Missouri to Arizona

Hi, US54 all the way to US70 at Alamagordo NM to I-10 and west to Phoenix, real nice route, 60-70 mph excluding the towns you go through, not a lot of traffic. US54 will evently tie into I-40 at Tucumcari NM over to Santa Rosa NM, you can continue on I-40 to Albuquerque if you choose and then south on I-25 To US70 and on to phoenix. There are campgrounds/rvparks all along this rout.
Safe travels to you!!
BobQ ;)

We travel thru Missouri every year to get to Quartzsite AZ. We use I-44 thru MO. into Oklahoma, Tulsa to OK City,then south to Lawton and into Wichita Falls Tx. Take Route 277 out of Wichita falls, nice ride, towards Abilene. Pick up I-20 west thru Midland,Odessa, Monahans and Pecos, till it ends at I-10 west. This will take you towards EL Paso, then into NM. We stay at the Little Vineyards rv park at ext 85, in Deming. They even have a small indoor pool. We have found this is the best and quickest southern route to Arizona. All interstate except for the 277 route in Texas.(277 is pretty new, it by passes all the small towns, so fill up with fuel before you get on it.) Just stay on I-10, no mountains to climb, and no snow! The scenery at Texas Canyon just after entering Arizona is worth a few photos. Giant rocks left by the glaciers many years ago. Breathtaking
Have a safe trip and enjoy your ride. dona

If weather is clear we take I-40 to Holbrook, south on 377 to Heber, east on 260 to Payson, South on 87 to Phoenix, Mesa or Scottsdale. All very good road and very scenic. Most of 87 is 4 lane divided. This route as with I-40 thru Flagstaff can see extreme winter conditions. However, in clear sunny days the highways quickly clear of ice within 1 day. If traveling while winter storms are present I-10 would be the preferred route.

fanrgs,

The most southern route is what I decided to do. Thanks for the info.

If I were coming from the St. Louis area in December, I would take I-55 to I-30 at Little Rock to I-20 at the D-FW area to I-10. That would get you south as quickly as possible, but still give you a fairly straight route to southern NM and AZ. Oklahoma is right on the freeze line that time of year and can have sleet/ice storms that you don't want to be driving in. North Texas can also have ice, but generally just has rain that time of year.

There are some very nice Texas state parks with hookups spaced along that entire I-30/I-20/I-10 route. Prices are reasonable and they generally have a lake or river associated with them, so are much more scenic than a KOA. We have used many of them in winter and you won't need reservations. See the Texas State Parks website for more info.

As others have said, it can be in the 40's at night in southern New Mexico in winter, but we still prefer the small-town feel of the Las Cruces area over Phoenix. Phoenix is just too big--we might as well stay in Denver! In Las Cruces, we stay at Sunny Acres RV Park, which is right in town and within walking distance of a grocery store. And it does warm up nicely during the daytime!

Others have mentioned Kartchner Caverns and Benson, AZ, as good spots. We really like the Butterfield RV Park in Benson, which has an observatory with nightly sky viewing programs, a beautiful pool, and a big community center for dinners and other activities. We have met snowbirds there who have come from as far away as Ohio and Saskatchewan every winter for 8-10 years. And, for short-term guests, they have a row of asphalt-paved, full-hookup spaces directly behind the office-pool complex.

If you are at all interested in historic aircraft, DO NOT MISS the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson. It probably has the best warbird collection of any museum outside the Smithsonian. It is right off I-10 in southeast Tucson.

I would not recommend you taking I-40 to Flagstaff the end of December. That highway is known for bad storms especially around Albuquerque. We were caught in one the end of April one year.

Instead, head south to I-20/I-10 and you'll have much better weather. Once you're in Arizona at that time of year you'll need to watch elevations. Basically, you will want to stay in these areas coming from the east: Benson, Tucson, the greater Phoenix area (Apache Junction is nice and 'roomier'), Lake Havasu and down along the Colorado River to Yuma. You don't want to travel in the northern half of Arizona in January.

New Mexico is also very cold - even the southern portion. Depending on your timing to get to Arizona, you might want to check out the Hill Country area of Texas. We like Fredericksburg. It will be cool with some warm days. Big Bend National Park is another place if you have time.

In Arizona, all of the state parks are great and o.k. for big RVs. A few of our favorites are Kartchner Caverns near Benson/I-10, Catalina in Tucson and Lost Dutchman in Apache Junction. Also in the Phoenix area are the awesome Maricopa County Parks with lush Sonoran desert landscaping. Reservations are recommended as they are popular. Gilbert Ray campground in Tucson is also a great place to stay. It's near the Desert Museum which is a must. When you narrow down your route somewhat, come back for specifics on areas.

Have a great trip!

Just watch the weather; I-40 will be fine if no storms come in. If they do you don’t want to be on 40, dodge south to I-10 and come into Phoenix via Tucson. My son got caught in one and had to stop at Cline’s corner, EO Albuquerque. He was lucky enough to have stopped in time to get one of the few motel rooms. His room filled up with wall to wall travelers stuck and with no place to go for 4 days.

No need for a PP membership to stay there. Compare the prices between Enchanted Trails & American RV. They are on opposite sides of the highway at same exit, both nice, but American is newer with a bit larger sites.

Thanks...We'll be going to Phoenix so I plan to go to Flagstaff and down from there weather permitting. We are planning a couple days stay in Albuquerque and I'm not a Passport member. Did you say there was another place you would recommend, and do you need to be a Passport member to stay where you recommended?

When we go through MO that time of year we take I-44 to I-40. If you are going to Northern AZ stay on I-40, although weather can be tricky there.

Lately we have been going through Denver to visit rellys on the way to Tucson. Then we go through Albuquerque and stop at Enchanted Trails since it is a Passport America park. If you do not have PP American RV Park same exit on South side is a bit newer.

Going to Southern AZ we take I-40 to I-27 South, getting off on US 60 through Herford, then pick up US 70 East of Clovis. 70 is good four lane with light traffic all the way across NM. We usually stop at Trailer Village in Roswell, a bit off the highway, but nice folks. Be sure to hit Peppers Bar & Grill for dinner.

then US-70 to I-25 to I-10 in Las Cruces, we take I-25 down to the I-10 junction because there is a Cracker Barrel on I-10. Then I-10 to Tucson. If you are going to Tucson we usually stop at Ft Wilcox RV Park makes an easy drive into Tucson the next day where we stay at Desert Trails

In Wilcox if you double back to the next exit East in the AM there is a self car wash that can handle a big rig south of the exit and through the light on the right side. Take 10 - 12 quarters to wash ours.