May 2007
I'm a dog–person myself, but for all you cat lovers, this is the issue for you! Check out our pets column below.
Also, in this issue, a special feature – family camping for those who are new to the camping lifestyle. And lots of other great stuff. Is there something else you'd like to see? Tell me what you think!
Ann |
Associate Publisher
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Issue Contents
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Book of the Month
Cooking on the Road with Celebrity Chefs features a collection of recipes, ranging from contemporary flavors to updated regional classics, reflecting greater diversity in RV cooking… without requiring top–notch culinary skills.
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Diamond Club Coupons
Get coupons specific to your region, or regions you plan to visit soon!
Examples of the types of coupons available include 2-for-1 admission to local attractions, discounts on campgrounds, discounts on restaurants, plus more.
Select your region and download your coupons today.
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Beginner's Guide to Camping
How to Make Your First Trip a Big Success!
From the pages of Camping Life Magazine
Camping is a perfect way to get time alone with your kids, and they can experience the wonders of nature with you. No matter what they occasionally say now, they will remember these trips with appreciation later. So, you would like to have this type of experience with your kids, and you want it to be good and have them want more, but you don't know where to start…right? No problem, we're going to hit the essentials you will need to have a successful first campout. Through proper preparation and careful execution, it can be one that your kids will love, and tell their friends about (and say nice things about).
CAMPING MYTHS
Let's begin by dispelling some of the myths and rumors that keep many people from becoming campers and having an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
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RVing With Your Pet
Why not cats too?
By Julee Meltzer
RVing with Pets … A Case Study
As full–time RVers, pet owners, and professional writers, we've often been asked what it's like to actually live and work in an RV with pets. After all, we're not exactly the average RVing family. For the last three years, we've been living in a 34 ft. motorhome with two large German Shepard dogs and three cats. This would be a lot of animals in a regular house, but in an RV it is sometimes ridiculous. Yet here we are and here's what we've learned so far.
How pets see RVing
From what we've observed, our dogs absolutely love the RVing lifestyle. Compared to living in a fenced–in yard, they have a life filled with exciting new places, interesting smells, new people, other dogs, and an endless assortment of fascinating wildlife. Our cats seem to really enjoy RVing as well. Instead of nearly freezing to death in the North every winter, they get to enjoy warm sunny days all year long as a result of heading south every autumn.
We've concluded that most pets, if given the choice, would rather be close to their family at all times. Fortunately, in an RV, you're never far away.
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RV Tech
What If It Breaks?
By Alan Lidstone
Since the 70's, when RVing frequently meant towing a pop–up with the family station wagon, much has changed. In those days, mechanical assemblies for the RV included surge brakes, a manual roof lift system, and a small LP gas stove and heater. We took a minimum of personal items on the road, and light and power were provided by Coleman lanterns, flashlight batteries, and a 15 – extension cord.
RVs now sport satellite dishes, leveling systems, multiple slides, HDTVs, outside TV and entertainment systems, automatic awnings, large refrigerators, convection microwave ovens, dishwashers, washer–dryers, and more. Motorhomes offer fuel efficient powerplants and transmission systems, backup cameras with multiple inputs, and on–board navigation systems.
Today's RVers can stay out on the road for months on end, or go full time. We can carry an array of personal electronics including notebook computers, wireless mobile phones, entertainment systems, and digital cameras, along with clothes and sports equipment.
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Destined to Travel
RVers Refuge – Jekyll Island, GA
This article courtesy of Southern RV Traveler
This little mecca is at once a thing of beauty and an ongoing drama. During the day, 10 miles of pristine sandy beaches beckon fishermen and swimmers, while at night baby sea turtles dash for the ocean, desperate to outdistance hungry ghost crabs.
On a balmy day, breezes sway the loblolly pines and rustle the live oaks, but the next day that wind could whip into a hurricane, reshaping the island once again. Overhead, fluffy trains of cumulus clouds float through the cerulean sky while sea birds scan the ocean in search of their lunch. Below, the waves wash upon the shore, bringing tiny organisms to feed the scurrying sanderlings.
Meandering Marshlands
The marsh on the inland side of the island helps buffer the mainland from the ravages of the sea. The tide flows into the wetland, bringing fish and crabs, particles of nutrients and soil. Grasslike plants cling to the mud flats along the edges, slowing the flow of the water and creating deeper soil for additional plants.
Here, egrets patrol, poised to strike an inattentive fish, blue crabs and fish spawn, shrimp breed, mussels cling to the black rocks and mosquitoes hatch. This is a silent, beautiful and little understood world.
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Mark… My Words
Hi Folks!
Another mixed bag of questions and answers this month, including some generator tips. Keep those questions coming!
Dear Woodalls,
I was having a conversation with a fellow camper regarding "engine horsepower" and he indicated that gasoline engine horsepower is not the same as diesel engine horsepower. We have the GM Vortec 8.1 liter engine that is rated to deliver 340 hp at 4050 rpm. This should be more powerful than the 300 hp diesel engines in all situations. I would think that horsepower is horsepower regardless if it's measured on a diesel or gasoline engine. Can you clarify?
Thanks, John in Illinois
Horsepower is, indeed, horsepower, regardless of the type of engine. Horsepower is defined as work done over time and is commonly visualized as the force needed to lift 33,000 pounds one foot over a period of one minute. Diesel, gasoline, electric, it’s all the same. However, diesel engines are generally able to develop more torque than gas engines of equivalent size and displacement, and diesels reach their torque peak (again, generally) at a lower RPM. This provides"more pulling power" and may have been what your fellow camper was actually trying to convey. In most cases, diesel engines are better suited to heavy–duty applications (like towing) because of their ability to generate more torque.
Read More Questions
Do you have a question for Mark?
Please submit your question via email to woodalls@escapees.com
Please remember, material will be edited. Because of the large volume of material and correspondence submitted, individual replies will not be possible, nor can we acknowledge receipt of your material. Selected questions will be answered in future issues of the Diamond Club newsletter in the Mark, My Words column. The Mark, My Words column also appears in Escapees magazine, a bi–monthly publication of the Escapees RV Club. For more information visit
www.escapees.com/magazine
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My Trip Journal
 Follow along with RVers and travelers just like you by reading their trip journal. We've selected the best websites of people who have traveled in North America. These travelers have agreed to let us feature their website. Take a look.
View this months featured personal website, Syl & Ken's Journeys Across the Americas or browse other locations.
Camping Blooper
Put it in park
We were moving and my wife was driving our Class C following me as I drove our SUV hauling a boat on this move. We were preparing to leave our night's camping and stopped to drop off our trash in the dumpster. My wife pulled up behind me at the dumpster, I got out to put the trash in and noticed the Class C moving toward me without a driver. My wife had gotten up to go to the back and forgotten to put it in park. In horror I watched the Class C run into the back of the boat. Needless to say, I couldn't talk to my wife over our walkie–talkies for several hours as I settled down. $600.00 later all was repaired and well and a lesson learned. Put the trailer in park before going to the rear.
Paul,
MO
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Cooking on the Road
One–Pot Red Beans, Rice and Sausage
Jimmy Bannos
These red beans can be cooked on a grill, gas burner, even a campfire. If cooking on an open fire, do not use a pot with plastic handles, which will burn or melt; keep in mind that the intensity of the heat source will vary the cooking time. In any case, the result is an inviting blend of flavors and textures. Serve it as a side dish or right out of the pot as a main course for two.
four servings
| 1 |
teaspoon olive oil |
| 4 |
oz smoked sausage, preferably andouille, cut into 1/ 2&ndashinch dice |
| 1 |
small yellow onion, finely chopped |
| ½ |
green bell pepper (or any color),seeded and chopped |
| 1 |
garlic clove, minced |
| ½ |
teaspoon Creole seasoning |
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Pinch of red pepper flakes |
| ½ |
cup converted white rice |
| 1 ½ |
cups hot water |
| 1 |
15 1/ 2 oz can light red kidey beans, drained Hot sauce (optional) |
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Salt (optional)
Hot sauce (optional) |
If using a grill, preheat to high.
Add the oil to a medium size pot and heat until hot. Add the sausage and sauté until lightly browned. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, garlic, Creole seasoning and red pepperflakes. Cook, stirring occasionally for 4 to 5 minutes until vegetables are soft. If cooking on a grill, close the grill top to increase the charcoal or gas temperature if necessary.
Stir in the rice, water and beans. Bring to a simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid or heavy duty aluminum foil and cook 15 minutes. Make sure that the mixture is simmering, not boiling. Carefully remove the lid (the steam can be very hot), stir the mixture, cover the pot and cook an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove the pot from the grill and let it rest, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes. Test to ensure rice is cooked through. If desired, season with the hot sauce and salt to taste.
Serve immediately.
For more great recipes & campsite cooking tips, visit Woodall's Camp Cooking!.
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Gadgets & Gear
Transported Into the Future
By Bill Siuru
courtesy of CamperWays.
Once you have parked your RV, you will be wishing you had a way to get around in the local area. Some tow a dinghy; others use bicycles. At a recent RV show, I saw several people riding hi-tech Segway Personal Transporters. I wanted to learn about them.
It’s been five years since Dean Kamen unveiled the Segway Personal Transporter on “Good Morning America.” Now, Segway is offering its second-generation i2 and x2 series. The key improvements include LeanSteer, InfoKey controller and Saphion lithium-ion batteries.
LeanSteer lets riders turn the Segway by pivoting the whole assembly or “frame” in the direction they want to turn. The LeanSteer frame and handlebar tilt left and right in response to the body’s natural inclination to lean in the direction of desired travel.
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RV Buying Tip
Know what your state requires to transfer the title to the RV from the seller to a buyer, and fulfill all requirements. This information can usually be found from your local Division of Motor Vehicles.
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