Another phenomenal year of RV travel is in the books! In this post, we look back at some of the highlights of our year of RV travel in 2024 including some of the costs.
We share a lot of details in this video, but we thought of several more noteworthy places and memories after we turned the camera off. (That always seems to happen!) So, be sure to scroll down and read our notes after you watch the video.
This was an AMAZING travel year for us! Of course, we have A LOT more videos coming soon with posts featuring all of the places we mention here and so much more. Stay tuned!
In 2024 we traveled 7,977 miles, visited 18 states and stayed in 43 different campgrounds. Our average length of stay was 6 nights and our average distance on a travel day was 190 miles.
We spent $3,800 in fuel and DEF over the course of the year and averaged $54 per night in camping fees.
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We share details about why we chose these parks in our video above. Watch the video for the details. Here are the links to every park we mentioned.
Least Expensive Stay: Downstream RV Park, Quapaw, Oklahoma (casino camping)
Most Expensive Stay: West Glacier KOA Resort, West Glacier, Montana
Most Beautiful Campground: Jim and Mary's RV Park, Missoula, Montana
Most Surprising Campground: Manistique Lakeshore Campground, Manistique, Michigan
Best KOA We Stayed at in 2024: West Glacier KOA (mentioned above), followed closely by Mount Pleasant / Charleston KOA, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
2 of Our All Time Favorites That We Returned to in 2024: Jamaica Beach RV Resort, Galveston, Texas and The Ridge Outdoor Resort, Sevierville, Tennessee
Biggest Wow Factor on Arrival: Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort, Spearfish, South Dakota
Best Bang for the Buck: Custer State Park, Custer, South Dakota
Again, we share details about each of these highlights in our video above. Watch the video for the details and check this list for the links...
Favorite Events: Volksmarch at Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer, South Dakota AND The Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup, also in Custer, South Dakota
Favorite Activity: White Water Rafting guided by Glacier Guides and Montana Raft as part of the AIM Club Lifetime Members Rally in West Glacier, Montana
Favorite Place for Boat Tours: Munising, Michigan in the "UP" or Upper Peninsula is home to both Glass Bottom Shipwreck Boat Tours AND Pictured Rocks Cruises exploring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Favorite Small Town: Harbor Springs, Michigan
Favorite Town We Visited for the First Time in 2024: Charleston, South Carolina (but Louisville, Kentucky was also pretty darn amazing!)
Favorite Tour: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Favorite Show: Brunch with President Roosevelt, Medora, North Dakota
Biggest Surprise Town: Livingston, Montana
Best Farmers' Market: Downtown Farmers' Market, Des Moines, Iowa
Best Hike: Avalanche Lake Trail, Glacier National Park, Montana. Our camera stopped recording before we talked about this hike. As you may remember, we began focusing more on healthier living this year and part of that is more hiking (which we love anyway). We hiked quite a bit this year, especially while we were at Glacier National Park and Custer State Park. We thoroughly enjoyed every hike. BUT the Avalanche Lake Trail was nothing short of stunningly beautiful and absolutely amazing! At the turnaround point we were greeted to incredible views of Avalanche Lake complete with several waterfalls and a grizzly bear scratching his back with a tree across the water! We will truly never forget this hike.
Most Interesting Place We'd Never Heard Of: Pompeys Pillar National Monument near Billings, Montana. We stumbled upon this place purely by accident on our way to Billings. Of course, we can't just pass by a National Monument and not check it out! This historic route marker is home to the carved names and messages of Native people, settlers, trappers and pioneers who passed this way through history including petroglyphs and an inscription by William Clark... yes, THAT William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition!
Most Impressive Museum We Didn't Expect to Find: Iowa Gold Star Military Museum, Johnston, Iowa. This FREE museum is located on a military base, so you won't see it from the street. But WOW... what an amazing, interactive collection of military artifacts, vehicles, uniforms and stories neatly grouped chronologically by conflict. This is an absolute must see for anyone visiting the Des Moines area.
Completely Unexpected: Finding statues of David in 2 different places! The St Augustine David is a lot more modest than the Louisville David! LOL
Best Special Treat: Handcrafted and homemade root beer floats at the Deadwood Soda Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Most Treasured Time: Baseball Spring Training with our son in Florida and helping Grammy K check items off her bucketlist in Tennessee. Watching Mom dance her way through Dollywood was priceless!
Best Tour Guides: We can't wrap up this year's wrap-up without giving a shoutout to our favorite tour guides: Tom's Aunt Mary and Uncle Larry! Every time we visit Des Moines, Iowa, they drive us all around the area sharing the best visiting spots and local gems. And this year, was no exception! You might just see them in our upcoming Des Moines video. Stay tuned!
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Hey y'all! We are Native Texans and (since 2018) Full-Time RVers sharing the adventures, challenges, and joys of RV life as we travel. We love camping and hiking in State and National Parks, discovering history, visiting interesting and quirky places, and exploring small towns. We're on a mission to experience life, not just live it with our dog, Star, and our cat, Astro. You can learn more about us on by visiting our About Us page. Thanks for joining us as we RV America Y'all!
