RV Retirement – How Much Did We Spend for Food, Fuel, and Campground Fees in 2024?
Hood Park, Washington
Ruff Road Review
Just off of I90 in Washington, near the town of Burbank, is a US Army Corps of Engineers park called Hood Park. Hood Park is located on the shores of Lake Wallula and the Snake River which flows into the Columbia River.
Fun fact: Lewis and Clark camped near here where the Snake River flows into the Columbia River. You can visit this location which is now Sacajawea State Park.
What does Hood Park have to offer?
Hood Park is a picture perfect park like setting with sprawling shade trees and lush green grass. Even though it is a larger campground with 67 campsites, each site is spacious with plenty of room between sites. All sites provide a view of the water. The park has electric hook-ups but you will need to use your on board water. There are many water faucets around the campground to fill jugs and you can fill your tank with fresh water at the dump station.
Things to do:
Boating Swimming Fishing Bike Trail nearby! We enjoyed kayaking these waters.
Dog Walking Report: Park roads and walking trails around fishing ponds provide ample room to walk dogs.
What about phone service?
Verizon works great at Hood Park. We only use Verizon, but according to Trip Wizard reviews, T Mobile, Sprint, and ATT also work here.
Where have we been? Where are we going?
We are gradually making our way from Oregon back to Florida. You can check out our trip to Oregon from Florida on our channel playlist, Full Time RV Life- Campgrounds from Florida to Oregon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwigIQJQWqc&list=PLm8lskmqAcnMNY1zzxKNXYHmIgpLbeQAR
Our last stop was LePage Park in Oregon. https://ruffroadrvlife.com/oregon-camping-lepage-park/
We enjoyed five days at Hood Park before hitting the road and heading to Idaho. After a peek at Idaho, we are on to Montana, and South Dakota. Our route will then take a dive south. Stay tuned for more reviews, full time RV life tips, and adventures.
About Us:
Our names are Gary and Sharon. We live and travel full time in our RV, Ruff Road, with our two half husky sisters, Terra and Luna. We share lessons learned, places we’ve visited, and provide videos and pictures of campgrounds in our Ruff Road Reviews. Subscribe to follow the journey. You can follow us on our You Tube channel, Facebook and Instagram.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHRpIFHJItKn3X_7DKY77Mw?view_as=subscriber
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Ruff-Road-RV-Life-775489835979588/posts/
https://www.instagram.com/ruff_road_rv_life/
“We like looking at freedom!” Safe travels!
LePage Park, Oregon
Ruff Road Review
We left the lush coast of Oregon and headed east. Thus began our slow trek towards Florida. However, we had one more stay in Oregon, not the lush rainforest environment we’d enjoyed the past couple of weeks, but the high desert environment that has its own majestic beauty. We found a peaceful stay at LePage Park, an Army Corps of Engineers park, right off of I84.
How to Get to LePage Park- From the Oregon Coast
First, the route to get there from the coastal area was beautiful! We left the coast and drove towards Portland then on to I84 which runs along the Columbia River Gorge. Here’s where I wished I could wing it, because this is an interesting area to explore. We filed this away for future trips.
Heads up: This route can have some strong wind gusts but we did fine even though it was windy that day already.
LePage Park is right off of I84 on exit 114. The exit dumps you right into the park. That’s the only place you can go. When you leave the park, you follow the ramp to rejoin I84. Even though the park is right next to an interstate, the road noise was not bad. You might hear the rumbling from vehicles crossing the bridge or a train now and then from the tracks on the other side. None of this bothered us during our stay.
Campsites
The park is located on the John Day River which flows into the Columbia River on the other side of the bridge. There are only 22 electric and water sites with only one of those being first come, first serve. That spot was claimed for several days when we arrived. No worries, though, we had reservations. In addition, there are 20 primitive treed tent sites set on a lush grassy area. These filled up on the weekend, but the area was wide open during the week.
Things to Do
LePage Park offers a boat ramp, play ground, fishing, swimming area, and provides enough space to walk your dogs. We saw big horn sheep, a mink, and an eagle while there.
Phone Service
Heads Up: Verizon service did not work there. We could sometimes call out but the calls would drop without warning. If you head ten minutes back to the west, you’ll find a McDonalds in a Pilot with good wifi. Pilot offers wifi, as well. That’s where we headed when we needed wifi.
We Recommend this Park
All in all, we had a great stay at LePage Park. It’s a quiet, little peaceful park along I84 in Oregon. Next stop, Hood Park in Washington.
About Us
We are two happy retirees living full time in our RV, Ruff Road, with our two dogs. Our travels have taken us across the USA. We’ve only just begun to see this great country. We share campground reviews, a look at places that we’ve visited, tips and lessons learned along the way.
Here is our story.
https://ruffroadrvlife.com/about-us/
Resources
Follow the journey! You can also follow us on our You Tube Channel, Facebook, or Instagram.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHRpIFHJItKn3X_7DKY77Mw
https://www.facebook.com/Ruff-Road-RV-Life-775489835979588/?view_public_for=775489835979588
https://www.instagram.com/ruff_road_rv_life/
“We like looking at freedom!”
Happy travels!
Fort Supply Lake Campground, Oklahoma
Ruff Road Review
What does Fort Supply Campground have to offer?
Oh, Fort Supply Lake Campground! When the wind wasn’t blowing it was amazing for walking, biking, kayaking, and fishing. When the wind was blowing, just buckle down but enjoy the sound of the lake lapping against the shoreline. We enjoyed a week at this US Army Corps of Engineers campground. Our site was a pull through waterfront site with water and electric. That was great for fishing or launching our kayak right from our site. There are several camping areas along Ft. Supply Lake. The sites do not have brush in between them but provide plenty of space between them. Most sites provide a water view and there are several waterfront sites.
Sunrises, Sunsets, Moon, and Water
Do you love sunrises and sunsets and water? This park has breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. It’s our TV, just watching the colors change. There’s nothing better than watching a stunning sunrise from your bedroom window while nestled snug in bed. Bonus, the moon was full during our stay. What a sight that was as the full moon rose over the water!
Fort Supply Campground Location
Ft. Supply Campground is located near the very small town of Ft. Supply in northwest Oklahoma. Woodward is the nearest larger town about 12 miles away. Sites can be reserved at Recreation.gov. We would stay here again!
See This and Other Campgrounds on our Westward Trip
Check out our Ruff Road Review of Fort Supply on our You Tube channel, Ruff Road RV Life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLEjhE6in8U&t=16s
In this series, we are heading west. Follow along…last stop was Coon Creek Campground in Oklahoma. Here’s the link to read about it: https://ruffroadrvlife.com/coon-creek-campground-oklahoma/
If you’d like to see Coon Creek Campground, you can watch our Ruff Road Review on our You Tube Channel, Ruff Road RV Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBpNpvbutBk&t=1s
Enjoying the journey…”We like looking at freedom!”
We Are on the Road- Living the Full-Time RV Life!
Our “Hit the Road” To Do list is done! Our “so long for nows” are said. Our parking place for the last 19 months is empty. We are mobile full-time RV life, finally!
We began our journey a little over two years ago when we made the decision to become full-time RVers when retired. We went RV shopping in December. We were just looking. We fell in love with Ruff Road and ended up purchasing our motorhome within one month. That was two years ago. I was still working. Gary had recently retired. This made it easy to bump my retirement date up! We’ve never looked back.
Fast forward to today, our dream of traveling across this beautiful country living in our RV full-time has become a reality. We are especially thankful for all of the RV full-timers who have shared their experiences and expertise. Had it not been for learning that this lifestyle is possible, we wouldn’t be here. Our hope is that we can inspire others, in addition to documenting our own journey of full-time RV life. Months ago, we stared out our large front RV windshield and said, “We like looking at freedom.” We are loving full-time RV life.
Follow along! We will share campground reviews, places we visit, and full-time RV life tips. Subscribe so you don’t miss a post. Leave a comment. Ask a question.
https://ruffroadrvlife.com/contact-us/
Check out our You Tube Channel, Ruff Road RV Life
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHRpIFHJItKn3X_7DKY77Mw
Our TO DO List for Full -Time RV Life
I am a list person but this one was overwhelming! Our TO DO list for full-time RV Life really began when we made the decision to travel and live in an RV full- time. That was about two years ago! We have been living in our RV, Ruff Road, for over a year at this time. Our plans were to be in travel mode before now, but circumstances and my Appalachian Trail hike delayed our launch. We did go on a few camping trips to get our travel feet wet and of course, living in Ruff Road everyday allowed us to get to know the ins and outs of RV living.
So my one piece of advice if you decide to become a full-time RV dweller and before you make your own TO DO list for full-time RV life is to be flexible. There were circumstances beyond our control that required us to delay our plans. That’s ok. We have lived happily as stationary full-time RVers. We are looking forward to finally “hitting the road.”
This list will include our final TO DOs. Our process for stocking, and moving in to Ruff Road can be found in our previous posts. In addition, see our previous posts for our downsizing experience. https://ruffroadrvlife.com/the-move-downsizing-and-moving-in-three-weeks/
TO DO List for Full- Time RV Life
- Purchase taller dog pens -Terra and Luna have grown. https://www.amazon.com/MidWest-Foldable-Metal-Exercise-Playpen/dp/B000H91R92/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1548649145&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=dog%2Bpens&th=1
- Purchase bike and kayak rack system
- Purchase and install tow bar system http://etrailer.com
- Practice driving with tow car
- Purge and reorganize cabinets and storage bays – This one is regular and ongoing, RV Life. https://ruffroadrvlife.com/category/organizing/
- Purchase camera to view dogs while away https://www.amazon.com/Wyze-Indoor-Wireless-Camera-Vision/dp/B076H3SRXG/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1548649574&sr=1-3&keywords=wyze+cam
- Purchase side window tint or screen
- Resupply our water filters
- Resupply our AC filters
- Change oil in Ruff Road, generator, car
- Check tires (this is ongoing)
- Fix passenger chair, tank and battery monitor panel, LP detecter, bedroom door https://ruffroadrvlife.com/fun-with-fuses/
- Schedule eye, doctor, dentist appointments and follow-ups
- Schedule veterinarian visit, update shots for Terra and Luna
- Obtain prescription for heartworm preventative
- Renew drivers license – My license will expire this year.
- Replace lenses and wipers
- Shop for insurance- We are due to renew soon, looking for better rates. Update-Fail, we are sticking with our same company.
- Research DOT requirements per state
- Research senior camping discounts per state- We like state parks.
- Make camping reservations
- Join Harvest Hosts https://harvesthosts.com/
- Wash RV and roof
- Plan for prescription meds
- Command strips to hold some shelf items in place
- Plan travel route
- Book campsites for first month
- Schedule goodbye visits with friends and family
- Final load plan- what goes in the car, what goes in the RV, what stays behind (trash/ donate)
- Make sure bank cards don’t expire. Replace if needed.
- Do taxes!
- Scan pictures and copy videos- as many as I can get done, organize remaining picture/ video totes in my daughter’s shed.
How are we doing on our final TO DO list for full-time RV living?
Well, I’m happy to say that most items have been checked completed. We still had a few weeks to go at this point. This list is not a comprehensive list of all we’ve done. However, it includes the things that we needed to purchase and/or to do before we begin our full-time RV travel life. In addition, it includes items that we didn’t even think about initially such as check bank cards.
We hope this last minute list helps others beginning their journey. Follow us on our journey here and on our You Tube channel Ruff Road RV Life: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHRpIFHJItKn3X_7DKY77Mw/videos?view_as=subscriber