Category: Traveling Tips
Some Days Are Diamond: Florida Man Finds 1.95 ct. Brown Diamond
December 9, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
The second-largest diamond found so far this year at Crater of Diamonds State Park was certified on the afternoon of November 28. Doug Lay holds his newly found 1.95-carat dark brown diamond. (Credit: Crater of Diamonds State Park) The 1.95-carat dark brown gem is about the size of an English pea, with a round shape and a pitted surface. 40-year-old Doug Lay, a certified nursing assistant from Hernando, Florida, discovered the coffee-colored gem around 1:00 p.m. while wet sifting in the East Drain, a trench along the east side of the park’s 37 ½-acre diamond search area. Lay is no stranger to diamond finds; he has found more than 30 over the past four years, but this is his largest find yet! Lay first learned about Crater of Diamonds State Park from his father, one of the park’s longtime diamond miners. “Dad’s been coming to the Crater of Diamonds off and on for about 17 years. Whenever I’m on vacation, I like coming to Arkansas to spend time with him, and we enjoy searching... [Read more...]
Fall and Winter Warning about Blacklegged Ticks
December 4, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
An earlier post, Top 10 things RVers Should Know about Ticks, stressed the fact that ticks can be active even in the winter. That’s right! Adult stage blacklegged ticks (also known as deer ticks) become active every year after the first frost. They’re not killed by freezing temperatures, and while other ticks enter a feeding diapause as day-lengths get shorter, deer ticks will be active any winter day that the ground is not snow-covered or frozen. This surprises people, especially during a January thaw or early spring day. Remember this fact and hopefully you’ll never be caught off-guard. Campers, hikers, and hunters should take special precautions in the woods during fall and winter to avoid this winter-resilient tick that transmits Lyme disease, according the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). “We are trying to make the hunters aware that there are ticks in some of these areas and asking them to check their deer,” said Lindsay Rist, wildlife communication... [Read more...]
Stocking Stuffers for the Camping Family
December 2, 2012 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
It’s that time of year again! In the northeast corner of Wisconsin, and many other areas of this country, St. Nicholas visits on the evening of December 5th, a sort of pre-curser to the Big Day as it were. Children hang stockings over the fireplace or on a banister before heading to bed that night. Then, in the morning, they are filled with small trinkets and goodies. My stockings always held a book of some kind, a small toy and a variety of Christmas candies. Every year I like to write a blog about St. Nick ideas for campers, hikers and outdoors lovers to help stimulate the imagination of our readers. A couple of traditional favorites include a new calendar to help plan trips in the New Year and the newest edition of Woodall’s Guide for the same reason. But every year I also like to add a few new ideas that may simply not have occurred to the typical “St. Nick”. Here are my ideas for this year: 1) A Water Filtration System—especially for people like our son Ryan, who... [Read more...]
Stairs: The Hidden Danger In RVs
November 30, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · 4 Comments
The day after Thanksgiving, the full day of eating whatever we want; we set out for a fun weekend of camping at the beach. The beach camp spot my aunt reserved this year was at Leo Carrillo State Beach, a scenic stretch of canyon leading to gorgeous coastline, where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. You access it from the Pacific Coast Highway, just south of where we live. My dear aunt was only one day late in reserving our typical spot at Carpinteria State Beach and, lo and behold, there were no spots left! So we settled for second best: Leo Carrillo, where I grew up camping and loving every second of it. Leo Carrillo is just off a narrow, windy stretch of highway along the coast with no bike lane, so bicycling with our kids in tow to the campsite was out of the question (although we did enjoy riding around the campground and over to the beach side)! We packed up our bikes and set off with the RV and a handful of tents for two nights at Leo Carrillo State Beach... [Read more...]
Black Friday Camping with an RV
November 21, 2012 by Cynthia Baum · Leave a Comment
Many folks enjoy getting killer deals the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, some will go to so much trouble as to camp outside of particular stores days in advance in order to get a good spot. While some will sit in a chair, others will actually pop-up a tent and get themselves extra comfortable since they figure they will be spending lots of time waiting, including at least one night there. They do this in order to get the first pick of all the amazing deals at a given store, and possibly even come up on a freebie or two. Some 34 percent of American consumers plan to shop on Black Friday, the beginning of the hectic Christmas shopping season, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Depending on their shopping list, people will camp outside of Walmart, Best Buy, Target, or any other store that offers the best deals on the items they desire. More often than not, stores will offer special savings and free stuff for the first 25 (or more) people in line. The... [Read more...]
Magellan Offering a $20 Discount of RoadMate GPS
November 21, 2012 by Good Sam Team · Leave a Comment
Magellan contacted us yesterday and asked us to share with you a wonderful Black Friday discount coupon. This week, you can purchase the Magellan RoadMate RV9165T-LM for $20 off the list price. That’s on top of the $110 off sale that Camping World is advertising for Black Friday. Just use the code: 2488. You can buy yours at CampingWorld.com. Offer good from 11/22 – 11/25.
Giving Thanks On the Road
November 21, 2012 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
Fall can be the most beautiful time of the year to camp. The seasons are changing and campgrounds and RV parks are not as packed with vacationers as they may be during summer months. If you are fortunate enough to have the time for travel in late November, you could have the unique experience of celebrating Thanksgiving on the road. However, preparing an entire Thanksgiving feast in a camper or RV can be a daunting task and rife with unique complications. If you travel in a large vehicle with a full size oven, your solution may be obvious and your problems, minimal. However, if you are a tent camper or have a smaller travel trailer, as we do, you could experience multiple issues in attempting to achieve your usual spread. Our small 18’ camper certainly contains an adequate kitchen area to meet our usual camping needs: a two burner stove, a small sink and a refrigerator. Indeed, it feels luxurious after many years of tent camping. However, we have no oven in which to cook the turkey. If... [Read more...]
Plowing for Diamonds in Arkansas
November 20, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 2 Comments
Crater of Diamonds State Park is the world’s only diamond-producing site open to the public. On average, two diamonds are found each day at the park. The state park’s policy is finder-keepers. What park visitors find is theirs to keep. Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The colors found at the Crater of Diamonds are white, brown, and yellow, in that order. The search area at the Crater of Diamonds State Park is a 37 ½-acre plowed field, the eroded surface of the eighth largest diamond-bearing deposit in the world in surface area. Why plow the search field at the diamond mine? The practice of plowing the diamond field goes back to the earliest days of commercial diamond mining, according to Park Interpreter Margi Jenks. In the early 1900s miners used a mule team and farming plow to dig trenches. After tourism began in the 1950s, Millar’s Crater of Diamonds used a road grader to turn over the dirt on what is now the north end of the present diamond search area. Today’s... [Read more...]
CAMPFIRE STORIES – “Broken Down on the Key Bridge”
November 16, 2012 by Professor95 · 2 Comments
Sitting around a campfire with a group of old friends or new acquaintances inevitably brings out personal stories that speak of the trials, tribulations and adventures we all encounter during our RV travels. Such was the case last week as a group gathered on a cool November night. That’s when Allan shared the unfortunate but somewhat humorous adventure he, his dog and wife endured as they crossed the Frances Scott Key Bridge in Washington, D.C.: We are finally underway to meet our fellow Cedar Creek RV Owners Club friends for our End of Year Rally at Willow Tree Resort in South Carolina. Our Terrier, Duffy, and I really needed this getaway. We had planned getaways earlier this fall but had to cancel them for my hernia operation and my son’s spinal surgery. Then, we were forced to delay our departure for this trip when Hurricane Sandy caused a blackout at our home. The ride from our home in PA to Willow Tree normally takes about 10 hours. I was so looking... [Read more...]
Butterflied Turkey a la RV
November 13, 2012 by Vickie Medley · Leave a Comment
Last year we celebrated our first Thanksgiving in the RV and I knew I was going to fix a turkey no matter what. We have a convection oven and I knew the only hurdle I would need to overcome was the size of the turkey. So, if you’re new to RVing or have not tried cooking a turkey inside your RV, let me share how easy it is. I saw a recipe about butterflying a turkey and I knew that would work for us. Butterflying would help reduce the height of the turkey allowing it to be on the rack in the convection oven. I found that a 12 lb. turkey works well. Once butterflied, the glaze goes on beautifully leaving us with a moist tender turkey. 12 lb. turkey 2 Tbls. salt 2 tsp. pepper 2 tsp. baking powder 2 onions Glaze: 3 cups apple juice 1 cup whole fresh cranberries ¾ cup Maple Syrup 1 Tbls. grated fresh ginger 1 Tbls. mustard Remove giblets and neck from turkey. Rinse the inside of the turkey and pat dry. Place the turkey breast side down on a non-slippery surface. With a sharp... [Read more...]
