A Mobile Odyssey

Boat and RV

December 14, 2019

Conestoga Charlie is breaking with the general format today.

There are 22 photos and not in the order of travel but rather in the order of amenities.

I was reading a piece about a very bad commercial campground experience, qnd thinking back I remembered some others that had issues similar to this poor guy.

The assigned site power station was defective so he moved to another with working power.

The owner/manager not only refused to correct the problem but charged an additional fee for the move and refused a refund.

So now they are paying for 2 spaces.

I realize this is in no way typical however; it did start me thinking about our experience so far!

Background: we started our motor home odyssey June 4, 2018 and without solar panels.

In all this time we only stayed at 1 commercial campground at $25 a night and was quite pleasant.

There have been many more free campsites that we have used and some had host and some did not, regardless the stays were far more pleasant and trouble free than many I have read about that should be much better because of paying for the space!

I have compiled a short list of just a few of the many places along with features and amenities that we have camped and I have posted reviews of each.

1. Streeter Park, Aurora, Nebraska, 4 day limit with complete hookups, a dump station and Wi-Fi (very good) at no charge.
2. Deshler City Park, Nebraska, 2 day limit free electric and water, with dump station in town.
3. Bayard, Nebraska, 2 day limit free electric and water no dump station.
4. Riverside Park, Douglas, Wyoming 2 days, with bathroom and hot showers, dump site and water.
5. Indian Casino in El Reno, Oklahoma 4 days and provides full hook ups.
6. Kiwanis Rest Stop and Campsite, Lewistown, Montana 10 days, Flush Toilet, Water and Trash pickup.
7.  Ottawa State Fishing Park, Minneapolis, Kansas 14 days with pit toilet community pavilion.
8. Big Eddy Campground, Heron, Montana, 16 day, pit toilets boat ramp.
9. Finlay Flats (Noxon Reservoir) Thompson Falls, Montana 14 days, Pit toilets Boat Ramp.
10. Mystic Springs Cove WMD, McDavid, Florida (Free Reservation Required) 5 days, Boat Ramp Chemical Toilet.
11. Deep Creek Preserve, Arcadia, Florida (Free Reservation Required) Chemical Toilet security gate.

 The short stays with free hookup are great for a rest on the way to a destination and will allow use of 110 Volt accessories not usually used during Boondocking.

In general our stays at all of these places were not just restful but a pleasant break from Wal-Mart and rest stops and were all considerably quiet compared to big truck noise and shoppers racing around the parking lots!

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Boat and RV  December 13, 2019 (Happy Friday the 13th)

Conestoga Charlie and company are almost recovered.

The Campground featured today is Deep Creek Preserve near Arcadia Florida.

Southwest Florida Water Management is the managing agency, and located at 10797 SW Peace River Street, (Latitude N-27.059072 Longitude W-082.022021).

There is a portable chemical toilet and one faucet that dribbles out non-potable water

.The campground is free but requires a reservation obtained online from swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/deep-creek-preserve

The grounds are very well maintained and loaded with beautiful trees laden with Spanish moss.

There are plenty of exercise opportunities and the weather should be mild most of the rest of the winter season. 

The road nearby does not pose any obtrusive noise and down the road at the Peace River edge and a homey little place called, Nav-a-Gator Bar and Grill.

Open from Sunday to Thursday 11-to 9 Friday and Saturday 11-10.

Check out specials. 

For travelers in the Gulf Coast area of Florida, it is a very good location and we are having a pleasant stay in spite of just recovering from the RSV virus that kept us down for almost 8 days.