Is there any interest in creating a campground spreadsheet, sort of like the data tag project, where we can list our favorite campgrounds for others to use as a resource? While Woodall's and Good Sam have great lists it is very hard to find that one campground along a certain route that our friends and acquaintances have stayed at and really know the scoop.

I think this is a great idea, but it may be for a different reason than you are talking about. We stay almost exclusively at State Parks, which seem to be scorned by many. We have a bunch of parks to look at, and a few to avoid, from our travels in the southeast. A park can have all the amenities but when you set up camp and discover you can't get out the door due to gnats, skeeters or whatever, you might as well be in a Holiday Inn.
I'd be happy to give our input to a bunch of Florida State Parks and some Georgia and Alabama State Parks.
Heck, it's not like Bill has anything better to do, right?

Yes, and just try to get a review of any State Parks! Your input would be extremely valuable. All Bill has to do is build us a way to input the information. In his spare time!

Reviews in the Trailer Life Campground Navigator (software) are just numerical. No info on issues or misrepresentations by the park.

Some sort of rating system for the Barthmobile Forums Would be useful.

Most of the parks I use are convenient to my travel routes.

Any body (warm or cold) want to run a website?

What are you proposing - how would you wish it implemented?

Can it be something as simple as starting a new forum or did you want an interactive map?

Who is going to compile the list or whatever is envisioned?

I use a website called RV Park Reviews besides my Trailer Life Directory, Passport America book, Aor/Acn book, and word of mouth from people i know. another source is always helpful.

My frustration with the available GPS and directories are: 1) GPS devices all try to route travelers the shortest and fastest way possible using as many Interstates as possible and without any concern for leisure travel and 2) there is no real way to identify suitable campsites along a route related to travel time or distance. So when I want to travel to say Savannah GA from Houston I can't find a scenic route with four lane non interstate roads with the GPS nor can I easily locate camping facilities or attractions that can be figured into say a 400 mile distance from my current stop. So I was inquiring about a way for the members to list their favorite camp areas by name and location with short comments so we can locate them and then perhaps link to a map so we can plan a route that would guide us from site to site along our journeys. Members would be free to list their favorite places as they discover them and they would be updated with stars or dots to rate them. I am working on the GPS problem but that will take some time. Right now I am frustrated in how difficult it is to plan a leisurely trip from Houston to INDY in May of '11 that will take 20 days and let me see as many sight as possible.

Tom, Mamonth Cave National Park south of Bowling Green Ky. and Brown Co. State park south of Indy both have my thumbs up for seeing on your way. Brown Co.is just beautiful in the fall with all it hardwood trees, but is still a nice park in the spring. Mamonth Cave is a nice park, But the cave is what make it worth the trip.
Doorman

Great now we have the start of our "database".If someone can tell me how to set it up we can start adding the information. Looks like we need an input sheet of some kind.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom K:
If someone can tell me how to set it up we can start adding the information. Looks like we need an input sheet of some kind.

I'm all for giving the people what they want. I just don't know how I can make this interactive so that you can add this information yourself.

The only way I can see to do this would be to make up a new forum for campground reviews.

The way I have thought about it would be to build a map - insert pins in the map - link it back to the post in question - change the title to include state/city/name of the campground

By looking at a map you can easily see where it is in relationship to your route.

By doing it in a forum setting you can get a give and take of each review - your experience might not be indicative of the way that place is run - or it might indicate a pattern of things to come - point/counterpoint might be good too.

Another map? - Unless you can expand my thought process, it seems like I'm stuck in a "One Trick Pony" show.

But, if it works... I guess I can't knock it. Help!

What say you?

Please let me know what other things, from different websites, might work better - show me an example of what you're envisioning.

---

---

---

Another thought I want to convey... Just because I might not respond to a post in a positive fashion - doesn't mean I don't think about it.

Here is what I was playing around with.

http://barthmobile.com/eve/for...31072951&f=799108833

As you can tell by the time/date stamp - I thought about this hours after you first mentioned it - I worked on this late into the night of the 14th and going into the 15th. - I built a map - made up a forum - built templates - and tried different settings...

Of course - I can also scrap anything I played around with for something else - Right now - I just need input so I can do something with it.

None of the Basement Dwellers, myself included, decided to discuss this - So, I've been waiting on the rest to comment so I can steer this into a direction that you may want.

Bill, don't know if this will help you or not but try looking at www.busnut.com/cgi-bin/bbs/discus.cgi Look at Places We Stay. Maybe the way they have this set up is what you are looking for?

quote:

Originally posted by Shadow man:
Look at Places We Stay. Maybe the way they have this set up is what you are looking for?

It basically is the same thing I thought about - minus a map

I change the headings so that the description is the trigger point for sorting - Each state would show up in a cluster because the first few letters will shuffle it into its proper place.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
...change the title to include state/city/name of the campground

As you can tell by looking at it now, it only sorts based on user input for the title of the post in question.

I would change the title if you don't follow the format - just like I do now in the "For Sale Forum" - only there, it is sorted by date/time

http://rvparkreviews.com

This is a site that is highly recommended on other sites. By using this or any of the already existing sites available we would be saving Bill a lot of time setting up something that is already available.

The thing I see with these sites is they don't list, or don't have anything to list for, State Parks. I know some don't even think about staying at a State Park, but I feel they don't know what they're missing in many cases. I'd do a report of the SPs we've been to, with all the good and bad. Just in Florida, South to North, Bahia Honda, Collier Seminole, Oscar Schearer, Myakka River, Lake Manatee, Hillsborough River, O'Leno, Suwanee River, and Blue Springs on the other side. Other than Blue Springs, this route pretty much travels from the Lower Keys to the Northern part of the state following I75. If it's of any use, I'd be glad to put it together, but I don't know how this will pan out so let me know if I'm wasting time. [I like doing these things anyway so it's not really a waste.]

Trailer Life's Campground Navigator (software) shows most state parks, with reasonable info on each.