On the road: A Family RV Adventure

Out of a dozen spring break vacation ideas I proposed to our kids, the decision was unanimous: an RV trip.  

Although we are by no means seasoned RVers –– our only prior experience took place five years ago when we rented a Winnebago Minnie Winnie for the weekend and stayed at nearby Inks Lake State Park –– I immediately fell in love with the idea.   

Over a week in mid-March, our family with three kids who range in age from nine to 15 hit the road in an RV –– traveling 1,800 miles, logging 30 hours of driving time, and visiting two national parks, one state park, and two culture-rich cities while collecting countless memories along our route.  

RVShare delivered our RV rental right to our home. Photo by Mauri Elbel

We rented an RV through RVshare, the world’s largest peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace, which allows people to experience RV travel without the maintenance and overhead of owning one. The rental process could not have more seamless. In fact, selecting an RV out of the thousands of available options was the most difficult part. Spoiler alert: a 2021 Entegra Coach Odyssey was the clear winner thanks to its three bunk beds and large upper-level lounge area perfect for stretching out and watching movies. 

Late one evening after the kids went to bed, I poured a glass of wine and mapped our route with the help of Google. From Austin, we’d travel to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, White Sands National Park, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park before returning back home. Although my husband thought the jagged, nearly 1,800-mile loop I mapped out was a bit ambitious for a weeklong road trip, I knew it would be doable.   

Sure, traveling five or six hours each day with three kids sandwiched in a car would have been cumbersome, but that’s one of the greatest perks about RV travel. In an RV, the kids can sit around the table and play games, stretch out on the couch and read or watch movies, help themselves to snacks when they’re hungry, and use the bathroom without everyone having to stop for multiple potty breaks. Basically, while my husband and I took turns driving to our next destination, our kids did exactly what they would have been doing if they were relaxing in the comfort of their own home. 

RELATED: Great Escape: A New Mexico RV Adventure 

But what I loved most about our RV trip was the fact that it afforded different opportunities than any other form of travel we do. We could create our own itinerary, handpick our own destinations, and we weren’t ever married to any of it. Traveling in an RV left space for spontaneity –– and isn’t that one of the best parts about travel? 

While hotels and vacation homes make sense for some vacations, RV travel is perfect if you’re taking a multi-stop road trip and visiting remote destinations where the ultimate goal is to be surrounded by nothing but miles upon miles of the great outdoors.  

Writer Mauri Elbel’s family hiking the Lighthouse Trail at Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Photo by Mauri Elbel

“In no other situation will you find an accommodation that will provide a greater sense of freedom,” says Miguel Sanchez, president of American Dream Vacations of Austin, an RVshare partner. “An RV can take you to wild locations where hotels cannot be found.” 

Spending a week in an RV allowed us to fall asleep to a coal black sky spackled with stars then wake to a sunrise over the dramatic red rock canyon, to be surrounded by dazzling white gypsum sand dunes tucked away in the Tularosa Basin, and to journey underground into a realm of gigantic subterranean chambers –– all while having the comforts of home at our fingertips.  

Were there hiccups? Absolutely ––  almost daily. But whenever something went wrong, RVshare’s online platform allowed us to quickly communicate with Sanchez, whose fleet of RVs included the one we selected. With each situation that arose, he guided us through an easy fix that got us back on the road as quickly as possible.  

Armed with a little duct tape and a whole lot of of patience, we experienced one of our favorite vacations together, and we brought back some truly special memories that could have only been made inside an RV. Below are a few of the incredible destinations our cozy RV took us to.  

You’ll discover an artist’s palette of colors at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, known as the grandest canyon in Texas.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park  

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, tucked in the heart of the Texas Panhandle about 475 miles from Austin, is known as “the grandest Canyon in Texas.” As the second largest canyon system in the country, Palo Duro Canyon stretches 120 miles long, 20 miles wide, and up to 800 feet deep. It takes between eight and nine hours traveling in an RV from Austin, so we didn’t arrive until late afternoon. But spring’s brisk air and sunny, blue skies set the perfect scene for exploring the park’s raw and rugged beauty, colorful geological layers, and more than 30 miles of hiking trails. We set out on the Lighthouse Trail –– a popular 6-plus-mile, round-trip hike leading to the iconic Lighthouse rock formation. It was a little challenging for our 9-year-old simply due to the distance and tall boulders we clambered up, but the stunning views of the canyon below made the effort well worth it. The next morning, I went for a run along the challenging but scenic Givens, Spicer, Lowry running trail –– it’s 3.1 miles each way and was named for the avid runners who helped build the canyon’s trail system. When exploring the canyon, look for hoodoos (rock formations with a larger rock balanced atop a smaller base that form when rock layers erode at different rates). Reserve an RV camping site inside the park in advance (they fill up fast). The contrast of the canyon’s red rock beauty against bluebird skies is a breathtaking backdrop to wake to. 

Spray paint the partially buried cars at Cadillac Ranch, a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas. Mauri Elbel photo

Amarillo’s Cadillac Ranch 

About 30 minutes outside the park’s boundaries in the Texas town of Amarillo, you’ll spot a famously weird roadside attraction known as Cadillac Ranch. Make a quick stop at this interactive art exhibit featuring 10 colorful Cadillacs jutting up from an old cow pasture and add your own artistic mark with the help of some spray paint. This vibrant installation has been stopping traffic since 1974 and now attracts some 2 million visitors annually.   

Soak in the Santa Fe sunset aboard the ‘Sunset Serenade Train’ from Santa Fe Depot, featuring champagne, snacks, an open bar, and live entertainment.

Santa Fe  

Within an hour of rolling into the history-, culture-, and art-saturated town of Santa Fe, a 5-hour drive from Palo Duro Canyon State Park, we stepped out of our RV and climbed aboard a train. Aboard Sky Railway, Santa Fe’s adventure train born from a handful of prominent Santa Feans including George RR Martin (Game of Thrones novelist; co-creator of Meow Wolf) who came together to revive the historic 141-year-old railroad, we departed the Santa Fe Depot on the Sunset Serenade ride. Starting with a champagne toast followed by snacks, cocktails and mocktails, we enjoyed live music and stunning sunset views of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range to the north, Jemez Mountains to the West, and Sandia and Ortiz mountains to the South.  

We spent the following day exploring Santa Fe. We soaked in some of Santa Fe’s oldest architecture along Canyon Road Arts District where nearly every home along the three-quarter-mile street is an art gallery. We also toured the The IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) –– the country’s leading museum for exhibiting, collecting, and interpreting the most progressive work of contemporary Indigenous artists. Don’t miss a trip to the original permanent Meow Wolf exhibition, House of Eternal Return, an immersive and exploratory art adventure featuring over 70 rooms created by local and community artists who work in a diverse range of media spanning sculpture and painting to fabrication and digital art.  

Meow Wolf Santa Fe is a must-stop, featuring a maze of colorful rooms and dark passageways lined with towering alien monsters designed to bring out your inner child. Mauri Elbel photo

We never needed to cook in our compact RV kitchen while in this foodie town. We loved dining at Tomasita’s, a Santa Fe staple which serves classic Northern New Mexican cuisine and delicious margaritas and will celebrate 50 years this year. Between touring Santa Fe’s museums and outdoor markets, we lunched at The Shed. Located in an adobe hacienda that dates back to 1692, the colorful restaurant is renowned for its red chile enchiladas, blue corn specialties and fresh margaritas. Saddle up for some hearty food and festive fun at Cowgirl Santa Fe, featuring live bands almost daily, hearty chili and barbecue, and a lively atmosphere.   

The whole family can fuel up on their favorites at Albuquerque’s foodie haven known as Sawmill Market. Mauri Elbel photo

Albuquerque  

We visited Albuquerque, located just an hour from Santa Fe, during my middle son’s tenth birthday trip a few years ago when he fell in love with a foodie spot he still talks about: Sawmill Market. It’s New Mexico’s first artisan food hall and has become the culinary pulse of Albuquerque, so naturally, we had to stop here so our whole family could experience this indoor-outdoor food mecca that now houses 27 individual local merchants. Everyone filled up on their favorites –– artisanal small-batch pastas at Tulipani Pasta, Vietnamese street food at Kulantro, tacos and margaritas at Flora Taco-To-Go, loaded Belgian waffles at XO Waffle, fresh sushi rolls at Hiro Sushi, and taiyaki soft serve at Neko Neko. Before hitting the road, we grabbed some wood-fired pizzas to go from Hawt Pizza Co. which we enjoyed for dinner in our RV later that night. 

Stick around town to hike the 1.5-mile round trip Piedras Marcadas Canyon trail in Petroglyph National Monument, which protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America. Discover the historic heartbeat of Albuquerque by strolling through the narrow, quiet streets of Old Town, lined with historic adobe buildings, including the oldest building in the city, San Felipe de Neri Church, built in 1793. Bordering Old Town, check out the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, or the ABQ BioPark which is home to an aquarium, a botanic garden, fishing lakes at Tingley Beach and a 64-acre zoo. Or ride the popular Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway, which ascends 2.7 miles to the 10,378-foot crest of the Sandia Mountains.    

RELATED: New Mexico Road Trip: 10 Top Experiences from Albuquerque to White Sands 

Discover one of the world’s great natural wonders at White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Mauri Elbel photo

White Sands National Park  

You’ve probably heard about the awe-inspiring beauty of White Sands National Park, which sits less than four hours from Albuquerque. But until you set your own eyes on these endless white wave-like dunes of gypsum sand –– a complete anomaly in the vast southern New Mexico desert –– you really can’t comprehend this otherworldly oasis. Tucked in southern New Mexico’s Tularosa Basin in the Chihuahuan Desert, White Sands National Park is the largest gypsum dunefield in the world, covering 275 square miles. One of the world’s most incredible natural wonders, these dazzling dunes look like snow-blanketed slopes that shimmer like diamonds in the sunshine and stretch as far as the eye can see. You’ll want to carve out several hours here to marvel at the endless heaps of pillowy sand, which feels like silk between your toes.  

Writer Mauri Elbel and her kids spending the day sledding down the dunes at White Sands National Park. Photo by Travis Albrecht

Sand-sledding down the powdery slopes is a surreal experience and repeat climbs back to the top are better than any cardio workout you could get at the gym (you can buy the plastic sleds at the park store). While you don’t need a reservation to get into the sprawling park, it’s best to go early in the day. The sand gets hot in the summertime, and when the wind picks up, visibility is hindered (sunglasses will help protect your eyes from the bright glare and whipping sand). Be sure to bring along plenty of water and sunscreen –– you’ll need more than you think of both.   

At Carlsbad Caverns National Park, stalactites cling to the roof of the Big Room, a huge underground chamber in the cavern. Mauri Elbel photo

Carlsbad Caverns National Park  

The finale of our RV road trip happened almost 1,000 feet underground. Visiting Carlsbad Caverns National Park, a natural treasure found beneath the surface of the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert, is like journeying into another dimension. Just over three hours from White Sands National Park, this mesmerizing underground world teems with extraordinary cave formations, gigantic subterranean chambers, and jaw-dropping beauty. Highlights include the 8.2-acre Big Room, the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America. Along the self-guided underground stroll, you’ll pass famous features including the Bottomless Pit, Giant Dome, Rock of Ages, and Painted Grotto. Inside the dimly lit space, fascinating formations resemble everything from a magical fairy village to a giant lion’s tail. Carlsbad Caverns, just under eight hours from Austin, is a great place to escape the Texas heat in the summertime –– the cave’s thermostat stays at a naturally cool 56 degrees.