MKIn 2 months we drove 6858 miles. We were in 10 states, experienced 9 National Parks, visited with 8 family members and friends and were in 3 of the 4 main United States deserts – Mojave Desert, the Sonoran Desert, and the Chihuahua Desert.Just 2 people, 2 dogs, 1 great camper and an even better truck.…
We stopped for a quick drink at the Historic St James Hotel saloon in Cimmaron, NM, built in 1872. In its day the St. James was visited by many famous lawmen and notorious outlaws and was the scene of many murders. The dining room ceiling still shows the signs with 22 bullet holes! The ownership of…
We decided to take a short detour to add the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado to the trip. The tallest sand dunes in North America seem to appear out of nowhere as the rolling plains approach the Sangre De Christo Mountains. We hiked among the dunes and the dogs enjoyed their time off leash,…
We met Alan’s brother Erik and sister-in-law Lalani for a couple days of skiing and relaxing in Taos, New Mexico. We stayed 4 nights at “Mountains in your Face” VRBO and it did not disappoint. Alan and Erik spent 2 days skiing at Taos Ski Valley, a ski resort established in 1955 with the 4th highest…
Santa Fe, New Mexico is another beautiful city in the high desert (about 7200 ft.). Understanding the importance of blending in with the surroundings, we decided that desert cities have rules that all the homes must be painted in one of “the 50 shades of beige”. The beige buildings in the beige landscape started to feel…
Neither one of us can seem to spell Al-buh-ker-kee. With a sad farewell to the Grand Canyon we headed to Albuquerque, NM with a stop at the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted desert.We stayed at the Turquoise Trail Campground, a pleasant RV park in the foothills of The Sandia Mountain outside of Albuquerque, NM with…
We pulled into our campsite, within the South Rim section of the park, and instantly had a rather large elk stroll past, totally unconcerned with anyone in the campground. After quickly setting up the camper we headed over to the Rim Trail and took in the view. What can we say about the Grand Canyon? Incredible,…
Flagstaff, AZ is a nice mountain college town. MK almost went there to finish her B.A. We spent one afternoon checking out the area, driving through Northern Arizona University and up the mountain to see SnowBowl, the local ski area. It was surprisingly crowed despite the lack of fresh snow. We finished our day at Dark…
Leaving Prescott, AZ brought us through the small town of Jerome on our way to visit Sedona. Jerome is built on a hillside and the town looked like a cool place to stop and browse, unless you are pulling a camper. We weren’t able to stop but we will plan our visit better next time. We…
On our trip from Palm Springs to Prescott, AZ we stopped at Lake Havasu City to see the London Bridge. We enjoyed lunch under the bridge in the small English town replica with shops and cafes. The London Bridge was sold to Robert P. McCulloch, a real estate developer, because it was no longer able to…
Palm Springs was as far west as we made it on this trip and our mark of the halfway point of our total trip. We happily camped at the Palm Springs/Joshua Tree KOA, a top-notch KOA with 3 hot tubs (hot spring fed), a heated pool, mini golf and an extra-large dog park. It was a…
The Salton Sea was created in 1905 when water from the Colorado River spilled out of a poorly constructed California Development Company irrigation system and into a basin in the desert. The spillage continued for 2 years before repairs were completed creating California’s largest lake; 15 miles wide by 35 miles long. The Salton Sea was…
Lake Tamarisk RV Park in Desert Center California is a small cooperative built around a man-made lake. We learned while meeting people in the heated pool and hot tub that they had a Canada vs U.S tournament on the golf course surrounding the park while we were there – Canada won. It was clean and well-kept…
Tucson found us camping at the Diamond J RV park, it was a nice place to stay while we explored the Tucson area. On the first morning of our stay Owen ventured a little too close to a nasty cactus – the Jumping Cholla. He escaped with a face and paw full of needles. It was…
Mexican Canyon Train Trestle is one of the last standing large trestles along the railroad route from Alamogordo (near White Sands National Park) to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. Steam engines made the climb the up 4327 vertical feet between the 2 towns from 1899 to 1947. The Lake Valley Historic Townsite is about 30 minutes from Hatch…
In SouthEastern New Mexico is Carlsbad Cavern National Park, a series of natural limestone caves formed over 250 million years ago. We first took an elevator down 750 feet into the earth! Freaky! The “Big Room” was very impressive in size measuring about 4000 ft long and 225 ft high! We took a ranger-guided tour of…
Although the trip may seem excitement-filled already, THIS is our view while driving hundreds of miles between “exciting” stops. So please don’t question why the Marfa Burrito place (below) made us very happy. Marfa Burritos in Marfa, TX; It’s the places that are hard to find and don’t look like much, which provide the best tasting,…
The first National Park of the trip did NOT disappoint!!Our campground – Rio Grande RV Park – was right along the Rio Grande. Every place we went, we could see the river between the US and Mexico. It was extremely remote. We had some Wi-Fi at the camp store but there was no cell signal.We were…
Just off the highway, on a short frontage road, we found a public art exhibit called Cadillac Ranch. Created by “Art Farm” in 1974 in a wheat field near Amarillo, Texas. Ten Cadillacs from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s were planted nose first into the ground and tilted at the same angle as the pyramids of…
We weren’t sure if we’d get out of the unplowed Kansas campsite but with some 4 wheel drive and a lot of gas, we made it. Campground had about 10 full-timers (sounds horrible in this weather) but was otherwise quite empty, and snowy! Alan noticed a missing lug nut on the camper wheel so luckily Discount Tire…
The SW Deserts and Parks Trip Begins, First Day – We drove 8 hours south to Lawrence, Kansas, just to end up in 17 degrees and 17” of snow! How far south does one need to go to get away from MN winter weather? Hopefully we’ll find out. (Odie is an attentive co-pilot but Cece is…
And That’s a Wrap…Again The final 3 days are just driving, eating at restaurants and staying in hotels. We try to keep it under 8-9 hours a day for everyone (dogs) sanity.We had never been in a Sparky’s or a Buc-ee’s but we’ll be back. So fun to stop and shop at those places! And a…
The Final Days on the Coast We loved our time on the beaches of the east coast. We walked the dogs 3 times a day on the dog-friendly beaches and we are sad to see it go.We stayed in a house named Bow Wow Bungalow. You can see the pickup, the camper and then the fenced…
Wax Birthday Party I celebrated my 55th birthday in North Myrtle Beach with Kyle and Alan. We went to a brewery on a lake with swings for seats and a wax museum that was VERY entertaining and then to a supper club which also very entertaining in a different way. The food was good enough, but…
Atalaya Castle Located inside Huntington Beach State Park is the picturesque, Moorish-style winter home of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington, philanthropist, and sculptor, respectively. The castle was modeled after the Atalaya Castle in Spain. The winter home and gardens and land were all left to the park as their legacy. It was quite impressive and volunteers…
The Camper Incident Heading to Huntington Beach SC On our way out of town we got to see the North Side of Charleston for a couple days. We broke a leaf spring on the camper about 1 mile from James Island and spent our travel day finding a flat bed to tow the camper and an…
WalknTour of Charleston A return to the James Island County campground (we stayed here last year) in Charleston started out poorly. It rained for the first day and 1/2. We were pretty wet by the time it was over and feeling a bit claustrophobic in the camper, but it cleared up and was nice out for…
The Things You See When You Slow Down A Giant Pink Elephant!A Super Old Church and Cemetery!An Even Older Gigantic Oak Tree! It’s not every day you see two nicely posing dogs next to a giant pink elephant! We also stopped at the largest live oak tree east of the Mississippi – Angel Oak Tree. It…
Abandoned Fort Jackson Just outside downtown Savannah is the Civil War era Fort Jackson. A dog friendly Historical site constructed in 1808 it was built to protect Savannah from attack by sea. The cannons have an excellent view of the Savannah River and any ship coming up the river would be in big trouble. The confederates…
Night and Day in Savannah One evening, we ventured out of our little piece of the country to take a haunted trolley tour of the historic city of Savannah. Much to our surprise we were 2 turns and about 3 miles from the heart of the city! Wow! We had no idea we were so close…
Savannah Calls Us Back Red Gate Farmsis a family-owned property and has been for over 90 years. It’s one of Savannah’s most popular wedding and event venue. It’s also an Equestrian center plus they have a limited amount of RV spaces. It has many many acres of lakes and trees, trails and open spaces. Besides the…
New Smyrna Beach & Sugar Mill Ruins (whew!) From Okeechobee to New Smyrna Beach Florida – Sugar Mill Ruins RV Park. A large family-owned park nestled in the woods 5 miles from the Atlantic coast. Campsites are spaced among the palm trees and there are many nice places to walk. There was a nice COLD pool…
Lake Okeechobee and 55+ ! The 10th biggest freshwater lake in the country and our first 55 plus RV park just north of Lake Okeechobee…. Zachary Taylor RV park.They had a really nice pool, workout room, meeting/party room. And an abundance of different water birds many of them perched in a big tree by the workout…
Rainbow Springs Florida We went here to see the spring-fed pool that may contain manatee and to see the abandoned zoo and old attraction park. The foliage and waterfalls made it feel like we were in Jurassic Park! It was all really cool! (Note: A few short videos follow because pictures just couldn’t do it justice.)…
“Pencil – Cola” Just across the Alabama border we found our first Campsite Big Lagoon State park. It sits just south ofPensacola Florida and next door to the Blue Angles Navy base.Armadillo in our campsiteRainScary Wind – Tornado just SE of usMore RainJets flying over oftenReturn to the Ocean for the dogs… a bit of side…
Ha Ha Tonka Castle In 1905, Robert M. Snyder, a wealthy Kansas City businessman, brought in European Masons to build his dream castle. Construction was halted a year later when Snyder was killed in one of the state’s first automobile accidents.The castle was finally finished by his sons in 1922. The property was eventually used as…
Litte More of Iowa Iowa doesn’t have much to offer in regard to things to do or places to see. There was a cool old house where we stopped for gas. It was being used as a redemption center for metal and cans. I was taking pictures and a guy came out and asked if I…
Genesco Consolidated Schools in Iowa In rural Iowa we found Genesco Consolidated Schools and the staff dormitory.The red brick building was built in 1920 and merged with rival school Dysart in 1966.The three-story structure housed kindergarten through 12th grade before the merger. Declining enrollment eventually forced Dysart-Geneseo to close the building. It was sold in 1983.Broken…
We’re Doing It Again! We decided to take a second go at getting out of the Minnesota winter. We wanted to have a new camper by now, but it didn’t happen. We did, however, upgrade the truck! The route is similar to last year but with different campsites and different things to see. Instead of National Parks,…
Abandoned Places Tour 2024 United Crushers Mill – Minneapolis, MN In preparation for our 2024 Winter “Get the Hellouta MN” trip, we picked a theme – Abandoned Places – and began with the abandoned United Crushers Mill building in Minneapolis to whet our whistle. The Mill is an old unused flour mill and is located between…
We did it! 34 days, 4437 miles,17 states, 6 national parks, 4 State Parks, daily hikes, authentic local cuisine and countless laughs. We had an incredible trip! The dogs had as much fun as we did. Our older truck and camper (Bruce and Andie) both worked out great. Just one small tire issue on the last day and…
The many changes of the level of Lake Michigan have left behind large amounts of sand dunes and a huge long sandy beach! I’m sure this is gorgeous on a nice sunny summer day but we went on the only day we had … it was 38 and blowing rain! There is a challenging way over…
FIRST…Let’s start with this handsome fellow in a fabulous scarf! Made it to Singing Hills RV Park in Kentucky after a beautiful drive up from Northern Georgia with a quick stop at a great Mediterrean cafe called Cafe Ostro. The rock formations along the highways were spectacular and the views from Lookout Mountain and Flat Top…
We have our reasons:1. There was a cold front heading to Kentucky (our next scheduled camp stop)2. We really didn’t want to drive the Tail of the Dragon (aka “That damn road to Tennessee”) to get out of the Smoky Mountains3. We were not ready to head north to the cold yetSince we have a tiny…
During our stay we took a side trip over to Fontana Dam. It was the 4th tallest dam when it was built back in the 40’s. The Fontana Village we stayed at was built to house the dam workers and their families! We took a walk across the top of the dam and can now say…
Fontana Village in the Great Smoky Mountains was the next stop on our adventure. After navigating some exciting mountain roads pulling the camper at night, we sprawled out in a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom cabin! After 3 weeks in the camper it was definitely a treat to have some more space. However, there was no cell coverage…
Next up was Conagree National Park. We would call it a little known gem. The National Park actually holds 15 World Records! Here’s the link (Conagree Records!) There are many trails for all levels. One oddity was that the speed limit signs on the drive in were all 13 and 27 mph. Conagree is known for its…
(Sorry for the delay in posts, internet has been non-existent for over a week.)Charleston, SC is known as The Holy City because of its over 400 churches. We didn’t visit any. But we did visit Magnolia Plantation which is one of the oldest plantations in the South, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. …
In short, we loved Savannah!! After saying goodbye to Crooked River, we stopped in downtown Savannah, GA. We walked through a small section of the city and were impressed by the unique homes and architecture. We encountered various Squares (Parks) on our walk and even found Chippewa Square (where Forrest Gump sat with his box of…
Working outside in the Florida sun was in incredible. Especially knowing that it was sub zero back in Minnesota. Our last day in Florida we planned a sunset trip to Pier Park beach, a dog friendly beach just up the coast from the State Park. Fog rolled in and put a damper on the view but the dogs…
Made it to St Andrews State Park near Panama City, FL. Our site is right on St Andrews Bay; a great spot to spend a week. The camp is nice and clean and quiet and the site on the water is level with full hookups and room for the dogs to wander a bit. Sun in the forecast…
Woke up after a stormy night to a very wet campsite, same as when we arrived! We were prepared for high winds and potential tornados (the camp bathhouse was the safe space). Time to get out of Mississippi! What better day to head to Florida than Alan’s birthday! Stopped in Gulf Shores, Alabama for some lunch and…
Let’s just say there is a lot more money put into the churches than the homes or businesses or roads! There are dilapidated abandoned buildings everywhere and obviously a very low standard of building codes. I could see how the Marty Byrdes of the world could hide money there! Stopped to support local Mexican place (in…
Had some St. Louis BBQ in honor of Missouri. Did a challenging hike (I’m re-classifying the AllTrails rating from moderate 😉 ) But the rock striations and views of Lake Ouachita [ wosh-i-taw ] in the state park were very beautiful all over the Caddo Bend Trail!!
Went to Quapaw Baths for a few hours of natural hot springs relaxation. There are 4 different temperature pools – 95, 98, 102 and 104…
Rain. Work. Temps are mid 30’s in AM and get to mid 50’s.
Today was filled with driving from St Louis to Gulpha Gorge Campground within Hot Springs National Park. We did stop for lunch in Greenville Missouri. If you are ever in town, make sure to grab a bite at Trails End Coffee and Cafe for some excellent food, coffee and service! We hit our first traffic of the…
A well-rested crew piled into our (t)rusty truck this morning and headed to downtown St Louis to see Gateway Arch National Park. Our first glimpse came on the freeway over 7 miles away… Wow, it is tall! (630 feet to be exact) That’s me in the white jacket We navigated around the derelict buildings near the…
1/15/23 Stopped at Newbo Market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a delicious Mediterranean lunch which doubled as our dinner too once we got to the camp site! I highly recommend Pitaz in Newbo Market for an amazing chicken gyro. Not sure if you know this but Riverside, Iowa is better known as The Future Birthplace of…
1/15/23 Roadtrippers.com! I’ve used it numerous times when my son and I took trips and it’s free!
Jan. 6, 2023 Snowfall Prior to Leaving In early December, I declared “there better not be much snow before we have to pull the camper out”. UGH! Immediately following a bitter below zero Christmas week, we received just shy of 16 inches of snow in 3 days. I’ve been trying to keep the camper area as…