Every spring and fall, Brooks Falls in Alaska's Katmai National Park is the scene of a massive sockeye salmon run that draws dozens of magnificent brown bears. Thanks to a network of webcams, the bears are watched around the clock by tens of thousands across the world. In our interview of the week, we talk to a ranger at Katmai and learn more about the bears and what it’s like being there.

Plus, lots of your questions, RV News, RV Tips and a fun off the beaten path report from the Burketts

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Show Notes for Episode #205 August 15, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast:

WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK

MIKE

Greetings from the hot and humid Emerald Coast of Florida’s panhandle. This episode finds us on Okaloosa Island, overlooking the beautiful turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Last week we were on a family campout at Silver Lake Michigan and had a ball exploring the awesome Lake Michigan sand dunes there. We’ll have a full video on that coming our tomorrow on our RV Lifestyle You Tube Channel.  But now we’re in Florida. We’re down here through the end of the month. Catching some down time, catching up on some video editing and catching as many of our grandson Matthew’s high school football games in southwestern Georgia, which is a couple hour drive from our condo here on the Gulf.

JENNIFER

That’s right, school has started in the south and even though the temperatures are often pushing nearly 100 degrees at this time of the year in Georgia, the Friday Night Lights are shining again. This Friday is Matthew’s first game and we’ll be driving over to cheer him on. We hope to get to three of his games before we have to head up to Northern Ontario for our Roadtreking gathering next month at the Algonquin Provincial Park.

MIKE

And then we hit the road for a the very busy fall season for RV shows. We’ll start out in Hershey, PA at what is billed as America’s largest RV show. We’ll be doing meet and greets at the Erwin Hymer/Roadtrek display on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15 and 16. We’ll also be visiting the Rad Power Bikes ebike display at Hershey on Saturday afternoon. Then we’re off next to RV Capital of the World, which is Elkhart, Indiana, where we’ll be meeting and greeting at Elkhart RV Open House. Elkhart-based RV firms account for more than 80% of industry shipments. The Elkhart Open House draws most major manufacturers, thousands of dealers and by most estimates, for as much as $2 billion in wholesale sales. So you can bet we’ll be there! After that, we’ll be in Los Angeles, attending the huge California RV Show on Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7. Look us up there you West Coasties… we’ll be hanging around the Roadtrek/Hymer display area and Mike Thompson RV.

JENNIFER

I love RV shows. They are places where you can see every make and model RV in one place, allowing you to see different floorplans, walk around and see how they will fit with your RV Lifestyle and, of course, get good deals and trade ins. I like them because of all the other Rvers we meet and get to hang out with, picking up different tips from them and learning about places we should visit. I can’t wait for the shows. They’re great opportunities for learning.

MIKE

One quick announcement. If you haven’t been to our RV Lifestyle Merch Store yet, be sure to check out the new T-shirt designs we have added. We have a great line of men’s and women’s apparel that celebrate serendipity travel, boondocking and our small house, big yard lifestyle. Head over to http://rvlifestyle.com/shop to see the designs.

OK…now on to the news...

RV News of the week

JENNIFER

First it was Yosemite, now it’s Glacier National Park shut because of wildfires

California’s Yosemite National Park remained partially closed for the third week because of wildfires. But now in Montana parts of Glacier National Park have been shut down because of out of control fires. Lightning started the fire on the north side of Lake Macdonald over the weekend and n...