Grasslands

Boredom seldom arises on a short RV trip, but it can become a problem on longer ones. Usually, the culprit is environmental monotony: spending too much time in the desert, the mountains, the forest or other ecosystem.

Although my wife and I can truthfully say we've never had a boring RV trip, we do start to get restless when we linger in one environmental atmosphere. In looking back at our outings over the years, we agree that the most memorable ones involved a variety of ecosystems. On a five-week trip in May 2004, we started with three days each at a couple of state parks in the high desert of Idaho. Then came a week based at the heavily forested campground of the Grand Canyon’s North Rim. Next, we spent a few days amid the cliffs at Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River. After a stay at Canyon de Chelly in northeastern Arizona, we moved on to several locations in the red rock country of southern Utah. On the way home to Seattle, we camped by Lake Wenatchee in Washington state.

The forest

High desert, forest, river, canyons, lake. There was no environmental monotony on that trip. For us, a change in scenery seems to enrich a trip more than simply finding additional things to do with the same background. A new environment will usually bring new activities anyway while engaging the brain from many angles. The senses have different sights, sounds and smells to process;  the body has different weather to adapt to, and the mind has different geology, wildlife, plants and local history to learn about. String several dissimilar ecosystems together on one trip and the stimulation is continuous.

The desert

This doesn't mean being constantly on the move, which is an exhausting RV style regardless of the surroundings. The idea is to stay long enough in each environment to absorb it mentally, emotionally and physically. Snowbirds park for months in one location, but their goal is to escape winter weather rather than to make a memorable road trip.

For RVers who must curtail their mileage because of high fuel prices, experiencing different ecosystems on a single trip can be challenging, depending on where they live.  (Geographical good fortune allows some RVers, such as those in the Pacific Northwest, to visit several ecosystems within their state's boundaries--at least in warm-weather months.)

Lakeside

RVing has always involved compromises. Those of us who place RVing near the top of the value list are unwilling to scrimp on traveling, which is a good part of what RVing is all about. So regardless of fuel prices, we still drive as far as necessary to visit several ecosystems on each trip. We try to reduce expenses instead by dry camping and cutting back in the non-RVing areas of our lives. Keeping our favorite pastime memorable and stimulating comes first.