We stopped for the night in Holbrook and since we did not have any events scheduled for today, we took this time in the beautiful weather to jump in the nice pool and hot tub at the campground. Kevin, Branic, and I swam and played Frisbee for the entire morning before the 1 p.m. check out before we took the short 2-hour drive to Santa Fe where we needed to be in the morning. The campground in Santa Fe was much different than the one in Holbrook, and it was here when I realized how my way of thinking has changed.

I thought that all RV parks were standard, like hotels. Cable, showers, and beds are all standardized in all hotels. The same isn’t true for RV parks, as each have their own amenities that we have come to demand. Wi-fi internet service and cable hookups are not available everywhere. The camp at Holbrook had both of these while Santa Fe’s didn’t. Holbrook had a swimming pool and a hot tub, while Santa Fe lacked both. While we sleep in the same bed every night, the services that are provided around us certainly makes a big difference. Being able to hook up our electricity and dump our waste tanks while we are at campgrounds is very important, and these services are not always consistent. When we park at our camp site every night, one of the first things we do is check out the bathroom and shower facilities. Our personal feelings about each campground usually boil down to whether or not the bathrooms were clean and if the showers had hot water. It’s interesting how I’ve seen my thinking about these places change so quickly.

Before this trip, I looked at all KOA campgrounds as one and the same. Now, however, I feel like a connoisseur of RV parks. When we drive to our new campground tonight, one of the questions I will be asking myself is, “Does this campground have a laundry room?”

For the sake of clean underwear, I hope so.