SW 2018

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

16 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

I curse that Joanna Gaines.  Do you think she might reimburse me for my shiplap bill from when we remodeled the farmhouse?  

Ha!  That's funny.  I'm trying to figure out, where to put it both our house...and the rig 

11 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Every house we do now has shiplap and grey paint!!!!

See... why don't you live closer?  Then you could come help me, with mine!

11 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Cupcakes!!!

some people live for chocolate I love for cake and cupcakes!

we are going to Waco for a wedding on June 2nd. And my DW and DD really want to go to the Silos and the Table. At least now I have something to look forward to!

Yes!  You have to go to both.  Buy extra cupcakes... trust me, you'll eat them    

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Next on our trip... Dinosaur Valley State Park.  A small state park, that has some dinosaur tracks (mostly in water).  This was only a couple of hours from Waco.   Before leaving, I had researched several campgrounds for our trip.  DVSP has a campground however, the reviews painted a picture of small sites and narrow roads (I drove through it, the reviews were spot on).  Because our rig is not small and because I was by myself and didn't want to get caught in on of these "Oh crud" moments, I followed the recommendation of another big rig owner and stayed at the Oakdale RV Park.  This campground ended up being a huge win.  Not only was it very big rig friendly, but the city of Oakdale (population of less than 3,000) had recently taken over the CG and installed a large playground, as well as done improvements to the pool and the grounds.  Plus, they took Passport America, so our stay was under $19 for a full hook-up site.  Awesome!!  Additionally, directly across the street was a city park called Big Rocks Park.  The kids LOVED this area.  Basically, it's where the Puluxy River (the same river that runs through DSVP) runs through the town and the town installed a small dam.  It's great because there are large boulders for kids to climb on and with the dam, it slows down the water so people can play in it.  They city even had life vests available to borrow.   This overnight, was definitely a very fun stop.

"Don't worry mama," he says. "I won't get wet." 

Determined to catch, the little minnows... 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

That creek and campground look very nice.  The kind of place my older girls loved back in the day.  I miss those days.  

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Pretty area, we stayed at Tres Rios RV park when we were in Glen Rose.  Actually had a club Rally there.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Waco, it was never on my want to see list until the shiplap gal.  Thanks for the info about the restaurant, looks like those breakfasts would last all day.

I love the braid in your daughter's hair, beautiful.

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

late to the party, but in.

I like your US Map table.  Is that a big sticker or what?  My kids love understanding where we are on the map.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

On 5/18/2018 at 10:24 AM, DaveInTN said:

That creek and campground look very nice.  The kind of place my older girls loved back in the day.  I miss those days.  

They go by...too fast.

On 5/18/2018 at 11:12 AM, Grumpy and Grandma said:

Pretty area, we stayed at Tres Rios RV park when we were in Glen Rose.  Actually had a club Rally there.

It was a pretty area; we really enjoyed ourselves.

On 5/18/2018 at 9:55 PM, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Waco, it was never on my want to see list until the shiplap gal.  Thanks for the info about the restaurant, looks like those breakfasts would last all day.

I love the braid in your daughter's hair, beautiful.

Yeah...that shiplap gal (and guy) are pretty great and the food was: amazing    Thank you, on her hair 

On 5/19/2018 at 12:54 PM, Slapwacky said:

late to the party, but in.

I like your US Map table.  Is that a big sticker or what?  My kids love understanding where we are on the map.

It is!  Got if off Amazon last year.  Our kids too, think it's neat to follow the map as we travel 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Moving right along... the next two days of travel were pretty uneventful.  The one downside, is it was VERY windy, which makes for an exhausting drive.  It also made for some bland driving in W. Texas as all you could see, was brown/reddish dirt flying around.  On the way to Lake Colorado State Park, we stopped in Abilene at a museum called:  Frontier Texas.  I didn't know about it before the trip, but saw the signs as we were driving and thought it would be a good educational stop on our tour.  I wasn't wrong.  It was awesome.  It was a slow attendance day for them, so the manager was awesome and let us bring in our pup (he's only 11 lbs).  It was pretty warm outside and he hates the crate (I was going to put him in the camper as it was much cooler in there, than in the truck), so it was really nice that they let us bring him in.  The museum is really neat.  If you're ever in the area, I would recommend stopping in. http://www.frontiertexas.com/

That night, we stayed in Colorado City, TX; this campground was bit eerie as it's in the middle of nowhere and we were one of 4 campers in the entire place (probably 80 sites).  It was odd.  But, it was quiet and I didn't have to unhitch so... it worked.  It was also pretty cheap ($22 for 50amp and water):

The next day, we finished our windy drive through W. Texas:

That night we made it into Roswell, NM where we stayed at Bottomless Lake State Park.  This is a nice state park.  I wish I had taken better pictures.  It was very affordable ($18 for 30amp and water...with a brand new dump station).  We had a large pull-through site.  I can see this campground being very popular during the summer months as the water was pretty and the state had set up nice bathhouses, a good swimming area with concession (closed during our visit) and a nice playground.  It was still really windy, so that hindered our visit...but the wind finally let up around 8p which allowed for a nice walk.  The stars here are amazing here!  Next stop.... White Sands National Monument!! 

 

[Seals 111]

I'm really enjoying this trip through your pictures. I've never been to that part of the country. I think I'd have a hard time staying awake driving through West Texas though. And that eerie campground...  I think I'd be sleeping with one eye open. 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Nacole, you are making me want to head to Texas.

[Beckers 1,136]

It looks so pretty out there!!

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

On 5/22/2018 at 8:55 AM, Seals said:

I'm really enjoying this trip through your pictures. I've never been to that part of the country. I think I'd have a hard time staying awake driving through West Texas though. And that eerie campground...  I think I'd be sleeping with one eye open. 

Haha... the campground wasn't too bad.  I did feel better, once rig #4 (a family in a 5th wheel) pulled in a handful of sites down from us 

6 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Nacole, you are making me want to head to Texas.

Too funny.   I've driven through Texas a few times now and while not a place I would ever want to live... it does have some neat places to visit.

4 hours ago, Beckers said:

It looks so pretty out there!!

You just wait...it only gets better!!

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

What started the planning for this trip, was Zion National Park.  Zion then the desire to see a few other National Parks in that area, to eat in Waco and...White Sands National Monument.  That's where we're at in the TR:  White Sands.

We leave Bottomless Lakes SP early and start the drive over (it's only a couple of hours).  As we come down out of the pass, I see this:

I remember saying aloud, "That can't be it?!".  I couldn't believe just how HUGE it was.  From this distance, it almost looked like clouds sitting down low...it was crazy!  We pulled into the visitor center's parking lot, about an hour later, and ran into this gal.  I LOVED her!!  How awesome (crazy busy, but still awesome) must this trip have been:

After meeting her, we went inside and bought two sleds (you can bring your own, but we didn't have any).  I want to say they were $20/each and they would buy them back for $5 if you didn't want to keep them (we kept ours).   I can't begin to explain just how amazing this place is.  It's huge, beautiful and unbelievable.  You were able to drive right onto the sand (the sand covers the road).  I towed the rig in, with no problems.  The sand was compact and not difficult to drive over.  Heck, better than a lot of interstates out there   There was plenty of parking; no concerns about getting stuck.  We spent 3-4 hours there, but that was with me dragging the kids out...they could have stayed for hours longer.  Our son didn't understand why we had our "home on wheels" but we weren't staying for the night.  Haha.   Had they allowed overnight parking, we would have stayed!  While they don't allow you to park overnight, they do allow you to have a picnic...they even have tables and sun/wind protection.  The experience was amazing.  Our daughter kept saying, "it's like snow...but warm!!" 

Our stop for that night, was around 2 hours away:  Leasburg Dam SP.  Another great state park.  Highly recommend this one.  Wonderful pull-through site with 50 amp and water for $18. Dump station was in great shape and in a convenient location.  It had a very nice bathhouse and playground.  The sunset... AMAZING.  New Mexico really is, The Land of Enchantment.

 

[djsamuel 322]

You're making me want to go back earlier than we're planning! 

[dblr....Rennie 224]

OK that's it looks like next year is another big trip out west, really wish the wife would retire waiting for school to end is cramping my camping!!!!!

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Wow! Such beautiful scenery....cant wait to make the trek west with the family. Great TR!

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

18 hours ago, djsamuel said:

You're making me want to go back earlier than we're planning! 

Isn't it awesome there?!!

18 hours ago, dblr....Rennie said:

OK that's it looks like next year is another big trip out west, really wish the wife would retire waiting for school to end is cramping my camping!!!!!

Ha!  Work always gets in the way... 

9 hours ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

Wow! Such beautiful scenery....cant wait to make the trek west with the family. Great TR!

It. is. awesome!!! You're gonna love it 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Next stop on our tour:  Tucson.  We stayed at Catalina State Park.  Another one, that I highly recommend.  $30 for water and 50 amp.  Dump station was clean and convenient.  Bathhouse was super clean; water pressure was good.  The FT/paid rangers there, were not terribly friendly...but the volunteers were wonderful.  Across the street from this state park, was a nice shopping area that included a very nice Walmart.  That shopping area, only looked a year or two old.  Actually, quite a bit of new construction in that area.  Very nice.   

My kiddos decided that they loved this place: 

O

Plus, the view from the parking lot (or windows inside the building) was really pretty: 

Heck, even the view from the Walmart parking lot...was crazy pretty:

 

Up next... what made Tucson, a not so pretty stop.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am really late to join this TR, but I'm finally here. It's really good so far. 

You referred to Tampa twice in your latest update. That has to be a spelling correction error, right?

 TCD 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

2 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I am really late to join this TR, but I'm finally here. It's really good so far. 

You referred to Tampa twice in your latest update. That has to be a spelling correction error, right?

 TCD 

I was thinking maybe it was Tempe.  But Catalina State Park is in Tuscon.  

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

15 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

I was thinking maybe it was Tempe.  But Catalina State Park is in Tuscon.  

I was thinking the same. Or maybe there's a Tampa out west that I've never heard of?

 TCD 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I am really late to join this TR, but I'm finally here. It's really good so far. 

You referred to Tampa twice in your latest update. That has to be a spelling correction error, right?

 TCD 

Oh my goodness... trying to plan too many FL trips, LOL.  I'll correct that.  Thank you.

1 hour ago, DaveInTN said:

I was thinking maybe it was Tempe.  But Catalina State Park is in Tuscon.  

Yes, it's Tucson.  See... this is why I don't do these (TR) 

44 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I was thinking the same. Or maybe there's a Tampa out west that I've never heard of?

 TCD 

Well... with the number of towns, sharing the same name in our country, that wouldn't surprise me 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Okay... so pulled into Catalina State Park in TUCSON () and I went to unhitch.  My process is the same each time:  I pull into my spot, eyeball the utilities so I know we're good there, check the level so I know if I need to go up on blocks, check for room to extend my slides, then I put on the xchock for the driver's side and set the rubber chocks.  This is where the "fun" started.  I crouched down to put the xchock between the tires and I thought, "hmmm...that looks strange":

The tire on the back axle was extended out past the front axle.  There was also this:

Now... I should set the scene because I actually sat there in the heat of Arizona, for several minutes, replaying things in the my mind.  If you'll remember, I mentioned the wind in Texas and part of New Mexico.  Well, it was a really strong wind and I had noticed the rear tire of the rig, on the passenger's side, pulling out some.  But, I figured it was because it was so windy, that the back of the rig was being pushed.  I know now, it was because the rear axle was dog tracking... because of this:

That's the bracket, for the spring, on the rear axle.  That first one was the passenger's side and this was the driver's side:

I called both our RV dealer and my husband... Tom got the number for Keystone and called them, directly.  He then called Coach-Net who handles our road-side assistance.  I went up and told the rangers that we would need to stay an extra night and I called Lake Havasu State Park and gave up that reservation. 

The next 48 hours were exhausting.  The first 24 - 30 hours were spent finding a tow truck company who could handle the job and then the headache of dealing with Keystone.  Initially, Keystone wanted us to get the rig to Camping World for repairs.  For those of you who know me.....you know how well that went over.  So, they moved onto another dealership La Mesa RV in Tucson.  I spoke with David something-or-rather, who was apparently the drunk college boy heading up their maintenance department.  Good grief.  He was an idiot.  I told Keystone no, on that one as well.  One of the Fiends (Doug) has been on the road FT for a couple of years now... he and Ray were both on my call list.  Doug referred us to Professional Trailer Repair in Tucson; Keystone finally agreed.  Frontier Towing handled the tow which was nauseating to watch and I truthfully expected them to drop the rig.  It was a HUGE ordeal.  First they had to jack up the rig, then pull the back axle into alignment, then secure that alignment with this huge chain/cable.  Then they had to use a large wrecker to (very) slowly tow it out to the front of the camping loop (they could not get the Landoll into the loop) and then they had to slowly pull the rig onto the bed of the Landoll.  There were only INCHES on each side of our rig!  I was sick watching it.  They then had to lower the nose of the 5th wheel all the way down, to lower the highest point to a safe towing height.  I knew that they had to do this, so I had packed the rig accordingly, but it was still tough to watch.  They were amazing though.  Took Frontier Towing about 3 to 3.5 hours from arrival to drop-off...and the shop was only 20 miles away.  If I had to guess, 80% of the time was spent transfer/loading of the rig.  It was not an easy job.  PTR was waiting for us.  They inspected the rig and made the repairs in less than 2.5 hours.  

I cannot say enough good things, about both Frontier Towing and Professional Trailer Repair in Tucson.  Should anyone need a tow/repair in that area...they are your guys.  As for Coach-Net, kudos to them.  This tow was not cheap and they never once balked at getting it done.  They weren't able to find a tow company who could get the job (they tried two companies, but both said they couldn't handle the job), but when PTR recommended Frontier, Coach-Net called and made the arrangements.  After talking with Frontier, we believe the tow bill ran $900 - $1100.   Keystone... well, a little frustrating but they are paying the repairs and even agreed to pay for two meals (to In/Out of course ) and the extra night at the state park.  I think I'm more frustrated in the "quality" of the build, rather than the service provided.  

So... a lot of stress but ya-know-what?  I met some really great people.  Actually, some of the nicest people of our entire trip (except the Fiend I met with ).  God is crazy that way.  God is also crazy good, in His protection.  Each person who looked at our rig said, "Wow...I've never seen it break that way."  These brackets can fail, but they typically cause more damage and, can even, cause accidents.  The fact that the break was quite possibly several days old (remember I noticed the back of the rig pulling as we drove through TX?), is amazing.  As for the roads in LA, I don't think the full break happened there as I would have noticed the tires in Waco, but I think it may have started there.  I remember hitting a random bump outside Waco and I even said to our daughter, "Wow...that had to break something inside the camper".  Little did I know....

Next:  the main reason for our trip - ZION NATIONAL PARK!

 

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Very sorry you had problems. Unfortunately,  most rv' s are built inferior. I own a metal fabrication business, and if we turned out work like the rv industry does we'd be out of business. When I look at the frames of most new rv's I'm astounded at the lack of quality. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Wow.  The Lord surely graced you with His protection throughout this.

Happy to hear you were satisfied with Coach-Net, since that's who we use.