Monument Valley, UT

29 05 2017

Goulding’s RV Park, Monument Valley, UT

After leaving Durango, we’re headed to Monument Valley, UT.  With a slight detour south, we’ve stopped at the Four Corners monument and driven in all four of the linked states, from Colorado to New Mexico, into Arizona and then back to the north into Utah.  Just a few miles from the state line is Monument Valley, and the Goulding’s complex including an RV park that will be our home for the next two nights.

Set in a narrow canyon of towering red stone cliffs, the campground offers full hookups including cable TV & WiFi, on nicely sized sites, most with a tree or two.  We’re in sites #31 and #32, two pull through sites closer to the east side of the campground.  Most of these sites have an eastern view, looking toward Monument Valley and offering afternoon shade. The main camper services building provides a laundromat, a small store, showers, bathrooms and an indoor pool.  With our Good Sam discount, rates were still in the pricey range at around $62.00 per night.

We’re traveling with good friends who just took delivery of a new Grand Design Reflection.  Arriving in the parking lot at Goulding’s, one of their curb side wheels is making a terrible grinding noise.  With no RV service shop within miles, they were very lucky to find one of the Goulding’s employees with knowledge of trailer wheels and axles – and the willingness to assist with the greasy job of removing the wheel and brake hub.  The front brake appears to have been dragging and is ground down to bare metal.  Thanks again to Quinton for his assistance in removing these brake parts to allow them to continue their trip.

On a quick side-trip, we’ve driven about 30 miles north to Goosenecks State Park to check out the views and the dry camping sites.  The river view is awesome – the 5 or 6 campsites are very basic, scattered across a gravel parking lot, each with a covered picnic table and a fire ring.

After two nights at Goulding’s we’ll head to the Grand Canyon – more from there…


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Alpen Rose RV Park, Durango, CO

28 05 2017

Alpen Rose RV Park, Site #11

Good Morning from Durango!

After a quick overnight stop at San Luis Valley RV Campground in Villa Grove (read review), we’ve crossed Wolf Creek Pass and dropped into the San Juan River basin. Spectacular in fall colors, the San Juan valley is equally impressive now as snow melts and the lush greenness of springs takes over.

At Durango we turn north on highway 550 through town to Alpen Rose RV Park, about 2 miles north of town.  Set back off the highway, this 100 site park provides lots of amenities and beautiful views of the Las Animus river valley.  About half of the sites are in front of the main office/restaurant/shower house, laundry complex.  With few trees, these front sites offer full sunlight and most are configured back to back, with shared power, TV cable, water and sewer ports.  To the rear of the property sites #1-56 are mostly shaded under tall trees.  In the first row (sites #1-#12) the sites back up to a neighboring fence with plenty of privacy.  We’re parked in sites #11 & #12.  Not shown on the map is site #30, positioned between these two sites. All three sites are good, with #12 being the best with a huge grassy area between the site and the fishing pond.  The majority of the other sites here are configured back to back with a nice shared area between with grass and a couple of picnic tables.  For example, Sites #24 & #25 would be a good set-up for 2 rigs traveling together.  For pet owners there is a huge 2 acre pet run to the front of the property.  We took advantage of the on-site Chuck Wagon Breakfast one morning.  For about $7.50 you enjoy all you can eat pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and sausage patties.

On Saturday we’ve planned a visit to the SKA Brewery for a tour and tastings.  We enjoyed our beer experience so much we ended up at the Brew Pub & Kitchen downtown on College Drive for more beer and dinner.  On Sunday we’re off to Monument Valley, UT.  More from there…

 


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Springtime in Colorado

18 05 2017

Spring in Colorado

After arriving home on May 4th to comfortable temperatures in the mid 60’s the following two weeks were above average with temperatures nearly reaching 70 degrees a few times,  which is not bad considering normal averages are the 50’s.

Returning to Lathrup State Park on the 11th, we had one chilly day in the mid-50’s and then beautiful weather in the upper 70’s.  With a bit of windy weather we opted to tour “The Highway of Legends”, the 50 miles or so loop of highway 12 that runs near Lathrup State Park to Trinidad.

Spanish Peaks, Lathrup State Park

After returning from Lathrup, we held onto the mid 60’s for one day, dropped into the mid 50’s and today are struggling to get above freezing.  Unfortunately this storm seems fairly well embedded with forecast temperatures not much above freezing until next weekend.  Known as a “4 corners low”, when positioned just right these storms push plenty of moisture toward the Colorado front range.  In Denver, temperatures are expected to keep all but a few inches of snow from accumulating.  However, at 9000’ we have at least 12” so far, and expect another 12” to 24”.  Needless to say, as much as I hated doing it, the trailer has been re-winterized and all of the liquids unloaded into the garage.  Hopefully the forecast of mid-60’s by mid-next week are correct – if so, all of this snow will be a distant memory.

On Thursday we’ll restock the RV and head west, this time toward the Grand Canyon.  More as we head into Southern Colorado and Northern Arizona…


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Las Vegas, Lathrup and Home

4 05 2017

Good Morning from Conifer, CO.  We’re home!

Spanish Peaks, Lathrup State Park

After leaving Bottomless Lakes State Park near Roswell, we fought NW winds most of the way across eastern New Mexico to Las Vegas.  The KOA in Las Vegas is just off of I-25, at the intersection with highway 84 which connects with I-40 near Santa Rosa.  The campground is set on the side of a hill among cedar and pinon pine.  There are a handful of long pull-through sites that are very flat.  The majority of the other pull-through sites will require some leveling.  While you’re fairly close to I-25, the noise from the highway isn’t objectionable.  This is a rustic campground – anyone expecting shiny new restrooms, pool or other pubic spaces will be disappointed.  But, for a single overnight, it works fine

From Las Vegas we made the short trip over Raton pass to Lathrup State Park outside of Walsenburg. Roads were dry over the pass, but it was evident that the snow plows has been out during the preceding snow storm that dropped up to 12” on this area.  Even at Lathrup, there were small snow piles in the shady spots.  The Spanish Peaks were stunning with their fresh topping of snow.  With snow showers continuing at home, we opted to spend a 2nd night at Lathrup.

On Thursday we completed the last leg of our 2017 Spring Road Trip, logging nearly 5000 miles and 68 nights at 24 campgrounds and RV parks.  Once again our time spent with good friends was the best- Lost Dutchman State Park near Phoenix, Davis Mountains State Park near Ft. Davis, TX, Big Bend National Park and of course South Padre Island.  But, we’re only home for 7 days before once again hitting the road to return to Lathrup State Park.  More from there…

 


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San Angelo Riverwalk

30 04 2017

San Angelo Visitors Center

Who knew there was a Riverwalk outside of San Antonio?  At the confluence of the North Concho, the Middle Concho and the South Concho Rivers, San Angelo has constructed a beautiful 4 mile river walk.  Along the walk are gardens, parks, exercise areas, golf courses and a river stage.  Beginning at the impressive Visitors Center you can stroll all the way along the river to the original “Block One”, the first location of buildings in San Angelo complete with Miss Hattie’s Bordello Museum.  Originally a town built to support the Ft. Concho Fort, San Angelo has grown into a city of over 100,000 residents including about 10,000 students at the Angelo State University.

San Angelo Riverwalk

Commemorating San Angelo’s historical importance as a wool marketing center

In addition to the RV sites at the State Park, there is an very nice RV park located on the shores of Lake Nasworthy at the Spring Creek Marina and RV Park.  With rates up to $55/night, it’s a bit more pricey than the $28/night that we paid.  The Lucas Oil Drag Boat race is held on Lake Nasworthy in late June.

With winter weather beginning to clear to the north, we opt to make a move to Bottomless Lakes State Park just east of Roswell.  We spent 6 nights at Bottomless Lakes last year – complete reviews are here.  After just a quick overnight this year, we’re back on the road to Las Vegas, NM.  More from Las Vegas…

Bottomless Lakes State Park

Bottomless Lakes State Park


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San Angelo State Park

26 04 2017

San Angelo State Park

Good Morning from San Angelo.  Located nearly in the center of the triangle formed by I-10, I-20 and I-35, we’re almost equal distant from DFW, Austin and the split of I-10/I-20 in west Texas.  The State Park is west of town on O.C. Fisher Lake.  We’re parked in Site #19 of the Red Arroyo camping area.

Initially backing into site #15, we managed to find a spike embedded in the low wooden wall around the front of the campsite causing a 2” gash and instant flat tire in one of the trailer tires.  With one flat, and another tire somewhat damaged, we opted to make an appointment at the local Discount Tire Shop.  Thanks to the guys at Discount Tire, with nearly pit-stop like finesse, they had us out with 4 new tires in 36 minutes!  And, about $600 later, we’re now sporting 4 brand new Goodyear Endurance, the newest US made trailer tires available.

Cold fronts through the plains of west Texas are noticeable events.  When the strong breeze (we’d call it wind in Colorado) changed from southerly to northerly at about 2AM, it’s a trailer rocking, dust blowing, tree swaying event.  With continued high winds after our tire “detour”, we opt to spend a 2nd night at the state park.

As the front approaching Northern New Mexico and Colorado turns into winter storm warnings for regions north, and the wind continuing to howl at San Angelo State Park, we once again have extended our stay.  We’re hopeful we can continue our journey north on Sunday or Monday…


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Buckhorn Lake RV Resort, Kerrville, TX

24 04 2017

Buckhorn Lake RV Resort

We’ve decided to skip San Antonio and continue to the Texas hill country. With the kick-off of Fiesta San Antonio on Thursday, the RV parks are full, the streets are packed and we’re ready for something a bit more quiet than the urban setting of Travelers World RV park south of town.

Instead, we’re parked at site 6028 at Buckhorn Lake RV Resort, just outside Kerrville at exit #501 of I-10. This is a spacious corner site, but nearly as close as you can get to I-10. In fact, we can see the East/West entrance ramp signs from here. This is a beautiful resort – well planned, plenty of space, nice wide concrete pads and patios, blacktop roadways and well positioned full hookups and spotlessly clean. Most of the main sites are organized in two loops of pull-throughs surrounded by back-in sites. There are also coach sites (pull in with hookups on the opposite site) along the small creek that runs through the property. Beyond is the “Adult-Only” area with 6 pull through sites, each with shared utility areas, surrounded by 14 mostly coach pull-in sites.

Across a bridge over the creek is “The Club”, a 60 site, very exclusive residential community for Class A Motorhomes. Sites without buildings are in the $70,000 range. Built-out with a casita, these sites are listed for up to $270,000.

As an added benefit, and completely unplanned, we’ve met up with good friends from Dallas.  Here at Buckhorn Lake for a weekend rally, we enjoy spending an evening with them and fellow-ralliers from all over Texas. Safe Travels M&C – it was great seeing you again!

Standard back-in sites run $39.60/night with Good Sam discounts. Water-View sites are $44.10 and Adult-Only sites run $48.60. Monthly rates get the nightly rate on a standard back-in site down to about $18/night plus metered electric. As nice as this resort it, the noise from I-10 is nearly always in the background. Arriving on Sunday there was a slight breeze from the north that effectively cut the traffic noise. But as the winds shifted from the south, the traffic was always noticeable. Even back in the Adult-Only area, furthest from the highway, you could hear the traffic, especially the drone of the 18 wheelers. For a Hill Country Resort, where you expect peace and quiet, Buckhorn Lake doesn’t measure up to other parks in the area.

Tomorrow we’ll pack and travel west about 50 miles on I-10 before turning north toward San Angelo. More from there…


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Sunrise Beach, Lake Corpus Christi

23 04 2017

Sunrise Beach, Lake Corpus Christi – Site G11

We’ve enjoyed the State Park at Lake Corpus Christi on previous trips, but with the park full, we opt for the City Park instead.  The Corpus Christi Sunrise Beach campground occupies a peninsula of land just beyond the State Park and not far from the dam.  Arriving at our designated site of G11, we find that there’s not much in the way of clues of how you’re supposed to park.  And, looking around, it appears that it really doesn’t matter.  In these large sites, some campers have their trailers parallel to the shore and tents set up all around.  Others have backed into the site making it easiest to reach the electric and water connections.  A few motor coaches have driven forward into sites for optimal lake viewing.  Backing into our site, we find that side to side level is good, but the trailer is kneeling nearly all the way to the ground to make up for the slope to the lake.  But, with a couple trees and a cement slab and picnic table, this site will be great for an overnight.

Much of the “G” row sites occupy space along the swimming bay.  On this warm, humid Saturday afternoon there are lots of kids and adults trying to cool down in the water.  There’s constant entertainment of swimmers, kayakers and tubers until the late hours of the afternoon.  Walking around this 100+ site park, there are only a couple of areas where sites don’t appear to be haphazardly sprinkled among the trees.  There are trailers, 5th wheels, coaches, boats, tents and nearly everything in between scattered throughout the campground.  But, layout aside, this park offers large spaces, good lake views and a very quiet evening after the 10PM curfew.

Local Corpus Christi TV channels had information about the annual Port Aransas Texas SandFest which was held April 21-23 in 2017.  This looks very interesting and maybe worth investigating for next year’s departure trip.  http://www.texassandfest.org/

Texas SandFest, Port Aransas, TX

Our planned stop in San Antonio has been eliminated and tomorrow we’ll head to the Texas Hill Country around Kerrville.  More from there….


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Leaving the Rio Grande Valley

22 04 2017

South Padre Island Beach

We’re northbound from Harlingen!  After 3 days in Harlingen followed by 16 days on South Padre Island and 4 more days in Harlingen we’ve charted a route home through San Antonio and onward to San Angelo.  From there we’ll either travel up through the Texas panhandle or cut over into eastern New Mexico – dependent on weather conditions.

With weather forecasts pushing triple digits in the Rio Grande Valley, it’s time to head north to cooler and hopefully dryer conditions.  The Island weather was about 10 degrees cooler than those in mid-valley locations such as Harlingen, but the wind was nearly relentless.  And, unlike years past, we opted for the complete trailer and truck wash and wax on South Padre versus back in Harlingen.  Sierra Mobile RV Service based in Port Isabel did an excellent job.  Complete with roof wash, hand wax and window polishing we were very happy with the job they did for $140.00.  An additional $45 got the same treatment for the truck.  If it wouldn’t have been for a thunderstorm on Monday evening we would have started our return trip with a sparkling 5th wheel and tow vehicle.  Even with the rain, things look pretty good.

We’re headed for Sunrise Beach campground on Lake Corpus Christi, only about a 2.5 hour drive north of Harlingen.  More from there…


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Final Days on South Padre Island and Happy Easter!

18 04 2017

The Painted Marlin, SPI

As expected, Semana Santa was busy on the Island.  During an unplanned grocery run on Saturday the causeway bridge is nearly bumper to bumper all the way across to Port Isabel.  Beyond, reports say that it was a 45 minute trip the last 10 miles or so into Port Isabel.  Definitely one of those weekends you are best on foot or a bike.  Fortunately neither route is required to reach the small island market The Blue Marlin.  We’re quickly in and out and back to calmness of Isla Blanca RV park.

Before our departure from the island, we enjoyed two new restaurants – The Painted Marlin and Parrot Eyes – both directly on the water overlooking the Laguna. We enjoyed a few cocktails and snacks at the Painted Marlin, but would definitely return for a full meal.  Seating is inside or outside over the water, with a small marina beyond.  The wait staff are friendly and efficient.  We’ll be back.  Our dinner at Parrot Eyes was just as good.  With outdoor seating, we enjoyed items from hamburgers to fried shrimp and oysters.  Another place we’ll revisit upon our return to South Padre.

As usual, it’s been a great time on South Padre.  Cameron County has big refurbishment plans for the RV park with new facilities to include an amphitheater, a sea side boardwalk and a swimming pool.  Nothing has started on this effort yet, but we’ll be anxious to see the progress next year.

Arriving back at Tropic Winds

Tropic Winds Site #242

After packing up on Tuesday morning we’ve made the short 40 mile trip back to Tropic Winds in Harlingen.  We’ll spend 4 nights here, resupplying the pantry and fridge.  We took advantage of Walmart’s online ordering from South Padre and will pick up the products at the local store in the next day or two.  This is a good option for travelers who know they will be in a Walmart town at some point in the near future.  With a 7 day grace period, travel schedules aren’t all that critical and the overall process is very efficient – you even get to skip the checkout lines!


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