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Old 10-31-2020, 06:39 AM   #1
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Illinois To Az bound suggections

Heading soon to Buckeye Az for a couple week of R&R. Any suggestions on route or places to stay rom IL - Az? I want to stay fairly close to Buckeye Az anyone know of a campground they would recommend. My friend winters around Auga Caliente Park, Az as he bounces from free site to free site. Don't think I want to boondock our entire first trip out.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions
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Old 10-31-2020, 07:30 AM   #2
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Several things make a big difference in my planning at this time of year. One big thing not mentioned is what part of Ill. and how you want to travel from interstate mostly or staying off the main for better scenery, etc. Then there is the question of weather and if you like it cold or want warmer. At this time of year,snow can come at most anytime along the route and we do not want to deal with it even if only on the passes se we plan the route to avoid it when we head West.
For long term places to stay, it may/may not be somewhat late to get the reservations in that area.
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Old 10-31-2020, 08:38 AM   #3
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Yes be aware of freezing temps. You may be fine when stopped at a campsite with furnace air blowing in your basement to prevent freezing.

But if you get up in the morning and get on the road early with temps in the 20s, the 60+ mph wind can overwhealm the warm air from your furnace.

Either wait until daily temps warm up a bit or winterize your pipes for the trip. Tanks are less of a risk, particularly if you have DC heating pads.

David

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Old 10-31-2020, 08:46 AM   #4
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This is where planning and timing may make a difference in the route. If coming out of the South end of ILL, I favor dropping to Memphis and go 40,30, 20 and 10, just to avoid more cold which we don't like! I can time the trip through El Paso well enough to not get caught overnight in the cold to bother too much.. ..
Devil is in the details!
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Old 10-31-2020, 09:19 AM   #5
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I would recommend as did the fellow above heading south then west. but you may want to avoid as many 'cities' as possible with the latest unrest. from chicago we have taken the 55 south to st louis area then 44 to oklahoma then look for a way to 20 from the 44 which may mean going to lawton. If ya go to lawton take the back roads to 20 287 or 277 forget which it is. You will see more of rural tx than you think that way. On 20 van horne tx has 2 rv places one used to be a KOA. It had a nice little cafe for breakfast etc. Not sure if still open. Also thing about 20 west of ft worth is road construction, a lot of single lane, NM has a lot of road repairs, [unnecessary political comment removed]


If you go on 40 out of okla, you can drop down towards almagordo on the back roads (54?), nice scenery also see part of white sands missle range. Santa Rosa is the place where you turn south. If you stay on 40 you can get off at several places. Depends if sight seeing or? Painted desert and petrified forest will take you down to springerville and over on 77 towards phx or stay on 40 to holbrook and then go south, or all the way to flagstaff and I17 south. If on 40 there is a Ponderosa steak house (remember them) around the 20 mile marker/gallup. We usually stop there for dinner.



if you go 20-10 pretty much nothing impressive to see, el paso is a mess with construction as usual, fuel prices are around $2 per gallon with diesel from same to $2.30's. Was just thru that area 2 weeks ago. Diesel was 2.03 at Vado NM just west of el paso.
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Old 10-31-2020, 10:10 AM   #6
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The shortest route from Mokena where you live is the one shown by Google maps through St. Louis, OKC, ABQ and down. But as previously suggested heading further south could be better weather and temp wise - it will add a lot of miles to your trip though. The trouble is you almost have to drop all the way down to I-10 to get below the freeze line and that's really far.

Phoenix is a SUPER popular winter destination and can be difficult to find reservations for longer stays. We go to Tucson every winter for a month and reservations a year in advance are required for that length of stay. But this year may not be nearly as crowded due to Covid and US boarder closings.

Southern Arizona in Jan/Feb is really nice. 70 degree days and 45 degree nights and no humidity. Though you can see cold snaps come through every few weeks.
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Old 10-31-2020, 10:20 AM   #7
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Hank857, I would not recommend eating in Gallup at this time. Gallup is surrounded by the Navajo Nation which has been hit very hard with Covid. Most of the service workers are from the reservation. We stayed behind the Cracker Barrel in Gallup in July and resisted the temptation to go in for breakfast.
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Old 10-31-2020, 10:37 AM   #8
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Its a toss up, eat out and MAYBE catch something or just go for it. In Az there are lots of reservations and although some have high incidence many dont. In show low its a toss up with masks some do some dont, in Globe the town is about shut down for dine in and the reservation is east of town! texas same way, masks not required it seems so some do a lot dont! In NM masks are required, same in AZ. So like I said its a toss up, damned if you do, damned if ya dont it seems. I have a coworker and she said her sisters family STAYED home and didnt go out, still caught the bug.
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Old 10-31-2020, 11:11 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by hank857 View Post
texas same way, masks not required it seems so some do a lot dont!
There is a statewide mask order in Texas for the vast majority of locations and has been since mid-summer. Though some ignore it. The majority of businesses do however enforce it. Especially the grocery stores and restaurants.
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Old 10-31-2020, 11:33 AM   #10
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When it gets down to the damned if you do, damned if you don't, I go for looking at figures and decided we don't!
Herd immunity takes 70% of the 328 million population recovering after getting sick, so that makes about 229 million and a bit have to get sick. With one out each 25 getting it wind up dying, we get close to 9 million dying but if we are better so that only half as many die that's closer to 41/2 million.
My wife and I don't find that acceptable so we choose to do all we can to not be part of that number!!!
No way are we eating out in any part of this country! We put everything that comes into the house in QT until we feel it is safe to handle. Most military folks have had the old CBR training and should remember what to do.
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Old 11-04-2020, 05:44 PM   #11
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When it gets down to the damned if you do, damned if you don't, I go for looking at figures and decided we don't!
Herd immunity takes 70% of the 328 million population recovering after getting sick, so that makes about 229 million and a bit have to get sick. With one out each 25 getting it wind up dying, we get close to 9 million dying but if we are better so that only half as many die that's closer to 41/2 million.
My wife and I don't find that acceptable so we choose to do all we can to not be part of number!!!
No way are we eating out in any part of this country!We put everything that comes into the house in QT until we feel it is safe to handle. Most military folks have had the old CBR training and should remember what to do.
you piqued my curiosity.

1 in 25 is ~4%. actual CV19 mortality rate is far less.
current CDC numbers are (rounded off) ...9.4 million infections with 232,000 fatalities. assuming ALL of the reported deaths were from CV19 that’s roughly 2.5%. the younger you are the lower the odds. the risk of dying from CV19 for kids and young adults is virtually nil.

btw, your odds of dying while driving or from a fall are 1%. i’m not a math nerd but it seems logical that the longer the drive the higher your odds of dying. odds of dying from heart disease is 16%, dying from cancer is 14%.

none of us are getting out of this alive. do what ya gotta do.
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Old 11-04-2020, 05:45 PM   #12
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Take your time

I would agree with Creativepart for your general route to AZ.
I would highly recommend to use TripWizard to plan your trip and find your campgrounds. It’s an invaluable planning tool. I have used it in planning all our trips and with a lot of fun.
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Old 11-04-2020, 08:30 PM   #13
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Leaf Verde RV Resort
1500 S Apache Rd
Buckeye, AZ 85326












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Old 11-05-2020, 09:26 AM   #14
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Not sure where in IL you are starting from, so this may not be much help - we are a boondockers welcome site close to St. Louis. You are welcome here going either way
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Old 11-05-2020, 10:15 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rk911 View Post

you piqued my curiosity.

1 in 25 is ~4%. actual CV19 mortality rate is far less.
current CDC numbers are (rounded off) ...9.4 million infections with 232,000 fatalities. assuming ALL of the reported deaths were from CV19 that’s roughly 2.5%. the younger you are the lower the odds. the risk of dying from CV19 for kids and young adults is virtually nil.

btw, your odds of dying while driving or from a fall are 1%. i’m not a math nerd but it seems logical that the longer the drive the higher your odds of dying. odds of dying from heart disease is 16%, dying from cancer is 14%.

none of us are getting out of this alive. do what ya gotta do.
No need to debate it too far as many will not change their habits but there is some room for thought. The numbers will alway vary but if we do the math with the numbers you have provided, they do come out different and they do look better if we stop at that point.
But if we take your death rate of 2.5% rather than my figures, 2.5% of 229 million is still way above acceptable to me at more than FIVE MILLION deaths to get to herd immunity.
That number does change the way I travel, shop, and live.
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Old 11-05-2020, 11:16 AM   #16
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Smile

I wonder just how many of the folks who feel herd immunity is a good way to get to the end of this COVID doing their best to get infected so they can be part of the immune folks.

I won't mention, the scientists who work daily with COVID have said the we don't know yet IF just having COVID will produce immunity. Well I guess I did mention it.
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Old 11-05-2020, 11:33 AM   #17
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The routes given earlier are all options to consider.

My recommendation and what we do, is to use our smart phones and internet to monitor 2 or 3 weather websites and then travel the route that seems best to us. If the weather is predicted to be bad tomorrow or the next day, we alter our route or just stay put until the weather allows us to travel again.

Contrary to popular belief the weather along I-40 is not always below freezing and covered with snow from Nov 1 to Apr 1. It happens when the weather fronts come through.

Take a look at Weather Underground the calendar function that shows the actual weather history for every month going back 20-30 years.

Below is the report for Flagstaff and is probably the biggest risk for bad snow & ice. Four days of snow, three of those were at the end of the month. Most of the month was dry and sunny. Yes the mornings are below freezing, but if you stay a hundred or so miles east the weather is much less likely to be that cold.
In the example below, just change the month and/or year to see other history examples.

Here is the display for Nov 2019: https://www.wunderground.com/calenda...G/date/2019-11



BTW I-10 just NW of San Antonio gets ice and snow every once in a while in November.
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Old 11-30-2020, 09:55 PM   #18
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Thank you for all the information posted up . We will be on our way back in 3-4 days. Maybe come back the later part of December. We ended up taking 4 days to get here because a turbo pipe came loose. So after figuring out what was causing my interior to fog up and finally it was very noticable I opened the rear engine compartment. It appears someone put the clamp on the exhaust side of the turbo. took off down the road thought all my problems were gone and then I get a high exhaust temp and had to pull over. After rechecking my work and nothing I started searching and found the rear tail pipe had fallen off which I believe bent enough to cause back pressure. Also there were two wires that were hanging and melted. I thought it was two wires from the rear cooling fan...then figured out it was for a tow vehicle. So taped them up cut the rod holding the tail pipe and off we go.


Finally we arrived in Az and have been staying at a place in Gila Bend,Az Senora Desert Inn and it is an amazing place to stay at. Pool is heated to 90 degrees, super clean facilities and huge sites. Also for your pooch they have great facilities. Highly recommended
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Old 12-01-2020, 06:34 AM   #19
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so what routes did you finally take and plan to return by??
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Old 12-02-2020, 06:59 PM   #20
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Hey Hank heading back Rt 10 to RT 303 to Rt 17 to Rt 40 to Rt 44 to IL 55 and home seems to be the route as of now. People say 17 in Az has less elevation to deal with.
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