Roadtrekingmike

Craters of the Moon is a U.S. National Monument and National Preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho that is like no where else on earth, a volcanic wonderland that is easy and fun to explore in one of the weirdest landscapes you can find anywhere. And it’s perfect for Class B recreation vehicles. Craters of the Moon formed during eight major eruptive periods between 15,000 and 2000 years ago. Lava erupted from the Great Rift, a series of deep cracks that start near the visitor center and stretch 52 miles (84 km.) to the southeast. During this time the Craters of the Moon lava field grew to cover 618 square miles (1600 square km). Mossy wildflowers are growing out of the volcanic ash. And it’s still pretty active. Over the past 30 million years, this region has experienced extensive stretching. A recent example of these on-going forces was the 1983 Mount Borah earthquake. During that event the highest point in Idaho, Mount Borah, got a bit higher when a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred across the base of the Lost River Range. As Jennifer and I toured the preserve, National Park Service rangers told us the volume of past eruptive events suggests that slightly over one cubic mile (4.2 cubic km.) of lava will be erupted during the next event. And that is expected within the next 1,000 years – relatively soon on the geologic time table. The park is very accessible to cars, small trucks and small RVs. A seven mile loop road takes you past all the major interest points, with comfortable walking trails everywhere. Here’s a video virtual tour: The area has numerous caves, but to enter them requires a permit from the visitor’s center. The permit is free and really a formality. They advise you that it’s treacherous footing getting down to the caves and that you should have a flashlight. If, however, you’ve recently been in a cave area where white nose syndrome has been prevalent among the bat population, they ask you to stay away from the caves at Craters of the Moon. Looking out from one of the lava caves at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. White Nose Syndrome is is a poorly understood disease associated with the deaths of at least 5.7 million to 6.7 million North American bats in recent years and scientists are trying to halt its spread. There’s a nice first come, first server $10 a night campground at Craters of the Moon, right on the lava beds. The 51 sites sites are perfect for tents, Class B or Class C motorhomes but too small for big rigs, though there are a couple if sites one could squeeze into. There is fresh water and restrooms but no hookups, showers or waste water dump. There’s a nice campground with no hookups for $10 a night at Craters of the Moon that is perfect for small motorhomes. To get there, plan on driving two-lanes. Craters of the Moon is located 18 miles southwest of Arco, Idaho on Highway 20/26/93, 24 miles northeast of Carey, Idaho on Highway 20/26/93, 84 miles from Idaho Falls, and 90 miles from Twin Falls. Give yourself two to four hours to see it all, longer if you want to walk to the top of the cinder cone or check out the caves. It really does look like a moonscape.

Dog Travels in a Class B My dogs and I love to hunt pheasant. Each year we would go to North Dakota for a week and blissfully walk the potholes in search of prey. We do... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

RV Sidetrip: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Craters of the Moon is a U.S. National Monument and National Preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho that is like no where else on earth, a volcanic... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

As we’ve traveled across North America, visiting wilderness areas and National Parks, one park consistently came up at the top of the list of must-visit places suggested by fellow RVers: Glacier National Park in far northwestern Montana. Now that we’ve been there and spent most of a week exploring this dramatic and spectacular park, we know why. But our adventure here didn’t start out well. We visited in mid-August, after school had started in much of the country. We thought the crowds would be way down. But as we entered the park from West Glacier, we immediately encountered a multilane traffic jam of vehicles at the welcome gate. For ten minutes we slowly crept forward. Then, just a couple vehicles from the front, a ranger came out and started motioning traffic through, without collecting entrance few or checking for passes. “Move on, move on,” she said, urging us forward. We were surprised. “Hurry please, traffic is backed up to the the intersection (in town a half mile back) and we have to clear this congestion.” It was a Monday. And the place was that busy. We checked two campgrounds at the entrance: Apgar and Fish Creek. Apgar was filled. Fish Creek had two openings. But as we drove through it, we decided to pass on it. Small, uneven campsites close to each other just didn’t appeal to us. We moved into the interior, following the east shoreline of Lake McDonald. Sprague Creek, located right on the lake, sounded good. It too, by noon on a Monday, was filled. Traffic was extremely heavy. Further north we traveled, finally finding a spot at Avalanche Creek. Not bad. Crowded, but somewhat spacious sites. An hour after we got our site, it filled. The parking lot leading to the campground was filled. So was a parking lot and picnic area along the creek, across the highway. We boarded a shuttle for the 16 mile trip up the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass. Traffic was pretty much bumper-to-bumper the entire way. Once we reached Logan Pass, a huge parking area was closed because every space was taken. I started out on a hiking trail. But after counting what had to be 500 people strung out for as far as I could see, I turned back, stopping to photograph a family of mountain goats grazing in a meadow. This was the middle of the wilderness. But it was as congested as any urban area we have ever visited. The shuttle vehicle we took back to Avalanche Creek was a full sized Sprinter, the same chassis of our Roadtrek Etrek. So I asked the driver if I could take mine up. No problem he said. Now right now, let me say that I was not supposed to take my Roadtrek any further along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. If we had not been waved through the front gate of the park on Sunday, I’m sure now that the ranger would have so instructed me. Later, after I had done the deed, I learned that vehicles over 21 feet are not allowed to drive the highway. With my StowAway2 cargo box, my Roadtrek measures nearly 24 feet. But, thinking it was okay, bright and early the next morning, I took the Roadtrek up and down the Going-to-the-Sun Road. No one challenged me. Again, I should not have done this. So don’t try this on your own. That said, I did. And I had absolutely no problems. Going-to-the-Sun Road is one of the world’s most spectacle highways. Bisecting the heart of Glacier, the 50-mile-long road follows the shores of the park’s two largest lakes and hugs the cliffs below the Continental Divide as it traverses Logan Pass. It is not for the faint of heart or those who are nervous driving narrow roads that twist and turn and are bordered with steep rock walls on the driver’s side and thousand foot drop-offs, without guard rails, on the passenger side. Here’s a video of the drive, recorded with my GoPro: We did it early on a Tuesday morning with little traffic. I passed numerous park rangers and none seemed to mind. A couple even gave me that friendly raise-four-fingers-from-the-steering-wheel-hello as we passed. We stopped in turnoffs along the way to take photos. We spotted a grizzly on the way down and took some long lens pictures of him as he devoured huckleberries on a far away hillside. We took the highway all the way to the West Entrance and the town of St. Mary. We stopped at the Rising Sun Campground. Full. Almost out of the park, we stopped at the St Mary Campground. Also full. We made our way to the park’s most popular campground, Many Glacier. This one filled before 7 AM that day, and most days. No matter, we hung around and watched the sunset. We found a spot just out of the park at a KOA in St. Mary that was one of the nicest campgrounds we have ever visited, with very spacious sites and great views of Glacier’s craggy peaks. At $60 a night, it was also the most expensive place we’ve stayed on this trip west. The next morning we were up early and made our way back to Rising Sun and got a great site. for $10, thanks to our National Parks Senior Pass. Rising Sun is in the heart of Glacier’s bear country. This campground has been closed because of bear activity and a couple of incidents. It’s been reopened but is still posted to be especially alert because of bear activity. A husband and wife who were camping in a tent were awakened one night when a bear tried to lie on their tent. The husband said it was like sitting on his head. The wife bolted upright and, through a clear vinyl widow in the tent, was literally nose-to-nose with a black bear. She hollered, he hollered, they fumbled for a flashlight and zippered out, catching sight of a black bear scampering off into the brush. In another incident, a camper reported they a bear had stolen a pillow from their camp site. We saw bear tracks all around our campsite and fresh bear scat not far away. We caught a glimpse of a cinnamon colored bear crossing the road in front of the campground. Then, a half hour later, as we rounded a bend in the Otokomi Lake Trail no further than 50 yards across a creek from our campsite, we came upon a mama bear and her cub. They had just come out of the creek. We stopped and talked so they’d know we were there. With only the briefest glance at us, the mama crossed first, no more than 25 feet in front of us. She seemed unconcerned with our presence and certainly wasn’t apprehensive, taking her time getting up the opposite side, nibbling on some service berries. Her cub followed a few feet behind. He had to stand on his hind legs to grab a few mouthfuls of the berries, finally looking at us with youthful curiosity before slowly ambling off with Mom. By mid-week, traffic in the park was noticeably less. Same with Thursday as a change in the weather pattern and a cold front swept through the park. It felt like fall. They were even predicting snow by Saturday up at Logan Pass. We awoke to 46 degrees and, after coffee, moved over to Many Glacier campground where, thanks to the rain and cold, there were plenty of camping spots to chose from. We hiked to Fishercap Lake where we watched a bull moose stand knee deep just off shore munching on grass. That night, with continuing mist, it dropped to 39. We cranked up the Webasto heater in our Roadtrek Etrek, snug and dry and cocooned against the cold. The end of the week weather had us bundled up but it kept the crowds away and we delighted in the wilderness quiet. Glacier is a photographer’s dream. Every direction is postcard pretty, even in the clouds and foggy mists. Our mistake was in coming when folks were still on summer vacations. The next time we visit will be after Labor Day. Like Yellowstone to the south, the summer crowds are just too much for us. The more we enjoy this small motorhome lifestyle, the more we prefer going it alone, boondocking far off the beaten path. In September, they tell me, the Glacier campgrounds seldom fill. While cold weather at night guarantees you’ll be running the heater, Glacier will feel much more wild than it does with the summer crowds. One last thing: We took Tai, our Norwegian Elkhound, with us on this trip. Dogs are not allowed on trails or in many places in the park but we had plenty of spots to walk him in campgrounds and picnic areas. When we hiked, we left him in our Roadtrek. Because of cool temperatures and the beautiful weather, we didn’t have to worry about having the air conditioning on, though our Roadtrek Etrek with its eight house batteries and solar powered trickle charger would have easily handled that for several hours. We were glad we brought him. He seemed to greatly enjoy the park and we enjoyed his companionship. Here are some of our photos. They show why we’ll be back.

Charging your Electronics in your Camper When we first started traveling in our camper van it seemed like we always juggled to keep our electronic devices charged. It was easier if we were plugged into shore... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Save the Planet – Be a Fulltime RVer We were chattering away on the Roadtrek Facebook group about solar, and it got me to thinking – what is my energy consumption and carbon footprint now that I’m fulltiming... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

For Your RV Bucket List: Glacier National Park As we’ve traveled across North America, visiting wilderness areas and National Parks, one park consistently came up at the top of the list of must-visit places suggested by fellow RVers:... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Fridges and Freezers, oh my A few weeks ago we were at Mingus Park on the Oregon Coast. Mingus Park is in a really, really hilly part of the coast; there’s not much of a... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Lavender. Just the word brings olfactory recall, doesn’t it? Such a pleasant smell, such a pleasant flower. While we were RVing in the Pacific Northwest, I saw a notice in a local publication about a lavender farm that invited visitors. Before Mike could say “where are we headed today?”, I had the GPS programmed. The Tumalo Lavender Farm is located just outside of Bend, Ore., and is a 10-acre garden filled with the sweet fragrance of 10,000 mature plants, all grown organically, pollinated by some very busy bees. It is a labor of love for Gordon and Judy Knight, who – a decade ago – left professional careers in the travel industry to follow their heart’s desire to be surrounded by beautiful and practical lavender. Here’s a video of our tour: Gordon, accompanied by Jazzmine, their Golden Retreiver and the official greeter at the farm, took time from his cuttings and planting and gave us a tour of the farm. Before deciding to become Lavender farmers, they spent three years researching, investigating, and reading extensively about lavender. Their quest took them to Lavender farms throughout the Northwest. They became knowledgeable in growing, processing and working with lavender. They found the right varieties that would adapt and survive in the climate of Central Oregon. Tumelo Lavender now ships its plants and the many products made from them across the nation through direct order from nurseries and over the Internet through its website. I was amazed at the many ways Lavender can be used. Lavender is not only beautiful and sensory, but a practical choice for a garden.I bought two potted plants to take home. Lavender is easy to grow and has a reputation for being notoriously non-palatable to deer. It is also considered a drought-tolerant plant and Gordon assured me it will thrive in our Michigan climate. Pleasant scents can put you in a peaceful state of mind. Lavender has been associated with cleanliness since Romans first added it to their bathwater. In fact, the name comes from the Latin lavandus, meaning to wash. Essential oil of lavender is now known to have many application in aromatherapy. Lavender was traditionally inhaled to ease exhaustion, insomnia, irritability, and depression. In ancient times, it was used as a medicine. Gordon told us that a local hospital in Bend buys his plants and uses them to cam surgery patients before they are administered anesthetic. Lavender is a favorite for scenting clothing and closets, soaps, and even furniture polish. The calming, fresh, unique fragrance of lavender is available in potpourris, buds, oils, handmade soap, lotions, lip balm, and hydro-mists and wreaths. While Mike was shooting video, I did some shopping. The smell of lavender will be a welcome addition to our RV. I bought a lot of lavender, for gifts and for our motorhome. We’ve been on the road a long time this season and the lavender will do wonders.

Spritzzing up your RV with Lavender Lavender. Just the word brings olfactory recall, doesn’t it? Such a pleasant smell, such a pleasant flower. While we were RVing in the Pacific Northwest, I saw a notice in a local... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Please Don’t Water Your AGM Batteries Class B owners are a diligent bunch. They want to do maintenance to head off problems. This is very commendable, but there are occasions when you can maintain your unit... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

Off The Beaten Path: Meat Cove “Don’t miss Meat Cove!†It was a beautiful fall day on Prince Edward Island. We were talking to a couple who were full-timers in their Roadtrek. We were headed to... Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog - Traveling North America in a small motorhome Source

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.

We’ve been in Redmond, Ore., most of the week attending the Family Motor Coach Association 90th Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase (a rally). The aerial photo above, taken by the FMCA, shows the 1,500 coaches parked here at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. There’s about 3,000 people here and, like all such big gatherings, there are lots of folks to visit with, motorhomes to tour, evening entertainment programs and vendors to haggle with. We spent a great night socializing with the Roadtrek International (RTI) FMCA chapter members, hanging out and sharing the fun things we do with our Roadtreks.I liked what John Macinnis from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada said: “We can do so many things and go so many places with our Roadtreks. This is all about sharing our travel experiences with the perfect touring vehicle.” So we did just that. It rained. So two Roadtreks parked side by side, front to back and extended their awnings. About 20 of us congregated under the rain protection, sharing the places we’ve been and the adventures we have had. And the adventures we plan to have. FMCA National President Charlie Adcock stopped by. He’s a huge supporter of RTI. “If it wasn’ t for Roadtrek International, the FMCA would not be what it is today,” he told me. The Roadtrek International chapter is the third largest chapter of the 80,000 member FMCA. FMCA National President Charlie Adcock says Roadtrek members constitute the third largest chapter of the 80,000 member group. My favorite vendor was Bike Friday, maker of the hand-built and customized folding bike you see me riding in the photo above. Bike Friday is an Oregon company and I was amazed at how well the small-wheeled bikes performed. They were fast, nimble and very comfortable. Both Jennifer and I bought one. From our Roadtrek Facebook Group, Jim Langely, a fellow Roadtrek owner and one of the top experts on cycling and all things that have to do with bicycles (see his books) gave me a thumbs up on the brand. I’ve been looking for a way to add more exercise to our traveling and these bikes, which fold up so compactly, will get me moving. I’ve been trying to figure out for some time how we could take our bikes and once I saw how these fit so well in our StowAway2 cargo box, it was a no-brainer. I rode it all around the campground last night. I can’t wait til I get it out in the boondocks. Jennifer and I each got a Bike Friday. My new Bike Friday Mine and Jennifer’s new Bike Fridays in our StowAway cargo box. The expo of RV related accessories, services and parts is always a big draw. I bought yet another supposedly kinkless water hose and some Velcro strips to keep it neatly and tightly wound. We’ll see. I am vowing to wind this new one correctly, the same way, every time. Roadtrek is here, showing off the entire line. The local dealer is Guaranty RV Supercenters from Junction City, OR and I got a chance to visit with Sales Rep Matt Elliott. He says the Pacific Northwest and the whole west coast is a strong area for Class Bs thanks to the abundance of awesome places to camp, from Pacific shorelines to mountain boondocking. Roadtrek’s sales manager and VP Paul Cassidy is also here, along with Dawn and Alex from the Kitchener team. They stopped by to chat with some of the Roadtrek owners after the motorhome showcase displays closed for the night. I looked but if there were other small motorhomes on display at the show here, they were hidden among the Class A skyscrapers. Besides the new motorhomes and the vendor display there are seminars throughout the day, dozens of them on every possible topic of interest to RVers, from traveling to Alaska, to how to do basic repairs ,to technology for travelers ,to the pros and cons of fulltiming. I taught two seminars this week, one on smartphone apps for the open road and and one on the history of the Oregon Trail. Jennifer and I met lots of folks interested in our Roadtreking experiences over the past couple of years. We did a lot of explaining how the two of us and our dog, Tai, manage to live in a 24 foot van. I like to send them to this story about our top 10 rules for getting along in a motothome. Rallies like this are a great time to connect with the larger RVing community, be they in Class A , C or B motorhomes. It reminds me if the pioneer mountain men who spent most of the year in the wilds, trapping and hunting and alone in the wilderness. Once a year, they’d gather for a reunion and gathering. While they preferred solitude and independence most of the time, connecting with their extended community from time to time was always a highlight of the year for them. So it is for Jennifer and I and the FMCA reunions like this one. We’re leaving here for Glacier National Park. Back to the wilds. But we’re refreshed and energized by the camaraderie we just experienced.

The Oregon Trail, and the ancillary trails that led from it, constituted the single greatest migration in America – as many as a half a million men, women and children who traveled by wagon and by foot west for two decades in the mid-19th Century. There are lots of books on the trail and lots of academic experts. But when it really comes to knowing the trail and experiencing it, there are few who can match Morris Carter. Morris Carter has not only built wagons that replicate those used by the pioneers, he’s actually made the 2,600-mile wagon train trip himself, from its start in Independence, Mo., to the final destination in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. That 1993 trip was followed by a similar trip in 1999 along the 2,500 miles of the California Trail. Others may have read the books and journals of those original pioneers, but Carter – who has also read them all – has done it. Really done it, in a wagon pulled by horse along the same routes used by those who settled the west. And today, from his home in Casper, Wyo., he leads modern-day wagon trail excursions whose route literally parallels the still-visible ruts left by those who traveled the Oregon Trail 150 years ago. His trips range from four hours to overnights and week long trips, with those who travel with him staying overnight in Tee Pees, fed Wyoming steak dinners around a campfire and regaled with Carter’s encyclopedic knowledge of what it was really like to make the trip, which typically took six more months. Here’ a video I did of the covered wagon trip. Jennifer and I tagged along on a tour. I hopped in and out of the wagon, taking photos and shooting video. Carter’s daughter, Oneida, who accompanied her father on the full-length Oregon Trail trip in 1999, expertly handled the two draft horses. The trip was booked by a family of four from Oklahoma, Mark and Nikki, their 16-year-old daughter Rebekah and seven year old son, Blaney. “There are a lot of misconceptions about the Oregon Trail,” Carter told me. “It wasn’t just one wagon most families took. It was two or three. They took everything they had to set up and furnish their new homes in the west. And the trail was usually crowded. The string of wagons often stretched out as far in front and in back as you could see. The wagons would be sometimes 10 across. They’d average two miles an hour when pulled by oxen, maybe four if by horses.” As I walked along taking photos, he repeatedly warned me to watch for rattlesnakes. I didn’t see any. Thankfully. “They’re all over out here,” he said. “Fortunately, they’re watching for you, too.” No wonder Jennifer decided to stay in the wagon. In the original migration, most people walked, Carter said, making it easier on the animals. “Some walked the entire way,” he said. “many were barefoot.” The biggest danger was accidents. Falls off wagons, under wagons, being tramped or kicked by a horse, snakebite. Disease was widespread, especially cholera. There was a saying the pioneers had about the thousands who died from the virulent intestinal disease: “Healthy at breakfast, in the grave by noon.” Indeed, as Jennifer and I have visited various spots along the Oregon Trail from Missouri westward, we have seen several grave sites of pioneers who died along the trail of the disease. There were also Indian attacks. One wagon train was wiped out just a couple of miles from the route we traveled. That same band of Indians also killed an entire cavalry platoon sent out to protect the ill fated wagon train. What amazed us as we rode the wagon across the countryside was how hilly it was. The tall prairie grass makes it look flat and smooth from a distance. Up close, it is a bone-jarring bumpy ride that constantly seems to be rising and falling. At camp, we joined the family for dinner, steaks grilled over a campfire, baked potatoes, rolls, green beans and bacon, and cherry cobber baked in a Dutch Oven. As they retreated to their Tee Pees after dark, we went to our Roadtrek Etrek, which we had driven out to the prairie campsite. In the morning, I took photos of the replica of the original two-horsepower covered wagon next to my modern covered wagon with diesel power. Over coffee that morning, before the guests left their sleeping bags in their Tee Pees, Carter told me he was looking for help in running his expeditions and though a workcamping RV couple would be perfect to help drive the wagons, care for the horses and prepare the meals. He has full hookups on his property. I promised to put the word out….. which I just did. The trip was one of the most interesting and enjoyable things we’ve ever done. The prairie is beautiful, even when dark clouds bearing lightning and a sudden downpour swept down over the mountains. It has a vastness about it, like the ocean, spreading out wide and full beneath a big sky that bottoms out against a range of low lying mountains. Antelope bound over the little grass hills, eagles float overhead. I’d highly recommend the experience though you need to be in half way decent shape without back or neck problems. Those wagons are pretty bouncy and riding a horse for extended periods of time does require a basic level of physical health. With daughter, Oneda, driving the wagon, Morris Carter (right) rides alongside. The wagon is on the original Oregon Trail, the ruts of which can still be seen on the Wyoming prairie. The Wyoming prairie is stunningly beautiful. Rain sweeps towards us from distant mountains as the sun still shines in the foreground. Morris Carter Jackie, who works with Carter, made a campfire steak dinner.

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.

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. Over 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. 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. 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:

We’ve now officially begun our trip west, a journey that will follow parts of two historic routes: The Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Oregon Trail. It’s hard to over emphasize the importance of these two 19th century routes. Lewis and Clark discovered the overland route to the Pacific, thus opening up the nation to east-west travel in the days immediately after the Louisiana Purchase. It was a trip that in its day, was as monumental as the American landing on the moon is to ours. The 100,000 Oregon Trail pioneers came four decades or so later in their prairie schooners – so named because their wagons were covered with white canvas that made them resemble a ship at sea. Others took routes that sprang off the Oregon Trail on paths called the California Trail and the Mormon Trail as the headed to the Gold Rush and Sat lake City. Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery took a keelboat down the Missouri. Retracing those routes in our Roadtrek Etrek RV – the modern equivalent of a covered wagon – is a trip Jennifer and I have wanted to take for years. So from now till early September, we’ll be visiting places where the ruts of those wagons can still be found, seeing the places where history was made and learning about the vastness of our country and the amazing adventures caught up in that great western migration. Confluence Point – where the Missouri River (top) flows into the Mississippi in St. Louis. It all starts with the wide Missouri. At 2,341 miles, the Missouri River is the longest river in North America. It is impressive to behold. But what you see today is much less than 19th century explorers and pioneers encountered. We have messed it up through channelization and dam building, greatly changing the Missouri River. Today, 67 percent of the Missouri is either channelized for navigation (650) miles or impounded by dams (903 miles). Most of the remaining free-flowing portions of the river are near the headwaters in Montana. Channelization has resulted in the lower river being about 50 percent narrower. But like I said, it is still impressive. But realizing that it was bigger and wider and wilder 200 years ago makes you wonder how these early explorers did it. Nicknamed the “Big Muddy,” the Missouri River has long been one of North America’s most important travel routes. Every bend in the river is saturated in history. Her waters saw the canoes of many American Indian tribes, fur trappers, explorers and pioneers. The river served as the main route to the northwest for Lewis and Clark and later became the primary pathway for the nation’s western expansion. The Missouri has witnessed the rise and fall of the steamboat era and given birth to countless communities that settled near her banks. It has meandered all over the place Some parts of the river have moved as much as two miles from their course during the early part of the 19th century. It has a powerfully strong current that those heading west paddled and poled against. And it was always dangerous because of snags and floating debris and sandbars that stranded many a traveler. We started our tour in St. Louis, where the Missouri dumps into the Mississippi at a place called Confluence Point. Standing at the point where the nation’s mightiest two rivers merge, it’s hard not to think of all the dreams, all the hopes and aspirations that welled up in the hearts of those who came this way in the 1800′s. Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery took the Ohio River to the Mississippi, then the Mississippi to the Missouri, beginning their official expedition of the west from this very spot in May of 1804. A great book that we are reading as we head west is Robert Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage. It’s the definitive work on the expedition and fascinating reading. I wish we had an audio version so it could play as we are driving. But it was unavailable when we ordered so we sometimes take turns reading aloud from the big paperback to each other. A hundred miles west of St. Louis, we did our first overnight at a place called Arrow Rock, MO, a dozen or so miles north of I-70 near the Missouri River. At this quiet, peaceful park, there’s a monument overlooking a spot where, early on, Lewis and Clark faced their first of many dangers – huge floating trees that had toppled into the river when the Missori currents undercut the banks they were growing on and threatened to smash their keelboat to bits. Lewis and Clark almost lost the keelboat at a spot near Arrow Rock just three weeks after departing St. Louis. The Arrow Rock State Historic Site here has a restored village and great camping. The campground is small, only 47 sites and fills up most weekends. We had no trouble getting in midweek. The village of Arrow Rock was the traditional starting point for another historic trail – The Santa Fe Trail. In fact, as we move west, off the interstates and through the plains and into the Rockies, we’ll see several other trails all using parts of these same routes, the California Trial, the Mormon Trail and the Pony Express Trail. Missouri Highway 41 follows the Lewis and Clark trail. We found Arrow Rock a great place to read, research our route and, thanks to a great Visitor’s Center, immerse ourselves in what life was like when, in the early 1800s, this was the last city on the western frontier. The old Huston Inn at Arrow Rock is still open. Named because of a tall sandstone bluff on the Missouri that the Osage Indians used to chisel out flint for arrow heads, Arrow Rock once had 1,000 residents. Today, 56 live there. In the summer, there’s a professional theater – the Lyceum – that brings in tourists each day.We watched a production of Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution and noted, as we returned to camp late that night, that many of our neighbors ha also been at the play. And the historic Huston Tavern, established in 1834, is the oldest continually serving restaurant west of the Mississippi. We found excellent, family style food, especially the fried chicken, raspberry glazed ham, mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits and cobbers to die for.. The Missouri River near Weston, Mo. The wilderness terrain is much the same today as then. We liked Arrow Rock so much we set three nights, soaking up the landscape, thinking about what it must have been like for those pioneers so long ago who set off from the very place we were parked beneath s cottonwood tree in our air conditioned Roadtrek. Not quite the same, to be sure. Made for a movie, this 55-foot replica of the Lewis and Clark keepboat invites exploration by today’s visitors to the Lewis and Clark Discovery Center in Nebraska City. We left Arrow Rock and continued west, past Kansas City, following the Missouri to the Weston Bend State Park near the town of Weston, once a thriving river town now – thanks to the river’s shifting banks – more of a trendy little place of antique shops and bed and breakfasts. We overnighted at the Weston Bend State Park and watched the sunset at a Missouri River overlook where the Corps of Discovery set shore for some exploring. Lewis’s branding iron at the Lewis and Clark Discovery Center in Nebraska City. The next day it was north and west to Nebraska City, NE and the Lewis and Clark Discovery Center on the river there. The center itself wasn’t much. Mostly some displays, including a branding iron owned by Lewis and used to emblazon trees along the route. The thing that most interested me was a full-sized replica of the 55 foot long keel boat used by the expedition to navigate the Missouri. Originally made for a movie, it sits out front of the center and allows visitors to come abroad. I grabbed one of the oars of the same type and size used by the crew and was amazed by how heavy it was and could only imagine what it would ave been like pulling it hour upon hour against the currents. The Missouri River is called Big Muddy” and even today, as seen from Nebraska City, it looks much like it did in Lewis and Clark’s time. Note the snags and driftwood on the opposite bank. There’s a shore trail that leads do yet another river overlook that made for a nice photo op. The river is still muddy and the current is obvious. The banks of the Missouri remain littered with snags and driftwood. From Nebraska City, we took NE-2 west through rolling cornfields, slowing moving past the Missouri and closer to the Oregon Trail, which we’ll be following over the next several days.

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

When we talk about boondocking in an RV, we usually mean dry camping, off the grid camping in out of the way, wilderness areas, far from civilization and deep in the boonies. Indeed, for Jennifer and I, that is our favorite place to be. But that’s not the only place to be. As I write this, we just spend a night boondocking in the parking lot of a hotel near Memphis, Tenn. It was a quiet, peaceful night. We parked in an out-of -the-way spot in our Roadtrek Etrek. It was typically hot, as it always is in late July in the south. The outside temperature barely dipped below 80. We fired up the Etrek air conditioner and let it run a couple of hours. It got so cold we turned it off a little after midnight. Then we opened the widows, opened the roof vent and turned on the Fantastic Fan. We also used a small oscillating fan we plugged into an AC outlet. We slept like babies all night. Let me say right now that such boondocking is controversial.S ome RVers do this regularly, albeit clandestinely. They just pull in, and go to sleep. That’s the beauty of a Class B. It is not like those Class A skyscraper-on-wheels accompanied by a towed vehicle. Or even those boxy, bloated Class Cs and B-plusses. A Class B like our Roadtrek is basically a very stylish van. It doesn’t draw attention to itself and it fits right in with the mother vehicles in a parking lot. Jennifer and I always get permission first. In this case, we are down in Memphs with our son and his family to watch the Dizzy Dean Little League team he coaches play in the World Series. Our eight-year-old grandson, Jacob, is on the team and we will be cheering him on. The whole team is staying at a hotel in Germantown outside of Memphis and we, too, have a room booked for most of the week. We boondocked in the parking lot because we arrived a day early and our room was not ready. The hotel manager gave us permission. Could we have done so without permission? Probably. I doubt whether anyone would have noticed. But I just think it’s better to ask. We have stayed before in parking lots like this. A couple of weeks ago in Ludington, MI, we slept in the parking lot of a car ferry that we had booked passage on the next day to cross Lake Michigan. A week or so before that, we overnighted in a parking lot of a ski resort in Minnesota. We asked and received permission for both. In a small town in central Nebraska, we asked the local police where we could overnight. They directed us to the parking lot of the town park and baseball diamond. Others have shared with us how hospitals are also good places to boondock. In the morning, there is the cafeteria to stay in. And, of course, there are places like Cabellas, Cracker Barrel, Wal-Mart and other businesses that welcome boondockers like casinos and truck stops. We’ve written before about the Free Overnight Parking wesbite. But here, I think, is an even cooler resourse - a network of RV owners who welcome boondockers to spend the night on their property. The very excellent Boondockers Welcome website is devoted to just that. Through the website, you can 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 AM. For full access to that site, they charge $20 a year if you will offer free boondocking on your property, $25 a year if you don’t. “Many of our members have reported that the social element of meeting fellow members is as important as the free parking,” says three time Roadtrek-owner Marianne Edwards, who co-founded the site with her husband. “Many of our hosts offer electric, water, and occasionally even an RV dump as well. They can provide advice about their area, lend a tool if you need one, suggest the best local places to shop, eat, buy fuel, and offer sage advice to new RVers. Single women have told us they feel much more secure parked with our hosts than they do in a retail parking lot.” You can check out a lot before signing up for a membership “Anyone can go onto the website and see all the details of every listing before joining – so you know exactly what you`re going to get,” she says. “Only thing you can`t do without a membership is contact fellow members, write recommendations for each other, or participate in the forums.” It’s a great site, run by folks who understand RVers and boondockers. When Marianne and her husband are not on the road themselves, they personally offer overnight parking for RVers (members as well as non-members) passing through their hometown of Elora, Ontario, Canada. Now before I end this post let me say that I am not against campgrounds. There are some who get furious every time I write about this. Some Campground owners and others who think everyone should do exactly as they do and they get get all bent out of shape by the idea of boondocking. They like camping in narrowly spaced little organized lots surrounded by thick smokes from three dozen campfires. If that’s you, enjoy. We use campgrounds all the time. Most we like. But there are times – when campgrounds are crowded, when you are just in need of a fast overnight stop while traveling, when there are no campgrounds nearby – when overnight dry camping is what you want and need.

Of all the eight states that touch the Great Lakes , Michigan – with 2,147 miles – has the most coastline. So as we rounded the bottom of Lake Michigan from the Indiana border and made our way into Southwest Michigan on the last leg of out 10-segment adventure, there was a sense of déjà vu about it all. Around us were beautiful blue waters, sand dunes, lush green agricultural fields and even a wine trail, much like we have seen to different degrees on all of the lake shorelines we’ve visited over the past month on our Verizon Great Lakes Shoreline Roadtreking Tour. Here’s part 10 in our videos: And yet, there was an entirely different feel to this stretch of shoreline. Seemingly every few miles were broad, sugar sand swimming beaches that put anything in California to shame. A series of welcoming beach towns – Grand Haven, South Haven, Saugatuck – are right on the shore, with trendy shops and restaurants just a couple blocks east of the lake. Southwest Michigan and the lakeshore is also known for its vineyards. Acre after acre… so many, there’s even a shoreline wine trail that draws fans from across the country. But then, along I-94 we saw a billboard promoting a place called The Chocolate Garden, a place the Food Network has raved about, a place voted as the Number 1 chocolatier in America, located in the town of Coloma, a mile off the interstate. The best? How could that be, especially in a, well, an obscure place like Coloma. Turns out it is a technology story. Tina Buck, the owner, is a former advertising and marketing exec who started a small online business from her home making chocolate truffles. Not just any chocolate truffles, mind you. She has some secret ingredients and a way of cooking them that made her chocolates to die for. People slowly started ordering them off the Internet. Then the Food Network found out about them and, blown away by Tina’s chocolates, did a full blown story praising them. Then came the Best of America Award as the best chocolatier in America and the Chocolate Garden was on the map. People started showing up in Colima, looking for her. But she had no building. She handled it all in the kitchen of her home. Because of the demand, she built a small little store and that’s where we found her, selling the best chocolates I have ever sampled. We liked them so much we spent $130 and walked off with a shopping bag of them. “Technology has been crucial to our success, especially the Internet,” she said. “That’s what made all this possible. That’s how we got our start.” She relies on Verizons 4G LTE network and an Air Card to provide redundancy to her network. “It’s actually our most stable connection,” she said. The shoreline tour came to an end just south of Ludington MI. We had come down that far on an earlier leg, before crossing over to Wisconsin on a car ferry. In all, we drove the coastline of all five Great Lakes, traveled 4,062 miles and visited eight states across two time zones. I invite you to follow in our tire tracks. Southwest Michigan vineyards Tina Buck makes the best chocolate in America!

The one thing we have learned on this Verizon Great Lakes Shoreline Roadtreking Tour is that very often, a surprise is literally around the next corner. So it was when we got off the car ferry in Manitowoc, WI, directly across Lake Michigan from Ludington, MI As we made a right turn out of the parking lot, we spotted a submarine. What on earth is a submarine doing in Manitowoc, WS? We had to find out. The sub is docked out front of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, a fascinating place dedicated to the maritime history of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. It turns out that the city of Manitowoc, WI built 28 sumarines for service in World War II. In all, more than 7,000 men and women worked around the clock, 365 days a year to build some of the best submarines in the Navy. Of the 28 submarines, 25 were built in time to see action during the war. Together they sank 132 Japanese ships. Just up the shoreline in Two Rivers, WI, we found another place of great historical significance about something very near and dear to us. Twi Rivers is recognized by the Wisconsin State Historical Society as the REAL birthplace of the ice cream sundae. I stress REAL because lots of other communities around the country have tried to claim that title. But well-known American language authority, columnist and author H.L. Mencken identified Two Rivers as the birthplace of the sundae. The claim is also supported by a 1929 newspaper interview in which the inventor recalls how the sundae came about. For me, it was a chance to visit the Ice Cream Sundae Museum there and order one. It was a piece of art. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream with caramel and chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. I love my job. Heading south, we came to Wisconsin Cheese country. Called America’s dairy state, Wisconsin has a rich tradition of cheese making. In the crossroads town of Gibbsville, the VanTatenhove family has owned place and been making cheese for generations. I sampled the extra sharp cheddar. Have I told you I love my job? Here’s the video we put together for this: A lot of folks have emailed me asking how we find all the interesting spots we’ve been visiting. Many times, it’s just a roadside sign or an email suggestion from a reader or our curiosity. But I have some apps on my smartphone that we use. Thanks to the solid Verizon 4g LTE signal we’ve had for most of the tour, those apps have really helped. Here are the three apps I’ve used the most: Roadtrippers- Search along a route or plan a road trip with their online trip planner for free, then sync it with your smartphone for turn-by-turn navigation. Roadtrippers is a powerful route planner, perfect as a RV trip planner or family trip planner, listing all the cool, offbeat and major tourist events for you to visit on your roadtrip. Field Trip – This is a very handy and totally free app from Google for the iPhone and Android devices. The app bills itself as a tool to find cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around you. And that it does, Field Trip give you inside info on everything from local history to the latest and best places to shop, eat, and have fun. You select the local feeds you like and the information pops up on your phone automatically, as you walk or drive. 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. Around Me App. It is all about providing local info. Whatever you’re looking for -grocery stores, banks, hospitals, gas stations, movie theatres. 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. The city of Manitowoc, Wisc., built 28 submarines during World War II and has a great maritime museum. Lake Michigan shoreline

Our Roadtrek Etrek now has its sea legs. Sometimes, to really appreciate something, you have to immerse yourself in it. So it was with Lake Michigan as we’ve been traveling around the Great Lakes Region these past several weeks on our Verizon Great Lakes Shoreline Roadtreking tour. No, we didn’t go swimming in it. The heavy ice up this past winter has left it and the other four Great lakes, abnormally cold. And normal is cold. This summer, it is really cold. So instead of getting wet in the lake, we crossed it. Bright and early on a recent Wednesday morning, our Roadtrek Etrek motorhome backed aboard the SS Badger, the largest car ferry steamship in the Great Lakes, measuring over 410 feet and able to hold 180 vehicles and 600 passengers. We took the 8:30 a.m. crossing, arriving the night before and boondocking in the Roadtrek in the carferry parking lot in Ludington. On the day we crossed, it was about half full. The ferryboat line suggests you call ahead to let them know you’re coming, especially if you are traveling in an RV. Size is not a problem. They seldom run out of room. They just like to know what to expect. On the day we crossed, there were Class A, Class C and Class B motorhomes aboard. There was even a huge truck semi-tractor trailer combo. We had Tai with us. Dogs are not allowed on the upper deck passenger areas. There are kennels for pets down in the vehicle parking area but most people chose to do what we did, crack a window and leave their pets in their vehicle. Tai slept soundly in the Roadtrek. There’s a fresh sea breeze down there so heat is not an issue. Our route traveled 60 miles in a straight line across Lake Michigan from Ludington, MI to Manitowoc, WI. Passengers sped their time doing all sorts of things. On nice days, they sun themselves on the forward deck. Inside, the ship offers bingo, movies, a arcade, TV and even satellite Internet Wi-Fi. Jennifer and I were given a bow to stern tour of the big ship – in consideration to be a National Historic Landmark. In the engine room, the massive steam engines run so smooth you can balance a nickel on them. To really appreciate the size of Lake Michigan, you need to be in the middle of it. It fills the horizon, as far as you can see in any direction, the only Great Lake entirely within the United States, touching the borders of four states. We even had a stateroom aboard the Badger. I grabbed an hour long nap as the big ship cut across two and three foot waves. I slept like a baby, rocked gently by the ship. The trip took four hours from shore to shore, four relaxing, stress-free, very enjoyable hours. How much does it cost to cross? Check out the schedules and fares page for the Badger. Our Roadtrek was considered a van. That’s $132 for a round trip. We elected for one-way as we did some exploring down the Wisconsin coast and hit Illinois and Indiana. The one-way cost is $66. Bigger Class C and Cass A RVs are usually priced by the foot, $5.95 per foot one way, $11.90 a foot round trip. That’s the same rate for passengers – $66 one-way. Seniors get a slight break at $62. There’s no charge for pets. The ship itself has a rich history. Today, it is the only coal-fired steamship in operation in the United States and has a unique propulsion system that has been designated as a national mechanical engineering landmark. It entered service in 1953, designed specifically to handle the rough conditions that it would likely encounter during year ’round sailing on Lake Michigan. Built primarily to transport railroad freight cars, but with lots of passenger accommodations, the Badger reigned as Queen of the Lakes during the car ferries’ Golden Era in the late Fifties, with Manitowoc, Milwaukee, and Kewaunee as her Wisconsin ports of call. By the Seventies, changing railroad economics were condemning other car ferries to mothballs or the scrap yard. With little railroad freight business left, and without ever tapping into the opportunity to serve the needs of the vacation traveler, the Badger sailed from Wisconsin to Ludington and tied up for the last time in November 1990 – signaling the end of the century-old tradition of car ferry service on Lake Michigan. The demise of the car ferries was devastating to the communities they had served. It seemed that the magic of these wonderful ships would only live in memory, never to be experienced by future generations. However, in 1991, an entrepreneur named Charles Conrad committed his own financial resources to reinvent the S.S. Badger to carry leisure passengers and their vehicles. Since then, this legend of the Great Lakes has delighted a whole new generation of people, allowing them to experience a bit of history that almost slipped away while cruising to fun destinations on both sides of Lake Michigan. The S.S. Badger now sails daily between Manitowoc, Wisconsin and Ludington, Michigan from mid-May through mid-October. The SS Badger is 412 feet long and can handle any sized RV.

Michigan’s UP is hemmed in by three of the Great Lakes. Everyone knows about Superior and Huron but the lake on the UP’s southern border has some great camping and exploring opportunities, too. So. after three weeks of travel on our Verizon Great Lakes Roadtreking Shoreline Tour, we have now arrived at the fifth of the big lakes – Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan touches four states and is the only one of the Great Lakes that doesn’t share a coastline with Canada. We started out following it across the bottom of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula near the Wisconsin border and because it has so much shoreline, we’ll cover it in three segments. You can see the first of our Lake Michigan reports and the 7th in our series by clicking above. Our first destination was a 17 mile long appendage called the Garden Peninsula that juts out into the UP’s Big Bay de Noc. There, we toured a ghost town of sorts, the once thriving iron smelting town town of Fayette. The state has restored many of the mid-19th century buildings. Today, it’s a reminder that nothing lasts forever. There’s a nice campground there with electric hookups. But there are just vault toilets, no shower facilities and there is no dump facilities. Park officials say they are planning to upgrade the campground next year, pending budget approval. But you can walk through a narrow forest and get right to the rocky shoreline. Be sure and wear real shoes instead of flip flops if you plan to walk the stone beach. Further east and just yards off US 2, Lake Michigan offers swimming beaches that beckon a stop by the traveler. There are several state campgrounds along the lake, too. Our favorite is Hog Island Point, a niftly little hideaway campground, nestled into the cedars and hardwoods of a small peninsula that juts into a pretty little Lake Michigan bay just off US-2, about 35 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge. There are 59 rustic sites and because of the name, perhaps, and the lack of hookups, most are usually vacant. Then it was across the Mackinac Bridge and the Lower Peninsula and Michigan coastal highway 119 – known as the Tunnel of Trees, one of the most scenic roads in Michigan, running 20 miles from Cross Village to Harbor Springs. This is the heart of Michigan’s “Up North” vacation land, characterized by the sparkling water of Lake Michigan, gently rolling hills, lots of scenery and beautiful beaches in Petoskey and the Traverse City area. As you drive south along the shore, vast cherry orchards line both sides of US 31, thriving in the unique glacial soil and climate along the Lake Michigan coastline. At Empire, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a true national treasure with miles of sugar sand beach, bluffs that tower 450 feet above the lake, lush forests, clear inland lakes and spectacular views that had this area named the “Most Beautiful Place in America” by the ABC Televisions Good Morning America show. You can even make your way down the dunes the water below… just remember, though, you’ll also have to climb back up. It’s also a place where the National park service is experimenting with an innovate high tech guide service that works with cellular phones at various spots along the lakeshore. Verizon’s robust 4g LTE network up here lets you dial in with your phone and hear interpretive descriptions of the exact location you are visiting, almost as if you had a park ranger at your side. This end of the tour ends at the port city of Ludington, about midway down the western shore of the Michigan Mitt. From there, we’ll temporarily leave Michigan and steam across the lake to Wisconsin on a 410-foot car ferry. Well tell you all about that in our next report.

Of all the traveling we’ve done on this 4,000-mile Verizon Great Lakes Roadtreking Shoreline Tour, Lake Superior’s North Shore in Wisconsin and Minnesota has provided the most diverse scenery to date. Up there, as we rounded the US-side of the lake and started heading north to Canada, especially north of Duluth, we were overwhelmed by the sheer size of the Big Lake the Ojibwe call Gitchegume. It is so big it has tides. That was the first thing we learned as we moved from the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness Area at the far western end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula into Wisconsin and Minnesota. At the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center near Ashland, WI, a huge floor-mounted model of the big lake greets visitors just inside the lobby and National Park Service employees answer questions and provide orientation to the detailed displays about the Lake Superior Region. That’s where we learned about Superior’s tidal fluctuations – changes in water level caused by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon. To be sure, the changes are measured in inches, but the movement, sometimes aided by winds and snow melt and known as a seiche (pronounced “say-she”) is yet another Superior fact that helps us appreciate the big lake. The Ashland area is the gateway to yet another National Lakeshore on Lake Superior – the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, where 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland make for dazzling displays of windswept beaches and cliffs, much like the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore a few hundred miles east in Munising, MI. Ashland itself caught our eye. Beautiful murals depicting the city’s martitime history and it’s once boomtown days adorn the sides of many of the downtown buildings, The murals are huge, some two stories high, others covering almost an entire block. They are a tourist attraction in themselves. Wisconsin soon gave way to Duluth, MN, the port city where so many of the big iron ore and grain carrying freighters we have been seeing during our Great Lakes tour pick up their loads. But our first destination on the tour of Superior’s North Shore was Spirit Mountain, a ski area just outside of Duluth where we dropped in with a group of amateur radio operators to observe the old technology that led to today’s cell phone technology. Our Roadtreking Buddy Dave Miller, who we met last year while covering a dog sled race in the area, took us up to the area. We ended up spending the night there in our Roadtrek Etrek RV, boondocking in the parking lot. It was Field Day, an annual weekend event in which ham radio operators set up antennas and emergency-powered radio transmitter to practice their communication skills with Morse Code and single sideband voice transmission for community service deployment during times of emergency. “This is the technology that makes today’s smartphones possible,” said Dennis Anderson, one of the Minnesota radio volunteers. Several of the hams were using their smartphones right next to their radios, checking weather apps and checking in with social media. From Duluth, we headed north along the Superior shoreline. The lake is so cold that dense fog often forms as the warm air collides with the chilly temps off the lake. We’d be driving in perfect, 70-degree weather, only to turn a corner and come closer to the coastline and have the blue sky obliterated by thick fog that dropped the temperature almost 20 degrees. We’d round another bend and the fog would lift and it would be sunny and warm again. The North Shore is a stunning place of sandstone cliffs, rushing streams and cascading waterfalls. We hiked back to several and could have easily spend several days in the area. In the town of Grand Marais, 110 miles north of Duluth and not too far from the Canadian border, we found the North House Folk School where thousand of students from across the country come each year to learn how to do things long forgotten by most people, skills such as blacksmithing, basket weaving and wood carving. “In this low touch, high tech world, we teach high touch, low tech,” said Greg Wright, the executive director. “There’s a joy to working with your hands.” We watched a group of guys finish up a beautiful wooden canoe. Several days before, it was a pile of sticks. We met a couple from Northern Michigan who were building a yurt, to be used as a guest room for friends who visited them in the log cabin they have in the woods, a log cabin they learned how to build at the North House Folk School a few years ago. And in the kitchen, we watched as a group of women were cooking with local plants and fruits. We fell in love with Grand Marais, MN, especially the local restaurants. A place called The Angry Trout Cafe is a must try if you’re in the area. It’s a very unimposing place, located right on the water in a low slung, multi-roomed ramshackle building that was cobbled together out of an old commercial fishing shanty. But the food, especially the salmon, was the best we’ve every had. The menu is based on the bounty of Lake Superior and the surrounding region – locally-grown produce, hand-harvested wild rice, and of course, their specialty, fresh Lake Superior fish. For lunch the next day, a couple blocks up the main drag, another restaurant, the Crooked Spoon Cafe, also blew us away. The World’s Best Donuts is a tiny little bakery in Grand Marais that has people lined up and out the door every morning. Run by a fifth-generation donut making family, the donuts really may be the world’s best. I’ve never had anything like them. And down towards Twin Harbor, Betty’s Pies makes a raspberry-rhubarb pie to die for. For camping, there are several excellent Minnesota State Parks between Duluth and Grand Marais. Gooseberry Falls State Park and Tettegauche State Park were two of our favorites and are right near the lake and various streams and waterfalls. Split Rock Lighthouse State Park has a gorgeous lighthouse. In town, the Grand Marais city campground is huge, with 300 sites located on the harbor and lakeshore and within walking distance to town. There’s s saying about Minnesota that applies to the people born and raised in Minnesota, folks who are friendly, welcoming, courteous, reserved, and mild-mannered. “Minnesota nice,” is what they are. You can even buy T-shirts up there with that slogan. The state itself, though, especially that North Shore is…. well… Superior. Seriously fellow Roadtrekers, you owe it to yourselves to spend some time up there. Late summer or early fall would be the times I’d suggest. We sure won’t need much convincing to return.