RV Road Tripping From FL To NM And Back

Are you new to RV traveling? Read this post before you go.

Does your trip include a visit to Big Bend National Park? Read all about it in this post.

We bought our trailer about a year and a half ago when we realized that if we wanted to fulfill one of our retirement goals of visiting every National Park on the US mainland, traveling with some type of RV was the easiest way to accomplish it.  We have years of camping experience, in a tent, so we are very comfortable with the amenities of a campground which are way different from the amenities of a hotel. We had never had the experience of traveling with a trailer before, though, so this was something we had to figure out before we made our first trip to visit the parks.  You can read all about what we learned on the travels we made, before we were confident enough to make this month-long trip, by clicking on the links I added to the end of this post.

We started planning this trip because I really wanted to visit Texas and especially San Antonio.  We found out that we could visit three National Parks if we traveled a few hours west of San Antonio and could visit one more park, Hot Springs National Park, in Arkansas on our way back.  We planned for being on the road, plus stopping for gas and the bathroom, from 6-8 hours each traveling day. Some stops would be made just because we couldn't get to a destination in one trip.  We wanted to camp at state parks because they are less expensive than private campgrounds and also have more to offer in the way of hiking trails and natural surroundings. After mapping out our route, finding state parks closest to the major highways and reserving campsites, we were ready to go!

We started out from our Central Florida home where we have our trailer stored in a secure space, in a fenced-in lot, we rent from our community.  We pay, for the year, what it would cost to keep it in public storage for a month. So we planned our camping trip, and all trips, to start here. And we did plan every one of the 9 stops of our trip, meaning we were obligated to show up at a certain place at a certain time on a certain day.  Many people, like the couple we met at our San Antonio stop, who were on a one to two year road trip, are traveling a lot more freely than we did and decide as they travel, where and when they would like to stop for awhile. If they can't make it to their destination in a day or if the campgrounds in the area are all booked up, they park themselves at Walmart, Pilot and Love's gas stations and many other places that allow overnight parking.  For our first extended road trip, we were more comfortable booking all our accommodations beforehand. We may get a little more relaxed in the future. Possibly for the cross-country trip we are hoping to do.

Stop 1

Pensacola, Florida

Blackwater River State Park

Milton, Florida

(Read more about this campground here.)

Originally we planned for our first stop to be Chipley, FL.  We were very excited to see that we would pass by Pensacola on our way from Chipley to Lake Charles, Louisiana, and we could, possibly, finally meet the adorable granddaughter of one of my best friends, Heidi.  After talking to Mallory, Amelia's mom, and finding out that they would definitely be able to meet us as we passed by, we decided that if we drove another 1 1/2 hours we could stay over in Milton, Florida which was only a few minutes from Mallory, Roy and Amelia.  This would give us more time to spend with all of them!

Some of the highlights of our vacation was being able to meet and catch up with people we don't get to see very often.  We have not seen Mallory and Roy since their wedding and never met Amelia, who's almost 5. But, thanks to Mallory and Facebook, we have watched her grow up and when we did finally meet her, we didn't feel like we were meeting her for the first time.  She is a pip, like her Ommie said she was, but she is the sweetest pip we ever met!

Stop 2

Lake Charles, Louisiana

Sam Houston Jones State Park

Lake Charles, Louisiana

(Read more about this campground here.)

This was a stop we needed to make because we couldn't get all the way to San Antonio from Pensacola in one day.  We camped only 2 nights (we thought about only doing 1 night but it would have made the trip too hectic) on these quick stopovers compared to 3 nights when we reached a destination we wanted to explore.  Well, after we found out how much there was to do in this area, we were sorry that we didn't have more time.

What we did get to do was the Creole Nature Trail, but we did a shortened version of what we would have done if we had more time.  There were lots of trails to walk along. We only had time to do two. One trail we chose to do was the Wetland Walkway Trail. The trail had a sign warning us of .  Needless to say, I jumped at every little sound I heard on this 1 1/2 mile trail.

(You can read more about Lake Charles, Louisiana here.)

Stop 3

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio/Alamo KOA Holiday

San Antonio, Texas

(Read about this campground here,)

Texas had been on our bucket list for a long time before we finally got here.  Especially San Antonio because of the Alamo and River Walk we heard so much about.  

We booked this KOA because of the bus that stopped right outside the campground.  We thought it would be more convenient to take public transportation into the city rather than try to find parking.  It, also, gave Soko a break from driving for a couple of days and it did turn out to work out really well for us.

We booked as soon as sites became available to reserve and it was a good thing because the campground booked quickly, as all accommodations in this area did, because of the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.  We hadn't planned to go to a rodeo but it sounded like this one was not to be missed so we bought tickets before we left for our road trip and we are so glad we did. We had a great time at our first rodeo!

(You can read more about San Antonio, Texas here.)

Stop 4

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Rio Grande Village RV Park

Big Bend National Park, Texas

(Read more about this campground here.)

This is the first National Park that we get to check off our list of "parks to visit when we retire." I must say that we loved this park and it is now at the #1 spot on our list, knocking Grand Canyon National Park down to #2.

We hiked on five amazing trails and watched the sunset, along with many other campers, on the overlook of one of them.  Each trail had their own unique terrain, were beautiful and absolutely breathtaking. We saw sights we have never seen before and the wildlife we saw for the first time in our lives, were an added treat.

If, after we see every National Park on the US mainland, we have the time and energy to do it again, this park will be on the top of our list.  Our thought as of today, anyway, because I know we haven't been to the top-rated parks yet. This opinion could change. We can't wait to see if it does!

Grapevine Hills Trail

(You can read more about Big Bend National Park, Texas here.)

Stop 5

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico and Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas

Brantley Lake State Park

Carlsbad, New Mexico

(Read more about this campground here.)

When we were planning our road trip we were excited that Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and the nearby Guadalupe Mountains National Park, was a doable trip if we were going as far as San Antonio.  I was happy that Soko would be able to explore the caverns because I imagined that they would be very interesting.  I was not going to have anything to do with going into the caverns, however, because I have very bad claustrophobia. I couldn't imagine traveling miles under the ground by elevator without having a panic attack.  

The closer we got to the day we would making the trip to the caverns, the more I wanted to see them for myself.  I thought that maybe if we took the Natural Trail in I could turn around at any point and exit the caverns. That was the plan until we talked to the park ranger who told us that there would be a point in the Natural Trail that would get closed in and dark but our other option, the elevator ride, only took a little over a minute. He told us that the caverns, 750 feet under the ground, were lit and were big open spaces with high ceilings.  I might be able to do this I thought. I am so glad I did. I just convinced myself that I was at Disney World in an attraction Walt thought up and not underground. It really did look man-made so it was easy to keep myself calm this way!

(You can read more about Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico and Guadalupe Mountains National Park,Texas here.)

Stop 6
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

Cedar Hill State Park

Cedar Hill, Texas

(Read more about this campground here.)

It was so fortunate for us to know people who live in this area.  Cristina, my sister's cute niece, who we have known all her life and Matt, her very friendly husband, were so helpful in giving us great ideas about what we could do, see and eat in Fort Worth.  We really appreciated getting suggestions from people who live or visited the places we were traveling to on this road trip.  Especially when it comes to places to eat.

We definitely knew we wanted to have authentic Texas barbeque while in Texas and the Lundy's were nice enough to join us at one of their favorite restaurants.  Heim Barbeque started out selling their delicious food from a truck and got so popular and busy that they had to open a restaurant, then eventually two restaurants.  

We met Cristina and Matt at the restaurant on Magnolia Street in Fort Worth.  The boys ordered the meats, sausage, brisket and pulled pork and me and Cristina ordered the brisket sandwich that came sliced or pulled and we chose pulled.  We had the Loaded Mac N' Cheese, Twice Baked Potato Salad and coleslaw as sides and shared Bacon Burnt Ends and Emma's Banana Pudding for dessert. I've been dreaming about having that banana pudding again ever since then!

(You can read more about Dallas/Fort Worth here.)

Stop 7
Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

Lake Catherine State Park

Hot Springs, Arkansas

(Read about this campground here.)

The picture I had in my head of Hot Springs National Park was not even close to what it actually looked like.  First of all, it was in the middle of the city, unlike any other National Park we had ever been too. And secondly, I thought we would see hot springs flowing all over the park but actually the park collects the water, 700,000 gallons a day, for use in the public drinking fountains and bathhouses.

This bathhouse, the Buckstaff, is the only one that has remained opened, since they started being built in 1877, when the others all closed down by 1985.  

(You can read more about Hot Springs, Arkansas here.)

Stop 8
Nashville, Tennessee

Cedars of Lebanon State Park

Lebanon, Tennessee

(Read more about this campground here.)

The only real plans we had for our visit to Nashville was seeing the Grand Ole Opry and checking out Broadway, Nashville's honky-tonk strip.  So we asked local resident, and one of the nicest house guests we ever had stay in our home, what he thought we might want to see while we were in his neck of the woods.  Justin gave us a few suggestions and one was a favorite place of his dad's.

Marathon Village is made up of buildings once owned by Marathon Motor Works, and you can view old tools and machinery displayed in the halls.  Now they house work studios for a thriving creative community, spaces for events and is also filled with unique shops.

The shop we went to see was Antique Archaeology.  We love those guys from the show American Pickers and as we looked at their junk...I mean treasures, we could imagine how excited they were when they first saw this stuff in someone's shed or attic!  

(You can read more about Nashville, Tennessee here.)

Stop 9
Jackson, Georgia

High Falls State Park

Jackson, Georgia

(Read more about this campground in a post coming soon.)

Sadly we finally made it to our last stop, more than 3 1/2 weeks from when we started off.  We couldn't make it to Florida from Nashville in one trip so we found a park in between the two states.  We wound up here in Jackson, Georgia.  We thought it would be a good place to relax and didn't worry about trying to find something to do here but I did check because we wouldn't want to miss out on anything.  Good thing I did, because I found outlet shopping only 15 minutes away from the campground!

There is nothing like the feeling of freedom.  Jumping into the trailer and taking off for a month to explore America The Beautiful, made us feel truly carefree!  We are ready to pack our bags and do it again!!

You might like to read these posts before you hit the road!

Getting Ready For Our First RV Road Trip

What We Learned On Our First RV Road Trip

This post was featured:

What We Learned On Our First RV Road Trip

If you are going on your first RV road trip, you have found the blog post that you have been looking for.

Reading about what we learned on our first trip will help you feel a little more comfortable about traveling in your RV for the first time.

If you are traveling with your RV, take a look at our list of 10 Items You Should Have On Your RV Camping List before you hit the road.

We've just completed our first road trip in our RV.  Before this road trip we took two practice runs (read about it here) to campgrounds close to our house.  We were very glad that we did because we learned how to set up our camper and got a feel for driving it.  We knew that our trip up the East Coast would be a little more challenging but the practice trips definitely made us feel more comfortable, confident and ready to do a longer trip.  Did we learn everything we needed to know on the shorter trips?  We found out the answer was "No".  We learned a lot more on this trip and one thing we learned, we learned the hard way!

The first thing we did on this road trip that we didn't have to do on our two shorter trips was pull up to a gas pump with the trailer behind the car.

Pilot is our go to gas station for the coffee perks, gas discount and now we are enjoying their new app (read about it here).  Now, that we have the trailer, we have another reason to love Pilot.

Pilot gas stations cater to truckers so there is usually more room to maneuver a truck or trailer up to a gas pump and many of them have a separate RV area that is very easy to pull in and out of.  When pulled into the first Pilot we came to there were two gas pumps that were designated for RV pull thru.  We didn't use them because there was a end pump that looked very easy to pull next to.  We were both very happy that Soko did a great job pulling the car up to the pump without bumping the car or the trailer into anything.  He did ask me to check, as we were pulling away, to see if the camper was going to hit the gas pump.  We were a good 3' away but it was impossible for Soko to see.
Lesson #1 - When possible, go to the gas station the truckers go to for ease of pulling up to a gas pump.

We were filled up with gas and it was time to get on a major road, I4, the always busy interstate that brings you to your favorite Florida theme parks.  Our plan was to stay in the right lane so that Soko wouldn't have to quickly change lanes to get off an exit. 

You can see some of the traffic with the side mirrors but it doesn't give you as big a picture of what is going on behind you as you can get when you are able to use the rear view mirror.  That might be the hardest part of towing the trailer is the fact that the only thing you can see behind you when you look out the rear view mirror is what you are towing.

What we learned almost as soon as we got on the road was that we were going to have to change lanes.  Mostly to get around very slow vehicles.  Soko felt pretty comfortable using only the side mirrors for making sure no one was around him when he was ready to change lanes.  He just had to remember to wait until there was enough room for both the car and trailer to move over.
Lesson #2 - Changing lanes is not as difficult as we thought it might be and the most comfortable lane to be in, when on a 3 lane highway, is the middle lane.

Soko only wanted a stretch of 5 -5 1/2 hours, at the most, between campgrounds.  So that's how we selected the campgrounds that we did and we also wanted them close to I95, the interstate we would be on for the majority of the trip.  We know that when we GPS our ride from our Florida home to our NC home it tells us that it will take us 9 1/2 hours.  Our record time is 10 hours but we stop a lot so the trip for us is more like 10 1/2 hours, so an extra hour.  Knowing we would have to take it slower with the trailer and make more gas stops, we were curious to know what the difference in actual travel time would be compared to the ETA of the GPS.
Lesson #3 - A 5 hour trip when we are pulling our trailer really means a 6 1/2  hour trip, without traffic.

We were very happy that we got to our first stop, Fort McAllister Historic State Park in Richmond Hill, Georgia, safe and sound.  

The outdoor gym in the park was the first one we had ever seen and it was fantastic.  

It was on our way to our second stop, in North Carolina, that we had our eggstraordinary disaster!

Lesson #4 - Always make sure to listen for the extra click of the fridge door handle, telling us the door is locked, before we hit the road!

Medoc Mountain State Park in Hollister, NC, was our second stop, and where we knew we would not have a water hook up to the camper.  We were prepared to learn how to use the trailer's water holding tank.

Lesson #5 - The water tank takes longer to fill than we thought and is full when the water starts to overflow out of the trailer or I noticed the second time we filled up, that the sound of the water going into the trailer changed right before it started leaking out.  I will be listening harder next time and try to stop filling before the leak out.

(I have to admit that we are not completely positive that we have the water tank figured out yet.  On our way back to Florida we noticed we had water leakage.  Not sure if it was us or the trailer.  We will get it checked out in September.  This might turn out to be another blog post on it's own, but hoping it won't be!)

We were successful at filling the water tank but when we tried to turn the water on in the trailer it didn't come out of the faucets.  Soko finally found the switch that says water pump right on it.  We now know how to check the level of water in the black and grey water tanks because it is right on the same panel as the switch that we never paid any attention to!  We had no clue, during our practice runs, of how much water was in the tanks and were nervous about overflowing them.
Lesson #6 - It's probably a good idea to consult the trailer's owner manual when we know we will be using a feature of the trailer that we haven't used before.

We had a choice of a three trails near our campground in Medoc Mountain and decided on the shortest trail because it was late afternoon by the time we got to NC.  We were treated to the beautiful sight of this gorgeous stream at the end of the Stream Trail and were so glad we chose this hike.

Our third stop, Susquehanna River State Park in MD, was where we discovered we lost a piece of our trailer.  Luckily, it could have been worse and we could have lost the plate that the trailer balances on but somehow it stayed on without the bolt that holds it.  We went and found this piece at Home Depot.

Lesson #7 - We will keep a few extra bolts in the camper at all times, and other parts that we discover we might need extra of.

The campsite at Susquehanna State Park was our favorite.  We always expect a grill, fire pit and picnic bench but when there's also somewhere to hang our garbage bags and a place to put our propane stove, well, it doesn't get better than that (when you're camping anyway!)

We took a 7 mile round trip hike, along the Susquehanna River, to see the bald eagles we heard would be at the Conowingo Dam.  There were lots of photographers lined up on the walkway with their cameras with 3' lenses waiting to get a shot of an eagle.  I was there with my phone.  My best shot is on the left.  I'm saying this is an eagle but it could have been a vulture.  We saw a lot more of them than eagles.  On our hike back to the campground, a woman approached us and gave us the photo on the right that her photographer husband took.  I have to admit he got a much better shot than I did!!

After 2 nights at Susquehanna River State Park, we took off for our destination, Strawberry Park in Preston, CT.  We have been here many times and planned this trip with Joe and Nicole so that we could enjoy our grandson's first camping trip with him.  On our way to CT, we thought about taking an alternate route to get there from MD but couldn't find the information we needed to see if we could safely, or legally, take the roads that we wanted to.
Lesson #8 - Research routes along the way of each road trip before getting into the car.

Joe, Nicole and Shea arrived on Thursday.  We showed Shea around our trailer, he showed us the cabin he was staying in for the weekend and then we went to find the campground playground.

On Friday, we went to nearby Mystic Aquarium in the morning before our first fellow campers, Janet and Chris arrived.  We showed up for Bingo at the outdoor rec room but no one else did so it was canceled.  We played Yahtzee instead!

Joe and Nicole invited friends and family to spend the day with us on Saturday.  We voted for our favorite car at the Strawberry Park Annual Car Show and we were entertained by a very good band.   We had a delicious BBQ and enjoyed great company.

We realized we only had a few short days, after our camping vacation with our family and friends in CT, to get back to Florida, park our trailer, clean and secure our Florida home, then return to NC in time to make our doctor's appointments.  So the same trip that we made to get to CT that took us 5 days on the way up, we would have to do in 3, meaning we only had time to stay overnight at each campground.  There is more work involved, for sure, with setting up a trailer to spend the night in versus rolling our suitcases into a hotel room.  I have to say that we were a bit tired when we got back but it wasn't as bad as we thought it might be.
Lesson #9 - Make sure we are giving ourselves plenty of time to complete a round trip vacation so that we don't have too many back to back one nighters.

We had a great time and learned a lot at the same time.  We feel like we now know everything we need to know about using our trailer and we can't wait for the next road trip!

We would love to hear from you if you have any suggestions, helpful hints or if you just want to share any of your road trip stories!!

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