We Cut Our Trip Short!

I can't pinpoint anything tangible, but somewhere between the bookings we made in 2021 versus those we made in 2022, we seem to have gotten a much better sense of what to look for in a campground. We've always known the necessary essentials, and of course it's always a plus to have a nice community, view, or amenities. I suppose it's just being in the groove of really diving into the details of a place. I now have a planning process and a mental checklist I run through to make sure the campground can best accommodate our lifestyle. I suppose what it boils down to is, I'm less impulsive. Though we still make some last-minute choices, we do it with the mindset of, "This is life," not "This is a vacation."

One of the earliest bookings I made was definitely an impulse, and it came when I discovered an RV campground for dogs. All the amenities are dog-friendly and lots of the sites even have their own fenced-in area. I immediately bumped this campground to the top of our list, thinking it would be fun for Tanner's adoptaversary on May 25. Now, I didn't just impulsively book the campground before researching further, but I saw it had rave reviews on RV Trip Wizard, so I felt like it was a good choice.

I booked Four Paws Kingdom so early on that it was already in our calendar before our trailer service appointment. As luck would have it, the two are only a couple hours apart from one another, so that was our impetus to book Trailers of the East Coast on May 16, and then head over to Four Paws right after. The plan was working out great. We arrived to find the cutest, most whimsical array of RV rentals interspersed with campsites. The grounds were beautiful and rustic. The hosts were extremely nice. I had a smile on my face right from the start. That was until we started settling in and I noticed that I had overlooked a non-negotiable: We had ZERO internet.

Before we launched, we made sure to have a variety of internet sources. We don't want to rely on campground WiFi, so we also have cellular internet that allows us access as long as we have AT&T, Verizon, or T Mobile signal. At Four Paws, the cell service was spotty at best, and the WiFi may as well have been non-existent. To make matters worse, our Verizon-based internet hadn't been working properly from the get-go, and according to our sources, Verizon had the best reception in the area. We knew we'd have to troubleshoot to try and get Verizon to work. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to do that right away because both Anthony and I had to jump on evening meetings shortly after we finished setting up camp. Go figure, it was the only time we happened to have meetings so shortly after arrival. Isn't that the way it always is?

We fumbled through our meetings and ended the night feeling frustrated. At that point there was nothing we could do except get ready for bed and try to figure things out in the morning.

It's true that we didn't always research coverage as thoroughly as we do now, and frankly, most of the places we're traveling this year are likely to have at least some cell service, so we sometimes let it slide. That's not a great idea when you're headed to a small town fairly close to the mountains. Granted, downtown Rutherfordton had service; we just didn't on the outskirts where Four Paws is located. Also, had we checked cell service, we would have seen several campers' reports of an average of 3 bars of Verizon signal, and so we probably wouldn't have worried. It was not until we zoomed way in on the coverage map that we saw we were in a dead zone. First order of business was to try and see if we could scrounge around for some Verizon signal once we troubleshot our router issues. In the meantime, the camphosts generously gave us the office WiFi password so we could at least sit by the office and get some work done.

We eventually got Verizon to work with our router, but our internet reliability was still poor. One minute we'd have decent internet, and the next it would cut out entirely. We started discussing the possibility of ending our stay early and moving somewhere else, but we weren't quite ready to give up hope. We had arrived on a Wednesday and decided to at least try and finish out the week, and then make our decision on the weekend. Despite our frustrations putting us in a bad mood, we did have a few good times. Tanner got to explore the campground, meet other doggies, and have some off-leash time (which for him basically means just walking beside us the way he would if he had a leash).

One thing we will say about this place is that it was immaculately clean, and we know that's not an easy feat when there are so many dogs around. They also don't skimp on the dog amenities. As for human amenities, meh. We definitely got the sense that it's more a "sit and chill by the fire" kind of place, which isn't bad for a vacation, but we're not on vacation. We couldn't afford to have a week to chill, especially because we had just gotten our trailer back after its service appointment and needed to catch up on the work we couldn't do at the Airbnb. We were also planning to take some time off for my birthday at the end of the month, so this was supposed to be crunch time before party time!

We were also growing more aggravated due to the sticky heat that was drawing in all the bugs. We were just far enough from the mountains that we weren't getting any reprieve from elevation. It got too hot for Tanner to spend more than a few minutes outside, which was the whole purpose of being there anyway. Our trailer also became a haven for 8 spider webs. We know we named him Buggy, but this was a little too true to his name. As all the stressors piled up, we knew we had to make a command decision.

The first priority was to scout out any free or cheap camping options somewhere between us and our next location. I immediately thought to look at Boondockers Welcome locations because it's free with membership and many hosts allow a stay for multiple nights, something we'd need if we left on the weekend. Unfortunately I couldn't guarantee good cell coverage in many of those areas either, and making a rash decision to go to a private property in the mountains didn't seem very safe. We always have to think about maneuvering our rig on mountain roads. At least if we choose an RV park, we know there are roads that are RV-friendly. So I quickly realized that we'd be eating the cost of the rest of our Four Paws stay and likely paying a bit at a new campground too. But if we don't have the ability to work, then sometimes these are the financial choices we have to make. I initially thought we might want to head straight into the Smokies which was our next destination, but I thought better of it and decided to split the distance and look around Asheville again. From our short time in the Asheville area, I knew there was good cell reception, lots to do, and a good vibe. We could regroup before moving on to the Smokies by getting work done and running some errands. I grabbed the last remaining site at the Asheville East KOA, and the next day, we packed up and headed out.

It's never fun to have to change plans last-minute, but we've learned from fellow RVers that sometimes those changes end up working out for the best. We could have stayed at Four Paws, dealing with internet issues, and battling the weather (with a forecast that was saying hot and stormy for the rest of our stay). That just wouldn't have been good for our productivity or our stress level. With my birthday right around the corner, I didn't want tons of work hanging over my head. I wanted to get my tasks list checked off so I could enjoy my celebration. That's worth the extra money we spent on our new campsite. Surprisingly, the site wasn't too expensive for a KOA. We could have probably gotten somewhere cheaper, but KOA is like a chain restaurant. It might not be the best, but you know what you're getting, so it's a safe bet when there isn't much time to do research.

This KOA, however, delivered big time. The first thing I noticed when we arrived was cell and WiFi towers everywhere. Since we arrived on a Saturday, the campground was hopping. Everyone seemed so happy to be enjoying a nice spring weekend camping - and it was a nice spring weekend! By traveling 50 miles closer to the mountains, we dropped over 10 degrees, going from hot and sticky to beautiful spring mountain weather.

I literally had no choice in our type of site, considering I snatched up the last remaining one for these dates. What did we get? A lakeside back-in site in what we now believe is the best section of the entire park. It's nestled in the back, the sites are more spacious, it's quiet, and it's near a beautiful walking trail. The site was water and electric only, but that's was more than OK with us, since we were only staying for 4 nights.

Boy, did this site deliver. A picture is worth a thousand words, and this is my view right now as I type this post:

It's amazing what a small change can do for morale. We felt like we could breathe so much easier the second we got here. We had all the conveniences we needed, had great internet, and even got a major nature fix. This KOA is truly beautiful. It has several ponds and lakes, mountain views, and is right along a river. Sometimes KOAs can be stereotyped as packed RV parks with more touristy appeal and less nature, but this one does it right.

We didn't have beautiful weather the whole time, and in fact had quite a rainy Monday, but it ended up being the perfect day to hunker down and be productive with work. Then to be greeted with a gorgeous, patio-worthy day on our last day here was really the icing on the cake. In fact, this is officially our first waterfront patio time! We had a waterfront site once before, but the Florida weather was too hot and stormy to lower the patio. Today was worth the wait.

This blog post isn't to dissuade anyone from taking their dogs to Four Paws. We saw a lot of good in that campground. The main point, that we're realizing more and more as we RV, is that we need to know what we're looking for in a campground. In summer of 2021, before even setting foot in our trailer, I had visions of taking Tanner to a dog-friendly campground. In reality, every place we stay is a dog-friendly campground to some extent, and Tanner doesn't need the bells and whistles; he's content just going on his little adventures with us. In summer of 2021, there was no way to know that we'd be on the heels of our trailer service appointment, or that our schedule would work out for Anthony and I to take vacation days for my birthday. In other circumstances, Four Paws could have worked, but in these circumstances, we made the best decision to pack up and move on to something more our speed, in both internet and lifestyle.

Campgrounds:

Four Paws Kingdom, Rutherfordton, NC

Site 37, back-in, FHU, rustic

18+ campground for dogs and their adult humans

Cell and internet connectivity very low

Asheville East KOA, Swannanoa, NC

Site D29, back-in lakeside, Water & Electric