Our Grand Circle Tour

The American Southwest is famous for incredible scenery, red rock pinnacles, and formations, brilliant sunsets, and deep canyons. It is uncommon land, for an uncommon experience, and it’s all within a stone’s throw of Utah. Few states can boast of so much! Autumn arrives early at 9,000-foot Fish Lake. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved We spent the month of October completing our version of the Grand Circle Tour. It was grander than we could ever have imagined. During this time we visited five national parks—Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, and Mesa Verde; five national monuments—Grand Staircase Escalante, Cedar Breaks, Hovenweep, Natural Bridges, and Aztec Ruins; Valley of the Gods, and Monument Valley; and drove Utah Highway 12 Scenic Byway. From Salina, Utah, we drove to Fish Lake at an elevation of over 9,000 feet. The area was an absolutely awesome sight with the golden aspens and the blue skies and lake. The magnificent and ever-changing salmon pink and red colored pinnacles and spires and brilliantly colored hoodoos of Bryce Canyon just may have the most awesome scenery we have seen anywhere! On our fourth visit to Bryce I got my wish—to see Bryce in the snow. When we reached Yovimpa Point at noon the temperature was a chilly 23 degrees with a dusting of snow—over 40 degrees colder than during our first visit just five days earlier. It was even warmer back home in Alberta! One of the most spectacular driving highways in the West, Utah... Read more

VIDEO: Merry Christmas to All from LongLongHoneymoon.com

When we travel in our Airstream (thoroughly documented on LongLongHoneymoon.com), we often reference the philosophy of “less is more.” You know, sometimes bigger is not necessarily better. Indeed, one reason we camp is to purposefully experience a simpler life. Here’s an unlikely “less is more” tale that’s somewhat documented in our Christmas card video. Best $10 we spent this year? Our Christmas tree, a real one that was among the neglected leftovers on the lot. Just a few days ago, we were going through the season as usual, but for whatever reason had not put up a tree. In years past, we’ve gotten some pretty large trees into our house. That history was part of the problem. Large trees are quite lovely, but they are a bear to purchase, move, and decorate. It’s an intimidating task that wipes out much of your day. We’ve still got deep scratches on our back door from the gigantic tree we wrestled into the house a few years ago. So this year we had been negligent on the tree trimming front. We were playing Christmas carols and putting up other decorations in our house. But NO tree! Sure, we were enjoying the season, but it felt like something was missing. One morning it dawned on me: less is more! Our Christmas tree doesn’t need to be a redwood. My favorite Christmas cartoon is the classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in which our befuddled hero takes home a neglected little tree and shows it some love. Why couldn’t we do the... Read more

Gr8LakesCamper: Do our National Parks suffer from a lack of diversity?

The Roosevelt Arch at the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park features a placard that reads, “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People,” words that Pres. Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed as the arch was dedicated in 1903. Yet, many people of color have not had the opportunity to experience our country’s national parks – their national parks. Just recently, The Oprah Winfrey Show chronicled Oprah’s camping trip to Yosemite National Park. Oprah was invited to the park by Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson, an African American who played a prominent role in Ken Burns’ film, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. While visiting Yosemite, Oprah took in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, went fly fishing on the Merced River, and was awed by Johnson’s incredible Buffalo Soldier persona. But, for Oprah, this place of inspiration raised a much larger question: “Why aren’t there more visitors of color in the national parks?” The preceding paragraphs are taken from a press release distributed by the National Parks Second Century Commission, an independent group charged with developing a 21st Century vision for the National Park Service. The Commission was formed in 2008 by the National Parks Conservation Association and its findings were made public in 2009. I really don’t know why a release from them made it to my desk just this past week, other than it is capitalizing on Oprah Winfrey’s... Read more

Be aware of complaints against this extended warranty company

By Bob Difley I received the following email from reader Jim G. and thought it worthy of passing along: “Hi Bob; I wanted to pass along some information which might be of interest to fellow RV’ers, I regularly read and enjoy your blog posts and if you deem appropriate please pass this along to someone else who can get the word out. “My Class C RV is powered by a Ford E-450 with a V10 engine, very typical I believe for that type of rig. About a week ago I received what appeared to be a legitimate notice that stated my original power-train and engine warranty, 3 years/36k miles, is about to expire. The letter which was addressed to me includes information about an extended warranty and provides a telephone number to call for information and price to extend the warranty. Trusting that this was sent by someone affiliated with the dealer or service center I placed a call, they had my name/address on file and connected me to a customer service rep. When I explained that the Ford Cut-away van is attached to an RV and has a V-10 engine, the rep. stated that for some inexplicable reason they no longer offered extended warranties for V-10 Fords. I asked repeatedly how and where they obtained by personal information, she could not or would not provide an answer other than to say their marketing firm obtains the data from dealers, insurance companies, etc.. “I decided to do a Google search on Car Safe, located in Missouri and found a BBB rating of F, as bad as you... Read more

A 6-volt Revolt

By the Never-Bored RVers You probably heard about the unusual rainy weather that has been changing the very lives of many Southern Californians.  We have been here in the area to witness it first-hand from our parking spot in Orange County’s O’Neill Regional Park. We were lucky enough to evacuate the park Tuesday before the only canyon road was sealed off by high water and mudslides, or at least the threat of impassible roads. Anywhere else in the country, the inconvenience of weather is nothing to talk about; in Southern California, “RAIN” headlines newspapers and media reports. But that’s not what this article is about. It’s about RV batteries, and – more specifically — the twisted course that our efforts to upgrade has taken over the past few weeks.  I’m submitting this blog to remind you to measure twice on projects; or in other words, check out the specs before putting out the money. Since beginning our RV travels in 2006, I have looked forward to the day when our 12-volt deep-cell marine batteries would die so that I could follow the advice of just about every RV battery expert.  We have often read and heard that two 6-volt batteries will give more power for more years than two 12s. Voila!  During the past two weeks of dry camping (not referring to the precipitation), we suffered with batteries that wouldn’t hold a charge.  The solar regulator installed inside our “grand salon” when we had our solar panel mounted atop our trailer told us... Read more

Membership Campgrounds: 8 Western Horizon Parks for Sale

Western Horizon Resorts (WHR), an owner and operator of private membership, RV resorts, and RV travel related services, has listed eight of its recreational vehicle parks for sale, with a combined 1,839 RV sites for a total of $28.13 million. Indian Waters RV Resort, a Western Horizon membership campground in Indio, California. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved A privately held company, WHR was founded by Jim Loken and family in 1984 and was designed to provide RVers with “an exceptional outdoor vacation experience”. Currently the corporation operates 14 resorts, 5 affiliated resorts, Vista Group RV Insurance, and two affiliated camping networks: Adventure Outdoor Resorts (AOR) and Sunbelt Resorts. Read more  Read More →

Profit from RV Ownership

When I meet a new or potential RVer, one recommendation I make is for them to rent an RV before they purchase one. Renting an RV lets the consumer experience RVing firsthand and can be helpful in determining if RV ownership is right for them. Something I never really considered though was producing additional income by renting your RV after you buy it. That was until the other day when I was talking to Bert Alanko, President of MBA Insurance. Bert explained that RV rentals by owners are growing in popularity, especially during tough economic times. And, you not only get to enjoy the benefits of using your RV whenever you like, but you can produce additional income when it would normally be sitting in storage. Read more  Read More →

Last-Minute Stocking Stuffers for RV Campers!

Or else we'll punish our staff artist.* What’s that burning smell? Is that propane? No, it’s chestnuts roasting on an open campfire. And what’s going on over there? Jack Frost is nipping at Nipsey Russell’s nose! (Am I the only one who remembers Nipsey Russell? Whatever happened to that guy?) But I digress. It’s the holiday season. If you’re like me, you’ve still got gifts yet to purchase. That’s where we come in. By popular demand, you can now give the gift that keeps on giving: LONG LONG HONEYMOON on DVD! These DVDs contain ALL of our videos from over the years, PLUS brand new original audio commentary soundtracks. We’ve received a lot of nice customer feedback about our DVD series. Here are a few ACTUAL TESTIMONIALS: “The DVD’s are fantastic! Please keep up the wonderful work. I can only imagine all the effort it takes to set up all the shots and edit all the video. If it helps any, they are very much appreciated by those of us who are RV nuts.” – Dave in Maryland “The wife and I have already watched the DVD and loved it. Keep up the good work.” – Bo in Arkansas “Tell your friends to stuff their stockings with these DVDs. It will save me a LOT of work on Christmas Eve.” — St. Nick in North Pole (Okay, I confess to making up that last testimonial. The others are legit though!) Season’s Greetings to all!  Read More →

Reading Books on your Droid Cellphone

A couple weeks ago I found myself on a flight from Las Vegas to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  This was a no frills flight, for meals you had your choice of peanuts or chips, and for entertainment you had your choice of the airline magazine or staring out the window.  I lamented the fact that I did not bring a book along to read, and my Kindle’s battery was dead. Then I remembered that I had downloaded the Kindle reader app for my Droid cellphone.  I hadn’t used it yet, thinking it was just too small for a comfortable read, but since I had no other choice I fired it up and opened my downloaded copy of Girl with a Dragon Tatoo. and started reading. Read more  Read More →

Christmas gift ideas for the RVer in your life

It’s that time of year again. The Christmas countdown has begun! RV to Sedona, Arizona, this Christmas season © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved While the holidays bring with it lots of love, time spent with family and friends, good food, and more, it can also bring stress. Trying to find that perfect gift for someone can get frustrating. But if you’re still looking for stocking stuffers and gifts for the RVer in your life, you are in luck! With the big day quickly approaching, many of us are. Here are a few last minute gift ideas. To keep this manageable, it’s been parted out into four posts—each with five items.  These are in no particular order, with no favoritism or affiliation to the actual products or vendors.  So, without further ado: Books on RVing Peggi Macdonald, a Canadian RV lifestyle consultant, along with her husband John, has lived full-time on the road for 25+ years—“and is still enjoying this incredible lifestyle”. To state that they have ‘been there, done that’ in most situations is an understatement. Her print- and e-books offer mega tips and hints to simplify RV travels. Peggi’s RV Living in the 21st Century, the Essential Reference Guide For All RVers, features tips on ‘How to RV?’ and is loaded with information from buying your first RV to going away for short or extended getaways as well as information for fulltimers. Peggi also has 3 e-books available for purchase: RV Packing Tips, RV Life Lessons Plus Easy Living Hints, and RV... Read more

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