"Ringling Ringling, slipping away..  only forty people living there today.  The streets are dusty and the bank has been torn down...it's a dying little town."~Jimmy Buffett
In our travels we have been through major cities, small towns, and everything in between.  If you want to see the real life part of our country, get off of the interstate.
Some of the small towns are picturesque.  A Norman Rockwell painting come to life.  People passing on the sidewalk, stopping for conversation, purchasing something from a small Mom and Pop business.
This seems to be more prevalent in the Northeastern part of the country.
As we've traveled through the Southern Plains, the towns are farther apart.  There doesn't seem to be much industry, or much of anything to employ the folks in these towns.  And, truth be told, there isn't.
So many of these small towns are dying.  The town that was once booming has now gone bust.
Folks who can,  have moved on to bigger/better places.  Those who chose to stay watch their town die a bit more every day.
The part of Oklahoma we are in right now was once part of the mighty Chisholm Trail. Ranchers drove their cattle through here to get it to market or to the railroad to ship them back east.  While cattle still seems to be the main economic factor, the means of transporting said cattle no longer requires weeks of a cattle drive.
Now these small towns, once an important link, are nothing but a shell of what they once were.
Someday...the whole town will be nothing but a memory.  Alive only in tales and memories.
Perhaps we were lucky to see them before they're gone forever.

Campgrounds are the same, right?

One thing that we have discovered during our travels is that campgrounds are as varied the folks you meet.
Some are crowded... campers close enough to each other you can join in on your neighbors conversation without ever leaving your camper.  Those campgrounds are usually the "chain" campgrounds.  Think KOA, Good Sam, etc.
In defense of these places, they usually have nice amenities.  Swimming pools, laundry, playgrounds, bikes or kayaks to rent, and a social director who keeps things hopping.
We stay at these types of places if we're not staying very long.
If you're looking for a bit more room to spread out, try looking up your destination on "Recreation.gov".  The Army Corp of Engineers have fabulous sites.  For an average price of $22 a night (as opposed to $45-60 per night at the chains), you get a large site, room between you and your neighbors, and peace and quiet.  If you happen to have a National Park Senior Pass, your price drops to $11 a night!
For us, (turtles who drag their house with them) the COE sites are fabulous.
Now, we realize that some folks idea of camping in staying at a hotel with no room service....and that's fine! But we would rather have our own bed to sleep in each night.  Coffee just the way we like it in the morning.  The sounds of nature lulling us to sleep at night, or birdsong to wake us in the morning.
Creature comforts are wonderful.  We are of an age that tent camping isn't what it used to be for us (think old bones and hard ground!)
Whatever your idea of "getting out there" may be, just get out there!