Maiden Voyage

[ke4jr]

Asking for advice and recommendations from those with lot's more experience.

We've had a gas coach (40' Bounder) for many years and ventured out as far as Niagara Falls 13 years ago. Now we traded up to a diesel pusher (34' Winnebago Journey) so we can tow our Jeep Wrangler. We've been planning this "maiden voyage" trip for a while but circumstances have delayed our departure a couple of times. Thinking for sure this time we'll head out late Oct. early Nov.  I've marked several possible overnight campgrounds along the way, not sure how safe is to rest overnight at a Walmart or truck stops, never done that.

Any thoughts as to the weather, is it too late to head north for this three maybe four week trip and then return home to Florida, or should we chart a more westerly course?

[tbutler]

Welcome to the Forum.  As mentioned by others, your original trip takes you north and to high elevation in late fall.  I can say that it is unusual to find snow in Missouri in October but it becomes more likely by the end of November and almost certain sometime in December.  So a westerly trip makes more sense.  When taking a trip like you outlined, I try to put some distance between home before starting sightseeing on the assumption that I can better spend the time at the far end of the trip.  The close sights are more convenient, the distant ones are going to be more costly, time and money, to visit again in the future. 

Assuming that you have explored areas near Florida in past trips, I would suggest heading west toward southern California.  Go west on a more northerly route, say I-44, I-40 (not necessarily the interstate but along that latitude). Then make the return trip on a southerly route (nearer to I-10).  We enjoyed a stop in Hot Springs, AR last spring.  There is one "original type" bath house in operation and the experience is really relaxing.  Hot Springs National Park preserves some of the other bath houses and the town and it's history is interesting.  Oklahoma City has some interesting possibliites,  National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Will Rogers Museum, Oklahoma City National Memorial.  In Texas, the  in American Quarter Horse Museum in Amarillo may be of interest. If you enjoy a good day hike, Palo Duro Canyon State Park has a scenic canyon hike.  Other stops along the way west might include Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, and Meteor (Barringer) Crater.  Flagstaff, AZ is the gateway to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon.  You will be dealing with higher altitude and cooler temperatures but the crowds should be smaller if you can stand a few days of cooler weather.  West of Flagstaff, the elevation drops as you enter the southwestern desert.  Southern California has Death Valley National Park, the Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree National Park, a little further north, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks.  San Diego is worth a stop and puts you on I-8 headed east. 

Along the southern route, visit Organ Pipe or Saguaro National Park south of Phoenix.  Albuquerque, Pueblo and Taos, New Mexico present many opportunities for exploring the southwestern culture and Pueblo Native American sites.  Drop south to Big Bend National Park in western Texas.  This is one of the least visited National Parks and has some great 4 wheeling opportunities for your Jeep.  From there, head for San Antonio and the River Walk or make a run along the southern border of the US down the Rio Grande.  There are reservoirs for fishing or boating.  Continue to Brownsville and South Padre Island and the Rio Grande Valley to see some subtropical wildlife, birds and butterflies, many seen nowhere else in the US.  The weather here should be quite mild even in late November.  A trip up the Gulf Coast through Corpus Christi and Galveston puts you back on I-10 headed for New Orleans, bayou country and the Gulf Coast in Mississippi and Alabama.  Next thing you know, you are home! 

Early on in your trip, try an overnight at Walmart!  If you like it, that will open up a whole set of new opportunities for your overnight stops.  We've never had a bad experience when we've stayed at Walmart.  Ask permission, park where they recommend.  Sometimes it is quiet, sometimes a busy road nearby will make it noisier.  It will never (almost never) be as noisy as a truck stop.  We sometimes stay at rest areas along the interstates (pretty noisy) and picnic areas on smaller roads (quieter).  Sources for campgrounds that we use include RV Park Reviews and for Walmart and campgrounds, the phone app Allstays Camp and RV.  We tend to make trips like this with the things we want to see as the focus of our travel and the campground is just a place to park, sleep, maintain utilities (fill water tank, empty waste tanks, charge batteries) and then go out to explore the nearby attractions.  If the campsite is level and the utilities are good, I'm happy.  An inexpensive rate is a bonus.  I'm usually only in the office once, pay for the campsite and I'll never see them again.  It speeds travel if we aren't connected to utilities so we take advantage of Walmart and rest areas to keep us in motion.  Where possible we'll make our sightseeing stops with the motor home and then move on to the next site or overnight stop.

Pick from the above to allow you to travel at a relaxed rate and make stops at interesting places you find along the way.  

[elkhartjim]

My initial thought was your trip looks like its about 6000 miles round trip which is a lot of windshield time for a three week trip. 2000 miles a week doesn't leave much time for anything other than driving. We like to drive on average of 250 mile per day and usually we don't drive more than two consecutive days. Personally, I would shorten the trip by several thousand miles and enjoy some time doing something other than driving.

Enjoy your maiden voyage wherever you choose to travel.

 

[manholt]

Draw a line from #6 to #17, anything North, I would save for Late Spring to late Summer.  Rest is fine.  There is a reason why people head South in October to April !

Carl

[blakeloke]

ke4jr,

Your route would be perfect for me during warmer months.  It's hard for me to read your stops but one of them looks like Laramie?  The elevation there is 7,200' and low temp is expected to be 30 degrees this Thursday.  Freezing temps is a whole new ballgame when it comes to RV camping.

I personally would reroute to more southern climes. 

Not sure what your interests are, but you have Carlsbad, Anazasi cliff dwellings, Tombstone and great weather that time of year.

You may want to also check the campgrounds........some are seasonal and close for the winter.  I think the KOA in Cody WY closes soon if not already.

Welcome to the Forum and enjoy your travels!

Blake

[ke4jr]

On 9/13/2016 at 9:53 AM, blakeloke said:

ke4jr,

Your route would be perfect for me during warmer months.  It's hard for me to read your stops but one of them looks like Laramie?  The elevation there is 7,200' and low temp is expected to be 30 degrees this Thursday.  Freezing temps is a whole new ballgame when it comes to RV camping.

I personally would reroute to more southern climes. 

Not sure what your interests are, but you have Carlsbad, Anazasi cliff dwellings, Tombstone and great weather that time of year.

You may want to also check the campgrounds........some are seasonal and close for the winter.  I think the KOA in Cody WY closes soon if not already.

Welcome to the Forum and enjoy your travels!

Blake

Thank you Blake, that's what I needed to hear and recommendations such as yours to re-route the trip with southern spots as you recommended. I hope folks keep sending me suggestions and stop recomendations for a more westernly trip, we have 3 to 4 weeks to enjoy, so keep them coming. We love nature, scenery, historical spots!

[jleamont]

ke4jr, since it sounds like you will be cutting of a portion of your trip, perhaps modify it? Here are some recommendations; At the #3 I would head Northeast into TN via I 59 in AL to I20 back to I59 to I75 and into TN. Head up into the Smoky Mountains (park the coach somewhere around Pigeon Forge TN and take the Jeep) Beautiful drive down the Blue ridge Parkway. If you like country music, the Band Alabama has a museum just off of I59 at toward the top of AL, http://www.thealabamaband.com/fanclub.html we passed by it and I am planning on heading back to check it out. Also along the way is rock city which we added to our list, link; http://www.seerockcity.com/

Along the way I highly recommend this state park, http://www.tannehill.org/ friend of ours that are also FMCA members recommended this place and we were WOWED when we walked around the following day. Sites are first come first serve. They have full hookups, no hookups and some hookups. It was by for the most beautiful state park we have ever seen and the historic side of it was fascinating and sent it over the top! I could spend days there and not get bored. If you decide to go that way post back I can recommend a few places in TN to eat that were also great and not expensive.

 

[ke4jr]

On 9/15/2016 at 11:11 AM, jleamont said:

ke4jr, since it sounds like you will be cutting of a portion of your trip, perhaps modify it? Here are some recommendations; At the #3 I would head Northeast into TN via I 59 in AL to I20 back to I59 to I75 and into TN. Head up into the Smoky Mountains (park the coach somewhere around Pigeon Forge TN and take the Jeep) Beautiful drive down the Blue ridge Parkway. If you like country music, the Band Alabama has a museum just off of I59 at toward the top of AL, http://www.thealabamaband.com/fanclub.html we passed by it and I am planning on heading back to check it out. Also along the way is rock city which we added to our list, link; http://www.seerockcity.com/

Along the way I highly recommend this state park, http://www.tannehill.org/ friend of ours that are also FMCA members recommended this place and we were WOWED when we walked around the following day. Sites are first come first serve. They have full hookups, no hookups and some hookups. It was by for the most beautiful state park we have ever seen and the historic side of it was fascinating and sent it over the top! I could spend days there and not get bored. If you decide to go that way post back I can recommend a few places in TN to eat that were also great and not expensive.

 

Thank you, this is exactly what I'm looking for from experienced folks like you, places to visit! We've been all over the Blue Ridge parkway from Gatlinburg to Blowing Rock. But definitely going to Rock City and Tannehill Ironworks, thank for helping me plan this trip!

[kaypsmith]

If early Nov., Tannehill will be great, Oct., it is packed out, if I know when you will be in the area, I will be glad to reserve a spot, have to place a tent on the site to reserve. Also FtPayne is where the Alabama museum is located, Desoto State Park is located very near this location and is a very nice Park, Nocalula Falls park is in Gadsten 35 miles short of FtPayne, pretty nice park also. What part of Florida are you located? I lived in Lake City for 12 years 32 years ago, call is n4wqp, welcome aboard, and 73.

[ke4jr]

On 9/21/2016 at 9:38 AM, kaypsmith said:

If early Nov., Tannehill will be great, Oct., it is packed out, if I know when you will be in the area, I will be glad to reserve a spot, have to place a tent on the site to reserve. Also FtPayne is where the Alabama museum is located, Desoto State Park is located very near this location and is a very nice Park, Nocalula Falls park is in Gadsten 35 miles short of FtPayne, pretty nice park also. What part of Florida are you located? I lived in Lake City for 12 years 32 years ago, call is n4wqp, welcome aboard, and 77.

We are in Oldsmar, FL, next to Tampa. The problem we are having is our toad, it's in the body shop and our departure depends when we get it back. We had originally planned an August departure, the first stop a Jeep event in Jasper, GA but our Jeep got hit the week before departure. Do-Do Occurs! We had our trip planned out but now we are having to change to avoid weather problems, you know us Florida RV'ers avoid snow at all cost!

[ke4jr]

On 9/21/2016 at 3:00 PM, TBUTLER said:

Welcome to the Forum.  As mentioned by others, your original trip takes you north and to high elevation in late fall.  I can say that it is unusual to find snow in Missouri in October but it becomes more likely by the end of November and almost certain sometime in December.  So a westerly trip makes more sense.  When taking a trip like you outlined, I try to put some distance between home before starting sightseeing on the assumption that I can better spend the time at the far end of the trip.  The close sights are more convenient, the distant ones are going to be more costly, time and money, to visit again in the future. 

Assuming that you have explored areas near Florida in past trips, I would suggest heading west toward southern California.  Go west on a more northerly route, say I-44, I-40 (not necessarily the interstate but along that latitude). Then make the return trip on a southerly route (nearer to I-10).  We enjoyed a stop in Hot Springs, AR last spring.  There is one "original type" bath house in operation and the experience is really relaxing.  Hot Springs National Park preserves some of the other bath houses and the town and it's history is interesting.  Oklahoma City has some interesting possibliites,  National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Will Rogers Museum, Oklahoma City National Memorial.  In Texas, the  in American Quarter Horse Museum in Amarillo may be of interest. If you enjoy a good day hike, Palo Duro Canyon State Park has a scenic canyon hike.  Other stops along the way west might include Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, and Meteor (Barringer) Crater.  Flagstaff, AZ is the gateway to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon.  You will be dealing with higher altitude and cooler temperatures but the crowds should be smaller if you can stand a few days of cooler weather.  West of Flagstaff, the elevation drops as you enter the southwestern desert.  Southern California has Death Valley National Park, the Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree National Park, a little further north, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks.  San Diego is worth a stop and puts you on I-8 headed east. 

Along the southern route, visit Organ Pipe or Saguaro National Park south of Phoenix.  Albuquerque, Pueblo and Taos, New Mexico present many opportunities for exploring the southwestern culture and Pueblo Native American sites.  Drop south to Big Bend National Park in western Texas.  This is one of the least visited National Parks and has some great 4 wheeling opportunities for your Jeep.  From there, head for San Antonio and the River Walk or make a run along the southern border of the US down the Rio Grande.  There are reservoirs for fishing or boating.  Continue to Brownsville and South Padre Island and the Rio Grande Valley to see some subtropical wildlife, birds and butterflies, many seen nowhere else in the US.  The weather here should be quite mild even in late November.  A trip up the Gulf Coast through Corpus Christi and Galveston puts you back on I-10 headed for New Orleans, bayou country and the Gulf Coast in Mississippi and Alabama.  Next thing you know, you are home! 

Early on in your trip, try an overnight at Walmart!  If you like it, that will open up a whole set of new opportunities for your overnight stops.  We've never had a bad experience when we've stayed at Walmart.  Ask permission, park where they recommend.  Sometimes it is quiet, sometimes a busy road nearby will make it noisier.  It will never (almost never) be as noisy as a truck stop.  We sometimes stay at rest areas along the interstates (pretty noisy) and picnic areas on smaller roads (quieter).  Sources for campgrounds that we use include RV Park Reviews and for Walmart and campgrounds, the phone app Allstays Camp and RV.  We tend to make trips like this with the things we want to see as the focus of our travel and the campground is just a place to park, sleep, maintain utilities (fill water tank, empty waste tanks, charge batteries) and then go out to explore the nearby attractions.  If the campsite is level and the utilities are good, I'm happy.  An inexpensive rate is a bonus.  I'm usually only in the office once, pay for the campsite and I'll never see them again.  It speeds travel if we aren't connected to utilities so we take advantage of Walmart and rest areas to keep us in motion.  Where possible we'll make our sightseeing stops with the motor home and then move on to the next site or overnight stop.

Pick from the above to allow you to travel at a relaxed rate and make stops at interesting places you find along the way.  

Thank you, I copied and pasted on Words so I can plan this out. 

[tbutler]

And thank you for your reply.  It is nice to know that my help was useful.  Hope you have a nice trip.  If this is new territory for you, you might consider starting a Blog here on the FMCA website.  Tell us all about your experiences, what you have seen and enjoyed and how your trip is going.  If you like to write you can share some good stories with us.

[manholt]

I for one, can't think of anyone who writes better than Tom.  I love reading your blog and it's written in such a way, that I can visualize every thing your experiencing, then I want to go there!  You also, don't leave anything out, in your suggestions on the Forum!  Thank you.

Carl 

[hermanmullins]

FYI,

Tom and Louise are published authors. This is apparent many time in the articulate way they write. (by the way Tom, Joe Hipp told me to say Hi thr next time we saw you, so HI)

Herman

[manholt]

That does explain it....What did they write? Books on travel?  Fiction or non Fiction?  

Carl

[wayne77590]

Where's the blog?

[manholt]

Wayne, go to main page of Forum...you'll see Browes tab, below it is Forum next to forum is Blog, Gallery, etc!

[tbutler]

Thanks guys!  Before things get out of hand, Louise is the author with published works. She has written several books and has man articles published in newspapers.  She has been a regular contributor to the McAllen Monitor in the last few years and she has also done a number of magazine articles.  I just write bit pieces like the blog.  I find it easiest to write when we are out and about in the motor home.  I most enjoy relating stories about the places we travel and what we see.  When I'm discovering new territory, I write more.  The more exotic the territory, the more I write.  During our trip to New Zealand and Australia, I was writing almost every day.  When we are at our winter home I seldom have motor home experiences and so I will post few entries.  There is not requirement to make the articles directly related to motor home travel and you will find some that are just about life's interesting journeys. 

Over time there have been a few FMCA members who have done some blogging.  Many blogs are hosted on other sites with a link posted on the FMCA blog.  I keep encouraging others to write about their experiences.  A good variety of blogs hosted on the FMCA website will help promote FMCA.  Not everyone likes to write stories but if you do, you should be sharing your motor home experiences.  If you are new to motor home travel, post your experiences as you learn.  If you are transitioning from an occasional traveler to a full timer or a snow bird, that is a new experience, write about it. 

You will see when you go to the blog link that there are huge numbers of blogs that have no entries or only one entry.  This tends to clutter up the listing of blogs but if you post an entry it will be at the top of the list.  So if you go very far down the list, you will be into older blogs that haven't had recent entries and then you get to a long list of them that have just one or no entry.  I encourage everyone to dig through the older blogs as we've had some interesting writers and experiences posted on the blog over time.

 

[manholt]

Thank you for the insight...

Carl

[jleamont]

Tom, that was interesting. My DW and I enjoy your blog, it gives her ideas for the next excursion, I enjoy reading them and visualizing what I am reading. The only down side to reading them....when I do I want to retire tomorrow or jump in the coach and take off .

My oldest daughter wants to be an author, she is drawn to it and has been writing short stories since she was 10. It all started when she was 8 reading the entire Harry Potter collection.

[hermanmullins]

Joe,

My DW started a Journal when we purchased our first coach. As we have an adventure, stay at a park ect. she writes it down. When she has a chance she will type it into the computer. We have refereed to it many time, which is happening more and more, when trying to remember a place, date or even where we ate. Our children have read it many times.

It is nice, and many time sad, when we refer back to wonderful Rallies, great places and yes even deaths of friends and family members. If you haven't started a record I recommend you start one. Then when in the rocking chair in the care facility someone can read it to you so you may revisit the Good Ole Days. 

Herman

[jleamont]

Herman, that is a great idea! Often at night sitting around the dinner table our girls (still do that, required in our house) will bring up a trip from a few years ago. Since we bought our first coach when they were 6 and 8 some trips tend to run into others. DW and I sit and stare at each other and we try to remember which trip that was from, it usually turns into remember that time...... My DW is big into crafts and scrapbooking, so each trip is documented in a scrapbook, she can figure it out from there since the CG sign is always in the beginning with a picture of the kids standing out front. I love your idea of the journal, that will help tighten up some of the little details of a trip that we tend to forget about until mentioned a few years later and cannot make the connection i.e. remember that restaurant with........

[hermanmullins]

Your welcome Joe. I traveled in my job for close to 45 years. I knew most every diner, drive-in and yes dives in the Southwest. As we travel int MH I will remember a place and recommend it to a friend. Have learned to preface it with "The last time I was there it was great". These times are a changing.

Your kids will love to revisit those memories.

Herman  

[ke4jr]

On 9/25/2016 at 8:11 AM, ke4jr said:

Thank you, I copied and pasted on Words so I can plan this out. 

Copied, pasted, printed and planning, Thank you.

I have found a new pastime here, love reading everyone's posts!

[manholt]

Herman, Joe.  I have kept a log of all my trips.  Unfortunately a computer and camera was stolen in 2010, from my coach while I was out playing golf...stuck in a garage bay for 6 weeks in FL., never occurred to me, to back up a log...lost 4 years!  Camera had 750+ pictures in it from a 2 week cruise to all the navigational Fjords in Norway...I had returned a week earlier and took my camera with me to FL so I could edit the Journey!

Both items was replaced by the dealership.  The computer lives at home now, it's a Apple and the one with the log is in coach, a Samsung.  Yes, I back up everything every month!   

Carl

[wayne77590]

On 10/2/2016 at 6:00 PM, manholt said:

Wayne, go to main page of Forum...you'll see Browes tab, below it is Forum next to forum is Blog, Gallery, etc!

Thanks.