RVing or Not--This Warning could save your life!

Whether you are driving your motorhome, pulling a trailer, or simply driving across town in your family car to pick up groceries, here is one warning that most drivers never learn about until it is too late. Whether it is ever mentioned in State driving manuals that are given out for those taking driving tests, I can’t say. And it’s doubly important for RVers to be aware of this danger.

First of all let me say that the last state we got our driver’s licenses in didn’t even have drivers manuals, never mind that new drivers and new arrivals in the state had no way of knowing about local laws or safety issues. And the state we’ve just moved to gives a driver’s test at 16, and drivers keep their licenses for the basically the rest of their lives. So state residents will likely never have to take a written test again after their first one, even though laws change and new dangers emerge. Someone who recently moved here told me her license was good for 45 years! How many older drivers on the road were issued licenses before the first Interstate Highway was built? How did they learn the rules of driving on high-speed highways with entrances and exits unless they read it in a drivers manual?

Anyway, safety is a serious issue that should be routinely covered in the media, especially when it concerns something almost all of us have done at one time or another. And that is driving with the cruise control engaged when it is raining! If you are driving on wet pavement while it is raining, turn off your cruise control.

Even though I’ve been aware that this was a frequent cause of accidents, rain is so unusual here that when I drove out of the garage this morning, I immediately turned on the cruise control. I had driven across town before I remembered to turn it off.

Cruise controls were designed to make driving more relaxing, but when the road is wet, they increase the risk of skidding. Remember to turn yours off when roads are wet.

Homeless and Jobless Settling Into RV Parks

The latest news on the RV front is the number of jobless and homeless families that are moving into RVs to save money. They can buy a used travel trailer for minimum investment and have a roof over their heads, then stay in a nice RV park with amenities for much less than it would cost to rent or buy an apartment or home—even one in a distressed neighborhood.

Most of these families don’t use their trailers for travel; instead they leave them permanently parked on a site. However, one has to wonder if more and more of them will hit the open road in search of jobs, or head south for a more habitable place to spend the winter? This won’t be a new phenomenon since for decades, construction workers have found RVs a convenient way to live and travel, and many have taken their families along. This year, though, there are many more families trying to survive in RVs, and it remains to be seen whether the economy will turn around before they become desperate enough to head out on the highway in search of a job.

As many snowbirds head south to warmer climates this fall, they may find that there are few or no vacancies. Reservations may be required to return to your favorite winter park. However, since many snowbird parks are restricted to 55 and older, those commercial parks will probably remain available to snowbirds. Still, membership parks such as Thousand Trails and numerous others may find their sites filled with families desperate for a place to spend the winter economically. And many of the homeless may discover BLM Land camping, which is virtually free. Either way, the impact will certainly be felt by many RVers. If you are planning to travel this winter, phone ahead so that you don't end up without a place to call home for the season.

Free Camping in Alaska

Planning to take your RV to Alaska next summer? The Anchorage School District provides free parking for self-contained RVs at school grounds and city parks during the summer through a Camper Host Program. They believe that with RVs present on the premises, vandalism can be prevented. You’ll have to give a 30-day commitment if you want to participate. 30/50 amp service is provided at most schools, plus water and sewer service once a week, which is free. For more information, contact Melody Haakenson at 947-742-7800 or email haakenson_melody@asdk12.org.

View of Sedona, Arizona is even grander from above















One thing I firmly believe in is being open to adventures. Because of that, I’ve flown on everything from a small two-seater plane to an empty Air Force cargo plane (C-141), and from an engineless glider to a tiny helicopter with see-through rounded front.

The helicopter ride was my most thrilling ride since the pilot turned the chopper straight down with its tail in the air so we could look at fool’s gold in a creek near Mount Rushmore. We had discovered the helicopter parked by the road, and when we stopped to look it over, the pilot offered to fly us up to the faces on Mount Rushmore. The rest of the flight was just gravy—and I’m not sure this type of adventure could even happen now, with more stringent safety rules in effect. Sure, safety rules are there to protect us, sometimes from ourselves, but when you’re married to a risk-taking junkie like I am, you sometimes get dragged into adventures that you sure would have hated to miss. And sometimes, you could have happily stayed home!

A glider ride over Napa Valley in California followed a greasy hamburger, so I was too busy trying to keep lunch down to enjoy the ride or scenery. Then when the ride neared its end, the pilot had to spiral the small plane downwards in a tight circle because updrafts tried to keep us aloft. Aargh! I decided I much prefer the roar of an engine to the silence of a glider because the steady noise lets me and my stomach know that all is well.

The cargo plane ride involved flying around Mount Rainier near Seattle again and again, and the few of us onboard had to take turns looking out the one window. It was interesting, but it finally got boring, especially since there was nothing to do while not looking out the window, and no place to sit down in between peeks at the peak. Still, it was an adventure that few civilians ever get to take.

A few weeks ago we stumbled upon an opportunity to take a helicopter tour of beautiful Sedona, Arizona and its surrounding red cliffs and caves. We had driven up to the airport to get good views of the town for pictures, and my husband asked at the terminal counter about the chopper rides. The man behind the counter mentioned they had one going up in a few minutes that had two remaining seats and they would take us up for half-price if we liked. Not ones to pass up a bargain adventure, we hopped aboard. This was a much bigger chopper than my first one since it seated four passengers and the pilot, but was still an amazing ride.

And did I mention that this was the day after a snowfall on the higher elevations, so the red buttes were coated with what looked like marshmallow frosting? It was absolutely gorgeous! We took off to the west and wound among the snow-covered cliffs. We saw Indian cliff dwellings that most tourists and even many locals never get to see unless they are willing to hike for miles in the backcountry. The pilot swooped through a couple of very narrow passages to give us a thrill. Looking ahead at them, we passengers couldn’t be sure they were wide enough for the helicopter’s blades. There were four huge sighs of relief after we got through them.

Flying has nothing to do with RVing, but being RVers puts us in close proximity to all types of adventures, including flying. What fun it is to fall into an unexpected opportunity along the RV highway.

The scene around Mount St. Helens, which still shows the river filled with mudflow, even after 24 years.








Okay, so this is not Geraldo, but I would have been shooting directly into the sun to snap his picture. The mountain was spewing steam at this moment, and officials as well as national news networks were anxiously watching the activity on the mountain.


Mount St. Helen’s Volcano

Right now a volcano in Alaska is threatening to erupt, and who knows when it will or what damage it might do to the surrounding area and the environment. However, we only have to look at Mt. St. Helens in Washington State to see the type of destruction that can happen.

We visited St. Helens a few years after its devastating blast in 1980, when more than 200 square miles of Douglas Fir forests disappeared beneath mud, and trees lay fallen where they had stood. The scene was beyond eerie.

In 2004, we once again visited the mountain to see if anything had changed. It still looks otherworldly, like a scene straight off the Moon’s surface. But now there are signs of regeneration on surrounding hills and mountains. Trees are sprouting, and manmade visitor centers and overlooks have popped up on nearby viewing sites. But even today, not all is safe or perfect there.

On the day we went, the mountain was threatening to erupt once again. It continuously puffed steam and the ground trembled, even as thousands of visitors, including us, drove up to get a close-up view of the action. Dozens of national network news vans with satellites on top were there filming the activity. We got out and wandered around Johnston Ridge, an observatory and visitor center named for the young volcanologist who lost his life reporting on the pending eruption back in 1980. In all, 57 people lost their lives on that picture-perfect spring day that quickly turned into night when ash and terror filled the skies.

I know some of you must wonder why we would go see the mountain while the seismometer was registering heavy earthquake activity. We were staying nearby in an RV resort and figured we were goners if it erupted, whether we remained there or went up on the mountain. The activity did hasten our departure from the area, though.

At Johnston Ridge, we watched the seismometer bounce up and down to the rhythm of the mountain’s burps, and then headed into the theater to view the horrifying big screen movie of the eruption in 1980. As the curtains parted following the movie to reveal a stunning view of what remains of Mount St. Helens, newscaster Geraldo Rivera walked by.

Mount St. Helens is an easy drive east of I-5, between Portland and Seattle, and is a fascinating site to visit since you can look directly into the north flank of the mountain, much of which disappeared during the volcanic blast. In the United States, there is no volcano site other than Hawaii that reveals the process of regeneration that can be observed there. Visit the Web site at: http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm/

Find the Real Old West in Oatman, Arizona

When I started this newsletter, I used to include a short story on fun places to visit, especially since traveling is the reason for RVing. So this time, I’ve decided to include an article about a place on old Route 66, which many of you have probably never heard about before.

If you take off on old Route 66 to the West, just outside Kingman, AZ, you can’t miss the little ghost town of Oatman. When we made the trip, we left out motorhome behind in Kingman. This section of Route 66 is not a road over which you want to drive your big RV, nor is there a place in the ghost town to park your rig. The road there is narrow and winding, plus it does some climbing. This town is also easily reached within an hour or so from Needles, CA, Laughlin, NV and Bullhead City, AZ, but the 25 mile road to Bullhead City is unpaved, although well graded.

You’ll know you’ve reached Oatman when you spot burros meandering down the street and along the wooden sidewalks. These are descendants of the original beasts of burden that were brought in to help miners back in the town’s heyday, and then were turned loose to fend for themselves when the miners left. The original burros and their descendants quickly learned to beg for food. Today they come down from the surrounding hills each morning to solicit food from friendly tourists and shop owners, and have no fear of poking their heads through doorways if they think a friendly handout might await them there. Most shops sell carrots to feed the burros.

Oatman was founded in the 1800s, then hit it big in 1915 when a gold strike worth $10 million drew 3500 people to the area. A narrow-guage railroad served Oatman for a short while, but the town died more than once as first, the gold played out, then later when Interstate 40 drew tourists and travelers away from the old highway and the town. The Oatman Hotel was made famous by the honeymoon stopover of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, famous ‘30s movie actors, on March 18, 1939. Tourists who remember them still ask to see the room where they stayed.

Today, Oatman is still an active place on weekends, where staged gunfights take place on the main street. Prospectors still comb the area in search of gold, especially since gold prices have reached record levels during this past year. And you might recognize some familiar scenes from western movies like How the West Was Won.

The trip to Oatman is a perfect, picturesque journey into the past, and a glimpse into the true Old West.

Lower Gas Prices Mean More People RVing this Winter

Gas prices have finally returned to a level that puts more people in the mood to travel. Canadians are especially finding RVing more enticing this year, and we are meeting lots of them in the park this winter. Many have not been here before.

For awhile, some RVers were hanging up their keys and trying to unload their gas-guzzling rigs, and while many are still wary of taking long trips, other are breathing a big sigh of relief and making plans to hit the road for an extensive vacation.

I can remember the early seventies, when gas suddenly spiked from an average 30 cents per gallon to around 65 cents per gallon. Sixty-five cents sounds cheap now, doesn’t it? But back then, we watched gas prices double in a very short period of time, and that was scary. What was even worse back then was that many gas stations closed, and those that didn’t had long lines because of gas rationing. We could only buy gas (according to numbers on our license plates) on certain days of the week. At that time, I drove hundreds of miles every week for my job, and in many unfamiliar neighborhoods, which often left me wondering if I would make it back to the studio, or home each day.

Then in the late seventies, early eighties, the same thing happened again. Gas was in short supply and expensive. I was still traveling hundreds of miles a week, and again everyone, including me, freaked out. I even changed hairdressers to cut down on miles.

The main thing I remember during both of those crises, though, was that RVs were practically being given away because owners thought they could no longer afford to travel!

Lesson learned: gas prices will go up, and sometimes they’ll go back down. Drivers, and especially RVers, will always react with alarm when they see their lifestyle threatened. None of us knows how long lower gas prices will hold this time, but it’s certain that they’ll go back up.

RVers learn to adapt. We either cut back on driving when prices get high, or we adjust our budgets to accommodate higher prices and keep going. The economy looks really bleak right now, and no one knows how soon it will right itself. None of us knows what will happen next. But I’m certain that no matter what, some RVers will continue hitting the road as long as they can get fuel, and as long as their budgets will allow.

Gas Prices Got You Down?

Gas prices reached record highs this spring and summer, then dropped a little, and now they’re climbing again. What’s an RVer to do?

The day before we left Arizona on our trip on March 15th, we gassed up in town. Gas had zoomed up overnight from $2.89 to $3.02. “Oh well, what’s new” we asked ourselves? Our next tank of gas the following evening was purchased in California at a whopping $3.50, and it climbed steadily upward as we made our way northward to Washington. Before we would head back to Arizona in July, it had reached well over $4.00 per gallon, then on our last day of travel, July 17th, it reached the highest price ever recorded! Such is our luck every time we travel in the motorhome! As we pulled into our campsite back in AZ, local gas stations were already lowering their prices by a few cents.

But we learned long ago how to compensate for volatile gas prices. Our previous trip back from Washington happened over Labor Day weekend in 2005, and I guess you can all remember what happened. Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and gas shot up from $2.50 to over $3.00 per gallon overnight. Ouch! When we’re traveling in an RV and something like that happens, nothing is going to stop us from reaching our destination, especially if we’re in the north and it’s getting up into fall. We don’t do cold! Well, not intentionally! This was one time when we had to get back right away.

So how do we compensate when we have the luxury of being able to plan ahead? By traveling slowly and spreading our travel costs out. We plan to go as far as we feel comfortable traveling, which is usually decided by a set budget. Then we settle in for anywhere from a week up to a month. Rates for RV sites are always a little cheaper by the week, and usually quite a bit lower per month. We’ve also kept our overnight costs down by joining Passport America, which provides one-half price camping spots scattered across the country, and Escapees Club, which owns several parks around the country. We also belong to Thousand Trails and can stay in their parks for free for up to two weeks before we have to move on or start paying. Unfortunately, these campgrounds are not always located on the routes we want to travel, but sometimes they are. And sometimes we route our trip specifically to take advantage of them.

Also, while traveling, we always watch for Walmart Supercenters, where there is room to park the motorhome to shop, and where grocery prices are generally lower than nearby chain supermarkets. We also watch for produce stands that we can pull into to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Before we leave on a trip, I usually cook up some hearty soups and bread and freeze them in meal-size portions. Then we only have to find a spot off the highway big enough to pull over and run the generator for a few minutes to thaw and heat them for lunch.

One of our biggest expenses is eating out, which is both an educational and culinary treat as we travel through different regions, so if we need to cut back on expenses, that is often the only area we have to seriously cut.

So what are the best ways you can cut expenses to make up for expensive and rising gas prices?

1. Join a discount camping club so that you can cut costs of overnight stays. Make sure you talk to other campers before you join anything, and go back to your rig and figure out just how much you will actually save before signing on the dotted line. Salesman will tell you that you must make up your mind immediately to get their “special” price, but we’ve found that going back the next day hasn’t cooled their enthusiasm for selling us a membership. Meanwhile, we’ve been able to make an educated decision.

2. If you really can’t afford higher gas prices AND an overnight RV site, you might try bookdocking or dry camping. That means finding a place to park overnight for free, and with no hookups. Some county parks around the country provide free overnight camping, and some states allow overnighters to spend the night in rest areas, but always check first and make sure it looks safe. Some Walmarts also allow overnighters, but check with the manager before attempting it because you don’t want be awakened in the middle of the night by authorities threatening to haul you away because it’s illegal in that particular municipality.

3. If you use gas cards, make sure they aren’t for gas stations with the highest prices, and get one that offers a cash rebate. We’ve found that Sam’s Club gas prices are almost always cheaper than surrounding gas stations. You can purchase a Walmart Road Atlas and pay less for it at (guess where?) that lists all the Walmarts and Sam’s Club locations across the country.

4. Don’t leave home without signing up for emergency road service. We use Good Sam’s, which costs around $100 per year, and they will send a tow truck no matter how far you may be from civilization and haul you to the nearest reliable repair facility. There’s never any money out of pocket for this service.

5. Plan out your trip to fit your budget. If you want to travel for a few months, determine just how far you can afford to go each month, then find a nice but inexpensive place to put down roots for a short period. It’s a perfect way to really explore an area in your toad (towed car). Don’t haul one, or you travel with a trailer or a Fifth Wheel, and your only drivable vehicle is an expensive, fuel-guzzling truck? Then get together with some of your fellow campers and see if you can maybe join them on jaunts around the area, and split the fuel costs.

6. If gas shoots sky high and you’re thousands of miles from home, it pays to have a Visa or Mastercard, or a savings account that you can access on the road for just this type of emergency. Believe me, that’s what’s saved our “can’t stand the cold” booties more than once! There also may be times when an equipment break-down breaks your budget, and you need that extra cushion to tide you over.

For most RVers, there’s no reason to panic about gas prices yet. We may hang up the keys when it reaches $5.00 a gallon, but until then, we plan to continue our journey along America’s backroads. Maybe we won’t travel as far each trip, or we’ll take longer to get to our destination, but we’re not letting fuel prices determine our RVing future just yet.

P.S. Don’t tell the oil companies, but we may take a trip back East in a couple of months. This time though, we plan to leave the motorhome parked on its site and take the car, which gets around 35 miles per gallon. Won’t that just upset the order of things for the gas stations along our route?

RV Parks that deliver

A few weeks ago I wrote about one of the worst RV parks we have stayed in, and I promised to also write about the really good ones that we encounter. This past trip we had many opportunities to stay in RV parks in California, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, although some were on military installations and one was connected to the Camplex in Gillette, Wyoming. They were fine places to stay, especially the FamCamp at the Air Force Academy, but the military installations are not usually open to anyone who isn’t an active duty member of the military or retired.

After leaving the crowded parking lot-style and perfectly horrible RV park in Spokane, we next went to Anaconda, Montana. Fairmont RV Resort is a large park with widely spaced sites, making it great place to stay. Outside the park on one side were horses in a pasture; on another side, a resort. We belong to Passport America, which gives us half-price camping at many RV parks throughout the country, and that’s how we found this park several years ago. The valley where it is located is surrounded by snow-covered mountains (at least in June), the air is fresh, and the deep blue sky seems endless past the mountains.

Our next really great RV parks were located in New Mexico, just off I-25 and I-40. In Las Vegas, N.M. we decided to stay at a state park since the one commercial park was unappealing, and that’s being kind. We headed to Storey Lake State Park just a mile or so further down the road, where we found great pull-through sites with covered picnic casitas overlooking a blue lake. These get reserved early, so overnighters might have to stay in a back-in site, plus it appeared that people who didn’t even own tents could reserve the casitas and sleep in them. We were plucky enough to ask about the pull-thrus after being assigned to a back-in site, and lucky that there was one available for one night, which was all we needed. Storey Lake State Park would make a really fine destination for those wanting to spend a week or so where they can also enjoy their boat, and it’s conveniently located just outside of town.

Then there was Gallup, New Mexico, where we had been forced to stay in a dirt pullout off the freeway a few years ago because no RV parks were listed in our directory. But this time we made reservations at U.S.A. RV Park, and we were pleasantly surprised. The park looks fairly new and is clean and spacious. We had a pull-through site near the office and entertainment area, and were handed a menu for our evening meal when we checked in. The offerings mostly consisted of barbeque sandwiches and hamburgers, but they were deliciously prepared by a young man who is a culinary student, and prices were very reasonable. They also served breakfast, but we passed on that. I’m sure it was also wonderful. Hey, I love a place where good food can be had within walking (or waddling) distance.

Neither of the parks in New Mexico were Passport America or otherwise discounted parks. Apparently, few parks in New Mexico feel it necessary to offer discounts, but for a few that offer an Escapees membership discount, which is usually 10-15 percent.

I shouldn’t forget the RV parks we stayed in on our way through California, Oregon and Washington. We went a few miles out of our way on the first night on the road, and because of a low tire that had to be changed (by emergency road service), it got dark before we arrived at Twin Lakes RV Park in Newberry Springs, CA. The park was down a narrow road off I-40 (also, access off I-15), and after first missing it, we managed to get the RV (after taking the car off the dolly) turned around and headed back. Inside were dirt roads and it was impossible to tell what condition the park was in, but we felt sure it was safe. Were we ever surprised when we woke up the next morning to find a small lake outside our window with ducks placidly floating back and forth? The park was a little rundown, but that mattered little after we spent some time watching the ducks with our very happy and excited cat. This was also one of the Passport America parks, so the price was way less than we would have paid anywhere else, and that made it worth the few extra miles.

We also stayed at Mountain Gate RV Park north of Redding and just off I-5. We had stayed there before, so knew it would be beautiful—especially in the spring. This is where our right front wheel on the car slipped over the front of the car dolly as we headed downhill and made a sharp turn. No problem for the hosts there. They hauled out two hydraulic jacks, and with the aid of our pitiful car jack, the car was soon back where it belonged and we had no further problems.

Our next stop was in Sutherlin, Oregon, where we usually stay at the Escapees park, which is absolutely beautiful. This time, since we were only stopping overnight, we turned left off I-5 and drove about one-half mile to the Hi-Way Haven RV Park. We had stayed there overnight before, so knew that it was neat and clean, and just an overall nice park. We also knew about the outdoor movie screen, which had been left in place after it was turned into an RV park. What we didn’t know was that on weekend nights when the weather is nice, you can sit right in your RV and watch the feature movie that the park runs. We were there on the wrong night, but had there been a movie, we were parked directly below the screen and would have had front-row seats. So if you’re pining to watch a movie at an old-fashioned drive-in theater and you also need a pull-through RV site for one night, this is a great place to stay.

I’m pretty sure we spent one or two other nights on the road, but apparently the places we stayed were forgettable. We ended up in Tacoma, Washington at one of our favorite places to stay since it is lakefront and only one-half mile down the shore from where we used to live. It is also located on a military installation, so isn’t open to the general public. Three military installations operate FamCamps in this one area just south of Tacoma, luckily for us—because there are no other RV parks in the immediate area—and that’s exactly where we needed to be.

If you are eligible to stay in military parks, contact me for more information on military FamCamps or you can purchase a directory to all FamCamps across the country at base exchanges. The parks are not necessarily inexpensive, but sometimes they’re the only game in town. And sometimes they offer great views overlooking water or are located in pristine wooded areas.

If you’re interested in Passport America’s discounted program, their Website is at: www.passportamerica.com. Our first three nights on the road back in 2003 saved us the membership price. It’s so worth the cost!

Gas too high? Find vacation treasures near home

The summer doldrums have ambushed me! We’ve had hot weather here, but not that hot, and the summer monsoons are back, which means we get some really nice afternoons and evenings to get outside and walk around the park, enjoying the fresh scent of rain. Best of all, many nights we can sleep without air conditioning. As a result, I’ve been too busy enjoying nature to remember the other important things in my life like writing.

August is one of the most popular months for families to go on vacation as summer activities start to wind down. In the South where I was born, it is hot and muggy and everyone hides from the heat inside their air conditioned homes or at a favorite lakeside beach. In New England, where we have family and where we spent a summer in the mid-nineties, everyone seems to own a lakeside retreat or rent a camping spot for the summer where they spend all of their free time enjoying the woods, lakes, or ocean beaches. In Washington, where we spent so many years, it might be cool and wet, but usually it is warm and sunny throughout the month of August, so everyone takes part in activities like hiking, boating and going to the beach—activities that many avoid during the many months of overcast skies and rain.

In California, where we spent a lot of years, activities tend to revolve around the kids’ schedules. If they’re out of school, it’s a great time to drive up to the mountains, which are only a few hours drive from most urban centers in the state. The same for the beaches, which are within reach of most people living in California. Now the metro-link trains in Southern California can whisk families living inland to the beaches cheaply and quickly. Then there’s Hawaii, where we lived for three years when we were young and where America goes to enjoy the beaches and a somewhat foreign culture within our own United States.

We have been lucky enough to have lived in some of the greatest places in the States, and to have traveled to most of the others since we started RVing. And one thing we’ve discovered everywhere we went, with the exception of the lower deserts in the Southwest, is that summer is the time to throw aside the daily grind of life and get outdoors. Even people who are used to the heat in places like Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma get out and garden, take a bike ride, or hike in the early morning hours before the day heats up. And luckily most of them have sky islands nearby where they can escape to and enjoy the cooling winds and rains of the monsoons.

This summer, gas prices are keeping many people from traveling great distances, but there are lots of wonderful places in this great country that have nearby tourist attractions or beaches or mountains that don’t require a lot of gas to get to. I hope you are all enjoying the relaxing activities that summer offers in your area.

No matter what your plans for this last great summer month, travel safely.