2ndgenfulltimer

Boy, I don't envy you the decision you have to make about which way to travel.... As Don mentioned you can travel up Arizona 89, I would recommend heading west towards Jacob Lake rather than through Page. There are a couple of campgrounds in Jacob Lake (U.S. Forest service with no hookups and a commercial campground) from where you can day trip into the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - a completely different experience from the South Rim. From Jacob Lake you can continue on to Zion National Park, which is truly stunning. We have traveled numerous times across Highway 9 - which takes you through the tunnel Don mentioned. You will be asked to unhook your toad, and traffic will be stopped from the opposite direction so that you can drive down the middle of the roadway - it's the only way to do it. There is also a toll - last time we went I think it was $10 for the coach - to travel through. There is a campground inside the National Park which has electric hookups or several commercial options outside the park - by far the most popular is Zion River Resort in Virgin, Utah - here's a link: http://www.zionriverresort.com/ Don's Glendale, Utah recommendation is also a good one. You can 'home base' from here while checking out both Zion & Bryce - equally stunning but completely different. I would recommend a couple of days in Salt Lake City - you can take in the history at Temple Square along with the Great Salt Lake. North of town is Golden Spike National Historic site which preserves a unique part of our not so distant history - http://www.zionriverresort.com/ Park City, UT is also a short drive east of Salt Lake City and you could easily pass a very scenic day here! I don't have a campground recommendation here but there are several commercial options in the area. Now comes the tricky part....there is another option!! From the South Rim you can travel highway 89 to highway 160 - heading towards Tuba City. This will take you through the Navajo Indian Reservation the scenery is stark but beautiful in its own way! From 160 you want to take 163 - be sure to stop at the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park - there is a campground. You can either do the drive through in your toad or travel with a Navajo guide. I am sure the scenery will be very familiar to you! Don't miss Goulding Lodge & Museum which is across from the Tribal Park it is full of interesting movie memorabilia. From Monument Valley you will continue up 163 to 191 which will take you into Moab, Utah home of Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park. All amazing places and worth spending time at. When you are done being amazed by the power of nature you will continue up 191 to it's junction with Interstate 70 and head west to Interstate 15 OR you can travel up 191 to Highway 6 and Interstate 15. I70 is very scenic and faster but we are big fans of the road less traveled!! Both options are good ones but be aware that Utah can be very hot in August - we've seen temps over 100 in both Zion & Moab previously.

We stayed at Skidaway State Park - no sewer sites but they do offer 50 amp. It is a beautiful State Park and is about 15 minutes from Savannah. Here's a link: http://www.gastateparks.org/net/go/parks.aspx?LocationID=19&s=0.0.1.5 If you are looking for a unique dining experience check out the Crab Shack on Tybee Island - it's also about a 15 minute drive from Skidaway.

We drove the "Top of the World Highway" back in 2005 and experienced no problems. It is mostly dirt and can get very dusty if the weather has been dry ( as it was in our case ) or very wet and slippery if it has been raining. In fact, we were still removing dust from our coach years later - it is amazing how it seeped into all the cracks and crevices and managed to shake it's way out over the years:) The ferry is small and depending on how many people are crossing you may have to wait a few trips but other than that you should have no problems ( we went across with our tow vehicle attached) And, yes, it is free of charge. We are headed back to Alaska/Canada this year and have decided not to take the Top of the World Highway trip this time. We are traveling with friends who have never been North and have recommended that they leave their coaches in White Horse and take their cars up to Dawson City for a couple of nights stay in a B&B or hotel - there is a lot of history in that area that shouldn't be missed. Did you drive the Top of the World Highway is one of the first questions people will ask you if they find out you traveled north to Alaska....we have advised our friends to do all or part of the drive in their cars so that they can honestly answer the question Yes! One more thing...be sure and check on the conditions of the roadway. We had a group of friends who went to Alaska last year and they had planned on driving over from Dawson City to Tok. When they arrived they discovered that the road was closed due to excessive rain.

We made a trip from the Denver area down to Durango last year. We took I25 to Pueblo. From there we took I50 to Canon City. We spent the night which allowed us time to take in the Royal Gorge sites. From Canon City we continued on to Durango, traveling I50 to 285, to 112, to 160. It is all mostly 2 lane highways but the scenery can't be beat! This drive did take us down the Wolf Creek Pass which can be a bit hair raising but it is also BEAUTIFUL. We just took it slow and enjoyed the ride! Mesa Verde National Park does have a campground inside the park. Only a few of the sites have electric hookups the rest are all dry camping but we love to stay there - you just can't beat the night sky! If you have the time Colorado Springs is worth a couple of days - you can visit Garden of the Gods, the Olympic Training Center ( they do tours ) and the USAF Academy. You can also day trip out to Cripple Creek and make the drive up Pikes Peak ( or take the cog railway) We stay at Cheyenne Mountain State Park - another beautiful campground. We also love the Fort Collins/Loveland area but this could be because of all the Micro-breweries!! We have used Boyd Lake State Park in Loveland as a home base for day trips into Rocky Mountain National Park - a not to be missed National Park in our opinions... The New Belgium Brewery ( makers of Fat Tire, amongst other great beers) along with O'Dells and Fort Collins Brewery are all worth a visit as well!! Fort Collins is also a fun, funky college town with a great downtown area. Seems you have been given lots of good info on the Black Hills area and I'm glad you got a reservation at Custer State Park - it's an amazing place. Besides the wildlife loop and the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway ( be sure to pick up a brochure so you don't miss any of the unique sites on this National Scenic Byway ) you can easily get to Mt Rushmore, Jewel Cave and Wind Cave National Parks. If you do decide to make the drive through the Badlands ( and I would second the recommendation to skip Wall Drug if you have limited time!) be sure and stop off at the Minute Man Missile Historic Site - here's a link: http://www.nps.gov/mimi/index.htm They do offer tours but you need to make reservations ahead of time - it is a very unique look at our not so long ago history! Have a great trip.....

We spent a week at Oak Plantation Campground - http://www.oakplantationcampground.com/ - back in 2008. They offer full hookup sites for under $40 a night and will accommodate any size rig. They also offer a 10% Good Sam discount. It is easy to find and get in & out of as well as being convenient to Charleston. I would not hesitate to stay there again or to recommend it to you! The other choice in the area is James Island County park - http://www.ccprc.com/index.aspx?NID=909 - they did not have space available for our rig ( 40 footer ) when we visited, but they get really good reviews on http://www.rvparkreviews.com/ which is a site we use all the time for finding RV parks!

We have stayed at both Pohick Bay Regional Park - located in Lorton, Virginia and Cherry Hill - located in College Park, Maryland. Pohick is a little more rustic and requires a drive of about 15 minutes to the closest Metro Station. Cherry Hill has a few more amenities but we found the sites to be fairly close together with limited 'outdoor' space. Cherry Hill does have a bus station right in the park which will take you to the closest Metro station. We found that waiting for the bus, along with all the stops it makes on the way to metro station to be a bit tedious, so we chose to drive ourselves to the station ( about a 5 minute project vs. 30 on the bus!) The Metro is fast, convenient and very 'tourist' friendly. There really is no better way to get around DC. We did drive in on a couple of evenings to check out the Mall & various monuments and had no problems with parking.

We have the Sharp convection/microwave combo and use my cast iron all the time on the convection setting. I have to believe that your GE is the same. The convection functions basically as an oven. On mine the 'low mix' and 'high mix' settings cook with a combination of convection/microwave so you have to be careful what type of medium you cook in on those setting.

We spent a week at Dr. Babler State Park in Chesterfield with our kids & grands (6 & 8 at the time) back in 2009. It was a good jumping off point for visiting the sites of St Louis. The zoo is amazing and it's free! Grants farm was equally enjoyable and cost $11 per carload with no additional fees. You can always take a free tour at the Anheuser Busch brewery - our little people enjoyed it! And don't forget the Gateway Arch with it's Museum of Westward Expansion. As for baseball....well, you can go see the St Louis Cardinals, we took everyone and had a great day! We had no issues or concerns about safety or crime.

Jackson County offers several camping options - here's a link: http://www.jacksongov.org/content/3279/3798/default.aspx. We spent a wonderful week at the Blue Springs campground in Lee's Summit. It was a short drive into Kansas City & Independence ( for all the Harry Truman sites...) We stayed in site #59 - which was full hookup with plenty of room for our 40 footer & towed. Rates were under $30 a night.

We spent several days in Bismarck and really enjoyed our visit to Fort Lincoln State Park. This is the last fort that General Custer and the 7th Cavalry were stationed at. From Bismarck we headed up to Riverdale - staying at Downstream Campground which is run by the Army Corps of Engineers. We spent a couple days here checking out the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, the Knife River Indian Villages National Park and other historic sites. Our next stop was Williston. We stayed at the Lewis & Clark State Park. From here we day tripped to Fort Union Trading Post National Park and Fort Buford State Park. I would agree with visiting both sections of Theodore Roosevelt National Park - the northern side is a bit out of the way so we chose to stay in Watford City overnight to visit it. We stayed in the White Buffalo Campground - nothing fancy but it met our needs for an overnight stop. We stayed in the National Park for three nights on the southern side. It is dry camping and they only offer a few sites that will accomodate larger rigs. There are a couple of commercial campgrounds outside the park in the city of Medora. Hope I've helped?! It is a beautiful part of the country with lots of history.

We spent a week last year at Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado Springs. It is a beautiful, new campground offering fullhookups for $30 a night. We visited Garden of the Gods, the Olympic training center as well as Pikes Peak from it. We've never been to Branson but have been told to stay at America's Best Campground when we go by our club. I would also recommend using www.rvparkreviews.com - the reviews are done by campers and I have found them to be spot on! Another great resource for planning prior to arriving is Yelp.com - again, the reviews are done by users and it has never let me down when visiting a new area!