tepetravels

TepeTravels Tabloid Tidings (Guest Post: Dan)

Written by tepetravels April 21, 2021November 30, 2021 1 Comment

When a great, awesome, fantabulous adventurer (and family?) invites you to participate in their yearlong expedition, only a cad could refuse. However, my camping days are 30-40 years behind me, so I needed an out. Myrtle Beach to the rescue.

It seems that the Tepe Travels, Inc (or is it an LLC?) was only coming as close as Myrtle Beach, to the lovely village of Oriental, NC, where I currently reside (but, not for long). As I have told many folks in the years that I have spent in Oriental, “You can’t get here from there.”

Knowing the “Tepe Squad” would be in Myrtle Beach State Park campground around the end of March, I made plans and arranged my own campsite.

Having arrived in my “digs” I questioned my timing. It seems that the 31st of March, 2021 was selected to be the day of a new record low temperature for MB. What luck! As you can see from the beach pictures, the turnout in MB was sparse. Can you blame them.

Diving right in, we arranged a rendezvous point (the sidewalk in front of my campsite seemed the best bet) and we all headed out for a campsite meal. Courtesy of Fuddruckers carry out services.

With the adjacent pond police keeping visitors under control.

How many miniature golf places can one town support? MB hasn’t found the limit yet?

Back at the MBSP campsite, we broke out the Jameson’s whiskey from the Tepe Trailer, and the Bartley Bag. It seems we had both thought ahead to the proper way to inaugurate a visit. Next, we all got to observe Ben (and Nick, when his Dad wasn’t looking), attempt to cause themselves serious injury with a hatchet, preparing kindling. Ben tripped over the flip-out grating on the fire ring, twice, before he had even touched the Jameson’s. But, in a testimonial to his great agility, no falls, and no blood. Sarah did have a fully stocked first aid kit nearby.

Despite the “record low” temps for that evening, the roaring fire was enough to offset Mother Nature and we talked about adventures, and the pride I had for this whole “famn damily” in taking on this great expedition over the last year. I also told Will and Nick that I had the utmost respect for these young men in how they had carried on, and participated fully in the TepeTravels, Inc, endeavors. Ben and Sarah muttered in the background!

The evening went on until around 10:30, when I realized it was way past this old man’s bedtime, and I should probably call it a night. Unfortunately, when Ben and I got to the main gate, by way of returning me to my camp site, we found the MBSP gates closed and locked. I was forced to walk the 3 miles back to my campsite all alone. Not really. Ben called Sarah and found out the combination to the padlock, and we were off.

The next day was Thursday, April 1st, and it was my turn to make lunch over the roaring campfire. Luckily, there was a Nathan’s nearby, and I picked up lunch on the way over to MBSP. At the entry gate I encountered a rank abuse of the power of the state in the form of a daily entry fee charge. I advised the lovely lady that I was an “old fart” and that I thought it was UNFAIR that the state of SC discriminated against old farts from the North. North Carolina that is! She laughed and charged me the SCOF rate.

We ate Nathan’s at the campsite, while we planned our trek for the day. I surprised Ben and Sarah with my plan to take them all out to the “Medieval Times” dinner theater there in MB, for our evening entertainment. We decided to save the surprise from the boys until later.

We packed our gear, and set off to……………….COSTCO.

Where I was indoctrinated into the “COSTCO Camper’s Cult.” And, it didn’t hurt a bit. Actually, Ben paid, but the boys showed me their favorite muffins. Sarah, very smartly, had decided to take advantage of some alone time, and let the “men” clear a path through the wilderness on their own, while she enjoyed some well deserved peace and quiet back at the park.

When we returned to MBSP, we actually did set out to see the sights, and the sites, of the park. We first went to the fishing pier, which besides featuring oversized furniture, had a interesting display along the length of the pier of the common types of fish that one might find (dare say CATCH?) on the SC coast.

But, the crowning touch of the days outing was seeing the BBITW (Ben’s title).

It actually does come around to feeling that way after you sit in it for a while. We all tried it, but boys being whatever they are? Will and Nick had to turn into “Tormentors.” “Hare Harriers” to be more specific. Together they combined their tormenting talents to try to trap a tiny critter. Sorry, I ran out of “T” words. Final score: Nick/Will – 0, Major League Bunny – 10

After taking pictures of every possible angle of the impending sunset from the bench, I rallied my lazy butt, and joined Ben and the boys in a lazy game of “Kennedy-esque” football tossing (mostly dropping) on the grass of the MBSP stadium. But, the game was called by darkness, and we returned to the campsite for a snack before our evening’s entertainment. That is when I informed Ben and Sarah that today was April 1st. April Fools! No “Medieval Times” outing tonight. Good thing we didn’t tell the boys, right? I might have been burned at the stake over that night’s campfire! Actually, I wasn’t that cruel. I just hadn’t planned ahead enough, as that evening’s show was sold-out. Good thing Ben bought pizza. Another night, another fire. We had a roaring fire, a little more Jameson’s, and talked around the campfire. We had a nice long talk with Will about his next big adventure, and how he was preparing for it, but I will let Will tell that story when it is time.

I said goodbye to the “TRAVELING-TEPES” that evening, and expressed my thanks to Sarah, Will and Nick for allowing me to participate. My admiration for this family only grew during my short visit on their trail.

One final connection the morning of Good Friday, as Ben and I went in search of terrible service at the Plantation Pancake House. We picked it the night before, based on its’ proximity to my “campsite.” Ben, of course, using his highly refined technology skills, hit the reviews page on the restaurant’s web site. He was enthralled by the terrible accounts of the service received by earlier patrons from a server we will call “Vickie.”

So, on the morning of Good Friday, in the spirit of redemption, we set out to find “Vickie.” No luck. No Vickie. Just great service by a masked server whom we just couldn’t seem to find any fault with. I hope Ben wrote a review?

Now, back to my boring life,

Dan Bartley (Guest Blogger)

Animal Sightings, Campground Review, Food, Frequently Asked Questions, Hiking, Internet, Maintenance, Newbie Tips, School, Sightseeing

How We Pick Out A Campground (Frequently Asked Questions)

Written by tepetravels April 20, 2021April 20, 2021 1 Comment

There are a ton of campgrounds out there and it can be overwhelming trying to find the “best” one to call home! They range from independent places, chains (like KOA and Thousand Trails), city owned, state owned, and federally owned. Some only accept military/retired military, some only accept Class A’s, and some have age limits on the RVs or the people they let in. A lot of places also have dog restrictions based on breed.

We have a few things that we always look for in a campground: location to sightseeing, internet, full hook-ups, and a laundry room. Our biggest one is a good internet connection for school and work. There are a few different websites that I visit to check reviews: campgroundreviews.com, GoodSam, and Campendium are my first ones. After those, I will go to Yelp/Google Map reviews (make sure to type RV Campground or RV Resort, not just campground as you will get results that will not work with RVs or may not have hook-ups), and then to Facebook for the RV groups to see if anyone has stayed there before.

I always check multiple review sites, especially for internet issues, but sometimes you still don’t get it right. For example, the Garden of the Gods RV review stated that our 3 providers worked. However, when we checked in, there was a note with our paperwork saying AT&T did not work in the park. This wasn’t mentioned on the campground’s website at the time. (This is just one of the reasons why we have three internet providers!)

I also try to read about the general campground conditions (sites, roads, etc.). If a lot of reviews with bigger RVs say that sites or internal roads were tight or not well maintained, I will pass on that campground. We’ve even double checked the reviews on the way to a campground and changed our plans last minute based on the current conditions. Conditions of campgrounds can change frequently. For example, when we booked one Texas site, it had decent reviews. On the drive there, we were reading the reviews from the last week and it was filled with reports of sewage problems throughout the campground (eww!), so we frantically searched and found a new campground to stay in. The most recent one was a change due to a review saying the T-Mobile signals were weak. T-Mobile is where most of our working internet comes through. We have some hotspot data through our cell phones, but the T-Mobile hotspot is the workhorse.

Campground amenities can also be a big indicator for the nicety of a park, although not always. There doesn’t seem to be a regulation on who can call themselves a RV Resort vs a campground, so reading reviews are important! We had one Thousand Trails claim to be a resort and they only had a laundry room and a walking trail. Nothing else was available or was broken and the sites and roads needed some upkeep. On the other hand, we had a Thousand Trails in Orlando that lived up to the resort title with many amenities and things to do.

An on-site laundry is also a requirement for us, as we do not have a washer/dryer on our travel trailer.

We have learned to always check (recent) reviews across the different review sites. It can be worth spending the extra money to get a nicer campground, especially for longer stays.

Exploring Virginia, Guest Post, Hiking, National Parks, Sightseeing

Guest Post: The Piatts

Written by tepetravels April 19, 2021November 30, 2021 3 Comments

Hello Tepe Travels Readers!

As you may be aware, there’s a highly-rated series of books written by Matt and Karen Smith, entitled ‘Dear Bob and Sue.’ The books are a compilation of emails written by one couple as they travel across the country on a quest to visit all 59 of the US National Parks. They share their experiences (good, bad, and just plain crazy) with – you guessed it – Bob and Sue, their long-time friends back home. Today’s guest-blog post comes to you from the perspective of Bob and Sue (aka – Dave and Megan).

We’ve been friends with the Tepes for more than 20 years now, so suffice it to say, we’re familiar with their unique pursuits and willingness to go against the grain. And still, when they first told us about their plan to sell the house, buy an RV, and hit the road with their boys in tow – we said “You’re going to do WHAT????” We thought that they were nuts, but it’s no surprise that they made it happen, and we’re so glad that they did.

In the midst of the COVID-19 quarantine and lock-downs, we’ve spent a lot of time this year living vicariously through our friends. As the post cards roll in, we’ve tracked their journey by tacking them up on our own fridge here in Cincinnati – following them around the country, one blog-post at a time. We’ve read enviously about their experiences sand sledding in Colorado or surfing in San Diego and less-enviously about learning to empty the waste tank from the travel trailer or trying to make Thanksgiving dinner in a tiny RV oven. Those ‘learning experiences’ have kept us laughing and their pictures have kept us ‘oohing and awing’ and in some small way, they’ve given us the gift of sharing their adventure when the promise of adventure was something we all desperately needed.

As spring break rolled around, we had the opportunity to meet up with Ben, Sarah and the boys in Virginia. We went to experience Colonial Williamsburg and walk through the battlefield in Yorktown where the Revolutionary War was finally won. The historical sites were great (especially for our Hamilton-obsessed teenage daughter), but mostly we went to see our friends – to share a camp fire and some stories and hear about this crazy adventure first hand.

It had been more than a year since we’ve seen them in person. Initial observations are in line with what you’d expect. We can report that Will is about a foot taller, Nick is even better with the guitar, Sarah is still a great cook (even with more limited tools) and Ben has found new ways to embrace his passion for hammocks. But more impressive is the way they’ve learned to adjust and adapt. We loved seeing how they’re using their space and resources to live, work and learn in such a small space. We can certainly make a joke or two about how life on the road has brought them ‘together’ in more ways than one, but beyond all of the amazing sites they’ve seen on this trip, this seems like another intangible benefit.

It’s possible (likely?) that our own kiddos won’t remember the day we ‘met’ Thomas Jefferson or learned how they made shoes and chairs in the 18^th century, but I’ll bet they remember the weekend they caught up with their friends at a campground in Virginia, learned about the places they’ve traveled and life on the road, and maybe sparked the inspiration to pursue an adventure of their own.

Broken/Damanged Things, Maintenance, Newbie Mistakes, Newbie Tips

Problems In The Bathroom

Written by tepetravels April 18, 2021April 16, 2021

Nope, these weren’t bodily problems, but the bathroom decided to kick up a little fuss this past week.

First a quick rundown on RV toilets. Turns out most RV toilets are gravity flushed: there is a foot pedal to open the slide, which when pressed will open the slide and a small amount of water is released to help gravity do its thing and slide everything down the pipe to the black tank. (Hence why we have a water jug in the bathroom. Sometimes with a lot of paper, you need to add more water to encourage things along. It also helps with the black tank not getting clogged with poop pyramids and it helps things dissolve well in the holding tank.)

RV Gravity Fed Toilet

It started with the toilet overflowing. A small amount of paper had not gone down all the way and kept the slide from closing all the way, so the water kept continuously running. However, that same toilet paper also kept the water from draining and it overflowed onto the floor and spread to bathroom wall, the hallway, and then our room. Luckily, it was just water and had only made it a couple of inches into our room and we were able to clean everything up.

Several days later, we noticed water around the base of the toilet. It hadn’t overflowed, the boys hadn’t missed as it was just water. It didn’t look like it was leaking from the water connection points, but it could very slightly be wiggled. From what I read, it turns out that there is a gasket holding the toilet to the floor. It is mostly pressure fitted, so we took the screw covers off and tightened it down. No more wiggling! I’m hoping this solves the problem, since I really don’t want to have to replace a toilet. NOTE: Ours used a 1/2″ nut.

Then, as I was getting ready for bed, I noticed the shower floor was wet. No one had been in the shower since the morning, so it should have been dry. There was a small drip in the bottom left corner near the handles. Great. We did some research and took the handles plate off. We had to be pretty careful, since it is directly connected to the water supply pipes (which did not look like they had a good access panel to get to). Our shower is pretty small to start with, so it was a bit of a challenge to get to anything. I was able to reach in and tighten the hot water connection. I then had to remove and replace all the caulk and add the screws back in.

Exploring Virginia, Hiking, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, School, Sightseeing

Visiting Yorktown, Virginia (National Park Service)

Written by tepetravels April 17, 2021November 30, 2021

We did it. We completed the triangle!

We went to Yorktown with our friends who were visiting for the weekend, the Piatt’s. I can honestly say that I don’t think any of us had high expectations (except for Will). However, we were pleasantly surprised. The Visitor Center was partially open for the bookstore/gift shop. The store had the passport stamps, but did not have any pieces of paper to use if you forgot your passport (or use in your journal like we do). You could buy a sticker sheet for $0.95 (+tax) to stamp though. All the kids got a Junior Ranger Program booklet to work on. A lot of the museums and houses were closed due to COVID, but there is a free audio app that you can download. The app has some information on different sites in town, as well as the two driving tours.

We walked into the town from the Visitor Center using a nice paved path. It wasn’t a long walk; I think they said 456 yards. We saw the Statue of Liberty, not to be confused with the one in New York. It was a super cute little town with some shops and a coffee shop, and the Historical plaques that Will had missed seeing in Williamsburg.

We stopped at the artists shop at York Hall and found a few nice pieces. Ben found a colorful quilt. It was History Day, so there were a few demonstrations in the front of the Hall, including some children’s games.

We walked down to the waterfront and saw the beach area. There were a few sections of beach and a fishing pier. It was pretty crowded, so we didn’t get near the water.

There are two driving tours you can take in Yorktown: the red (Battlefield, 7 miles) and the yellow (Allied Encampment, 9 miles). After circling back to the Visitor Center, we got into our cars and took the red driving tour. I had downloaded the audio app, so we were able to go to each stop, park in the lot, and listen to the tour. There are parking spots, so you can also get out to look at things and read the historical informational signs.

Yorktown was a neat area with a mix of history, beach fun, and shopping. It ended up being one of my favorite places to visit while in Williamsburg. (In fact, we went to the town twice!)

DETAILS:*

TICKETS: $15/adults, $0/child (ages 0-15), Free with Interagency or Annual Pass. COVID Restrictions: masks required, some buildings closed
HOURS: Bookstore/Gift Shop Tuesday-Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm
PARKING: Some parking near town and at Visitor Center
BATHROOM: Yes
TIME RECOMMENDED: 1-3 hours
*Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.

Food

Cooking In/Near RV: Foil Dinners

Written by tepetravels April 16, 2021April 14, 2021 1 Comment

If our campground has a fire pit or a grill, one of the easiest dinners to make are foil packet dinners. As a bonus, it doesn’t heat up the RV!

You can throw almost anything in aluminum foil and cook it over a fire, a grill, or in the oven. (Just make sure to double wrap in foil to help protect from burning over any flames.) We’ve done sweet potatoes (off to the side in the warm ashes), meatballs and vegetables, chicken/potatoes/vegetables.

The dinners are pretty easy to put together. On a large sheet of aluminum foil, towards the middle, place a few small pats of butter, or spray with a non-stick spray. Add a layer of sliced onions and a few vegetables. Add your meat, Place a few slivers of onions on top. Sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice (we like Cajun seasoning). Wrap up tightly. If the flames are still pretty hot, I will add another layer of foil to help keep things from burning.

Will claims the mask helps with the onion smell. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Animal Sightings, Exploring Virginia, Hiking, Museums & Tours, School, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Colonial Williamsburg (Virginia)

Written by tepetravels April 15, 2021November 30, 2021 1 Comment

Hey guys, this is another blog post by Will! Today I am here to talk about the amazing world of Historic Williamsburg! We visited Williamsburg with our friends the Piatts and had a great time. To start out with you will want to park your car, and then walk to the left of the building towards the side. You might see a shuttle there and if so you can get on that to get over to Historic Williamsburg. If not, you can take the path up ahead which is the cooler option in my opinion. You can see the plantation they recreated which includes a windmill that not only has rotating blades but the body also rotates as well to get more wind flow. The body part had to be manual though.

Once you get to Williamsburg you can explore whatever you want. A lot of the stores and shops are open and it is free to walk around if you haven’t decided on buying a ticket yet. We had prepaid for tickets however so we were good to go. We skipped the governor’s house right off because of the huge line and instead went to a historic house which had been left standing for all those years. It had a parlor, a guest bedroom, an office, and a socializing room on the first floor. In the back they had sheep and the kitchen. This was also where we saw our first tradesman a cooper. Williamsburg has many occupations in the town which make all of the different things that they sell and even construct some of the buildings. The coopers for those who didn’t know, were people who made buckets and barrels by putting iron rings around individual pieces of wood.

After we left the house we started wandering towards the armory, looking at all of the different things around the town. Once we got there we first saw the shoemakers. They, as you can probably tell, make shoes and told us all about it. The lady in the front was very helpful and told us that a skilled shoemaker could make 1 shoe in a 12-hour day. She also told us master shoemakers were expected to make 7 shoes in 6 days. She said that most men wore black shoes because they were the fashion of the day and that they were also easier to keep clean and fix. There was more variety in women’s shoes with some being made of different material and colors, but for men it was mostly black leather shoes.

Next, we went to the blacksmith which was right next to the shoemakers. There was another woman standing there with two men in the shop, one pumping the bellows and the other using a file on some tool. She told us that the most common item they made was farm equipment, but during the Revolutionary War they also made many weapons for the war cause. She said that to make the metal soft enough to mold you needed it at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and to get it really hot enough you needed it at 2,000 to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit. During her talk the two guys in the back pulled out a red-hot piece of iron and started pounding at it with their hammers which was pretty cool. She said that the metal they usually used was iron and steel which was pretty common in the United States so they didn’t require it to be imported during the war. I also found out later in the tour that the blacksmith also makes nails which are used in the construction of some of the buildings at Williamsburg.

Top Row: Capitol Building. Middle: 1771 building, shoemakers, Nick getting pressed penny. Bottom: blacksmith’s

After that we went to explore and came across some bathrooms and a shop. We all took turns going to the bathroom and also went inside to look around the shop. Nick got a pressed penny with the Capitol building on it. We also went to a nearby restaurant where we bought root beer, diet coke, and bread and ate it at the nearby benches. Then we went to the Capitol Building which was the seat of government in Virginia. It was hit by lighting, burned by people, and destroyed 3 times. On the last time they moved the capitol away where it promptly burned down again. The court ruled on large cases like murder, counterfeit, and robbery. You could choose to have a case by either peers or the magistrate which was a group of judges.

After the Capitol building we visited the jails where prisoners could be kept for 3 months (or more) before they were tried before the court, as the court only met during certain times. They also kept sheep and horses in the back which we later learned were used by weavers at Williamsburg to make clothing and yarn which you can buy at the gift shops.

We then visited the carpenters where we learned they made their own tools and build many of the buildings made of wood that are around Williamsburg. They told us that it took thousands of shingles to make the building they were currently under. They used nails from the blacksmith shop, which I thought was very cool. They even had a storage area in the attic of the building above them. They said they were going to soon construct a group of buildings and he pointed to a pile of wood which at the time I thought was a trash pile and said those were 8,000 shingles and that they needed 20,000 shingles for the whole project. At that I was impressed.

We then visited the shop that sells all of the homemade goods for Williamsburg where I learned what all the trades were at Williamsburg. They have weavers, coopers, silversmiths, blacksmiths, and carpenters for both buildings and furniture. We took a look around and saw an old toaster (which was pretty cool) that had been made by the blacksmiths.

We then visited the grandest building in all of Williamsburg, the Governors Palace. And it was a palace indeed! In the entrance were hundreds of swords and guns for both infantry and cavalry. It had a huge courtyard and two other buildings for the kitchen and one for the slaughtering of animals. It had a ballroom and a reception area, and enough guns to supply a regiment of soldiers. It even had different musical instruments in the back and a huge emblem on the back door. It had a grand back area for a garden. We did the maze with various finishing times for the group.We walked around a little longer and then went home.

Sarah Note: Bottom Right: Steps. We saw these stairs everywhere with metal bars in them. I asked the tour guide what they were. Back in the day, there were not always slabs under the steps, which could make for some wonky stairs. After the stone was placed, a spot was carved out, molten metal poured in, and a metal pin placed in to help hold the stairs together.

The maze at the Governor’s Palace Gardens

And that’s the end of the blog with Will. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to the blog, and to follow our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. See you soon, Will!

SARAH NOTES: Williamsburg was open to Visitors, although it was recommended that you buy your passes online. You have to choose your date of attendance when you book your tickets. Parts of Williamsburg is free; you can walk through the town and shops without paying the admission fee. However, if you want to go into certain areas or houses, then you do have to have an admission ticket. (For example, Governor’s Palace, carpenter’s yard, Wythe House.) Due to COVID, they are limiting the amount of people inside the buildings, so you may be waiting in line for awhile. I think our longest time was about 45 minutes. They call themselves a living history museum, so Will was a little disappointed in the amount of historical plaques to read. He made up for it by asking the blacksmith and shoe shop several questions though. We saw the Wythe house, the blacksmith and shoe shop, the carpentry yard, and the Governor’s Palace.

If you missed the Instagram video, here is a link to our video at the Blacksmith’s and seeing some adorable baby sheep.

DETAILS:*

TICKETS: Several options available. Single Day $35.99/adults, $19.99/child (6-12) . COVID Restrictions: masks required, book online for a set date, Visitor Center Closed, social distancing at some locations so you may wait in line.
HOURS: Hours vary. Most of the shops are open 9:00am to 5:00pm, but there are some evening programs based on the day.
PARKING: Yes, Visitor Center (with shuttle or a 1/4 mile walk) or at art museums
BATHROOM: Yes
TIME RECOMMENDED: 2-4 hours
*Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Written by tepetravels April 14, 2021April 14, 2021 2 Comments

We wanted to take a moment to say Thank You to everyone who has sent us things on our journey. We love getting things from home and it helps us feel connected.

From birthday and Christmas cards, Venmo gifts, to decorations, coffee cups, and even Graeter’s ice cream…we can’t begin to express how much this means to us. We’ve even had a couple of visits, which has been amazing to see people we know.

The Tepe Family, The Arguedas, The Armstrongs, John M, Nancy, Anne & Tim, Jim and Mary, The George Family, Jeff, The Baucknechts, Nathan, Rachel, The Resnick Family, The Piatt Family, The Tosh Statt Family, Dan B, and all those who sent the boys birthday cards…Thank you!

Animal Sightings, Frequently Asked Questions, Hiking, Museums & Tours, National Park, National Parks, Sightseeing

What Is Your Favorite National Park?

Written by tepetravels April 13, 2021April 12, 2021 3 Comments

We’ve been to quite a few of the National Parks this year. The America The Beautiful annual pass is really quite the deal at $80.

There are so many to choose from, and I think we all have our own favorites.

The Parks, Monuments, Preserves, and Historical Sites we have been to so far are:

Mount Rushmore National Monument
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Tetons National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Zion National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Arches National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Cabrillo National Monument
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (BLM)
Saguaro National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve (Barataria and Chalmette)
Everglades National Park
Biscayne National Park
Fort Pulaski National Monument
Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
Colonial National Historic Park (Jamestown, Yorktown)

Sarah: My favorite is Yellowstone. There is so much to see and the landscape changes. One minute it is a flat field, then rivers and bison herds, then thermals (hot springs, geysers). There is something for everyone.

Yellowstone National Park: hot springs and geysers, creeking, elk, bald eagle, bison by river

Ben: My favorite is Bryce. The landscape was very different; but beautiful with the hoodoos and different colors. I had a sense of accomplishment when we were done, as during part of it I didn’t know if we would finish the hike.

Will: My favorite is Colonial National Historic Park because of all the history.

Nick: My favorite is Zion. I liked hiking the Narrows.

Zion: The Narrows, a lizard, Canyon Overlook Trail

Honorable Mentions: Carlsbad Caverns (it is quite the experience, it’s a little other worldly) and Everglades (so much wildlife)

They Finally Came!

Written by tepetravels April 12, 2021April 11, 2021 1 Comment

We found the #RVStickerClub on Instagram after seeing so many stickers among fellow travelers. We finally got our own sticker!

Tepe Travels friends and family, if you are interested in one of our stickers, please click here.

If you would like to make your own stickers, check out Sticker Mule! We’ve been happy with our stickers through them.

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