Even though Spearfish is just over 10,000 people, it’s likely about the 11th largest city in South Dakota. We liked that it still had access to good medical facilities (something we look for more often as we get older) as well as a Walmart, Tractor Supply and a good hardware store. After feeling like we have been in the middle of nowhere for quite a while, all these were important to us to get stocked back up.

Spearfish Canyon

Within the Black Hills National Forest, Spearfish canyon extends for about 14 miles starting just south of the town of Spearfish and is a popular destination during the fall for people to view the fall colors. We drove through the canyon on a clear, warm day and even though the fall colors had not yet fully arrived, it was still quite colorful. Hiking to Spearfish Falls and Roughlock Falls was a little over a mile each and it was steep getting to the canyon floor to see the beautiful falls but so worth it. So glad the smoke from all the wildfires out west have not followed us here to Spearfish.

DC Booth Fish Hatchery

When we first heard that the DC Booth Fish Hatchery was one of the best museums in the area we were a bit skeptical. After visiting, we agree with the people who recommended it. Not only were the grounds beautiful but it was interesting finding out how they harvested trout eggs from Lake Yellowstone and not only brought them here but also how they shipped them all across the country to develop Trout for food as well as for recreational fishing.

Deadwood

We spent a few hours walking around the old mining town of Deadwood on a beautiful fall day. The likes of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane visited these same streets – in fact Wild Bill was killed in a bar in the lower Main Street area. Today there are mostly small hotels, bars and casinos along the street along with the standard tourist stops for t-shirts and curios.

Sturgis

We spent a couple of hours one day driving around Sturgis and meeting up with friends from Texas who also happened to be in the area. Based on pictures we had seen of the annual rally, we thought Sturgis might be a bit rougher looking but it wasn’t unlike many other small towns in this area with the exception of some very large saloons and bars. We found out that many of these large venues are only open for the rally and close the rest of the year. It’s amazing they can make enough money in just a couple of weeks to keep these places in business.

Park Review – Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort

Rating: 1/2
Site Quality / Amenities: The roads in the park are asphalt and the sites are concrete. There is a picnic table at each site but the only fire pits are community. There are two different shower houses, a guest laundry, onsite store and gift shop, swimming pool and hot tubs, basketball, tennis, and pickleball courts. The resort also has cabins for those without an RV.
Type: Commercial
Access: Easy access from exit 17, just south of Interstate 90.
Staff: Staff were friendly and helpful but other than checking in we didn’t really have any interaction with them.
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Verizon was very fast at 106 Mbps down and 18 Mbps up. AT&T was about 1/2 the download speed with similar upload speeds which is still fast. The park had Wi-Fi but we did not use it.
Restaurants: Steerfish Steak and Smoke – We both got steaks but Anna got their Steak Troubadour which was topped with shrimp and a parmesan cream sauce and it was very good. Green Bean Coffeehouse – Good coffee and sweets. They also donate part of their profits to veterans. Latchstring Restaurant – In Savoy (along the Spearfish Canyon byway) I got a huge burger and Anna had Trout. Both meals were very good. Leone’s Creamery – Believed by many to be the best ice cream in South Dakota – Yum! Cheyenne Crossing – Busy place with great food at the south end of Spearfish Canyon. You must try the Indian Taco (get the small one unless you have a really big appetite) and don’t miss the desserts. They have great breakfast too.
Nearby parks: There are several parks nearby that looked good but we did not drive through them.
What we liked: Long pull through sites with lots of room between other sites. Nice store for any necessities during your stay. Clean and well kept with numerous amenities.
What we didn’t like: No fire pits at each site.
Verdict: Both the park and Spearfish itself were very nice with plenty of shopping and restaurant options as well as numerous outdoor activities to explore. We’d definitely stay here again both in the area and at the park. This would be a good place to stay for the summer!

The best part of our stay here was enjoying good friends Tammie and Peter who came to camp with us for 4 days. We enjoyed hiking, picnicking, campfires, smores, and great conversation. Staying in a swamp bring the mosquitoes and holy cow did we have the mosquitoes! We went thru several cans of yard guard, many citronella candles, and OFF bug repellent but still had us all becoming human pin cushions. It was not at all hard leaving the mosquitoes when we left the park 3 days early to avoid Hurricane Delta. That’s right, once again we were evacuating from a hurricane. A swamp with very tall trees surrounding us was not a good place to endure rain and high winds so we finally found an RV park 90 miles west, near Weimar, that had a site available and was well away from the strong winds.

We received a cute surprise in our mail this week. One of our grandsons, Ryan, sent us a letter including ‘Flat Stanley’. He is a cut out paper boy sent to travel with us for 2 weeks, take pictures to chronicle our life and return him to our grandson for a class project. We were able to get several pictures near alligators and walking trails before we left the swamps. Next, ‘Flat Stanley’ will get to swim in the ocean with us!

Brazos Bend State Park was so lush and gorgeous so it is definitely on our “Good List”. For now, our bug bites are healing nicely and we are ready for our next adventure to the Gulf coast.

Park Review

Rating: 
Site Quality: Asphalt pads and roads. Our site was long enough for our rig and truck with plenty of room for another vehicle or to park to the side of the trailer.
Type: State Park
Access: The park is southwest of Houston and there are multiple ways to get there. All of them end up using smaller country roads at some point before you reach the park. All are mostly straight and flat and are easily passable for even the largest of rigs.
Staff: All staff interactions (check-in, nature center, and at our site) were great. The staff is very friendly and helpful.
Amenities: There were Restrooms but no showers. We didn’t use them although they appeared to be clean. Each site had a fire ring, grill and picnic table.
Cellular/WiFi: Verizon and AT&T were both very intermittent while we were there. Sometimes both worked ok but at other times we could not use any data.
Restaurants: Runway Cafe (Angleton) I was aware of this place since my flying days but had never made it there in an airplane. We had to go to Angleton to pick up our mail so we stopped by for a late lunch. The seafood here was very good, especially the shrimp and oysters. I prefer a cornmeal batter and this place used something else but it was still pretty good.
What we liked: The RV sites are spaced far apart and there are many large trees (We had to use our portable satellite dish). The sites are also very wide which is very nice but does present some challenges backing in since you don’t have a guideline on one side. Numerous hiking trails with quite a few lakes offering many places to see alligators. On three different hikes we saw over 30 alligators in total – more than we saw in 6 weeks while we visited Florida.
What we didn’t like: The park is in a swampy area south of Houston and there are tons of bugs including fire ants and mosquitos.
Nearby Parks: We did not investigate any nearby parks although there seem to be several commercial parks in the area.
Verdict: We would stay here again. Other than the bugs, it was a great park with lots of outdoor activities and plenty of space between the sites. REMEMBER to bring a lot of mosquito repellant!

White Sands is truly magical sight to see with endless rolling white dunes with a backdrop of the San Andres Mountains to the west. This is our second visit in 2 years and February was a better time to visit because of smaller crowds and the weather was sunny but cool which allowed us to hike further into the rolling dunes. Also, the sand was so cold to the touch and to walk on! We read that the dunes move 15 feet per year with the winds off the mountains blowing the gypsum. A couple of the pictures below show the dunes trying to take over the road that the park rangers have to plow daily to keep it passable and in a few areas it was very narrow for two cars to pass.

After visiting White Sands we drove into Alamogordo. Located here is Holloman Air Force Base and is the site of the testing range where the first atomic bomb was exploded in 1945. Also, this is part of the Chihuahuan Desert, sits at 4336′ elevation and is one of the larger cities in NM. It really is a barren desert city with the beautiful Sacramento Mountains bordering on the east, and so different from the White Sands only 20 miles away. After eating lunch we had to go the the famous McGinn’s PistachioLand and see the World’s Largest Pistachio! After spending lots of time tasting ALL the different flavored pistachios inside the store we could not agree on a favorite so we had to buy 3 different packages; dark chocolate, red chili, and sriracha honey roasted. YUM!

Another fun and memorable day. Thanks for visiting our site and enjoy the pictures!

We were late making reservations to camp in the park so unfortunately Big Bend was completely booked along with all the RV parks in the small towns just outside the park. We found out that spring break is the busiest time for Big Bend likely due to the milder temperatures that time of year. We ended up staying in Marfa about an hour and a half north and taking a long day trip.

As we drove into the park we were immediately greeted by amazing balanced rock formations. After stopping by the Panther Junction visitor center, buying a t-shirt of course, we drove through the beautiful Chisos Basin then followed the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive through the west part of the park. You’ll see all the beautiful pictures we took but they cannot capture the stark beauty, depth, and colors of the mountains. We liked stretching our legs and hiking into Burro Mesa Pouroff, Tuff Canyon and Santa Elena Canyon. The Santa Elena Canyon Trail was our favorite! Sheer cliffs of 1500′ cut thru by the Rio Grande River was amazing, peaceful and a wonderful oasis in the desert. Hopefully next time we visit the park I would like to return to Santa Elena Canyon with a canoe or kayak to enjoy this peaceful canyon even more.

We had made a memorable summer trip here 25 years ago while on summer vacation when our kids were young. At that time, we stayed in a cabin at the Chisos Mountains Lodge. We had a black bear pay a curious visit then later a herd of javelinas walked by. Another great memory was when we paid a young man to a ferry us across the Rio Grande River into Boquillas, Mexico. While there we enjoyed walking around and meeting the friendly people and we sat outside at a small house/restaurant to enjoy a bottle of coke before we crossed the river back to the United States. It was so great remembering that trip and looking through some of our old pictures.

New terms such as ‘Cone of Uncertainty’ and ‘Evacuation Plan’ soon became very important to us. 

We followed all the weather news projections, read the hurricane prep websites and created the important Evacuation plan!  This meant sitting in lines at gas stations, hunting for a propane refill center that had not run out, enduring the grocery store as the last pallet of water was fought over and stocking up on food.  We booked the last spot at the Jennings, Florida KOA at the Florida/Georgia state line and evacuated there.

Now a new term to us is ‘Hurricane Fatigue’.

Dorian has strengthened to an incredible Category 5 and is crawling along. We’ve extended our stay at Jennings to ride out the storm with hopefully only tropical storm conditions. We hope to reserve a spot in an RV park in Orlando later this week so we can meet up with our family and still go on our Disney Cruise. 

Stay tuned!

Rating: 1/2
Site Quality:  Dirt/gravel road with quite a few pot holes and mud puddles. Grass/dirt pads with some having gravel pads. We got lucky and had a wood deck but as it wasn’t tied down so we were very concerned about safety in hurricane force winds.
Type:  Commercial Park
Access: From Interstate 95 take FL-50 west to the park.
Staff: Friendly but indifferent. Not helpful when we called to make original reservation and took a couple of calls to reserve site. Manager called us crazy when we left early to evacuate.
Amenities:  Heated pool, mail service with TV/game room, community fire pit, shuffleboard, meeting halls and kitchen, 2 very clean laundry rooms, 2 very clean restrooms/showers, dump station, onsite well and sewage treatment. Lots of planned activities during the busy winter season.
Cellular/WiFi:  Verizon and AT&T were both decent at about 4 Mbps.
What we liked:  Our site was D-1 on Dasher Lane. Many friendly long-term residents stopped by to visit, invite us to Friday happy hour and make us feel welcome. Lots of trees. All the names of the roads in the park and buildings were Christmas season names. Nice sunsets.
What we didn’t like: This park was all mostly dirt which made for a soggy, swampy mess during the summer wet season. All sites are dirt and grass with a crushed shell mix on a few. The mosquitoes and no-see-ums were relentless. Being here in the wet summer season was not a good idea but the drier winter season is likely better.
Verdict: Despite the friendly residents we would not return.

St. Mary’s is a quaint historic town along the banks of St. Mary’s River which is the state line to Florida. This is historic deep water river that used to have as many as 300 ships in the port including pirates and British ships from the Battle of 1812. The National Park Service manages the national seashore here, a museum, and a ferry to historic Cumberland Island. We enjoyed touring the island and learning the history but goodness it was so hot and humid so we spent more time inside the air conditioned museum!

Near our campground was a hidden little county park and Tabby Ruins so we had to check it out. Massive live oak trees and a 19th-century sugar mill. The ruins are the hand made walls of crushed oyster shells. They melted the oyster shells to create lime, then mix with sand, water and more broken shells to create a kind of concrete and unique to this coastal area. Kind of fascinating and we have not heard or seen anything like this before!

We made a day trip to Jekyll Island. Our first stop was Driftwood Beach. We arrived at low tide so we were able to walk quite a ways among huge driftwood trees. So cool. We also saw many historic sights of Horton House (an 18th-century tabby ruins) and the cemetery of the du Bignon family who owned island in 1800 to 1947 till the State of Georgia bought it. The family had built the Jekyll Island Club for the extremely wealthy. The historic inn and club which still operates, beautiful hundred years old live oak trees, and many of the historic wealthy homes still remain as museums or B&B’s. Along with all the history of the wealthy of the island is the awful history here too. The slave ship, The Wanderer landed here. The slaves were kept here in hiding until they were sold. As Jerry and I walked along the path of this exhibit we read the history and the stories of the survivors. So sad and really showed us the sad dichotomy of the history here. Before we left the island we had a yummy dinner at the historic Wharf Restaurant.

Rating: 
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads and gravel pads. The area surrounding the sites consists of Pine trees, Oak trees and Palmetto palms. As compared to Edisto Beach, the sites were much more “manicured” looking. You still had a feeling of being in the jungle but not the overgrown feeling.
Type:  State Park
Access: From Interstate 95 take St Marys road if travelling north or GA-40 then left on Kings Bay Rd if travelling south. Turn left on Charlie Smith Hwy (GA-40 spur) and on to the park. There were no concerns from low trees along either route.
Staff: The staff were friendly and helpful.
Amenities:  Many long sites with seclusion (area 2) or without (area 1). Picnic table, fire pit and lantern post at each site. There is a restroom/shower/laundry facility in each camping area. There are cabins available for rent adjacent to the campground. There are also playgrounds for the kids and numerous trails for hiking.
Cellular/WiFi:  Verizon and AT&T were both decent at about 6 Mbps.
What we liked: Full hookups, stores and restaurants nearby. Lots of things to do although the right time to be here would be spring or fall (maybe even winter) before the temperatures get too hot. Seclusion and tree cover although we got satellite on site 55. Next time it would be possible that we wouldn’t get it on the same site and other sites are a toss up due to trees.
What we didn’t like: We didn’t do as much as we would have liked because of the daytime temperatures – with feels like temps approaching 110. When the park filled up on the weekend we started having low voltage shutdowns due to low voltage on one power leg. Part of the problem was our monitor which needed to be adjusted but we were still seeing voltages as low as 105 volts. The monitor shuts off power to the RV at 104 volts.
Verdict: Many nice long spots, with most in area #2 being very secluded. This is probably one of the top two or three places we have stayed up to this point. Without the power issues we would have rated it 1/2 to 1 star higher. We would definitely stay here again in cooler weather.

Camping Area #1 has some trees but it is much more open than Camping Area #2. Choose area 1 if you want to interact more with your neighbors and do not want sewer. Many of those sites may also only have 30A. Choose area 2 if you want more seclusion with 50A FHU. We camped in site #55 which was plenty long for the trailer and our truck with the picnic table and fire pit behind the trailer. Several other sites in both areas are also very long. The pull through sites in area 2 also offer good seclusion although many may not exactly be pull through with a rig our size due to sharp bends on one side of the loop. It should be possible to back into these.

We learned that Tennessee was just under Virginia for having the most skirmishes during the Civil War. This was considered a gateway state for both armies into the other side’s land and resulted in more than 64,000 Confederate soldiers and 59,000 Union soldiers who died here. The monuments and markers of this time in history were everywhere and we tried to see as much as we could between exploring the park, rain, hot and 80+% humidity days, hungry mosquitoes and enjoying the 4th of July!

We spent 2 days exploring Nashville. Downtown Nashville has lots of public parking garages and only a couple for big dually trucks like ours so we ended up walking many miles to see the sights. We started with the Tennessee State Museum, thru the Capital Mall to the State Capital. We found out interesting info, such as how Tennessee is considered to be the start of the westward expansion from the original 13 states. ‘Longhunters’ like Daniel Boone were friendly with the Indians while hunting and brought back all their stories. This led to ‘Overmountain’ people which were the pioneers traveling thru the Appalachian Mountains who followed the Indian trails and started settling the area. We also learned a lot about the lives of slaves in this area, the civil war and then the difficult reconstruction years. Freed slaves searched for family members and had an especially hard time in Tennessee and a lot of violence towards them. The Klu Klux Klan was born here during that time and I guess that’s why there is still such a presence of it here today.

After our history lessons we walked down 4th to Broadway and surrounding area into ‘Music City’. The Ryman Auditorium, River Front Park, the pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River, The Country Music Hall of Fame, Music City Center, Bridgestone Arena, etc. and tons of fun and historic bars and restaurants. It was hot and fun with lots of country music!

Another trip into the west side of Nashville was a day touring President Andrew Jackson’s home called The Hermitage. The mansion has been restored to perfect condition from when he lived there with the original furniture, flooring, wallpaper, etc. and even his slippers in his bedroom. The tour guides for the mansion dress in period clothing but a audio tour and maps helped us navigate the entire site. Everything has been so well preserved, the history and the stories from the audios help you understand exactly how life was in the 1800’s for the Jackson family as well as all their slaves and even after the civil war. We learned a lot about “Old Hickory”, as a soldier at 13 years old who later was held as a prisoner in the American Revolution. He career led him to become Major General and leader of the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 then on to become our 7th President.

Closer to Montgomery Bell in Dickson, Tennessee was the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum. Dickson was a huge boom town after civil war troops completed the railroad with 13 tracks converging in front of what later became Hotel Halbrook in 1913. We found out this hotel catered to the traveling salesmen who traveled the railroad. A bath cost a whopping .25 cents while a room cost .75 cents per night, with lots of rooms being shared by up to 4 men at a time to save money! The hotel was very well preserved with the original wood flooring and tin plated ceiling panels. Lots of history here of the reconstruction and boom of the town after the civil war, the huge iron industry, lives and struggles of communities of freed slaves, and the life of the Clement family who managed the hotel and later the son, Frank, became the Governor of Tennessee. Our tour was capped off with a great miniature train display and town recreation which took up two rooms! Our grandsons would have loved this!

In conclusion, we really enjoyed all we learned and saw in Tennessee! However, we didn’t really connect with this park or the campground so probably won’t come back here. Next time, we would like to visit the eastern part of the state and hopefully not in the summer!

Rating: 1/2
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads with a mix of asphalt or crushed gravel pads.
Type:  State Park
Access: Relatively easy access from US-70 (a bit North of Interstate 40) on Jackson Hill Rd. With a larger rig it’s best to enter from the North entrance off US-70. There is a South entrance but he roads leading there are narrow and winding.
Staff: The staff were friendly and helpful.
Amenities:  Large site (site 68) that was in a lower area that protected it from wind during storms but also limited a breeze when hot. 50A power with water. Some sites are full hookup. Each site had a picnic table and a fire ring. There were restroom/shower facilities that seemed to be clean and in good repair. The park also had WiFi but we did not use it.
Cellular/WiFi:  Verizon and AT&T were both good at about 30 Mbps for AT&T and about half that for Verizon.
What we liked: Beautiful tree covered sites. Large park with plenty of room to walk. Site 113 would be good. It was a very long site in the full hookup area and on the river. Be cautious though if flooding is possible.
What we didn’t like: No sewer at our site although some sites do have sewer. No satellite or local channel reception because of the tree cover and being in a lower point in the park. The lower ground did protect us from some of the weather though. Sites and roads are narrow and navigation between trees with a big rig can be difficult. The park was crowded and the sites close together but it was during the July 4’th holiday.
Verdict: The was not one of our favorite state parks due to the amount of sites crammed into a small area. They also didn’t stop people from parking wherever they wanted so that contributed to the congestion of the park. The restaurants in the area that we tried were not that good, in particular the Inn in the park was “institutional” food when the web site made it look like something more. The bottom line is we could stay here again if needed but we’d likely look elsewhere.

In December of 2005 the original campground was destroyed when millions of gallons of water rushed down Proffit Mountain after a dam failed at a hydroelectric reservoir above the park. Luckily the campground was empty at the time but the flooding caused major damage to the park and the habitat. Over time they have rebuilt the park and restored the habitat to nearly what it was before. The campground was rebuilt about a mile across from the state park entrance and shut-ins. We enjoyed long walks daily all through the campground and park. The campground store serves a huge helping of ice cream in one scoop! Yummy!

The reason we ended up at Johnson’s Shut-Ins was because of Jan and Chris, Jerry’s sister and hubby. We were supposed to camp with them here as they were about to begin their full-time RV life. Unfortunately, their fifth wheel was destroyed in the recent tornado in Jefferson City. Thank goodness they were still in their home and not living in the RV yet so they are not hurt. However, they have faced the worst, shown remarkable strength by moving forward with their plans and have already purchased another RV! We are so thankful for them and their lesson in grace, strength and fortitude. We were not able to camp together (YET!) but they came for the day and brought huge steaks! Needless to say, we had a wonderful lunch and a great visit!

Rating: 
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads and concrete pads.
Type:  State Park
Access: We came up to the park from the south from US-60 via MO-21 which is somewhat narrow and hilly particularly as you get further north and closer to the park.
Staff: The staff were friendly and helpful. They frequently patrolled the park but did not seem overly picky about things.
Amenities:  50A power with full hookups. Each site had a picnic table, lantern holder and a fire ring. There were restroom/shower facilities that seemed to be modern and clean. Large laundromat and campground store.
Cellular/WiFi:  Verizon was nonexistent but we did have very slow (1-2 Mbps) AT&T service with amplification.
What we liked: Lots of opportunities for hiking. Relatively new campground so everything was in good shape and the sites were spacious. The shut-ins area offered good places to swim.
What we didn’t like: Due to trees we weren’t able to get satellite TV but the shade helped keep down temperatures so it was kind of a wash. They otherwise created a beautiful sight out our windows. Ticks were a big problem and we both had one or two become attached to us. We never were able to create an account on the Missouri park site to make reservations. That could be a problem next time we want to stay in a Missouri State Park.
Verdict: This was our first time to stay in a Missouri State Park and we really enjoyed it. Loop 2 was the only full hookup area but any of the sites there big enough for us would be good, particularly on the north side of the loop. The pull through sites on the north side of the loop were some of the largest we have seen and they would be great for us if we return.

We only had a couple of days to explore and get some shopping done because of weather. During several days with wild wind and dust storms we had to just hunker down, keep the windows closed and wait them out. At one point we had wind gusts over 60 MPH!

Since we were only a few miles from the Old Historic town of Mesilla we spent an afternoon taking in the Old Plaza area. It’s fascinating to us to learn about the history of the towns we visit. Indians and Conquistadors used Mesilla as a camping place. It became an overnight stop during the Overland stagecoach days. When white settlers came to the area in the 1800’s the area was still part of Mexico and the adobe houses were built close together around the plaza, with the church at one end, to protect against Indian raids. These houses and the plaza have been refurbished as gift shops. B&B’s, and restaurants today. Amazing to believe that this small plaza was once the capital of New Mexico and Arizona territories with bullfights, cockfights, outlaws, the famous courthouse that tried and sentenced Billy the Kid to hang, and bloody shootouts simply over politics!

One day was spent at the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. Located just 10 miles east of Las Cruces and bordering and overlooking the White Sands Missile Range. Such amazing history as Geronimo’s Cave and other shelter caves with Indian artifacts dating back to prehistoric days, silver mines, outlaws including Billy the Kid, stagecoach routes, and original US/Mexico border from the Gadsden Treaty. Along with the rugged beauty of these mountains we have come to love (minus the dust storms!) and the surprising beauty of spring flowers in the high desert.

After 9 months on the road we are still loving our RV life! Getting out of our small corner of the world we realize our country is so amazing. We are so thankful to have time to explore, absorb life, and meet such wonderful people in all the areas we visit! Hope you are enjoying our blog and pictures! We always love reading your comments!

Rating: 1/2
RV Park:  Hacienda RV Resort, Las Cruces, NM
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads with gravel pads. The park contained a mix of back in and pull through sites though most were pull through. We were in an extra long pull through site (#162) which was plenty long for us to unhook the truck with both on the pad. Most sites were arranged for two trailers parked in opposite directions with a small wooden fence between each pair of sites. Connections were conveniently laid out for our rig however the sewer connection was sunken below the service preventing us from being able to thread into the pipe as it should be able to. We even bought a new elbow but it didn’t work either.
Type:  Commercial
Access: Easy access from Interstate 10 in Las Cruces.
Staff: All of the staff we spoke with were very friendly and helpful. 
Amenities:  Full hookups, free cable TV, dog run, laundry room, hot tub, exercise room, restrooms and showers.
Cellular/WiFi: AT&T and Verizon were 5 bars without amplification and 4G service was good. WiFi was available and worked exceptionally well – better than cellular data rates in many locations. I used it for a while but then during a wind storm it seemed to fail. At the same time, the free cable became intermittent during the wind storm.
What we liked: Nice, well maintained park. Lots of options for shopping and restaurants nearby.
What we didn’t like: The neighboring site in each pair leaves your neighbor only a few feet from your rig with slide outs extended. Expensive for what we used. We had several intermittent problems with WiFi and Cable TV. Road noise from I-10 was pretty loud at times. There was a railroad track a little over 1/2 mile away that was louder than we expected but luckily it only had a couple of trains a day.
Verdict: Good for a short stay of a few days up to a week.

The historic downtown area of Silver City has a lot of history and was a bit more upscale than what we found in Elephant Butte or Truth or Consequences. Western New Mexico University has a big campus here and no doubt contributes to helping the town thrive. The town has a artistic and eclectic vibe with lots of art workshops with over 20 galleries, boutiques, gift shops, restaurants, etc. We really enjoyed strolling these historic streets, seeing the sites, and sampling all the espresso shops!

Silver City is known as the Gateway to the Continental Divide Trail and has many different trail heads right thru the heart of the town. Just off the main street was the Silver City Museum which is in a beautifully restored 1881 3-story home of town pioneers. As with most of the small and ghost towns in NM, many Apache tribes roamed freely in the area until the silver boom in 1800’s saw a huge amount of miners arriving. The Apache would attack and kill the miners. The army sent soldiers and set up forts to help protect the miners and settlers. Billy The Kid, as a boy along with his family, were among the settlers trying to find their fortune. Butch Cassidy and his ‘Wild Bunch’ also visited the area saloons often. Fort Bayard was built close by in 1866 near the Apache Trail and equipped the famous Army “Buffalo Soldiers”. Later the fort was converted into a tuberculosis hospital. Also, it has one of NM national cemeteries with headstones so old they had only name and infantry division.

In Silver City they have the Mimbres River flowing in a large cavern running thru the heart of town. Apparently, as the town was thriving with the silver boom the surrounding mountains were stripped of lumber to build all the saloons, stores, bank, courthouse, homes, churches, etc. When the rainy season came in 1895 there was no vegetation left to hold back the flood waters. A great wall of water rushed thru the middle of town, down Main Street, leaving a lot of destruction and a 55 foot ditch. The town still has the original high sidewalks created from the frequent flooding, the ditch grew bigger over time with more floods, and the loss of Main Street became known as ‘The Big Ditch’. It is now a revitalized trail with parks and picnic areas.

When driving into the area there is no missing a massive working mine, the Chino Copper Mine east of Silver City. Spanish arrived in early 1800 and created the oldest active mine in the southwest today, the Chino Mine. The Spanish had to abandon the mines because of Apache attacks but it was later reopened in the late 1800’s. When we were trying to get a glimpse of the mine from the road, the mine is so massive that the giant sized earth movers and transport trucks looked like ants in the distance! Another landmark above the mine is a rock formation called the ‘Kneeling Nun’. It is said that the rock was actually once a nun in love with a Spanish soldier and turned to stone as she knelt to pray.

A day trip along the ‘Trail of the Mountain Spirits National Scenic Byway’ was so beautiful and historic. The Catwalk National Recreation Trail is by far one of the coolest hiking trails we have experienced. It is deep into the Gila National Forest and in the very remote Whitewater Canyon. This is a fascinating and beautiful old mining canyon and mill site. Today, it is a metal catwalk clinging to the side of the narrow canyon 20′ above the roaring creek. It replaces the original wooden bridges and metal pipes used to supply water to the nearby towns and its electric generators. Some of the original 18″ pipes help support some of the current catwalk. We could even see some of the original spikes, etc. used to hold the pipes and mining equipment. Even though the rangers posted notices of bear and cougars in the area we still had to explore it. The Whitewater Creek was roaring so loud below us on the catwalk we had to yell to talk. From there we drove over 1000′ above the canyon thru the Mogollon mountains. This was another exciting adventure because of the narrow, barely one lane, and very steep twisting road with a sheer drop off on one side! The views were amazing! We saw the remains of the Old Fannie Mine with the tailings dropping over the cliff. As we cleared the peak of the mountain we dropped into the ghost town of Mogollon. This was supposed to have been one of the wildest mining towns because of its location and Butch Cassidy’s gang was hold up here to avoid the law. It is mostly privately owned homes and businesses now with entrances onto old mines and remnants of the mining days scattered everywhere. So fascinating! The town opens to tourism May – October with a lodge, restaurant, shops, etc. so we missed being able to walk thru and explore. Maybe next time!

Because of cold weather with rain and snow, we only were able to explore a small portion of the area. We really enjoyed Silver City and are anxious to go back and explore a lot more and hopefully hike some of the Continental Divide Trail!

Update 3/2023: We came back to Silver City to spend a month in March 2023. We stayed at Rose Valley again and we were assigned to site 4 on the east side of the park. Site 4 is in our opinion one of the best sites in the park with a good amount of privacy and the creek behind our site.

We went back to The Catwalk when friends Frank and Debbie from Texas came to see us.

We also took a day trip up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. We didn’t make it up there during our first visit to the area and we were sorry we didn’t. The views on the way up there were pretty spectacular.

Rating: 
Location:  Rose Valley RV Ranch, Silver City, NM
Site Quality:  Gravel roads and pads with a combination of pull through and back in sites. We were in site #61, one of the back in spots at the back of the park which left us with good views of open land as well as the sunsets in the evening. Sites around the edge are best. 4 is our favorite.
Type:  Commercial
Access:  From NM-180 on the east side of Silver City go south on Memory lane to the park entrance. There is a sign above the driveway but it is at least 14′ clearance.
Staff:  The check-in staff member was very helpful and friendly. I got the impression she may have been the property owner.
Amenities:  Full hookups, dump station, exercise room, dog run, a shower and restroom facility, laundry room.
Cellular/WiFi:  AT&T and Verizon 3-4 bars without amplification. Data rates were decent on both Verizon and AT&T at about 5 Mbps using MiFi devices. Verizon phone speeds were much higher. WiFi was available but we did not use it.
What we liked: More rustic than a resort setting, better views of the surrounding area. Backed up to rolling hills. Good southern view from our site. Privacy offered between sites with wood fences.
What we didn’t like: Rainy (and snowy) weather along with the previously mentioned privacy limited the ability to meet our neighbors.
Verdict: Nice park if you can get one of the edge sites. Sites #4 or maybe #2 are best. The long pull-through sites on the west side would also be ok. Many of the interior sites are short and many are close to their neighbors.