RV Podcast Episode 201: Boondocking and the Different Stages of the RV Lifestyle

Are you an RV newbie? Maybe you travel with young kids. Or grandkids. How far do you drive each day? Do you like state parks? Commercial campgrounds? Or are you interested in boondocking and camping off the grid? Then, perhaps you’re a seasoned RVer entering those golden years and not able to be quite as physically active as you once were. In this episode of the podcast, we talk about the different stages of the RV Lifestyle and the opportunities and challenges each stage presents along the way. I think you’ll really enjoy – and perhaps learn a few things – in this picnic table campsite conversation we had with a fellow RVer coming up in our interview of the week segment a little later in the program. Also in this Episode. Lots of RV news, RV tips , technology ideas and a wonderful off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #201 July 18, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK [spp-timestamp time="2:25"] Mike, Jen and Bo at Bingeman's Camping Resort in Kitchener, Ontario Canada MIKE As this 201st episode of the RV Podcast is released, it finds us in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, staying in Bingeman’s Campground Resort along the Grand River, just a couple miles from the Roadtrek Motorhomes factory. We’re up here this week to present a seminar at the Owner’s Academy organized by the Erwin Hymer Group of North America. We brought Bo with us and he has been a really good boy and has greatly enjoyed meeting his many "fans." The folks at the Hymer factory are very dog friendly and Bo is very happy with all the attention. JENNIFER We have been very busy. We came here fresh from a wonderful week in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, at another one of our Roadtreking Gatherings. This was the fifth gathering of the year and one of the most active ones we have ever had. We did white water rafting, tubing down a river, took a train excursion in the Nantahala River gorge and Mike is still pumped about an exhilarating zip line mountaintop to mountaintop adventure he took part in. MIKE Exhilarating is right. That zip line had us traveling 1.5 miles across the mountains at speeds of up to 55 miles an hour and 350 feet above the ground. It was a blast. JENNIFER We’ll have a video coming out about the week there but if you are looking for lots of outdoor adventure, the area around Bryson City, NC is a perfect place to go. But now we’re off on another trip, this one to Canada. We’ll finish our seminar and immediately hit the road again, making a beeline south to the Memphis, TN area, where we’ll be for another week. I’ll tell you, no grass is ground under our tires this summer. We have been criss-crossing North America pretty much on stop since May! MIKE Besides the traveling and exploring, we’ve been shooting videos every day and have a whole bunch of them to edit. Besides that, we’ve been working on a special book, a guide to RV Traveling with a dog. It has lots of tips and helpful advice, learned first hand by us with our dog Bo and shared by many of you who have been gracious enough to share your K9 wisdom. How much will it cost? Nothing. We will be giving it away. It should be done over the next couple of weeks. JENNIFER What about our Merch store? How is that coming along? People are asking all the time about our RV hats and T-shirts and the like. MIKE That, too, will soon be ready. We’ll start with a few items and then expand it. The best way for people to know about these things is through our RV Lifestyle newsletter. We’ll notify subscribers there first. The newsletter is free. They can sign up from our RV Lifestyle travel Blog at Roadtreking.com JENNIFER Here’s something I want to make people aware of…. This has been a really, really bad year for ticks. They are everywhere this year. Every area of the country that we have visited has reported serious tick infestations. Tick bites can transmit Lyme disease and public health officials nationwide are urging people to wear long pants and long sleeved shirts when hiking in tick country and to carefully check themselves each day. Same with pets. Our friend Yan Seiner shared on our Facebook Group that he had to pull off six ticks after our Roadtreking gathering in the Smoky Mountains last week. One, he said, was hiding in a hat he wore. We’ll link in the show notes to a story we did on the blog about how to safely remove ticks from people and pets. MIKE THAT tick removal tool IS CALLED The Tick Key, $15.95 for a set of three on Amazon. It makes tick removal quick and easy. I keep one on my key chain. Meanwhile, here is the RV news this week. JENNIFER Banff closes section of park after bear stomps tent to get wine Parks Canada closed a section of Banff National Park last week to protect the public from a bear. It will remained closed for up to three weeks, and the section closed, along the Lake EDIT Minnewanka trails, includes six campgrounds. What happened was a couple, camping in a tent, went away from their tent to prepare a meal and eat at the designated eating area. When they returned to their tent they found bear bites and scratches on their tent and belongings, and realized they had accidentally left a glass of wine inside. Park officials said bears are very curious, likely smelled the wine, and went into the tent to drink it. Now, for everyone's safety, people need to remain out of the area for the next few weeks. Violators could face a $25,000 fine. To learn more, click here. MIKE Texas RV Museum celebrates history of motorized campers If you're traveling anywhere near Amarillo, Texas, and have an interest in historical RVs, be sure to swing by the Jack Sisemore Traveland RV Museum. The free museum draws up to 150 people daily, according to a story out last week, and features restored historical RVs. It is believed to be one of two RV museums in the country, and features a 1915 motorhome built on a Model T Ford (apparently Henry Ford was a camper), a 1937 Kozy Kamp which was one of the first tent trailers, and a 1937 Airstream. To read more about the interesting collection and man behind it, click here. JENNIFER Wolves surround woman at Washington campground, she climbs tree to escaped and is rescued by helicopter Officials at Tiffany Spring Campground in northern Washington are trying to determine whether it is safe for the public to visit the area after a helicopter had to rescue a woman there after a pack of wolves surrounded her. The woman, a research student, found the pack closing in on her. She climbed a tree to escape and called for help. A helicopter was sent to rescue her. While the wolves were still there when it arrived, rescuers were able to land and take the researcher away. To learn more, click here. MIKE Kentucky State Park campgrounds offering two-for-one sale in September Planning to camp in Kentucky this September? If yes, you want to listen to this. Kentucky State Parks is offering a special two-for-one camping price at campgrounds throughout the month of September. To qualify you would need to stay on a Sunday-Thursday night, and give a special coupon code. You would then pay for one night, with the second night free. To learn more click here. JENNIFER Need to smile? Watch Katmai's live bearcams this July Stuck inside and need a reason to smile? Try watching the BearCam. Katmai National Park in Alaska has ther bear cams are up and operating and July is prime bear watching. The cameras stream live footage from throughout the park to literally thousands from around the world. One of the most popular live cameras is at Brooks Falls, where views can watch salmon jumping up the stream to bears trying to catch them. To watch for yourself, and learn more about Katmai's bears, click here or here. This part of the program is brought to you by AllStays Pro, the best tool for RVers looking for places to camp, boondock or stay free overnight. Go to https://rvlifestyle.com/allstays for more info. JENNIFER'S RV TIP OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="18:11"] We RVers are always looking for ways to save space. Here’s one that I have heard from several different people that is worth passing on to you. We all pack our refrigerators with condiments. Catsup, mustard, relish, perhaps steak sauce or mayonnaise. Next time you eat out in a restaurant, look for those little individual sized condiment packages that so many places offer instead of having big bottle of catsup or mustard or whatever on the table. Now don’t be greedy or obnoxious about it but take a couple of them with you for the RV. After a while, you’ll have a nice assortment. They store easily in a drawer, or, better yet, a small plastic container. Because the individual packets don’t need to be refrigerated, they can be stored anywhere. Thus, you save valuable space in the refrigerator for food that does need to be kept cold. That’s just a simple tip. But often simple is the best, right? Now… be sure to send me your tips and suggestions for the RV lifestyle. You can use the “Leave Voicemail” link at Roadtreking.com. Just click it and then use the built-in microphone on your computer or mobile devise to record a message to me. You can do it over as many times as you want, until you are satisfied. And then you just click a button and it comes right to my email inbox. I love hearing from you! Jennifer's tip of the week is brought to you by RadPower Bikes ,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping LISTENER RV QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="22:29"] Mark and Nancy lost their Serpentine belt and is stranded on the road without a spare.