Pike National Forest Dispersed Camping

Pike National Forest dispersed camping – Idyllic campsite in the woods

My adventures for the day ended a bit early, but I didn’t get the best sleep last night and the drive back down the mountains felt like rushing things. I heard there were some good dispersed camping spots in the Pike National Forest so I decided to check those out. “Nice” is an understatement – … Read more

Wyoming Stealth Camping

Sneaky but delicious continental breakfast

This part of the trip is the consequences of my seat-of-the-pants style travel. Time to pay the piper. In this area of the world there aren’t a ton of options for camping other than RV parks and I’m not keen on bailing out to a hotel every night when I basically have a tent on … Read more

Custer State Park – Game Lodge Campground

Custer State Park - Game Lodge Campground

Camped at Custer State Park – Game Lodge Campground last night. The sites are a little wonky but overall it’s a nice spot with some of the only foliage changes I have seen in the area. Bonus they have hot showers even this late in the season. I stayed at site 52E which was the … Read more

Sheridan Lake South Shore Campground

Sheridan Lake South Shore Campground

I was late arriving to the Rapid City area last night but found open sites at the Sheridan Lake South Shore Campground. Temperatures were pretty warm for the season and I only had one neighbor nearby who were quiet which made for some peaceful sleep. Unfortunately I couldn’t see anything when I got there and … Read more

Lake Vermillion SRA camping astro

Lake Vermillion SRA - Lazy astrophotography with my iPhone 13 Pro

After spending entirely too much time getting supplies and eating dinner in Sioux Falls, I had to scramble a bit to find accommodations for the evening. Based on where I was heading next, and due to some other parks having started closing campgrounds for the season now, I found a site at Lake Vermillion State … Read more

Palisades State Park

Palisades State Park - Views of Split Rock Creek looking downstream from the cliffs above

My first out-of-state camping stop on this journey was at Palisades State Park in Garretson, South Dakota. I arrived well after dark and mostly just went to sleep, but the next morning I did some quick exploring. There are a couple trails here the run along the Split Rock Creek. I considered hiking them but … Read more

2024 October Western Road Trip Start

Kenosha County Drive Start - Late start but decent sunset

Welcome to the start of my 2024 road trip that spans almost the entire month of October. I’ve basically taken no vacation this year and had nothing in specific in mind this year, so figured what better to do than become a willing nomad in search of some good old fashioned American road trip adventure. … Read more

Wyalusing State Park – Wisconsin Ridge Campground

Wyalusing Wisconsin Ridge Campground - View across the Wisconsin River valley

Went on a weekend trip with my friends from the Tacoma World forums. Home base was the Wisconsin Ridge Campground at Wyalusing State Park in Bagley, Wisconsin. We had most of the sites in the 140-150 range looking down along the Wisconsin River valley. Here’s my site – I parked all the way behind the … Read more

Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail – BRF to Picnic Point

My Tacoma on the ice & snow covered trail between large log piles (photo courtesy of my friend Jonathan)

I’m not sure how or why it came to be reality, but for some reason our Tacoma crew decided it would be smart to try a winter outing. In February. In Wisconsin. And it was a good idea! Well mostly aside from the frozen camping. Read on for more details! Day 1: Main Trail Drive … Read more

WI Pipeline Off-Roading (June ’22)

Tacoma Off-roading - Overhead drone shot of the group (photo credit Camerasandcoffee of Tacoma World)

Back in summer of 2020 I bought a Toyota Tacoma with the intention of being able to explore deeper into places that my other cars & small SUVs wouldn’t allow. After over a year of maintenance, planning, and building it up I was able to join a group from the Tacoma World forums on a … Read more