Alright, we are here!! We have been living in our new used camper for a few months at my mom’s house, now, to adjust to smaller living and tie up some loose ends. We started out with a Keystone Montana, although later we hindsight that it definitely wasn’t the right “one” for us, but it had amazing qualities that we loved! Front living, with an amazing livingroom, an awesome, large kitchen with a window right above the sink. The bathroom was tiny, but did the job. There was a loft above the master, and Olivia was placed in the loft. This was super sketchy, and we did our best to make it a safe space for her. I have always been very anxious about Olivia’s sleep spaces, but since she was about 1, I wasn’t quite as anxious. So, all in all, the camper was really nice! Not 100% the best for us, but very nice, and we were taking it to Albuquerque with us.
We were all packed up and ready to leave! Everyone was there to see us off. In Joey and Colleen fashion, we had a timeline, but had far exceeded it because we ended up taking our time. Pics taken, hugs hugged out, and we were ready! I had my jeep all packed up and ready to follow behind Joey and the home. He starts to pull out, and, BOOM. Our fresh water holding tank rips open on my moms gravel driveway. Fortunately, there was no water in the tank, but we just had never put a thought to how low of clearance the back of our camper had compared to other campers (of course we notice every single low clearance camper now).
Joey, Jeff, and my mom were in the road trying to figure out how to patch up the tank well enough to get it to RCD for what would hopefully be a quick and inexpensive repair. From experience with getting our washer/dryer installed, parts and service are SO hard to get, so we were actually very nervous that we wouldn’t get in, which was impossible because we needed to be in ABQ so that Joey could start his job. Fortunately, there was an RCD on the way leaving Sunbury, so we decided to stop there and see if they could quick slap something together.
I drove to the RCD with Jeni and Jeff following. We got there and waited for so long, for Joey to arrive. We spoke with the tech, and it sounded like it would be a long time before we would get in there, too. So that was awesome. I was starting to become concerned about Joey, I almost thought that something had fallen off or started to go even further south. Finally he called, and apologized for taking so long, he had gotten behind a parade. I was so confused, wondering which route he took. He uses a GPS for semi trucks, so it will take him on specific routes to avoid sharp turns, low bridges, etc. He said that he had finally arrived at the RCD in Pataskala. That was an awesome relief. Except for the fact that I was at the RCD in Sunbury.
Fortunately, he was able to get in super quickly, and they didn’t charge us for the repair! We were finally on the road.
We learned a lot on our route down, things like how to look for and book campgrounds on the go. This is challenging because you can be driving at a certain pace with certain goals in mind. You don’t want to book too soon, however, because you may not make it that far, or you may get further and want to keep going. So you need to have a few backups, and a rough idea of where you want to be. I’ll make a separate post on this one. Our first stop ended up in a very random location, as we did get a little behind, accidentally heading towards Chicago rather than St Louis, so we had to backtrack. Good times. We were able to squeeze into a tiny campground somewhere in Indiana. Arriving way after dark, and in the rain, we pulled in and were able to get some sleep.
Our second stop was in the Ozarks at a KOA. The Ozarks were amazing in themselves. This specific campground was covered in trees, and it was on a hill, just so much dimension and green. I needed to come back to this area.
Next stop was in Oklahoma. This stop was so awesome, because as soon as we pulled into the campground, we noticed that Joeys truck had a flat tire! No worries. We pulled into our spot, hooked up, and then found a shop to patch us up. Besides the water line break at the campground the next day, the main thing that we remembered was seeing a hit armadillo on the road! It was slightly shocking to us.
Our final stop was in Amarillo, TX. Nothing crazy here, we were just so ready to be in Albuquerque. About 4.5 hours left!
From TX to the outside of ABQ, we were slightly concerned, as there was absolutely nothing around. However, the drive into Albuquerque was a complete turnaround. The Sandia Mountains welcomed us, as we drove right through them to get to our campground which lay right under them. We pulled into the KOA on the East side of Albuquerque, surrounded by the mountains. Incredible!
There are so many reasons why campers are particular to campgrounds. Families either love KOAs or don’t. They tend to be on the pricier side, but they are consistent in the amenities that they offer: a dog run, a safe playground, a nice pool/hot tub, a good store, consistent big sites for big rigs, and the staff are held to company standard. Our family definitely prefers KOA campgrounds. This is completely not to say that we wouldn’t choose a local, family run campground. I c an get into choosing my campgrounds later, but essentially, when I look for options, I’m confident that the KOA can give us a longer term reservation. If we are on the road, I simply choose our campground based on location in comparison to the freeway, and online reviews! However, if there’s a KOA that is easy to get to, I’ll likely default to them, especially when our travel days are long, mainly because I know what to expect, and know that we’ll have places for the dogs and kids to go. We have been to so many amazing family owned campgrounds, as well as amazing KOAs! Miserable ones as well.
The KOA we were at in Albuquerque was in the category of “Journey”, so it was considered an overnight stop for travelers on I-40 headed to wherever else they were going. This meant that there weren’t a ton of bells and whistles as far as extra amenities, but there was a small, safe playground, a bunch of dog runs, an inflatable jump pad for Olivia, and the sites were so large. It was fenced in, as well, you had to have a pass to access the gate. We felt good about the extra security measures. I liked having people come and go, too! I was in an anti social part of life, so I was more in the mood for pleasant waves to strangers rather than feeling the obligation to converse and invest in friendships.
The Nomadic Rodeo 