Things to do While Traveling, Overlanding & Road Tripping~Rachel Holbert Jones, Sunset SC

Overlanding is about the journey not the destination so it makes sense that you will want to find lots of interesting things to see and do along the way.

This post parlayed from a post I did on my other blog having to do with offroading. That post is Someone Took a Jeep up Suicide Road and as always I started with the post but quickly spiraled into something else entirely. The man in the Jeep was actually headed up to a radio tower to work on it. I tend to lose concentration and let my mind take over and go to other places unrelated to the post at hand. From this post came new ideas for things to do, things I like to do. And there's plenty you can do while traveling, overlanding and road tripping. Along the way you can camp, boondock, stay at a motel although to get the most out of your travels it's probably better to camp but if you don't like to camp or boondock then a motel it is. You can stay at a campground and along the way there's so much to see and do. Everyone is different and has different tastes and likes so I'll tell you what I like to do along the way.

First, I never really plan but if you're on a schedule and only have so much time then an itinerary will help keep things moving so you see as much as possible along the way but if you're lucky enough to be living in a van or RV or have enough money to travel then you already know this is the life. For me, it's truly my best life as one YouTuber puts it. If you're among the unfortunate that has had to make your car or van your home and have no money to travel there are things you can do to make it better and I will try to include a few things here and maybe write a longer post later.

My first love is photography and video and everything else branches out from there. But I also like to stay fit and healthy so it branches from there too. 

I prefer hiking to anything else as long as it isn't too steep, 100 Hikes of a Lifetime is a good book which I've read. When I'm on the road working or stop for the night I read. I read a lot, about a lot of different things. 

If you'd rather drive than hike check out The Most Scenic Drives in America and the 300 Best Drives in the USA. My favorite drives are the Beartooth Highway in Montana and Wyoming and it is one of the most beautiful drives I've been on. There's really no beating the Beartooth in my opinion. It is 68.7 miles and worth it. The Medicine Wheel Passage is another and if you're already in this area don't miss it. It is 27 miles long. The Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia is another don't miss it if you're in the area and last year I took the opportunity to drive the entire length of the parkway and went into the Shenandoah National Park. The BRP is 469.1 miles and the Shenandoah also known as the skyline drive is 105 miles. This makes a whopping 574.1 miles of driving and there are many exits along the way to get off and eat and find lodging or a place to camp or boondock. It took me about two weeks to drive the whole thing but I took my time and explored the towns too.

But hands down I have to say the two best drives in my lifetime have been US Hwy 2 West and US Hwy 2 East. Highway 2 West goes from St. Ignace to California but I'm only concentrating on the lake part which starts at St. Ignace, Michigan just over the Mackinac Bridge and traverses to Duluth, Minnesota for a total of 422 miles. US Hwy 2 East goes from Rouses Point, New York to Bar Harbor, Maine for a total of 363 miles. 

There's also Off The Beaten Path-More Than 1000 Interesting Places to Visit and 50 States 5000 Ideas. There's so much to do and so many places to explore and so many different things you can see and do. I hike, solo picnic, take pictures and videos. I take long drives and find so many interesting things along the side of the road to photograph. I stop at antique shops, tourist attractions, check out trails, historical places and monuments, museums, parks, state and national parks, lakes, rivers, the ocean, seaside towns, battlefields, flower and plant gardens, shopping centers, the many different Walmart's across the country, restaurants, campgrounds, dispersed camping, old cars sitting on the side of the road like I did in New York in every town and pretty much whatever else I find along the way that is interesting. And I almost forgot I check out cemeteries on my drives and try to find the alleged haunted places I find on theshadowlands.

This is my go to for finding haunted houses, roads, places, graveyards along the way on the roads I'm traveling. I don't always check out haunted places, but there are times I do and I do really love old, historical cemeteries where I get great photographs.

There are a lot of supposedly haunted places in the USA and when I first started photographing them I traveled to a lot of places. I started in South Carolina and I didn't go far then I went further but I never really traveled outside of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee and occasionally farther. That's when I started taking pictures of old, abandoned houses because I'd run out of haunted places that I could go to.

When I went to Florida and Michigan I started reading books on hauntings in these areas. And read about so many different hauntings but that wasn't all. I also read about strange creatures and encounters. Nothing interests me more than finding spooky, weird places to visit and discovering the history behind the places.

Another big interest of mine are classic cars but I don't visit too many car museums but I take many pictures of old cars sitting on the side of the road.

And all that searching, taking pictures and waiting in anticipation to see a ghost or two or just hiking a rigorous trail can make you really hungry. When I found this book it was refreshing to find a guide to restaurants and eats other than the local fast food place or deli.

Check out these other resources on haunted places America's Most Haunted Road Trip, 50 Real American Ghost Stories and Most Haunted Places in America.

References: 10 Most Scenic Drives in America, Best Scenic Drives in the USA and 32 Most Haunted Places in America.

Latest posts: Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco & Others Off Roading in Utah & Everything Else, Truck Camper & Class B Tour By Story Chasing, Lake Jocassee SC, The Legend of Pemberton Hall, Jeep Wrangler Going up Top of the World in Moab Utah and 2021 Ford Bronco Testing in Moab Utah.

This post contains affiliate links and I may make a commission from it at no cost to the reader. Visit my YouTube Channel Sassy After Sixty here: https://www.youtube.com/sassygrrl32, my business blog Rizzo REI Partners~Rachel Holbert Jones Page here: https://rachelholbertjones.wordpress.com/, Medium here: https://medium.com/@sassygrrl32a, articles at Hubpages here: https://hubpages.com/@sassygrrl32, Diverse & Wickedly Crazed Diary here: https://rachelholbertjonespage.wordpress.com/ and https://rachelholbertjones10.blogspot.com/ which is a collection of personal posts, haunted abandoned places, cemeteries, nature, photography, strange happenings, road tripping, camping, hiking and van life.

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By Rachel Holbert Jones aka Sassygrrl32 in Memphis Tennessee & Clifton RV Park & Marina TN

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Until next time……..My story-page……..UPDATE: I'm moving to a marina on Lake Keowee in Sunset SC (soon, I hope), only in a smaller boat, a 1981 Yukon Delta 28 that needs a ton of work................I’m Rachel Holbert Jones (XieQi LLC, RavenBlackHeart LLC & RavenBlackbeard LLC), also work for Rizzo REI Partners and this is my story/page: living in Iva, South Carolina (Anderson County), part time in Hartwell, Georgia on a friend's boat, a 1986 Chris-Craft Catalina 381. I was at the Hartwell Marina which doesn’t allow liveaboards. He purchased a 1996 Holiday Mansion 39 Barracuda, 1977 CHB Trawler 34 (I’m remodeling), 1986 Marine Trader 54 Sunliner that I’m updating, 2018 Sunseeker Manhattan 52, 2001 Nordic Tug 37 and a 1983 Fishcraft 28 (similar to the AdventureCraft 28 I lived on and still call home). I’m also camping at various places, mostly lake campgrounds.****************I still care for my aunt in West Virginia sometimes and hoping not to have to return to Memphis, Tennessee. We are scheduled to move my aunt to Dead Women Crossing, Oklahoma but first it’s to Georgia for the winter & Michigan in the summer (still up in the air). I’m still traveling for work (some, not as much) and have been to my Uncle’s ranch in Alpine, Texas to oversee it and the cattle he re-titled in both of our names, Texas Longhorns, Scottish Highlands, Brangus and show horses (which I can't sell without his signature). He’s also added Bison and Beefalo to his ranch. **************************** For my work travels my uncle purchased a 1995 Ford E-150 Econoline GT Starquest Campervan. I wasn’t sure about an older van like this but the man that owned it had completely converted it with solar power and electrical, it was a good deal. It only has 112k miles. It only has a sealed portable toilet but it is okay because I prefer a public toilet and only use a camper toilet if I’m dispersed camping, at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel. I prefer rest areas and truck stops. For short trips, I drive a car or SUV. *************************** I have an avid love for photography and capturing the essence of old, abandoned houses, allegedly haunted places, classic, antique vehicles, lakes, rivers, nature, museums, art galleries, antique shops, car shows and historical places. I’m not a ghosthunter or paranormal investigator although I’ve had people request me to lead their groups, I’m a legend hunter. I love scary podcasts and spend more time on YouTube or Audible than Peacock or Tubi. I used to watch TV or movies when I stopped for the night but now I usually go right to sleep when I stop and prefer the podcasts of Darkness Prevails, What Lurks Beneath, Swamp Dweller, Let's Read or Red Owl. I like to listen to scary trucker stories too, occasionally grizzly/polar bear attacks, audiobooks & Dateline Podcasts. I like google scholar, casetext, medium, wordpress, livejournal, blogger, unsplash, pexels, pixabay, pinterest, instagram, facebook, X, tumblr, amazon, eBay, shadowlands (for places that are haunted), reading, greek mythology, animal shows, National Geographic, the metaphysical, food, camping, fitness, weightlifting, nutrition, health, gua sha, face rollers, beauty, fashion, tai chi, yoga, YouTube (listening to vanlifers and people living in their vehicles), road tripping, computers, internet and creating videos. I also like long drives & deserted back roads. Work consists of scouting for investment properties and rehabbing/remodeling those properties for my employer. We also remodel old boats and restore classic cars. ******Visit my blogs at https://rachelholbertjonespage.com (Diverse & Wickedly Crazed Diary) that I'm changing to revolve around mostly haunted, abandoned places and occasionally focus on personal posts having to do with my homeless situation; https://xie-qi.blogspot.com (Rachel X's Secret Diary) focused on my homeless situation; https://sassygrrl32x.blogspot.com is social media type posts in a blog format; https://medium.com/@sassygrrl32a is mostly reviews; https://sassygrrl32.livejournal.com is a social media type blog; https://rachelholbertjones10.blogspot.com has some links to YT videos and personal posts; https://rachelholbertjones.wordpress.com is my business blog, https://rachelholbertjones.weebly.com is my crazy and contentious blog and https://youtube.com/sassygrrl32. My social media links are Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sassygrrl32; Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/sassygrrl32; Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sassygrrl32/; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sassygrrl32/; Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-holbert-jones-1b595b2a5/; TruthSocial: https://truthsocial.com/@sassygrrl32……….By Rachel Holbert Jones (Xie Qi LLC & RavenBlackHeart LLC) AKA sassygrrl32 & Haunted Legendhunter & Bourbon Street Blogger **********************************************Alot of people have asked me the story of my homeless situation and I’ve removed it for now and will discuss it in my blog posts. ***********************************#rachelxieqiholbertjonespage #sassygrrl32 #sunset #Iva #Keowee #SouthCarolina #Hartwell #Georgia #andersoncounty #Michigan #livinginacar #vanlife #nomadlifestyle #carcamping #roadtripping #boondocking #carlife #livingoffgrid #vandwelling #vanliving #legendhunter #haunted #abandoned #xieqi #sassyaftersixty #deadwomencrossing #oklahoma #westvirginia #memphis #tennessee #bourbonstreetblogger #bepositive #prayer #GodBless #rebranding #westernzhoudynasty #daxie #nanyang #mandarin #xiemei #lowbow #vitallifeforce #flowingvitalenergy #unseenenergy #taichi #davisislandersllc #rizzoreipartners #crazyandcontentious #blackheart #raven #ravenblackheart #rachelxieqiholbertjonesblackheartpage #rachelxieqiholbertjonespageblackheart #rachelxieqiholbertjonesblackheart #rachelxieqiholbertjonesravenblackheart #oconeecounty #pickens #pickenscounty #lakehartwell #lakekeowee #lakejocassee #photography #nature #wordpress #blogger #medium #livejournal #weebly #facebook #instagram #pinterest #rachelxsecretdiary #diverseandwickedlycrazeddiary #wickedlycrazed #homelessness #homeless #houseless #unhoused #ivakeowee #ravenblackheartllc #ravenblackbeardllc #xieqillc #ravnbhllc *******UPDATE: I work for Xie Qi LLC, RavenBlackHeart LLC, RavenBlackbeard LLC & Rizzo REI Partners, @RavenBlackheart1 & @RavenBlackbeard on outlook.....a mixture of my great grandmother's maiden name and Malachi's name, which makes for an interesting username, was initially incorporated as part of my name but is really the LLC's I work for. On one account it is shortened to Ravnbhllc.