The Road Home

10 05 2022

After great times in Houston visiting friends and family,  on Tuesday we’re packing up and headed toward home.  Our original plan was to take about a week to make the nearly 1000 mile trek across Texas, part of eastern New Mexico and into southern Colorado.  However, with temperatures pushing into record territory all weekend and fuel prices rising seemingly every day, we’re going to compress the transit into 3 or 4 nights.

Our first night is at Little Lucy RV Resort on Lampasas, TX.  The city calls themselves the Gateway to the Texas Hill Country and a gem of Central Texas.  Certainly they have history to boast of.  One of the oldest courthouses still in use in Texas is impressive, beautiful murals, award winning wineries and natural free-flowing springs.  This looks like an interesting place to spend a few days.  Little Lucy RV (I’m not sure I’d call it a resort yet) is nestled among pecan, oak and elm trees along the shady banks of Little Lucy Creek.   We stayed in site #1, a long pull through right along the creek, nice cement pad with a picnic table and full hookups. The only downside is that we could find no WiFi.  And, since we’re about 5 miles out of town, the T-Mobile cellular signal struggles a bit.  However, for a quick overnight, this park was prefect and we’re return for a longer visit.  The 3 “overnight” sites #1-#3 are very nice, and those set back in the trees, #8-13 offer a bit more shade along the creek.

Little Lucy RV Resort, Lampasas, TX

From Lampasas we’re at Hat Creek RV Park in Big Spring, TX, in the middle of oil country.  Big Spring straddles I-20, about 100 miles west of Abilene and 50 miles east of Midland/Odessa.  This newer park is basically a gravel parking lot with paved roadways and gravel lots, some with concrete pads.  Each pull-through site offers full hookups and streamable WiFi. The clubhouse, store and laundry rooms are first-rate.  Again, for an overnight, this park worked just fine.

Hat Creek RV Park, Big Spring, TX

Our last night was at Oasis RV in Amarillo.  We’ve visited Oasis before, and in fact, the owners of this park also own the Oasis in Durango, CO where we started this trip 119 days ago!  This park is truly an oasis in the Texas panhandle, along I-40 and providing first-rate pull through concrete sites, full hookups, great WiFi and beautiful pool/clubhouse facilities.  FULL REVIEW HERE

Oasis RV, Amarillo, TX

From Amarillo it’s a relatively short drive into New Mexico, and then over Raton pass to southern Colorado.  We’ve driven over 5000 miles on our 2022 Spring Road Trip, exploring Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Mexico, New Mexico and Texas.  We’ve visited 22 different parks and spent great times with friends and family.   Our next trip is to Dolores, CO for a Montana owner’s rally. More from Dolores…

The Spanish Peaks, Walsenburg, CO


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Lakeview RV Resort, Houston, TX

6 05 2022

After a quick overnight at Goliad State Park (reviewed here), an enroute stop at Buc-ee’s in Wharton, we’ve arrived at Lakeview RV Resort just outside the south loop in Houston. The facilities are wonderful here and as they say, location, location, location!  We’re 2.5 miles from the 610 loop, 4 miles from NRG Stadium, about 12 miles from downtown Houston and only 30 miles from Space Center Houston.

Lakeview RV Resort, Houston, TX

Lakeview RV Resort, Houston, TX

Lakeside RV Resort, Houston, TX

Rumored to be a former drive-in movie theatre, this RV resort is a true urban oasis minutes away from anything in the Houston area.  With almost 350 sites, the resort is organized around two lakes. The clubhouse including business center, laundry room and fitness center is located on the largest of 2 lakes, as are the original 250 sites.  The 90 “new sites” are around a second smaller lake, also with a laundry and shower house.  The original sites offer a bit more shade, but some are somewhat cramped.  We are parked in site #27, a site that was formerly a back-in on the edge of the complex and now offers a view of the new lake out the back window.  All sites are full hookup, offering 20A, 30A, 50A service, cable TV and streamable WiFi.

Pappasito’s Cantina

Our 5 days in Houston are filled with great restaurants, breweries and explorations. Friday started with a trip to meet a former work colleague, travel buddy and friends at their home in Friendswood, TX.  It was a great afternoon, D&K, loved catching up and enjoying your home brews!

On Friday evening we visited a Texas tradition, Pappasito’s Mexican Cantina on the South Loop.  It’s not how we remembered the Pappa’s brand, the food was OK, the service sketchy and the atmosphere a bit hectic.

 

On Saturday we spent the day at Space Center Houston.  Amazing place..not to be missed if you’re planning some time in the Houston area.  For lunch we enjoyed Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar in Friendswood – great experience!

Space Shuttle atop 747

Old and New, Space Shuttle and SpaceX Falcon 9

Saturn V at Space Center HoustonPOST

On Sunday we had an awesome brunch at Sixty Vines, then enjoyed a few interesting brews at the Urban South Brewery followed by a visit to  POST Houston.  Built in 1934, the POST building was a mail depot adjacent to Houston’s Grand Central Station. In 1984, as the Barbra Jordon Post Office, this building was headquarters for the USPS in Houston.   In 2021 this historic building was renovated into a food hall, with unique foods, custom cocktail stalls and a rooftop concert venue. Conjuring images of Asian food bazaars, this space is so much fun, and the views from the rooftop like nothing else in Houston. G&S, thanks for taking us to some of your favorite places!

Urban South Brewery

POST Houston, Interior & Staircase

POST Houston Rooftop Gardens and Downtown view

After using Monday to catch up on some ignored work tasks, we’re packing up and headed north on Tuesday.  With temps hovering near 100 all weekend, and fuel topping out close to $6/gallon,..we’re ready to get home.  More from the road home…


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South Padre Island

30 04 2022

Sunset over Laguna Madre, South Padre Island

It’s April 30th and we’ve just crossed the Queen Isabella Causeway on our way back to Harlingen from South Padre Island.  We’ve been on SPI for 30 days, and have thoroughly enjoyed exploring familiar as well as some new island hangouts.  For 2 weeks during our stay, family from Washington state joined us on the island for fishing, relaxing and more good times.  We visited Boca Chica to check out the progress at SpaceX, explored some of Brownsville & Port Isabel, cruised the Brownsville Ship Channel and enjoyed our time on the island.

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper, Sergio Furnari at Space X Boca Chica, TX

Space X Starbase Launch pad, Boca Chica, TX

As in years past, we stayed at Isla Blanca Park, this time occupying end sites C282 and C321,  These end sites provide a bit more space,  privacy and good views of the Brownsville ship channel as well as the SpaceX manufacturing and launch facility across in Boca Chica.

Boardwalk, Isla Blanca Park, South Padre Island, TX

Isla Blanca Park, South Padre Island, TX

The Cameron County Amphitheatre and Event Center is literally across the street from our sites.  On April 9th, Clint Black was to perform, so we were anxious to enjoy an evening concert right in the RV park.  However, the weather had other plans.  By mid-afternoon winds were gusting over 30 MPH. And, by showtime, gusts were topping out around 40MPH.  As expected, the concert was cancelled due to these winds and never rescheduled during our stay.

Clint Black at Cameron County Event Center

A highlight of the trip was a Port of Brownsville tour on Breakaway cruises.  We last sailed with Breakaway in 2015 on this same tour which includes cruising the 13 miles from the outer jetties through the deep water ship channel to the port.  The Brownsville port serves as the southern most gulf port establishing it as a lead carrier for products bound for both US and Mexican destinations.  They also have a huge shipbreaking operation and large shrimp fleet.

Port of Brownsville, first ever LNG fueled container ship.

Also during our stay on the island, Sea Turtle Inc. hosted a public release of patient turtles.  Among the Atlantic Green sea turtles released were Sublime, Tumble, Blessed, Mushroom, Ciabatta, and Cowgirl.

Sea Turtle Inc. patient release

And as usual we explored various restaurants and bars on the island.  Old favorites included Painted Marlin, Longboard Bar & Grill, Meatballs Café, South Padre Island Brewing Company, Mahi Nicks, Pelican Station, Tequila Sunset and several others.  New this year was the wonderful breakfast or brunch spot, Yummies Bistro, a new find of Cobbleheads Bar & Grill in Brownsville and Josephine’s Kitchen, another delicious breakfast restaurant on the island.

Meatball Cafe, South Padre Island, TX

We’ll be at Tropic Winds in Harlingen for a few days before starting our trip north.  From Harlingen we’ll be visiting a favorite park, Goliad State Park in Goliad, TX.  More from Goliad…

 


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Across New Mexico and Texas

30 03 2022

Benson, AZ to South Padre Island, TX

From Kartchner Caverns in Benson, AZ we’re headed to Las Cruces, NM and one of our favorite KOA campground.  We’ve stayed here several times, and always enjoy the breweries and eateries around the Las Cruces area.  (Las Cruces KOA Reviews)

After 2 nights in Las Cruces we’ll spend 1 night at the Fort Stockton RV Park (Ft. Stockton RV Reviews) before moving to By the River Campground in Kerrville.  We’ve visited Kerrville many times, and have always enjoyed our stays at By the River.  With the ongoing drought, the campground appears to be weeks behind “normal”, with still brown grass and bare trees.

By the River RV, Kerrville, TX

We’ll spend 5 night here enjoying the company of friends from Montrose, CO.   Of course our “regular” hangouts will be visited, the Wild Ass Hay Barn and Mamacita’s Mexican Restaurant (not as good as past visits) and couple of new finds, the Pint & Plow Brewing Company in Kerrville and the Fredericksburg Brewing Company in Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg Brewery

From Kerrville, we’ll spend one night on the shores of Choke Canyon Reservoir before moving to Harlingen and onto South Padre Island.  More from SPI!

Choke Canyon Campground


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Farewell to Apache Junction

21 03 2022

After a month in Apache Junction, we’re back on the road again.  Our time in AJ was filled with friends, good food and plenty of fun.  We started out by attending Lost Dutchman Days, the annual Bratwurst & Beer Party on Wednesday the 23rd and the Rodeo on Saturday the 26th.  A great time was had by all!

Lost Dutchman Days, Apache Junction, AZ

On the following Sunday we traveled to Casa Grande to meet-up with friends from Colorado and enjoyed an excellent dinner at Eva’s Fine Mexican Food.  On Wednesday we enjoyed a late lunch at the Culinary Dropout in the Gilbert Heritage District followed by lunch on Thursday at the Handlebar Grill in Apache Junction.

Our next weekend in AJ started on Friday afternoon with good friends from Scottsdale visiting the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit.  Afterwards we were treated to an amazing dinner at AZ88 – thanks for buying B&S, we had a great time!  On Saturday we met with friends to tour several of the RV parks and resorts around the AJ area followed by a late lunch at Los Gringos Locos, a favorite Mexican restaurant.

We moved from Sunrise RV Resort to Lost Dutchman State Park on Sunday the 6th.

Lost Dutchman State Park

Lost Dutchman State Park. site #95

That week, after a meeting with a good friend & colleague in Gilbert, we checked out Uncle Bear’s Brewery and Taproom for some excellent brews and tasty food truck selections.  We especially enjoyed the Original Uncle Bear’s Craft Burger – yum!  Friday brought a highlight of the trip, dinner at Quiessence. Located on the Farm at South Mountain, this dinner with friends was phenomenal, we’d highly recommend the experience!  SEE SAMPLE MENU On Saturday we had a great time and excellent dinner at the home of close friends in Cave Creek.  Then on Sunday we relaxed with friends at their home in Apache Junction.

The next week, with a good friend who arrived from Colorado, we enjoyed St. Patty’s celebrations at Postino and watched a beautiful sunset from the rooftop of Sotol Modern Cocktail Kitchen, both in the Gilbert Heritage District.  On Friday we enjoyed lunch at Tarididdles in Apache Junction before a relaxing evening at the State Park.  On Saturday, we attended a Colorado Rockies game at Salt River Fields, home of the Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kartchner Caverns, Benson, AZ

Kartchner Caverns, Benson, AZ

On Sunday we packed up and traveled south through Tucson to Kartchner Cavern State Park, and enjoyed an informative cavern tour upon our arrival.  After a quick overnight we’re back on the road, headed to one of our favorite KOA’s at Las Cruces, NM.  From there we’ll be at By the River RV Park in Kerrville.  More from Kerrville…


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Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

8 03 2022

We’re back, for the 4th time, at one of our favorites, Organ Pipe Cactus, NM located in southern Arizona about 5 miles from the Mexican border.  And, we’re once again parked at site #63 with friends in site #77.  Other than a shared water (unthreaded) faucet next to our site, the only other amenities at this campground are a dump station with two potable water fills.  We’ve arrived empty, so our first order of business is to fill our 66 gallons of fresh water.  On recreation.gov, our site is listed as “max 35 foot RV” – where there’s plenty of room for our 35’ RV and the pickup.  The site is also in the generator section, meaning we can run our generator for 2, 2 hours periods per day, between 8-10AM and 4-6PM.  Sites 113-208 never permit generator use.

“Out the Back Window”, site #63, Organ Pipe Cactus

Last year we focused on a few hikes in the park, today with access to friends jeep we explore the 21 mile Ajo Mountain Drive.  Along the way are great views of Arch Canyon, a 90 foot wide arch near the top of a jagged cliff nearly 600 feet above the trail.  Upon close examination a second arch can be spotted just above the main arch making this a unique and rare example of a double arch.

Double Arch at Sunset, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

On Saturday we’re off to Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point.  What was once a small fishing village on the Sea of Cortez has morphed into tourist shops, bars, restaurants and even a few high rise condos.  There are also a handful of RV parks, the nicest of which is the Reef RV Resort next to Wrecked on the Reef bar and grill.  After touring these parks in 2020, we’re rethinking our decision to stay on the US side of the border.  Perhaps a long weekend at the Reef would be great fun!  We’ll see what happens next year.

Malecon, Puerto Penasco

Reef RV Resort, Puerto Penasco

From Organ Pipe Cactus we’re headed to the East Valley, Sunrise RV in Apache Junction.  We stayed at Sunrise last year, and will be here only 2 weeks this year.  Then we’re moving to Lost Dutchman State Park for the reminder of our 2 weeks in the Phoenix area.  More from Lost Dutchman…


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Cocopah Bend RV and Golf Resort – Yuma, AZ

12 02 2022

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort

After a rather rushed departure from Winterhaven, we’ve moved about 8 miles southwest to the outskirts of Yuma.  We’re on Native American land, a large RV resort intertwined with a beautiful 18 hole golf course.  The “Bend” in the resort name referrers to the last sharp curve that the Colorado River makes before entering Mexico and flowing towards the Sea of Cortez.  Here the bend borders California and Arizona, and just a few blocks south, Mexico and Arizona.

Colorado River in Arizona, California and Mexico

The staff here at Cocopah were very accommodating to find us space, much less side by side spaces.  We’re parked in site #555, along with friends in #554.  Thanks to everyone at the resort that assisted during our evacuation!  This is a huge place, with over 800 RV sites surrounded by an 18 hole golf course.  Many of the sites are side by side with fairways and greens, and several complaints of golf balls breaking roof vents and windows can be found on various forums. Any site number higher than 502 should be safe from flying objects.  All sites are back-in, and all except one outside row back to your neighbors.  Since the patios are offset, you aren’t looking directly into their back window.  However, sewer ports are all the way to the rear, and offset to the incorrect side of the site, causing many to back beyond the center line which gives a bit tighter feel (extended awnings almost touched our neighbors).  Electrical and water hookups are on common pedestals between the two back-in spots.  The free WiFi ran along at around 1Mb, however upgraded service is available on a paid basis.

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resorta

Other facilities such as the laundry room (use a value loaded card), pool, a huge dog park, a restaurant, pro shop and craft areas are clean and well maintained. And, while you’re less than 1 mile from I-8 and a busy rail line, this park is much quieter than Sans End.

Broken Yolk Cafe Bloody Marys!

On Saturday, after an excellent breakfast at the Broken Yolk Café, we toured the Yuma Territorial Prison Park. This park, in an impressive setting overlooking the Colorado River, was once occupied by characters of the old west convicted of everything from polygamy to murder starting in 1876. During our visit, the old prison grounds were being cleaned and polished and set-up for what was apparently a very large wedding and reception.  What an ideal venue!

Yuma Territorial Prison

Yuma Territorial Prison

 

We enjoyed Yuma, and especially Cocopah Resort, and would probably return here on another visit to Yuma.  From here we’re off to 4 nights of dry camping at Organ Pipe Cactus, a favorite Federal campground in southern Arizona.  More from Organ Pipe…


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Evacuated!

10 02 2022

Winterhaven Fire

On Wednesday we had scheduled a cleaning/exam appointment at Simple Dental, across the border in Los Algodones. Mexico.  As we’re leaving for our appointments around noon, we notice thick heavy smoke boiling up just to the north of the RV park.  Worried that the fire might spread, we quickly tucked our laptops in the truck, handed the RV keys to friends that we’re traveling with and departed for the Mexican border.

About 1 hour later, just as I’m getting settled into the dental hygienist’s chair, my phone rings.  Our friends have been notified by the fire marshal that they are providing voluntary evacuation notices to the RV park, and that the smelly, eye burning, thick black smoke is likely to be present all night.  After a quick conversation with them, we decide to move to whatever accommodations they can find.  Within a few minutes, we are confirmed at the Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort, about 8 miles away.

After our dental appointments, we arrive back to the pedestrian border crossing to find the lines even longer than they were on Saturday.  With the prospect of waiting nearly 3 hours, we were quite appreciative of a dental office shuttle van that offered to drive us across the border for $5 each.  Filling the van with 4 other Americans, he had us back to the US parking lot in about 10 minutes.

“The Wall” in Los Algodones, Mexico

After an anxious exercise of packing things up, by around 4pm we were on the road to our new home.  More from Cocopah as we explore our new location!


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Sans End RV Park, Winterhaven, CA

5 02 2022

Sans End RV Park, Winterhaven, CA

In search of the warmest spot in the western US, we’ve arrived in Yuma to temperatures forecast into the high 70’s this week and high 80’s next week.  We’re actually on the California side of the Colorado River, which defines the boundary between Arizona and California at Winterhaven. Technically Winterhaven is in the Pacific time zone and Yuma, 4 miles away is in the Mountain time zone. Confusion ensues when our phones seem to randomly set Pacific or Mountain times.

We’re parked in site 143 along with friends in 144 at Sans End RV Park.  We were booked at Sans End last year and opted to cancel due to Covid concerns.  Owners/Managers here were awesome, allowing us to cancel penalty free and then make a new reservation for 2022.

Sans End RV Park, Winterhaven, CA

Sans End RV Park, Pool

This is an older park, and being located between I-8 on the south and a very high traffic rail line to the north, suffers from some noise.  Sites are simple gravel, with good 30/50 Amp connections, water and sewer port. In our opinion, some of the best sites are 130-142 which are back-in and tree covered.  Specifically site #134 provides a great view across a grassy area of the park.  Sites 114-129 aren’t optimal, requiring door to door configurations because of shared utilities.  Lower numbered sites 1-12 share a lot of privacy backed up to open, grassy areas.  And sites 17-32 are nice back-ins, but would suffer the most traffic noise from I-8.  PARK MAP

Sans End RV Park, site 111

Sans End RV Park, site 104

Sans End RV Park, site 134

Sans End RV Park, site 21

 


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Shady Lane RV, Quartzsite, AZ

30 01 2022

Quartzsite “Big Tent” & RV Show

Welcome to Quartzsite, the little Arizona desert town that’s been taken over by RV’ers! This 4000 person town straddles I-10, about half way between Phoenix and Palm Springs. Surrounded by BLM land, the winter population grows to nearly 1 million as boon dockers arrive from all over North America for the annual shows. Originally a Gem and Rock show, this huge marketplace has morphed into one of the biggest RV shows held in the US. In the “big tent”, nearly 200 vendors sell everything from solar packages, to jewelry, 5th wheel hitches to portable hot tubs. Surrounding the big tent are more traditional stalls of antiques, metal art, carnival food and other “cool junk”. In fact, one of the best bars in Quartzsite is located on the show grounds, Beer Belly’s Adult Day Care.

Quartzsite Rock, Gem and RV Show, January, 2022

Suppliers like Grand Design and Keystone bring in hundreds of units that are open to the crowds to wander through, and of course for sale with “show pricing”!  Also, a unique custom 5th wheel, a $250,000 “Ultimate Montana” is on display.  Complete with two outdoor keg taps, a pizza oven and wine cooler it’s a true party pad.  Inside there’s a ultrasonic water vapor fireplace, custom furniture and even a rainfall shower!

The Flipping Nomad Ultimate Montana

The Flipping Nomad Ultimate Montana

We’re parked at Shady Lane RV Park, just north of the I-10/95 intersection. We’ll be for 4 nights checking out the town, BLM campgrounds around town and of course the huge RV show.

Shady Lane RV, Quartzsite, AZ

Shady Lane RV, Quartzsite, AZ

Shady Lane RV, Quartzsite, AZ

We also explored a few of the other RV parks around town.  We think the Quartzsite Village, at 155 Joshua Ave would be a better option – huge sites and less traffic noise.

From Quartzite, we’re headed to Yuma…more from there.

Quartzsite Village RV, 155 Joshua Ave


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