 In our fifth year of full-time RV living, we traveled 8,233 miles, averaging 257 miles per trip and staying at 29 places. Having headed east, where boondocking options are minimal, we spent the bulk of our six months on the road moochdocking. That gave us considerable time with friends and family while keeping our expenses low. Our travels took us to New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. Highlights of the year included sledding down white sand in Alamogordo, New Mexico; witnessing the total solar eclipse in Paris, Texas; visiting Buc-ee’s for the first time in South Carolina; touring Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina; and seeing the bombers from CAF Airbase Arizona in many places along the way. We often get asked about our favorite parts of the country. So, rather than spotlight our top stops of the year, we thought it might be fun to count down our five favorite RV destinations in five years on the road. As you can imagine, narrowing down the best areas this great country has to offer was no easy task. To be fair, there’s still a lot of the U.S. we haven’t seen (seven states, to be exact, not including Hawaii), but here goes. 5. Waveland, Mississippi  Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Waveland, Mississippi, is unique in that the city doesn’t allow commercial buildings on its 5-mile beachfront. That means residents and visitors can enjoy beautiful views year-round. Most buildings in the area are on stilts in case of flooding, making for even better panoramas. What drew us to “The Hospitality City,” population nearly 7,000, was Buccaneer State Park. The campground is set back away from the waterfront, so at the end of my workdays, we’d pack our beach chairs in Gulliver and drive to the coast to bury our feet in the sand and bask in the warmth of the sun. The area is probably abuzz during the summer months. After all, Buccaneer State Park spans 343 acres and features a waterpark. But we visited in late March 2022, far from peak season. We liked it so much that we returned in late April 2024, still beating the crowds. 4. Louisiana Another Southern state made our top five. Louisiana boasts beautiful state parks, many that offer cabin rentals literally on the water, in addition to canoeing, fishing, and hiking. Having stayed at these campgrounds in Delhi in the northwestern part of the state and Westwego near New Orleans, it was difficult to pinpoint a favorite area. Compounding our choices, we spent time in Ville Platte in the central part of the state to visit friends Dwaine and Belinda. The entire Pelican State made our list for its delectable Creole and Cajun cuisine, crawfish boils, and completely different way of life than what Bob and I grew up with in Massachusetts and Arizona, respectively. The people are genuine, friendly, down to Earth, and extremely hospitable. 3. New Mexico Deserts We’ve spent a fair share of time in the deserts of New Mexico. The wide open areas offer plentiful boondocking opportunities, something we’ve grown to prefer. Being out in nature away from the hustle and bustle of city life has a lot of appeal, at least for us. We weathered a wind storm with gusts up to 50 mph in the desert near Carlsbad, had the privilege of experiencing the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta while camping at a casino nearby, spent an adventurous week in Alamogordo, and braved the heat near Deming in mid-September. Although we didn’t boondock at all of these stops (we had hookups near Albuquerque and Deming), they were all remote and shared amazing vistas, alluring mountain views, and magnificent sunsets. 2. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula When we started RVing, we knew we wanted to head to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan sometime in our travels, despite having to drive our long, heavy rig across the 5-mile Mackinac Bridge. We took that opportunity in May 2021, before the tourist and Black flies seasons, and spent a week in St. Ignace on Lake Huron, a week in Gladstone on Lake Michigan, and a week in Christmas on Lake Superior. The UP is renowned for its numerous waterfalls, Porcupine Mountains, and Pictured Rocks — in other words, natural beauty. It definitely lived up to that reputation when we visited. Each stop offered lighthouses and unique things to see. Our favorite of the three was undoubtedly Christmas. While there, we rented a pontoon boat and toured the vast lake with frigid wind in our faces, docking on a small beach to grill lunch — an unforgettable experience. 1. Gravel Lake, Alaska  Our trip to Alaska in 2023 remains the top highlight of all our travels. We drove our fifth wheel on the Alaska Highway both ways, with picturesque overnights in Canada’s Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon. We spent the entire summer in the 49th state, from Memorial Day weekend to Sept. 1.
Of the myriad places we explored, manmade Gravel Lake (you won’t find it on a map), about 20 minutes south of Tok, ranked as our absolute favorite. We spent three wonderful weeks there, enjoying occasional appearances of moose, trumpeter swans, and fellow campers. For the most part, we had the quiet, peaceful place with mountain views to ourselves and appreciated its proximity to town for supplies. It also made for a good jumping-off point for a trip to Chicken, Alaska, a unique and worthwhile place to visit. You might also like 4 Perks of Full-Time RV Living.
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 While camping at my brother’s farm in the middle of Michigan, we noticed some dark brown spots on the exterior of our fifth wheel that we hadn’t seen before. I was able to rub some off, so we didn’t think much about them. But we were curious as to their origin. We hadn’t painted or diffused anything nearby. Had my brother sprayed some pesticide or mosquito repellant? A quick browser search indicated we were dealing with fly defecation. Situated across the street from a cow farm, we had observed a number of flies in the area, so we quickly dismissed the dots as that. Shooting Spores Fast-forward two months. After setting up our rig for a long-term winter stay in the Southwest, we paid someone to power-wash it. He finished cleaning the coach’s exterior, but the spots remained. It appeared we had wasted $250. Further research revealed we were actually facing a case of artillery fungus, which is commonly found on rotting wood in moist environments. Having been established in 1893, the Michigan farm had its fair share of decaying wood piles, especially after a heavy windstorm wreaked havoc on the property earlier in the year. The name of the fungus is derived from its ability to release, or shoot, sticky spores into the air that attach to things such as vehicles up to 10 feet away. Those spores, if left untreated, can become permanent fixtures. Not wanting Tagalong to be speckled with brown spots for the rest of his life, we decided we’d better do something about them. But what? They clearly didn’t come off with power washing, which included soap and water. We needed a stronger substance. Finding a Heavy-Duty Solution Having spent a decade working on WWII airplanes, Bob is familiar with a variety of heavy-duty cleansers. His favorite is called Awesome, an all-purpose cleaner we’ve only been able to find at Dollar Tree. Evidently, it’s also available on Amazon (paid link). Knowing Awesome did a good job of removing grease and grime from airplane exteriors, Bob decided to try it on the RV spots. Simple rubbing of the cleanser didn’t immediately erase them. So, he invested in a polisher and put that to work with the Awesome. That extra power did the trick, allowing Bob to scrub the dots away. The only problem with this heavy-duty cleaner is that it can strip away wax and protective coatings. And that’s exactly what it did to our rig. In addition to removing the brown spots from Tagalong, we effectively rubbed away any protectant, a must-have in the harsh Arizona sun. Investing Elbow Grease and Time That meant we had twice the job we thought we did. With rain in the forecast, we spent our free time dousing, rubbing, and scrubbing Tagalong’s exterior to clean all the spots and Awesome off and reseal it with Turtle Wax ceramic spray coating (paid link). On a 42-foot trailer that stands more than 13 feet tall, that’s no easy feat. It involved a lot of early mornings to beat the heat and a lot of ascending and descending our telescoping ladder, moving it, and repeating the process — for the better part of a week.  Afterward, we discovered a few spores we missed. Those will have to linger — and maybe even become permanent. But we’re confident our rig is clean and protected. And maybe next year, we’ll do the full job ourselves and not waste money on a middleman.
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AuthorThis is the travel blog of full-time RVers Bob and Lana Gates and our truck, Gulliver, and fifth wheel, Tagalong. Categories
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