Fort Stockton, TX

Site:

Hilltop RV Park, Fort STockton TX

Site: 31

Wifi: Verizon - 5 down, 3 up, ATT - 7 down, 1 up, Sprint - 85 down, 2 up

Cost: $400 for two weeks

Noise: Normal highway noises

Theres something to say that being the best around doesn't mean you’re great. I really wanted to like Hilltop RV Park. Here’s the pros and cons:

Awesome:

• Sunset views

• Near town but feels like the country

• Easy to access

• Friendly neighbors and hosts

• Full bathrooms

• Beautiful pool

• The internet at night

• $2 washer and $2 laundry, open 24/7

• Great water pressure and actual showerheads in the showers

Not so awesome:

• Lots of highway noise at night

• The air slightly smells of sulfur

• The internet during the day

• The water in the bathrooms is slightly tinged yellow

Easily fixable but nothing has happened:

• The bathrooms have no soap or way to dry your hands. You’ve got four bathrooms, and NONE of them have this!

• The bathrooms do not have any gendered signs outside them, but in one of the bathrooms above the toilet is a sign saying that the bathroom is for women only. I’m fine with gendered bathrooms or not, but if you’re going to have them, have signs outside. 

• Not all showers have towel hooks. I had to pull over the shower stool to have someplace to put my towel

• The bathrooms have small plug in heaters. That’s fine, but they don't ever seem to be on, and when we had snow they were off, making for a cold toilet experience. 

• The mail is delivered to the owner’s house. The packages and mail just sits in the mailbox or porch, and anyone can grab your stuff. Didnt feel secure.

Sisko hikes up the mountain

City:

Fort Stockton, TX

We arrived in Fort Stockton, and the three gas station workers we talked to all said the best thing to do in Fort Stockton was to leave. Not a good start. Their only movie theatre had closed, and the best restaurant to go to was McDonalds. Their high value tourism spot is the Oldest House in Fort Stockton. Not the Oldest House in Texas… the Oldest House in FORT STOCKTON. Needless to say, we didnt explore much. 

Restaurant:

Big Bend National Park Restaurant

Since there was nothing to do in Fort Stockton, we went down the two hours to Big Bend National Park. Most tourism spots have expensive on site restaurants and crappy food, since your options were limited. We ate at the restaurant down at the basin, and were surprised by the decent prices! We were even more shocked at how good the food was. If it wasnt two hours away, we would absolutely go again. 

RV Spending - February 2020

February we really wanted to try and keep our spending to a minimum and see what we realistically could live on if we needed to cut things. You never know if/when you’ll lose income, and being on the road it can be significantly harder to find new clients. By knowing what we can get by on, it helps relieve that stress of not knowing.

Food

Our goal was to keep groceries under $120/week. Considering we had been spending big bucks on fancy ingredients, I was surprised how easy this was. Ron made fantastic meals and I didnt feel like I was missing out on anything. We also wanted to spend under $200 on eating out, which was like one meal a week. That was blown when we went to a great Mexican restaurant in Roswell that looked way cheaper on the outside than it was inside.

Groceries: $339

Eating Out: $217

Gas

Aside from the big move to New Mexico, we also did a lot of longer drives to explore. We saw three national parks (one was 4.5 hours round trip) and made the trek to Roswell.

Gas: $294

Entertainment

We have a national parks pass (and totally recommend them) so going to the parks was “free”. We also went to Sonic the Hedgehog the movie, as Ron wanted to support a movie that was changed when viewer feedback said “Oh god what have you made”. The movie was still crap.

Entertainment: $70

RV Repairs

We didn’t have any major repairs, and spent the money on small improvements like things for the kitchen and wires for our solar setup.

RV Repairs: $65

RV Parks

We spent $485 for two weeks at a park that we absolutely hated, and then another $220 on a state park reservation for the week in the summer by Yellowstone.

RV Parks: $705

Propane

We had a few fill ups from cold nights.

Propane: $51

Grand total for November: $1741

Kerrville, TX

Site:

By the River RV Park, Kerrville TX

Site: 29

Wifi: Verizon - 2 down, 1.1 up, ATT - 60 down, 20 up

Cost: $400/month

Noise: OMG so many ducks

By the River RV Park is an ideal location for those who love being outdoors, and those who have dogs. It’s a great spot to be, with amazing AT&T speeds for the rest of us who need to be connected. Of all the places we have stayed, this is the best of both worlds. The spots are literally steps from a large stream, and there are birds galore. The park has two sets of fulltimers (from what we could tell): a pair of large, white ducks that were very vocal, and a bonded pair of black and white ducks. Every day I would see them hanging out right outside our RV, having the time of their lives. Despite there not being leaves on the trees, we had a bit of shade. There is a large island connected to the RV park with a few tent campsites. It’s perfect for people to unleash their dogs and let them run around and have fun. And almost everyone here has dogs. We were here a month and never had any bad encounters with them - they were all very well behaved. The bathrooms are a bit of a walk away on top of the hill, so if you have any mobility issues you’ll want to make sure you’re self contained. The park also hosts events like pottery night, poker, waffle breakfast and a potluck. The laundry room is only open when the office is, so be sure to get your wash started by 3pm! There was also a line for laundry on weekends so taking care of it during the week will help ensure you can get it done when you’d like. The camp hosts were friendly and helpful, and overall we really enjoyed our stay. 

Kojii on a hike

City:

Kerrville, TX

Kerrville is a town in the middle of growing to be a bigger town. 10 years from now, Kerrville will be a bustling city. The only thing it is waiting for is for its people to be more consistent. A lot of businesses are closing, with new businesses going into their spots. There is a lot of real estate available in the area, and the people seem to like where they are. Only an hour and a half from SAT so there is a proximity to the dream of living in the country while still enjoying amenities of city life.

Ron finally finds his hat

Restaurant:

The Lakehouse

The Lakehouse Restaurant looks like a cabin inside, and has fantastic (and well priced) hometown cooking. We went twice, and our server both times (Hey Nicolette!) was both attentive and friendly. The food was flavorful and felt like down south cooking. The only thing that was missing was a deck for us to enjoy the food on while looking at their riverside view.

San Marcos, TX

Site:

Pecan Park, San Marcos TX

Site: 115

Wifi: Verizon - 4 down, 8 up, ATT - 15 down, 5 up

Cost: $450/month

Noise: Minimal, occasional flights overhead

Pecan Park is perfect for those that want to feel like they are in the country while still being a stone’s throw away from city amenities. They’re off a main highway, next to a beautiful stream with lots of trees and grass. It’s a fairly picture-esque setting. The ladies in the office were very friendly, as were our site neighbors. The only problems we had were that for some reason, at around 2pm every day, all of our wifi options would absolutely tank. And it was a night and day difference. During the morning we could stream and in the afternoon we were lucky to have speeds to send emails. The campground wifi was like most campground wifi - unreliable at best. We would still very much recommend staying, especially if you’re fine just downloading your shows in the morning to watch at night. 

Tyler thinks his stupid walk will ruin the photo. HA! Jokes on you!

City:

San Marcos, TX

San Marcos is a sprawling college town right off of some major highways. They have big box stores, a ton of hiking trails, and a very cute downtown with an oddly high amount of ice cream stores (not that I’m complaining, I’m pro ice cream). Overall, it was one of the better towns we’ve stayed in. The constant traffic on the main road is obnoxious, but other than normal town problems, we really enjoyed our stay

Restaurant:

Otoko

This restaurant is actually in Austin, but since we didnt eat out in San Marcos I’m counting this one. :) Our friend Tyler actually flew out to join us for this experience, and Otoko didnt disappoint. It was a revelatory experience in sushi for us all. It’s an incredibly intimate group experience. There are only a few spots each night, and the chef prepares everything in front of you. It was really expensive, but also really worth it. Some places you go to eat, this is one of those places you go to experience.

RV Spending - January 2020

Holy crap it’s 2020. Time has gone by really weirdly for us. Some days it feels like we were in Minneapolis just a bit ago, other times it feels like we were in Colorado five years ago. Time is boxes. :)

Food

We did a lot of home cooking. We had both friends and family come over, so there was more eating out than anticipated, but we ate well without feeling like we were sacrificing anything.

Groceries: $848

Eating Out: $300

Gas

We only got gas for the motorcycle - no RV fill ups

Gas: $73

Entertainment

We really lumped a lot into this category this month. Along with friends and family activities, we renewed: Amazon Prime, Squarespace, Email. We also went to Six Flags and had an absolute blast, Ron found the cowboy hat he had been pining for since we started, and Ron restocked his ammo. This was much more expensive than we would have liked to spend in one month, but the renewals couldnt wait.

Entertainment: $1532

RV Repairs

No RV repairs! What is even happening? We have included our tab renewals for the RV, motorcycle, and trailer in this category.

RV Repairs: $200

RV Parks

We were only in one place, so only one payment.

RV Parks: $440

Propane

We didn’t need to fill up this month. All of our heat came from electric so there was no need to top off.

Propane: $30

Grand total for November: $3423

Tips for Maintaining Friendships from an RV

I think one of the first things you fret about when thinking about moving into an RV is how you’re going to miss your friends and family back at home. We take a lot of comfort in seeing friendly faces. It’s also really scary to think that the relationships that you’ve spent years cultivating and nurturing would disappear just because you’re not in the same place anymore. While it is inevitable that some of the fringe friendships will go by the wayside, we have found that you absolutely can maintain the relationships you had back in your sticks and bricks.

1) Maintain routine “outings”

When we lived in an apartment, I had a few standing engagements. Every Wednesday I would play videogames with my friend Tyler, once a month I would have a girls night with Alexa, and every two weeks or so I would play Pathfinder (or Dungeons & Dragons) with a small group of friends. While playing Pathfinder on the road was a lot more difficult as a lot of the actual game is reacting to the actions of the people around you, it has been super important to me to try and keep the playdates with Tyler and Alexa. Playing videogames with Tyler was normally from the comfort of our own couches anyway, so it’s really been up to internet bandwidth. We have had to change some of the games we play from live action to turn based so the second by second actions werent as important if I was super laggy, but we still get together, talk, and have fun. The girls nights have changes to a gossipy Skype call where we recap what is going on in our lives. While we arent out at a movie or fancy dinner while we talk, the conversation and flow remains the same. It has made it feel like we aren’t far away at all from our friends.

Even RVs can have great gaming setups!

2) Keep them in the loop

I’ve found that, for the most part, our friends and family want to know about our journey. I “bring them along for the ride” by sending out an obnoxious amount of postcards. I know it may feel a bit unreal to send actual, physical letters and mail in a day and age where you can instantly message a person, but there’s something nice about being able to hold something from a person from far away. I used to try and get postcards at every place we stayed the night, but some places had just garbage, stock photo from the 1980s type cards. I want people to be happy and excited when they get a postcard, so none of the boring Guideposts Calendar images for my friends and family (side note, if anyone wants to put me in touch with whoever makes the decisions on continuing to print those relics, I’m happy to offer advice).

It may take a while to get there, but its worth it!

3) See them!

The day after we left Minneapolis, Alexa messaged me and said “Okay, so when do we get to meet up?” While planning trips for friends and family has been difficult (more on that in another post), it has been so wonderful to have people that are willing and able to come visit us. We’ve had a very full two months, packed with sushi with Tyler, massages with Alexa, great chats with my uncle, and cobblestone strolls with my mother. We’ve also seen two of my aunts this month (Hi Charlotte and Janis!). One thing that is great about traveling full time is being able to see people you otherwise wouldnt, as well as explore new locations with people that otherwise wouldnt be there. Ron has visited multiple friends that up until now he had only met online and he got to meet my aunt for the first time ever. The reaction of our friends has been that we just need to tell them when we will be somewhere cool and they will show up. We are lucky that even it wasn’t cool, they still would.

You’re never alone when you’re with friends

Canyon Lake, TX

Site:

Potters Creek Park, Canyon Lake TX

Site: 99

Wifi: Verizon - 21 down, 15 up, ATT - 20 down, 18 up

Cost: $20/night

Noise: None, just nature

Potters Creek Park is the definition of “middle of nowhere”. If you’re looking for some off the grid, on the lake relaxation, then this is your place. The RV sites were fairly spacious, with picnic table and awning. Our neighbors were friendly and on the first night they invited us to relax at their fire pit and we swapped stories of our lives on the road. The bathroom was small, but the showers had hot water and even when the campground was full there was no wait. Cell reception was spotty at best, but when you hit a good patch the speeds were fairly good. Not gaming streaming, but we could watch Netflix without too much worry. 

Ron fulfills his dream of petting penguins at the San Antonio SeaWorld

City

Canyon Lake, TX

We drove around for quite a while on the motorcycle and I’m still not exactly sure where Canyon Lake is. We stopped through a few small towns that seemed like they were only a mile or so long, with mostly mom and pop shops. While we didnt find too much to do outside of tubing (not in the winter!) and walking the dam, the small towns we stopped in had everything we need to a comfortable stay in Potters Creek Park. 

Restaurant:

We searched Google while walking the dam for something to eat after the hike. This led us to Jay & Diane’s Horseshoe Grill. They claim to have the best burgers around, and they really might be right! It’s a very small kitchen, almost like a food truck, with outdoor seating. Everything is ala carte, which works perfectly for picky eaters like me. The meat was flavorful and the sides were equally delicious. Very recommended.

RV Spending - December 2019

This was our first month where we stayed in one place. Which was… weird. We were finally starting to get used to not being used to anything! San Marcos was a stellar location for our first longer stay, but we are ready to hit the road!

Food

We didn’t eat out much. Our big meal with Tyler was paid for the previous .month, so it was almost exclusively groceries.

Groceries: $1210

Eating Out: $185

Gas

We only got gas for the motorcycle - no RV fill ups

Gas: $40

Entertainment

We had Tyler down for the weekend and we did a bunch of touristy things like check out Buc-ee’s (Ron is a Buc-ee’s convert), see the San Antonio Zoo, hike around Austin, and go shooting at a fancy range. Ron and I also saw the new Star Wars movie, which was…meh.

Entertainment: $480

RV Repairs

None! We didnt go anywhere, and nothing broke. We did, however, upgrade to a suuuuuper sweet 80” screen and projector for videos and gaming. No more nights curled up around the ipad! Also adding the yearly registration for the motorhome, motorcycle, and tow.

RV Repairs: $770

RV Parks

Our stay for the month was relatively cheap, but I’m a planner so I booked us at RV parks through May. Wishful thinking on my part, I know. Some places were just deposit, all state parks are fully paid.

RV Parks: $1404

Propane

We didn’t need to fill up this month. All of our heat came from electric so there was no need to top off.

Propane: $0

Grand total for November: $4089

Year in Review - 2019

2019 was a whirlwind of a year for us. We’ve had some high highs (crossing off bucket list items, staying in the mountains, meeting up with new friends) and some low lows (crying from the frustration of everything breaking at once, being stuck in a cheap hotel for a week during fixes, having no real water). Looking back on our last 5 months of being newbie RV travelers, we can say that overall we are happy with what we are doing. Every day has new challenges (whether we want them or not) and we are learning a lot about ourselves and each other. Here are some stats of how our 2019 travels have gone:

Comanche, TX

Site:

Copperas Creek Campground

Site: 52

Wifi: Verizon - Can’t even make phone calls, ATT - 33 down, 20 up

Cost: $20/night

Noise: None, just nature

I was reeeeeally worried on the drive to Copperas Creek. We had zero cell reception. We’ve had it before where we have had crappy cell reception, but this was pulling nothing. And it was that way for at least 30 miles before we reached Copperas. If we weren’t going to have wifi, we would have to leave. Luckily ATT saved the day and had great speeds. Ron has even streamed on Twitch with minimal issues. And how awesome, because the campground is gorgeous. We are feet from a big lake, with lots of people fishing and ducks and herons all around. The site itself has electric (50 and 30) and water, a fire pit, and a covered area with cement picnic table. There is a sewer dump before you get in, so everything is covered. The bathrooms are individual, with a toilet and shower in each. There’s a dock for fishing and benches so you can watch the sun set. We had nearly no neighbors in our time here, even though it was a holiday weekend and we expected the area to be packed. With views like these, this is easily one of our favorites. 

Most copilots don’t get to sit on the pilot’s lap.

City

Comanche, TX

This was another town we went to that, when asked what there was to do, most people said leave. Comanche is a small town of just over 4,500 people, with no real big city amenities. However the people were incredibly friendly and happy to chat and offer advice when we said we were from out of town. The town has a small historic square with lots of local businesses. The problem was that, on a Sunday when we visited, all of them were closed with the exception of the soda shop. A good portion of them were also permanently closed or abandoned. A developer with some great ideas could make this a bustling, cute town. 

Restaurant:

Harvest

Harvest is right downtown in the main square of Comanche. It looks like a fancy Italian restaurant inside, and we were promptly seated and served. It was weird that on a Saturday, the entire place was filled with middle aged women. Where was the rest of the town? The lunch was decently priced, with large portions. I ordered the cornbread catfish, and Ron had the cheeseburger. While we were both impressed at our main entrees, the sides were lacking and not flavorful. However the server was very attentive even with a full house, and we enjoyed our time.

RV Spending - November 2019

We finally had a month where I didn’t want to crawl in a hole and die whenever I looked at our spending. This month was way better on our pocketbooks, partially because we didnt have any major RV issues and partly because we spend longer at each place. In fact, the next two spots we are going we are spending a month at each to see what the perfect amount of time is for us (that, and it’s hella cold everywhere else).

Food

We didn’t really go out that much to eat, compared to previous months. There were not as many options for dining aside from fast food in the smaller towns we stayed in. However, we did discover our new love for Chicken Express.

Groceries: $945

Eating Out: $276

Gas

Going to fewer places means less gas needed. We did, however, spend a lot more time exploring the towns so we filled up the bike quite a bit. 40+ mpg on that thing is absolutely amazing.

Gas: 312

Entertainment

Heading down toward a more metropolitan town meant more options for things to see and do. This month was extremely expensive as we paid for a few once-in-a-lifetime experiences (coming soon: fishbirds!). We paid for an animal encounter at SeaWorld, as well as prix fixe menu for us and our friend Tyler for when he comes down next month. While it may be expensive, I’d much rather have our money go to experiences than have to spend it on new tires.

Entertainment: $1,151

RV Repairs

None! Nada! Nothing!

RV Repairs: $0

RV Parks

We had previously paid for our stays at the US Army Corps of Engineer Parks, so this month was much cheaper due to Past Jakki having taken care of the cost already.

RV Parks: $220

Propane

We ended up cutting it close in Comanche with the propane and ran out of propane for our grill as well as pretty close to empty in the RV. Luckily small town deals paid off, and we filled up both the RV and gas grill container for less than the half fill we had gotten the previous month.

Propane: $38

Grand total for November: $2942

Abilene, TX

Site:

Whistle Stop

Site: 33

Wifi: Verizon - 10 down, 40 up / ATT - 60 down, 30 up

Cost: $225/week

Noise: Moderate - highway and train noise

We read reviews on Whistle Stop and everyone said they have the nicest bathrooms. I’m here to tell you that OH MY GOD THEIR BATHROOMS ARE AMAZING. We would have paid for the bathrooms alone. They are individual bathrooms like you have in a house, they’re clean, the showers are big with actual showerheads, awesome water pressure and the water actually gets warm. It was a dream. The sites weren’t overly close together, office folk seemed nice enough, and it’s a hot minute to get on the highway. Were we to need to go back to Abilene we would stay there again. 

City

Abilene, TX

Look, I came in to Texas having a bit of a bias. But people in Texas have been very friendly and helpful, and the people of Abilene were no exception. Abilene has a lot of amenities, including MULTIPLE WALMARTS. We found a Walmart that even had Pineapple Upside Down cake, which is Ron’s favorite, and YooHoo, which is my favorite. We went to the zoo, which was small but you got to be really close to the animals. We also visited the Frontier Texas museum, which was really someone’s idea for a multimedia experience. It took us about two hours to get through, and they had a lot of great information. It was a little weird, though, because you can tell they were trying to be as PC as possible, while still calling Native Americans “Indians” at every turn. Guess having the flow of Cowboys and Indians was more important than respect, but what can you do when talking about the slaughter of entire nations.

Nasty, nasty fish mouths looking for food at the zoo

Restaurant:

Chicken Express

We went to Chicken Express thinking it was some local fast food place. We have never heard of Chicken Express, and honestly didnt expect much. It. Was. Amazing. The food was well seasoned, cooked nicely, and you get a ton of it for the price. Ron had chicken gizzards, which he says were “exactly what he was expecting having eaten thousands in the past, and it’s exactly what I wanted”. Can’t look at a Chicken Express without the Chicken Attack song coming to mind, but we would definitely go back again, especially we have seen one in literally every town we have driven by since. 

You Absolutely Should(n't) Live In An RV

Almost daily, someone on an RV forum or Facebook group will start a conversation with the following:

“Hey guyyyyys. So I really want to travel and live in an RV and be free but my friends and family think I’m crazy what do I do?”

And there will be an outpouring of support, encouraging the person to follow your dreams, forget the advice of people who actually know you, and listen instead to a stranger who has no vested interest in the outcome of the situation. I am here today, on my virtual soapbox, to tell you to stop making giant life choices based off of the opinions of strangers on the internet. And here is my advice, as a stranger, on the internet.

You Absolutely Should(n’t) Live In An RV

You love to travel

• Awesome. You can absolutely do that in an RV. In fact, unless you’re living and traveling for a job, you can travel wherever and whenever you want.

• But also, there will be times where you will get stuck. Something broke, and you’re trapped in a town until the part comes in, or suddenly the weather turns on the day you’re supposed to move, or you go somewhere to boondock only to find that every spot is full and you have to travel further, crossing your fingers the whole while that maybe some place will open up that you feel safe enough to stay.

You love meeting new people

• When you live in an RV, pretty much every person you meet is new. And from our experience, almost everyone is friendly too! You’ll bond with people by your campsite, the checkout girl at the grocery store, or just random people on the street. The world is your oyster, and everyone is the potential to be a new friend.For someone like me, who has adult stranger danger, this is probably one of the hardest things in the lifestyle. For someone like Ron, this is one of his top things.

• But dont expect any of those friendships to last. People tend to not take a vested interest in cultivating a friendship with someone who doesnt stick around. It’s like when you graduate high school - you say you’ll keep in touch, but really you’re just excited for whatever is in store next.

You love trying new things

• Every town you go to, no matter how small, will have something new and unique to offer. Whether it be hiking or food, culture or tech, you’ll learn something about both where you are as well as something about yourself each time you get out of your comfort zone.

• For those of us that thrive on routine, this can be especially hard. All of a sudden spaghetti had a spicy kick the further south we went, and there is something to be said about going to a grocery store and knowing where all the items you want are (or even if they HAVE them!).

You don’t care what others think

• Who cares if your friends and family arent on board? It’s not their life! You’re the one that is going to have to live with whatever decisions you make, and while it would be nice to have people have your back, not everyone thought you would look good with bangs and you did it anyway and look how awesome your hair looks now!

• Or does it? Oh god, why didn’t you listen to your best friend when they said your forehead was too short to look good with bangs? Why did you do this to yourself, Susan??

You want to save money

• And you totally can! Your entire monthly spending is up to you. Want to save extra? Try boondocking! Have some extra cash? Go out and try that thing you always wanted to do. Unlike living in a house or having a lease, your living situation is flexible to the point where things that used to be a monthly stagnant charge can be however expensive or cheap as you want them to be.

• But there are also a lot more enticing things for you to do with your money. There are only so many times you can go to the zoo in your hometown, but how about the awesome dining experience in San Antonio, or skiing in Colorado, or fishing in Oregon? You know what you want to spend your money on when you’re at home. It’s a lot harder to stick to a budget when everything is so new and exciting and you only have a limited amount of time to do them.

You want to live like the Instagram Folks

• Those places you’ve seen in photos have to exist somewhere, right? And the Rockies are gorgeous no matter the filter, the Albuquerque Balloon Festival goes for a full week of awesomeness, and there isnt a single bad angle of the Grand Canyon.

• Mind you, the drive up the Rockies could literally stop your heart with those dangerous twisty turns, you’re sandwiched in next to your neighbor so badly at the festival you need a can opener to get out your door in the morning, and the day you go to the canyon just so happens to be the day that pea soup fog sweeps the area. Just because a beautiful, filtered photo exists doesnt mean it will be like that for you.

Look, living in an RV isnt a fairy tale. At the end of the day, you’re still doing dishes, complaining about the internet, waiting in line, and wondering if you locked the door on the way out. RV Life is just that - your life. And only you can decide if it’s something that you really want to do. Just like back when we lived in an apartment, we still have good days and bad days. Who we are as people hasn’t changed. Living in an RV doesnt magically fix any problems you have. If anything, it magnifies them. But for all the difficulties we have had, this lifestyle works for us. As I sit here, writing this post on the comfort of my couch, sandwiched between my cats, I can reflect on all the amazing places we have been and seen. In no other way would we have hiked the Rockies, driven through Custer, cuddled on a sand dune, or Meow Wolf’d in one year, much less a lifetime. We feel safe, we feel loved, we feel lucky. And that’s good enough for us.

Lubbock, TX

Site:

Mesa Verde RV Park

Site: 66

Wifi: Verizon - 71.5 down, 41.9 up / ATT - 29 down, 11 up

Cost: $190/week

Noise: None

Mesa Verde has incredibly friendly staff and a stellar bathroom. This is one of the few places that actually has showerheads! Instead of feeling like I was in a dorm, it felt like using a  normal house shower. Unfortunately there is little Verde around. We were in the newer part of the park, and it felt like a parking lot. There is no green between the spots, and no amenities like picnic tables or shelters. The park is right by the highway but suffers no highway noise. 

Getting used to the road!

City

Lubbock, TX

Lubbock is a much larger town than it lets on. They have two Targets! Unfortunately we were unable to explore it as we had freezing temps for most of the trip and going out on the motorcycle when it is cold out is miserable. That said, the people we met were friendly and eager to speak to us once they learned that we were not from here.

Restaurant

We went out to Joe’s Crab Shack for my birthday dinner, but we really want to only discuss local establishments instead of chains. Shout out to Bailey, our server. We hope you get to Colorado and NYC, and all the places you want to visit.

Ron tries Big Red for the first time… with mixed results

Tucumcari, NM

Site:

Tucumcari KOA

Site: 41

Wifi: Verizon - Pretty much nothing / ATT - 15 down, 5 up

Cost: $42/night

Noise: None

We were supposed to stay in Alamosa, but fate had us stuck in Santa Fe getting fixed longer than intended. We were done with the repairs around 3:30pm, but didnt want to drive around in the dark, so we needed someplace closer than Alamosa. Tucumcari KOA had open spots, and we love being able to book online so that is where life took us. The actual KOA is pretty standard. The spots were incredibly close together, and you shared green space with your neighbor. However the office was well stocked, with incredibly friendly hosts who didnt have the fake happy “WELCOME TO THE KOA!” like some of the bigger corporate ones do. It was nice to be able to talk to such genuine people. They offered local recommendations and chatted with me while I waited for food from their cafe. Our spot was right next to the restroom, and it was nicely renovated. The showers were a little odd in that the changing stalls were short - I could see over them, and I’m 5’7”. The laundry was on the more expensive side but that’s just a KOA for you. 

City

Tucumcari, NM

Tucumcari’s slogan is Tucumcari Tonight! We weren’t there for long, but it didnt look like there was much to do in the way of nightlife. It’s known for being a spot on Route 66, and they are very proud of that. There are a lot of buildings with art for Route 66 painted on the side. That said, a lot of the buildings were closed  or abandoned. It looks like the town had a rough time when the Route 66 road stopped being such a main attraction. The town itself had all the basic amenities, but again we didnt stay long enough to really find anything to do. 

Restaurant:

Watson’s BBQ

Tucumcari’s famous restaurant is Watson’s BBQ. It was snowing on our explore day, so Ron went and grabbed some to go. Pulled pork was delicious, as was the BBQ sauce, but the real star was the sugar cookies.  We would go back for the sugar cookies alone.

RV Spending - October 2019

I’m ready to write an article called “Why You Definitely Should(n’t) Live In An RV”, as I shiver from it being 30 degrees outside in Texas and our heater is suddenly broken. Every time we get one thing fixed, another breaks. Most of October was spent with a tinge of disappointment. We didnt really like the towns we visited and we were once again stuck somewhere while we were getting things repaired. We also had our most expensive repair to date. As we travel through Texas like the pretend snowbirds we are, we will be slowing down to lower gas and campground costs so that, God willing, we can bring back up our savings.

Food

We were pretty upset by how lousy October was being to us, and we took it out on our wallets with restaurants and groceries. When we hibernate next month that number should go down.

Groceries: $579

Eating Out: $620

Gas

While we had fewer trips, we went further on each trip. We also were bored in the towns we went to, and traveled up to two hours each way to larger towns for things to do.

Gas: $265

Entertainment

Albuquerque had an awesome zoo that we went to on a half priced weekend, and we saw a movie at Alamo Drafthouse (Joker) as well as went to MeowWolf. With the influx of video games coming out soon, we will probably spend less on entertainment as we nerd out.

Entertainment: $126

RV Repairs

We went to Hal Burns in Santa Fe for repairs. We replaced our front brake pads, calipers, and rotors. We also got our bearings repacked. We were originally quoted $3k for this service by the repair guy in Denver, and were pleasantly surprised when it was just over half of that. This also includes the registration for the motorcycle.

RV Repairs: $2,380

RV Parks

We were lucky enough to stay in the parking lot for free while we were waiting for our repairs in Santa Fe, but because of the uncertainty of when we would get fixed, we were stuck with expensive same day KOAs. Most of November we prepaid back in September as they are state parks, so next month will be cheaper. This month we stayed at an RV park 24 days, with an average of $37/site.

RV Parks: $749

Propane

As we had hookups almost the entire time, most of our propane usage was for the stove. Our electric heater only works over 50 degrees, so the nights it got really cold we used propane heaters instead.

Propane: $57

Grand total for October: $4,776

Santa Fe, NM

Site:

Hal Burns Truck & Equipment Service

Site: None

Wifi: Verizon - 26 down, 14 up / ATT - 35 down, 26 up / Sprint - 3.75 down, 3.3 up

Cost: None, they let us stay while getting fixed

Noise: None

When we got our brake line fixed in Denver, the technician let us know that our front brakes were shot (shout out to the folks who fixed her up in WI who said they were fiiiiiine) and we needed to get her in ASAP. Ron did some research and came up with Hal Burns Truck & Equipment Service in Santa Fe. We called a few weeks ahead of time and were told it was first come first served. When we arrived, we were told it would probably be at least a week until we were even seen, much less have parts ordered. We were pretty distraught, as our silly minds thought it would only be a few days (HAHAHAHAHA, what idiots). Luckily, they have a lot of full time RVers come in, and while we could stay in their parking lot during the day while they worked on those that came before us, at night we were able to hook up to electric and water on their lot. The place is also gated, which helped with security as well. They were able to fit us in before the projected date and got the parts quickly. We are incredibly grateful for them letting us stay here while we waited. 

City

Santa Fe, NM

Santa Fe feels like a very large suburb. It is sprawling, and there is very little height to the town. Everywhere we went, people were incredibly friendly. It also is another art and history haven, but offer enough additional activities to have things to do for everyone. We also took a day trip to Albuquerque to the zoo where we saw what could be the most magnificent penguin exhibit ever. 

We also stopped at Meow Wolf, which was described to us as an eclectic art museum. And really, there is no good way to describe it other than it’s an experience. Ron and I both loved it, and when we go back to Denver and they have the installation in 2021, we will be the first ones in line. Definitely something to check out. 

Playing the light harp at Meow Wolf

Restaurant:

Puerto Penasco

We were given the recommendation for this local restaurant by one of the folks at Hal Burns (the first place she offered was known for its spicy food, so clearly we were not going there). We went in on a Friday night, and the place was pretty empty. It was shocking, because the food was DELICIOUS. It’s a Mexican restaurant with a ton of options. There was a distinct lack of green chile on the menu. Ron’s tacos came with a side of fries that we agreed were possibly the BEST FRIES WE HAD EVER EATEN. At a Mexican restaurant. It was really weird. My tacos were also flavorful without being spicy, and we both ordered the perfect flan. After our shit food experiences in Taos, we were ecstatic with how great the food has been in Santa Fe.

Taos, NM

Site:

Taos Valley RV Park

Site: 15

Wifi: Verizon - 1 down, 3 up / ATT - 60 down, 95 up

Cost: $225/week

Noise: No noise at all, minus the loud neighbors

When we pulled in to the office to check in, our host asked us how long we were when handing us our site info. That is never a good sign, I’ve found. The Taos Valley RV Park is situated at the south end of Taos, in a great location. You have beautiful views of the mountains, you are near the main road but get none of the noise, and all the essentials are nearby. The sites themselves vary wildly, and since there are no indicators on the website when booking, you may get stuck with a smaller spot than your RV can handle. This happened multiple times as evidenced by the trucks parked in the main roadways of the park as well as when I was getting the mail and a couple came in and said they needed a new spot because they didnt fit. We were lucky - our RV fit perfectly and our motorcycle is small. The pathways and roads are craggy, and instead of gravel you have small rocks that are painful to step on in flip flops. We also didnt have rocks all the way up our site, and when it rained the first night the front end of our RV sank into mud. The bathroom is small considering how many sites they have, and feels very dated. The showers have yet another case of Missing Showerhead Syndrome (common in many parks and clearly contagious) and the toilet in the middle stall of the women’s room isn't bolted down to the floor, making for a terrifying experience. Though in need of some TLC and updating, the park is the nicest one in the area, and were we to come back we would probably stay again. 

City

Taos, NM

Taos was listed on many sites as being one of the best hidden gems in the US. If you are into art, I completely agree. Unfortunately for us, streets lined with galleries do nothing to keep our interest. Taos has a lot of amenities, and many restaurants with New Mexican food. There is a lot of history in the area, as well as hiking trails in Carson National Forest and is within driving distance to larger cities. 

Restaurant:

We ate at three restaurants in Taos, and had horrible experiences with all of them, so we will not be putting a restaurant review on this one.

Alamosa, CO

Site:

Base Camp Family Campground

Site: 1

Wifi: Verizon - 41 down, 60 up / ATT - 35 down, 12 up

Cost: $40/night

Noise: Some road noise, but nothing that would wake you up

We went to Alamosa because we wanted to visit the Great Sand Dunes (please go see them if you haven’t, they’re incredible) and while the San Luis State Wildlife Area had a ton of free camping, there was zero cell reception for ATT or Verizon for us, which just wasnt doable for work. Base Camp Family Campground is one of the best campgrounds we have stayed at. It is fairly new, so everything is updated. Our wifi was stellar, the sites are long and spacious, the camp host was warm and welcoming, and Mitch, the owner, was incredibly accommodating when our plans shifted. We ended up staying an extra week because the campground was so nice for us. This is the only campground we have been to where the bathrooms are like the bathrooms in a home - individual and private. If you don't want to shower while hearing your neighbor poop, fear no more! The site we had was fairly level, we had no problem navigating to it (all of the sites are pull throughs), and it was easy to connect to hook ups. The views of the mountains are phenomenal, and it is really easy and direct to get into town. The only downsides are that there is only one washer and dryer for the whole camp (I went in to do laundry at 8am thinking I would be safe and someone already had the washer running! Who is up that early??) and if anything is running water while you are trying to take a shower, it will be lukewarm at best with a trickle of water. But if you have a shower in your RV, there really is no reason to not love Base Camp. 

Rating: Perfect stop for the location

City:

Alamosa, CO

Right outside the city are two billboards: one about getting help for your alcohol addiction, and one for getting help for your opioid addiction. That should tell you everything you need to know. Without sounding too negative, Alamosa is a city that looks like it has given up, and is content to just be.

Rating: Quick stop to get what you need.

Restaurant:

Wize Apples

Wize Apples just moved to a new location, and when you step inside you are greeted by an eclectic mix of women’s heels on the wall, superhero fan art, and old artwork. Their menu is broad, featuring burgers and sandwiches. It was empty when we went in around 2pm (which is fine, that’s a super weird time to eat anyway), and we ordered appetizers and burgers. Upon seeing the gigantic monstrosity of the burgers, we regretted ordering any apps. Even the basic bacon cheeseburger had on like half a pound of bacon, and they didnt skimp on the size of anything. The veggies looked fresh and the buns were slightly sweet. Neither of us could pick up the burgers, so we resorted to knife and fork work. The burgers came with unlimited fries, but considering we couldnt finish our burgers, we were certainly not going to get another helping of fries. 

Rating - Go if you’re hungry, but don't even think about it if you’re just peckish.

RV Spending - September 2019

Well based off of the last two months, the entirety of the internet has lied to me about the cost of RV living. August was rough, but September was genuinely brutal. Coming down the Rocky Mountains, our brakes went out and somehow the entirety of Denver refuses to repair RV brakes. After 14 phone calls, we finally found a guy that was willing to fix it. Unfortunately with the time calling shops, negotiations to get the RV towed, and the actual diagnosis and repair, it was almost 2.5 weeks of waiting before we were able to get back on the road. When we reached our next destination, we found out that the brakes on our new motorcycle had gone out. This meant not only were we really without a way to explore anything, we had to trek the bike back to a shop that could fix it same day.

Food

Because we didn’t have the ability to cook when we were waiting for the RV to be fixed, we went out a lot more for food than we had budgeted. We tried to keep the costs low and ate more fast food than I’d like to admit versus actual meals. The latter half of the month was filled with outdoor grilling and we finally tried our Instapot (not super successfully).

Groceries: $462

Eating Out: $499

Gas

We did very little traveling in September, though not for lack of trying. Not having the RV meant we werent going to any new towns, and then not having the bike meant we were not exploring. I dont expect our gas bill to be this low until the winter when we settle down in places for a month at a time.

Gas: $135

Entertainment

We really didnt do much this month. When we got stuck in Denver our options for going out to do things was limited. We went to see It 2 (3.5 stars from Ron) at an Alamo Drafthouse, and drove to one of our favorite towns, Manitou Springs, and played at the penny arcade there. Other than that, we’ve just been exploring parks with our park pass and playing video games together.

Entertainment: $60

RV Repairs

This one actually was less than anticipated. New brake line sent us just over a grand. However, it revealed a whole new set of problems that we will talk about when we get it fixed in October. :)

RV Repairs: $1,242

RV Parks:

This one should really be titled Extended Stay Hotel, because thats where so much of this came from. We couldnt stay in a normal hotel because most dont allow pets, and the Extended Stay we went to looked great on paper - until we arrived and then they told us about the additional pet charge. The RV Repair Tech kept telling us that the rv would be done the next day, and then the next day, and then the next day, so it added up really quickly. We also learned that there arent a lot of boondocking areas with good cell reception the further south you go, so we paid up for some longer stays though February 2020. See you all in Texas for the holidays! This month we stayed at an RV park 20 days, with an average of $35/site.

RV Parks (aka Hotel): $2,316

Propane

We weren’t in the RV much, so we didnt use much propane. We also learned that A) it gets cold here at night and B) our electric heat works. So we are using electric heat where we have hookups.

Propane: $22

Grand total for September: $4,736