Posted by Ashley Gannon on Mar 10, 2010
The first promise of spring’s arrival comes with the blooming of wildflowers. In Texas the annual late March blooming of the state’s famous bluebonnets draws RVers from across the country. After the dry heat of summer, the rains of winter turn the dusty soil into a sea of blue as far as the eye can see. Like the migration of the monarchs or the swallows returning to Capistrano, the blooming of the Texas state flower is one of nature’s most pleasurable wonders.
RVers get a front row seat when rare spring wildflowers start to bloom. A stop at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas in Austin will show you which wildflowers to look for and where to get the best views. Brenham, Washington and DeWitt counties also offer wildflower viewing maps and information. Wildflower blooming is expected to peak in mid-April this year.
The bluebonnet isn’t the only wildflower blooming in Texas. Bright red poppies, feathery Indian paintbrush and lovely Drummond phlox wash the state with color. Thank the Texas Department of Transportation for the abundance of wildflowers in the Lone Star state. Its aggressive wildflower planting program along highways and roadsides has been adopted by the state’s citizens who plant wildflowers in their yards and pastures. At peak wildflower season, you can RV from one end of Texas to the other with a constant view of wildflowers dancing in the wind.
Wildflower lovers may also want to stop in Death Valley where rare desert wildflowers have just started to bloom.
Posted by RV Pro on Feb 10, 2010
What’s your favorite stretch of road? In Overdrive magazine’s 11th annual nationwide poll of long-distance big-rig truckers, the 455-mile long segment of I-40 that traverses Tennessee was voted the best highway segment in the nation. For truckers, time is money so they’re more interested in how quickly they can get from here to there than they are in scenic views. High-quality highway stretches that offer smooth road surfaces, clear roadway markings and easy construction detours qualified highways for high rankings. I-75 and I-10 through Florida came in second and third, respectively in the poll.
Overall, Florida was judged to have the best highways, followed by Texas, then Tennessee. Pennsylvania had the worst roads followed by Michigan with New York and California tying for third. The worst highway? I-10 through Louisiana. Shrinking revenue and state budget cuts hit many state highway departments hard, leaving fewer funds for highway repair and improvement. $21.8 billion in federal stimulus funds apportioned for more than 10,000 transportation and highway projects is expected to turn that around this year.
While a good road is a pleasure to drive when you’re RVing, RV travelers place greater value on scenery. The more leisurely pace of RV travel leaves plenty of time for scenic outlooks and breathtaking views as you drive around a bend. A new crop of recently announced National Scenic Byways gives RVers 42 new travel destinations to plot into their summer travel plans. Happy trails!
Posted by RV Pro on Jan 27, 2010
Gardeners may spend their winters pouring over seed catalogs, but RVers spend their winters pouring over maps and travel brochures. Of course, many RVers plan their next trip while enjoying their current travel destination. But a fair number of RVers tied to school and work schedules store their RVs during the winter and wait until spring to hit the road.
Whether you plan on the go from your RV cockpit or from the comfy confines of your living room sofa, there are a few planning tips guaranteed to make your next RV trip enjoyable:
> Get out the maps. Maps give you an instant bird’s eye view of possible routes making trip planning easier. Use regional multi-state maps to plot main routes, but don’t neglect to check state and local area maps. State and local maps provide greater detail and pinpoint local attractions, scenic byways, parks and campgrounds.
> Use the Internet. The Internet is a great resource for finding areas that promote an activity you’re interested in; for instance, finding bike trails or canoe liveries. You can check out area attractions, including hours and prices and even make reservations and print directions.
> Visitors centers. Always stop at the visitors center when you cross a state line. You’ll find lots of great brochures and money-off coupons for popular attractions. Some visitors centers are staffed and will help you locate activity information and plot directions.
> Word of mouth. Don’t be shy about asking other RVers about what to see and do. You may discover a rare gem.
Posted by RV Pro on Nov 25, 2009
All of us here at RVT.com wish you and yours a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Lots of folks are expected to be on the road traveling today, tomorrow and throughout the holiday weekend. Thanksgiving is the biggest travel weekend in America, and the RV nation will be out in force! Compared to last year, gas prices are down and consumer confidence is up. People are back on the road, crossing the state or the country in their RVs to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends.
When you travel by RV, you never need to worry about hotel reservations. With the summer camping season over, openings at RV campgrounds are generally plentiful. For short visits, you may even be able to park at the curb or in your grandmother’s driveway. When you visit relatives in your RV, you don’t have to worry about crowding your cousins out of their beds. Everybody’s happy when you bring your own sleeping quarters with you.
When everyone’s prepping for the big meal, your hostess will appreciate the extra oven space you brought along. While the turkey bakes, you can cook the pies and rolls in your RV so everything gets to the table hot and on time. But the best part of RVing at Thanksgiving is enjoying time spent with your family while you travel and after you reach your destination. The second best thing? Being able slap together a turkey sandwich during the drive home!
Posted by RV Pro on Nov 20, 2009
Vancouver is busy preparing to host the 2010 Winter Olympics from February 10 through March 2, but the Canadian city has already rolled out the welcome mat for RV campers. In addition to the many RV campsites surrounding the Vancouver area, the city’s park board is opening Jericho Beach and Spanish Banks to overnight RV parking during the games at a cost of $95 per night.
While there are numerous RV campgrounds on the outskirts of Vancouver and in nearby communities, only one commercial RV park is located near the downtown area and it already has a waiting list of 100. The park board’s commendable decision to open beach parking lots puts 365 more RV camping spots downtown close to Olympic venues.
If you travel to the Olympics make sure to take the Aquabus ferry across the bay to Granville Island for lunch at the indoor Public Market. Savory scented stalls sell and cook everything from fresh fish to exotic produce. It’s a good place to stock your larder. You’ll find lots of excitement and live music downtown, but if you want to experience the true flavor of Vancouver, locals say you’ll have to venture out to the city’s collar neighborhoods. That’s where you’ll find Vancouver’s funky boutiques stocked with Canadian designer fashions, Lebanese delis, Italian coffee shops and other avant-garde delights.
Enjoy the games if you RV to Vancouver, but spend some time exploring the city, too. It’s a place worth savoring.
Posted by RV Pro on Sep 25, 2009
Film maker Ken Burns, who teamed up with PBS in 1990 to bring us an epic series on the Civil War, chronicles the development of our country’s extraordinary national parks system in a 12-hour PBS series debuting at 8 p.m. this Sunday. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea will run on PBS stations at 8 p.m. on consecutive nights from Sunday, Sept. 27 through Friday, Oct. 2 (check your local listings). This series is a must see for RV travelers who enjoy camping at national parks. Each two-hour episode will explore the park system’s rich history, from its evolution to the people whose efforts turned dream into reality to the history and development of individual parks. Expect plenty of gorgeous film footage of scenic park vistas. The series promises to enrich your next RV trip to a national park while showcasing parks you may want to visit.
Many of our national parks were simply tracts of preserved land until President Roosevelt used the CCC to put people back to work during the 1930’s depression (see our last post). Roads, trails, campsites and visitors’ centers built by the CCC opened America’s national parks to the public, for the first time providing easy access to these natural treasures. Shenandoah National Park in Virginia was the first park to benefit. CCC-built Skyline Drive provides sweeping vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains as it twists through 105 miles bisecting the park. The beautiful RV campsites and great hiking and biking trails we enjoy at Shenandoah now began with the CCC.
Posted by RV Pro on Sep 23, 2009
Take a close look next time you park your RV at a state or national park. From campsites to lookout points, ranger stations to visitor centers, hiking paths to rest stops (known in camping vernacular as pit toilets), the incredibly beautiful park system RVers, campers and day trippers enjoy today was largely built by the “CCC boys” of the 1930s.
During our country’s last major economic disaster, the Civilian Conservation Corps was one of the ways President Franklin D. Roosevelt put America back to work. Established in 1933 at the height of the depression, the CCC lured men off the soup lines with the promise of food, lodging and $30 a month, $25 of which was sent home to their families. Signing up for 6-month hitches with many staying on for the full two years, the CCC’s ranks swelled with World War I vets, out of work fathers anxious to support their families and 18-year-olds forced to fend for themselves, though some boys as young as 14 slipped by recruiters.
The CCC sent huge teams of workers into the wilderness where they carved out the campsites and hiking trails we enjoy today. Those comfortable trails that meander through the forest, the timber-framed stair steps that make it easy to climb up hills, the rough-hewn log bridges over creeks along the path are all courtesy of FDR’s back-to-work program.
Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains was one of the CCC’s first projects. An RVers paradise, we’ll tell you more on Friday.
Posted by RV Pro on Sep 21, 2009
The leaves were just beginning to turn along the Blue Ridge Highway this weekend, but the big fall show won’t start for another couple of weeks. RVers still have plenty of time to map out scenic drives to enjoy colorful autumn leaves. America’s designated scenic byways are a natural for fall color tours. Promising gorgeous, panoramic views no matter what the season, scenic byways trace across America’s mountain ridges and through lush valleys, offering some of the most beautiful drives in America.
Scenic drives are marked on most state maps and some of the most famous, like the Blue Ridge Parkway through North Carolina or the Seward Highway between Anchorage and Seward, Alaska, even warrant their own maps. A good place to start planning a weekend of autumn leaf peeping is the National Scenic Byways Program website. Sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration which designates scenic byways, the site provides an interesting overview of each scenic drive, including history, development information and sights to look for along the way.
Read personal accounts of trips taken along each byway with great tips on places to stop and things to do and see. The NSBP website also offers news of jazz fests, harvest markets and other interesting events along drive routes. You’ll also find information on waterfall drives, fall color tours and intriguing natural and manmade wonders to include in your RV traveling plans.
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2003 American Coach American Tradition 40Q 2 Slides Apopka, FL
2010 Forest River salem Paramount, CA
2007 Fleetwood 37C LaBelle, FL
2006 Itasca Suncruiser Peoria, AZ
2008 Jeep Liberty Peoria, AZ