Confessions of A Coffee Addict

Above, a morning "cup of Joe" at a clampout. 

Coffee. 

Whether I am at home or on the road somewhere, I have to have my morning "Cup of Joe" to get my day started. This includes traveling by RV.

I have two means of making coffee in the RV. When the motorhome is plugged into electricity at an RV park, I use my 5-cup coffee-maker. If I am dry camping, I use my percolator on the stove.

RV Travel has posted an article by Chuck Woodbury with his confession as being a coffee addict.

It begins with:

I have one significant addiction. It’s coffee. So far, in all the scientific articles I have ever read, nobody has said, flat out, that drinking a lot of coffee is bad. Or nobody has convinced me of it. So why stop, is what I say.

I am so ridiculously addicted to it that I can now drink two or three cups and still fall quickly asleep. Go figure.

But the point of this article: I like my coffee with milk. I like cream, but my cardiologist doesn’t agree. I do not like my coffee black. Tried it: Nope, no can do.

To read more, go here. 

The Inventor of the Loop Campground

Above, Yosemite's North Pines Campground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One learns something new everyday, as so the saying goes.

I learned something new this morning while reading the RV Travel Sunday Newsletter.

It is about the man who invented the loop campground. I've never given it a thought before until this morning.

According to Chuck Woodbury in RV Travel:

I bet you have never heard of Emilio Meinecke. I hadn’t until recently. If you are in a campground right now, whether in a national park, national forest or a KOA, please stop reading for a moment and walk out your RV’s front door and look around. You will see evidence of his work.

Emilio Meinecke, born in 1869, was a plant pathologist for the U.S. Forest Service. His major claim to fame, however, is as the inventor of the loop campground. It was about 90 years ago, in the early 1930s. His design changed camping forever. You know the design because you’ve seen it too many times to count — a one-way loop road, with auto pullouts every so often that designate individual campsites. In most cases, each site had (and often still does) a fireplace and/or campfire.

To read more, go here. 

Why Retirement Isn’t As Straightforward As It Seems

Above, last Thursday at Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.

It will be ten years since I retired in late 2015 next year. Taking a cue from my parents, who really didn't have "golden years" due to health issues, I decided to retire while my health was still good. 

Good thing I did so, since I had a close call with a heart attack in 2018 that led to two stents being put into a coronary artery. It is said that retirees live an average of 11 years after retiring. 

As of now, I am enjoying retirement and as active as ever. My health is reasonably good. I travel in my RV or with a cruise line (most recently as last week). The key to having great retirement years is to keep active. Next month, I will be taking my RV north to Ridgway, Colorado to help out with the John Wayne Cancer Foundation's marathon. I did so last year.

Chuck Woodbury at RV Travel has posted an article on retirement. Some of what he wrote has crossed my mind on occasion. Like Woodbury, I am also "well past 65".

He begins it with:

How many times have I announced in this space that I was retiring? How many times have I hinted that I was retiring? Hmmm… Let me count the ways.

A whole buncha times… Apparently I have failed.

I am well past 65. For the approximately 17 readers in this audience younger than 40, that means I am really old. For those readers, maybe 7 or 8 of them, younger than 30, I am as old as dirt: I could have been Abe Lincoln’s drinking buddy.

Let me be clear: For most of my life I never thought I would get old. Oh, it would happen, but it would be so long it would like walking from Seattle to Miami and back maybe 50 times — essentially an eternity.

Then one day I looked at the mirror and I realized I was no longer 35 (or 45 or even 65!). I hadn’t even made it halfway to Miami one time! What the heck?

To be honest, as I always am, I have been guilt-ridden of late about still working. When I grew up in the 1950s, most working men looked forward to turning 65, whereupon they would get a silver watch, and their fellow employees would make farewell speeches saying they would remember them forever. And everyone would clap (and then the next day, when someone mentioned their name to another employee, he or she would ask “Who?”). That idea of retirement has stuck in my subconscious my whole life.

Unlike Woodbury, I did make it to Miami last week. 

To read more of what Woodbury has to say about retirement, go here.

Things To Consider When Booking A Campsite

Above, at Brown's Town Campgrounds in Bishop, California. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Either I have been lucky over the years or I have practiced choosing a campsite with the tips by Chuck Woodbury in RV Travel as second nature already. I have not had any problems thus far.

The topic of Woodbury's article is on how to choose the best campsite with things to consider while doing so.

It begins with:

Here are some tips about choosing a campsite based on my many years of RVing. I urge you to add your own suggestions to this list after reading it. You can thank me for this advice next time we meet.

To see what the tips are, go here. 

RV Travels and Cemetery Exploring

Above, Cedar Hill Cemetery in Ouray, Colorado. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Here's something kind of offbeat.

It is about exploring random cemeteries during RV travels. Personally, I haven't done this although I have been to cemeteries and found some interesting. As a poll in RV Travel says, some local history can be gleaned from them

It begins with: 

Maybe you love exploring cemeteries on your RV travels, but maybe you find them sad, or creepy. However you feel about them, there’s no denying that visiting cemeteries can be a great place to learn about local histories. Read this essay by Chuck Woodbury about why he enjoys visiting cemeteries while he travels.

To read more and answer the poll, go here.

RV Travel Newsletter

Above, my mom and grandparents camping in Oregon in 1940 in their homemade teardrop trailer.

The Sunday edition of the RV Travel Newsletter is now posted.

It starts off with an essay by Chuck Woodbury that should conjure up some memories of oldtimers. It looks back at the good old days when camping out, in a tent or RV, was much more affordable.

It begins with:

Once upon a time, camping was free or close to it. I speak from my own experience as a well-aged human and RVer. I began RV camping as a child with my parents and then as a 20-something adult on my own. By campgrounds, I am referring to public campgrounds, operated by the government. There were few RV parks early on as we know them now. Those that existed were called trailer parks or mobile home parks.  

KOA was the first big player. Its first RV park debuted in 1962 along the route west to the Seattle World’s Fair. Campers paid $1.75 a night. The concept was soon franchised and grew fast. But most other parks were still in the future. As long as the government provided free stays or very cheap stays in its campgrounds, how could a private operation compete, at least in a popular tourist area?

To read the Newsletter, go here. 

Street RVers Growing

Last September, while I was in Los Angeles for a high school reunion in El Segundo, two friends and I took a drive around L.A. 

At one point, we were in the Ballona Wetlands area near LAX and Westchester and we saw rows of dilapidated RVs (think Cousin Eddie's RV in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation) parked along the roads. I also saw homeless encampments at freeway underpasses while making a separate trip to the San Fernando Valley. 

Chuck Woodbury at RV Travel asks if anyone believes that RVers living on the street are going away in an article.

He begins with:

Does anyone who studies the RV lifestyle believe that the legions of America’s poor and disadvantaged who live in dilapidated RVs on city streets will suddenly find better housing and move on? Those of us who observe the RV industry and are honest about it say “no.” The ranks of these people are growing, and the efforts of most communities to deal with the ensuing problems boils down to convincing them to pack up and move to another town.

It’s the game of “RV Hot Potato.” The tokens are junky RVs.

To read more, go here. 

RV Industry Again Falsely Claims RVing Is Cheapest Way To Travel

Above, The Beast at Hubbell Trading Post in Arizona last October. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If anyone thinks that RV Travel is a mouthpiece for the RV industry, particularly the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), the following should dispel that notion.

Chuck Woodbury, founder and publisher of RV Travel, takes on the RVIA's recent press release that claimed RVing is "the cheapest way to travel".  

He begins with:

The RV Industry Association (RVIA) issued its annual press release recently that claims, again, that yet another study confirms traveling by RV is the most affordable way to take a vacation.

The headline on its recent press release was:

Families save money by vacationing in RVs 

The release begins:

“A new study conducted by an outside, independent firm has found that RV vacations cost much less than other types of vacation travel, even when factoring in fuel prices and the cost of RV ownership.”

I say that’s a lie! The sad part, and this is why I get so upset when I read about this, is that many people (including those in the media) will believe it.

To read further on, go here. 

RV Shipments Decline Sharply In March

Above, RVs under transport at the Jamestown Flying J. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The RV boom that took place during the pandemic is apparently over.

Fewer RVs, motorized and towables, were shipped to dealers in March than in March 2022. At least that's the findings of the RV Industry Association (RVIA) and reported by Chuck Woodbury at RV Travel.

He begins with:

RV manufacturers shipped fewer RVs to dealers in March 2023, dropping by more than 50 percent compared to last March.

Results for the RV Industry Association’s (RVIA) March 2023 survey of manufacturers determined that total RV shipments ended the month with 31,869 units, a decrease of 50.8% from the 64,778 units shipped in March 2022. To date this year, RV shipments are down 54.3% with 78,600 units.

He then breaks down the numbers by class of RVs.

To read more, go here. 

Is KOA Abandoning RVers In Favor of Glampers?

Above, at the Tucson-Lazydays KOA Resort. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During my recent trip to Arizona for the Lost Dutchman Chapter of E Clampus Vitus spring clampout, I stayed at two KOA Kampgrounds. One was in Willcox, Arizona and the other was in Tucson, Arizona.

I did not make reservations for either one. I simply drove in and asked the clerks if they had any spaces for my 23' Class C motorhome available. Both did. Thanks to the accumulated bonus points I had, I was able to stay at each for way under $100/night.

Granted, we're not in the summer camping season yet (that officially starts during Memorial Day weekend next month). 

At both KOAs, I did not see any evidence that either one was "abandoning" RV business in favor of glamping. Apparently, some of them are as Chuck Woodbury at RV Travel wrote about in today's Newsletter.

Here's a snippet:

So now we come to KOA, Kampgrounds of America, once referred to as the Motel 6 of campgrounds when its parks were less expensive. I am here today to suggest that KOA is no longer focused on serving RVers. Today, it’s about “glamping,” offering non-RVers stays in luxury cabins, designer tents, yurts, tee-pees, railroad cabooses, covered wagons and other profitable “glamping facilities.” Other RV parks are doing the same, but KOA is the best known.

This summer, an RV site at any KOA close to a popular national park may cost you $100, $150 or more a night — that is if you are lucky enough to find an available space. For example, a two-day weekday stay in my 32-foot motorhome at the KOA in West Glacier, Montana, for a full-hookup Super Site “with grass” goes for $199.70 a night. It would be higher on weekends or holidays.

But good luck getting a reservation. Most of the popular KOAs are already booked solid this summer.

To read more, go here.

RV Travel: Barbed Wire Tamed The Wild West

Above, barbed wire fencing along Six Mile Canyon Road. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since I moved to New Mexico five years ago, when driving around in and near the Six Mile Canyon area of the Cibola National Forest, I've noticed barbed wire fencing of different types. I have been to museums where many kinds of it are on display.

Chuck Woodbury at RV Travel has an article on "The Fencing That Tamed The Wild West".

It begins with:

 One of my favorite things to do when traveling with my RV is to visit rural pioneer museums.

Most are not very exciting—old photos, antique plows, a replica of a kitchen from 100 years ago, maybe an old dentist chair complete with barbaric-looking tools that always scare the pee out of me just looking at them.

But at many museums, you can learn a lot about things you might never think much about otherwise. For example, I once visited the Barbed Wire Museum in La Crosse, Kansas. Now, maybe you think that barbed wire is a boring subject. Well, I beg to differ with you! When you drive around the rural American West, you see it everywhere. But what you may not know is how important barbed wire was to the development of the modern West and the end of the cowboy era.

To read more, go here. 

RV Shipments Plunge In September

Above, Goulding's Lodge Campground near Monument Valley. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Well, it was bound to happen. RV shipments from the RV manufacturing capital of Elkhart, Indiana have dropped in September. 2021 saw record RV shipments due to the pandemic and people wanting to vacation safely.

According to Chuck Woodbury at RV Travel:

The champagne has quit popping in the RV manufacturing capital of Elkhart, Indiana, after celebrating record shipments and sales.

Results for the RV Industry Association’s September 2022 survey of manufacturers determined that total RV shipments ended the month with 28,333 units, a decrease 48.5% compared to the 55,014 units shipped in September 2021. Through September, RV shipments are down 8.2% compared to the same point last year with 415,594 wholesale shipments. 

To read more, go here. 

RV Travel: How The Omicron Variant May Affect RVers

Above, The Beast at Crazy Horse Campground in Lake Havasu. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It's panic stations time. At least that's likely the case with the media and politicians who "would not want a good crisis go to waste" to impose restrictions on everybody. This is based on their past behavior.

The new corona variant, Omicron, originating in South Africa, is "worrying" scientists.  

It may have a positive impact on the RV industry, though.

According to Chuck Woodbury in RV Travel:

Just when we think we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of the pandemic, we may instead be seeing the headlight of an approaching freight train. 

Did you read the news yesterday (Friday) that a new coronavirus variant, dubbed Omicron, has been discovered in South Africa, and is already spreading? It’s been detected in Hong Kong and Belgium, and it won’t stop there. The variant has about double the amount of mutations as the Delta variant, and may even be resistant to current vaccines. Most health experts are worried.

I believe we will soon see new travel restrictions to and from counties around the world. It’s already started. Anyone in the international travel business must be terribly disheartened, their hopes dashed of a return to normalcy.

So what does this mean for you and me?

It means the explosive popularity of RVing is not about to end soon, with another projected 600,000 new RVs to hit the market in 2022. RVing has been, and still is, the safest way to travel. Last month, RV manufacturers set an all-time record with 57,971 shipments. I’ll take a very wild guess and say that in the same month only a thousand new campsites were added (if that).

It’s about to get even more crowded out there in Camperland…

To read more, go here. 

RV Travel and Facebook (Or Is it Meta?)

Above, Mark Zuckerberg. Wikipedia photo by Anthony Quintano.

Earlier this month, RV Travel conducted a survey of its readers on their feelings about Facebook.

The question was, “Do you wish Facebook would go away and never come back?” 

The response of over 3,000 RV Travel responding readers was a resounding one. Those who responded with, "Yes, absolutely" was 77% and those who responded to "No, I want it to stay" was 23%,

While this was interesting, an follow-up article posted today by Chuck Woodbury was also interesting.

In it, he gave a little history of Facebook's origins.

Here's some snippets:

Facebook is gone. It’s changed it company name to Meta. No kidding! The website will remain known as Facebook and continue to live at Facebook.com.

The new corporate name is “a move to embrace the metaverse” according to the website GamesBeat. So what does that mean? Let me clarify: The metaverse is “an alternate reality that lives online. . . . a platform or series of platforms that share interoperable code to enable individuals to carry their online identities and (more importantly) their purchases from one experience to the next.”

Got that?

OK, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. I don’t either, as in I don’t have a clue! But I am pretty sure what it means is that it’s a sneaky way for Mark Zuckerberg to learn more about you so he can extract more money from your wallet, your bank accounts and your children’s college funds. The poor guy is only worth $70 billion dollars. How does a guy get by on that?

And, to think Zuckerberg started Facebook as a way for Harvard guys to rate “hot” (and not so “hot”) Harvard girls, and then it grew to become a major force in wiping out thousands of newspapers and other periodicals by allowing foreign governments and any semi-literate human to post fake stories and information, and in the process promote anger and turn everybody against their family members and neighbors because they didn’t buy “hook, line and sinker” into their favorite cockeyed, wacko, unproven conspiracy theory.

Interesting, isn't it? Or, as Mr. Spock used to say, "Fascinating!"

To read the full article, go here. 

RVs Are About To Upend American Life

Above, campers at a KOA Kampground in West Yellowstone, Montana. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Adapting to new realities is something people have always done. Right now, more people are working at home or remotely on the road and the RV is well-suited for on-the-road work lifestyles.

RV Travel publisher Chuck Woodbury says that the RV is about to upend American life.

He starts with:

In 1790, only about one out of 20 Americans lived in urban areas. The ratio had dramatically changed to one out of four by 1870, one out of two by 1920, two out of three in the 1960s, and four out of five in the 2000s.

The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association predicted this past week that 600,000 RVs will be shipped to dealers in 2022. If you combine that figure with those of the past three years, it adds up to more than 2 million RVs on the road that were not there before. And if you look at the number of large, comfortable RVs being sold, it prompts the thought: “How many of these RVs will people live in full-time?”

Remote work is more common today than ever before. Living in one town, even one country, is not necessary. Countries around the world are offering incentives for road warriors to move there. At least 45 communities are currently offering incentives to attract remote workers, some upwards of $20,000, according to USA Today.

Heaven knows, the RV industry is promoting the idea of working remotely, suggesting an RV is one great way to do it.

I believe in the next ten years we will see a significant shift in how we live. We will not long define where we live as urban and rural. It will be urban, rural and mobile.

The problem with all these new RVers is that there aren't enough campgrounds/campsites to accommodate all of them. More need to be built.

To read more, go here. 

RVing Is Now Trendy and That "Stinks"

Above, The Beast at Petrified Forest National Park in 2019. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The old saying goes, "The more, the merrier!"

Well, that doesn't seem to sit very well with some, especially those oldtimer RVers who lament the time when campgrounds weren't crowded and RVing wasn't cool. 

Now RVing is considered "cool" and the safest mode for traveling. 

Chuck Woodbury, publisher of RV Travel, says this new post-pandemic reality "stinks". 

Here's what he had to say and starts with:

In 1981, Barbara Mandrell recorded a song titled “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.” For those of you new to RVing, there was a time when RVing wasn’t cool. In fact, 10 years ago it wasn’t cool. It was still “Grandma and Grandpa’s Playhouse” (popular bumper sticker for a few decades). It was for old people. If you were 20, 30 or 40, it was for your parents or grandparents.

The pandemic has changed that. The only safe way to travel now is by RV. For anyone accustomed to hopping a plane to Europe every summer, or booking a cruise in the Caribbean, hitting the road with an RV and exploring the USA sounds a lot better than sitting at home. Europe can wait. Even if you’re 25, RVing is okay. It’s hip! Everybody wants to do it.

But this coolness has come with a huge price – crowding. RV parks are packed. Good luck finding a spot in a National Park campground without reserving it a year ahead. Some National Parks now require a reservation to just drive through the front gate!

To read more, go here. 

 

More Campgrounds Needed To Accommodate New RV Owners

Above, Mountain Shadows RV Park in Wells, Nevada. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Chuck Woodbury at RV Travel has an interesting post this morning in his Editor's Corner column.

In it, he relates that a new study found a huge influx of RV buyers, but at the same time, there's not enough campgrounds to accommodate them.

He begins:

The big news this week is that a large study of RVers has revealed that there are now a whopping 11.2 million RV-owning households in America. That’s 62 percent more than 20 years ago. Those of us who have been RVing all that time definitely have noticed. I’ll take a wild guess and say there are no more campsites today than 2001. There are likely more RV parks, but hundreds, maybe a thousand or more public campgrounds have been closed.

The new survey reveals that the age of today’s RVers is roughly split between over 55 and younger than 55. The 18-34 year old group now makes up 22 percent of the market. And here’s a little something to chew on: An astonishing 9.6 million households intend to buy an RV within the next five years.

“I did the math and that comes out to 5,260 new RVing households a day!”

I don’t know about you, but I am not looking forward to competing with all those newbies for a campsite. If you think finding an available site today without a reservation is difficult, it will seem like child’s play when those roughly 20 million people head out in search of peace and quiet, and, of course, Wi-Fi access and jumping pillows for the kids.

What really rubs me wrong about all this is that the short-sighted RV industry – the people who manufacture RVs and the association, RVIA, that promotes them – is not paying attention. What they care about is selling RVs, and who cares what the people who buy them do with them or whether they can find a place to stay? Hey, there’s always a Walmart parking lot. The RVIA must begin aggressively promoting the creation of more campgrounds and they must start now!

He's right. More campgrounds need to be built to accommodate the growth of new RV owners.

To read more, go here. 

RV Sales Still Sizzling. Where Will We All Stay?

Above, the Ely, Nevada KOA Kampground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

RV sales continue to boom. This is great news for RV manufacturers, but where will are all these RVs stay?

Chuck Woodbury of RV Travel discusses this in today's Editor's Corner.

Some snippets:

The latest statistics, for RV sales in August, were released Friday. And once again they reveal that recreational vehicle sales continue to boom. What’s most interesting is the number of towables being sold compared to motorhomes — it’s getting close to a 10 to one ratio!

Sales of towable RVs, led by conventional travel trailers, totaled 35,561 units for the month, an increase of 20.8 percent from last August’s 29,448 units. Motorhomes finished the month with 3,928 units, down 7.1 percent compared to August 2019. We’ll have a breakdown of sales with charts in tomorrow’s newsletter.

Sales of travel trailers dominated. Most were cheap (and we mean “cheap” – as in stapled and glued together), lightweight models that can be pulled by an SUV or family car. Many, if not most, of the sales were the $20,000 and less models (think Three Little Pigs straw house). In the industry these are referred to as “stick-and-tin” models. Like Rodney Dangerfield, they “don’t get no respect,” at least for quality construction. They do get respect for how easily they sell, and dealers get to hawk highly profitable extended warranties or long-term financing (Camping World is the Champ) on the often gullible, impulsive buyers.

SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

To me it means more people every month fighting for a place to stay. The RV industry is predicting sizzling sales through 2021. Some say the boom will continue for another five years. New RV parks are being built, yes, but it’s a pittance compared to demand. And many that are being built are “resorts” with fees of $100 a night or more. That’s where the money is if you want to build a campground.

To read more, go here. 

RV Travel: Is RVing As We Have Known It Over For Now?

Above, a crowd gathers to watch Old Faithful Geyser erupt at Yellowstone National Park last summer. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

People are wondering when the pandemic is going to be over with so that life can return to some semblance of normalcy.

This includes RVers, who are wondering what RV life is going to be like afterwards.

RV Travel editor Chuck Woodbury has an "Editor's Corner" article that asks, "Is RVing as we have known it over for now?"

He begins it with:

Most of us, I believe, are ready for the pandemic to end. Enough is enough. The thought of it going through the summer, even into next year and beyond is almost too much to fathom. And yet that is exactly what could happen. 

Everybody talks about a vaccine, but the fact is, there is no guarantee it will even happen — we don’t even a vaccine for the common cold. The 1918 pandemic ended after several years only because the virus had mutated and become weaker. People still got sick, but they didn’t die, and then they gained immunity — “all clear” to enjoy the Roaring ’20s. 

RVing as we have known it is gone, in my opinion. It’s not dead, but it has already changed dramatically. I am writing now at my 2×4 foot desk in the corner of the bedroom of my 32-foot motorhome where I am self-quarantining. I’m not visiting museums, dining in little cafes along Route 66 (I’m only 50 yards away from the historic road). I’m not stopping in tourist shops searching for another jackalope to add to my collection. I’m not standing, side by side, with 300 other people watching Old Faithful erupt. I’m not the only one doing this sort of thing.

To read more, go here. 

RVs Not Welcome At New KOA Park

Above, The Beast at the Jackson Hole/Snake River KOA. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Incredible as it may seem, given that the baby boomer generation is in retirement age and buying RVs in record numbers, a KOA Kampground in Maine is opening with no RV spaces. 

The only KOA Kampground I've been to with the lowest number of RV sites was the Jackson Hole/Snake River KOA. They had about 22 sites for RVs. The rest were mainly cabins and tent sites.

RV Travel posted an editorial by Chuck Woodbury that begins with:

Jumping on the new, hot trend of “glamping,” a new KOA park in Maine will open in June without a single RV site for rent. The entire park will be composed of luxury canvas tents on wood platforms, each with hot and cold water, bathrooms and other luxurious amenities. They’re gorgeous! 

Before its new life as a “glampground” it had up to 130 spaces for RVs, tents and some cabins. It was first opened in 1970. 

Now, the same land is dubbed Terramor Outdoor Resort. It offers a “luxury experience in the woods,” which those of us with RVs would likely say we already have. The difference is, I suspect, that most RVers won’t pay $218 to $315 a night, which is what you’ll pay at Terramor for your experience with nature. So leave your RV at home, even though since 1962 KOA has been a welcoming stop for RVers and tenters for a night or a week (or longer).

With more people in RVs these days, hopefully this is not going to be a trend where RV campsites are lost to the current fad of glamping.

To read more, go here.