By Lisa Breen
Road trip anyone? Count me in! I can’t even begin to count the number of times I have headed out with a friend for a weekend of riding. “Let’s head to the coast, or the lake or the hills.”
We figure out food and a place to stay on the road. “Let’s just get out of here for a day or two,” someone will say. It always seems to be one of those trips with a direction in mind but no real destination. So we grab our sunglasses and leathers, when necessary, and head for our bikes.
And we are down the road for a quick getaway and pray that the weather holds. Even though we only have a few bucks in our pocket, we don’t let that keep us from heading out.
We like to sleep cheap on our way from here to there and I’ve learned to keep my State Park map on my bike for occasions such as these. With campsites just a few bucks and our bedrolls on board, we can find a scenic spot for the night.
There are bathrooms at all of the parks and showers at most. You can get electricity and water if you aren’t truly the “roughing it” type.
Of course, all campsites come with a fire ring and wood is available for purchase at the entrance, so there are no worries about dinner. A quick stop at the store for some kabobs or dogs and we are sitting with Mother Nature as our backdrop.
With a little left in our pockets we sleep away the night. The sun is our alarm clock as there’s more riding to be done. Just roll up our beds and water down the fire and we are ready to go.
So the next time you get the urge to head out of town but your budget is tight, remember your tax dollars at work and enjoy the beauty and affordability of our parks.