Whispering Pines RV Park Odessa/Midland, TX?

[Scotty B]

Hi All...we (I) want to stop in Odessa/Midland area on our way to Carlsbad from Ft. Davis. I have wanted to see the Jim Hall Chaparral car museum for ages and most likely won't pass this way again.
Right now we're booked into a place called Whispering Pines in Odessa. It's a 9.2 on RV campgrounds, but no reviews in a year and only a few at that. Google earth doesn't necessarily support that rating.
Anyone stay or from this area and have any information they could share? Does not seem to be a lot of choices.
Thanks and safe travels!

[creativepart]

Hey Scott,
Just looking at that Whispering Pines listing in RV Park Reviews made me want to look at other options.

If I was choosing I'd say Park Places RV Park looks like a better choice. Though it's a gamble either way.

Over in Midland, Midland RV Campground seems popular, too. Lots of reviews.

For the life of me I can't understand why 60% of the reviews start with "The owners were really nice." What has that got to do with anything???

Typical of West Texas - lots of dirt and gravel out there.

Originally Posted by Scotty B

most likely won't pass this way again.

One more thing... if you're going from Ft. Davis to Carlsbad I'd say you are still not passing by that part of Texas this time either.

PS. If you're staying in the State Park at Ft. Davis, be aware there is zero, nado, nothing, zilch cellular service in the campground there.

[Morich]

There's always lots of personal choice when looking for camping, so can you give us a few more details? Big one might be if you mean Carlsbad Caverns or do you mean the town of Carlsbad that is nearby? The for routing, are you on a schedule or moving any special direction to take into account?

What's your choice for wants/needs or nice to have? Overnight with no facilities can open the range a whole bunch and put you into what we like far more than the commercial campgrounds!
When just running through and want to stay near some site to look around we tend to open the options much more than if we wanted to stay several days.
We got into rarely staying in commercial if we could find state or national parks as they are often so much better run and maintained---if they have the basics we wanted.

If we were going the right direction, we might first look at the national park for nice and close and then make the swing by Midland /Odessa on the way if going East!

[Scotty B]

Thanks Paul - you continue to be a blessing to me and all. Not sure how I missed those two campgrounds, but it appears both are much better options. We're going to go with Park Places for the two nights. Easy access and only 1/2 hour from the museum.

It is funny how many reviews include the line about the owners being really nice.

And yes, it is a bit of a detour - will add 1-1/2 hours to our transit time vs. going straight to Carlsbad from Ft. Davis. It would be two hours plus to the museum from either of the campgrounds we are staying at in those two places - which I could never justify for me let alone Phyllis.

Crazy to some I am sure, but so would the idea be of wanting to see 60 year old race cars!

Thanks for the tip on the cell service at the state park. We're staying at Davis Mountain RV Park in Ft. Davis. Looking forward to visiting the state park, the Star Party at McDonald Observatory (we'll have to act like adults and stay up past 9:00 PM!), and going soaring in Marfa - another thing we've always wanted to do.

Richard - it sounds like it is time for you to get yourself another RV and hit the road a bit! Thanks for the reply my friend.

[Morich]

No doubt your wife may have some different thoughts but she should consider how lucky you are interested in cars!
Much easier to go along than if you had different hobbies.

I like railroad history and tend to chase railroad tracks! That tends to get us into all kinds of places she would rather not see!
Fortunately lots of the interesting things I want to see are not in the bigger cities where things tend to get torn down for "progress" but they are much more likely to be left in original build when out in the less traveled, less progressive small towns!
East Broadtop Railroad? Yes, that's for me!

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Scotty B

Thanks Paul - you continue to be a blessing to me and all. Not sure how I missed those two campgrounds, but it appears both are much better options. We're going to go with Park Places for the two nights. Easy access and only 1/2 hour from the museum.

It is funny how many reviews include the line about the owners being really nice.

And yes, it is a bit of a detour - will add 1-1/2 hours to our transit time vs. going straight to Carlsbad from Ft. Davis. It would be two hours plus to the museum from either of the campgrounds we are staying at in those two places - which I could never justify for me let alone Phyllis.

Crazy to some I am sure, but so would the idea be of wanting to see 60 year old race cars!

Thanks for the tip on the cell service at the state park. We're staying at Davis Mountain RV Park in Ft. Davis. Looking forward to visiting the state park, the Star Party at McDonald Observatory (we'll have to act like adults and stay up past 9:00 PM!), and going soaring in Marfa - another thing we've always wanted to do.

Richard - it sounds like it is time for you to get yourself another RV and hit the road a bit! Thanks for the reply my friend.

I was lucky enough to see the 2H race at Mosport Canada. Getting to the museum is definitely on my bucket list. I live in Ohio so it will be a real trip but since I raced SCCA and IMSA from 1970 - 1993 sports cars are in my blood.

[gromhome]

I would love to tour that museum. I saw Jim Hall and the Chapperal race at the old Stardust International Raceway in Las Vegas decades ago. Stardust long ago became a housing development. To misquote Snoopy, "Stupid people! You're living on my racetrack memories!"

[Scotty B]

Thanks for your memories guys. Really cool. Mine are a bit murkyer, was another lost raceway, Riverside. What an amazing place. My dad took me and my older brothers to Can-Am practice. My one brother thinks maybe a couple years. Date is unclear, but had to be around 70??? That would have been the 2J. One brother liked Chaparral, the other McLaren. I liked Mark Donohue.
exceeded expectations. Petroleum part is really well done, too. They all run. You could plan your visits around when they do that.
Plus, Big Bend and Carlsbad Caverns NPs are close
Paul - great suggestion on the campground. Very serviceable for a night or two. The winds get scary around here!