Vacation 2025 Gas Usage

JamesDow

 
Summer 2025 is winding down. 
I got one seven-week extended trip completed and am now looking forward to some shorter Colorado River trips.
Traveled with my wife and 10lb dog.
For my own enjoyment, I did a gas usage tabulation of my 7-week trip.
The period was from the end of May through early July.
Trip went from San Diego to Raleigh North Carolina.
Went into 19 states, traveled 6,564 total miles.
Besides getting lost for over 75 miles on a forest service dirt road in Colorado without cell service or a downloaded map and a vet visit in Kansas due to a dog fight, we had no significant problems.
My tow vehicle is a 2012 Toyota RAV4 (4cl).
Average miles per gallon was 18.22 (range 21 - 14 MPG)
Highest elevation driven was 12,183 (Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road)
The average cost per gallon of gas was $3.40 (highest was in Estes Park CO for 91 Octane = $4.61)
My total fuel cost was $1,227
I would have liked to do more multi day camping stops, but a destination timeline kept us driving to meet our schedule. 

I hope everyone had a good summer camping.
 
   


 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Colorado_Bruce

James...sounds like a grand adventure, congrats!  18.5 MPG average while pulling the camper is very impressive as well.  I would love to know more about which campgrounds you stayed in, and a sentence or two on what you thought of them.  How much bad weather did you encounter, get any hail?  How often did you use the AC?  Did all campgrounds have electricity?

Cheers and congrats again, on safely completing this epic road trip/vacation!

JamesDow

@Colorado-Bruce,
Throughout our trip we used air conditioning very frequently.
Initially the hot desert of the southwest followed by the humidity of the mid-west and east mandated some cooling.
I could live without it, but my wife and dog require it (or so I am told). In most cases, we would run it (AC) late into the night followed by my battery-operated fan.
So yes, most campgrounds we stayed at had electricity. I did not take my little propane generator due to space and weight constraints.
We ran into a few good thunderstorms, but no hail.
A lot of our trip was planned using the AAA Triptik app. Works very well. You select a destination and about how much you want to drive a day, and it shows routes and destinations.  
We took mainly county roads when we could, with some of the worst driving situations in Virginia and Kentucky due to the overwhelming abundance of commercial trucks.
We did stay at eight private residences crossing the country (friends/family).
I carry around 80' of electric extension cords, so hooking up to power was not an issue.
One of our first camp sites was KOA Journey in Las Cruces New Mexico. I would rate it very high, with great showers and friendly staff.
From there we went to White Sands National Park. The park had cut back on amenities as well as national park staff. We chatted with staff about cutbacks, but they were constrained as to what they could say due to instructions from higher authorities.
Next, we drove and stayed at Whites City (Entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park).
This RV park was by far the worst place we stayed at. Very run down and unkept. It almost felt as if it was a homeless camp. The city of Carlsbad is around 20 miles away and I believe it would have been a much better place to stay.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park was a good stop, got to see the bats fly out and hike the caverns. The sad part about this stop was that the bathrooms and cafeteria (underground Lunch Room) were all closed (outhouses in parking lot) and all guided tours were non-existent. 
Next stop was Copper Breaks State Park in Texas. This is a nice international dark sky park with a lake.
We continued on to The Point Campground outside of Sulphur Oklahoma. This campground is nice, on/near Lake of the Arbuckles and is part of Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
Onward to our next stop at Petit Jean State Park. This park near a small lake is around 68 miles north-west of Little Rock Arkansas.
On day 8 we camped at George P Cossar State Park in Mississippi. This park is situated on Enid Lake with tall wood trees. This park had a good feel and was fun to stay at. The lake level was high and limited comfortable lake access.  
With our next destination being Nashville Tennessee, we took a road that later we found out was Natchez-Trace Parkway. Here we ran into a Visitor Center operated by the US National Park Service. We learned that the parkway is a 444-mile scenic parkway managed by the National Park Service that runs from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. A great drive. No commercial traffic and no stores or gas stations. Just rolling green tree covered hills. The route also took us through a section of Alabama. We stopped along the Tennessee River and enjoyed the views and lunch. On the way to Nashville, we came across a horse carriage on the road. We slowly followed until they made a stop at a local store. I assume we were in an Amish community. 
Once in Nashville, we were guided by friends to various night life establishments. It just happened to be CMA Fest, so lots of live free music events throughout the city. Domestic Specials for $2.50 at Robert's was a plus. Name bands playing outside at Hard Rock Cafe, Nashville was fun. 
Traveling east from Nashville, we stopped at Bristol Gardens and Grill - Barbecue Restaurant in Virginia outside of Bristol. A nice small unassuming place serving food grown on site. We stayed nearby at Cherokee Trails Campground and Stables. A unique rustic campground off the beaten path. Nice quiet and secluded.
Fuquay-Varina in North Carolina was or final east coast destination.
Got to visit with family and had a scheduled post wedding party in Oxford NC.
Now at around 22 days into our trip we start heading west.  First camp stop was  Little Beaver State Park in West Virginia. This park is on a small lake surrounded by trees. Next day we continued west, stopping at Buffalo Trace Distillery. This was a well worth the stop, which included free tasting, tours and nice gardens. We carried our dog, so we avoided the tour. It initially appeared as if an entrance cost might be involved, but the line was just for a wrist band and information. Well worth the stop.
Once in Kentucky we stayed at Lake Shelby Park and Campground. This was a very small campground with close sites situated on a lake. It was here we experienced an extreme thunder and lightning storm. It was a nice experience sitting in the trailer. Was surprised when loudspeakers went off telling people to take shelter. We later learned that the warnings were from nearby baseball fields. The rain was followed by a nice rainbow. 
Moving west to outside of St Louis, we stayed with relatives, followed by a disappointing stay at the Lake of the Ozarks. It was not the Lake Ozarks RV Resort (Osage Beach), Stackhouse Pub and Grill, Shawnee Bluff Winery or the Ozark Distillery that was the problem. They were all fun and worth the effort. It was the lake itself, which has nearly all private shoreline with very limited water access for the public. One could not even enjoy a beer or a glass of wine at the one public access point that we found. Unless you are staying along the water or have access to a boat, I would avoid this destination.
Salina Kansas was our next stop, where we stayed with friends at their home as well as at Lovewell Reservoir. That was followed by a unique stop in Superior Nebraska, with a country style lunch at The Velvet Rose. This nostalgic American restaurant is a good local spot. The decorations and food appear to be put together by a group of local grandmothers with a patriotic flair. Worth a stop if in the area.⁷
Pushing westward, we stopped at the Atwood Lion's RV Park. Located on a small lake with unique reservations system which is answered by the Atwood Retail Liquor Beer Store. Apparently, the store assists the Lion's group by answering the reservation line and check-in of first come first serve campers. A nice stay near highway 36 on the way to Colorado.
Stayed at a friend's house in Littleton CO and enjoyed the Breckenridge Brewery and  The Lazy Greyhound Cocktail Lounge. Next camp spot was Estes Park Campground at Mary's Lake. Got Timed Entry Permit reservations for 5:00-6:00AM. While it was early, it was well worth it. On park roads with no traffic and got to walk around and watch the sunrise over Sprague Lake, dear and osprey catching fish. The campground was nice, quiet and had wonderful views. We left the Rocky Mountain National Park a day later following highway 34, also known as the Trail Ridge Road. This road traverses to an elevation of 12,183 feet, well above the tree line. Snow patches are all around and views are amazing. A well worth the effort road trip leading us past Grand Lake CO.  We spent the night at Rifle Gap State Park, Cedar Campground. A nice clean campground on Rifle Gap Reservoir which displays a distinct green color during certain times of the day. The free clean showers were a welcome plus.
After leaving camp we spent some time with friends in Delta CO and then we pushed on to our next destination. Little did we know that Google maps would direct us on to Dominguez-Escalnte Natural Conservation Area via 25 Mesa Rd. This road turned into a 75-mile forest service dirt road. No cell phone service and no downloaded google map. We were lost for three hours. Dust covered our car and trailer. The sky turned dark gray and rain challenged us on and off. 3 hours later we ran across another traveler who confirmed our destination of state route 141. By the time we arrived at Ancient Cedars Masa Verde RV Park our trailer inside was covered with a thick layer of dust. Now dark and past 8:20 PM, we were happy that we had called ahead and let the campground know we would be arriving late. We were pleasantly greeted by a caretaker who guided us to our site. We removed everything from the interior and cleaned things off. Not fun but, needed to be done. We were happy that the showers worked, were clean. Nice place a bit off of our route.
The following day we drove towards Monument Valley. To our dismay we once again hit an unexpected dirt road. The Indian reservation was in the process of removing the road, leaving just the gravel road base to travel on for miles. Ugg more dust.
Drove past the Forest Gump spot in the movie where he decided to stop running. People standing in the road taking pictures, oblivious to any traffic. 
Once we got to the Navajo Tribal Park welcome center at Monument Valley we learned that to drive the scenic drive a permit was required and the drive would be on a 17-mile unpaved road with potential deep sand which required a high-clearance 4WD vehicle. Not for us, we continued to drive west.
Out next camping spot was Flagstaff KOA Holiday. Being July 4th with no reservations, we stopped here as a last resort. It is a nice (expensive) spot with good showers and friendly staff. We got the last open spot which backed up to a large open space with trails. 
With California in our sights, Clarkdale AZ would be our final stop. Visited with relative with a home backing the Verde River. Nice stop where we urban camped outside of his home in our trailer. Got to stop at Belfry Brewery in Cottonwood before our last 450-mile drive home.
It was a good trip and was well worth the sore buttocks.
Next trip - Senator Wash CA. 
 
 

 

Colorado_Bruce

Excellent travelog @JamesDow, appreciate your time in making this write up.  I was not aware of the Monument Valley, Utah "permit needed" situation.  Great that you got to stop to see several friends/familys along the way.  Congrats on an outstanding USA adventure :-)

Enjoy the upcoming Senator Wash trip.