Quote Originally Posted by Midwest Michael View Post
Camping is going to take time that you don't have, and as was previously discussed, if you want to find places without reservations, then you really need to be arriving early in the day - the exact opposite of what you're doing with your plan to see places in the morning, and then take off on several hour drives to your next destination in the afternoon.
This bit is of particular relevance to me and I'd like to expand on it a little if you don't mind.

I also planned to, when expecting to stay at campgrounds, arrive in the afternoon. Are you saying this won't work? The idea was, play around until noon - 2 pm, then drive for 3 - 4 hours arriving between 3 and 6 pm at a campground for the evening. In summer this should give ~3-5 hours of daylight to work with. My tent is a pop-up and all I'd really require is being able to stop, find a place to camp, get a few things ready, probably cook a meal, and relax around the campfire for an hour before going to bed. Is this not feasable? My camping will mostly be happening in British Columbia and across the northern midwest, and I don't expect to stay in really big, popular national parks so ... given that, should I still change my expectations? Thanks!