Places we stay in our coach.
A timelapse of a few days from five different campgrounds in Texas:
Check out the Sinclair Trails blog for reviews of each.
We stayed at Lake Whitney State Park in Whitney, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
We enjoy stake parks, and this was another nice one.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Peaceful state park
We stayed for five nights in the horseshoe full hookup campground and really liked it. We were originally going to stay longer but adjusted our travel plans to avoid the ice storm that blew through the area in February. Stupid storm, I would have loved to stay here longer. Our site was a decent size pull-through with plenty of room for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle. The width of the site was incredibly large with a fire ring and concrete picnic table all nestled under mature trees with a view across a large grassland area. We camped at Lake Whitney State Park in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: About an hour’s drive to Waco to visit the Dr Pepper Museum and Waco Mammoth National Monument, both worth the trip.
An interactive map of the park:
The map; our site was in the Horseshoe Camping Loop in the lower-right corner of this map:
Our site:
The utilities were not very conveniently located, at the front of site:
The sewer was unthreaded, but someone had helpfully left a bungee there, which I used to secure the pipe:
A look at the utilities from the rear; the power cord was pretty much fully unwound:
Unwound power reel; unusual to need the full length of the cord:
Camp hosts cleaning the neighboring site:
Other sites:
I flew my drone to capture some aerial shots of our coach, site, the park, and the lake:
We’d be happy to stay here again.
We stayed at Thousand Trails Lake Conroe RV & Camping Resort in Willis, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Another large Thousand Trails campground, also with a nice new area.
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Our review on Campground Reviews:
New premium sites
They seem to have a focus on selling vacation homes here, but they’re still making an effort to add nicer amenities for camping, too. We stayed in one of the newer sections with concrete pads and 50A connections, which was nice. Some of the sites in section B were a bit steep for a larger class A and we watched more than one large 5th-wheel have a hard time backing up a driveway. Our pull-through site had a short driveway with a hill, but the pad itself was perfectly level. We camped at Lake Conroe RV & Camping Resort in a Motorhome.
An interactive map of the RV park; our site was in the new section to the right of the entrance:
The campground map:
Our site was in a new section, with nicely paved roads and concrete sites; we managed to snag one of the best sites, a large pull-through:
Convenient water and power:
The sewer connection was threaded, but the thread seemed stripped, so I wasn’t able to screw my sewer pipe into it. So I added a water-filled weight over the top to make sure it didn’t pop out. Spilling sewage wouldn’t be ideal:
We used the griddle a few times:
Sunset:
A griddle kiwiburger (with pickled beets and egg):
There were several days of thunderstorms; here’s a screenshot from my weather app:
A couple of screenshots of the LightningMaps.org site, which shows recent lightning strikes, with circles for the thunder sound wavefronts:
A real-time GIF:
Rain:
A somewhat flooded road:
A fiver (fifth-wheel trailer) being backed into a site, almost scraping the rear and jacks — the sites have steep driveways:
Other sites:
In other sections:
New sites, not yet open:
Very close buddy sites; no thank you:
Bathrooms:
This Thousand Trails has several communities of permanent tiny homes; here are the Hidden Cove cottages:
The Reserve cottages:
New cottages just arrived for another expansion area:
Rental cabins:
The business office:
That’s were we went several times to pick up packages:
A food cart near the office:
Car wash and dump station:
Dog park:
Courts:
Lake Conroe boat ramp:
Lake docks:
We lucked out with our site. We’d stay here again, as they continue to expand the sites. Even the older sections weren’t too bad… other than the buddy sites!
We stayed at Thousand Trails Colorado River RV Campground in Columbus, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A fairly large Thousand Trails campground, with a nice new area.
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Internet (in usage priority order):
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Our review on Campground Reviews:
New sites are worth it
We’ve stayed at several Thousand Trails campgrounds and they usually look like they need some TLC and updating. But not this one. They’ve built a nice new area with 50A pull-through sites and paved roads, which was very appreciated and worth the $3 premium fee. Our site in this area had a nice view of the fishing pond and a good walk to the river. We camped at Colorado River RV Campground in a Motorhome.
An interactive map of the RV park; our site was to the right of the big pond:
Campground map:
Being a Thousand Trials campground, we had to drive around looking for available sites, trying to find one we liked the look of. We really lucked out with our site, with a view of a pond, and a large grassy area in front:
We had a view of a pond (partially blocked by the next site). And nice sunsets:
Another sunset:
The pond from closer:
Colorado River:
I rode my bike around the campground:
An outdoor movie area:
Pecan trees:
Mini golf:
Cabins:
Swimming pool:
Closed sites, probably reserved for seasonal guests:
Someone had some sort of ladder thing:
Pond:
Bathrooms:
Jenn riding:
Some videos of riding around the campground:
Morning fog:
Stars:
The day before we left, the neighbor left, giving us a better view of the pond for a few hours, until someone else arrived:
Sunset:
Sunset and the pond out our window (and the new neighbor):
Thousand Trails campgrounds are often run down and cramped, and this one did have older sites like that, but the section we were in was very new and nice. It’s good to see them investing in improvements.
We’d definitely stay here again.
We stayed at Lockhart State Park in Lockhart, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice state park with a golf course view.
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Our review on Campground Reviews:
Nice golf course view
This was a well-maintained campground in a nice state park with a 9-hole golf course. We were in the full-hookup loop with a terrific view over the course and really enjoyed a nice, quiet stay. Our site was a bit unlevel front-to-back, but we got it level with a couple of extra blocks under the front levelers. The site was huge, with a nice covered picnic table and shade trees at the front, but with a good clear view of the sky at the back for the Starlink. We camped at Lockhart State Park in a Motorhome.
An interactive map of the RV park; our site was on the south side of the circle near the center of the map:
Park map sign:
Info sign:
Bathrooms:
Our site:
Lockhart is the “BBQ capital of Texas”, so of course each site has a smoker:
The utilities were conveniently positioned:
Cellular service was limited, so we broke out the Starlink Dishy again; it had an unobstructed view of the sky:
We also used our griddle, and ate several meals outside:
You may think “duh, don’t you always?” No, we don’t always use the griddle or eat outside, depending on the weather and other factors. We’re not camping, this is our life. We have a good kitchen and comfy dining table inside, sometimes that’s just easier. Similarly, almost all campsites come with a picnic table; this one has a nice shelter over it. But we hardly ever use them; our folding chairs and table are more comfortable.
A sunset between the trees:
Almost full moon above our coach:
I spent several days working outside; here I have a second screen magnetically mounted on my laptop:
Our last flower of the season on our Christmas cactus:
Another griddle dinner, with all sites occupied for the weekend:
Squirrel:
A not-great picture of a cardinal bird:
More cardinals:
Golf course view:
Other RVs:
One of the campers had what we assume is a catio — an outdoor run for a cat (or maybe another small animal):
Clear Fork Creek:
We do enjoy state parks. We’d be happy to come back here again.
We stayed at Corpus Christi KOA Journey in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A high-service waterfront RV park.
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Our review on Campground Reviews:
A prime spot right on the water
We have a motorhome, but very occasionally, I wish we had a toy hauler. This place would have been absolutely perfect for that as we were backed right up to the Laguna Madre with views towards North Padre island. The first few days, we didn’t have a neighbor on the passenger side, so we had unobstructed views, and it was amazing. And then we got neighbors (with the world’s most obnoxious screaming children, which was not as relaxing…so ignore the label at the top of this page that says “no minors”), and the weather turned to freezing and windy, and we both got sick…so we didn’t get to enjoy the campground or the area as much as we would’ve liked. But before all that happened, I couldn’t believe this campground was only a “Journey” when we’ve stayed at KOA Holidays that had fewer services and amenities. The staff are all amazing and friendly, even going so far as to allow us to ship a new mattress there and help us get it loaded into our rig. It may be one of the pricier places we’ve stayed, but it was well worth it. We camped at Corpus Christi KOA in a Motorhome.
An interactive map of the RV park:
The campground map:
Our site had a waterfront view — from the side and back, which isn’t as ideal as a front-in site, but the sites were angled enough to have a decent side view:
The patio site had everything including a propane grill (with tools), though it was too cold to want to actually use it:
Utilities:
It was time to regenerate the water softener, which involves adding two containers of salt, then flushing it out for a while:
A nice view out or window, at least when there wasn’t an RV in that site:
Views from behind the site:
A pelican on the water:
Working outside:
Afternoon view:
Sunset view:
Info:
Rentals:
A well stocked KOA store:
Playground and private beach:
A heated pool; a few brave people did use it (too cold air for us to want to swim, though):
Pelicans and gulls:
A deck; the map says that they want to add a fishing pier off here eventually:
A shore bird of some kind:
Grackle:
Grackles checking out garbage awaiting collection:
Paladin watching a grackle on our roof:
The staff does a really good job of cleaning sites between occupants:
Other RVs:
An empty patio site, and houses beyond:
A nice-looking newer Tiffin Allegro Bus (a 45FP floorplan); we don’t want a 45-foot coach, but I would like that rear exit door:
Nice paint job:
This KOA only has one cabin (plus a rental house next door):
Weekly propane delivery to sites; we took advantage of that to refill our 20 lb tank. They asked if we wanted to fill the coach propane, but we don’t have propane onboard — it’s an all-electric coach:
A van selling tamales also came around (the office sent text messages to announce these visits):
We tried the tamales, corn chips, and salsa:
As seems to be traditional in our holiday stays, I got sick, with a 100°F fever for a few days, and other fun symptoms. Of course, I did an at-home COVID test, which was definitively negative:
It’s just a cold, but not the most fun way to spend the holidays. On the other hand, it’s a good time to have it, if I must, since we were here for a couple of weeks, and didn’t have any excursions planned.
Oh, just as I was starting to feel better from my cold, Jenn had her turn with it. It’s so romantic how we share everything.
The weather wasn’t great; we had several very windy and cold days, with several fun alerts:
Hard freeze weather alert:
Since we were here over the holidays, we added some festive lights:
And a mini tree:
A nice RV park… probably not worth paying extra for a patio site we didn’t really use, but if the weather were nicer (and we weren’t sick), we would have enjoyed it more.
Another interesting summary of 2022 — the places we stayed during the year. A much longer post than 2021, which you might also want to revisit.
For each location, I’ll include a link to the corresponding blog post, so you can click through to see a lot more information, and a picture of our site. Enjoy!
You can also see all of the campground-related blog posts via the campsite category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.
Black Rock RV Village in Salome, Arizona:
Xscapers Bash at Lake Havasu Rodeo grounds in Arizona:
Leaf Verde RV Resort in Buckeye, Arizona:
Catalina Spa and RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California:
Orangeland RV Park in Orange, California:
Ocean Mesa RV Resort near Santa Barbara, California:
Lakeview campground in the Rancho Jurupa Regional Park in California:
Thousand Trails Palm Springs RV Resort in Palm Desert, California:
Buckeye Desert Backyard in Buckeye, Arizona:
Picacho/Tucson NW KOA Journey in Picacho, Arizona:
FMCA “Sunsets + Saguaros” annual convention in Tucson, Arizona; pre-convention site:
Thousand Trails Verde Valley RV & Camping Resort in Cottonwood, Arizona:
Grand Canyon Railway RV Park in Williams, Arizona:
Lake Mead RV Village in Boulder City, Nevada:
Young’s RV Park in Caliente, Nevada:
The Riverside Ranch in Hatch, Utah:
Thousand Lakes RV Park in Torrey, Utah:
Green River KOA Journey in Green River, Utah:
Monument Valley KOA Journey in Monument Valley, Utah:
Ancient Cedars Mesa Verde RV Park in Mancos, Colorado:
Montrose / Black Canyon NP KOA Journey in Montrose, Colorado:
Vernal / Dinosaurland KOA Holiday in Vernal, Utah:
Tiffin rally at the Sweetwater Events Center in Rock Springs, Wyoming:
Mountain Valley RV Resort in Heber City, Utah:
Village of Trees RV Resort in Declo, Idaho:
Ambassador RV Resort in Caldwell, Idaho:
Fish House Inn & RV Park in Dayville, Oregon:
Thousand Trails Bend-Sunriver RV Campground in Bend, Oregon:
Gill’s Landing RV Park in Lebanon, Oregon:
LL Stub Stewart State Park in Buxton, Oregon:
Mt Hood RV & Camping Resort in Welches, Oregon:
Alder Lake Park Rocky Point Campground in Eatonville, Washington:
Mom’s house near Shelton, Washington:
Concrete / Grandy Creek KOA Holiday in Concrete, Washington:
Brookhollow RV Park in Kelso, Washington:
Plymouth Park Campground in Plymouth, Washington:
Gilmore West Campground in Farragut State Park in Athol, Idaho:
McGregor Lakes RV in Marion, Montana:
Moose Creek RV Resort and B&B in West Glacier, Montana:
Jim & Mary’s RV Park in Missoula, Montana:
Osens RV Park in Livingston, Montana:
Buffalo KOA Journey in Buffalo, Wyoming:
El Rancho Village RV Park & Cabins in Wheatland, Wyoming:
St Vrain State Park in Longmont, Colorado:
Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado Springs, Colorado:
Alamosa KOA Journey in Alamosa, Colorado:
Taos Valley RV Park in Taos, New Mexico:
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta:
Palomino Campground in Caballo Lake State Park in Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico:
Las Cruces KOA Journey in Las Cruces, New Mexico:
Slow Play RV Park in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico:
Carlsbad KOA Holiday in Carlsbad, New Mexico:
Loma Paloma RV Park in Presidio, Texas:
Marathon Motel & RV Park in Marathon, Texas:
Pecan Valley RV Park in Junction, Texas:
Hidden Valley RV Park in San Antonio, Texas:
Corpus Christi KOA Journey in Corpus Christi, Texas:
We stayed at Hidden Valley RV Park in San Antonio, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A rural campground minutes from the city.
We had originally planned to stay at a Thousand Trails campground a bit further from the city (because TT is free for us), but had concerns about access to it, and thought we’d rather be closer to the city, as San Antonio has lots of interesting attractions. We could have been closer still, but this place was a nice compromise between the kind of rural sites we enjoy, but close to the city.
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Our review on Campground Reviews:
A nice country feel, close to the city
This was a great place to stay for our visit to San Antonio. We were in the lower, creek portion of the campground, and it was nice to be able to visit the attractions of the city and come home to a nice, quiet place. We really enjoyed looking for turtles along the creek (you have to be sneaky as they dive under the water at the first sign of people). Our site wasn’t particularly level front-to-back, but with enough blocks under the front jacks, we were able to make it work. Cell service was good, and Starlink had a good view of the sky for a connection. We camped at Hidden Valley RV Park in a Motorhome.
An interactive map of the RV park:
The campground map; our site was in the “creekside” section, a bit separated from the main part:
Our site:
The site was rather unlevel, so we needed to use blocks under our front jacks to get the coach level:
The utilities were all conveniently placed:
The cellular service was a little weak, and we had wanted to exercise the Starlink anyway, since it had been a few months since we used it last, so we put that out (with no sky obstructions):
Charging up our ebikes:
Our site and others:
One downside of this RV park is that it is accessed via a rough one-mile dirt road:
Military planes flew over a number of times, being somewhat near an air force base:
There was lots of open space, including picnic tables:
A group fire pit:
And a nice creek:
The creek had a number of turtles in it, too; they liked to sun themselves on logs:
Though they were very skittish; as soon as they saw me, they dove under the water:
Our site again:
A pleasant RV park, other than the mile-long dirt road to get to it.
We stayed at Pecan Valley RV Park in Junction, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice and quiet RV park, with chickens, ducks, goats, and other animals.
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Our review on Campground Reviews:
Close to I-10 but a world away
We stayed for a week and wish it had been longer. This park (and I do mean park) was so tranquil and relaxing but also convenient on/off the Interstate and close to town for groceries, etc. When we pulled in, we were met by the owners, who guided us to our site. All the sites look out over a large grassy area and are nicely spaced, so there’s a good feeling of openness. We also had a good view of one of the chicken coops and really enjoyed watching the hens throughout our stay (and giving them treats). There is a nice farm store by the main chicken coop and goat pen where you can buy goodies and swag, plus the owners or camp hosts will bring farm-fresh eggs to you on request ($5/doz). You can also wander down to the river for swimming, fishing, or just relaxing with the resident ducks. We will definitely stay here again when we pass through the area. We camped at Pecan Valley RV Park in a Motorhome.
An interactive map of the RV park; our spot was to the right of the “Space #18” marker:
This RV park is delightful in part due to its free-range chickens — not so great if you’re afraid of the tiny raptors, but we enjoy them, and miss them from our former homestead. Here are several chickens at our site:
The utilities were fairly convenient:
We also got around to adding the Big Bend National Park sticker to our coach, the last new park for several months:
More pictures of chickens at our site:
We gave them some leftover rice as a treat (the owners invite people to give treats); here’s a video of chickens eating the rice:
And a slow-mo video of chickens eating rice:
They liked to hang out on our mat (yes, I had to clean off a little poop when we left; not a big deal):
The RV park also has some goats:
And a few ducks down at the adjacent river:
They also feed the wild deer daily; the deer are smaller than we’re used to:
And there are squirrels living in the trees; here’s a video of lots of them scampering:
They have a raised bed garden near the river (currently dormant, being winter):
And an unstaffed “general store” where people can go in and choose items to buy, purchasing by writing the selected items on a pad of paper:
Well, the store is staffed by chickens, but I’m not sure they count:
Inside:
The store list:
We bought some cookies, candied pecans, and a tea towel:
They also sell freshly laid eggs; we bought a couple dozen:
An RV park sign:
The “chick-in” point:
When we arrived, we received info on items for purchase etc, and a free sample of candied pecans:
Art and a garden:
The RV park was fairly sparsely populated at this time of year. Here are some other RVs and the bathroom:
Near our site was a mobile chicken coop; here it’s being opened in the morning:
Chickens emerging:
Peeking in the pop door of the coop:
Roosting bars:
Nesting boxes:
More rice treats for chickens:
Paladin watching the chickens:
A forward-and-back GIF of chickens; I love how they run:
Eating GIFs:
Let’s finish with a couple more pictures of our site:
A delightful park; we’ve really enjoyed having the chickens and other animals around. We’ll definitely stay here again.
Our neighbor at the Marathon Motel and RV Park hosts a star party each clear night, where he and another guy talk about the moon, planets, and stars, and show several of them through a couple of telescopes and high-powered binoculars for anyone interested (no reservation required, other than big groups).
A sign for the star party by the office:
The motel has a large area set aside for telescopes, with several concrete pads and a couple of small domes, plus a shed for a bigger telescope:
Our host, setting up the bigger telescope:
A photo of the moon, taken through the smaller telescope; rather blown out, but you can see the craters and mountains at the terminator line:
Sunset:
A bunch of people for the star party:
Using a powerful laser pointer to indicate stars:
People at the binoculars:
The two telescopes:
It was an enjoyable and fascinating experience. And so convenient, a short walk from our coach.