Category: Comfort at Camp
CAMPING WITH A CPAP
August 19, 2012 by Professor95 · 6 Comments
CPAP is an acronym for “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. It is a mode of respiratory ventilation commonly used in the treatment of sleep apnea. Ten years ago, very few individuals owned or used CPAP machines at home. Now, the numbers of people using CPAP have risen quickly as sleep study technicians and doctors are prescribing them to their patients. It all started for me last winter. I would awaken in the morning feeling as if I had never been to bed. I was tired and took frequent daytime naps. My wife, and bed partner, noticed one night that I appeared to stop breathing (she was still awake – reading a book). It really scared her because she thought I had a heart attack and was dead. Fortunately, I was not dead – I apparently had an episode of sleep apnea. I made an appointment with my primary care physician to see about my chronic fatigue. After he did the customary exam, he told me that he would set up an appointment for a sleep study. How can anyone sleep... [Read more...]
Lightning: What You Need to Know
July 27, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
Before heading out in your recreational vehicle, ensure you have a plan and know what to do if you encounter severe weather. Know what actions to take to protect yourself, family, pets, and property against severe weather. (Source: NOAA) Summer is the peak season for one of the nation’s deadliest weather phenomena— lightning. But don’t be fooled, lightning can strike year round. Lightning is fascinating to watch but also extremely dangerous. Understanding the dangers of lightning is important so that you can get to a safe place when thunderstorms threaten. If you hear thunder—even a distant rumble or a crackling aloft—you are already in danger of becoming a lightning victim. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), 1,800 thunderstorms occur at any moment around the world. That’s 16 million each year! In the United States, there are about 25 million lightning flashes every year. Each of those 25 million flashes is a potential killer. While lightning fatalities... [Read more...]
WHATS A TOAD? – A RV Newbie’s Vocablulary List
July 8, 2012 by Professor95 · 3 Comments
I couldn’t help but laugh at Dalin Brinkman’s July 5th blog sharing his dismay over the vocabulary folks new to RVs encounter. Later in the day, I began to think more seriously about Dalin’s dilemma. The part of me that is still a teacher kicked into high gear. I remember all too well how overwhelmed my beginning students were when they were exposed to an entirely new vocabulary during my first few lectures. I decided to try and do something that just might give those still wet behind the ears with RV lingo a leg up on understanding – so I did what I would do with my students and whipped up a vocabulary list with simplified definitions intended to help them get started. Please, for those readers that are veteran RVers and accomplished linguist in the field, keep in mind that this is my seat-of-the-pants first time attempt to provide such a listing on this blog site. If you have an obscure term or RV related abbreviation you want to add, please feel free to use the comments section. ... [Read more...]
End of the Road: Assisted-living RV Park
July 7, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
Pearl and Bud Crispell hit the road in their recreational vehicle the day after they retired in 1976. And for decades they traveled the country at will living in their 40-foot motorhome. But, as is the eventual story of all road warriors, the day came when they hit the proverbial ‘end of the road’. Unable to manage some aspects of their life and care, living on fixed incomes, and not wanting to become a burden to friends and relatives, the Crispells pulled into the country’s only assisted-living RV Park, the Escapees Care Center in Livingston, Texas, according to AOL Real Estate. At 93 and 90, Pearl, a retired nurse, and Bud, a former IBM engineer, are not without age-related health issues. But her mind is “sharper than my husband wishes it was,” Pearl says. And she has no desire to trade the small confines of their RV for a bigger “land-based residence,” as Escapees call conventional houses. “We didn’t retire to entertain our family,”... [Read more...]
“Leaves of three, beware of me!” (Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac)
June 22, 2012 by Professor95 · 9 Comments
There are probably more stories, home remedies, and mistaken beliefs about Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac than any other plant found in the forest and surrounding countryside. I want to take a few paragraphs and explore some of the myths and facts related to these plants and their common allergen – urushiol oil. I hope you don’t mind if I tell a story along the way to get my point across. Jerry, Irene, there two children Kelly and Kenny along with their dog, Peaches, were camping near a wooded area. Jerry, the 2 kids and the dog decided to go on an exploratory hike through the woodlands. Irene stayed back at camp. Upon returning, they stripped off the kids clothes, did a through examination for ticks on everyone that was in the party and each took a hot shower in the bathhouse – washing well with Dial soap and then rubbing dry with a clean towel. Later that night Kenny, the oldest child, began scratching a red spot on his left leg. Before long, the itch and... [Read more...]
WE ARE CHEATERS!
June 7, 2012 by Professor95 · 7 Comments
Yes, I admit it. We are CHEATERS! No, we don’t cheat on our income taxes or in a card game. Like thousands of other RV owners, we cheat on what is perceived as conventional camping. For the past week, we have been camping at Big Meadows off of the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. We have a beautiful pull thru site about 100’ long – more than enough space to accommodate our “big rig”. There is only one problem with our site – we have no hook-ups for electricity, water, or sewage. This, of course, translates to using our own on-board resources of water, battery power, and wastewater holding. It is easy to get by with no hook-up for a night or two, but if you have a conventional RV with a refrigerator, water pump, and lights, you will quickly learn that the small battery packs that come with your RV will not sustain your needs. The amount of water you can store and the capacity of your waste holding tanks will determine just how often you flush the... [Read more...]
Bear Attack Reported at Arizona Campground
June 1, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
An Arizona woman was injured this morning (May 1) when a bear ripped a hole in the tent where she, her husband, and their dog had been sleeping at Ponderosa Campground in Tonto National Forest, just off Highway 260 about 10 miles east of Payson. Grizzly bear attacks tent. (Source: Thomas J/travelooce.com) The attack occurred around 4:30 a.m. After tearing open the tent, the bear reportedly stuck its head in and clawed at the 74-year-old woman, leaving her with bruises and a laceration on her scalp. She was treated at Payson Regional Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries and released. The woman’s husband and dog were not hurt. A large adult bear had recently been seen hanging around the campsite dumpsters. A wildlife manager with Arizona Game and Fish Department visited Ponderosa Campground yesterday looking for the bear, but it was not found. A culvert-style trap was set. The wildlife manager talked to the campground host about precautions, and all campers were informed... [Read more...]
Campfire Safety Guidelines
May 29, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
All it takes is one spark for things to go wrong. Campfire Safety. Never leave a campfire unattended! Forest fires often start from campfires that were not put out completely. A carelessly abandoned campfire or a campfire built without safe clearance can turn a small fire into a dangerous and fast-moving blaze. Be sure to build your campfire in a way that does not endanger anyone or the surrounding forest. Check with local authorities on open-air burning restrictions and follow local burning regulations. Keep current on fire bans in the area. Enjoy a safe campfire by following these campfire safety tips: NEVER build a campfire on a windy day—sparks or embers from the fire could travel quite a distance setting an unintentional fire Watch the wind direction to ensure sparks aren’t approaching any flammable materials Build the campfire where it will not spread; well away from tents, trailers, dry grass, leaves, overhanging tree branches, or any other combustible Build campfires in... [Read more...]
Top 10 things Campers Should Know about Ticks
May 20, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 3 Comments
There ARE more ticks in more places than ever before. Blacklegged ticks or Deer ticks Tick encounter rates are soaring, and experts are predicting 2012 to be one of the worst years for Lyme disease transmission due to higher than normal deer tick infection rates. Deer ticks also are known as blacklegged ticks in the U.S., sheep ticks in Europe, or Taiga ticks in Asia. Do you know THE BEST ways to keep yourself, your family, and your pets safe? Back in the day, we had ticks. Big, yucky American dog ticks. They usually crawled to the top of your head, you felt a lump, pulled the tick out, flushed them—or found some other form of revenge—and that was that. Usually no one got sick. Ticks were mostly just an annoyance, and that’s what people knew about ticks. American dog ticks are still around but these days, there’s another tick, a tiny blacklegged tick, smaller than a freckle. It’s also known as the deer tick, and it crawls up under clothes, latches on without much fanfare,... [Read more...]
Hiking–What to Wear?
April 22, 2012 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
It’s pretty easy to select what you will wear if you are hiking during the summer months. In spring and fall, however, it can be a bit tricky to be dressed for every, or even most, weather conditions. We love to hike and over the years we have developed clothing selections for our hikes that compensate and keep you warm and cool in most any weather. Here are my thoughts about what to wear on that spring (or fall) hike. Bootcut Sporthill Pants I always start out with my Sporthill Pants. I have been wearing them for skiing for about 15 years, but for that cool spring hike, they can’t be beat. Initially they were only available in the tight to the ankle style that is flattering on almost no one, but about three years ago they came out with this boot cut version that I adore. I have no problem running into town or a grocery store with these on; I had some reservations about being seen by the non-hiking public when wearing the ankle binding version. Guaranteed to be warm to about 20 degrees,... [Read more...]
