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Roadtrekingmike

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Blog Entries posted by Roadtrekingmike

  1. Roadtrekingmike
    This is only temporary. That’s what I keep telling myself when I look out in in my snowy Michigan driveway and instead of seeing our Roadtrek eTrek out there, we only see an igloo.
    Look for yourself at the accompanying photos, below.
    We got our first big snow over the weekend and while it indeed is looking a lot like Christmas, it just seems, well, wrong, to see the RV covered under all that white stuff.
    I snowblowed the driveway and then took some photos before I removed as much of the snow as I could. The top solar panels are covered in snow, so I doubt they are trickle charging. I will get up there with a ladder today and get them cleared off.
    I also went through the Radtrek and brought anything with a battery – like my clock and my outdoor/indoor thermometer and my walkie talkies – inside, where the cold won’t drain the batteries.
    Somehow, even with all that snow, I found beauty in the Roadtrek’s lines.
    I started the engine and the heater, warmed it up good and hung out in it for a few minutes.
    Soon, loyal eTrek, as soon as Christmas is over, we will hit the road to warmer climes.
    I promise.

  2. Roadtrekingmike
    Inside Advanced RV’s new Ocean One Type B Motorhome
    As a sure sign that the RV industry is bouncing back, a small Cleveland-based startup has introduced a high end Mercedes Sprinter motorhome that is targeting the extreme high end of the Type B market. It’s new Ocean One model.
    Set up with all the extras, it will retail for around $155,ooo, easily making it the most expensive Type B I’ve seen.
    Luxury features include a heated floor, heated captain’s chairs, a wine cabinet, lots of fine crafter wood cabinets, a 7.5 cubic foot refrigerator and up to four lithium batteries for extended boondocking camping.
    As such it is positioned closest to Roadtrek’s new eTrek and CS models and Airstream’s Interstate, which have many similar options.
    Most noticeable about the Ocean One is the distinctive panoramic design of the maple cabinets, which sweep around the interior in an unbroken line that is very pleasing to the eye.
    I met Mike Neundorfer, the CEO of Advanced RV and founder of the company, at the huge Florida RV Supershow in Tampa, where the Ocean One was officially introduced.
    Advanced RV says the unit will target only about 5% of the Sprinter RV market. Indeed, his whole company doesn’t expect to sell more than 50 of them a year. They sell direct, through their Advanced RV website. Build time for each unit is between 8- 12 weeks.
    Neundorfer is a businessman and owner of a comany that helps power plants control air pollution. Assisting him and offering insight into the RV business as a consultant is Mike Ellis, a former General Manager of Great West Vans.
    Neundorfer gave me a nice tour of the interior of the Ocean One.
    The video above takes you with me.
    Roadtreking - A Journalist takes up the RV lifestyle - People and Places Encountered on the Open Road


    Source
  3. Roadtrekingmike
    The RV promotion industry may argue over bragging rights to what is the biggest show of the year but if you poll both dealers and fans, it becomes pretty clear that in terms of influence, size and excitement, the annual Florida RV Supershow this week at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa is the one that sets the tone for the entire RV year.
    The sponsoring Florida RV Trade Association proudly claim this show is not just the nation’s biggest – it’s the best.
    This is the show in which RV owners and shoppers can get their first look at the entire 2013 lineup from all the RV North American manufacturers. They are all here at this massive indoor and outdoor space, more than 1,100 RVs of every type and size, buffed, shined, decorated and on display for hands-on inspetion. In terms of the latest add-ons, mods and RV accessories, nearly 500 vendors are here also.
    An on-site camping Super Rally is sold out, with hundreds of RVers doing camping right at the show. Local campgrounds – and here in Florida, there’s seemingly one on every corner – are also filling up. New Fifth Wheels, Toy Haulers, Travel Trailers of every size and configuration, pop-ups, Type A, B and C motorhomes and everything in between are here, on display across 16 acres through Sunday. It is so big you really need two days to see it, especially when you throw in the entertainment and seminars. And that’s if you take the trolley that runs on a constant circuit. If you walk it, beter figure on three days.

    Advanced RV Ocean One model

    Roadtrek’s on display at show
    The theme this year is “Now is the Time,” meaning there has never been a better time to buy an RV as the industry has largely recovered from the economic downturn and deals have never been better.
    Today, Tuesday, is Industry Day. We are camping on the grounds and we’re going to try and concentrate mostly on Class B, small motorhomes, and the accessories that go with them. And all the big players are here: Roadtrek, Airstream, Winnebago, Pleasure-Way, Leisure Travel Vans and a newcomer making its debut, Advanced RV, a Type B RV startup based in Cleveland, Ohio that builds several models on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis.
    And it’s clear that the eco-themed Roadtrek eTrek, as well as its new CS camping series model, has struck a nerve with consumers and the other manufacturers as well. The two are displayed side-by-side along with every Roadtrek model around it.

    Leisure Travel Van’s Unity Model
    Both the eTrek with its all electric, solar power emphasis on camping unplugged and replying on a bank of either eight AGM batteries or three lithium batteries for extended power while boondocking out of commercial campgrounds, and the CS (for Camping Series) with its heated floors, extra large 7 cubic foot refrigerator, increased cabinets and inside storage space and the solar option, seemed to be the trendsetters among the other Class B makers.

    Pleasure-Way Type Bs
    Advanced RV’s new Ocean One model, debuting here this week, seems to have picked right up on those Roadtrek innovations, including the heated floors and big fridge. Their Ocean One is extremely luxurious, coming with its own wine cabinet, heated seats, panoramic wood cabinets and a screen sliding door.
    We also got a chance to look up close and wander around inside the new 2013 Unity model by Leisure Travel Vans. This model has a Murphy Bed and slide-out mid van with a self contained shower and bathroom with vanity in the rear.
    Over the next few days, we’ll do detailed videos on several of the new models, interviews and special reports. If there’s anything you’d like me to find here and show you, just leave a comment.
    And if you are visiting the show and would like to see our eTrek, I’d love to meet you and give you a tour. We’re in spot #51.
    Source
  4. Roadtrekingmike
    We visit Southwest Georgia about every two months, and have been for about ten years now. The big attraction for us is that thus is where our son and his family live but besides that, we have found lots to recommend here to RVers looking for a great place to get away from the RV travel routine and connect with the true deep south.
    In the winter, the sun shines most of the time and daytime temps in the 60s are pretty normal. Sometimes even in the 70s. They have to start cutting the grass in March. In the summer, well, it’s a different story, with high heat, humidity and gnats. My suggestion is to avoid the summer. Fall, winter and spring are your best times t visit.
    Down here, it’s y’all and sure nuff and the kids say yes sir and yes m’aam and Southern hospitality is a character trait so regularly practiced that it becomes contagious to outsiders. People are polite, friendly and aren’t afraid to smile at strangers. Every time we leave here we find ourselves wondering why people are so much ruder and cruder up north. The south has a way of mellowing us out. And we now need regular fixes.
    There are two big attractions down here that also make this part of the country a great RV destination. Nature and history.
    Southwest Georgia is heavily agricultural, with peanuts and cotton the top crops. But it also has some great fishing and hunting and is home to one of the nation’s most impressive historical sites.
    As the Family Motorcoach Association plans its 89th annual Family Reunion and Motorcoach Showcase for March 17-20th in nearby Perry, Ga (about an hour to the northeast), the area we visit near the towns of Albany and Leesburg would make great day trips or, better yet, a trip lasting a couple of days.
    Albany is known as the Quail Capital of America and it is home to a wide variety of sprawling plantations specializing in quail hunts. I’ve been on a couple of them now, the most recent just this week when we hunted the 2,000 acre Wynfield Plantation. If you are a wingshooter, the scrub pines and fields around Albany offer pristine quail country and there is probably nowhere else in North America that offers better hunts in better conditions. The dogs and the guides and the gear these plantations offer are superb. Alas, this year’s season ends Feb. 28th so those RVers coming to Perry won’t be able to hunt.
    But they will be able to take advantage of the history.
    For that, a must visit is to Andersonville, and the National Historic Site that is made up by the Camp Sumter military prison. Andersonville was one of the largest Confederate military prisons during the Civil War. During the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined here. Of these, almost 13,000 die. Today, Andersonville National Historic Site is a memorial to all American prisoners of war throughout the nation’s history.
    Andersonville National Historic Site began as a stockade built about 18 months before the end of the U.S. Civil War to hold Union Army prisoners captured by Confederate soldiers. Located deep behind Confederate lines, the 26.5-acre Camp Sumter (named for the south Georgia county it occupied) was designed for a maximum of 10,000 prisoners. At its most crowded, it held more than 32,000 men, many of them wounded and starving, in horrific conditions with rampant disease, contaminated water, and only minimal shelter from the blazing sun and the chilling winter rain. Those who died in the prison were buried in a cemetery created just outside the prison walls.
    Andersonville National Historic Site comprises three distinct components: the former site of Camp Sumter military prison, theAndersonville National Cemetery, and the National Prisoner of War Museum, which opened in 1998 to honor all U.S. prisoners of war in all wars.
    Andersonville is one of the most impressive places I have visited. The history is deep and rich and I would recommend a stop here to anyone. The park grounds are open daily from 8:00 am until 5:00 p.m. EST. There are numerous special events held throughout the year at the park and in the nearby town of Andersonville, which has a Civil War Village.
    Andersonville is about a 30 minute drive northeast of Albany.
    Southwest Georgia also has another history connection. The quint little town of Plains, just west of Andrsonville, is the home of former President Jimmy Carter. There’s an historic site there honoring him. He still lives in the area and is often seen on the streets, and he still teaches Sunday School several times a year at the Maranatha Baptist Church, which welcomes visitors.
    If fishing is your thing, try the 20-mile long Lake Blackshear, a man made lake on the Flint River, north of Leesburg. It’s a great place for Large Mouth Bass.
    As to where to stay in Southwest, GA, there are several RV parks listed but the only one I can recommend is the campground at Chehaw Park, a 700 acre wild animal zoo and conservation area in Albany. Chehaw has 44 RV sites with 30 and 50 amp hookups, 14 pull-through sites, a comfort station with laundry, dump station and a group shelter. There are 18 tent sites with 15-amp electric hookups and water. Camper cabins are also available.
    Southwest Georgia offers a lot to the RVer. It’s only an 90 mile drive to the Florida panhandle and the beaches of the Emerald Coast. I’d suggest a long weekend to take in all that is offered.

    Peanuts are a big crop down here.

    Cotton is king in SW Georgia.

    Me and my grandson, with a guide in between, quail huting at the Wynfield Plantation.

    The Anderson National Cemetery
  5. Roadtrekingmike
    One of the challenges of being on the road so much and doing a blog like this is being reliably connected to the Internet in a whole bunch of different places.
    I’ve been a huge fan of the Verizon Mi-Fi card and the network’s strong nationwide footprint of 4G connectivity. It very reliably gives me near broadband speed as I travel. Sending video gobbles up a lot of bandwidth and almost all the videos I do for this blog were sent via the Verizon network.
    But lately, I’ve been going to some really remote locations.

    Last month at Yellowstone National Park, way back in the Lamar Valley boondocks, I saw a couple of wolf researchers from the University of Washington using their Verizon cellphone. The secret, they showed me, was an inexpensive cell phone booster that gave them several bars of connectivity when, without it, they had none.
    So with a trip to Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula in the works right after my return from out west, I ordered one, too.
    There are lots of different cell signal boosters available but I picked up the same one the wolf researchers were using – the Wilson Sleek 4G, available online starting at around $75. It’s also stocked by many Walmart and Best Buy stores. It comes with a cell phone holder, cigarette plug power connector and a small magnetic antenna to attach to the roof of your vehicle.
    I hooked up mine on my Roadtrek eTrek, attaching the holder to the dash by an adhesive on the back. I attached the magnetic mount above the driver’s side roof and ran its connecting wire in through the side of the door.
    On my first trip to the wilderness at the Porcupine State Wilderness area in the far northern part of the UP, I put it to the test.
    You can see in the accompanying ideo that I had no connection at all. Not even a single bar.
    I was just too far from the nearest cell tower.
    So came the moment of truth. When I put my iPhone in the cradle, which contains the power booster, I now had coverage…. Three bars. Not bad. From zero to three bars.
    I could put the phone in the cradle or put the Mi-Fi card in and make my own hotspot.
    Over the past week, I have now traveled all over the UP and have been in some really desolate country. I have been surprised how many places had very good cell coverage without the booster. Verizon has really expanded its network. In the middle of the Ottawa National Forest, a vast expanse of one million acres, I actually had 4G coverage about 10 miles outside of the village of Watersmeet.
    But in several places just too distant from a tower, when my Mi-Fi or iPhone showed no or marginal coverage, the booster helped every time.
  6. Roadtrekingmike
    It can heat up very fast inside an RV and in this edition of How We Roll in our RV, Jennifer and I answer a question from a reader named Danielle who asks:
    “I’m thinking about taking my freelance writing business on the road in a small motorhome, and I have a question. I’ll be bringing my dog with me and I’m concerned about leaving her in the RV while running errands. Can a dog overheat in a motorhome as they can in a car? Can the A/C run off the battery while sitting in a parking lot, or would I have to run the generator and risk the wrath of quiet townsfolk?
    Any advice from you (or Tai!) would be much appreciated. Thanks, and safe travels!”

    Jennifer and I take our Norwegian Elkhound, Tai, with us and since he has a double coat and doesn’t tolerate heat well, we worry about leaving him unattended for long periods of time, even with the AC on and even in our Roadtrek eTrek, which can run the AC on battery power for long periods of time.
    We don’t leave him unattended even when we are plugged into shore power at a campground. Indeed, many campgrounds have rules about that. How many times have you walked by someone’s RV, only to hear some yipper inside loudly sounding his concern about being abandoned. It is rude to other campers and not very nice to your pet to leave a barking dog alone. Our Tai is not a barker, he’s a sleeper. But what if the AC in the park went out? Like a car, an RV can heat up very fast. So we pretty much always take him with us, except for short periods of times like when we are eating in a restaurant. And then only if we run the AC in warm weather and check on him frequently.
    You can click the video to hear our response to Daniele’s question. And use comments to offer your suggestions.
    Meantime, if you have a question about How We Roll in our RV, send it to us at openmike@fmca.com
  7. Roadtrekingmike
    I love getting reader mail and I do my best to answer them. But lately, as the fall RV RV shows start getting underway and lots of people are thinking about purchasing a motorhome and more new people are discovering this blog, the questions are somewhat the same. So I thought I’d share here the answer to the one question we get asked the most.
    Q: WHAT WOULD YOU AND YOUR WIFE DO DIFFERENTLY IN BUYING AN RV NOW THAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A WHILE?
    A: The short answer is…nothing. We now have about 75,000 miles of Roadtreking travel under our tires since March of 2012. We’ve traveled in two Roadtreks, Our first was a 2006 RS Adventurous. The one we currently drive is a 2013 Roadtrek eTrek.
    We did a lot of checking around about what vehicle we wanted and settling on a Roadtrek was very easy. It’s the best-selling Type B in North America. Has been for many years. It has the largest dealer network of Type Bs. It’s resale value is tremendous. It’s quality reputation is stellar. So we knew right away that Roadtrek would be our choice. The rest was easy, too. We wanted a tall interior so we could easily walk around inside and settled on the Sprinter.
    When a used one was about to become available at a local dealer, we put money down sight unseen to have first refusal. We didn’t refuse.
    That said, I do have one regret. I wish we had bought months before. I spent too much time wondering if I could afford it. The truth is, as my friend Yan Seiner says when he faced the same issue, I could not afford to do it. The clock is ticking. I want every moment of the time have left to count.
    Jim Hammill, the Roadtrek President, has a very powerful illustration that brings this home. He says take out a tape measure. Ask yourself how long you think you will live. Say it’s 90. Then ask, how many years will you be healthy enough to enjoy RV traveling. Say the answer to that is 85. Put your finger on the 85 inch mark. Now put another finger on your current age. The length of time between those numbers is how much time you have left. Look at those numbers from one to your current age. They went by pretty fast, didn’t they? Now look at the numbers between 85 and your current age.
    There really is no time to waste.
    We all have a bucket list. Jennifer and I are filling ours. We just wish we had started earlier, because now that we’re Roadtreking, we keep adding to it as we see what an incredible world is out there just waiting to be explored.
  8. Roadtrekingmike
    Canada is a very popular destination for American RVers.
    And it’s home to several of the world’s best-selling Class B motorhome makers.
    So a lot is us travel there. Canada feels very much at home. It’s people are open and welcoming.
    In the last year, I’ve made over a dozen visits to the Kitchener, Ontario, headquarters of Roadtrek Motorhomes. And while I am very comfortable in Canada, there are some cultural differences.
    I’ve been taking notes. Here are 15 things to know about Canada:
    It’s smaller in population. Canada has only 33 million people. Once you get past the cities, there is a lot of open space.
    They count and measure things differently. Your GPS may tell you Kitchener is 60 miles away, but a roadside sign on the 402 says it’s 100. Huh? They use the metric system. Don’t even try to figure out fuel prices, which they measure in liters.Their money is different. Thankfully, they count it in dollars. But it’s worth more than ours. Twenty bucks U.S. is worth $20.10 Canadian. They have weird names for it, too. Canadians call their $1 a loonie and $2 a toonie.
    They don’t have as many freeway rest areas. Instead, at least in Ontario, they have Onroutes – widespread concentrations of fast-food restaurants, fuel pumps and rest rooms under one roof. Canadians don’t clutter up the landscape with billboards like we do in the U.S. And except in urban areas, there usually are not clusters of gas stations and fast-food places around each freeway exit.
    Yes, they do have Starbucks. And the good news is you won’t have to stand in line to get yours. That’s because, hands down, Canadians prefer Tim Hortons to Starbucks. Timmy’s, they call it. And I have to say ... it IS better that Starbucks.
    In Ontario, the only place you can buy beer is at the Beer Store. Seriously. That’s what they call the government stores that sell beer. Beer isn’t available at convenience stores, supermarkets and gas stations. It varies, I’m told, province by province.
    You know they spell differently, eh? In all candour, it sort of colours their written communications. Centre – center. Check – cheque. Favour - favor.
    They pronounce things differently, too. Not everything. Just a few things. Ask a Canadian to say out and about. Don’t laugh. They think YOU talk even funnier.
    Hockey is not a game in Canada. It is a religion. On their $5 bill is a scene of children playing pond hockey. Saturday night hockey on the radio was a tradition for generations. Now it’s on HDTV. Do not make fun of hockey. Ever. Canadians also like the sport of curling. Do not make fun of this, either. And yes, curling is a sport and it’s much more involved than it appears to most Americans. Trust me on this, do not ridicule Canadian sports. Especially in a bar.
    Canadians are very patriotic. More so than in the U.S. They are generally liked by other countries, terrorists are not trying to destroy it, and violence – except on the hockey rink, is very rare. There’s nowhere near the polarization there is in the U.S.
    Unless they hunt, no one owns a gun in Canada. Canadians like it that way. They think people in the U.S. who are so adamant about owning guns are extreme.
    Canadians have two languages. English and French. In Quebec, of course, almost everyone is bilingual. But even in the other provinces, you will hear a French accent fairly often.
    You will find iPhones there, of course. But many Canadians prefer Blackberries. They’re made in Ontario.
    Canadian restaurants, particularly those in Ontario, are generally more high-tech than many of their U.S. counterparts. The waitstaff have their own tablets and hand-held computers that process your credit cards right at the table. And many credit cards issued by Canadian banks have chips built in which constitute an electronic signature, meaning you don’t have to physically sign the bill.
    In the U.S., we drink soda. In Canada, it’s pop.
    Canadians are healthier than us. Average life expectancy there is 81.2 years. In America, it’s 78.1, and the American life expectancy is dropping while the Canadian is rising. Americans are the most obese country in the world, with approximately 34% of their citizens obese (over 60% are overweight). Canada is the 11th most obese country with about 24% of their people obese and 55% overweight.

    I like Canada, a lot. After so many visits over the past year, I’m starting to feel patriotic about the place, myself. The Canadians I’ve met are typically not full of themselves, as so many Americans are. They seem to be content and very sure of who they are, but without guile. They laugh a lot. Sometimes at us. Especially our politics. And they’re very accepting of people from other places, who look different and talk different.
    Just as long as they don’t make fun of hockey.
    About the Author: Mike Wendland is a veteran journalist who travels the country in a Roadtrek Type B motorhome, accompanied by his wife, Jennifer, and their Norweigian elkhound, Tai. Mike is an FMCA member (F426141) and is FMCA's official on-the-road reporter. He enjoys camping (obviously), hiking, biking, fitness, photography, video editing and all things dealing with technology. His "PC MIke" technology segments are distributed weekly to all 215 NBC-TV stations. More from this author. Reach mike at openmike@fmca.com.
  9. Roadtrekingmike
    I am beginning to have some serious doubts about the wisdom of taking our Roadtrek eTrek to the wilderness of Northern Minnesota next week to report on a dog sled marathon from Duluth to the Canadian border. The long term weather forecast predicts lows of -20F/-28C along the Northern Shore of Lake Superior, where we would be boondocking with no outside power.
    I had really looked forward to this but it seems foolhardy to do camp out under such extreme cold. We handled -5F/-20C last year in February in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula but we had commercial power there and ran a small ceramic heater in addition to our on-board Webasto heater. Since we would be boondocking in Minnesota with no shore power, that ceramic heater would be too much of a battery drain in such cold running all through the night.
    Besides, we had a pipe freeze at our sticks and bricks home home during the last cold spell of a week ago. We were fortunately home and were able to get it thawed out without it bursting by hooking up space heaters but if that happened while we were on a trip, I hate to think of the damage we would have had.
    That predicted -20F/-28C up in Minnesota is the real temp. The wind chill would make it even colder!
    The place where we would be boondocking is several miles from civilization at a road crossing/check point for the mushers. I was going to help with the amateur radio setup I have in my Roadtrek to report on the teams and their times as they passed the checkpoint. The location is so remote there is no mobile phone coverage.
    I just mentioned the possibility of canceling to Jennifer and she is voicing no objections. In fact I think she’s secretly hoping for that decision. Those temps are even too cold for Tai, our Norwegian Elkhound.
    Haven’t made a decision yet… but good grief…that is REALLY cold.
    What do you think? Should I go or cancel this one?
    How cold is too cold?
  10. Roadtrekingmike
    I’m a sucker for hats. Ball caps, cowboy hats, straw hats, watch caps and lately, Stormy Kromer hats.
    We picked up our first Stormy Kromer hats while doing some winter camping last February in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Seemed like every Yooper we saw was wearing one. So Jennifer and I both got one, me a rakish black, Jennifer’s a demure grey with pink trim.

    As we returned from that trip but kept wearing our hats, we met lots of other people who either had one, knew someone who had one or wanted one.
    Lots of people call them an Elmer Fudd hat. Don’t do that.
    This is a Stormy Kromer hat, steeped in UP tradition. Here’s the official story, from the Stormy Kromer website:
    George “Stormy” Kromer was a real guy – a semi-pro baseball player and railroad engineer. Not the kind of guy you’d expect to start a clothing company, in other words, but one who happened to create a cap that became known for long-comfort and the ability to stay snug, even in the fiercest winds.
    This final feature, in fact, is the reason he made his famous headgear in the first place, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
    Mr. Kromer, known as “Stormy” to the folks who knew his temper, was born in 1876 in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. He grew up with baseball and would eventually play on nearly 30 semi-pro teams throughout the Midwest. He might have continued to play that field, too, but he met Ida, and before Ida’s father would allow her hand in marriage, our ballplayer needed to find real work.
    That meant the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and long, cold trips across the plains. Stormy was an engineer, and to see where he was headed, he had to stick his head out the window – into the wind. Mother Nature stole his cap more than once, and as the story goes, he set out to get her back.
    In 1903, he asked Ida (now his wife and an excellent seamstress) to modify an old baseball cap to help keep it on in windy weather. The all-cloth cap with the soft, canvas visor was a departure from the traditional fedoras of the day, but it was more comfortable and because of its six-panel fit, it stayed put.
    Soon other railroad workers wanted one of Stormy Kromer’s caps for themselves, and when Ida could no longer keep up with demand, they hired a few employees and the business was born.
    A lot of things have changed since those first few caps – new colors, new fabrics, new styles – but we haven’t changed the way we make ‘em. They’re hand-stitched right here in the good old U-S-of-A, and they’re still made to fit better than anything you’ve had next to your noggin. Stormy Kromer caps are true to the original, and that means you get all the comfort and function that made them famous.
    Wear one, and you’ll know what we mean.
    I was going to do a Stormy Kromer story in February, when we got our hats. But I decided to hold off until I could visit the actual factory where they were made, in Ironwood, at the far western end of the UP, right on the Wisconsin border. So when we were there on our annual RV tour of the UP, I made an appointment with Bob Jacquart, the CEO, and arranged for a factory tour.
    Again, from the website:
    In 2001, Bob Jacquart (CEO of Jacquart Fabric Products, in Ironwood, Michigan) got wind that the Kromer Cap Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was about to discontinue production of its legendary Blizzard Cap.
    Bob had a mind to make a call to Milwaukee and see if he couldn’t make those quirky wool caps a part of his sewing factory. A month later, Bob was the proud new owner of the Kromer Blizzard Cap, and Ironwood officially became home to the legend it had always struck a certain sentimental claim to. You see, folks in Ironwood (and the rest of the U.P.) have been wearing Kromer caps for generations, and it seems this has always been their true home, where the North Wind blows cold and the snow falls harder than almost anywhere else.
    When the cap came to Ironwood, Bob made a few subtle changes to the iconic headgear, changing the name from the Kromer Blizzard Cap to the Stormy Kromer Cap, and adding Stormy’s signature and the founding date to the back of every cap.
    Over the next 10 years, Bob invested in Stormy Kromer – particularly through branding and marketing – and today, annual production of the caps is 20 times what it was in 2001.
    Bob and his crew have also expanded the product line significantly – adding outerwear, apparel, and a full women’s line in honor of the debt we all owe Ida for creating this winter masterpiece.Today, Stormy Kromer products are still hand-stitched in the U.S. of A. It might be cheaper to sew things overseas, but it just wouldn’t feel right. That’s why every piece of Stormy Kromer gear is hand-crafted in America from the finest fabrics on earth. That not only makes for a legendary cap or article of clothing, it means the hundreds of hard-working folks we employ in the heartland get to keep working hard. And if that’s the style of authenticity you’re looking for, well, you just found the perfect fit.
    The hats have really become cult items. Hollywood and rock stars wear them. They're showing up in trendy magazines, and a new marketing campaign is about to make them even better known.
    The Stormy Kromer factory in Ironwood welcomes tours. Just stop in next time you are through the area. A wall of photos tells the history and story of this cool hat. You can watch the Yooper ladies in the sewing room assembling the hats. And afterwards, shop a retail area of the factory to get your own.
    And yes, I got a new Stormy Kromer, a light weight summer tan. You can see it at the end of my video.
    Stormy Kromer rocks!
  11. Roadtrekingmike
    EDITOR’s NOTE: I don’t normally accept guest posts. But I have made an exception for Graham Gibbs. Graham is from Ottawa and the following post is excerpted from a 5,800-word article he sent me. I think you will enjoy it. It is still very long but I think he captures wonderfully the fun of Roadtreking and the joy of packing and planning. I think you will enjoy this!

    By GRAHAM GIBBS
    Special to Roadtreking.com
    I have been inspired to spend time at my keyboard documenting our Roadtrek experiences by FMCA On-the-Road RV Reporter Mike's adventures with his wife Jennifer and their Norwegian Elkhound Tai.

    Like Mike and Jennifer, my wife Jay and I are RV newbies having only undertaken four trips for a total of 80 days on the road during the past two summers (2011 and 2012). While I am not a journalist, like Mike, I am not a stranger to writing. As the Canadian Space Agency's representative to the United States, based in Washington DC, for twenty-two years I wrote more reports than I care to think about! I have also authored a published book and numerous peer reviewed papers. Also, I find writing to be very therapeutic. My guess is that as a retired journalist Mike also cannot shed the writing bug!




    We left Washington DC and returned to Canada (Ottawa) in August 2010 but our RV story started some five years before. We hope that like Mike's experiences, ours may be useful for fellow RVers and Roadtrekers in particular.





    Know What You Want


    In the interests of full disclosure I should point out that we have been tent campers for many years but as we looked towards our retirement we began to realize that the Therm-a-Rest® mattresses would have to be replaced by something much thicker if we wanted pain free sleeping. Also, we figured we had earned the right to be off-the-ground during our retirement years! So, we got serious about our dream to own an RV.


    We thought long and hard about the type of RV we wanted, and might be able to afford. As tenters by nature we wanted the ability to drive on by-ways and in towns, camp just about anywhere, and we did not want to tow a car (or a Harley â€" though I fantasized about having one!). When tent camping we rather sympathized with those folks in their big rigs that as often as not had to park cheek-to-jowl while we were camped in seclusion. For these and other reasons a Type B campervan was our choice.


    Now came the hard part. What did we want in the way of facilities in our campervan? #1 was an inside toilet, as 60+ year olds no need to explain why! Obviously we wanted the usual stuff like fridge, stove, sink etc. We did not want to have to climb over each other in the night, to use the “facilityâ€, so a bed that was oriented long ways was important. Also, we envisaged long trips when we might want to go to the theatre in dressier clothes, so a wardrobe was on our list. We were not that fussy about being able to sleep more than the two of us as long as we could transport two to three more folks e.g. the grandkids who would sleep in tents. At the time we thought a built-in shower would be nice. Interestingly, we are yet to use the shower in our campervan.


    With our priorities more-or-less itemized we began our research. This entailed going to RV shows and wandering around campgrounds. Recall all this was now some six years ago. We were in no hurry to invest in a campervan; we needed to save-up the money anyway, but wanted one by the time I retired. We finally settled on about three models. One day while driving on US Freeway 95 we saw a Roadtrek (one of the models on our short list but until then we had not seen inside one) and followed it into a Rest Area. The owners were more than happy to show us around -- we were hooked. I sent away for the brochure and DVD.


    To my pleasant surprise, as a Canadian, it was then that I found out the Roadtrek was a Canadian conversion.


    We looked at all the models and settled on the 190-Popular.


    Then it was a few years of saving and continuous searching for a secondhand Roadtrek that we could afford and was in good condition.




    As I mentioned earlier we returned to Canada in August 2010 with the view to my retiring early in 2012, by which time I would be 67 years old and it would definitely be time to sleep off-the-ground! We kept looking, as did a local dealer, for the Roadtrek of our dreams.


    On a Wednesday in April 2011 I just happened to Google "Used Roadtrek" and came upon a site I had not used before. And there she was, a 2004 190-Popular owned since new by Margot, an elderly widow. I was on the phone and exchanging emails with Margot’s granddaughter for the rest of the week. On Sunday with great excitement and anticipation Jay and I took the Greyhound bus to Toronto then another bus to Acton west of Toronto en-route to Kitchener. We were pretty sure we would buy the vehicle so there was no need to go in our own car. To cut the story short, we viewed, wiggled underneath and test drove the Roadtrek Sunday afternoon. That evening in the hotel restaurant we celebrated the end of our search and the beginning of our Roadtrek adventures. Monday morning we concluded the sale and licensing then drove the Roadtrek to the service centre that Margot had used, for some instruction on the Roadtrek’s systems. Then as the proud new owners we drove home to Ottawa.


    In the summer of 2011 we took off on our first excursion, a two weeks trip, oblivious to how unfamiliar we were with the Roadtrek's systems! In retrospect we should have undertaken a shorter, local shake-down trip first. Even what have now become simple tasks were difficult the first time out. For example upon arriving at our first campground we decided to put out the awning â€" something we had not done before. Even with the not-so-helpful owner’s manual we struggled (and cursed) to release the awning vertical posts from their stowed position. I should confess that the lack of clarity in the manual might have been compounded because Jay and I were grumpy having driven too far in one day, another lesson.


    Our campsite essentials include:


    A large outdoor matt -At first we thought this might be an optional item but it soon became obvious it was essential. The matt provides a nice clean sitting area by the Roadtrek whether or not we have the awning out.


    Folding camp chairs - We are still using the low level folding chairs we used when tent camping. They let you stick your legs out and provide some exercise getting in and out! But I have my eye on the folding Pico chair, though expensive they appear to be extremely well made. As with all things you get what you pay for and if you are off on a multi-week/month RV tour you should have quality items.





    Screen house/tent - Since Jay is particularly allergic to mosquitoes, no-see-ums and the like, we bought a good quality camping screen house. It has sides that can be rolled down and a ground sheet that can be fitted so it can be used as a tent (for the grandkids). To our surprise we have only used it a couple of times when we were on the shores of the Upper Saint Lawrence River but I am sure when we venture across Canada (and back across the US) for three plus months this summer (2013) it will have plenty of use. The screen house/tent is stored in the rear compartment and its poles in the side compartment.


    Tarp - When we were tent campers we put up a large orange tarp which being orange is bright a cheery. It uses six telescopic poles and a ridge pole across its width at the middle, ten guy ropes (two at right angles at each of the corner poles and one for each of the centre poles) and twenty pegs (I double peg guy ropes). We prefer the tarp (all parts were bought separately and I make my own guy ropes) to the screen house and put it up over the campsite table for any stays of two days or longer.


    Two-person (two kiddies really) inflatable canoe - This is our one quirky item. As an ex Brit Jay likes to take baths so I bought a cheap inflatable canoe that I can fill up with warm water so Jay can have a bath. It hasn't been used yet but is in the back storage compartment just in case!


    Plastic table cloth - Just because you are camping there is no need to rough it. We use a table cloth (with hold-down clips), arrange a centre piece with local rocks and wild flowers and even use serviettes when we eat – very civilized!


    Small collapsible (coffee) table. This sits between our outdoor camping chairs to keep stuff off the ground!


    Propane Stove - Since we do most cooking outside we carry a portable two burner camping stove. So far I have not bothered to connect the stove to the Roadtrek's propane system preferring the flexibility of small propane bottles. They last 2 to 3 days on average which at around $5 each is not too extravagant.


    Tools - One toolbox for all the hand tools you may need. Check out all the Roadtrek's systems and your campsite essentials that you might need to repair/adjust when on the road. Note for example the hot water tank drain plug that needs a socket and extension rod to reach. On our last trip we had something of an emergency when one of the Roadtrek stove burner knobs stuck in the open position. We had to turn off the propane at the main tank and open all doors and windows to avoid a catastrophe. I was able to dismantle the stove to expose the mechanism but lacked a very small socket to undo the stuck knob. Fortunately we found an RV Centre not too far away and they fixed the problem which was caused by a build-up of corrosion. I have added a suitable wrench to my toolbox in case we have a repeat of the problem.


    Bits and Pieces - I use two plastic tool boxes (approx. 20ins x 10ins x 10ins) for campsite bits and pieces. One contains extra propane bottles, spare rope, folding shovel, small axe and other stuff that is not used regularly. The other box contains those items that might be needed at each stop. It is stored where it is easily accessible in the rear stowage compartment. I bring this out and put it at one end of the campsite table. This box contains; large camping/hunting knife, fish filleting knife, clothes line, clothes pegs (in a bag), three propane bottles, candles, old jam jar (used as a candle holder), mini propane lamp and replacement gauze filaments, fire lighters (why bother with kindling!), matches, flashlight handheld (one is also in the Roadtrek) and headlamp, garbage bags, brush (for sweeping the campsite table), two decks of playing cards, barbeque fork and spatula, and a trivet.


    Pegs and Guy Ropes - I have two see-through net bags with a zipper (available at any decent camping store) to store the guy ropes (I make my own which are more robust than the thin twine guy ropes that seem to come with tents etc. these days) and pegs. I have another smaller bag to store four steel pegs (like long nails) and the mallet. The steel pegs are to hold down the awning posts.


    Spare Key - We learned the hard way! Usually we both have camper keys hanging from a lanyard around our necks since for reasons unknown our Roadtrek sometimes self-locks. Having been caught out twice, without our keys, we now have a spare key hidden outside.


    Large Towel and Rubber Gloves - I keep these in the long compartment on the driver’s side and within easy reach. The towel serves mostly as a kneeling mat when emptying, with rubber gloves on, the black and grey tanks.


    Miscellaneous - Miscellaneous for us include; monopole for the camera or binoculars (I have missed too many wildlife shots setting up a tripod), hand pump (for bikes and inflatable toys), Bouls (French lawn game), day pack (I have a LL Bean Classic Continental Rucksack), two hiking poles (one for each of us), and leveling blocks – we sleep so much better if we are not rolling to one side or the other!.


    A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place


    When we moved from Washington DC to Ottawa we learned from our moving van driver the moving man's mantra "If it don't shake, it don't break." The same of course is true for campervan storage. Jay makes full use of dish drying-up towels, rubberized matting on shelves etc. to ensure our cutlery, dishes, pans, glassware etc. not only do not break but do not produce an annoying rattle when we are underway.


    For our clothes we each have a nylon and see-through net bag with zipper. Both are approximately 6 inches diameter x 24 inches long (670 cu ins/11 litres).


    We find these bags better than canvas or stiffer fabric bags since they easily fit (squish) into the compartments above the rear bed on the left and right sides. Our rule is if you cannot get all your clothes and spare towels in one compartment you have got too much. The exceptions are rain gear, anorak and (optional) dressier jackets that go in the wardrobe (with the wine in a six bottle bag!). We have found that it is best to roll up all clothing for packing. This way you get more in and they don't crease.


    We use the drawer under the passenger seat (by the side door) for shoes. We have found that Crocks are ideal for campsites.


    External storage is Graham's domain. In the long compartment on the driver’s side I store: the poles for the tarp and screen house, water hose, a power extension cord (and electrical socket adapter), collapsible rake (to clean the campsite when necessary), 2 bags of pegs and guy ropes for the tarp, 1 bag with the metal pegs for the awning poles and a mallet, external shower hose and head, towel (to kneel on when draining the tanks) and a pair of gauntlet style rubber gloves, the barbeque vegetable and cooking baskets, and awning winding pole. The built-in power cord lies on top of this lot.


    Everything else under Campsite Essentials fit into the rear compartment, except the folding chairs (which travel on the bed), day pack, and the camera monopole which needs to be handy.


    I found the storage of the awning winding pole and ridge pole in the rear compartment of the Popular-190 to be inconvenient. They kept falling out of their stowage clips and took up space. I now keep the winding pole in the side compartment and I place the ridge pole diagonally across the back and cushioned by the outdoor matt (which stores right across the back).


    Know Your Pace


    Our first trip was two weeks on the Whale Route on the north shore of the upper Saint Lawrence River between Tadoussac and Baie-Comeau. The Whale Route seems to be one of Canada's Best Kept Secrets. During our time there I spotted perhaps only three vehicles with out-of-Province plates. I suppose we should be grateful it is not better known outside Quebec, and so is not over-crowded, but those who have not been are missing a gem.


    We arrived at our first scheduled stop, a KOA campground outside of Quebec City some 200 miles from Ottawa, grumpy!! Lesson # 1: Pace yourselves. In the summer of 2012 we spent 6+ weeks in the Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It was a wonderful trip where we hugged the coasts, avoided main highways but we came to realize how essential it is to know your pace.


    When I had been on camping vacations in the Maritimes with Diving Club buddies some forty-years ago we always booked our campground. So, fearing that campgrounds might be full I booked all the campgrounds for the first four weeks of our trip. While this worked reasonably well we learned four lessons: campgrounds do not seem to fill-up to capacity so the need to book ahead is questionable, booking ahead removes schedule flexibility, it is not always easy to anticipate road conditions and all stops, and campgrounds do not always fit the description the owners have provided. One at the Head of Saint Margaret’s Bay in Nova Scotia was so awful we checked out early and forfeited three days of pre-payment.


    In sum, for our trip across Canada (and back across the US) in the summer of 2013 we will not book campgrounds but call ahead en-route.


    In getting to know your pace certain things need to be taken into account for example do you prefer to stay away from main highways, what speed to you drive, do you stop to visit museums and so forth?


    Jay and I share interests which include geography/scenery of all types but with a penchant for coastal routes (we are ex Brits where the sea is never far away), flora and fauna (more Jay's passion), learning about the culture and history of the region we are visiting, art and music, museums of various types, walks (versus strenuous hikes -- those days seem to be behind us!), salt and fresh water and mountains, shopping in farmers markets and the like.


    Our preferences are to avoid main highways, drive at 50mph/80kmh or slower (which often means pulling over to let vehicles pass), make unscheduled stops (we are touring after all), stop for a picnic lunch.


    On our Maritimes trip we found that for many legs we were averaging about 100 to 120 miles per day i.e. much less than we thought we would cover, and we really did not want to be behind the wheel for more than five hours each day with four being preferable. Though of course there were days which were longer.


    We also found that after 2 to 3 days of one-night stops and driving we were ready for a longer break of two or more nights/days with only local sightseeing.


    Know What is Expected of You


    Two people, no matter how compatible, can expect some tension when living in a Type B RV for an extended period of time. We have gravitated to specific tasks so we are not tripping over each other. For example I do most of the campsite set-up chores (though setting up the tarp or screen house is a two-person job) while Jay converts the interior from our driving mode to camping mode. And, the same when we are de-camping.


    We leave the rear bed made-up all the time we are travelling -- it is just not worth the hassle converting it every day and in any event it is then always available for an afternoon nap! Since we do most things outside we have a cooler, water container, and washing up bucket that travel on the floor and then occupy the campsite table seat when we are parked.


    By having our own known tasks, setting-up and packing-up is pretty efficient. We can usually be settled in within 30 minutes of arriving at a campsite, unless the tarp or screen house is erected then it might take 60 minutes before we can sit down and relax with a cup of tea, if we have arrived early enough, or straight to Happy Hour if later!


    I would also add that giving your travelling companion her or his own time and space when needed is important. We also have found that sharing laptops/iPADs and e-readers does not work so well so we have our own!


    Despite how all this may sound I am a lucky guy since my spouse is also my best friend so surviving in a Type B is not hard.


    Planning Your Trip


    RV touring is perhaps one activity where Plan your work and work your plan does not or should not apply. Jay and I are masters at going to Plan B or C even D, to take advantage of some unexpected special interest such as an off-the-beaten-path gold-mine museum in the middle of Nova Scotia.


    That said you should not set off without at least a notional route, knowledge of potential campgrounds, places of interest, and note when events might be taking place.


    I am still learning but making progress with trip planning. For our trips so far I have prepared a detailed daily itinerary with the route, mileage, and notations for bookings made and places of interest to visit. What I am learning is that the approach for each trip might be different and will depend on the distance to be travelled, number of potential stops and schedule constraints. But, I am leaning towards trip plans that are not quite as detailed or fixed, at least not on a daily basis.


    When we went along the Whale Route on the Upper Saint Lawrence we had in mind that we might take the ferry across the river, from Baie-Comeau at the northern end of our planned route, to the South Shore for our return. However, when we got to the region we realized that the Saguenay Fjord, west of Tadoussac (at the beginning of the Whale Route), would be worth seeing in its entirety. So having spent some 8 days between Tadoussac and Baie-Comeau we re-traced our steps and then spent 3 delightful days touring all the way around the Saguenay Fjord.


    The first four weeks of our Maritimes was all planned and worked well since we knew we wanted to hug the coast of Nova Scotia. But we were not sure how we would feel after our first month away in the Roadtrek so after Cape Breton our plans were open. After a month we were still in no hurry to return home "one of the privileges of retirement life" so we continued around the coast of Nova Scotia and then much of the coast of New Brunswick as we pointed ourselves more-or-less in the direction of home.




    For our North America trip this summer (2013) we decided we would spend some two months crossing Canada (many just wiz across in ten days â€" bad idea) and a month returning across northern US (after a stop to visit our daughter in Portland, Oregon). To be on the safe side we have not booked anything early in the fall that might force us to return before we are ready.


    I am planning this trip in a somewhat less detailed fashion than I have for previous trips. I began with MapQuest since it is a route planning tool I am very familiar with and I am pretty familiar with Canada. I tackled one Province at a time and chose the slightly more northern route (old Trans-Canada) so as to avoid as much as possible the busier southern Trans-Canada highway. The route will take us back-country from Ottawa to North Bay and along the shores of Lake Superior, then to Winnipeg in Manitoba, to Saskatoon in Saskatchewan and on to Edmonton, Alberta. We want to see the famous dinosaur fossil park and museum which is south of Calgary so we will head south from Edmonton then west to Banff and spend time in the Rockies between Banff and Jasper. After some research I found a back-country route from Jasper to British Columbia which will allow us to approach Vancouver from the north. From there we go to Vancouver Island. Then head south to the US.


    Having roughed out the route I checked the websites for all the towns we will travel through to see what would be interesting to visit and what events might be taking place, so we can try to manage our arrival accordingly. I have put these web-links in the plan so I can easily access them when we are on our way. I also checked out all the National and Provincial Parks on our route.


    For this trip we will not make any campground reservations in advance since we do not want to be tied to a schedule or even the route in case we hear about something really interesting that is not too much of a diversion.


    I have typed all this up and now have our cross-Canada itinerary, with Province by Province over view maps, all contained in just 18 pages, plus a one page grand Overview including schedule and cost estimates (see samples below).


    I have subscribed to RV Trip Wizardâ„¢ (
    https://www.rvtripwizard.com/) so my next task will be to overlay our planned route to get the additional information that the App has to offer.

    Once the Canadian portion is done I will work on the return route through the US. All this will be loaded onto my iPAD so as to minimize the paperwork to be carried â€" though we are old enough to like to have paper or laminated maps handy!


    Well that is what we have learned so far. We have much more to learn to derive the full benefit from our Roadtreking but I think we have made a good start.


    Regardless of your personal preferences and interests things that you might consider are:


    Know what you want in an RV. This will be based on where you want to go and want you want to do. It will also be dictated by establishing your priorities for your living space.


    Know your vehicle and its systems. We recommend that you do not learn-on-the road! Read the Manual, operate all the systems in your drive-way, seek advice, and make your first trip a local shake-down trip.


    Establish your Campsite Essentials. That is what you cannot do without to make your adventure pleasurable, and pack 'em!


    Ensure you that there is a place for everything and everything is in its place. You will have more time for fun if you are not forever searching for something or trying to squeeze it in somewhere. Pack the same way every time.


    Know your pace. You and your travelling companion(s) will get grumpy, stressed or tired (or all three) if you try to follow an over crammed schedule, drive too far for comfort, drive faster to make up for lost time, and don't stop to enjoy those special places of interest.


    Share the workload. You and your travelling companion(s) will benefit if the work is shared with each doing what each is most capable of doing, and keep the same work shares so each knows what is expected of him or her.


    Plan your trip. But perhaps do not over-plan!


    Write a Trip Report. Not for everyone perhaps but give it a try you might be surprised at what an enriching experience it is and how it adds to the post-trip pleasure.


    Happy Roadtreking


    Graham


    Source

  12. Roadtrekingmike
    Not all is always good about RVing.
    Here are our top five RV frustrations:
    1) Deplorable campground conditions – This, we believe, is one of the biggest scandals of the RV world. There are many campgrounds that could more accurately be described as overcrowded slums. What amazes me is that they have good reviews in the big publications, which tells me that either the reviews are phony, the publication doesn’t physically inspect the campgrounds or they are so out of date they are worthless. Just this year we’ve stayed in campgrounds where the sewers are clogged, the bathroom toilets are clogged, the sites are dirty, the restrooms have bugs and broken windows, the water hookups leak, electric pedestals are dangerously loose and shorting out and the help is surly and indifferent. We need to put pressure on campground associations, reviewing sources and sometimes local health departments. Filthy, ill kept campgrounds really do damage to the entire RV industry and need to be exposed, run out of business or forced to clean up.
    2) Unscrupulous RV dealers – Yes, there are some of them, too. I hear a lot from readers about RV dealers who do shoddy service, bill for work or parts they didn’t install, price gouge and promise a certain delivery to get a sale but then keep backing off the date after purchase. Another complaint I’ve heard more than once is about salesmen who badmouth certain models (which they sell) only so they can move out inventory on models they haven’t been able to sell. I recommend that new buyers get at least two quotes from competing dealers and get eveything in very detailed writing before buying.
    3) RV Class Discrimination – There are too many RV parks and resorts that refuse to allow Class B or C motorhomes to stay there. This often comes from communities that want upscale RVers but don’t want pop ups and tents and so they make zoning laws or regulations prohibiting overnight camping by units under a certain length. So even though a Class B or Class C motorhome may have cost as much as the Class A behemoths, they are not allowed entry. Personally, these resorts are not where I want to stay. If we wanted a subdivision, we’d have bought a vacation home instead of an RV. But a lot of folks have written me over the past two years who resent being excluded from RV resorts and I see their point: Such RV class discrimination is just wrong.
    4) People who burn trash in their campfire rings – Burning your RV garbage in he campsite firepit is hazardous to your health and the health of those who are nearby and have to breath it. The typical household trash generated by RVers contains a lot of plastics and paper treated with chemicals, coatings, and inks. Besides the smoke, the ashes that remain contain concentrated amounts of these toxic materials that can blow away or seep into the soil and groundwater. Please, stop burning garbage!
    5) Inconsiderate neighbors – This a broad class and includes people who don’t pick up after their pets, cigar smokers who stink up entire campgrounds, campers who insist on watching TV outside with the volume turned loud, those who arrive late at night after most people are asleep and proceed to shout directions and back up instructions as they set up camp, dogs left alone to bark and bark and bark, neighboring campers who use profanity in every other sentence and people who leave campground restrooms and showers filthy.
    The simple way for us to avoid most of these frustrations has been to spend more and more time boondockiing or alone by ourselves or with a few friends in state and national forests. That has been when we’ve most enjoyed RVing.
    The more we RV, the more we are finding that big campgrounds are just not our thing.
    How about you? What are your biggest RV frustrations and how do you get around them?
  13. Roadtrekingmike
    It’s easy to see why American Indians and the early settlers called the area of southwestern South Dakota the Badlands.
    They are dry, unbearably hot in the summer, rugged, isolated and - in the days before modern transportation – extremely difficult to navigate.
    But while it may be an inhospitable place to live, these days the Badlands make for a very good visit by RV.
    Jennifer and I try to spend time here each year. You could say we’ve gotten hooked on the Badlands.
    The Badlands National Park protects 242,756 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States.
    There is a rugged beauty about the place like none other we have seen anywhere in North America.
    You will see bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs throughout the park, sometimes far off, sometimes surprisngly close. On the down side, you need to be snake aware out here. Prairie rattlesnakes abound.
    The Badlands were formed by the geologic processes of deposition and erosion. Deposition of sediments began 69 million years ago when an ancient sea stretched across what is now the Great Plains. After the sea retreated, successive land environments, including rivers and flood plains, continued to deposit sediments. Although the major period of deposition ended 28 million years ago, significant erosion of the Badlands did not begin until a mere half a million years ago. Erosion continues to carve the Badlands buttes today. Eventually, the Badlands will completely erode away.
    During the Age of Dinosaurs, a warm, shallow sea covered the Great Plains, including what is now Badlands. As a result, the Badlands contain one of the world’s richest fossil beds.
    Since dinosaurs were land creatures, no fossils of these animals have been found in the park. Giant marine lizards called mosasaurs swam in the ancient sea, along with sea turtles and fish.
    The park is open year round, though we seem to always visit in the summer. Temperatures can easily hit 100 degrees during the day. So we plan our hiking and bike riding in the early morning.
    The badlands are a photographer’s dream location.
    The craggy spires and wide open spaces seem to look different with every glance, every time the sun goes behind a cloud, and as the day draws to an end. Sunrises and sunsets here are spectacular.
    Three days and two nights are the minimum time to spend if you want to see most of the park. We always budget a visit of that long as we’re either heading west towards Yellowstone, or back home towards Michigan.
    Getting to the Badlands is easy. Interstate 90 (I-90) is located directly north of the park and provides access to the Hwy 240 Badlands Loop Road. For those traveling west on I-90, take Exit 131 (Interior) and follow the signs directing vehicles south approximately three miles to the Northeast Entrance. For those traveling east on I-90, take Exit 110 at Wall, South Dakota. Follow signs directing vehicles south approximately seven miles to the Pinnacles Entrance.
    State Highway 44 provides an alternate, scenic access to the park and intersects Highway 377 in the town of Interior. Follow 377 two miles north to the Interior Entrance.
    When we leave the Badlands, we prefer driving the two lanes of Highway 44 west to the Black Hills area instead of heading back to I-90.
    There are three campgrounds to choose from. Two are operated by the National Park Service - Cedar Pass Campground and Sage Creek Campground.
    Cedar Pass is located near the Ben Reifel Visitor Center and has 96 level sites with scenic views of the badlands formations. Camping fees are $18 per night per campsite, or $30 per night for campsites with electrical hook-ups. A dump station is available for a $1.00 per use fee. Cold running water, flush toilets, and covered picnic tables are available. In the summer, it’s often filled.
    Sage Creek is a primitive campground. You are apt to have bison wandering about the campground. It’s located on the west side of the park’s North Unit, near the Badlands Wilderness Area. Access is located off of the Sage Creek Rim Road, an unpaved road that may temporarily close after winter storms and spring rains. The road provides limited turnarounds for large recreational vehicles, but Type B and C motorhomes have no problems. Camping here is free. There is no electricity or water, but there are pit toilets and covered picnic tables. This campground rarely fills up.
    The third area campground is the White River KOA, located about four miles outside of the park. This is our favorite spot to stay in the Badlands. It is located in a quiet, rural area with large shade trees beside the White River. There’s a great dirt road right across the street from the campground that is perfect for bike rides Believe me, the shade of the campground is well appreciated, as is the swimming pool.
    The Badlands: Put it on your must visit list.
    And even if you have been there before, I bet, like Jennifer and me, you, too, want to keep returning.
    Right?
  14. Roadtrekingmike
    Sometimes, as we Roadtrek across North America in our RV, we run into stories that are so amazing that you don’t know how to categorize them. So it was with us in downtown Kansas City when we toured one of the most fascinating museums we have ever seen.
    It’s a museum devoted to the Steamboat Arabia, which sunk after running into a tree snag in the muddy Missouri River on September 5, 1856 as it was carrying 200 tons of supplies destined for a string of frontier towns to the west.
    But like the fabled King Tut’s Tomb, the recovery of the Arabia and the cargo it was carrying almost defies belief. The Arabia’s wreckage contained the largest single collection of pre-Civil War U.S. artifacts ever discovered – remarkably preserved clothing, tools, guns, dishware, window glass, candles, jewelry, wine and other everyday items that serve as a time capsule of life on the American frontier. There are even bottles of still pleasantry fragrant 19th century perfumes.
    But I don’t know if it’s the amazing items found in the wreckage or the actual discovery and retrieval of those artifacts that is the most interesting.
    Because the Arabia was discovered not at the bottom of the Missouri, where she sank, but 45 feet down in the idle of a Kansas cornfield a half mile from the current banks of the river.

    I took this photo from a display at the museum showing the partial excavation.
    More than 400 steamboats have sunk in the Missouri over its 2,500 mile course. Most are undiscovered.
    The Arabia was a side-wheel steamer, carrying passengers and cargo on a regular route and schedule. At 171 feet long and capable of carrying 222 tons, she was a medium-sized boat. Her trade route took her well into present-day South Dakota. On September 5th, 1856, six days after departing St. Louis heavily loaded with freight and passengers, the Arabia reached Kansas City, Mo.

    Another excavation shot from the museum

    The only casualty was a mule. The passengers were all offloaded onto a skiff before the Arabia sunk.
    Following a short stopover the side-wheeler was again underway to her intended destinations. A short distance upstream was the town of Parkville, Mo. But the Arabia would never arrive. During the night, the steamer struck a sunken snag, below the surface of the river. Within minutes much of the boat and virtually all 222 tons of precious frontier cargo lay at the bottom of the Missouri River.
    Although the Arabia went down in 15 feet of water, all of its 130 passengers reached shore on the ship’s skiff—the only fatality was a mule tied to the deck. The skeleton of that mule is on display in the museum.
    The river bottom was soft, and the boat and cargo sank quickly into the mud and silt. The boat held merchandise bound for frontier stores, and personal belongings of the passengers. Eventually, all evidence of the Arabia was erased from view. Seasonal flooding covered the site, and in its wake was deposited layer upon layer of rich, black topsoil.
    Bob Hawley is a local amateur treasure hunter who, with sons David and Greg, became obsessed with the story of the Arabia and its mystery cargo. It was rumored to have a huge cargo of Kentucky Bourbon and gold. Hawley knew that the Missouri had a shifting channel and that it had moved considerably east over the years and using a metal detector, weathered maps and old newspaper clippings, he persuaded a Kansas farmer to let them search the field. In 1987, his metal detector pinged off the big boilers of the Arabia and, in four months time, Hawley and the group of family members and several friends, excavated it.

    Bob Hawley still hangs out at the museum, meeting visitors.
    The mud remarkably preserved the wreck. There was, it turned out, no gold. And the bourbon was never found. Hawley suspects opportunists grabbed it from the decks the day after the Arabia sunk. But what was aboard has fascinated visitors and students of the American west for more than two decades now.
    I met Hawley the day I visited. He still hangs out at the museum. He said there have been many offers to sell the artifacts from private collectors over the years he believes they should be shared with the public.
    Jennifer and I spent half a day at the museum, marveling at the displays. Only about half of what was discovered is shown.
    The museum is still cleaning, cataloging and preserving the rest of the items. Visitors can actually observe the process, as its all done in the open.
    The museum is open seven days a week, Admission is $14.50 for adults and worth every sent. Seniors get a buck discount.
    There’s parking in the area in front of the museum suitable for a Class B RV. Anything bigger will have to park somewhere else in the congested downtown area. The address is 400 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64106.
    Here are some photos of the artifacts:

    Dishware from the Arabia was bound for frontier towns.

    Knives that would have been used on the frontier.

    Shoes and boots that never made the waiting frontier towns.
  15. Roadtrekingmike
    People wonder why we prefer boondocking over campgrounds. Here’s why: Too many campgrounds are dirty.
    Not all. But way too many.
    In the bathrooms, there are almost always spiders, bugs, things in the toilets and stalls that disgust you, broken windows, mold, rusty pipes, grimy sinks. In Mississippi earlier this year, one of the showers I used this year had a cracked floor. When you stepped on it, blank gunk seeped out around your feet.
    In Missouri, a long broken and unrepaired window had the restroom filled with moths, beetles, flies and mosquitos.
    In Nebraska, a campground where we stayed last summer had clogged toilets. The dump station black water tank was overflowing.
    Then there are the lots. Too often they are worn and trampled dirt that turns to mud every time it rains, with no grass or concrete. In Estes Park, CO, last year, a supposedly top-rated campground put us in a gravel parking lot. Five minutes after we arrived, our coach was covered in dust and we had to shut all the windows. I complained and the owner told me he makes an extra $20K a year putting people on the gravel when his other spots are filled and it’s worth the complaints to get the extra cash. AT least he was honest.
    The utility hookups at many parks need to be checked as way too many deliver erratic power. Water faucets drip. Dog droppings are uncollected and litter the edges of the camping spaces.
    It’s our experience that private campgrounds are generally the worse, though we’ve noticed that budget cutbacks in state and county parks have fewer people doing maintenance and clean up in government-run parks, too.
    So we boondock. While on the way to a destination, a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot is usually preferable to a campground, we have found. Our Roadtrek eTrek has its own shower, its own bathroom and provides its own electricity.
    The campground guide books and apps are not much help. We’ve found campgrounds rated by the guide books at four stars to be pig styes. I have long suspected that the higher the rating, the more the campground spends on advertising. Maybe not. But the discrepancies of what we’ve experienced and what the guidebooks say are too often too far apart.
    Reviews from other campers help.
    But generally, we avoid most campgrounds.

    This Colorado campground puts you in a dusty parking lot.

    Nice shower, huh? The water that came out was rust covered.

    A broken window in a campground restroom in Missouri.
  16. Roadtrekingmike
    I’ve never been one to worry much about the weather. If I have something planned and the blow-dryed weather guys on TV are breathlessly warning us that a snow storm or some weather situation is about to cause the sky to fall, I usually scoff and just go on with my plans. Weather forecasters like to scare us and keep us tuned in for ratings. I know this from firsthand experience back in my local TV reporting days when they’d scramble “storm teams” and bombard the public with 24 by 7 weather alerts and constant promos about the big storm coming.
    Usually, it was much less than what was predicted.
    So when we set off on this latest RV trip with weather forecasters talking about a wind advisory and breezy conditions coming in hard with a cold front, I barely paid attention.
    The Roadtrek eTrek was packed, we had places to go, and so ... we did, heading straight down I-75 from our Michigan home.
    I could tell is was windy as soon as I pulled out of my subdivision. But as we negotiated the heavy traffic through Detroit, the “concrete canyons” nulled the effect and it wasn’t until, just north of the Ohio border near Monroe, MI, that it became apparent that the weather guys had this one right.
    This was more than breezy. This was howling.
    They said on the radio that the west wind was gusting to 50 miles an hour. I can’t confirm that, except to say that the trip through Ohio, with all that empty farmland bordering the interstate, was a virtual tug of war. And hopes of being spelled from my driving duties by Jennifer went by the wayside as soon as the first gust slammed into the Roadtrek.
    The wind blew and buffeted and the drive was two-handed all the way, made worse by wind shear from the occasional semi–tractor trailers that passed me. Most of the truckers, though, seemed to have even more trouble than we did and it was me that did most of the truck passing.
    Truth told, it may have been the worst wind conditions I have ever driven in. Weather reports said the winds were responsible for lots of power outages. My Roadtrek, ten feet high on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis, was like a sail.
    But I also found myself – I know, this sounds weird – actually enjoying the challenge. It wasn’t that bad, once I adapted my driving to the conditions. The dual rear wheels on the Roadtrek eTrek also helped provide a stability that never caused me any serious worries..
    Here’s five tips I learned about driving an RV in heavy winds that you may want to keep in mind if you find yourself in similar conditions:
    Keep both hands on the wheel. The wind really does want to push you to the next lane. A firm, not too tight grip, lets you easily overcome that.
    Keep the speed low. I usually tool down the interstate a little over 70. Much of the way yesterday, I kept it between 55 and 60. That seemed to be the sweet spot of speed for keeping it under maximum control.
    Reduce your speed and correct your steering, especially when moving from a protected area to an unprotected area, like overpasses, or when treelines along the wide of the road vanish, or when meeting large vehicles.
    Be very aware of traffic and the vehicles around you. Sudden gusts can blow any vehicle off course. Keep your distance from all other vehicles.
    Take breaks sooner than normal. We stopped about every other rest area. There’s a lot of stress in driving while fighting the wheel. Spelling yourself for 10 to 15 minutes every hour or so really helps.

    By the time we crossed into Kentucky and began heading directly west along US-71, the winds began to diminish. When we hit Louisville, they were no longer a factor. I think we just drove out of the weather pattern that hit the upper Midwest.
    We spent the night in a neat and clean place called Grandmas RV Resort, right along i-65 in Shepardsville, KY,. The spaces are all pull-throughs, 50 feet wide and 70 feet long, with full hookups except for cable. To the east is a pasture where curious alpacas chew the lush green Kentucky grass and hang out by the fence to watch all the people in their tin can homes. There’s a huge flea market right next door that draws thousands of people on the weekends and many of the spots seemed to be taken up by vendors for that. There was one other Roadtrek here, an older 210 Popular. It was all bundled up last night when I saw it and they left early this morning before I ventured out, so I didn’t get a chance to meet its owners.
    The campground was recommended by Stu Kratz, an RVing friend who lives nearby. Stu and wife, Winona, came by after we set up last night and we visited for a couple of hours. I gave them Roadtrek hats and they shared a few local places of interest we should check out.
    While here, we plan to take in the Bourbon Trail, a meandering route that takes in a collection of Kentucky distilleries that celebrate the rich tradition and proud history of “America’s Official Native Spirit.” We’ll start with the Kim Beam Distillery near here.
    I could have used that place last night after the wind advisory.
  17. Roadtrekingmike
    The Beartooth Highway is one of the more spectacular drives you can take when touring in your RV out West, comparable to the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. It’s a 1930s WPA project that opened access to the Yellowstone region from the northeast, and an impressive engineering accomplishment.
    Fortunately for us, it’s still in good repair and easily traversable by all but the most anemic RVs – there are probably a few gas Class As that shouldn’t attempt it, but the rest of us can drive it easily.
    The eastern end of the Beartooth Highway is Red Lodge, MT, a 44 mile drive from I-90 coming down US 212 from Laurel, just west of Billings. Red Lodge is a nice little town with all the RV amenities – water and a dump station at the Chamber of Commerce, groceries at the IGA, gas, diesel and propane from multiple stations. Provision yourself well because the next significant amenities are when you come back out on I-90 in Livingston, MT, 175 miles away.
    OK, now that you’re all stocked up, get ready to climb. We’re going up onto the Beartooth Plateau, a 10,000-foot-high tableland overlooking the Yellowstone caldera. Trouble is, you’re at 5500 feet in Red Lodge. After a gently sloping approach up the valley, the switchbacks begin. Most of it is 25 or 30 miles an hour – feel free to take it slower. Turn off your air conditioner, and watch your coolant temperature and transmission temperature gauges. Five miles of switchbacks later, you’re rewarded with a view of the plateau.
    First thing you’ll notice is the snow. There’s snow up here – side-of-the-road snow, not up-on-the-mountains snow. I came up here in late June, and it’s all over the place. Even in August, there’s still snow you can easily walk to from the highway. The snowmelt feeds countless streams; most of the time you stop along the highway you can hear running water. The northern sides of the gentle hills on the plateau have snowbanks, each with a stream emerging from its base.
    The second thing you’ll notice is the thin, cold air. Atmospheric pressure is 70% of sea level, and it’s 20 degrees cooler up here in the summer than it is down in the Yellowstone River valley. Daytime highs are rarely above 70 degrees. Pace yourself if you plan any hikes, and watch out for signs of altitude sickness if you zoomed up here without acclimating.
    The first few miles of the plateau drive leading up to Beartooth Pass are still in Montana; I boondocked in a spur (Forest Service Road 2124) just before the state line, which is designated for dispersed camping. As you cross into Wyoming, you’re climbing – you’ll be rewarded with spectacular views of Gardner Lake and Mirror Lake.
    In addition to the main lakes, the complex landforms up here create smaller lakes seemingly cantilevered out of the steep slopes. Every dip in the terrain up here holds water.
    bearstooth
    The Bear’s Tooth is a spire of granite viewable from the highway just before the pass. Native Americans named this range because of this feature, which does indeed look like an incisor of something you wouldn’t want to meet on the trail. The tooth and many of the other peaks are “horns” – glacially carved spires sharpened to impossibly steep points as glaciers slid around their sides during the numerous ice ages which shaped this region.
    At the top, Beartooth Pass itself has a pullout to stretch your legs and look around in all directions. East you can see the Bighorns, over 80 miles away, and south of you is a plateau covered with lakes. Fiona the Fearless Kitty had less esthetic interests – she wanted to snag a marmot. Marmots are chubby rodents who inhabit alpine regions and, as Fiona was soon to discover, always sit within feet of their burrow. No marmot on the menu for Fiona this time.
    West of the pass, the road descends steadily and you come down off the tundra and back into pine forests. Spectacular waterfalls dot the roadside, many with pullouts and paths leading up to them so you can get a closer look. The state line also marks the boundary between the Custer National Forest and Shoshone National Forest, which you are in now, and there are several well-maintained campgrounds along this stretch of the highway.
    Island Lake, Beartooth Lake, Crazy Creek, and Fox Creek range in elevation from 9,000 to 6,000 feet. Information on these is available on the Shoshone National Forest website. Fox Creek has electricity, for those of you not equipped for dry camping.
    Somewhat averse to organized camping and neighbors ourselves, right now we’re doing dispersed camping maybe eight miles east of the town of Cooke City, on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone River. Just pull off the road, pick a spot, and enjoy the wilderness. The sound of rushing water, the smell of the pine trees, and the song of the mountain bluebirds make this place a memorable stay in our exploration of the Beartooth area.
  18. Roadtrekingmike
    I hate flying. In my past life as a journalist, I was frequently in the air, flying here or there for this story or that. I grew to dread air travel.
    But now that I travel in an RV, I hate flying even more.
    I write this from Albany, GA, where we are visiting family. It’s a quick visit, to watch the grandsons play football and to attend grandparent’s day at the youngest one’s school. We’re flying on gift tickets, down here just for the weekend and then back to Michigan.
    This is the first airplane trip we’ve taken since we bought got a Roadtrek some 19 months ago.
    Roadtreking has spoiled us.
    We’ve made the trip many times in our Roadtrek. It’s about 950 miles, an 18 hour drive. With food and fuel stops, you can do it in one very long day’s drive. We prefer spending the night in the Roadtrek.
    In the Roadtrek, we have everything we need. We can bring all the clothing we think we may need, all the supplies and food and we can stop where we want, eat where and when we want.
    It is like traveling with our home. We like the drive, get to take our dog and can take turns driving.
    We are the masters of our journey.
    No so flying.
    The actual flight from Detroit to Atlanta is a about two and a half hours. Then it’s another hour and 20 minutes on a small commuter airplane down to Albany. So, all told, flight time is just shy of four hours.
    But that is not representative of real travel time. And it comes with a huge cost: Aggravation, a loss of control and germ exposure.
    Let me explain.
    The first frustration came when we packed our bags. We take carry-ons. I’ve lost too many bags at too many airports over the years to let the airline handle them. Alas, you can’t bring what you want in a carry-on. Shampoos , conditioners, hair products, shaving cream, etc (unless they are in miniature containers) are all forbidden. Carry-on space constraints mean other things that we’d normally have in our Roadtrek – like a hairdryer jackets or sweatshirts – have to be get left behind
    We departed our house at 9 AM, drove to my daughter’s home in another. Tai, our loyal RV traveling companion, was something else we had to leave behind. He gave us that forlorn “what, you’re abandoning me?” look and we felt terribly coldhearted as we rushed out.
    It took close to an hour to get to our daughter’s house in another Detroit suburb. Then we drove north to Flint, MI and the Bishop International Airport. Add 45 minutes.
    Then there was the hassle of finding a parking spot at $15 a day. Standing in line, going through airport security – taking off shoes, belts, removing laptops, getting the carry-ons inspected. And another hour.
    The government shut down also resulted in laying off most TSA gate inspectors and agents. Yet there was a full contingent at the airports. I talked to one of them and he told me they were all working without pay, hoping that whenever the government gets its act together and “reopens,” they’ll get back pay. “If this shutdown continues, I don’t know what I’ll do next week,” he said. “I’m running out of gas money,”
    We go to the waiting aress. The Delta attendant at the gate used the public address system to asked passengers to put their carry-ons at their feet because the carry-on bins would be full. Ug.
    By the time we’re actually on the plane – jam-packed, everyone breathing everyone else’s air, Jennifer and I are cramped, uncomfortable and annoyed to no end by a noisy couple in the row behind us who seem to be incapable of speaking a sentence that does not contain the F-word.
    We get into Atlanta’s gigantic Hartsfield International Airport a little after 2 PM. It takes 15 minutes to get off the plane from our Row 30 seats. Our arrival gate is in Terminal B.
    The hallways are jammed. People push and nudge to get close enough to read the departure sign for connecting flights.
    Our Albany departure is in Terminal D.
    We walk for close to ten minutes, jostled and dodging other harried passengers who are dragging all sorts of wheeled suitcases behind them. Then it’s a short line to board a long escalator down to the train that takes us to Terminal D.
    The train is elbow-to-elbow crowded. We all hang on to whatever pole or strap we can find as the train accelerates. Even so, a man in front of me looses his balance and lurches backward, roughly bumping into an elderly lady. Both would have gone down if it weren’t so crowded. Instead, wedged in like that, all they could do was ricochet off other passengers. The woman glared at the man, who apologized profusely.
    As the train rapidly decelerates at Terminal D, he’s holding on good. He tried one more “I’m sorry” but she is having none of it.
    We all try to exit the train at once, before the doors close, an irritating beeping noise indicating it would be happening soon.
    There’s an even longer line for the up escalator. More bumping and jostling ensues. A guy cutting in front of me from the side sneezes inches from my face. Terrific.
    Up into Terminal D, it is again so crowded you need to merge into the traffic flow like you do in a car on the freeway of a big city at rush hour.
    It’s always rush hour at the Atlanta airport.
    We try to find food. There are long lines at each place. It’s also always lunch hour at the Atlanta airport.
    I’m getting cranky by now and go to find our gate while Jennifer searches for nourishment.
    There are no seats at our gate. I find two unoccupied spots a few gates down. I put my laptop on the seat next to me to save it for my wife, drawing angry glances from others looking to take a load off their feet Eventually, Jennifer shows up. She managed to scrounge up a blueberry muffin from down the way, a muffin made surely within the past month. Or maybe a little longer. Hard to say.
    Someone a few seats away is coughing up a lung. Not good.
    Finally, we catch the connecting plane to Albany.
    It’s a small 50-seat plane, two rows of two seats on each side. Roller bags have to be checked. There’s no room for them. Nor is there any room in the seats. I’m glad it’s Jennifer’s thigh I’m making contact with instead of a stranger.
    I hear someone behind me sniffing and coughing. At least he’s not sneezing.
    We land in Albany a little after 5 PM. Then we retrieve our bags, make our way out of the airport and drive to our son’s place.
    We arrive about 6 PM – nine hours after leaving home, but way more tired than if we had driven in the Roadtrek.
    Sometimes, time dictates the need to fly.
    But if given the choice, I’ll take the Roadtrek any day.

    Being jammed together in an airplane and having to abide by flight schedules is no fun after controlling our own space in an RV.
  19. Roadtrekingmike
    It’s no secret that many of us RVers are, ah, shall I say, horizontally challenged?” With obesity already at epidemic levels and good, nutritious food hard enough to find, our laid back on-the-go nomadic travels can sure pack on the pounds. Sometimes, it’s time to get reprogrammed, to find a way to jump start a new and healthy living style.
    That’s what Jennifer and I found deep in the rolling hills of south central Tennessee, two hours south of Nashville at a place called the Tennessee Fitness Spa. For a week or as long as you want, you will be totally immersed in a health and fitness regimen than can produce some very dramatic results. You can watch the video to see what just six days did for Jennifer and me.
    http://youtu.be/KmtnC7qFkWs
    There is room for 60 guests in lodges and motel-style rooms n the 100 acre campus, plus two RV parks with full hookups. We chose to stay in the lower campground that is closest to the gym and central complex. We were neighbored by two Class C motorhomes. The RV spots there are right on the bans of the sparkling clear 48 Creek. The upper campground had a couple of Class A rigs and is located in a very quiet spot up a hill and surrounded by greenery.
    The spa provides three meals a day. They are gourmet quality but the total caloric intake they provide is no more than 1,200 calories. You can add another 200 calories or so from the fresh salad bar or from special snacks like hard boiled eggs and sweet potato wedges. The food is low salt, low sugar, all natural, never processed, always fresh and prepared in ways that will amaze you. I was not hungry once, despite my spoofng in the video.
    A fully equipped gymnasium and very large swimming pool is available 24 hours a day and fitness classes run every hour during the daytime hours.
    For the healthier guests, mornings start with a brisk walk. It’s three miles the first day, then it builds until at the end of the week, you cover eight miles. This is up and down hills and it is a challenging aerobic workout. The spa breaks it down into different groups of walkers based on their fitness levels, with the fastest being those of are able to walk a 12 minute miles. The slowest group is for tose who are just starting out.
    They expect that for maximum results, guests participate in two aerobic workous each day, as well as a stretching class, weight workouts and pool session.
    There are multiple water aerobics classes. Jennifer was a guest instructor of the week we were there. Jennifer has taught water aerobics for more than 20 years and says the quality of the water aerobics instruction at the spa is the best she’s ever seen. “Water exercise is great for everybody,” says Jennifer. “You lose the impact of your weight on your knees, hips and joints. Water offers resistance that lets you work out very hard without the stress. It really burns calories and helps in weight loss and body toning.”
    You will see in the video the inches Jennifer lost which she attributes to the healthy food she ate that week and the water aerobic classes than did. “Believe me, water exercise works,” she says. “Besides teaching classes, I was able to participate in classes here like the other students Normally when I teach, I have to do it from the deck. I loved being able to get in the water and workout in the water with my students.”
    The fun thing is getting to know the other participants. You can meet several in the video, including one guy who has been there two months and is down 60 pounds. Many of the guests were repeat visitors. who come year after year.
    Belinda Jones is the spa’s fitness and nutrition director and personally selects the menu. “The difference that most people notice immediately is that they are not hungry,” she says. “Their cravings disappear. That’s because they are eating balanced, healthy food with the right amounts of protein, complex carbohydrates and fats.”
    Health experts tell us that 20% of weight loss comes from exercise. But 80% is from making healthy food choices. Belinda holds a class on how the balanced meals served at the spa can be brought back home, or to the RV.
    The grounds of the spa are stunningly beautiful. An ancient cave called the Natural Bridge is on the grounds. Dean Ware, who holds classes on the history of the area, says the Natural Bridge was the home of notorious outlaw gangs who preyed on travelers of the Natchez Trail, which is not far from the spa. In later years, locals would hold church services there and it’s said that Davy Crockett delivered a speech from a protruding ledge of the bridge called the pulpit rock.
    Ware also teaches a class on the benefits of herbal teas and class participants actually mix up a batch they drink themselves.
    Nancy Shaw, with her late husband, Joe, founded the spa in 1991. “This is a very rejuvenating place,” she said. “It relaxes and refreshes and restores our guests,” she says. “The pace of life in today’s society is very stressful. Eating and exercising right and decompressing here is what brings so many back so often.”
    She said RVers love the fact that they can bring their pets with them as they vist the spa. “We were surprised by how many people travel in RVs,” she said. “So we built the parks for them. They like it because not only can they sleep in their own RV and bring their pets but they save money from the lodging costs our regular guests pay when staying in a room.”
    There are free laundry facilities available.
    Cellular phone service in the area is limited. When I had to make a phone call, I’d walk to the top of one of the nearby hills. But the spa has added high speed satellite Internet wi-fi that is available in the lounges and restaurant area. I picked it up right in the RV and was never out of touch.
    Our week ended much too soon. We could not believe how good we felt as we sat in our Roadtrek. We vowed to bring the healthy eating plan we learned to our everyday life.
    That’s when we encountered the reality of such a choice.
    On the road, it’s very hard to make healthy choices when eating out. A traffic accident and hour long delay on I-65 north of Nashville sent us off the interstate. We pulled off at an exit and decided to eat dinner as the traffic cleared. There was a Mexican restaurant (who could resist the chips and salsa?) a fast food place (there is nothing fresh and healthy about fast food) and a national pizza chain. We figured the pizza place would give us the healthiest choice because we knew it had a salad bar.
    But the salad came in plastic bags. That’s surely not fresh. There was only high fat, high calorie salad dressings. And the pizza we ordered – a thin crust with a pineapple topping – was so salty and sugary that our newly sensitized taste buds immediately noticed it. We both felt yucky and vowed that from now on, we are going to carry our own salad dressings and protein sources and learn to make better choices.
    As to exercise, that, too, is more challenging in an RV. Walking, of course, is always a choice. We can also carry along bicycles. And we can seek our towns with gyms and YMCAs.
    We absolutely loved the Tennessee Fitness Spa. Now, the challenge is to build on what we’ve learned.
    After all, there are a lot of places out there we want to see as we Roadrek around North America. We want to be sure we are fit and healthy enough to take everything in for as long as possible.
  20. Roadtrekingmike
    Ever wondered how Campskunk got his name?
    Or how it is possible for he and his wife and their cat to life full-time in a 20-foot camper van?
    Then click on the Campskunk interview below. It's the latest in our series of live chats via Google Hangouts. We chat for an extended period about full-timing, life on the road and how to manage grocery shopping, doctor and dentist appointments and bill paying without a permanent address.
    I also ask Campskunk why he chose a Roadtrek for his home.

    I’ll be doing these videos from the road myself, and also interviewing some of our regular Roadtreking Reporters as well as other interesting people who can enlighten and entertain us about life on the road.
    It’s all done through Google + and it’s Hangout service. To be alerted to them and follow them, get a Google + account and add me to your circles. The account I use is ocsmike@gmail.com.
  21. Roadtrekingmike
    At FMCA's Family Reunion in Redmond last week, I presented a seminar called Apps for the Open Road in which I share some of my favorite apps and online resources for RVers.
    Now we RVers all have our favorite technology devices, with Android and Apple smartphones and tablets accounting for the vast majority. Most apps now come in versions for different platforms. Most, but not all.
    I am a pretty diehard Apple fan. Though I’ve used Android gizmos, I keep coming back to Apple, especially the iPhone. So, that said, let me share my list. If you are an Android or Windows or Blackberry user, these may or may not apply.
    These days, with solid Internet connectivity available almost everywhere, I admit almost with no shame that probably my best most used iPhone feature is Siri, Apple’s famous voice recognition tool that tells you pretty much what you want to know.
    In Redmond, for example, I can say “find me a Laudromat” and, in maybe two seconds, Siri says “I’ve found seven Laundromats” in my vicinity. We need to stock up on food so I say “find me a supermarket.” Siri returns two of them. It will even give me turn-by turn-voice directions to them via Google Maps, which shows my position and vectors me in to my destination perfectly.
    But I also use apps and online sources while traveling. Here are my favorites:

    We had a big crowd at the FMCA Family Reunion, with lots of questions.
    Aroundme.com – This app is all about providing local info. Whatever you’re looking for -grocery stores, banks, hospitals, gas stations, movie theaters. This is really handy when you travel, but surprisingly useful locally, where I always seem to find cool things nearby that I didn’t know about. It’s free for Apple, Android and Windows devices and smartphones.
    RoadNinja.com – Always on the interstate? Love road trips? This is the must-have app for you. You can discover new places, map out your trip, share your encounters, and save money along the way with special promotions. I use it to find diesel stations on the interstate.
    AllStays.com – The number one camping app for iPhone, iPods, iPads and Android. From resorts to hike-in spots. Amenities, maps, truck stops, rest areas, Wal-mart and casino parking, low clearance alerts, RV dealers, sporting goods stores and much more. Two modes: one uses GPS and maps that you can filter. One is an offline manual lookup mode for when you don’t have service.
    TripIt - The TripIt trip planner keeps all of your travel plans in one spot. Create a master travel itinerary, and access your itinerary planner online or on your mobile decice. Simply forward confirmation emails to TripIt and it will will automatically build an itinerary for your trip that you can access anytime, either online or from a mobile device.
    Evernote – The Evernote family of products help you remember and act upon ideas, projects and experiences across all the computers, phones and tablets you use. With Evernote, your notes, web clips, files, and images are available whenever you need them on every device and computer you use.
    Trip Journal – Trip Journal is the #1 Google Awarded Travel Application with the best trip tracking, recording, documenting and sharing features currently available for iPhone, Android, Symbian and Facebook. The app received a $100,000 prize from Google for innovative concept and design. Trip Journal allows you to document vacation experiences and share them with your friends and family. Impress everybody with real time updates from the visited destinations and let people see proof of your latest adventures, as your journey unfolds.
    Dropbox – Put your stuff in Dropbox and get to it from your computers, phones, or tablets. Edit docs, automatically add photos, and show off videos from anywhere. Share photos with friends. Work with your friends and family like you’re using a single computer. Everything’s automatically private, so you control who sees what.
    Field Trip – This is a guide to the cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around you is now on the iPhone. Field Trip runs in the background on your phone. When you get close to something interesting, it will notify you and if you have a headset or bluetooth connected, it can even read the info to you.
    Where To? – Where to? makes it incredibly easy to locate the closest steakhouse, bank branch, billiard club or anything else you may be looking for, at the drop of a hat! Finally you can find local businesses without any typing, using a slick, intuitive user experience.
    Roadside America – This iPhone app was created by America’s foremost experts in roadside attractions and oddities. It’s packed with easy-to-use, in-depth info and maps for the nation’s funniest and weirdest must-sees — over 9,500 eye-popping places when you unlock the entire USA and Canada. When you purchase the app for $2.99, the Roadside America App lets you choose one of seven US/Canada regions to unlock.
    Besides those 10, there are some other apps I use a lot.
    Jennifer and I really enjoy our national parks. The hands down best app for them come from a company called Chimani. They have awesome apps for all the National Parks Whether it’s backcountry hiking in the Grand Tetons, rock climbing in Yosemite, or bicycling the carriage roads of Acadia – these apps are made from personal experience.by seasoned travelers and explorers. They are like travel guides, but you’ll find a lot more than that. Information like sunrise/set data for a year, tidal data for a year, ranger-led events for the entire season, and much more. The apps also feature an audio tour and dozens of photos by professional photographers.
    Then there are weather apps. Everyone has their favorite and there are a gazillion to choose from. But we all are concerned about dangerous weather and apps can really help keep you informed, especially as you are on the move.
    First, 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
    If you want more weather information besides alerts, think about an app. I really like the Tornado Warning App from the American Red Cross. It’s free, works on Apple and Android devices and tracks a tornado as it approaches with step-by-step advice about what to do before the storm hits. A siren warning is built into the app and goes off when officials issue a tornado warning in your area. There’s also a customizable notification system to let friends and family know when the user is safe via social media, text, and e-mail.
    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.
    Finally, many of you know that Jennifer and I love to boondock, away from commercial campgrounds. We love the website Boondockers Welcome. The site lets you connect with other RVers who have a location for you to dry camp for the night; it might be in their driveway or a field on their farm. The view may be of amber waves of grain or of the McDonald’s parking lot… but it will be a free place to park where you don’t have to worry about idling truck engines, security, or that dreaded knock on the window at 2 a.m.
    Through a special arrangement with the site, if you enter the special code ROADTREKINGDISC you will get 20% off the membership fee. Ths is a great deal and a great service that can save lots of money as you travel.
    So there you go. Those are some of the apps and websites we shared with the FMCA audience in Redmond.
    Feel free to add your favorite RV apps under comments.
  22. Roadtrekingmike
    Florida’s panhandle is a special place. And the area from Panama on the East on to the Alabama border on the west may be the most special. It’s called the Emerald Coast, named after the stunning color of the Gulf of Mexico. Check out our video to see why we were so taken with this area.
    Our base for this trip was the new Destin West RV Resort, located on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach.
    http://youtu.be/2jQ_OR-tPxI
    We lucked out with an awesome spot, yards away from the 27-mile long Choctawhatchee Bay.
    The Bay is great for boasting and fishing. We met Bill Lovejoy from Memphis, who fishes just about every day right out in front of his campsite. Bill shared a way to get live bait by using a two liter soft drink bottle.
    Bill, who has spent the winter at Destin West, cuts the top third of the bottle off, inverts it and puts in back inside, neck down. You can see on the video how it works. Bottom line for Bill is he never had to buy live bait.
    The spots at Destin West are well spaced, with picnic tables and patios and the resort has its own heated pool and more amenities than you can count. It’s been open just over a year and already has quite a following.
    Stay there and you have access to everything at the Ramada Inn across US 28, including its waterfall pool, health club and beach.
    destin3But since Jennifer and I love to explore, we don’t sit still in one spot very long. Further west from Fort Walton Beach is the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It stretches across Florida and Alabama and even into Mississippi. But the emerald coast section of barrier islands has the most spectacular beaches we have ever seen.
    The sparkling white quartz sand beaches run along miles of undeveloped land. There are nature trails and convenience parking spots. With our Roadtrek, we staked out a spot with a million dollar view.
    We met another Roadtreking couple doing the same thing, Kathy and Les Shanteau, who own a condo in the area but use the Roadtrek for day trips, just as we do.
    The weather in mid March was chilly, with highs in the upper 60′s. Still, the sun was shining every day and we were surprisingly comfortable.
  23. Roadtrekingmike
    In this edition of How We Roll, Jennifer and I tackle questions from readers asking about how we dry bath towels while we’re on the road. Jennifer shows some hooks I attached with stick-on tape and a very simple but effective bungee cord clothesline we have in the bathroom. She also recommends fast-drying micro fiber towels.
    Besides the bungee-clotheline (which hangs and dries two full-sized bath towels very effectively and out of sight behind the bathroom door), I have strategically stuck on plastic hooks (found at WalMart) on several vertical walls to hang sweatshirts, towels, items like that.
    We also answer a question about the folding chairs we use while traveling. We use the telescoping PICO ARM CHAIR Telescoping Director’s Chair and I show how compactly it packs. They’re expensive, about $100 each. But they are very rugged. Best pricing comes when you buy two of them. They fit in a case that can be carried over the shoulder like a large laptop bag.
    We roll out a new edition of How We Roll each week. If you have a question, just send it in to me by clicking here.
    http://youtu.be/wvxR9wo9s1A
  24. Roadtrekingmike
    As spring and warm weather approaches, this is again the time for a semiannual spike in carbon monoxide deaths and propane issues for RVers.
    This week at a KOA in Nashville, a couple was found dead in their RV by relatives who drove to the campground after not being able to reach them for several days. Carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause, said authorities, caused by a their propane burner.
    In Washington State the week before, a propane tank explosion inside an RV east of Lacey sent a couple who lived there to an area hospital with burns. The woman suffered second- and third-degree burns in the explosion. The man suffered minor burns. Fire officials said investigation indicated a leak in the propane tank that caused it to explode.
    And at a Walmart parking lot in Sikeston, Mo., a couple of weeks ago,there was a propane explosion inside a motorhome while people were inside the RV. The explosion blew out the side of the vehicle. One of the occupants told officers he was trying to light the stove to provide some heat because the inside of the RV was cold when the explosion occurred. They escaped with minor injuries but their motorhome was destroyed.
    These three recent incidents underscore the need to make sure your RV has a working carbon monoxide alarm and that you have inspected your propane tanks and plumbing.
    The propane system on an RV provides heat and hot water, power for the stove and refrigerator, and fuel for barbecue grills or other small appliances. There are two basic types of propane containers and systems: Department of Transportation (DOT) cylinders and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) tanks. Travel trailers, folding camping trailers, and fifth-wheel units use two movable DOT cylinders, which are positioned vertically upright and mounted to the outside front or back of the RV. Motor homes use a single, permanently installed ASME tank, positioned horizontally, and located underneath the cabin, near the entryway. Regardless of container type, all refilling repair, or replacement must be done by certified service technicians.
    While you may do touchups to your RV from time to time, do not paint propane cylinders, valves, or mounting hardware. This may mask important service issues, affect valves, or result in system failure.
    Make sure your system is inspected at least annually by a certified service technician. They are trained to detect incorrect tank pressure, leaks, or other potential hazards, and address them properly. Do not connect your propane piping to another gas source or attempt to repair any propane-related component yourself.
    AmeriGas, a leading propane supplier, and the Propane Education and Research Council has issued some safety guidelines for RVers.
    Most RV refrigerators can keep food/beverages cold during several hours of travel without a power source. They strongly recommend that propane systems be turned off while driving. Other safety tips while traveling:
    Shut off propane supply valves, pilot lights, ignitors, and appliances, and have everybody exit the vehicle during refueling.
    Do not use range burners for heat, or any appliances for means other than their intended use.
    Extinguish all smoking materials any time you are near tanks, filling stations, or other equipment where gasoline or propane may be present.
    Turn off propane supply valves before entering tunnels or enclosed areas. Be sure to follow any postings around restricted areas, such as military bases.

    At the Campground:
    Open a window and turn on your exhaust fan when using your stove.
    Portable fuel-burning equipment including wood, charcoal, and propane grills and stoves should not be used inside the RV or near the entryway. The use of this equipment inside an RV can cause fires or carbon monoxide poisoning.
    Keep your vehicle a safe distance away from any heat source, such as grills or fire pits. Keep propane tanks and cylinders at least 10 feet away from heat sources.
    Any time you use portable propane appliances, such as generators or heaters, it’s important to provide for ventilation. Follow all appliance manufacturer safety instructions.

    If You Smell Gas:
    It is not “normal” for propane systems to leak. If you detect a leak—or sense a propane odor(rotten egg smell) — have it checked out immediately.
    Immediately put out all smoking materials, pilot lights, and other open flames. Do not operate lights, appliances, or cell phones. Flames or sparks from these sources can trigger an explosion or fire.
    If you are able to, safely turn off the gas supply valve on your cylinder or container.
    Open all doors and other ventilating openings.
    Immediately leave the area and call 911 or the local fire department.
    Before you restart or use any of your propane appliances, have a qualified service technician inspect your entire system.

  25. Roadtrekingmike
    I’m lucky. To tend to the mechanical work on my Roadtrek eTrek on the Sprinter chassis, I have two great technicians: Daryl and Josh. Plus Eric, a great service manager who always manages to squeeze me in.
    I was just in the other day after a check engine light came on. Wouldn’t you know, it was one of those erratic issues. When I drove it into Hoekstra Transportation in Troy, MI, I felt somewhat sheepish. The warning light had something to do with a sensor that we had replaced about 20,000 miles ago. “That shouldn’t be causing you issues again,” said Daryl. Eric agreed. I’m driving it back in next week and they will replace a whole rail on which it is mounted.
    What I really appreciate about Daryl and Josh – they are both Sprinter mechanics – is that they always take the time to bring me back in the shop and show me what’s going on under the hood.
    I have had very limited issues with my Sprinter. I do regular maintenance and oil changes and I only wish that these guys could take care of my car, too.
    My experience with having my Roadtrek engine and mechanical serviced so well got me thinking about how lucky I am.
    The sad fact is, not all service places are as skilled, honest and ethical as the one I am blessed to use.
    Here are my five suggestions on how to make sure your RV has a good mechanic.
    Search for shops that are certified to do repairs on your engine and/or chassis. Check the manufacturer’s website, look for local dealers and ask the service manager what certifications and specialties their techs have. Check review websites.
    Ask your RV dealer for recommendations on where to have the vehicle’s engine serviced. They should be able to steer you to the place they use. Try to meet the tech who will be working on your vehicle personally. Ask questions. Most like sharing knowledge and since you are going to be building a long term relationship, familiarty brings respect.
    Make sure you have your vehicle maintained and serviced as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Tell them where your next trip will be, what the terrain and dust conditions will be like. They’ll know what to inspect for and may have some great suggestions on how to operate your RV in those areas.
    Call for an appointment instead of just showing up and demanding service. In an emergency, of course, a reputable place will gladly check things out. But even then, try to call ahead of time and give them as much advance notice so they know what’s coming in.
    Keep all your documents and service records. A good shop, of course, will have them on their computer. But if you find you need service on the road, being able to show vehicle records will help avoid unnecessary repairs and save time with a new mechanic or service center.

    What would you add to this list?

    Daryl Brown of Hoekstra Specialty Vehicles in Troy, Mich., running the Mercedes diagnostic check on my Roadtrek.
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