I suck at mornings.
It is just one of those things about me that everyone knows. “Avoid Leila until she has coffee!” which is something that is SAID often!
It isn’t implied.
It isn’t just joked about.
It is a survival fact.
When I’ve been camping with friends they won’t let me out of my tent until coffee is made.
It’s something I’m working on. It’s a wonder why anyone camps with me, actually.
Anyway…
January 2nd is a morning I wake up with a pep in my step and dancing around like I’m Michael Jackson. I’m stoked and wake up too early… why? Because that’s when campsite reservations open up for my favorite campgrounds in July.
Yes, I start planning camping trips after the New Years for the Summer.
Did you know you had to do that for prime locations in California? Long past are the days when you can load up the car and just take off on a whim.
Okay, you can still do that but you may not find a walk on site to camp at. Honestly, if I load up my truck to go camping and there isn’t anything available someone might get a wild monkey ninja kick in the armpit.
That painted a really strange visual.
Ahem…
So if you want to plan camping trips now I will tell you my process:
First figure out where you want to go. Determine how far you want to travel and how many days. Hop on over to Reserve America and search for a campground. It’s fun to search for campgrounds! Well, I think it’s a lot of fun. There are a lot of search options where you can find the perfect campground… want one that allows animals? Or that has fishing? Near the water? You can search for all of that!
Then hop on over to Campsite Photos and see if this amazing site that I spend hours daydreaming over has the campground you are considering. They show every site with the site numbers! This is a HUGE help when you are going somewhere new. Write down the sites you think you like the most.
Then you will want to hop on over to Yelp and TripAdvisor to check out what people have said about your future campground. Pay attention to the people and their focuses! Some people can’t stand things about campgrounds that I don’t mind and others will recommend things that mean nothing to me. Everyone is different… but do your research on opinions because most people will discuss what they love and hate about sites which is helpful in your decision making.
Refer to your list of sites you are considering after getting opinions and list the sites in priority from highest to lowest.
If the campgrounds are already available to reserve then start going through your list. If you have to wait until they open up, like I did this morning, then get your Xanax ready! When sites open up for prime locations for the peak weekends over the summer you better bet your butt that a lot of people are waiting for those campsites! Get up early, make sure you are logged in to Reserve America and be ready to refresh as soon as they open up. Book! Relax.. and then spend the next six months planning meals, gear and fun!
Camping is something I loved when I was a kid and hated it when I was an angry teenager. Now as a Mom I absolutely love it. I’ve been planning camping trips for this year since last summer. I’d love to take a year off and travel the USA camping with my kids. That is a dream of mine! Right now I will settle for spending a crapton of time outdoors during the warmer season and hopefully sharing it all with you.
{ 7 comments }
