NAVAJO DAM STATE PARK, NM

Navajo Dam State Park is straight west from Farmington, NM.  Just outside of the town of Aztec on Hwy 550 you will turn right onto Hwy 173.  Hwy 173 gets used a lot by the oil & electric company with their large trucks and the road is good but will jar things around in your rig a little.  When you come to the town of Navajo Dam, turn left onto Hwy 511.  Once you cross over the dam, and go around the curb about another 1/2 mile or so, you will veer to your right into the park.


Once upon a time this lake was quite huge, but due to recent years of drought, the lake is below normal pool level, but still big enough for bass boats, houseboats and jet boats to have a little room to play.  But on a busy weekend-one will have to be more cautious than maybe during the week.


The campground itself is very rustic looking and for some large rigs a bit intimidating.  We ended at Pine-main.  There is a combination of both elect/water, full hook-up and primitive sites in this loop.  Pine has 5 separate loops from A-E.


In “A” loop is where you will find the full hook-up sites-but only just a few. the rest are electric with the exception of one site that is primitive. All the other loops in Pine have either elect/water or are primitive. 
Just past the dump station, if you turn right you are in “E” loop. Turn right at the bathroom again, go around the loop and on the right side you will come across a gravel type road.  Going in is three sites, one has access from the paved road while the other two are from the gravel road.  The road is narrow and very uneven.  the lower site is just about impossible for any size rig to get in.


Not rig friendly, but perfect for a tent or two.


however the very last site, rigs can get in-but don’t expect to be on even ground.  This is where we parked and had a great view of the lake.


  We had a great view from all four direction and loved this spot!  This was a primitive site.


Although there has been large rigs in Pine-main, it’s really not designed for large rigs.   The road is narrow with breakage on the edge of the roadway, making it impossible not to hit branches or to drop off. We even seen one 5th wheel scrapping the tree and doing damage to his antenna not to mention the scratches he put in his rig.  Here is a view of some rigs in spots and notice how they just about stick out in the roadway:


   
These rigs are nearly in the roadway! 

I’m not saying large rigs shouldn’t camp here, for once here, the view and rustic of the area is just gorgeous!  But word of caution:  If you are a triple axle or unsure with your large rig, I might suggest going to Cottonwood for camping.


I also might suggest if you are a large rig coming in; once entering the campground, the dump station is on the right and down the hill.  If you stay on the main road, to your left is “A” Loop, go just past the host and playground (on left) you come to a three intersection: one is “B” loop with a one way sign-stay out of there if your big!  not much room to move around.  But instead veer a little to your left (you will find a green fencing on your right where there is a gas well-follow it).  You are now in “C” loop and there are one or two sites that a big rig might fit in.  But keep going around the bend and you soon go into “D” loop. There are sites on your left with great view of the lake and marina.  These sites are a little more accommodating for the bigger rigs.  But word of caution: only one site is not reservable….


Once again you will come across yet another gravel roadway, and although we checked it out-there was no way we could even possibly think of getting our small motorhome down there!  We did see a truck and small camper down there, but we also saw evidence of his spun out when he came back out and I’m sure he had to put the truck into 4-wheel drive.  But nice sites for tents!


This is not RV Friendly!  They use too large of rocks for their roadway.


Pine is not the only campground in this area.  You also have: Pinon, Cedar, and Juniper campground.  These three were closed and only open just before Memorial Day and close shortly after Labor Day holiday.  They are all primitive with vault toilet; with the exception of Cedar having flush toilet and shower building.


When you first turn left to head towards these three campground, you start out on black top, but once you cross over the cattle guard it becomes gravel.  It’s mostly hard pack, but getting closer to Juniper campground, you climb up hill and it seems the gravel is a little more loose in this area.


Gravel roadway to Juniper-Here it starts to get a little loose compare to the rest of the hard gravel.

Pinon Campground allows no RV’s  and believe me, after walking it, if you don’t have a 4-wheel drive or high clearance vehicle-we would not suggest even considering this area!  the road is very un-even, rough with large rocks and many ruts.  Sites are okay with some nice private sites and views of the lake.  I wonder if anyone has gotten into trouble with their vehicle in this area and had to be hauled out?


This is the roadway to Pinon


   Cedar and Juniper is a little bit more RV friendly with some sites that have great view and/or privacy for those that wish it.  However, once again, the road is narrow with bush hanging out in the roadway, deep ruts with large rocks.  If I owned a big diesel pusher-I would NOT want to bring my rig in here at all.  I would not want to come into these areas if there were any intention of rain-you just might find yourself-stuck....


                


Navajo Dam also has two other campgrounds besides here.  Cottonwood is below the dam and just off of 173 just before you get to the town of Navajo Dam.  It’s a gravel road, but a good road getting into the campground.  the sites appeared to be more level and wider and as I stated earlier, more RV friendly.  They do not have showers but have flush toilet and a dump station.


You are on the San Juan River with great fishing and wildlife viewing.  We were here during the day and saw a young buck coming out of the water and constantly heard wild turkeys.




The only downfall that we could really see to camping here was the knats and mosquitos!  We hate both, so opted of not coming here to camp.


there is also one other park called Sims Mesa-we did not adventure to that side and cannot say what that is like.


As for the cleanliness of the Parks wasn’t all that bad.  Not a lot of trash, but fire rings we notice could use a cleaning and could see evidence of past campers that have thrown it down the hill-us included.  Our fire ring was full, so making sure no hot spot-Brian scooped up most of it and flung it down the hillside. 


There is a campground host and he seems to be very friendly and was helpful to us.  Not really sure of his job description, but we did notice that he might clean one site, but totally skip another site.   One site has had trash in the fire ring now for the whole time we have been here and no one has bother to clean it up.
The park rules states no glass bottles outside of your vehicle while inside the park, but again evidence showed that people don’t pay attention to rules. 


I can’t speak for during peak season, but off season there is no rangers around other than in the visitor center.  If coming in you pay your fees through an honor box system that is located at the entrance of the park, and again at Pine, Pinon, Cedar & Juniper.   Both Cottonwood and Sims Mesa the honor box is at their entrance as well.  The only time we saw evidence of a park ranger was on the weekends.  We were told by the host that two do live on the premises.


Bathrooms were clean-but not spectacular.  I think they fear cleaning the showers the most,  the whole time we stayed here they might have gotten a hose down down once or twice-but that’s it.  Brian and I said that when we use to contracted for the C.O.E. and would get a “white glove” inspection-this would not pass the inspection!  But good enough to use-until the weekend groups came in.  We have been in cleaner and dirtier-so I guess we take this as being in the middle for cleanliness.


When we took a drive down to Cottonwood we both were completely appalled to what we saw.  Our American Flag completely tattered, faded and worn out!  Upon emailing pictures and a letter to the main office in Santa Fe-the Flag was replaced immediately.  It should have never been allowed to be let go for that long and there fore made us a little disappointed in New Mexico State Park and hope we never come across this again….


     

Would we ever come back here?  Oh yeah!  Even though the park is a little out of date, and we understand cut-backs.  The peace and tranquil here in the high-desert mountain was awesome!  I’m sure however during peak season this place is booming.  That is why we choose to come in early spring before the crazy starts.


    
    

MICROWAVE & OVEN-WHO NEEDS THEM?

When we purchased our 2008 Winnebago Aspect back in 2009, it came with a convectional microwave oven.  I used it here and there; but I also feared it at the same time-never using a convection oven before.
Brian used the microwave often to warm up my coffee in the morning or warm up vegetable and leftovers.  I tried my best to be creative with the convection oven and every time I did all turned out dried or burnt.  I’m mainly used to gas and/or propane ovens.  I feel you can regulated them much easier.
We knew when we purchased our motorhome, that we would be spending better than most of the year boondocking.  therefore for us to use the microwave or the convection oven, we would have to power the generator.
At my last attempt to do a small turkey breast in the convection oven and it turning out dryer than the desert floor that we sit on now-I finally told Brian why keep something that is hardly going to be used and that if we got rid of that oven/microwave, we could utilized the space for more storage.
Coming upon a camper and a good friend that was in need of a new microwave for their motorhome-we sold them our nice little unit for them cheap. 
Now comes a time when we could use an oven-but now not owning one-we had a dilemma-but only for a short time.  We purchased a coleman folding oven.  Now the question comes along:  How well do they work?
Well, going on two years with it-it still does the job!  Only thing we wish is that they made one for two burners instead of the one burner.  It’s small and no, we can’t cook a turkey in it, but it does great for baking 1/2 of a cake mix, cutting pizza’s in half and baking, biscuits and for many other dishes that our 9x9 square pan fits nicely into.
Here is what our oven looks like on our stove
Brian putting in 1/2 of a pizza
Fits perfect-now to let it get up to temp.

may have to adjust the flame to not to burn the pizza
While we eat part of the pizza-we will cook the 2nd half…

mmmm good
There are several notches that you can move the grate on; we mainly use the middle one.  But for cakes we use the top one-so not to burn the bottom of the cake.

What’s really nice about this camp oven is the fact that it folds down when we are completely done!

You say: What about the microwave?  Phooey! Who needs one?  If I can’t drink my coffee while it’s still hot-then I drink it cold.  If we need something warmed up-put it in a pan and warm it the old fashion way!  Oh there has been a few occasions where Brian says he misses the use of a microwave-but he soon gets over it!
We have thought about a solar oven for our kind of lifestyle-but for now we are very happy with our camper oven and will continue to use it until it needs replaced with another one. 

MY HUMBLE OPINION-AMAZON.COM

Now that I have officially completed my first season with Amazon.com in Coffeyville KS. Here is my humble opinion about the whole thing:
Upon my phone interview with Paul from Amazon, he was very pleasant on the phone and very honest in the interview. He came right out and stated that the job could be physically demanding. He asked if I was able to lift at least 50lbs, if I was able to walk at least 10+ miles in a 10 hour shift, if you would be offended by some of the things that might come through the fulfillment center. If you can answer those questions honestly-then you won’t have any problem working for amazon.com.

• Never did I have to really lift 50lbs, and they are very adamant that you “test” the load before even trying to lift. If you feel you cannot lift, then don’t hesitate to ask for help and get a “buddy lift” (another person to help you with the heavy item).
• The only time you may walk 10+ miles if you are a “picker”, then you could easily walk more than that; especially during peak season. Another one that could get you that many miles is also a stower (a person who puts the items in designated area). I was a receiver so I basically stood more than I walked. They do require that if you stand more than 15 minutes in the same spot that you get a rubber mat.
• Good solid shoes is a must and some are not even allowed, so before you go out and buy those shoes, find out first what are allowed and what are not. There are two different tennis shoes that are not allowed, the one is an exception as long as the wires on the heel are covered. Stay away from steel toe shoes!
• You will have to go through security every single time you leave the plant area. So be prepared to have your break time cut down by a minute or two.
• I never knew they could put so many shifts as Amazon has done; I believe that there was a total of 13 shifts. All day shifts started at 6:00am (inbound) or 6:30am (outbound) and you worked until either 4:30pm (inbound) or 5:00pm (outbound). Night shift started at either 5:00pm or 5:30pm depending if you were inbound or outbound. Regardless what you worked, we all did at least 10 hour shift. You might start beginning of your week on Sunday and end on Wednesday or maybe start on Monday and end on Thursday and so forth and so forth. There was one called the Donut shift and no they didn’t get donuts for going in but their shift might start on Monday, work Tuesday, have Wednesday off and then work Thursday and Friday and have the weekend off. There were couples that worked only 2 days and had the rest off. So many scenarios that you wouldn’t imagine that a job placement could do-but Amazon did!
• During peak season (right after Thanksgiving and going all the way to Dec 23rd) your hours could increase to 50, 55 or 60 hours. Workampers are only required to work 50, but they do have the option to go up to 60 hours if they choose too.
• All work force campers completed on or before the 23rd of Dec. Depending on when your shift work week ended. Amazon will pay for one extra day of camping the day before you start and one day after you completed your end of term. you do NOT get your bonus if you leave your assignment before your officially end date. I was shocked to see a couple of campers leave and they only had one more week left to go.

• We did get a few flack from the regular workers, but I learned for the most part to do my job, try my best to get along and not let them get to me. I would great them with a smile, tell them good morning or to have a good night and before I knew it, I did become friends with them. Once in a while I would ask for their input (even though I knew the answer)-this made them feel that you needed them and they then in return would actually respect you back.
• You had several vested folks running around, red vest, green vest, yellow vest and an occasional brown vest.
  • Red vest: were your Ambassador and did mainly training. They guided you and answer you any questions and were there the first week of your job.
  • Green Vest: were your PA’s (Process Assistant): If there was a job shift they would tell you were to go. Amazon also works on a percentage and they would come around about 2-4 times daily to let you know where your percentage was. Or if you had a screw up, they would come and tell you what you did wrong.
  • Yellow Vest were your managers of your dept.. You may easily see two or three of them running around your area. One is generally higher up than the other, but the same, if you have a question or problem, you go to them.
  • Brown Vest were the work campers force supporters. If we had any questions to relay to Paul or Dana we would go through them or they might do a safety check with us to make sure we are following Amazon’s guidelines in safety.
• Amazon is very strong on Safety and are very strict in areas of Pit Drivers and running or working around the conveyers, there is absolutely no room for errors and they won’t hesitate in firing you if you violate the serious safety rules! You do go through safety school on your first day during orientation. So pay attention-it’s really not rocket science but more common sense than anything.
• Your first day is called Meet and Greet which basically was orientation. You watch several videos (they are boring), you took a quick quiz to see if you could read and comprehend what they wanted (very easy and simple and almost funny). Here is where they will take your pic and you will get a badge before the end of the day and you will know what shift and areas you will be working. It’s an all day affair.

I mainly stayed in Inbound trained in receiving and prepping. Prepping was sort of fun, but hated to hang coats on hangers! When Peek time came around many folks that were stowers and some receivers got moved over to outbound with many extra overtime. Here is where I really got frustrated because all the managers knew that I wanted as much OT as I could get, and I didn’t get moved. I got stuck in inbound and the tension between all the workers for some reason got more tense.
I won’t denied there were a few occasions where I just wanted to walk out, but I didn’t. I didn’t come this far to loose the bonus that I would receive at the end of completion. The lesson I learned is that I should have gone to HR right away with my issues instead of keeping them to myself. When I finally was denied extra OT that is when I did go to HR and both Paul and Dana did their best to get me my hours.
I did get some training in Outbound and enjoyed the different pace of work. However several of those that got transfer during peak season, they ended up quitting. I think if the managers would pay a little more attention to the workampers, they would get better cooperation and a lot less walking out on the job.
Here is a low down and description of each job that a workampers may do:
Inbound consist of shipment coming into the fulfillment center, being received and/or prepped, then onto the stowers who put the item away.
Receiver: Semi’s come in and workers unload the thousands of boxes/cases of products. Most get put on a conveyer and receivers check the items into the fulfillment center. The item is scanned and checked in through a computer system. They have to make sure there is no damage to the product upon checking in. It’s place on carts to be stowed away.
Prepping: consist of varies things. If an item if fragile and could possible be broken between transship, then it’s wrapped in bubble wrap to protect the item. If it’s anything apparel or cloth it has to be placed in bags or if it’s a child’s toy that is cloth it has to be bagged. Any liquid items that could possibly open up has to be bagged. Coats have to be placed on hangers. This is just a few things that maybe prepped.
Stower: the stowers now take the cart and find temporary placement for the product. They carry a hand held scanner so that once the product is placed, they have to scan both the product and the bin that the item is going into, so that the picker knows exactly where to go to get this item when needed. Some products have designated areas that they have to be in.
Outbound is now where the pickers goes finds an item that has been ordered and goes to shipping to be shipped out.
Picker: When item is received online through amazon, a picker goes and locates that item and places it in a bin. They too carry a hand held scanner and this is where they get their information to locate that item.
Crisplant: is the packing dept. Orders come off the conveyer and run through a chute. Again checked to make sure it’s the right product being shipped and there is no virtual damage.
Shipping: there are so many ways an item can be shipped. It all depends on how the customer has requested it to be shipped to them. Once the product is placed in the right size box, it also gets scanned and is sent down a conveyer where the address of the shipment is placed and ready to be shipped out.
Now here are some “funny” words that I call them that we had to learn quickly the meaning of:
Water Spider: is a person who takes the carts from the receivers and sends them to the stowers. Or they could also be the person that stocks the boxes for the shippers.
Gaylord: are huge boxes that shipping items are placed in once ready to be shipped to be taken out and loaded.
Asin: stands for Amazon Standard Identification Number. It’s a bar code that identified each item that is scanned into the warehouse.
There are many more that you will learn, but these are the ones that I laughed at the most!
There is really a lot that goes in to ship an item out and is amazing how it all works. It was a fun experience and look forward to more years as a seasonal work force campers for Amazon.com
One thing is for sure: this is NOT a sit down on your butt kind of job! It is physically and even mentally demanding-but I would and plan on doing it again. It does get frustrating, but you learn to cry a little, laugh a lot and make lots of new friends!
Note: All that I have described here, is how Amazon.com operates it’s fulfillment center in Coffeyville KS. So it may vary at other fulfillment centers. I hope this gives you just a general idea on how it all works.
Amazon’s Motto: Work Hard, Have Fun, Make History!

CRAZY OR WHAT??

Since traveling on the road for over 11 years now, we never have made a move this late in the season.  We always have been somewhere and settled way before even Thanksgiving.  But this year being a little different since working at amazon.com, we didn’t hit the road until literally days before Christmas!
Leaving Coffeyville, we had decided to make one of the AZ Casino’s our place to stop to enjoy Christmas at one of their delicious buffets and who knows-pluck a few dollars into the slot machine.
Upon getting ready, we knew that a bad snow storm was hitting in the direction we wanted to go, so we got held up in Sayre OK until the storm passed and the Instate cleared. 
The more we thought about it, the more exciting it sounded to be parked in snow!  We would bundle up and yes, even Leah and go play out in the snow on Christmas Day!  What a better way to enjoy the day and then go pig out on the Christmas Buffet!
Well, here’s where it starts to get interesting….
Upon leaving Amarillo TX and heading towards NM border we knew that we would start to see the snow accumulation.  Heading towards Tucumcari we only saw a dusting along the roadway and thought to ourselves that this was nothing.  We were thinking that a dusting to these folks was a blizzard…but as we got closer to a town called Edgewood NM, the snow started to get deeper.  There were areas along the I-40 corridor that hadn’t even been cleaned off along the shoulders yet.  All the rest areas Westbound were still closed and not plowed out yet.  They were just opening Eastbound rest areas as we plucked along.
   

Needing a break and wanting to stretch my legs, Brian found a Wal-Mart right off of I-40 in the town of Edgewood.  The exit was slushy but cleared enough to master the motorhome and tow, until we got into Wal-Mart’s parking lot.  They apparently don’t know the word “snow-plow”!  It wasn’t plowed at all, and being Christmas Eve, it was chaotic!  There was no place safe to park the motorhome without the fear of getting stuck since there appeared to be 10-12 inches of the white stuff. I  manage to go in one entrance and out the next exit to learn that I could not make the left turn I needed to head in right direction.  So ended up going down  the road, in the wrong direction of our destination and not knowing what was ahead.
I found a shopping center where I barely could get the motorhome in one drive and back out the other just to turn around!  upon the entrance I scrapped the back-end.  Brian goes to investigate and finally those skid wheels we purchased did their job well!Now turned around back in the right direction, We decided I didn’t need that rest after all so onward we go to the Casino!
We were tossed between Dancing Eagle and Sky City Casino.  Both had RV Parking, however Sky City sounded to have a wonderful Christmas Buffet-so Sky City here we come…
Monitoring the weather closely in that particular area, we knew that both Casinos got hit hard with the snow storm.  So Brian called to find out if even the RV Parks would be open and even plowed out.  Sky City told us that it was being done as they spoke-or so we were told.
Upon our arrival to Sky City Casino in late afternoon on Christmas Eve, we were again greeted with lots of slush and snow!  It made it difficult to even get fuel, but manage.  We paid for our site and was told that the campground was plowed out and ready.  The RV Park is across the road from the Casino/Hotel/Travel Center.  As we crossed over the road, to our dismay, we couldn’t even try to get into the RV roadway let alone find our spot that was buried yet under all the snow! 



We left the motorhome sitting in the roadway, unhooked the car and went back over to the travel center where we paid and complained.  They got the guy over to plow it out while we sat waiting…thinking boy, we gotta be crazy or what?   It took well over an hour and half just to get us a path in and into our site. 
Now we are stuck here until they finish up on Christmas Day so that we  can pull back out bright and early Monday morning to much warmer weather-AZ!




Upon getting up this morning-it was only down to –7below outside!  I think this is the coldest weather thus far since traveling.  So did we stay warm inside? You betcha!!!  With the help of the electric heater and the motorhome furnace running until we got up, then Brian turned on our Cozy World brick heater.  We never hooked to the water direct and what we have in the tank didn’t freeze either. 


We opened up the window blinds and discovered all the windows had ice on them!




Since the sun has come out all the windows are cleared up.  We are just waiting for the afternoon sun to hit the slide side so that we can bring it in and not wait till tomorrow.  As the day moves forward we are to warm up to a mighty 36 degrees.
Another Christmas Day to remember and to put in our memory book

COUNTING DOWN

Well as the countdown begins and it starts to get busy, my blog web pages may have to be short and sweet for now…But again-you just never know what I might write or when….with that said:
After two months of working at Amazon and avoiding volunteer time off we are now in full swing with the countdown to Christmas. Earlier this week we started with voluntary overtime that turned into mandatory for us this past Thursday for inbound.

Several folks including all that I have met and became acquainted with has been moved to outbound with plenty of overtime for them.  I have been left in inbound in receiving/prepping.  We are only getting 1 day overtime while outbound is doing 2 days of overtime or coming in one hour earlier.  Those that I have met didn’t want the overtime as I did. 

Also this past week while working on the receiving line, Christmas songs were playing, putting some of us in the Christmas spirit, then comes along those that didn’t want the music;  turned it off and started to play hard rock music. It sadden my heart to really know there are scrooges out there…
On the positive side of Amazon:  The week of Thanksgiving we had a meal catered in from a local catering company.  We had Turkey, mash potatoes with gravy,green beans cranberry salad and for desert bread pudding.  It was very tasty.  those that had to work a couple of hours on Thanksgiving Day got to take home a pumpkin pie.  This next week we are having another meal catered in and this time it’s stuff chicken breast, rice pilaf, and I don’t remember the rest of the menu.  Management also has been going around handing out small little trinkets to us workers.  Also all of us workampers received a workampers force T-shirt.

      

So the countdown begins…..only 3 weeks left and I’m done for the season with Amazon. Will I return to Amazon again next season? Probably, but not here in Coffeyville. I’m wishing for Fernley NV since we plan on spending the next several years that way touring the West.

You know I think I could get use to this kind of a lifestyle…Work maybe from Sept to Dec for Amazon.com and then the rest of the time off to tour around; Yep let the countdown begin!

HIDDEN GEM IN KANSAS!

Okay, we really didn’t find any hidden gems or jewels in Kansas, but if you are an avid hiker like Brian and I are, around here finding a beautiful hiking area in Kansas is almost like finding hidden Gems.

When we left Colorado and crossed over into Kansas all we saw was desolate grass land.  A tree or bush couldn’t be seen for miles and miles.  and once we did come across a bush or maybe a lone tree our little Min Pin; Leah thought it to be exciting and would start barking at it.
The closer we got to Coffeyville we then started to come across a few trees, some rolling hillside and many farms with cows and fields.

After getting settled in and starting to work at Amazon, we started to adventure out to see what there was for us to do.  Being in the middle of literally-nowhere, finding hiking trails was far and few between.  Asking some of the locals they too said there wasn’t many places to go wondering around.  Most folks spend their days off going to the cities-shopping; but that just isn’t for us.  We would prefer being out with nature.

Brian did some research and knew there were two Corps of Engineer parks not to far away from us.  One stated they had horse trail, well being in the middle of the week, we thought that it would be safe for us to walk on.  So last week we took a lunch picnic, Leah and went exploring to Big Hill Lake.



When we got on the trail, we noticed it really hadn’t been used much for the grass/weeks were tall.  We went as far as we could, apparently over a year ago they had a wind burst that came through knocking down many trees and the area that we came across showed apparent severe damage and clean-up hadn’t been completed as of yet.


After heading back we found a nice day-use area where we had our picnic lunch and then took the 1 mile trail along the lake.  It was peaceful and I think we were the only ones out there.  Not many boats were active on the lake as it was the middle of the week.

.



This week we went to Elk City Lake where there were hiking trails as well.  We first took the interpreter trail and then joined on to the Over look trail that joined with the State Park.  Now that was a trail that we would never thought to be in Kansas!  It was awesome!  within the first 1/2 mile hike, we had to climb down into a crevice.  It was hard having our little dog with us.  But we manage to get down it.  Then we came across another area where the crevice was so small that if you were a large person-you would not get through!




With the leaves coming down and the terrain, Brian was having a little difficulty and with me having Leah, it was hard to really enjoy the hike to far, so when we found that it did join with the interpreter trail, we headed back towards the car.  But it’s a hike that we will adventure on again some time in the near future.

We had just one more stop to make and explore, Montgomery State Fish & Wildlife area.  Brian was told that there was a small lake there that we could take our canoe.  sure enough we found yet another what we call “Kansas Gem”!  There is free primitive camping.  Plenty to explore and yes, we can bring the canoe.  We had fun walking just on the gravel roadway, exploring and we found where there are several off road trails.  This one is must to return for a day of hiking, canoeing and who knows,if the weather cooperates; we will bring our tent as well.  If not, well we will just enjoy a day trip here.





So  you see, Kansas isn’t ALL flat and boring as one would possibly think-there are some Hidden Gems! 

BIG CHIEF RV PARK

When we arrived here at Big Chief RV Park, we really didn’t have a chance to look at our surrounding since we were preparing to make a trip to WI. But once we got back and finally looked around, Big Chief is not the most desirable RV park around, but it’s convenient since it’s so close to Amazon.com.

Big Chief RV Park near Coffeyville, is a fairly new park, so it’s really hard to make any judgment on the park itself.  There are no trees, although they have planted some young trees on some sites-it will be years before they will even provide any kind of shade.

Big Chief RV Park in Coffeyville, KS

It’s easy to see that the park has been done cheaply.  they didn’t tamper down the individual sites, instead they laid large rock base for sites.  The bigger RV’s and Motor coaches are having trouble when bringing down their jacks, for they sink deeply in the ground.  Although the park is not quite two years old-they already are replacing broken water lines…

The office is the manager’s home, a small mobile home on the premises.  The downfall to that is the fact that she smokes and so when you walk in you will get a lung full of cigarette smoke; although she has never lit up while in our presence.

The Managers office/home (poor Sharon...)

Now I’m not putting her down in any way, her name is also Sharon and she seems to be a very nice lady.  Some folks are a bit leery of her because she has the “rough” look to her and her “helper/assistant” also has a rough look to him.  But  again, they have been really nice to us.  As I stated it is a new park-so what does one expect.  I’m here because of the convenience to Amazon.com and the fact that I can walk to work.

One thing I notice, is that an RV has been left while the folks to off for a spell.  Her assistant every night drives around and makes sure all looks okay with their coach and I hope while we were gone that he did the same for us.

You will find outstanding power here, the one thing that was done right was enough electric to keep even the fanciest motor coach running smoothly.  The water is city water and the only problem we have found with it, is that they seem to bleach the line often.

There is a bit of false advertisement right now on their web page.  It states that there is showers on the premises.  The shower building is up and contractors are slowly working on it-but the showers are non-operable as well as the laundry facility.  Maybe by the work we are seeing-they might get it done in a couple of weeks-or at least we are hoping so.

The new shower & laundry facility (not completed yet)

There is not too many other RV parks around or nearby.  You have the county park which has added more sites to accommodate both Amazon.com and the refinery in Coffeyville, but only a few sites have full hook-ups and when we drove by, they are literally on top of one another.  At least here at Big Chief they are spacious  and long sites, which we like.  There is another RV park in town but it’s plum full of workers for the refinery.  Otherwise you have to venture out to either the State Park or there are two Corps Of Engineer parks with-in 30 miles or less.  I think we will stay right where we are. 

We did end up with a bad site at first due to a water break behind us.  But upon requesting another site-Sharon did assist us and got us a little better site for our little dog. 

  Our site here at Big Chief-Can't complain-not a bad site


One good thing about here for sure-we can have campfires, where you can’t do that inside the city limits of Coffeyville.  We probably won’t seek out a fire grille this year or wood, but maybe next year we will-who knows.

All in all we really can’t complain.  We try not to judge people by looks or the fact that they  smoke and we do understand that it’s still a new park with lots of work yet to be done on it.  And hopefully by the amount of money they receive from Amazon.com-the work will improve each year on the property.

A beautiful sunset behind us

We will stay here at Big Chief RV and give our support to this new park and the manager that is trying to make a go of it.  They are putting on a Bash on the following Sunday (16th) for all of us here.  They will be providing hamburger, hotdogs and ribs plus music.  All we have to do is bring a dish to pass plus our own drinks.  They are doing this to where both shifts can enjoy either before they go to work or like in my case when I get home from work.

Not sure what this slab will be used-maybe an office or rec hall....