jlsnyder

Want to let you all know we took Hwy. 36 out of Denver through to Kansas where we detoured somewhat from our original plan. We enjoyed the drive a lot! There were times when not a vehicle was in sight for miles and that is really nice once in a while. Thanks for all the feedback.

We just attended the balloon fiesta in October and stayed at the VIP lot on the grounds (dry camping.) Reservation made through the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta website and a three-night minimum stay required. The presidential lot looked like a very good location but it was booked by the time we were able to get a reservation, and it is very expensive. The VIP lot is walking distance close to everything, overlooks the launch field, and one morning the balloons flew right over our motorhome so we didn't even have to leave. The next day the wind blew the balloons the total opposite direction away from us, and the third day the balloons did not launch due to weather. The weather was a bummer this year and there is nothing that can be done about it. We didn't get to see a night glow at all due to rain and wind. While others on here have stated traffic was not bad and the shuttles ran smoothly, we heard horror stories of people being backed up on interstate off-ramps who never even made it to the field in time for the launch. There are hundreds of thousands of people in campgrounds and hotels not only in Albuquerque but also the surrounding cities trying to make their way in. If we were to go again we would only stay at the fiesta grounds, either VIP or presidential lots. Have fun!

Thanks for your responses and tips. We have been on an inside passage cruise to Alaska and loved it, but really want to travel there by motorhome so as to see some of Canada too. We've decided to forge ahead with our plans to go it alone! Planning is half the fun. Would still love to hear from all of you who have driven there and any and all suggestions welcome!

We are beginning plans for a 2015 trip from So. CA to Alaska and don't know if we want to go it alone or join a small group (not a caravan.) Would love to hear from anyone who made the trip in 2014 or planning for 2015. We have a 34' gas National Dolphin class A, tow = 2007 Jeep Liberty. Suggestions on campgrounds, things not to miss, mishaps, things to be aware of, etc. Thank you!

Did anyone on this forum make the trip to Alaska this year? We are beginning plans for a 2015 trip from So. CA and don't know if we want to go it alone or join a small group. Would love to hear from anyone who made the trip in 2014 or planning for 2015. We have a 34' gas National Dolphin class A, tow = 2007 Jeep Liberty. Suggestions on campgrounds, things not to miss, mishaps, things to be aware of, etc. Thank you!

We are looking at taking the less-traveled Hwy. 36 outside of Denver through to Missouri instead of I-70. Has anyone traveled this route in a motorhome? Wondering about gas stations and RV parks. Not finding a lot of information.

I am alarmed at the posts on this forum. We are on the hunt for a new extended service warranty contract since our current one is expiring. I had just submitted information for a quote before reading this forum. Any suggestions out there for other companies to go through? It does not appear we can renew our current contract.

Me again. For some reason I missed some of the later posts, so sorry about that. As to Fishing Bridge (and Trailer Village at the South Rim?), I would suggest you keep checking everyday for cancellations. I have always been very successful in getting reservations this way. I think two days at the Grand Canyon should be sufficient, but the mule ride takes most of a day, right? Just be sure to make time for all the free shuttle bus routes. We finally made it to Glacier NP two summers ago and loved it. We took the Red Bus Jammers tour which was great and saved us the stress of driving the road ourselves. We stayed outside both ends of the park, West Glacier KOA and the East Glacier KOA. Definitely liked the west side better but we did something really cool on the east side. We drove the tow into Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in Canada (need passports) for a day trip. Then we took the boat ride across the lake which landed at Goat Haunt, the USA border crossing and ranger station, and then back. I think just an overnight at Mesa Verde NP is sufficient...and consider the train ride in Durango if possible! We have ridden the train twice but, as I already stated, it is a long day. Our last trip we took the train up to Silverton and a bus back and it was better. We live in CA and I could do the western portions of your trip every year and never get tired of it...but we are going to try a cross-country trip in the opposite direction this summer/fall! Wish us luck

I almost hate to chime in here as everyone has pretty much covered it all, but we've traveled in some of these areas several times so I'll add my thoughts. Mt. Rushmore - We stayed at the KOA and it is a very nice campground. The Mt. Rushmore nighttime program is great too. As mentioned above, a visit to Custer State Park should be considered. Lots of bison, beautiful scenery and there are several cave tours available at Jewel Cave Natl Monument and Wind Cave NP. Also consider the Crazy Horse Memorial nearby. We took a motorcycle ride to Devil's Tower when attending the Sturgis Bike Rally...all we did was look at it and leave. Cody - We love this little town and we've attended a rodeo twice. Unless things have changed they have a nightly rodeo. Just a short day trip visit to Cody is not enough time as the museum is definitely a must...and you mentioned your family likes a rodeo. We stay at the Ponderosa campground. Yellowstone - Driving to and from Yellowstone everyday is not a good option as Yellowstone is huge, driving is slow, and you'll want to stop and look at every animal, geiser, river, etc. that you see! I'm glad you've selected Fishing Bridge RV Park (you have a reservation, right? Otherwise...no bueno). While many folks don't like this campground, we've always liked it for convenience of getting around the park and it has hook-ups. Grand Tetons - Haven't paid much attention to your route but if passing through the Tetons I think one long day should be good for sightseeing with an overnight somewhere in that area (unless you have a day to kill driving in and out of Yellowstone to Tetons). A quick trip to Jackson Square is fun and be sure to stop at the visitors center in Jackson. There are many areas outside of the main touristy spots in the Tetons (Jackson and Jenny Lakes) that are beautiful if you are willing to drive some dirt roads in your tow. We have seen moose every trip in the Tetons. We have found that we find some really exciting things off the beaten path Mesa Verde NP is a must if in the area. We love the Durango area and the Durango & Silverton Railroad ride is a very fun thing to do but it takes all day and is not cheap. Our last visit in Durango we took a guided off-road jeep tour that was fun. Grand Canyon - We have not stopped at the North Rim but I must say I think you'll miss out if you do not stay at the South Rim. If possible try to get into the Trailer Village campground inside the park. It's very hot in the summer and the campground has hook-ups. But the best part is being walking distance to the park shuttle buses. You can catch a bus at the campground which takes you to the village from which all the FREE shuttle buses depart. It just makes everything so much easier. I understand from above that you're looking at long days of driving. We have found that driving more than 400 miles a day is just pushing it. You just don't know what things you might encounter along the way that may really slow you down. Even driving 400 miles a day we find that after a couple of days of driving those long days consecutively we need a break for a day or two of just some down time. But...we are getting old No matter what, you are going to have a wonderful trip that your family will remember for a lifetime. You'll want to go back! Just remember to take the time to enjoy it all.

We stayed at both the West Glacier KOA and East Glacier KOA. Much preferred the west side and the campground, while pricey, is very nice with a convenient location to the park. The Red Bus Tour is phenomenal!

We are planning our first cross-country trip in late winter/early spring next year and have the same concerns. At Ray & Barbara, are people still using CB radios? Thought they were becoming extinct with cell phones and all. We have one in our RV but don't have instructions for it and have not been able to get a channel on it. Any suggestions on CB use vs. a weather radio? Thanks! Joyce

We are heading from CA to Glacier NP also this summer for first time. We are spending lots of time in Montana via Utah & Idaho and will be staying at Polson/Flathead Lake KOA and also West Glacier KOA, and then moving over to east side for a few nights inside the park at St. Mary Campground (no hook-ups). Then heading to Grand Teton NP with a reservation at Colter Bay Village RV Park inside Grand Teton NP (gtlc.com). If you don't have reservations there and want them, keep checking everyday as cancellations do occur. The best place to stay at Grand Canyon NP is the south rim at Grand Canyon Trailer Village inside the park. http://grandcanyonlodges.com. Be sure to select proper RV-length site and again, if no vacancies just keep checking back for cancellations. Not the most beautiful RV park with some unlevel sites, but there are full hook-ups and you might see some wildlife walk right thru the campground. The biggest plus is that free shuttle buses stop right at the campground for rides all around the south rim. So awesome! Have not been to the north rim. The entire Oregon coast is beautiful. We drove it all in our 34' gas RV with no problems. A very curvy two-lane cliff hanger in spots, but I'm a nail biter and managed it OK (in the passenger seat!). Astoria is a cute, historical town that has a hokey little trolley ride that is quite informative and only costs $1! Also a maritime museum there that is quite interesting. Be sure to spend time at the Columbia River Gorge, Bonneville Dam and salmon fish hatchery, etc. We stayed at Ainsworth State Park which is no frills but convenient and inexpensive. Unhook the tow and drive the historic US Hwy. 30 to see beautiful waterfalls, and stop at Tad's Chicken N Dumplings restaurant for a great meal on the Sandy River (near the end, or beginning, of US Hwy 30). We also took a boat ride on the Columbia River that takes you thru the Bonneville locks - something we had never experienced and really enjoyed. Our other favorite towns are Newport and Florence. Oregon state parks are wonderful so would suggest checking on them first before staying at more expensive RV parks.There is an RV park at the harbor in Florence that we stayed at and liked. Again, not the greatest RV park but convenient for walking around the harbor shops. If you can get a river site, all the better! portofsiuslaw.com If you like a little adventure, take a dunebuggy ride on the Oregon dunes just up the road at Sandland Adventures. Also be sure to take a jetboat ride either out of Gold Beach or Grants Pass on the Rogue River - both lots of fun (Jerry's Rogue Jets - roguejets.com or roguerivertrips

Thanks for the great responses - much appreciated! As the trip gets closer in time we are starting to narrow our route down. I've found quite a bit of campground information for the Ketchum/Challis/Salmon, Idaho area and it sounds wonderful. After going thru Missoula, think we'll take Hwy. 200 to 83 up to Bigfork and then catch Flathead Lake on the way back down from Glacier NP. Since gas prices are still high, we'll probably drive the RV only to the west side of Glacier and then drive the tow over the mountain for day trips. Agpar does look nice, and it is nice to see campsite photos on the govt. website - makes it so much easier in deciding where to stay! We then plan to take Hwy. 28 to 200 thru Thompson Falls over to Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, then head thru Spokane and down a quick route thru Oregon and on towards California. Can't spot Finley Point on our map so will have to look for the map of Montana that you referenced, jmr12. Sorry too, jmr12, that we won't be over your way. Mighty nice off you've made - thank you! We have a 34'er - any problems we'll have with length that you know of? So nice to get input from people who know the areas. Thanks again, and happy traveling!

As a native California gal, Yosemite NP is one of my all-time favorite places to visit, along with all of the eastern Sierras area on Hwy. 395. If you go to Sequoia NP, be sure to visit Kings Canyon NP just a little further up the road where Zumwalt Meadow is beautiful! Lake Tahoe is also another one of my favorite spots, but be aware that weather could still be "ify" in May in all these areas so check road conditions and park road openings. From Fresno (outside of Sequoia) you could take Hwy. 41 (which turns into Hwy. 46) over to the central coast, which is also another favorite. There are lots of wineries in the Paso Robles area and there is a fairly new RV Park on the right before you get into the town of Paso Robles (can't remember name - something to do witha winery!). You could then continue on Hwy. 46 over to Hwy. 1 and the sleepy coastal towns of Cayucos and Morro Bay, located a little south on Hwy. 1, and then Cambria and San Simeon north on Hwy. 1. You can take a tour of Hearst Castle (purchase tix online hearstcastle.org) in San Simeon, and see the elephant seals' colony for free just off the road a little north of San Simeon on Hwy. 1. Look for the road sign, find a place to park in the dirt lot on the left, and walk out on the cliffs to see the elephant seals below. They are very entertaining and if the weather is nice, people like to sit there for hours and watch them. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of RV parks to choose from in this area. There are several in Morro Bay, and there is Bella Vista Mobile Home Park in Cayucos that rents spaces nightly right across the street from the beach, and this is a very convenient location too for sightseeing the area. There is a campground at San Simeon State Park (reserveamerica.com) - no hook-ups, probably a 34' max RV length. From this area you could continue north on Hwys. 1/101 through Big Sur and No. CA. The Big Sur drive is a twisty two-lane road but the ocean cliff views are spectacular. Monterey has the awesome Monterey Bay Aquarium. We avoid driving the RV thru San Francisco at all costs, but it might be a place you would like to visit? Your choice! Funny I should say that since we live in So. CA with what everyone says must be the most horrific traffic in the world...just in my element here I guess. I forgot to mention So. CA beaches - we live nearby and think the drive on I-5 from San Clemente to San Diego is beautiful - if you can remember to watch for the stopping car in front of you The San Diego area is another whole destination in itself. If you decide to visit the CA central coast and then drive Hwys. 1 and 101 to Oregon, you would then want to take Hwy. 199 from Crescent City, CA into Oregon and over to Crater Lake. Jerry's Jet Boats in Grants Pass offers a really fun ride on the Rogue River. If you should decide from Crater Lake to head north on Hwy. 97 via Bend, the drive along the Columbia River(bordering Oregon/Washington) from The Dalles to Portland is awesome. Stop at the Bonneville Dam and visit the fish hatchery and see the fish ladders. We took a five-hour tour boat ride that actually took us thru the locks on the river and it was very fascinating if you haven't done that sort of thing. Also be sure to visit Multnomah Falls and the other falls along historic Hwy. 30. Tad's Chicken 'n' Dumplins in Troutdale on the Sandy River is a great place to eat for a down-home-cooked meal. If you decide to head out from Crater Lake in another direction, Oregon has a lot to offer no matter which direction you take. We have not stopped to "smell the roses" along the I-5 corridor (although the Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville has a great RV park with a free shuttle to the casino - just south of Roseburg). There are lots of old covered bridges in Oregon that are neat to see - stop at an information center for info. The coastal route is absolutely beautiful so you can't go wrong with that drive either. We loved the dune buggy ride at Sandland Adventures just south of Florence. We took the thrill-seekers FAST ride and it was a blast, but be sure to dress WARM and HANG-ON!! If you do take the coastal route, try to stay on it all the way to Astoria - a neat little town to visit with lots of history from the Lewis & Clark Expedition, etc. and a bridge crosses the Columbia River to get to Washington. As to Washington, I haven't been there yet (plan to visit in September) so can't offer a thing! Hope this gives you some helpful information in addition to all that you've already received. Have a great trip! Would love to hear how your Alaska experience turns out. We keep talking about it but haven't done it yet. Maybe next year... Joyce

We plan to make a trip to Glacier NP this summer traveling through Utah to Idaho and on up to Glacier NP. We would like to see more of Idaho and are looking at taking Hwys. 75 & 93 through Hailey, Ketchum, Salmon, etc. to Missoula, MT - and then from Missoula to St. Mary (at Glacier) via Hwy. 35 and then back around Glacier NP over to Whitefish/Flathead Lake area, over to Coeur d'Alene, ID and then meander down thru Washington and Oregon to then reach our friend's house in Willow Creek, No CA. Has anyone traveled the Idaho Hwys. 75/93 thru Idaho (and Hwy. 93 into Montana)? Hoping to hear from others if there are roads we should avoid, and also any great campground and sightseeing suggestions for the Glacier NP and Whitefish areas. Has anyone stayed at the Glacier NP campgrounds - St. Mary's in particular? We are thinking we should stay at both the eastern and western ends of the park. We like both dry camping and RV parks, and will be traveling with our two dogs. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions! Joyce

If you are going to Anza Borrego State Park, check out the state park campground (reservations made through reserveamerica.com). I believe this campground fills up during the winter/spring months so plan ahead. We have not stayed there but drove thru on a day-trip and it is great for being within the state park. While there are no amenities or shade trees to speak of, you can get full hook-ups (30 amp) at a very decent price and the sites are paved. 35' RV max length listed but the driveways are much longer than that, so call the park if you need further info. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a very nice RV park with all the amenities in Borrego Springs from which to tour Anza Borrego, The Springs at Borrego RV Park is very nice and has a golf course. One of our favorite spring short trips is to Sam's Family Spa Hot Water Resort in Desert Hot Springs, not far from Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree. If you like to soak in mineral hot tubs, this is the place! There are several mineral hot pools RV parks in the Desert Hot Springs area. Joyce Have a great trip!

Bill is right about all the driving. We stayed at the Fishing Bridge RV Park within Yellowstone this summer and it was great for location. They are upgrading the hook-ups a little at a time but we found everything suitable. I believe the max length allowed though is 40' and it looks like you have a 42' rig? This is the absolute best option because the location cuts down on so much of the driving time. The rv park is the only campground within the park that takes larger RVs. If this doesn't work for you, selecting an RV park in West Yellowstone is probably your best bet outside of Yellowstone.The website is: http://yellowstonena...lparklodges.com - be sure to to click on "camping & RV" and select Fishing Bridge RV Park from the pull-down menu. But that being said, Grand Teton is NOT close to West Yellowstone so you would want to move closer to the Jackson, WY area. Colter Bay Village RV Park is within Grand Teton NP but I have not stayed at the hook-up park so can't comment one way or the other on it, but anything inside the park has to be the best option. Website: http://gtlc.com I don't think there are a lot of RV park options in the Jackson area. I suggest you go to the Yellowstone National Park site and download a map of the park just so you can see how far it is just to reach an entrance/exit station in the park, and your driving distances between West Yellowstone and Jackson. It is a beautiful.area - you will love it!

Very interesting! We have enjoyed many national parks and are about to visit some again...and in all those years of travel and visiting national parks, we have never even heard of the Passport to Your National Parks - and the cancellation stamps. So don't I feel uneducated! I googled it and found all the information. I'm assuming we can buy the passport at our first national park stop next week, hopefully at the visitors' center? I understand there is a new 25th edition that came out this year and will look for it. Too late to order online for us at this point. We are taking our grandson on a summer trip and it is something he might enjoy too. I'm just bummed that we won't be able to enter all the cancellation stamps from our national park visits in the past. As to forming a FMCA chapter, I think it's a great idea! Thanks for the information. Joyce Snyder

We are new members and we are just loving all the great suggestions for our upcoming trip! As to the Sturgis rally, we were one of "those people" and attended the rally in 2004 on our motorcycle. Alas,our Harley Davidson motorcycle has since been traded in on a motorhome We will be out of the Black Hills by that time but sure do recommend to others visiting the area to stay away near the end of July thru mid-August not only to avoid all the bikers but to avoid all the exorbitantly high prices too. All those "biker" folks plan well in advance for the historical event and pretty much snap up any place they can call home for a while. Living in California where campsite reservations are just about a must for camping at any time of the year at the popular sites, we have secured our reservations for our upcoming trip well in advance out of habit. We yearn for the day when we can just take off on the road without a care in the world...and no reservations! The only worries we have about our trip is that we may want to stay longer in a certain area than we have allowed, but we'll have to move on to the next reservation. We will be on a schedule to get our grandson back home in time for the start of the new school year so we think it will all be good. Next time out we'll just wing it and see what happens! Thanks again for all your comments and suggestions! Joyce

Thanks for reminding us about Custer SP. We camped there once previously but I decided to add it to our trip this time around too - even managed to get a reservation! Have never been to Wall or the Badlands but hope to include it. Especially looking forward to visiting the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. Lots to see and do in that area - can't wait! Joyce

We are new members to FMCA but here is my take on this post. I'll start by saying we are recent Southern California retirees and on our third motorhome. We used to travel with our daughters but on our own, not with groups, nor did we belong to an organization at the time and we always had such wonderful trips. Our daughters always got to take a friend along - the more the merrier! I think camping is one of the best activities a family can do together and I would think that would especially be true today with all the technology getting in the way of getting outdoors. We have not yet joined a local chapter but have inquired about a couple of them. One chapter that we contacted and heard back from sounds like they have a blast, but it's not for us. Most of them tow jeeps and they like to get out in the desert and ride around. Their ages are from little kids on up to 80 years old, and most of their get-togethers are on the weekends. It is not the ages that don't work for us - it is us not having a jeep to ride around in! Also, now that we are retired we would rather travel during the week when there is less traffic and it is easier to get into a campground. So we will continue looking for a chapter that suits our interests...or not. We really like to travel on our own but would welcome having a few friends to travel with. We visited the Florida Keys in January (not in our RV) and, of course, loved it. We checked out the RV parks & campgrounds for future reference and were shocked at how expensive they are. And yes, there were many, many snowbirds. It is obvious that very good planning is necessary to snag a reservation for the following winter. When we got home I checked on several of the state parks in the Keys for next winter but most sites are already reserved. But Southern California has the very same problem...but where we live near the coast is not just a "snowbird" problem, it is a year-long problem. We are less than 10 miles from two very popular state beach campgrounds and it is near to impossible to get in without an advance reservation - one where you get online at 8 a.m. seven months out to try to grab a site the day reservations go on sale. So my suggestion to Tom is to get in the game of making that reservation for next winter in Florida...and if it ends up you cannot go when the time comes, just cancel the reservation! We've certainly lost $$ over the years on cancellation fees, but I would rather do that than not have any chance of getting into that campground of my dreams if it turns out we can go! In closing, I would like to say that we are happy with the benefits that FMCA has to offer but we did not join in the hopes of immediately finding a chapter to join. I can tell you that we are perfectly fine with having children around in our travel adventures and hope that you sincerely do not feel unwelcome anywhere. That would NOT be what the RVing community is supposed to be about. Joyce

We're new to FMCA, not new to RVing but recently retired with much more time to travel now. Funny to see the pot luck post here because I've been wondering about that too! I'm not much of a cook (husband usually has the BBQ going) and we've always had simple dinners when camping. So when I found out that most chapter rallys require a pot luck item, I wasn't enthused and gave up thinking about joining a chapter I guess maybe I should reconsider that thinking and get busy looking through my cookbooks! And yes, the enchiladas sound yummy We're already finding a wealth of information on the forums. Thank you! Joyce

Hello! We are new to FMCA and I stumbled upon your post while browsing the site. It makes me sad that the subject even has to come up, but even more sad is the fact that there are still people in this great country of our's who are racially prejudiced. We owned a motorhome about 13 years ago that we traveled in for about 10 years in between working (mostly working!), but always hoped to be able to own another motorhome when we retired. Now that we ARE retired and have bought another motorhome, we hope to meet some fantastic people out there and, believe me, color of skin is not a condition of friendship. But we have noticed that there are not a lot of black people who camp and that point was even made on The Oprah Winfrey Show when Oprah and Gail did their Yosemite camping segment. Don't know why that is so? Our experiences so far have been that the RVing community is always helpful and friendly and I hope you find that to be true for you and your beautiful wife. If you pull in next to us and we start the engine and leave, it's only because we're too embarassed to be parked next to your beautiful rig!!!! Just kidding We bought what we could afford, a 2007 34' National Dolphin, and we are loving it so far and it meets our needs. But you see, everyone has their insecurities! Hope this makes your wife laugh. We'll certainly say hello if we see you on the road somewhere. Actually, it will be my husband who speaks first - I'm one of those people who appears to be unsociable but in reality I'm rather shy and not a big talker. With that in mind, I would hope that you not immediately think that someone doesn't like you because you are an inter-racial couple, ok? They just might be the shy type too. But if it becomes very apparent that you are amongst some very negative neighbors, as others have said - pull in the slides and head out to friendlier territory. There are plenty of us out there who would be happy to have your company. Happy RVing! Joyce

Thanks for the tip on the wind in Cheyenne. Another thing I get nervous about! Geez, should I really be riding around in an RV being the nervous nelly that I am???!!! We encountered terrible wind in AZ last year on I-10 I think around Wilcox and it nearly blew us off the road. Definitely something to be watching out for. Thanks again. Joyce

Sounds like we'll be in the same area around the same time as you. We're taking our grandson on a summer trip thru eight states. Leaving So. CA on June 20 heading to Grand Canyon; Utah; Mesa Verde National Park, CO; Mt. Rushmore and surrounding area; Cody; Yellowstone; Idaho; Oregon and back home. We have seen many of the sites already but never tire of the beauty. We are staying five nights at the KOA in Hill City for the Mt. Rushmore and surrounding-area visit (we were going to stay at Rafter J Bar Ranch but decided on KOA instead as it appears to have more for our grandson to do, but very expensive). According to the Mt. Rushmore website, there will be special events for 4th of July on July 3 & 4 but fireworks have been banned the last couple of years due to fire hazard. Highly recommend the night-time program too at Mt. Rushmore. I agree with the above posts - I think staying in Hill City or Custer State Park area would be preferable to Rapid City (unless you have a specific reason to stay there). We are staying two nights in Cody at the Ponderosa Campground/RV Park right in town. There is a shuttle bus that you can take right from the Ponderosa campground to the nightly rodeo, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (museum) is awesome. A suggestion for Jackson Hole, although not real close, would be Colter Bay RV Village in Grand Teton National Park. Have a great trip!