Where to go, what to see

[whodo]

We are going to do things differently this trip, starting with New years day we will be starting this trip in Yuma, AZ. We want to spend a few months (until it gets to hot for us) seeing all of AZ. and New Mexico. How about listing all your favorite places to go, stay, and things to do in Arizona & New Mexico.

On edit, thought better add that we have a Motor home and toad.

[tcwal]

Whodo,

Wow, since you didn't say what your interested in, it is a pretty wide open question. My Dad and sister live in Tucson and I've made seven trips there from the East Coast since 2004 so I'll give it a try. I won't try to list things in any particular order, so don't consider this a route to take.

North of Yuma along the Eastern border of Arizona with Nevada are a number of nice areas along the Colorado River including Lake Meade National Recreation Area. There is a lot of development around Tucson, but also a lot to see including Tombstone South of Tucson. In Tucson, Tra-tel RV Park is a Passport Park, not fancy but great people and I don't think you can beat the passport rate if it is available when you are there. Catalina State Park North of Tucson is nice and recently expanded their campground.

The Grand Canyon is a must see if you have not been there. Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert are just off I-40. Root 66 RV Park is a very basic Passport Park right off I-40 convenient to the loop road through Petrified Forest NP and the Painted Desert. Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle, AZ is great and has one of the last free developed campgrounds I've seen (water available and dump station). Monument Valley is not far from Canyon de Chelly. The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in East-central Arizona has lots of opportunities for dispersed camping and large developed campgrounds around Big Lake. Some areas are about 9,000ft elevation so are cool even in the summer.

Although not in AZ or NM, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are both worth visiting and are only a days drive North on US 191 from Canyon de Chelly.

New Mexico has great state parks in my opinion. Navajo Lake State Park in the Northwest has campgrounds along the lake and along the San Juan River (Cottonwood Campground). Sumner Lake State Park near Ft. Sumner on US 60 is a nice Park. Clayton Lake SP in the East near the Oklahoma border is also nice. US 64 along the Northern tier of New Mexico from Farmington to Clayton is a nice drive. It takes you through Chama where there is a steam railroad into Colorado and back. US 64 also goes through Taos, which is an interesting town. From Taos, I would recommend taking NM522 and NM38 Northeast through Red River to Eagles Nest rather than US 64. The state roads are wider and Red River is a nice little town. There are three RV Parks in Red River (one right along the river) and several Forest Service campgrounds in the Carson National Forest. There is a lot of opportunity for dispersed camping in the Carson National Forest between Chama and Eagles Nest. There are State Park campgrounds in Cimarron Canyon SP east of Eagles Nest.

South of Albuquerque, along the Rio Grande River, there is Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Caballo Lake SP and Elephant Butte SP. US 60 from Socorro (on I-25) and Amarillo is a good road. In fact US 60 from Amarillo to Springer, AZ in the White Mountains is a good road. There are dispersed camping opportunities in the National Forest between Socorro and Springer.

East of I-25, Roswell has some interesting UFO oriented attractions. Ruidosa has a casino and I think a horserace track.

Well, that's enough rambling for now. Hope it helps.

[whodo]

tcwal since you didn't say what your interested in
Thank you for information. As far as what we are interested in seeing, everything and anything, we want to make a jig saw puzzle course across AZ. & NM. and see anything and everything. We have been spending our winters in the hwy 95 Lake Havasu down to Yuma area for past several years, so this year we want to spend our time travelling and seeing all of Arizona & New Mexico, any other places of interest or to camp at, that you or any one can think of would be appreciated.

[john3697]

Along I-40 near Winslow, AZ is Meteor Crater. A big hole in the ground, to be sure, but a neat attraction if you are interested in meteors. Don't miss the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert at Holbrook, AZ. If you are further south on I-10, stop in Benson, AZ and from there you can visit Tombstone and Fort Huachuca, the home of the Buffalo Soldiers. While there, don't miss Karchner Caverns, not as big as Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad, but newly discovered and more pristine. In New Mexico, stop in Deming, which is near Hatch, the Chile Capitol. Almost anywhere near Hatch and most of New Mexico you can taste a very different Mexican cuisine based on all those chiles. The food is very tasty and not super spicy as you might think... Alamogordo is a good jumping off spot for White Sands National Park, and they also have a neat Air and Space Museum there in which many of the missiles that were tested at White Sands are displayed.

[whodo]

john3697
Thank you for the ideas/suggestions, Karchner Caverns sounds great to me, the wife on the other hand could care less, just have to send her off shopping some where while I go tour the Caverns. We are just going to watch the weather and go accordingly, don't want to get to cold, that would defeat going south for the winter.

[tcwal]

Whodo,

Don't know if your rig is gas or diesel, but if it is gas, be aware that NM regular gasoline is 86 octane and mid-grade is 88 versus the usual 87 & 89. Also if possible avoid buying gasoline in Deming. In 6 trips, Deming was always a lot more expensive than even the one station stops on the interstate.

Enjoy your trip!!

[whodo]

tcwal
Thank you for the info on the gas & gas price. We will just make sure we don't need gas in the Deming area.
Yes we have a gas motor home, when we ordered it, we ordered a lot of special upgrades, 100 gal gas tank & a 12 gallon reserve tank being a couple of the items (instead of standard 65 gallon tank & no reserve tank), that gives us around 800-900 miles before we have to refuel, gets a little pricey at the pumps but your going to buy the gas any way, be it 50 gallons at a time or a 100.
We appreciate everyone's input and ideas, keep them coming.

[ghostrider49]

There is cheap gas in Deming you just have to look for it.