To Central Texas from Central Arizona the Slow Way

**jd1923** · October 12

Our plan is a 23 day road trip to Central Texas and back. End point will be the Texas Rally at Inks Lake.

Staying off US Interstates as much as possible. The average day driving will be only 2 1/2 hours per day!

We may vary off, but here’s the plan:
- Two nights on the Mogollon Rim.
- Greer AZ another 2 nights.
- Stopover at a city park in San Antonio NM, yes NM not TX!
- 3 nights in Wonderful Ruidoso NM, right in town at Midtown Mountain RV Park.
- To get through West Texas we’re staying at two city parks, free camping. So little public land in Texas as compared to the west but was happy to find almost every little farm town in West Texas has a city park offering free camping!
- 5 nights at Inks Lake - Texas Rally - Yay! Looking forward to meeting Oliver owners!
- On our return, we’lll head SW through Texas. First stop is lunch in Kerrville, a town that brings fond memories (our son Adam won GOLD in an USTA Tennis Tournament there back in 2010). Spend the night at Johnson Creek in Ingram TX.
- Want to stay off I-10, so the only other way SW is to head towards Del Rio. Would love to stay there but not until a new Adminstration gets the border under control. We’ll stay a night at Canyons RV park in Sanderson.
- Will visit Marathon and Marfa on the the way, then 3 nights at Davis Mountains State Park.
- Rockhound State Park, Deming NM
- Bighorn Campground, Silver City NM
- Roper Lake SP, Safford AZ

Then we’re back home! If you’re interested in these routes, stick around for feedback and pictures!

**jd1923** · October 12

First stop was Boondocking on the Mogollion Rim. About 40 minutes east of Payson on Hwy 260, turn left on Rim Rd. The Mogollon Rim Visitors Center is on the corner. Paved road down just a couple miles, then we turned left on FR9350 where the have 42 marked Dispersed Camping sites. The cliff side sites were all take. And we were happy that #14 was open! They say after site #19 the road gets steep and hairy! Amazing views on the Rim!

Edited October 12 by jd1923

**jd1923** · October 12

Lookout on Rim Road on our way out! Hwy 260 down below, what a climb!

**jd1923** · October 12

Benny Creek Campground in Greer AZ and the Little Colorado River!

**topgun2** · October 12

Are there trout in that stream?

Even if there aren't any it really looks inviting.

Bill

**jd1923** · October 12

2 hours ago, topgun2 said:

Are there trout in that stream?

Even if there aren't any it really looks inviting.

Bill

I’m not the fisherman, like you Bill. I’m hearing Apache Trout, if not in the stream, in some of the many lakes. There was a guy fly fishing!

**jd1923** · October 13

Totally behind this guy, and all the way along Hwy 260 east of Payson! I’d sure wear the hat cruisin’ around town but will wear a helmet on the highway. 🤣

Was a nice day for a cruise!

Edited October 13 by jd1923

**Mike and Carol** · October 13

The area east of Payson has some nice camping. We stayed at Canyon Point (USFS) campground and really enjoyed the area. We have friends in Payson. Mike

**MAX Burner** · October 13

@jd1923: Nice fall colors - We love the run from Payson east thru Star Valley over to Heber, Show Low, Eagar, down to Alpine and thru Hannigan Meadows... The White Mountains are incredible this time of year.

Keep us posted, awesome route planning through the back roads of AZ, NM, and TX.

Cheers!

**jd1923** · October 13

Went into Greer yesterday. Reason we chose this campsite is it’s on the same road only 3 miles to this small town, pop 52!

Had a beer and wurst at the Edelweiss Resort for lunch. Was thinking to have dinner at the locally famous Molly Butler lodge but as we walked in to check it out we overheard the hostess say they only had reservations available after 8PM.

Decided on steaks at the campsite with Cobbler for desert, nice! We’ll be back again, since this slice of heaven is only 4 hours from home. Need to checkout Hannigan Meadows that @MAX Burner has mentioned, also the next time!

After lunch I took a hike along a cattle path down Benny creek, up the dam and to the lake and back. Leaving the White Mountains today, and on to central New Mexico.

Edited October 13 by jd1923

**dewdev** · October 13

@jd1923

I thought the White Mountains were in the east. In what state are the White Mountains you refer to in your post?

Looks like you are having a great trip. Stay safe.

Enjoy your pictures.

**jd1923** · October 14

4 hours ago, dewdev said:

I thought the White Mountains were in the east. In what state are the White Mountains you refer to in your post?

There are the White Mountains of New Hampshire! Know them well! I’ve skied Cannon Mountain, Canmore Mtn in North Conway and the top of the White Mountains is Mount Washington, the highest peak in NE. And then there are the Green Mountains of Vermont, smaller yet absolutely gorgeous this time of year, on my favorite State Hwy 9 heading west!

The White Mountains of Arizona include all the high county in east central Arizona. Payson AZ is the western point at the edge of the Mogollon Rim. The NE point would be at Springerille AZ, with Show Low AZ in between. Then all the way to the NM state line, and south to the mountains north of Safford AZ. 🤣

Everywhere it’s high elevation, grasslands at 9000+ FT and peaks at 10-12K FT. Those who know, of the several million Phoenix Valley residents, drive up on summer weekends to climb, up, up, up, and in doing so, the temps drop 30F!

The AZ White Mountains are the SW corner of the Colorado Plateau, it’s God’s Country. Camp almost anywhere you want between FS and BLM lands.

My thinking is it extends into New Mexico though the range may have a different name east of the state line. @MAX Burner would be the expert on the NM side. Thank for asking, posts in Ruidoso NM coming soon.

Loving our trip after working 5 months on this old hull (she is doing well, all systems working to near perfection)…

**jd1923** · October 14

15 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

We stayed at Canyon Point

Five miles east. Every FS campsite or dispersed camping from Payson to Show Low is abundant and beautiful!

**jd1923** · October 14

13 hours ago, MAX Burner said:

Hannigan Meadows...

Let’s meet there next spring!

**jd1923** · October 14

Just east of Springerville AZ, on US Hwy 60 E, on the AZ-NM state line.

Edited October 14 by jd1923
Picture

**jd1923** · October 18

We spent 3 days and nights in Wonderful Ruidoso NM! They had bad fires and floods early summer and the village is still working cleanup efforts. Still an amazing beautiful place, wildlife walking around feeding on grass in town. Ruidoso is one of the true gems of New Mexico!

We wrote earlier re the “White Mountains.” The area surrounding Ruidoso also uses this name: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/lincoln/recarea/?recid=78583

Last March we met a fun couple at a public Pickleball court while camping at Casa Grande AZ. They invited us and we took them up on this visit. Great hosts showed us around town, made us dinner, bought us dinner out (we tried to pay)! New BFFs and we played PBall all 3 days with a great group of locals and Texans that frequent this resort town.

We stayed Midtown Mountain RV Park right in the village. We are often Boondocking and there’s good campsites everywhere but for 3 days wanted to be close to everything!
https://midtownmountaincampground.com/ They had some sort of LED lighting system that made all the light speckles in the photo. Nice quiet place for being in town, good bathrooms, friendly owner.

Elk and wild/feral horses in town, bear a mountain lions in the surrounding hills! We will come back often!

Edited October 18 by jd1923

**jd1923** · October 18

And the origin of Smokey the Bear started on Capitan Mountain, Lincoln County, just north of Riudoso. Also the stomping grounds of Billy the Kid.

https://smokeybear.com/en/smokeys-history/story-of-smokey

**jd1923** · October 18

It’s great to be back in Texas, what a well-run state! Business is key, great schools and sports, very well kept roads and great city/county/state parks. Not all the public lands of the west, but so much more open space than back east.

We moved to Georgetown Texas in 2006 and moved out of Texas end of November 2014, so it’s been 10 years. I’ve flown in for business a half dozen times, driven from FL to AZ in 2018, but this is our first real visit to Texas in 10 years and we can’t wait to see old friends and new!

Not considered a Boondocking state, though it appears every city or county in West Texas has a park with free camping. Some have free hookups! 🤣

Did groceries today at H-E-B, Big Spring TX. Given all the inflation of the last 3 years, prices considerably less than anywhere in Arizona, or likely most states.

Last night we stayed at Yoakum County Park and tonight we are at Foster Creek Park, west of San Angelo. It’s not Yellowstone or Zion, but we have more fun at small quiet places I’m sure you know what I mean. Thanks for reading.

Tomorrow we’ll be one of the early birds arriving at Inks Lake SP for the Rally! Come by campsite #71 to say hello if you are attending!

**jd1923** · October 19

Isn’t it great that many Oliver Owners can forgo hookups for several days! 🤣

Edited October 19 by jd1923

**jd1923** · October 20

Got to the Texas Rally at Inks Lake SP a couple days early. More pictures will be on the Rally thread. Spent the day today a Horseshoe Bay Resort. Adam used to play tennis tournaments here and, in the 10+ years since we had visited, they built 14 Pickle Ball courts. Marble Falls now has a brand-new HUGE H-E-B! We went to play PB today and found all the courts busy with a local tournament. If we had known, we could have entered the tournament but just spectators today!

srthomsen · October 20

On 10/12/2024 at 3:38 PM, jd1923 said:

Our plan is a 23 day road trip to Central Texas and back. End point will be the Texas Rally at Inks Lake.

- To get through West Texas we’re staying at two city parks, free camping. So little public land in Texas as compared to the west but was happy to find almost every little farm town in West Texas has a city park offering free camping!

Excellent! Question for you; how did you find the city parks that you did stay at? Were they 'listed' somewhere OR, did you just run an internet search for towns on your route and investigate from there? City halls ??? Chambers of Commerce ???

**jd1923** · October 20

18 minutes ago, srthomsen said:

Excellent! Question for you; how did you find the city parks that you did stay at? Were they 'listed' somewhere OR, did you just run an internet search for towns on your route and investigate from there? City halls ??? Chambers of Commerce ???

Just Campendium. Here is the listing for Yoakum County park.

**Mike and Carol** · October 21

14 hours ago, srthomsen said:

Excellent! Question for you; how did you find the city parks that you did stay at? Were they 'listed' somewhere OR, did you just run an internet search for towns on your route and investigate from there? City halls ??? Chambers of Commerce ???

Another great source for public campgrounds is The Ultimate US Public Campground app. It isn’t supported anymore but still shows public campgrounds, city, county, state, national, USFS, COE, etc. Campendium is also one of our go-to apps. Mike

dhaig · October 21

RV LIFE Trip Wizard also has filters for city and county parks, 2 of the 12 categories of park types it offers.

@jd1923, kudos for assembling the route plan you posted. I learned there are categories which deserve more of my attention when planning routes.

Don

**Jason Foster** · October 26

On 10/18/2024 at 7:41 PM, jd1923 said:

Isn’t it great that many Oliver Owners can forgo hookups for several days! 🤣

Absolutely one thing I love about my trailer.

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