I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but fuel prices have recently climbed. Just a bit. In fact, I may have sensed a trend going on here. While our summers generally consist of one to three big trips, this summer we’re down to one.
But it’s not like we’re going to sit still, so we decided that we’re going to become local tourists, of sorts. Instead of seeing America far and wide, we’ve mostly planned just to stay within a hundred miles or so of our home base. In our case, that happens to be near Albuquerque, New Mexico. But that’s almost not relevant to this story.
Years ago, when I lived in Southern California, I was zipping down the freeway (more likely staring at others’ taillights) and glanced over to see the Watts Towers. I asked my friend, who was born and raised in the area, how many times he had been there.
Zero. None. Nada.
That conversation years ago already sparked my interest in learning more about my own whereabouts and what there is to offer in the place that I call home.
For those who don’t know, I have had many lives (like a cat, but without the whole cat thing). One of those was running a bed and breakfast in Northern California for seven years. We basically bought the place knowing nothing about the area (don’t do that, it’s a really bad idea, especially in 2008). We ended up working with our own county to share tourism ideas and destinations with the world.
So, with fuel prices making us reconsider our summer adventures, we decided to explore our own area. We’ve now lived in New Mexico for three years and really haven’t seen much of it. Sure, I could talk your ears off about Route 66, but not about our own place of residence.
Fortunately, thanks to this reality of mine of talking, writing, and living the RV lifestyle, my wife and I have made friends in the area with others who really know the lay of the land. Plus, you know, there’s the whole internet and all of that for ideas.
Where to begin
I had already mentioned our friends who are locals and RVers, too. So finding like-minded folks to share adventures with is a good way to start. Even if you’re not a writer or RV content creator, you can find like-minded folks in groups on social media.
In fact, if there isn’t a group for RVing in your community or region, you could always start one. Facebook makes it easy and free, and it’s a great way to have local gatherings in parks or campgrounds where you can get to know other RVers in your area.
Did you know RVtravel.com has several Facebook groups for RVers? See them here.
Another thing we’ve done is connect with several local tourism organizations. For example, Visit Albuquerque is one of the several in this area. You probably have something similar near you. We’ve also found several email lists that we’ve joined that deliver happenings, some of which are even based on special interests.
Local Chambers of Commerce are also often a great resource for local activities and events. In some cases, they’re also your local visitors bureau or destination board. I also like to go to the ribbon cuttings of new businesses and meet the owners, but that’s not necessarily RV-related.
We also became members at our local Bio Park, which has a really nice walking garden area and a zoo. Quite honestly, we’ve been members almost the whole time we’ve lived here and really haven’t gone as much as we should. It’s a great place to go meander.
Even in the smallish town we came from in Northern California, there were walking areas and groups organized hikes and walks on the weekends—a nice way to test out those new shoes.
Let’s go RVing
I’m going to assume that, since you’re reading RVtravel.com, you’re an RVer or wish you were. There are lots and lots of great tips on this site, so if you’re one of those who are dreaming, you’ve come to a good place to learn more about the lifestyle and details.
We’ve sought out a lot of local campgrounds and destinations in the time we’ve scaled back our longer-distance trips. Something not to ignore is that local counties, cities, and tribes of Native Americans often have some pretty great places to camp. Oftentimes, we’ve found that these more regional campgrounds are much, much less expensive than commercial campgrounds and might be more to your liking.
Everybody camps differently, of course, but we like the rustic/rural campgrounds that we can use as a home base for exploring towns and destinations.
They’re not horribly far away, but there are a lot of little hidden gems all over the place.
One thing I did find was that some campgrounds have a central place where you put your money to pay for your site. I’ve seen where that money has gone away, so we actually had to get checks again, like it’s the 1920s, specifically to pay these fees and be able to prove that we’ve done so. I hadn’t had checks in a few years, but this forced me to reach into the past.
Another thing we absolutely love is Harvest Hosts. We’ve been members for years, and it’s a great way to explore an area and stay at a place that’s often very memorable.
For example, our most recent experience was the Junkyard on 66 Brewery, that’s, well, a junkyard and also a brewery. On Route 66, if you haven’t guessed.
Oftentimes, Harvest Hosts are also vehicles for meeting other RVers who might be like-minded. One of the people we met at the Junkyard on 66 Brewery was a gent who owned a 1949 Flxible bus and was towing a VW Thing.
It turns out this bus had been owned by one of the 13 original founders of the FMCA (now FRVA), and he even had the original member plaque to prove it. If that’s not a great story, I don’t know what is.
Route 66
If your part of the world happens to be along Route 66, then you may find that the community is really embracing the centennial of the Mother Road. Albuquerque has gone nuts with Route 66 stuff, including recently installing a whole series of these giant, very colorful sculptures. I’m looking into that more and have sought out the tourism folks who placed these pieces.
In fact, I shared some ideas for traversing Route 66 by RV earlier this year.
Silly stuff around a region
Again, looking at local resources, you may find that there are maps, guides, or even listings on places like Roadside America. We have often centered trips to places based solely on their proximity to some of the more ridiculous listings on that website.
One of those in our part of the world is Tinkertown. This place is the creation of Ross Ward and is kept up by his family. This can only be described as a museum of miniatures gone wild. There are miniature circuses, towns, and so much more, and many of the exhibits are animated and lighted in colorful ways.
The thing is, from where we live, on our way to Tinkertown, you can still find much of what’s left of a musical road. While this is less on the map since it’s not really being maintained, you can still find it and get your tires to buzz out most of America the Beautiful. Funny thing, there’s a Harvest Host brewery not far from here, so don’t forget to bring the RV!
Don’t forget tours
One of our favorite things to do when we arrive at a new city is to see if they offer any hop-on, hop-off bus tours, or similar. These are like going to the buffet in that you get a tiny sample of different things, so you can go back and get what you like best.
If you didn’t know, Albuquerque is working to be more known for filming in the area. There is a growing infrastructure for video production in film and TV. But one of the more famous things filmed here is Breaking Bad. So one of the goofier local tours is the Breaking Bad motorhome tour. We haven’t gone yet, but we have our tickets!
So many areas have touristy things to do, see, taste, and drink. Don’t ignore an experience even if you think it’s touristy. Sometimes these can be a lot of fun. In fact, my wife, Peggy, took her mom and sister on a hot air balloon ride.
Final thoughts
What I’m not trying to do is be a spokesperson for New Mexico, although there are some incredible places to go RVing in this state. My goal here is to encourage you to keep RVing even if you have decided to do less travel this summer, thanks to the rising price of fuel.
We ran a poll here in March asking if you had planned to change your travel plans for the summer if fuel prices stay high, and most of you answered that you wouldn’t make changes. But for those of you, like me, who might be exploring closer to home, I hope you’ll find something useful here and share it in your own social media world.
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