Ambassador RV Resort

We stayed at Ambassador RV Resort in Caldwell, Idaho. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Dates:

  • Check in: 2022-06-24
  • Check out: 2022-06-25
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temp 90°F, low 62°F
  • No significant wind

Noise:

  • No road or train noise
  • No significant neighbor noise

Site:

  • #C-103, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t since only one night
  • Fairly level
  • Fairly large site: about 80 feet long by about 30 feet wide
  • Full hookups:
    • 50 amp power conveniently located
    • 60 PSI water; fairly conveniently located
    • Didn’t hook up the sewer, conveniently located
  • Picnic table on cement with grass area

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 6 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 80 ms ping
  • AT&T: 6 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
  • Verizon: 6 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage pickup at site
  • Pool

Here’s the review Jenn wrote on Campground Reviews:

Convenient spot for a night

We only stayed one night on our way through Idaho. It was quick and convenient to I-84, just be prepared for some roadworks and a detour to get there if you’re headed west. Nice long pull-through site with a table, patio, and a bit of grass between us and the next site. The staff were all very helpful. We camped at Ambassador RV Resort in a Motorhome.

The RV park map:

Map

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Pool etc:

Pool etc

Other RVs:

Other RVs

Other RVs

Other RVs

Travel from Declo to Caldwell, ID

We drove our coach 188 miles, about 3 hours, from Declo, Idaho to Caldwell, Idaho.

The map route, heading northwest:

Map route to Caldwell

Leaving the RV park:

Leaving RV park

Paladin:

Paladin

I-84:

I-84

My devices: iPad with RV gauges, tire pressure monitor, Mac with map, and iPhone with navigation:

Devices

Rest area stop:

Rest area

Rest area

Paladin:

Paladin

Snake River:

Snake River

We saw several wind turbine blades on trucks, plus these ones on the side of the road:

Wind turbine blade

Another rest area stop:

Rest area

Rest area

Paladin:

Paladin

Triple trailer truck:

Triple trailer truck

Our destination:

Destination

Village of Trees RV Resort

We stayed at Village of Trees RV Resort in Declo, Idaho. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Dates:

  • Check in: 2022-06-23
  • Check out: 2022-06-24
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny
  • High temp 86°F, low 48°F
  • No significant wind

Noise:

  • A little road noise, no train noise
  • No neighbor noise

Site:

  • #E9, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t since only one night
  • Not very level
  • Medium site: about 70 feet long by about 25 feet wide
  • Full hookups:
    • 50 amp power conveniently located
    • Didn’t hook up the water; conveniently located
    • Didn’t hook up the sewer, conveniently located
  • Picnic table

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 8-13 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 100 ms ping, unreliable
  • AT&T: 5 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • Verizon: 16 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Tiny pool
  • Restaurant

Here’s the review Jenn wrote on Campground Reviews:

Convenient to I-84

We only stayed one night on our way through Idaho. Having a restaurant on-site was a huge bonus after a long day of driving (they’ll even deliver to your site). Nice short walk to the Snake River, only marred by the noise of the semis going over the bridge. Not much road noise at our site, though, which is always a plus. Lovely tree-lined streets and most sites seemed to have some shade. We camped at Village of Trees RV Resort in a Motorhome.

The RV park map:

Map

They included a menu for the on-site restaurant when checking in:

Menu

Menu

Our site; since this was a one-night stay, and we didn’t have anywhere to go, we left the truck connected:

Our site

Our site

Our site

The restaurant:

Restaurant

Restaurant

Convenience store:

Convenience store

We had dinner at the restaurant; I had cheese-filled tots and a burger:

Cheese-filled tots and burger

A tiny swimming pool:

Tiny swimming pool

Dragon sculpture:

Dragon sculpture

Other RVs:

Other RVs

Other RVs

Other RVs

Other RVs

Our site again:

Our site

The park is next to Snake River, and has a path to it:

Path to river

River

River

River

Travel Heber City, UT to Declo, ID

We drove our coach 219 miles, about 4 hours, from Heber City, Utah to Declo, Idaho.

The map route, heading northwest:

Map route

Leaving Heber City:

Heber City

Heber City

Heber City

We planned to stop for fuel in Salt Lake City, so I left the step cover open. Paladin took advantage of that to look out the lower window:

Paladin

Roadworks:

Roadworks

US-40 freeway:

US-40 freeway

Paladin in his safe space:

Paladin

I-80:

i-80

i-80

Paladin on the steps again:

Paladin

Exit to Love’s for fuel:

Exit to Love's

Love's

Love's

Onto I-215:

i-215

And I-15 (with a triple trailer truck merging):

i-15

Paladin again:

Paladin

Paladin

One nice thing about interstate freeway travel is rest areas. We stopped at one for lunch:

Rest area

Lunch

Rest area

Paladin on the back of my chair:

Paladin and David

Scenic hills by I-84:

i-84

I-84

Goodbye Utah, welcome to Idaho:

Welcome to Idaho

Another rest area stop:

Rest area

Rest area

Continuing on I-84:

I-84

Sleepy Paladin; he’s definitely getting more comfortable with travel days:

Paladin

Exit to Declo:

Exit to Declo

Our destination RV park was right off the freeway:

C Store

RV park

Ceiling fan motor replacement

Our coach has a ceiling fan in the bedroom, which is nice when it’s warm:

Ceiling fan

But it has been squeaking when turning in the blowing down direction (but not when in reverse). I asked the Tiffin techs about it at the rally, and they said it’s a common issue, and the solution was to replace the motor. So I ordered a replacement:

Motor

Motor

I started the repair by removing the nut and washers holding the blades:

Removed nut and washers holding blades

Then removed the motor cover:

Motor

And dismounted the motor:

Dismounted motor

I then cut the wires to remove the old motor, dismounted the retaining cord, and attached the new motor:

David

Then I connected the wires, and mounted the new motor to the ceiling. But when I went to attach the cover, it turned out that the cover holes didn’t quite line up with those in the new motor:

Holes

So I used a couple of washers to adjust the position:

Washers

Washers between the ceiling and motor, to make the cover holes line up:

Mounted

Covered:

Covered

The blades reattached:

Blades reattached

All better!

Here’s a GIF of it working:

GIF

Utah Alpine Loop scenic drive and Bridal Veil Falls

We did a day trip drive along the Utah Alpine Loop scenic drive, to the Timpanogos Cave National Monument visitor center, through the outskirts of Salt Lake City, and to Bridal Veil Falls.

Here’s an embedded map of the route, as an experiment (alternative link):

Alpine Loop scenic drive:

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

Alpine Loop scenic drive

We stopped at the Timpanogos Cave National Monument visitor center, since it was on the way. We didn’t go to the actual cave, since (a) it requires reservations, (b) it requires a fairly long hike to reach it, and (c) it requires having never been in a cave before:

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Jenn

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

We stopped at The Holy Grill for lunch, a BBQ restaurant:

The Holy Grill

The Holy Grill

BBQ food

The Holy Grill

The Holy Grill

The Holy Grill

And a stop at Eddie Bauer to return some clothing:

Eddie Bauer

Mountains:

Mountains

Mountains

Bridal Veil Falls:

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Great Salt Lake

We visited Great Salt Lake in Utah.

The visitor center:

Visitor center

Brine shrimp in the visitor center:

Brine shrimp

Info sign:

Info sign

Olympics 2002:

Olympics 2002

Great Salt Lake:

Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

It was a little breezy:

David

David

Great Salt Lake

David

Jenn

Jenn

Next to the lake is a copper smelter:

Smelter

Smelter

Info sign

Info sign

Info sign

Info sign

Info sign

Also by the lake is the historic Saltair:

Saltair

Saltair

Saltair

We then drove through downtown Salt Lake City on the way back:

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Mountain Valley RV Resort

We stayed at Mountain Valley RV Resort in Heber City, Utah. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Dates:

  • Check in: 2022-06-18
  • Check out: 2022-06-23
  • 5 nights

Weather:

  • Mosty sunny
  • High temps ranging between 65-82°F, lows around 28-50°F
  • Some afternoon wind

Noise:

  • No real road noise, slight train noise
  • Some neighbor noise

Site:

  • #U10, pull-through, cement
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
  • Nicely level
  • Large site: about 75 feet long by about 30 feet wide
  • Full hookups:
    • 50 amp power conveniently located
    • I didn’t note the water pressure; conveniently located
    • Acceptable sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10 foot hoses used)
  • Picnic table

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 1-2 Mbps down, 1-16 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
  • AT&T: 8 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 2-28 Mbps down, 17-21 Mbps up, 45-87 ms ping, unreliable
  • Verizon: 18 Mbps down, 13 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage collection from site
  • Multiple pools
  • Package pick up in office

Here’s the review Jenn wrote on Campground Reviews:

Check-in’s at two! Check-in’s at two!

This was a fantastic resort, but check-in is at two. We’d never stayed at a place with such a late check-in time, so when we pulled in just before 1 pm and the guy behind the counter asked if we’d called beforehand to see if we could “come in early” I was a little confused. There were at least three other RVs checking in at that time because the lanes for registration were all full, so I didn’t realize our faux pas. I’m guessing we were the last in a long line of RVs who were coming in early from the Tiffin Rally so he was a bit frazzled because he mentioned in every single sentence that check-in is at two. I think his co-workers were getting used to his mood because when he asked one to go see if our site was ready because we were early and check-in’s at two, the other guy finished his sentence before smiling at me with a wink. Anyway, our site was ready and we were efficiently guided to it and parked on a nice, level concrete slab.

This resort has three pools, one of which is in the 21 section of the park, where we’d choose to stay next time. Everything is beautifully maintained and the staff (other than Mr. Check-in’s At Two) were super friendly and helpful. Here’s the punchline. Check-out is at noon. We were out by 11 am and an hour up the road when I got a voicemail from someone in the office to ask if we were heading out soon because check-out is at noon. There was then a second voicemail a few minutes later to apologize and that she’d been looking at the wrong site. We camped at Mountain Valley RV Resort in a Motorhome.

The RV park map:

Map

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Entrance:

Entrance

Office:

Office

One of three swimming pools:

Pool

Games:

Games

Other RVs:

Other RVs

Other RVs

Other RVs

Our coach and others:

Other RVs

Our site

Mountains in the background, and a wall dividing the park:

Mountains and wall

About half of the park is 21 and over only… unfortunately we weren’t in that part:

21 and over only

Adults only clubhouse:

Adults only clubhouse

Pools:

Pools

Pool

Games