2023 travel days

I thought it’d be interesting and useful to include a summary of travel days. Here are links to blog posts, and a sample picture of the view of each, so you can see how the landscape changed as we travelled in our coach.

Read to the end for some sneak peeks of places we went that I haven’t yet posted about!

You can see all of the travel-related blog posts via the travel category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.

Travel from Corpus Christi to Lockhart, Texas:

Pump jack

Travel from Lockhart to Columbus, Texas:

Overpass

Travel from Columbus to Lake Conroe, Texas:

Exit and evacuation

Travel from Lake Conroe to Lake Whitney, Texas:

Sam Houston statue

Travel from Lake Whitney to Dallas, Texas:

Dallas, Texas

Travel days to US Virgin Islands:

USVI

Travel from NIRVC in Dallas to Gordonville, Texas:

Denton Buc-ees

Travel from Gordonville to Abilene, Texas:

Wide load

Travel from Abilene, Texas to Las Cruces, New Mexico:

It would behoof you to slow down

Travel from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tombstone, Arizona:

Welcome to Arizona

Travel from Tombstone to Surprise, Arizona:

Picacho Peak

Travel from Surprise to Kingman, Arizona:

Josua trees

Travel from Kingman, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada:

Hover Dam and Lake Mead

Travel from Las Vegas, Nevada to Death Valley, California:

Area 51 Alien Center

Travel from Death Valley to Yermo, California:

World's Tallest Thermometer

Travel from Yermo to Palm Desert, California:

Cafe 247

Travel from Palm Desert to Orange, California:

Green hills

Travel from Orange to San Diego, California:

Ocean and yellow flowers

Travel from San Diego to Bakersfield, California:

Flowers

Travel from Bakersfield to Paso Robles, California:

Vineyard

Travel from Paso Robles to Petaluma, California:

Roadside artwork

Travel from Petaluma to Meyers Flat, California:

Redwoods

Travel from Meyers Flat to Crescent City, California:

Ocean

Travel from Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon:

Bridge

Travel from Florence to Eugene, Oregon:

Tunnel

Travel from Eugene to South Beach, Oregon:

Newport bridge

Travel from South Beach to Seaside, Oregon:

Rock

Travel from Seaside, Oregon to Ocean City, Washington:

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Travel from Ocean City to Shelton, Washington:

Narrow bridge

Travel from Shelton, Washington to Buxton, Oregon:

Fremont Bridge

Travel from Buxton to Welches, Oregon:

Glimpse of Mt Hood

Travel from Welches to La Grande, Oregon:

Columbia River

Travel from La Grande, Oregon to Glenns Ferry, Idaho:

River

Travel from Glenns Ferry, Idaho to Alpine, Wyoming:

Arco, Idaho

Travel from Alpine to Yellowstone, Wyoming:

Grand Teton National Park

Travel from Yellowstone to Cody, Wyoming:

Bison

Travel from Cody to Buffalo, Wyoming:

More curves and slopes

Travel from Buffalo to Devils Tower, Wyoming:

Approaching Devils Tower

Travel from Devils Tower, Wyoming to Medora, North Dakota:

MT-7

Travel from Medora, North Dakota to Spearfish, South Dakota:

Sunflower field

Travel from Spearfish to Badlands, South Dakota:

Badland National Park

Travel from Badlands to Hot Springs, South Dakota:

Bison

Travel from Hot Springs, South Dakota to Ogallala, Nebraska:

Another zoomed perspective

Travel from Ogallala, Nebraska to Scott City, Kansas:

Large farm equipment

Travel from Scott City, Kansas to Guymon, Oklahoma:

Wind turbine blade on a truck

Travel from Guymon, Oklahoma to Tucumcari, New Mexico:

More fun with zoom

Travel from Tucumcari to Albuquerque, New Mexico:

Ruined building

Travel from Albuquerque to Santa Rosa, New Mexico:

Overpass

Towed from Santa Rosa to Moriarty, New Mexico:

Towed from Santa Rosa to Moriarty, New Mexico

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico:

Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Travel from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas:

I-40

Travel from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma:

Leaning water tower of Texas

Travel from Choctaw, Oklahoma to Russellville, Arkansas (post coming in January):

Fun with zoom

Travel from Russellville to Hot Springs, Arkansas (post coming in January):

Overpass

Travel from Hot Springs, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee (post coming in January):

Traffic camera

Travel from Memphis, Tennessee to Red Bay, Alabama (post coming in January):

Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama

Travel from Red Bay, Alabama to Toomsuba, Mississippi (post coming in February):

Tombigbee River

Travel from Toomsuba, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana (post coming in February):

Twin span bridge over Lake Pontchartrain

Travel from New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama (post coming in February):

Our coach via traffic camera

Travel from Spanish Fort, Alabama to Carrabelle, Florida (post coming in February):

Road under water

That’s a lot of travel!

2023 modifications

Happy New Year! 🎉

As we begin 2024, let’s look back at 2023, as I did this time last year.

I will have a series of blog posts reviewing topics from last year. I schedule my posts following a pattern: Modification Mondays, Travel Tuesdays, Whereabouts Wednesdays, and To and Fro Thursdays and Fridays (okay, those last ones are bit of a stretch). So I will post my annual summaries in that order too, starting with modifications today.

We have done a number of modifications to our 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP motorhome, to make it more comfortable as a full-time home, to improve the features, or to repair issues. This is a summary of some of the changes done in 2023; also check out the changes from 2022 and 2021.

For each modification topic I include a link to the corresponding blog post, and a sample picture; see the post for details. (Tip: you can click or tap on either the link or picture to go to the corresponding post.)

You can see all of the modification-related blog posts via the modifications category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top.

Upgraded TST TPMS display:

Old and new units

New mattress:

Mattress

Slide topper bracing to reduce flapping in wind:

Cord and bungee

Micro-Air EasyTouchRV smart thermostats:

New units

Improved tow bar pins:

Tow bar pins and brake controller pins

Govee smart thermometers:

Living room sensor

Replaced more recessed lights:

Replaced lights

Replaced carbon monoxide detector:

Wires connected

Dryer magnets:

Door and dryer

Water softener regeneration and backflush hoses and adapters:

Regenerating

Professionally cleaning gray and black tanks:

Flushing

Water filter bag:

Filter and bag

Adding a bedside Spyder touch panel:

Panel

David’s lap desk:

SideTrak screen

Jenn’s movable height-adjustable desk:

Jenn's desk

Ceiling fan motor replacement again:

Motor mounted and connected

Phone holders:

Phone holder

Engine compartment door stop replacement:

Door stop

Hat hooks:

Hat hooks

Fridge latch repair:

Catches and latches

A bubble level helps us check when leveling our coach:

Bubble level

Extended cup holders:

Cup holder extender

Fresh tank flush:

Fresh tank drain

Replaced chassis batteries and more at Oregon Motorcoach Center:

New chassis batteries

Tire covers:

Tire cover

Dryer vent padding:

Dryer vent

Flagpole for Starlink dish:

Starlink on flagpole

15 amp to 50 amp power adapter:

Extension cord

Truck canopy, slide tray, lift kit:

Slide tray

Basement subwoofer:

Subwoofer

Replacing bathroom faucets and soap dispensers:

Old and new faucets

SnapPads:

SnapPads

Replacing wiper blades:

New and old blades

Fixing windshield washer hose:

T-junction

Fixing black tank flush:

No-Fuss Flush

Fixing bathroom vent lid motor:

Wires

360 camera mount on truck:

360 camera on mount

Replacing fuse for solar controller:

Working solar controller

Replacing fridge drawer cover:

Replacement part

Braking: Bad:

Brake repair

I hope you found these posts interesting and useful.

Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday

We stayed at Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A last-minute change to get us back on track with our scheduled stops after the brake issue.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-10-21
  • Check out: 2023-10-22
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Cloudy
  • High temp 86°F, low 58°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • Distant freeway noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #B24, pull through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
  • Fairly level; used air leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 85 feet long by about 13 feet wide
  • Garden between sites about 20 feet wide
  • Big trees
  • Stamped concrete patio about 30 by 12 feet
  • Fire pit, Adirondack chairs, patio table and chairs, propane grill on patio
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 40 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Didn’t use sewer, since just one night, but was fairly conveniently located

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 39 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
  • Verizon: 20 Mbps down, 6-9 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • AT&T: 83-95 Mbps down, 7-10 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster by entrance
  • Closed pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice wooded campground close to I-40

This was a last-minute change of plans along our travel on I-40, and we were happy to get a patio site for our one night. We could relax and have dinner outside without all the fuss of unpacking everything. Very nice patio on terraced sites, which is needed to accommodate the very hilly terrain of the park. Check-in was quick and easy, and they guided us to our site. Some of the interior roads could use a little TLC, and there are some tight turns for a big rig, but we managed. It’s convenient to I-40 but far enough away that there is minimal road noise. We enjoyed the park-like atmosphere and would happily stay here again. We camped at Oklahoma City East KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

A nice patio:

Patio

Patio

Patio

We actually used the propane grill:

Grill

Burger and beans

Our downhill neighbor had an interesting setup, with a big rig to tow their fiver, and a smart car on the back:

Neighbor

Neighbor

Neighbor

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Closed pool:

Closed pool

Cabin:

Cabin

Bath House:

Bath House

Mmm, a sewage lagoon:

Sewage lagoon

Dog park:

Dog park

Quite a nice campground; I’d be happy to stay longer in the future.

Travel from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma

We drove our coach 284 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Amarillo, Texas to Choctaw, Oklahoma.

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

Route

An interactive map:

Departing the RV park:

Departing the RV park

Texas likes to have frontage roads with onramps to freeways, which is actually a good system:

Texas service road with onramps to freeway

I-40:

I-40

Cadillac Ranch:

Cadillac Ranch

RV Ranch:

RV Ranch

Amarillo overpass, with boots in the name:

Amarillo overpass

The Big Texan Steak Ranch:

The Big Texan Steak Ranch

VW Slug Bug Ranch:

VW Slug Bug Ranch

VW Slug Bug Ranch

Big cross:

Big cross

Leaning water tower of Texas:

Leaning water tower of Texas

Old building:

Old building

Wind turbines in a row:

Wind turbines in a row

Wind turbines in a row

Rest area:

Rest area

The rest area on the other side of the freeway had an underground shelter:

Rest area

Cotton field:

Cotton field

Welcome to Oklahoma:

Welcome to Oklahoma

Welcome to Oklahoma

Dinosaur:

Dinosaur

Our coach at the rest area:

Our coach at rest area

Elk City:

Elk City

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

A stop at Cherokee Trading Post:

Truck stop

Cherokee Trading Post

Cherokee Trading Post

Super-relaxed Paladin:

Paladin

Oklahoma City:

Oklahoma

Interesting bridge art:

Interesting bridge art

Interesting building:

Interesting building

Air Force One:

Air Force One

Air Force water towers:

Air Force water towers

Our destination, the KOA entrance:

KOA entrance

Koi pond:

Koi pond

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

Guided to our site

Oasis RV Resort & Cottages

We stayed at Oasis RV Resort & Cottages in Amarillo, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A couple of nights in Texas on our journey east.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-10-19
  • Check out: 2023-10-21
  • 2 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temps ranging between 83-88°F, lows around 53-59°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • Some freeway noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #17, pull through, concrete
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
  • Fairly level
  • Asphalt driveway with concrete pad, about 80 feet long by about 20 feet wide
  • Gravel between sites about 15 feet wide
  • Some trees
  • Picnic table on small concrete patio, about 13 feet by 6 feet
  • No fire pit
  • Clean site

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 30-36 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
  • Verizon: 6 Mbps down, 7-12 Mbps up, 155 ms ping
  • AT&T: 58-80 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters (no garbage pickup, so not really a resort in my book)
  • Closed pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient stop off I-40 in Amarillo

We needed a short stay while traveling through the Texas panhandle, and this place was perfect for that. It’s a large park with long, wide (mostly) pull-through sites. There are concrete pads perfectly placed if you’re a motorhome with tow, but not quite right if you pull a fifth wheel or trailer. So many places have it the other way around, so it was a nice change for us to be able to park in the optimal spot. Close to I-40, but not much noise. Disappointing that they close the pool seasonally regardless of what the actual weather is doing, and also that they are a “resort” and don’t offer trash pickup, which is the bare minimum to be a “resort,” IMHO. We camped at Oasis RV Resort & Cottages Amarillo in a Motorhome.

The map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Outdoor cat:

Outdoor cat

Outdoor cat

Cabins:

Cabins

Bathrooms and tornado shelters:

Bathrooms and tornado shelters

Office:

Office

RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch:

RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch

RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch

RV in the style of Cadillac Ranch

Travel from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas

We drove our coach 99 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Amarillo, Texas.

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

Route

An interactive map:

Leaving the campground (and taking out the trash):

Leaving campground

Heading to I-40 east:

Heading to I-40 east

I-40:

I-40

Leaving New Mexico:

Leaving New Mexico

Texas state line:

Texas state line

Entering Central Time Zone:

Entering Central Time Zone

Welcome to Texas:

Welcome to Texas

Rest stop:

Rest stop

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

$321 of diesel:

Fuel

Roadworks blocked our access to the campground; we had to detour through the Loves truck stop:

Roadworks

And duck between cones:

Duck between cones

Our destination:

Our destination

Oasis RV:

Oasis RV

Oasis RV

Our site:

Our site

Tucumcari KOA Journey again

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:

Map

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 coach

Our site in the morning:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

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:

Tank levels

(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:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites