There are tons of lists out there of the top things to get an RVer to help you make a wise gift-giving decision for the RVer in your life. But what if they already have all those things? What if you actually have to think of something all on your own?

We've pulled together some guidelines to help you understand the life of an RVer and narrow down what types of things to NOT get your RVer friend or family member. Hopefully this will help avoid some awkward conversations later, like "What do you mean all those expensive crystal wine glasses we gave you broke?"

​We have a 2005 DRV Mobiles Suites. It has carpet and linoleum in it from the factory. After traveling 2.5 years, we decided it was time to put something else in that was more aesthetically pleasing than the aging original flooring, but we had to figure out a way to create a smooth transition from the slide floor to the main floor.

​​Our summer was jam-packed with new places. We hit 7 National Parks and 1 National Monument over three states. While they were not new states—we’d hit them all coming south the previous fall—we hit new regions of these states with only minor overlap. 

From Lake Isabella in May, we put on about 2,000 miles in about 3 months, with the longest stay in any one place being 2 weeks in Lake Tahoe, and then about 3 weeks on Whidbey Island when we reached our northern terminus.

This was an incredible summer with lots of activities, beautiful sights, and good people. Here are some of the highlights!

Travel Stage: After Alabama Hills, before Sequoia & King’s Canyon National Park
Date Range: May 1 – 5, 2017
Summary:  We took the scenic route through the mountains and stay a few lovely nights on the shores of Lake Isabella! This reservoir is formed by the Kern River and is famous for windsurfing. When we arrived, the water level was rising for the first time in years from the spring snowmelt and the Kern River was raging.​

​From Lone Pine we need to get back over to the western side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to enter Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Park. The weather forecast said HOT for the next few days, so we looked for water. We found Lake Isabella along a “shortcut” through the bottom of the mountain range that followed the Kern River to Bakersfield. It turned out to be surrounded by BLM, National Forest and Recreational land that provided some amazing boondocking and days at the beach!

​In the fall of 2016, we made our way south along the Pacific Coast from Oregon down to Southern California. Come spring of 2017, we were ready to head back north and see the eastern side of California and the many marvels it held, including the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, and Lassen Volcanic National Parks. 

​Our first stop heading north was a place that wasn’t too much on our radar at first, but we loved it so much we extended our planned stay from 5 days to two weeks, the maximum stay limit at our campground!

​Our next stop was in Acton, CA at the Soledad Canyon Thousand Trails. We had stayed here a few month prior for a couple cold, windy, miserable days but now it was beautiful! Now that the weather was cooperating, we were able to do some more exploring!