We stayed at Las Cruces KOA Journey in Las Cruces, New Mexico. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice view with a pull-in site.

Dates:

• Check in: 2022-10-15
• Check out: 2022-10-24
• 9 nights

Weather:

• Mostly sunny
• One day of monsoon rain and thunderstorms
• High temps ranging between 73-83°F, lows around 45-56°F
• A little wind, stronger on that rainy day, and the last day

Noise:

• No road or train noise (distant freeway noise, only audible outside)

Site:

• #28, pull-in, gravel; unusual to have a front-in site
• Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
• Fairly level
• Large site: about 55 feet long by about 45 feet wide
• Full hookups (on both sides, for front-in motorhomes and back-in trailers):
• 50 amp power, not very conveniently located
• 45 PSI water, fairly conveniently located
• Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
• Picnic table on concrete pad; no fire pit
• City and mountain view

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 6-50 Mbps down, 3-24 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
• Verizon: 10-50 Mbps down, 5-45 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
• AT&T: 11-24 Mbps down, 7-17 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
• Campground Wi-Fi: 3-8 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
• Starlink: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpster
• Pool

Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:

Pull-in sites with a great view

We stayed in one of the “view” sites and were thrilled that they let motorhomes pull-in to enjoy the view out our windshield. We also lucked out and had the corner site (28), which was absolutely massive. The staff were all terrific, and when we needed to extend our stay by a day due to the weather at our next destination, they were very accommodating. We will definitely be staying here again when we swing through Las Cruces. We camped at Las Cruces KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

We were scheduled to depart on 2022-10-23, but there were 63 MPH wind gusts at our next destination, so we decided to delay our departure a day. They actually called us to warn us, though we keep an eye on such things. With a high profile vehicle, strong winds can be dangerous (not to mention unpleasant). Fortunately the KOA was able to let us extend our stay:

The park map:

Our site; unusual in that we fronted in to the site, so we could enjoy the view:

We lucked out with a corner site, that gave us a larger-than-usual site:

View from our site:

View from our coach:

There were utilities on both sides of the site, to accommodate motorhomes fronting in and trailers backing in:

Our site from up the road a bit:

Other sites:

Tiffin Phaeton:

Tiffin Allegro Bus (in a nice color):

There are several feral cats in the area; here’s one by our truck:

Another feral cat under our coach:

Another feral cat on the slope below our site:

Paladin watching the feral cat:

Views from the other side of the RV park:

The office:

Office chandelier:

Playground:

The heated pool was open… though often locked:

Tent sites:

Camp kitchen:

A nice park.

We stayed at Taos Valley RV Park in Taos, New Mexico. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Buddy sites, but good enough for a couple of nights.

Dates:

• Check in: 2022-10-02
• Check out: 2022-10-04
• 2 nights

Weather:

• Rainy
• High temps ranging between 61-64°F, lows around 44°F
• Some wind

Noise:

• No road or train noise

Site:

• #50, pull through, gravel (too large stones for good jack stability)
• Buddy sites (i.e. alternating directions, so doors face each other, though offset so not too bad)
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
• Rather unlevel
• Medium site: about 80 feet long by about 30 feet wide
• Full hookups:
• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 60 PSI water, conveniently located
• Good sewer connections, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
• Picnic table on concrete; charcoal grill on gravel

Internet (in usage priority order):

• Starlink: 10-83 Mbps down, 3-7 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
• Verizon: 30 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 80 ms ping
• T-Mobile: 3-7 Mbps down, 2-4 Mbps up, 150 ms ping
• AT&T: 20 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 80 ms ping
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage bins at each site
• No pool

Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:

Charming campground in the heart of Taos

This was a nicely landscaped park close to Taos. It rained the entire time we were there, so we didn’t get to enjoy the park as much as we would’ve liked. The entire park is gravel, which is fine, but it’s the wrong type of gravel. River rock doesn’t settle and “lock” into place like coarse gravel does, so things shift underfoot and under the stabilizing jacks. With the rain, there was a lot of thick mud around. Our site wasn’t particularly level, and I think a thicker layer of coarse gravel would have helped with that and prevent the muddiness. Be aware that the pull-through sites are buddy sites. There’s a nice fence giving some separation between the two living areas, but we saw at least one person pull in facing the wrong direction, so their hookups were on the opposite side. We camped at Taos Valley RV Park & Campground in a Motorhome.

The park map:

Our site:

We didn’t bother putting on the Magne Shades, since we were only there for a couple of nights:

Our site and the neighboring site; this is in a “buddy” configuration, where the sites face opposite directions, so the doors face each other. But not too bad in this case, since the sites are angled such that they are offset, and have a fence between them. Still, not our favorite configuration:

The other neighbor had a nice Magne Shade on their windscreen:

The sites had a picnic table and charcoal grill:

Some stones with messages under the grill:

Utilities:

Other sites:

After staying a night in New Mexico, we can finally add a new state sticker to our coach; the first new state for several months:

In about a month we’ll be adding Texas, where we’ll be spending this winter.

We stayed at Alamosa KOA Journey in Alamosa, Colorado. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A decent KOA near Great Sand Dunes National Park, with pizza delivery to the site.

Dates:

• Check in: 2022-09-30
• Check out: 2022-10-02
• 2 nights

Weather:

• Sunny, cloudy, a little drizzle
• High temps ranging between 65-72°F, lows around 36-44°F
• Some wind

Noise:

• Some road noise; no train noise

Site:

• #57, pull through, gravel
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
• Fairly level
• Medium site: about 85 feet long by about 30 feet wide
• Full hookups:
• 50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
• 30 PSI water, conveniently located
• Two sewer connections, somewhat conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
• Picnic table & fire pit on gravel

Internet (in usage priority order):

• Campground Wi-Fi: 10-57 Mbps down, 2-9 Mbps up, 15 ms ping
• Verizon: 13-28 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
• T-Mobile: no service
• AT&T: no service
• Starlink: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage pickup from site
• Closed pool
• Pizza and other food delivered to site
• Sand sled rental

Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice base for Great Sand Dunes

One of the things I’ve come to appreciate on a travel day is not having to cook dinner. We were pleasantly surprised that they not only offered pizza but that they’d deliver directly to our site. I call that a win! The staff were all very helpful, and the campground conveniently communicates via text. Our site was a pretty basic pull-through, but we had a peek of the mountains, which was nice. Some road noise from the highway, but not too bad. We had one full day here, so we rented some sand sleds from the office and hit the dunes at the national park. So much fun! We camped at Alamosa KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

The park map:

Our site:

A nice feature of this RV park is that they have a small kitchen with a menu featuring pizza, baked potatoes, and other items, which they can charge to the card on file, and deliver right to our coach. We got a couple of pizzas (enough for two meals), plus a baked spud for me (because I like them):

The office and camp store:

A picnic shelter:

Playground:

Bathrooms:

Cabins:

Dog park:

Art:

Other sites:

We had a nice view of mountains from our site:

We stayed at Cheyenne Mountain State Park in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A delightful state park.

Dates:

• Check in: 2022-09-26
• Check out: 2022-09-30
• 4 nights

Weather:

• Sunny, cloudy, a little drizzle
• High temps ranging between 74-78°F, lows around 46-53°F
• Some wind

Noise:

• No road or train noise
• Bugle music from Fort Carson army base down the hill:
• 0630: Reveille
• 1200: Charge
• 1655: Bugle call
• 1700: Retreat and To the Color
• 2200: Taps

Site:

• Raptor Glen campground #3, pull through, concrete pad, asphalt driveway
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
• Fairly level
• Large site: about 120 feet long by about 55 feet wide
• Full hookups:
• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 60 PSI water, conveniently located
• Non-threaded sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipes needed)
• Picnic table, fire pit, faucet on gravel, tent pad with eyes for ropes, 5 steps up

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 50 Mbps down, 10-40 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
• AT&T: 2 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 42 ms ping
• Verizon: 3 Mbps down, 2-7 Mbps up, 20 ms ping
• Campground Wi-Fi: none
• Starlink: not used

Amenities:

• Dumpsters
• No pool

Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:

Amazing views and fantastic sites

We absolutely loved this place and wish we had stayed longer. Our view from Raptor Glen loop was simply incredible, and the site itself was top-notch. In fact, it was pretty much my ideal setup for a site, with a table and fire ring and a large area for putting up a tent. The only thing I could nitpick about would be that the living area is on the wrong side of the coach on this side of the loop, but with some luck and cunning placement, we could still see most of the expanse before us. There is some occasional noise from the army base at the bottom of the hill (mostly the bugle calls for Reveille and Taps), but not bad at all. We were visited by deer, rabbits, turkeys, and a cute little lizard. We will be back! We camped at Cheyenne Mountain State Park in a Motorhome.

The state park map:

The campground was at 6440 feet elevation, so we got out of breath more easily:

A very nice site, though; here’s a sunrise:

More pictures of our site:

We used our Clam gazebo for shade:

A picnic table, fire pit, and faucet (none of which we actually used, but nice to have):

A deer visitor:

And a rabbit:

There were some cute prints in the concrete:

A map of the park:

Info signs:

Showers and laundry:

Bathroom:

Little free library:

Playground:

Amphitheater:

Sunset views:

We’d definitely stay here again.

We stayed at St Vrain State Park in Longmont, Colorado. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Delightful waterfront camping.

Dates:

• Check in: 2022-09-22
• Check out: 2022-09-26
• 4 nights

Weather:

• Sunny
• High temps ranging between 63-80°F, lows around 43-45°F
• Negligible wind

Noise:

• Significant road noise; no train noise
• A neighbor with a wind chime and other annoying noises, but not too bad

Site:

• Mallard campground #27, back in, cement
• Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
• Level
• Large site: about 90 feet long by about 60 feet wide
• Electric-only hookups:
• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• No water connection
• No sewer connection
• Picnic table with shelter, and fire pit on gravel
• Waterfront

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 75 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 33 ms ping
• AT&T: 7 Mbps down, 11 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
• Verizon: 6-20 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
• Campground Wi-Fi: none
• Starlink: not used

Amenities:

• Dumpsters
• No pool
• Waterfront

Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:

Beautiful park, pity about the highway noise

This was a nice base camp to explore the region. On the plus side, our site was very nice, with a view of Mallard Pond. Everything was well-kept and clean. On the negative side, $36/night for electric only is a bit steep (plus the extra day-use fee for our rig and tow vehicle), and there is constant noise from I-25. We would stay here again, despite the noise, if we had a full hookup site. We camped at St. Vrain State Park in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: If you arrive late and have to use the “iron ranger” to pay for your day-use fees, don’t get the annual pass. Just get a day pass and stop by the ranger station the next day to upgrade to an annual if you’re staying a while (or visiting other CO state parks). If you have a motorhome and tow vehicle, you will need two passes.

The RV park map:

And an interactive map, showing all the ponds:

Our site had only electric, no water or sewer, so we arrived prepared, with a full water tank. We wouldn’t want to stay more than a week, but we coped just fine; the night before departure, our fresh water was only halfway, and grey and black were negligible (Jenn had a long shower on departure day, which reduced fresh to 30%, which is our preferred level for travel):

Our site:

The pond behind our site:

Canada geese:

Pelicans:

Other sites:

An accessible fishing pier:

Our coach across the pond:

I spotted a couple of hot air balloons — we’ll be seeing hundreds more of those soon:

This was a very nice state park; we’d be happy stay here again, and would enjoy staying longer, if we were in a full hookup section.

We stayed at El Rancho Village RV Park & Cabins in Wheatland, Wyoming. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A basic RV park next to a freeway.

Dates:

• Check in: 2022-09-20
• Check out: 2022-09-22
• 2 nights

Weather:

• Overcast, drizzle, thunderstorm
• High temps ranging between 67-85°F, lows around 49-55°F
• Some wind

Noise:

• Significant road noise; no train noise
• No neighbor noise

Site:

• #21, pull through, gravel
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t bother
• Not particularly level
• Large site: about 100 feet long by about 45 feet wide
• Full hookups:
• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 30 PSI water, conveniently located
• Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
• No picnic table or fire pit

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 64-75 Mbps down, 15-26 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
• AT&T: 45-56 Mbps down, 2-4 Mbps up, 65 ms ping
• Verizon: 30-40 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
• Campground Wi-Fi: unknown
• Starlink: not used

Amenities:

• Dumpsters
• No pool

Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient stop off I-25

This was a decent place to stop on our way through Wyoming. Met by a friendly manager who checked us in. It feels like they’re still getting settled in at the office, but it’s very low-tech, with a manual form to fill out and hand-entered credit card details. Our site wasn’t particularly level, but we managed to beat the leveling system into submission eventually. Utilities all worked as expected. I really think they missed a prime opportunity, though, because all the sites face towards the interstate instead of the distant mountains. Expect road noise from the interstate. We camped at El Rancho Village RV Park & Cabins in a Motorhome. 

They didn’t have an RV park map, so here’s an interactive map, though they’ve made a few improvements since this satellite image:

Our site:

As usual on arrival, I used our outdoor shower and collapsable bucket to prepare to clean our windscreen:

Office and cabins:

Cute cabins:

Very basic playground and shelter:

Bathrooms with nice murals:

Other sites:

A friendly dog, I think belonging to the owner:

Stormy clouds:

Lightning:

This park is right next to the I-25 freeway:

A decoration: