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Roadtrekingmike

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Blog Entries posted by Roadtrekingmike

  1. Roadtrekingmike
    We’ve been traveling about two weeks out of every month and a nagging worry that doesn’t go away is the safety and protection of our sticks-and-bricks house.
    So this past week, I just installed an alarm system on every door, every window, as well as motion detectors, water detectors, freeze monitors and carbon monoxide and fire alarms on both levels of our two-story home. All of the alarms are monitored 24 x 7 and I have a remote app for my smartphone and computer that lets me check in on what’s happening back home.
    The system I got is from a relatively new company called SimpliSafe. They have been doing a lot of advertising and promotion and they won me over with the ease by which I could install everything and, should we move from our sticks and bricks home, I can easily take it with me.
    By the way, I have no connection with SimpliSafe. I purchased they system at full retail I paid around $800 for everything. Your cost may be less, depending on how many doors and windows you have. They just happen to be the company I choose. You can look around and pick the best company for you. I’m just sharing my solution here.
    My whole system is wireless. Batteries in the various sensors last for years. And the master control system uses cellular technology to stay connected to the monitoring company, meaning a burglar can’t just cut a wire and disable a system, as thieves often do with conventional alarm systems.
    I get an email and text alert if any alarm trips or should one of my sensors fail.
    Here’s a video from the company that shows how easy it is to set up.
    While the alarm system really adds to our peace of mind while traveling, it’s just one part of our home protection plan.
    When we travel, I let my neighbors know where we are going and how long we expect to be away. They also have our cell number incase they notice anything that is not quite right. We have a friend who does a walk around every few days. We also notify our local police that we are out of town.
    Something else: We stop all mail delivery. Years ago, on a long trip, we didn’t. A thief saw the bulging mailbox and took the mail. Among other things, he got ahold of those blank checks credit card companies often send out and promptly write several thousand dollars worth. The thief was caught by federal postal inspectors but it taught s a valuable lesson about letting mail accumulate. We also notified all our credit card companies not to send us those checks.
    We pay most of our bills online and have opted for billing by email to avoid snail mail piles even when we are home.
    Those are just a few of the things we do to watch over our house while we’re out Roadtreking.
    How about you?
    Entry sensor

  2. Roadtrekingmike
    Actually, amend that headline. Pickleball is everywhere. In fact, its leading proponents claim it is the fastest-growing sport in North America,.though verifying that is not easy to do.
    But there is no doubt that the sport, invented in 1965, is now hugely popular, particularly among retirees and in campgrounds, RV resorts, retirement communities and the like across Florida and the Sunbelt. Further, many snowbrird return to their northern homes each spring and bring their love of the game back with them.
    There are no numerous places to play in all 50 states and there are regular tournaments sponsored by its own official organization, the USA Pickleball Association.
    Here’s one of their promotional videos showing how the game is played:

    Pickleball leagues are everywhere.
    On our RV trip to Florida and the Gulf Coast earlier this year, I was stunned to see it played – enthusiastically – at just abut every place we visited.
    In case you have never heard of it, pickleball is a racket sport in which two to four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a polymer perforated ball over a net.
    A pickleball court is the same size as a doubles badminton court and measures 20×44 feet. In pickleball, the same court is used for both singles and doubles play. The net height is 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches in the middle. The court is striped similar to a tennis court with right and left service courts and a 7-foot non-volley zone in front of the net (referred to as the “kitchen”). Courts can be constructed specifically for pickleball or they can be converted using existing tennis or badminton courts.
    It was invented on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, WA. U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard and two pals, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum, are credited for creating the game after their kids at the time became bored with their usual summertime activities .
    Their kids apparently grew tired of the game. But the adults loved it, taught it to their friends and, as everybody aged, it kept growing and growing.
    There are two stories about how the sport got its name. The most popular story has it that the Pritchard’s dog, named Pickles, was always chasing after the wiffle ball when someone hit it out of bounds and then hiding with it in the bushes. Thus, for the game resumed, someone had to retrieve “Pickle’s ball.”
    But Joel Pritchard’s wife, Joan, told one interviewer that the game reminded her of the pickle boat (in crew), where oarsmen are picked from the leftovers of the other boats. The game was subsequently named pickleball. The Pritchard’s dog was actually named after the game, she said.
    Whatever, pickleball is a way of life for many.
    At an RV resort in Okeechobee, FL, where I took the above photo in this post, they had two courts that had people standing in line waiting to play from just after sunup till noon, and again just before sunup when the day’s heat eased until it was too dark to play. The resort said pickleball was so popular that they were rushing to build more courts.
    So there you go sports fans. Give it a try. I only had a chance to play a few minutes but from that brief experience, I can say it’s pretty darn fun.
  3. 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.

  4. Roadtrekingmike
    As we wait to set off on our next trip, I’m thinking about all the things I like about this new small motorhome lifestyle we have embraced.
    Waking up to sunlight streaming around the edges of the shades of our Roadtrek and the smell of that first cup of coffee brewing as I start the day.
    The first peek out the window at our surroundings. We boondock a lot so often, it’s wildlife I see. I love to sip that coffee and quietly watch the world wake up.
    The smell of bacon frying as I start to make breakfast on the picnic table outside.
    Taking Tai for his morning walk in a new campground or forest.
    Walking with Jennifer, exploring our surroundings, hand-in-hand
    Doing my morning blog work from a campchair next to the Roadtrek.
    Watching the landscape which unfolds like a high definition movie on the other side of the windshield as we head to our next destination.
    Changing our mind on route and stopping on a whim to spend the night at a spot we didn’t expect to find but looks inviting
    Quiet, two-lane state or county roads, the “Blue Highways” that let us see the small towns and farms and wide open spaces far off the hurried interstates.
    Finding a local “Mom and Pop” restaurant or market or local produce stand that lets us experience local and regional foods that aren’t pre-packaged, frozen or microwaved.
    Taking a nap in the middle of the day in our “look-at-the-sky” chairs outside the Roadtrek.
    Meeting new people who share our live of travel and the outdoors. Everybody has a story. Everybody has something to teach us.
    Watching a sunset from a new place.
    Seeing the clouds pass by in a bright blue sky, with some birds way up high coasting on the thermals. Or seeing the stars in a jet black sky far from big city light pollution. This is why we call our tilt-back chairs “look-at-the-sky” chairs.
    The smell of a campfire
    Watching the fire sitting next to Jennifer, with Tai behind us with his back to the fire. Not saying a word, just being together, content, relaxed and listening to the wood crackle and burn as it turns into a bed of hot red embers
    Hearing an owl late at night just before we drift off to sleep in our king sized bed atop the four inch mattress topper that makes it so comfortable.

    There you go. That’s my list. What would you add?
  5. Roadtrekingmike
    It ain’t pretty.
    But it isn’t as bad as I though it would be, either.
    I knew something was wrong as soon as I got up that morning. I was queezy feeling and very chilled. Yet the sun was shining and it was already in the 70′s outside. We had arrived in Naples, FL the afternoon before. We ate dinner at a local restaurant and, 12 hours later, I could feel that dinner still sitting in my belly like a brick.
    I’m not sure whether it was food poisoning or the stomach flu or if there is really a difference between the two. But for all of that day, I was ill.
    You know that saying we have on the Roadtreking shirts – Small House, Bg Yard? Let’s just say that Jennifer spent as much of her time that day in the big yard.
    I stayed curled up, covered up, shivering in the Roadtrek, grateful that the bathroom was two steps away in our small house.
    It’s not fun being sick. Ever. But this only lasted about 18 hours or so. I even drove Jennifer to a local shopping center and she did some shopping while I slept in the back of the Roadrek. When your home is your RV, your home is wherever you are…in a campground, a boondocking spot or a shopping center
    It was cozy and comforting and despite feeling miserable, the day passed surprisingly fast, By the next day, I was back to normal.
    If you travel enough in your RV, it’s inevitable. You will get sick on the road. According to a recent survey commissioned by World Access, a travel-insurance and assistance company, more than 35% of business travelers said they or a colleague have become seriously sick or injured while away from home.
    We carry a small first aid kit. Included in it is a thermometer. I had no fever, despite the chills. But if I had a fever, we would have gone to a local doctor or clinic. Usually, RV campgrounds have a list of local doctors and emergency clinics that they can provide ill guests.
    And because many illnesses are contagious, there is always the danger of your traveling companion coming down with whatever it is you have. So keep your distance as best as possible and – everybody – wash your hands a lot when someone nearby is ill.
    Fortunately, Jennifer never did get sick.
    The biggest mistake we could have made was to carry on that day as if I was well. We took the setback in stride. We just put off our plans for a day. Jennifer relaxed outside, spent some time in a nearby gym and attended a water exercise class.
    I cocooned and … got better.
    How about you? Have you ever gotten sick in an RV trip? How did you cope? Any advice? Use comments below to share.
  6. Roadtrekingmike
    We’ve sure enjoyed the warm weather down along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and throughout Florida the past few weeks except for one thing: Bugs
    The mosquitoes are hatched down south. As are the No-See-Ums, Biting Midges and Sand Flies.
    They are particularly bad at night. With the warm weather, that means it can get pretty hot inside a camper van or Class B motorhome. We could have run the air conditioner. But that’s pretty loud. And it tends to make it too cold late at night.
    So we rolled down the driver and passenger side windows.
    And the bugs never got to us.
    That’s because we used Skeeker Beaters.

    We’ve been offering them on the Roadtrek Store for a couple of months now. But this was the first opportunity we had to really test them out.
    They worked great!
    Skeeter Beaters are magnetic vehicle window screens made out of mesh fabric that allows air to flow freely through open windows while keeping out not only mosquitos, flies and other pesky bugs but also the tiny, blood sucking midges and No-See-Ums. These screens adhere to your metal window frame using non-abrasive, high-energy magnets that will not shatter or break. The magnets are sewn in around the hemline. The screens come as a pair in a set, one for both the driver and passenger side windows.
    We put them on most every night. When the wind kicked up strong one night they held fast. They pack in their own drawstring bag and fit easily into a suitcase, the glove box, a door pocket, or the map pocket behind your seats.
    They fit all models of the Roadtrek and most other Class B campervans on the Sprinter, Ford or Chevy chasis.
    Check the video to see them on our Roadtrek eTrek. Click here for more info on them.
  7. Roadtrekingmike
    There are few animals as universally popular and liked as much as the Florida Manatee. Yet there are few animals in more danger.
    The Florida Manatee, a large and slow moving aquatic animal, is protected by the federal Engangered Species Act of 1973, primarily because they are too big and slow to get out of the way of speedboats. As Florida’s boating population has exploded, the manatee has declined to an estimated statewide population today of under 5,000.
    They used to be everywhere. And despite gallant efforts by wildlife managers to protect it, each year there are fewer and fewer.
    But if you want to see one, perhaps the best bet in all of Florida is the Blue Springs State Park, in Orange City, FL, less than 45 minutes northwest of Orlando. Here, every winter from November to mid-April, a spit of water called the Blue Springs Run is filled with the gentle giants, often called sea cows. The Blue Springs Run flows into the St. Johns River and emanates from a deep underground spring that burps up crystal clear water that never varies from a temperature of 72 degrees.
    That’s what draws the manatees. Blue Spring is a designated Manatee Refuge and the winter home to a growing population of West Indian Manatees. Some years, as many as 350 of them have wintered in the run, which is only about a half mile long and 100 feet or so wide.
    For RVers, the state park has 51 large and private campsites, all with picnic tables, a firepit and full electric and water hookups.
    Jennifer and I found it a delight of a place. It is quiet and remote – there are signs warning about feeding the bears which are often seen in the park – and while the springs are a half mile walk away, a shaded walking path starts from right next to site 18 and takes you right to the boardwalk that parallels the Blue Spring Run.
    Towering old live oaks grow from the banks of the run with Spanish Moss dangling down right to the waters surface.
    Although they call it Blue Springs, it has a distinct green shade to it because of the algae in the area caused by agricultural runoff into the St. Johns River.
    The water is amazingly clear. Right from the boardwalk, you can see giant largemouth bass, longnose gar, channel catfish and more than 40 other species of fish cruising past.
    And then there are the manatees.
    On the day we visited, a ranger told us the morning count was 30. As the weather is warming up here in central Florida, the manatees are moving into the river and its tributaries. By the middle of March, they’ll mostly be gone and the river will open to swimmers, snorkelers and SCUBA divers.
    We spent several hours strolling the boardwalk and just watching the manatees. They are huge, 800 to 1,000 pounds and ten feet long. Some have grown to nearly 3,000 pounds. We were surprised to learn that they are a relative of the elephant. But when you study them up close, you can really see the resemblance. They are grayish brown in color and have thick, wrinkled skin on which there is often a growth of algae. Their front flippers help them steer, or sometimes crawl, through shallow water. They also have powerful, flat tails that help propel them through the water. Despite their small eyes and lack of outer ears, manatees are thought to see and hear quite well.
    Most of them bore deep scars on their backs from boat propellers.
    As if that wasn’t enough, the manatees are also being harassed by an invasive species -the sailfin catfish. These are the same exotic species that are used by fish hobbyists to clean the sides of their aquariums. How they ended up in Blue Springs Run isn’t known for sure but someone likely someone dumped them. The species thrive there and they are now all over the place. They fasten themselves to the backs of the manatees and try to eat the algae that grows on them.
    This drives the manatees nuts and they twist and roll trying to dislodge the parasitic hitchhikers. That means they burn more calories. Which means they need more food. And since there is nothing in Blue Springs Run they eat, that means they have to roam out into the St Johns River. The St Johns River in the wintertime is much colder than the springs and the prolonged exposure to cold endangers the manatees health.
    It’s the classic environmental domino effect.
    We sat and watched the manatees for an afternoon and part of the next morning. We could easily see them lying on the bottom of the Blue Springs Run. About every two to four minutes, they’d slowly rise. Just their nose, and only the nostrils at that, would break the surface. You’d hear them exhale, and then inhale, making a deep puffing sound. Then they’d drop down again.
    A couple of the manatees had calves with them, bringing smiles to all those watching.
    The Blue Springs State Park instantly became one of our favorite Florida memories. In summer, when the manatees are gone in large numbers and the springs turns into a giant swimming hole, it can get quite crowded. Even now, the campground is filled most weekends.
    But bookmark this or make a note of it. You’ll thank me once you visit it.
  8. Roadtrekingmike
    I didn’t know what to expect when I pulled into Okeechobee, Fla., but I can defiately say that I didn’t expect it to remind me of West Texas, right down to the city calling itself ”Cow Town.” But this is a western style town in the middle of the sunshine state, it’s dry and windy and surrounded by wide open spaces and lots and lots of cows. Rodeos are a big deal here and the name of the best local restaurant tells you what the local culture revolves around. It’s simply called “The Cowboy.”
    In July, they have a big cattle drive – right down main streets of town. There are rodeos all year around.
    Okeechobee, with a population of just under 6,000, is located smack in the middle of south Florida, about equal distance from both coasts and hard up against the western shoreline of Lake Okeechobee, the largest freshwater lake in Florida and the seventh largest in the United States. But locals stress another claim to fame about “The Lake,” as everyone around her refers to it. It is the largest freshwater lake completely within a single one of the lower 48 states.
    The word Okeechobee in the tongue of the Seminoles who first settled here, means “big water.” It gets its water from the Kissimmee River, which links Okeechobee to Lake Kissimmee, some 60 miles to the west.
    Tourism has most been limited to fishermen – - the lake is also known as the speckled perch capital of the U.S. - and rodeo fans who come for the many Cow Town events, especially the big one in July. But a new RV resort here is bringing in lots of new seasonal snowbirds and passing travelers. That’s what led us here, a chance to visit the Silver Palms RV Resort, located a half mile from Lake Okeechobee on the town’s eastern limits. We came here from Naples, where we stayed at a sister resort, the Naples Motorcoach Resort. Both parks are owned by Sunland RV Resorts, which operate high end RV resorts in California and Bay Harbor, Mich.
    There are a couple of older RV parks in the Okeechobee area, and a KOA Resort park right across the street, but the Silver Palms caters to owners who buy a lot as well as renters. Overnight rentals start with a 40 by 70 foot spot on the grass with a concrete pad for $35 a night. Silver Palms is a master planned, gated community. Lot ownership starts at $55,000 and runs to $80,000, depending on size and location. An aggressive expansion will soon give the place well over 300 lots and a major footprint on the local economy, which has been clearly struggling, as evidenced by lots of shuttered businesses. There’s also a paucity of the traditional Florida tourist places like fancy restaurants and bistros and upscale shopping.
    This is the cow country out here and if touristy hustle and bustle is what you seek, better head elsewhere.
    If, however, you are looking to slow down, chill out, warm up and enjoy an area where the attraction is fresh air and lots of social activities with your RVing neighbors, this may be your diamond in the rough.
    What the town may lack in activities, the RV resort more than makes up for in planned parties, events and gatherings around the swimming pool, clubhouse and members lounge area. On the week we were there, there was an old car show on Sunday, Margarita Monday – with free drinks and nachos from 2-4PM, a Mardis Gras parade and potluck party with free hurricanes on Tuesday and a boat tour of the lake on Wednesday. There are also poolside lunches three days a week and a big Saturday night dinner party.
    And every day, starting early in the morning and going till dark, there are pickleball games. Pickleball, a racquet sport which combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis and is played on outdoor courts, is reputed to be the fastest growing sport on America. The folks here take their pickleball very seriously but are always glad to explain it to a newcomer and offer newbie tips.
    These people may like to party. But they are also pretty fit.
    There are water exercise classes, line dancing lessons, a fitness center and fishing around several manmade lakes that are stocked with largemouth bass, some reputed to be in the 10 pound range.
    The RVs include everything but trailers and popups. There are Class A, B, and C motorhomes as well as lots of Fifth Wheels. The more deluxe lots have pavers and owners can decorate them how they like. Many have installed tiki huts and small cabanas that hold washer and dryers or are an extra sleeping room for guests. A lot of the residents also have their own golf carts. Some have scooters. Everyone seems to ride a bike, which they use to drive to the community trash container, located at a remote end of the resort.
    Again reminding me of Texas were the sound of cattle several times a day. A pasture borders the north end of the park and the black angus grazing there add to the bucolic, laid back vibes. A wetlands preserve borders the south end of the property.
    We hung out at the pool on the days we were there. One morning, I borrowed a bike and rode a dozen miles or so along the Florida Trail, also known as the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Built atop the 35-foot high dike that surrounds the lake and protects the nearby community from flooding, this trail runs for over 110 miles. It’s pancake flat and offers beautiful views of the lake and surrounding wetlands.
    The weather here is usually among the warmest in Florida. Because of the flat ranch land around here, there is almost always a breeze. During our visit the first part of March, the daily temperatures were in the low eighties every day.
    We found the town and area to be refreshingly unlike any other place we’ve visited in Florida. It’s a great spot to relax. The residents I got to know during our stay here said they never intended to end up here but that the quieter pace of life and the friendliness of the people at Silver Palms kept them coming back, year after year.
    Occupancy of the resort seemed pretty close to 90% or so, hence the expansion project. The whole complex is extremely well maintained and the rest rooms and showers are spotless.
    Besides the many on site activities, the lake and the 110-mile bike trail were my favorite things to take in during our time and enough to bring me back someday. Below are some photos of the lake to show you what I mean. Our guide was Captain John Campbell, who has fished Okeechobee for more than half a century. He regularly takes folks out from the Silver Palms RV Resort and likes to weave in local history and information about wildlife as he takes them to the best fishing spots.
  9. Roadtrekingmike
    Naples, Florida is the crown jewel of Southwest Florida, a west gulf coast town known for upscale dining and shopping, designer golf courses, awesome boating and fishing and the best weather in a state that is built around tourism and sunny skies.
    It’s always 10 to 20 degrees warmer here than most other places in the Sunshine State.
    Our destination for this trip was the Naples Motorcoach Resort on U.S. 41 just east of Collier Boulevard. Highway 41, also known as the Tamiami Trail, leads to the Everglades, just a couple miles down the road. Collier Boulevard south leads to the Isles of Capri and Marco Island, for boating and fishing.
    This is a Class A resort only, We stayed there in our Class B under a special media exemption because we were doing some reporting about the place.
    So we were living in a B in a Class A world.
    But it gave me a chance to see what all the fuss was about Class A RVing and to realize that as much as we B owners criticize A owners for looking down their noses at their Class B cousins, I also was guilty of reverse discrimination, thinking, wrongly, that those in Class As were not really RVers at all. More on that later.
    We love the Naples area. We had been there many times before. When our kids were young, we rented condos on Marco Island for many years. And Jennifer and I have stayed in condos at Naples, too. But this was our first trip there in our RV.
    The attractions in the area are many.
    According to the Naples Historical Society, the area was long the hunting and fishing grounds of the home of the Caloosa Indians. It wasn’t until the 1860′s that the first white settlers, Roger Gordon and Joe Wiggins, arrived in the area. A river and two inlets still bear their names.
    Throughout the 1870s and ’80s, magazine and newspaper stories telling of the area’s mild climate and abundant fish and game likened it to the sunny Italian peninsula. The name Naples caught on when promoters described the bay as “surpassing the bay in Naples, Italy.”
    In 1887, a group of wealthy Kentuckians, led by Walter N. Haldeman, owner of the Louisville Courier-Journal, purchased virtually the entire town of Naples. One of the first improvements Haldeman and the Naples Company made was to build a pier 600 feet into the Gulf of Mexico. The unusual “T” shape allowed large ships to dock easily. Despite being destroyed and rebuilt three times, the pier’s “T” shape remains.
    Naples quickly gained a reputation as a winter resort. Social life revolved around the Naples Hotel, which played host to celebrities such as Rose Cleveland, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamarr, and Gary Cooper. As the town of Naples went up, so did the price of property. The cost of a beachfront lot soon reached $125.
    In 1911, Barron G. Collier, who had made his fortune in streetcar advertising, visited nearby Useppa Island. He was so taken with the area that he bought over a million acres of untouched swampland – including most of Naples. Collier believed that Florida’s west coast could enjoy the same boom that the east coast was experiencing in the 1920′s; but first it was necessary to bring in road and railroads.
    Based on Collier’s promise to help build the Tamiami Trail, in 1923 the state legislature created Collier County, of which Naples is the county seat. Collier spent more than $1 million of his own money to construct the Tamiami Trail, which opened in 1926 as the only paved highway linking the state’s two largest cities – Tampa and Miami.
    Collier died before he could see his dream come true, but come true it did. Today, Naples enjoys unparalleled prosperity. And the area’s unrivaled sport fishing, hunting, boating, sun bathing, and beach combing attract people today just as it did a century ago.
    Downtown Naples is known for impressive shops and sidewalk cafes, chic bistros and gourmet delis that serve up lunch, snacks and pastries. Fine and casual dining options are available at the restaurants located on Naples’ fashionable Fifth Avenue South, Third Street South, and Bayfront. Dress well if you are heading downtown. This is high end, sophisticated shopping and the tourists here are well-heeled and look it.
    Parking downtown is hard to find for an automobile, even harder for a Class B RV.
    One must visit place is the historic Naples Pier, located on the Gulf of Mexico at the West end of 12th Avenue South. On-street parking is supplemented by a parking lot one block East, with additional parking at beach ends on the avenues to the north and south. It’s easier to park a car here, but still challenging to find space for a small RV.
    The Naples Pier is a favorite location for sightseers and fishermen with plenty of space to cast a line. It features restrooms, a concession stand with a covered eating area and beach supplies. Fishing from the pier does not require a fishing license, as the City of Naples has purchased a bulk fishing license for the pier. The beach at the pier also features volleyball nets, and is one of the best places to catch a spectacular Naples sunset.
    If fishing is your thing, you will want a license. I bought a seven day out of state license for $37.
    My brother-in-law is a snowbird and keeps a boat at the Isles of Capri Marina, at the southern end of Collier Boulevard. The Isles of Capri are adjacent to Marco Island and 20 minutes from Naples’ downtown. It is a waterfront community with canals and mangrove islands and backwater kayak trails that lead to the Marco River and the gulf. On it’s northern side it is surrounded by the the wetlands that are part of the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Sanctuary.
    From the Isles of Capri Marina, we boated around the islands to the river and then out to the gulf where we anchored on a spit of sand and spent two great days fishing. In these waters where the river dumps into the gulf are all sorts of salt water fish, including shark, speckled trout, redfish, amberjack and, later in the summer, snook, tarpon and big game fish. Our target for this trip was one of the tastiest: Sheephead.
    We caught them on almost every other cast, most over the 12 inch keeper limit.
    We used our Roadtrek eTrek to drive all around Naples, the islands and the Everglades. Evenings, we spent back at the Naples Motorcoach Resort.
    It is a five star resort with beautiful, spacious lots, lush landscaping, a large manmade lake with a lighted fountain, three swimming pools, a full fitness center, a deluxe clubhouse with free breakfasts each morning and numerous activities for guests and owners every day.
    The basic lot sells for $99,000. Lakefront and the best locations are over $150,000. There are also rental spots available. They start at about $85 a night. Many spots cost as much or more than a four star hotel room does in many places.
    I admit, for a while, being in our little Class B made us feel like we were living in the slums. While our Roadtrek sells new for over $120,000, most of the Class A motorhomes around us start at four and five times that amount.
    Everyone was amazingly nice and polite to us, though there were several double takes when people saw that a Class B had been allowed in. But no one complained to us. And as we got to know the other RVers – the clubhouse has numerous meet and greet events, parties, receptions, games and social gatherings – we realized that these people are having a ball. We used to think that Class A folks just sat. While Class B owners did stuff. The people we met were not sitters.
    The majority were there for the winter season, arriving back in November or December, departing for their northern homes at the end of March or early April. But because they towed vehicles – Jeeps and small trucks seemed to be the most popular – they were able to range far and wide from the resort. They were hikers, bikers, golfers, fishers and – thanks to a creek that leads to the extensive canal system around the area – boaters.
    Towards the end of our stay, I found myself with a strong dose of Class A envy. These motorhomes are massive. They have king-size beds, huge bathrooms and roomy showers, full kitchens and home-sized refrigerators, washer-dryers and room to store and bring all the toys you could want.
    So I got to wondering… why couldn’t we drive a Class A and tow a Roadtrek?
    The idea of staying in a place like the Naples Motorcoach Resort for a winter season and then taking two and three day excursions around the area in our Roadtrek would truly be the best of both worlds. When summer gets too hot and sticky down there – about mid-April most years – we could pull up shop and head west to another spot… say the mountains or the west coast and stay there for the summer season, again ranging far and wide in the Roadtrek.
    Hmmm. That is my idea of fullt-iming!
  10. Roadtrekingmike
    Dennis George couldn’t believe his eyes.
    It was the morning of Tuesday Jan. 28, and he was staying at a Hampton Inn in Lakeland, FL He looked out his hotel room window and saw an empty parking spot where he had parked the brand new Roadtrek CS Adventurous the night before.
    “I thought maybe the hotel had towed it for some reason,” he said. “So I ran down to the desk and asked them. The clerk said no. Then one of their workers came in and said there was all sorts of broken glass out on the asphalt.”
    The glass was where he had parked.
    His beautiful new motorhome, bought just last October, had been stolen. Thieves had smashed the passenger window, found a spare set of keys he had hidden inside and taken off. Surveillance cameras from the hotel showed the two thieves in action. They smashed the window at 4:56 AM. They drove out at 5:05 AM
    The Dalkeith, Ontario, Canada native was traveling alone, living his retirement dream. He had been enjoying the weather in Florida after a 5,000 mile shakedown trip that took him through the western United States. He was in Lakeland to get some service done on his Roadtrek and took a hotel room because he couldn’t find a nearby RV park.
    He called the police as soon as he discovered the theft. An alert was sent throughout the south to law enforcement agencies. Roadtrek user groups and social media pages posted the picture of George’s CS.
    No one held out much hope. Many thought it would go straight to a chop shop.
    Fortunately, it didn’t. The thieves drove it around about 200 miles and abandoned it in Lakeland. It was recovered Friday, four days after it was stolen. Police never did find the thieves, though the investigation is continuing. The inside was left a mess of black fingerprint powder put down as part of the police investigation.
    “They took everything except my underwear, socks and dress clothes,” said the 67-year-old George, a divorced father of a 40-year-old son and a grandfather of two young girls, 15 and 11. “They cleaned it out. They got my computer, my iPad, my golf shirts, the bicycle on the front, pretty much everything. I read your blog and got the same GPS you recommend and even the same mattress topper you and your wife suggested from Bed, Bath and Beyond. They got that, too.”
    The theft was not the only setback George has had with his new RV.
    In December, at the Grand Canyon, he pulled into a ranger’s station to get an annual pass.
    “It’s a good thing I did because when I put my foot to the brake, it went all the way down to the floor. Thank God I found it out there at the ranger station. I was able to use the parking brake to stop. But if I had gone a couple more miles, there was a six percent downhill grade. No way would I have stopped.”
    George says his right front brake line became unseated from the brake line holder. That allowed the line to contact the exhaust has recirculation (EGR) tube and resulted in a hole in the brake line.
    Roadtrek has issued a recall for the problem, which involves an estimated 61 vehicles built on the Sprinter platform from February 14, 2013 through December 20, 2013.
    “That brake deal turned out to be a mess,”said George. “I had to be towed more than 200 miles to Phoenix to get that fixed at a Mercedes dealer.” Road service has handled the cost.
    George is currently in Sarasota, FL. His CS Adventurous is at a Mercedes dealer there, waiting for the broken passenger window to be replaced. He is using the down time to sort out his insurance claim for the items stolen from his motorhome. Despite the hassles, he is still upbeat about his Roadtrek and his new life on the road.
    He retired last fall, selling two businesses involved in commercial and industrial natural gas service back in Ontario. He plans to travel North America for four and five months at a time. He still has a fruit farm back in Dalkeith, a small town located about halfway between Ottawa and Montreal and he will return there each summer and early fall.
    “I know I’ve had a spell of bad luck,” he concedes. “But I’m just being as patient as I can be. I just want to get back out on the road. I’ve been looking forward to this stage of my life for a long time.”

    Dennis George and his new CS Adventurous – before the theft

    The police didn’t bother to clean up after themselves, either.

    Part of the broken glass caused by thieves who smashed in the passenger window
  11. Roadtrekingmike
    One of the places that has a special hold on me is the Everglades area of Florida, a wild, huge place filled with birds and wildlife as diverse as the flooded cypress and sawgrass prairies that make up the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States.
    Every time I’m in south Florida, I budget time for the glades. I’ve ridden my bicycle along an eight mile paved loop at Shark Valley, cruising yards past snoozing gators with their huge tooth filled mouths open to cool off. There are air boat rides, nature walks where you can actually get wet and wade in the swamp and fishing not to be believed.
    The winter dry season, which lasts from December to April, is the best time for wildlife viewing in the park. Weather conditions are generally pleasant during the winter and standing water levels are low, causing wildlife to congregate at central water locations. Shark Valley, the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palm, and Eco Pond in the Flamingo area are popular areas for viewing alligators, wading birds, and other wildlife. Boaters have additional access to wildlife viewing opportunities in Florida Bay and along the Gulf Coast.
    This trip, I devoted an afternoon to the Big Cypress National Preserve, a 729,000 acre part of the Everglades whose crystal clean freshwater plays a vital roe in the health of the entire ecosystem of south Florida. We drove a 24 mile loop road that runs south and east off Highway 41 at about mile marker 59.
    It’s a dirt and gravel road, well maintained but meant for slow travel. Bounded on both sides by trees, there are frequent drainage ditches and small open spots all along the route. It’s fine for Class B and Class C RVs. Too rough for a Class A. And once you commit, there are limited spots to turn around.
    Found here are dozens of species of mammals, birds, and reptiles unique to Florida’s climate. It is easy to view and appreciate Florida’s largest reptile, the American alligator, living here in its natural environment. They are in almost every water hole, all along the banks, even sunning themselves on the shoulder of the road. The birds are something else: Anhingas, egrets, wood storks and herons are found in plentiful numbers feeding, displaying courtship feathers, and nesting in and among the cypress trees.
    There’s a reason the speed limit is 25 miles an hour. Herons often launch from the trees and fly right across and over the road. Because of their bulk, it takes them some considerable wing power to get to altitude and if we had been traveling faster, we would have hit one several times.
    Occasionally, one can witness river otter, bobcats, black bear, and the endangered Florida panther on the Preserve’s back roads and trails. We didn’t see any panthers, but Route 41 is peppered with warning signs noting that panthers frequently cross the road.
    Not all the animals are native. In recent years, snakes from around the world have been turning up in and around Everglades National Park. Burmese pythons, one of the largest snake species on earth, are now known to be breeding in the park and spreading throughout south Florida. Over 2,000 pythons have been removed from the park and surrounding areas since 2002-likely representing only a fraction of the total population. The population of Burmese pythons presently established in the park is the result of accidental and/or intentional releases by pet owners. These introductions can have devastating consequences to our ecosystem. Burmese pythons have been found to feed on a wide variety of mammals and birds in the Everglades-even the occasional alligator! By preying on native wildlife, and competing with other native predators, pythons are seriously impacting the natural order of south Florida’s ecological communities. The continued proliferation of Burmese pythons-and the continued introduction of new foreign species-can further threaten many of the endangered plants and animals we’re working diligently to protect.
    These creatures reach 15-20 feet in length. We didn’t see one. Jennifer considers that good. Me, I would have liked to get my own photo instead of the Florida wildlife one used above.
    The trip we took on the scenic loop road makes for a delightful afternoon There’s a large visitors center for the Big Cypress National Preserve on US 41 that is well worth seeing.
    And there are numerous federal campgrounds right off 41 up and down 41 from Naples to Miami. Most have openings every day.
    yet! Love this place!!
  12. Roadtrekingmike
    The Gulf Coast is now recovered from the ravages of Katrina and the BP oil spill and is now celebrating Mardi Gras in communities large and small.
    From Mobile to New Orleans and all in between, the fun starts as early as two weeks before the Fat Tuesday final day before Lent and if you time a visit right down here, you can take in Mardi Gras parades every day and many a night. RV parks are all along the coast in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and this time of year, when the weather can still be slightly unpredictable, there are lots of vacancies.

    We made our way to the town of Gautier, Miss., and Shepard State Park, part of a group of two dozen plus Roadtrekers from all across the country invited down here for fun and food and Mardi Gras festivities at an event called “Pogo’s Smokin’ on the Bayou.”
    Pogo – real name Paul Konowalchuk Pogorzelski (see why we just call him Pogo?) – really lives on a Bayou that connects to the Gulf of Mexico. He timed the event for the town of Gautier’s big Mardi Gras night parade.
    Not that we needed an excuse.
    Pogo and his wife Vicki opened their hearts and home to us – even finding a way to squeeze a dozen Roadtreks in a vacant lot two doors down. Of course it didn’t hurt that his next door neighbor Gordon Gollott, just happens to be the mayor of Gautier (pronounced Go-shea), a town of 18,000. The mayor even invited me to ride on the official town float at the night Mardi Gras parade.
    The local industry here is shipbuilding (that’s what Pogo does) and the local passtime is hospitality.
    The weather was typical for this time of year. Temperatures reached the low seventies a couple of times but we had lots of rain one day. And lots of fun all the time.
    We had so much fun we convinced Pogo to make this an annual event. And next year, we’re thinking about getting our own float for the parade. Towed by a Roadtrek, of course.
    Click the video above for a look at the night parade. To make plans to join us for next yearbe sure to visit our Facebook Group.
  13. Roadtrekingmike

    Travels with Tai

    By Roadtrekingmike,

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

    Tai at our Shepard State Park site in Gautier, Miss.
  14. Roadtrekingmike
    It’s not just the snow and ice that have been setting records in northern states and provinces this winter: So have potholes.
    Before setting off on a long trip south yesterday, I stopped by my local tire shop to check the air in my Roadtrek eTrek’s tires. While doing so, I noted how busy the place was. The guy behind the counter beckoned me to take a peek in the garage, where a huge pile of rims were taking up a corner of the workspace. “Potholes,” he said. “We’ve never seen so much damage,” he said.
    What may be good business for tire repair places is bad news for motorists.
    As we made our way out of southeast Michigan down I-75, I lost track of how many vehicles I saw pulled over on a shoulder, fixing a flat. Michigan, which generally has the worst roads I’ve seen in the entire country, is out doing itself this year. Expansion joints are buckled, there are crater-sized potholes on the sides, shoulders and middle of literally every paved road you travel.
    As soon as we hit Ohio, the road conditions markedly improved. But then we hit a massive traffic jam. For two-and-a-half hours we sat on I-75 in Toledo. Both sides of interstate were jammed. It wasn’t for an accident. They were fixing the roads. Three lanes funneled down to two on the southbound side. I’m not sure what the construction project was for, but it was a real mess.
    The roads were better, though, in Ohio and Kentucky, where we ended up spending the night. Way more potholes than I’ve seen in normal years but still better than Michigan.
    We made about 400 miles. Best news, though, is for the first time since November, the temperatures didn’t get below freezing. I’m hoping to de-winterize wherever we stop tonight.
    Mississippi ... here we come.
  15. Roadtrekingmike
    Our latest interview is with …ta da … my wife, Jennifer, as suggested by various readers when I asked for ideas on who they’d next like me to interview.
    And in this one, Jennifer opens up and tells it like it is when she is asked not what her greatest joys are while traveling, but what bugs her the most.
    I asked the questions you sent me.

    Her chief frustrations: Finding good food on the road. A refrigerator that is too small and what to do with dirty laundry.
    We’re using Google Hangouts On Air to do these interviews. Let me know who you’d like me to interview next and Ill see if they’ll agree.
    You can be alerted when our next Hangout will be and even join in live by through my Google + page at plus.google.com/+MikeWendlandontheroad Add me to your circles.
    Meantime, how about you? What are your greatest RV frustrations?
  16. 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.
  17. Roadtrekingmike
    As part of our blogging, we now have the ability to do live videos and interviews with folks of interest to the Roadtreking world. With that, we can answer questions, too.
    The videos are broadcast as live events on the Net, but also available for later playback on demand from You Tube.
    The first one I did was this week with my friends Jim and Chris Guld of Geeks on Tour fame. Many of you have met the Gulds as they’ve taught technoogy at various RV gatherings around the country.
    Today, while the Gulds were attending and teaching at a rally in Kissimmee, FL for about 200 members of the Roadtrek International chapter of the Family Motor Coach Association, they got me online from my Michigan home and we did a Q&A session with the audience.

    It was pretty funny, really. The first eight and a half minutes or so were spent trying to figure out how to broadcast my audio to the group without feedback loops. They had the image projected up on a screen but the echo and feedback loops that they were getting looked like they’d scuttle it all for a few minutes.
    After the event was recorded, Chris went in and edited out most of the sound issues.
    For Jim eventually got it going as as Chris walked the floor, we took some questions and answers from the audience.
    It ended up going 36 minutes.
    I’m very excited about Google’s Hangout On Air technology and will be using it regularly on the blog from now on.
    In fact, an hour after finishing with Chris and Jim, I set up my own Hangout On Air event and got our buddy Campskunk on to talk about fulltiming in a Class B van.
    Look for that video report tomorrow. And to get notice of these, you might want to get a Google + account. I use the email ocsmike@gmail on Google +. Add me to your circle and then you will know when we’re doing these. You;ll have the ability to ask questions during live events. And everything we do will archive so they can be embedded into blog posts like this.
    Hope you enjoy this!
  18. Roadtrekingmike
    Like a lot of RVers, I’ve been reviewing memories and photographs this winter. That’s what we do during the down time: Go back and look at our photos and thus get excited by the places we’ll be going once the weather arms up.
    If you’re like me, I bet you have a lot of photos of your RV. We take pictures of them in the places they take us.
    That got me thinking about pulling a bunch of them and putting them together in a slide show.
    So, here’s about 100 of them, taken all over North America over the past year – a year which had us drive close to 40,000 miles.
    I tried to make sure each photo shows the eTrek. Some have scenic backgrounds. Other not so much. But the eTrek is the star – front and center of every photo.
    Putting this montage together got me excited. I cant wait to see what 2014 has in store.
    Hope you enjoy this, too.

  19. Roadtrekingmike

    What Offseason?

    By Roadtrekingmike,

    We just came back from our latest trip, a 1,000 mile journey that took us to northeastern Pennsylvania and back.
    We had spent exactly one day at our Michigan home before leaving for that trip, returning from a 2,000 mile journey up to the north shore of Lake Superior the week before.
    We leave in about 10 days for Mississippi, the Gulf Coast and Florida.
    In fact, since the so-called RV season ended in October, we’re averaging two long trips a month.
    That’s about what we do during the summer.
    I’m thinking that at least for Jennifer and I, there has is no off season.
    We are about to turn 40,000 miles on the Roadtrek eTrek we took possession of in December 2012.
    We’ve averaged over 3,300 miles each month. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
    The only real changes over warm weather RVing for us is that we have no water in the tanks – it would freeze; We use antifreeze to flush the toilet and, instead of the air conditioner, we are running the heater. Oh yeah, on many mornings we’ve had to brush snow off the windshield and the solar panels up off the roof.
    I wonder how many are like us, RVing all year round. No matter the weather.
    Have you been traveling this winter? If so, share below in comments.
  20. Roadtrekingmike
    Okay. Do not panic. So the groundhog saw his shadow here atop Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. The rodent, if you check the history books, has been right just 39 percent of the time since this little community in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains .
    But that didn’t stop tens of thousands of people from all across the U.S. from traveling here, many in RVs, like us. While the campgrounds are closed, the local Walmart welcomed them. For us in our Roadtrek eTrek Class B, wherever we stopped was home and we used it here all weekend.
    But the night before Groundhog Day, using our media parking pass, we drove it atop Gobbler’s Knob, turned on the heater and caught a few hours of sleep. That is until about 3 AM when the public started making their way here, bussed up from Walmart and other parking areas in town. A band kept playing “Ring of Fire” in front of a huge bonfire as a cold rain turned the entire nob into a muddy mess. No one seemed to mind.
    Jennifer was able to sleep through the noise. Me, sensing there was a party going on, couldn’t resist getting up and venturing out.
    Before you get the wrong idea, this party is pretty tame. There is no alcohol allowed. Folks can’t bring in backpacks or chairs. But this has become such a huge spectacle of an event that it just seems to have a bizarre energy of its own. That’s the only way I can describe a gathering outdoors at 3 AM in the middle of a February rainstorm. Very bizarre. But strangely fun.
    The star, of course, is the groundhog, officially known as “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary,” according to the Inner Circle, the board of directors of the Groundhog Club, the local group that manages all things related to Feb. 2 and the care and handling of the 20-pound groundhog. Bill Cooper, a former president of the club, said Phil is normally good-natured and glad to see his handlers, though he “has bad hair days from time to time.”
    The Inner Circle guys, in their dark coats and top hats, are the town’s ambassadors and walked up and down downtown streets all weekend, greeting the tourists.
    And tourists there were,
    We were surprised how many people came here because it was on their bucket list.
    A young married couple from Fort Myers, Fla., came the farthest of those we met. There was a guy from Atlanta wearing a muskrat coat and a top hat who came because Feb. 2 is his birthday and he always wanted to spend it in the place where Feb. 2 is the most important day of the year. A school teacher from New Jersey left her husband home to watch the Super Bowl. She came with some girlfriends because, like apparently so many, coming here for the events of Groundhog Day was always on her bucket list, too.
    Those events include craft shows, chain saw carving demonstrations and live broadcasts all weekend from the Weather Channel, which endorses the town’s official motto as “the weather capital of the nation.”
    There were hayrides downtown. Hat decorating contests. And at midnight, in front of the community center, a countdown in which people cheered in Groundhog Day at midnight. At 6:30 AM, there was a pre-sunrise fireworks display on Gobbler’s Nob. In the rain.
    Oh, yeah. At the community center in town, there were repeated showings of the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day. Indeed, that 1993 movie, more than anything else, went to transform Feb. 2 of each year from a quaint event to a mega happening. Before the movie, maybe 3,000 people came here for the annual prognostication. Since the movie, the number of tourists who come here for the big day swell the normal 6,000 population to as many as 30,000. Because of the rain, the 2014 event drew an estimated 25,000 to the nob.
    I find that very ironic because the movie wasn’t even shot here. It was shot in Illinois, which the producers somehow felt was more photogenic.
    No problem. Punxsutawney loved the movie, even though it was Woodstock, Illinois, that is shown on the screen. Go figure.
    Punxsutawney is a town built around a rodent. Souvenirs like Groundhog day hats, mugs, T-shirts, mittens, trinkets and chain saw carvings seem to be the leading industry. The Chamber of Commerce here says $1 million is pumped into the local economy from Groundhog Day alone.
    The actual prognostication event happens at sunrise every Feb. 2. There’s a little wooden podium built in the shape of a stump on a stage and Phil is brought from his downtown burrow to a box built into the podium. One of the members of the Inner Circle brings him out, “consults” with Phil and determines whether or not he saw his shadow.
    This whole tradition stared around 1860 as a result of a superstition from the German immigrants who settled this area that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the holiday of Candlemas, winter will last six more weeks.
    Well, this year, Phil saw his shadow. It’s been a long winter. Phil says it’s going to get even longer.
    I think I’ll trudge back to the Roadtrek in the parking lot and make some coffee and breakfast and dry out. Then we’ll head back into town for some more of the festivities.
    Punxsutawney really is a charming place. Locals tell me that people come year around. Phil, when not on the Nob for Groundhog Day, is in a see-through burrow in a downtown square and can be seen anytime. During the summer, RVers come to two nearby commercial parks and several state parks in the area.
    But, as we found during our visit, folks are delighted to see visitors and we were welcome to park our RV anywhere.
  21. Roadtrekingmike
    You can tell winter is wearing thin and folks are starting to think about spring and warm weather because we’re getting lots of questions about people wanting to rent a Roadtrek or find a used one to purchase.
    So in this edition of How We Roll in our RV, we try and answer both.
    Bottom line is – you will have to work at it. Roadtreks are in high demand, both for rental units and for used ones to purchase.
    The main Roadtrek website has a dealer locator feature that you can use to find the nearest Roadtrek dealership to your home where you can ask whats locally available. And the Roadtrek International Chapter of the Family Motorcoach Association has a list of used units that are for sale by owners around North America. You can also search RV sales websites and even Craig’s List.

    Click the above video and you’ll get our answer.
    And send us your questions by email…we’ll do our best to answer them in future editions of How We Roll.
  22. Roadtrekingmike
    We just hit the road after a long weekend boondocking in our Roadtrek eTrek in the wilderness of northeast Minnesota, spending the weekend in it miles from civilization when the overnight temperature dropped to -21F/-29C.
    Call us Ice Station eTrek.
    Those frigid temperatures in the woods were the ambient, real temperature. But we had a very stiff northwestern wind that not only swirled up snow drifts all around s but made for wind chill readings of -50F/-45C.
    We could not have been more comfortable. Seriously. Inside, the Webasto heater cranked out a constant 60-70 degrees of comfort. We dropped it down at night for sleeping and raised it during the day when we were going in and out of the Roadtrek a lot.
    We were up in Minnesota as a communications volunteer for the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, a 400 mile route from Duluth to the Canadian border. I’m an amateur radio operator and I was stationed at a spot where the musher’s trail crosses County Road 8 north east of the tiny, remote hamlet of Finland, about 85 miles into the gruelling race and smack dab in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
    I’ll have a full report and video on the gorgeous country, the race itself and the sheer adventure of it all later this week.
    But many have asked how it all went and how the Roadtrek handled it.
    First, Jennifer and I are agreed that we are hooked on winter camping. The snow was so beautiful, three feet thick off the trail. At night, the stars were so bright and close that they made you gasp. We heard wolf howls as we spent a lonely night out there Sunday and Monday morning, a hundred yards from us, a big black wolf – the Alpha Male of the pack according to one of the other volunteers we met – twice showed himself as curiosity drew him close to us.
    We were dressed properly for cold weather. That’s the secret of course, and we limited our time outside to no more than half hour stretches when we weren’t helping keep track of the passing mushers. Tai, our double-coated Norwegian Elkhound, thought he had died and gone to heaven, though he was noticeable spooked by the wolf. I took him out early Monday morning and he stopped, sniffed the air and had the hackles on his neck raised. I didn’t know why at the time but Michelle, who later joined us at the crossing, said dogs typically are very spooked by wolves. “Sometimes a sled dog team will stop and lie right down when wolves are around,” she said. She’s a musher herself, from Minneapolis, and said the same black wolf, along with a female, were seen last year, too.
    As to the Roadtrek eTrek, except for one minor glitch due to the cold, we couldn’t be more pleased.
    On the advice of locals, I used a blend of the normal #2 diesel fuel with the hotter burning #1 to handle the extreme cold. I used about a 60% #1 blend. Some stations let you mix it yourself from adjacent pumps, others up here sell it blended 50-50. Either way, the #1 helps prevent diesel gelling, which can shut down an engine that starts up after having been sitting all night in the cold.
    But… all was not without incident. When I went to start it this morning – it got down to -23F here last night with a -55F wind chill – the engine turned over but did not catch. The starter battery seemed low and it cranked very slowly. I called a local garage that works on diesel and Greg, the owner, came to the motel with a huge tow truck. It took him all but five minutes to hitch the Roadtrek up and haul it to his warm garage where he got a rapid charger on the battery and thawed out the engine a bit.
    “The cold just sapped the battery to where it had trouble cranking and the oil got pretty stiff with that severe cold we had last night, ” said Mike, the mechanic who worked on it. “It just needed to be warmed up a bit.”
    We were on the road by noon.
    Other than that, the Roadtrek performed flawlessly. I have become a huge fan of the Sprinter chassis and Mercedes engine. The vehicle handles well on ice and snow. And I’ve already raved about the Webasto heater Roadtrek has. Mine has been running continuously since Friday. It’s now Monday morning and we are in Ironwood, MI, in the Upper Peninsula. We stayed in a hotel last night so we could shower. The heater stayed on all night.
    The heater runs on diesel from the engine. Based on our use, I would say that four days of running it has not used any more than two gallons of fuel.
    The only downside I can think of about this is you can’t use running water – the Roadtrek is winterized. You can use the toilet…just flush it with RV antifreeze. Ad finding room for the extra clothing – parkas, boots, hats, gloves, insulated bibs, etc. – can also be challenging.
    I realize the cold and winter camping is not for everyone. That’s okay. That’s why God made Florida and the southwest.
    But Jennifer and I are still healthy and we absolutely love the outdoors and the wilderness. And seeing this country in the winter, covered with a pristine blanket of snow, is soul-soothing.
    In fact, Jennifer thinks it was one of the top most enjoyable boondocking.

  23. Roadtrekingmike
    I think I have become a big fan of winter RVing.
    And dog sled races.
    Last year, we reported on the Michigan UP 200 dog sled race. Our friend and fellow Roadtreker Gary Hennes met us up there and told us about the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth, which is the longest such sled dog race in the Lower 48 states.
    And so we went this year. We boondocked overnight in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere and I volunteered and worked on the communications team, using my amateur radio gear in the Roadtrek to help keep track of the mushers and get them any help they needed.

    The above video tells the story. It was a ball.
    But I will concede, the return home from the John Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon in northern Minnesota was a long, tough drive. Once we thawed the Roadtrek out from the -55F/-68C wind chill temps after a tow to a service garage in Ironwood yesterday morning, we made our way back through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to our suburban Detroit home – a trip of more than 700 miles.
    At the Mackinac Bridge, we suddenly found ourselves in marginal weather conditions. Blowing lake effect snow made restricted traffic to 20 miles an hour. We tucked in behind two snow plows and made our way slowly across the five-mile span, buffeted all the time by a howling northwest wind.
    Once we got in the Lower Peninsula, we thought the lake effect snow would end. It didn’t. It followed us all the way to Bay City, about 250 miles south. Even though we were less than 85 miles from home, I was beat and we pulled into a rest area about half past midnight and we slept till sunup.
    I should have slept some more when I got home but I was so excited about the video we shot of the Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon that I spend the day editing it.
    I can’t think of another adventure in our Roadtrek that we enjoyed more.
    Minnesota is a gorgeous state in the winter, especially the northern shore of Lake Superior that the dog sled race followed. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the summer. We will be back.
    Up above is the video. You can also see how well we fared in our RV. As we’ve been saying all along, winter camping is great!

    Howling winds buffeted us as we crossed the Mackinac Bridge behind two snowplows.

    That’s me with one of the musher teams passing my checkpoint. I was on the team using amateur radio to provide communications for the mushers and race officials.
  24. Roadtrekingmike
    We’re in northeastern Wisconsin and Minnesota in the midst of what the news media says is the coldest stretch of prolonged frigid temperatures to hit the continental U.S. in a century and yet, everywhere I go around here, the locals seem to shrug it all off and continue with their winter activities of snow shoeing, cross country skiing, hockey playing, hiking, ice fishing and dog sled racing.
    They seem to actually embrace the cold in an area where the snow is three feet deep and the snow drifts are taller than automobiles. I mean, they actually enjoy it!
    That’s because they know how to dress for it.

    Jennifer and I are here to take in one of the toughest dog sled marathons in North America after Alaska’s famed Iditarod – the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon that kicks off today in Duluth and runs for almost 400 miles all the way to the Canadian border and back across some of the most frigid and rugged terrain you’ll find in the lower 48.
    I’ve volunteered to help at a road crossing way up north near Finland, MN starting about 1 AM Monday and use my amateur radio capabilities aboard the Roadtrek eTrek to provide communications and keep track of the mushers as they pass by. The temperature is expected to be -26 F/-32C during our stint up there. Factor in wind chill and we’re talking -50F/-45C.
    So I better figure out how the locals dress to handle that kind of cold.
    And to do so I went to Northwest Outlet in Superior, WI, right on the Minnesota border and one of the Lake Superior north shore’s biggest outdoor and sporting goods outfitters. It just happens to be owned by Dave Miller, a regular reader of this blog, an avid truck camper and a fellow amateur radio operator. Dave read of my plans to be up here and invited me to stop by.
    And when he saw yesterday’s photo of how dirty and grimy our Roadtrek was after driving 700 miles to get here, he insisted that I pull into a heated garage next to his store that they use to install caps on trucks. Then Dave proceeded to hand wash the Roadtrek, even climbing a ladder and helping push off the snow and ice that had accumulated on top of our solar panels.
    Then, with a clean and shining Roadtrek hand dried and air blown so the locks wouldn’t freeze, he escorted me to a place where we could get some #1 diesel to mix with the #2 for the predicted super cold temperatures over the next couple of nights that I’ll encounter as I follow the sled dog race up in Minnesota.
    Jennifer and I never before met Dave or his wife, Mary. Yet them embraced us like family, even treating us to a terrific Italian dinner at a great restaurant called Valentini’s on the shore of Lake Superior.
    But before we ate, I got out the video camera and went into the store had Dave and Mary help dress Jennifer and I like locals, so we’ll be ready for the cold.
    You can see that in the video above.
    And you can find out how we’re doing by following my live Tweets on Twitter at http://twitter.com/roadtreking and here on the blog, though I’m not sure how good cell phone coverage will be where we’re headed and those detailed reports may be delayed a bit until I get into cellular range.
    But, with all the super warm winter clothes Dave hooked me up with, I’m ready to face the arctic vortex.

  25. Roadtrekingmike
    It took two days and 700 miles – all of it in the face of bitter cold and most of it on snow covered and slippery roads – but we finally made it to Minnesota and saw not a single other RV on the road.
    “They don’t know what they are missing.” I said to Jen as we dodged logging trucks, snowplows and snowmobilers in the Great White North. Truly, now we know how that saying came about. I have never seen so much white. Not the slushy, dirty snow of the city and suburbs but sparkling clean, pure, deep and bright white.
    “Maybe they do,” she responded. “Maybe that’s why we’re the only RV out here.”
    She may have a point.
    Hours after we crossed the Mackinac Bridge linking Michigan’s two peninsulas, it was shut down to traffic. Same with US 2 west of the bridge, which we drove last night as the snow began. Multiple accidents and white-out conditions were the cause.
    Today we left Escanaba and headed northwest, crossing from the Upper Peninsula into Wisconsin and then on to Duluth, MN, where we will report on winter life up here as well as a sled dog marathon. It snowed most of the way. The Roadtrek eTrek on the Mercedes Sprinter chassis handled the roads with ease.
    I missed one great photo. An RV dealership we spotted in the Michigan UP somewhere near Iron Mountain has a sign out front of its lot, a lot in which all the RVs were covered with about a foot of snow. “It’s not to late to become a snowbird,” it read. It was on the wrong side of the highway and there was no quick and easy turnaround to get the picture. But I admit, that snowbird idea sounded pretty good at the time.
    After two days of hard winter driving, the Roadtrek is a mess, covered with snow, ice, salt and road grime. I’d wash it down, but it’s so cold up here none of the car washes are open.
    Like we did the day before, I used Google Glass for a driver’s perspective, and a windshield mounted Go Pro Hero 3+ camera to get the inside the van view.
    Google Glass didn’t do justice, though, to what happened when I stepped off a plowed road into the woods…. only to discover the snow was three feet deep. Suffice it to say, I won’t make that mistake again.
    We got into Duluth an hour before dark. Tomorrow, the preliminaries for the dog sled race will take up our day. On Sunday it starts and we’ll follow the mushers north along the Lake Superior shoreline in our Roadtrek eTrek to see how folks up here cope with winter.

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