From the category archives:

camping

Flooding in Kentucky

May 3, 2010

Even when camping, it pays to pay attention to weather forecasts.  A campground in Kentucky, Camp Nelson Campground was hard hit from weekend flooding.

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A short spring time trip

April 28, 2010

Last week we took a short trip to eastern Arkansas and, after that, over to northeast Kentucky.

Camping Area B, Village Creek State Park, Arkansas, April 19, 2010 - our camper

Lake Drum, Village Creek State Park, Arkansas, April 19, 2010

Camping Area B, Village Creek State Park, Arkansas, April 19, 2010

Our first campground was at Village Creek State Park.  The park is located on Crowley’s Ridge, a geologic anomaly of rolling hills in eastern Arkansas’s Mississippi Alluvial Plain. 

With five trails totaling 7 miles, we had hoped to spend one day in the park doing some hiking.

Unfortunately, there was some kind of gnats hatching out.  After taking one walk the first evening where we couldn’t get away from them, we decided to alter our plans and check out some of the other parks in the area. 

The first day, we went to Parkin State Archeological Park and Jacksonport State Park.  The next day, we drove over to Memphis and spent a few hours at Mud Island.  I’ll be posting more on these as I get the photo gallery set up for each one.

The last evening that we were there and the next morning before we left, we didn’t have much problem with insects at all.

Our next destination was Paducah, Kentucky, so that Karen could go to the annual Paducah Quilt Show.  Karen has several posts on her blog from the quilt show:

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The story features the r-pod light weight travel trailer by Forest River and Damon’s Avanti motorhome.

Note – if you’re reading this in a feed reader, you’ll have to go to Haw Creek page to view the video

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A RV manufacturing industry executive says that, as a result of the recent recession, the move to lightweight RVs is probably going to be permanent.

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The ”Great Recession” probably has made permanent the RV industry’s move toward lighter weight, ”greener” units, Wilbur Bontrager, Jayco Inc. chairman and CEO, told a northern Indiana television audience this weekend (April 10-11).

“I’ve been through a couple of these downturns,” Bontrager said. ”We’re seeing a lot of the same dynamics where we, along with all the other manufacturers, have gone into building lighter weight products. This time around, I believe it will stick.

”This time around, we have technology, we have materials and suppliers who can produce components that can be lighter weight and greener. In the past, this has been more difficult.”

Read the full RVBusiness article – Bontrager: Lightweight Movement Will Stick


Other RV, Camping and Outdoors News and Information:

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A California Assemblyman, Bill Monning, Democrat from Santa Cruz, has introduced legislation that, if enacted, would ban the use of 6 chemicals that can damage various types of septic systems and pose threats to groundwater sources.

http://www.rvbusiness.com/2010/04/law-would-ban-rv-holding-tank-chemicals/

The legislation, AB 1824, would ban the use of holding tank products containing bronopol, dowicil, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, paraformaldehyde and para-dichlorobenzene, according to a news release.

“We fully support this legislation and think it will encourage businesses to step up their marketing and distribution of environmentally friendly holding tank products in California,” said Debbie Sipe, executive director of the California Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (CalARVC), which has spent the past five years trying to find ways to protect its members’ septic systems and nearby groundwater supplies without forcing private park operators to become “potty police.”

Read the more in the RVBuisness article:  Law Would Ban RV Holding Tank Chemicals .


Other RV, Camping and Outdoors News:

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Mesa Verde, 9/12/2009

April 7, 2010

I’m continuing to process photos from last year’s travels into photo galleries.

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The most recent is from the day that we arrived at Mesa Verde National Park during our 2009 trip to Colorado.

Because it was actually a fairly short drive from Ouray to Mesa Verde, by the time we got set up at the campground, we still had plenty of time to go exploring, including a hike down to one of the cliff dwelling ruins, Spruce Treehouse. 

The gallery includes images from the ruins as well as other views in the park, including several images of the beautiful Colorado sky that we had that day.

Gallery: Spruce Treehouse and More – September 12, 2009, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado


See more of our Image Galleries at Haw Creek.

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3rd Annual Roaming Times Green RV Award

Roaming Times, a leading RV review and RV consumer report website has selected Earthbound RV travel trailers as the 2010 Green RV of the Year.

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David B. Hoefer, Earthbound’s VP of sales and marketing said:
"We’re at the cutting edge. Instead of traditional RV-building methods, we’ve turned to experts in other fields, such as automotive and plastics…”

The V-2 Earthbound being produced has already eliminated all wood and wood by-products. “Earthbound has leaped ahead with the use of composites, thermoplastics, and lightweight hybrid structural materials. We’ve been partnering with major international composite suppliers for over 8 years.”

Earthbound trailers are eco-friendly and lightweight. “We have the potential to add 11 million new customers to the towable RV buying market. Our RVs are towable with vehicles that are already parked in many of today’s family driveways.”

Read the rest of the Roaming Time’s announcement:  Roaming Times’ Green RV of the Year Award 2010 – The Earthbound travel trailer.


Other RV, Camping and Outdoors News:

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A post in a Seattle Times blog, nwautos, discusses four of today’s crop of small camping trailers.

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If you think of travel trailers as mobile motels for the retired set, think again. Their popularity is surging among families and adventurers wanting to make the most of the road-trip destinations available in our vast and beautiful backyard.

They are cheaper than RVs, far greener, can go pretty much anywhere, and can be towed by nearly any truck or SUV and, in some cases, even small cars. This new generation of trailers is hipper, lighter and more agile than ever before.

The four camping trailers in the post are

Read the entire nwautos post: Car campers: Travel trailers are getting smaller, cooler and more multifunctional.

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Much Better RV Sales This Year?

March 27, 2010

The economy is loosening up and people seem to be changing the way they vacation. These, along with other factors, are resulting in improved RV sales, according to an article in the Denver Business Journal. Recreational vehicle (RV) dealers report big sales increases, and RV show organizers say there’s been higher attendance at their events [...]

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All the Conveniences

March 24, 2010

Image Gallery: Around the Upper Loop, September 13, 2007 (click on image for larger version) We were camped at West Yellowstone KOA several miles west of town for nearly a week in September 2007.  Our camper was a Big Horn fifth wheel by Heartland.  We were set up with satellite TV and satellite internet and [...]

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