A worthwhile exercise for any road trip is the act of keeping a written journal. Over the years, we have used a variety of logbooks and notebooks to record our observations about what we saw, where we stayed, and the expenses related to the trip. Now, Terry Taylor has created a way to record a trip in a spiral bound "Camping Journal" that may prove useful for both RVers and general roadtrippers.

The Camping Journal is divided into four parts. The first section of the book includes four pages of mileage and fuel log charts -- it should cover at least 84 fuel stops. Then there is a two-page section for maintenance and service reports. The third section includes space to create an index for road trips. The heart of the Camping Journal is the 100 pages of Trip Logs that enable the recording of such details as total mileage, weather conditions encountered, a series of checkboxes to record the conditions of any campgrounds stayed in, and a few lines for jotting down thoughts and reminiscences.

The purchase price of $20 is about right for the heavy-duty paper and binding of the journal, and its good layout and design make it easy to recommend to roadtrippers of all kinds.

Mark Sedenquist
3/19/06