Let the 2026 Travels Begin

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It wasn’t until late February that we started to really put some thought into where we would travel over the upcoming year. We’ve been wintering in Florida for the past three seasons and spending the warmer months those three years in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, New England and the Upper Midwest. Technically we made it across the Mississippi River last summer, but eastern North Dakota barely counts as “out west”. Owning an RV lot at The Great Outdoors in Titusville Florida has been nice but if we always force ourselves to come back here each winter, any trip out west racks up a lot of miles and forces a travel pace much faster than we prefer. Part of the advantage of having our lot is the ability to put it into the rental system when we aren’t here. We’ve done that each summer but Florida isn’t as popular of a destination in the summer months so we receive minimal income from being in the rental pool. In theory, if we have the our lot available to rent for the high season too, we would get enough money to cover our property taxes and HOA fees. We decide it’s time to put that theory to the test and formulate a travel route and schedule that gets us out west and stay somewhere in Arizona during next winter.

The initial portion of the planning is relatively easy, we have appointments for motorhome service in Hudson Florida and Gaffney South Carolina. Beyond there, it’s pretty much an open slate. We pick several general areas we want to visit. A few of them are places we have already been to while others are places we’ve wanted to explore but never made the time. We also need to determine where we would land in Arizona for next winter. It’s kind of fun and tedious at the same time.

As we come up with proposed stops, we add them to the map and see how it impacts the route. It is an iterative process and takes time to come up with the plans. We spend a fair amount of time researching stops along the route and determine which places only need to be an overnight stop and which ones merit staying for several nights or weeks. Chris uses a spreadsheet that includes all the pertinent information like name of possible campground, number of nights, dates, distance between stops and what amenities we will have. She also adds details about activities or stops we should visit when in the area. For locations where we won’t have a reservation, we often come up with a backup location to stay. By March 7, we have enough information on destinations and dates to make our first reservations especially in popular areas or over the holidays. This continues for another week or so before we have a decent plan for 2026 travels shown in the map below.

Planned 2026 Travel Route

The mountains of New Mexico near Santa Fe and Taos is our first major destination which means we will be traveling west along Interstate 40 for the majority of the first leg of the trip. It’s roughly 1600 miles from Gaffney to Taos traveling through North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the panhandle of Texas. The likely highlights will include areas we have stopped at before: a week in the mountains near Asheville NC and several nights near Little Rock AR. As well as a few areas we haven’t visited like Oak Ridge and Memphis TN and Oklahoma City OK and Amarillo TX.

After 46 nights in New Mexico, we will cross over into Utah to visit Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef. We will travel across Nevada on “The Loneliest Road in America” as we make our way to Lake Tahoe for 12 nights. Heading south through California, we will stop at Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks and numerous Elks Lodges since California seems to have plenty of lodges with camping services. At Yosemite, we will try something a bit different. This national park really doesn’t have campsites big enough to fit a rig our size. There are private campgrounds outside of the park but usually over an hours drive to get to the more popular spots in the park. Having to do that drive both in and out each day and find parking didn’t sound like fun. So we’ve opted to reserve a campsite 60 miles south of the park for 9 nights but have also reserved a “tent” right in the heart of Yosemite Valley for 5 of those nights. This should give us lots of time in the middle of the park based out of the tent and then a few more days to explore the southern edge of Yosemite from our campground. We will continue through southeastern California as we work our way to the greater Phoenix area where we have an RV lot lined up at a resort that will serve as our winter hideaway for several months.

We think we have a good travel plan for the rest of the year but it also means we won’t be coming back to Titusville any time soon. After returning from our 5 nights in Jupiter Florida, we only have 3 weeks before we head out and have lots of things to attend to on our lot or on our motorhome. We do manage to get in a couple more fun things in the area. One day we needed to drive to a store in Orlando and afterwards we headed over to the University of Central Florida campus. It was a Saturday so the campus was rather quiet. We found the visitor parking lot and paid for 2 hours of parking on their app. We used one of the few Adventure Labs on campus to act like a tour guide.

Fountain on UCF Campus

This is a relatively new university founded just over 60 years ago so there aren’t any really old buildings on campus. As we walked around, we didn’t really notice and buildings that looked to be dormitories so we suspect UCF is mainly a commuter school or there might be a fair amount of off campus housing nearby? There were a few students in caps and gowns taking photos at some of the more scenic spots on campus so I suspect graduation took place recently. There were lots of statues and such of Golden Knights - the school’s mascot. We ended up making a 4 mile loop around campus on a beautiful afternoon.

The Golden Knight

Large Bird Nest Atop Stadium Lights

Recent Graduates Gather at Fountain

We managed to get all of our chores completed one day early so we were able to head over to possibly our favorite local place around Titusville. We had visited Orlando Wetlands a little over a month ago. At that time, there were dozens of newborn birds in nests easily visible from the boardwalk. We were curious if there were still baby birds. As we came into the park, we saw smoke in the distance. There was obviously a wildfire burning a few miles to the north of our location.

Wildfire Burns North of Wetlands

Green Heron

Turtle

As we got to the boardwalk, we discovered nearly all of the young have fledged and all the nests were empty. There were still dozens of spoonbills in the trees nearby.

Spoonbills in the Trees

Gator

Great Blue Heron

As we made our way further along the boardwalk, we got a better view of the smoke from the wildfire. We could hear a helicopter but a large wooded section was between us and the fire so all we saw was some small plane circling the area above the fire likely doing some sort of spotting mission.

Closer View of Fire

There was a fair amount of bird activity on the pond the boardwalk crosses. This section had a lot of chick weed and other floating plants that almost looked solid enough to walk on. We knew better but the grackle was positive it could walk from one leaf to another. At times it was performing an impressive split. There was also a pair of adult Common Gallinules swimming in the muck. They had two young chicks that made sure to stay close to mom and dad.

Grackle Takes a Wide Stance

Common Gallinules

Gallinule Chicks

We had waited around the area long enough to finally spot the helicopter that was fighting the fire. There was a section of the woods with slightly shorter trees and it made its appearance as it went by to drop another load of water.

Finally See the Firefighting Helicopter

We headed back a different route from the boardwalk and spotted a few more birds. We are definitely going to miss Orlando Wetlands.

Egret

Red-winged Blackbird

We pull out of TGO Sunday morning and head the 135 miles to Hudson FL on the western side of the state. The most direct route is to take a left coming out of our resort onto State Route 50 and head west across the whole state. But we tried that in the motorhome once before and discovered the traffic and lights through Orlando are unbearable. The traffic lights are not timed very well for a slow accelerating vehicle like ours. We’ve determined it is well worth the $13.50 it costs us to travel on the Florida Turnpike and avoid the stop and go traffic. Once past Orlando, we return to FL-50 for the rest of the trip. This takes us through Brooksville where we had spent two winters back several years ago. It was neat to see all these places we used to visit and were quite pleased with the outcome of the major construction project that was taking place when we had stayed there 5 years ago.

Our main reason for heading to Hudson is to have 6 of our dual pane windows repaired. We were there back in the late 2021 to have the one window next to the driver’s seat resealed. We were impressed with their work so when a few more of our windows had started to fog over, we knew where we wanted to have them repaired. It looks like they have expanded their “camping” area to allow for even more customers since our last visit but we arrived mid afternoon to find only a handful of other rigs parked there. We backed into a spot, hooked up electric and then took off in the Jeep to Clearwater Florida to have a late lunch at Skyline Chili. We also discovered that nearby Tampa has a Yuengling Brewery and while a tour of this location wasn’t going to work out for our stop in the area, we did find that some of the local Publix grocery stores carry their Porter beer which is difficult to find in most places so we picked up 2 cases and hope we have room for them somewhere!

The other nice thing about Suncoast Design’s location is that it’s only 6 miles from one of my sister’s home. We made plans to stay with Elaine and Mike while we are in the area since the work is expected to take 3 to 4 days. There isn’t any problem staying in the rig while they work on the windows since they come out early Monday morning to go over which windows we want repaired and they remove the full window and frame from the walls to complete the actual repairs inside their facility. They cover the openings with plastic covered cardboard and copious amounts of blue painters tape to keep rain and bugs out. We hand over the keys and explain we will be staying with my sister nearby and to let us know if they run into problems of simply inform us when they are finished.

Two Windows Removed on Passenger Side

Four Windows Removed on Driver Side

Our hope is to stay in Hudson until Friday morning to start the drive north to Gaffney SC. We get a call later on Monday saying that one of the most severely fogged window requires replacement glass since the original is etched. They informed us in advance that this was a possibility but they are partnered with a glass company right next door so we had assumed it would be cut and simply add a little to the total price. But they informed us that they actually needed to send out for the glass and it would take 4 weeks! There was no way that timeline could be handled with our intended travel plans. They understood and explained that they would clean the existing glass as best as possible, seal, reassemble and install. It will be much better than before but not up to their normal standards. They now have a template for the glass pane and if we happen to come through the area again, we can give them a months heads up and will replace the panel as part of their normal warranty for just the cost of the glass.

We enjoyed spending time with my sister and brother-in-law. We had lots to catch up on and it was nice to be able to relax in their large (to us) home. We made it to the weekly trivia contest with other friends but I’m not sure our knowledge helped the team all that much. Wednesday came along and we received a call saying all the windows are done, installed and water tested. We ask if it would be okay to keep the rig in their lot until Friday if we come in and pay. They were fine with that proposal since it didn’t seem like they were fully booked with work right now. This helped us by not having to see if we could park the motorhome at a nearby Elks Lodge parking lot for the remainder of our visit with my sister. When we went in to pay, we checked the six windows and found them to be so clear. Even the problematic window no longer looked like frosted glass.

From there, we headed over to Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park along US Route 19. It’s only about a dozen miles from my sister’s home but in the decades they have lived here, they had never checked it out or even realized it was there. They have likely driven past hundreds of times over the years. It’s not a huge place but there are some trails and boardwalks to explore the grounds and see the various springs. It was a hot and sunny afternoon so our timing for a visit wasn’t the greatest. We have already found the few geocaches hidden along the trails so we picked what we hoped would be a scenic walk possibly with some shade - the Springs Trail. We found the trail to be mostly shaded but some spots were quite sunny and the heat was tough. We got in a little over a mile walk out and back to the numerous springs. Admittedly, if there weren’t signs at the springs, I’m not positive we would have even noticed them. It was a bit longer walk than my relatives are accustomed to but there were benches along the way in the shade and we were able to take breaks.

Werner-Boyce State Park

One of Many Water Views

We spent a total of 4 nights staying with my sister. It was tough to say goodbye as we left Friday morning since we likely won’t see each other in person for a year and a half. We made it back to the window place and packed up the rig. We need to be at the Freightliner service center in Gaffney SC on Sunday so we will be ready for our early morning service the following Monday. Even though we are leaving from the west coast of Florida, our intermediate stops will be identical as if we were coming up from Titusville. Our first stop is at the Orange Park Elks Lodge on the outskirts of Jacksonville. We do make a detour through Green Cove Springs which is where our mail service is located. We have some mail being held there and it’s pretty easy to just stop for it in person rather than figuring out where we could have it sent. There is a plaza with a large parking lot several miles south of our mail service since there isn’t really room to fit the motorhome at our mail service. It works out well that while Chris drives the Jeep to get the mail, I can clean off the fresh batch of love bugs that are plastering the windshield and front of the rig.

After 190 miles, we make it into the lodge and decide that the dinner they are having that evening sounded good and would keep us from needing to cook. We head out the next morning to continue up I-95 another 217 miles to the Walterboro SC Elks Lodge. It seems like most of the times we stop here on a Saturday evening, the lodge is closed and the parking lot is empty. This time was no different. The good thing about this lodge is that it is a very quiet location compared to the lodge in Orange Park which is close to two very busy streets that seem to have traffic all night long.

We arrive at Gaffney late afternoon and find the place is fuller than we are used to. Fortunately there are still plenty of spots to park the rig. We do need to do a little bit of prep work to be ready for our morning service. The tow bar needs to be removed so they can have easy access to the rear engine where the majority of the work will take place. We get up early on Monday and I stand in line with others for when the service door opens at 6:45 AM. For those of us with appointments, where we are in the outside line isn’t all that critical since inside there are two service windows. One is for us with scheduled appointments and the other for those without appointments hoping to get serviced sometime this week. From what we have heard, people that show up without scheduled appointments nearly always are worked into the service flow during the week and can get out by Friday - most of the times. The annual service has a couple different levels with some things only being serviced every 2 or 3 years. This time we’re due for a fairly major service so we know it will take the bulk of the day.

Our Motorhome Pulled into Service Bay

The service center does have a nice waiting room, but we decided to head out and explore. A couple years ago we had visited Cowpens National Battlefield which is about 8 miles west of Gaffney. It was an okay stop but not necessarily worth a second visit. About 20 miles to the east is Kings Mountain National Military Park near Blacksburg SC. We haven’t been there before so we figure this might be a good way to kill some time while our rig is being serviced. Kings Mountain was site of a famous battle during the Revolutionary War but not being a history buff, I’m not overly enthusiastic about learning too much about this particular battle since I know how the war ended!

Entrance to Kings Mountain National Military Park

We arrive and found the visitor center is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. That was a bit of a bummer since it likely has a short video that explains what took place here back in October 1780. They did have some stamped stickers outside so at least we can “pseudo” stamp our National Passport book. It was a beautiful morning and there is a 1.5 mile loop trail takes us past all the significant spots from the battle.

Nicely Paved Walking Path

Centennial Monument

It was a fairly hilly area so it wasn’t a leisurely stroll but we made it around the loop and read all the plaques.

Another Monument

With Ornately Carved Granite

There might be more to see here but at least I had learned enough for the morning. We had driven through Kings Mountain State Park which borders the national site. They have a Living History Farm so we headed there to give it a try. We find the parking area and put our cash in the envelope to gain admission to the state park.

Entrance to Living History Farm

Pathway to Farm

It looks like they have a fairly nice setup with a blacksmith shop and mill for processing sorghum. There were a few other visitors wandering around but none of the buildings were open so we really didn’t get to experience what life was like here back in the 19th century.

Cabin

Blacksmith Building

Fence

There were a few horses and donkeys grazing in the fields but they weren’t at all interested in the visitors.

Donkey

Horse

One of the large mill buildings was pretty neat. It showed how the large gear that drove the mill was constructed of wooden gears and teeth. It looks like the thing still works when the staff is on site demonstrating the equipment.

Mill Building

Wooden Gear and Cog

We took advantage of the picnic table and restroom here and studied the trail maps for the rest of the state park. It looked like a trail out of this area would take us over to Lake Crawford.  It was a pretty hike and a beautiful setting.

Spicebush Swallowtail

Turtles at Lake

Lake Crawford

We expected to need to treat this hike as an out and back trail, but we found that the trail continued all along the southern edge of the lake well past where our maps identified there being a trail. When the trail finally did peter out, we saw the road through the park just a few hundred feet away. The woods were quite open and made for an easy bushwhack which permitted us to turn it into a 1.6 mile loop hike. It was so nice to see the beautiful mountain laurel in bloom all along the hike.

More Mountain Laurel in Bloom

We still hadn’t received a call from Freightliner. Usually they would have discovered additional service issues in the couple hours and called to get approval to work on them. So by not hearing, it’s likely good news. By visiting Kings Mountain, we managed to find caches in a new South Carolina county. I convinced Chris we should head south twenty miles or so to get one more before heading back to Gaffney. As I was driving, she was looking at what else there is to see or do in this part of the state. She discovered a produce stand called Bush-N-Vine in the town of York. It sounded like we could get some fresh strawberries since they are currently in season and it was pretty close to our original route.

We pulled in and found something much bigger than just a strawberry stand. They have multiple retail buildings and we first stop to get a strawberry shortcake with ice cream. They were huge and we should have just gotten just one and shared. After dessert, we walk around a bit and see an elaborate playground with swings and a huge sandbox with all sort of dump trucks to play with. No kids were using them, so I thought I could play for a bit. In the distance, we saw the strawberry patch with over a dozen workers out picking. Inside the main retail store is all sorts of items for sale - many from this farm or other local farms. We picked out a nice looking walnut cinnamon roll and a box of strawberries. It is definitely quite the place. We continue down south into the next county, find our cache and then head back to Gaffney.

Many Trucks to Play With in Sandbox

Strawberries Being Picked

We pulled in to Freightliner 15 minutes before they close. We saw our motorhome was back in the spot we had chosen yesterday. I was able to go in and pay the bill and also speak with the guy that performed the service so he could tell me how things looked. All was good although it was one of the more expensive service visits. But at least now, we can feel reasonably confident that we will make it safely out west this year. We have two more nights before we have our first camping reservation near Asheville North Carolina. We always tend to build in a buffer in case something more major is discovered during our service visit. We had planned on stopping at the Elks Lodge in Hendersonville NC to wait out our buffer nights but it was late and I was tired from all the driving in the Jeep, so we just stay in the service lot for an additional night and we will pick up the mountains of western North Carolina in the next blog post.