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RV Wanderlust

Full-time Living in Our Diesel RV

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RV Park Review: Catherine’s Landing in Hot Springs, AR

March 27, 2015 by Eric Highland Leave a Comment

RV Wanderlust Catherine's Landing in Hot Springs

RV Wanderlust at Catherine’s Landing in Hot Springs, AR

Brittany and I typically travel only ~250 miles every time we move our behemoth RV. There are many reasons for this. Mostly it’s about safety, exploration and rest.

But sometimes, on rare occasions, we break our own rule. Whenever we do, it has to be for a good reason…actually, a spectacular one.

Our original plan was to go from Austin, TX to Mount Pleasant, TX - a distance of 313 miles - and stay for a week. Friends of ours suggested we push further, claiming the push would be worth it. They suggested Hot Springs, AR.

We looked at the map, but it was a 492 mile trek to Hot Springs. Yuck. That would typically mean two full days of travel for us.

In order to even consider it, we’d have to be really impressed with the local area, and we’d want to find an RV park that was outstanding.

We found both. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Exploring America, Park and Campground Reviews Tagged With: arkansas, hot springs

RV Park Review: Natchez State Park in Natchez, MS

April 17, 2014 by Eric Highland Leave a Comment

One of our bucket list items was to drive the entirety of the Natchez Trace Parkway. We crossed that item off our list when we finished the journey on March 22, 2014 at the north terminus of the Trace, near Nashville.

But the journey started 13 days and 444 miles earlier, south of that point in Natchez, MS where the Trace begins.

Brittany of RV Wanderlust in Natchez, MS

Natchez, MS along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi River

We only drive on the weekends, since we do client work from Meriwether during the week. So we needed a place to stay for the week before we began the journey up the Parkway. After looking around at our options, we landed on Natchez State Park.

When given a choice (meaning it has good Internet connectivity and sites large enough for Meriwether), we’ll always choose a National, State or County park. They are treasures of our country. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Exploring America, Park and Campground Reviews Tagged With: mississippi, natchez trace parkway, state park

RV Park Review: Treetops Carefree RV Resort in Arlington, TX

March 26, 2014 by Eric Highland 2 Comments

Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX

Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX - home of the Texas Rangers (Photo credit: TexasEagle via Flickr CC)

Why would anyone go to Arlington, TX?

Hmm…let’s see. Texas Rangers baseball, Six Flags Over Texas Amusement Park, the International Bowling Hall of Fame, Headquarters of American Mensa…should I go on?

Ok, all you Mensa people already knew this, but Arlington is a perfect “base camp” if you want to visit anything in Forth Worth or Dallas. It sits pretty close to the midway point between the two cities.

And Treetops Carefree RV Resort in Arlington sits just off I-20, which is perfect for RVers wanting to go to all of the above and have an easy escape route from the Metroplex. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Exploring America, Park and Campground Reviews Tagged With: arlington, dallas, texas

RV Park Review: Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

March 25, 2014 by Eric Highland 9 Comments

The city of Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World

Austin, Texas: Live Music Capital of the World!
(Photo credit: John Cabuena of Flipintexfotos.com)

So the “Live Music Capital of the World” is calling your name…

Trust me when I tell you that you aren’t going to be spending too much time in your RV if you’re close enough to downtown Austin. If you do, you’re missing out on one of the best cities in the world.

All you really need is an RV park that is really close to downtown, has decent security and great customer service.

Austin Lone Star Carefree RV has all that and more.

General RV Park Information: Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Photo of the main office of the Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Main office at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV
(Photo Credit: RVResortlife.com)

  • GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 30.1856889 Longitude: -97.7733354
  • Physical Address: 7009 S IH-35 Austin, TX 78744
  • Phone Number for Reservations: (800) 284-0206
  • Rate as of March 24, 2014: Starting at $44 per night
  • Weekly Rate: Starting at $264
  • Monthly Rate: Starting at $515
  • Military Discounts: Yes, 50% off daily rate
  • Other Discounts: Yes, AAA 10% daily rate, Enjoy America 50% off second night, Passport America 50% off daily rate, Good Sam 10% off daily rate
  • Additional Information: Don’t take the William Cannon exit off IH-35. Take the Slaughter exit instead. If northbound, just stay on the service road. If southbound, get in the left lane after exiting and go under IH-35. Then head northbound on the service road.

RV Site Details: Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Site number 64 at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Site #64 at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

  • Site Pad Material: Gravel
  • Water: Yes, included with daily rate
  • Electricity: Yes, included with daily rate
  • Sewer: Yes
  • Laundry: Yes (see below)
  • Cable TV: Yes
  • Wi-fi: Tengo Internet (see below)
  • Dump Station: Yes
  • Propane: Yes (see below)
  • Pull Throughs: Yes
  • Back In: Yes
  • Big Rig Friendly: Yes
  • Pet Friendly: Yes

Particulars of Our Stay

Kerensa of Drive Dive Devour and Brittany of RV Wanderlust

Kerensa and Brittany with the fabric we chose for our cornice boxes. Kerensa and Brandon of Drive Dive Devour were awesome helping us get these things reupholstered!

  • Dates of our Stay: February 22-March 1, 2014
  • Site Number: #64
  • Cellular Coverage: We received strong Verizon and AT&T signals in the park
  • Most Memorable Moment: Getting help reupholstering our cornice boxes from our friends Brandon and Kerensa of Drive Dive Devour. They are awesome folks!
  • Other Awesome Moments: Grilling with Brandon and Kerensa and John and Laura of the Democratic Travelers. Followed by the obligatory watching of We Are the Millers.
  • Least Fun Moment: Glaring at some strange woman. Ok, look, let me explain. ~shifts eyes~ You see, we knew that Brandon and Kerensa were out of town for a couple days. They told us they were leaving their RV in the park and were headed up to Dallas. So, being a good neighbor, I went to check on their rig and there was someone in it! So I walked right up to the window and glared at this woman, so that she would know I was there. She looked back at me and we sort of stared at each other for a moment. Glad she knew I was watching, but it turns out it wasn’t Brandon and Kerensa’s RV. I had the wrong site number. ~blush~
  • Fun People We Met: Brandon and Kerensa of Drive Dive Devour.

Personal Reflections on Our Stay

Brittany from RV Wanderlust relaxing at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

Brittany relaxing at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

If you want to be close to downtown Austin, this place is hard to beat. At just 5 miles from downtown, the location is great!

Austin is our “home city,” so we didn’t spend much time going out during our week, as we were just launching into our full-timing adventure. The week was spent mostly on learning our rig, meeting folks and learning about RV stuff from people who had traveled a mile or two further than us.

The pull-through sites are fairly large, level and packed fairly tight, but not as tight as other parks we’ve been in. The temporary spots come with 30/50 AMP service, water, sewer and cable. A picnic table and charcoal grill are also provided for these spots.

Traffic noise from IH-35 is there, but it’s not overpowering. If this is a stickler for you and you still want to be inside the city limits of Austin, consider McKinney Falls State Park as an alternative. But know that McKinney doesn’t have cable, sewer or laundry and is much further from downtown.

The restrooms and laundry facility at Lone Star require an access code, which you’re given upon check-in. The restrooms are clean, though dated. The hot water was hot and the water pressure was good. Both bathrooms were co-ed, which Brittany tells me she didn’t like. The laundry facility was clean and adequate and had a television that was showing I-Robot, which was a nice plus.

Austin Lone Star Carefree RV has Tengo Internet, which was horrible. But then again, we’ve never been at an RV park with Tengo that was good…and haven’t heard of one either. At least not yet.

Garbage collection each morning at your site is really nice. Something I thought was fantastic was their ON-SITE PROPANE DELIVERY! They have a truck that comes around on Tuesday, so let the office know by Monday if you need filling. Big points for this!

With the exception of the main road leading into the Austin Lone Star Carefree RV park, the other roads inside the park are in disrepair and have speed bumps that will rattle your teeth. So take your time going over those. BUT…word on the street is that they are repaving the entire campground in April 2014. So.. take that into consideration. WTG Carefree!

The on-off from IH-35 is annoying if you are headed southbound. It’s not a big deal if you’re only going out once or twice. But if you’re doing multiple trips each day, this can get old over an extended stay. But that isn’t Austin Lone Star Carefree RV’s issue. Just the way the roads are laid out.

The staff at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV was kind, accommodating and friendly. They even took time to help us figure out our cable when us noobs were having problems. And by “us noobs,” I mean me. The security at the resort was also great. From the access card security gate to the bathrooms and laundry, the place had a good, secure feel to it.

The proximity to other things in the area is pretty awesome. Target, Sam’s Club, Lowes, Home Depot, Academy, restaurants and more are all within minutes.

Things to Do in the Austin Area

Screen shot of the Austinot Blog

The Austinot Blog, a blog all about the city of Austin

There are so many things to do in Austin that we created an entire website dedicated to everything Austin. It’s called The Austinot and it has over 500 unique articles. Check that out for sure if you stay at Austin Lone Star Carefree RV.

Final Thoughts on Austin Lone Star Carefree RV

We’d stay here again for sure. The proximity to the city, the secure feel of the RV park and the friendly staff make it a no-brainer if you’re wanting an RV park with full hook-ups in the Austin area.

Do you have anything to add? Any other thoughts on Austin Lone Star Carefree RV? Maybe you have a question. We love comments, so please don’t hesitate!

Filed Under: Exploring America, Park and Campground Reviews Tagged With: austin, texas

RV Park Review: McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, TX

March 7, 2014 by Eric Highland 7 Comments

McKinney Falls State Park sign

If you want an RV park in Austin, TX, but you still want to feel like you are RV camping in nature, you can’t beat McKinney Falls State Park. (If you want to be in Austin but closer to the city, you can take a look at our Review of Austin Lone Star Carefree RV Park here.)

When we are looking for an RV park in Austin, McKinney Falls State Park is definitely one of the RV parks on the top of our list. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Exploring America, Park and Campground Reviews Tagged With: austin, rv park review, state park, texas

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September: Iowa, Illinois
October: Finishing our last states in the continental U.S. with Indiana, West Virginia
November: Florida
December: Texas

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Eric and Brittany Highland

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Welcome to RV Wanderlust! We're Eric and Brittany Highland and we're on a pretty amazing adventure. As of 2019, we're starting our sixth year as fulltime RVers and we've been transparently documenting the journey all along the way. In December 2016 we … Keep reading

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