Escapees May-June 2024

membership and access to all the details necessary for great trip-planning. • “Day’s End” also has a unique feature known as “Good Guys” listings. Unlike websites such as Yelp or Google Reviews, Good Guys listings are authentic, unpaid real-world reviews by Escapees who want to shine a spotlight on awesome RV service providers, dump stations and other RV-related businesses they’ve encountered. And only other Escapees get to know about them. Maybe the greatest distinction is best explained by Gipson, who happily reminds users that “‘Day’s End’ locations are reported and updated only by Escapees members, giving them a quality and perspective unique to SKPs.” Like the club itself, it’s the member participation that keeps this resource growing and adapting to today’s RVing needs. The Editor’s Journey Gipson describes his editorial tenure as a blend of personal passion and community service. He’s never been in it to make money, but mainly to keep it fresh as a resource for his own travel planning needs and for the entire Escapees family. It’s also opened the door to meeting new friends while exploring off-the beaten-path locations. “Over the years, I have met many directory subscribers and reporters, often to share a good lunch,” he explains. “One summer, I RVed in Alaska, and enjoyed meeting two couples who were using the directory. I treated one of them to an overnight stay at a brand new boondocking location that I discovered at an abandoned airport runway. One year, I did a vacation of several months’ RVing in New Zealand. During that time, I met up with two couples from the directory subscriber list who were doing the same.”

Seeking a New Editor Fifteen years after expanding the directory, Gipson is ready for other adventures. He envisions a successor with the youthful zeal and dedication needed to sustain and enhance the directory’s value. It seems like there’s no better time for this transition. With so many Escapees members who possess a technical background and work remotely from the road, the right person could be just around the corner—or maybe it’s you, dear reader. “I think the ideal new editor would be someone young enough to have several years of RVing ahead of them, as well as someone dedicated to maintain ing and improving on the usefulness of the directory,” he explains. The asking price for the business equates to the subscription price for one year ($15), times the number of paying subscribers at the time of sale. Built with care by Gipson’s son Ryan, a professional programmer, the directory requires occasional technical maintenance. “A new editor would also learn from me how to use the admin functions of the site,” he says. The site is hosted on Amazon Web Services at a steady cost of about $15 per month, but like any website (or car, for that matter), there may be times when more tech expertise or additional hosting fees add to the cost of doing business. “Technical maintenance and costs are rare and unpre dictable, but would have to be absorbed by a new editor,” he explains. For over 37 years, the “Day’s End Directory” remains a reliable way to discover convenient and often beautiful places to stay for a night, a week or longer. Like any living guidebook of this scale, it has room for editorial improvements, site usability and stronger participation by contributors. With a new editor in charge and fresh energy from a new generation of contributors, the “Day’s End Directory” can remain a premier resource for discovering hidden camping spots and reliable RV services, faithfully recommended by one Escapee to another.

“For over 37 years, the ‘Day’s End Directory’ remains a reliable way to discover convenient and often beautiful places to stay…”

RENE AGREDANO AND JIM NELSON #103274 are enjoying their 17th year as full-time RVers and location-independent entrepreneurs. They enjoy sharing the lifestyle

with others at www.LiveWorkDream.com.

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ESCAPEES Magazine May/June 2024