CG Pics, 8 weeks no reservations, IL-AZ/UT/CO/NM-IL

[Snowman9000]

I know I always get a kick out of trip reports, especially if they are more pictures than words. We are doing a trip in summer with no advance reservations. So far so good, I hope I don't jinx it now.

May 4: Wal-Mart parking lot, Cameron MO. There was some kind of city or county CG down the road, but we decided to do our first Wallydocking. It went fine. Cost $0

May 5: Kingman State Fishing Lake campground in Kingman, KS. It’s a nice place to spend the night, and just off the road. Cost $0


May 6: Ute State Park, Logan, NM. W/E hookups. Cost $14. Sorry, no photo.

May 7: Had to detour a bit to stop at an RV dealership. Albuquerque Central KOA. Cost $55 with tax. We wondered what a budget hotel room would have been, lol. No photo.

[Pops]

Great trip report, enjoyed it all very much. Thanks much for your time, pictures, & comments.

[Snowman9000]

And that's a wrap. On our return to Illinois, given the heat I am sure we will be using commercial RV parks in order to have electric power. We had a lot of fun on this trip. Saw a lot of beautiful country. And learned how to travel without reservations. (Arrive early.)

[Snowman9000]

Parting shots:

We decided to take US 60 west across New Mexico. We went past the Very Large Array Radio Telescope, and then stopped for pie in Pie Town. It is a tiny, down at the heels town that has three (I think) restaurants which are famous for their pie. Each of the three is closed certain days of the week. Of the two that were open on our visit, we chose the Pie Town Cafe.



And the pie was truly great. We don't say that just because of the reputation or situation. It was great pie. We returned for breakfast the next morning, and it was delicious too. Like real good home made food by a great cook.



We had decided to find a place nearby to stop for the night. It turns out the town has a public free CG as part of their Jackson Park. It was cool weather so we did not need AC, making it an easy choice to stay there. 34.29685,-108.13239. Elevation 7756 feet. Early morning at the site:

[Snowman9000]

We parked by a friend's barn in Colorado Springs. After that, we struck out at two Colorado state parks near southern I-25 on Friday night. Full up. So we stayed in a cozy little rv park above the Raton Pass at the New Mexico border.

We got to Santa Fe around noon Saturday, and got the last site in Black Canyon FS CG. Beautiful setting, huge sites, only $10. Too cheap in fact, since there were several reserved sites that were vacant all weekend. If you go there, don't let your nav unit take you through the little back streets of Santa Fe! 🙂
35.72750,-105.8390. Elevation 8300.

[Snowman9000]

burlmart wrote:
snowman conquers the west 🙂

for experienced RVers, your travelogue is palpable

wondering how much time you guys spend walking the surroundings each day?

after pulling into your site, w/o toad, do you regularly drive off in the rig to explore?

Hi Burl,
No, we usually stay put. We do our things before hitting the camp.

[Snowman9000]

Thanks!!!

[jolooote]

One of the BEST trip reports ever! Hope you continue doing it. Thanks.

[pnichols]

Thanks much for your series of photos on a great trip!! Nice documentary.

We rarely make reservations, either ... trying to drycamp as much as possible in beautiful places.

FWIW, your last photo above I thought for a moment was us - eerily similar to a place we drycamped last summer. Here's us at around 8500 feet in Western Utah high country last year:

[Snowman9000]

We are starting to turn back to the relative's house so the dog can get home. The dog does not like the twisting and turning of the mountains, and is not a good camper in general. We are all a bit worn out, but we had a great trip. We are now headed from Co. Springs down through NM. If we stay in something other than RV parks, or shoot a good photo or two, I will post them. But no more daily reports about CGs. We did discover that you can go see NPs without reservations, and that question was originally the point of this thread. I hope this has been a good public service. If you want to go... Go!

🙂

[burlmart]

snowman conquers the west 🙂

for experienced RVers, your travelogue is palpable

wondering how much time you guys spend walking the surroundings each day?

after pulling into your site, w/o toad, do you regularly drive off in the rig to explore?

[Snowman9000]

June 6: Curecanti National Recreation Area, Elk Creek CG. 38.46877,-107.17365. Elevation 7542'. Cost $16.

This is a reservoir CG on the large Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison, Colorado. The FHU loop was fairly full. We used a dry loop.

[Snowman9000]

More Ouray.


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[Snowman9000]

June 4-5: Ouray (your-ay), Colorado. 4J+1+1 RV Park. Nice park, in town. Took a roomy electric only site, $34 plus tax. Two views of and from camp.




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Town shot


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[j-d]

We've seen that train! But the one we rode was Cumbres & Toltec out of Chama NM. SO much fun and so much worth spending a day! They said there are three reasons to build a narrow gauge railroad:
1. Less Expensive
2. Less Expensive
3. Less Expensive