RVING SWITCHBACKS – EAST, WEST, NORTH, SOUTH

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our E-mail Digest or RSS Feed. We will then send you the stories that are posted each day in an e-mail digest. We use a service called Feedburner for delivery of these emails. You will receive an e-mail from Feedburner after you subscribe and you must click on that email to activate your subscription. Thanks for visiting and enjoy all the information! RV.Net Blog AdminBy Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers I prepared an article years ago about the types of places you can park your rig, updating it several times — everything from private campgrounds to national parks to retail outlets and many more – 17 more to be exact.  If you’d like a copy, please email your request to neverboredrvers@gmail.com. It’s free. Annapolis, capital of Maryland. What a neat place!  We spent a day walking the streets of this interesting town, reveling in all-thing-Annapolis: historic homes and buildings, including those housing state From left, "Big Al" picks out crabs for us in St. Michaels, a town that celebrates its seafood, and we're ready for a feast in Annapolis government, the Chesapeake Bay waterfront, seafood, shops, and, most notable of all, the U.S. Naval Academy.  Very prestigious, and the midshipmen are all so handsome; that is, all except the midshipwomen, who Midshipmen -- with female middies in background at right are dolls.  I don’t mean to be sexist about this, but we were... Read more

IN THE SHADOWS OF SHENANDOAH

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers A continuing saga, which I call “Micro-Blogs” … In the uplands, the trees were just starting to come into their spring greenery.  In the valleys, the bright yellow forsythia, white and pink shrubbery and wildflower blossoms and lush green everywhere kept us enchanted for mile after mile (much akin to fireweed in the Yukon Territory). Looking out from Skyline Parkway at the Blue Ridge Mountains So Babcock, West Virginia, was a pleasant enough state park, but it wasn’t in its glory when we visited in mid-April.  Nor was Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, one of the most visited national parks in America.  The rhododendron bushes were leafy but have not yet bloomed, so we missed out on their rich hues, but the Shenandoah Valley is a place of beauty. Once we arrived at Shenandoah River State Park, Virginia, we were surrounded by healthy forests that we always enjoy, sprinkled with colorful trees, butterflies and the beautiful Shenandoah River. This valley is a tourist’s paradise, with its abundant caverns open to the public.  We picked the most renown, Luray Caverns in Luray, for a trek underground.  We seem to gravitate toward caves in our travels, having gone underground in at least a dozen and maybe closer to two dozen — that makes us expert cavern tourists. Far beneath the surface of the Earth is an enchanting lake, seen in Luray Caverns in Virginia A vintage Mercedes-Benz in Luray's... Read more

WILMINGTON, NC. – MADE FAMOUS IN ‘LINCOLN’

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers A continuing saga, which I call my Micro-Blogs … Unless you are one of the few who didn’t see the movie “Lincoln,” you know that the Town of Wilmington, North Carolina, was a key target for the North in cutting off supplies for the Rebel army.  Once it was taken, Southern forces had an excellent strategy to hold Ft. Fisher, but the North's gunboats had too much power for them to sustain their position. the Civil War was all but over. While Monique and I have been immersed over the past two weeks in American Revolution and Civil War history, honestly, it’s not something we soak up.  Yet, it’s hard not to appreciate the do-or-die struggles that resulted in America’s independence and at the Civil War that ended with the return into the Unionof the states that seceded. When Patrick Henry proclaimed, “Give me liberty or give me death,” he and the other patriots were truly facing execution if they lost, or at least loss of their bountiful way of life.  Same was true in the Civil War.  Southerners putting their lives on the line to defend their agrarian culture against the Northern Army, also made up of men willing to die for what they believed. I ask that you remember that every member of our Armed Services today faces that same call to duty.  They put their lives on the line to secure our freedom. The antiquity of the Wilimington Cotton Exchange Building is evident in a star at the end of... Read more

THE PLIGHT OF A MILLION BATS

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Another spontaneous detour on our 6-month journey across America took us to Russell Cave National Monument just over the state line from Chattanooga outside of Bridgeport, Alabama. The beginning of seven miles of Russell Cave The “why” to visit there: it’s “an archaeological site with one of the most complete records of prehistoric cultures in the Southeast. Thousands of years ago a portion of Russell Cave’s entrance collapsed, creating a shelter that, for more than 10,000 years, was home to prehistoric peoples. Today it provides clues to the daily lifeways of early North American inhabitants dating from 10,000 B.C. to 1650 A.D,” to quote the National Park service handout. The “caution” of visiting this remote park is the RV parking is very limited.  There are two spaces for RVs and buses, but I gave up maneuvering into them with our 50-foot truck and trailer length, parking instead across car spaces.  Luckily, since only two other visitors showed up while we were on site, there was plenty of room for us.  Smaller rigs, 5th wheels and motorhomes probably have less trouble than our 28-foot TT. And at this point, I’ll mention that when Ranger Antoine Fletcher was listing the numerous species of animals in the park, he said they have about everything but Bigfoot.  I corrected him immediately – our trailer is a Bigfoot.  We were also impressed to hear there are more than 700 varieties of... Read more

Wyoming DOT’s solution to highway accidents caused by migrating wildlife

By Bob Difley “Everyday in the U.S., 190 million motor vehicles hit the road, and one million animals get hit by motor vehicles. That’s counting cars, buses, motorbikes, and trucks, but not ATVs, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles. The figure includes mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but not insects and bugs, who somehow never count.” wrote Mark Matthew Braunstein on the Culture Change website.  http://www.culturechange.org/issue8/roadkill.htm “For every dead animal counted, three or four more die unnoticed. Even at 55 m.p.h., we smell the remains of far more dead skunks than we see. The walking wounded die far from the road, so only instantly killed animals are seen and get counted.” For those of us who call ourselves wildlife watchers these numbers are appalling. These numbers are the result of many factors, such as more highways being built, many of these highways cutting off wildlife migration routes and breeding grounds, urban and suburban populations expanding into wildlife habitat, lack of fencing keeping wildlife off busy highways, and reduction of wildlife habitat forcing populations to seek additional space away from protected areas. Unfortunately, the protection of wildlife is often derided as the agenda of wacko liberal environmentalists. But kudoos have to go out to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WDOT) for tackling a problem where pronghorn antelope migrate 170 miles from Grand Teton National Park south to... Read more

Travel Management Plans will change forever how you use the national forests and BLM land

By Bob Difley As many of you boondockers know by now, the National Forest Service (FS) is in the process of implementing their new Travel Management Plans (TMP) throughtout the nation’s forests. These new rules, once approved by each individual forest, will apply to everyone who uses a national forest for driving and camping, designating which roads you are allowed to drive on and where you are allowed to camp or boondock. Allowed driving roads will be limited to only those legal roads built by the FS, usually with specifications that will support cattle trucks, firefighting equipment, and logging trucks, and therefore presumably suitable for RVs as well. All illegal roads will be designated and driving will not be allowed on them–that includes off-road vehicles if you happen to be towing one. Camping and vehicle parking will only be allowed within 30 feet (or one vehicle length, depending on the forest) from the side of the road unless in a designated “dispersed camping area.” These areas and roads will be defined on Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) that will be available free online, from rangers, and at  ranger stations and regional offices. Not following the rules will result in a fine after a period of up to a year (as long as you are not a flagrant violator) for informing and explaining the new rules to the public. The FS has been putting the TMPs together for several years and has asked users and the public for their input all along in the process,... Read more

ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT ALASKA?

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Ah, Alaska is in the air … or at least in the thoughts of many RVers. Last week I received the following email from a couple in Florida: “We are new owners of a 40 ft allegro bus, never had an RV before. My husband wants to take a trip from Florida to Alaska but not through Canada. We have been there. Please give me your experiences and what time of the year is best.  I will follow this blog [more on this below*].   It is very educational and fun.  We have no friends that have RVs.” An interesting email, to which I replied:  Monique and I went up through Washington State to Oliver, B.C., over to Banff and up to Whitehorse.  There were many notable sights and experiences, but following the Canadian Rockies was the highlight.  If you haven’t purchased “Milepost, Alaska Travel Planner,” that’s where you should start your planning. Unbelievable Beauty for Hundreds of Miles Along the Canadian Rockies [I am assuming that by not going through Canada, she means that they don’t want to cross the border from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, or from Minnesota.  “Milepost” gives several alternate routes with crossings in Montana and Washington.] I have often written about journey-versus-destination travel. Depending on your time and financial resources, my suggestion is to start as the weather warms up and work your way across America visiting places you haven’t been.  There... Read more

Vote for Your Favorite Park

The second annual America Is Your Park campaign was recently launched by National Park Foundation, in partnership with Coca-Cola, America’s State Parks, and the National Recreation and Park Association. America Is Your Park campaign urges families to get out and discover fun ways to get active in the park while helping their favorite park win big. Families can vote for their favorite park to win the title of “America’s Favorite Park” and a $100,000 recreation grant made possible by the Coca-Cola Live Positively initiative. “Our national parks are home to our country’s treasures—from our iconic landscapes to the hallowed places where history happened,” said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO, National Park Foundation. “Thanks to dedicated partners like Coca-Cola and the America Is Your Park campaign, our nation’s parks can continue to receive the vital support they need.” Last year, thanks to more than 1.6 million votes cast by its supporters, Bear Head Lake State Park in Ely, Minnesota, was named “America’s Favorite Park.” The following two articles may be of interest: Minnesota state park wins national contest How Bear Head Lake won national contest? Bear Head Lake is using the recreation grant to build a new warming hut to ensure safety and comfort for winter sports enthusiasts all season long. Vote for your favorite park. Pictured above Great Smoky Mountains National Park. © Rex Vogel, all rights... Read more

Are You Bear Aware?

Wildlife is a huge part of the mountain and wilderness regions of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, Alaska, Alberta, and British Columbia. Deep snowpack, more grizzlies Grizzly bears are powerful, top-of-the-food-chain predators, yet much of their diet consists of nuts, berries, fruit, leaves, and roots. Bears also eat other animals, from rodents to moose. (Credit: talktocanada.com) Numerous encounters between grizzly bears and humans have been reported this spring, attributed to a growing bear population stuck in the low country as a result of the deep snowpack. High winter snowpack levels mean bears are moving to lower elevations and are likely to stay there longer than in previous winters. Grizzly bears are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but their numbers have been growing in recent years, increasing the chance for encounters with humans, according to Chris Servheen, the grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In addition, heavy snowfall this winter has taken longer to melt in cool spring weather. “You have more bears, and then you have these high snow levels so the bears can’t be in the mountains where they want to be,” Servheen said. In a nonfatal encounter, two hikers were mauled by a bear in the Gallatin National Forest (Montana) when they came across a young grizzly bear and a sow chasing an elk. The 36-year-old woman tried to climb a tree when the sow bit her in the leg. The man was bitten in... Read more

Grand Circle — Treasuring the Moments and Set-Backs

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers A few days ago, Monique and I completed a whirlwind, unforgettable tour that took us to most of the “must-see” places in the Grand Circle of Utah, Colorado and Arizona, with a peek into New Mexico.  We saw a lot and still had opportunities to be in nature, along with Monique’s brother and sister-in-law from France. In a blog early in our trip, I wrote a piece about why I take numerous photographs, emphasizing that I then delete more half of them, keeping the rest for memories and other future uses.  I was expecting at least one comment from among our nature-loving readers suggesting that I spend less time with the camera at my eye and more time savoring the views.  Just because no one questioned that doesn’t mean I don’t have an answer. During our 35 days on this trip, we saw an incredible number of scenes that are already bringing back fond memories only a few weeks later.  I’m not one of those National Geographic-type photographers who spends weeks in one spot waiting for the perfect sunrise or a mountain lion ravaging an elk.  I like to take a few shots of what I see and move on. Yet, when I find a vista that speaks to me … that has some quality that whispers, “Stop, sit, stare” … I usually obey that loud whisper.  During our recent travels, as we hiked into a canyon in Capital Reef National Park, I perched on a rock at the base of a cliff and looked at the 180-degrees of escarpment... Read more

Next Page »