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RE: Our first cross country rv trip
Another fan of MicroSoft Streets and Trips. It comes with what appears to be the Woodall's campground information loaded into it. In addition, you can import campground and other POI (points of interest) information like Walmart and Travel Center locations from the Discovery Owners Forum, the POI factory and a number of other sources. As you plot a route, you can see the campgrounds within a certain distance of the route or a destination point. You can get a version with GPS puck for your computer or download the routes to several makes of GPS.
We pick a major place of interest such as Yellowstone and head in that direction. We rarely travel more than 4-5 hours a day which generally works out to about 250 miles. At lunch time, we decide how much longer we want to travel and call ahead to make sure there is room for us. The first thing we do at each stop is check the campground brochure rack, state and local tourism websites, and Roadside America to see what is in the local area that we might be interested in. Many times we stay for just the night, sometimes a couple of days and on a few occasions we have stayed a week. Even for places like Yellowstone we do not make reservations far in advance.
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trailertraveler
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05/24/12 07:31am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Yellowstone Crowds
Fuel prices will have an impact on visitation to Yellowstone just as will the weather. In 2008 ($4.45/gal diesel in the park), visitation was low. Lower fuel prices in 2009 and 2010 resulted in higher visitation. If you look at some of the more detailed reports available on the Park Service website, you will see that RV visits do not always track with the general visitation trends. Higher fuel prices mean less RV visitors. If fuel prices continue to go down, RV visitation may be about like last year if folks can change their plans made after considering all the dire predictions of $5 fuel.
We visited the park in September of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and had no trouble getting places to stay a couple of days in advance. Now that the electrical repairs have been completed at Fishing Bridge it may be harder to get a spot there. Canyon campground closes after Labor Day weekend. In our experience Mammoth and Madison have always had sites available in September. Mammoth is first come first serve, you can call ahead for reservations at Madison. There are also some first come first serve campgrounds not too far outside the park near West Yellowstone. This is a pretty good listing of Campgrounds outside the Park.
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trailertraveler
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05/23/12 10:18am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Arches NP to Gallup, NM
US-191 is a good 2 lane road. If you are planning to visit Canyon De Chelly, there are a number of other great places not too far from US-191 if you have the time. The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park is West of Monticello. Natural Bridges National Monument is West of Blanding and Hovenweep National Monument is East of Blanding. There are a couple of campgrounds in Bluff and another in Mexican Hat that are close enough for day trips to the Valley of the Gods, Monument Valley and Goosenecks State Park.
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trailertraveler
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05/21/12 06:07am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Best route Bryce Canyon to Fishing Bridge Yellowstone
The route through Bear Lake is very scenic, however it does involve a fair amount of mountain driving. I believe there are a four steep grades with one of 6-8% for 5 miles.
An alternative would be to take I-15 to Brigham City then US-89 to Logan then head North on US-91 to Preston, ID then ID-34 thru Soda Springs, Henry, Wayan and rejoining US-89 in Freedom, WY.
Cody is, in my opinion, definitely worth a visit of a full day or more. If you are headed back to Pennsylvania after Fishing Bridge it would make more sense to go out the East entrance and stop at Cody on the way.
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trailertraveler
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05/18/12 07:24am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: From Glenwood Springs, CO to Bullhead City, AZ
If you are still looking for places to visit near Flagstaff, there is Walnut Canyon National Monument, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, and Wupatki National Monument. There is a nice Forest Service Campground (Bonito) near the entrance to Sunset Crater. There are several commercial RV parks in the Flagstaff area.
Sedona is not far South of Flagstaff. Lots of places to see and things to do including a number of 4x4 trails.
If you do go to Dinosaur National Monument the new visitor Center is now open and the Quarry has reopened. In Vernal, the Utah Field House Museum is excellent. Dinosaur has a beautiful campground on the Green River and there are a couple of commercial RV parks in Vernal.
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trailertraveler
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05/18/12 05:49am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Need a place to stop in the NY fingerlakes area
We enjoyed Taughannock Falls State Park and Watkins Glen State Park.
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trailertraveler
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05/15/12 08:58am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Boondocking
I have two questions. First, I will be travelling from Tampa to Maine this summer. I have never gone such a long distance with my TT before. Any suggestions on what I should do before and during the trip will be greatly appreciated...
When was the last time you had the bearings on the trailer repacked? If more than a year, repack them before you start the trip. How old are your tires and what condition are they in? Much easier and cheaper to replace them before hitting the road. How old is your battery? Does it take and hold a charge? Check and clean the burners of all your propane appliances. If you have not decontaminated your holding tank recently, you may want to do that since you may need it for your dry camping.
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trailertraveler
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05/12/12 02:13pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Walmart parking lot stays - need advice please
...if they decide to say longer at an attraction, or see something interesting along the way, they might have to cancel the campground for the night, and stay at a Walmart someplace in between for the night instead...
If they are going to be looking for Walmarts on the fly, make sure that they have the Road Atlas that shows the Walmart locations or a GPS or SmartPhone App that lists them and gives directions.
Unlike campgrounds, lodging, fuel and food services; in my experience Walmarts are not listed on the "Blue Signs" at highway exits and they are often not visible from the highway. Most times the only indication may be the listing of the Murphy USA fuel station if there is one.
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trailertraveler
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05/05/12 10:53am |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: US 191 to Chinle, AZ
We are in a 36 foot class A gasser towing a small Toyota. We are leaving the Mesa Verde area in a few days and traveling to Canyon de Chelley. I just plugged the information in our gps and received a message that six miles of our route will be on dirt roads. (I know, I know... don't believe everything your gps tells you.) However, I do want some input on US 191 south of US 160 in AZ. Thanks for any help.
Are any of the roads on the route BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) roads? Many of them are dirt in places. BIA 13 from US-491 South of Shiprock to Lukachukai (BIA-12) and Tsaile on the way to Chinle used to be dirt over the mountain pass but was paved the last time I drove it in 2007.
I have driven all of US-191 in AZ and don't remember any dirt sections. There is a length restriction between Hannagan Meadow and Clifton as well as a low clearance tunnel and lots of tight turns.
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trailertraveler
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05/03/12 07:02pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Hwy 89A from Flagstaff to Jerome
I believe the length limit from Cottowood to Jerome is 40', but there are some that have posted on this forum claiming it is only a restriction on commercial trucks and not RV's. I have seen pickups with trailers, stopped, ticketed and turned around by the Jerome Police.
As has been said, downtown is tight and there are several very tight switchbacks. However, there is a huge free parking lot on the North side of town, stay to the right at the fire department following the signs to the Gold Mine and Ghost Town.
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trailertraveler
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05/02/12 03:12pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Roads of SE Utah
We have driven all of US-191 from Southern Arizona to Montana at one time or another. Like any two lane there will be some rough patches and likely some repairs going on somewhere. It is a great route with lots of great places to see. There are some steep grades, but picking it up from US-6 at Price will by pass the ones around Flaming Gorge, Vernal and into Price from Duchesne.
South of Alpine there is an area with length restrictions and a tunnel with a low clearance. You can go West on US-60 as suggested above which will take you down and up through Salt River Canyon or South on US-180 to NM/AZ-78 and back to US-191 at Threeway, AZ.
Going through Utah and Northeastern Arizona, you are not going to be able to avoid going up and down.
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trailertraveler
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05/01/12 02:42pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: 12 day trip to explore Utah's Scenic Highway 12 and parks
There is a campground in Cedarbreaks National Monument and two in Bryce Canyon National Park. I believe they are still first come first serve. Kodachrome Basin and Escalante Petrified Forest State Parks have campgrounds. There are numerous campgrounds in the Fishlake and Dixie National Forests as well as dispersed camping opportunities. You can download the Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) from their websites to see which roads are open for dispersed camping and how far off the road your are permitted to travel/park. There are lots of opportunities to disperse camp on BLM's Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument. There is a multi-agency Visitor Center on UT-12 where you can get more information and printed copies of maps.
The days may get pretty warm in some of the lower elevations so you may want to consider that in picking your stop overs.
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trailertraveler
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05/01/12 02:25pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: US-50 Coast to Coast
US-50 goes from Ocean City, MD to San Francisco, CA. In some places it runs with the newer Interstate Highways. It goes through Annapolis and then Downtown Washington D.C. It goes through central West Virginia, Southern Ohio, Southern Indiana and Southern Illinois to Saint Louis. In Kansas it goes through Dodge City then on to Pueblo Colorado following the Arkansas River for a while on the way to Grand Junction. It runs with I-70 through Eastern and Central Utah.
That is as much of it as we have driven. Lots to see and do along the way. Checkout this website for a start.
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trailertraveler
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04/29/12 01:06pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Flagstaff ,Bryce and Zion in September 2012
There are several recent threads about Zion, Bryce and the other great parks in Utah so I'll focus on the Flagstaff area.
Near Flagstaff: Wupatki National Monument, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Walnut Canyon National Monument.
Sedona is not far South of Flagstaff: Montezuma Castle National Monument, Montezuma Well National Monument, Tuzigoot National Monument, V bar V Petroglyph site, Palaki Ruins, Honaki Ruins, Verde Canyon Railroad, The Town of Jerome
Dead Horse Ranch State Park is a good place to stay in the Sedona area.
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trailertraveler
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04/29/12 12:18pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: WY I80 Overnight
I believe Rock Springs has a Walmart. I can't remember if it was there or Green River. Either way, I stayed there over night along with a bunch of other RV's, to include Clay Walker's (country singer)tour buses.
There is a Walmart in Rock Springs and it always has quite a few RVs there. Folks pull out the BBQs and lawn chairs, put out the awnings and make themselves at home at Camp Wallyworld. We have seen a number of popups there also. Not uncommon to see rigs with the tow vehicle unattached or the toad disconnected. It has been that way for the past four years.
There is a Flying J in Rock Springs and another just West of Rawlins.
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trailertraveler
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04/25/12 02:00pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Looking for a campground near St. Louis
We have stayed at the KOAs in Eureka, Granite City and Stanton. All were OK. Check RV Park Reviews to get an idea of whether they will meet your needs. We have also stayed at Sundermeier RV Park in St. Charles, MO. Saint Charles is where Lewis and Clark started their journey and there is a small museum. There is also a small historic district in town. Worth a half day or a day.
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trailertraveler
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04/25/12 07:32am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Places to see
With only two weeks available, you will be very limited in how many places you can really see. Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado have plenty to see and do and are closer to Albuquerque. Since the Balloon Fiesta is October 6-14, you may want to plan any visits to the higher elevation areas of Colorado before the Fiesta. Last year we had snow at night in the higher elevations near Santa Fe and Pecos, NM in mid-October.
If you want information about the many great places in Utah, you may find this downloadable trip planner usefull along with this website. Also checkout this website for information about the many destinations in Southern Utah. For more information than you will likely need about Moab take a look at the Discover Moab website.
Hope you have a Great Trip and enjoy the Balloon Fiesta!!!
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trailertraveler
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04/25/12 06:49am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Monument Valley RV Parks
Gouldings is a nice rv park with full hook up.
Within the park there is Mitten View campground with showers and restrooms and a dump station, no hook ups. $10.00 per night.
The old Mitten View campground is now the site of the Motel and Visitor Center. When we were there in October 2010 they allowed dry camping in a dirt/gravel lot with one porta-potty for $5/night. So it might be best to contact the tribal visitor center about what facilities are available.
Gouldings is nice and is the closest campground with hookups. There is a campground in Mexican Hat and a couple in Blanding. Check RV Park Reviews to see what others thought of them.
There is dry camping available at Goosenecks State Park and various spots on BLM lands in the area.
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trailertraveler
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04/23/12 05:41pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Just Installed A Power Jack
I would be inclined to 1) see if I could exchange it for a model with the triangular base like the one on the original jack, 2) grind, cut or file the front of the circular plate to allow it to sit flat as long as there is a half inch or so to the bolt hole, or 3) put a complete steel plate the same thickness as the one on the front under the jack plate rather than just washers.
Do the wiring instructions say to install a fusable link between the motor and the battery? Some do, some now come with a waterproof sealed circuit breaker installed on the outside of the motor. Mine recommended putting a disconnect switch in the circuit to the battery.
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trailertraveler
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04/23/12 07:13am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Fredricksburg Va. /Virginia Beach
The Marine Corps Museum at Quantico is not all that far from Fredericksburg.
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trailertraveler
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04/23/12 06:27am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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