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Old 10-28-2017, 03:56 PM   #1
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Winter camping Adventure

My wife and I are planning a winter trip south for the winter. We have noting planned and are going to do it on the fly. We hope to start in Florida and travel west with a final destination of Arizona for a month or so. We are not planning on staying anywhere for a long period of time unless we find an area we like. We are planning on spending some extended time near Texas Hill Country. We will stay near I-10 for most of the trip with detours for sightseeing. We are most interested in nature ,historical, and architecture. Any help or suggestion will be appreciated. Don't bother with any negative responses. We are going to try this no matter what anyone says on the negative side. Please only comment if you have useful info. We just want to get away from winter for a few months.
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Old 10-28-2017, 04:14 PM   #2
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Sounds like a fun trip.

Are you planning on boondocking or staying in RV parks? Are you members of Good Sam or Passport America? They can easily pay for themselves.

Personally, I dislike having to stick to a schedule but I would recommend making reservations at least a couple days ahead. We winter in Arizona - already our Park (700+ spaces) is totally booked for Feb. People here are speculating that the hurricanes in TX and FL are increasing the number of people looking at AZ.

Good Luck!
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Old 10-28-2017, 04:27 PM   #3
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staying in FL anytime after Christmas without a reservation is tough... you may find a spot for a day or two, but if you show up anywhere much past noon and think there might be a spot for you, well you and the other 3 people that showed up with the same hope... maybe there will be one spot... stay north of Tampa for the best luck doing that

boondocking spots south of Tallahassee are a possibility as there several campgrounds that is first come first serve...

if this sounds negative sorry... just a statement of fact these days...
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Old 10-28-2017, 04:42 PM   #4
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As long as you "Zig/Zag" off of I 10 along the way you should have a Good Trip! I hope this is not "Negative"! Youroo!!
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Old 10-28-2017, 06:56 PM   #5
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Thanks for all the helpful info so far. We will not be doing any intentional boondocking because we are not set up for it. We will stay in State Parks or private campgrounds that have hookups. We won't go any further south in Florida than St. Augustine probably. We will do some zig zag on I10 because we want to see Texas Hill Country and some of the Texas coastline as well. A lot of the travel will depend on state of recovery on areas near the coastline. I like Arizona the best because it is good for my aching body. We have not tried a trip of this length of time so it is anybodys guess as to how long it will last. Nothing negative about any of these posts keep any ideas or info coming. We are Good Sam members but not Passport America. We might give that some consideration. Our plan is to hit the road sometime after New Years probably within the first week of January. We will have to keep an eye on winter weather to give us a window to head south.
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Old 10-28-2017, 07:31 PM   #6
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Places I have stayed in northern Fl State parks that you MIGHT find a camp spot for more than a night or two are the following 5, especially in January and Feb. They are usually not that crowded until the weather starts to warm.

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park
Suwannee River State Park
Rainbow Springs State Park
Manatee Springs State Park
Ochlockonee River State Park

The next one is private and is near Port St. Joe, FL and is close to one of the finest beach areas in FL at St Joe Peninsula SPark. Presnell's is usually not full anytime I have been that way.

Presnell's Bayside Marina & RV Resort

Finally a national campground on a barrier island. I think they have over 300 sites so you may be able to find something. I reserved a spot in late Feb last Sept... they reserve 6 months out.

Fort Pickens Campground at Gulf Islands Nat'l Seashore

County park campgrounds that have no reservations that I know of are:

EG Simmons Regional Park near Ruskin, FL and
Shell Mound Campground near Cedar Key, FL

I have not stayed at the county park campgrounds but I did scout them out. I think they have at least some hookups.

Good luck...
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Old 10-28-2017, 10:34 PM   #7
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Texas Hill Country

If by Texas Hill country you mean the Balcones Escarpment then there is only 1 state park I know of near I-10. That is the South Llano state park near Junction, TX. If you can go off I-10 there is Lost Maples State natural area, Garner State park (very crowded in the Summer, not overly crowded in January/February), Guadalupe river state park, Pedernales Falls state park.

We are in the San Antonio area (Just on the edge of the Escarpment). Going further west you get into the mountainous areas (Davis mountains, Guadalupe Mountains). I can't say much about Florida, Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana.

Good Luck and happy camping. I can say that for historical buildings San Antonio has 5 18th century Spanish missions. 4 of them are still working Catholic churches.
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Old 10-29-2017, 10:55 PM   #8
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Thanks ! huizaar we would like to spend some time around San Antonio. The hill country I was referring to was the are around Austin, Fredericksburg, Dripping Springs. All suggestion will be looked at though.
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Old 10-30-2017, 01:11 AM   #9
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I am going to suggest that you be prepared to boondock if you are not going to make reservations. Have a couple campground finder apps and maybe a printed listing. Snowbirds fill things up more than summer.

In San Antonio, the Alamo is worth a look if you are going to explore the Riverwalk at night (really worth a look) if you haven't been there. I've always charged from San Antonio to Albuquerque, but there is a lot of interesting country in between that I regret not having had the time to see. Intend to remedy that soon.

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Old 10-30-2017, 09:02 AM   #10
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Near Fredericksburg

In or near Fredericksburg you have the LBJ Ranch which is open for tours and the Admiral Nimitz Pacific War Museum.
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