We stayed (again) at Tucumcari / Route 66 KOA Journey in Tucumcari, New Mexico. (Campground Reviews listing.)

We still hate buddy sites, but needed to stop here to pick up a package that was delivered after we left, so figured we might as well stay one night.

Dates:

• Check in: 2023-10-18
• Check out: 2023-10-19
• 1 night

Weather:

• Sunny
• High temp 76°F, low 47°F
• Negligible wind

Noise:

• Nearby freeway noise
• No train noise
• Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

• #37, pull through, gravel
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
• Fairly level; used air leveling
• Gravel driveway about 65 feet long by about 10 feet wide
• Buddy grass about 20 feet wide
• Grass between sites about 7 feet wide
• Some trees
• Picnic table on grass
• No fire pit
• Did I mention buddy site! Do not like.
• Clean site

Utilities:

• 50 amp power didn’t work; used 30 amp instead, conveniently located
• We notified the office in the morning, and they promptly came to investigate the power issue
• 65 PSI water, fairly conveniently located
• Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 38-43 Mbps down, 3-8 Mbps up, 96-134 ms ping
• Verizon: 0.05-0.3 Mbps down, 0.5-5 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
• AT&T: 83-95 Mbps down, 7-10 Mbps up, 32-61 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpster by entrance
• Package delivery to site
• Cooked breakfast delivery to site (didn’t use this time)

Our review on Campground Reviews (from our previous visit):

Buddy sites, nuff said

This is an older KOA with new owners who are working on improvements. I see a lot of potential and will stay here again because it’s just so convenient to I-40, but the rates are a bit much for what it is currently. The staff here are all fantastic. Friendly, helpful, and on the ball when you report an issue. And who could argue with cooked breakfast brought right to your door? However, the biggest drawback is that most of the sites are buddy sites. They have nice, new concrete “patio” sites at the back of the park but ruined it by having them all be buddies. I cannot overstate how much I dislike buddy sites. We camped at Tucumcari KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Kix on 66 was very tasty and has that whole Route 66 retro vibe going on.

An interactive map:

Our site, facing another site:

We usually make sure we arrive before dark, but this was an exception; we decided to travel at night rather than stay at the truck service center another night, mainly to help catch up with our scheduled travels. Our coach on arrival:

Our site in the morning:

Utilities:

This was the first time we’d had a sewer hookup since we were here the previous time, before the Balloon Fiesta — 11 days. We did get a water top-up at the truck center, which was good as it was down to about 20%. After all that time, our gray tank was up to 67% and black to 83%, not too bad:

(We have since purchased a water bladder and sewer tote tank, and accessories, which will alleviate concerns about dry camping in the future.)

Other sites; the place was pretty full when we arrived, but emptied out early in the morning:

We unexpectedly stayed a couple of nights in the Anton Chico Rest Area, west of Santa Rosa, New Mexico, when the front passenger-side brake got stuck on the way from the Balloon Fiesta.

Dates:

• Check in: 2023-10-14
• Check out: 2023-10-16
• 2 nights

Weather:

• Drizzle, partly cloudy
• High temps ranging between 73-75°F, lows around 39°F
• Negligible wind, gusts up to 20 MPH

Noise:

• Loud freeway noise
• No train noise
• Loud trucks arriving, departing, idling

Site:

• Pull through, asphalt
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
• Very unlevel side-to-side and front-to-back, but air leveling coped well
• Rest area truck parking about 70 feet long by about 15 feet wide
• Some trash

Utilities:

• None
• We used our generator and solar each day

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 14-27 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
• Verizon: 16-26 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
• AT&T: 35-104 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

• Garbage bins
• Rest area

An interactive map:

Our coach in the rest area truck parking:

We used air leveling, since the site was very unlevel, and put out only the bedroom slides, so we could sleep:

This picture shows our coach level, compared to the slope of the other vehicles:

Several motorhomes, probably mostly also on their way from the Fiesta:

Trucks and coaches:

There was a taco truck, though it was closing when we explored the rest area on the first evening, and was closed the next day (Sunday):

Bathrooms:

We felt bad for taking one of the truck parking spaces, though we wouldn’t have been here by choice. Unlike this rude car parked in the truck parking; there’s plenty of car parking spaces, plus they’d be more quiet:

This was our first time sleeping in a rest area. Not something we’d want to repeat any time soon, though we actually slept surprisingly well. Perhaps still catching up from the early starts during the Fiesta.