Tiger's Travels part. 2
Scritto da: Doris e Al Monaco

Agriturismo e sistemazioni rurali selezionate in tutta Italia, ai prezzi migliori.

Tiger's Travels - Chapter 4
Westward Bound

We started heading out west by making a few stops in Tennessee first. We like to meander on county roads. On our trip there we had planned on going farther north of Big South Fork National Recreation Area, but Hurricane Opal changed our plans. We heard reports of heavy rains and flooding in that area of the state. Never go into an area when weather advisories tell you to stay away. Flash floods can quickly strand and have sometimes killed campers unaware of the dangers of floodwaters. When the weather turns bad and you can't avoid an area, stay close to interstate highways and don't take the smaller, country roads, even if you prefer them. Many may not be highly elevated or graded and are more isolated from emergency assistance in floods.
Centerhill Dam is located on off I-40 at exit #258, or the Center Hill exit. Go 6 miles south on TN 141. The sites have electric and water hookups and there is a dump station on the way out. The sites were very level and located near the river. There is a large area for dogs to run and play. Picnic tables, fire rings, and grilles were well kept and it was a very comfortable campground. This campground was called the Long Branch Campground, one of several in the area Natchez Trace State Park is near I-40 at exit #116. If you arrive before 4pm the Visitor's Center will be open and you can get information about the park and the campgrounds. We stayed at Campground #1 at Cub Lake. A ranger visit's your site to collect the dues. All of the sites have electric and water hookups. We chose site #23. It had a nice fireplace and a picnic table. The site was in the middle of a wooded area near trails and a footbridge across the lake. There is also plenty of room for dogs to run and get exercise.
Arkansas was our next state to stop in. We first stayed in Russellville on I-40 at Lake Dardanelle,a campground which is run by the US Army Corp of Engineers. You will almost never have a problem getting a site on a Sunday, when the weekend campers leave. If you arrive on a Friday or Saturday, you may want to plan on arriving early. The campground is called Old Post Road Park and has electric and water hookups. It was a great place for Tiger to run and roll in the grass. You can watch the boats on the river or walk up to the observation area on the dam. This campground received 2 paws from Tiger (a good to excellent rating).
We followed what are usual setup procedures of securing our campsite and placed an occupied sign on it, then we drove into town to inquire about church services. Sometimes you can find an interesting church or community- function and enjoy the fellowship of new friends. It is almost axiomatic, the more rural the church, the warmer the greetings and the more frequent are the barbecues and social events. In some areas the VFW and American Legion have dances and inexpensive dinners on Friday and Saturday evenings. I recall when we were in British Columbia we stopped at the Royal Canadian Legion. I asked if I could buy a drink using my American Legion membership. The bartender answered "Not the first one, buddy! The first one is on us." Some posts will invite you to camp overnight in their parking lot, running out an electric line to you. If you are a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and are near a meeting hall, you will usually find a warm welcome for visitors. The same is true of fraternal organizations and other clubs.
Our next stop was in the Ozark's near McNut's RV Park. The sites had full hookups and were very clean. We went for a walk around town and found a nice laundromat to catch up on some wash. Parking for the RV was not a problem since most of the residents own pickup trucks and utility vehicles. There is plenty of parking spaces around the Town square. We traded some used books at a small bookstore and scouted around some of the antique shops.
We made one stop in Oklahoma near the Texas border on SR 73. The campground, called Foss Lake is located in Foss Lake State Park. It is north of the town of Foss. This was an excellent campground with full hookups. There is plenty of room for the dog to run and play, but I would advise you to keep him or her out of the water. The ground is red clay and tends to stick and get muddy. There is a nice reservoir lake for relaxing and enjoying the day.

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We also made a stop in Canyon, Texas. From US 87, go east 12.4 miles, to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This campground also has full hookups, but it is more expensive then most. The canyon has some interesting scenic views. In June, July, and August you can purchase tickets to see a performance of "Texas" at the amphitheater. The show starts at 8pm and for an additional charge you can attend a barbecue that begins at 6pm. The finale is quite impressive, in the open-air theatre.
The southwest has a lot to offer. We don't spend as much time as we should here because we enjoy the Northwest so much, and are concerned about keeping Tiger away from areas with cactus and sand spurs in the wilderness. In New Mexico, on I-40 4 exits west of Santa Rosa, if you go north on US84 to Las Vegas and SR 518 north toward the Santa Fe National Forest area you will find Storrie Lake State Park. The campground has a big lake with a large field for your dog to run in. The sites have full hookups. It is near Taos, where you can visit a Pueblo Village and the bridge over the Chasm of Rio Grande. There is a small town called Las Vegas, New Mexico that is a nice stop. We enjoyed the old adobe buildings and the frontier type cattle country; and Santa Fe provides shopping and also points of historical interest, close by.
Santa Fe is located on I-25. We stopped at the Visitor's Center and they gave us directions to a municipal parking lot. To get there exit I-25 at US 84-285 north. After SR 14 you will take Paseo de Paeralta to Alemeda. Turn left and you will see the municipal park right before Cathedral Place. The parking lot is behind the Cathedral. The lot is walled in and patrolled by police. Overnight parking was only $10.00 and generator use is permitted. There were several tour buses when we were there. The lot is located in the middle of downtown and we could walk with Tiger on a leash or easily and quickly bring him back to the RV when we needed to. There were, of course, no hookups, but it's nice having your own hotel room in the center of town. Old Santa Fe and the Cathedral are nice touring places and there are plenty of good restaurants, too.
On our way to Gallup we stopped at Albuquerque to see "Old Town" and the Indian and Mexican arts and crafts. We continued on I-40 to Gallup and stayed at Red Rock State Park, just East of town. The campground was just about full since the Good Sam Club was having a state- wide jamboree. We are lifetime members so we just pinned on our badges and went to the auditorium to say "Howdy". Hospitality is the middle name of Good Sam Club's everywhere and we were invited to their dinner and festivities. We met some other folks from Florida who had "dropped in" as we had. The campsites have electric and water hookups and there is a dump station on the way out. There are some great trails for you and your pets to walk on. The trails wind through the valley around the red cliffs. Red Rock Campground is just east of Gallup on historic Route 66. El Rancho Hotel, in town has a great breakfast and is filled with movie star memorabilia.
Venturing into Arizona on I-40 we found a very nice campground run by Navajo County Power Company. It is at exit #277 at Joseph City. It is right next to a lake where the canal empties from the Power Company. The canal is a hot water runoff so you can not swim there, and there is a big field, for your dog to play in. The sites have electric and water hookups and most have fireplaces. It is not a destination campground, but excellent for overnight travelers.
Of course the Grand Canyon is a must see for all RVers. We enjoy the north rim the most. The campground, called the North Rim Campground is on US 89. It is a great campground even though there are no on-site hookups. The park has fresh water sites and dump stations for you to use. The campsites are all paved and have picnic tables, fire rings, and grills. Reservations are recommended in the summertime and must be made about 3 days prior to arrival. It is about a quarter mile walk from the campsites to the Grand Canyon Lodge. Your pet can walk with you and stay on the outside terrace. He would not be allowed in the dining area, although the bartender might "ignore" you if your dog lays quietly by your feet like Tiger does. From the lodge it is a short ½ mile walk to Angel's Overlook. The overlook offers magnificent views of the north rim.

      

Short drives from the campground to various overlooks will offer different breathtaking views of the canyon. Tiger was well under control at all times as we kept him on his 20' leash. It would be very easy for your dog to chase a chipmunk or small animal over a ledge and hurt himself.
We headed further west in California and Nevada, but if you were going into Utah from this side, you must go through some tunnels in Zion National Park. These tunnels will not safely accommodate any vehicles higher than 11'4". You can pay a special $10 fee, if you meet requirements, for the attendants to stop traffic on the other side. This allows you to travel down the center of the tunnel. You must not be more than 11'4" high, 7'10" wide, 40' long or 55' long if you are towing. Most RV's exceed the requirements and go through in a one way convoy after paying the fee. It's an interesting experience in traveling, though.
One Rver told us about a friend that was just about to set off on a trip in their first RV. It was a cab over unit on a pick up truck, the largest that could be put on their truck. While the husband was working, the wife loaded the supplies and they planned on leaving when he finished work that day. On the way out of town they stopped at the drive-through of their bank to cash a check and literally drove through. They had a 10'6" camper and the bank only had a 9' clearance. They pulled off the roof off the drive-through and their camper. As I am writing this I am making myself a 3 X 5 card to post on my dashboard with the height, width, and length of my vehicle on it, both in feet and meters.

Scritto da:
Doris e Al Monaco

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