Chapman Creek RV Park, Chapman, KS

A nice little RV park right off I-70. Check in was easy, that manager was helpful and nice, the site was easy to park in and the price was very reasonable. The park is a mix of backin, pull through and the parallel sites along one of the roads. The roads and sites are all gravel with small patches of grass surrounding the small trees between each site. The park has good wifi service, a clubhouse with a common room, showers and laundry facilities. They also have a small dog run. For the price of the park and the convenience, we rate this part a 4 out of 5 and will gladly stay here again if our travels bring us back to this area of Kansas.

Oklahoma City East KOA, Oklahoma City, OK

A nice KOA with a rural feel. The KOA is just 15 minutes from downtown, but it feels like you are much further away due to the large trees around and surrounding the park and since it is so quiet. The park is a mix of back in and pull through sites. All of the sites are gravel and some of the roads are also gravel. We had a pull through site that we just big enough for us if we parked our car parallel to the road in front of our rig. The park has the standard amenities of a small pool, bathroom and shower building with laundry facilities. They have wifi what works well enough to check email, but it slows down significantly during the morning and evenings. This park is lighter on amenities than what we typically see at other KOAs, but the price was very reasonable. We rate this park a 3 out of 5.

Oklahoma City, OK

3 days of driving covering 1000 miles and we successfully moved from Phoenix to our first sightseeing stop of Oklahoma City. We had a relaxing Easter for our first day and then were able to see a few of the sights in the area. We visited the National Cowboy museum and saw just a few of the 1300 styles of barb wire on display along with some interesting history about the cowboy and their lifestyle. We also drove around the Bricktown area which is a revitalized portion of downtown that includes the basketball arena and their baseball field. The Oklahoma City National Memorial was the main attraction that brought us to OKC. The memorial is a tribute to the victims, survivors and responders of the attack on the Federal Building on April 19, 1995. The chairs in the field that represent each of the 161 that died during the attack are a moving tribute. I would recommend visiting the memorial and the museum if you are in OKC.

Big Texan RV Ranch, Amarillo, TX

The park is a mix of long term residents and a section of sites for the short term RVers. Our site was pull through, gravel and just long enough for our rig and tow vehicle. The park is an easy on and off of I-40 and good for visiting the area or for an overnight stop. We did not check out the amenities, but can confirm that the wifi worked reasonably well. We would stay here again when in the area. We rate this park a 4 out of 5 for the convenience and the price.

US RV Park, Gallup, NM

Gallup is a good stop for an overnight when traveling through the area. The park is conveniently located right off I-40 with easy access on and off. The sites are gravel and pull through with plenty of room for a tow vehicle for even big rigs. There are very few trees so satellite reception was accessible. The wifi is advertised, but I could not even check email when connected. The park is located right next to an airport and very close to the rail line. You will have some noise at night. The park has very clean laundry and restrooms. Given the price and the ease of getting in and out of their sites, we rate this park a 4 out of 5 stars and will use it again for overnight stops.

Arizona winter

It is hard to believe that we have been in the Phoenix valley for 4+ months already. We have seen and done a lot this winter as well as enjoyed a semi-normal daily routine. We've attended several Arizona Coyotes hockey games, spring training baseball, multiple concerts, hiking with Charlie and continuing to explore the sights in and around Phoenix. We have also had a few friends from Boise visit this winter to escape their cold weather. One of the recent highlights for me was a day of skiing at Flagstaff. It had been over 3 years since we last hit the slopes, but we still managed to get down the hill without doing too much damage. Concerts include Ugly Sweater festival, KONGOS, Big Data and Andrew McMahon. Other fun activities include the Phoenix Wildlife Zoo and Taliesen West Frank Lloyd Wright with our good friends from Boise, the Pima air museum and boneyard tours in Tucson, the Waste Management PGA tournament and Barrett Jacksons with more friends from Boise, the Fiesta Bowl between LSU and UCF, weekly rock climbing with Taylor, a December trip to Disneyworld and dinner with a good friend and his family from Singapore. Lots of pictures included in this update.

Hello from Arizona!

Some of you may have been wondering where we went.  :)  We finally made it to Arizona on October 29th.  It couldn't have been soon enough.  We were 9 days (and 2 stops) away from getting here when our slide went out.  Not sure if everyone knew but we traveled all 7 months without one of our slides so to have another one go out meant we had absolutely no living space.  We lived with the coach being the size it is when it goes down the road. Ugh.  Since we were still so far away we decided to continue on with our last 2 stops (though we condensed the days spent) and arrived in Mesa 3 days early.  Upon arrival we drove straight to the repair shop where they had it for the day to diagnose all of the problems.  When we picked it up, they showed us how to over ride the system to be able to put out the slides. WHEW!  We drove into the park, parked it and put out both slides.  It felt palatial after 7 months with one of the slides in.  I think it actually echoed.  ;) 

Now we are settled here for the next 4 months and loving it.  We haven't done too much in the area  because we have been in and out of town.  I went home to Boise for about a week to help my parents move and then Gary and I went to back to Boise a couple of weeks later for his work.  We got back after 4 days there and 2 days later Gary, Taylor and I went to Disney World for a week.  We loved getting back to the park as a family.  We had a fantastic time and bonus points were made for being there during the Christmas season to see the wonderful decorations that only Disney can provide.  We also did a day at Universal Studios to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  That was an amazing site to see!  We all bought interactive wands and had a lot of fun "casting" spells throughout the park. 

December was spent getting ready for Christmas and trying to get back into our "Arizona routine".  I have come to think of our park we stay in as "summer camp".  We anxiously await our friends' arrivals so we can catch up and exchange stories of the last 7 months.  It is a fun time and we are blessed to have a place with close friends around.  Another bonus of being here is to have Taylor so close by.  She lives about 20 minutes away so we get to see her quite often.  We like to take her doggy, Charlie for hikes or walks at least once a week.  The day after Christmas we toured the botanical gardens here.  It was a night time event with lights and various bands throughout the garden.  It was beautiful.  We are so used to freezing while touring the botanical garden in Boise that I couldn't stop reveling in the fact that I just had a light jacket on.  :)

We spent New Years Day taking advantage of being in Phoenix by going to the Fiesta Bowl.  Central Florida vs. Louisiana State University.  I with I could say it was a good game but it was ugly football.  :)  We still had a good time though.  Now that the new year is here we plan to keep enjoying the area and doing some more sight seeing.