2024 travel route

Let’s look back at our coach travel in 2024. You may also want to check out the 2023 travel summary, 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. In 2024 we added 12,248, so have driven it 33,265 miles on our adventures so far, for a grand total of 38,426 on the odometer. (The circumference of the Earth at the equator is 24,901 miles, so we’ve effectively driven it 1.3 times around the world!)

One of our goals is to visit every state in the US. In 2024 we stayed in 15 new states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. These join North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida in 2023, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas in 2022, and Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, California, and Arizona in 2021, for a total of 38. Just 12 left! (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 2024 — in order — were Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Mississippi; a total of 29 in the year.

Here’s a map of our coach travels and stays in 2024, 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 the panhandle of Florida, then the route headed south to the Florida Keys, then north and west to Paris, Texas for the total solar eclipse, then to the east coast and up to Delaware, then all the way across to the west coast, south, then back east, ending the year exactly where we started, in the panhandle of Florida:

Timezones 2024 map

Another variation of the map, with more detail:

Route map 2024

Here’s the route map with the travel in 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 also displayed in different colors; our 2024 travel in orange, 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:

Route map 2021 to 2024

The same map as an animated GIF, adding each year:

2021 to 2024 maps

Here’s a fun variation, showing the 2024 route without the background map; you can clearly see the shape of the country (other than the northeast, that we didn’t get to):

Route map without background

We actually revised our route a few times from what we planned for 2024; here’s an animated GIF that compares what we had originally planned (as shown in last year’s 2024 travel plans post), and what we ended up doing (as above):

2024 maps

Another interesting animated GIF, showing the elevations along our route; see the elevation and gradient at the bottom, and a moving dot along the map route showing where those elevations occurred. You can really see where the mountain ranges are:

Map with elevations

Fascinating!

San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday

We stayed at San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday in San Antonio, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A one-night stay on our way east, but a nice campground; we’d be happy to stay here longer.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-11-30
  • Check out: 2024-12-01
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy
  • High temp 65°F, low 44°F
  • No wind, gusts to 7 MPH

Noise:

  • Negligible road noise
  • Faint distant train horn noise
  • A little neighbor noise

Site:

  • #E5, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only one night
  • Completely level site; used air leveling, since only one night
  • Gravel driveway about 73 feet long by 15 feet wide
  • 12 feet to neighbors on both sides
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • Some tall trees
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 60 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, very inconveniently located (for a motorhome) at the back of the site (3 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 85-105 Mbps down, 5-10 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
  • AT&T: 470-550 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 30-100 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters and pickup from site
  • Pool
  • Onsite cafe with breakfast and Hunt Brothers pizza/wings for dinner

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice and convenient

We stayed here only one night on our way through San Antonio, and it was quite pleasant. There is easy access to freeways and anything you could want to do in the city. Since it was a short stay, we enjoyed having the on-site cafe available for dinner and breakfast. The staff were all friendly and helpful. We would stay here again and for longer. We camped at San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday in a Motorhome. 

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Goose:

Goose

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Pool:

Pool

Camp store:

Camp store

Patio area:

Patio area

The Patio Cafe, which serves Hunt Brothers pizza and wings for dinner, and cooked breakfasts:

The Patio Cafe

The Patio Cafe

We got pizza from the cafe for dinner (and leftovers for subsequent lunches):

Hunt Brothers Pizza for dinner

And breakfasts the next day:

Breakfasts

Event hall:

Event hall

Event hall

Playground:

Playground

KOA sign and concrete cornhole:

Sign and concrete cornhole

We’d be happy to stay here again in the future.

Travel from Marathon to San Antonio, Texas

We drove our coach 332 miles, about five hours of driving, from Marathon, Texas to San Antonio, Texas.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Map

An interactive map:

Sunrise on travel day:

Sunrise on travel day

Goodbye Marathon Motel:

Goodbye Marathon Motel

Heading east on US-90; it’s nice to travel on highways, more restful than freeways (as we did on the following day):

US-90

Javelinas crossing the road:

Javelinas crossing the road

Javelinas crossing the road

Nice canyon:

Nice canyon

A pleasant picnic area:

Rest area

Info sign and lookout:

Info sign and lookout

Our coach:

Our coach

Bridge:

Bridge

Pecos River:

Pecos River

Another bridge:

Another bridge

Low water level:

Low water level

Immigration inspection station:

Immigration inspection station

Our first sight of an H-E-B for many months (our favorite supermarket in Texas):

Our first sight of an H-E-B for many months

Rest area:

Rest area

Downtown San Antonio:

Downtown San Antonio

Arriving at our KOA destination for a one night stay:

Arriving at KOA

KOA

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

Marathon, Marfa, and more

An assortment of pictures of Marathon and Marfa, Texas and surrounding areas.

In Marathon, we had lunch at the V6 Coffee Bar:

V6 Coffee Bar

V6 Coffee Bar

V6 Coffee Bar

V6 Coffee Bar

The only (very small) grocery store in Marathon, The French Co Grocer:

The French Co Grocer

The French Co Grocer

The French Co Grocer

We got some BBQ from Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue:

Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue

Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue

Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue

Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue

An interactive map of a drive to Keesey Canyon Hoodoos for a picnic lunch, then Fort Davis National Historic Site (as seen in the previous post), and Marfa:

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area:

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area

Welcome to Marfa sign:

Welcome to Marfa sign

Marfa

Marfa

The Giant Marfa mural, a tribute to the 1956 James Dean/Liz Taylor film “Giant“:

Giant Marfa mural

Giant Marfa mural

Giant Marfa mural

We enjoy quirky roadside attractions.

Fort Davis National Historic Site

We visited Fort Davis National Historic Site in Texas. As the NPS site says, “It is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars’ frontier military post in the Southwest.”

The NPS map; click or tap to see more on their site. The red-roofed buildings on this map are now ruins, often just foundations, but the others are mostly intact, with some furnished:

Fort Davis map

Entrance:

Entrance

Gift store:

Gift store

Museum exhibits:

Museum exhibits

Museum exhibits

Museum exhibits

Officers quarters:

Officers quarters

Exhibits:

Exhibits

Exhibits

Exhibits

Barracks

Cart

Commissary:

Commissary

Commissary

Officers quarters:

Officers quarters

Officers quarters

Officers quarters

Officers quarters

Officers quarters

Officers quarters

Officers quarters

Hospital:

Hospital

Hospital

Hospital

Hospital

Hospital

Hospital

Officers quarters

Sign

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

Our site

Our site

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

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

Aerial view

Aerial view

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

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

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

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

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

Garden

Garden

I enjoyed hanging out with the resident chickens:

Chicken coop

Chicken coop

Chicken coop

Chicken coop

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

Travel from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Marathon, Texas

We drove our coach 301 miles, about five hours of driving, from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Marathon, Texas.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading southeast:

Route

An interactive map:

Joining I-10 East:

Joining I-10 East

Recycled Roadrunner artwork at a rest stop:

Recycled Roadrunner artwork

Rio Grande with a little water due to rain (it was dry when we drove past earlier in the week):

Rio Grande with a little water

Nice mountains beyond Las Cruces:

Nice mountains beyond Las Cruces

Leaving New Mexico:

Leaving New Mexico

Welcome to Texas:

Welcome to Texas

Looking over the border into Mexico:

Looking into Mexico

Playing El Paso while leaving El Paso:

Playing El Paso while leaving El Paso

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Rainy drive:

Rainy drive

Immigration checkpoint:

Immigration checkpoint

Entering Central Time Zone:

Entering Central Time Zone

A long building on a trailer at stop opportunity:

A long building on a trailer at stop opportunity

Rainbow:

Rainbow

Sun rays:

Sun rays

A blimp (I think used for watching the border with Mexico), grounded probably due to the lightning storms in the area:

Blimp

Picnic area stop:

Picnic area stop

Arriving at Marathon Motel & RV Park:

Arriving at Marathon Motel & RV Park

Arriving at Marathon Motel & RV Park

Our site:

Our site

Las Cruces KOA Journey

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

Our third visit to this RV park with a nice view.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-11-10
  • Check out: 2024-11-17
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny
  • High temps ranging between 68-74°F, lows around 36-45°F
  • Some windy days, gusts to 27 MPH

Noise:

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

Site:

  • #53, pull-through, gravel (with some concrete strips that are only useful for trailers)
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
  • Fairly level; high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
  • Site about 90 feet long by about 18 feet wide
  • Picnic table on gravel; no fire pit
  • Limited mountain view

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, a little inconveniently located
  • 60 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (3 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 100-135 Mbps down, 18-21 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
  • AT&T: 29 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 150 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Seasonally closed pool
  • Garbage pickup from site (they didn’t used to offer this, so yay)
  • Package delivery to office

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice place to stop in Las Cruces

This was our third time staying here and our first time not staying in one of the “view” sites, although we still had a decent view of both mountain ranges. This campground is conveniently off I-10 and has easy access to anything in Las Cruces. We camped at Las Cruces KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

An interactive map of the park:

RV park map:

Map

Our site (with empty sites on either side, making it look more spacious than it was):

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities weren’t super convenient; having to use three 10-foot sewer hoses wasn’t ideal (the concrete pad and utilities were clearly set up with trailers in mind):

Utilities

Utilities

We enjoyed a local pizza delivery on our last night; tasty, fast, and inexpensive:

Pizza

A neighbor fiver pulling out, with an unusual hitch:

Fiver

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Community room:

Community room

Playground:

Playground

Nice view:

Nice view

Sun rays through dust on the way back to the campground from a day trip:

Sun rays through dust

Dust obscuring Las Cruces:

Dust obscuring Las Cruces

Still a nice RV park. No doubt we’ll stay here yet again in the future. (See our previous two stays for more photos.)

Travel from Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico

We drove our coach 258 miles, about four hours of driving, from Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Map route

An interactive map:

An example of why we don’t use picnic tables at campsites, at least without a tablecloth (but usually not even then): our neighbor was working on his sewer pipe connectors on the table:

Sewer pipes on picnic table

Joining I-10 East:

Joining I-10 East

Mountains:

Mountains

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Interesting rocks

The Thing? travel center (post about the attraction later this week):

The Thing?

We had DQ there for lunch:

DQ for lunch

The Thing? and other swag:

The Thing? swag

More interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Rest area:

Rest area

Paladin sprawled on the dash as we got underway again:

Paladin on dash

Paladin on dash

Welcome to New Mexico:

Welcome to New Mexico

“Zero visibility possible”… yes, anything’s possible:

Zero visibility possible

“Gusty winds may exist”… indeed:

Gusty winds may exist

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Instructions on what to do if caught in a dust storm (not very readable in this pic, but basically pull onto shoulder, turn off engine, foot off brake, lights off… presumably to save battery power):

Fun with zoom

Welcome to Las Cruces:

Welcome to Las Cruces

We really enjoy the mountains behind Las Cruces:

Interesting rocks

Our destination, the Las Cruces KOA Journey:

KOA

All decked out for the holidays (in early November):

KOA

Voyager RV Resort & Hotel

We stayed at Voyager RV Resort & Hotel in Tucson, Arizona. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A huge RV resort, mostly park models (small manufactured homes), with a section for transient RVs. A 55+ age-restricted park; our first, now that I’m 55. And as an Encore park, it’s free with our Thousand Trails membership.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-11-03
  • Check out: 2024-11-10
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny; rainy on arrival
  • High temps 62-70°F, lows 35-46°F
  • Some wind, gusts to 21 MPH

Noise:

  • Distant road noise
  • Some distant train horn noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #07-176, pull-through, asphalt
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
  • Somewhat level site; high on passenger side and front; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 100 feet long by 10 feet wide
  • 13 feet to neighbors on both sides
  • Picnic table on 20 feet long by 4 feet wide concrete patio
  • Charcoal grill
  • Loose gravel elsewhere in the site
  • No trees
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, very conveniently located
  • 48 PSI water, conveniently located (towards the end of the stay, disconnected due to near-freezing temperatures)
  • Good sewer connection, very conveniently located (2 2-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 165 Mbps down, 14 Mbps up, 20 ms ping
  • AT&T: 85-133 Mbps down, 8 Mbps up, 50-75 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 2-4 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Residential-style rolling garbage and recycling bins on each site, with pickup on Tuesdays
  • Pools
  • Restaurant (which we didn’t try)
  • Lots of other stuff

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Snowbirding in suburbia

This is a vast 55+ resort with all the amenities you would expect. Most of the sites are full-time residents in park models, with relatively few RV sites. The biggest SNAFU was when we arrived, the gate guard told us to pull up into the waiting area, and someone would bring out our paperwork and escort us to our site. Not so. After we sat there for about 10 minutes, someone came by in a golf cart and told us that the “ladies are waiting for you inside”. So, ignore anything the guy at the gate says and go inside the hotel lobby to check in. After that, we were escorted to our site. We had a decently long pull-through site with decent hookups and a fine stay. We’re not really into the RV resort community vibe, but we’d happily stay here again as it was convenient for anything we’d want to do in Tucson. We camped at Voyager RV Resort & Hotel in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Very convenient utilities:

Utilities

Residential-style trash pickup:

Trash pickup

Propane delivery:

Propane delivery

RV check-in area:

RV check in area

Registration:

Registration

Hotel:

Hotel

Outdoor area:

Outdoor area

Mailboxes for residents:

Mailboxes

There’s even an onsite library:

Library

And hairdresser:

Hairdresser

Fat Willy’s Bar & Grill / Market, which we didn’t try, as we went out pretty much every evening; we were going to try it the first night, but it was raining, so we didn’t want to bother. Maybe next time:

Fat Willy's Bar & Grill / Market

One of the pools:

Pool

Lots of pickleball courts:

Pickleball courts

Pickleball courts

Shuffleboard:

Shuffleboard

Hundreds of park models (small manufactured homes):

Tiny homes

Tiny homes

Tiny homes

Other RV sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Sunset

A nice RV park, that really lives up to the resort label, not that we took advantage of any of it, as usual. But we’d be happy to stay here again.