1st Timer Getting Ready for a Month on the Road

KOA tend to be expensive and can tack on extra charges. Sometimes they are the only CG near where you want to stop. You can probably plan on paying $40-50/night at a lot of KOAs. PPA parks run $20 and below mostly.

BK

Originally Posted by rtgetchell

Rick, I must respectfully disagree. As a Colorado resident, Mueller State Park on the back side of Pikes Peak is one of the very best state parks not just in Colorado, but anywhere.

I must agrees with rtgetchell - we find that every park we go to we end up comparing to Mueller! It simply can't be beat, and with the high price of gas, it is an hour from Colorado Springs, which makes it a great spot for our weekend getaways. All roads are paved, all sites are paved and mostly level, all sites have electricity, and the camper services building (laundry, flush toilets, showers) are kept very clean. Although on a weekend with lots of tent campers (i.e. lots of families with kids) the shower area can get a little messy. The rangers patrol regularly and enforce parking rules, campfire rules, and bear rules. The sites are generally well separated and the whole area is well treed. If you like to hike, you probably couldn't do half the trails in a weekend.

And they have some sites open year round, but the camper services bldg closes sometime in Sept and opens in May.

According to your latest post, you should have your TM by now. Hope you are enjoying it and making the sites you wanted to see. We'll hope to get an update from you as you travel along.

Alan
Boomer Sooner

I have been researching the NPS to include the Corps of Engineer campgrounds and National Forests. As a military retiree with 30% disablityI have a Golden Access Card that grants a 50% discount at all Fed, national and COE campgounds. We are planning on full timing starting in April 09 and so far my reseach has turned up literally hundreds of parks and thousands of spots across the USA at the whopping cost of $8-$10 a night for full service slots. Try checking out these links:
http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/
http://www.recreation.gov/camping/ma...O&parkId=74119
This is the map page from recreation.gov for the state of Colorado. There are 126 camping opportunities depicted (albeit that some are remote walk-in sites). Just pick one near where you think you might want to stay and bingo....all the info is a few clicks away. Hope this helps. And from one Vet to another, Thanks for your service!
Jim

Sorry for the delay in posting.

I purchased my 2009 25th Anniversary Edition 3124 on 7/22 and took delevery on the 25th. It took a little longer than I planned (my fault in planning). Headed out on the 27th and stayed the 27-29 in Cortez and the 30th in Gunnison. Since then I have stayed at the AFA's FamCamp (very nice wooded campground) and am now at Manor RV in Estes Park. My next stop will be in at West Yellowstone. The month long trip has been greatly amended.

I can't agree more that the folks at The Car Show are great. I took all the advice and got the load distributing hitch and transmission cooler.

I guess I've had the usual problems with minor stuff...plastic trim coming loose, a couple of leaks but all in all I couldn't be much more satisfied.

For those who want to know I got a very good deal on my TM. It has some hail damage that I got a huge discount for as well as a good deal off the sticker.

Just mail me if you want more details.

Ted Ware
[email protected]

Oh yeah...Al...the trim colors match my Red Explorer...BOOMER SOONER!!!!

To others any problems with leaks around the exhaust fan?

Ted

Ted - Boomer Sooner - only 4 weeks till the season opener! If you are not back, then if you have a TV (television, not tow vehicle) in your TM, you'll need to access pay-per-view to get the game. Not sure you'll have many choices in campgrounds for that type of service.

Enjoy your trip to Yellowstone - we'll all enjoy hearing about your progress. We're hoping to go next spring.

Let us know how the (Red) Explorer does pulling the 3124 in the mountains. My Durango struggled a bit over Berthod Pass last weekend.

Have a good trip!
Al

Al and Sue,

I decided to not push it up and over the passes I've conquered...
Ute and Wilkerson...spent alot of the time with the engine above 4000 RPM (likely 2nd gear) trying to maintain the highway speed.

From there on (Trout Creek, Poncha, Wolf Creek, Lizard Head, Dallas Divide and Monarch), I decided to heck with the traffic behind me and kept my RPM's at 3000 or so.

I tried to attach pcture proof but was unsuccessful. Will try again when I have a good connection.

Oh BTW the 3000 RPM kept me at/above the posted speed limits.

Ted

Just do it TED we did it in 3 weeks, and had a ball. Northern
route out and southern route back....Ga To Calif......just enjoy !!
dont let anyone stop you with negative thoughts......do it .....bill