Things to see and do near I-10 in TX, NM and AZ

[okmunky]

Hi Y'all,

I am leaving the Houston area headed west to the RV rally in Phoenix Mar 22. I plan to detour thru Austin, Carlsbad Caverns and Biosphere 2. Are there any other great things to do and see along the way?

[Dunner]

Take a Segway tour at Town Lake in Tempe, AZ.

[LadyFitz...]

Plan on hitting Karchner Cavern near Benson, AZ. There are two separate tours. You can do both of them in one day but you need to make reservations in advance.

Southwest of Tucson is the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. It's like a combination zoo and museum. Plan on spending much of the day there. Close to there is Old Tucson. It used to be a movie set and now is an amusement park (they still occasionally make movies there). Much of burned down several years ago but much has been restored. Also in the Tucson area is the Pima Air Museum.

In the Casa Grande, AZ is the Casa Grande National Monument, a large early Native American ruin.

In the Phoenix Papago Park area is the Phoenix Zoo and just west of Phoenix is the Wildlife World Zoo. Both are great zoos but if you can do only one, hit the Wildlife World Zoo.

[H. Miller]

We just returned to Austin from Quartzite and stayed for 2 days going and 2 days coming in the Benson, AZ area.
Of interest is Tombstone and Fort Huachuca.
We cannot stress enough the RV park at Kartchner State Park. For $25. per day it is the nicest park we've stayed at in 15 years of RVing! It's 9 miles south of I-10 but on a 4 lane divided hwy. The scenery is unbelieveable! The caverns are nearby but overpriced for our pocketbook.

[ronspradley]

In Austin, recommend Bob Bullock Museum. Then getting to I10 you will probably be going Hwy 290 to Fredericksburg for the shopping and eating. Luckenbach before you get into Fredericksburg. Hwy 290 hits I10 just before Junction. Right outside of town is South Llano River state park. Very nice, quiet park with lots of wildlife. Then on up I10, Sonora Cave. If you take I10 to Van Horn and Hwy 54 to get to Carlsbad Caverns, stop by El Capitan and Guadalupe Mtns National Park. And White Sands is in area of Carlsbad. Happy trails.

ronspradley

[Pricejh]

In Austin visit the Capitol building. It is well worth the time. Also, check out some BBQ in the area. Texas BBQ....yummmm...

While near El Paso head north towards Alamagordo and White Sands NM. Looks like snow, but warm.

[PNWGirl]

I LOVED Carlsbad!! It was really amazing!! Plan to spend an entire day there. If you can, it is well worth it to walk down and hear the story.

The caverns are something that words can not really describe. Especially the biggest cavern. HUGE!!

Sheila

[Roam America]

If you are interested in history, San Antonio has the Alamo as well as the Mission Trail. Each will take you a day.

Head further West to Kerrville then go north on TX-16 ( I-10 Exit 508) for about 20 miles to Fredricksburg. There is the Pacific War Museum which will take every bit of the two days the pass gives you. And then there are the shops and restaurants. West of Kerrville there isn't much until you get to El Paso.

[RustyJC]

Originally Posted by K-Star

West of Kerrville there isn't much until you get to El Paso.

South Llano River State Park (south of Junction)

Caverns of Sonora

Monahans Sandhills State Park (north of Fort Stockton on IH10)

Balmorhea State Park

Fort Davis National Historic Site (~ 35 miles south of Balmorhea on TX17)

Davis Mountains State Park (4 miles from FDNHS - full hookups, including cable TV)

73 mile Davis Mountains Scenic Loop

McDonald Observatory

Big Bend National Park (via Marathon or Alpine)

Guadalupe Mountains National Park


Rusty

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by Dunner

Take a Segway tour at Town Lake in Tempe, AZ.

GREAT idea!

[MikeandClaudia]

Add Picacho Peak State Park between Tucson and Phoenix. Hike the peak, see the saguaro cactus and the Mexican Poppies. $ 25.00/night. CLEAN restrooms and showers. Wonderfully courteous fee collector--ME!

[KIX]

About 10 miles South of Tucson is the last remaining missile from the Cold War era. You can go into the silo and tour the control room and the entire silo area. Very interesting.

[Land Barge]

Originally Posted by PNWGirl

I LOVED Carlsbad!! It was really amazing!! Plan to spend an entire day there. If you can, it is well worth it to walk down and hear the story.

The caverns are something that words can not really describe. Especially the biggest cavern. HUGE!!

Sheila

+1 no way to describe, it's a must see. Plenty of parking. We only stayed for the day so can't comment about how long you can park. They even had kennels to board pets so you don't have to leave pets in hot (at that time we had a trailer). It's 5 miles past no where. We took the north straight path to El Paso, no fuel so make sure you have enough to get there and to El Paso.

Balmorhea State Park. Really neat to swim with the fishes. Good mexican food place back towards town. RV parking good, with power. Can't say much good about the motel, was under renovation last time we were there.
Balmorhea a good waypoint as not much on either side. I'd get there before dark to get camp set up. It's 3 miles past no where.

[okmunky]

Oh my! With all these great things to do I should have left weeks ago. It's going to be hard to choose which to visit. It's not going to be hard to leave here, though, I'm about to mildew and heavy rain is predicted this pm.