December is the time of year to reflect on the year past. Whether it's reviewing your Spotify Wrapped or looking at the best new restaurant openings in a city, everyone uses December to review the highs and lows of the year. Though we have only been living the full time Airstream life as digital nomads for four and half months, we wanted to reflect on the highs and lows of our 2022 too. We sat down separately and wrote up our responses. No collusion here, just the total honest thoughts of both of us. We hope we give you some things to put on your travel lists!
Best RV Park
Michelle: For me, this is hands down, The Range Vintage Trailer Resort in Ennis, Texas. The owners of this park have done such a good job making this resort something special. The sites are large and spaced well away from each other. The park has lovely amenities; a barn for hanging out, pool, firepit, outdoor games, plus options for dining with other guests on Friday and Saturday nights and a bar in an old Airstream that is open Thursday-Saturday. Hanging out under the "magical tree" in our campsite is one of my favorite memories of camping this year.
Steve: Yellowstone’s Edge RV Park - This park had clean facilities, was easy to get into the sites, and the wifi was usable. The river views were lovely and it made me fall in love with Paradise Valley, MT.
Worst RV Park
Michelle: Maybe worst is too strong of an adjective. Maybe RV Park I'd least want to return to. For me it's Van Horn RV Park in Van Horn, TX. We only stopped here to break up the drive between our stays near National Parks. The park wasn't terrible, just no place I'd want to return in a city (town?) that had not much to offer.
Steve: Van Horn RV Park - Far and away in last place has more to do with the region than the RV park itself. Van Horn Texas is desert scrub land with stickers and horrible soil… mostly gravel under the thinnest layer of dirt. The operators at the Van Horn RV park were friendly. The site was a good size and the hookups worked well. I don’t plan on returning.
Best State or Federal Campground
Michelle: This is tough because we have stayed at so many cool campgrounds this year! In general, I was the most impressed with the New Mexico State Parks, so I'm going to say my favorite is Leasburg Dam State Park in Radium Springs, NM. I loved all the trails in the park and walking them near sunset was so picturesque...I took so many gorgeous desert sunset photos. Plus the campground was convenient to Las Cruces, NM a good sized city, and an easy drive to plenty of other destinations like White Sands National Park. Based on our experiences with NM state parks, I think it is highly likely we will return to the state to explore more of them!
Steve: The campground that made me feel most at home was Black Canyon National Forest Campground just East of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The sites are in a wooded area creeping up a steep valley. They all slope downhill, there is no electricity… no water… no sewer… and NO cellular signal. This is not a campground to go spend a week and expect to work remotely. So why my favorite? It brought me back home to the Cascade Mountains. It got me to detach from my remote work for a weekend. It challenged me to use and monitor resources.
Worst State or Federal Campground
Michelle: This one was pretty easy for me, Yampa River State Park in Hayden, CO. This was another spot we picked purely to break up the drive from Utah to Denver. This park was incredibly unattractive, no shade, campsites that are extremely near to each other, and the ugliest metal shade structures that looked like old garage doors. Definitely would not recommend this park when there are so many other beautiful state parks in Colorado to choose from!
Steve: I had a few negative experiences at some nicer campgrounds and some fun experiences at campgrounds that weren’t so good. I’ll say that Davis Bayou Campground outside Ocean Shores, Mississippi is one that I’ll not plan to seek out again. The humidity was horrible, I left with a few dozen bug bites, and I got yelled at by the camp host for going too fast… which I promptly apologized for and thanked her for letting me know… but then she kept scolding me and threatening that I’d get a ticket if I did it again. The facilities were pretty good.
Best Harvest Host Stay
Michelle: Legendary Alapacas of Texas in Maypearl, TX hands down! We got to spend the night under a beautiful oak tree listening to frogs a crickets, we got to watch the most adorable alpacas hanging out, and our host taught me how to hand dye yarn, which I then purchased to make a gift for a special baby. Definitely not an experience I ever thought I'd have.
Steve: Champagne’s Cajun Swamp Tours - This place was quiet and easy to navigate. The swamp tour was great!
Most Delicious Sit Down Restaurant Meal
Michelle: Uchi in Denver was seriously one of the best Asian cuisine meals I've ever had, and we've eaten a lot of amazing Asian food in our lives! The cold sushi dishes and the hot small bites were equally delicious. I only wish our appetites and budgets had been larger so we could've tried more dishes!
Steve: Houmas House’s Carriage House was a beautiful setting with an AMAZING Redfish Almandine.
Most Delicious Grab and Go Meal
Michelle: I don't care if beignets can be considered a meal or not, my vote is for Loretta's Authentic Praline's in the French Market of New Orleans. These beignets put that other famous place to shame. I'm not sure which beignet I will dream about longer, the Crab Filled or the Peanut Butter and Jelly. Either way, they were one of the best things I have ever eaten and I will dream about them for years to come.
Steve: Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ in Austin, Texas. They serve the most amazing queso… WITH BRISKET! The salsas defy classification… is it smokey like BBQ, or smokey like mole? OR BOTH?? I would go back to Austin just for this food.
Best Cocktail
Michelle: The Flaming Monkey blended daiquiri from Organic Banana in the French Market of New Orleans. That cocktail tasted like the beach in Jamaica. It was so good we went back two days in a row for one.
Steve: Hot Joy in San Antonio had the most amazing Tiki drinks! I did the “Oh Captain, My Captain” which is bartender’s choice. I was not disappointed.
Best Dessert
Michelle: In April of this year, I had the best dessert of my life. In November, I confirmed that it is still the best dessert of my life. The Bread Pudding at Killen's BBQ in Pearland, TX is made from croissants and it is eyes-roll-back-in-your-head delicious. I'm so glad we have friends to visit in Friendswood, TX so we have a reason to return and eat it again!
Steve: Croissant bread pudding from Killen’s BBQ in Pearland (Pear… like the fruit), Texas. We had this in spring of 2022 when we traveled for a concert and we HAD to go back when we passed through.
Most Underwhelming Meal
Michelle: I wanted to love our Thanksgiving dinner at Compere Lapin in New Orleans. Chef Nina is one of our all time favorite Top Chefs. The food was good, just not as delicious as I'd expected. Maybe we would have enjoyed dining there when it wasn't a set menu and price per person?
Steve: Thanksgiving dinner at Compere Lapin was good, but not special. For the price I was expecting more. I was underwhelmed indeed.
Hardest Adjustment to Full-Time RV Life
Michelle: For me, meal planning and cooking have been the hardest adjustments. Having a small fridge means we aren't able to plan out our meals as far in advance as we'd prefer, and having smaller pots and pans means we can't make some of our go-to recipes. We have definitely improved our skills in the kitchen, but this is still a challenge.
Steve: We trip over each other constantly, and it’s hard for Michelle to spend so much time with me… but for me it is balancing work, play, and travel days. The most stressful days for me have been when I have a meeting scheduled and have to travel.
Scariest Driving Moment
Michelle: I have only driven while towing for one stretch of I-25 in Southern New Mexico, and since it was a long, flat, two-lane interstate, it wasn't scary for me. So I have to pick a time when Steve was driving, which for me, the scariest time as a passenger was as we were leaving Austin, TX in the middle of a torrential downpour. Texas interstates were definitely the most stressful driving for Steve, and having a downpour, plus semis driving like it was dry pavement, while cars zoom past on the right and then cut you off, was terrifying. I am so proud of Steve's towing skills, but I definitely thought I'd have to pry his fingers off the steering wheel after than 90 minute stretch of driving.
Steve: All of Texas?? If I narrow that down, it would be driving through construction zones in El Paso with a concrete barrier to our right (inches passed the white line) and semis passing me (I was going the speed limit!!) and a concrete barrier inches passed the edge of the other lane.
Biggest Newbie RV Owner Mistake
Michelle: I'm in charge of getting the inside of the trailer ready for travel, so this one is on me. I forgot to double check that we had turned the water pump off after we stopped for a bathroom break. Luckily our final destination was only 30 minutes further down the highway so the large puddle we had to mop up from the kitchen floor wasn't a lake.
Steve: Following Google Maps in Wyoming when it took us down a gravel road… then a dirt road… then 45 minutes later we were able to turn around and drive the 100 yards back to the main road. It was at least a few hours later when the stress from that experience finally left my body!
Most Beautiful Sunset
Michelle: I loved every desert sunset in New Mexico so much. There is just something extra stunning about the sun setting in the desert with cacti all around. I can't pick just one, so all the beautiful sunsets in New Mexico make my best of list.
Steve: There is something spectacular about a desert sunset. There were quite a few beautiful sunsets in our time around Taos and Santa Fe.
Best National Park Hike
Michelle: Our 7 mile roundtrip hike through the McKittrick Canyon region of Guadalupe Mountains was my favorite. The foliage was just starting to turn colors, and the weather was perfectly sunny and temperate. We are glad we extended the hike a bit further to The Grotto and we loved getting to chat with the National Park volunteers about their travels around the world. GUMO was a surprise stunner of a park and I would love to go back and explore it further.
Steve: We got to Carlsbad Cavern later in the day, and because of that we got to say goodnight to the cave! We saw the cave lights go out… meaning we stopped seeing anything! It was such an amazing experience. The trek down into the cave worked muscles in my knees that I didn’t know I had… so beware and take the elevator down if you have old and creaky knees!
Best Touristy Activity
Michelle: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I adored our trip on The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway in Manitou Springs. The views from the train were stunning and we loved getting a tiny dusting of early season snow exploring the summit of Pikes Peak. I would recommend this ride to anyone exploring the Colorado Springs area for sure.
Steve: In Denver Colorado, underneath a series of overpasses, you will find an unassuming building. It houses the most trippy experience I’ve every had in my life. Meow Wolf: Convergence Station is an immersive experience that goes beyond words. There is so much to see, hear, touch, and experience that it can’t all be done in one trip. There are two other buildings in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Las Vegas, Nevada. Each with its own special characteristics. When in Santa Fe we experienced that location. I’m sure we will make the trip to Las Vegas and see that location as well.
Most Likely Return Destination
Michelle: The place I most want to return to explore, whether as full time RVers or not, is Austin, TX. I feel like we just scratched the surface of the dining, music, and culture in Austin. A Texas local told us, "Austin isn't Texas" and I would say that we felt the most comfortable and at home in Austin of anywhere we visited in Austin. Maybe I need to put a visit to the Austin City Limits Festival on my bucket list!
Steve: Because we reside in Washington, it’s most likely we will return somewhere West of the Rocky Mountains. I want to return to New Orleans and the Breaux Bridge area of Louisiana, and Miramar Beach Florida… but I think we’re most likely to return to Taos, New Mexico. The area is beautiful, the food amazing, the fall wet season weather was excellent. It is close to Santa Fe, which is a fabulous city to tour around. Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming has a strong draw too… but neither of these locations will be late fall or winter travel in our Airstream. They’re both just too darned cold!
So there you have our picks for Best of 2022. Hopefully, we've given you some ideas of places to camp, restaurants to try and activities to experience on your travels. We wish you all the travel adventures your heart desires in 2023!
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