April/May Road Trip Vacation

[Timeshare Von]

As some TUGGERS know, not only do I enjoy a wonderful family timeshare vacation road trip . . . I also enjoy solo car camping road trips. I've done several to Yellowstone and points in between. I've also enjoyed the Great Smoky Mountains as well. One of my dream road trips, will hopefully become a reality next spring . . . the American Southwest! What started out as roughly a two week trip, morphed into a full 25 day adventure. And I know I'm still going to miss some things and blow through others too quickly. I hope this will set up another possible RV trip with the hubby in a couple of years, to fill in the gaps.

Heavy on the US National Parks, Monuments, Battlefields and Historic Landmarks, I'm really excited to see so many places I've only read about and seen photos/videos of. Here's how my journey is laid out:

Here is my detailed itinerary, as it stands today:

Day #1 leave Wisconsin, camp near/before Independence, MO

Day #2 Truman NHS & Ft. Scott NHS (KS); camp nearby

Day #3 POSSIBLY visit Twister Museum in Wakita, OK and then the Washita Nat'l Battlefield; camp nearby

Day #4 Arrive Carlsbad Caverns NP mid afternoon; camp at Sunset Reef (BLM)

Day #5 White Sands NP; camp 3 Rivers Petroglyphs (BLM)

Day #6 Saguaro NP, overnight near Phoenix with friends

Day #7 With Friends

Day #8 Joshua Tree NP & camp

Day #9 AM tour of Keys Ranch (Joshua Tree NP); Death Valley NP campsite

Day #10 Zion NP campsite (2 nights)

Day #11 Zion NP

Day #12 Bryce Canyon NP (hotel)

Day #13 Scenic drive via Hwy 12 to Capital Reef NP; Arches NP campsite (2 nights)

Day #14 Arches NP + Canyonlands NP (still overnighting @ Arches)

Day #15 MAYBE Canyonlands NP leaving Arches NP heading to Hovenweep Nat'l Monument w/campsite

Day #16 Becomes flexible here . . . may bypass camping at Hovenweep campsite day #15 and head on to Mesa Verde NP and pick up campsite Day #15 . . . or could push on to visit Mesa Verde NP to Day #16. Also on Day #16 possibly visit Aztec Ruins NHS & town (if time permits) . . . tentatively planning to arrive at friend's ranch in NM for 3 nights, but could be cut to 2 nights depending on how the trip from Arches NP goes.

Day #17 & Day #18 at friend's ranch; plans include the NRAO Very Large Array, Catwalk State Rec Park and Mogollon & Snow Lake

Day #19 Bandelier NHS & Manhattan Project NHS; camp in Santa Fe (2 nights)

Day #20 Still in Santa Fe; maybe Pecos NSP; Ft Union NM and Santa Rosa

Day #21 Great Sand Dunes NP, camp there or nearby

Day #22 Bent's Old Fort NHS; camp in Eads, CO

Day #23 Sand Creek Massacre Nat'l Battlefield; camp nearby

Day #24 Tall Prairie Grasslands & Ft. Larned NHS (Kansas); camp nearby

Day #25 Ashfall Fossil Beds (NE) State Park; camp nearby or heading towards Wisconsin

Day #26 HOME

 

[susieq]

WOW!!! So ambitious ... I'm jealous!!!

 

[Elan]

This trip sounds fantastic to me. What does "car camping" look like for you? Did you buy a Roadtrek or other class B?

 

[Timeshare Von]

This trip sounds fantastic to me. What does "car camping" look like for you? Did you buy a Roadtrek or other class B?

I'm still lusting for a campervan . . . but it's not in the budget at this time. I have been car camping in my SUV for about 10 years now. It's actually pretty comfortable for just me. Here's a few photos of my set up from earlier this summer in Yellowstone.




I use the front & rear passenger side for "stuff" like my cooler and food items during the day. And at night, I move the stuff from the rear passenger seat up into the front seat so I have easy access to the rear seat to climb in/out for bedtime.

 

[Elan]

Do you camp primarily on BLM or USFS land? Campgrounds? I've always wondered what your type of travel entails in terms of planning overnight camping spots.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Wow, I’d love that trip!

I’d try to fit in Monument Valley, which has fascinated me since we camped there in the 1960s. Unfortunately the visitor center now occupies the bluff where we camped. It’s just a few hours drive south of Arches. However, it would be hard to include it if you want to visit Mesa Verde.

Monument Valley | Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation

Explore the breathtaking beauty of Monument Valley in Navajo. Discover more about the Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation and the natural wonders they oversee.

navajonationparks.org

 

[missyrcrews]

So fun! Enjoy every second of it.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Do you camp primarily on BLM or USFS land? Campgrounds? I've always wondered what your type of travel entails in terms of planning overnight camping spots.

Great questions. Because I do not have a toilet in my set-up, that is the highest priority I have in terms of selecting a campground. While "boondocking" without any facilities is possible in a self-contained campervan, in my SUV, not so much. For that reason, I will prefer use US National Park campgrounds or BLM campsites, if they have at least a porta-john. Some municipal parks have overnight camping with decent bathrooms and even showers. I had a great one in Cooperstown, ND last summer . . . and dirt cheap too.

Some campgrounds are very popular (like the US NPS sites) which require advance reservations. A few are "first come first serve" in terms of getting a campsite, so that also plays into my planning. Also, if you are a senior citizen with the NPS/BLM Senior Pass or disabled with the ACCESS Pass, most NPS & BLM campgrounds are half price, which is a wonderful savings on a fixed income.

I will also use commercial campgrounds (like KOA) as necessary, when there aren't a lot of public land type campgrounds with facilities near where I want/need to be. But they are rather pricey . . . the KOA in Santa Fe (next May) will be $100 for 2 nights for a dry (no water or electric) tent site. While $50/night is steep, at least I will have a decent place with good a bathroom & shower! The downside however is that I'm starting to see some commercial sites prohitibing car camping as it's become a lifestyle for the homeless and brings in an atmosphere some people are uncomfortable around. I stopped at a campground in central SD last summer and was turned away . . . "No sleeping in cars! No tent? No Camping!" so I pushed on to the KOA in Souix Falls where I had stayed in prior years.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Wow, I’d love that trip!

I’d try to fit in Monument Valley, which has fascinated me since we camped there in the 1960s. Unfortunately the visitor center now occupies the bluff where we camped. It’s just a few hours drive south of Arches. However, it would be hard to include it if you want to visit Mesa Verde.

Monument Valley | Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation

Explore the breathtaking beauty of Monument Valley in Navajo. Discover more about the Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation and the natural wonders they oversee.

navajonationparks.org

Good to know. A trip like this has all sorts of possible audibles once en-route. I think I already have it on my "maybe" list of places to experience. One of my biggest challenges will be just how to determine "how many" . . . (fill in the blank) . . . will I want/need to see? Some of the places seem similar to others, and yet also very different. In some cases, the deciding factor will be weather and road conditions, since it will be early in the season for much of what I'm planning to do. Mesa Verde is one place that can become expendable pretty easily, particularly due to the time of year and my physical limitations to do a lot of walking/hiking to see the cliff dwellings there.

 

[sue1947]

never mind.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Hmmm. That's a lot of driving and not much more time than driving through the parks with a stop at the visitor center. <<SNIPPED>> Bottom line: too many options; something has to give and you will just have to go back for another (and another) trip.

While I appreciate your feedback, I'm confident in the trip I have planned. Way too much to try to defend my choices/decisions here. But thank you for providing your insight and opinions.

 

[mentalbreak]

Sounds like a great trip!
Have you considered an instant tent for those places that do not allow car camping?

 

[easyrider]

That should be an epic road trip.
We did a three weeker in the Lincoln but used timeshares and hotels. Sedona was my favorite stop. The trip went though Washington , Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon and back home to Washington. Love road tripping. We have a couple road trips planned for 2025 but they are shorty's compared to yours.

Bill

 

[WinniWoman]

Wow! Well enjoy it! Great places!

I give you a lot of credit. It’s a lot! To me it sounds exhausting and I don’t know how you sleep in a car. I can’t even sleep in my bed. lol!

 

[Timeshare Von]

Sounds like a great trip!
Have you considered an instant tent for those places that do not allow car camping?

Not really, because with bad knees, getting up and down off the ground would be challenging. It hasn't been a real problem yet . . . but I'll have to keep an eye on it moving forward.

 

[4TimeAway]

While $50/night is steep, at least I will have a decent place with good a bathroom & shower!

Some KOAs you can pay just to shower at.

We always carried a portable toilet and a popup trailer, but showers... Those are nice to have!

 

[Timeshare Von]

Wow! Well enjoy it! Great places!

I give you a lot of credit. It’s a lot! To me it sounds exhausting and I don’t know how you sleep in a car. I can’t even sleep in my bed. lol!

Car camping and figuring out how to comfortably sleep in my SUV took some time (like a few trips over a couple of years). And driving for hours on many/most days can be very exhausting, for sure. I think with the way the trip is broken up with a couple of 2-3 night stays at my friends' places (which will be inside actual bedrooms with inside plumbing/bathrooms) plus a hotel a night or two here and there . . . I should be fine.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Some KOAs you can pay just to shower at.

We always carried a portable toilet and a popup trailer, but showers... Those are nice to have!

Yes, and I've also been known to use showers that are located at laundromats near national parks. There was a really nice one in Estes Park, CO that charged something like $7 for a 15" shower. The best set up for showering is in Yellowstone National Park where some of their campgrounds have showers and you get a "punch card" good for 2 showers/night/person. I generally don't use all of them, so I can also use the shower card on days/nights where I'm camping where they don't have showers.

 

[Timeshare Von]

That should be an epic road trip.
We did a three weeker in the Lincoln but used timeshares and hotels. Sedona was my favorite stop. The trip went though Washington , Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon and back home to Washington. Love road tripping. We have a couple road trips planned for 2025 but they are shorty's compared to yours.

Bill

Bill that sounds like an amazing road trip for sure! I generally do 7-15 night trips. But knowing how invested I would be (time-wise) with getting to NM and UT, I just wanted to make the most of it all with one big trip. I had been tempted in the past to just add Utah's national parks to either a Yellowstone or Rocky Mountains NP trip . . . but I was afraid it wouldn't do justice to either part of the journey, so I had always said I would do a dedicated road trip to the southwest.

 

[Timeshare Von]

And speaking of Yellowstone . . . my DH has finally shown interest in doing a road trip to Yellowstone NP with me! In June we'll be doing a 2 week trip, which will incorporate hotels for the entire trip. I have booked the core of 4 2-night stays with a bit of winging it on our way home after we've spent a week in Yellowstone. I'm excited to have David joining me and his willingness to take on this type of vacation with me.

The past several years (since the pandemic) we've done 2 week road trips, but they've mostly been a week in a timeshare with 2-3 days on either end getting to/from the resort. This coming year should be our first without owning a timeshare. The way we travel is no doubt evolving, but I'm also hopeful we will still find ways to travel utilizing the resources through TUG (like the week we've already planned for renting a timeshare through a friend here on TUG for our Ireland vacation in 2026).