Are most RV's used for camping? It appears from what I've read hereon they are.
We intend to be tourists not campers does anybody have information that will be helpful to us? We plan on leaving Ohio most likely the end of April and traveling to PACNORTH we love Washington State and Oregon areas.
What salmon are biting in May/June, how are they fished? Would I need a boat or guide?
We plan to drive the northern interstate routes to Washington with a diversion to Boiulder to visit friends. How will a 2000 Pace Arrow V 10 perform on such a trip? Are there any roads we need to be concerned with? What are the RV stops I'm told are just off exits and may be had fro $10 per night as a place to sleep/rest? How do I find them, are they safe?
Are there any National Parks we may utilize on our trip? WE are old and get the discount. Many friends ahve told me to drive only about 6 hours then stop, keeps one rested and better chance of getting space in parks is this valid?
Any other information in addition to my questions will be deeply appreciated.
We're tourists, but work in one spot for a few months. So I usually get local papers, newletters and info at the CG office on what to see while we're parked. If you're planning a trip, contact the State or City Tourism Dept to get brochures in advance to help determine your itinerary.
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RE: "Are there any National Parks we may utilize on our trip? WE are old and get the discount. Many friends ahve told me to drive only about 6 hours then stop, keeps one rested and better chance of getting space in parks is this valid?"
Yes!
As for Camping vs Tourist, I would think it is a little of each. Camping as one tours, and touring as one camps at least it has always been for us. I am sure for many the camping is the most important, perhaps the only thing. Then there are some who may camp only to hunt or fish. I always liked the camping as much as the fishing & hunting personally. Then there are those like yourself, who are just touring and just happens to spend the night in the RV instead of a motel. We happen to enjoy them both. But we can be very happy just hanging around the campgound, enjoying the great outdoors and watching wildlife and birds is a real bonus. Even reading a book at times. I enjoy the chores which one must do while camping.
Another possible question on the lines of yours would be Camping vs RVing or staying in campgrounds or boondocking vs staying in RV Resorts with full hookups. I prefer the campgounds and do not wish to go to the resorts.
Now back to your Q. Can't help on the fishing part. But here are somethings I have collected on camping/touring the Pacific Northwest:
We have stayed at Birch Bay State Park in Washington twice over the years, used it as a base for going to Victoria, Canada. Once on the way out of Canada, once before going into it. It is a 194-acre camping park with 8,255 feet of saltwater shoreline on Birch Bay and 14,923 feet of freshwater shoreline on Terrell Creek. The park is rich in archeological significance and offers panoramic views of the Cascade Mountains and Canadian Gulf Islands. Very nice park, neat views, neat seafood in the area.
We enjoyed a short stay at Sequim Bay State Park, a year-round, 92-acre marine camping park with 4,909 feet of saltwater coast in the Sequim "rainshadow," just inside Puget Sound on the Olympic Peninsula. The bay is calm, the air is dry and interpretive opportunities await visitors.
To get to Sequim from Birch Bay, we did take a ferry to Port Townsend. Can't remember route at this time. We also took a ferry from an island, which we drove to from Sequim, to Seattle. Bough some fresh pawns at a small country stop & shop and some smoked salmon from some guys selling it from their van along the way. Go some crab boil at a Super Market in Sequim. Oh, was it a feast! We went to the Aquarium in Seattle and rode a tram to close to the Space Needle.
Anyone of these PARKS must be neat, they are along the coast no less, what could be wrong?
After staying a few days at Sequim Bay, we spent a night at the Olympic National Park Campgroud at a Rain Forest site, can not remember the name, etc. instead of finding one along the coast. It seems the Rain Forest area by on the Pacific side of the Park.
But before leaving Washington, we stopped at Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly Fort Canby State Park) is a 1,882-acre camping park on the Long Beach Peninsula, fronted by the Pacific Ocean. The park offers 27 miles of ocean beach, two lighthouses, an interpretive center and hiking trails. Visitors enjoy beachcombing and exploring the area's rich natural and cultural history. The nearby coastal towns of Ilwaco and Long Beach feature special events and festivals spring through fall. It was very nice. Some sites are on the beach or very near it.
In Oregon
We found a nice campground around the Oregon Dunes NRA which extends for 40 miles along the Oregon Coast, but can't remember the name. The dunes were Very neat to hike into, but we found the campground was to far from the beach. This was in the lower part of the state. I believe it was a National Park campground, along the 101 with dune drifting down into it. We saw a deer, an owl, the kids played in the sand.
Like the Washington state parks, there are Oregon State Parks all along the coast. They are all good for both a short stay or longer. Good spots for a one-nighter while covering the miles and Good places to stay for several days and deeply relax in a quiet, beautiful, interesting spot. We stayed a 2 I believe. One was Beverly Beach State Park, very nice, near New Port.
Bullards Beach State Park might be the other one, or one close to it might be it. We may have walk to this one along the beach from where we were.
Fort Clatsop a Lewis and Clark National Historical Park was neat to see, our young kids loved it. It is near Astoria. No camping there.
The bridge over the Columbia River is neat to cross at Astoria as well. We stayed a couple of nights at a state park located just outside Ilwaco at the very southwesternmost corner of Washington. Camping facilities include 190 standard campsites, 60 RV sites and 4 primitive campsites. It was called Fort Canby State Park when we were there, but is now: Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly Fort Canby State Park) is a 1,882-acre camping park on the Long Beach Peninsula, fronted by the Pacific Ocean. The park offers 27 miles of ocean beach, two lighthouses, an interpretive center and hiking trails. Visitors enjoy beachcombing and exploring the area's rich natural and cultural history. The nearby coastal towns of Ilwaco and Long Beach feature special events and festivals spring through fall.
The campground was Walking distance to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse which began operating in 1856, and is now the oldest lighthouse still in use on the West Coast.
Redwood National and State Parks to see the Redwoods just inside CA before getting into Oragon. RED WOODS
Many State Parks in Oregon. South Coast Central Coast North Coast
We stayed at the one just north of New Port, very nice area. We also stayed at one south of there. I believe any of them would be great.
Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (US Forest Service) for over-night stays from the mouth of the Siuslaw, to Cape Blanco at Coos Bay. Dunes Forest Service
Oregon Coast Coast
Washington Coast Hwy 101 like the Oregon coast, any park would be neat.
Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly Fort Canby State Park) was very nice when we visited it many years ago. Campground
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument was neat to see. Mt.St. Park
Portland Waterfalls. Falls
Nice drive up the Columbia River from Portland. We stopped at one falls on the drive, not sure of the name now. But is away from the coast.
On one trip, we went inland for a side excursion to see Crater Lake in OR. CraterLake and Shasta Lake in CA. Shasta Camping
We traveled mainly on 101, except for the trip to San Simeon to Big Sur to Monterey and over to Half Moon Bay. And of course to Crater Lake and Shasta.
There were several lighthouses alone the way which were neat to see & photo and great views of the Pacific.
If you go up towards Half Moon Bay, there is a neat lighthouse to see at the Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park. Half Moon Bay has a nice state beach with camping as well. PARKS PARKS 2
My painting of Pigeon Point Lighthouse
My second painting of Pigeon Point Lighthouse
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DesertHawk - Las Cruces, NM USA
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Seems to me the only difference between tourists and campers is where they stay.
We are bikers and follow the bike trails around the U.S. but we stay in our RV. One reason is that no matter where we go our surroundings are familiar once we get there. No packing up to get to the next strange motel room, etc.
Dick_B
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Well, we don't camp in our RV, we travel so I guess that equates to tourism. The six hour travel day is a nice routine. You don't have to get up early and stopping mid-afternoon sure makes getting 'campsites' easier. It also gives you time to 'look around' were ever you may be. If you are staying on the interstates, you may miss a lot of neat stuff. The back roads are where most of the interesting sights are located. Generally speaking, the interstates are safe and easy to drive. There are way too many places to see to try and list them here. I suggest you contact the tourism departments of the states you are travelling through. They will gladly send you maps and books dedicated to tourism in their states. I would get a guide for the fishing trip. Knowledge of the local waters will improve your ability to catch fish and ensure you thoroughly enjoy to time.
As for Nat'l Parks (Nat'l Forest have nice campgrounds as well and COE & BLM New Mexico examples), I am sure there are many between Ohio & the Pacific.
These are a few I believe would be between you and the west coast:
Yellowstone & Glaicer Nat'l Parks, Cody, WY & Buffalo Bill Museums (Five really neat ones), Thermopolis Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis-WY, Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park in North Dakota, Custer State Park & Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Devil's Tower in WY, Little Big Horn Battlefield Nat'l Monument in MT, Peace Garden & Lake Metigoshe State Park in ND and also in ND, Fort Abramham Lincoln State Park near Bismarck. A neat area is Clear Lake, Iowa as is the Twin Cities of MN.
Some neat places to camp Wyoming Sites with Lake Views.
You can divert from I-80 south to Boulder and retrace your route back to I-80 if you want, or you can choose to take I-70 west across the Colorado Rockies to Utah, then north on US 6 or I-15 to catch up to I-80 once again. You'll have some very mountainous driving - by which I mean LONG climbs & high altitudes - in Colorado, west of Denver, but the scenery is beautiful & (IMO) unmatched on any other interstate hwy in the country. Don't expect to keep up to the speed limit while climbing - just gear down, stay in the right lane, and go. Lots of other folks, including truckers, will be heading uphill at 25 mph too. I-80 is flatter, but can be very windy; there are some mountain climbs (& descents) between Rock Springs WY and SLC, and near Laramie WY. We've done both routes and each has something to recommend it - wide open spaces in Wyoming (with some distant mountains on occasion), and of course the mountain scenery in Colorado, which surrounds you on most of I-70.
Not sure I've heard of $10/night stops just off the interstate; perhaps some of the city or county parks in some of the plains states might qualify. We just stay in state parks or campgrounds when heading west on these routes.
If you drive I-80 one direction, then take I-90 or I-94 the other direction on this trip. That will give you somewhat different scenery and different places to visit. You can most certainly be a tourist in your RV - to me, that's what most of us are. "Tourist" means someone who is touring someplace where they don't live - or sightseeing near their home as well.
Main Entry: tour·ism
Pronunciation: \?tu?r-?i-z?m\
Function: noun
Date: 1811
1 : the practice of traveling for recreation
2 : the guidance or management of tourists
3 a : the promotion or encouragement of touring b : the accommodation of tourists
Main Entry: 2camp
Function: verb
Date: 1543
intransitive verb
1 : to make camp or occupy a camp
2 : to live temporarily in a camp or outdoors —often used with out
3 : to take up one's quarters : lodge
4 : to take up one's position : settle down —often used with out transitive verb : to put into a camp; also : accommodate
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I-80 is flatter, but can be very windy; there are some mountain climbs (& descents) between Rock Springs WY and SLC, and near Laramie WY. We've done both routes and each has something to recommend it - wide open spaces in Wyoming (with some distant mountains on occasion), and of course the mountain scenery in Colorado, which surrounds you on most of I-70. 
