When we got up on Monday morning after staying in Zion Canyon since Tuesday, thinking we would continue on to Bryce Canyon, two things changed our minds. First of all, even though the trip was only about 90 or so miles, it was all mountain roads, with lots of switchback and it was SNOWING! That, I think, was the straw that broke the camel's back for my husband. When I got up, he told me he did not want to continue getting even further from home as bad as he felt and that he was ready to start heading back east. With HUGE disappointment, I agreed. So, we started heading back towards Las Vegas and I-40 to begin our trek home.
After being home for a bit over a week, I realize that he was probably sicker than I was, perhaps since he is less than six months past open heart surgery. Needless to say, our trip home was a totally different type of trip than the earlier parts had been. Our focus was getting home without driving too far, since we both were still not feeling our best. Most days, we still only travelled around 350 miles, but as much as possible, we left the truck and trailer hooked together and did the minimum amount of setup. Several times, we even picked up pre-cooked food for dinner, since setting up took all the energy we had left. All of that being said, I did want to finish blogging about the final days.
Day one ended in Kingsman, AZ, where we stayed in Blake Ranch RV Park, which literally had stables for horses for folks that needed them. We had picked up some groceries on our way into town, and fueled up the truck. Safeway had some decent looking fried chicken and microwaveable mashed potatoes, so that sufficed for supper, and we settled in for the evening. Tired, but moving toward home!
USA RV Park in Gallup, NM was our home for the second night. We did unhook the truck and trailer here, and headed into town for fuel and ate supper at a local Mexican restaurant recommended by the girl at the front desk. This campground was a family-run business, with Dad and two adult kids running the show. It was fine for a night, but oh, the wind was back! I have not missed that midwest wind since we got back to SC. One really nice note about this park: active duty military stay for free!
We stayed "on the cheap" at the Historic Cactus RV Park in Tucumcari, NM for our third night on the road. I had joined Passport America before we left and this site cost us less than $20. Once again, we did not unhook and we had picked up a meat and two vegetables dinners for each of us at a Loves Truck Stop at lunchtime. This campground is on the site of an old Route 66 Motel that is being restored. It was pretty neat. No amenities at all, but full hookups, so plenty good for one night. The picture is the old Cactus Motor Lodge, in the 1930's.
Of course, weather was looming once again in Oklahoma and Texas, with a second weekend of possible tornadoes in the forecast for Oklahoma City, so we decided to stay in a motel there, so we could get on the road super early, with no breaking of camp required. On the road at 4:30 AM and drove a whopping 467 miles to West Memphis, AR! We stayed at the Tom Sawyer Campground, right on the Mississippi River. It was stormy, with thunderstorms rolling through in the afternoon and evening both days we were there. This was our "rest stop," so we stayed two nights and got our laundry done(for free!) and just relaxed. We saw two of the cruise boats go by while we were there. We also met a really nice couple who were full time RVers and had a very interesting conversation with them about living in a fifth wheel on the road. They were headed TO OKC with their son, who had just graduated from college and was reporting to Fort Sill there. Sure do hope they made there' safely! I really loved this campground, and it was another Passport America member, so the price was super low. I definitely want to stay here again on another trip west.
After being home for a bit over a week, I realize that he was probably sicker than I was, perhaps since he is less than six months past open heart surgery. Needless to say, our trip home was a totally different type of trip than the earlier parts had been. Our focus was getting home without driving too far, since we both were still not feeling our best. Most days, we still only travelled around 350 miles, but as much as possible, we left the truck and trailer hooked together and did the minimum amount of setup. Several times, we even picked up pre-cooked food for dinner, since setting up took all the energy we had left. All of that being said, I did want to finish blogging about the final days.
Day one ended in Kingsman, AZ, where we stayed in Blake Ranch RV Park, which literally had stables for horses for folks that needed them. We had picked up some groceries on our way into town, and fueled up the truck. Safeway had some decent looking fried chicken and microwaveable mashed potatoes, so that sufficed for supper, and we settled in for the evening. Tired, but moving toward home!
USA RV Park in Gallup, NM was our home for the second night. We did unhook the truck and trailer here, and headed into town for fuel and ate supper at a local Mexican restaurant recommended by the girl at the front desk. This campground was a family-run business, with Dad and two adult kids running the show. It was fine for a night, but oh, the wind was back! I have not missed that midwest wind since we got back to SC. One really nice note about this park: active duty military stay for free!
We stayed "on the cheap" at the Historic Cactus RV Park in Tucumcari, NM for our third night on the road. I had joined Passport America before we left and this site cost us less than $20. Once again, we did not unhook and we had picked up a meat and two vegetables dinners for each of us at a Loves Truck Stop at lunchtime. This campground is on the site of an old Route 66 Motel that is being restored. It was pretty neat. No amenities at all, but full hookups, so plenty good for one night. The picture is the old Cactus Motor Lodge, in the 1930's.
Of course, weather was looming once again in Oklahoma and Texas, with a second weekend of possible tornadoes in the forecast for Oklahoma City, so we decided to stay in a motel there, so we could get on the road super early, with no breaking of camp required. On the road at 4:30 AM and drove a whopping 467 miles to West Memphis, AR! We stayed at the Tom Sawyer Campground, right on the Mississippi River. It was stormy, with thunderstorms rolling through in the afternoon and evening both days we were there. This was our "rest stop," so we stayed two nights and got our laundry done(for free!) and just relaxed. We saw two of the cruise boats go by while we were there. We also met a really nice couple who were full time RVers and had a very interesting conversation with them about living in a fifth wheel on the road. They were headed TO OKC with their son, who had just graduated from college and was reporting to Fort Sill there. Sure do hope they made there' safely! I really loved this campground, and it was another Passport America member, so the price was super low. I definitely want to stay here again on another trip west.
All of these animals were in residence as we walked into the office to check in.
At long last, our final two nights were spent in Seneca, SC, where we visited with our daughter and son-in-law. We wanted to check out this campground, in case we wanted to stay here when visiting in the future. We stayed at Crooked Creek Campgound, on Lake Keowee and it was quite lovely! Brings back memories of my summer at Clemson, when I had a friend who lived locally and he took me water skiing on this lake.
Looking back over the 7 weeks we spent on the road, would I do it again? Absolutely! We are still searching for our "right" way to RV, and are rethinking things a bit. Not sure what the best way is to keep from totally wearing ourselves out or being gone for just ridiculous amounts of time, while still seeing the areas of the country we want to see might end up being. We are discussing the possibility of doing some really long days and boondocking in Walmart parking lots to get us further down the road, when we are in areas we don't particularly want to explore.
Would I do this full time? No, even though I LOVE being on the road and I feel that hubby and I are different people and a different, less stressed couple when we are gone. But, we do love our "dirt" and neither of us can imagine giving up the home we have worked so hard to make just like we want it here in the area where essentially all of our family lives. Since 3 of our 4 parents are living but in their 80's, we expect that in the not so distant future, we may need to stick closer to home. And, of course, grandchildren are a possibility as well. So, for now, we will pack in all we can while we can, and let the future take care of itself! Thanks for sharing our journey with us, and I hope you will join us on our next adventure, hopefully Alaska!
Would I do this full time? No, even though I LOVE being on the road and I feel that hubby and I are different people and a different, less stressed couple when we are gone. But, we do love our "dirt" and neither of us can imagine giving up the home we have worked so hard to make just like we want it here in the area where essentially all of our family lives. Since 3 of our 4 parents are living but in their 80's, we expect that in the not so distant future, we may need to stick closer to home. And, of course, grandchildren are a possibility as well. So, for now, we will pack in all we can while we can, and let the future take care of itself! Thanks for sharing our journey with us, and I hope you will join us on our next adventure, hopefully Alaska!