mwebber78
New England
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Joined: 08/07/2005
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We have traveled New England (home area) and have enjoyed seeing places within 200 miles of home. My SIL lives in eastern NM and we are planning on a trip from NH to NM in April 2009. We are planning on taking 2 full weeks, a Friday thru Sunday trip (17 days). We are in our early 30's and have 2 children, our goals for this trip are:
1) Visit SIL home in NM, visit local hotspots and stay no more then 4 days
2) Stop by Crossroads factory for a tour and warranty work (1 day to complete work according to Crossroads)
3) Drive straight out to NM, make stops on home trip at points of interest
I would love hardened travelers (full timers, etc.) to chime in on these goals, we have kept them modest and we are spur of the moment so we feel we adapt easily to changes. We don't overplan as to allow extra time for stops or issues.
Any tips, points of interest, challenges, etc. would be helpful. We will be towing with the setup in our signature. For Christmas we have put Flying J gas-cards on the list to make fillups easier and to reduce the costs of the trip.
We are planning on taking a Garmin Nuvi GPS unit my FIL owns to assit us. Mapquest seems to paint a very direct route from NY state through Ohio, Indiana then a slight angle straight across to NM. We are covered by Coach.net and AAA and the truck is equipped with Onstar and the turn-by-turn navigation and road assistance.
I believe weather after leaving New England will be decent given the trip will start the 2nd week of April. Using weather.com and viewing mid-US temp's show that in April highs are 50's and 60's, lows are 40's.
* This post was
edited 11/05/08 06:32pm by mwebber78 *
Michael 
2 DD's and my DW 
6 Acre's of Maine
2009 Crossroads Cruiser CF31SB
2008 Chevy 2500HD Ext. Cab LT 4X4
Champion lil' yellow Chinese genset, 4000W
Camping Pictures
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eubank
Angel Fire, NM, USA
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Joined: 01/17/2004
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One thing that may (or may not) be new to you will be the raw size of states in the west. Here's a comparison between New England (your home area) and New Mexico (your destination):
New England:
Size: 71,991 sq mi
Population (2006): 14,269,989
New Mexico:
Size: 121,665 sq mi
Population (2007 est): 1,969,915
As you can see, ol' New Mexico is a very big place, and not many folks live here.
Lynn
http://forum.aardvarkrv.com/blog/
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mwebber78
New England
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Thank you, I am in awe of some of the states I will drive across like OK. Compared to NH it is huge.
With that said my SIL is in the Los Alamos area and we are struggling with a CG to stay at. I can't seem to find very much info. on this and there doesn't seem to be a well organized bureau of travel for NM that provides RV info...????
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kknowlton
Wisconsin Border Country, IL
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Joined: 05/27/2005
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Wow, 2 weeks will be one heck of a lot of driving and sightseeing through the windshield!! We've never been as far as NM from the Chicago area, but did take a 3-week trip from here to central Texas and back. Not that you can't do it, but your kids, if they're really young, will be strapped immobile in those child seats for hours & hours each day. Just something to think about.
The other thing to think about is that weather in April may be in the 50s and 60s ON AVERAGE over the last however-many years. Our Aprils, here in northern Illinois, have ranged from beautiful (70s) to winter (deep snow and 30s). Last April we still had a foot of snow in our yard through most of the month. You just never know what you'll get. Not to mention that it's big storm season in many areas of the country you'll be going through, which can slow you down if you are near/in a storm system.
Like New England, most CGs in the northern Midwest are closed from November through April, opening up in May. There will probably be a few that are open, but you will need to research that before you leave, and may need to make reservations. Even the open ones may lack amenities (water may be shut off, etc.)
Make sure to figure out the number of miles you'll be traveling. Figure on averaging 50 mph, counting rest stops & meals, and decide how many hours you & your family will be comfortable traveling each day. When you get that figured, add a day or two to allow for emergencies, and you'll be able to decide whether this trip is do-able for you, or not.
Quote:there doesn't seem to be a well organized bureau of travel for NM that provides RV info
Why not use a good CG directory? Trailer Life makes a good one, as does Woodalls. TL's will note CG opening/closing dates, a basic description of the CG and such things as site sizes, shadiness, etc.
Good luck!
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mwebber78
New England
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Joined: 08/07/2005
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Noted - I think Woodalls is on sale at the Wal-Mart RV aisle.
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jones4110
Champlin, MN
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Joined: 01/14/2004
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http://www.nps.gov/band/planyourvisit/juniper-family-campground.htm
This is a national park campground in the area that you are looking. Look up reviews and other campgrounds in NM at RVPARKREVIEWS.COM. All you need to know about everything in the area all the way out from NH.
Joan and Bruce
05 Excursion 39L
powered by 350 KittyCATS on a Spartan
2005 CRV SE toad (Blue Ox & Breakbuddy)
...and a "road dog" named Max
"May the wind be always at your back"
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CloudDriver
New Jersey Shore
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Joined: 10/30/2005
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Here's a link to the New Mexico Vacation Guide, which should provide interesting reading during the coming winter months. You may want to search the web for other State's tourism sites to obtain similar info.
2003 Winnebago Minnie 24F - Ford E-450
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mwebber78
New England
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Joined: 08/07/2005
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Thank you for the links everyone - great information and it provides a good base to find similar info as you mentioned Cloud.
I used Woodalls last night online after signing up for their free online service and did a state by state search along the travel route of CG's that are open year round from Indiana thru New Mexico. It provided 20 or more per state so that was encouraging to look at.
Thank you and keep the good info coming.
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eubank
Angel Fire, NM, USA
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Ah! I thought your SIL was in eastern New Mexico, but he's in Los Alamos, central New Mexico. Huge difference: Los Alamos is in the mountains.
Alas, Los Alamos is not really big on private campgrounds. There are lots of public camping opportunities in the vicinity, but private ones very close in just don't exist. (Maybe it tells you something about Los Alamos: It's a big scientists community.)
If you do want to stay in a private campground, you could choose Santa Fe. Indeed, during that time of the year, that's about the only location where you're likely to find a private campground that's open for business.
You can find loads of tourist info from the state's tourism site, and campground info is available from the state association. I'll provide links below.
Lynn
Order a free copy of the big NM visitor's guide
NM Assn of RV Parks & Campgrounds, listing every park and campground in the state!
RVers with Special Interests, including 55+ Parks; Where to escape the heat; where to fish; where to golf; where to hold RV rallies; where to ski; where to snowbird; and much more
Download+print listings, NM's public & private facilities for your rig
To order a copy of the New Mexico State Road Map: Call (505) 827-5100
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cruiserjs
Aurora, CO, USA/ Mesa AZ/ openroad
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April - if we have a 'normal' winter there will still be snow in the NM mountains! Be sure your family is directed to see & spend a day at Bandelier National Monument - one of the most interesting Anasazi Ruins in the 4 corners area and not far from Los Alamos. Also many of the nearby Pueblos are very interesting places to visit.
John
Colorado Cruiser
Cruiser CF29CK 5th wheel; 2001 Silverado 2500HD shortbed
wonderful lifetime travelling companion/spouse
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