Category: Campgrounds & RV Parks
The Gorgeous Red Rock Canyon, NV…
December 30, 2011 by Dana Ticknor · Leave a Comment
While we were staying in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past week, we took a little drive out of town to visit the beautiful Red Rock Canyon. RRC is a National Conservation Area (the land is managed by BLM) so we were able to get in for free with our National Parks Access Pass; otherwise, admittance for your vehicle is $7. We first made a stop at the modern visitor’s center, where the younger kids did a scavenger hunt – RRC is working on a Jr. Ranger program but is is not completed yet. At the visitor’s center there were a few fun, interactive activities like making rubbings off of (reproduction) petroglyphs, and looking at pollen and insect wings through microscopes. Outside of the visitor’s center is an easy, handicap accessible walk through a very nice courtyard full of displays and statues (in the courtyard were all the animals that the kids had to find for their scavenger hunt). While we were at the visitor’s center, we also picked up a NV state... [Read more...]
A News Flash on Alaska’s National Parks
December 29, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · Leave a Comment
Exit Glacier, Alaska When I checked my electronic inbox yesterday, I found an informative news release from John Quinley, who is the Assistant Regional Director, Communications and Partnerships, of the Alaska Regional National Park Service. In his release, Mr. Quinley reported that the Alaska region of the National Park Service saw about 2.32 million recreational visits in 2011. This was an increase of about 2% from 2010. The two parks with the largest increases for 2011 were Kenai Fjords National Park, which is headquartered in Seward, and Denali National Park. Both of these parks are on the road system in Alaska so they are fairly easy to access with a car, trailer, or RV. I have had the good fortune of visiting both of these parks with my children at my side. I first visited them during the summer of 2006. Our family camping trip to Denali was a highlight that summer and indeed my children still talk about it. Last July, we returned to Alaska and while we were staying in Anchorage,... [Read more...]
A Really Nasty Bug
December 28, 2011 by Professor95 · 5 Comments
A winter-night’s dream finds me walking through the middle of a tall grassy field ablaze with warm sunshine, songbirds singing, and butterflies darting about. Nearby is a brook overflowing with large rainbow trout hungry for the fly on the end of my line. As the sun sets, we will dine on trout cooked over glowing campfire embers. . My dream excludes the reality of chiggers, ticks, mosquitoes, gnats, wasps, spiders, and biting flies also enjoying the habitat and dining on me as I reach out for my dream. Like it or not, we share the world with bugs and their presence can make our real life experiences a lot less pleasant if control measures are not taken. Adult EAB with wings open One insect, or bug, that has recently changed the landscape of at least fifteen eastern states and parts of Canada is the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire – an exotic beetle that was first discovered in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in the summer of 2002. By exotic, I mean... [Read more...]
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
December 21, 2011 by Rex Vogel · 3 Comments
It’s that time of year again. The Christmas countdown has begun! While the holidays bring with it lots of love, time spent with family and friends, good food, and more, it can also bring stress—most from the gift exchange. Trying to find the perfect gift for someone can get frustrating. But if you’re still looking for gifts for the RVer in your life, you are in luck! To keep this manageable, it’s been parted out into two posts—each with five items. These are in no particular order, with no favoritism or affiliation to the actual products or vendors. So, without further ado here are five gifts that keep on giving: The National Parks: Our American Landscape A collection of over 200 stunning images depicting America’s national parks is a perfect gift for any RVer or lover of the outdoors. The book was originally released in 2010, but was released this year in a more affordable paperback version ($16.47 on Amazon.com). Texas State Parks Pass The Texas State Parks Pass is an annual... [Read more...]
The beautiful Redwood National Park, CA
December 12, 2011 by Dana Ticknor · 4 Comments
One of the places that we really enjoyed visiting the first year that we were on the road was the redwoods on the coast of northern California. That first winter out, we drove through the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, and were completely enraptured with the redwoods – both the trees themselves, and the surrounding flora that looked like it was straight out of Jurassic Park (and actually, Jurassic Park IS straight out of the northern CA redwoods, with parts of the films being shot in the parks!). Did you know that there is actually a network of FOUR parks that protect 40,000 acres of giant redwoods – that is approximately half of the redwoods remaining of an estimated 2 million original acres). There are 3 California state parks, and the Redwoods National Park, established in 1978; and in some instances the parks overlap. That first trip we took a loop that included traveling east on Highway 199 and back west on the Howland Hill scenic road. ... [Read more...]
Planning Your Next Big Adventure!
December 11, 2011 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
If you are like me, the winter months represent prime time to be planning our escape(s) for the next camping season. But where to start? Below are a few ideas we typically use to discover a place where we will enjoy traveling and visiting the following year: My well-loved atlas! 1. I start with an atlas…or a map of the country. Generally, we first need to pick a direction. Sometimes this is easy. Many of you know we generally head west from our Wisconsin home. After doing so for a number of years, in the mood for something different, one year we decided to head east. That started one of our all time favorite two week summer RV trips; one we still talk about today! If you are like us and generally head for the same or a similar location, pick a new one, either exactly opposite of the usual or some variation of this. Sitting down with a map or an atlas can help you peruse attractions along the various routes and at least get headed out in a general direction. 2. Choose a time frame. Where... [Read more...]
Get ‘em While You Can!
December 9, 2011 by Professor95 · 4 Comments
My guess is you are probably not associating the holiday decorating items displayed on merchant shelves with your summer camping adventures. STOP! Think about this a minute – many desirable items will not be as inexpensive or available later on as they are right now. Most all of us enjoy putting “patio lights” on our awning, screen room or around our campers during the summer. They not only give off a welcome light on a dark night but also give our camp site a distinct personality. What better lights to use than colorful LED strings of Christmas tree lighting? LED lighting is not only energy efficient but it is also cool to the touch and less likely to “burn out” than conventional incandescent light strings. Decorative lights are also available as rope lights in clear, red, blue, or mixed colors. These store away easily and are extremely durable – not to mention waterproof. Those fancy ice-sickle lights with LEDs that chase up and down are great camping lights. Who... [Read more...]
Fort Lauderdale and Miami’s South Beach
November 30, 2011 by Traveler8343 · 2 Comments
After leaving the Florida Keys, we returned to CB Smith’s County Park just outside Fort Lauderdale for a few more days so that we could visit with some old friends and experience Fort Lauderdale Beach and Miami’s famed South Beach. It had been years since we had seen either of our friends: Mark, who attended high school with our daughter, and his partner Andy, and Steve, once married to the now-departed and much missed Eva. Their beautiful homes, hospitality and gracious entertaining left Maureen and I with more fond memories of them and Fort Lauderdale. There are other memories of Fort Lauderdale and Miami that come to my mind, although they happened many years ago. I last visited the Fort Lauderdale-Miami area with a high school friend some 45 years ago, in celebration of our graduation and the purchase of my brand new Corvette Stingray. Since then, much has changed. Once Easter-Break-Central for much of the east-of-the-Mississippi high school and college students crowd, we found... [Read more...]
Valdez is for Campers, RVers, and Adventurers!
November 30, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · 2 Comments
Photo by Michael De Young/ATIA Are you planning a road trip to Alaska? Are you thinking of traveling to and camping in America’s Last Frontier next summer? If so, then I would like to suggest adding Valdez to the itinerary. I must admit that I haven’t been there myself, but it was on my “to do” list when we lived in Anchorage about five years ago. Unfortunately, we got sidetracked with other destinations that summer, but when I was at the Alaska Media Road Show in Santa Barbara about a month ago, I was fortunate to meet with Colleen Stephens while I was there. Colleen is from the Valdez Convention and Visitors Bureau. She seemed to know exactly what I was interested in! Colleen explained that Valdez caters to campers! I was really happy to hear this because camping in Alaska can take a fair amount of initiative and organization. I know this because I’ve done it many times myself! Colleen explained that Valdez has many RV sites around town and that many... [Read more...]
Kingman, AZ to Las Vegas
November 29, 2011 by Traveler8343 · 1 Comment
We left Kingman, Arizona, on the 21st of July, after having to put down our beautiful, loyal Australian Terrier, Rocky, the day before after he put out is back for the second time in 5 months. We were very depressed and really not in the mood to go on at that point. But we did. We planned to visit the Dam and the Lake Mead NRA. When we got to the dam, traffic was all backed up due to construction and anti-terrorist inspections of all vehicles. The large construction project included the creation of a separate bridge to carry non-dam-compatible (or will it be all?) traffic between Nevada and Arizona. Our RV was stopped and searched inside and out by a friendly officer. The dam seemed a lot smaller than we remembered, based on the many movies we’ve seen it featured in. It was crowded with tourists. We remain amazed by how many European tourists are over here; on the other hand, everything in the States is on sale due to the continued weakness of the American dollar, so it shouldn’t... [Read more...]
