After many years of researching, debating, and finally purchasing our new-to-us 2024 Winnebago Travato 59K in July 2026, we finally took our first extended trip in Bob. Yes, Bob. We inherited the name from the previous owner, and somehow it stuck.
Ann has been working on a contract basis with the Green Spa Network since early 2026. Part of that contract involved helping them prepare for their 2026 Summit, which was held at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. We decided to use the Summit as the jumping-off point for our first real Travato adventure.
Fourteen days, several states, a lot of miles, a few hikes, some great food, plenty of photography, and more than a few lessons later, we're pretty convinced we made the right decision.
Day 1: Frisco to Fort Stockton
We left Frisco on a 95-degree day, heading for our first stop at Hilltop RV Park in Fort Stockton, Texas — a little over seven hours from home.
Our first lesson came quickly: That's a lot of driving in one day.
We were fortunate that a storm had recently moved through Fort Stockton. Temperatures dropped significantly from what had been forecast, making for a much more comfortable night than we had anticipated. Still, seven-plus hours behind the wheel in a camper van was enough to make us rethink how aggressively we wanted to cover ground on future trips.
Sometimes the journey really should be part of the adventure.
Day 2: Las Cruces and Leasburg Dam
Day two took us to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Leasburg Dam State Park.
The park is fairly remote and quite pretty, with decent amenities. Unfortunately, the temperatures were still in the 90s, so while I slept reasonably well, it wasn't quite the restful night I had hoped for. Running the air conditioning all night certainly helped, but it also gave us our first real taste of what summer camping in a metal van can be like.
I was up bright and early around 5:00 the next morning, though, and that turned out to be a nice opportunity. The sky was dark, the campground was quiet, and I was able to enjoy the stars and grab a few photographs before sunrise.
One of the things I'm hoping to get out of these RV adventures is the ability to spend more time in places where I can practice photography. Being somewhere is one thing. Being somewhere long enough to watch the light change is something else entirely.
Days 3–6: Tanque Verde Ranch
Day three took us to Tanque Verde Ranch, where Ann's Green Spa Network Summit was being held.
Our "resort" portion of the trip was a great experience. The Summit brought together a terrific group of dedicated spa professionals — both vendors and operators — at a beautiful resort nestled along the edge of Saguaro National Park. And there were saguaros everywhere.
After four days at Tanque Verde, it was finally time for our part of the adventure.
Saguaro National Park
On our way out of Tanque Verde Ranch, we drove through Saguaro National Park. The park's scenic road is only about eight miles long, but there are plenty of observation points and places to stop along the way. The landscape is exactly what you'd hope for when visiting the Sonoran Desert: mountains, desert vegetation, and an almost unbelievable number of giant saguaro cactus.
It was well worth the stop.
Sedona: Red Rocks, Hiking and Sunset Photography
Our next destination was beautiful Sedona, Arizona. Rancho Sedona RV Park was a nice place to stay, and within about 12 hours of arriving, we decided to extend our stay by a day. There was simply too much to see to leave as originally planned.
On our first day, we stopped at the Sedona Visitor Center to get some recommendations on what to do. One of the first suggestions was the Airport Loop Trail, which offered incredible views across Sedona's red-rock buttes, steep canyon walls, and pine forests. It was a pretty breathtaking way to start our visit.
After a long hike — and with the Travato conveniently parked at the trailhead — we climbed back into Bob, turned on the AC, fixed ourselves a nice lunch, and relaxed in the parking lot before heading out for dinner.
Travato for the win.
That was one of the first moments when I really started to understand the appeal of traveling this way. I didn't have to get back in the van and drive somewhere else just because I needed lunch or wanted to cool off. Home was sitting right there with us.
The next day we hiked Fay Canyon. This was another beautiful hike, but a little flatter and more shaded than the Airport Loop Trail. More great landscapes, more mountain air, and more steps. Lots of steps.
Chasing the Light
One of my aspirations for our RV adventures is to use our time in new places to improve my photography. Getting great images usually requires something that isn't always easy to find on a normal vacation: patience. Sometimes you need to go somewhere and wait for the right moment. Other times, you need to spend enough time in a place to see how the light and environment change and discover the moment when everything comes together.
After another Travato lunch and rest at Fay Canyon, we decided to head back to Airport Overlook for sunset. Gear bag, chair, and tripod in hand, I found a spot near the edge of the overlook and set up shop for the evening. My plan was simple: arrive about 60 minutes before sunset and stay about 60 minutes afterward. It was great fun. And I'm glad I got there when I did. At one point I turned around and realized the overlook had become absolutely swamped with tourists. My early arrival had paid off.
Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest
We left Sedona wishing we had another day and headed toward Petrified Forest National Park, where we planned to spend a couple of nights. This was also our first stay at a KOA campground. It was a nice park with a chuck wagon where they cooked breakfast and dinner each day — a nice little perk.
On the way there, we stopped at Meteor Crater and the Barringer Space Museum. Meteor Crater is widely considered one of the best-preserved and most exposed meteorite impact craters on Earth. It's a fascinating place, even if it does have a distinctly tourist-oriented feel. It was definitely worth the stop.
Petrified Forest National Park
The Petrified Forest was a bit of a surprise.
The park is a high-desert landscape filled with colorful badlands, shortgrass prairie, and thousands of brilliantly colored petrified logs that have been transformed into stone, much of it essentially quartz. At times, it felt like we were driving across Mars. And it was surprisingly difficult to capture in photographs. The scale, colors, textures, and sheer variety of the landscape are much easier to appreciate in person. The main road through the park runs for about 28 miles, with fascinating stops and viewpoints scattered along the route. We also took advantage of the National Park Service app, which supports Apple CarPlay and provides audio tours and information for many of the country's major national parks.
Another fascinating day.
A Quick Stop in Winslow
One quick detour on our way to the Petrified Forest: Winslow, Arizona.
If you've heard the Eagles song Take It Easy, you've heard the line about "standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona." We'd been there nearly 20 years ago, when a terrible photograph was taken of us standing on that famous corner. So, naturally, I had to go back and take a proper picture.
It's a fun little corner of town, with a nice café just down the block. It was a worthwhile diversion — particularly because it gave us the opportunity to correct a photographic injustice that had been sitting around for almost two decades.
Santa Fe
Santa Fe was another place Ann and I had visited years ago. She had been attending a National Science Foundation conference in Albuquerque, and I met her there. We turned it into an extended weekend in Santa Fe. This time we stayed at Santa Fe Skies RV Resort, another nice commercial campground. The elevation provided some great panoramic views toward the Santa Fe mountains. The weather was a bit overcast while we were there, and we had rain a couple of times, but we still managed to get out and explore.
Our first stop was Ojo Santa Fe Resort, where we spent a few hours soaking in the mineral springs. It's a beautiful setting and was a very relaxing way to spend part of the day. From there, we headed into downtown Santa Fe to visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. It was an excellent museum, with a strong collection of her work as well as plenty of information about her life and career. Georgia O'Keeffe has always been of particular interest to Ann because O'Keeffe spent part of her youth in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin — the same town where Ann grew up.
We didn't do nearly as much in Santa Fe as we'd have liked, so I'm pretty certain we'll be back.
The Long Way Home: Cadillac Ranch and Palo Duro Canyon
Our final leg was a simple overnight at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, with a stop at Cadillac Ranch along the way.
We'd been on the road for 14 days at this point, and while we'd had a fantastic time, I was also ready to get home. Palo Duro was a reasonable halfway point (ish) between Santa Fe and Frisco, making it a convenient final overnight before the last push home.
Somehow, after living in Texas for more than 28 years, I'd never been to Cadillac Ranch. It's one of those legendary quirky Texas attractions: a public art installation outside Amarillo featuring ten vintage Cadillacs buried nose-first in the ground. Visitors are encouraged to add their own spray paint to the cars, so the installation is constantly changing. It's literally a field just off I-40, with a potholed parking area and a fence opening that leads you out to the cars.
Cool? Absolutely. As interesting as its iconic reputation might suggest? Maybe not. But I'm glad I finally stopped.
Palo Duro Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon State Park is often called the "Grand Canyon of Texas." It's a massive, dramatically colorful canyon in the Texas Panhandle and is frequently described as the second-largest canyon in the United States. We'd been there before, and it's a place we'd happily return to. In fact, there's a pretty good chance I'll be back with Bob specifically because Palo Duro's dark-sky designation makes it an interesting future destination for some astrophotography.
That sounds like a pretty good excuse for another trip.
So... Was Bob Worth It?
Absolutely.
I'm incredibly happy with how successful our first extended trip in Bob turned out. More importantly, the trip exceeded our expectations for what traveling in the Travato could actually be like. We learned a lot — about the van, about what we like and don't like about traveling this way, and about how much driving we really want to do in a single day. We also learned that having your bed, kitchen, bathroom, refrigerator, and air conditioning with you changes the travel experience in some pretty significant ways. And somewhere along the way, realized that this is exactly what we hoped retirement would provide us with. See more of the country. Spend time in places we've never been. Revisit places we've been before. And, for me, I want to use those opportunities to become a better photographer — to slow down, watch the light, and be patient enough to get the shot. Most importantly, we want to spend more time together. We really enjoy each others company and have fun exploring and learning together. I feel quite blessed in that regard.
After 14 days and a whole lot of miles, I'm looking forward to the next adventure. There are still a lot of "go-go" years of retirement ahead of us.
More to come....
Oh, and one more humorous component of our travels....Ann taking pictures of Scott taking pictures. This is a 20 year tradition that always cracks me up!
For full albums from our Arizona and New Mexico adventures, see the Arizona & New Mexico Album Set.