Category: Family Weekend Trips
GO TO A HAMFEST – A RV or Camper’s Goldmine Awaits.
February 10, 2012 by Professor95 · 8 Comments
Lot’s of campers and RV’ers, are HAMS! No, I’m not talking about the ones that like acting as if they were in a play or movie. I’m not making a derogatory reference to those that have a tendency to overeat, either. I’m talking about a different kind of HAM. This kind of HAM can actually be anyone of any size and their ages may range from middle school to the most senior of Senior Citizens. The thumbnail picture to the left is a joke to get your attention – these Hams have little to do with pigs unless it is enjoying sausage links at breakfast. The HAM I am referring to is formally known as a Licensed Amateur Radio Operator. Hams must pass a test to show their knowledge of radio communications and operating rules, and as a result have been issued a license by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to operate radio transmitters and possibly communicate with other “Hams” all over the world. Rows of small parts boxes await buyer inspection. NO, IT IS NOT CITIZEN... [Read more...]
Congaree National Park: A Hidden Gem Expands
January 29, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
Congaree National Park is a relatively unknown park—a hidden jewel in the national park system. Congaree National Park provides a sanctuary for plants and animals, a research site for scientists, and a place for you to walk and relax in a tranquil wilderness setting amidst giant hardwoods and towering pines. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved The National Park Service, Trust for Public Land, and Friends of Congaree Swamp, and others recently celebrated Congaree National Park’s 35-year history and the park’s acquisition of 1,840 acres of Riverstone property, The Times and Democrat reported. “The Riverstone property, which connects the eastern and western sections of the park, was Congaree National Park’s highest priority for acquisition. We are pleased to be celebrating this latest addition to the park during our 35th anniversary year,” said Tracy Swartout, Park Superintendent. In June 2011, the final 434 acres of the Riverstone property were protected, completing... [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...]
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...]
A Storm on the Downclimb? One Massive Hike, Part 4
November 16, 2011 by Diane Berry · 2 Comments
Picking up where I left off in my last post, Terry and I are heading down the Mt. Massive Trail after summiting the 14,421 foot peak. Our kids are below us, hiking toward the car, Ryan having summitted, then heading back down to reconnect with his sister who had become lost after talking a wrong turn. Once we clear the false summits, which were quite rocky and progress was slow, even on the descent, we were nearly running down the mountain, anxious to reconnect with the kids. Annie, our English cocker, is with us and having the time of her life. She never has this much energy at home! Mountain climbing clearly brings out the best in her. We are able to appreciate the scenery more on the descent, as hiking up we were quite concerned about Meghan. It is beautiful. This is why we come up here; you just don’t get these views in the city. Our posing marmot! Very aware of our surroundings now, we pass a marmot sunning himself on a rock. When looking at my photo of him later, Ryan says he saw... [Read more...]
Safe at Last! One Massive Hike, Part 3
November 13, 2011 by Diane Berry · 2 Comments
Further along our Mt. Massive hike in Colorado this summer, Terry rounds a corner to rejoin me alone… no Meghan. He has not seen her. As I spot him, I am attempting to send her a text message, realizing the likelihood of getting a signal out in the middle of nowhere is remote. I text her and ask if she is OK. There is no response. Not surprised, we continue on. About 20 minutes later, Meghan sends a text, asking whether she should stay on the Colorado Trail or take another trail I had not heard of. Thank God! I immediately inform her she’s already ON the wrong trail and she should simply turn around and head back the way she came. I also told her to take the Mt. Massive Trail when she reaches that intersection. She simply responded, “OK, Mom,” completely unfazed by the experience! She and Molly are fine. A peak in the distance...our destination? At that point, I sent Ryan a text asking if he was at the summit. He was not, but was getting close. My firm rule is always that he... [Read more...]
Lost On the Mountain! One Massive Hike, Part 2
November 6, 2011 by Diane Berry · 4 Comments
Continuing our story about summiting Colorado’s 2nd highest peak, Mt. Massive, this past summer while on our annual trip out west, we soon encountered more adventure than we bargained for. In spite of the fact that our hike had multiplied from 6.2 miles to a rather “massive” 13.6 miles the day before, Meghan, the non-hiker among us, decided to undertake the journey with us. This meant that all three dogs would accompany us as well, which thrilled them all! We were up at 5 am and enjoyed a breakfast of granola bars, juice and, for Terry and me, coffee for a quick bit of energy. We tend to eat light before and during a hike and enjoy a celebratory meal afterwards. We packed up our snacks for the trail (almonds, dried cherries and cranberries, peanuts) and loaded up plenty of water. Once the excited puppies were leashed up, we were off. It was 5:40 am. We arrive at our revised trailhead at 6:22 am and pose for a few pictures before heading out. It is 44 degrees and 6:33 when we start... [Read more...]
An Alaska Travel Roundup
November 5, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · Leave a Comment
Denali National Park/Melissa Trainer I was very fortunate last week because the State of Alaska invited me to attend the Alaska Media Road Show. Held at the luxurious Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara, this annual event brings together top travel writers and key players in Alaska’s tourism industry. As many of you know, I write quite a bit about Alaska. I lived there with my family and we traveled extensively throughout the state while we were there. We covered a lot of territory and ventured to many amazing remote locations during that time. We knew that we could be self sufficient with our travel trailer and we utilized our trailer to the max. We knew that amenities were few and far between on many of the remote roads, so we learned to pack accordingly. Our trailer was an absolutely priceless tool for navigating the region. Even though our three children were all under the age of 11 at the time, we were all willing to take the road less traveled.... [Read more...]
Chinese Company Copies the SylvanSport GO
October 6, 2011 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
In an earlier post, Meet the GO! by SylvanSport, I reported on the GO, a lightweight, reconfigurable, pop-up trailer manufactured by Brevard, North Carolina-based SylvanSport LLC. Meet the Go! All ready to Go! (Credit: sylvansport.com) SylvanSport has learned that Wuyi Tiandi Motion Apparatus Co. Ltd., a manufacturing company operating out of Zhejiang, China has begun manufacturing and selling counterfeit versions of the popular SylvanSport GO, according to a press release. Designed and manufactured entirely in the U.S., the SylvanSport GO has been widely praised for its innovative design features. The GO “was copied down to the color scheme and even the marketing support materials,” said Tom Dempsey, founder and president of Sylvan Sport. Sylvan Sport said that “this is an unusually blatant example illustrating the increasing problem of many of China’s most accomplished companies achieving their success by pilfering the intellectual property of other industrialized nations.” The... [Read more...]
♪♪♪♫-A-Three-Hour-Tour-♪♪♪♫
September 18, 2011 by Traveler8343 · 2 Comments
Let’s say you’re in the New England area and are planning a visit to far eastern Long Island, New York. You want to take your RV but, in light of my last post, you’ve decided that you don’t want to face the island’s infamous Long Island Expressway traffic. Well, there is an alternative. How about a nice boat trip. Yes, a boat trip — actually a ferry — with your RV onboard? It’ll cut about 300 miles off your trip by not driving all the way from the New London, Connecticut area along I-95 to New York and then the Throgs Neck Bridge and eastward via the Long Island Express Way, I-495 all the way out to the end of the island. Instead, the Cross-Sound Ferry Services will carry you and your RV from New London, CT to Orient Point, Long Island, New York across the Long Island Sound and back in just 3 hours. A three hour tour? You might ask where you’ve heard that before? Well, that was on Gilligan’s Island, not Long Island. And that was on the SS Minnow, not... [Read more...]
