Rio Chama RV Park, Chama, NM

30 09 2019

Rio Chama RV Park, Site #40

Good Morning from Chama, New Mexico!  We’ve detoured south into New Mexico to check out the fall colors and the town just before stores and RV parks begin shuttering for the winter.

We’re parked in site #40 at Rio Chama RV, just north of town along the Chama River. PARK MAP  Leaves are changing and falling all around in this tall stand of aspen and cottonwood.  Site #40 is on a corner, just off the river and enjoys the wide open space of the grassy dog park next door.  River sites (R1-R7) are back-in sites, and ideal for those who want the full experience of the twice daily rumblings of the Cumbres & Toltec train across the trestle bridge.

Combres & Toltec crossing in Chama, NM

River Road sites (#8-32) also offer great views across the river and are mixed between pull-in and back-ins for coaches and trailers.

Rio Chama RV Park, RIver Road sites

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad travels between Chama, NM and Antonito, CO daily during the summer and fall.  Trains depart each city and meet halfway for a lunch buffet at Osier, CO.  From here you can remain on your train, swap to the other train or hop off the train for a motor coach ride back to your origin.

Combres & Toltec Locomotives

 

In addition to a train ride, next time in town we’d like to check out the new Local restaurant. From Chama we’re headed home and quite likely our last RV trip of 2019.

Local Restaurant, Chama, NM

Local Restaurant, Chama NM


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Blue Spruce RV, Vallecito Lake, CO

23 09 2019

Red Mountain Pass

From Palisade it’s nearly a 5 hour trip south to Bayfield, near Vallecito Lake.  About half way along this route is the infamous Red Mountain Pass, the 11,000 foot pass between Ouray and Silverton.  The pass is awe inspiring in summer and must be nearly terrifying in winter!  Wikipedia characterizes the pass as “steep cliffs, narrow lanes, and a lack of guardrails; the ascent of Red Mountain Pass is marked with a number of hairpin curves used to gain elevation, and again, narrow lanes for traffic—many cut directly into the sides of mountains. …travel south from Ouray to Silverton perches drivers on the vertiginous outside edge of the highway. Large RVs travel in both directions, which adds a degree of excitement (or danger) to people in cars”  It certainly was exciting!

Arriving at Vallecito Lake,  the Blue Spruce RV Park is a quiet, laid back park of about 100 sites carved into a tall, mature pine forest. We’re parked in site #40 along with friends in #43 and #97.  PARK MAP

Blue Spruce RV Park Site #43

Blue Spruce RV Park, Pull-Through sites


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Colorado Mountain Winefest

20 09 2019

We’re in Palisade, CO for the 28th annual Colorado Mountain Winefest.  “Home” for 3 nights will be the Palisade Basecamp RV Resort located along a bend in the Colorado River just as it flows into the Grand Valley in western Colorado.  Here over 20 wineries and vineyards serve up the best of Colorado wines, meads and ciders.  And, it’s these liquid libations that are on display this weekend, as more than 60 wineries will meet at the #1 Winefest in the Nation as decided by USA Today.

Colorado Mountain Winefest

The Basecamp RV Resort it relatively new, having opened early last year. The entrance road bisects an orchard of cherries and peaches.  Once inside, the sites are laid out on a bluff above a natural curve in the Colorado River, including several tent sites in a lower area right on the river banks.  Facilities including a shower house, main office/store a covered group area and a sparkling swimming pool. There are 6 different RV site types (back-in, river-view, pull-through, etc.), several rustic cabins, a group tent area and 2 apartment type suites in the renovated homestead.

After spending time touring some of the wineries in a stop at Island Acres back in 2017, on Friday we returned to the favorite Palisade Brewing Company for some snacks and beers.  Following, we walked to the 357 Bar & Grill for a true diner meal.  Next time we’d like to check out The Palisade Café 11.0.  On Saturday we enjoyed perfect weather, free shuttle service provide by the town of Palisade and nearly 100 vendors offering unlimited sips and snacks at the Winefest.  All in all, a great weekend in the Grand Valley!

From here we’re headed toward Durango to spend a week at Blue Spruce RV Park in Vallecito.  More from there…


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Gunnison KOA

19 09 2019

Gunnison KOA

We’ve just left the Gunnison KOA where we spent 1 night on the way to Palisade for the annual Winefest.  This KOA occupies a beautiful area near the Gunnison River just west of town.  The 75 spacious sites are set among a grove of large trees and lush green grass.  This is a “Journey”, complete with a playground, stocked trout pond and a paddle boat pond.  We parked in site #23, a very wide, deep back-in site to the rear of the property.  Just over a wire fence is menagerie of barnyard animals, Shetland ponies, a large Angus steer, several goats and a few pigs.  Apparently some of the animals have found their way into the campground where goats and a huge pig roamed free.  We’d stay here again – it would make a great place to explore Gunnison or perfect for an overnighter.

Gunnison KOA

Gunnison KOA


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CFD & Glendo

21 07 2019

We’re back to AB Camping in Cheyenne for the 123rd edition of Cheyenne Frontier Days.  As in years past we’re in the rear section in the first 3 sites of the west row.  The first two sites work perfect for face-to-face parking so that we can share a common area under our awnings.

AB Camping, Cheyenne, WY

We’ll upped the ante this year, with 6 concert performances planned!  Lady Antebellum/Kelsea Ballerini & Midland open the festivities on Friday followed by Rascal Flatts/Clint Black on Saturday and Josh Turner/Tanya Tucker on Sunday.  Then mid-week is Miranda Lambert/Randy Houser.  On Friday we’ll see Keith Urban/Walker Hayes and the final performance is Saturday with Tim McGraw/Devin Dawson.

CFD Concert Nights

Once again, CFD was awesome – we enjoyed all of the concerts and the familiar Buckin’ A Saloon.  We also attended the VIP Chuckwagon experience again this year – this time without the downpour and soggy shoes!  We’ll be back next year!

After 11 nights in Cheyenne – thanks again Mark & Jane! – we’re headed north to Lake Glendo.  It’s been several years since we were at Glendo and it was nice to get back.  We managed to capture our favorite cliff-side site in Two Moon campground.  We’ll spend 3 nights here and then 2 nights in Denver’s Chatfield State Park before heading home.

Lake Glendo State Park, Two Moon campground

 


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Frisco BBQ & Peak One

13 06 2019

This weekend we’re in Peak One federal campground just outside of Frisco, CO.  We’re here once again for the annual Frisco BBQ Challenge.  We’re in site #15, and along with friends in site #14 & #17 we’ll enjoy two days of concerts, BBQ and beautiful camping along Lake Dillion.

 


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House Warming / RV Rally

6 06 2019

With the arrival of summer in Southern Colorado, we’re hosting what will hopefully become an annual RV Rally at the new homestead.  With our Rockwood 5th wheel in the RV Port, we managed to find room for 3 more trailers, a Reflection 5th wheel and an Airstream Trailer in the “guest” pad area, and another Airstream, the smaller “Bambi”, in the covered space behind our trailer.  Thanks to all who attended this impromptu house warming and fun RV weekend!

Special thanks to J&T who flew all the way from North Carolina to join us for the festivities!

 


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Las Cruces & Albuquerque

15 05 2019

We’ve left Texas and the central time zone behind as we transit north of El Paso and into Las Cruces, NM. Here we’re parked in site #13, the same beautiful back-in premium view site we occupied 2 years ago.  This is one of our favorite KOA’s and we’ve been here 3 years in a row now.  And, just as last year we enjoy wandering around the old Square in Mesilla and a cocktail or two at the Imperial Bar at the Double Eagle.  Can anyone name this beautiful desert plant that was in full bloom in Las Cruces?

Beautiful Las Cruces Flower

From Las Cruces we’re headed north toward Albuquerque.  We’ll spend two nights at the Isleta Lakes & RV Park just south of town.  Isleta Pueblo, home of the native Tiwa people, occupies about 210,000 acres along the Rio Grande, 15 miles south of Albuquerque.  The RV park is next to two stocked fishing lakes and just across the street from the Isleta Casino.  Amenities at the park include a clean laundry room and a small bait/snack shop.  A new “yet-to-be-opened” club house promises free coffee and donuts on weekend, a small workout area and a couple large screen TVs.   Sites are gravel with full hookups and covered picnic tables for around $35/night.  The only downside of this park is the nearby rail line.  During the week, the commuter Rail Runner train calls on Isleta Pueblo 14 times, each time whistling it’s arrival and departure.  After dark, unknown number of long, fast freight trains use these rails as they rubble north or south along the Rio Grande.

From Albuquerque we’re headed home.  We’ve stayed at 12 different parks and resorts and covered about 2600 miles in 38 days.  As always, a great time with friends and family in some our favorite campgrounds and RV parks across New Mexico and Texas!

Spanish Peaks – Back Home!


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MacMillen RV Park, Ft. Davis, TX

11 05 2019

MacMillen RV Part, Ft. Davis, TX

We last visited MacMillen RV Park in 2016 when  nearby Davis Mountains State Park was hosting the Mile High Chili Cookoff. We’re pleased to note that the amenities at MacMillen have seen major improvements since our last visit.  The laundry room now has two washer/dryer combination machines that look fairly new and run $2.50/wash and $2.00/dry.  The guest showers are repainted and clean.  The former patio area is been cleaned up and reverted to a private area for the owners that are living in the main house.  We’re once again parked at the central row of sites, with a 50A outlet, water, a sewer port and cable TV.  There is a small tree on each side of our site along with a covered picnic table.

MacMillen RV Part, Ft. Davis, TX

 

 

 

The plan is to spend 3 nights in Ft. Davis so that we can attend the Friday night Twilight Program and Star Party at McDonald Observatory.  However, weather forecasts are not looking favorable and sure enough, Friday evening is damp, cold and foggy.  We attend the Twilight Program in the visitor center theater but are disappointed when the Star Party is moved indoors.  Oh well, maybe next year!

After Ft. Davis, we’re headed to Las Cruces.  More from southern New Mexico…


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On to Fort Davis

7 05 2019

Garner State Park site #326

After departing South Padre we spent 3 nights at Tropic Winds RV Resort in Harlingen before departing the Rio Grande Valley.  Our first night was at familiar Lake Casa Blanca State Park in Laredo.  From there we continuing north through Uvalde to Garner State Park where we plan to spend 2 nights.  This is our first visit to Garner.  Located in the far SW corner of the Texas Hill Country, the park is a beautiful oasis along the Rio Frio.  With nearly 400 RV sites, about 40 screened shelters and about 20 cabins, this is a huge state park and the busiest in the Texas system.  Blog posts mention waits of over 2 hours to check-in for a pre-reserved campsite in prime season – even on this Sunday afternoon, the “take-a-number” and wait took nearly 20 minutes.

Indications from the T-Mobile coverage map showed “fair” 4G service here.  And, several blog posts mentioned a usable park WiFi system.  However after checking in to site #326 in the Live Oak area, the promised T-Mobile covered never materialized.  And, the parks WiFi was only partially available at the Visitor Center and the Reception/Check-In office.  After driving back toward Concan to retrieve email and send a few text messages, we decided that we’d need to depart 1 day early on Monday morning.  Surprisingly, the park was happy to refund the 2nd night that we’d pre-paid and by 9:30AM we were on our way toward Del Rio.

Garner State Park Rio Frio

Garner State Park Fall Colors

If in Del Rio, most likely we can be found at the Broke Mill RV Park.  A favorite of ours, this is always a great stop when departing the dry-camping in Big Bend National Park, or in this case, a northward park with a WiFi system that we know works great.  There are new owners at Broke Mill, and after additional investment in the WiFi network, have discontinued the support of the cable TV system and instead expect guests to stream their favorite TV.  A big change from most parks that warn you against streaming!  Congrats Stacy and Kim, the improvements all around look great.  We’ll see you next year!

Memo’s Restaurant, Del Rio, TX

Dinner on Monday evening is at Memo’s Mexican Restaurant (thanks Kim for this great recommendation). This hidden gem in old town Del Rio along San Felipe Creek offers great value, fine food and a fascinating history.  We’d highly recommend it!  We’re planning to spend 2 nights in Del Rio and then move over to Ft. Davis.  More from the Davis Mountains of West Texas…

Memo’s Restaurant, Del Rio, TX


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