We are tentatively planning a trip to the Southwest. Can anyone recommend a decent route to take where you can see stuff. Also where there are campgrounds(military, Camp Club, etc). We do not plan on using I-10 or any interstate. Our vehicle is a Roadtrek 200 Class B motor home (it's 20'). We will be traveling from Florida near Tampa. Thanks.

Larry G.

If you're not in a hurry, you might think about heading towards Oklahoma City and picking up old Route 66. It no longer exists in some places but you can pretty much follow it out west. Some areas have even been restored to the 50's and 60's with all the cheesy tourist stuff along the way. Here's a website that gives a whole bunch of information about the trip and even includes a trip planner:

http://www.historic66.com/description/

Whatever you do, drive safely and have a great time!

Sounds good. I never thought of Route 66. Was on it years ago in OK and MO. Thanks for the info.

Larry G.

Assuming southwest would be NM or AZ, I don’t know how you get there from Tampa in a half way direct route by not using I-10 unless you want a lot of extra travel time. In LA you can take Highway 190 which parallels I-10. In TX you have to use I-10 unless you want to zig-zag all over the place. There are quite a few military campgrounds along the way. Consult the directory and this website for that info. Since I’m a Texan, I’ll hype the to-do list by first suggesting that you stop at the state line rest stop and get a Texas Travel Guide. You’ll have to be on an interstate to get it, tho. The Anheiser Bush bottling factory in Houston area is a nice tour. You might want to do the Blue Bell ice cream factory tour in Brenham. San Antonio has the Alamo and River walk. Johnson City and Fredericksburg in the hill country of Texas is always good. Fort Stockton has the McDonnell’s observatory. It’s off the route by 100 miles, but you won’t be disappointed in Big Bend National Park in SW TX. You can camp there, too. Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands in NM is a nice stop. Regardless you won’t have to worry about the roads in this part of the country. Even the back roads are good. Happy trails.

touring Texas sounds like a good idea. I was stationed at Fts Hood and Bliss. Never been to Big Bend Country or Fredericksburg. Been to San Antonio and the Alamo. Guess I'll have no choice but to do some Interstate driving. Thanks for the info.

Larry G.

retiredarmy wrote:


Spent 2 weeks at Big Bend in February and it was a very interesting place (maybe not worth 2 weeks? ). You don't say when you are going, but if it is summer, I would think twice about Big Bend - it must be hotter than the hinges of Hell then. Also spent a few days in the TX hill country and visited all the LBJ sites and park. Very nice area and should be decent any time of year. We didn't get to Friedricksburg, but our traveling companions did and loved Friedricksburg and the Fredricksburg RV Park.

Regarding Military Campgrounds, we stayed at Ft. Sam Houston, NAS Corpus Christi, and Ft. Sill, OK and all were great.

Good luck!

Joe

I agree with cdrcos - two weeks is more than you need in Big Bend unless you do lots of back-country 4x4 stuff.

And, spent a week in February and it was almost too hot, so I can't imagine the summer there ... but it's very scenic if you like desert style landscapes. Well worth a short trip in the cooler weather.