Denver through Four corners loop.

[Southwest Dave]

Originally posted by Mark Sedenquist] Eventually my friend, (the RV campground owner) and this now nearly hysterically-laughing woman get back and crawl under the truck to laugh at me some more. I'm finding this not even remotely funny -- albeit I would admit that it's a tad embarrassing.

I'm sorry Mark but I couldn't help but join in the laughter ! That is by far, one of the funniest things I have read in a long while and I am glad you decided to share your embarrassing moment.

[Originally posted by UKCraig] thanks for letting us ride along with you on your trip, Dave,

My pleasure, I await your verdict on Colorado's position in your "to do" list ;-)

[Southwest Dave]

I just thought I would add a summary, so here goes !

Planning

This was straight forward and really became part 2 of a 2 part trip. We wanted to see places we cut out of our other RV trip from San Fran, due to time restrictions, but rather than going over 'old ground', flying into Denver and adding more of Colorado as well as New Mexico to the trip made the most sense. [To us anyway]

Cruise America

We managed to secure a good deal about 14 months before our planned travel date, it was known as an "Early bird special". Not Knowing 100% for sure if our trip plan would become reality or not, due to a weaker Pound at the time and the uncertainty in the economic climate, it was reassuring to know they had a full deposit refund policy.

We was very pleased with the Denver office, we asked for an early pick up and everything was ready for us. We returned the RV late due to the adverse weather conditions and although they could have exercised their right to charge us a late return fee, they didn't. The RV was in good shape, clean and tidy although getting near to the Cruise America's "retirement age", even though it was only 3 or 4 years old and had covered less than 80,000 miles. Friendly staff that also helped us to arrange our airport transport.

I would definitely use them again.

Flights

Over the next few Months I kept an eye on flight prices in and out of Denver which helped me identify a good price when I saw one. United Airlines came up with a cracking deal just after Christmas 2009 so we took the plunge and booked them. Non refundable, so no going back now !

Due to the economic situation all companies were cutting back on their flight plans and our direct flight was now non existent, removed from the schedule. They offered us a full refund or flights for the same money with a change over in Chicago. We had got such a good deal and with the flight prices on the up, we took what was on offer. The change over in Chicago wasn't that smooth and they managed to lose one of our cases on route to Denver. Would I use them again ? Well these things happen and if they offered the best deal, Yes I would.

Tom Tom Sat Nav.

To be honest I never thought I would use one of these as I am a paper map fan, but I was bought one for my Birthday. Funny that, it was my navigator for this trip and his wife who got it for me ! Lol.

It's discussed quite a few times on here and my verdict is as follows.

It turned out to be a very good back up aid, but you had to let it know who was boss !
[Me and Tom had a few fall outs, but 'he' soon came around to my way of thinking] Using the paper maps and pre planned routes the Sat Nav could be used in two way's, by putting in "way points" to your journey so it wouldn't go the most direct route or if you were confident of the direction you were headed I went my way and 'Tom' was really quick to re calculate the new route.

Do not rely solely on the Sat Nav, know where you want to go and how you want to get there as well as knowing what you are passing by, use the paper map where possible to get the best enjoyment from your journey.

The strengths of the Sat Nav for me were at the end of the day, where it would take you direct to an address such as your campsite, or a restaurant without the need for town plan maps or finding someone to ask in the dark.

Exchange rates

As we had a lot of time between booking and actually travelling, it gave us time to save some money towards the trip. I then kept an eye on the exchange rates and every time the Dollar got near to $1.70 to the Pound I purchased some. With a low of $1.39 it can add to the "spending pot" quite significantly if you get it right, and I reckon I made us about an extra $300 doing it, plus I enjoyed "the game". Win, win !

The trip !

Brilliant ! We love travelling at the tail end of the season, and despite some unusually cold weather at times, it hasn't put us off one little bit. I only wish we could of added a few extra day's but work restrictions for some did not allow for this. We travelled an average of 170 miles a day over the 12 day's in the RV and was on the go everyday for 10 or 12 hours and still had to pass things by, so don't over do the miles ! The people we met were so friendly and like our first trip, makes it all the more special.

Numbers.

[Although rates fluctuate I have averaged everything out to £1= $1.6 ]

Cruise America RV. Cost includes, 2040 miles, bedding kits, Kitchen kits and all other associated costs for 12 nights. $1570 [saved $560]

Flights x 4 $2420 [saved $400 on previous best prices]

Hotel 1 night x 2 rooms $145 [saved $50 booking direct]

Gas expense Av $2.7 per Gal [2040 miles @9.5mpg] = $580

Daily expenses [food, visits, campground fees etc] $2,600

Trip total for 4 adults $7,315 or £4,570

One thing I might change regarding the numbers is that this could now well become part 2 of a 3 part trip !

If you have any questions on this trip/ area or RV travel queries, just ask !

[Southwest Dave]

I thought I would try out and take advantage of RTA's new map link tool to show the route that we took through google maps. You can zoom in and out and move left to right using the tools in the top left hand corner.



And also new on RTA that I have wanted to try out is the direct video link, so here is a vid from on the road from RMNP and Colorado NM.

[Poor video footage and "cheesey" music warning ! Lol ]

[Mark Sedenquist]

Our first video road trip post!

And I liked the feel of the video and the self-portrait in the last frame of the video!

Great google map! Great job!

Mark

[Megan Edwards]

You really made me want to HIT THE ROAD! The music is a very nice accompaniment. Glad you made it through that low tunnel!

Having the map above as a reference was terrific, too. Thanks for posting!

[Southwest Dave]

Thanks for the comments M@M ! Glad you enjoyed the video, I just had to try it out after all your efforts !.

Glad you made it through that low tunnel!

Me too ! I had done my homework prior to travelling and knew it was tight but many had gone before us. The hairiest moment was through the second tunnel where another vehicle entered from the opposite direction and we had to squeeze over to where the tunnel height drops away at the edge, no scrapes though !

[colonelhall]

Many thanks for this Dave. We are planning a trip that covers some of this area and will definitely be guided by your observations. I shall be a complete RV novice and to be frank quite apprehensive. However my good wife, Mrs. Hall has a spirit of adventure and is determined to go for it. Seems like such a trip cries ou for an RV.

I have spent a very enjoyable afternoon reading through your report, interrupted only by the delivery of a new tripod which I ordered with photos of arches, elks and sunsets in mind. With eight months to go, we should have plenty of time to plan in more detail.

[Southwest Dave]

I shall be a complete RV novice and to be frank quite apprehensive.

I understand where you are 'at'. Reading up on RV's on-line can be quite daunting first time, but once you have a general idea of what to expect from researching and then being 'shown the ropes' on collection of the RV, it really is quite straight forward. Once you hit the road you will adapt quite quickly, just don't give yourself too much to do in the first couple of days of driving. Collection can take time, the paper work and getting shown around the RV [Possibly, have to watch a video] before getting going, so keep that in mind when planning your first stop. We then like to stop a little way up the road and check everything is 'travelling' OK and to get vital supplies, [tea bags for the wife and beers for me !] food, fluids, bathroom 'stuff', logs and fire lighters etc, so that we are 'independent' when we arrive at the campground.

[colonelhall]

Thanks again Dave. I really enjoyed reading about your trip and have started to follow the account of a journey along the Alaska Highway. I thought that I'd post a little account of last year's Spring trip, but am not sure how to go about it. The threads that I have followed so far have all started with requests for information. I don't know where your journal originated. Is it O.K. to just open a new thread in this particular forum?

[Southwest Dave]

Yes you can start a new thread here in the Roadtrip field reports section. It's always nice to hear about other peoples experiences and helps to pass on useful info to other members.

Dave.