Where To Camp In Winter Down South?Campgrounds/Affordibility

Hi..I'm new here,and nice to meet you all (handshake).

My name is George (46 years old),and excited to be here,and new to all this,so please forgive me if I come across very uninformed in all this.I've never even left the state of Minnesota before,and trembling as I write this.(smile).

Last year I was diagnosed with AML (leukemia)..and went through 4 rounds of chemotherapies,and a stem cell transplant...and presently in remission,but it takes a few years to surely know if I'm cured,and anything can happen between now & then...I'm not here to bore you on my medical conditions,so please forgive.

I am so thankful I have a bucket list dream I get to do,and that's to my brother's generosity in helping me get an older used Class C size RV.

I'll try to sum up my post as quick,straight to the point,and as simple as I can without yacking to much.

I live in Southern Minnesota, and hope to be leaving right around Christmas, and bee line it down south to some place warm, and wish it wasn't the dead of winter, but with my circumstances have no choice if I want to make this a reality.

I know it can get chilly no matter where a person goes in the winter. And my options are probably limited..auugh.

Does anyone here know of an RV Park, or Campgrounds that are affordable,scenic,perhaps a little peace & quiet where not everyone is so bunched in close together?

Somewhere in the South West perhaps?

I love fossil hunting,metal detecting,sky watching at night,and if I could have all that with some privacy,and affordability...it would be a dream come true.

I know being mid winter,this will be a challenge....Just hoping for something more than Florida for an option.

I hope this trip to be 3-4 months long,and I think the biggest dent in my budget will be on the campground fee,with their hook up charge etc...water,electric..etc..If I like the place,will pay a monthly fee to get a better deal if that's an option.

I was also hoping/wishing if there was any cool federal lands we could camp on also,that were free,but couldn't do that to long..just a week here,and a week there etc..

But anyways...Some place warm,peaceful,affordble,and scenic.

If anyone can point me in the right direction,or have any recommendations on some cool places to stay at,I would be eternally greatful,and appreciate your help to the fullest.

Thank you so much!!...and God Bless.

George

george68
Explorer II
Aug 29, 2015
Thank you so much everybody...thank you,thank you,and thank you again!!

I looked into some of the campgrounds mentioned thus far,and the monthly prices were way better than I thought they'd be.I can afford that..(happy)

My budget for a campground would be between 500-700 a month now,now that I know all this,thanks to you good people here at the forum...Thank you so much!!

I'm so new to all this,and I think my only concern now is just space wise...I don't want to smoke my neighbor out with my BBQ grill..hahahaha..:)

I just pray for a good spot to sit out under my canopy,and grill.

I loved all the activities some of these places offered as well,for my fiancé..So great!!

My brother is also going to join us in his RV also,so hoping we can be next to another.

As I mentioned earlier,I ended up getting stupid leukemia last year,and still getting my strength back...Doing great now,and got a full head of hair again...You'd never know,just don't ask me to open any pickle jars,might have to have the wife do that for you...hahahaha..:)

I just can't express enough in words how grateful I am for the feedback here...I so wish I could repay you some how..(two handed handshake).

I think my only concern now is a spacious site,a neighbor who wouldn't mind the smell of my bbq'ed chicken,or steaks on the grill,and enough room to use my canopy....I can't sit in the sunlight quite yet,after my stem cell transplant...I'm not worried about it,but my Drs always preach to me on the chance of GVHD Disease if I got sunburned....So that's why I need a spacious site so I can use my canopy on the RV...or set a small one up,with my camping chair underneath it.

I'm so excited,and feels like I'm leaving tomorrow...hahahaha.

I'm still shaking,and trembling since I joined the forum here,and never expected so many options on places to stay.

Thank you everyone...thank you SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

George
Golden_HVAC
Explorer
Aug 29, 2015
You can spend a few night at a time in the southwest camping for free, then go to the campgrounds every 3rd or 4th night to recharge the batteries, and fill the fresh water tank, dump the black stuff, do laundry.

Solar panels can really help with the dry camping. I figure that I saved well over $3000 dry camping, even at a conservative $10 savings each night. Now you can get a solar system for only a few hundred dollars, so why not, it will save $200 in just a week of camping fees.

SunElec.com They had a 12 volt 140 watt panel on sale for $229 a few weeks ago. Get one with a 12 volt "Nominal" volt rating, and use a PWM controller. It will have a open circuit rating of around 19.8 to 22 volts when nothing is connected to it.

For mounts, I used 6" long 2" angle aluminum, with three 3/16" holes for #10 screws into the roof, and 5/16" hole for a 1/4" bolt into the panel metal frame (do not get frameless panels installed only in houses).

I wired the panel with #10 wire UV rated through the refrigerator vent to my closet (where the controller was mounted) to the battery.

It goes in pretty easy, just like a dot to dot drawing.

Check out this site for some free places to camp. FreeCampgrounds.com I have listed some of my favorite campgrounds and BLM locations around the southwest.

You might tell all your realitives that you 'must' leave by October 1. The ALbuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta will happen the first week of October, and surely must not be missed. And once you are there, you can start to travel from free BLM area to another all across Arizona.

http://www.balloonfiesta.com/index.php/event-schedule?page=event-info/event-schedule

Tell all your friends that you can pick up 2 of them at the Phoenix airport for Christmas, but otherwise will be out west this year, out of the snow too! They will (might) understand!

I hope that you are drinking alkaline water now, and no acidic sodas. . .

Good luck,

Fred.
Jim_Shoe
Explorer
Aug 29, 2015
Welcome to the forum. Every one of us was a "newbie" at one time. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask. Most good experience comes as a result of a previous bad experience. And between all of us here, we've made every mistake that its possible to make. So ask away.
imgoin4it
Explorer
Aug 29, 2015
I suggest Justins diamond J RV park which is just off Ajo highway about 10 miles west of Tucson. I think it is next door to desert trails mentioned by Dennis M M above. Large spaces and as quiet as you will find anywhere.
Dennis_M_M
Explorer
Aug 29, 2015
My suggestion is Desert Trails in SW Tucson. While the sites are not the most spacious around the rates are very reasonable, the unusual layout makes it quite comfortable. The park is quiet with friendly owners and residents.

You can walk right out into the desert from the park - into Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro West National Park - and go as far as your stumps can carry you on good trails.Flat desert or mountain trails, whatever turns your crank.

Tucson is relatively high (2.450 feet at Desert Trails) so the nights are cool (usually 40's) and the days are warm (60's and 70's). January is their secondary "rainy season" but that means less than an inch since they average about 8" a year. So rain is rare, although this El Nino winter may mean more rain than usual.

We will be there in our usual spot for the 7th winter sometime in November
magnusfide
Explorer II
Aug 29, 2015
dbbls wrote:
Arizona has lots of public ground where you can camp free. I suggest south of Phoenix and west toward California.
Also New Mexico and West Texas.
dbbls
Explorer
Aug 29, 2015
Arizona has lots of public ground where you can camp free. I suggest south of Phoenix and west toward California.

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Where To Camp In Winter Down South?Campgrounds/Affordibility

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