First Vanlife Trip: Skidaway Island State Park RV Camping & Hiking Review

 

Skidaway Island State Park

 

Hiking:

Doesn't this place just look like Jurassic Park? My favorite thing by far about this hike was the enchanting clash of tropical ferns and palm trees with the old southern charm of wickedly knobby cypress-covered oak trees. I love those trees; they reveal their age in their seemingly athritis-stricken limbs. 

This was a calm day between storms. It had rained like a monsoon the previous day immediately upon my arrival. The world became a bright grey melting distortion smearing across my windshield. So I sat in the back of my van watching YouTube and eating snap pea crisps, for the rain to end so I could go exploring. But the rain never really ended until the next day.

 

 It was a wet and grey day, but it was finally calm enough to explore the trails. Very few people were out, so I was enjoying a lot of quiet observance and enjoying the cypress moss floating softly in a pleasant breeze.  

The trails were sandy and sometimes a bit narrow and other times decently wide (between 3-6ft). It began with a bridge where I stood admiring a thing I have never heard or thought of: A salt marsh!

A salt marsh is like a swamp, except with sand instead of mud. I enjoyed watching easily a hundred tiny white crabs scuttle about, in and out of their little holes, even picking little fights one another on top of the sands.

 

Skidaway Island State Park Salt Marsh

I found this to be an easy hiking trail. Although there was some sand which was very wet and a little squishy, and my shoes sank into the almost mud-like sand a bit on certain parts of the trail. It caused me to reminisce about all the cartoons I saw growing up that involved quick sand. (Not gonna lie, I squished my foot into it a few times, imagining it swallowing me up and wondering how to escape something like that.) Otherwise, it was mostly a flat trail, free of much debris, root systems sticking up into the trail or plants brushing against your legs. The only creatures I saw were dozens of crabs and a few large snails I watched in the grasses growing from the river next to the trail. 

 

RV Camping:

 

My rig would usually be classified as a truck camper at RV parks, although I often just call it a van to make things simple. (It is like, if someone took a truck and turned it into a van conversion. There will be a post that explains this better linked in the future.)

This was a peaceful campground with decent accommodations in my experience. The camp store had helpful staff, ice, water, wood and snacks which I ended up buying, since I find it hard to pass up potato chips. It was a small store and there is a restroom in the store. 

There are decent restrooms on the campground with showers and a washer and dryer. There was only one washer & dryer by the bathroom nearest to my camp spot. I got a pull through spot with electricity & water.  (I needed electricity to charge the Yeti on this trip because my solar panel ripped off on I-95! I learned my lesson- now it's bolted down!) 

The campground had a quiet, family atmosphere. Everyone there was friendly, but mostly kept to themselves. There was a unique outdoor fitness area and a playground for the kids, as well as several picnic areas with grills. 

There were small deer everywhere, though. I didn't see them on my hike, I saw them several times within the campground. They stood in the grey haze like statues and ran whenever they saw me.

Finishing this Post Off with a VanLife Story:

I was very very new to vanlife, probably 4-5 days into it. My van had NO SINK at this time! 

I always thought that a toilet would be more crucial than a sink. On this test run trip, I found that I was wrong. Public toilets are everywhere, public sinks are awkward to do anything but wash your hands with.

I try not to use disposables, and I am very much a minimalist. So I was washing my cups at friends houses, then gas stations and campground bathrooms! And, I only had a few pairs of underwear and clothing, so, if I had to wash that stuff, I had to find running water. The best place to wash undies on a trip is probably in the shower with you, and then I had a spot to hang them in the van to dry. 

Well, at the campground, I desperately needed to wash all my dishes and all my underwear at the same time! So, I did the van trash thing and threw them all in a plastic tub and washed them (with biodegradable soap, of course,) at the spigot next to my van.

So, a nice gal walks up and compliments my rig and says she would love to have something like I do. She had a beautiful little puppy. It was a Schnauzer with bright blue eyes. We had a nice conversation about our campers and what brought us to that campground. It was nice to meet someone like-minded and into alternative living spaces... all the while I'm sitting there hoping she doesn't notice that I am washing underwear and dishes in the same tub. 😅  

(I promise I'm not THAT gross!)

 

 

 

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Snap Pea Crisps

 

 

Goal Zero Yeti 400

 

 

Solar Panel 

 

 

Yeti Rambler Mug (like one I was washing at the end there, steel cups are vanlife approved.) 

Alcohol Stove

 

 

Useful Multipurpose Tub, wash your dishes, wash your undies, wash your hair in a parking lot, throw your wet beach clothes in. You know, basically whatever.