Copyright Janet Groene 2026. To ask about rates for rights to reprint Groene content, email janetgroene@yahoo.com
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CAMPGROUNDS & RV PARKS GOOD/BAD NEWS
Whether it's a boat or an RV, it's a complete home that travels. Yet it's scary to be Out There, depending on weather and supplying your own utilities, transportation and finding a safe place to sleep each night.
Take it from Larry Jacobson. He sailed around the world. If land cruising in your RV is your dream, you too can be unstoppable.
Jacobson suggests applying the rules he lived by as a successful businessperson to living his life’s dream.
As a motivational speaker and author now, he encourages you to do the same.
Growing up in Long Beach, California, Jacobson remembers, “ looking out at the docks from behind the locked gates that led to the pier, I saw this montage of beautiful sails and gleaming boats and the vast expanse of the sea, and I knew it’s where I wanted to be. I simply had no idea how I was going to get there.” Then he succeeded in business.
“I knew what I had and I knew what I wanted, and all I saw was this wide gulf between the two,” said Jacobson, author of The Boy Behind the Gate (www.larryjacobson.com). “So, I started putting together a plan, and from those early beginnings, I started to understand that there are some clear, distinct keys to building the bridge between what you have done and what you dream of doing.”
Here’s how, according to Jacobson:
Write it Down – Something magical happens when you write down your dreams. They become a lot more real. How do you identify your dreams? Ask the right questions. What lights your fire? What makes you want to bound out of bed every morning, instead of meander out to the coffee pot? But those are very broad questions, with even broader answers. When you think of those answers, write them down. I did. I still have the piece of paper I wrote them on back in 1991.
Face Fear -- Fear can be a giant wall, seemingly impossible to scale. For instance, when we left the coast of Mexico to sail 2,750 miles across the Pacific Ocean without seeing a bit of land, I had never before navigated a boat across an ocean. I was petrified and the only way I could move through my fear was to haul up the anchor and say, “Let’s go.”
Mark the Worth in Every Day – This is not a cliché. This is not about smelling roses. This is about recognizing the value we have in our daily lives. It’s about remembering to listen, to feel, to actually see what we’re doing and appreciate each moment of our lives. Just before crossing the Indian Ocean, I was sitting up on the foredeck, looking out over the expanse of ocean that would be my home for the next 19 days. I had to pinch myself. “Look! Look at what you’re about to do. You’re going to sail your own boat across the Indian Ocean!”
“Check in with yourself every day.” Jacobson says. “Do you wake up in the morning looking forward to the day, or do you have a knot in the pit of your gut that makes you dread the day? The primary rule of living an unstoppable life is to live it with laughter, passion and love. Each of our lives IS an adventure. If you live with laughter, love, and passion, and live with every ounce of energy you have, then you’ll live an Unstoppable Life.”
About Larry Jacobson
Larry Jacobson grew up in California on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, sailing, kayaking, swimming, and scuba diving. A recognized expert in the corporate marketing world, he was president of one of the premier incentive travel companies. An avid sailor, he has over 50,000 blue water miles to his name. Larry is a motivational speaker and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
To book a course or speaking engagement contact LarryJaconson.com/
WHAT IS FULL-TIME RV TRAVEL REALLY LIKE?
We spill our whole story, start to end, warts and all.....
We traveled full-time for 10 great years.
Do you dream of living and traveling in a complete home on wheels? Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition by Janet Groene & Gordon Groene is a total guide to the full-time life on wheels. Should you sell the house or rent it out? Downsize possessions or put them in storage? Too young to retire? See our chapter on ways to make a living anywhere. Kids on board? We cover home schooling and also an exit strategy if and when it's time to settle down. Order at any book store or let Amazon gift wrap and ship it for you. https://amzn.to/29XFEkq
RV PARK AND CAMPGROUNDS;
GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS
These hot-off-the-press news breaks from our local sources are not recommendations nor full descriptions of parks. They are simply news items you may want to follow as the story develops and relates to your own future travels.
NEW AND FUTURE RV PARKS
A new super- luxury resort in New Braunfels, Texas is the family-focused Camp Landa RV Resort with a heated swimming pool, swim-up bar, planned activities for kids and adults, a café’, camp store, laundry facility and a concierge who is only a text away. See CampLanda.com/
Proudly proclaiming itself “Established in 2026" is the brand new Squatch Pines Family Campground in Prudenville, Michigan. In a setting of state forest land, the campground has ORV trails, 66 full hook-up sites and a swimming pool. Their season runs through October 15. Rates are nightly or seasonal. See squatchpinesfamilycampground.com/Opened last fall and now enjoying its first full season is the 18-site Petit Jean Gateway RV Park in Morriltown, Arkansas. The park has 30/50 amp power, Wi-Fi and nghtly or monthly rates. (501) 889-8444 or hwy9coffeexpress@gmail.com/
CHANGES, UPGRADES, EXPANSIONS, NEW OWNERS
Plumas National Forest, California is now fully open for the season. The forest has endless and varied facilities, alpine lakes, access points and about 40 campgrounds. Start with Recreation.gov/
The campground at the Jackson County Fairgrounds, Wellston, Ohio has added 30 full-service RV sites. (740) 384-6587.
The Soo Line Trail / Onamia KOA Journey in Onamia, Minnesota has new owners. Situated on the Soo Line Trail the campground is surrounded by places to fish, hunt and ride. The campground has a camp store, playground, a dump station and UTV rentals. Phone: (320) 532-7027
God’s Country RV Park in Shreveport, Louisiana has a $25,000 grant for upgrades. The park has a propane station, lodge accommodations as well as RV and tent sites, disc golf, fishing, playgrounds and dog parks. The new money will go towards a splash pad, playground improvements and a family pavilion. (318) 309-4322.
The 80-site 4 Guys RV Park at the Gorge, Stanton, Kentucky, has new owners. The ideal base camp for exploring the Red River Gorge Geological Area, the park has full hookups, a swimming pool, fishing pond and Wi-Fi. No changes have been announced at this time. (606) 663-4444
Now is the time to grab reservations. Newly a member of the growing Margaritaville resort chain, the Camp Margaritaville Resort Orange Lake in Citra, Florida plans to add more than 200 additional RV sites. Check the resort map at the website to see the planned expansion. Today’s luxury resort features include a Lazy River, a fabulous pool layout and multiple spots to eat, drink and be merry. Veterans and first responders get a discount. (352) 878-4855 or Margaritaville Resorts.com/
The 62-site Beachcomber RV Park, Saanichton, British Columbia, has new owners. Enjoy views of James Island and Mt. Baker. Camp right on the shoreline. Sites have water, electric, fire ring and picnic table. +1 236-653-0705
A massive campground expansion and improvement is underway at Carter Caves Resort State Park, Olive Hill, Kentucky. New in the campground is a large and modern camp store, bathhouse, ADA campsites and upgraded sewer and electric campsites. The park has a welcome center with gift shop, a restaurant, rock climbing, gem mining, paddle sports, playgrounds, a swimming pool, tennis courts and guided cave tours. See parks.ky.gov/
In Bremen, Georgia the Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Camp Resort has a new 57,000-gallon water park with four slides plus water cannons and blasters, a family pool, electric boat rides, live entertainments and more. The resort has 225 RV sites, planned activities including dance parties, gem mining, wagon rides, min golf, a café’, cabins, glamping and tent sites.. See details at campjellystone.com/georgia/jellystone-park-west-georgia/
Pilot Knoll Park & Campground provides day use facilities and campsites in Highland Village, a development on Lake Lewisville in Argyle, Texas. The 16 cabins are being removed in favor of more and better RV and tent sites, a new entry with gatehouse, parking and driveway upgrades and connections to trails. The park has a boat launch, volleyball, fishing, paddleboat and kayak rentals rentals and 50-amp power. Non-potable water is available in the campground. See HighlandVillage.org/
Pet-friendly Mountain Range RV Park in Lander, Wyoming overlooking Sinks Canyon, is growing and glowing under new owners. Come see the larger, new RV sites, most of them pull-thru, with 20-30-50 amps. According to the Lander Chamber of Commerce, new additions include a nature trail, viewing deck near the Lander Golf Course and a fenced pasture for Highland cattle. (307) 438-9798.
CLOSURES
Closed now until next summer is the Feather River access point campground and launch ramp near Oroville, California. When it re-opens visitors will find upgrades including a two–lane boat ramp, parking for boat trailers, a 25-unit campground (no hookups), recreational trails and a day use picnic area. For details and suggestions for alternative launch ramps see https://water.ca.gov/
