wanderingairstream.com

Home Base: 
Type of RV: 
1973 airstream argosy
14 Reviews
6 States Visited

Recent Reviews


3

looky loo review Cedar Rail Campground & RV Park

here's our looky-loo review of Cedar Rail, for review with full photos, go to our website, www.wanderingairstream.com and here's the direct link:
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-raton-new-mexico

We stayed at Cedar Rail RV Park for just one evening and had the whole park to ourselves. Raton, New Mexico is not exactly a destination place, we drove around town just a bit before settling in for the evening and didn’t see too much going on… but it was a good spot to stop for the night. The park is on top of Raton Pass, just a few miles outside of town, and is smack dab on top of the New Mexico/Colorado border.

The owners were very friendly, the park is clean and well-maintained and the bathrooms were very clean and spacious. The nightly cost was $29 plus tax which we thought to be a bit high since you are pretty much in the middle of nowhere and although they advertise internet there is none unless you are down the hill inside the office with them. So with fairly isolated surroundings, no cable and no internet it seemed a bit high to us.

It was our first stop that had warnings about bears with reminders posted in the bathrooms, etc.. it definitely takes getting used to thinking you might step out of your RV and see a bear and we fully admit to being thankful to miss out on any sightings. The only bears we like to see are clark & ellen!

Date of Stay:
 May, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $29.00

4

looky loo review Amarillo Ranch RV Park

here's our looky-loo review of Amarillo Ranch RV, for the review with full photos of the park visit our website, www.wanderingairstream.com
here is the direct link:
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-amarillo

Amarillo RV Ranch is the busiest RV park we’ve been at since we hit the road. There were people checking in from morning till evening. Amarillo is definitely a crossroads for a lot of people and they’re all staying at this park, us included! Although we didn’t find a ton to do in Amarillo this park offered a great opportunity to catch up on day to day stuff. And, huge perk.. they have phenomenal internet service and great cable. Which means we got to catch up on some tv time (like the last 5 episodes of Raising Hope.. so funny!) and didn’t even feel guilty about it because it was super duper windy and there wasn’t much to do in town anyway!

The park itself is a flat grassy/dirt park, all spots are pull through, the clubhouse has a big indoor pool, the laundry facilities were great, and the front desk volunteers were extremely friendly. If you have kids, the waterpark (in above photo) is about ten steps out the front gate. The bathrooms were large with the largest individual shower stalls thus far, so nice not to turn around and not hit the wall of the shower..it’s the little things! Another bonus, they take Passport America (for two nights) and we think other club discounts as well, but we have Passport so we didn’t ask further that that. We would definitely stop here again if we pass through the Texas Panhandle. Clark & ellen give it a paws up!

Date of Stay:
 May, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $33.50

2

looky loo review New Life RV Park

our looky-loo review is below, for review with full photos of the campground, go to our website, www.wanderingairstream.com
here's the direct link:
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-austingeorgetown-tx

We moved to New Life RV Park in Georgetown, TX from Berry Springs RV hoping for a better bathroom situation. Read about the first stop here. We really wanted to stay in Austin but the one RV place in the city was booked for the month and all other RV parks are located in surrounding suburbs like these two.
We drove by quite a few and none looked great. New Life, as you can see from the photos, has very well maintained grounds. The individual sites are very nice, each with bushes bordering between you and your neighbor offering privacy. The pool area is nice but the pool is not heated so pretty chilly even with the hot weather.

Despite our efforts to move onward and upward in the bathroom situation, this park failed miserably. What we didn’t know going in, that we think makes a huge difference, is having separate womens and mens rooms, and this one doesn’t. Just say No to unisex bathrooms. The bathrooms were dirty, really dirty, every single day. In a state or federal park you aren’t paying for this and you go in armed & ready so to speak (not to say those aren’t well kept, you just have different expectations) but in an RV park you are paying for the facility usage, otherwise it would be primitive camping. The toilets had “waste” in them every time, and it is not pretty. The floors were always wet and dirty and the cleaning was minimal and non-existent on weekends. It’s byoTP so be forewarned, lest you get yourself in a a situation. They seemed to be used non-stop by men and we don’t know how they keep the big buses they were coming out of to use the facilities, but if how they left the bathrooms was any indication…scary. In summary, the grounds are kept perfect but the bathroom is a big pass.

For this looky-loo review clark & ellen give the same report as last, if you do not need the bathhouse at all it’s a go, if you do, keep on moving.

Date of Stay:
 May, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $32.50

3

looky loo review Berry Springs RV Park

Our looky-loo review of Berry Springs is also on our website, www.wanderingairstream.com and has full photos, here is the direct link:
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-berry-springs-rv

We really wanted to stay close to downtown Austin, but with the exception of one place in downtown (which is very hard to get into without at least a month ahead reservation) you are pretty much relegated to commuting. We liked the overall look of Berry Springs RV, the hosts were exceptionally nice, the grounds were kept well.. nothing fancy but good. The laundry is free, haven’t seen that before or since, so a nice perk. But, did you sense that but coming?? But, we only stayed a couple of nights before moving to another spot locally. They only have one, one, bathroom. One teeny tiny bathroom with shower and toilet for a fairly large RV park. It was busier than grand central station and never clean. This is not because they don’t clean it. But when a hundred people are using one bathroom for everything you can’t really keep it clean, especially as tiny as it is. If you do not need the bathroom facility at all then the park is really good. It is wide open between fields so if it’s windy you’ll feel it, but other than that it’s pleasant. The rate is $25 per night and here’s their website.
Clark & Ellen say…if you need the bath facility keep on moving.

Date of Stay:
 May, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $25.00

5

looky loo review High Desert RV Albequerque

HI! this is our review of High Desert RV, we have full photos of the resort on the looky-loo review on our website, www.wanderingairstream.com here is the direct link:
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-albuquerque

The High Desert RV Park is a fantastic place to stay when traveling to or through Albuquerque and the surrounding areas. All of the sites are pull through, the owner/manager is on site and was very nice.
The bathrooms and showers were the very cleanest of any bathroom we have been in, no competition! Within the city there are several RV parks, all are a few miles out, and all are more expensive. This Campground is an absolute gem for price, ease, and cleanliness! Although the other parks in the area boasted of having more and better accommodations, we drove by several and they looked no different or better, especially not for the price difference, they only charge $19.95 and take almost all travel discounts as well. Clark & Ellen give a definite paws up!

Date of Stay:
 May, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $19.95

4

looky-loo review, sedona

Here's our review, for full photos of the RV park, look on our website, www.wanderingairstream.com and look under looky-loo reviews on the eddie blog!!

Rancho Sedona is where we stayed while visiting red rock country. It is a very convenient campground, just minutes from the downtown area. The campground is very shaded, which in summer would be welcome relief,as Sedona has a warm climate. Even while visiting in April it was high 70′s, where as just 30 miles North in Flagstaff, it was 20 degrees colder (on a good day).

The grounds are very well maintained, as were the shower/bathrooms and laundry area. The bathrooms are cleaned early bird early.. 5 -6 a.m so unless you are getting up early to head out, they are fresh and ready to go first thing in the morning. The park was completely full while we were there and everything was always clean and available.

The internet was hands down 100% the best of anywhere we’ve been, as good as being directly connected at home with no one else using it. I miss it. It saved me using my wifi for every little thing and the reception was better than that too.

It’s a paws up review from clark & ellen, if you’re coming to this area, you can’t go wrong, we would bet they stay busy, so call for reservations!

Date of Stay:
 April, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $40.00

3

looky-loo review, los angeles.

For full photos of this RV park, go to our website, www.wanderingairstream.com
Here's the direct link for this review...
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-tapo-canyon

Tapo Canyon is a Ventura County Park, it is one of several that the county runs, from beach side to valley. We chose this park for its convenient location to see both Los Angeles and the ocean towns of Santa Barbara & Santa Monica.

The park is located in Simi Valley, with the drive into the city ranging from 30-40 miles depending on where you are going.

The drive takes 45 minutes to ?? depending on when you go. On Sunday morning there was little traffic and it went quickly. On a weekday morning, we left at 7, planning an early arrival to see things before it was too crowded, and it took 2 hours. The upside.. we still beat most of the crowds and could take photos of things that by late morning, early afternoon are mobbed.

Once in the city, Santa Monica is just 10-15 minutes away, or straight from Tapo, is right at 40 miles. Santa Barbara is just 65 miles and is a beautiful drive.. see this post to get a great route that includes Ojai.

We found it to be very convenient, and the closest to the city that we could find. If you want to drive in from the coast there are many spots, most are primitive camping however.

Simi Valley is beautiful and lush and full of valleys. We very much enjoyed the scenic aspect of this campground. The scenic part also caused us the main negative…no internet reception at all. Zip. This may be of no concern to you and if so then no doubt you’ll love it.

The two downsides to no internet for us were… Very hard to keep up with 5 blogs, and getting way behind is not first on my list. Second, being that we were visiting a city with lots to do and see, we would have liked to have done more internet research in the evenings… before venturing out and having to do it all in the car on the way in. So do your homework beforehand!

As the photos show, it is a well maintained park with good amenities, a playground, horses welcome, dogs (on a leash), horseshoes, and a separate but public welcome (on Saturdays) archery field.

We felt fortunate that we were there with only one or two other campers. This leads to the only other downfalls. The bathrooms have 2 stalls (which would probably be just fine even when busy), but only one shower per male/female. I could imagine when the park is full the showers having lines. Not ideal.. and the one thing I really, really didn’t like..the company I kept in the showers. Spiders.
Yup. I am n.o.t. a fan and there were many. This is not to say the bathrooms were not kept clean, they absolutely were cleaned, and cleaned well. The issue lies in the design. At the top of the showers, instead of screens it is open. So lots of moths and spiders and without screens, the minute you clean and leave… they’re baaaccckkkk…
Naked + spiders. Not fun.

The host was incredibly nice and always available. She was attentive and dedicated to ensuring we were happy. Nothing but 100% positive on her and the overall upkeep of the park.

We definitely recommend it, giving it a paws up… just be prepared for no internet, and bring some spidey sense with you.

Date of Stay:
 April, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $32.00

3

looky-loo review, las vegas.

For full photos of this RV park go to our website www.wanderingairstream.com
Here's the direct link for this review...
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-sams-town

Sam’s Town RV is off of the strip, as are all but one, Circus Circus RV. Circus Circus has an RV park, but it is on the far, not very nice end of the strip, and even if you stay there your walk to what you will want to see is a major hike. We felt better off staying further out and taking advantage of shuttles that drop you off right in the middle of things than staying on the C.C. end…

Having said this, Sam’s Town is convenient in that it has a great shuttle with 2 drop off points. The shuttle is free to guests, runs all day and into the evening and takes only about 20 minutes going and 30-35 coming back. We found it very convenient and this is a huge plus to the RV park.

The park itself is basically a parking lot, but nice, stays full. We had a somewhat secluded spot off to the back, this was nice just because we had fewer campers around us, a little more room to spread out.
The major downfall to Sam’s Town is the septic system set up. It is a full hook-up RV park, but instead of the septic system having direct connections, you drop your hose into a ground hole, and this stinks…literally.

We had not been to a park like this and the smell is horrific.
It is a major negative to an otherwise good, convenient park for Vegas visitors. It would not prevent us from staying again but you should be forewarned. To combat the problem we kept all of or our drains (sinks, shower) plugged at all times except when we had to wash dishes, etc. and then immediately plugged them back up. This eliminates the smell seeping in because if not your entire RV smells like a bad toilet.

The other negative were the bathrooms being closed at inconvenient times. (and frequently with no warning) They close from 9-11 in the mornings for cleaning, so this makes for massive use from 6-9.
Also, they were often closed at 7-7:30 a.m. for indefinite times with no warning. At best bad communication, but we can’t really say that it isn’t always like this.

Overall, it is reasonable, only $25 a night, free cable with movie channels, no wi-fi, free shuttles, close to everything and the front desk staff were helpful.

If you bring drain stoppers, and plan to see the sights you’ll be fine. We would stay here again.

Date of Stay:
 March, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $25.00

3

looky-loo review, lake havasu.

For full photos of this RV park go to our website, www.wanderingairstream.com
Here's the direct link for this review...
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-lake-havasu

We blew in & out of Lake Havasu, so we can’t comment a lot on the camping… The campground we stayed at is up above the lake, so you have a view of it in the distance. To one side of the campground is a storage yard (nxt to last photo), and on the other side a hill with a gas station and then leading down to a boat ramp for the lake. There is no beach, lakeside, etc. in all of Lake Havasu, only boat ramp access.

The front desk person was very friendly, the grounds are your basic parking lot. The bathrooms were clean, just worn down with age. The pool is quite small, if this is part of your plan, this might not cut it for you.

It is quite hot and there is no shade here, keep that in mind as well.

Overall, for a one-nighter, it works just fine. And they take Passport America.

Date of Stay:
 March, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $17.00

3

looky-loo review, twenty nine palms.

For full photos of this RV park go to our website, www.wanderingairstream.com
Here's the direct link for this rv park...
http://wanderingairstream.com/eddie/looky-loo-review-29-palms

While visiting Joshua Tree
National Park, we stayed at Twentynine Palms Resort.

The North entrance to Joshua Tree National Park is within 2 miles, making for very easy access. The RV park is set off to itself, making for a good quiet spot just outside of the main part of town.

The office and grounds are nice, however the facilities show wear and age. The one bathroom/shower house is next to the office, so if you need to be close, make sure and look at your spot beforehand, as it would be easy to be way on the other end.

The womens bathroom was decent, no issues (worn but fine) but the report on the mens room from Sean… a big thumbs down.
Part of the issue is that a lot of workers live on site and this seemed to be their only bathroom source. So very high traffic… with very little cleaning (or so it seemed to the hubby).

It is very convenient, which is why we stayed there. If you plan to be in the park mostly, it gets the job done.

However our top recommendation would be to stay in JTNP if you have the capabilities for more primitive camping.. (which we did not)

Date of Stay:
 March, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $38.00