Places we have been.
We stopped in Laramie for four days as we headed further west and north this summer. We didn’t have a lot of expectations before arriving as the area is mostly in the plains and it is a bit dusty and desolate. As we would soon see however, there is a lot of frontier history here as well as some gorgeous scenery not far from town.
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The Eleven Mile Canyon Recreation Area is located below the dam of the Eleven Mile Reservoir near Lake George, CO. While driving the narrow, dirt road that passes through the canyon, you might not realize you were driving on a piece of history. This particular road was once the Colorado Midland Railroad, long before the dam and reservoir were built. The Colorado Midland Railway, incorporated in 1883, was the first standard gauge railroad built over the Continental Divide in Colorado. It ran from Colorado Springs to Leadville and through the divide at Hagerman Pass to Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction.
Eleven Mile Canyon cuts through the plain holding the South Platte River in its rocky bottom. As the river is unleashed from the dam above, its twists and crashes against huge boulders lining the canyon floor. A canopy of large trees provides a screen of shade that floats across the canyon with the moving sun. Eleven Mile Canyon is an unexpected paradise. Activities here include camping, climbing, picnicking, hiking, fishing and swimming to name just a few.
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Rating: ⭐⭐
Site Quality: Firepits and picnic tables at each site.
Type: Commercial
Access: Easy access off I-27 (exit 51) north of Plainview. The park is along the service road.
Staff: Family run, very friendly. Appreciative that we stayed in the park.
Amenities: Laundry, restrooms and showers. Gift Shop and General Store onsite with RV supplies, Camping goods, and Firewood. Dog park as well as a playground for kids. On-Site Propane.
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi is available in the park although we didn’t use it. AT&T was fast at about 8 Mbps. Verizon was very fast at nearly 90 Mbps.
Restaurants: Leal’s Mexican had decent Mexican food.
Nearby parks: We didn’t investigate other parks as we were only here for a one night stopover.
What we liked: Convenient access, right along the I-27 service road. Friendly staff. Walmart Supercenter nearby.
What we didn’t like: Typical of many West Texas parks, the roads and sites are gravel and could be messy if it rained. There was a fair amount of road noise from I-27.
Verdict: Good place for a one night stopover along the route.
Cowboy RV Park is just south of Lockhart Texas on State Park Road (Ranch Road 20). We stayed here for a month in April 2021 as we worked our way toward the Round Rock / Georgetown area for our bi-annual doctor appointments. We weren’t real sure what we were getting into before going there as it was a relatively new park that was still under construction and it was gravel, something we try to avoid during the rainy season. After arrival, we found out that although there was an office on site, no one was ever there. This created some concern at first as we wondered who would take care of any issues that might pop up. We quickly learned one of our neighbors worked part time with the owners to take care of things and they were quick to evict someone who broke the rules so that made us feel a bit better. We also met a retired police officer who stayed in the park and he assured us there were no issues. There was also an active State Trooper who lived there.
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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2
Site Quality: Gravel roads and pads. Due to recent rains we sunk about 4″ into the pad while parking. All connections were conveniently located for our rig.
Type: Commercial
Access: Easy access off US-377 on FM 219 (W. Clinton St.) on the west side of Dublin.
Staff: Very accommodating, friendly and helpful. Provided a lot of information about the local area, places to go and things to do. Allowed us to stay until 1:00 PM to depart. They are some of the friendliest and most accommodating hosts we have ever encountered, even returning home early after eating out to be sure they were able to say goodbye before we left.
Amenities: Laundry, restrooms and showers.
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Verizon was almost non-existent and AT&T was somewhat slow at about 8 Mbps. There was Wi-Fi in the park but we didn’t use it.
Restaurants: There were a few options in Dublin although we didn’t try them. We did go to Hard 8 BBQ in Stephenville, a place we had flown in to often for a so called $100 hamburger.
Nearby parks: We didn’t investigate other parks in the area as we were only there for one night. We had tried several parks in the Stephenville area however before staying here and most did not even call back. The staff at this park was definitely much more welcoming.
What we liked: Very friendly and helpful staff.
What we didn’t like: Gravel pads and roads are not the best option during the rainy season. No trees so it could be a bit hot in the summer but otherwise provides for good satellite TV coverage.
Verdict: The owners are very friendly and helpful and really make you feel welcome. Definitely a good place for a short stay in the Dublin / Stephenville area. There are a couple of museums in Dublin that we’d like to go through as well as Hard Eight BBQ in Stephenville that’s been a favorite since we used to fly in there.