getting ready first road trip HELP (2024)

And next fall, when the season is waning, start looking for a Pod and make this the first of many adventures.]]>

Thanks so much, lostagain, and EVERYONE who took an interest and offered help, experience, and advice! I can just see me half way down the road to Chaco with a broken rental pod and a flat tire and no scissors to open the box of some expensive tire-monitor-fix-it-now-with-blu-tooth kit!

Then again, having somehow survived the above, white knuckling it on the 550 engulfed in flames, tee hee hee.

Thanks to all of you, NOW I'll have a fantastic trip, achieve the goals, AND live to tell about it!

I'm going to move to another thread related to "tell us about your trip" and post our final plans there. I'll even post afterwards and let everyone know how it went.

Thanks so much again! Humans are wonderful, and this forum proves it.

Val

Val, your plan looks fine to me. You're probably right to try to avoid US550 as long as the fire conditions prevail. Probably best to keep some flexibility in your routing. My impression of that area in early May, was that it is really bone dry and ready to burn. Even Silverton was a tinderbox. Unfortunately, that seems to be the new "normal" for the southwest. No camp fires are permitted in any campgrounds.

We drove over to Mesa Verde from Dolores for the day and it's pretty impressive. It'll be pretty warm there but you should be fine opening up the windows, door and roof vent. The nice thing about the desert, no matter how hot it gets in the day, since the humidity is low, the nights get nice and cool.

As far as the distances for driving each day, that'll depend on your, really your daughter's, ability to be cooped up in the car for long stretches. When we drove from northern NV to start our trip, we had planned in breaking the trip up into two days to get to Sedona AZ, but ended up doing it all in one very long drive that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Problem was that there are not a lot of highway rest areas between Las Vegas and Sedona, at least that I could conveniently find. Limiting your travel to under 300 miles in a day is much more comfortable. Remember, what you'd do easily in a car, takes much longer dragging a trailer behind you just because you're going much slower. But, a properly balanced trailer and TV should not be work to drive. Indeed, it's easy to forget there trailer is there, especially when you are turning into parking lots and such, so always watch where the trailer is tracking when you turn or drive in confined spaces.

I have between 2-4 days between Mesa Verde and Gunnison that I need to replace with something other than driving up 550 and jeeping near Silverton, hopefully something that will allow me to fart around in a couple abandoned buildings, and preferably get to those buildings by jeep for the sense of adventure of it (but that's not absolutely necessary).

But I also wanna' know if driving 145 is even safe at all? The maps and satellite views and camera views etc lead me to surmise it'll be no problem and way better than 550 would have been even in non-death-risking fire/avalance etc conditions, which is a relief, but I'm not sure what exactly to DO along 145.

I am thrilled to hear that 50 east really will be doable. It looks like it's going to be just gorgeous. Thanks so much for letting me know that, it's leaning me more toward "just find a stop along 145" than "replace the whole CO leg with something wholly different."

A year ago last September I pulled our Pod from Sante Fe to Durango to Silverton to Ouray to Montrose on 550 then on 50 to Black Canyon of the Gunnison (worth a little detour if you have time!), on to 285 and then north to I-70 and on to RMNP. Not a problem anywhere. There are some passes that will slow you down but the roads are all very well paved. There's definitely more topography than, say, Kansas, but it's all perfectly doable.

It's been a few years, sans Pod, but the road from Mesa Verde to Durango is fine too. Just like real roads you're used to if you live somewhere civilized.

TT

Hoping Lostagain will chime in soon.

New plans: avoid 550 (and 416 fire) altogether. Instead, from Mesa Verde go up 145 (I think?) through Dolores.

Do the 'ghost town jeep rental' thing somewhere along 145 as we head north towards Montrose?

IS THAT A SAFE ROUTE?

Continue with rest of plan going east on 50 all the way (nearly) to Salida, turning south on 285 for the sand dunes.

IS 50 SAFE?

IS 285 SAFE?

I looked at other things to do from Mesa Verde but we'll be kind of in the middle of not much in any direction but north it looks like. Grand Canyon is one possibility but then the trip will be mostly about driving and less about stopping, and so I think CO is probably our best bet, PROVIDED IT IS SAFE (and not crazy scary) TO DRIVE ON THOSE ROADS.

Hoping lostagain and others who know the area can chime in with advice for this newbie.

Val

Your postings are just absolutely fine.........keep them up!

I'm sorry that I cannot be of more help with the particulars of your route. I am just not familiar with that area. There are others who can provide a great deal more knowledge/experience.

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So, I'm not going to just re-post that long itinerary/begging for help post. Here's a shortened version:

---

sleep Bloomfield night 5. drive to Mesa Verde morning of day 6

ROADTRIPPERS' MILEAGE: Bloomfield to Mesa Verde 49 mi (2 hours).

day 6. dry camp. Mesa Verde. night tour night 6.

day tour day 7 in Mesa Verde. sleep night 7.

Thanks so much. I'm still quite concerned about Silverton and 550 going north to Montrose, as well as 50 east AND 285 south. Is there a way to avoid 550 north up to Montrose? Is there a less dangerous trip we could take from Mesa Verde? Is 50 dangerous? etc etc.

These maps and even videos and live cameras aren't helping me really understand what I'm in for.

Hopefully, it's okay to repost such a long post and just add the mileage. I'm going to go ahead and do that, and if amounted to too much posting or broke some other internet etiquette rule that I don't know about, someone will let me know.

My main concerns now are:

what to do about 550 north from durango up to montrose with the 416 fire and would that be safe even if there was no fire?

what is 50 east actually like? it looks like an ordinary flat road in overhead shots and clicking on the cameras along COtrip website, but that can't be right because it looks like mountains on geography maps.

what is 285 going south to the sand dunes actually like?

I will repost with Roadtrippers' mileage and times between for the parts of the trip that are so unfamiliar.

I'd like to see the mileage on each of the legs of your tour. You've got a lot of your days devoted to traveling, and you may be pushing it a tad (not saying tha's true, I don't really know yet). However, if you are traveling 7 of 10 days, that seems like a push, depending on distance. It does take a little bit to set up/take down and then travel. We have generally had a better time when we have a day or two to enjoy a place before we move on. 400 miles per leg is perhaps on the high end of what's possible without completely wearing yourself out. Many would consider that too far.]]>

Valrenter, you are both smart AND wise (which I pretty much figured even from your first post). You and your family are going to have a great adventure thanks to your planning, which also includes wiggle room for last minute spontenaity. The best of both worlds :-)

i mean 'above' not below.]]>

Apologies for not quite knowing how to "tag" you or others. I've put my potential trip down below and could really use your guidance as I've never seen those roads and am running short on time for researching other options blind and still keeping my job, lol.

Val

NEED ALTERNATEROUTES OR PERHAPS WHOLE NEW JOURNEY

Goals:darkest sky, ghost town (accessible, abandoned buildings), hopefully one2-4-hour rent a boat on safe body of water but that would just be a bonus.

OriginalPlan (made while ignorant of any roads, using roadtrippers and various ghosttown finding websites):

Origin:midwest, east side of Kansas. mid June.

day 1.long drive to Tulsa. full hook ups night

day 2.long drive to Amarillo. full hook ups night

day 3.full hook ups near Acoma Pueblo. See Pueblo morning of day 4. drive toBloomfield afternoon of day 4 on 550

day 4.full hooks ups in Bloomfield 'base camp.' drive into Chaco with tent and set upcamp. sleep in Chaco with tent night of day 4.

day 5.explore Chaco. sleep in tent in Chaco night of day 5 OR drive back toBloomfield and sleep there. (I have Chaco AND Bloomfield booked for 3 nights toallow wiggle room if weather gives us trouble with Chaco). Charge up batteries

day6.Mesa Verde. DRY CAMP. Night tour.

Day 7.Mesa Verde 700 years tour. DRY CAMP. (I have Mesa Verde booked for 3 nights toallow wiggle room). Sleep night of day 7 in Mesa Verde.

From hereon, it's wide open as far as changes are concerned. It doesn't matter WHERE weactually go AT ALL. Goal is just to show my kid some decent abandoned buildingswith a feeling of adventure while still remaining safe.

Evencancelling Mesa Verde is on the table if necessary.

This iswhat WAS planned/reserved:

Day 8.Silverton full hook ups 'base camp'.

Arriveearly in the am and park in the "waiting for site" slot. Rented ajeep for 2 days. The idea was to follow ghost town guides with the jeep but NOTto drive anyplace too remote or dangerous. There is a tour related to mayflowergold mill, there is Ironton, and several abandoned sites near and aroundSilverton. I also wanted to drive with the jeep on 550 all the way up to Ourayon the 550 to see if doing that with the r-pod really was possible as youtubeclaimed it was.

Day 9.still in Silverton. Maybe tour old 100 gold mine, check the roads using jeep,re-route if uncomfortable with the passes. Drive scenic roads with the jeeppossibly. I have Silverton booked for 3 nights for wiggle room. Sleep night ofday 9. (I have Gunnison reserved for day 9 in case we want to leave early anddrive to Gunnison on day 9)

to get to Gunnison:

Roadtrippershas us continuing north on 550 then at Montrose turning east on 50, which is aroad I have NOT yet learned ANYTHING about.

Day 10Gunnison. 4 hour pontoon boat rented. Sleep day 10 Gunnison.

Day 11.great sand dunes. Sleep night 11

To get to sand dunes:

Roadtrippershas us staying on 50 until it becomes 285 going SOUTH, which becomes state hwy17 into the sand dunes.

I havenot learned anything about 50 or 285 or 17 yet.

Day 12.great sand dunes. Sleep night 12.

Day 13.long drive into Kansas. Dry camp reserved for night 13.

Day 14.very long drive home. Arrive late in the pm.

This trip was reserved without any consideration for any roads beyond Silverton. There is no one special site we really wanted to see except Chaco, which, thanks to your help, we have a way of having a chance to do that. Any trip that can allow my daughter to see abandoned buildings with a feeling of adventure would be fantastic.

Originally posted by valrenter

Originally posted by David

Originally posted by valrenter

Here is my plan B as it is currently shaping up in my noggin: ...

Well, I feel better about your Plan "B" vs Plan "A".

I am curious about the "aux battery" and why new tires for the Rpod???

You take an innocent 12v deep cycle battery that never hurt anybody, and you stick it in a smart box and wrap the box's numerous wires and connectors around the terminals, clamp the box shut and voila: power your cell phone, drip misting fans off of it, string romantic lights all around your pontoons, heat up your George Forman grill, run your mpv player and usb speakers on full blast for the benefit of other boaters nearby, beef up your boat's battery so you can be out there partying all night long, plug in your mini-heater, ... you name it.

Thanks for explaining the "aux/leisure battery". I've lived a sheltered life away from lake boaters.

Keep posting and keep us up to date on your progress.

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Val, I think your trip is now taking on manageable proportions.

Lugging a 12v deep cycle battery will certainly give you more options with camping. I imagine you could charge it with jumper cables to your car. It makes sense for the time you are tent camping. For the Pod, the extra battery may or may not be needed, depending on whether you take the trailer to campgrounds in the national forests where there is rarely electricity hook ups for RV's. [I still can't get used to saying shore power, a boater's term, because there is no shore, just camp sites or parking spaces.]

If you haven't, you may want to check outhttps://www.campendium.com/free-camping It has information about camping places in all over the country with detailed reviews, pictures, etc.

Yes, I meant Bloomfield. I may have said Bloomington or Bloomsville or Bloomsdale or what have you. Next, I have to figure out what's going on with the Colorado leg of this journey, and whether or not we've accidentally booked several more impossible destinations, lol.

I don't understand what people aren't understanding about the leisure battery?

I meant to add that if you haven't already it's probably a good idea to call the welcome center now and before you lose cell coverage on the way in to ask about road conditions, weather, and ask for any other advice they might have for you.

TT

I like the new plan. Looking at a map, you must be talking about leaving Mom and the Pod in Bloomfield. I don't know about road conditions, but Google says that's about an hour out of Chaco. That's nothing in New Mexico, and assuming the roads are much good at all it should be a beautiful drive in and out twice.

Your timing is great too, with a new moon on the 13th.

I still don't get it about the extra battery.

TT

The idea about the r-pod tires was I didn't want to hurt the rental tires. Little had I realized at that

time -- while I was trying to scheme up some way to make the ROADS good by attending to the TIRES (hahahahaha) -- that the tires could have been the LEAST of my concerns: I've since read blogs where people are proud (PROUD, I tell you) that Chaco only TWISTED their camper's frame, as opposed to, I imagine, snapping the frame to pieces or something.

You don't know about the "Leisure Battery"? Boating types (LAKE types, mind you, not we RIVER types, we NEVER use aux batteries because it ruins the mystic of quiet desolate hand paddling amidst clouds of ravenous horse flies, and who in their right mind would want to ruin THAT?) anyway....LAKE boat types are always bragging about their fancy Leisure Battery Boxes and all the gizmos and attachments those smart boxes come with to accommodate any number of electrically powered gadgets:

You take an innocent 12v deep cycle battery that never hurt anybody, and you stick it in a smart box and wrap the box's numerous wires and connectors around the terminals, clamp the box shut and voila: power your cell phone, drip misting fans off of it, string romantic lights all around your pontoons, heat up your George Forman grill, run your mpv player and usb speakers on full blast for the benefit of other boaters nearby, beef up your boat's battery so you can be out there partying all night long, plug in your mini-heater, ... you name it.

Hi lostagain, thanks for the comment. So, the bit about the tires involved a little bit of hyperbole (but only a little!-I did entertain the idea in my head for a brief moment). That was back BEFORE anyone had answered my first call for advice-when I thought maybe, juuuust maaaaaybe, I could pull my rented r-pod down into chaco canyon! I didn't want to ruin the rental tires, and I wondered if getting some kind of magic tires on my Odyssey just might make that road do-able.

BTW, the 2019 r-pod 190 is supposed to come with 15 in, D-rated tires, which I think is fabulous!

My daughter is 18 years old (about 15 in terms of social development, about 28 in terms of "formal" cognitive development). She loves camping and knows she loves camping. We have a lot of TENT experience and equipment, but I usually wrap my camping trips around water--preferably rivers! I just have never used a trailer before in my whole life, never pulled anything with my own vehicle larger than a little U-Haul box, never handled electricity-powered/propane-powered/sewer-related living 'stuff' while camping before, never 'done' a desert, and never driven any mountain roads in the USA (I've driven the alps plenty, but in passenger cars).

The idea of buying a trailer has been on my mind for about 20 years, I'd say. I thought, well, now I own a vehicle that is supposed to be able to tow, let's try it out. My mom's getting to the age where tent camping isn't much fun for her, but she still loves it, so for about 2 years we've been doing the 'rent a cabin' thing when she comes with us. It's not the same. It feels like a motel and you don't go outside nearly as much as with a tent. So I figured with this rental trip I could get a feel for whether or not my family would like trailer camping, and if they do, then maybe next year I could look into buying a used one.

When my mom and I first planned the trip, we just based it on my daughter's dreams and didn't think to look at the actual ROADS until about two weeks ago, which is when I discovered what we had done, lol.

There is so much careful preparation with tent camping, and I think what happened is we both just sort of thought (without realizing that's what we were doing) "oh, well now we have a camper, we don't have to do anything! we can just jump in it and go"

Val, you know your daughter best and are the best judge of whether she'd enjoy tent camping at this time of year at Chaco Canyon. The heat may be an issue. We were in Lee's Ferry about a month ago and it was already hot enough that we ended up leaving earlier than planned to find somewhere cool. That's kinda how we ended up in Dolores.

I'm a little unclear on why you would want to buy tires for a rental travel trailer. The RV rental place should be giving you a trailer with serviceable tires. They'll likely give you load range C tires, which are perfectly fine for highway traveling. In your Odyssey you are not going to be traveling beyond the speed capacity of the tires, even if you wanted to. If you have tire concerns, make the rental company put fresh tires on the trailer. With all the stuff you have mentioned putting on the trailer, why don't you buy a nice used R-Pod? Then you can go off on overnights and longer trips with your daughter any time you feel like it. I suspect, based on our autistic granddaughter's fondness for camping, that you'll get a lot of use out of it. [She and her sister will be camping not less than 3 long weekends in June, and we haven't even gotten to the July and August schedule.]

Well, I feel better about your Plan "B" vs Plan "A".

I am curious about the "aux battery" and why new tires for the Rpod???

You bet you can post as much as you want about your whole intended trip! We'd love to hear about it. You may want to create a new discussion topic in the "Camping Adventures" area. For security reasons, I discourage members from posting exact dates/times in advance of a trip. We are on the internet and viewed by hundreds of "non-registered" people every day. You just don't know who might be looking in. As I type, there are 4 members logged in and 72 "Guests" looking/reading the forum.

I certainly admire what you are attempting and am out here pulling for you.

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Also Highway 550 north of Durango is currently closed from Hermosa to Purgatory ski area due to the 416 forest fire. You can go around to the west but it is a LONG drive around it.

Not sure when you are planning to travel, this could be an issue as well getting to Silverton. North east of Silverton is Animas Forks, a small ghost town of a former mining camp. All the jeep places at Silverton have trail maps for you when you rent.

Lots of great jeeping around Silverton, will be there again in the later part of July.

Ron
RP180
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Thank you so much you kind r-pod souls! I was researching getting 5 new tires for the Odyssey, 3 new tires for the r-pod, all "one load up", getting a fancy remote blu tooth 6-tire "monitor every tire in every conceivable way possible right from the driver's seat" monitor, getting a complete package "do it yourself" kit to keep proper temperature and pressure AND to change any tires that might blow out, etc etc etc! Our "save money with an r-pod" trip was becoming more expensive than an African Safari!

Here is my plan B as it is currently shaping up in my noggin: drop the r-pod off (and the grandma if she wants) in Bloomington at a full hook up, wi-fi, laundry, cafe, convenience store, hot showers type RV place. Then take the Odyssey, the kid (high-functioning, no seizures since age 3, cleared by her 3 doctors), tent, fly, cooler, aux battery, and minimal sundries down into Chaco via the NORTH roads, weather permitting. Sleep in the tent with the kid Sat night, June 16, IN Chaco canyon (for the midnight tours and observatory they have on Sat nights for campers ONLY). Go get grandma Sunday morning for day tours of Chaco Canyon (if she want to) or otherwise play Sun by ear.

Is this a forum where I could post my whole intended trip? I sure would like to do that...

Also looking at the Dolores recommendation! and feeling so blessed to have found this forum.

more later, I'm late to my appt to get the hitch put on the car

Val

Agreed!

So … all the advice here, very sound. Thanks to all and especially LostAgain who is on the other side of the Sierra from us, where we spend a lot of time but he lives there and knows his stuff. I was also going tosuggest Bodie State Park in California but not knowing your starting point, it’shard to know what area to suggest. I can tell you though, that in a lifetime ofa camping, backpacking, rock scrambling, x-c skiing, etc., etc. the only personI have ever chosen to put at risk, is me.

When I have others with me and/or I’mwith them, then it’s the appropriate group mentality of planning to the leastexperienced AND/OR the most at-risk person AND/OR loved ones who I don't want to be at risk.

Or to put it another way, please don’t dothis trip as you’re outlined. You very obviously love your daughter and your motherand want to have a positive experience. As well, your daughter (and your mom!)most certainly need you to stay safe. Please camp at a place where you can havethe trailer and all needed services, and then drive (without the trailer) ashort distance, as others have mentioned, to view the night sky. The comments specific to your daughter's medical condition are also extremely noteworthy.

It doesn’ttake much, to get away from lights. You also asked really good questions but it’salso clear that you do not have the expertise for the equipment and the extremelyrugged trip you’ve planned. Don’t take offense at that! I choose ALL of mytrips, according to my expertise. When I’m with my guy, which is more oftenthan not (especially in recent years because I’ve made some promises to loved ones aboutcertain things I won’t do solo anymore) then the circle of expertise – and backup– is stronger because we've joined forces and combined skills. You are the mom. The one who is responsible for making this tripas safe and fun as possible. Note that “safe” comes before “fun”. Please also consider adopting one of my mottos which is, “live to camp and tell about it”.Oh, and one other thing along with the others’ advice re: carrying drinking water [AND FOOD YOU DON'T NEED TO COOK] andsuch – take a canvas tarp. Not a plastic one (well they’re good for otherthings so take that too), but a good canvas one. As someone who has spent a lot of time puttingon tire chains, reaching under vehicles for various reasons, changing tires, etc., there is no replacing a good canvas tarp. Especially whenthe ground is hot and down to bare mineral soil (pebbles, rocks). They also make great shadewalls, ice chest covers and other purposes. Very versatile! Please let us know what you decide,and please know that all of my comments are given with sincerity and heart forwanting you to have a really good outcome for your family. And wanting you to come back and tell us how positive it was.

Chaco Canyon is on my list too but from what I've heard here and on the official website, I really don't think it's a great destination for a rental Pod and an Odyssey. From the CHCU website:

You can check the ghost towns in the states surrounding CO in the same ghosttowns.com site. Many will offer you the night sky as well, but be very careful in picking sites to visit as road conditions may not be as easy as they may initially appear. Remember the weather in these areas is very changeable and what you may be able to traverse with a jeep one day would challenge a burro the next.

If you let people know from about where you plan to start your trip, I'm sure many on the board can give you suggestions that would more than satisfy your daughter's high priority places to see and would give her wonderful memories of a lifetime as well as not subjecting you or your family to danger or undue hardships.