Hit the Road
Ready to go, with our first truck and camper setup. September 2024
We couldn’t hit the road immediately. We had a few doctor visits to take care of and we wanted to spend some time visiting family before we truly hit the road. We got moving the first weekend of September, right in time for Labor Day. We had been planning to go to Utah this year and visit canyons and arches. We did lots of research, had our route mapped and most of our stops planned out when we decided to change plans.
The dam and locks at Toad Suck, Arkansas
Now that we were going to live in the camper full time we figured we needed to get used to “living” in it more than going to epic places this year. Our plan was to head out the first of September and be back in the Carolinas by early November. It seemed it would be easier to deal with winter camping being back “home” and we would have places to moochdock while visiting family and friends. Two months living in the camper would give us a good taste of what this new normal would be like. Then we could refine what we were going to do over the winter.
Sunrise at Toad Suck Landing.
Once we left the Carolinas, our first work stop was in Toad Suck, Arkansas, at an Army Corps campground on the Arkansas River. It is a very nice little campground, next to a dam and lock system that allows traffic to travel up and down the river. We spent 5 nights here so Shawna could work and then we headed off for a few more days of driving.
We usually plan for 4 hours of google map driving time. With the camper, dogs, lunch and potty breaks this ends up being about 6 hours of time getting to the next stop. Shawna typically works Tuesday-Friday, so we drive Saturday to Monday. We prefer not to drive all 3 days but will when needed. After the next spurt of driving we landed in Clayton Lake State Park in the NE corner of New Mexico.
Sunrise Over dinosaur tracks at Clayton Lake State Park in NM
Our new plan was to spend this trip wandering around Northern New Mexico looking for pleasant weather in the 60’s and 70’s. The weather did not cooperate. It was continually in the low and mid 80’s, which required AC to keep the camper tolerable. The AC in campers is quite loud so we really wanted to avoid using it but we had to find electric hookups as these tin boxes heat up quickly in the sun with temps of 80 and above.
Nika peering over the edge at Clayton Lake SP. She loves to peer over edges.
Clayton Lake was great place to stop. It’s a pretty little lake in the middle of nowhere and nothing around. It’s just hilly, scrubby land with a small town nearby. The town of Clayton did have a decent grocery store and a laundromat, so it would work for our week stay here. The park has a few trails and the shoreline is easily walkable along the cliff edge.
When Clayton lake was being built they discovered dinosaur tracks where the spillway was being placed. These are some of the best tracks we have seen so far. There were bald eagles, osprey, road runners and owls along with lots of other bird life that enjoyed this little oasis in the scrubland. We enjoyed spending a week here, too.
Shawna making her way up through the Beehive area at Clayton Lake SP.