Considering a LA - Carlsbad Caverns - LA round trip in April with two young girls

I contacted Mountain Campsite in Flagstaff, and they are still closed (due to renewals) and also warn me for snow and bad weather in April? They said it would probably be too cold to swim the sliderock park anyway.

I kind of got confused there, as we choose the southern states to stay away from bad weather and have decent temperatures :o. If I look online at average temperatures for april, they are more then OK (to Belgian standards everything above 20°C is considered hot :D).

I assume I am correct that the temperature generally will be OK? I don't mind a few days of bad weather, it happens and you can't escape it, but in general I am assuming we will be able to spend our days outside without warm jackets and heating?

You should pack layered clothing and expect contrasting weather. For example Flagstaff sits about 780 meters higher in elevation than Sedona so the temps and weather can vary quite a bit. The Grand canyon south rim (near Flagstaff) can see night time temps dip below freezing and in Big Bend NP (for example) the temps could reach the 90f's.

You have to look at the altitudes. Flagstaff is over 7000 feet above sea level.

Thanks Guys,

A more general question:

At this point I have included two nights in Sedona, and we are coming from Albuquerque, which is a short drive. You reckon two nights is perfect, or should 1 be sufficient to enjoy the city of Santa Fe? Then I could perhaps cut up the drive from Santa Fe to Carlsbad Caverns in two :-).

Hello!

The area in, around, and between Carlsbad Caverns, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Sedona includes some of the most fabulous scenery and most interesting attractions in the American Southwest. It looks like your trip is pretty well set, but if you're still looking for ideas, you should most definitely check out our award-winning book, published last year. It's the first in a series, and it covers Arizona and New Mexico in great detail. Here's a link to the listing on Amazon, which includes a broad assortment of reviews, and enough of a sample (the "Look Inside" feature) to show you what the book is about:
RoadTrip America: Arizona and New Mexico: 25 Scenic Side Trips

Happy Trails!
Rick Quinn
(Ever-so-humble author ;-)

Thanks for the reply. I wish I knew sooner, I already bought a copy from Lonely Planet's "32 Amazing South West Road Trips". Looks like there are quite some parallels in both. I will have a look at your e-book, maybe I can find some extra gems. Nothing beats suprising my family with a fun stopover along the road :-).

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Originally Posted by DonnaR57

In doing the public camping threads for RTA, I discovered that the vast majority of public campgrounds do not come with swimming pools. Occasionally, you'll get one with a beach on a lake, or where there is a pool at another location in the park. Those are in the minority, though.

When we were camping in a tent or RV, our girls would always make their own fun if there was no pool or beach to play. They were rarely bored!


Donna

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We are bit struggling finding the campsites we had in mind. Our main goal we consider choosing for an RV is to spend time (read: evenings) in a nice natural setting while stargazing or enjoying a cold beer / hot chocolate close to a campfire. Those nights we spend in a tent in Camp Curry (Yosemite) or a cabin in Mammoth or Dead Valley where among the best we ever experienced.

Me and my wife (to be) have been looking for campground for the first part of our trip (LA -> Santa Fe) and it seems to be a challenge to find a campground in a natural setting at that time of the year. Many campgrounds are still closed, others feel more like parking lots then forests. Additionally we will be visiting some cities/villages, I don't see the advantage of an RV there. We found some KOA's that look OK, but more 'man-made' then an authentic 'into the woods' setting.

We are hoping to make a trip to the North West (Oregon, Washington, Montana, maybe Canada) in two or three years, and that trip will have to be in the summer (school holiday with the girls). Perhaps that is better suited for an RV trip then this one?

I am not sure why we are finding it so difficult to make up our mind, mostly we make it up way to quick :-). But we are not convinced (so far) we will have the experience we are hoping to have...

PS: I am aware that many of you will have done this (or a similar) trip with an RV and had a wonderful time. I am sure we will have a great time to, as most of it is up to yourselves. But I would like to know if our expectations of stargazing with a cold beer/hot chocolate around a campfire in a natural setting is correct, or if we should adjust that idea.

Thanks for your opinion!

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Originally Posted by DasDimi

Thanks for the reply. I wish I knew sooner, I already bought a copy from Lonely Planet's "32 Amazing South West Road Trips". Looks like there are quite some parallels in both. I will have a look at your e-book, maybe I can find some extra gems. Nothing beats suprising my family with a fun stopover along the road :-).

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Every guide book has its pros and cons. I like to think ours is a cut above the rest, in the sense that it takes a different approach. Mark added a link to the Side Trips Blog. There was one post in particular that describes my very personal relationship with travel guides: The Birth of the Scenic Side Trip

Rick

Hey Guys,

The biggest part of our trip starts taking shape, but I am a bit struggling with the part from El Paso to Tucson. One or two nights before arriving in Tucson are both options that are possible.

I really regret we cannot take the Silver Queen mining tour, as they do not allow kids younger then 5. Was something I was really looking forward to, but that one will have to wait :-).

Any suggestions on how to approach this part? My first idea was to drive from El Paso to Chiricahua NM on day 1, and then head to Tucson on day 2 passing Bisbee (worth the stop if you can't do the mining tour?), Tombstone and Fairbank. Optionally I am doubting to pass Patagonia & Titan Missile Museum. I personally think I would enjoy the Museum, taking a leap back in time to the Cold War. But I fear this might not be interesting towards my young girls :-/.

If I would squeeze in an extra overnight stop, where would you recommend? I have considered the KOA campsite at Lordsburg where we could rent a cabin and spend some time in the area. Too bad the pool is closed though :-)

Thanks!

While we can't predict what you and your daughters will enjoy, we can make a few educated guesses and give you a number of possibilities that you can pick and choose from. I will tell you that I live in Tucson and when my brother and his three daughters visited they loved Tombstone. It is a bit 'touristy', but hey, you're tourists! The other main attractions of this area, including between El Paso and here, are Native American history, early Spanish colonization, the Old West, and scenery.

If you're interested in Native American history, check out the Arizona State Museum, the Tohono O'odham Nation Culture Center and Museum, and the Pasqua Yaqui. For Spanish colonization and the Old West, some interesting sites would be the Tubac Presidio, Tumacacori, Tombstone, and Bisbee. While some scenic stops, outside of the desert areas, might include San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Tohono Chul, and Mount Lemmon. (Yes, Tucson has a ski area!) I agree that the Titan Missile Museum is probably not going to be a wife/daughter pleaser, but they might find more interest in (and humor you in a visit to) the Pima Air and Space Museum of which the Titan museum is just a small (and physically separate) part.

Finally, the above lists are compiled by subject matter. You can easily do a bit of a couple of different pursuits each day by grouping them by location instead and still make steady progress towards your ultimate destination

AZBuck