2020 Winter Adventure

[camper70]

This will be the third time I tried to post this and something went wrong everytime. It is a lot to type so I hope the third time is a charm.

Day 1 We left our area on what was a pretty nice day for our area on Jan 4. We were headed to our first overnight in Max Meadows VA. at Fort Chiswell RV Park. This is a nice park with gravel roads and sites, FHU, and very nice restrooms. There is a Denny's nearby if you want it.
I guess I should mention that our destination is the Rio Grande Valley.

Day 2: We are headed to our next overnight near Chattanooga. I read some reviews of a County park near there so we were searching it out. It is called Chester Frost Park in Hixson Tn. This is a beautiful park located on a large lake with W/E and a dump station. There were quite a few campers in here for early Jan. This is a big fishing area for locals as we saw many. The price came to $27. This is probably a hidden gem to most people except for the locals.

Day 3: We were on our way the next morning to our next 2 night overnight in Meridian MS. We try to stop here for 2 nights to get off the road an extra night and to visit our favorite restaurant. The place is Weidman's in downtown. It is the oldest operating restaurant in MS. The food here is gourmet and a little pricey but worth every penny. Meridian has a lot of history and many interesting places to visit. Well worth a stop if you ever travel through the area.

Day 4: I decided to try a new route to our next stop which would be in La. I have been beat to death traveling across I-10 the past 2 years and was dreading that trip again. We went down I-59 to Laurel Ms. and connected with Ms.84. This is a good dual hwy. and connected to La.84 at Natchez Ms. This is just 2 lane road with a few bad spots but nothing compared to I-10. We then took La. 165 to Woodworth La. which is near Alexandria La. this is again pretty good road. We were in search of another county park. This was called Indian River Recreational Area. We thought this place was almost a mirror image of Chester Frost Park. It is located on a large lake and forested. The sites are paved and mostly level. There are pull thru and back-in sites most with W/E. the back-ins are the ones that are a little sloped. We did not check out the restrooms. I read they are very nice. CAUTION : if anyone would want to try this route there are very few services available along 84 so Fill up before leaving Laurel Ms.

Day 5: We are headed for our last overnight in El Campo Tx. We will be staying in Pincher’s RV Park. This is a park we use every year on our way to the RGV. It is a bare bones park with good paved roads and concrete pads to park on with FHU. I don’t know anything about the restrooms since we did not use them. They have an onsite restaurant with good food at reasonable prices. They also have a unique candy store to make the kids happy or to satisfy your sweet tooth. There is a pond out front where you can feed the ducks.

Day 6 : The wind kicked up overnight so it seemed the day might be interesting for travel. This is my first winter towing this 34 ft. trailer any long distance. The winds seemed to get stronger as the day went on. It was no where close to being scary but I was getting nudged around all day. I had no trouble staying in my own lane but it kept me focused all day. The wife found a weather report that said the winds would gust to 37 MPH. I’m sure there were some that exceeded this forecast. I was glad to be off the road by the time we reached our final destination of Seven Oaks RV Park in Mission Tx.

We will be here through Feb.10 and then will head to AZ. to explore some different areas We have not seen before. I’m sorry I don’t have pics to post but our main goal was to get South out of cold weather as quickly as possible. There may not be many pics from here because pretty much everything worth seeing here I already posted last year. We have gotten to love this area for the winter. We are here to enjoy the great weather and the friendly people of the RGV.

Many on here have followed this post the last 2 years and hope some will enjoy this year. It may be a while between posts though until we get to AZ. We are more in chill mode at this point. If anyone would want more details on the route we took just send me a PM and I’ll provide more details.

[camper70]

Our campsite and rig

[camper70]

The Tow Vehicle

[CurtPutnam]

Nice trip you have going. next time you want to type all that much, do it in whatever you use for a word processor and then use your copy & paste to upload after saving the file. Once successfully uploaded, you can delete the file.

[camper70]

Thank's Curt that is what the DW had me do. She is more computer savvy than me.

[Chris Pastuzyn]

That sounds like a great trip, I see you upgraded your TV ,Nice rig .Thanks for sharing.

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by camper70

The Tow VehicleAttachment 222012

That pretty camper doesn't look like the Apex 249 in your profile. I know you just haven't updated it. Look forward to your continuing reports.

[camper70]

Thank's Chris. Yes with the longer trailer and more weight I had to move up to a 3/4 ton. It's a nice tow vehicle but I still miss the F 150 Eco Boost.

[ependydad]

Yes! I love your trip reports. Thank you so much for sharing!

We’ve actually stayed at #1, Ft. Chiswell *and* we ate at that Denny’s. That’s one of my family dirty little travel secrets... on long drive days, we regularly hit Denny’s for dinner.

[camper70]

Thank's ependydad I'll try not to disappoint. Like I said it may be a little boring until we get to AZ.

[dblr]

Great start and I will throw another vote for Fort Chiswell, I always use that park when heading to Tn. nice ling pull thru and I don't have to unhook

[camper70]

Thank's dblr I'll bet they are super busy in the summer. The restrooms there are first class.

[camper70]

Anybody in the RGV we are here till Feb !0

[dblr]

Originally Posted by camper70

Anybody in the RGV we are here till Feb !0

What campground are you in? We have friends from lower slower Delaware trying that area for the first time as a winter Texan they may need some pointers.

[camper70]

This is our second year here. We are in Seven Oaks Resort in Mission Tx. Site 140. Tell them to stop by if they need any info. Anybody in the valley will be willing to help very friendly to Winter Texans.

[camper70]

I finally have something to show everybody. The city of Mission Tx. has a parade in Jan. to celebrate the fruit harvest of the local area. It is called the Parade of Oranges. It is a fruit version of the Rose Parade in that all the floats must be covered in fruit. We did not make it to the parade but the Catholic Church we have been attending had their float on display on Sunday. Here is the pic. If you zoom in you will be able to see the fruit slices.

[ependydad]

How is that not swarmed by bees?!

[AbdRahim]

Sounds like fun. 90 days before I get to head out.

[Love-to-campp]

Were looking at both RGV and AZ to winter in a few years, anything you can post about your experience will be very helpful.

[DaGrinch]

Originally Posted by mjones12

That pretty camper doesn't look like the Apex 249 in your profile. I know you just haven't updated it. Look forward to your continuing reports.

I was going to say the same thing!
I was used to seeing the Apex on my way to church, but hadn't seen it for some time. Also hadn't seen the red TV for awhile. Now I know.
I'll be following your adventures! Hope they are enjoyable for you! Safe travels!