🌵 The Trip Out and Back - Arizona

RV There Yet? Ep #1 - Another World
Made it all the way from Florida to Arizona and back in 18 days, and boy do we have some stories to share. Most of it we filmed for 2 of our episodes, but the rest you're just going to have to take my word for it.

Kartchner Caverns Campsite

We managed to stay at KOA Kampgrounds all the way out. It was our first time really experiencing the different KOA's, and we were truly impressed. The first thing that impressed us were the staff/owners. The hospitality and warm welcome was second to none, and after a long day on the road, it was just what we needed. 

Here's the list of KOA stops on our way out from Florida to the Grand Canyon:

  • Lake Conroe KOA (Lake Conroe, TX) - neat and tidy grounds with a nice pond with Gazebo on water. BIG camp store, ladies in office were bright and friendly!
  • Amarillo KOA (Amarillo, TX) - out in the middle of nowhere, but they'll send for a limo with horns on the hood to pick you up and take you to a 72oz TEXAS-sized steak dinner. No joke! Hospitality was off the charts! We opted out of dinner due to the weather that moved in and looked mighty scary. Shook the RV, hail, rain . . . we stayed in, made tater tot nachos, and watched the storm roll by. 
KOA - Amarillo, TX
  • Grants KOA (Grants, NM) - RV park sits on collapsed lava tubes from 5 surrounding volcanoes with a short hike around the park. This place also makes and delivers dinner to your site when you order from their perfect little menu upon check in. Serious hospitality!

  • Flagstaff KOA Holiday (Flagstaff, AZ) - Park sits at the base of the surrounding mountains, it's got some inclines. It's close to grocery, Walmart and a perfect place for us to meet up with crew before heading out to the Grand Canyon in the morning. 
KOA - Flagstaff, AZ

When we reached our final destination for the first leg of this trip, the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, we were ready to get to work. We'll tell you more about this shoot closer to this episode (January 15th).

Next stop, Kartchner Caverns State Park in Benson, AZ! I don't know if I've ever seen a more pristine campground. . . not a thing out of place and the surrounding park is equally as kept. The Whetstone mountains are all around you here, so waking up, sunsets, you name it, it's a gorgeous place to be. 

Whetstone Mountain View from Kartchner Caverns

The next few days we got to work filming and having a blast filming. We met the Mayor of Tombstone, went UTVing high up into the Coronado National Forrest, and hiked amongst the cactus kings of the desert in Saguaro National Park. Check out a Google Map of our complete itinerary.

After 10 days of filming, we all said goodbye from Kartchner (which played home base all week). We were all tired, smelly, and ready to be rid of each other. Ha! Lord knows we all love each other, but after 10 days, sometimes 14 hour days, of nonstop being with one another, it's nice to not be together. So, the McCabes set back for Florida to edit all of the hours and hours of footage . . . 

The bummer about our route going home to Florida from Southern Arizona is there were not many KOA's to choose from, and we didn't have one until we crossed state lines into Florida. Our last night on this trip was to be in Milton/Gulf Pines KOA, Milton, Florida. Check in and the welcome were friendly and smooth. Campground was neat, but we were exhausted so nothing more to share. Sometimes it's the simple things in life that are the best. A quiet, clean campground, and a good night's rest. The end. 

Check out Episode Episode #1 - Another World below. We debuted our Season One on Discovery with this one. It was a blast, and we'll be back. Oh, and we'll be back to all the KOA's on that list too! 

Patrice


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