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Driving can be fun but can also present a challenge, especially on busy streets and freeways. Urban drivers are used to signs for pedestrian crossings, school zones and similar hazards, but unless they live in places like Alaska, they probably don’t see many cautions about moose crossings.
City folks who haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time in rural America are understandably puzzled by unfamiliar sights, and in such situations even highway signs provide the potential for some fun stories.
I was mildly interested in going to Alaska, especially after hearing from a fellow workamper who worked there one summer. She arrived in May and helped the local businesses open for the season before beginning her workamping job. Then she wrote about “termination dust”: the first sign of snow signaling the end of the season and notice to leave.
Recently, I taught at the Life on Wheels in Tucson where I was fortunate to watch an abridged version of John Holod’s trips to Alaska filmed by his company, RV Adventure Videos. After the presentation, I drove home still thinking about what I saw. I was hooked.
Close your eyes and picture green velvety grass, fragrant roses of all colors and sizes, two prominent rivers, oodles of outdoor recreation and the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Portland, Oregon has all this and more. I should know, I spent 11 years in the Rose City and have such fond memories. We visited there last summer and not only was it as good as I remembered it was better. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite places, desserts (!!) and outdoor events in Portland in the latest RV Cooking Show episode.
After we poke around Portland we’ll want something for supper that’s satisfying yet simple to prepare - sesame pasta anyone? This dish is made with a few high quality ingredients like fresh ginger, natural peanut butter and your choice of add ins and is guaranteed to make you, your family and your guests say “wow, I’d like some more please!!”
Not sure how to use fresh ginger? It’s a snap! While the sauce is bubbling and the pasta’s boiling I’ll show you how to use this healthy flavor maker – it’s easy and once you try it you’ll never go back to jarred ginger.
If you’d like the recipe in a printer-friendly format, you can print out the recipe.
Fires are raging in Florida right now. As I watch the news it strikes me that every person interviewed mentions the same thing that they will miss the most. Their photographs!
I took this as a sign that I should revisit my #1 computer topic: BACKUP. With digital photos, there are many ways they can be lost, you don’t even need a fire. But, if you have a backup copy on CD stored in a safe place, you can rest easy.
If you’ve been to any of our Geeks on Tour seminars, or subscribe to our newsletter, you know that we are huge fans of Picasa, the free photo software from Google. Picasa is so much more than a simple photo editor, it does everything you need to do with photos, including backing them up. In fact, it has the best backup facility I’ve seen anywhere. Watch the video below to see what I mean.
Hello all! Just a quick post to let everyone know we will be upgrading the blog software today, so the blog may be down temporarily this morning/afternoon. Thanks for your patience as we perform this crucial upgrade.
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Camping may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to spending time with you mom on Mother’s Day, but it sure can be fun. This weekend we spent our second Mother’s Day in a row at the Port Huron KOA here in Michigan. My mom and I had campsites on opposite corners, and my sisters each rented a full service cabin right across the street from our campsites.
There were 8 adults and 8 kids in our group. This KOA offers many activities for the kids. Batting cages, mini golf, go-carts, bike rentals, basketball courts, sand volleyball, outside in-line skate rink, family movies in their own little theater, and planned activities on the weekends. There is also a pool and bumper boats in season.
We’ve all heard the stories; a roof top air conditioner bogs down and trips the breaker; a television set image is suddenly reduced to a much smaller viewing image; your neighbor plugs his coach into the campground and your microwave oven quits in mid-cycle; reports of a lightning storm in the next county are followed by the lights inside your coach all of a sudden become very, very bright. I could go on, but I think most of you get the idea. The fact is, there are a myriad of electrical problems equally available to all RVers in virtually every corner of North America at any given time in any season. Collectively known as “power line problems,” individually they create a palette of dilemmas that we must be aware of and hopefully protect against.
Why? Quantum leaps in RV electrical technology over the years has resulted in many components in our coaches now being controlled by electronic boards and microprocessors. Additionally, the e-mail form of communications (and blogs, obviously) have well-permeated the general RVing public. Fax/modem applications, CATV (cable TV), connections and on-board telephone connections are quite common. There exists many “smart” devices controlling everything from RV washing machines and battery chargers to VCRs and microwave ovens. Face it, we are firmly entrenched in the microprocessor and electronic age of RVing. Now with the push of a single button you can even deploy a full-length patio awning, or extend a room addition, all using electronically controlled circuitry. Power line problems are no longer just a concern for the computer industry.
There has never been a better time to own an RV. Hybrids, travel trailers, fifth wheels and motor homes are featuring more electronics than ever before, along with increased sleeping capacities to accommodate larger families, or just friends. One thing the industry has yet to catch-on to, however, is catering to dry-campers. The typical trailer comes with a single Group 24 battery, while a fifth wheel or motor home might come with a pair. Either solution is barely adequate for anything more than a weekend of summer camping, however. When we first started camping, our biggest concern was water. We used too much fresh water which, in turn, created too much gray water. As we gained experience, our water lasted longer and we realized that our (then) trailer’s 40-gallon fresh water tank was adequate for most trips. Our Group 24 battery, however, was more like a 10-gallon tank!
Driving can be fun but can also present a challenge, especially on busy streets and freeways. Urban drivers are used to signs for pedestrian crossings, school zones and similar hazards, but unless they live in places like Alaska, they probably don’t see many cautions about moose crossings.
Camping may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to spending time with you mom on Mother’s Day, but it sure can be fun. This weekend we spent our second Mother’s Day in a row at the 
television set image is suddenly reduced to a much smaller viewing image; your neighbor plugs his coach into the campground and your microwave oven quits in mid-cycle; reports of a lightning storm in the next county are followed by the lights inside your coach all of a sudden become very, very bright. I could go on, but I think most of you get the idea. The fact is, there are a myriad of electrical problems equally available to all RVers in virtually every corner of North America at any given time in any season. Collectively known as “power line problems,” individually they create a palette of dilemmas that we must be aware of and hopefully protect against.
There has never been a better time to own an RV. Hybrids, travel trailers, fifth wheels and motor homes are featuring more electronics than ever before, along with increased sleeping capacities to accommodate larger families, or just friends. One thing the industry has yet to catch-on to, however, is catering to dry-campers. The typical trailer comes with a single Group 24 battery, while a fifth wheel or motor home might come with a pair. Either solution is barely adequate for anything more than a weekend of summer camping, however. When we first started camping, our biggest concern was water. We used too much fresh water which, in turn, created too much gray water. As we gained experience, our water lasted longer and we realized that our (then) trailer’s 40-gallon fresh water tank was adequate for most trips. Our Group 24 battery, however, was more like a 10-gallon tank!
