Coronado Campground - Beralillo, New Mexico

The final stop on the Southeastern Camping Unit's caravan to the 2015 Wally Byam International Rally in Farmington, New Mexico was at the Coronado Campground in Beralillo, New Mexico. This park is owned by the city.

Photo from Rosie's window on the way to Farmington, New Mexico

A car museum at a truck stop in New Mexico

We looked at the themometer on our truck as we were heading to this campground and it was consistently reading in the upper 70s and lower 80s. We were shocked when we arrived at the campground because the temperature had shot up to 100 degrees.

Sign at the park's entrance

I've heard several people say that hot temperatures in the southwest are easier to take than hot temperatures in the deep south because of the humidity. The south's high humidity makes hot temperatures feel worse than the same temperature in low humidity. Whoever stated that line of conversation was wrong! A 100 degree temperature in a desert environment is hot and painfully uncomfortable.

Rosie in the park

Rosie's setup was quick. (Rosie is our 25 foot Airstream trailer.) We didn't want to be out in the heat too long at a time. Our water connection was a little confusing. There wasn't a water spigot where it logically should be for Rosie's site. There was one about 15 feet away, but it was being used by another trailer. The free spigot was on the wrong side of Rosie and we had to use two 25 foot plus another 15 foot hose to reach it. Even with 65 feet of hose, it was a tight fit.

There were many features in the park to remind you that you were in the southwest. These added a little "local" flavor to the park.

Some Southwest flavor at the park

The park is along the banks of the Rio Grande River. We enjoyed watching the river plus the rabbits and quail in this park.

The Rio Grande River

A bench along the Rio Grande

A quail sitting on a post

Many of the members of our caravan went into town for authentic New Mexican food. We decided to eat some of the leftovers from our previous meals and stayed in Rosie for the evening. I was able to fish our sewage tote out of the back of the truck and empty Rosie's tanks before our group returned. This allowed us to avoid the line waiting at the dump station the next day as our group was leaving the park.

It took more than an hour, but Rosie's air conditioner was able to bring the inside temperatures from tolerable to being pleasant.

Here are some specifics about this park:

• It appears that all of the RV camping sites are pull-thrus.
  
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service.
• The water connection was in a strange location and it took every spare hose we had to connect.
• We did not have a sewer connection in this park.
• There is one dump station serving the park.
• The park had decent bathhouses. You had to press the button in the shower six times to get the water running for about 30 seconds. After a while, it became a game to keep the water running while showering.
• AT&T placed a good 3G voice and data signal over this park.
• We were able to pick up more than 40 TV signals using Rosie's antenna. A healthy percentage of these were Spanish stations.

This park charged us an additional $10 fee to reserve a site over the phone. I don't think that is a policy that encourages people to book reservations there.

More Southwest flavor