Marathon Motel & RV Park

We stayed at Marathon Motel & RV Park in Marathon, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Dates:

Check in: 2024-11-17
Check out: 2024-11-30
13 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny
High temps 61-80°F, lows 32-46°F
Some wind, gusts to 23 MPH

Noise:

Little road noise
Loud train horn noise right out front of the campground, about once an hour, generally between 10:00 and 22:00, though occasionally one or two overnight
Significant neighbor noise for a few days (big family on driver side), otherwise not much

Site:

#4, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Mostly level site; a little high in front; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 80 feet long by 18 feet wide
10 feet to neighbors on both sides
Separation between sites: just grass
Picnic table
A couple of tall trees
Mostly clean site
Elevation 4,060 feet

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
60 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, a little inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 130-180 Mbps down, 30-40 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
AT&T: 53-70 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 25 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Star parties
Package delivery to office
Chickens!

Our review on Campground Reviews:

High desert delight

This was our second time staying here, and we enjoyed it just as much as our first trip. The only downside is the freight train that runs through town with its horn blaring because of the uncontrolled crossings. Luckily, it didn’t tend to go through after 11pm or too early in the morning. Otherwise, this is a peaceful corner of West Texas, and Marathon remains a cute little town. The campground is delightful, with a cactus garden and a chicken run to enjoy. The sites in the 50A section are conveniently situated east/west to mitigate the worst effects of the famous wind. We camped at Marathon Motel and RV Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

A resident cat sitting on one of our chairs:

Cat

Another resident cat:

Cat

A short-term neighbor brought their outdoor cat, which got into fights with the resident cats, and hid in our engine bay:

Cat

GIF of wild javelinas (aka peccaries) walking through our site:

GIF of javelinas

Aerial views of our site and the RV park:

Aerial view

This park is in a dark skies area, so there were lots of stars visible (I’ll have another post later with more aerial photos and star pics):

Stars

A tiny home and covered RV across the road from the campground; if we ever buy land again, we might do something like this:

Tiny home and covered RV across the road

Other sites:

Other sites

Laundromat:

Laundromat

Outdoor showers and kitchen:

Outdoor showers and kitchen

Restroom:

Restroom

Bathrooms and motel room:

Bathrooms and motel room

More motel rooms:

Motel rooms

Historic signs:

Historic sign

Entrance and sign

The train track is across the road from the RV park, with an uncontrolled crossing right there, so the trains honk their horns several times:

Train

A nice courtyard:

Courtyard

Rita’s Cantina, which was closed last time and is still closed; they just can’t get the staff to open it:

Rita's Cantina

An RV park resident hosts star parties a few times each week:

Sky party area

Sky party

A desert garden area:

Garden

I enjoyed hanging out with the resident chickens:

Chicken coop

Despite the train noise, we still enjoy this RV park and town, and no doubt will be back again in the future.

Sequoia National Park: northern side

We visited Sequoia National Park in California, including the Lodgepole Visitor Center and Grill, and the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world by volume. And saw a couple of bears in a tree.

An interactive map of our route:

Relief map in the visitor center:

Relief map

Visitor center

General Sherman Tree trail, a half mile (each way) path from the parking lot to the tree, through the Giant Forest sequoia grove:

Sherman Tree trail

Footprint of Sherman Tree:

Footprint of Sherman Tree

Path and steps:

Path and steps

General Sherman tree, the largest tree in the world by volume:

General Sherman tree

Other big trees:

Another tree

Tree cross section:

Tree cross section

On the way back up the path, we saw a couple of black bears in a tree (not very close, fortunately):

Bears in tree

Mount Coolidge, Wind Cave National Park, Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park

A scenic drive up Mount Coolidge in Custer State Park, then anti-clockwise through Wind Cave National Park (which is still not available for cave tours), and back through Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park, with lots of bison seen.

A fire lookout at the top of Mount Coolidge, at 6,020 feet elevation:

Fire lookout

Views:

Road

View

Bison in Wind Cave National Park:

Bison in Wind Cave National Park

Pigtail loop in Wind Cave National Park:

Pigtail loop in Wind Cave National Park

One lane bridge in Wind Cave National Park:

One way bridge in Wind Cave National Park

More bison in Wind Cave National Park:

Bison in Wind Cave National Park

Out of the park, along a dirt road:

Dirt road

To an entrance back into Wind Cave National Park:

Dirt road entrance to Wind Cave National Park

Dirt road

Then joining Custer State Park’s Wildlife Loop:

Wildlife Loop

Bison Center:

Bison Center

A map showing where the wildlife was at the time. We told the ranger that the burros were actually in the corrals in front of the Bison Center (the fence was open, so they wandered in to eat the tasty food):

Bison Center

Wild burros and fans:

Burros

Following that map, we found a large herd of bison:

Bison

Bison having a dust bath

Bison

Nice.

Iron Mountain Road, Needles Highway, Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park

We enjoyed a super scenic drive though Custer State Park, along Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway, with multiple narrow tunnels, fun twisty roads, and impressive views. Then went along the Wildlife Loop.

The map from their website; click or tap to see larger:

An interactive map of our route; we started at the Legion Lake Campground, heading northeast towards the Norbeck Overlook waypoint along the Iron Mountain Road, continuing anti-clockwise to Sylvan Lake, where we had lunch and a walk, then through the middle and clockwise around the Wildlife Loop, back to the campground:

A narrow and low tunnel:

Narrow and short tunnel

Two narrow and low tunnels:

Two narrow and short tunnels

The second tunnel emerges to a bridge and corkscrew:

Tunnel to bridge and corkscrew

Another narrow tunnel:

Narrow and short tunnel

This one has a peek of Mount Rushmore:

Mount Rushmore

We went past Mount Rushmore on the route (been there before; not worth stopping again):

Mount Rushmore

The first tunnel on the Needles Highway:

Narrow and short tunnel

A selfie at Sylvan Lake:

Selfie at Sylvan Lake

We strolled along the lakeside after lunch; one of our favorite places:

Sylvan Lake

Needle’s Eye:

Needle's Eye

Needle’s Eye tunnel:

Narrow and short tunnel

More interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Narrow and short tunnel

Wildlife:

Deer

Turkeys

Deer

Prairie Dogs

Bison

Sunset

Bison

Twin Lakes RV & Camping Resort

We stayed at Twin Lakes RV & Camping Resort in Chocowinity, North Carolina. (Campground Reviews listing.)

An Encore park, mostly full of full-timers and seasonal sites, but with a section for transients.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-05-12
Check out: 2024-05-24
12 nights

Weather:

Partly cloudy, some rain
High temps 73-81°F, lows 52-65°F
Little wind, gusts to 28 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
Distant train horn noise
Some neighbor noise

Site:

#D13, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
Level site; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 75 feet long by 10 feet wide
About 20 feet to neighbors on both sides
Picnic table
No fire pit
Some tall trees, but not providing any privacy
A lot of trash around the site

Utilities:

50 amp power, inconveniently located
40 PSI water, inconveniently located
Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (3 10-foot pipes needed)
We did park more forward than most people, though; utilities were at the rear of the site, so we could have been closer
Water was shut off for a couple of hours during our stay due to a broken pipe elsewhere in the campground (not a big deal, since we have our own water tank)
Interestingly, the sewer is actually an underground holding tank, that is pumped out periodically

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 14-17 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 65 ms ping
Verizon: 20 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 56 ms ping
AT&T: 10 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 51 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Pools
Package delivery to office

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Water, water everywhere, but not a beach in sight

If you’re looking for a place to stay so you can visit the Outer Banks, keep looking. If you’re looking for a place to stay with nice waterways and fishing but not an actual beach, this place is good for that. It’s a nice campground with water all around and lots of seasonal/annual residents. There’s one main area where they place the “transients,” and it’s okay. Our site was not huge, but it was large enough for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle, with room for our table and chairs on the side. We camped at Twin Lakes RV & Camping Resort in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

The utilities were at the back of the site, and we parked at the front, so I used two 25 foot water hoses and three 10 foot sewer hoses (it’s good to have extras):

Utilities

The sewer was actually a holding tank, periodically pumped out:

Pump trailer

Trash collected from around the site; worse than typical:

Trash

A bunch of aerial photos of the campground and environs, via my drone:

Aerial

Entrance:

Entrance

The gate requires a magnetic card for access (which is more convenient than a code, as most places do):

Entrance

Dumpsters near the entrance:

Dumpsters near the entrance

Office:

Office

They had some flooding a while back, so were stil working on restocking the store:

Restocking the store

Swimming pool:

Swimming pool

Playground:

Playground

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Dog park:

Dog park

Clubhouse:

Rec center

Clubhouse

Ice and water machine:

Ice and water machine

Other sites:

Other sites

Ducks

Other sites

Duck

Ducks

Other sites

Another playground:

Another playground

Boat storage:

Boat storage

Canal

Another pool:

Another pool

Geese:

Geese

Other sites

There were lots of squirrels roaming around:

Squirrel

We’d be happy to stay here again.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

We briefly visited John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Florida.

An interactive map:

Entrance:

Entrance

Visitor center aquarium:

Visitor center aquarium

Gift store:

Gift store

Cannon Beach:

Cannon beach

Boats

Far Beach:

Far Beach

Big Cypress National Preserve

While exploring Everglades National Park, we drove through a portion of Big Cypress National Preserve, north of Everglades, checked out its two visitor centers, had a picnic lunch, and a stroll along some boardwalks.

Jenn collected her passport stamps at both visitor centers:

Passport stamps

Exhibits at the Oasis Visitor Center:

Exhibits

A short boardwalk in front of the visitor center:

Boardwalk in front of visitor center

There were several alligators hanging out below the boardwalk; clearly on the park staff:

Alligator

A bunch of birds, too:

Bird

Continuing on, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Kirby Storter Roadside Park:

Picnic at Kirby Storter Roadside Park

There was also a boardwalk there through the swamp, a little less than a mile roundtrip:

Boardwalk

Boardwalk view

Info shelter

Swamp

Finally, Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center:

Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center

Also with a short boardwalk:

Boardwalk

A bit different kind of swamp from what we saw in Everglades.

Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park is one of the rare national parks that is mostly water, on the coast south of Miami, Florida.

We visited for a sail, paddle, and snorkel trip.

Entrance sign

Our boat:

Our boat

Heading out:

Heading out

Birds:

Birds

Map; we sailed out to Coon Point on Elliot Key:

Map

Sailboat

Snorkeling; I used my 360 camera, but had some technical difficulties, so didn’t get many pictures:

Snorkeling

Water

Other boats:

Other boats

Raising our sail:

Sail

Sailing

Other boats

Sailing

Below

Some paddling into the mangroves:

Paddle

Sitting up front on the way back:

Sitting up front

Lighthouse:

Lighthouse

Sailing

A fun excursion.

Everglades National Park

We explored several areas of Everglades National Park in Florida.

A map of the park:

A map in a visitor center:

Map

Entrance sign:

Entrance sign

The Royal Palm area of the park was closest to our campsite, with some nice walks:

Bird

Water lillies

Can you spot a turtle?

Turtle

Here it is:

Turtle

Tree

Also nearby is a relic of the Cold War: the HM69 Nike missile base:

HM69 Nike missile base

Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center:

Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center

Gulf Coast Visitor Center was under construction, so they used a modular building:

Gulf Coast Visitor Center

West Lake:

West Lake

Tree

Guy Bradley Visitor Center:

Guy Bradley Visitor Center

We were amused by Rock Reef Pass, elevation 3 feet:

Rock Reef Pass

Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort

We stayed at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in Clermont, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

TTO (as it’s commonly called) is the flagship Thousand Trails park, with over a thousand sites.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-01-07
Check out: 2024-01-21
14 nights

Weather:

Mostly cloudy, some rain, mostly drizzle
High temps ranging between 63-80°F, lows around 35-65°F
A little wind, gusts to 38 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train noise
Some neighbor noise, dogs and kids
Distant fireworks from Disney some evenings

Site:

#178, back in, asphalt
Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
Rather unlevel, high on right and front; used hydraulic leveling
Asphalt driveway about 50 feet long by about 18 feet wide
Passenger side to next site’s driveway about 10 feet
Driver side to next site’s driveway about 20 feet
No picnic table (but apparently available upon request)
No fire pit
Steep drop-off next to rear of site
Mostly clean site

Utilities:

50 amp power, very inconveniently located; needed to use my extension cord
75 PSI water, inconveniently located
Loose sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 47 Mbps down, 6-14 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
T-Mobile: 24-30 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
AT&T: 1 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 80 ms ping
Verizon: 2 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters only in a central location
Package delivery to office, for $5 per package (we got a local mailbox)

Our review on Campground Reviews:

The flagship Thousand Trails park

It’s good to know what’s what before showing up at TTO. Half the park is older, with rundown pads and a kind of state park feel, and half the park is newer, like a perfectly manicured RV resort. And if you’re used to the usual Thousand Trails “first come first served” rigamarole, you might be confused by how they do things here. I prefer the orderly check-in process with the rangers knowing what sites are available and guiding you to what’s there. This place is so huge, that you’d be crawling the lanes for hours before finding one on your own. I hate having to find a place at other TT parks. Our site was on the “older” side of the park, backed up to some trees, which was nice. There was a bit of a drop-off at the end of our pad, but it was long enough for our 40′ coach, and we were able to park our truck on the grass alongside it. It was kind of downhill in a hollow, so cell reception was not great but Starlink was just fine. We camped at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

A rather steep drop-off:

Our site

I needed to use my power extension cord for the first time ever (other than at Mom’s):

Power extension cord

I had fun tossing a ball for this very good boy whenever I went to top up our water tank or dump our waste tanks:

Dog

The nearby bathrooms were closed the entire time, but they had portapotties for the few people who needed them (and I did use one once, as we sanitized our fresh water tank while here):

Bathrooms