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Roadtrekingmike

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  1. Roadtrekingmike
    Stroller Dogs: RVers love their dogs
    Find a group of RVers and you’ll find dogs.
    And you won’t have to look too hard to find some very pampered pooches.
    Long after many RVers have raised their own families, many are back pushing strollers. This time, instead of their own babies or grandkids, they’re pushing strollers with their new babies – dogs.
    RV shows draw huge crowds. From the inside exhibition space to the outdoor displays, it can get very congested at times and if you are accompanied by a creature with little legs…you need some help.
    Many of the folks I talked to had two dogs. Some three. Several said the main reason they travel in an RV is so they can bring their dogs with them. “Go to an RV show or rally and if there are 100 coaches there, 90 of them have dogs,” said one man I videoed. His wife had a harness around her shoulders and neck that held a dangling dog in a sling like contraption at her waist.
    For their part, the pups sure looked happy. Some had bows on their heads. A miniature poodle wore a Harley Davidson puppy-size T-shirt. Several had fancy collars with lots of doggie bling.
    I started taking stills and video after seeing dozens of stroller-pushing RVers at the Florida RV Supershow in Tampa. The video is above…photos below.
    We RVers sure love our dogs. At the very end of the still photos below is my 70-pound Norwegian Elkhound Tai. We brought him down with us but left him with the grandkids in Georgia while we were visiting the show.
    No way I’m pushing him in a stroller.
    He could pull me. Not a bad idea, come to think of it. He is a sort of sled dog, after all.
    Cats? Didn’t see a one.










    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


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  2. Roadtrekingmike
    The surveys show well over 75% of all RVrs travel with dogs. In fact, many said because they want to take their pets with them is one of the major reasons they bought an RV in the first place.
    Jennifer and I are the same. We enjoy the company of our Norwegian Elkhound, Tai, and bring him with us on most of our trips.
    But there are times while we’re on the road that Tai doesn’t quite fit in.
    Take the long trip west that we’re now on.
    Tai will be great for most of it. But the first part, a week in suburban Memphis where of right-year-old grandson was in a sports tournament, posed a major dilemma. We were staying with the rest of the team parents and grandparents in a hotel where dogs were not allowed. And the sports complex where the games were being played did not allow dogs in the grounds.
    Added to that was the notorious Memphis heat. The temperatures were in the mid 90′s each day, with heat indexes well over 100. So leaving him in our RV, even with the air conditioning running, just wasn’t a good idea. If that AC should fail, the heat buildup inside the coach would would be potentially fatal.
    We thought of leaving him 1,000 miles away, back in Michigan. But to take him on the trip west, which was to begin once the tournament ended, would have meant 1,000 miles back north, before we could start west.
    I posted our dilemma on our Roadtreking Facebook Group. And among lots of suggestions we received, one turned out to be perfect.
    A website called DogVacay, short for Dog Vacation, which lists thousands of trusted, licensed dog sitters who are willing to board pets in their own homes, just as if they were members of the family.
    Just to see what it was like, I plugged in the suburban Memphis city where we would be spending most of our time watching the games. You can imagine my surprise when the DogVacay sitter we choose turned out to live directly across the street from the ballpark.
    Sophia Townsend was her name and, with her husband, Gordon, she watched Tai all week. We even saw her walking Tai one afternoon and rushed over to say Hi.
    The Townsends live in a ranch-style home on a corner lot of a well kept subdivision and has a large, well manicured backyard surrounded by a tall fence, though in the Memphis heat, Tai much preferred the air conditioning inside.
    I can’t begin to say how thrilled we were to have found the loving dog sitters Sophia and Gordon and DogVacay.
    As we continue our travels across the country, I’m sure there will be other occasions when we’ll use it again.
    To use the service, you have to register for a free account You upload a photo of your pet and answer some questions about his temperament. Rates are $25 day. Other services like play time, walks, even grooming, can also be arranged. Your dog’s host family will even send you a daily note and photo of your pet, if you so desire. Each dog that is booked through DogVacay.com is covered under insurance policy that includes $25,000 in dog medical coverage in care, custody and control of the host, less a $250 deductible.
    The service also has a PAWtastic partnership with VCA-Antech, the largest veterinary group in the country to help handle any veterinary issues.

    Tai was welcomed on the couch. That's Gordon and Sophia and two of their four dogs that made Tai feel like one of the pack.
  3. Roadtrekingmike
    Just north of the Missouri “boot heel” is the small community of Sikeston, right off Interstate 57. It’s a great place to overnight. If you stay at the Hinton RV Park, they’ll arrange for a van to take you to dinner at a place you will not soon forget.
    On our visit, we were with a group of 12 RVers, on the way to a Branson, MO rally. Our group came from Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Ontario and we were crowded driving in that stretch van the mile or so to Lambert’s Cafe, “Home of the Throwed Rolls.” Lambert’s is a unique Amerian culinary icon, founded in 1942 and known far and wide for it hot “Throwed Rolls.”
    http://youtu.be/jz-6DZ8tJHQ
    Yup. You heard right. Throwed rolls. Like you see in the video. Gloved servers toss em at you. Raise your hand and there will be a “throwded roll” in it. Gigantic, baked-from-scratch, five inches in diameter, fluffy, hot and ready for drizzled honey, butter, molasses or sorgum. Last year, Lambert’s baked and “throwed” 2,246,400 rolls to its customers.
    There’s more than the rolls of course. We’re talking massive quanttites of Southern Food. Fried catfish.Pulled pork.Fried ham. Fried chicken. Chicken and dumplings. Ribs. You don’t count calories here. If you do, you may get bopped with a throwed roll.
    Servers come by offering side dishes like black eyed peas, tomatoes and macaroni, fried potatoes and fried okra.
    Nobody leaves Lambert’s hungry.
    I swear the van taking us back to the campground was even more of a tight fit as we waddled out after dinner.
    There are two other Lambert’s Cafes. But Sikeston is the original. Well worth a visit.
  4. Roadtrekingmike
    That’s because the brand-new miniature K-cup coffee maker I bought for our motorhome didn’t work this morning and I was all set to celebrate our first night in our new Roadtrek eTrek with a hot cup of coffee.

    Fortunately, the Kentucky Horse Park campground where we’re staying just off I-75 near Lexington, has a store and it was open, and they had plenty of coffee.
    Crisis averted.
    I had wanted to boondock on our first night to put the batteries and solar power features of this new motorhome to the test, but since we didn’t arrive here till 8 PM, we decided that because the park has the water turned off during winter and only offers electricity, we’d call this half-boondocking.
    I actually thought of just not using the electricity, but since we had to pay $23 for the spot and my wife’s ancestors came from Scotland she said “since we’re paying for it, we’ll use it.”
    Later, I saw they had primitive spots here. But we had already paid and settled in.
    There were a few others spending the night. I visited with a couple from Ohio headed to Florida for three months in their Type C while getting coffee. But we were pretty much alone in this very large, well maintained campground next to the Kentucky Horse Farm complex which, even in the winter, has several attractions open. We’re decided to save a tour of the barns and a look at the champion blue grass thoroughbreds for another time.
    We have an important date tomorrow at noon. We get to have lunch with two of our grandkids at their school in Albany, GA and have to be there by 11:30 AM.
    The biggest adjustment in our new motorhome is figuring out what goes where. In a Type B, storage space is at a minimum and we’re going to need a few days and maybe a couple of trips to get it down. I’m seriously thinking about getting a trunk-mounted storage box when we visit the Florida RV Supershow next week.
    Tai, our Norwegian Elkhound, immedialy adjusted and loved the long walk we took him on last night in an empty campground.
    The temperatures dipped into the upper twenties. The heater in the eTrek, which uses forced air or hot water, is magnificent. We were toasty warm all night and impressed by how quiet it is compared to the previous one.
    I have yet to put any water in the eTrek. I should be able to today as the forecast is for unseasonably warm weather, especially as we keep moving south.
    It’s time for breakfast, And maybe the horses. Later
    Source
  5. Roadtrekingmike
    The one thing that I most dislike about this time of year is holiday shopping.

    Usually, I’ll do anything to avoid a shopping mall. If God intended us to go traipsing through crowded shopping centers he wouldn’t have had Al Gore invent the Internet and online shopping.
    So you can imagine Jennifer’s surprise this afternoon when I actually volunteered to drive her to the mall to look up some Christmas gifts.
    I took my Roadtrek Class B RV motorhome.
    Heh heh heh.
    It’s a diesel, so it needs to be exercised from time to to time. That was my verbalized excuse. But the truth is, I was lonesome for it. And sometimes, I feel pretty silly just sitting out in it in the driveway.
    So off we went. ”Take your time, honey,” I said as Jennifer got out to go shopping. I stayed in the Roadtrek.
    I flipped on the battery and fired up the heater. Snow was spitting outside but I soon was toasty warm inside. I turned on the TV, sprawled out on the rear sofa and watched some football as I again bonded with my RV.
    I was parked in a regular mall spot. Couldn’t have done that in a Class A or Class C motorhome. Made my wife happy. Reconnected me with my RV.
    A win-win for both of us. Now if only my Detroit Lions would win.
    Source
  6. Roadtrekingmike
    Every RVers worst nightmare: When your dog gets skunked
    We’re not going camping this weekend.
    Blame it on a skunk.
    That’s because the night before we were to leave, Tai, our Norwegian Elkhound, was tagged at close range by a strolling skunk that has declared our front lawn his territory, despite the grey and black furball that patrols it with vigor.
    It was a busy night for Tai. First, he nailed an Opossum. Actually, he just thought he took out the Opossum. The ‘possum was playing, all curled up in the grass. Funny thing is the ‘possum and Tai should be old friends by now. This happens several times each year. Tai is always mystified that this “kill” is gone when he rushes out the next morning.
    I was on my way home from a meeting when Jennifer noticed Tai and the ‘possum last night. “Bring Tai in and move the ‘possum next door so when Tai goes out before bed he won’t harass that poor creature,” Jennifer instructed on the phone.
    The skunk must have come by shortly afterwards and Tai, thiking he was in doggy heaven, figured he had another critter to bag. Alas, he got sprayed. Drenched, actually.
    Skunked Tai tried to sleep off the stink on the front swing. Now we have to wash the cushions on that, too.
    I smelled skunk in my car a block away. It was heavy in the air as I parked in the garage and went to take Tai from guarding the ‘possum. I didn’t notice that the odor was coming from him. But Jennifer did, when I opened the garage door and sent him inside while I moved our little ‘possum buddy.
    She sent him out fast and we both gave up plans of packing the RV for a quick Friday getaway.
    The smell lingered inside and we both gagged. We sentenced Tai to hard time in the garage for the night and I Facebooked my plight. In the morning, Tai relocated to a front porch glider, where he looked humiliated. He lost his ‘possum and he stunk with skunk. Doggie disaster.
    From Facebook, I was armed with numerous suggestions from friends far and wide. I did two things: First, I went to Pet Smart and picked up two bottles of Nature’s Miracle Skunk Odor Removal. It came highly recommended from a friend in Canada named Jim and a local vet. Douse the dog in it, leave it on for five minutes or longer and then rinse it off. I used most of a bottle on Tai. I’ll keep the other one in the Roadtrek in case this happens while we’re out there boondocking. The second thing I did was take Tai to the pet groomer for a bath. They also claimed to have a secret formula which they applied, though they wouldn’t share the recipe.
    The bottle of the Miracle Skunk Odor Removal and the bath did the job, though there’s still a slight skunk smell which, we fear, would be way too noticeable in the Roadtrek. Hence, no boondocking trip this weekend.
    But the suggestions of other skunk remedies seem well worth passing along.
    Here they are. Feel free to add your own suggestions under comments.
    David and Helen both separately suggested that I mix up a three percent solution of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and liquid soap. That’s also the suggested recommendation of the Humane Society of the United States.  For more detailed instructions, here’s another variation of that recipe.
    Tina has had her dog skunked twice this year. She cautioned against leaving that peroxide solution on your dog for too long. “Mine ended up with blond highlights,” she lamented. “Took forever for the fur to grow out normal.” Instead, she swears by “Permatex hand cleaner, bought it at Meijer. Scrub it in, and wash it off.”
    Cathy says “Vinegar & dish soap really helps.” Colleen says “try Dry douche powder.”
    Susan said to bathe him tomato juice.
    Char says don’t. “Bathe Tai in dawn dish washing soap and then rub lemon juice all over. I had an Old English bulldog who did the same thing and trust me when I say tomato juice does not work but the dawn & lemon juice does.”
    And Judith suggested that I “Rub him with catsup – a lot – then wash off. Sounds strange but it really works. Something about the correct acid or pH or something.”
    Finally, as much as Tai reeked and cleaning him up was a hassle, Craig shared a perspective that made my experience seem not quite so bad: “The only thing worse than having a dog skunked? Having three dogs skunked. One night all 3 of our dachshunds cornered a skunk in the back yard. Long haired dachsies, too. It was weeks.”
    Lots of suggestions. I appreciate them all.
    As does Tai.
    Maybe we can get away next weekend.
    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


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  7. Roadtrekingmike
    Of all the traveling we’ve done on this 4,000-mile Verizon Great Lakes Roadtreking Shoreline Tour, Lake Superior’s North Shore in Wisconsin and Minnesota has provided the most diverse scenery to date.
    Up there, as we rounded the US-side of the lake and started heading north to Canada, especially north of Duluth, we were overwhelmed by the sheer size of the Big Lake the Ojibwe call Gitchegume.
    It is so big it has tides.

    That was the first thing we learned as we moved from the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness Area at the far western end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula into Wisconsin and Minnesota.
    At the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center near Ashland, WI, a huge floor-mounted model of the big lake greets visitors just inside the lobby and National Park Service employees answer questions and provide orientation to the detailed displays about the Lake Superior Region.
    That’s where we learned about Superior’s tidal fluctuations – changes in water level caused by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon. To be sure, the changes are measured in inches, but the movement, sometimes aided by winds and snow melt and known as a seiche (pronounced “say-she”) is yet another Superior fact that helps us appreciate the big lake.
    The Ashland area is the gateway to yet another National Lakeshore on Lake Superior – the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, where 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland make for dazzling displays of windswept beaches and cliffs, much like the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore a few hundred miles east in Munising, MI.
    Ashland itself caught our eye. Beautiful murals depicting the city’s martitime history and it’s once boomtown days adorn the sides of many of the downtown buildings, The murals are huge, some two stories high, others covering almost an entire block. They are a tourist attraction in themselves.
    Wisconsin soon gave way to Duluth, MN, the port city where so many of the big iron ore and grain carrying freighters we have been seeing during our Great Lakes tour pick up their loads.
    But our first destination on the tour of Superior’s North Shore was Spirit Mountain, a ski area just outside of Duluth where we dropped in with a group of amateur radio operators to observe the old technology that led to today’s cell phone technology. Our Roadtreking Buddy Dave Miller, who we met last year while covering a dog sled race in the area, took us up to the area. We ended up spending the night there in our Roadtrek Etrek RV, boondocking in the parking lot.
    It was Field Day, an annual weekend event in which ham radio operators set up antennas and emergency-powered radio transmitter to practice their communication skills with Morse Code and single sideband voice transmission for community service deployment during times of emergency.
    “This is the technology that makes today’s smartphones possible,” said Dennis Anderson, one of the Minnesota radio volunteers. Several of the hams were using their smartphones right next to their radios, checking weather apps and checking in with social media.
    From Duluth, we headed north along the Superior shoreline. The lake is so cold that dense fog often forms as the warm air collides with the chilly temps off the lake. We’d be driving in perfect, 70-degree weather, only to turn a corner and come closer to the coastline and have the blue sky obliterated by thick fog that dropped the temperature almost 20 degrees. We’d round another bend and the fog would lift and it would be sunny and warm again.
    The North Shore is a stunning place of sandstone cliffs, rushing streams and cascading waterfalls. We hiked back to several and could have easily spend several days in the area.
    In the town of Grand Marais, 110 miles north of Duluth and not too far from the Canadian border, we found the North House Folk School where thousand of students from across the country come each year to learn how to do things long forgotten by most people, skills such as blacksmithing, basket weaving and wood carving.
    “In this low touch, high tech world, we teach high touch, low tech,” said Greg Wright, the executive director. “There’s a joy to working with your hands.”
    We watched a group of guys finish up a beautiful wooden canoe. Several days before, it was a pile of sticks. We met a couple from Northern Michigan who were building a yurt, to be used as a guest room for friends who visited them in the log cabin they have in the woods, a log cabin they learned how to build at the North House Folk School a few years ago. And in the kitchen, we watched as a group of women were cooking with local plants and fruits.
    We fell in love with Grand Marais, MN, especially the local restaurants.
    A place called The Angry Trout Cafe is a must try if you’re in the area. It’s a very unimposing place, located right on the water in a low slung, multi-roomed ramshackle building that was cobbled together out of an old commercial fishing shanty. But the food, especially the salmon, was the best we’ve every had. The menu is based on the bounty of Lake Superior and the surrounding region – locally-grown produce, hand-harvested wild rice, and of course, their specialty, fresh Lake Superior fish.
    For lunch the next day, a couple blocks up the main drag, another restaurant, the Crooked Spoon Cafe, also blew us away.
    The World’s Best Donuts is a tiny little bakery in Grand Marais that has people lined up and out the door every morning. Run by a fifth-generation donut making family, the donuts really may be the world’s best. I’ve never had anything like them.
    And down towards Twin Harbor, Betty’s Pies makes a raspberry-rhubarb pie to die for.
    For camping, there are several excellent Minnesota State Parks between Duluth and Grand Marais. Gooseberry Falls State Park and Tettegauche State Park were two of our favorites and are right near the lake and various streams and waterfalls. Split Rock Lighthouse State Park has a gorgeous lighthouse. In town, the Grand Marais city campground is huge, with 300 sites located on the harbor and lakeshore and within walking distance to town.
    There’s s saying about Minnesota that applies to the people born and raised in Minnesota, folks who are friendly, welcoming, courteous, reserved, and mild-mannered. “Minnesota nice,” is what they are. You can even buy T-shirts up there with that slogan.
    The state itself, though, especially that North Shore is…. well… Superior.
    Seriously fellow Roadtrekers, you owe it to yourselves to spend some time up there. Late summer or early fall would be the times I’d suggest. We sure won’t need much convincing to return.
  8. Roadtrekingmike
    We love to take our Norwegian Elkhound, Tai, with us when we go Roadtreking.
    Except for one thing.
    His breath.
    It stinks. Literally.
    In the confined space of an RV, dog breath can get pretty disgusting. We’ve tried chicken-flavored dog toothpaste and brushing his teeth. It works a little. But chicken flavored dog breath is almost as bad as regular dog breath.
    So it was with great interest that we just discovered something called Orapup – a dog breath brush.

    It comes with a couple bottles of Lickies, a liquid that you squeeze onto the soft bristles of the brush. Then you take the brush to your pup and, they love it, liking it all off. It has some natural enzyme that gets rid of bad dog breath and is also supposed to help prevent plaque.
    My granddauhters Hua Hua and Rachel were over when we put it to the test.
    Tai loved the stuff.
    After he licked the brush clean, the girls did a doggie breath test. Their verdict: It works.
    Jennifer checked, too. She says life with Tai in the RV will be better after he licks that brush. We’ll be taking it with us on future trips with the dog.
    Rachel, meanwhile, pointed out to me that the company also has a tongue brush meant for humans.
    She suggested I might want to try it to help with my “Grandpa breath.”
    Hmmm.
  9. Roadtrekingmike
    Man we got high near Telluride!
    At 9,500 feet in elevation, the Matterhorn Campground just south of Telluride, CO was the highest place we’ve overnighted yet on this Great Roadtreking Family Vacation of 2013. Son-in-law, Dan, noticeably felt the effects of the altitude and all of us noticed a bit of dizzyness on exertion, especially when hiking.
    The Matterhorn Campground is just off Colorado Highway 145, about an hour and a half’s drive from our stay at Mesa Verde National Park. Run by the USDA Forest Service, it has 28 spots and we chose two offering full hookups for Wendy and Dan and the granddaughters in the travel trailer and Jeff and Aimee in the Roadtrek SS.
    Jennifer and I put the eTrek in one of the dry camping spots.
    The campground also has showers and flush toilets, though the showers were a bit challenging, bursting out blasts of scalding hot water for 20 seconds, then abruptly shutting off until you waited six seconds and then pushed the button again. When I say scalding hot, I mean hot enough to make you howl if they hadn’t shut off when they did. Man, too hot is just as bad as too cold.
    We loved this campground, nestled in a valley and surrounded by panoramic views of the mountains in all directions. On the day we arrived snow had fallen on one of the mountain tops to our east. Right from the tent area of the campground runs the Galloping Goose Trail, a 15 mile trail great for hiking. The trail features over 20 footbridges, winds past historical landmarks and through the deep gullies of Uncompahgre National Forest—some of Colorado’s most beautiful scenery. And the famed Lizard Head Wilderness is only about 3 miles away.
    The big attraction in the areas is the nearby town of Telluride, described by locals as “the new Aspen.” To get to Telluride, we are advised by the campground host to drive up 145 to the nearby Mountain Village ski and golf resort community and take the free gondola ride into town. Since that was the only place I could get a solid Internet connection, I opted to stay in the Roadtrek in the parking lot while the rest of the family rode the gondolas.
    It’s a pretty cool service, free transportation that is supposed to take 13 minutes. Wendy and Dan took their Goldendoodle, Charley, the youngest of our three dogs and an energetic ball of energy that is game for anything.
    Sequouia, Jeff’s 120 pound part St. Bernard and partMalamute, is 12 and with, Tai, our 70-pound Norwegian Elkhound, opted to stay with me in the air conditioned Roadtrek.
    While I cranked out work on a fast 4g signal with the two dogs, the others found themselves stranded. Their gondola just stopped and hung there, swaying in the wind 6,000 feet above the valley leading to town and sweltering in the sun. While the adults and kids groaned, Charlie’s long tail thumped out a happy rhythm as it hit the side window of the gondola. He was with all his favorite people and all close together. What gets better than that? Maybe a little breeze but, hey, Charlie was happy anyway.
    They stayed like that for more than a half hour getting hotter and hotter. The first I learned about it was when I saw Wendy and Jeff updating Facebook about their plight.
    y the time I reached them on the phone, I offered to drive into Telluride and pick them up in the Roadtrek for the return trip. Jeff, Jennifer and Aimee readily agreed. Once on the gondola was enough for them.
    Wendy, Dan and Rachel considered it all a grand adventure and, with Charlie, took the gondola back to the village, where they had left their car. Hua Hua rode back with us in the Roadtrek.
    The town is very dog friendly so we brought all three of ours and even had them sit with us while we ate in the patio of a little restaurant area used by a nearby Mexican and Middle Eastern restaurants on Colorado Street. Our dogs looked downright shabby compared to the oh-so-upscale dogs of the well heeled Telluride residents. The “in” dog in Telluride is the massive Burmese Mountain Dog. If you have to ask how much such a pooch costs, you cant afford it. A puppy of average pedigree starts about $1,500.
    Telluride is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River that has great winter skiing and is a very popular Blues and Brews Festival each fall. Lots of Hollywood types have made their way here and have no problem shelling out $3 million for a vacation home on the edges of the box canyon that the town is built in.
    We walked the streets, stocked up on groceries and headed to the northern end of Main Street for a look at the spectacular 365-foot Bridal Falls.
    Then it was back to Matterhorn and quiet night beneath a stunning star canopy that takes your breath away, though at that 9,500-foot elevation, there was not much breath you could get. But even if you weren’t at such an altitude, those Colorado stars will get you high all by themselves.
    This is why we RV.
  10. Roadtrekingmike
    My RV as a Sag Wagon
    After my massage on Tuesday I drove out of San Diego in my cute little Roadtrek, due east towards Yuma, Arizona. It was a beautiful afternoon drive through the mountains...
    Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome


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  11. Roadtrekingmike
    Travels with the eTrek: A photo montage
    Like a lot of RVers, I’ve been reviewing memories and photographs over the past couple of years. That’s what we do during the down time: Go back and look at...
    Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome


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  12. Roadtrekingmike
    It’s time for Episode 3 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast.
    I continue to be overwhelmed by the positive reponse we’ve had to the first two episodes. I hope you enjoy thosn one even more. After you’ve listened, will you do me a favor? Please consider rating and gving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher.
    Notes for Episode #3 of Roadtreking – The RV Podcast:
    Episode released Oct. 15, 2014
    OPENING DISCUSSION:
    We had an in-depth conversation about free places to stay overnight and how many communities are enacting anti-RV ordinances and regulations aimed at forcing RVers to stay in commercial campgrounds.
    I offer up two great resources for free overnight parking and free boondocking:
    Boondockers Welcome (link on site) http://boondockerswelcome.com
    Overnight RV Camping http://overnightrvparking.com/
    Tell them Roadtreking sent you and you will get a special deal.
    Last week, we traveled south in our RV for a visit with our son’s family in SW Georgia. We do this several time a year to see the grandkids…and this time. we watched a couple of them play sports. You’ll meet meet two of my grandsons and they’ll tell you yet another reason why RVs are so handy… even if you don’t camp.
    Jennifer stops by to open our books, revealing our out of pocket costs on a typical RV trip.
    LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK:
    Listeners ask our experience with our Michelin LTXMS2 tires and, specifically, we talk about how they handle in the snow.
    RV NEWS OF THE WEEK:
    There’s a very tough new anti-RV law on the books in San Diego. Some 250 plus RVers have been hit with stiff fines for parking their RVs near beach access sites over the past couple of weeks
    TRAVELING TECH TIP:
    I talk about weather apps.
    You may not know it but most phones today automatically receive emergency weather alerts. Check your phone’s settings and notifications and you’ll see where to set them. It gets emergency alerts, but has to be turned on. Check with your carrier for specifics but when activated, you’ll get warnings automatically as the are issued. The system also sends out Amber alerts and, in dire emergencies, presidential warnings
    My favorite weather app is My Radar. It’s a free app for all the major mobile platforms. It displays animated weather radar around your current location, allowing you to quickly see what weather is coming your way. For $3.99 you can include weather warnings and alerts, complete with push notifications, to warn you of severe weather in your area.
    RV BUCKET LIST DESTINATION:
    The Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado
    INTERVIEW:
    Vanessa Fox, http://www.girlmeetsroad.com/, travels the country in a Roadtrek 170 Popular working from a different city every day. She shares how her adventures.

    Vanessa Fox travels the country in her Roadtrek Popular 170, working out of a different city each day.
  13. Roadtrekingmike
    RV Minnesota Side Excursions
    The Minnesota wind was howling as we drove along I-90. After more than three hours of white-knuckle driving it was time to find a place to hunker down to wait...
    Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome


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  14. Roadtrekingmike
    You can tell winter is wearing thin and folks are starting to think about spring and warm weather because we’re getting lots of questions about people wanting to rent a Roadtrek or find a used one to purchase.
    So in this edition of How We Roll in our RV, we try and answer both.
    Bottom line is – you will have to work at it. Roadtreks are in high demand, both for rental units and for used ones to purchase.
    The main Roadtrek website has a dealer locator feature that you can use to find the nearest Roadtrek dealership to your home where you can ask whats locally available. And the Roadtrek International Chapter of the Family Motorcoach Association has a list of used units that are for sale by owners around North America. You can also search RV sales websites and even Craig’s List.

    Click the above video and you’ll get our answer.
    And send us your questions by email…we’ll do our best to answer them in future editions of How We Roll.
  15. Roadtrekingmike
    Question: What’s the difference between a flashlight and an illumination tool?
    Answer: About $70. Or more.
    And some pretty powerful lights.
    One piece of gear all RVers have is a flashlight. Usually several. I most often relay on a small headlamp that I picked up at REI. It lets me have hands-free use when I arrive at a campsite after dark and need some illumination to set up.
    But we also have a couple of regular flashlights in our motorhome.
    They are nothing like the “illumination tools” made by a company called XtremeBeam, which offers a series of very high-tech, ah, flashlights, typically used by police department and military SWAT and tactical teams. In fact, most of the lights can be mounted to firearms.
    The company sent me three of their illumination tools to test out, ranging in price from $70 to $150 or so.
    I’m impressed. You can see in the video how well they do lighting up a forest and creek in the middle of the night.

    All three have LED lights and use very long-lasting lithium batteries.
    Here’s the three I tested in the video:
    The ExtremeBeam XT8 Proranger flashlight. The company claims it has an 850 foot range. Maybe, but my test seemed to show it fading out a bit less than that. It’s hard to gauge from the video but this little light was just okay, in my view, surely not something I’d spend $70 on.
    The TAC-24 – The claim for this one is a 1,200 foot range and I have no problem believing that. The price is about $100 and this has several different modes, including strobe and an setting that will automatically send an SOS. Seriously. Push the mode button til it cycles through the other options and it starts sending out three shorts, three longs and three more shorts. Over and over again. Automatically, while you’re doing other things like trying to survive or fighting off angry bears or whatever.
    The M1000 Fusion – Whoa, baby! This big light takes four lithium batteries and can illuminate an entire block! It weighs a pound or so. It has a claimed 2,000 foot range and, again, my test seemed to validate that. I could have used it as a searchlight outside a movie premiere. It looks like those lights in the old prison escape movies. Or maybe a lighthouse. Whatever. Trust me, it is very, very dark-piercingly bright. Price is $149.

    My take?
    Police and SWAT teams may love these lights but I think they are a bit of overkill – pun intended – for the average RVer.
    The TAC-24 was my favorite. It’s small enough to put in a photo bag or day pack and is perfect if darkness falls while hiking or doing photo work far from camp. If something happened out there in the wilds, those strobe and SOS features would be very handy, especially with those long lasting batteries. I’d buy this one.
    And the M1000 blew me away. It is big and very expensive. Because of that, it probably wouldn’t be in my tool kit. But back in the boondocks, all that illumination would sure show what those weird noises are that we hear around the campfire.
    My best and most used flashlight remains my old faithful REI headlamp.
    But next to it, the TAC-24 is now going to be standard gear aboard the Roadtrek.

  16. Roadtrekingmike

    Pomona RV Show

    By Roadtrekingmike,

    Pomona RV Show
    I’ve been hanging out at the Pomona RV show here in sunny California.  As with most trade shows, it’s stocked with the really cool, the really impressive, and the really...
    Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome


    Source
  17. Roadtrekingmike
    Who says small motorhomes are only made for small vacations?
    In an effort to prove that the small motorhome lifestyle is very conductive to large family vacations, I’ll be turning a summer road trip into an RV caravan that my family and I are calling the “Great Roadtreking Family Vacation of 2013”
    It’s set to kick off Saturday, August 3, 2013. The road trip will consist of six adults, two kids and three dogs and we will travel through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.
    What will be a first on this RV trip for me and Jennifer, is that they we will use our 2012 Roadtrek eTrek to tow a 21-foot long 2014 Gulf Stream AmeriLite Super Lite travel trailer we just purchased from American RV in Grand Rapids, MI. A real advantage to the Roadtrek is that it is small enough to travel to remote destinations, but it is also powerful enough to pull behind a trailer for a larger family vacation.
    Our daughter, Wendy Bowyer, son-in-law Dan Bowyer and two granddaughters, Hua Hua, 10, and Rachel, 7 will be calling the Gulf Stream trailer home for the nest three weeks
    Following behind in a 2010 Roadtrek we borrowed from Roadtrek friends will be our son, Jeff and his wife Aimee. Jeff is a website developer and helps to manage this Roadtreking blog. He’ll be assisting in posting videos, photos and daily accounts of the trip for blog readers and social media sites.
    “There are a lot of people who travel in Roadtreks who wish they could take their whole family,” says American RV General Manager Chad Neff, of Grand Raids, MI, who sold us the travel trailer. “But they forget that a Roadtrek , can tow a full-fledged travel trailer. They can easily pull 5,000 pounds. That means Roadtrek owners can take another family with them.”
    The idea of pulling a travel trailer came about when Jim Hammill, Roadtrek’s president, told me that if I wanted to show the country to family, I should tow a travel trailer.
    I never thought I’d be buying a travel trailer. Originally, I planned to rent one. But when I called American RV, they offered me such a good deal on a brand new one that I couldn’t resist. Besides my two granddaughters, I have four grandsons down in Georgia. I can take them along on other trips. As I checked around, I was amazed how today’s travel trailers are so amazingly lightweight. The unit we bought weighs just 2,800 pounds and will sleep up to five people.
    I just hook up and go. Our Roadtrek is perfect for my wife and I and the dog but we always wished we could take the family. Now we can.
    Some of the specific destinations the Roadtreking vacation tour will include are Colorado Springs, Mesa Verde National Park, Telluride, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado River State park and the Rocky Mountain National Park. We’re also keeping a few days open for any sites that they learn about on the way or from recommendations from the readers of the this blog.
    Our travel trailer purchase coincides with a huge boom in RV sales across North America as retiring baby boomers and young families discover the freedom of recreational vehicle travel. Through the midway point of 2013, RV wholesale shipments tracked by the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association climbed to 174,871 units – a 12.8 percent increase from the same point in 2012.
    Shipments in motorhomes jumped from 14,576 units in June 2012 to 19,425 units in June 2013. Even towable trailers grew from 140,412 units to 155,446 units, a 10.7 percent bump.
    I’ll have a video later this week that shows off the travel trailer. And daily reports from The Great Roadtreking Family Vacation of 2013 will start Friday.
  18. Roadtrekingmike

    Travels with Tai

    By Roadtrekingmike,

    So far this year, Tai has had his hackles raised by a wolf in northeastern Minnesota, been terrorized by a Chihuahua and yesterday in Alabama, he came snout to snout with a horse. But when we arrived at Pogo’s pre Mardi Gras “Smokin’ on the Bayou” Roadtrek gathering in Gautier, MS, he seemed rather indifferent to all the excitement of a dozen plus Roadtrekers coming together. Instead, he opted to just hang out on the rug outside his Roadtrek. Alone, if you don’t mind.
    His breed is known for its independence, the breeeders we have met over the years have told us. Tai is our Third Norwegian Elkhound and I think they use independent as a euphemism for stubborn. Tai definitely saunters to the beat of his own drum. In fact, that’s just what he did yesterday when a large group of us, along with four dogs had congregated on Laura Robinson’s campsite around the corner from our spot here at Shepard State Park: Tai snubbed them all and sauntered home, choosing to park his double-coated, curly-tailed butt outside our eTrek.
    He did stop along the way to visit Ellie and Phil and Kathy and Les, where he was the only dog and got some serious pets. Maybe he just needed a rest.
    Later, after we all caravanned over to a local restaurant and came back to start a bonfire at Laura’s, I tried to take Tai down there. He refused to go, stopping in the middle of the road at the end of his leash. I could have forced him of corse. But why bother. He wanted to go back to his own Roadtrek, where he promptly went inside and to sleep.
    I’d say he was exhausted from the 1,050 mile trip down here from Michigan. But he slept the entire way, so that can’t be it. And I know he’s healthy. He had his annual checkup at the Vet just this past Monday.
    We often wonder how much he enjoys our Roadtreking adventures and debate whether it would be best to leave him with relatives. That is, in fact, what we will do after this weekend. We’ll leave him at my son’s home in Georgia as Jen and I head down to Florida for a couple of stories. The temperature down towards Naples where we are headed will be in the 80′s and Tai is still in full winter coat. That, we think, is too warm for him.
    Dog experts I’ve talked to tell me dogs like routine and familiarity and assure me he’d rather be with us, his own people. Tai seems to have bonded well with the Roadtrek and indeed, perks up his ears when I ask him, “wanna go in the Roadtrek?”
    So I guess we should count our blessings that Tai is a low maintenance dog.

    Tai at our Shepard State Park site in Gautier, Miss.
  19. Roadtrekingmike
    For the better part of four decades, there is one place that has lured Jennifer and me back again and again, multiple times each year: Mackinac Island, located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
    It’s a place where motor vehicles are prohibited and where RVs must be left on the mainland at the passenger ferry docks. On the island, the only transportation available is by walking, riding bicycles or by horse. Just 3.8 square miles in size, most of the place is a State Park and the hundreds of thousands of of tourists who visit each year come mostly during the summer, most visiting just for the day, although many others stay overnight at the island’s beautifully restored Victorian-styled hotels, luxury resorts and charming bed and breakfasts.
    Mackinac Island has the distinction of being the second officially protected park by the federal government. In 1872 the Congress designated Yellowstone America’s first national park. In 1875 portions of federal land on Mackinac Island were given similar protection. This ensured the preservation of most of the natural limestone formations such as Skull Cave, Arch Rock and Sugar Loaf. Twenty years later, when the last U.S. army soldiers left Fort Mackinac, all federal land, including the fort, became Michigan’s first state park. The newly appointed Park Commission limited all private development in the park and required leaseholders to maintain the distinctive Victorian architecture of their bluff cottages. In recent years the historical sites and fort buildings such as the Officers’ Stone Quarters have been restored to their original condition and brought to life through dioramas, period settings, guided tours and reenactments for the benefit of the thousands of summer visitors.
    We usually overnight. We love the Grand Hotel, at the start of the western bluff, dubbed “America’s Summer Place” and consistently voted one of the top resort hotels in the world. It’s a place where you still must dress up for dinner. There’s High Tea in the lobby most afternoons and the hotel’s massive front porch overlooking the Straits is one of the most pleasant places you’ll find anywhere.
    We also like Mission Point, a sprawling resort on the island’s eastern end.
    What do we do there? We bike and hike. If it rains, we hole up in our room and read and nap.
    It truly is a place to get away from it all.
    There are lots of places to camp in and around the gateway cities of Mackinaw City on the lower peninsula side, and St. Ignace on the UP side. Our favorite mainland overnight spots are both state parks: Wilderness State Park west of Mackinaw City, and Straits State Park in St. Ignace. There are three ferry boat lines serving the island. We like Star Lines because their boats make the eight mile crossing to Mackinac Island in about 18 minutes, much faster than the other lines.
    You can see from the photos why we like the place so much.
    Here’s some history and details from the Mackinac Island website:
    It was the Victorians who made Mackinac Island one of the nation’s most favored summer resorts. In the post-Civil War industrial age and before automobiles, vacationers traveled by large lake excursion boats from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit to the cooler climes of Mackinac Island. They danced to Strauss’ waltzes, listened to Sousa’s stirring marches, dined on whitefish and strolled along the broad decks. To accommodate overnight guests boat and railroad companies built summer hotels, such as the Grand Hotel in the late 19th century. Victorians, like travelers everywhere, shopped for souvenirs, and Mackinac shops supplied them.
    In the 1890’s wealthy Midwestern industrialists who wanted to spent more than a few nights on Mackinac built their own summer cottages on the east and west bluffs. Soon a social life including tennis, hiking, bicycling, examining the local natural wonders, and at the turn of the century, golf at on the new Wawashkamo Golf Course.
    Location has determined much of Mackinac Island’s history. Eleven thousand years ago in prehistoric times, not long after the retreat of the last glacier, aboriginal natives stood on the mainland shore, looked out over the Straits between two newly formed great lakes and saw an island with unusually high bluffs. They thought it resembled a large reptile and called it mish-la-mack-in-naw or big turtle. When they explored it, they marveled at its unusual natural limestone formations and buried their dead in the Island’s caves.
    French-Canadian courieur de bois Jean Nicolet is believed to be the first white man to see Mackinac during his explorations on behalf of Samuel de Champlain, governor of Canada, in 1634.
    The Jesuit Jacques Marquette preached to the Straits Indians in 1671 and soon after the area became the most important French western fur trade site. After the British acquired the Straits following the French and Indian War, the English Major Patrick Sinclair chose those high bluffs for the site of his Fort Mackinac in 1780.
    The Americans never threatened the British fort during the American Revolution and following the revolution obtained the Straits area by treaty. However, problems with the British in nearby Canada led to the War of 1812. In July of 1812 a British force landed secretly on the far north end of Mackinac Island and forced the United States to surrender Fort Mackinac in the first engagement of that conflict. There were no casualties.
    In 1814 the Americans attempted to regain the Island by also approaching from the north, but failed to defeat the British who in the meantime had fortified the high ground behind Fort Mackinac. The British and Americans fought the battle in the vicinity of the present day site of the Wawashkamo Golf Course. The British fortification was renamed Fort Holmes in honor of Major Andrew Hunter Holmes, a young American officer who died in the conflict. In 1815 the Island was restored once again to the Americans by treaty.
    After the War of 1812 Mackinac Island became the center of John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company. For the next thirty years the German immigrant provided beaver pelts for the beaver hats so favored by contemporary Jane Austen’s dashing young men.
    In 1822 Fort Mackinac’s post surgeon William Beaumont saved the life of Alexis St. Martin after an accidental shotgun blast tore a hole in the young voyageur’s stomach. When the hole never completely healed, the physician observed first hand what happens when food is digested in the stomach. His published experiments made medical history.
    In the 1860s Mackinac Island processed barrels of whitefish and lake trout destined for eastern markets. Each spring local Irish fishermen, coopers, net makers and dray men cleaned, salted, dried and packed the succulent fish which were carried on lake boats to Canadian and New York markets. This thriving industry replaced Astor’s diminishing fur trade which had now moved to the northwest states.
    Is romance in your soul? Welcome to Mackinac Island. It was inevitable that 19th century writers would discover the Island’s charm, but even before the written word, Indian legends were part of its history. For many native Americans Arch Rock was created when a beautiful Indian maiden’s tears washed away the limestone bluff as she waited in vain for her lover to return.
    In the 1820s a young army lieutenant on a tour of duty at Fort Mackinac sat on the porch of the Officers’ Stone Quarters and composed beautiful letters to his wife revealing his loneliness and love for her. During the Civil War, John C. Pemberton, now a general, commanded a Confederate army in Tennessee and had the dubious distinction of surrendering Vicksburg to U.S. Grant.
    New England poet Henry Longfellow based his long narrative poem, in part, on written accounts of Henry R. Schoolcraft, an Indian agent who recorded information on Indian legends and culture while residing at Mackinac’s Indian Dormitory during the 1830s.
    Edward Everett Hale wrote his”Man Without a Country” while sitting on the porch of the Mission House.
    In the late 1880s Constance Fenimore Woolson, a popular novelist and close friend of Henry James, wrote her best-known book, Anne, which is the story of a young girl and her exciting adventures on Mackinac Island. Anne’s Tablet on the Fort bluff commemorates Woolson, as does nearby Anne Cottage.
    Mark Twain, on an international tour to recoup his fortunes, visited Mackinac during July 1895 and lectured at Grand Hotel. According to his memoirs, Twain was paid $345 for this speaking engagement.
    In 1946 after World War II MGM filmed a romantic tale of lost and found love called, This Time for Keeps starring the famous swimmer Esther Williams and Jimmy Durante.
    In 1979 the Grand was again the setting for a romantic fantasy called Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Each fall the hotel hosts a reunion of fans enchanted by the movie. But love is celebrated by ordinary folks, too. Each Saturday from June to September the island hosts several weddings.
    Though most resorts and hotels shut down during the winter, there is always at least one hotel open. The Arnold Line ferry only runs from St. Ignace during the beginning of the winter season. They run a daily schedule to the island until the Straits freeze over. Flights to the island from the Mackinac County Airport in St. Ignace are available through Great Lakes Air for $21 one way per person.
    If it’s a really cold winter and the straits are frozen over, brave locals mark an “ice bridge” with Christmas trees from St. Ignace to the island and traverse it all winter long by snowmobiles.
  20. Roadtrekingmike
    There’s never enough room. That’s the first thing about RVing we all think when we start RVing, isn’t it?
    But there really is.
    No matter what size RV we have, we all want to bring too much stuff.
    Once we discover that, it’s a little easier to pack the essentials. Still, some times, you need a little more storage space. That’s why we recently replaced one of the two back seats with a custom sized armoire. It is a perfect match with the rest of the wooden cabinets inside our Roadtrek eTrek. And it even comes with a pull out table that lets us replace the front table that attaches to a pole that fits into a hole in the floor.
    Jennifer shows it off in this week’s edition of “How We Roll” as I show how I pack the “basement.”
    Here’s our video:

  21. Roadtrekingmike
    Roadtrekers love to take photos. And while our styles, skills and the things we like to photograph may vary, one thing I bet all of us like to get are images of a sunset.
    I’ve used these awkward days of spring before the warm weather travel season really gets under way to organize the thousands of photos I’ve taken over the past two years and 50,000 miles of roadtteking across North America.
    The photos could be better. But even my ineptitude is smoothed over by the awesome beauty of a sunset, whether on a beach in the mountains or a forest.
    Seeing them all together like this reminds me of the sound of waves on a rocky beach, the smell of cedar and pine in the northwoods, the chirping of birds and the sound of cicadas as dusk falls. I can almost breathe in the fresh air. I feel my neck muscles relax and all the tension of another busy day let go.
    I look forward to campfires and starry skies, early morning coffee outside the Roadtrek on a dew-covered picnic table, long walks amidst wildflowers and aspen, gazing at the majesty of the snow capped mountains and watching my dog, Tai, straining to hear sounds deep in the woods, his nose sampling scents I can’t begin to comprehend.
    It’s time to hit the road.
    Ahhhhh.
    Here’s a brief slideshow that hopefully will get you as excited as I am to once again get out there.

  22. Roadtrekingmike
    It ain’t pretty.
    But it isn’t as bad as I though it would be, either.
    I knew something was wrong as soon as I got up that morning. I was queezy feeling and very chilled. Yet the sun was shining and it was already in the 70′s outside. We had arrived in Naples, FL the afternoon before. We ate dinner at a local restaurant and, 12 hours later, I could feel that dinner still sitting in my belly like a brick.
    I’m not sure whether it was food poisoning or the stomach flu or if there is really a difference between the two. But for all of that day, I was ill.
    You know that saying we have on the Roadtreking shirts – Small House, Bg Yard? Let’s just say that Jennifer spent as much of her time that day in the big yard.
    I stayed curled up, covered up, shivering in the Roadtrek, grateful that the bathroom was two steps away in our small house.
    It’s not fun being sick. Ever. But this only lasted about 18 hours or so. I even drove Jennifer to a local shopping center and she did some shopping while I slept in the back of the Roadrek. When your home is your RV, your home is wherever you are…in a campground, a boondocking spot or a shopping center
    It was cozy and comforting and despite feeling miserable, the day passed surprisingly fast, By the next day, I was back to normal.
    If you travel enough in your RV, it’s inevitable. You will get sick on the road. According to a recent survey commissioned by World Access, a travel-insurance and assistance company, more than 35% of business travelers said they or a colleague have become seriously sick or injured while away from home.
    We carry a small first aid kit. Included in it is a thermometer. I had no fever, despite the chills. But if I had a fever, we would have gone to a local doctor or clinic. Usually, RV campgrounds have a list of local doctors and emergency clinics that they can provide ill guests.
    And because many illnesses are contagious, there is always the danger of your traveling companion coming down with whatever it is you have. So keep your distance as best as possible and – everybody – wash your hands a lot when someone nearby is ill.
    Fortunately, Jennifer never did get sick.
    The biggest mistake we could have made was to carry on that day as if I was well. We took the setback in stride. We just put off our plans for a day. Jennifer relaxed outside, spent some time in a nearby gym and attended a water exercise class.
    I cocooned and … got better.
    How about you? Have you ever gotten sick in an RV trip? How did you cope? Any advice? Use comments below to share.
  23. Roadtrekingmike
    I’ve messed around with some low end flying helicopters before and found them to be lots of fun. But I’ve just, gulp, added a big ticket item to my photographic and video arsenal of tools to be used while Roadtreking: A Phantom 2 drone.
    I’ll be using it for AVC, or aerial video cinematography. It’s really a flying machine, a quadricopter, with four opposing blades sending it up and our as far as a kilometer (3,240 feet) from where I’m standing with the controller.

    The unit I bought carries with it a GoPro Hero 3 camera to record high definition video and stills. It transmits those images back to a monitor attached to the controller on the ground so I can see what the GoPro sees from way up there. It also has a gimbal, which holds the camera level in flight, allowing those spectacular images to be steady and clear.
    I posted a short blurb on Facebook the other day that I got one and I received all sorts of unexpected interest from readers. So I put together the accompanying video. If you’re not interested in the technical stuff, just fast forward to the last couple of minutes to see the aerial video. It was a very gray and cold day in Michigan and those specs of white you see when it was way up there are snow flurries. It wasn’t snowing at ground level. But it was up there.
    I plan to use my Phantom 2 to supplement the regular videos and photos I do for this blog as we travel around the country reporting about the interesting people and places we find on the road as part of the small motorhome RV lifestyle. Can’t wait until I get somewhere with blue skies and sunshine.
    There are lots of these kind of quadricopters out there and I looked at several, finally deciding on the Phantom because it seems to be the most popular and affordable among professional photographers and filmmakers. There are several different Phantom models, all made in China by an outfit known as DJI. They are available through a worldwide network of dealers and hobby shops and also on Amazon.
    The entry level model is the Phantom 1, which comes with a holder for the camera and the controller. Amazon sells it for $479. You need your own GoPro.
    There is also the Phantom 2 Vision, which sells for $1,208 on Amazon. It comes with it’s own camera.
    The unit I bought is the brand new Phantom 2, which, at $869 is said to be ready to fly. You provide the Go Pro Hero 3 camera, but it has the customized DJI Zenmuse H3-2D gimbal to hold it steady. The Phantom 2 only works with the Go Pro Hero 3. Previous versions don’t connect to it or fit the Zenmuse.
    Besides the GoPro and the Zenmuse gimbal. I added an FPV (First Person Video) system that lets me see what the camera sees via a special seven-inch color monitor that attaches to the controller. When the drone is out there past 1,000 feet or so, it’s often pretty hard to see it with the naked eye. That’s where FPV comes in handy.
    I have to warn you, despite the manufacturer’s claim that the Phantom 2 is ready to fly out of the box, it really isn’t. Assembling all this and getting it synchronized and tuned is not for the faint hearted. I hired a guy named Zac Davis, who just opened a business called drone-works.com in New York, to assemble and build up my system. Zac builds drone systems for police and fire agencies and really knows his stuff. He put everything together for me, making sure it worked just right. Then he talked me through on the phone on how to assemble it, update the software and firmware and set up and follow the proper pre-flight check list The extra setup and assembly fee he charged to get everything right was well worth it to me. If Zac’s website is not up and running when you check (he was just setting it up when I bought from him), you can reach him through Facebook or the DJI Owners group on Facebook, which is a great resource for more information about drones and the Phantom system.
    This is going to be a lot of fun. Thought Jennifer just shook her head and said something like “Boys and their toys,” when I came gushing in from my first flight to tell her about it, I must stress that this is not a toy. It takes lots of practice to fly it well and with confidence and because it has such a long range, you need to be very aware of your surroundings and what may be in its flight path or what is on the ground below. Thus, it should not be flown over crowds.
    Flying time is advertised at about 20 minutes. In the cold, and with the FPV system and the Zenmuse gimbal adding extra weight and battery drain, I got a little over 15 minutes of flight time. I have an extra battery so it’s pretty easy to bring it down, change out the batteries and send it up again.
    Some very cool safety features are built in. For example, I prefer flying mine in GPS mode. That means it locks in to as many as eight different satellites orbiting the earth. The Phantom “talks” to those satellites and thus knows its exact GPS position at all time. If the battery fails or the connection between the controller and the drone is interrupted, it is programmed to automatically fly right back to my location and safely land. There are advanced modes it can fly in as well, that offer more precise control to those who are experienced in its operation. My skill set isn’t there yet. I’m sticking with GPS mode.
    Practice makes perfect will be my motto for a few weeks.
    Everything stows away snug and secure and fits in the ToughCase XR2 padded case I bought from a company named Tradecraft. The case was made for the Phantom 1 system but a sharp knife let me adjust the case openings to fit the Phantom 2 gear.
    I’ll be taking it everywhere, so look for some fun video as we head out Roadtreking in 2014.

    My DJI Phanom 2 drone

    The first flight…the view over my house
  24. Roadtrekingmike
    We’ve been riding hard up I75 today, trying to get to our southeastern Michigan home before yet another big winter snowstorm dumps another predicted foot.
    All the way north, traffic has been unusually heavy in both directions. Lots of other northbounders are returning from long holiday breaks. The southbounders seem downright frantic, fleeing the cold. I’m fighting a strong urge not to turn around.
    Early afternoon, I did an mobile phone interview from the road with the Internet adviser show on WJR Radio in Detroit. The guys asked me abuit my roadreking life and how I use technology to blog and stay connected as I post stories via the Internet.
    In northern Kentucky at Exit 154 we met up with Mike and Marsha Neundorfer of Advanced RV, a Type B motorhome manufacturer that builds luxury custom-designed coaches on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and spent two-and-a-half hours talking RVs. The Neuendorfers are on their way to Florida and the big RV Supershow in Tampa next week.
    They were driving a 2014 Ocean One coach, equipped with a state-of-the-art suspension system built by a Dutch company called VB-Airsuspension. It supposedly provides a smoother, more stable ride and increased safety compared with the Sprinter stock suspension and is already installed on 10,000 Sprinters in Europe.
    Mike and Marsha said this was their first road test of the system and they said, based on therir drive so far down from the company headquarters near Cleveland, they were very impressed with how easy it made the ride, particularly for anyone who would choose to stretch out in the back for a nap while someone else drives.
    We toured their unit and they toured our 2013 Roadtrek eTrek and we had a throughly delightful visit, reminding Jennifer and I again how the Class B motorhome community shares a special camaraderie made possible by the versatility and mobility our our touring coaches.
    Eventually the Neuendorfers headed off towards the Florida sun and we resumed our journey north into gathering dark clouds.
    This latest storm is expected to hit tonight. We’re hoping we are safe in the driveway before conditions get dicey. Guess that means no leisurely stop for dinner. We’ll make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as we keep pushing north.
    Glad we had that Mexican lunch.
  25. Roadtrekingmike
    We’re just back from a 1,100 mile RV trip that took us across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – in the wintertime.
    We headquartered our trip in Marquette, where we got a chance to take in all the excitement around the annual UP200 dog sled race, one of the nation’s premier such events, a qualifying race for Alaska’s famed Iditarod. I wrote about that the other day.

    We really fell in love with Marquette, a city of about 21,000 in the north central UP, right on the shores of Lake Superior. The town is the home of Northern Michigan University, has a first rate medical center and lots of great restaurants. Marquette also has the most accessible lakefront I’ve sever seen. And all around it are vast stretches of gorgeous wilderness. Everyone in Marquette seemingly loves the winter. They embrace it. Grown men and women wear snow pants and don’t feel the least self conscious. Nor does anyone worry about having hat hair.
    Marquette is an outdoor lover’s paradise.
    And from there, we set off to visit many of the places we reported on last summer. We were really curious about how the summertime beauty would look under a blanket of ice and snow.
    I wanted to see how feasible it was to RV in the wintertime. Turns out, as you can see in the video, it is very feasible. I even ran into another Roadtreking RVer, Gary Hennes, from suburban Minneapolis. He drove up to see the dog sled race in his 2006 Roadtrek RS Adventurous, accompanied by his 14-year-old grandson. Hennes routinely camps in the winter. He says it’s just as much fun as it is during the summertime.
    And we were also very curious to see what it would be like to spend the night in our new Roadtrek eTrek when it was so cold it. We did so, staying at the Tahquamenon Falls State Park, which keeps a handful of camping spots open all year. I’ll share that experience in a a story and video later this week.
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