NAS Corpus Christi A Primo Campground By The Sea

Shields Park is the family RV park at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. This park is right on the bay and has a marina and two fishing piers. The base also has a nice golf course. Francis, one of the camp hosts, likes to prepare breakfast for campers every Thursday morning. The laundry room and shower facilities are nice. Full hook-ups are available and reservations are recommended. The Commissary is small but well stocked. The same goes for the Exchange. There is ample fast food on base and the club serves lunch. There are many things to do and see including a visit to the USS Lexington, Padre Island National Seashore, The Corpus Christi Aquarium and lots of shopping and dining. This truly is a fine military RV park run by competent and friendly MWR staff and camp hosts. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this park and look forward to returning in the future. But don't forget, it is frequently windy by the sea so prepare accordingly. Some Commanding Officers "get it" when it comes to military family campgrounds and others don't have a clue - like those I've reported on previously. So, if you visit a family campground you enjoy tell the CO in a letter of phone call. The same goes if it's a lousy facility. Tell them if you think the rates are too high or the place needs fixed up - these are our campgrounds and the Commanding Officers are the custodians responsible for these treasures. The more people voice their opinion the better. Bravo Zulu to the CO at Corpus Christi. Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Kicken It At Kingsville NAS

Kingsville Naval Air Station has a nice little RV park that is available to eligible active, retired and DOD active and retired personnel. It's windy in Kingsville and there are no shade trees to speak of, but there things to see and do like the King Ranch tour. The facilities are spartan but the good news is they are currently constructing 12 new RV sites. They have picnic shelters with a table and BBQ at each site. Full hook-ups include 30/50 amps. A nice place to stay if you're just passing through or have business in the area. Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Laughlin AFB Famcamp is an RV Hacienda You Won’t Forget

Laughlin AFB RV Famcamp is located in Del Rio, Texas on the Rio Grande. Across the river is the old Mexican cowboy town of Acuna. The cowboys used to herd their cattle across a low shallow place in the river here on their way to market. Before I get to the particulars of the campground let me tell you what the town of Del Rio has to offer. If you are an angler you probably already know about the great fishing here. History buffs will be pleasantly surprised by the Whitehead Memorial Museum. This is one of the best museums in south Texas and it’s free. The oldest building in these parts anchors the museum. The Old Perry Building was erected in 1871 before Del Rio was even a city. It was the largest store between San Antonio and El Paso and also served as a church, courthouse, and public gathering place. There are other old buildings in Del Rio including Texas Historic Landmark Sacred Heart Catholic Church built in 1891. There is also an old winery here as well as other very interesting historical sites. Be sure to head across the Mexican border and take in some shopping, dining and sightseeing.The campground in on base six miles east of Del Rio. Just go through the main gate and drive straight until you dead end in the campground. The 20 huge pull through sites have full hook-ups, a patio, table and BBQ. Each site has 50 and 30 amps and 110, water, sewer and free cable TV. In 2008 the rates were around $10.00 a night if you stay a week or longer and $15.00 per night otherwise. The rules don’t allow washing of vehicles in the RV sites, but there is a coin operated car wash nearby. For a complete overview of this campground be sure to watch the video below.

The Exchange and Commissary are medium size but well stocked. Please note the Commissary is closed on Monday. XL club serves a mean Mexican buffet but you’ll need to pick up a base newspaper to find out what is being served and when. The bowling ally has a nice cafe and there is a Burger King in the Exchange. The Base Chapel has a full range of services and the gymnasium is the best I’ve ever seen on a military installation. A nice walking and biking trail passes through base housing and by the gym. The Silver Wings cafe serves great sandwiches and you can eat your lunch while watching flight line operations from the second story observation lounge. Since this is a pilot training base it can be somewhat noisy, but you’ll get used to it after a few days. Weekends are usually quiet. It’s windy in this part of Texas, in fact, it’s frequently windy in Texas period! So please don’t put your awning out and leave for the day.

I highly recommend making advanced reservations. You may reach the reservation desk by calling (830) 298-5830. If you arrive without reservations, be sure to check in with the campground host before you pull into a site.

Oh, did I mention they have the best store bought ice cream in the ENTIRE world here in Texas? If you’ve had it, you know what I’m talking about. Bringing you the scoop - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Luke AFB Gila Bend Family Campground In Serious Disrepair

RVers love Arizona in the winter because of the warm weather. Gila Bend Famcamp is owned and operated by Luke Air Force Base. Located on the Barry M. Goldwater bombing range you will see several types of aircraft “shooting transition” which is aviator talk meaning they are doing approaches and touch and go procedures. We’ve stayed in this campground a couple weeks each winter over the past four years. It’s a great place to relax and do nothing because there isn’t really much to do. The Organ Pipes National Monument is worthy of a visit as well as the Painted Rocks State Park where you will see petroglyphs. Contact the Public Relations Department at Luke AFB to go on an organized tour of the bombing range. Many retired military RVers like to camp here a few days before and after returning from campgrounds in Mexico. There are minimal facilities at this campground. There are no showers and the nearest bathrooms are located in the billeting office. Since the campground is at the auxiliary airfield, there is no exchange, gas station, commissary, or coke machines. There isn’t even a mailbox, but there’s lots of desert. If I were the base commander, I would be embarrassed by the condition of this campground (especially given the fact that next door Davis Monthon was voted the best military campground for 2007). There are nine broken and unusable sites at Gila Bend. In February I counted ten RVers camped in the dry camping area because the campground was full. This famcamp is on a bombing range with over one million seven hundred thousand acres of land - you would think something could be done to accommodate more campers - like fixing the broken sites. The tap water here is unsafe for human consumption so they were forced to install reverse osmosis water filtration systems at every camp site and in each room at billeting. They are making some progress because they added a laundry room last year which is free for registered campers. The back row has cement pads and 50 amp service. The rest of the sites are mostly 30 amps with a few 50 amp sites scattered around. If you don’t like bare bones, no frills camping this is not the place for you. Private contractors run the auxiliary field and could care less about the condition of the famcamp and so it continues to fall apart. What a shame! I sure hope Luke AFB is taking better care of their aircraft because they sure don’t know how to run a family campground. Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

I wrote a letter to the Base Commander and this is a response dated 25 March, 2008 from Brigadier General Noel T. Jones, Commander, 56th Fighter Wing concerning the broken sites at Gila Bend Famcamp.

Dear Mr. Twamley

Thank you for your letter regarding the suggestion to expand the RV park at Gila Bend AFAF, AZ. We appreciate comments such as yours as it helps us develop strategies to better serve our customers and make the best use of the facilities we have.

The sites you identified do not currently have utilities connected to them. At one time they were part of a mobile home park but the utilities were disconnected when the park was closed many years ago. The existing infrastructure in the RV park is in need of upgrade, and we believe the first priority is improving the electrical service, however, the initial estimates from our engineers place the cost of the electrical upgrade above the threshold for local funding. Therefore, an Air Force level project is needed. We’ll continue to pursue that large upgrade project, however, austere funding and restrictive criteria may well hamper our efforts. In the meantime, we’ll continue to make small improvements such as the recent addition of the laundry facility, and additional new washers and dryers for our customers.

Thanks again for the suggestion. We welcome your future comments and suggestions as well as those from other customers who use the facilities at Gila Bend.

Sincerely

NOEL T. JONES
Brigadier General, USAF

Should you like to write to him the address is:

Brigadier General Noel T. Jones
Commander, 56th Fighter Wing
14185 West Falcon Street
Luke AFB, AZ 85309-1629

RVing and PCSing Go Hand In Hand

The Gustafson family is RVing from Alaska to Florida during this PCS move. I caught up with them this morning as they were preparing to head out. They spent the night here at the Gila Bend famcamp in Arizona. When they left it was snowing in Elmendorf as they hauled their toyhauler to Haines, Alaska to catch the ferry to Bellingham, Washington. They didn't take off their snow tires until they were well into California. The Gustafson family uses many of the military campgrounds available exclusively to active duty, retired military personnel and DOD employees. The kids love the adventure partly because of the travel but mostly because they have Dad all to themselves for a while. Dad is a busy guy flying F-15 jets and now he's going to be the Vice Wing Commander at the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. I told the boys they have alligators in Flordia and they thought that was cool and were looking forward to living on the beach. Laughing, one of the boys said, "We're going from cold to warm!" So next time you have a PCS move consider doing it in an RV. I have a special place in my heart for military kids - we raised five of them. Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Edwards AFB Famcamp Where Records Are Made To Be Broken

Military RVers will enjoy a stop at Edwards AFB Famcamp. At the current rate of $15 bucks a night it’s a good deal. With a newly added bathroom, shower and laundry room it’s more comfortable than ever. There is a dog clean-up convenience station in each corner of the campground. Full hook ups are available at 25 sites. Registration is self help and there is also a campground host. There is a stand alone dump station and overflow parking in the paved parking lot next to the pool. They do not take reservations. The familycamp has it’s own tennis courts and is by the base swimming pool and the bowling ally. Many other support facilities are available including a nice golf course. The Commissary and Exchange are within walking distance of the campground. The food court at the PX has your standard fare and there’s also a barber shop and various vendors. Around the corner and down the road about a half mile is the post office, pizza and sandwich shops, convenience store, thrift shop, MWR and the veterinarian. The base is a long way from anywhere (the closest town of any size is Lancaster - a good 45 minute drive) but there is a base gas station (with diesel) so be sure you fill up before you leave. The Air Force Flight Test Center Museum is a must see attraction. It has some great displays inside and a pretty good static aircraft display outside. Watch the video for a brief visit. You can see the tail of the B-52 looming just a short distance from the famcamp. The museum is free and has a nice souvenir shop as well. If you want a detailed tour of the flight line area then you can contact the Public Affairs Officer Dennis Shoffner at (661) 277-3517. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Sunday, Monday and Federal holidays. Directions - look at a map of Southern California and find Edwards AFB out in the middle of the Mojave all by itself and take the shortest route (You can’t miss it). The GPS coordinates are 34.9178, -117.9251. I like Edwards because it is open year round and it’s much nicer than the next military campground down the road at the Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base (cheaper too). See you around - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Desert Rat RV Park Is Aptly Named

The Desert Rat is the RV campground for the Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base in Southern California. Aptly named because it’s primarily occupied by long term residents leaving little room for folks just passing through (which is what you want to do because there is nothing here worth seeing or doing). They do have a couple spaces saved for those just passing through, but it would be a good idea to call ahead if you plan on staying here. To check availability call (760) 577-6418. There is plenty of dry camping on gravel, but they charge $10.00 for this privilege (absolutely ridiculous since there are no restroom or shower facilities - they should be ashamed of themselves). The full hook-up sites are back-in with W/20/30/50/S and run $18.50 per night if they aren’t being used by the long-term desert rats. Sheesh! What is it with MWR's thinking they are Club Med when it comes to overnight campground fees? It's getting ridiculous when you can use a Passport America park for half the price MWR charges. And this campground doesn't have a shower room, bathroom or laundry room, but they charge like they have a heated indoor pool, hot-tub and computer WiFi and are beach-front property. There needs to be some oversight and standardization on these military campgrounds. It really is getting out of hand. The base is easy to find and well marked on the freeway exit. From I-40, take the "Marine Corps Logistics Base" exit, which is about 2 miles East of the junction of I-40 and I-15. Go through the main gate (a little tight but enough room for big rigs to squeeze through). Go past the main gate about a mile and turn right into the exchange parking lot (you can turn sooner but the ramp is steeper). You’ll see the family camp on the right. GPS coordinates for the center of the campground are N 34.87515, W116.95919. There are better alternatives in the area (Edwards AFB Famcamp) and I would not stay at the Desert Rat myself unless I had a real good reason. There is a commissary and exchange with plenty of parking space.

$10.00 bucks for dry camping in Barstow ???? Stupid! Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing