We really liked the Elephant Butte Lake RV Resort where we stayed for the month of January. We had a spacious deluxe site with a concrete pad for the RV and room for the truck beside it. It was nicely landscaped for a park in this area and had a lot of activities within the park particularly for longer stays. In looking around the area, we definitely picked the nicest park but we did find another one on the other side of town that deserves an honorable mention – Cedar Cove RV Park. If we come here again that might be an option as well.

The town of Elephant Butte is adjacent to Truth or Consequences. I had seen T or C (as the locals call it) before and had assumed the name had roots back to the old frontier days. Well, it turns out that isn’t even close. Originally named Hot Springs due to the numerous springs that brought people there, the city changed its name in 1950 to “Truth or Consequences”, the title of a popular NBC radio program. Ralph Edwards the host of the show had said he would broadcast the 10’th anniversary show from the first town that renamed itself after the show; Hot Springs won the honor. Edwards revisited the town each anniversary for the next 50 years.

In T or C we found several descent restaurants as well as a nice Walmart and hardware store to keep us supplied. It also had a nice old movie theater called El Cortez where we went to see The Mule. While not as comfortable as many modern theaters today, there is still something special about going to places like the ones we went to when growing up. Within the town there is the Geronimo Springs Museum which had a lot of information about the history of the area and we spent a couple of hours there. It was almost too much to take in. A special treat for us was a visit by an old Ford Tri-motor airplane to the area. For three days it could be seen flying over the city taking people on rides.

One day we took a day trip east from T or C to the town of Engle which was founded in 1879 as a station on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. Engle became a thriving cattle town and was a shipping point for ore and other materials from nearby towns including Chloride, Winston, and Cuchillo. The town has declined since it’s hayday and there really isn’t much there anymore. Spaceport America, New Mexico’s commercial spaceport venture was just a bit south of there so we decided to drive down and take a look. It was closed that day and you have to take a tour out of T or C to visit anyway so we didn’t get to see a lot but then there doesn’t seem to be a lot there yet. It seems like there is still a lot of debate across New Mexico whether or not the development of this facility was a good use of taxpayer money or not.

For those of us who like spicy food and Hatch peppers, any stay in the area would be incomplete without a visit to Hatch, New Mexico. Hatch is widely known as the “Chile Capital of the World,” for growing a wide variety of peppers, especially the New Mexican cuisine staple, and one of New Mexico’s state vegetables, the New Mexico chile. Of course January is not really the best time to go but we had fun exploring the eclectic town anyway. The Hatch Chili Festival around Labor Day would be an event to really get the flavor of the area – in more ways than one.

The Geronimo Scenic Byway goes through Elephant Butte as well as T or C and then goes west into the mountains both north and south of town. Along this route there are numerous spots with fantastic views of the valley below. There are several ghost towns along the way, mostly silver mining towns that died when the government moved to gold. Our favorite among these was Chloride on the northern part of the route. By now there wouldn’t have been much left if Donald Edmond and his wife hadn’t made a wrong turn 40 years ago and ended up there. They fell in love with the town and the people who still had all the stories from the town’s heyday. When Donald retired from IBM, they moved there permanently and began both documenting their stories (he has several books) as well as restoring parts of the town. They don’t get any funding for these efforts. All the money comes from them personally. Along the southern part of the route was historic Emory Pass with spectacular views from the vista overlook.

On the third Saturday in January we took a road trip west of Socorro to tour the Very Large Array National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Radio astronomy is the study of celestial objects that give off radio waves. The VLA consists of 28, 82-foot diameter dishes that can be moved into different configurations using dual railroad tracks and large transporters. About three times a year they move the antennas into a different configuration. Luckily for us, the antennas were in their closest in configuration while we were there. In the farthest configuration they can be up to 13 miles away. The VLA has appeared in several movies and is very cool to see in person. If you want to see a short movie with more details see Beyond the Visible.

We took one final road trip down to Las Cruces, NM which is about 80 miles south of Elephant Butte. Part of this trip was to go to a few stores that weren’t available in T or C including getting the oil changed in the truck. Las Cruces surprisingly had the nearest Ford dealership. While there, we did take time to go to Nopalito restaurant for some New Mexican food. This place was recommended by a co-worker of my sister and it turned out to be the best place we’ve eaten mexican food in New Mexico. We also took in some tourist attractions including a huge pepper in front of a hotel and a roadrunner made of recycled materials at a rest stop on I-10 just west of town. The roadrunner was cool, see what recycled goods you can find in the closeup picture below. Even better was the view of Las Cruces in the valley below with the Organ Mountains in the background. If you are in the area, pull in to the rest stop if for nothing more than the view.

We enjoyed our visit here exploring this “wild west” era of silver mining ghost towns, learning about Geronimo and other famous Apaches, driving through desolate mountain ranges, meeting so many interesting people, and of course eating lots of Mexican food with red and green chili sauces. Enjoy our pictures!

Update 2/2020: We decided to spend a couple of months here again in January and February 2020 as this area has mild weather and little rain that time of year. Although it can get down below freezing the highs are generally about 60F with lows about 32F.

Well 2020 was a bit different. Although we had plenty of good weather, it tended to be a bit cooler and more windy than 2019. One night we had thunderstorms with small hail followed by about 7″ of snow the next day. Locals told us it had been more than 20 years since they got that much snow and that hail was also scarce. A day or two later there were still large piles of snow in the Walmart parking lot much like we’d see in Colorado. The only good thing about it was that the roads were mostly clear by the next day.

Wetter weather in Colorado in the past year helped with the flow in the Rio Grande River allowing the area to be a bit greener and hopefully helping with rea wildlife this summer. Elephant Butte Lake was at 31% full as compared to 3% last year.

This time we stayed in what they call the lower garden area. These are cherished spots with open spaces and a good deal of room along with a common “garden” area between the sites making it easier to socialize with neighbors. Most of the people there have wintered in the park for several years and they all knew each other but they accepted us into the neighborhood and we had a lot of fun with campfires, bowling, fish frys, and exploring the trails on their ATV’s. More on that in another post. We had so much fun and enjoyed a couple of months of “down” time without travelling that we decided to reserve a spot for next December through January .

Update 2023: We spent two more months here in 2023 and went to a few new places as well as some older ones. We were sad to hear that the owner of Chloride has shut down the museum there. He had gotten to old to continue operating it and his family were not interested in keeping it going.

Rating: 1/2
Location:  Elephant Butte Lake RV Resort, Elephant Butte, NM
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads with gravel or concrete (premium sites) pads. There were mostly pull through spots although there were also back in spots around the edges of the park. We were in one of the premium back in spots.   
Type:  Commercial
Access:  From Interstate 25 via two lane roads to the east side of Elephant Butte.
Staff:  All staff we met were friendly and helpful.
Amenities:  Full hookups, dump station, indoor swimming pool, spa, exercise room, playground, several showers and restrooms each with laundry facilities. The shower/restroom facilities were great with private rooms and nice clean facilities.
Cellular/WiFi:  AT&T and Verizon 3-4 bars without amplification. Data rates were good on both Verizon and AT&T. WiFi was available but we did not use it.
Restaurants: Here are some of the places we ate at in and around the area:
* Big Foot – Overall good food but stay away from the Chinese selections.
* Taco Casa – Good “street” tacos hand made.
* Sierra Del Rio – Good food at the local golf course.
* La Cocina – Skip this one for mexican fare – it has gone down hill over the last year.
* Johnny B’s – Good American food near Walmart. Their Chili Cheeseburgers were good.
* Pacific Grill – Seafood, Chinese and American with a salad bar. We had the seafood and it was good.
* A&B Drive In – Good place for burgers.
* El Faro – Mexican food. We ate there in 2019 and think it was pretty good but we’ll have to go again and see.
* Tony’s Mexican Restaurant – Good mexican food on the west side of TorC – worth a visit.
* Hillsboro General Store – Great Green Chili Cheeseburgers at very reasonable prices. Unfortunately, the place is for sale and may not be around next time
* Arrey Cafe in Arrey – Mexican food and Cheeseburgers. Steak on Friday nights. Many people rave about this place. We went there in 2019 and thought it was OK for mexican.
* Sparky’s in Hatch – Great Green Chili Cheeseburgers. Of course Hatch is the Chili capital of the world so you have to get some chili powder while in the area.
What we liked: Mail and packages can be received here. Large well maintained park. The deluxe sites were spacious and had some privacy. Lots of stores and restaurants nearby. Although mostly full, the park seemed to be a bit further north than many of the winter RVers like. We still got some snow here along with some freezing nighttime temperatures but the weather overall was pretty good. We would definitely consider coming back in the winter.
What we didn’t like: Anna would have preferred a site on the south side where the sunset’s were viewable from our RV. Could be hot in the summer as there was little shade.

As full time RVers with relatives in Colorado our thoughts about never going to really cold places in the winter was maybe a bit short sighted. In our first winter we decided to go to Colorado for Christmas and as luck would have it, the warm weather the area was enjoying before Christmas was forecast to change. In fact, we decided to stay in Capulin, NM and there was already snow on the ground when we arrived about a week before Christmas. Low temperatures were already in the mid-teens and low 20’s and this provided a good opportunity for us to figure out how to survive cold weather in our RV. We had been in freezing temperatures at night before but daytime temperatures had been above freezing. Now we had several days of temperatures below freezing.

One of the first things we learned even before getting to Capulin was that wind in the winter can be quite strong, particularly in west Texas and New Mexico where there is little in the way to slow them. In Amarillo we had a 24 hour period with wind gusts over 50 MPH. We decided to close the slides as we had been told to do to protect them and our slide toppers. We spent all day closed up but it really wasn’t that bad. We just had a movie day sitting in bed. The only disadvantage was that we couldn’t get to the refrigerator for food without at least opening the slide a little. We did get three lessons from this experience. First, before you close the slides get some food and drinks to have available until you can open back up. Second, use a checklist to close up. We have a cabinet door for our tech cabinet (computer, internet, satellite TV, etc.) that we leave open so that things don’t overheat. If we leave the door open, the slide catches on it when you extend it and the cabinet door breaks in two. Luckily, it’s fairly easy to fix and you can’t even tell it was broken. Finally, we didn’t take our tire covers off before the wind hit during the night. We never saw them again as they could have blown miles away in the open fields surrounding the park.

Also, while in Amarillo, the park required us to disconnect our water hose at night and turn off their water spigot or risk having to pay for a repair if it froze up and broke. We saw full timers in the park who left theirs connected and realized we needed insulation and possibly a pipe heater to protect the water riser. Lesson learned, keep extra pipe heaters, insulation and tape handy to wrap exposed pipes. This not only protects from liability but also ensures you have a constant supply of water even if freezing temperatures exist for several days. Another lesson learned was that even though we have a heated water hose it doesn’t protect the water regulator. We have a nice regulator with a gauge to see the pressure going to the RV. I assumed the heated hose would keep the regulator warm enough to be ok. The regulator did not freeze but the gauge did. Fortunately, replacing the gauge with another one from Home Depot repaired it. After that we started using our simple regulator without a gauge while freezing temperatures are expected.

One night we suspect our heated hose froze up even though it was plugged in. After some thought I realized there was a problem with it’s design when used with our RV. On the outlet end of the hose there was a thermostat about 6″ from the end. Our bay where the hose connects is enclosed and it stays warmer than the outside air due to our furnaces being nearby. One night in the middle of the night I realized this was a problem – funny how things just come to you at the strangest times. The next day I cut the cord to the thermostat and extended it so that the thermostat is now outside where it can now sense the outside temperature rather than the temperature of the bay. This had the added benefit of making the hose easier to route within the bay.

Since we were going to be away for several days leaving our cat in the RV and also wanting to keep our pipes from freezing we spent some time before leaving trying to figure out how to optimize our propane use. In warm weather we go through a 40# bottle in about a month. In cold weather we can go through one bottle in about 7 days, maybe less. If we had added the arctic package with it’s larger heater we would have used up our propane even faster. We found that using our fireplace and a space heater in the bedroom we could actually keep the inside quite comfortable even in 10 degree weather. In fact, we could make it uncomfortably warm. The problem there is that we need to have the rear propane furnace come on to heat the basement thus keeping our tanks and pipes from freezing. The tanks have 12v electric heating pads on them which helps keep them from freezing but there still needs to be heat to protect the pipes. After some experimentation, we found that we could set the fireplace to 65° and the rear furnace to 62°. This allowed the propane heat to come on to keep the basement warm while using the fireplace to reduce propane consumption. For the bedroom, we would set the propane furnace to 64° and adjust the space heater to make it comfortable for us. The space heater could keep the small area as warm as we wanted without the propane heater running at all.

As Murphy would have it, we had issues with one of our space heaters and with the front furnace when we needed them most. The fan on the space heater quit working and I assumed we just needed a new one which we bought. I took apart the broken one and checked the internal connections but found nothing visibly wrong. When I put it back together it just worked and has worked ever since but I’m glad we have another as a backup. I’m sure we will see the problem again. The furnace was much the same. It would light and then shut off a few seconds later. The control board would retry 3 times and then lock out further tries. I checked the limit switch and the sail switch but both were good. At the same time I checked each of the wiring connections. After that it started working again. It’s not uncommon for corrosion and/or vibration to cause these kind of issues. It’s been working for several weeks since then but as with the space heater who knows when it might fail again. The next step would be to check the electrode and possible clean it with fine steel wool when it does fail. The lesson learned is that you should know how your equipment works and be ready to either hire someone or do some troubleshooting yourself. Given that we were in the middle of nowhere and it was close to Christmas it was great to have the knowledge to look into this myself. Gas appliances can be dangerous so make sure you know what you are doing before attempting to fix them. Never bypass any of the safety features of the appliance.

A lesson learned after having issues with critical appliances is to have options. We have tank heaters, good insulation, two propane furnaces, a fireplace and now 3 space heaters. We have both propane and electric heat sources. When something fails we have options to stay warm and safe.

Sewer connections was another area ripe for lessons. We had heard about poopsicles but being a bit hard headed we had to see for ourselves. We left our sewer hose connected and our gray valves open and had no issues – at first. When I would check there was a small amount of ice buildup but no real problems. Then we had a couple of days where it never got above freezing. When we got ready to move, the ice inside the hose was very thick. We connected the ends of the hose together and threw it in the back of the truck hoping it would thaw out on the way to our next site. It didn’t. I had to work the ice out of the hose to clear it. Not very pretty. If it’s going to be below zero for more than a night, you should close the valves. Some people even say you should disconnect and stow the sewer hose. Speaking of valves, we have a valve at the end of our sewer outlet on the RV. This valve froze open and so I just capped it and we went on. When I went to connect at the next place I forgot to close the valve and well we had some seepage from the main valves closing off the gray and black tanks. Again not a pretty sight when I opened the cap. Silly me, by the time I was doing this the valve was unfrozen and I could have closed it to prevent most of the mess. One final lesson learned was the sewer adapter connection to the park sewer pipe. We have a screw in adapter and I like to screw it in as far as I can to reduce the risk of it coming undone. When we went to remove it, it was frozen in place. We had to use a hairdryer to thaw it enough to remove it. Lesson learned, keep a hairdryer handy in cold weather!

One final problem we encountered, maybe more of an education than a problem was with our Lithium batteries. I installed them so I should have known this but I didn’t really think about it. What happened was that the front bay where our batteries are located dropped below 32°. When that happens, a solenoid cuts off the charger so that the batteries are not damaged by charging them. That’s a good thing, but the problem is that it also forces the 12v power for the coach to come exclusively from the batteries even when we are plugged in to shore power. If you were in an extended period below 32° that could be a real problem if the batteries became depleted as the lights and furnaces run from 12v power. Unfortunately there is not an obvious and easy solution to resolve this problem. It is simply a known limitation. I may look at it some more to see if I can find a way to solve this but in the meantime I added a 120v plug in the front bay so that we could add some heat there when needed. I also ordered a thermostat to control when the heater comes on so we don’t waste energy or overheat the bay. In the summer the thermostat also has a cooling output I can use to drive a fan to help lower the bay temperature. High temperatures can shorten the life of Lithium batteries.

Finally, when RVing in the winter you need to be flexible. Several times we had to modify our plans to travel during better weather or road conditions. This is not the time to just take off with all 16 tons of our home when waiting a day or going a day early would provide better conditions. Take recommended precautions when driving in cold weather including having food and water and blankets available. Don’t just assume you can get them from your RV because after an accident you may not be able to get to those things. Also keep in mind that your pipes can freeze while moving if temperatures are below freezing. Take necessary precautions to prevent that from happening.

We arrived in Capulin a week before Christmas so we could experiment with how to operate in the extreme cold weather including finding ways to reduce our propane use so we wouldn’t run out while we were away in Colorado. Many days here started out with single digit temperatures, negative degree wind chill and rarely got above freezing for a high. It was just miserably cold weather but it offered a good opportunity to figure out how our RV works in this kind of weather.

Our camp hosts, Mark and Michelle, were extremely nice and kept the park very clean. They went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed and were comfortable during our stay. We would definitely camp here again because of their hospitality and willingness to watch over our ‘home’ while we were away. However, the 21 mile drive each way to Raton and back for gas, propane, groceries, etc. made it a bit more remote than we would normally choose (especially since the highway was closed several times for ice and snow storms). We were so glad to leave the area and get back to a bit warmer weather further south.

We only had 2 days of nice sunny weather during our stay. During one, we took a short walk around town (because the town is so tiny!) and visited the general store which held antiques of settlers in the area along with locally made pottery and jewelry. We spent the other one visiting the Capulin Volcano National Park. We had never climbed a volcano before so we were able to add something else to our ‘never done before’ list. It is a long dormant volcano and is responsible for all the lava formations surrounding the area and all the grey/black gravel in the rv park. From the rim, the views were absolutely stunning and you can supposedly see 5 states. Good thing we went when we did because the next day it was closed because of the Federal Government partial shutdown.

While we were there we had our truck repaired again. One visit to the Raton Ford service determined that ‘yes, you do have leaks in the tire pressure sensors and the worst corrosion they had ever seen’ so they had to order 2 new rims to be installed. Then, we returned to get the rims installed and it took us an hour to get to the service center because of the ice and snow on the highway (when we got to Raton we found out the road we had just traveled was actually closed at Raton going back to Capulin). Unfortunately, that was the day of a nationwide CenturyLink internet failure so we waited 6 hrs. for the dealership to figure out how to connect with Ford to get approval for our warranty work. It took a good deal of arm twisting to convince the service manager that there had to be a way. Finally, he drove across Raton pass to Trinidad so that he could send the necessary information to Ford via another dealer. So far so good with the new rims, until the corrosion builds again as they used the exact same parts that caused the original issues. Although we didn’t enjoy waiting for so long to get it fixed, the reality was that the road going back to Capulin was closed that entire time. It only reopened just about the time our repairs were done.

Enjoy our pictures of the tiny town of Capulin and Happy New Year!

Rating: 
Location: Capulin, NM
Site Quality:  Gravel roads and pads. The gravel was somewhat difficult to walk around on and it was both muddy and snow covered for much of our stay. There were pull through sites along the back side of the park with back in sites at the front nearest the highway. 
Type:  Commercial
Access:  Easy access from highway 87.
Staff:  The owners Mark and Michelle were very hospitable while we were there.
Amenities:  Full hookups, showers with restrooms, laundry facilities. The shower/restroom facilities were great with private rooms and nice clean facilities.
Cellular/WiFi:  AT&T and Verizon 2-3 bars without amplification. Data rates were decent on both Verizon and AT&T. WiFi was available but we did not use it.
What we liked: Small well kept park. Family run. Sites were fairly spacious and we were often the only one in the park in December. We felt safe and secure there even leaving our rig for a few days to go to Colorado for Christmas.
What we didn’t like: There isn’t much to do in Capulin short of going to the nearby volcano. Although there is a store within walking distance, it has limited supplies. The nearest groceries, restaurants (with one exception) and propane is in Raton nearly 30 miles away. It can be quite cold and windy in that part of New Mexico during the winter.

The first day there we had to go to The Big Texan Steak Ranch!  We had been there before when passing thru.  It has a great variety of steaks and that was what we were hungry for.  It advertises that if you can eat a 72 oz steak and all the sides in 1 hour then it is free.  There is an elevated table set up with timers in the front of the restaurant for anyone who want to take the challenge. We did not even try!  The whole ranch is a fun place to visit.   There is a line of limousines with longhorns mounted on the front to shuttle people to and from the ranch.  Inside is an over-the-top western decorated restaurant, a gift shop, western arcade and large desert counter. 

One of the iconic stops in Amarillo is the Cadillac Ranch along I-40.  There are no signs for it and it is very easy to drive right by as you are traveling along except for a line of 10 half buried older model cadillacs in the middle of a field.  Originally created in 1974 as part of an interactive public art display it has been featured in movies, music videos, album covers, etc. People park along the side of the road, enter thru an unlocked pass thru in the fence, grab a can of spray paint and add another layer of graffiti. So that’s what we did too!

As it was the Christmas season, we were excited to see the beautiful display of Christmas lights at Christmas in the Gardens in Amarillo Botanical Gardens.  The night was cold but we enjoyed all the colorful displays throughout the different gardens.  We have included quite a few pictures because it was so pretty.  A great way to get in the Christmas spirit!

In the middle of our stay we had a strong cold front come thru. Although the temperature didn’t drop dramatically, the winds were crazy. By 2 a.m. we were having gusts to over 60 MPH so we had to close all our slides, lower our DirecTV dish and hunker down inside for the rest of the day while we waited for the front to pass.  Around 8 p.m. we were able to open our slides back up and enjoy moving around our trailer again!

Rating: 
Location:  Amarillo, Texas
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads with concrete pads. There were mostly pull through spots although there were also back in spots around the edges of the park.    
Type:  Commercial
Access:  Easy access from Interstate 40 from the Arnot road exit (exit 60). Go south on Arnot Rd. to the park. Some parts of Arnot Rd. near the Loves travel center are very bumpy.
Staff:  All staff we met were friendly and helpful.
Amenities:  Full hookups, dump station, LP gas on site, swimming pool, two spas (one adult only), exercise room, playground, several showers and restrooms each with laundry facilities. The shower/restroom facilities were great with private rooms and nice clean facilities. The laundry machines were small – similar to the ones we have in our rig. Free Cable TV with over 20 channels was available but we did not use it. On site store. Rec Hall furnished with a cozy sitting area, television, pool table, ping pong table and kids play area.
Cellular/WiFi:  AT&T and Verizon 3-4 bars without amplification. Data rates were about 9 Mbps on both Verizon and AT&T. WiFi was available but we did not use it.
What we liked: Large well kept park. Sites were fairly spacious and there were many empty sites in December. This was interesting because many of the other parks in the area seemed to be pretty full. Weekly rates were very reasonable. Lots of stores and restaurants nearby.
What we didn’t like: The park is pretty barren with only small trees and bushes. The park would be quite hot during the summer.

When we pulled into our assigned spot we see lots of prairie dog mounds.  Dozens of prairie dogs were all around our site.  They are doing their little squeaking/barking trying to warn all their friends about our intrusion as they head for the safety of their homes in the tunnels. Our first thought was to move somewhere else in the park away from them but then we decided they might be fun to watch. They’re pretty cute but we later discovered they had been feasting on our extension cords! Lesson learned – you need to keep smaller cords off the ground, luckily they didn’t eat our water hose or our main power cord to the rig. 

In our 6 days at Lake Arrowhead we had a several clear cool days so we enjoyed bike rides, hikes and camp fires.  A few light showers and freezing temperatures helped us start getting prepared for colder weather going into winter. We left a day early because of a winter ice storm approaching and wanting to be off the road once it started.

It was really neat to see and hear flocks of geese flying over and spending time on the lake.  Also, we had no idea pelicans migrated. But there they were dozens of white pelicans flying in and braving the cold in the lake on their way south for the winter.

Rating: 1/2
Location:  Wichita Falls, Texas
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads and pads. There were mostly back in spots although we had one of the few pull throughs.    
Type:  State Park
Access:  Easy access from Highway 287 on FM 2393 into the park.
Staff:  All staff we met were friendly and helpful.
Amenities:  Water and electric only, dump station, several hike and bike trails, swimming area, playground(2), showers and restrooms.
Cellular/WiFi:  AT&T and Verizon 4 bars without amplification. Data rates were about 15 Mbps on Verizon and 7.5 Mbps on AT&T. 
What we liked: Several hiking and biking trails. Sites were spacious and there weren’t a lot of people in the park in December.
What we didn’t like: No sewer connections. Seemed more oriented toward boating and fishing. Prairie Dogs were interesting but can be destructive particularly to smaller power cords. Likely better in the spring or early fall when vegetation is still green.

Several animal friends came by this visit but thankfully no snakes!  Curious armadillos along the trails and extremely friendly raccoons, which got way to close while we were enjoying our campfires for Anna’s taste .

We met a very nice couple that have volunteered in the park thru many seasons.  They explained how to get signed up and the work requirements.  Turns out state park volunteers receive free campsites with utilities included.  We want to eventually sign up to be volunteers at different state parks and take advantage of the benefits after we have traveled for a while.

We had vacationed here more than 25 years ago and loved it. Fond memories of our stay with fishing, hiking and one of the first time tent camping with the boys when they were little. 

We will definitely come back here and hopefully stay longer!

May 2019 update – We stayed again for 5 days at site 215. It is probably the best site for a trailer our size and has a great view of the lake. The time before I believe we were on site 334 which didn’t have a view of the lake. Most sites are not level although it was possible to get the RV level with some work. Many sites might be long enough but would still be unsuitable for us due to the pull through sites being curved – need to look at the satellite view carefully before picking one. Back in sites 208 and 209 and pull through 210 would probably work. Site 310 looked good and had a good “Forrest” view. Try to get in order 215, 310 and then 210, 208 or 209. Be sure 208 and 209 are 50A.

December 2021 update – We stayed for 4 days over New Year’s on site Big Pine 304. Even booking 6 months ahead of time this was the best site available but it was pretty tight for us. Although the pull-thru loop was long enough for the rig and the truck the pull-thru was very sharply curved. We probably won’t book this site again.

Rating: 1/2
Location:  Tyler, Texas
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads and pads. There were both pull thru and back in spots although all 50A sites are pull thru.   
Type:  State Park
Access:  About 2 miles North of Interstate 20 with easy access to the park. Use caution within the park as the most direct route to the trailer campsites (area 1 and 2) requires crossing a bridge with a 12,500 pound tandem axle limit. To get to those areas you need to go all the way around the park (clockwise) if you are over the weight limit like we are. We were not told about this when entering the park.
Staff:  All staff we met were friendly and helpful.
Amenities:  Full hookups, lots of hiking and bike trails, swimming beach, paddle boats and kayaks, playground, bath house and restrooms. Small no wake lake within the park.
Cellular/WiFi:  AT&T and Verizon 2 bars without amplification. Data rates were about 12 Mbps. 
What we liked: We stayed in the fall and the fall color was beautiful. During the week the park was not very busy. Lots of trails available for hiking and biking.
What we didn’t like: Some distant road noise from Interstate 20. Sites were small for a rig our size and well placed large rocks meant to keep people from driving on the grass made it very difficult to maneuver into and out of the site. Most sites are not level.

Although we typically only look at KOA parks for overnight stays, we stayed at the Lafayette KOA for one night on the way to New Orleans and for nine nights on our return trip so we could plan our next few months of travels. We also needed to get caught up on some other things we had been putting off like maintenance items in our RV which was a challenge with all the rain. KOA parks tend to have a lot of family friendly activities that we don’t usually take advantage of and you pay for those amenities so they tend to be expensive. On the other hand, KOAs are often easy to access from major highways. This makes them quite convenient for short stays.

The Lafayette KOA (actually in Scott, LA rather than Lafayette) was a nice park built around a pond. It had many amenities for families as well as a new area in the back of the park which was much nicer than some of the other areas within the park. We stayed both times in the newer area.  

Nearby were quite a few stores and restaurants many with great Cajun selections. We liked Fezzo’s but our favorite place for seafood was Don’s in nearby Lafayette. We also visited Crawfish Town USA on Thanksgiving day for their Thanksgiving buffet. It was mostly traditional holiday fare including turkey and dressing but they also had seafood items like fried catfish and seafood pasta. Almost everything had a bit of Cajun spices that made it unique for the area. Everything was very good!

While in the area we had a couple of clear days and took two side trips which are described in detail in other posts. The first was a Swamp Tour on Lake Martin east of Lafayette. We also went south down to New Iberia and Avery Island to take a tour of the Tabasco Hot Sauce factory.

Rating: 1/2
Location:  Scott, Louisiana
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads with concrete pads. There were both pull thru and back in spots.   
Type:  Commercial
Access:  Just off Interstate 10 with easy access to the park. The exception is that there is a roundabout you have to go through just outside the park that can be a bit challenging with a larger rig.
Staff:  All staff we met were friendly and helpful.
Amenities:  Full hookups, swimming pool(2), miniature golf, playground, laundry, bath house and restrooms. On site LP gas. Pond within the park allows for license free fishing.
Cellular/WiFi:  AT&T and Verizon 3 bars without amplification. Data rates were pretty good on both. 
What we liked: Concrete pads and paved roads as we had a lot of rain during our stay. Large park for a long walks.
What we didn’t like: Some road noise from Interstate 10 and occasional distant train noise. Only the premium sites have fire rings – these were $10-$15 more per night.

We learned a lot about peppers, aging and storing.  We could smell the peppers and the aged whiskey barrels in the storage area.  Peppers are mashed and mixed with salt then aged in used Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey white oak barrels for 3 years.  After that the mash is strained to remove seeds and skins then the remainder is blended with vinegar and periodically stirred for a month in huge vats.  Feel the burn in the air! 

We were lucky to be touring on a day the production line was busy bottling several varieties of Tabasco.  The end of the tour was the gift shop with a Tabasco tasting area.  Feel the burn!  We left with a new appreciation for Tabasco, along with several bottles and a t-shirt.  Enjoy our pictures below.

Our tour guide was Bryan Champagne. He and his wife have been running the tours for 20 years. When we were chatting before the tour he told me he also manages 600 crawfish cages which he baits, catches and sells to local restaurants, when the price is right! He has guided many documentary and international television crews, etc. thru these swamps and been written up in several travel magazines. Also about the big gator that lives around the dock and how dogs are his food of choice. He says in his lazy cajun accent, “I can jump in do boat repairs no problem but if a dog jumps in he grabs him right away don’t ya know.”  Glad we didn’t see that!

Bryan talked about bayous (barely moving lowland rivers), swamps (permanently flooded land and forests), and marshes (swamps with vegetation so thick that you can walk on it).  This swamp is only about 1 1/2 ft. deep and about 6 ft. deep in the lake.  The bald cypress trees drop their needles in the fall/winter and produces acidic tannins. This makes the black/brown color of the water and repels mosquitoes. The surface of the water is covered in a tiny little green plant called duck weed, not scum.  The Spanish moss growing in the trees looks soft and feathery. It catches nutrients in the air and water and actually improves the cypress trees that host it.  Many of the bald cypress trees were hundreds of years old! The cropped look of the trees are from hurricane damage.  

All the info was great but I wanted to see alligators and we did!  We saw some babies and 2 to 3 year olds! Unfortunately because of the colder weather the majority stayed  hidden on bottom of the swamp.  Bummer!  We did see so many species of birds, turtles, plants, etc. and learned so much about this unique and amazing landscape.  It is definitely a different way of life in this area and we loved learning all about it.  Enjoy our pictures and caption explaining each one!

We stayed here for 5 days in November with our good friends from Austin, Chad and Mary Kay.  While staying in buddy sites we had visions of having our awnings and lounge chairs out, coffee and meals outside on our shared picnic table, and cool evenings with a fire.  Unfortunately, most of the weather was rainy, windy and cold which provided us with a fun time of playing games indoors with little time to enjoy our outside shared space. The onsite restaurant (Lighthouse Grill) had great food and fun music from a zydeco cajun band.

Two clear days gave us time to explore the French Quarter visiting places we had all seen 16 years ago on a trip together and little has changed even after hurricane Katrina.  New unforgettable memories of Jackson Square, drinks at Pat O’Brien’s, cafe-au-lait and beignets, amazing living statues, musical street performers including incredibly talented children, wedding parties and jazz bands strutting thru the streets.  Along with incredible cajun food and fun times with good friends.  Unique New Orleans!  A great way to spend our 39th wedding anniversary! 

We took a very informative, historical and heart wrenching 4-hour Gray Line bus tour of Hurricane Katrina areas. We learned about the why and how this hurricane was so devastating. So many destroyed homes, businesses and a deserted hospital still standing as a reminder of the ongoing recovery and resilience of a devastated city. 

We also drove on two of the nation’s longest bridges, the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge (18.2 miles) and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (23.83 miles).

The video below contains some of the sights and sounds we saw in New Orleans. The first is the Zydeco band we saw at our RV park. The next two are street performers in the French Quarter. WARNING! this is a large file.