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| Flagstaff views |
We spent a lot (for our budget) on campsite fees in September. I'll attempt to justify the cost below, but first, here's a breakdown:
Sunflower River farm (August 26 - September 4): If you haven't read about our WWOOFing experience, click here for what worked and what didn't. One important benefit: our stay at the farm - which included a 20 amp electric connection, interactions with interesting people, lessons in organic farming, and access to separate facilities - was free.
Cost: $0
American RV Park (September 4 - 25): As Trent explained in a recent post, we loved this park. The facilities were clean and well maintained, it featured a swimming pool that our son used almost every day, breakfast was included in the cost of stay, and the park was centrally located for our many Albuquerque adventures. But the campsite rates reflected all of those perks. At $223 a week, it was definitely at the high end of our budget... and we stayed for three weeks.
Trent said to say that it was worth the cost, and I tend to agree. Our experience here was excellent. We would go back. (We'd probably stay for four weeks the next time and take advantage of the monthly rate, which is more cost efficient.)
Cost: $669
Flagstaff KOA (September 25 - October 2): I'm ambivalent about this park. On one hand, our site was exactly as advertised with respect to hookups. The electric, water, and sewer connections worked perfectly. The campground is shaded by tall pines and has a pleasing woodsy feel to it, and Sam loved the playground setup. The biggest plus was that this KOA offers on-site access to some of the most beautiful hiking trails in Flagstaff.
On the other hand, it is so very expensive - even with our 10% membership discount - and at peak times it feels a bit like an overcrowded parking lot. There's no pool (which makes sense, given the climate), and there's no free breakfast (Trent said to mention that, too... You know, for all you all-included-breakfast fans).
In short, we probably wouldn't stay here again. There's nothing wrong with it, but even in an expensive town like Flagstaff, there are other options.
Cost: $251.64
Total campground expenses for September: $920.64
Comparison: our combined June/July costs came out to $565 and our August total was $503. YIKES.
A bit of a justification:
First, we didn't use our Thousand Trails membership in September. TT doesn't have any campgrounds in New Mexico. I suppose we could have bypassed the state altogether, but that would have been sad - we would have missed out on so much. As for Arizona, there's a TT property near Sedona, but it was booked solid at the end of September.
Second, $920 seems insanely expensive until you start comparing that to the cost of a decent hotel room for the same period of time or, say, the monthly rent on an apartment. (For fun, we looked up apartments in Flagstaff. They appear to go for $1000 and up.)
Third, we had fun and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, so... that was worth it.
October should be easier on the wallet. We are at a Thousand Trails site for the first week of the month, and then we've got plans to take advantage of our Escapees membership. I'm betting we'll come in above the summer totals but well below September's campground expenses.
