A FIVE-PART BLOG

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 YORK AND THE HOGS — As today’s title suggests, there are five parts to today’s blog, beginning with our discovering an interesting area to visit when you’re traveling in the Northeast.  The place is York County, Pennsylvania, between Harrisburg and Baltimore.  It proudly calls itself Another "Hog" owner arrives at the factory. No photos are allowed in the production plant. “The Factory Tour Capital of the World.” Before going further about all that’s available in that area, I’ll start out by saying that the only tour we took was the Harley-Davidson motorcycle factory.   Realize that technology is not high in Monique’s sphere of interests and I’ve never longed to straddle a “Hog,” but whattaplace! The robots that paint and form parts are magnificent.  The workforce’s devotion to producing a precision product is inspirational.  Everything on every motorcycle that goes through the stations is checked and rechecked all along the assembly lines. Most of the... 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

MS Streets and Trips to Plan Your Travels

Long before we took to the road in our RV, we had a computer training center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida called Computer Savvy.  We were a Microsoft Authorized Training Center and one of the classes was Mappoint.  Mappoint was a very expensive mapping, routing, and demographics database program.  As an authorized training center we had our own copies of all the software, including Mappoint.  So, after we sold the training center and became RVers – we figured we’d give Mappoint a try for planning and navigating our travels.  Mappoint’s inexpensive little brother is called Streets and Trips.  We installed it on our laptop, bought the USB GPS receiver for it and found a place to mount the laptop in the cab of our 30 foot Class C motorhome.  That was our sole mapping and navigation program for our first few years on the road – 2003-6. Here’s the very first video we made about MS Streets and Trips. Then came the Garmin dashboard GPS, the Rand McNally, and Google Maps on our Android smartphones.  Streets and Trips had to take a backseat while we played with all these new toys.  But, we still used Streets and Trips when we had time to sit at our computers and dream about our future plans.  There’s a lot of good things to be said about all of those while you’re driving and want voice-directed turn by turn directions, but nothing beats Streets and Trips for the planning part.  Now, with our new MS Surface Tablet that... Read more

REFLECTIONS FROM THE ROAD

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers We’ve been traveling cross-country for two weeks now on our way to the Canadian Maritimes from California.  I’ll let you know more about the travels in Part 3 of this article. PART 1 – FREE OVERNIGHT PARKING – From my “I wish I could find the picture I took Department,” I send along this: In Mark Polk’s March edition of RV Consumer Magazine — http://issuu.com/rveducation101/docs/rv_consumer_magazine_march_2013/1?utm_source=RV+Consumer+emag+this+Month+March+2013+++&utm_campaign=RV+Consumer+magazine+RV+101&utm_medium=email — he has a brief item about Walmart parking, which probably applies to all one-night on-the-road no-charge parking places.   He mentions how putting down the jacks on hot asphalt to level the rig can damage the parking lot surface. We have seen several instances of what we feel is parking-lot abuse during our travels, but none so memorable as the Scamp mini-trailer on the edge of a parking lot with awning out, rug down, barbecue going and chairs and tables all arranged.  It looked like the owners had set up camp for the week. We try not to be judgmental, but put yourself in the role of store manager.  You can understand why he or she would think about putting the lot off-limits for overnight RV parking.  Most managers of businesses work hard to preserve an image of a clean property.  We hope you consider yourself their guests. PART 2 – TRUCKIN’ AND RVers Anyone... Read more

WHAT WE’RE DOING ON A SNOWY DAY

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Snow begins to cover the creek bed on our property, a beautiful scene that keeps us indoors A month away from our six-month cross-country voyage from the mountains of the Golden State, California, to the historic shores of the East Coast and then up into Canada.  In preparation for the upcoming adventure, when it’s not snowing (like today and, according to the five weather apps on my phone, for the next two days), we’ve been cleaning out our 28-foot travel trailer and sorting through things to decide what to take and where to place everything. And that reminds me of a warning learned through experience.  Don’t put bottles in the upper cabinets, and especially not in the rear of the RV.  We bought a bottle of wine and a bottle of balsamic vinegar in Oliver, British Columbia. A few miles down the road we hit a nasty bump … it took us hours to clean up the mess. By way of background, we lived in a 22-footer for a year before moving up to a 28-footer with a slide-out.  We had sold our home and 95 percent of “ our stuff” in 2006, and having never stepped foot in an RV except at an RV show, we hitched up and traveled for five years, stopping 403 times on our random-but-planned routes. We could afford the long vacation by virtue of putting the profits from the home sale (after paying off the mortgage and buying the trailer and truck) into CDs that, at the time, were paying us 5 or 5½ percent.   I tell... Read more

ACROSS NO-MAN’S-LAND TO MARDI GRAS

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers This week we arrived in New Orleans for Mardi Gras.  Our 2,000-mile journey included desert, range, forests, bayous … and Butterbean! A Welcoming Rest Stop Along Interstate 20 Had we been in a great hurry, we would have opted for Interstate 10 all the way, but we chose instead to veer from the desolate path that we have suffered too often for the “excitement?” of Interstate 20, the route connecting West Texas with Abilene, Dallas, Nashville and beyond. “Butterbean” is a name many of you will recognize from his frequent comments at the end of RV.net blogs.  Appreciating his interest in our RVing community and often jovial contributions to the blogs, we decided to take him up on an invitation to drop by “the ranch” if we were in the neighborhood.  We had the time for a visit, so off the beaten path (if I-20 can be called an unbeaten path) we ventured. In Las Cruces, New Mexico, we scanned the Texas State Map for a good stopping point along the way, eventually choosing Colorado City State Park.  The ‘miles and miles’ of ‘miles and miles’ were relentless.  For RVers longing for hours of isolation from the real world, this is a recommended route. Texas, famous for its oil wells, does not disappoint.  The vast level scrub desert is dotted with ground-pecking pumps, and when their reign over the landscape ends up jump the power-producing windmills … miles of them grazing among the barren... Read more

ALONG THE ROAD ABOARD THE SUNSET LIMITED

By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers Yesterday, Sean and Kristy Michael posted the video about their trip aboard the QM2, which opens the door for me to follow-up with a ride I took a month ago aboard Amtrak’s Sunset Limited.   The train – another way to experience North America with lots of similarities to RVing … and lots of difference: An old way to find New Horizons: seeking out those new horizons is a mind-expanding experience, one that Monique and I are often finding.  But for the Thanksgiving Week, I took a different approach from our usual means of traveling. The Sunset Limited Pulling into the Station Both San Diego and Orange County airports, the two closest with flights eastward, presented problems for my trip to Louisiana.  If I were to fly to see my newest granddaughter, either Monique would have to drive me more than 100 miles to the airport, an expensive proposition considering the cost of diesel fuel.  Or I could shell out big bucks to park at the airport, which would also mean that Monique would be without a vehicle for a week. Driving the 4,000 miles alone was out of the question, leaving only riding Greyhound as the alternative for this quick trip …  but suddenly an idea hit me from left field – I investigated where I could catch Amtrak’s Sunset Limited headed eastward, and much to my surprise, it stops in Palm Springs just off I-10.  It’s about 45 miles from our cabin on the mountain. Before I invite you to board... Read more

PLANNING FOR ALASKA — REVISITED

On the Trip of a Lifetime Dear Julie, See what you started when you asked about your 2012 trip to Alaska as newbies. We received comments galore to our rv.net blog posted November 1, filled with good advice.  In case you or any other readers are planning a first-time trek to Alaska, I suggest you check out all the comments, but let’s revisit some of the advice given by fellow travelers. I think the most important guidance mentioned by many is to spend as much time as possible testing your RV before taking off on an 8,000-mile or more journey.  These castles on wheels have come a long way for dependability in the past 20 years, but there are so many systems and so many chances for human error in construction, it’s best to go on the road to check that everything is working – and for the arduous Alaska trip, you want to start out confident that everything is working right. The second most mentioned suggestion is to see the Canadian Rockies.   Commenter John recommended following the Rockies up from Las Vegas, New Mexico.  When we make our return visit, we might try that. I’ll cover informational resources in a minute, but there are two items that came up worth further discussion.  One is the Alaskan ferry system along the Pacific coastline and among the islands.  We haven’t experienced it, but I’m sure it’s spectacular.  What I believe are the two major problems with that are, 1) it’s pricey, and 2) you’ll miss the driving adventure. On the other hand,... 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

Great Outdoors Month

Are you planning a camping trip this month? June is National Great Outdoors Month, which is a wonderful time to enjoy fun outdoor activities with family and friends. Presidential recognition of Great Outdoors Week was begun in 1998 by then-President Bill Clinton. Since 2004, Presidential proclamation of Great Outdoors Month has come annually, celebrating a variety of important events and actions that occur during the month. The 2011 Presidential Proclamation states in part: “America’s vast and varied outdoor spaces are a source of great national pride, and we have long strived to protect them for future generations. Our lands and waters provide countless opportunities for exploration, recreation, and reflection, whether in solitude or with family and friends. During Great Outdoors Month, we renew our enduring commitment to protect our natural landscapes, to enjoy them, and to promote active lifestyles for ourselves and our children.” Great Outdoors Month highlights the benefits of active fun outdoors and our magnificent shared resources of forests, parks, refuges, and other public lands and waters. Media attention to the proclamation triggers actions by millions of households and prompts public discussion of important issues linked to outdoor recreation, including volunteerism, health, and outdoor ethics. Additionally, the majority of governors issue proclamations declaring June as Great Outdoors Month in their states, and many take further actions ranging from Governor’s... Read more

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