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A Quick Overnight at Lake Glendo

19 06 2015

Lake Glendo Sunset

We’re waking up in site #8, Two Moon campground at Glendo State Park. We’ve been in this cliff-side site so many times – from back with the boat, to the truck camper and now several times with the 5^th wheel. The news for Two Moon is that it has power! Recently they have added electric pedestals to about 15 sites on the outer loop. These were never premium sites because they have no lake views and are closest to the main road that crosses the dam. But, nearly all of these new power sites are full on this Thursday evening. In fact, there are only about 20% of all sites left, this place is becoming very popular. In addition to the new power sites, they have also added new water faucets scattered through the campground.

This is just a quick overnight on the way to Boysen State Park in central Wyoming – more from there over Father’s Day weekend!

Glendo Electric Sites

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Tags: glendo state park, two moon, wyoming
Categories : Summer Camping 2015

Boyd Lake State Park

6 06 2015

In a quick weekend to northern Colorado, we’re parked at Boyd Lake State Park, just east of Loveland, Co. We’ll attend a family reunion on Saturday and then make our way back home on Sunday. We’re parked in sites #148 and friends are in #146. These sites are at the opposite end of the campground from where we stayed last year. After walking the campground, we’d like to check out sites #31/#32 or #57/#58.

Site #31

Site #32

Site #57

Site #58

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Tags: boyd lake state park
Categories : Summer Camping 2015

Texas State Parks Recovering

31 05 2015

With torrential storms across Texas, by Memorial Day weekend over 50% of the Texas State Parks are reporting some amount of damage related to flooding. Over half of those parks are completely shut-down. During the early 2015 season we were at three of the parks that are reporting closures or some amount of damage.

At Bastrop State Park east of Austin, damage was severe as the earthen dam of Bastrop Lake failed and sent acres of water flowing through Copperas Creek. We were parked just along Copperas Creek on the 20th of April.

At Cedar Hill State Park just south of Dallas, not only has flooding been a problem, but there have been numerous tornadoes sighted near the park. The swimming and day-use areas have been inundated by over 13 feet of water. We camped at Cedar Hill on April 23rd.

Goliad State Park near Victoria, TX has seen rising levels of the San Antonio River, and currently have two of the tent-only campgrounds closed due to flooding. There are also several trails under water. We camped at Goliad on April 18th.

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Tags: bastrop, cedar hill, goliad, texas state parks
Categories : Summer Camping 2015

A Mundane Memorial Weekend

22 05 2015

As has become a tradition, we’re once again in Moab, UT for our “kickoff to summer” trip, this time over Memorial Day weekend. This is our 4th trip to the Moab area:

As in 2011, we’re once again parked at Horsethief Campground, a first-come, first-serve BLM area with 56 sites about 25 miles northwest of Moab. This campground wasn’t our first choice – instead we were headed to Ken’s Lake, a smaller campground of 31 sites on a small lake 10 miles south of Moab. But, even arriving early on Thursday we find all sites here full. And even at Horsethief, there were only a handful of sites available – we were lucky to find two across from each other.

Possibly it’s the disappointment that we were unable to get into Ken’s Lake, or maybe it’s the cooler weather with highs in the low 70’s, or the nearly constant threat of thunderstorms – but in all this has been a boring stay in Utah. We’re ready to find someplace new for early-season camping.

Hoosier Pass (11,542) near Breckenridge

James M Robb SP, Fruita, CO

Horsethief BLM Campground Site#34

Horsethief Coyote Pups

Horsethief BLM Campground

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Tags: blm, horsethief, memorial day, moab, utah
Categories : Summer Camping 2015

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

15 05 2015

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Good morning from Cheyenne Mountain.

Perched on the side of the mountain that houses NORAD and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force base, this busy State Park is an urban oasis just a few miles from downtown Colorado Springs. Boasting 2700 acres, 20 miles of biking and hiking trails and 50 full service campsites along with 10 walk-in tent sites, this is one of the best State Parks Colorado has to offer.

With reservations for Friday through Sunday, we decided to arrive early on Thursday and were quite fortunate to end up in the very last site available, #36. In the northern end of Swift Puma campground, this back-in site provides views out over Ft. Carson at the base of the mountain and Colorado Springs spreading out to the north and east. This site has a fairly short and steep downhill approach that could discourage travel trailers and coaches with low ground clearance. On Friday we occupy our reserved site, #38, just on the other side of the Host site and designed with a longer and more level entrance and pad. All of the sites provide full hookups; sewer, 50/30/20 amp electric service and water. They each also have a picnic table and fire pit with a secondary water faucet.

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

All around the park are fire hoses that can be connected to the standard water taps. These secondary taps and fire hoses seem very forward thinking with the sometimes high risk of fire that can become a reality along the front range. We’re not more than a few miles from the Waldo Canyon fire that erupted in 2012 and the Black Forest fire of 2013 that destroyed nearly 500 homes making it the most destructive in Colorado history.

While we’ve been in the 5th wheel nearly 50 nights since we left for Texas in mid-March, we consider this our first trip of the 2015 summer camping season. Along with friends that are spending their first night in a new camper, we enjoy chilly nights, sunny mornings and rainy, windy afternoons and evenings at Cheyenne Mountain. But, it’s only 5 days until we head west to Moab, UT where the weather promises to be a bit more mild . More from there…

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Site #38

Cheyenne Mountain State Park

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Site #38

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Site #7

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Site #8

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Site #41

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Site #15

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Site #14

Cheyenne Mountain State Park Site #16

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Tags: cheyenne mountain state park, colorado springs
Categories : Summer Camping 2015

Back to Lathrop State Park

28 04 2015

Raton Pass

We’ve arrived at Lathrop State Park, just outside of Walsenburg, CO for our last night of the 2015 Texas Road Trip. The snow capped Rockies were visible long before we met I-25 at Las Vegas, NM reminding us that we’re close to home. The work of snow plows was evident over Raton Pass and we were glad to be traveling the road in better conditions than had existed just 24 hours earlier. Arriving at Lathrop, we’re parked in site #79, one of our favorite sites providing a dramatic view of the snow capped Spanish Peaks. After walking through the campground, we decide we’d like to check out site #32 sometime. This back-in site on the A loop has nearly the same view, a water tap that you could easily use with a single length of hose and a bit more privacy than this one on the D loop.

Tomorrow we’ll pack up and make the 2+ hour drive home. As always, it’s been a great trip. We’ve covered nearly 4200 miles over the last 48 nights. We were fortunate to be able to meet great new friends along the way, catch up with longtime friends, see great places, and tick off a few “must do’s” from our personal bucket lists. And, in just over two weeks we’ll be out again, this time to Cheyenne Mountain State Park near Colorado Springs, and then our official “summer kickoff” trip to Moab for Memorial Day weekend.

Spanish Peaks from Lathrop State Park

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Tags: colorado, lathrop state park, walsenburg
Categories : Texas Roadtrip 2015

Departing Lake Conchas SP

27 04 2015

Our ‘Big Yard’

After 3 relaxing nights at Lake Conchas, we’re packed up and headed north toward I-25 and Colorado. The unexpected spring storm that dropped snow along our route home resulted in about 24 hours of gray, rainy skies here near Tucumcari, NM. However, the delay along with chilly, soggy conditions gave us a great incentive for a full day’s work on Monday and a good reason to stay put for 3 nights in a row. Daily moving with packing up, hitching, and re-connection of utilities can eventually wear you down, so it was a real treat to spend some extra time here. And, even after a 65 mile round trip on Sunday to resupply a few groceries and petrol, we think this is a wonderful campground.

Our site B29 is positioned at one of the highest points in the campground has a great view, but possibly a bit more wind than other lower sites. Other sites along this outer ridge include B30, B27, B25, B24, B21 & B19. B21 is a nice long pull-through, others are large back-in sites. There are also some long back-in sites on the inside of the loop near the restrooms. Sites B18, B20, B22 are back-in sites that would be ideal for coaches that prefer great viewing out their front windshield. Some of these sites also have extra parking for a towed vehicle. Sites B15, B14, B12 are smaller, best left for truck campers or large tent requirements. All of the sites provide electric and water and there’s a dump station at the entrance to the campground. There are also complimentary showers in a centrally located bathhouse alongside about 5 overflow parking spots. Most of the gravel pads are relatively level (we used a single block) next to a concrete pad with the covered patio table. Some sites have large shade trees – so great for shade, possibly in the way for awnings. Each site also provides a fire ring and grill.

A complete photo album is available at CampSitePhotos.com, and individual site reservation is available after May 1^st at ReserveAmerica. We enjoyed Conchas Lake State Park and would like to return sometime.

Conchas Lake Dam

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Tags: conchas lake state park, new mexico
Categories : Texas Roadtrip 2015

Conchas Lake State Park, NM

26 04 2015

Conchas Lake State Park

From Amarillo, we’re headed to Las Vegas, NM where we’ll join I-25 for the final leg north into Colorado. Somewhere across eastern New Mexico we check Las Vegas weather and find that a Winter Storm Watch has been issued for the area. Not anxious to get back to winter in New Mexico or Colorado, we opt to detour at Tucumcari, NM to Conchas Lake State Park.

As it turns out, the camping at Conchas is beautiful! We’re at the North Recreation Area, in the Bell Point campground. A mix of Lake Powell and Glendo State Park, we’re parked in site B29, a cliff side site offering great views across the lake. Huge red cliffs remind us of Powell, and the rocky overview area reminds us of our favorite sites at Glendo. These are electric and water sites, each with a unique casita covered picnic table, a grill and fire pit. And, surprisingly, there’s excellent T-Mobile service here. We’re achieving up to 3MB transfers while tethered to a phone. There are a couple of snowy, but watchable over-the-air TV channels from Albuquerque.

We’re about 7 hours from home, so once the wintry weather passes, we’ll be back on the road for at least one more overnight before arriving home.

Conchas Lake, Site B29

Conchas Lake State Park

Conchas Lake, Site B19

Conchas Lake, Site B29

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Tags: conchas, conchas lake state park, tucumcari nm
Categories : Texas Roadtrip 2015

Wichita Falls & Palo Duro Canyon State Park

25 04 2015

Near Childress, TX

After leaving Dallas we spend one night at Wichita Falls RV Park. After being here last year, we knew the park was a good option for a quick overnight. This time we parked in a full hookup site which is a bit closer to the Wichita River bordering the property to the rear. The fishing pond has been reduced to a muddy marsh due to what appears to be a rupture of the drain pipe that leads into the river. The swimming pool also has some type of excavation work nearby. Either they are making a major investment in this park, or it is slowly deteriorating. We hope it’s the former, the park occupies an pleasant location along this portion of the Wichita River.

Ever conscious of the weather in North Texas this time of year, we expect that we’ll drive through some showers before crossing a dry-line that is expected to bring dryer and calmer conditions along our route. Unfortunately this clash of dry cool air and warm humid air can fuel thunderstorms along its path. We encountered such a storm just SE of Childress, TX where we are forced to retreat about 20 miles and wait out the passage of the storm. Continuing into the panhandle with very gusty winds we were glad to finally arrive at Palo Duro State Park. Unfortunately our weekend in the Canyon isn’t to be – the campsites are already fully booked. Right next door to Palo Duro State Park is a zipline company that offers some rather run down RV sites. Not wanting to drive in the howling wind any further, we opt for one of these $25 full hookup sites and hunker down for the evening. By morning the winds have subsided and we head west along I-40 into New Mexico toward Las Vegas, NM. More from there…

Near Childress, TX

Palo Duro Canyon, from the top

Zipline RV “park”

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Tags: north texas, palo duro canyon state park, wichita falls rv park
Categories : Texas Roadtrip 2015

Dallas skyline changes

23 04 2015

The skyline of Dallas has certainly changed since we left the area 15 years ago. Among the most dramatic change is the expansion of the area north of the Historic West End area into what has become known as Victory Park. Anchored by American Airlines Center, which opened in 2001, this area will eventually have over 4,000 residents and over 4 million square feet of office and retail space. Nearby is the first W Hotel built in Texas. The 50 year old Dallas waterfall landmark is still in place (now touting Coors Light) but Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine restaurant was knocked down in 2006 to make room for a now under construction 10 story apartment building.

The Woodall Rogers Freeway has change dramatically too, with Klyde Warren Park spanning the former freeway “canyon” that separated the Uptown area and downtown Arts District. The freeway was expanded westward over the Trinity River with the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.