Travel…a Few Kilometres at a Time

Side trips and short detours are enjoyable ways to enhance RV experiences while on route to a final destination.

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Words by Jason Betzing

It has happened to us many times. We would travel along our planned route and then see a cool attraction. Contemplating whether to stop, we often decided ‘there's not enough time.’ Inevitably, one of us would say, ‘we'll stop on our way back.’ My wife and I always mean it when we say it, but unfortunately, we rarely do.

Being full-timers, it took us four trips through South Dakota before we actually stopped at an attraction we wanted to see. When my wife and I finally took the time to visit the Badlands more extensively, it was very rewarding. We hand-fed prairie dogs, enrolled in a bourbon tasting, admired buffalo grazing and watched beautiful sunrises. Who would’ve thought all of this could have been discovered in an area like the Badlands?

After that experience, we stopped saying ‘we’ll stop next time.’ With a few exceptions, deadlines are no longer set during our travels. Our open schedule allows us the time for new experiences, making trips even more enjoyable.

There are benefits of getting to a destination quickly and efficiently, but there are also significant advantages of taking unexpected detours. These unplanned side trips truly define the RV lifestyle. We have discovered some exciting spots, met some great people and made some amazing memories after driving off the beaten path.

It’s so enjoyable ‌that we rarely plan our next stop until we're on the road. What’s more interesting is we have been RVing this way for the last three years and rarely had an issue finding a camping spot for the night.

For us, this has morphed into what I refer to as ‘the lazy method.’ We commonly drive about four hours per day, hitting the road by around 9 or 10 am and are at a campground or boondocking site by 2 or 3 pm.

On our last trip across the Southwestern U.S., we wanted to see Tombstone, AZ. It was quite far off the highway but we had the time and it turned out to be an interesting destination. We rode in a stagecoach, had lunch in a haunted saloon, watched a reenactment of the Shootout at the O.K. Coral and visited the famous Boot Hill Cemetery.

This detour (and many others we have taken) provided a lot of fun that we weren’t expecting. Taking side trips also reduces road fatigue and gives us extra energy to explore the campground we stay at for the night.

By now you may think, “it's crazy to just hit the road without a plan.” Believe it or not, we are ‘planners’ and like being on time. The secret is to make the flexibility of ‘no plan’ actually part of the overall plan to a destination. We do this a few different ways.

  • When we decide on a destination and determine how long it will take, we always add a few extra days to avoid being rushed. This is also a good idea in the event we experience any mechanical issues (or are held up waiting for repairs), which has happened more than once.
  • We make sure the fuel tank is always topped up and have extra supplies. This gives us added time.
  • We're fans of Roadside America, Roadtrippers and Atlas Obscura to find new attractions. We enjoy ‘quirky’ so it's fun to see side trips like the World’s Largest Soda Bottle in Arcadia, OK, the Missouri State Penitentiary for a ghost tour, or Bodega, CA, where Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds was filmed.

Making plans while on the road has taken us to interesting RV parks as well and we have met wonderful people. Some of the unique campgrounds included:

  • Theresa's RV Park and Beauty Shop; Cuba, New Mexico

This park had four full hookup sites for $20 USD a night and the charming host offered a discount in the salon. Cuba’s population is less than 800 but it had everything we needed, including a gas station, grocery store, and even a wonderful Mexican restaurant where we enjoyed dinner before going on a boondocking adventure in the Four Corners region.

  • Route 66

While visiting famous Route 66 without too much of an agenda for the day, we discovered the Blue Whale of Catoosa in Catoosa, OK. We took photos, spoke with the staff, and browsed the gift shop. The staff suggested we stay at Sayre RV and City Park, in Sayre, OK. We have since stopped here several times we otherwise wouldn't even have known existed.

  • Dawson, North Dakota

Another enjoyable experience at the last minute was a cool camping spot we found behind Wolff's Bar and Grill in Dawson, ND. It was perfect timing to stop for the day as we could enjoy happy hour. Dawson has a population of less than 70 and we had quite the time with the locals pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Even when we are on a schedule, sometimes travels just don’t go as planned with interesting results. We were once on our way to Sequim, WA, from Natchez, MS. We had suspension problems on our tow vehicle and slowly limped to Pendleton, ID. Fortunately, we found a casino along the highway and ended up boondocking in the parking lot for a few days and had an absolute blast while waiting for repairs to be completed.

It was here where I discovered the flavours of Triticale whiskey, my wife found an amazing butcher shop, and we enjoyed delicious pho (a Vietnamese soup dish) at the casino restaurant - things we never would've experienced if we were too wrapped up in meeting a tight deadline. We could just go with the flow and enjoy our unplanned detour. Although we needed to be in Sequim at a certain date, we gave ourselves a lot of extra time and even stayed an extra day after repairs to the truck were complete.

Travelling ‘a quarter kilometre at a time’ is what makes RVing so exciting and should be enjoyed by most RVers, especially when motoring to a long-distance snowbird destination.

For us, the whole point is the freedom it provides and choosing the path less travelled has made a huge difference on the road.

Five years ago, Jason Betzing and his wife sold it all to live their full-time RV dream. Jason retired at age 40 when they decided winter is a drag and world travel is more fun than Shovelling snow. He's an RVpreneur who enjoys helping people through sharing authentic, first-hand experiences. Connect with Jason on Instagram @BadCompanyBBQ, or through his website at https://badcompanybbq.com/