The Big Trip, WI to NV

With a 39 foot 5th wheel and a F350 dually with a long box, it’s not alway easy to find reasonable price camping spots,  but with planning it is manageable.

We used RVTrip Wizard and chose 200 miles for trip preference and added Military Family Camps, Passport Americas and Good Sams memberships as some of our favorite campgrounds.

We started our trip from Black Hawk Campground, De Soto WI.

A beautiful USACE campground on the Mississippi River, 30 miles south of La Crosse, WI. We had spent the summer volunteering at the campground and departed on Sept. 13, 2018. We crossed into Lansing Iowa and drove into Minnesota.

Our first stop was 214 miles away at Korte’s Checker Warehouse, Welcome, MN 

A Passport America site – the cost was $24.00,  This was an easy in and out, the sites were dirt and gravel sites and the staff very nice. The next day on our way to we to our next destination we stopped by Mitchel Corn Palace.

Our second stop was 198 miles away at:

 

Hill RV Park, Plankinton, SD – Quiet sleepy town with nice memorial site. Good place for over night, staff was very nice – they only accept cash or check for Passport America members the cost was $25.00. Of course we drove past Wall Drug and had to stop.

3rd stop was 243 miles at:

Ellsworth AFB FamCamp, Rapid City, SD – A great location to go and see all the sites Mammoth Site and Pioneer Museum in Hot Springs, Reptile Gardens, Badlands, Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Spearfish Canyon, Devil’s Tower, Needles Highway and the Buffalo Round-up in Custer State Park. The cost was $28.00 a night and we stayed for 16 nights.

4th stop 160 miles away at:

Prairie View, Lusk WY – Lots of hunting in Lusk, WY. $38.16 a night. The staff was very nice an accommodating. The site was easy to get into and if you are planning to travel in October it’s important to remember it’s hunting season and the campgrounds could have no vacancies.

5th stop was 154 miles away at:

Terry Bison Ranch Resort, Cheyenne, WY. We took the train out to feed the Buffalo and drove into Cheyenne and visited the Depot downtown and the Frontier Days Old West Museum, F.E.Warrens AFB Fam Camp and would definitely stay at Warrens Fam Camp the next time we drove through the area. The cost for Terry Bison was $120.00 for 3 nights and the first night was half price with Passport America. We would stay at Terry Bison for a night, but we wouldn’t do three nights again. We stayed at the beginning of the off-season and there wasn’t enough to do.

6th stop was 57 miles away at:

Riverview RV Park & Campground, Loveland, CO we visited family near Denver and of course did the river walk in Estes Park. This campground had some tiny homes that looked amazing. The cost for 3 nights was $149.07.  We would have liked to have spent more time in the area.

7th stop was 143 miles away at:

Red Desert Rose Campground, Rawlings, WY. A very friendly staff, they even had a vehicle you could borrow if you wanted to drive into town and not disconnect your trailer from your truck the cost was $31.99 per night. With the cold and snow we choose to stay in the trailer and enjoy the light snow flurries from inside.

8th stop was 112 miles away at:

Green River KOA, Rock Springs, WY. We had only planed on staying one night, but stayed for two because of the snow and wind. $110.72 for two nights. A very easy in and out and if you are planning on traveling through Wyoming in October don’t be surprised by snow.

9th stop was 168 miles away at:

Hill AFB FamCamp, Ogden, UT. We had a beautiful view and we were able to enjoy a wonderful hike with family and we were able to visit with friends. The cost was $20.00 a night and we spent 3 nights.

10th stop was 142 miles away at:

Village of Trees RV. Resort, Declo, ID – This campsite was a very short walk from the Snake River and the grass between the campsites was very green. There was a camp store with ice cream and souvenirs. The cost was $34.29 a night. A very nice campground with pull through sites.

11th stop was 162 miles away at:

Gowen Field Campground (Military FamCamp) Boise ID. The cost was $12.00 a night. We would have liked to stay an additional night, but they all the sites were already reserved.

12th stop was 231 miles away at:

Pendleton KOA, Pendleton, OR – The cost for 2 nights was $100.92 with a military discount. I forgot to take a photo of the campground – but it was older and the sites were very close together. They did have laundry and a community room with pool table and games. The campground was very clean and we toured the Pendleton Mill where they make blankets and did the river walk in downtown Pendleton.

13th stop was 201 miles away at:

Ainsworth State Park, Cascade Locks, OR – camping is $32.00 a night for full hook up. We had to try four different sites before we found one where the electricity worked and we didn’t have our wheels off the ground. The area all around Ainsworth was closed due to landslides from the previous years fires – but the campground was open. We were able to visit with friends and toured the Bonneville Lock and Dam and did some hiking on the Washington side. Beacon Rock and Gillette Lake trail.

14th stop was 77 miles away at:

Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort, Salem, OR – a very nice private campground with clean laundry facilities, great WiFi and cable. The cost was $206.00 for 4 nights, we were able to visit with a friend, spent time shopping at Woodburn Outlet mall and had a nice walk through Minto-Brown Island Park.

15th stop was 132 miles away at:

Jesse M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, Florence, OR. The cost for full hookup is $32.00 a night. The sites had a lot of overhanging trees which made it difficult to back in the trailer and avoid obstacles. The plus side they had lots of trails to walk and of course we took a ride through the dunes with a professional driver and met up with friends for a nice walk along the beach.

16th stop was 151 miles away at:

Harris Beach State Park, Brookings, OR. The cost for full hookup is $32.00 a night and if you stand on the picnic table you can see the ocean and you can also walk to the beach.  We also had a our own bird who perched on our ladder and peaked at the window, very early every morning. We tried may things to distract the bird, relocating the flag, adding streamers to the ladder rungs, adding a black berry branch, but nothing deterred the little bird, luckily the bird stayed with the campsite. A beautiful ocean view with lots of rocks and tide pools, a path which leads into town and Samuel Boardman State Scenic Corridor is a short drive with access to the beach and a long coastal path with ocean views.

17th stop was 129 miles away at Riverwalk RV Park, Fortuna, CA

We drove along Highway 101 and only stayed one night. We arrived with less than an hour before sunset, so we left the trailer hooked to the truck and walked into town and discover Ell River Brewery. I had a sparkling ale, delicious.  The cost per night $53.71

Stop 18 was 155 miles away as we drove away from the coast we ran into a lot of smoke from the “Camp Fire” in Pulga, CA.

We arrived at Aurora RV Park and Marina, in Nice, CA. The campground is on a lake, but we weren’t able to see more than a few feet across the water. We again only spent one night, but we did unhook so we could drive into town and get diesel. Cost was $45.00 per night.

19th stop was 120 miles away at Travis AFB FamCamp, Travis, CA

The cost was $20 per night. We only stayed on night and when we arrived the site we were assigned was still occupied, The office re-assigned us a much nicer place in the non-pet area.

20th stop was 209 miles away at Lemoore Naval Air Station Campground, Lemoore, CA.

When we called they had no sites with hook-ups available, but they did have spaces available in the overflow lot.  We leaned a few valuable things about military family camps. If possible we will never arrive on a weekend because there is no one working in the office and not all campgrounds have camp hosts. Also, it’s no bargain if you have to travel 20 miles out-of-the-way to get to the location. Our original plan was to spend two nights, but we left after one.  Cost $20.00

Stop 21 was 181 miles away at Valencia Travel Village, Castaic, CA

The cost was $104 for two nights and they had a pool. The weather was great and we were able to relax in the hot tub.

Stop 22 was 68 miles away at Seebreeze RV Resort, Seal Beach, CA.

The cost was $35.00 a night and we stayed for 15 nights. There was no charge to use the washers and dryers, The campground was beautiful with large cement pads and. If a ship wasn’t in port you could walk to the beach. There was also a National Wildlife Refuge located on the base with lots of walking paths.  While staying in the area we visited Seal Beach, Manhattan Beach and Huntington Beach. We also had a chance to celebrate Thanksgiving with some family members,  took in the TMZ tour and attended a LA Chargers football game at the Stubhub field. The weather was perfect.

The 23rd stop was 127 miles away at Oasis RV Park, Barstow, CA

The cost was $35.00 a night, it was a great place for an overnight spot. The staff was very helpful and friendly, but there didn’t appear to be too much to do on base. We only stayed one night and didn’t disconnect the trailer from the truck and we didn’t put out the living room aka Isa bedroom slide. We discovered we had a partially broken weld on the slide out arm and didn’t want to run the risk of the slide failing. The plus side was we were able to walk to the commissary.

The 24th stop will be 162 miles away at Desert Eagle RV Park, Las Vegas, NV.

The first night at camp we once again spent the night with the slides in, but on the following day we had an appointment at Affordable RV Service and Repair in Las Vegas. They were wonderful to work with and they were able to weld the arm bracket for the slide and get us back on the road to within a few hours. The cost of this campsite is $27.00 a night and we plan on staying for 34 nights 

So, we are once again living the dream with lots of room.