Heading back to Michigan from Quartzsite mid-March?

We had to return back to Michigan in March a few years ago. Took I-40 to St. Louis. Had no problems finding camp grounds up to that point. I-70 out There are open camp grounds near Effingham. Then stayed in Meijer parking lot near Ft Wayne. 4 hour trip from there to home.

ronfisherman wrote:
We had to return back to Michigan in March a few years ago. Took I-40 to St. Louis. Had no problems finding camp grounds up to that point. I-70 out There are open camp grounds near Effingham. Then stayed in Meijer parking lot near Ft Wayne. 4 hour trip from there to home.

Thank you! Exactly what I was looking for!

Appreciate it!

DR

DustyRooster wrote:
Morning all!!

As the subject states, my wife and I are currently planning on heading back to Michigan mid-March from Quartzsite.
We will more than likely be taking I-10E to US70 --> US52 (to avoid ALBQ NM), up to I40 E.
Question I have is regarding RV parks that time of year.
Am I going to have a problem finding a campground that is open? Being from Michigan most parks are not open until April/May. Not being from the West side of the country, am I going to have a problem finding places to stay on our way home?

Any help/suggestions always welcome,

Hope everyone's winter is going well!

DR

i assume you'll pick up I-40 east of ABQ but I-40/I-44 split off at OK City. I-44 heads east to St. Louis while I-44 heads towards Memphis.

years ago we used to head towards AZ from metro Chicago along I-40/44 in early-to-mid march and had no trouble finding a spot once we crossed from IL to MO. there WAS a nice park in Effingham IL but it went downhill fast but then we haven't stopped in for maybe 10-years. our fav spots once you are east of ABQ are the 270 Lakeside Park in St. Peters, MO (along I-270), Big Red Barn in Carthage, MO (along I-44) and Twin Fountains RV Park in OK City.

Probably not the route that you want to take but we stay more south on our way back from Borrego Springs California (close to Quartzsite)in March, we take I-10, 20 and 30 and then back north through Indiana then to Michigan and back home to Ontario. We have a "one tank of diesel fuel a day rule" so we take a bit longer to get back, about 3 weeks on average

The Fort Wayne area KOA is open all winter. If you want a list of parks that we stop at, let me know and I will post.

Why do you avoid Albuquerque?

moisheh wrote:
Why do you avoid Albuquerque?

I was wondering the same thing. It really isn't a problem driving through there. Maybe during Ballon Festival it gets a tiny bit more crowded, but really nothing that should give anyone problems.

moisheh wrote:
Why do you avoid Albuquerque?

Hi!

I am not purposely avoiding Albuquerque for the pass through. I am trying to route a way home with the least amount of elevation/grades for my rig.
On the way to Quartzsite my setup did not do well in grades whatsoever (I know, its not Colorado), so I am attempting to find a route that avoids those grades as much as possible (some avoiding big cities I suppose). The route I happen to post in this topic happens to be a route I found on "FlattestRoutes.com". Is my route not wise for my goal of reduced grades?

US 70 has a pretty good climb east of Las Cruses. You have to climb, it’s the Rockies you are crossing. BTW, did you mean US 54, instead of US 52? If you really want to avoid climbs stay on I-10 to I-20 until you get to Big Springs, then head north to Amarillo.

BarbaraOK wrote:
US 70 has a pretty good climb east of Las Cruses. You have to climb, it’s the Rockies you are crossing. BTW, did you mean US 54, instead of US 52? If you really want to avoid climbs stay on I-10 to I-20 until you get to Big Springs, then head north to Amarillo.

Yep, I meant 54.

Was thinking about US54 to US60 then catching I40 in Amarillo (or 54 directly to 40). Looked like 54 and 60 avoided the climbs up to Amarillo, but was unsure what the roads were like. From google street view they "look" just fine.
I suppose these routes all depend on the weather come March, so it's good to have options to think about.

Appreciate the I10-->I20 suggestion. We had that mapped out, again, depending if North is to crappy weather-wise.