Last year we arranged a Gulf Coast Crawl. The trip was designed as a way for single travelers to get to Quartzite with support and to have fun along the way. It turned into a great adventure and a rousing success. The most southern route has been selected taking into considertion the weather and the lack of snow. The food and attractions along the Gulf Coast make it even more palatable.
Campgrounds have been selected based on the distance they are apart, their quality and generally, the number of available sites as of August 10 2024. This is a case of if you snooze, you will lose. I encourage to make a reservation even if youre interested but unsure. It’s always easy to cancel, or pass your reservation onto anither if live intervenes. Outings, places of interest, food and entertainment are to be determined. Nothing except the places I’ve made reservations at is cast in stone. If you have a suggestion, and interesting place, a place for wonderful food, please let all of us know. If last year can be used a a gauge, it will be a most excellent adventure. We hope that the journey will be a rolling party on the way to Q.
It was and will be a great time. Each day’s travel is less than 300 miles. The travel portions average about 250 miles and less than five hours of driving. All are invited. Please make your own reservations. Some of the parks have reservation systems that are not user friendly. The park list contains the reservations link and the site I have reserved, in case you either want to be close to my site, or as far away as possible.
This is a framework for a great adventure. If you are aware of a great attraction, a great place to eat or take a break, please speak up. This is a communal event designed to have fun while we travel to a destination.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
Coes Landing State Park, FL, near Tallahassee. A nice Campground outside of Tallahassee place in Florida, not too far from I-10
My site is Site 17
Thursday, January 4, 2024. – 286 miles from Coes Landing SP.
Shepard State Park, MS, east of Biloxi. Just down the road from Jefferson Davis’s retirement home and the Crane Refuge. Convenient on and off I10.
https://shepardstatepark.com/book-now/
My site is Site 7
Friday, January 5, 2024 – 104 miles from Shepard State Park
Fairview-Riverside State Park, LA, on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain. The plan is to rent a vehicle from Enterprise in Slidell and drive across the causeway and tour the French Quarter and other sights in New Orleans. Two days
https://reservations.gooutdoorslouisiana.com/FacilityDetails.aspx
My site is Site C1025
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Fairview-Riverside State Park, LA, on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain. Second day of fun.
My site is Site C1025
Sunday, January 7, 2024 – 188 miles from Fontainebleau State Park
White Oak Campground, LA, just north of Lake Charles. Steamboat Bills, restaurant with dine in and take out is located on the north shore of Lake Charles. Rouses Supermarket is a place to stock up on authentic Cajun foods, and other real food not seen elsewhere. There is a chance the store will have boiled crawfish, if in season.
https://www.camplife.com/426/reservation/step1
My site is Site 7
Monday, January 8, 2024 – 204 miles from White Oak Park
Brazos Bend SP, TX. Near the Brazos River. A great variety of birds, and probably more alligators as the Everglades. The day will involve traveling down the Bolivar Peninsula, and taking the free ferry across the Galveston Ship Channel. The Galveston seafood docks are open, and a stop is planned at an excellent Fish Taco stand and Shipley’s Donuts. Depending upon departure time from White Oak, there are attractions in Galveston
My site is Site 137
Tuesday, January 9, 2024 – 260 miles from Brazos Bend SP
Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park, TX. Just outside Fredericksburg, TX, home of many German Food Restaurants, excellent Barbeque Restaurants, Vineyards, the Nimitz Museum, the LBJ Ranch, and Luckenbach Texas. The drive from Brazos to Lady Bird Johnson will include a stop at Hinze’s Barbeque, 1917 N Richmond Rd, Wharton, TX (https://hinzesbbq.com/ ).
My site is Site 17
Wednesday January 10, 2024
Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park, TX Second day of fun.
My site is Site 17
Thursday, January 11, 2024 – 286 miles from Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park
Pecos West County Rest Area on I10 WB. It’s west Texas. It’s a place to stay. Dry camping – hey, it’s West Texas. We will stop at the best Donut place in the United States, The Donut Palace, in Junction Texas. The breakfast croissants, the home made egg rolls (Yes, don’t laugh – better than Chinatown in NYC – I’m a food guy).
The destination is a beautiful rest area. Please park by the spots along the sidewalk closest to the building.
Saturday, January 12, 2024 – 264 miles from Pecos West Rest Area
Las Cruces Overlook, NM – great overlook on the EB lanes of I-10. There is propane in Las Cruces, good Mexican food, and the World’s largest red chili pepper. The old town is a don’t miss destination. Dry camping – hey, it’s cheap.
Saturday, January 13, 2024 – 262 miles from, Las Cruces
Southeast Regional Park, AZ. Convenient location. Showers, Laundry, no reservations needed. All the camp hosts are ex-law enforcement. Well run. Just down the road from the Pima County Air Museum, adjacent to the US Air Force Boneyard. Site TBD, plenty of room. The east portion of the Saguaro Cactus National Park is close to the campground. Easily accessible for our RV’s. There is a Costco to the west for a stop on Sunday, a welcome stop prior to Quartzsite
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Quartzsite BLM – Rally Site – 246 miles from Southeast Regional Park
The route south of Phoenix is planned. It avoids all the traffic of Phoenix.
Rules
I will provide a route for the day with anticipated stops.
Participants will have the opportunity to take off to the anticipated stops on their own, or meet us at the night’s destination. Those that Caravan should expect to travel at 63 MPH and MUST, MUST use cruise control (if it’s done correctly it’s really fun. Tim Schneider demonstrated how it should be done last year – it was amazing!). Caravanning under cruise control made driving very easy. If you are uncomfortable with utilizing cruise control, either be the last coach in line, or head off to the stops.
The stops are anticipated and not cast in stone. .
The daily plan is a framework to accommodate roadside attractions, serendipity and unforeseen occurrences. At the same time, if something is closed, sold out, or not what was anticipated, I hope that a replacement activity will emerge from the cleverness of the group. For that reason, I’m looking for a co-pilot to step into the role of a designated communications coordinator. I can’t communicate with everyone, drive, and guide. Most of us have hands free devices that speak to you and take text dictation. Safety is a primary concern, and we want everyone to arrive alive. Communication will allows for unanticipated stops, investigating Brown Sugar Signs or stopping for a cool Farmers Market, Brewery or really weird place. The daily distances are such that it allows for serendipity. Embrace that
If you are uncomfortable with the road, the weather, are uninterested in a stop, you MUST let us/someone know. There is nothing worse than losing someone. When someone disappears, there is the uncertainty of them having taken a break or having a break down. One of the reasons we are traveling a s a group is to take care of each other. Please take care of the others by not having them worry about you.
Nothing is mandatory. If you don’t want to visit someplace, don’t like the food, too crowded, too noisy, not your vibe, not interested, or you’re tired, let us know and bow out. Everyone will respect your decision, because we’re nice people. Please, just let us know.