A Beautiful Fall Day, but a Sad One

It was a beautiful fall day here in Minnesota today, but also a sad one. We did some fall maintenance and winterized our RV for the season.

Due to an unexpected illness, we had to cancel our final camping trip of 2026 last week. I’m feeling better now, but with frost warnings showing up in northern Minnesota, a temperature of just 38 degrees when we woke up yesterday, and no snowbird trips planned this winter, it was time.

I’d rather winterize a little early and not have to worry about it than hold out until the last minute and suddenly find myself racing an early freeze.

While we were at it, we took care of some routine maintenance on the slides and seals and did a good walk-around of the RV. We looked for missing or loose screws, cracked caulk, or anything else that could use some attention before the snow flies. There is nothing worse than heading out on that first spring camping trip and realizing you forgot to repair or maintain something before putting the RV away.

For anyone doing their first winterization, or if you just need a refresher, I have a blog post that walks through the process. You can read it by clicking here.
[Link “clicking here” to your winterization post.]

Of course, putting the RV away doesn’t mean we’ve stopped thinking about camping. We’ve already started talking about our travel plans for next year.

We’re also keeping a close eye on rising diesel prices and what they could mean for RV travel and the RV industry. RV production is down, and I’ve been noticing more advertisements for RV sites in Florida and Texas at rates lower than what I remember seeing last year. It will be interesting to see how fuel prices and campground costs affect travel decisions this winter and heading into the 2027 camping season.

If you’re snowbirding this year, I’d really like to hear what you’re seeing. Are campground or lot fees higher or lower? Are fuel costs changing your travel plans or how far you’re willing to go?

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Safe travels, and for those of us putting the RVs away for winter, here’s to next camping season.