Lone Pine is a small town on Highway 395 in the Owens Valley. Lone Pine has a few stores and restaurants and is mainly a portal to Mt McKinley & the Alabama Hills. Travelers often stop here on their way to Bishop, Mammoth Lakes and Lake Tahoe. There aren’t many RV parks in this area but there’s plenty of BLM campgrounds. Boulder Creek RV Resort, south of town, is the only RV park with full hookups in this area. The years of drought in California, particularly the Eastern Sierra, made Owens Lake a small wetlands. But with the unusually large amount of snow pack melt & rain in winter & spring 2023, Owens Lake had returned to a lake. By October, the warm summer had reduced the size of the lake. But much of the lake and wetlands around the Owens Lake West Delta Birding Area were still prevalent.
After hiking the Alabama Hills Movie Road, we stopped at the Alabama Hills Cafe. It has a well-served 4.5 star rating in Yelp. But they close early at 3pm and all day Wednesdays so they are great for breakfast or lunch. After hiking Lone Pine Lake Trail, part of the Mt Whitney Trail, it was after 3pm. So we tried the Mt Whitney Restaurant which claims “the best burgers in town”. The Mt Whitney restaurant has a classic decor with lots of history & memorabilia similar to the Film History Museum.
It’s been increasing difficult to find a spur-of-the-moment RV site this year, especially affordable ones. Our weekday schedule has been busy and campgrounds on the weekend are all booked. So we felt lucky to find a few days at San Diego Metro KOA to take the grand-kids for a few nights of ‘urban RV camping’. This San Diego KOA is close to most of San Diego’s sights like Sea World and the San Diego Zoo but we were able to find plenty to do at the KOA.
They offer a nice list of daily activities for kids and families plus they have a great swimming pool. It’s large and mostly shallow so the kiddos spent a lot of time in the water. August was warm so cooling off in the pool was a great way to spend the day. The RV sites are also nicely shaded by trees so we did not need to run the A/C all the time. But these trees continually drop leaves and seed pods on Howie so I needed to sweep the roof before we left. The KOA has special events celebrating holidays & special times of the year, such as Fall Festivals, and Halloween. But there’s always something going on Monday-Saturday during the summer, like Movies under the Stars. Some activities were not operational – the Rock Climbing Wall or Surf Shack Shootout were closed while we were there. So refer to the activities calendar when you arrive to not miss something. Some of the activities that kept us busy:
Swimming pool – the kiddos can spend hours at the pool and the KOA had a Mermaid/Pirate-hosted pool party Saturday morning.
Barrel Train – throughout the morning & early afternoon, there is a barrel train that takes kids and adults around the perimeter of the resort for a fun, free five-minute ride.
Jumping pillows – the large jumping pillow get hot during mid-day but morning and evening bouncing is great fun and will expend loads of energy.
Bicycle rentals – if you didn’t bring bikes or want to try some fun bikes that you don’t have at home! They rent 3-wheel Fun Cycles, 4-wheel Peddle Carts, and 2-6 Person Surrey Bikes. Hour or half hour rentals.
Cotton Candy or Shaved Ice – these activities have a small fee but are a special treat!
Bike/Scooter Decorating – add streamers and balloon to your favorite mode of transportation
Scavenger Hunt – follow the clue sheet to find different locations & fun facts around the resort, take a selfie when you get there, and be awarded a free craft coupon.
Magic ShowBikes RentedPanning For CrystalsScavenger Hunt Task “Take A Goofy Selfie”Scavenger Hunt Task SelfieBarrel TrainSmoresTablet Time Before SmoresBarrel Train
We had ambitious plans for March. First going to San Diego Padres Spring Training in Peoria, Az for three days then heading to northern Arizona and Utah. Unfortunately, like February, the weather became a factor and all our northward plans to Page, to Monument Valley, to Flagstaff, to Lake Havasu, ending in Desert Hot Springs were cancelled. The unprecedented heavy snows this winter were still a factor especially on the route through Flagstaff. More snow & rain were forecast on our Mar 19 travel day. I didn’t feel safe towing Howie north through Flagstaff even with plowed roads and chains. Alternate routes were just as bad or take too long and disrupt the schedule. Rain was forecast on our Upper Antelope Canyon (slot canyon) tour date. Monument Valley’s nightly temperatures were in the 20s, so we reluctantly decided to stay in southern Arizona and visit Saguaro National Park. Those northern destinations are still on our to-do list but later in the season.
16 Apr 2023 – Driving to Ehrenberg, AZ
Towing Howie to Phoenix in one shot is doable but not the way we prefer to travel. So we booked an overnight layover at the California-Arizona border, in Ehrenberg, Az. We considered boondocking since it’s not far from Quartzsite. But one night at River Sands RV Resort using our Passport America membership was only $35. Planning our one night layover here was fortuitous because the predicted 4 hour drive took over 9 hours because of a major fatality accident on the I-10 near Cabazon, CA. The traffic speeds were under 5mph for miles so it took hours till the road opened up in Palm Springs. We didn’t arrive to the border till 9pm – finding a boondocking site at night would have been tough. River Sands is just off the I-10, the first exit in Arizona. There’s also a Flying J Travel Center at the same exit.
River Sands RV Resort opened Jan 2023 and everything – restrooms (several large private, individual rooms w/ shower & toilet), pool-hot tub, clubhouse w/ pool/ping-pong/chess/foosball tables, full hook-ups – are all brand new. The resort is well laid out with hundreds of spacious RV sites along the Colorado River on the Arizona-side. The space to manuever a travel trailer & back-in is phenomenal plus there are many pull-thru sites. All the RV sites are wide and level. There was a meet-up of an AirStream group coincidentally so our section was filled with 48 all aluminum RVs and us. My only ‘concern’ is there aren’t any trees or shade of any kind. So when it gets hot, there isn’t any protection other than jumping into the river. Still, we definately will stop here again when we have more time or want a winter get-away that’s (typically) 4-hours from home.
With our late arrival at River Sands RV Resort, they were kind enough to give us a 1pm checkout time so we could explore the place. With a 2 hour drive to Phoenix/Peoria, we didn’t want to arrive before the 2pm check-in at Desert’s Edge RV Resort. But after the unexpected driving delay yesterday, we left at noon so we’d be sure to make it to Phoenix before our night game started. When trying to find a RV site for Spring Training, I think we got the last spot near Peoria. Our ‘pull-thru’ site right in front of the office was just big enough for our 20ft travel trailer & truck – there was no extra space. Desert’s Edge RV Resort is in northern Phoenix, about 12mi from the Peoria Sports Complex where the Padres play. This park definitely caters to Spring Training visitors with all the ‘streets’ named for teams that train in the area. With the change in our trip after Spring Training, we hoped to stay an extra day but this park is booked solid in Spring. After 3 days of Spring Training baseball, we headed south to Tucson.
We’ve been taking trips around the western USA in our 20ft travel trailer Howie for over two years. I find myself relying on the same websites, apps and navigation tools to help get to where we are going. Here are a few of my favs as of Feb 2023:
Trip Planning
recreation.gov app & recreation.gov – the must-visit website/app for planning a trip to a National Park. Camping, lodging, tickets, passes, permits, and even day-use passes can be bought or reserved here. We have a lifetime America the Beautiful pass ($80) and we’ve enjoyed getting into national parks for free.
Roadpass.com & app: although TogoRV,com-related websites & apps have free & trial versions. A Roadpass Pro subscription is one of the few I have. It gives me access to all the features of TogoRV-related websites & apps such as:
Roadtrippers – which has become my favorite desktop and mobile trip-planning tools
Campendium – is a great campground search tool & the pro features are included with a Roadpass Pro subscription. During a regional search, it’s map displays all the campsites, rv dump sites, state & county campgrounds, and dispersed (free) campgrounds. It can check for site availability & often take you to a booking portal. I use this and GoodSam to find campgrounds since we prefer hookups vs dry-camping/boondocking.
TogoRV.com & app – general RV information, maintenance reminders, discounts on products and campsites. If you follow RVMiles on YouTube, you can stay current on RV news, RV app news, and often get a discount code for the annual subscription ($10 off). TogoRV GPS app provides navigation that considers weight limits, overhead clearances, grades of terrain, and your route preferences to give you turn-by-turn directions specific to your RV.
GoodSam app & GoodSam.com – When we started RVing, I bought a multi-year membership from Camping World. It’s 10% discount on campsites has more than paid for itself over the past two years. I will very likely renew it this August, when it expires. GoodSam has a reliable campground review and rating system along with booking site portals.
FlattestRoute – is a free website that let’s you enter your start and end point and calculates the flattest route. It’ also works’s also great for bicycle route planning. It calculates & scores the different routes using a point system based on incline %grade, duration, & distance. I still prefer InRoute but this can show you some alternate options.
KOA app & .com: we’ve enjoyed staying at KOA campgrounds during our trips. They usually have available sites when others don’t, nice amenities, plus with a membership, are affordable. The only ‘quirky’ thing about KOAs is often their name vs location. They are named for nearby destination spots but are often many miles away. Monterey/Santa Cruz KOA is ~32mi away from Monterey; St.George KOA is 15mi from St. George; Joshua Tree KOA is 37mi away from Joshua Tree’s west entrance, 53mi away from the north entrance. Still, if you compare the KOA location vs your desired destination(s). You can decide if it’s worth the drive – campsite availability often decides for you.
Navigation (and Route-planning)
InRoute – free iPhone app that helps route planning AND navigation. The free version allows 8 locations and the subscription version allow 150 locations (destination, attractions on-route, waypoints, gas stations, etc). I find the 8 points adequate since I only use it for identifying the route that has the lowest elevations/inclines and least curvy. If you have more than 8 waypoints, you can break your trip into groups of 8. Like other RV navigation apps, it plans the optimal RV-friendly routes with height clearances (based on your RV height setting), no tolls, & no propane restrictions. I have yet to find another mobile app that graphically shows the elevation & curviness plus distances & drive times of three alternate routes. It has audible turn-by-turn directions but if Apple Maps shows the same course, I usually use it, synced with my Apple Watch.
Google Maps – of course, this is a great route planning & navigation app but often chooses shortest vs the best RV-friendly routes. I made the mistake of doubting InRoute and used Google Maps to navigate to Ventura Ranch KOA. It took me on the shortest but curviest white-knuckle route possible. So I only use it when unhooked or its route matches InRoute’s.
Apple Maps – same situation as Google Maps, I do not use it for RV route-planning. I will use it when towing if the directions match InRoute’s. It’s great for general directions and it syncs with my Apple Watch. Giving me haptic turn reminders so I can keep my eyes on the road.
Hiking
AllTrails app & AllTrails.com or GaiaGPS– I have both AllTrails and GaiaGPS but primarily use AllTrails since it just works for me. I prefer its interface, downloadable offline maps & hike-tracking features, enough to subscribe to AllTrails+. If you hike, bike, or off-road in areas without cell service, these apps are essential. Downloading Google Maps for use offline is an affordable alternative. But it you like saving your trek, then using either of these apps is great for recording your actual path.
Garmin app & .com – we still use a Garmin Inreach Mini 2 GPS for its SOS feature. We know that our new iPhones have SOS but the tried-and-true Garmin’s battery lasts a lot longer & is a reliable two-way satellite communicator. So, for us, for now, it’s still clipped to our gear when we hike anywhere.
After six months of using Starlink for RV I think the pluses strongly outweigh the minuses. Not a glowing endorsement but the main plus is having internet when there isn’t cell service or wifi. That’s a pretty big plus when you are traveling. Plus Starlink’s tech support is excellent if you ever have issues.
The main trip in 2022 where Starlink shined was during our trip to Yosemite National Park. We stayed at Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes RV campground west of the park. There was zero cell service and wifi cost $6.95/day and sucked (according to the office manager). We had decent download speed ~52Mbps and were able to stream Netflix, Youtube, and DirectTV. I was also able to make a cell phone call to book a layover campsite for our drive home. The Starlink antenna had a good view of the sky (photo above) here with only a few trees nearby.
We also used it during our stay at Bass Lake RV Resort south of Yosemite. That campground also has poor cell service and wifi since it sits on the side of the mountain. Although on a hillside, our campsite had a good view of the satellite and decent internet speeds. Some trees were obstructing the antenna (photo >>) but signal was pretty stable, no outages .
Between trips, I setup the Starlink for RV antenna for use at home. Since we had other trips planned and the monthly charge is $135 ($150 in 2023). I figured I might as well use it between trips. I bought a weBoost Antenna Telescoping 25ft Pole to elevate the Starlink antenna above our roofline. It worked great but during a wind storm, the top-heavy pole blew over. My pole setup couldn’t handle the torque from the wind blowing on the antenna 20ft in the air. No fault of the pole, it’s plenty sturdy. I just didn’t install solid enough support on the base since it was a temporary home trial. I’ve since bought a stainless-steel eaves antenna mount. The pole was for elevating the antenna when on-the-road. But, so far, I’ve been setting the antenna on the RV roof, secured with cable ties. I’ve seen other rv’ers setup their antennas on the ground at their campsite but I’m concerned about theft. I do not know if that’s an issue but rather not test it.
Unfortunately after the pole & antenna fell over, the Starlink antenna motor started to struggle. It would stow and unstow and start to search for satellite but then would display a ‘Motors Stuck‘ error. I messaged Starlink Tech Support and they called back by phone a few minutes later – nice! It was 6pm PDT. I explained the issue and without me asking, they offered to send me a replacement. I would keep the faulty but working antenna until the box arrived. Then use the box to send back the defective antenna. The box came within a week – it was a completerefurbished kit with router. I swapped all the ‘new’ components with the old and shipped it back prepaid (free). I’m impressed with Starlink’s support which is stellar ;-P There was no issues re-establishing service with the new unit. It was already listed in the app under my account & it activated when powered on. I was online within minutes and it worked without any issues.
The next trip we used Starlink was to Utah where it had even more impressive numbers. Zion Canyon RV Resort has decent cell reception since it is in Springdale. The campground also has good wifi but I still setup the antenna on the roof of the RV. After hiking in Zion National Park, we were able to stream the Homerun Derby and Allstar Baseball Game. Evening peak hour speed was much slower than morning but still plenty fast for streaming and general internet browsing. This was using the refurbished replacement system.
From Zion, we moved to Bryce Canyon and although our site was shaded by multiple trees. I set the antenna on the roof and still got reasonable internet. We stayed at Ruby’s Inn RV Resort which has cell and wifi but the Starlink was used for streaming TV and internet surfing.
After Bryce Canyon we stopped for a few days in Kanab Utah. We did not use the Starlink since Kanab RV Corral RV Park boasts excellent wifi. Plus, since this campground is on the south end of town, there was good cell phone reception (T-Mobile). But it’s great to have the piece-of-mind that we could set it if the campground reception was bad.
After this trip, I did not setup the Starlink for use after returning home. Because the antenna pole setup is a pain and the at-home speeds are so-so compared to cable internet. I decided to pause the service when not on the road. An important note about billing: I received a Starlink billing notification Nov 1st that my service would be billed Nov 9th. So I tried to pause the service Nov 4th and couldn’t. You have to pause the service BEFORE you receive the billing notification. Once the notification email is sent, “your invoice has been generated & is in the system” (Starlink Billing Support quote). You will be billed $135 ($150 in 2023) even though you do not plan on using the service. So be sure to pause your service well before your billing cycle if possible. The service is billed monthly and there is no prorated refund or credit for unused days. The $135/mo fee is kinda pricey but I enjoy trying new technologies. I have not tried cell phone boosters or other RV internet options though. If you can afford the hardware cost ($599) & monthly fee, Starlink is a great way to get internet when you otherwise would be offline. ‘Unplugging’ is not a bad thing but we like having internet during our down time and staying connected to family. If you are on the road for only two weeks or less per trip, like us, then Starlink for RV is an expensive luxury. If you are a full-timer or at least on the road for a month or more then Starlink’s cost is worth it. Especially if you do not stay in campgrounds with wifi or in an area with cell service. In addition to the $135/mo subscription ($150 in 2023), the standard RV hardware bundle is $599 (late 2022). Which isn’t bad actually compared to top-end cell phone booster hardware. Mobile Starlink hardware costs $2500 (in 2022; price has comedown in 2023) and will give you internet while driving. I’ve tested using Starlink for RV at home to replace my home internet service. It’s promising if you do not consume a lot of bandwidth and have decent weather. If you have thick cloudy conditions, the internet speed drops. Since I was testing Starlink at home, when this happened, I just switched to cable internet. Starlink for RV is also throttled during peak hours versus residential Starlink. Conversely, when my cable internet went down for whatever reason, it was really nice to have Starlink as a backup. Unfortunately, the residential Starlink service requires a different system, firmware, & antenna according to Tech Support. You can use Starlink Residential when camping – there are YouTube vlogs about how to change your address. But you cannot switch/upgrade your Starlink for RV to Starlink Residential for use at home. Starlink for RV will work at home, just not given the bandwidth priority of the residential service ie throttled. So Starlink Residential may be the system to choose if you want to use one Starlink system both at home and on-the-road. Right now (late 2022), Starlink’s policies allow this or do not block it. In 2023, they changed this so your residential Starlink service address is difficult to move. The technology, software and hardware are changing so what’s working well now, may change for better or worse. I’m betting on better. But we’ll have to see as more people join, if peak traffic clogs the bandwidth.
For now, we are sticking to cable internet at home and Starlink for RV on the road. I’ve just got to remember to pause the service at the appropriate time.
As you can tell from this blog, we’ve been towing around the Western United States for two years. Our Tacoma, “Toby”, has been pulling our 20ft travel trailer, “Howie”, reliably. I have had concerns about steep inclines and our Tacoma does struggle a bit after a few thousand feet. Especially if the incline is greater than 5% for much of the climb. The transmission temperature has reach 220° and even 222°, which reduces the life of the fluid according to specs.
Transmission Fluid Life vs Temperature
How do I handle the Tacoma’s towing ‘shortcomings’ compared to larger trucks? I pick routes that are flatter or with more gradual inclines whenever possible. When route planning I use:
InRoute App – smartphone navigation app which can help you pick the flattest or less curvy route
I monitor the transmission temperature and if reaches 220° for more than a few minutes or goes higher, I pull over and let it cool. So far the only time I’ve had to do that was towing from Bass Lake to Yosemite National Park on Highway 49 with summer temperatures at 104°. Unfortunately, Highway 41 was closed due to the Washburn Wildfires July 2022. I tow at ~60mph on level ground and ~45mph on the inclines. I get about 11.5mpg towing at ~60mpg; on drives with inclines ~10mpg. This is towing at S4 with ECT on. I’ve tried S4 with ECT off and did not get any better gas mileage or notice more shifting so I just tow with it on. I initially avoided cruise-control when towing but on the long flat runs, I’ve started using it. The adaptive cruise control works well even when towing but I avoid it in traffic.
The other concern is the Tacoma’s payload. We tow with our travel trailer tanks relatively empty – a couple gallons in our black tank with treatment is all. But the cargo in the travel trailer does not affect the truck’s payload significantly with a weight-distribution hitch. Still the Tacoma is limited to ~ 1000lbs so with people, dog, fuel, tonneau cover, & hitch-weight. We only have about 120lbs of additional cargo the truck can carry. But since the Tacoma is my everyday driver, we have not wanted to buy a bigger truck. It would be nice to have the piece-of-mind a larger truck brings. But driving it when we are not towing would less enjoyable. I have enough trouble steering the Tacoma into tight parking spots as it is.
So I have installed black Sumo Springs which has helped with tail sag. The tow angle is about 1.5inches higher so more level. But the ride is noticeably stiffer, rougher which we’ve become accustom. That’s the only upgrade so far although I’ve considered:
re-gearing or
re-tuning as some members of the Towing with Tacoma Facebook user-group suggests.
an additional transmission cooler, a bit bigger to help with the fluid temperature.
There aren’t many good stopping point midway between Utah & Oceanside if you want to overnight in a RV Park. For our two-day drive home we wanted to have an early arrival day 2 (Oct 9th) so that meant driving longer day 1 (Oct 8th). If we stopped again at Thousand Trails Las Vegas, our day 2 drive would be 6 or more hours. So we stopped in Las Vegas just to fuel and have lunch, then continued to Barstow. I thought stopping at the north Las Vegas Maverik gas station truck stop would be easy but it wasn’t. Because of road construction, the exit detour takes you away from the gas station, so a u-turn is required. Fueling there wasn’t easy either since all the truck pumps were diesel. Non-diesel RVs fuel at the auto pumps which is fine but required us circle back around. When we drove home from Utah in 2021, we stayed at the Barstow/Yermo KOA. It’s a good stopping point about 6hrs from Utah. So we booked a pull-thru hookup site with electric & water for one night. We’ve stayed at other KOAs and this one is pretty drab when compared to the others like Monterey/Santa Cruz KOA. But the site assigned to us this time was a lot nicer than last year’s, with trees and closer, cleaner restrooms.
There are other options if you don’t mind boondocking but with the +90° weather, we like having an electric hookup to run the A/C. The Flying J Travel Center in Barstow or Peggy Sue’s diner parking lot in Yermo are free & pretty safe but noisy. You can also find BLM land along the 15 but we prefer to stay where we are more comfortable. Another affordable ($25 full-hookups) option is stopping at Clark’s Mobile Home & RV Park in Baker. We stop there last year on our way to Utah. It’s essentially a parking lot just off the 15 in Baker with full hookups but no other amenities. There is a market and a few restaurants nearby.
Bryce canyon is breathtaking – photos cannot do it’s intricate landscapes justice, even with epic light. This was our first visit to Bryce Canyon and it has a similar appeal as the Grand Canyon but is uniquely different. Grand Canyon impresses with it grandeur. Bryce Canyon with thousands of hoodoos and banded-colored sediments forming spectacular landscapes in every direction. It is a landscape photographer’s paradise when the changing light illuminates the infinite subjects. And at 8000ft in October, you can add wonderful fall colors, especially the Aspens, to the mix.
Ordinarily, our drive from one destination to another doesn’t warrant comment but this one is pretty unique. There are a couple ways to get from Springdale to Bryce Canyon. The shortest is UT-9E through Zion National Park to US-89. But UT-9E is a winding route that has a 1.1mi tunnel with height restrictions. If your RV is taller than 13ft than you have to take one of the alternate routes. From NPS.Gov: “The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel – Construction of the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel began in the late 1920s and was completed in 1930. At the time that the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel of its type in the United States. The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel (and the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway) provides direct access for travel between Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Zion National Parks. Rangers posted at both ends of the tunnel convert two-way tunnel traffic to one-way for larger vehicles, ensuring safe passage. This service, for which a $15 dollar tunnel permit fee is charged, was provided for over 32,832 oversized oversized vehicles in calendar year 2019. In 2022 large vehicles may only travel through the tunnel daily from:
February 27 to March 12 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m
March 13 to April 23 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
April 24 to August 27 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
August 28 to September 24 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
September 25 to November 5 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m
Starting November 6, winter hours of operations for the tunnel are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.”
We opted to pay the toll and save ourselves and extra hour of driving using an alternate route. Much of UT-9E through Zion NP is 35mph or slower because of all the 180° curves. There are plenty of turnouts so you can let cars pass if they start to pile-up behind you. There is a second short tunnel on UT-9 inside of Zion NP without any restictions because of better clearance so no toll. Once out of the park, much of the route is fairly flat and you can tow full-speed. But only a few sections on US-89 have more than two lanes.
Our favorite RV campground in Springdale is Zion Canyon Campground and RV Resort. The same campground we stayed in 2021. Its location just outside the park and availability of river-side campsites make it our favorite place to stay.
Last year we hiked Zion’s two most popular trails – the Narrows and Angels Landing. So this trip we wanted to explore some of the other trails:
We used our Starlink internet during our stay and it worked well with an unobstructed northward view of the sky. Zion Canyon Campground is still rebuilding their main lodge and have added cabins. They should be finished by 2023. We had a torrential rain storm blow through the 29th afternoon and we worried about flash flooding. We imagine the Narrows hikers might have some serious issues. Fortunately, we did not hear about anyone having trouble. Most of this squall hit downriver.
We had a great time – late September is a great time to visit Zion since it’s starting to cool down. The park is still busy and the shuttle is still taking full loads into the park mid-day. Hiking early can help quite a bit with less crowding on the trails. But by 10am, the traffic entering the main entrance is backed up and parking is scarce.
