I 44/I 40 Route to Quartzsite 2014

[YOPPER]

Need some. C G along these interstates to Quartzsite. Thanks

[DonandJudy_12]

I suggest you check out a more southerly route because winter weather on I40 can be treacherous- We have experienced freezing rain, icy roads, downed power lines, blizzard conditions and road closures on that route- JMHO- Don

[DQDick]

What Don says plus add extreme wind gusts on occasion and you've got some great reasons to avoid I40.

[8.1al]

As mentioned above 40 can be bad in Jan. We have done it several times with our trailer with no problems, you just have to watch the weather. One of your big problems is going to be finding campgrounds that are open. I wish I could help with that but it has been a while since we went that way in the winter

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

We head out:

69 south to 70. [In the past, campground 20 miles north of Fort Wayne, open all winter.)

70 west to Effingham Illinois [In the past one or two campgrounds around this area that were open year round.)

At Effingham area, get on the 55/57 route to Memphis. [Caruthersville, MO, in the past the casino campground was open.]

At Memphis get on 40 west to Little Rock. [Campgrounds were found open along 40 and near Little Rock, again, in the past.]

At Little Rock get on [s]35[/s], err 30 (thank you David) south to Dallas area. [Should not have any further issues with finding campgrounds open.]

Find 20/10 near Dallas Fort Worth, head west to El Paso.

Northish to Las Cruces and then, west to Arizona!

And, watch the weather, cause as this week proved, they can get some pretty snarky stuff in Texas too!

Edited to add campground general data, no names, but, I might be able to find them. Hoping I will need them myself soon!

(Edited to correct what my leaky memory had in error, sigh LOL)

[YOPPER]

Thanks for the advice. I am finding CG are closed. Staying at Walmart is on my bucket list. I thought I would have more prob coming back from Q/Sedona to MI.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Now, I will say that this place has a few issues, last time we were there the office was not staffed well, they gave us a bunch of hassle when we asked for propane, which we never got, BUT, it is the perfect striking distance for us to winterize the stick built, and get there before dark, about 3 plus hours from the stick built.

Fireside

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Googled campgrounds near Effingham Illinois and found this in 15 seconds:

Camp Lakewood I don't remember if we stayed there or not, but, it IS open all year round per their web site. But, it is open all year around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lady Luck, open all year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KOA Little Rock appears to be open all year, if it is the same one we stayed at a number of years ago, it was a bit tight getting Tana around in there, but, we managed, and I think it is open.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

South of Little Rock, you should find almost every campground open.

One also has the options of staying in a motel. Friends of ours have done that several times.

IF you are taking a route other than the one I laid out earlier in this thread, then, it surely is possible that you are just not finding campgrounds open. Traveling out of Michigan after mid November does present challenges. We have always managed, maybe not staying in resorts, but, off the road and with power. When you face leaving and the temps can range from 45 to 4 below, well, we just prefer power. No boondocking for us in the winter.

In no way am I representing that these are the only campgrounds that may be open at this time of the year, these are examples only.

Good luck, enjoy Quartzsite.

[padredw]

Just a quick small correction for my friend Carol. It is I-30 in Little Rock, not I-35 (which is further West--OK City to Dallas, etc.)

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Thank you David. That's what I get for trying to rely on that ole leaky memory bank of mine. Gets more leaky every day!

[8.1al]

Weather permitting we take 70 west out of Indianapolis to St. Louis where we pick up 44 to Oklahoma City and I-40. We like Camp Lakewood in Effingham,IL, Big Red Barn in Carthage,MO, Double D in Texola,OK (very plain, no facilities, but cheap, full hookups and good food in restaurant)or you can go on into Amarillo to the passport park there and take the free limo to the Big Texan steakhouse, home of the free 72 oz. steak. Near Albuquerque you'll find Hidden Valley Ranch in Tieras, farther west is Kiva-Aok in Tucumcari, a nice basic park, nice people. In Williams,AZ you'll find Grand Canyon Railway rv park. Many of these parks are Passport America and I believe all are open in the winter, you'll have to double check.