Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Suwannee River Rendezvous Resort - Mayo, Florida

PFR *****
Campground ****

This is a great campground with long, level sites and a good amount of grassy area between them.  There are covered picnic tables at some of the sites.  Our site had one, but there was very loose sand under it, so we didn't use it as part of the yard.  We were in an end site with a large yard area, but there were 2 bushes in the way of expanding our yard to utilize it.  But, we had adequate area.  They do not have a pet limit.

There is a small restaurant next to the office, that is open on Fri, Sat, & Sun.  You order at the window, then they bring it to you in the seating area inside the office.

The office is in an old area of the park that is not big rig friendly.  So, you go directly to your site when you arrive, then walk or drive your car to the office to check-in.  They give you an armband to wear all the time you are in the park, so that security knows you belong there.

There is a natural spring that feeds into the river, up past the office.  There is a duck pond at one end of the big rig  campground.  It was right across the street from our site.

Site #127
$48/night - $24 using Passport America
Length of stay - 2 nights
Satellite - All 3 with rooftop
Water pressure - 60







Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Emerald Coast RV Resort - Panama City Beach, Florida

PFR *
Campground ***

This is a nice "resort", with concrete streets and parking pads.  Our site was level, but the sites were very close together, with a little bit of grass at the front of the site and a little bit of grass at the rear of the site.

There was Pampus Grass between our site and the neighbors on both sides that was very overgrown.  We could not go in or out the entry door without scraping against it, and it was right up to the side of the rig on the other side.  They came and ripped out the Pampus grass on the awning side while we were there.

It rained several days while we were there and our site flooded.  The area right outside our steps was under 2" of water.  The patio was under about 1/2" of water.  We had to wear our wading shoes to get in and out, and take the pups out to potty.  The day before we left, we came home to find that someone had built us a bridge in front of the steps and out to the driveway.

This park has a 4 dog limit, so we could only take 4 out at a time.  They also had a "nothing on the grass" rule, so we could not use our xpens.  We also had to put the portable satellite dish on the picnic table.

The thing that really got us about this park was their constant threat of towing your RV or vehicle.  They had the usual rules of, don't park on the grass, check-out at 11:00, etc, but the rules stated that if you were not out of your site by 11:00 on your departure date, they would tow your RV off of the property.  They also said that if your car was found parked on the grass, in the street, or in a empty site, your car would be towed without warning.  The lady that checked us in actually told us to make sure that we kept the car tag hanging on our mirror at all times, "So that if we chose to park on the grass, etc, they would know whose car they were towing.".

Site #40
$66/night - Weekly Good Sam's rate
Length of stay - 1 week
OTA - 14 channels
Satellite - All 3 with portable
Water pressure - 60










Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Gunter Hill Campground COE - Montgomery, Alabama

Campground ****
PFR *****

We stayed in this park once before, in the Antioch Loop.  This time, we stayed in the Catoma Loop, which is FHU.  The sites are REALLY nice, with very long concrete parking pads and packed dirt and tiny gravel yards.  The yard was large enough to use all 7 xpens.  There are lovely mature trees, with Spanish moss hanging from them.  It is very quiet and peaceful.

The only problem we have is that, even using the portable satellite dish, we can not get local channels.  The Eastern arc satellites do not carry the local channels, and Mike was never able to find a spot where it could see all of the satellites on the Western arc.  But, we got all the network channels on the OTA antenna, so we just had to switch back and forth.  Looks like if we were in site #..., or any of the ones across the street, we would have no problem with the portable getting all the satellites.

The mosquitoes are TERRIBLE!!!  They swarm us outside, and follow us inside.

 Site #63
$13 with senior discount
Length of stay - 2 weeks
FHU
Satellite - None on rooftop and only 2 with portable
OTA - 32 channels
Water pressure -60 lbs
 ---------------------------------------
(Original review 5/5/17 in the older, water & electric loop)
This is a really nice COE.  The roads leading to our site were pretty narrow and poorly marked.  But our site was easy to get into and right next to the water.  The site was packed aggregate and level.  The patio area was big enough to use all 7 of our xpens.

This site is mostly shaded, both morning and evening, and is pretty secluded.

Sites 1 - 75 are in the Catoma Loop.  It appears to be newer, and are FHU.  The parking pads are level concrete, with pea gravel patio areas.  It looks like there are a lot of long sites.

Sites 76 - 141 are in the Antioch Loop, water & electric only.

Site #101  (Site 102 would probably also work. Angel & Teresa were in site 100)
Length of stay - 2 weeks
$9/night
OTA - 32 channels
Satellite - Didn't try, too many trees
Water pressure - 70 lbs 
No sewer

5/5/17

5/5/17

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Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Casino Queen RV Park - East St Louis, Missouri

PFR ***
Campground ***

We stayed here for a BRD rally.  Streets and long pull-thru parking pads were blacktop, with large gravel in the "yard" area.  The dogs did not like walking on the large gravel, and it was really difficult to scoop the poop.  Sites are pretty close together, so we only put out a few xpens.  We did have a beautiful view of the Gateway Arch.

Site #502
$35.70 - Rally group rate
Length of stay - 5 nights
Satellite - all 3 
Water pressure -  60 lbs




Monday, September 30, 2019

Topeka / Capital City KOA Journey - Topeka, Kansas

PFR ****
Campground ***

This is a fine rv park for a short stay.  We stayed here for 2 nights with BRD members on our way to St Louis.  Our site was level, with nice grass between, and adequate space between sites.  We used 4 pens, but could have used more.

The row of pull-thru sites they gave us were all "buddy" sites, and were very close to the noisy highway.

Site #59
$34.40/night with discount
Length of stay - 2 nights
Satellite - All 3
Water pressure - 60 lbs




Sunday, September 29, 2019

WaKeeney KOA Journey - WaKeeney, Kansas

PFR ****
Campground ***

This is a fine rv park, for short stays.  The site was level and plenty long enough so we did not have to unhook the car (pull-thru).  There was adequate distance between sites, with good grass.  The day we were there, and throughout the night, it was WINDY!!!

We used just 3 xpens since we were just there overnight, but could have used more.

They would not let the pizza delivery person into the park.  I had to stand up at the office and wait for them.  It was after office hours, so it was closed.  But, a guy on a golf cart saw me standing there and did not even ask me if I needed help, and did not ask if I wanted a ride to our site after the pizza came.

We stopped here with other BRD members on our way to the St Louis rally.

Site #
$37.35 with discount card
Length of stay 1 night
Water pressure - 60 lbs
Satellite - All 3

I forgot to take photos of our site.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Heaton Bay Campground at White River National Forest - Silverthorne (Frisco), Colorado

PFR ****
Campground **+

This campground has nice, spacious sites, with asphalt parking pads and crushed rock yard surface.  We used all 7 of our xpens.  Our site was very level.

The scenery surrounding this campground is really beautiful!  We also enjoyed watching the many chipmunks that live all around our site.

There are several negatives to this campground.  It is at high elevation, just over 9,000', so the air is really thin.  Just going up and down the steps to get the dogs out made us feel out of breath.  Even though it was early Sept, it was really cold here a lot of the time we were here.  Highs in the mid to high 60's and lows in the 40's.  The sites in this loop are electric and water only.  No sewer at the site, and no dump station in the campground at all!  The closest dump station is 5 miles away! There are also bears in the area, so we had to be very careful about checking the area before we took the dogs out.  There are no bath houses inside the campground.  The only facilities are vault toilets.

Site #C34
Length of stay - 11 nights
$17.73/night
Water pressure - 60 lbs
Satellite - All 3 rooftop
Water and electric only, no dump station







Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Bear Creek Lake Park - Lakewood, Colorado

PFR **
Campground ***

This is a nice city run park, with beautiful views and large level sites.  The yard and parking pads are dirt with some small gravel.  The dirt was loose and if the dogs had not already been dirty from our site at Boyd Lake, they would have gotten dirty here.  But, the main reason I am giving 2 stars, is that they have a 2 dog limit. 

There were a LOT of tent campers at this campground.

One thing that was good about this place was that they have recycling bins for glass, plastic, aluminum, cardboard, and paper.

Site #37
Length of stay - 5 nights
$25/night
Satellite - All 3 rooftop
Electric only.  Water spigot was nearby.








Tuesday, August 20, 2019

McGreer Camper Park - Big Springs, Nebraska

PFR ****
Campground ***

This is a VERY small privately owned campground, just off I-80, but in a very rural area.  It has 4 long pull-thru sites that look like they are used fairly frequently.  The sites are all grass, so the "parking pad" is where the grass is worn down. There are also 5 shorter pull-thru sites that don't look like they have been used at all.  Our site was very level.  The ground is covered with a mixture of grass and weeds, but not thickly covered.

The base rate for the FHU site is $35.  But, they add $3 for Class A motorhomes, $2 for 50amp, $2 if you want to use their bathroom or shower, and $2 early check-in fee.  So, with tax, it would have been over $43.  Definitely would not have been worth the price.  But, they accept Passport America, so the total was $24.50 before tax.

There are some small trees, but none that provide shade, or interfere with satellite reception.

Site #10
$35/night ($24.50 with PA and additional fees.
Length of stay - 1 night
Satellite - All 3 satellites
Water pressure - 30 lbs