Pasco KOA

April 2-3, 2016

Who: Dianne and Nora

A parking lot of a campground, especially in a tent.  Nora loved the pool and we just needed a place to stay for the night, so it was fine.  

Lake Isabella KOA

September 13-14, 2015
Lake Isabella KOA

Road Trip!  10 States, 4000 miles

Who: Dianne, Joshua, Nora

One of the nicer KOA's we stayed at.  A bit out of the way though.  We had to drive through the Mojave Dessert on the way.  106 degrees.  Yuck!

The park had nice sized spaces and the kids enjoyed the pool.

Hands Down, THE worst day of the trip came leaving this campground. And, it wasn't the cows fault.

I asked at the KOA the best way to get where we were going.  I was OK with a bit longer if it was more scenic.  She told me to go North through the Sierra Nevada's , past the Trail of 100 Giants and then just follow Hwy. 290 out to the freeway. 20 extra minutes tops.

It added a good 2 HOURS to the trip. Shortly after the cows, the road went along a cliff, with no guardrails, and constant turns, weaves and hairpins.  For over an hour.  All three of us got car sick.  It was awful. We had no idea how long the road was and just had to keep going.  It was so bad, the kids don't even want to go back to California and I've had to promise multiple times we will never, ever, go on that road again. Ever.

I still have nightmares about this road. 

The final night of our trip was spent in Grants Pass at a motel. 

Final tally - 4,164 miles.  15 nights.  10 states.  105 Geocaches.

Lake Powell

September 10-12, 2015
Wahweap Campground, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Park

Road Trip!  10 States, 4000 miles

Who: Dianne, Joshua, Nora

We drove through 4 corners and on to Antelope, Arizona.  I had not made reservations for most of the trip as it was the off-season.  When we arrived in town, it was 104 degrees and I wasn't looking forward to tent camping.  We went looking for a hotel, but the entire town was literally sold out except for a few rooms for $250.  We went back to the campground only to find, it was now sold out as well. Thankfully, they told us about another campground about 15 miles out of town.  Turned out to be a National Park Service campground and it was amazing.  Gorgeous views, cheap, and you could use the pool at the resort next door!  We liked it so much, we stayed 2 nights.

While staying there, we took a tour of Antelope Canyon.  Another amazing sight seen only in photos.

We also went to Horsehoe Bend.

 

Mesa Verde RV Park

September 9-10, 2015
Mesa Verde RV Park, CO

Road Trip!  10 States, 4000 miles

Who: Dianne, Joshua, Nora

We really liked this park.  Nice big sites, beautiful scenery and a pool.  Almost stayed 2 nights, but it was so cold overnight we decided to move on.

On the way there, we stopped at Arches National Park in Utah.  Very beautiful.  It was very hot for us Washingtonians, so we didn't hike around too much, but did still see several arches.

The next day, we visited Mesa Verde National Park. Definitely the highlight of the trip.  It was amazing to see in person.  Hard to believe people used to live in these cliff dwellings.

Lyman KOA

September 3-4, 2015
Lyman KOA, WY

Road Trip!  10 States, 4000 miles

Who: Dianne, Joshua, Nora

Our third night we made it to Wyoming.  This campground was nice and wide open.  Very warm during the day, but definitely chilly overnight!
 

Mountain Home KOA

September 2-3, 2015
Twin Falls KOA, Idaho

Road Trip!  10 States, 4000 miles

Who: Dianne, Joshua, Nora

We made it to Twin Falls the next night.  This KOA was definitely nicer.  Much more of a campground feel.

The kids enjoyed the pool and even did some homework.  (That lasted maybe another day!)  The kids like the divider in our new tent so they can each have their own area.

 I couldn't sleep, so I read my book by lantern in the wee hours. 

Pendleton KOA

September 1-2, 2015

Road Trip!  10 States, 4000 miles

Who: Dianne, Joshua, Nora

 Our first night, we made it to Pendleton and stayed at the KOA.  The campground was a little more than a glorified parking lot, but not much.  Our site backed up to an apartment building.  It was perfectly adequate for one night though.

There was a great swimming pool in town and we spent a few hours there before turning in for the night.

Cascade Loop Trip

August 18-21 2015

Cascade Loop Tent camping trip with Bobbi Ann

Who: Dianne, Joshua, Nora, Bobbi Ann, Ruby, Kimberly and Ruby's friend Julie

Squire Creek Campground, Darrington, Site #25

Campground is nice sized.  Lots of trees, huge sites.  Great creek for wading.  Not a popular spot as there was only one other camper!

Serious lack of bathrooms - our closest one was a porta potty.  Only real bathroom was over by the picnic area.

Pearrygin Lake State Park, Winthrop, Site #159


Sites are huge and most are right on the lake.  Great swimming, no playground.

Due to wildfires in the area, they evacuated the town of Winthrop shortly after we arrived.  We were informed the campground was safe and they wanted the campers to stay to ease congestion on the roads. We spent a smoky night and left early in the morning with nice, wide open roads.

Daroga State Park, Site #25


Nice, large state park.  All sites have hook-ups.  Swim area is far enough away that we drove most of the time.

Camp was so windy that everything blew off the table, including our camp stove.  Overnight, they wind was strong enough to snap our tent pole and we spent the rest of the night in the car.