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dadmomh's avatar
dadmomh
Explorer
Jun 03, 2014

Our trip to Durango

Day #1, 2 and 3 went just great, albeit the mpg sucked. Today is #4, we're in Amarillo and winds at 25 - 30mph from the south with gusts over 40. Well, crap! Do we go ahead and "chance it" with worse winds between here and Albuquerque?? No, that's stupid. The campground we're at is extremely popular and we were thankful to get in last night - a night ahead of schedule. What to do. Decided common sense needed to prevail, called the office and they can let us sit right where we are, winds are really kicking up with a nice bit of dust to add to the day. Was able to change the original reservations around with no problems so we'll just get into Durango in time for lunch on Thursday instead of Wednesday night. But, Rocky will be on his wheels instead of his side. I hate it when things mess with my plans. Better safe than very sorry.

Now, the campground we're in right now.....HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you're coming to or through Amarillo....Fort Amarillo RV Resort. Awesome. Right off I-40, but they said not to trust your GPS or you'd be out in the middle of who knows where. Pulled into our site, dead level side to side and front to back. Gotta love that. Clean!! Large and very few open sites. Sites are nice size and have actual shade trees + 4' fences between the sites. Meticulously maintained. $35 per night with our GS card. Plenty of amenities. Their website is excellent, but doesn't compare to the up close and personal view. If we're gonna be stuck somewhere, this is the best of all.
  • 69_Avion's avatar
    69_Avion
    Explorer
    Jun 10, 2014
    The Durango/Silverton train ride is something everyone should do at least once. My folks took me on the train in 1968 when I was a kid. I took my son on it a few times. It is still as fun as it was back then.
  • dadmomh's avatar
    dadmomh
    Explorer
    Jun 10, 2014
    Not yelling, just excited.....GO TO DURANGO, CO AND RIDE THE SILVERTON!!!! Just an awesome trip. We stayed at Lightner Creek Campground, had a site on the creek, nice shade, good site, immaculate and booked to the hilt during the season. We're on our way back home now with a stop in OKC for a minireunion with DH cousins. Then back to the real world. We're ready to turn this rig around and go right back. If it's not on your bucket list, put it on. Wonderful!!
  • dadmomh's avatar
    dadmomh
    Explorer
    Jun 03, 2014
    While no offense to folks who live in this area, I do have to wonder.....WHY??? Fort Amarillo did have our site open for today, so we're safely tucked in between a Class A and a huge 5er. Decided so the day would not be a total waste I'd get a load of laundry done. It was all I could do to open the door, then hold onto it and keep it from being blown completely off poor Rocky. Winds right now are steady at about 30mph and, quite honestly, this is not much fun. Rocky is truly rocking, bumping, feels like it's about to lift off. I can only hope those who chose to travel this area today are safe. This day was for sure not on our schedule, but good sense told us that we had no business on I-40 to Alb.

    We'd never headed west on I-40 since moving east from CA in '79. Neither of us realized that eastern OK is pretty with rolling hills. But all of a sudden it's flat. As in "flat as a pancake". Oh, the drought....how awful for the farmers and ranchers. That bit of rain that came through a couple of weeks ago, greened up the median on the interstate, but didn't do squat for the miles and miles of land....assume there should have been crops growing or cattle grazing, but other than a few places where they irrigate, it was truly pitiful.

    Hoping this wind is over and tomorrow is drivable. We don't mind slow, but standing still is not a good thing here today.
  • Second_Chance's avatar
    Second_Chance
    Explorer II
    Jun 03, 2014
    I don't know about the RV park, but my late wife and I lived and went to school in Amarillo in the early '70s. The local joke/saying was: the only thing between Amarillo and the North Pole was a barbed wire fence... until some farmer knocked it down with his tractor. We had it all - 60 mph straight winds, ice storms, blizzards, tornados. Exciting place! The rest of the family on farms and ranches east of Amarillo think it's normal - except for the cousin that almost got sucked out of the storm cellar when the tornado took the house clean off the foundation.
  • Twomed's avatar
    Twomed
    Explorer
    Jun 03, 2014
    Been trapped there several times...once ice/snow etc. Nice folks. Quarter Horse Museum is interesting...and there's always the BIG steak challenge. :)
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Jun 03, 2014
    Agree with your assessment of Ft Amarillo. That is our regular stop going and coming on our annual trip to Colorado. But the extensive gift shop oftens costs me more than the site itself. :S

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