As I sat down to write this post, I thought I knew exactly what “The Best of 2017” would look like. In reality, I’m struggling to narrow it down. I’m going to do my best to bring to you our favorite places we’ve traveled to, camping destinations, and recreational activities since we decided to hit the road as full-time RVers.
Today is officially our 1-year anniversary since hitting the road! That sounds really crazy to actually say out loud. I knew 2017 would go fast. I tried to prepare myself for that. But dang, it blew by! If you’re new to our story, you can get to know us a little better here.
Okay, are you ready? Let’s dive into all our favorite things from 2017! Shall we?
Harry Potter World (Universal Studios) – Orlando, FL
From the beginning, we knew this journey wouldn’t be a tourist lifestyle. It was a way of life. So spending money on touristy things is always at the bottom of our list. To help “scratch the itch,” we decided to let ourselves be tourists for the first couple weeks of our full-time RVer adventure. We were heading to Florida. Florida is not cheap.
We wanted to celebrate the fact that we were officially on the road. Universal Studios was our celebration destination. I am total Harry Potter fan, and I was slowly getting Jon into it. We ended up spending a day at the Harry Potter World at Universal. And ever since then, we’ve been talking about going back again. It was amazing! By the time we left that day, Jon had 100% become a Harry Potter fan.
Diagon Alley was our favorite place to hang out. Jon even let me splurge a little and buy a wand from Ollivander’s. Guess who had it out the whole time waving it at things? I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t me. haha! I should have known that Jon would steal it from me.
Harry Potter World at Universal Studios is definitely a must-see for both the young and young-at-heart. =)
Scooby’s Farm (Workamping) – Davie, FL
Volunteering our time as Workampers at Scooby’s Farm was an absolutely amazing and humbling experience. We learned so much about gardening, running a dairy goat farm, and even learned a lot about ourselves while we were there. I learned how to milk goats. That was definitely a highlight. We learned a lot about organic farming. We learned how to butcher chickens. We learned a lot, period.
Garner State Park – Concan, TX
Garner State Park was, hands down, our absolute favorite campground. It’s a giant state park with over 1,700 acres to explore. You’ll never be at a loss of things to do. They have great hiking and biking trails. The Frio River runs through the entire park, and is great for swimming and tubing. They even have geocaching.
Glacier National Park – Montana
Glacier National Park has always been on my Bucket List. I had no idea if we would actually get there this year. But when we committed to a Workamping job in Sandpoint, Idaho, we promised ourselves that we would make time to get to Glacier during our summer stay. It did not disappoint.
We definitely want to go back again without the dogs and explore more. I have a feeling that might be in the works for 2018. Who knows?
Farragut State Park – Athol, ID
During our 2-month stay in Sandpoint, Idaho, we had time to explore some really fun recreational activities. Idaho has some pretty amazing mountain biking trails. Jon used to be really into mountain biking years ago. And after seeing what Idaho had to offer, he decided he wanted to get back into it. I’ve always hated biking as a kid. But for the sake of sharing hobbies and doing things together, I decided to give it a go.
We spent time exploring different biking trails. Many of them were way out of my skill level, so I had to be careful with which trails I went on. One place we explored was a state park called Farragut State Park in Athol, Idaho. It was my very first true mountain biking experience, and it was pretty much amazing. It was challenging, but so amazing.
Hiawatha Rail-Trail – Wallace, ID
This was probably my absolutely favorite thing we did in Idaho. The Hiawatha bike trail now replaces what is considered the most scenic stretches of railroad in the country. You guys, the views are un-real. Every new turn was absolutely breathtaking.
There were several bridges to cross as well as several tunnels to go through. Be sure to bring a light for the front of your bike. It’s literally pitch black in there. And even with a light, I still almost got ran into by little kids who weren’t paying attention. haha
And there you have it, folks! That’s our 2017 “Best of” list for you. I hope you enjoyed getting a peek inside our adventures the last twelve months. If you have any suggestions on what we should see in 2018, let us know!
If you have questions on camping and RVing, we’d love to hear from you, too! We love sharing what we’ve learned. We’ve definitely accumulated a list of “what to do” and “what not to do’s” since hitting the road a year ago.