See a summary of driving our Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome throughout 2023!
This combines all of the motorhome travel timelapses for 2023 into one video, at 20x the speed of the original timelapse videos.
Author: David
2023 travel days
I thought it’d be interesting and useful to include a summary of travel days. Here are links to blog posts, and a sample picture of the view of each, so you can see how the landscape changed as we travelled in our coach.
Read to the end for some sneak peeks of places we went that I haven’t yet posted about!
You can see all of the travel-related blog posts via the travel category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.
Travel from Corpus Christi to Lockhart, Texas:
Travel from Lockhart to Columbus, Texas:
Travel from Columbus to Lake Conroe, Texas:
Travel from Lake Conroe to Lake Whitney, Texas:
Travel from Lake Whitney to Dallas, Texas:
Travel days to US Virgin Islands:
Travel from NIRVC in Dallas to Gordonville, Texas:
Travel from Gordonville to Abilene, Texas:
Travel from Abilene, Texas to Las Cruces, New Mexico:
Travel from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tombstone, Arizona:
Travel from Tombstone to Surprise, Arizona:
Travel from Surprise to Kingman, Arizona:
Travel from Kingman, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada:
Travel from Las Vegas, Nevada to Death Valley, California:
Travel from Death Valley to Yermo, California:
Travel from Yermo to Palm Desert, California:
Travel from Palm Desert to Orange, California:
Travel from Orange to San Diego, California:
Travel from San Diego to Bakersfield, California:
Travel from Bakersfield to Paso Robles, California:
Travel from Paso Robles to Petaluma, California:
Travel from Petaluma to Meyers Flat, California:
Travel from Meyers Flat to Crescent City, California:
Travel from Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon:
Travel from Florence to Eugene, Oregon:
Travel from Eugene to South Beach, Oregon:
Travel from South Beach to Seaside, Oregon:
Travel from Seaside, Oregon to Ocean City, Washington:
Travel from Ocean City to Shelton, Washington:
Travel from Shelton, Washington to Buxton, Oregon:
Travel from Buxton to Welches, Oregon:
Travel from Welches to La Grande, Oregon:
Travel from La Grande, Oregon to Glenns Ferry, Idaho:
Travel from Glenns Ferry, Idaho to Alpine, Wyoming:
Travel from Alpine to Yellowstone, Wyoming:
Travel from Yellowstone to Cody, Wyoming:
Travel from Cody to Buffalo, Wyoming:
Travel from Buffalo to Devils Tower, Wyoming:
Travel from Devils Tower, Wyoming to Medora, North Dakota:
Travel from Medora, North Dakota to Spearfish, South Dakota:
Travel from Spearfish to Badlands, South Dakota:
Travel from Badlands to Hot Springs, South Dakota:
Travel from Hot Springs, South Dakota to Ogallala, Nebraska:
Travel from Ogallala, Nebraska to Scott City, Kansas:
Travel from Scott City, Kansas to Guymon, Oklahoma:
Travel from Guymon, Oklahoma to Tucumcari, New Mexico:
Travel from Tucumcari to Albuquerque, New Mexico:
Travel from Albuquerque to Santa Rosa, New Mexico:
Towed from Santa Rosa to Moriarty, New Mexico:
Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico:
Travel from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas:
Travel from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma:
Travel from Choctaw, Oklahoma to Russellville, Arkansas (post coming in January):
Travel from Russellville to Hot Springs, Arkansas (post coming in January):
Travel from Hot Springs, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee (post coming in January):
Travel from Memphis, Tennessee to Red Bay, Alabama (post coming in January):
Travel from Red Bay, Alabama to Toomsuba, Mississippi (post coming in February):
Travel from Toomsuba, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana (post coming in February):
Travel from New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama (post coming in February):
Travel from Spanish Fort, Alabama to Carrabelle, Florida (post coming in February):
That’s a lot of travel!
2023 travel route
Let’s look back at our coach travel in 2023. You may also want to check out the 2022 travel summary and the 2021 travel summary.
We bought our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP diesel pusher motorhome on September 2, 2021, and other than a few times when we’ve been out of it during servicing appointments or flying vacations, we’ve lived in it full-time since then.
When we bought the coach, it only had 5,161 miles on the odometer. In 2021 we drove it about 2,300 miles. In 2022 we drove another 8,772 miles. In 2023 we added 9,945 miles, so have driven it 21,017 miles on our adventures so far, for a grand total of 26,178 on the odometer.
One of our goals is to visit every state in the US. In 2023 we stayed in 11 new states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida. These join Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas in 2022, and Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, California, and Arizona in 2021, for a total of 23. Not quite halfway! (We only count states visited since purchasing our coach.)
We also revisited several states last year, as we headed back to our Pacific Northwest domicile. So all the states we visited in 2023 — in order — were Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida; a total of 20 in the year.
Here’s a map of our coach travels and stays in 2023, via the excellent RV Life Trip Wizard website, using a variation of their maps that more clearly shows the state borders and color-coded time zones. We started the year in southern Texas, then the route headed north then west to the California coast, north to Washington, east to North Dakota, south to New Mexico (a detour for the Balloon Fiesta), then east to Alabama (barely), south to Louisiana, and finally east to the panhandle of Florida, where we finished the year:
Another variation of the map, with more detail:
Here’s the route map with the travel in 2022 and 2021 also displayed in different colors; our 2023 travel in purple, our 2022 travel in blue, our 2021 coach travel in green, and our 2021 Yellowstone rental trailer trip in brown:
The same map as an animated GIF, adding each year:
We actually revised our route a few times from what we planned for 2023; here’s an animated GIF that compares what we had originally planned (as shown in last year’s 2023 travel plans post), and what we ended up doing (as above):
Fascinating!
2023 modifications
Happy New Year! 🎉
As we begin 2024, let’s look back at 2023, as I did this time last year.
I will have a series of blog posts reviewing topics from last year. I schedule my posts following a pattern: Modification Mondays, Travel Tuesdays, Whereabouts Wednesdays, and To and Fro Thursdays and Fridays (okay, those last ones are bit of a stretch). So I will post my annual summaries in that order too, starting with modifications today.
We have done a number of modifications to our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP motorhome, to make it more comfortable as a full-time home, to improve the features, or to repair issues. This is a summary of some of the changes done in 2023; also check out the changes from 2022 and 2021.
For each modification topic I include a link to the corresponding blog post, and a sample picture; see the post for details. (Tip: you can click or tap on either the link or picture to go to the corresponding post.)
You can see all of the modification-related blog posts via the modifications category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.
Slide topper bracing to reduce flapping in wind:
Micro-Air EasyTouchRV smart thermostats:
Replaced more recessed lights:
Replaced carbon monoxide detector:
Water softener regeneration and backflush hoses and adapters:
Professionally cleaning gray and black tanks:
Adding a bedside Spyder touch panel:
Jenn’s movable height-adjustable desk:
Ceiling fan motor replacement again:
Engine compartment door stop replacement:
A bubble level helps us check when leveling our coach:
Replaced chassis batteries and more at Oregon Motorcoach Center:
15 amp to 50 amp power adapter:
Truck canopy, slide tray, lift kit:
Replacing bathroom faucets and soap dispensers:
Fixing windshield washer hose:
Fixing bathroom vent lid motor:
Replacing fuse for solar controller:
Replacing fridge drawer cover:
I hope you found these posts interesting and useful.
Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday
We stayed at Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A last-minute change to get us back on track with our scheduled stops after the brake issue.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-10-21
- Check out: 2023-10-22
- 1 night
Weather:
- Cloudy
- High temp 86°F, low 58°F
- Negligible wind
Noise:
- Distant freeway noise
- No train noise
- Negligible neighbor noise
Site:
- #B24, pull through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
- Fairly level; used air leveling
- Gravel driveway about 85 feet long by about 13 feet wide
- Garden between sites about 20 feet wide
- Big trees
- Stamped concrete patio about 30 by 12 feet
- Fire pit, Adirondack chairs, patio table and chairs, propane grill on patio
- Clean site
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 40 PSI water, conveniently located
- Didn’t use sewer, since just one night, but was fairly conveniently located
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 39 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
- Verizon: 20 Mbps down, 6-9 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
- AT&T: 83-95 Mbps down, 7-10 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpster by entrance
- Closed pool
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Nice wooded campground close to I-40
This was a last-minute change of plans along our travel on I-40, and we were happy to get a patio site for our one night. We could relax and have dinner outside without all the fuss of unpacking everything. Very nice patio on terraced sites, which is needed to accommodate the very hilly terrain of the park. Check-in was quick and easy, and they guided us to our site. Some of the interior roads could use a little TLC, and there are some tight turns for a big rig, but we managed. It’s convenient to I-40 but far enough away that there is minimal road noise. We enjoyed the park-like atmosphere and would happily stay here again. We camped at Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
A nice patio:
We actually used the propane grill:
Our downhill neighbor had an interesting setup, with a big rig to tow their fiver, and a smart car on the back:
Other sites:
Closed pool:
Cabin:
Bath House:
Mmm, a sewage lagoon:
Dog park:
Quite a nice campground; I’d be happy to stay longer in the future.
Video: Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 284 miles from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma.
Travel from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma
We drove our coach 284 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:
An interactive map:
Departing the RV park:
Texas likes to have frontage roads with onramps to freeways, which is actually a good system:
I-40:
Cadillac Ranch:
RV Ranch:
Amarillo overpass, with boots in the name:
The Big Texan Steak Ranch:
VW Slug Bug Ranch:
Big cross:
Leaning water tower of Texas:
Old building:
Wind turbines in a row:
Rest area:
The rest area on the other side of the freeway had an underground shelter:
Cotton field:
Welcome to Oklahoma:
Dinosaur:
Our coach at the rest area:
Elk City:
Fun with zoom:
A stop at Cherokee Trading Post:
Super-relaxed Paladin:
Oklahoma City:
Interesting bridge art:
Interesting building:
Air Force One:
Air Force water towers:
Our destination, the KOA entrance:
Koi pond:
Guided to our site:
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
We visited Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Amarillo, Texas. The second largest canyon in the country.
Entrance:
Canyon view:
Visitor center:
Heading down into the canyon:
Store:
Cadillac Ranch
We visited a famous roadside attraction, Cadillac Ranch, an art installation of ten Cadillac cars, buried nose-first in the ground since 1974, in Amarillo, Texas.
Graffiti on the road:
They sell spray paint and merch; people are allowed and encouraged to spray on the cars:
Approaching Cadillac Ranch:
Lots of people when we visited:
A fun roadside attraction.
Oasis RV Resort & Cottages
We stayed at Oasis RV Resort & Cottages in Amarillo, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A couple of nights in Texas on our journey east.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-10-19
- Check out: 2023-10-21
- 2 nights
Weather:
- Sunny
- High temps ranging between 83-88°F, lows around 53-59°F
- Negligible wind
Noise:
- Some freeway noise
- No train noise
- Negligible neighbor noise
Site:
- #17, pull through, concrete
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
- Fairly level
- Asphalt driveway with concrete pad, about 80 feet long by about 20 feet wide
- Gravel between sites about 15 feet wide
- Some trees
- Picnic table on small concrete patio, about 13 feet by 6 feet
- No fire pit
- Clean site
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 55 PSI water, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 30-36 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
- Verizon: 6 Mbps down, 7-12 Mbps up, 155 ms ping
- AT&T: 58-80 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters (no garbage pickup, so not really a resort in my book)
- Closed pool
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Convenient stop off I-40 in Amarillo
We needed a short stay while traveling through the Texas panhandle, and this place was perfect for that. It’s a large park with long, wide (mostly) pull-through sites. There are concrete pads perfectly placed if you’re a motorhome with tow, but not quite right if you pull a fifth wheel or trailer. So many places have it the other way around, so it was a nice change for us to be able to park in the optimal spot. Close to I-40, but not much noise. Disappointing that they close the pool seasonally regardless of what the actual weather is doing, and also that they are a “resort” and don’t offer trash pickup, which is the bare minimum to be a “resort,” IMHO. We camped at Oasis RV Resort & Cottages Amarillo in a Motorhome.
The map:
Interactive map:
Our site:
Other sites:
Outdoor cat:
Cabins:
Bathrooms and tornado shelters:
Office:
RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch:
