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Old 06-17-2009, 11:05 PM   #1
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On the road thru New Mexico and Arizona

This is the second week of our trip thru New Mexico and Arizona with the Argosy, her first big trip. Not too stressful for the old girl but there have been a few places that we would never take her again, or even the first time, and a lot of great rv parks that we would definitely revisit.

Definitely recommend a little rv park in Caballo, NM, Caballo Lake RV Park. Small, but very nice, clean and neat. Very inexpensive, really delightful lady owner who has a "social hour" for her guests every evening. No bathrooms or showers but full hookups.

Also recommend the KOA in Lordsburg, NM, also neat and clean. No shade to speak of but very secure, full hookups.

One of the best is in Camp Verde, AZ. Distant Drums RV park. Clean, neat, nice people. Loved the showers and bathrooms, you got your own individual room each time and they cleaned each one after it was used.

Now we are in Gallup, NM at a USA RV Park, also clean and nice. They have a barbecue dinner each night which is reasonably priced, and live music with it as well as a pool and camp store.

Where we would never go again with our Airstream: Hubble Trading Post in
Arizona. There are speed bumps in the road going in and they are awful! When we left there and got to our next stop, everything was dumped out of the medicine cabinet, which had popped open, and everything else in the back of the trailer was dumped out or upside down. Nothing broken, luckily.

Would not want to take a camper to Chaco Canyon, all the roads in and out are BAD, washboard, washed out in places dirt! Bone jarring! While we were there we saw somebody in there with an Argosy being pulled by a red truck, but we didn't get close and they left before we did but I bet they were sorry they had hauled it in there! And the campground was closed.

It has really been a great trip, more later! Oh yeah the highway thru Oklahoma City is awful! Not looking forward to going back thru there!
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Old 06-18-2009, 05:13 AM   #2
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The state parks in Northern NM are beautiful, there is also a great RV park in Sedona, AZ, if your trailer is able to get there. The views coming, going and while there are also spectacular. Have a great trip!
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Old 06-18-2009, 07:21 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by doug&maggie View Post
The state parks in Northern NM are beautiful, there is also a great RV park in Sedona, AZ, if your trailer is able to get there. The views coming, going and while there are also spectacular. Have a great trip!
We stopped at Camp Verde because it was central to Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott, Jerome, et al, and right off the interstate but we did see that RV park in Sedona. It looked nice.We traveled 18A to Flagstaff (sans trailer) to the Arboretum, and the views along that highway were fantastic.
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Old 06-18-2009, 08:35 AM   #4
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Isadora, great tips, thanks!
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Old 06-18-2009, 08:39 AM   #5
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Jim and Sandy,

I sure hope that your Argosy is staying cool, and look forward to seeing some pics at the next rally we see you at.

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Old 06-18-2009, 07:16 PM   #6
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Our favorite place to stay in the Sedona area is Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood...only a short drive from Sedona...and central to everything around there. We have lots on information about campground in Arizona on our travel log...check it out! Always happy to help introduce folks to the beauty of Arizona!
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Old 06-18-2009, 07:48 PM   #7
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Smile Great Info

Isadora:

Thanks for the great tips on where to stay driving I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff.

When we lived in AZ we did not have our Airstream, and look forward to visiting the state next year.

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Old 06-18-2009, 08:31 PM   #8
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Thanks for the info. Everyone should make the same type post for their trips.
Take care
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Old 06-18-2009, 08:55 PM   #9
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We are in Tucumcari, NM for the night, Mountain road RV park at exit 333. Not a bad place to stay, a Good Sam's park with showers, wifi. Nice and clean from what we have seen so far, and right across from Love's and Flying J for gas, etc. The wind is blowing like crazy and looks like a storm moving in so we are glad to be snugged in for the night!

We have found all of the RV parks we've stayed in, in the Trailer Life RV Park directory and have been able to call ahead for reservations so it has been a real saver! It is worth every penny we paid for it.
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Old 06-18-2009, 09:53 PM   #10
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Arizona

Next time you RV thru Arizona try the following state parks-

Patagonia state park near Nogales Arizona. It's a jewel with a small lake to bass fish.

Usury state park near Phoenix. Super example of the high desert. Overlooks Phoenix and is spectacular at night. Take the desert tour with the guides, very informative.

Fool Hollow state park in northern Arizona near Show Low. Voted one of the 10 best state parks in the country.

Why stay at a commercial camp ground when state parks are available for less money and much more beautiful.
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Old 06-18-2009, 10:46 PM   #11
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State parks would be great, but I'm afraid we are spoiled and like our full hookups, tho we have stayed at state parks in the past and loved it. But on this trip, we basically just needed someplace to park the Argosy while we visited friends, or went 4-wheeling, sans trailer, out into the desert on friends' private land to rockhound (they frown on you picking up rock on state or national park land!) and to stay overnight on our way to someplace else. Also since our hot water heater at this point is non-operational, we like a place to take a nice hot shower!

Quote:
Originally Posted by pacer View Post
Next time you RV thru Arizona try the following state parks-

Patagonia state park near Nogales Arizona. It's a jewel with a small lake to bass fish.

Usury state park near Phoenix. Super example of the high desert. Overlooks Phoenix and is spectacular at night. Take the desert tour with the guides, very informative.

Fool Hollow state park in northern Arizona near Show Low. Voted one of the 10 best state parks in the country.

Why stay at a commercial camp ground when state parks are available for less money and much more beautiful.
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Old 06-18-2009, 11:59 PM   #12
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Arizona state parks

Hi Jim and Sandy,

The three Arizona state parks that I commented on all have electricity and water at the RV spot. Common dump station though but you shouldn't need it very often. All of the above parks have clean restrooms with plenty of hot water.

Try Patagonia and Usery parks in the winter and Fool Hollow in the summer.

Usery park is very close to the Superstition mountain. Lots of rock hunting and you may even find the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine. Try panning for gold in the creeks, you should be rewarded for your efforts.

Arizona is a wonderful state to RV through. Just dont try the southern part during June to August.
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Old 06-19-2009, 04:41 AM   #13
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We are big fans of Passport America, a 50% off club with a relatively small annual fee. Very good for overnight stops, and pays for itself quickly. You can access and join them online.
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Old 06-19-2009, 06:56 AM   #14
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Not a lot of state parks on the Navajo and Hopi reservations where we were mostly in Arizona, visiting friends at Shonto. Tuba City, Page (around Lake Powell) and Canyon de Chelly all have campsites. (Not much rockhounding up there, either. If there were anything to find, which there is very little, it is reservation land and the Navajos own every rock on it, and the government owns the rest. Besides, it is mostly sand, archaeological sites, or huge boulders.) Next time maybe we can spend some time further south and more than a day or two at any one place.

We are already planning our next trip, to Lordsburg, NM for fall, where we have a friend with private land who grew up there and knows all the good gold panning spots there. That promises to be fun and we can also spend some time at Deming. I would love to spend a couple of years out there, exploring and rockhounding New Mexico and southern Arizona, again. It has been 40 years since I did that the last time!

The Trailer Life Directory also lists all the state parks, with info about each one.
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Old 06-19-2009, 02:07 PM   #15
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If you like geodes, check out Rockhound State Park in southern New Mexico -- They let you take out 20 pounds of rocks per stay (or day?). Scenic hiking area surrounds park where you can search for rocks. Also, check out the old timers just outside the entrance (watch for several racks of solar panels), where you can buy geodes by the pound, or pick out special cut and polished specimens from their collection. Deming also has a little mining museum.

Nice little visitors center hosts local youth groups one weekend near the Holidays (caroling, hot chocolate, homemade cookies, etc.), and the whole town shows up. The scouts light luminarias along-side the road for a couple of hundred yards up to the entrance.

Some sites have electric and water, but none have sewer; although dump station is near entrance. Some sites have covered picnic tables for shade, but it gets hot in the summer. Best time to visit is in the cooler months.

Kids love this place, which also has a nice playground.

It's about 15 miles off I-10, southeast of Deming, NM. Great little state park.
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