2013 Cross Country Trip with the Powells

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larrypowellnc

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 21, 2013
Posts
306
Location
Central NC
I know this trip was over a year ago but some people may find it interesting.  It was our first extended road trip since we purchased our MH in 2012.  We bought our MH so we could tour this wonderful country while we are able.  Looking back it was quite ambitious for our first long trip.  We started out the morning of April 9, 2013 headed west.  It seems everything is west of NC.  Our first stop was Memphis TN.  On the way we overnighted in Lenoir TN.  When my wife discovered that we were going through Memphis she added a stop to see Graceland.  We stayed at the Graceland RV Park.  I had already purchased tickets to tour Graceland online so we were committed.  On the day of our tour we awoke to rain.  Fortunately the rain stopped as we waited for the shuttle and held off the entire day.  We enjoyed the tour very much.

We left Memphis on April 12 headed to Sherman TX to visit a friend I?ve known since 1st grade and hadn?t seen for 40 years.  He has a concrete drive with a level spot right next to the house.  We parked there and used the 20 amp outlet.  Just had to be careful what we ran in the MH.  While there all of us visited the Kennedy Museum at the infamous Book Depository in Dealey Plaza.  It was a great time catching up on the past 40 years.

Continued our trip west on April 15 headed for Santa Fe NM to visit another friend.  On the way we overnighted in Amarillo TX.  There is a ?famous? steak house in Amarillo, the Big Texan Steak Ranch, and they will send a limo to pick up at and return you to your RV park site.  I didn?t try for the free 72 oz. steak.  Just west of Amarillo is the Cadillac Graveyard.  We couldn?t resist stopping.  Very interesting.
We arrived in Santa Fe on the afternoon of the 16th and spent two wonderful days visiting and touring Santa Fe with a dear old friend.  Next stop the Grand Canyon.

We arrived in Williams AZ the afternoon of April 19 and stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park.  The next day we took the Grand Canyon Railway to the South Rim.  I booked seats in one of the dome cars which gave us a fantastic view of the trip to and from the Grand Canyon.  Prior to this we had only seen the Grand Canyon from the air while flying to Las Vegas.  No more flying, RVing is the only way.

We left Williams AZ on the 21st and stopped for one night in Sedona.  Everyone said we had to see Sedona and they were right.  We stayed at the Rancho Sedona RV Park.  What a beautiful park, we were tempted to stay in Sedona and skip the rest of our trip.  Only overnighted in Sedona and headed to my brother?s and sister-in-law?s in Queen Creek AZ on the 22nd.

It was like they bought their home with a visit from us in mind.  They have a wide area next to their house with a double wide access gate, 30 amp service, cable, wifi and water.  And it?s level.  It is like their very own RV park.  Just off loaded the toad and tow dolly and drove right in.  We had a wonderful three days touring the area, catching up with my brother and his family, and visiting friends we met on Facebook. 

Left for San Antonio TX on April 26 with overnights in Las Cruces NM and Fort Stockton TX.  We spent a day touring the Alamo and River Walk.  We headed for our next stop, New Orleans, on the 30th with an overnight in Beaumont TX.

I must say we were very disappointed in New Orleans.  We stayed at the French Quarter RV Resort, only 2 blocks from the French Quarter.  When we were walking to and from the French Quarter and on Bourbon Street I felt like I should be carrying my Glock.  We couldn?t wait to get out of there and back on the road.  I have since talked to quite a few people about their feelings about New Orleans and they seem split about 50/50 between those who love it and those who will be happy if they never see it again.  Count us among the latter. 

We left New Orleans on May 3 for our final stop, Birmingham AL to visit my wife?s niece and her family.  We stayed at a very nice RV park in Pelham AL, just south of Birmingham.  When we arrived at the niece?s house we found that my wife?s brother was visiting from Las Vegas.  It was like a mini family reunion.

We left for home on May 4 with an overnight in Swee****er TN.  The final tally was 27 days and nearly 5,000 miles.  Like I said it was very ambitious but we enjoyed every day, except for New Orleans of course.  For new RVers take heart and don?t be afraid of a long road trip. 
 
We have done a 15-day journey to Oregon and back but we've yet to take an ambitious trip such as you described. We are planning a trip to Texas in May that will take upwards of 3-weeks total time, but at least two weeks of that will be parked at either the rally or my wife's family place. To date I cannot pry my wife away from the family business long enough to plan a long multi-stop trip. I have high hopes for 2015 though. 
 

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