Calculating Fuel Costs with Streets and Trips

We have plans this summer to travel 10,758 miles. That will cost us approximately $4,707 in gas cost if gas prices are $3.50/gal.  If the price goes up to $4, make that total $5,288.         First Plan your Route How do I figure this?  By using the Route Options feature of my Streets and Trips program.  Our summer travels are dictated first by the Rallies where we will be presenting our computer seminars.  I add them all as Stops on our route using Streets and Trips Route planner.  Then I add a few of our ‘must-visit’ places in between.  The software plots the course based on these stops. Then Set your Options Whenever directions are given, they include a summary: Of course, it needs a fuel price in order to calculate this.  You enter that in the Route Options, under the Route menu.  This is also where you enter your average miles per gallon for city (7mpg for us) and highway (8mpg) driving.  So, it’s a simple matter to get the calculation for several different fuel prices. Try Changing your Route Let’s say we decide this is just too expensive, how much would we save by not going out west this summer?  All I need to do is to delete the route stops out west and get directions again.  This only takes a few clicks and  I now have a new summary:   Other Calculators If you don’t have Streets and Trips, or you just want a quick estimate without planning your exact route, there are plenty of calculators on the web. www.travelmath.com/fuel-cost/: You... Read more

Something’s Brewin’ in Shiner, TX

Nestled below the triangle of Houston, Austin, and San Antonio is the old Czech-German town of Shiner, home to a beer by the same name crafted at the 101-year-old Spoetzl Brewery. Currently owned by Carlos Alvarez of Gambrinus Brands, the Spoetzl Brewing Co. of Shiner, is the last of the original Texas breweries. Their classic Shiner Bock is a God given blessing. “little brewery in Shiner” © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved The original brewery was founded in 1901 amid an Austrian, German, and Czech farming community near the railroad tracks on the banks of Boggy Creek. The early efforts did not go well and the brewery was leased to Oswald Petzold and German brewing craftsman Kosmas Spoetzl in 1914. Carrying a family recipe for a Bavarian beer made from pure malt and hops, Spoetzl began to produce beer in wooden kegs and bottles. The following year, Spoetzl purchased the brewery. After 1916 the beer was packaged in glass returnable bottles; aluminum kegs were first used in 1947, nonreturnable bottles came in 1958, party kegs in 1964, and cans in 1970. During Prohibition, the brewery produced ice and near-beer and, and according to some sources, regular beer as well. After his wife’s death in 1921, Spoetzl considered returning to Bavaria but was convinced by his daughter to retain the business. With repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the business resumed, with the introduction of “Texas Export,” a new product later known as “Texas Special” beer. Sales... Read more

Don’t Get Caught by Low Bridges, get Data for Streets and Trips

www.GeeksonTour.com Our motorhome is not a big rig, so we don’t get caught by low bridges very often.  Actually it only happened once in our 7 years on the road, in upstate New York.  We came around a bend and came face to face with a railroad bridge at 11 feet above the roadway.  We measure 11 1/2 feet.  Luckily there was a place to turn around.  Unluckily, there was no easy way to get to where we planned to go. Read more  Read More →

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

Snowbird destinations: Utah

Few other states can match the geological diversity of Utah, which sits at the junction of three geophysical regions: the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Plateau, and the Great Basin. While in Utah, explore mountains, deserts, colorful canyons, cool caves, natural bridges, arches, and a big, bold, briny lake. Pictured above: Arches National park. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved With its unworldly scenery and unusual history, Utah ranks among the most intriguing destinations in the U.S. This large western state has magnificent mountains, stark deserts, colorful canyons, cool caves, natural bridges, colorful arches, and a big, bold, briny lake. Utah is home to five national parks and seven national monuments, making it a paradise for RVers who love the outdoors. Also, the state is justly famous for its excellent skiing, river rafting, biking, hiking, and backpacking. Although Spanish explorers and mountain men visited Utah in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, settlement was slow due to the state’s harsh conditions. In 1843, John Fremont explored what is now the Great Salt Lake Valley area, noting not only its weirdly saline water but the fertile valleys shadowing the mountains. Fremont’s findings inspired Mormon leader Brigham Young, then in Illinois, to plan a caravan west to an empty land where his people would not be persecuted. “This is the right place,” Young stated when arriving with his followers in 1847. The Mormons quickly laid out a city, dug irrigation... Read more

Black Friday Sale! 99 Cent Shipping All Weekend Long on Everything

Here’s the scoop on a great Black Friday sale that RVers will be happy to shop! Visit www.woodalls.com any time this upcoming weekend to take advantage of 99 cent shipping on anything! That means you can get the 2011 Woodall’s North American Directory for only $14.95, plus $0.99 shipping and handling!   (The Directory retails in stores for $25.95. ) Plus, this great offer is good on every single book, directory or guide in the Woodalls.com bookstore, and we wanted you to be the first to know! Remember, this special shipping price is only good from November 26- November 29, so don’t forget to place your order.  Happy RVing!  Read More →

One Tank Trip for Iowa Camping

This One Tank Trip seen in the Woodall’s 2010 North American Campground Directory. Iowa is thought by many to be at the center of America’s heartland, and they would be right; this is where the American ideal is alive and well. The Hawkeye State’s people are warm and friendly, who understand that you get a day’s wage for a day’s work. A great many farms run through this region, producing a sizable portion of America’s output of corn and soybeans, but there’s a lot more to Iowa than just cornfields and farming. Make Iowa your one tank trips destination and come see for yourself. Cedar Rapids is a perfect place to start off your vacation, as it provides a blend of city and country living. You’ve got the theaters, nightlife, and fine dining opportunities available in any big city, but there’s a small town feel at work here that gives Cedar Rapids a charm all its own. There are city parks, state parks, and wide-open county parks within Cedar Rapids, providing you with plenty of places to park the rig and sit for a spell. The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor is a hiker’s dream, with a maze-like network of interconnected trails that run through the city and countryside. There are car and motorcycle museums in town to attract even the most casual automotive enthusiast, and don’t forget to cruise through the local wine country and sample the incredible vintages they’ve got for sale. Getting back on the road, head south on the I-380 for close to 20 miles until... Read more

One Tank Trip for Nebraska Camping

This One Tank Trip seen in the Woodall’s 2010 North American Campground Directory. If you’re looking to spend some quality time enjoying the great outdoors, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better place for that than Nebraska. The Cornhusker State is chock full of broad expanses of plains and rolling hills, which remain largely unspoiled since the times of Lewis and Clark. In fact, if you’re feeling like a trailblazer, you can retrace the steps of these master explorers along the Lewis and Clark route. But this isn’t meant to suggest that Nebraska is mired in the old days and the old ways; far from it. This is a state firmly secured in the present, as well as the past, which you’ll soon discover when you explore Nebraska’s busy metropolitan regions. Before we head out into nature, let’s start this one tank trip off in Nebraska’s largest city, Omaha. This is where you’ll find the Strategic Air and Space Museum, with exhibits that give us a firsthand look at some of the military aircraft from WWII to the present that served us so well. You’ll see the Fortress series of bombers, various fighter craft, and the recently retired SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, which was capable of achieving such high altitudes that the pilots had to wear space suits. Among the permanent exhibits, you’ll see the Vietnam Memorial Wall and an inspiring memorial dedicated to Jimmy Doolittle’s Tokyo Raiders of World War II. This museum is a definite must-see for any aficionado of... Read more

One Tank Trip for Wisconsin Camping

This One Tank Trip seen in the Woodall’s 2010 North American Campground Directory. As you explore this one tank trip vacation through the Badger State, you’ll be treated to some of the most incredible sights, smells, and sounds that come from outdoor life, as well as some offbeat and unique attractions that will amuse you, excite you, and maybe just make you scratch your head and wonder “what were they thinking?” One thing’s for sure, your road trip through Wisconsin will be anything but boring. Read more  Read More →

One Tank Trip for Minnesota Camping

This One Tank Trip seen in the Woodall’s 2010 North American Campground Directory. For this route, we’re taking a bit of a departure from our usual one tank trip format. Normally, we feature a journey with multiple stops in various towns. This time out, we’re showcasing the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway in Minneapolis, which is a 50-mile looping stretch of road that takes you on a fascinating trip through seven distinct regions around the Minneapolis area. You’ll find that this Minnesota camping route takes you through both urban and rural areas, with lots of things to see and do and plenty of places to pull over and enjoy the great outdoors. So, let’s get out on the road and see what’s out there waiting for us! Every trip has to start somewhere, so let’s make Boom Island the point of origin. It’s located in the Downtown Riverfront section of the Byway, at roughly the two o’clock position on the map. You’ll find this 20-plus acres area to be filled with opportunities to relax and grab some sunshine, including a walkway around the river’s edge, boat docks, and several picnic areas to enjoy a spot of lunch. The Downtown Riverfront area rests adjacent to the Mississippi River, so you’ll get a great view of the lock and dam, as well as the surrounding area, from the Stone Arch Bridge. Getting out on the Byway, take a clockwise course a few miles south to your next stop, which offers you a chance to enjoy the Mississippi River up close and personal. From the... Read more

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