Copy Work

Although most of us take pictures of scenery, family & friends, there are times it is useful to use your camera to take pictures of pictures. A scanner will often do this, however if you don’t have one, the artwork you wish to copy is larger than your scanner bed, or you are looking for the fastest way to copy lots of pages, using your camera with a copy stand may be the best solution. Although it is possible to hold your camera in front of the picture you wish to copy, the results can be improved through the use of a copy stand & proper lighting. Read more  Read More →

Where Do Extended Term Boondockers Get Their Power?

In response to my Snowbirds Quartzsite post last Saturday, Fred asked what you do for power if boondocking in Quartzsite for weeks at a time. I thought the question was good for a post of its own (I’ll return to Snowbird roosts next saturday. Boondocking (camping without sewer, water, or electrical hookups) is a skill you learn more about the more times you do it. If trash disposal (dumpsters), a drinking water tap, and a dump station are nearby, handling these boondocking limitations is just an inconvenience–having to pack up, hitch up, and drive, even if only a few hundred yards, then return and make camp again. This, for experienced boondockers, is just part of the experience and is handled in short order and with little fuss and difficulty. And every boondocker learns to conserve supplies and resources and limit waste in order to extend time between such moves. Read more  Read More →

Extend the Life of Your RV’s Battery

Extend the Life of Your RV’s Battery Some of the common causes of premature battery failure include overcharging; undercharging; deep discharges; excessive vibration; and calcium or magnesium sulfation from using tap water. When charging your RV battery during hot temperatures, be careful not to overcharge it. The gassing threshold for most lead acid batteries is a source 14.1V to 14.4V at room temperature. When charging a battery when the ambient temperatures are high, gassing can occur at lower charging rates. What happens if your charging system cannot compensate for temperature? You’re likely to get excess amperage that can cause the water to “boil” out of the battery. Read more  Read More →

Jump in Wind Powered Electricity

By Bob Difley Some good news on the alternative energy scene. The American Wind Energy Association announced yesterday (Wednesday) that the US added enough wind produced energy in the second quarter of 2008 to power 400,000 homes–nearly 1,400 megawatts. They also announced that wind turbines will produce this year about 7,500 megawatts of additional electricity, up from 5,249 megawatts installed in 2007–a 43% increase! Wind power produced more than one-third of the new electric generating capacity installed in the US in 2007, and predictions are that it will continue to grow at this pace. And if Boone Pickens energy plan works out, it will push that total even higher. This year alone in the US, eight wind turbine component manufacturing facilities opened, nine were expanded, and 19 new facilities were announced. Now if we can get the new congress to extend investment tax credits from the one year given to the wind energy sector to the eight years enjoyed by the solar industry, as well as establishing a new federal renewable energy standard, we might see even more clean energy supplied to the grid. New wind-produced, clean energy will be an important factor as more and more electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (many of which will be towed behind RVs) come on the market and are being charged overnight at home and at campgrounds from grid power.  Read More →

Listen to Radio Online

Do you have a favorite radio station at home that you miss when you’re on the road? Did you know that you can listen to just about anything you want right from your computer online? It’s true. Hundreds of radio stations in the US and around the world broadcast over the Internet at the same time that they broadcast over the airways. You can go to the website for your radio station and look for a button, or menu item to ‘Listen Live.’ If you can’t find a website for your radio station, you can browse on over to a Web Radio Directory and look up your station by it’s call letters. Check it out. It puts a smile on your face to listen to the drive time traffic report on your big city home radio station while you’re camped in a wilderness national park! Or, maybe you don’t care about listening to live radio, but you have a particular show you like. I am a fan of ‘Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me’, a National Public Radio show that broadcasts on Saturday. I might not think of it until the following Tuesday, but that’s no problem. I just go to NPR.org, scroll down until I see their list of programs in the left menu, and click on Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me. Then I have choices. I can listen to last week’s show, or I can listen to a past show. I can also choose to download the show as an .mp3 file and listen to it later, maybe while we’re driving. I’ll either need headphones to be able to... Read more

RV Cooking Show – Great Smoky Mountains National Park & Southern Corn Casserole

There’s a nip in the air, the warm sun shines down, and across the land leaves have many of us “peeping”. If you haven’t thought of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as prime leaf-peeping country think again. Located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains – among the oldest mountains in the world – this time of year visitors to the park are treated to a remarkable display as fall moves from the northern reaches to the lower elevations. In fact, the autumn colors typically delight from early October to early November… so , if you are anywhere near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park pop in for a peek. As a primer for your visit or if you can’t make the park just now (it really shines all year long) but would love to hear and see more this RV Cooking Show is for you. We’ll touch on some of the best loved highlights in the park, the must-sees, and we’ll make a classic southern dish – corn casserole – or as it’s sometimes called in my RV – corn pudding. Read more  Read More →

Get In The Know with NOAA

It’s OK if you don’t have the weather talents of Al Roker. And, so what if you always thought climatology was a new spiritual movement adopted by Hollywood. You have always been just fine with leaving the weather forecasting up to the professionals. But, what if you live the mobile lifestyle and are typically on the road, on the water, or outside on the job? It sure would be nice to know the upcoming weather conditions in those situations, wouldn’t it? Guess what? It’s possible and that is where NOAA comes in. Read more  Read More →

Destinations & Sightseeing – Part 1 – Bernice’s Tips

Genealogy, rock hounding, race cars, nature, sightseeing—every RVer has a passion for something that takes him or her on the road. The destinations are many. Here are some terrific suggestions that will make pursuing your passions more pleasurable. Motorhoming genealogists know that their mobility affords them unique opportunities for family tree research. They can plan trips to research areas, taking photos of ancestral homesteads and church sites and cemetery tombstones, and gather “obits” and other pieces of family history from the pages of local newspapers. Contact local genealogical societies in your area and let them know your routes and destinations. You may find members, unable to travel themselves, who will pay you to act as a researcher/photographer for their family tree needs. Plan your trips so you arrive on a day when civic offices are open—not weekends. – Bruce Allsen, Moreno Valley, CA Before photographing an old gravestone, wet it with water so the lettering will show up better. When planning a trip, leave some free time to see whatever museums or other places that interest you as you go along. Be alert for unusual wildlife, flowers, and scenic beauty. Enjoy nature—touch it, feel it, smell it, listen to it, and look at it. To see the Grand Tetons at their best on the eastern side, approach them from the north. The most dramatic way to see Sedona and the red rocks is to approach from the north. (From Flagstaff, take Exit 337 off I-17, turn left at the... Read more

RV Tailgate Parties – An Art Form?

Airstream RV Blog #56 – Tailgating! from Sean Michael on TheLongLongHoneymoon.com. According to Wikipedia, “in North America, a tailgate party is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle.” Which begs the question, what is a tailgate party in South America? A form of sociopolitical rebellion? Read more  Read More →

Make the Most of Your Sit Down Time

By Lynn Difley Being physically active makes people feel healthier and generates energy, as well as having many health benefits. If you are on the road, or stuck inside during bad weather, there are some things you can do to give your body and mind a break. These activities will give you a mental boost, fight stress and promote flexibility. Our bodies are meant for motion: sitting still is stressful and can lead to stiffness and loss of mobility. You may have noticed when you get up for a long period of sitting, how tight and stiff your body is. The average American sits for 7 ½ hours a day, that’s longer than they exercise, that’s for sure. You can do Simple Moves without going to the gym, track, or trail, with no special skills or equipment. Start out with a lean-back stretch. Sit up tall in your chair, and slowly arch your spine up and back, to the point of feeling a nice stretch, then curl back down. Breathe deeply; in while you arch up, out as you curl back down. If you have been sitting and working with your hands–at a computer or sewing machine, stretch your wrist and arm frequently and take breaks away from the movement pattern to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome. Experts say that you should do some movement every hour. Circle the wrists around, slowly, and with a full range of motion. Open and close the hands, flex and bend your hands up and down, and in and out. Get up and walk around, even if it’s just a few steps. Sitting puts such a heavy load on the... Read more

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