there working. One week in 2024 and one week in 2025. We did a few nights on the way home in Wyoming and Idaho along the Oregon trail, route 30 north off I-80. We did night 200 at “Farewell Bend” State Park in Oregon.
We are in our early 70s and still absolutely loving the TD. Sleeping off the ground but cooking outside with an awesome galley ready for making some great meals. Do we wish for a toilet in the middle of the night – sure, but we try to find a spot close to the restrooms or a very private spot. We were backpackers back in the day – so really no big deal (yet).
Keep on Camp-Inn
