Girl Camper

On this weeks show I am talking about my top ten reasons for choosing RVing as my favorite mode of travel. As I pondered my reasons I actually had to cut it down to ten. There seem to be so many advantages to owning an RV but here are my top ten.

* You can go where you want. What interests you? Fiber arts? Railroad history? There are museums and fairs and towns that celebrate what you’re interested in. In an RV you can travel there at your leisure, in comfort and make all the stops you want along the way.

* Budget Friendly. RV travel allows you to travel as your personal means and style allows. You can stay in state parks over resort RV’s. You can make your own meals and save on restaurants. You can travel longer and farther on the same amount of money others spend on one nights travel.

* Pet Friendly. RV travel allows you to travel with your fur family. You save the expense of kennels and  you don’t have to worry about how long you are gone or how your pet is being treated when he’s away from you.

* Nature is a tonic.  Being able to  spend time in nature has a healing effect on the senses. Sitting around a campfire watching the stars and being disconnected from wifi allows you to decompress in a way that hotel vacations don’t.

* Visit family and friends. So often we really want to visit those special people in our lives but when we fly over them all the time we never quite make it. Having an RV allows you to visit your roommate from college or your best man and they don’t even have to make up the guest room.

* Food. RV travel allows you to control the menu. If you are on a restricted diet or are watching  your waist line  there’s no problem because you are traveling with your own kitchen. You are able to pull over and have last nights leftovers. You don’t have to wait in long lines and overpay for food you don’t even like.  If you deal with food allergies you can control what you are eating.

* Quality time. Road trips give you time to connect. There’s a simple pleasure in following your path on an old fashioned road map on your lap and discussing the upcoming towns, marked historical sites and possible stops ahead. It gives  you the chance to indulge in togetherness without laptops, books or televisions to compete with.

* People Friendly. It would be hard to find a group of people more willing to share their experience, knowledge and tips for RVing than those you meet at a campground and the active online community of RVers.  Whether it’s a restaurant recommendation or a tip for keeping your RV running smoothly, fellow RVers are a great source of information and inspiration.

* You are always home.  As  much fun as it is to tour your favorite historic sites and National Parks when the day is over it is great to come home to your home away from home. You can relax in your trailer,  sleep on your own sheets and clean up in your own bathroom. As they say, there’s no place like home. When you travel with an RV, you are always home.

* Backroads America. Traveling the two lane highways of America allows you to get away from strip malls, chain restaurants and toll booths. It also allows you to see where and how other people live. Stopping in a small mom and pop diner and meeting the owners and hearing their story allows us to look at our fellow citizens in a different light. We become less red state and blue state people and more friends in different parts of the country.

 

In celebration of 100 episodes of travel inspiration I could think of no better guest than my own Aunt Sue! My Aunt, Suzanne Saunders to the rest of the world, is an 81 year old continent hopping, mountain climbing, adventure seeking, parachute jumping, wonder woman who has inspired me to go places and do things. She has solo traveled the US multiple times in her Class C RV.

She has been to over 70 countries so far and has no plans to stop. She is not one for big city travel to famous European locations but prefers small travel groups and immersion experiences. Her favorite travel agency for far out vacations is OAT, Overseas Adventure Travel. With this group she has traveled to Mongolia and slept in a Yurt with local sheep herders. She has also traveled to all of the “stans” – Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Her coming travels include a trip to Sri Lanka and southern India.

She was first on the podcast on episode 38 which generated more mail than any show to date. Women all over with wanderlust wrote in with questions for my Aunt and I put them to her in this 100th episode show.

Aunt Sue and I are planning an epic adventure in 2019. I’m letting her pick the location and I’m going along for the ride. I just hope I can keep up!

On this week’s show I’m sharing my tips for camping in and touring Yellowstone National Park.

When camping in Yellowstone you have 12 campgrounds to choose from offering 2000 sites within the park. Seven of them are run by NPS and are offered on a first come, first served basis. They have no hookups but offer fire rings and lush surroundings.

The only campground in the park that offers full hook ups is Fishing Bridge Campground. The campground is conveniently located but not very camp like. There are no fires allowed and the sites are stacked on top of each other without even picnic tables.

 

Touring the park requires patience and a plan. Some of my tips are:

1) Start your day early before most tourists are out. The roads don’t start to get crowded before 10 am and you can see two sights by then without all the people.

2) Ask a Ranger for advice. They know the peak and off peak times to see things, where the animal sightings are and the best hiking trails.  A ranger suggested to me that we travel counter clockwise on the lower Grand Loop because the majority of people travel clockwise.

3) Pack a lunch. You will save time, money and be healthier! The food is concession grade, expensive and you have to wait a long time for it.

4) Wear appropriate shoes. Yellowstone is not a sanitized theme park. The hiking trails are full of sticks, vines and gravel. Flip flops can ruin your day.

5) Keep jackets and rain gear in the car. The weather can change dramatically and very quickly.

6) Allow extra time for animal jams, heavy volume and poor parking. Everything takes longer than you think it will.

7) Follow the rules for staying away from the animals. Photograph them at a safe distance.

(To listen to the podcast attached to this blog, scroll to the bottom and click on the arrow.)

I had the opportunity to take Little Guy Worldwide’s new Max trailer on my four week National Parks Tour.  I slept in it for 28 straight days, towed it 6,228.3 miles, stayed in state parks and private campgrounds, used it with and without hook-ups, showered in the wet bath many times, experienced temperatures ranging from the high 90’s to low 30’s, used the air conditioner, heater and fan, cooked inside and outside and used the microwave for precooked frozen dinners, and ran the appliances on electric, propane and battery! In other words, I put it through the mill!!

I have broken down my review to my five favorite things about this trailer. There are many great features in this well built and thoughtfully designed trailer and I encourage people to go to the Little Guy website and take the virtual tour.  For my part I will focus on what made it enjoyable to use for me.

Number One Favorite Thing – The Windows

While I was traveling and posting pictures of my trip, the most comments I received had to do with the windows. The windows, the placement, size, number of them and functionality of their design make the trailer a light, bright and airy retreat. When I would come home from a long day of sightseeing and open all the windows I had sight lines, airflow and incredible brightness. One of my favorite features of the windows are the integrated privacy shades and screens. In the morning I would pull the screens all the way down and let all the light and air in.  In the evening I had the option of drawing the privacy shade up about 2/3 of the way and leaving the top of the window screened so I could have privacy and airflow.

The tinted acrylic windows made it possible to have another measure of privacy because they allow the light to be filtered in the trailer keeping it cooler in the sun while making it impossible for passersby to see in the trailer. As a solo woman traveler this daytime effect was an added bonus for me.

Because I work while I on the road I spend a lot more time than most people sitting at the kitchen table/desk. The window placement in this trailer made my rolling berth the best corner office ever.  Sitting at my desk with all the windows open and the door latched with the full door screen pulled across made working while in Yellowstone tolerable.

I initially had reservations about the large window over the bed. I thought that it would make me feel vulnerable while I on the road but I soon discovered that the exterior of the trailers design actually places the bottom of that window fairly far from the bumper of the trailer. What I thought was going to be a problem for me turned into my favorite window in the trailer. At night I was able to pull the privacy shade up from the bottom and lay in bed at night looking at the stars and moon and watching the rain. I also started having my morning coffee on the bed so I could look up at the trees.

Number Two Favorite Thing – Storage

I have spent the last 12 years Girl Camping and am always looking for storage solutions with trailers. For years I camped in vintage trailer which I love but am always worried about safety. I thought I was solving my trailer storage problem last year when I bought a new but vintage styled trailer. While the trailer I bought was well built it wasn’t particularly well designed. Despite its being new it lacked adequate storage for the essentials for camping trips. I was so pleased with the amount of storage in the Max. It has an astounding 57.94 cubic feet of storage.  I packed that trailer for two people for a four week trip bringing both hot and cold weather clothes and never put anything under the bench seats of the booth. There was so much storage space that I had to use dish towels to p...

On this week’s show I’m sharing my top moments of the 2017 National Parks Tour. I started out thinking that I would break it down into tips and tricks for bucket list trips but quickly realized I was not ready to leave the after glow. I was still in the moments and meaning and personal revelations about my travel nature to step out and get academic.

This show is about travel and becoming a girl camper even for those who already are. I learned a few things about my own travel quirks that I wanted to share. I would never want anyone to think I’ve got this all figured out. I had to make a few adjustments along the way. Yes, I know how to tow; how to back up; how to troubleshoot an RV issue. I melted down half way through and had to put myself in time out.

Being a Girl Camper is about a willingness to be uncomfortable in odd places far from home and still be happy you’re on the road. It’s about being adaptable and comfortable alone. It involves being able to question your choices and be honest about your own limitations. I faced all of these issues on this trip and had no choice but to deal with them. It was a great learning experience but more about myself than travel expertise.

 

 

On this week’s show I welcome returning guest Mike Harlan, Airstream Manager of North Trail RV Center in Fort Meyers, Florida.  Few people have a deeper love for the road and the RV industry than Mike and it is always a pleasure to have him on to talk not only about what’s new in the industry but what’s new in Airstreams. Many people have the Airstream Dream and think this classic trailer is out of their price range. Mike discusses price versus value, financing a trailer purchase and, what some good models  are for Girl Campers.

On this week’s show my guest is Laureen Vinicombe, Girl Camper! Laureen wanted to be a Girl Camper but was not in a position to buy a travel trailer. She took to heart my advice to not let the lack of a trailer prevent her from joining the fun. Laureen tricked out her family mini van and joined us on her first camping trip this past spring.

At the beginning of the year I said that I would be talking about how to overcome the obstacles to becoming a girl camper. One mental obstacle is the idea that camping is about owning a trailer. If you want to camp you can do it in a tent, rented cabin or tricked out minivan. The allure of girl camping is the time spent with friends, being outdoors, gaining confidence in your ability to do things. Laureen had so much fun she joined sisters on the Fly and has been camping line a girl ever since. Listen in as Laureen shares her journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this week’s show Lynn Butler,  owner of Setzer’s World of Camping in Huntington, West Virginia talks about the advantages of buying from an RV dealership with membership in the Rte.66 Club.

When I am home from Yellowstone I will post pictures but I’m working on one bar of 3G!

On today’s show Joe Kicos, co-owner of Liberty Outdoors,  talks about the new Max trailer. The Max is a new product by Little Guy, a brand within Liberty Outdoors.

It is the trailer I debuted here yesterday and that I am traveling in on my National Parks Tour. Also joining us on the show is Anthony Chiera, Director of Sales  for Liberty to talk about the details of this trailer. Anthony has watched this trailer go from drawing board to reality and he takes us through the features step by step.

The Max trailer is performing well so far and I have only one complaint – the people knocking on my door at each campground asking for a brochure!

On this week’s episode I continue with Part Two of my Trip Planning Show. A road trip of any length requires planning but a 5,500 mile, 4 week trip really takes some forethought. I am sharing what safety measures I am taking from roadside assistance programs to filling prescriptions and even what bear spray I purchased.

Part of the fun of long road trips is experiencing many different ways of camping and I cover the variety of camping options we plan to use  from Harvest Hosts to State Parks to Bureau of Land Management properties. The Allstays app is a great resource for campers.

I’m covering my gear choices including the hiking sneakers I chose from Cabela’s and my new outdoor pants from Duluth Trading Company.

To hear the rest of the Trip Planning episode click on the arrow below,