RV Podcast Episode 222: No More Ugly Overnight Camping Spots

There is no excuse anymore to overnight in your RV in crowded, brightly lit, noisy parking lots. This week, we bring back the CEO of Harvest Hosts who will tell us in the interview of the week about a huge expansion in the number of farms, wineries, fruit orchards, attractions, and now golf courses across North America that welcome members of Harvest Hosts to stay on their scenic, beautiful grounds. We’ll also have him explain how listeners to this podcast can avoid the price hike coming January 1 and even get a nice discount not available to others. Also in this podcast, also answer your RV questions, share some tech tips and bring the Burketts on for another off the beaten path report. Lots to share this week. Show Notes for Episode #222 December 12, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE This is our last podcast of the year. We’re taking our first real vacation break in almost seven years of creating RV and Travel content. Besides pausing the podcasts to enjoy some time off at this special time of the year, we’ll be taking a break on our newsletters, videos and blog posts. In fact, speaking of the Roadtreking RV Lifestyle blog, we’ll be doing a redesign and giving it a slightly different look. We’ll still be checking in on social media but we’re planning a real break. The podcast will return on Jan. 2, 2019 and all our other content will also pick back up right after the New Year. JENNIFER We have a new way to leave us voice messages, besides the link on the right side of the Roadtreking RV Lifestyle blog. You can call us on Google Voice. From any phone, just dial 586-372-6990 and leave a question, comment, tip or any message. We really love hearing everyone’s voices and featuring them in the podcast so we hope you will use that service. We’ll post that number in the shownotes for this episode but again, if you want to jot it down now, it’s 586-372-6990. RV NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Class B RV Sales Continues record setting growth Class B sales continued to enjoy year-over-year sales growth during the first 10 months of 2018, as overall retail registrations climbed 27.8% in the period. Statistical Surveys Inc. reported that Winnebago Industries Inc. led the segment through October with a 39.6% market share followed by Erwin Hymer Group North America (29.3%) and Thor Industries Inc. (10.9%). JENNIFER Officials discuss ways to 'haze' Yellowstone National Park's wolves after beloved wolf legally killed by hunter Last week we told you about the legal shooting of a beloved Yellowstone National Park wolf which had wandered just outside the park's entrance and was shot during hunting season. The death grieved both park and wildlife officials who are now working on developing a way to 'haze' the wolves so they are less accustomed to humans.The Yellowstone wolves are used to humans watching them from a distance which makes them an easy hit for hunters looking for a trophy kill, officials said. To read more click here. Others are petitioning for a a buffer zone around Yellowstone, so hunters can't shoot the animals just outside the entrance, like what happened in this case. To read more click here. MIKE Homeowner decorates house and RV to raise toys for needy children Have you ever watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Apparently a man from New Jersey is a HUGE fan, deciding to decorate his house in the same way the Griswold family did in the movie - complete with an RV. The homeowner used mannequins to mimic scenes from the movie. While the decor is fun, the homeowner did it with a purpose. Those who come by to see the display are encouraged to leave a toy for needy kids inside the RV. Visitors are dropping off about 100 toys a night. To see for yourself, click here. JENNIFER Best meteor shower of the year - the Geminid - peaks this week Anyone who loves a good meteor shower needs to be sure to get outside this Thursday and Friday. The Geminid meteor shower is widely thought of as one of the best of the year with bold, quick white lights falling, as many as 50 an hour during its peak, which is this Dec. 13 and 14. To learn more click here. MIKE State park transforms cave into underground Santa workshop Searching for a unique way to celebrate the season? Anyone near Alabama may want to visit Rickwood Caverns State Park. For the second year now the state park is having "Santa's Underground Workshop," where park officials have turned an underground cave into a scene from the north pole. Laser lights, LED lights, fog machines, fake snow, and even Santa are all there, hard at work. To learn more about the unique cave experience, click here. JENNIFER'S RV TIP OF THE WEEK As many of you know, Mike, Bo and I are getting ready for Bo's favorite camping trip of the year - the Great Winter Camp Out at Tahquamenom Falls. It is so much fun to travel to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and then go deep into the woods and camp with friends during winter. There is something magical about looking out the window of our toasty RV, and seeing the woods covered in white, the sun glistening off the snow, creating this fresh brightness which is hard to capture with words. But obviously camping when temperatures are below zero does pose some challenges. Last week I shared how I was buying glove and toe warmers to stay warm during walks outside, which we do a lot of. Well today I'd like to tell you about a way I am planning to stay clean while camping without running water. This tip was given to me by our friend, Jan Matthews, during a previous winter camp out. And what is that tip? Bring a package of disposable cleaning washcloths and use them for dry showering. Such washcloths are produced for those who can't, for whatever reason, take a shower and need a way to stay clean while being bedridden. The brand our friend Jan recommended was called Comfort Bath Cleaning Washcloths. The cloths are about 8 by 8 and are not too thin, made out of a polyester blend. They are enriched with aloe and vitamin E, making them soft. They are meant to use one time to clean one part of your body. You will likely need a couple to feel clean all over. When you are finished with the cloths, you simply toss them in the trash. These disposable washcloths come in a package already moist. Another thing I like is that they they can be warmed up in the microwave (directions are on the packaging), making that dry bath warm. While we are using these disposable washcloths for winter camping, really they are a great option for any type of boondocking when you need to conserve water, can't shower, but want to feel clean. I found a box on Amazon, with two packages of 8 Comfort Bath Cleaning Washcoths per package selling for about $12. https://amzn.to/2LbMbvM I hope this tip helps one of you. And 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. This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes ,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free Visit WWW.RADPOWERBIKES.COM LISTENER RV QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK We’ve had several questions by voice and email asking for more information on the upgrade we did to the stock radio on our Sprinter based Roadtrek campervan. (You can see that story at https://rvlifestyle.com/replacing-the-standard-radio-on-the-sprinter-van A listener asked how to subscribe to the podcast on an app. We explain that the RV Podcast is available on all the major podcast apps, be they for Apple’s iOS system or Google’s Android, apps like Spotify, Stitcher, iTunes, TuneIn and many many others. Just open up that app and search for RV Podcast and then hit subscribe and you will automatically have the latest episode app available on you on that player whenever you want to listen to it. RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK There is no excuse anymore to overnight in your RV in crowded, brightly lit, noisy parking lots. This week, we bring back the CEO of Harvest Hosts who will tell us in the interview of the week about a huge expansion in the number of farms, wineries, fruit orchards, attractions, and now golf courses across North America that welcome members of Harvest Hosts to stay on their scenic, beautiful grounds. We’ll also have him explain how listeners to this podcast can avoid the price hike coming January 1 and even get a nice discount not available to others. Here’s a video version of the interview: Here’s a written transcript of the interview: Mike Wendland: Well joining us right now from Harvest Hosts is Joel Holland and we've got some news. You guys have been very busy lately. How you doing Joel? Joel Holland: I'm good Mike, how are you? Thanks for having me on. Mike Wendland: Well we have had a lot of people who have been so excited about our partnership with you guys and the 10% discount that they can get, but let's talk right away about some of the big changes that have been happening recently with Harvest Host and your plans for 2019. Where are we going? This is just getting better and better. Joel Holland: Well I appreciate that. So as you know, Harvest Hosts Community is a very special program that connects our viewers with all these unique small businesses, wineries, breweries, distilleries all over the country. We're basically trying to get it to more people because we've found that RV-ing is a very active lifestyle, it makes people happy and being able to go stay on a farm instead of in a Wal-Mart parking lot makes them even happier.