TUCSON AND WESTERN STATESSeptember 1998 |
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| The main objective of this trip was to meet and visit with my wife's newly found biological sister and family in Tucson, Arizona. I added a few additional stops to complete this western states trip. |
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KOA-Dayton Tall Timbers ResortBrookville, Ohio. This is the prettiest KOA campground we have found. It is very well maintained and landscaped, many large luscious hanging baskets hanging from gazebos and covered bridges. Large heated in ground pool and a farm animal petting zoo. We return to this campground every time we are in the area. |
| KOA at Six FlagsEureka, Missouri. |
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| KOA Tulsa Tulsa, Oklahoma. We were not impressed with this campground. |
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| The Village East RV ParkAmarillo, Texas. Large sites, well maintained. Indoor heated pool, very comfortable and relaxing. |
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| Best RV ParkLas Cruces, New Mexico. Located on a the edge of a high bluff with spectacular panoramic views of the valley, mountains and the city lights at night. Nice Park and pool. |
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Tombstone, Arizona. The historic western town was an interesting side trip and provided an entertaining afternoon break after four days of travel. |
| Rincon Country WestTucson, Arizona. Park has many fulltime residents, very well maintained with first class amenities, temporary sites could have more shade. |
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During our stay we visited the historic San Xavier Mission and Old Tucson Studios |
| Day ten and we are on the road again heading for the bright lights of Las Vegas. |
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| Railside RV Ranch Williams,Arizona. Pleasant campground within walking distance of the town. |
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Williams is a historic town on old Route 66 complete with an authentic 1950's soda shop and the depot for The Grand Canyon Railway The railroad provides a relaxing and entertaining ride to the Grand Canyon via steam engine and historic passenger cars. The day begins with an enactment of a western gunfight. The ride offers scenic views with wildlife, adequate time to view the Grand Canyon National Park and a train robbery on the return trip. We thoroughly enjoyed this day. |  |
| The hot water tank heater began to malfunction, similar to a problem we experienced with the rental RV. A service manual purchased from Camping World in Las Vegas helped to diagnosis the problem. Atwood heaters have a design flaw, the controller is mounted directly above the flue and the contacts on the printed circuit board are exposed to hot gases. The contacts become oxidized and require cleaning, a ball point pen eraser is the perfect tool. |
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Circusland RV ParkLas Vegas, Nevada. The direct access to The Strip compensates for the camping facility, a paved parking lot with hookups. Disappointed with the limited pool times. |
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Day fifteen, time to begin the return trip home. Stops were made at both Zion National Park Utah and Bryce Canyon National Park Utah. Zion was exceptionally scenic but using an RV requires that traffic be stopped in some areas to allow clearance for the RV's. |  |
| KOA Green RiverGreen River, Utah. Nice KOA, we especially appreciated the lush green grass. |
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 Today's travel include a stop at the Colorado National Monument Fruita, Colorado. Very scenic but clearance in the tunnels is close with an RV. |
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| Battlement Mesa RV ParkParachute, Colorado. Well maintained park with very scenic views. |
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| Meyer Camper CourtOgallala, Nebraska. Adequate for an overnight stay. |
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Today a trooper in Lincoln, Nebraska decided to stop us even though the cruise control was set to 58 in a 65 mph zone because "he did not see a registration sticker in the rear window". Even after showing him a current valid registration and insurance, he took me to the patrol car and played "Forty Questions" and then returned to the RV and asked my wife the same questions. We will NEVER return to Nebraska again! |
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| KOA Des MoinesDes Moines, Iowa. The campground was almost full and the sites seemed narrow. |
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| Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Barton LakeFremont, Indiana. Large well maintained sites. |
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