Podcasts about burketts

We have a lot for you in this report: We talk about the coming cicada invasion, the Canadian border, and Rootless Living. After being closed for more than a year, disturbing new reports are surfacing that have many wondering when will the U.S. Canada border reopen for RVers.  That's one of many topics we explore in Episode 336 of the RV Podcast. We also have a fascinating report about a coming invasion of billions - yes, you read right, billions - of bugs that will soon be evident to RVers who travel through 15 Mideastern States. After 17 years of dormancy, Cicada Brood X is about to reemerge and fill the air with noisy buzzing as they perch in trees, on utility poles, shrubs, or any other structure they can find.  And we meet Demian Ross, whose Rootless Living podcast and magazine chronicle life on the road for the millions of RV nomads who taken to the RV Lifestyle. Plus, we answer your RV questions, hear another off-the-beaten-path report from our friends the Burketts and we look at the RV calendar of coming events. You can listen to the entire RV Podcast in the player below or via your favorite podcast app. Scroll down for notes and links and more resources. When will the Canadian border reopen? That is the question as Canada's Prime Minister said late last week that he could see the border with the U.S. remaining closed until September or later if necessary. His comments were in response to some U.S. politicians in states that border Canada pushing the Biden Administration to open the border as soon as Memorial Day. Justin Trudeau said he would not open the border until the number of new daily COVID cases in the U.S. drops even more. The current number of new COVID cases in the U.S. is about 50,000, while in Canada, it is about 3,000. The U.S. population is about 328.2 million, Canada's is about 37.6 million. The border with Canada has been closed to non-essential travel (like RVing and camping) for over a year. The current closure is set to expire on March 21, but everyone expects it to be extended longer. The Invasion of the Cicadas For 17 years, they have been underground in the nymph stage, munching unseen on tree roots. But sometime soon - when the soil warms to 64 degrees - billions will emerge at the exact same time across 15 U.S. states and cover trees, shrubs, utility poles, flowers, and any structure they can find, hatching into ugly red-eyed bugs that many mistake for grasshoppers or locusts. But these periodical cicadas are not grasshoppers. And they are mostly harmless, except for tender shoots on shrubs and flowers. They don't bite. But they are extremely noisy, making their buzzing mating calls for a few weeks at most before they die off. They are one of the most fascinating mysteries of nature. Watch this short YouTube video done by the BBC: Expect the periodical cicadas to emerge from mid-May through June. The cicadas, about 2 1/2 inches long with a 3-inch wingspan, will emerge in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C. Unlike the common green cicadas you see every year, this 17-year cycle Brood X as it is called, has bright red eyes and black bodies. Birds, frogs, snakes, raccoons, opossums, and all sorts of other creatures will gorge on them. It's the males who make all the noise, trying to attract females. After they mate and the female lays eggs, they die off. And when the eggs hatch the nymphs all burrow beneath the surface, to stay there for another 17 years. So don't worry about the invasion. They make a lot of noise but they aren't drawn indoors. Other than the racket they make and the piles of their bodies after they die off, they are at most a nuisance. Marvel at them instead. The periodic cicadas are one of the great wonders of nature. Insight into the Digital Nomad and Rootless Liv...

The White House has issued an order that some say requires wearing masks in national parks and BLM land when we are outside. But does it really? It is an understatement to say that there is a lot of confusion over the new COVID rules put in place by the Biden administration requiring the use of masks on federal land. Does that mean we need to mask up while hiking in a national park or hanging out at our BLM campsite? When we are outside? That’s what we’re going to try and answer this week on episode 329 of the RV Podcast. Plus we have lots more RV news, tips, your questions, an interview about a new service that promises to help RVers who have breakdowns on the road, and, of course, another great off-the-beaten-path report from the Burketts. Do campers have to wear a mask when outside or hiking in National Parks or Federal land? There is confusion about whether you need to wear masks in National Parks Last week one of the first things the new Biden Administration did was issue an executive order requiring all people to wear masks on federal land - even when outside. In order to stop the spread of COVID-19 the order states: "individuals in federal buildings and on federal lands should all wear masks" which, if taken literally, seems to imply everyone in a national park or camping on land owned by the federal government popular with boondockers would fall under this order. I know, other RV writers and websites have been really stressing the literal application of the order but it’s been my experience that few things in life are to be taken literally and I would like to suggest we look more at the intent here than the most extreme application. The fact is, right now many details are lacking. For example, it is not clear exactly when this order takes effect, how it will be enforced, or what the penalties are for violating it. Actually, President Biden signed two orders. One requires that masks be worn at airports and on many planes, trains, ships, and intercity buses. That is pretty clear. The Order About Wearing Masks on Federal Property The second order requires masks on federal property. Let me quote from it: “Accordingly, to protect the Federal workforce and individuals interacting with the Federal workforce, and to ensure the continuity of Government services and activities, on-duty or on-site Federal employees, on-site Federal contractors, and other individuals in Federal buildings and on Federal lands should all wear masks, maintain physical distance, and adhere to other public health measures, as provided in CDC guidelines.  Who must wear masks in national parks? So the intent of the order is to protect federal workers and those interacting with them. That could include rangers, campers, the folks who staff registration booths, concessionaires. Campground volunteers. Got it. that’s clear. So the requirement is that masks and social distancing be required inside buildings. Understood. What about masks "on federal lands?" But besides buildings, it also says “and on Federal lands.” That is where the confusion comes. Some sensational reporting in the RV media…maybe to get ore clicks… imply that means you now would have to always be wearing masks while anywhere in a National Park or BLM lands. That is NOT what the order says. "Should" instead of "Must" regarding wearing masks in National Parks Let me read what it says: It says “should all wear masks.” Not must. Big difference. It also references that people should follow the CDC guidelines. Well, guess what those guidelines say about wearing masks outdoors? It says masks need not be worn outside, when not in close proximity to people. What the CDC says about outdoor mask use Here’s the exact CDC quote: Masks may not be necessary when you are outside by yourself away from others, or with other people who live in your household. However, some localities may have mask mandates while out in public,

After a year of RV show cancellations because of COVID, the RV Show season is set to roar back next month with the 2021 Florida RV Supershow in Tampa Jan. 13-17. Here's what to expect: Because the Florida RV Supershow is mostly outside, organizers say they are confident that social distancing, wearing masks inside the RV, limits of how many people can be in an RV at one time, along with frequent sanitization can make for a safe show. On the RV Podcast Interview f the week, we learn what to expect. Plus we have lots of RV News this week, your questions and feedback about the RV Lifestyle and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. All that is waiting for you in Episode 324 of the RV Podcast! You can listen to the podcast in the player below. And scroll down this page for shownotes and a transcript of the interview, plus links and resources about all the things we talk about. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We share our current RV Lifestyle activities, including: Getting ready for Christmas - Even in the year of COVID, there's no stopping Christmas! To see the video we did about decorating an RV for Christmas, CLICK HERE. Travel 2021 – Tampa RV Supershow - We'll be there! Schedule - We will have an RV Podcast on Dec 22, but take off the week between Christmas and New Year's This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer RV PODCAST INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK - The 2021 Florida RV Supershow The RV show season is about to begin again after a tumultuous 2020 that cancelled almost every show from February through this month. But in just a few weeks, the show season starts again with the 2021 Florida RV Supershow, to run January 13-17 at the Tampa Fairgrounds in Tampa, FL. Dave Kelly, of the 2021 Florida RV Supershow Our guest this week is Dave Kelly, the Executive Director of the Florida RV Trade Association, which puts on the annual show, always one of the largest, and as you;ll hear from Dave, probably the largest RV show in the nation. Here's a transcript of our interview about the 2021 Florida RV Supershow: Mike Wendland: Joining us right now to talk about the big show, I feel like Ed Sullivan, the Big Show, is Dave Kelly from the Tampa RV Super Show. How you doing, Dave? Dave Kelly: Thanks. Yeah, thanks for having me. Great. We're doing wonderful down here. Mike Wendland: Well, we are...it certainly has been a year. In fact, it was almost a year ago, that was really the last of the big shows and wow. What a show last year was. So I am delighted that you guys are on, and hopefully this sets the stage for us out of the funk that 2020 was. Tell us about the show, the dates, what people need to know in terms of being careful about social distance stuff, all that. What do we need to know about this year's, this 2021 big super show in Tampa again? Here's a video of what the 2020 Florida RV Supershow was like, just before COVOD forced the cancellations of the rest of the RV Show Season   Dave Kelly: Well, we open on Wednesday the 13th of January, and we run through the 17th. $12 for adults. We've extended our senior days to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this year. $2 off for seniors any of those days and kids under 16 free. So it's a great family way to spend the day with the family out at the show. We will be doing temperature checking and a mask by Hillsborough County ordinance would be required in the buildings and when you're inside the RV. We're going to try to make it as unobtrusive as possible for everyone to have a good time. As you know, the majority of the show is outdoors and from what we're reading, the outdoors is a fairly safe place to be. So, we're feeling uncomfortable we can provide a safe atmosphere for the show. Mike Wendland: Give us a sense of the size of this year's show. I know not all the folks that exhibited last year will be there this year,

If you’re like most RVers, you take a lot of pictures. But what to do with them? In this week’s episode of the RV Podcast, we learn about using Google Photos and what it can do for you.  Our Interview of the Week guests are Chris and Jim Guld, known as the “Geeks on Tour” to thousands because of the seminars they do across the country at RV rallies and shows and their online instruction. Chris just released her updated “Learn Google Photos” book and joins us to talk about how to store, organize, edit and share all those photos you take on your RV adventures. Plus, we have the latest RV News of the Week for you, RV tips, and another great off-the-beaten-path report from the Burketts. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK This week, we put up our Christmas Tree. It's a bit early, we know, but we all need some cheer. Besides, we've heard from lots of other RVers who have told us that they, too, were doing some early holiday decorating. Thus has been a challenging year, to be sure. But thinking about Christmas is a great way to shake off the negativity that seems to be hanging over the world in 2020. RV Podcast Programming Note: We're taking Thanksgiving week off the podcast. It's a busy time for everyone, us included, so we're off next Wednesday (Nov. 25). We'll be back the following week on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020 This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer You can get 10% off all purchases over $99 with the discount code RVLIFESTYLE10. RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK AAA expects Thanksgiving travel to drop significantly this year AAA is projecting about 50 million Americans will travel this Thanksgiving, but the organization says this is the biggest drop in travel seen since the recession of 2008. The decline is blamed on rising COVID-19 cases and an increase in unemployment and financial strain. The majority of those who do travel - 95 percent - will do so in a vehicle. And AAA is urging all travelers to plan ahead, know the route, and be sure to know the COVID-19 rules for any stops. Five die, including 1-year-old baby and a teenager, after floodwaters ravage North Carolina campground Five people died, including a 1-year-old child and a teenager, after floodwaters rushed through the Hiddenite Family Campground about 50 miles north of Charlotte last week. The heavy rain and accompanying flooding were the result of tropical storm Eta moving through the country. About 7-10 inches of rain fell in the downpour. Emergency personnel were able to rescue more than 30 people at the campground. Python hunters break records in snake capture in the Florida Everglades Florida snake hunters have caught a record number of Burmese pythons this year in the Florida Everglades - great news for everyone who loves that part of the country. (See our recent story on Flamingo Campground in the Everglades National Park here.) Burmese pythons are an invasive species that pet owners illegally released in the Everglades years ago, and have now increased in numbers so rapidly, they are causing massive damage to this unique ecosystem of the Everglades. The Florida governor has challenged two state agencies to take out more of the snakes, and the result has been competition and an increased effort by various snake hunters. As of mid--October, about 4,000 pythons have been caught and removed this year - shattering previous records.  Louisiana state parks add safari-style glamping options to eight campgrounds Eight Louisiana state parks are offering camping experiences for those who don't own a camper or a tent. The state park created 60 "glamping" sites in its park system, each featuring safari-style tents on a raised floor with canvas sides. Each tent will have a bed, heating source, fire pit, chairs. The glampling sites are part of a state partnership with a company called Tentrr, with prices starting at $85 per night. Rocky Mountain National Park releases video so visit...

Janie Burkett was born in Texas but raised in Colorado. Her background is in commercial real estate and network marketing. She struggled with infertility for more than a decade when she got pregnant with triplets in 2016. She, unfortunately, lost Baby C in the first trimester and ended up delivering the surviving 2 babies at only 28 weeks gestation. After just 2 weeks of life, her eldest twin, Bryce Joelle, caught an infection and passed away leaving Janie to grieve her firstborn child while being the caretaker for her surviving baby through 2 months of NICU stay. Throughout this dark time in their lives, God was more than faithful to the Burketts and used this tragedy to start a new business in restaurants called The Biscuit Bar. They now have 5 restaurants and 3 living babies. And Janie has since learned she is no longer infertile! (His name is Byron Jacob :)) Her children are Bryce Joelle (deceased), Blake Danielle (4), Banner Joel (2), and Byron Jacob (1)......Connect with JanieInstagram @janiejoburkettThe Biscuit Bar .....Stay connected with Twelve 12 Ministries by: Attend a Twelve 12 eventFollow Twelve 12 on Instagram Become a Supporter of Twelve 12 Send Twelve 12 Straight To Your InboxMusic By Recess. Find Him HERE

This week on the RV Podcast, we talk about RV Covers: Are they worth it? Should you have one? What to look for? Our guests are two product managers from Camping World, located in different parts of the country, and they will help us understand what to look for in an RV cover, what kind of RVs need them and what kind don’t. Plus we have lots of RV News this week, along with your RV Lifestyle Questions and another great Of the Beaten Path Report from the wandering Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #319  of The RV Podcast You can listen to the podcast in the player below. And scroll down this page for shownotes and a transcript of the interview, plus links and resources about all the things we talk about. This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer Check out the RV products and accessories we like and use for your next road trip or outdoor adventure…For a 10% discount on purchases over $99, use the discount code RVLIFESTYE10. RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK Fewer snowbirds coming to Florida, and when they arrive, may find new COVID protocols await at the larger RV parks Florida is seeing fewer snowbirds this fall because of COVID-19. Some places estimate the number of snowbirds will be down as much as 20-25 percent, with many would-be deciding to just stay home. Canadian snowbirds can not drive across the U.S. border, causing additional challenges for our RV friends to the north. Snowbirds who do travel south may find that some RV parks and condo associations are asking them to quarantine, or avoid using the facilities for a period of time. And some of the luxurious RV parks are keeping their community room, gyms, and other such sites closed because of COVID according to the story. To see some of our favorite places to camp in Florida, click here.   Campgrounds hit by Hurricane Zeta cleaning up, staying open for business Campground owners in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are mostly open after Hurricane Zeta, reporting minimal damage. Hurricane Zeta was a category 2 storm that took at least six lives and caused millions to lose power. At the campgrounds in its path, most were removing downed trees, repairing fencing and buildings, and conducting other clean up efforts. But most did not appear to suffer long-term damage and most were still open to campers. This has been a historic hurricane season for the gulf coast (see story here) with eight named storms hitting in 2020, and the season is still not over. Veterans and Gold Star families will be able to enter national parks for free under new rule Veterans and gold star family members will soon have free access to all national parks. Current active-duty troops and their families can enter the national parks for free. The change, which goes into effect Nov. 11 - Veterans Day - will grant veterans and gold star families this same benefit. Gold Star families are immediate family members of soldiers who died in the line of duty. For veterans, if they are driving into a national park with an admission fee, their vehicle will be free. But if the national park has a per person admission fee, the veteran will be free, but the family members will have to pay. Catch a brown trout, get paid $25 in pilot program in Arizona If you love fishing and are anywhere near Arizona, you may want to head over to the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area later this month and get paid to catch brown trout. The National Park Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department are paying anglers $25 per non-native brown trout they catch in the Colorado River below the Glen Canyon Dam. The pilot program is trying to reduce the number of non-native brown trout in the river, and there is no limit on how many fish an angler may turn in for payment. There are, however, some rules tied to Arizona licensing. For more details click here. Yellowstone to test self-driving shuttle service next summer

When it comes to RV power these days, it's a battle of Lithium vs AGM batteries. If you are trying to decide between the two, we can make it easy. A new study shows one is clearly the best for RV boondockers and those seeking reliable power. It's lithium. By a long shot. Lithium batteries have been all the rage among RVers for several years now. But the one criticism some in the industry had was that lithium didn’t like cold weather. And while that is true – all batteries are stressed by cold temperatures – a new white paper study released today shows that when you compare lithium vs AGM batteries, lithium actually out-performs traditional AGM batteries even in extremely cold weather. And in warm weather, they beat AGM lead-acid batteries even more. In fact, in all environments and under temperature variations from hot to way below freezing, lithium batteries deliver more for longer periods of time than their lead-acid rivals. That is major news and we’re delighted to break it in this episode of the RV Podcast. The lithium vs AGM batteries study gives more credence to the “Lead is Dead” slogan started by Battleborn Batteries, the author of the white paper, and this week on the RV Podcast, we are joined by Battleborn’s top leadership team to discuss the findings and what it means to RVers. Plus, Jennifer and I have lots of RV news to share, some helpful information about staying overnight in an RV in an interstate rest area and a great off the beaten path report from our friends the Burketts. Jennifer joins me now on Episode 316 of the RV Podcast, being released on October 14, 2020. You can listen to the podcast in the player below. The Interview on Lithium vs AGM batters can be heard about 18:00 in. And scroll down this page for shownotes and a transcript of the interview, plus links and resources about all the things we talk about. Show Notes for Episode #316  of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We hope you have been getting out there and enjoying some fabulous fall camping. This is such a great time of the year. After last week's visit to the Michigan Upper Peninsula, Jennifer and I are heading out this week for the Lake Michigan shoreline along the Southwestern Part of the state, hoping to see the fall foliage that way. This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK Hurricane Delta comes ashore in Louisiana, leaving flooding, strong winds across many southern states Yet another hurricane hit the coast of Louisiana last weekend, leaving thousands without power, and people everywhere from Louisiana through Georgia and even the Carolinas bracing for potential flash floods and strong winds. Hurricane Delta is the tenth storm to make landfall this season, according and the fifth hurricane to make landfall. Many campgrounds and national park sites in the path of this storm closed, and it is not clear yet how severely damaged they may be. The 2020 camping season is surely one none of us will soon forget, with pandemic restrictions, ranging wildfires, dangerous winds that struck the midwest, and hurricanes. Lots of hurricanes. To help you monitor emergency radio bands and stay safe, we want to again urge you to visit this page to see a story we did not too long ago on apps that could help. Toddler suffers second degree burns after running off trail and falling into Yellowstone National Park thermal area A three-year-old was flown to a hospital with severe burns last weekend after slipping into a thermal area at Yellowstone National Park. The accident happened after the toddler took off running, went off trail, then slipped and fell into a small thermal area. The toddler had second degree burns on his lower body and back. He is the second person to be injured by going off trail and falling into a thermal area at Yellowstone this year. Thieves are stealing guns from unlocked vehicles at...

Finding the best Internet for RV Nomads is a daunting task but we have the best advice for you in this episode of the RV Podcast from the two experts who know more about the topic than anyone else you can find. With the help of Chris and Cherie of Technomadia, the RV Lifestyle’s top Internet experts, we’re going to tell you what companies and what plans are the best for today’s demanding RVer. They candidly warn us what companies to stay away from and what service providers are offering the best plans. Plus we learn why 5G may not be very handy for the RV community just yet and what – and when – that new Starlink Satellite constellation will be ready for RV Nomads. We also answer your RV questions about traveling with a dog, getting satellite TV on the road and we share a great off the beaten path report from our friends the Burketts. You can listen to the podcast in the player below. The interview is about 25:00 in. And scroll down this page for shownotes and a transcript of the interview, plus links and resources about all the things we talk about. Show Notes for Episode #313 of The RV Podcast: Finding the Best Internet for RV Nomads Mike and Jennifer share their plans to head up north to the Michigan Upper Peninsula to check out the fall colors Mike and Jennifer, hosts of the RV Podcast This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer Listeners of the Podcast can get 10% off all purchases over $99. Just go to RVLifestyle.com/campingworld and you will see all the Camping word RV gear and accessories we like the most! Just use the discount code RVLIFESTYLE10. RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK U.S. Forest Service opens some national forest land in California, but wildfires remain major problem in California, Oregon, elsewhere out West Wildfires are still burning in much of the West, but some states reported improvements in both air quality and containment - good news for residents and visitors and RVers traveling through the affected areas. The U.S. Forest Service eased restrictions in nine of California's national forests. (all 18 were closed last weekend). So far three million acres have burned in some 27 wildfires. Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks remain closed because of the fires and smoke. And in Oregon, where some one million acres have burned, many state parks and federally owned land remains closed. Use a fall color predictor to help you plan your fall travels Many of us enjoy camping in the fall, and one of the things we enjoy is taking in the beauty of the fall colors. To help you plan your travel when colors are at their peak, check out this national fall color predictor. Already some states, including mountainous areas in Montana, Colorado and northern Minnesota, are peaking. Others are not far behind. Jen and I are planning to get out this week, so look for reports on what we find. Florida house for sale with attached garage built to store 37-foot RV Most of us have heard of the phase house envy - but have you ever heard of garage envy? I'm guess, after you check out this story, you may get a case of it. A newspaper article in Florida featured a house for sale that had a special garage built so the homeowners could easily store their 37-foot RV. The garage is 60 feet long, 20 feet wide and 17 feet high, and is attached to the normal garage, which is attached to a "normal" three-bedroom house. The couple, who were selling their house because they no longer RV, said the garage was perfect at the time, and apparently others agree. The Cape Coral home was only for sale for one week, and received six offers.   New Mexico state parks to allow residents to camp starting Oct. 1 New Mexico residents will be allowed to camp in most of their state parks beginning Oct. 1. Camping will remain off limits to non-state residents, with reservations canceled for out-of-state visitors through Oct. 16. New Mexico has been among the most restrictive st...

This week we learn about the 2021 Quartzsite RV Show, scheduled Jan. 16-24. This just may be the biggest RV show in the world, drawing from the estimated 750,000 to 1 million visitors (most in RVs) who flock to the tiny desert town every January. Our guest on the RV Podcast Interview of the Week is Kimmy King, producer for the 2021 Quartzsite RV Show. Plus we have lots of RV news, tips and travel ideas, including an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. You can listen to the podcast in the player below. And scroll down this page for shownotes. The question of the week about a 4 season RV is at 19:15 in, while the interview about the 2021 Quartzsite RV show is at 26:09  RV Podcast Show Notes for Episode #310, released Sept. 2, 2020: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Special Live Feed Friday at 3 PM ET on the 2021 Quartzsite RV Show We’re having fun doing live stream broadcasts simultaneously on all our platforms. We’ll have our next one coming up this Friday, Sept 4 at 3 PM Eastern Time and our special guest will be Kenny and Kimmy King, the producers of the giant 2021 Quartzsite RV Show. Kimmy will be our guest in the interview of the week in this episode of the RV Podcast. And in our live video stream Friday, she’ll be joined by her dad, Kenny. This will be a really fun broadcast and you will have an opportunity to ask them questions live. So if every you have had questions about boondocking in Quartzsite, about the biggest RV show in the world (that’s what their event has become) tune in live at 3 PM Friday Sept. 4 on our RV Lifestyle Facebook Group, our RV Lifestyle Facebook Page and our RV Lifestyle YouTune Channel. Fall Camping Updates We’ve had some really fun discussions on the blog lately about fall camping. Just this week we have published articles on fall camping in the UP and our five favorite RV destinations around the country to see the fall colors. You can read them and much more at rvlifestyle.com RV service issues I have an update on the status of our RV issues. The inverter failure while on battery power that I taked about last week had a very easy solution. It was a blown fuse. The fuse that blew was a 150 amp fuse between the house batteries and the inverter. My service tech at Holland Motor Homes in Holland, MI said the reason why it blew is that someone put the wrong sized fuse in at the factory. It is supposed to have a 250 amp fuse. Not a 150 amp fuse. Problem solved. And my dealer even gave me a spare fuse if it should happen again. As to the Dometic three-way refrigerator door that keeps falling off there is bad news. The dealer says Dometic told themthere is a 70 day wait time for replacement parts. Since I talked about it on the podcast last week I have heard from several others who have the same problem with the door falling off. One said he grew so impatient with Dometic’s lack of service that he has replaced his fridge with a new one from a different company. We are considering the same thing. This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer For a 10% discount on purchases over $99, use the discount code RVLIFESTYLE10. RV PODCAST RV NEWS OF THE WEEK Wild fires continue to cause havoc in West, California closes 34 state parks, Oregon, Montana, Arizona, Utah and more states affected Wildfires continued to devastate the West with 1.4 million acres burned, and more than 800 new wildfires between Aug. 15 and 29 in California alone. California closed at least 34 state parks because of fires, many will be closed indefinitely. Historic Little Basin Campground in California's Big Basin State Park was destroyed, with visitors evacuated in a rush last Tuesday just before the flames came through. But California is not alone. An 850-plus acre wildfire is in Yellowstone National Park, just three miles from Old Faithful. Oregon and Colorado are also especially hard hit, but fires are popping up in many western states.

Tired of noisy Walmarts and crowded CrackerBarrels for your overnight stops? Now you can do Overnight RV Parking at churches where it's quiet, secluded, and safe. This week in the RV podcast interview of the week, we learn all about Faithful Parking, a website that helps RVers find overnight RV parking at churches. Often those spots come with electric hookups, too. Plus we have RV News of the week, tips about getting rid of mice in an RV, and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. You can listen to this episode of the RV Podcast on your favorite app or right below in the audio player.  The interview about Faithful Parking and RV parking at churches is about 25.32 in: Show Notes for Episode #308 Aug 19, 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Mike & Jennifer Wendland, hosts of the RV Podcast. In Episode 308 we talk about RV parking at churches and a website called Faithful Parking, plus the RV news of the week, getting rid of mice in an RV and an off the beaten path travel report We’re on the road, headed to Southwest Michigan to explore some out of the way campgrounds located on some great little inland lakes. We’re also planning a visit to Elkhart, IN – the RV Capital of the World – to work on a little project based on one of Jennifer’s ideas. And we’re planning an extended trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We’ll be leaving after Labor Day and the crowds head back to school and work. Fall is our favorite time of the year up there and we plan to stay until first frost in October. CLICK HERE to read an article on 10 Spectacular Campgrounds in the UP This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer  Listeners of the Podcast can get 10% off all purchases over $99 with the code RVLIFESTYLE10 RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK Woman seriously injured by charging bison after getting too close to take a picture A woman was seriously injured by a bison last week after she got off her motorcycle, and approached a bison herd to photograph a mama and her calf. The woman was at Fort Custer State Park in South Dakota taking the picture when a different bison decided she was too close. The animal charged her, catching her belt on its horn, and flung her around before her pants fell off and she fell to the ground. After the animal retreated people rushed to help. The woman was flown to a hospital and had serious injuries. State park officials are reminding visitors to stay at least 100 feet away from bison. Custer State Park is one of our favorite parks to visit in the fall and the bison are part of the draw. To see our list, click here. Illegal boondockers near California's Big Sur leaving behind big mess With warm weather and totally booked campgrounds, officials near California's Big Sur have experienced problems with people illegally camping along Highway 1 over the past several weekends. More than 150 people illegally camped along Highway 1 in Monterey County last weekend, generally in turnouts. And they leave behind human waste, toilet paper, beer cans and coals from fires. Officials are closing several roads through Oct. 19 to stop the illegal boondocking. We are big fans of boondocking, but ALWAYS clean up after yourself, and check to see if boondocking is allowed before settling in for the night. For more boondocking tips click here or here. Colorado wild fire causing campground evacuations, road closures Wildfires in Colorado have burned part of the popular Chambers Lake campground. The fire was about 62 miles west of Fort Collins over the weekend and was burning primarily on Roosevelt National Forest Land. Several campgrounds in the upper Poudre Canyon have been evacuated, and some roads in the area are closed.  Federal land near some Utah national parks no longer available for lease for gas, oil exploration The Bureau of Land Management decided to take 86,000 acres in Utah off the table as potential oil and gas de...

There are a lot of RV myths out there and one big one is that you can’t boondock in a big rig. This week, we dispel that bit of fake news by introducing you to two couples who not only boondock in big RVs, but both are thriving on it! Jason and Rae Miller are known as the Getaway Couple on their blog and YouTube community and they travel and boondock regularly in a huge Fifth Wheel. Mark and Julie Bennett, who publish the RV Love channel and blog and are authors of a very popular book on RVing, boondock in a huge Class A motorhome. We hear from both couples this week as they tell you about boondocking in a big rig, what are the challenges and more importantly just how they get those giant RVs down the road and off the grid. Both couples will teach you a lot! Plus, we have RV News of the week, your RV Lifestyle questions and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. You can listen to this episode of the Podcast on your favorite app or right below in the audio player. The interview about how to boondock in a big rig is about 20:37 in: Show Notes for Episode #302 July 8, 2020 of The RV Podcast: How to boondock in a Big Rig RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK Oregon now charging out-of-state residents more to camp at its campgrounds The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department now adds a surcharge to out-to-state residents wanting to use its campgrounds. The surcharge works out to about a 30 percent price hike, making a full-service campsite cost $42 for out-of-state residents (compared to the previous $33). Cost of a tent site will increase to $23 from $19 a night. The state hopes to raise $500,000 from the new fees to make up for lost revenue from when the campgrounds were closed earlier this year because of COVID-19. It also hopes to encourage people to stay closer to home. The surcharge will be applied to new reservations and first-come, first-served campers and will remain in place for the rest of this year. June RV and towable camper sales break the record Well, most of the numbers are in, and now it is official: More Americans than ever are giving the RV Lifestyle a try. The RV industry recorded the best sales month EVER last June, with a 16.5% increase over last year’s 41,699 total. And that doesn't even include numbers from the states of Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon and Vermont. Americans are really buying RVs and towables. The numbers support what we have been hearing for months. More and more people are camping as a result of COVID-19. To see more of what we've reported about camping changes this year click here. Peak viewing of the Perseid meteor showers will be Tuesday and Wednesday- don't miss it! The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to peak this week, and if you can get outside to watch, you don't want to miss it! Up to 100 shooting stars can be seen per hour during its peak. It should be visible all this week. A good strategy is to look up as late in the evening as possible, but before moon rises. The Perseid meteor show is visible every year when the earth drifts through a debris cloud left from a comet. To learn more click here or here.  To learn more about photographing the night sky, click here.  Vandals spray painting campers, campground signs with messages of "COVID-19" and "Go home" in British Columbia We saw reports last week out of British Columbia of people vandalizing camping trailers with the words "no camping" and "COVID-10". About two weeks ago a story was in the news from North Island Campground where someone spray painted "Go home" on a campground sign. In the latest report, the camping trailer targeted was not even being used. The border between Canada and America is closed for non-essential travel, like camping, and while it is possible to "sneak" in, we wanted to remind you again that not every community wants out-of-owners visitors.  In this summer of pandemic camping, remember to check ahead

A lot of RVers are asking these days: How to find a campsite despite the crowds? The national news media has been filled with stories in recent weeks claiming that campgrounds are bursting at the seams across the country as people are taking up camping and RVing because they are afraid to take traditional vacations or stay in hotels, fly airplanes or deal with crowds in amusement parks and resorts. Believe it! This week in Episode 306 of the RV Podcast, we hear from real campers who tell us whether those gloom and doom stories are true. Yes, it’s summer, and campgrounds are always a bit crowded, especially on weekends and holidays. But this year, it’s way worse. That’s coming up in this week’s episode of the Podcast, as well as your RV questions and comments, RV News of the week, and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #306 August 5, 2020 of The RV Podcast: RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK Fewer Walmart stores permitting RVers to overnight in parking lot If you have been a RV fellow traveler for long, chances are you spent the night at a Walmart parking lot at least once. But finding a Walmart that allows RVers to sleep in their parking lot is getting harder.. Currently only 58 percent of the nation's Walmart stores allow campers to stay compared to 78 percent in 2010. Spending the night in a parking lot has been super popular with many RVers over the years. They get a free, easy place to overnight when they are on a road trip and do not need a full campground experience. Typically overnighters buy something from the Walmart and are gone first thing in the morning, so the store benefits, too. But the problem is more and more campers are not practicing basic etiquette. They are staying for more than one night, they are leaving their trash even sometimes human waste or dirty water behind. Homeless people are also using lots. The result is more and more Walmarts are banning the practice, often forced to do so by new zoning rules enacted by local governments. It’s another example on how a bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. Rangers at Zion National Park ask for help finding vandals who painted rocks blue Speaking of bad apples. I have a story about a really rotten apple. This is the type of story that makes my blood boil. Vandals at Zion National Park painted a large section of the sandstones in the northeast section of the park blue. Rangers are now asking the public's help in finding who did this. Bold blue squares and miscellaneous shapes - some three feet by three feet in size - are on the rock formations south of Wildcat Trailhead in the Kolob Terrace area. The area is believed to have painted around July 8. Officials say they are not sure they can remove the paint, and doing so will be costly. Family decides to move in an RV and homeschool from the road because of COVID-19 We've been reporting for years about road schooling (click here or  here), and for months about the rise in RV newbies and some challenges out there because of COVID-19 (click here). So, when we saw this story of a family that combines both, we had to share. The Tennessee family apparently decided to cope with the in-person schooling challenges COVID-19 caused by buying a large RV bus built on a Greyhound chassis, selling their possessions, and hitting the road. The family of seven plans to homeschool their five children while traveling the country, all while self-containing as best as possible and working remotely from the road. Man shoots himself in the leg at Rocky Mountain National Park after gun in his backpack accidentally fires A man visiting Rocky Mountain National Park accidentally shot himself in the leg with his own gun. The man had put a loaded gun into his backpack. When he took off his backpack and put it on a rock at Emerald Lake, the gun accidentally fired a round with the bullet lodging in his leg. Other visitors helped, providing first aid,

Rising COVID fears and RV Travel uncertainty are causing RVers to stay closer to home and be much more cautious in their plans for the rest of the summer and into fall. As the nation once again finds COVID rates dramatically rising, RVers are wondering what to do with summer travel plans. "Should we stay or should we go?"  is a question we've been asked a lot this past week. So in this 304th episode of the RV Podcast, we're going to talk about that. We’ll share our feelings and hear from a bunch of you who responded to our request to call and share your opinion. Plus, we have lots of RV questions this week, plenty of RV News, and a great off the beaten path RV report from the Burketts. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK Officials say no reported COVID-19 cases at Yosemite, but then they discover it in human sewage In this time of pandemic camping, there was an intriguing story this week out of California that caught our attention. Yosemite National Park is open to visitors, regular testing of employees and residents shows no one has tested positive for COVID-19, and no visitors have reported back as positive. Seems a safe place to go, right? Well, apparently a company that is checking human raw sewage for the virus found COVID-19 in the waste. The company estimated between June 30 and July 6, about 170 infected people were at the El Portal stop, while just a few were at Wawona. The science is still developing, and being outside and away from crowds is still considered a relatively safe activity, but this adds to our belief that using the facilities in your RV is still the safest thing to do. Black bear bites woman, child, in Yellowstone backcountry then eats their food A black bear bit a woman and a child at Yellowstone National Park last week after entering a campsite shared by five backpackers in search of food. The woman and child were outside their tents and the bear walked right up to them, bit them, then went to their food which was under a storage pole but not yet hung up. When rangers arrived, the bear was still eating the campers' food, so the bear was killed. The bear bit the woman in her arm and head and bit the child's hand. Both received bruises and minor cuts. Rangers, again, urged visitors to carry bear spray. Here is an article we did on how to camp safely in bear country - we've shared it before, but believe it is worth sharing again. Woman chased by a bison at Yellowstone trips, falls, plays dead and survives encounter without injury Speaking of Yellowstone, did you see the video of the woman who was being charged by a bison, tripped and fell, played dead, and survived the encounter without a scratch? Apparently, the woman and another person got too close to the wild creature so it charged. The woman tripped and fell when running and once down, she played dead. The charging bison came to an abrupt stop spent a few seconds sniffing the woman – who lay there motionless -  and then ambled away. The woman then got up, apparently unharmed. It was all caught on cellphone video and as is clear, too many people were too close to the bison.  Click here to see. Man transforms jet engine into camping trailer We've all seen pictures, and may even have, a do-it-yourself van transformed into a camper. But have you ever heard of anyone transforming a jet engine into a camping traile? A British man did just that. He bought a decommissioned VC10 jet engine from a scrap yard and started tinkering. The engine is 13 feet long. He flattened the bottom so it could attach to a chassis, then meticulously went about taking things apart and building them back up while installing a sink, twin burners, cabinets, and a lounge-dining area that coverts to beds. The story and pictures can be seen here. Because of corona virus, the man and his family have not gone camping in it yet but hope to soon.   In this summer of pandemic camping, remember to check ahead New Mexico state parks campgrounds are the only ones ...

With travel restrictions looming again, here's our best take on what RV travel looks like for the rest of the year. As COVID-19 raises its ugly head again with more infections and hospitalizations, things that once were opening are closing again. This week on the RV Podcast Episode 303, we offer straight talk about what the rest of the year may look like for RVers. Plus we have an interview about an interesting place where RVers can go to get their RVs renovated called RV Renovation Camp. We also have lots of RV News, tips, an off the beaten path report from the Burketts, and much more all coming up in Episode 303 of the RV Podcast. Show Notes for Episode #303 July 15, 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We’re still in Michigan and will likely stay here through fall. And while we think there will be lots of opportunities for short trips in and around the Great Lakes Region, long-distance, cross-country travel for us has been put on hold as the nation tries to figure out what to do as COVID-19 infection rates have shot upwards again.  What had been an encouraging downwards trend in early summer, has now been reversed to where we are now seeing record infection rates in many places, more hospitalizations, and rising deaths. In other words, just when you thought it was okay to start traveling again, we’re seeing the virus rapidly spreading and many states contemplating shutdowns again. So let's talk about what RV travel looks like for the rest of the year: In our opinion, it’s not good. Just today, Elkhart Open House, the mega event put on every fall by the RV manufacturers to jumpstart business for dealers and suppliers, was canceled for this year. That event has probably become the most important venue for the RV industry and canceling it shows just how serious the industry sees the new spike in invections. We don’t have a crystal ball. We’re not privy to any inside information. But since the end of February, the newsman in me has kept careful track of what is happening with this horrible illness and I think there are several things happening that will adversely affect the RV Lifestyle. Hopefully, what’s unfolding and developing now will not result in total nationwide shutdowns like most of us experienced in March and April. But I don’t think there is any doubt that it's getting worse rather than better. Will you still be able to travel in your RV? Yes, I think so, certainly more than you were able to this past spring but, sadly, I fear, not as much as you perhaps would like to. Here are seven things that I think will  shape what RV travel looks like for the rest of the year There will be more campgrounds, state parks, and national parks either closing to out of state campers, shutting down entirely, or limiting the number of visitors. We have some examples of that happening even now coming up in the News of the week segment but expect more quarantines and in some places, like California, parts of Texas and other states, to be more severely impacted by COVID and actively tell visitors that they are not welcome the rest of the summer and ell into the fall. What campgrounds that remain open will be more crowded. That’s a given. With all the new RVers out there, camping space is already at a premium in many places. If campgrounds now open start closing again, those that are still open will be putting out the “no vacancy” signs a lot sooner than normal. RV manufacturers will once again have to wrestle with the decision to shut down their assembly lines to stop the spread of the virus. Same with RV parts manufacturers. If shutdowns happen the ripple effect will immediately be felt through all segments of the industry. It may be booming now because so many people bought new RVs for much-needed vacations once the economy started to reopen in May and June. But if the COVID rates keep rising – as most health experts predict – the industry is going to be hit with a...

This week on the RV Podcast, we share our Top 10 RV Rules for Couples who want to get along in a motorhome! In honor of this being the 300th episode of the RV Podcast, we will share our Top 10 Rules for RV Couples who want to get along in the confined space of an RV. The advice is timeless, especially with so many newcomers coming to the RV world. We also have lots of important RV news this week, plus your RV questions, RV tips, and a fun off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #300 June 24, 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER WENDLAND ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We are back in Michigan! We got back late Friday, just in time for Father’s Day weekend. After six months on the road, I confess it’s nice to be back in our official state of domicile for a few days! On Wednesday, we are scheduled to pick up our brand new RV - a 2021 Leisure Trave Vans Wonder. We'll be videoing and blogging about the big day and our first camping trips. No matter how many times we get a new RV, we can hardly sleep we get so excited. So say tuned. We can't wait to get the keys!  This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes, America's #1 e-bike brand, offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping   RV NEWS OF THE WEEK Senate passes bill that will send billions to national parks for much-needed maintenance, improvements Last week the U.S. Senate passed the "Great American Outdoors Act," a bill described as the most far-reaching conservation law in 40 years, that is expected to send millions of dollars from offshore oil drilling to pay for campgrounds, city parks, trails and more in all 50 states. The bill would provide $9.5 billion over five years to repair roads, restrooms, trails and campgrounds at the national parks. And it would guarantee $900 million a year to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The bill now heads to the House, where quick passage is expected, President Donald Trump has said he will sign it into law. We will be following this as it looks like great news for America's national parks. Borders between U.S., Canada and Mexico to remain closed for another month to nonessential travel - at least Campers hoping to head to Canada or Mexico anytime soon learned last week that they will have to wait another month after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security extended the border closure to July 21 because of COVID-19. Borders are closed to nonessential travel, which is what camping is considered, and have been so for months. The order was supposed to lift in June but was extended last week as each nation seeks to limit the spread of the virus. We wrote about how seriously Canadians are taking this last week (click here) and urge you to follow the law, knowing that one day borders will open again. Just yesterday Fellow Traveler Rick Eles sent us a link to a big story on the Canadian Television network explaining how angry Canadians, spotting license pastes from the US at Canadian national parks like Banff, were calling in the Mounties!  And they’ve been writing tickets – at least seven last week – that carry a $1,200 fine. Two women face jail time, fines and ban from Yellowstone for going off-trail and damaging thermal zone Two women who went off trail and damaged the delicate thermal zone at Yellowstone National Park were sentenced last week to jail time, ordered to pay fines, and banned from re-entering the park for two years. The women, from Philadelphia, damaged orange bacteria mats at Opal Pool in the Midway Geyser Basin when they illegally decided to walk off-trail. These mats are made of heat-loving bacteria that give the thermal beds their color and are a primary attraction to the area. To see some pictures of the beauty of Yellowstone, check out this oldie but goodie post we did here. Nine states still report closed or restricted campgrounds, the rest are now open

This week on the podcast, we talk about getting your RV ready for travel again. For most RVers, it’s been a long wait and their RVers have been just sitting there waiting for the 2020 RV travel season. We tell you what we do to prepare our RV and hear from Tim Marriott, our mechanic from LT Truck and Trailer in Pontiac, MI. Plus we have lots of RV news about what is open and what isn’t, where travel is allowed, plus your questions and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #293 May 6 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK and Getting Your RV Ready for Travel Again It wasn't long and it wasn't far and we maintained social distancing the whole time but we did get out this weekend for a nice campout in the RV, making our way from NW Florida to SW Georgia. Both states have eased travel restrictions and the stay at home orders. Just being able to go for a drive and spend a beautiful weekend in the RV chased away those quarantine blues built up over the past two months.. By no means are we all out of the coronavirus woods and many other places remain locked down, but there are regions where restrictions are easing and people are starting to venture out again. And that is Good News! Speaking of Good News, we are very pleased to announce that our latest 7 Day Adventure Guide is now available for instant download!  It's on the Florida Keys and Key West and we are thrilled to release it.  CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY TODAY! The book is jam-packed with maps, photos, and helpful info on what to see and where to go and camp in the Keys. It joins our library of ebook guides and is the third one in Florida. The Keys guide as a standalone is just $7. But you can bundle it at a special price with our other two Florida guides - one for the Atlantic Coast and one for the Gulf Coast. The book is jam-packed with maps, photos, and helpful info on what to see and where to go and camp in the Keys. It joins our library of ebook guides and is the third one in Florida. The Keys guide as a standalone is just $7. But you can bundle it at a special price with our other two Florida guides - one for the Atlantic Coast and one for the Gulf Coast. All three Florida guides are available as a three-pack bundle for just $16.99! You can also get all eight of our 7 Day Adventure guides at a huge discount for just $39.99!    RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK RV industry prepares to gradually reopen manufacturing plants this week Much of the RV industry in northern Indiana is planning to restart operations this week. Gulf Stream, Thor, Airstream, CrossRoads, Cruiser, Dutchmen, Entegra Coach, Heartland, Jayco, Keystone RV, Starcraft, and others, along with most suppliers and parts manufacturers are now reopened. The restart will be slow, with employees at many factories receiving temperature checks before entering the building, plastic shields between work stations, sanitizing between shifts, personal protective equipment worn, and more. But the bottom line is the RV industry is back in business.   Man airlifted from Wyoming wildlife area after being attacked by a grizzly If you find yourself social distancing outdoors in bear country, be sure to bring bear spray and be stay alert. Bears are definitely out now, and a grizzly attacked a Wyoming man who was outdoors last weekend near the Sunlight Wildlife Habitat Management Area. Thankfully the man was able to send an SOS signal from a satellite communication device, rescuers found him and airlifted him to a hospital. He suffered severe injuries to his neck. A few years ago we interviewed an expert on bear spray. We always travel with it and recommend it. Here is a link to read more. Public campground closed? Family heads to a private campground in Michigan and practices social distancing in their RV  Many states, such as Michigan, are still under stay at home orders,

Worried about how you’re going to get healthcare when everything is closed? For many RVers during the recent lockdown, the answer was telemedicine. And what better way for RVers to learn about telemedicine than from. . . an RVer who does telemedicine. In this episode of our RV Podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Tom Davis MD, a practicing Family Physician and full-time RVer who talks telemedicine; how to use it, how not to use it, and why telemedicine is the way of the future. Plus your RV Lifestyle questions, RV News of the week and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #292 April 29, 2020, of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK It's been seven weeks now since most of North America began to self isolate and practice social distancing under stay at home orders and travel restrictions. Finally, we're seeing many places starting to ease up on those restrictions as many parts of North America begin the process of reopening. Most of the big RV manufacturers and suppliers will be soon restarting production. State parks are taking reservations again in many parts of the country and it now looks like there will be a robust camping season this summer after all. We're not quite there yet, but optimism is running high that we will be able to get out there and enjoy the RV Lifestyle again within the next few weeks. We remain in Northwest Florida where the beaches will partially reopen later this week after a shutdown of more than a month. A full reopening is expected in two or three weeks. So there really is light at the end of this long tunnel. Hang on, stay home, and be safe a little longer. It will soon be better! This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes, America's #1 e-bike brand, offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping   RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK Visit your favorite national park - virtually Are you wishing you were at your favorite national park during this stay-at-home time? If so, why not do the next best thing - and visit that special spot virtually? The National Park Service has a web spot (click here) where you can see web cameras of famous locations, join in live programs the various parks are offering online, or just enjoy some amazing photo and video tours.   Animals in some closed national parks enjoying walking on roads and resting in parking lots as people are away Speaking of national parks, did you see the picture released last week of a lone coyote lying down, looking almost like he was enjoying the view from the parking lot at Yosemite National Park? As many of the national parks are closed, the animals are able to wander where they please without fear of running into people. And apparently, but the looks of this photo (click here) they are enjoying it. Will RV living be the preferred vacation mode when COVID-19 travel restrictions ease? For those who are joining our Friday night virtual campsite chats or Sunday night Ask Us Anythings, you know Jen and I have shared that we could see a greater interest in RV vacations when travel restrictions start to lift. Why? When you are in an RV you are outdoors and bring along your own bed, kitchen, bathroom, and living space, which may appeal to a lot of folks who want to go on a summer vacation but want to limit their interactions with others. Apparently we aren't the only ones speculating about this. An article in Forbes magazine was a Q and A from an RV industry spokesperson, sharing very similar thoughts. (Click here.) Some states starting to announce dates when campgrounds will reopen  We are getting word that more states are permitting campgrounds to open. While right now most are closed, some states are saying they'll allow campgrounds to re-open May 1, others May 15, others May 30. Some are open now for full-timers and medical or other essential workers seeking to isolate themselves from...

In our interview of the week for this episode of the RV Podcast, we continue our profile of various YouTube influencers by introducing you to Christine and Aaron, of IreneIronFitness.com, who do online fitness, health, and nutritional coaching as they travel North America in their Class B RV.   We’ll learn some tricks about how to get more food in those small RV refrigerators, what foods to eat while on the road and some easy ways to get and stay fit. Also this week, we have lots of RV news updates, your questions, and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #290 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We remain in Florida, with travel suspended as we wait for the crisis to ease and the all-clear is signaled for our RV adventuring to resume. SUPER B SHOW TO GO ONLINE This is the week we were scheduled to be on the road, headed to Phoenix and the annual Super B show of small motorhomes, a premier event where the latest Class B, B+, and C motorhomes are on display. Like all other such shows and events, this year's physical show was canceled but LaMesa RV, the show's sponsor, is taking the Super B show online, with a virtual show scheduled to start this Thursday, April 16. The online version of the show will feature detailed video tours of a different motorhome every day through the end of the month, with live questions answered about the featured vehicle. Brands being shown include small motorhomes from Tiffin, Leisure Travel Vans, Pleasure-Way, Story Overland, Winnebago, and Thor.  To "attend" the online version of the Super B Show CLICK HERE. Before we came off the road, we had been shooting video on a number of great Florida RV destinations. We have four different stories we will be releasing over the next several weeks, with the first this coming Saturday, April 18. We will let you decide which one you want to see first. You can vote for the one you most want to see on the Community tab of our RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/roadtrekingmike/community WE'RE HAVING LOTS OF FUN ON INSTAGRAM Last week we announced that Bo has an Instagram Page at https://instagram.com/bothervelkhound. This week, Jennifer launched her own page at https://instagram.com/rvlifestylejen And Mike's is at https://instagram.com/rvlifestylemike We invite you to follow all three as we are sharing our adventures there on a daily basis and love interacting with you! Also, we just did a guest blog post for Leisure Travel Vans about working remotely, something a lot of people are doing as we’re locked down during this coronavirus pandemic.  We have been working remotely since 2012 and, as RVers who are on the road and work from our LTV Unity FX almost three-quarters of the time, we have some easy suggestions that will help you navigate all the ins and outs of not being able to physically go into the office while working from your sticks-and-bricks home. . Read the post right here: https://leisurevans.com/blog/remote-working-tips/ This part of the podcast is brought to you by THE RV LIFESTYLE 7 DAY ADVENTURE GUIDE TRAVEL BOOKS…at https://rvlifestyle.com/books RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK Van lifers rent homes, move back to their parent's house, or hunker down under quarantine What to do when you are living the van life and under quarantine? This story focuses on a few people living full-time in their van, and details how they adjusted. For some, it meant renting a home for a bit and moving out of the van. Others moved to relative's driveways. And others? They are trying to hunker down, and live 24/7 in a VERY small space.  Wisconsin now needs to close 40 state parks after record numbers of visitors flock to the outdoors States are starting to run into a new problem. Many closed their campgrounds long ago when COVID-19 first surfaced, but kept the park and trails open so those who live nearby could visit and practic...

We’ve had  many fun conversations with RVers as we’ve met up with them in our travels over the past few weeks. In our interview of the week segment coming up, you’ll meet and hear from a bunch of them as they share just why they have chosen the RV Lifestyle. Plus we have RV News, tips, Q&A and an Off the Beaten Path report from the Burketts. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Mike and Jen at the back of their campsite at Boyd's campground in Key West, FL Mike and Jennifer share their travels and their current location – Key West, FL! Note: Our next meetup will be this coming Sunday, March 8, in Naples, FL. We'll  meet from 3-5pm on Sunday March 8th at Bone Hook Brewing Company, 1514 Immokalee Rd, Naples, FL 34110.   Mike, Jen and Bo on their golf cart touring Key West Our campsite at Boyds Campground in Key West with our rented golf cart for exploring This part of the podcast is brought to you by the Nimble Pet Monitor 4G, the surest way we know of to have peace of mind that the temperature for your pets back in the RV is not too high. More information and a big discount for listeners ft the RV Podcast is available at https://rvlifestyle.com/nimble RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK Drivers who stay in the left lane instead of using it to pass can now be ticketed in Arizona JENNIFER If you are planning on driving through Arizona on any interstate anytime soon, be sure to only use the passing line for, well, passing. A new state law that went into effect in January permits police to ticket drivers who stay in the fast lane instead of using it to pass. Increasingly states are enacting laws permitting police to ticket those who stay in the left lane since it not only is poor driving, but it can be dangerous, putting other drivers at risk. To read more about Arizona's law click here. Great Smoky Mountains National Park leads country with most visitors in 2019 MIKE Ever wonder which American national parks get the most visitors? The Great Smoky Mountains National park received the most visitors with 12.5 million in 2019, followed by the Grand Canyon National Park at 5.97 million and the Rocky Mountains National Park at 4.7 million. The figures were released last week and showed 327.5 million visitors to all of the national parks in 2019, up by 2.9 percent from 2018. Also, the 2019 visitors number was the third highest recorded since 1904. Volunteer RVers help repair Florida's Caverns State Park campground so site can soon reopen from Hurricane Michael JENNIFER A team of RVers descended on Florida's Caverns State Park to help officials restore the campground devastated by Hurricane Michael in October 2018. Contractors did some repairs but much still needed to be done, and Florida state park staff were limited in how much time they could spend restoring the campground. So, the team of volunteers descended and completed almost all of the jobs, leaving just one - involving the campground's well- to be done before the site can reopen. Click here to see our visit to the state park before Hurricane Michael hit. Space heater, extension cords blamed for fire in Florida RV park that claimed two lives MIKE A very sad story out of Florida last week highlighted a couple, snowbirds, who died in their RV because of a fire at the Highbanks Marina Camp and resort on West Highbanks Road near the Central Florida town of Debary. While fire officials were still investigating, it appeared to be caused by a space heater. Apparently multiple space heaters, extension cords and power strips were in use in the RV. In a report on fire safety we did a few years back, we learned there are about 1,000 RV fires each year, and space heaters are a common cause. Our heart goes out to the loved ones of this RVing couple, and we thought it could be helpful to share this post, to remind us all on what we can do to reduce the likelihood of accidentally starting a fire while we camp.

This week we talk with the CEO of the new Roadtrek Inc. and how the company is counting on a new emphasis on quality to overturn the tarnished reputation left when the once iconic maker of Class B campervans was caught up in a massive financial scandal last year. We also update you on the recalls and investigations plaguing the old company as the new owners begin production at their Cambridge, Ontario, Canada factory. The old company was known as Roadtrek Motorhomes. The new one is Roadtrek Inc. This episode of the TV Podcast features a very candid interview with Dane Found, the new CEO of Roadtrek Inc,  owned by the Rapido Group of France. Found talks about the challenges involved in restarting production and winning back business following the sudden collapse of the old Roadtrek, once the best-selling Class B manufacturer in North America. Plus, we have lots of RV news, tips and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #283 Feb. 26 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER We're on the road, heading into Florida this week doing last-minute research and taking lots of photos for our 7 Day Adventure Guide series on different regions of the country. We’re recording this podcast from Albany, GA, where we stopped to see our son and his family and take in a baseball game with grandson, Jacob. MIKE I used the visit to put the final editing touches on the movie I made that chronicle’s grandson Matthew’s senor year of playing football. JENNIFER And on the way down we stopped north of Atlanta and were able to have dinner with our grandson Nick and his girlfriend, Liz. Our 4th grandson, Zachary, is moving to Phoenix, so we won’t be able to catch up with him in person until we et there later in the spring. That’s one of the nice things about traveling North America in an RV…we get to visit with our kids and grandkids, who are scattered all over the country. As this podcast is being released we will be heading to Forida, where we’ll be spending the next couple of months. As we travel, we're trying to do meetups from various spots. The first will be this Saturday, Feb. 29 at the Ocala RV Show in Ocala, FL from 11AM to 1PM at the Sunshine State RVs display. We look forward to meeting our Florida followers and snowbird friends wintering down there. MIKE We're also posting videos, photos and lots of social media updates on our travels, meetups, adventures, and plans, especially on Instagram. You can follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rvlifestylemike  As a special for the leap year day coming up at the end of February, we've decided to mark down our Beginner's Guide to Boondocking to just $20 from TODAY (2/26) until the end of the month (midnight EST, Sat 2/29)! No discount code needed. Use our guide to get more comfortable with boondocking (or learn some new tricks), throw off the shackles of traditional RV Parks and campgrounds, and STOP paying high fees every night that you spend in your RV!  Get Your Copy Of The Beginner's Guide To Boondocking Here! This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER Lack of Chinese tourists because of coronavirus expected to impact Yellowstone tourism industry this year Yellowstone National Park tourism groups are preparing for a downturn in visitors this year as a fall out of the coronavirus. About 350,000 to 400,000 Chinese tourists visit Yellowstone each year but because of the virus, the Chinese government has proposed mandatory quarantines on parts of the country and the U.S.

This week we meet the executive producer of a Discovery Channel show about the RV Life… who tells us how RVing has changed his life in the most unexpected way… Our guest is Anthony Nalli, who shares a behind the scenes look at the popular RVers TV series, as seen on the Discovery Channel and the PBS network…. Plus we have RV news, tips, your questions and a very interesting off the beaten path report from our friends, the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #282 Feb. 19, 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We’ll…here we go again. We’re off, this time on a trip that will probably last about three months. This is a crazy busy week for us, getting the RV serviced, topping off the propane, packing it and then taking off across the south and southwest U.S. We hit the road right after this episode is released. We've got lots of great adventures planned, starting with a big circle tour of Florida. Speaking of Florida, we'll be doing a meetup at the Ocala RV Show in Ocala, FL Saturday Feb. 29 from 11AM to 1PM at the Sunshine State RVs display. We look forward to meeting our Florida followers and snowbird friends wintering down there. We plan to also visit the Space Coast, Key West, the Everglades and Naples. We also will be checking out a brand new RV resort that just opened for the over 55 crowd in Summerfield, FL (Sunkissed Village RV Resort). And then on up and along the Gulf Coast, first to Texas and then heading all the way to New Mexico. We'll have videos, blog posts and lots of social media updates on our travels, meetups, adventures, and plans by sharing regular updates on our travels, especially on Instagragram. You can follow us on Instagram by clicking https://www.instagram.com/rvlifestylemike    If you have some suggestions of things we should see and do and report about. Just send them to us via email. You can email us anytime at mikeandjen@rvlifestyle.com.... This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK California state parks building new campground with stunning, ocean side views California state parks are in the process of building a new, 110 site ocean-side campground at Fort Ord Dunes State Park. The state park opened about a decade ago off Highway 1, near Seaside. It is a former army base with four miles of breathtaking coastline on the Pacific Ocean. Currently the land is a favorite of surfers and beach walkers. The state plans to start construction on the campground this fall, and open it in 2022. Utah officials want to create new state park near Arches National Park Speaking of new state parks, Utah state legislators want to create a "Utahraptor" state park that will recognize Utah's dinosaur discoveries and provide a second entrance to Arches National Park. The Mayor of Moab spoke in favor of this, saying the community has had problems with people boondocking in areas where it is not allowed, causing community problems. The spot of the proposed park is 15 miles north of Moab where the Utahraptor was discovered. The site was also an internment camp in WWII. Some large RV parks hiring RV service technicians to help customers, provide new revenue source Long time readers know we have reported at length over the years about the shortage of RV service technicians. (click here or here). So it was with interest we read a story in RVBusiness about RV parks hiring their own RV technicians as a side revenue source- and a way to help campers. Hiring RV technicians and employing them at a large campground makes sense to us. To read the story click here. Owner of Newmar RV successfully sues under lemon law  

It’s time for a reality check about fulltime RV Living. This week you’ll meet Kevin and Laura of Chapter3Travels.com, who have been fulltime RVers for nearly five years now and are known for telling it as it is. We’ll have a great discussion and talk candidly about why so many fulltimers come off the road, not lasting nearly as long as they had hoped. Plus, we have lots of RV News, your questions and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Here are the shownotes: But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride, Jennifer… who just happens to be celebrating her birthday today! Happy birthday, my dear! WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK This photo of Jen posing on top of the RV is meant as a spoof... as explained in the elsewhere in the podcast. It was shot las week in Arizona We are still celebrating a major event! We reached 100,000 subscribers for our our RV Lifestyle Channel! As that grows, our next goal is to reach 10,000 Subscribers to our Instagram page - @rvlifestylemike We’re home in Michigan after a great trip to Arizona.  Next week, we take off for Florida where we are finalizing research and photography for our next two 7 Day Adventure Guides, one to Florida’s East Coast, anther devoted just to the Keys. Those two will join our already published Florida 7 Day Adventure Guide to Florida’s Gulf Coast. Florida is such a popular RV destination that we feel we need three guides to cover it all and we hit the road next week to finish up the next two books, which should come out the first of the next month. That’s one reason we love doing these 7 Day Adventure Guides as eBooks. They can be published so much faster than traditional books and they can easily be updated without long printing delays. We have six of them now available covering various regions of the county. You can find them at rvlifestyle.com/books. This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK Katmai National Park considering permit system to protect visitors- and bears Alaska's Katmai National Park is taking comments on a proposed rule to require permits for those seeking to wander about the Brooks River Corridor, a popular place for watching the famous brown bears. The permits are in response to a growing concern about the numbers of visitors getting too close to the bears. The park is worried the bears will lose their fear of people, and wants to avoid having to put a bear down. The park is also considering expanding its camping to up to 14 days and permitting e-bikes. To learn more about Katmai's bears, check out interview we did with a ranger here. Oregon set new record in number of campers staying at state parks in 2019 Oregon state parks set record in number of campers last year. The state has experienced incredible growth in camping for about a decade, but last year it reported 2.93 million camper nights at its 56 state campgrounds setting a new record. The trend of more campers is also showing up on federally managed lands in Oregon. Smoking near playgrounds at Pennsylvania's state parks now illegal If you are planning to camp at any of Pennsylvania's state parks this year, and you smoke or vape, better listen up. The state has a new law that prohibits smoking within 30 feet of a playground and that includes 135 locations in the state's 121 parks. Signs will go up, detailing the new rule, by Memorial Day. Campers rescued from North Carolina campground after heavy rains trapped them on site   Eight people and three dogs were rescued from their campground at Dan River Campground in North Carolina after rushing waters swept through their site.

This week on our RV Podcast interview of the week, we're going to continue our series of talking to other YouTubers and other bloggers who are out there covering the RV lifestyle. And I'm really excited to bring on as our special guest this week - Traveling Robert. He'll share his story and you'll get to know more about him and how that all his wonderful video and RV stores have come about.  Also this week, RV News of the week, Your RV Lifestyle Questions, Tips and another great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #278 Jan 22 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK What a whirlwind two weeks this has been for us! First our annual winter campout in the snow in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and, all last week, the huge Florida RV Supershow in Tampa.  We should be tired, but instead we are so energized by the enthusiastic encouragement we received at the show from so many people. At times, we couldn't walk more than 10 feet without being recognized and it was so much fun meeting our Fellow Travelers in person that it's a wonder we got any work done, what with all the visiting. We so enjoyed meeting and making so many new friends! Look for a video on the show this Saturday. Speaking of videos, we are starting to get very excited about our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel on YouTube! We are just over 2,000 people shy of having 100,000 subscribers! Having 100,000 subscribers is a really big deal in the YouTube world and it has been a goal we have been working for hard over the past few years. You can help us reach that goal by subscribing to the channel.PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR RV LIFESTYLE CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE.We are almost there! Please, if you haven't yet subscribed, please help us reach our goal. If you are already a subscriber... THANK YOU! And please tell a friend. This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK Norovirus to blame for 200 people sick with a stomach bug after visiting Yosemite Authorities believe they have discovered the source of a stomach illness that affected 200 people at Yosemite National Park recently: Norovirus. Norovirus is a stomach bug that causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and stomach aches and typically occurs with 12-48 hours of exposure. It is spread from contaminated foods and surfaces, and person to person contact. Most of the 200 Yosemite visitors became sick the first week of January. Nebraska state parks offering Valentine's Day specials to outdoor loving romanticsValentine's Day is going to be here before we know it. Romantics who love the outdoors, and will be in or near Nebraska this February may want to check out specials going on in the Nebraska state parks. The state park system is offering special rates for overnight stays at their cabins and other lodgings, complete with a variety of packages, including such things as a rose, chocolates, wine glasses and sparking juice. Some Michigan legislators want to petition National Park Service for limited moose hunt on Isle Royale Some Michigan legislators believe the answer to Isle Royale National Park's ever-growing moose population is a limited moose hunt. The National Park Service is in the process of transferring 30 wolves to the island to bring balance to the rising number of moose there, which are damaging the island's eco-system. Those pro-hunt legislators believe hunting permits could bring new revenue to the park and help with a moose overpopulation. Others caution the wolf relocation plan is just underway, and not enough time has passed to see what difference the wolves are making. White Sands, America's newest national park,

We have a fun episode in store for you this week as we welcome Heath Padgett to the podcast. Many of you know Heath and his wife Alyssa, the hosts of the RV Entrepreneur Website, YouTube Channel and Podcast. Heath and Alyssa are a young couple who have traveled all over North America as a couple but, about six months ago, were blessed with the birth of a baby girl… Ellie. And now, they are RVing with an infant. Heath shares what that changes, compared to their previous traveling routines. And we talk about being an RV Entrepreneur and working remotely from the road. Also, we have lots of RV News, Tips, comments questions and another fun off-the-beaten-path report from the Burketts. But first my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #272 Dec. 11, 2019 of The RV Podcast; WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We are in Christmas mode here… hanging with family and friends, attending our grandkids Christmas recitals and concerts, getting the shopping done, the tree up and looking forward to the Big Day. Speaking of which, since Christmas and New Years’s Day both occur this year on Wednesday – our normal podcast release day – we will be taking off the 25th and January 1st from producing the podcast. So our last episode of the year will be next Wednesday, Dec. 18. And our next episode after that will be January 8. Also this week, we’re doing the finishing edits of our next 7 Day Adventure Guide ebook, which will cover Florida’s fabulous Gulf Coast. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it should be released next week. In fact I hope we can announce its availability on our Sunday night “Ask Us Anything” live broadcast on YouTube. If you’ve never caught us in that live Q&A show, just go to YouTube.com/RVLifestyle and subscribe. When you click the little bell icon, you will then be notified when we go live or have a new video to see. So the plan is to make it available after 7PM Sunday, to be officially announced on our YouTube RV Lifestyle Channel. That way it will be able to help those snowbirds planning to head to Florida after the holidays. And just a heads up, our Seven Day Adventure Guide to the Gulf Coast will be followed in a few weeks with a Seven Day Adventure Guide to the Atlantic Coast… so we will soon have two guides out covering Florida. The Gulf Cast guide will be ready next week. So stay tuned! TO SEE ALL OUR CURRENT TRAVEL GUIDES AND E-BOOKS, CLICK HERE We hope you are enjoying this podcast. If so, will you help us get the word out? The best way to do that is to share a link to the RV Podcast by email or social media to friends who would benefit from all the RV travel information and advice we put out every week? Thanks for helping us get the word out about the RV Podcast! This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK Invasive species pose real problems to the national parks A report out last week said many of America's national parks are under a "deep and immediate threat," posed by non-native species, like rats, domesticated  cats and feral pigs. Since non-native species have no natural predator, they can breed and reproduce quickly, causing problems to the ecosystem of national parks. Whenever I read reports like this, I always think of the problem with Burmese boa constrictors in the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve (see story here of our visit a while back) but apparently there are all sorts of various critters causing all sorts of problems. Plans for New Year's Day? Why not take a hike? State parks throughout the country are planning First Day Hikes on New Year's Day - which believe it or not is less than a month away. The free,

In this week's RV Podcast, we meet a couple who recently built a very unique tiny home and plan to visit all 48 states with it, using it as an RV.  They plan to stay in each state for a month. You'll meet them in the podcast interview of the week, and see their amazing tiny house in an accompanying video on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel. Plus, also this week in episode 268, we have RV News of The Week, tips, audience questions and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #268 Nov 13, 2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE This week finds us on the road, traveling up and down the Gulf Coast of Florida working on one of the two 7-Day Adventuring Guides we are planning on the Sunshine State. JENNIFER We're moving from Pensacola down to Naples and the Everglades for the first book on Florida's west coast and then, in a week or so, will do our research on the east coast guide  that runs along the Atlantic shore from Jacksonville down to the keys. MIKE Our hope is to get these new titles out before the holidays for you snowbirders out there who'll be spending part of the winter of 2020 in Florida. JENNIFER We’re recording this podcast at one of our favorite RV Parks, the Ho Him RV Park located on a part of Florida called the Forgotten Coast. MIKE The Forgotten Coast is located on what’s known as the Big Bend part of the western Florida peninsula and it is a unique place in the Sunshine State, reminiscent of “Old Florida,” without lots of the commercialization and development that characterizes much of the rest of Florida. JENNIFER This area was absolutely devastated by Hurricane Michael a little over a year ago. The beachside town of Mexico Beach was almost wiped off the map. Literally. We spent some time there this week and we will show you what is happening there today in our Thursday YouTube video. MIKE We’re calling that video “A Road Trip to the Forgotten Coast” and we think you’ll find it very interesting and informative, not just the part about Mexico Beach but our whole trip down here. JENNIFER The best way to know about our videos is to subscribe to them on our RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube. We will put a link to just how to subscribe in the shownotes for this episode. But we release new videos all the time and we’re always hearing from people who say they didn’t know about them. MIKE If you click the little bell icon when you subscribe to our YouTube Channel, you’ll be notified just as soon as a new video is published. So please subscribe. As we keep working hard producing videos on the RV Lifestyle, we want you to know we treasure each and every subscriber. So thanks in advance! JENNIFER To subscribe, just go HERE  This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER Camping in South Dakota state parks will cost more starting Jan. 1 Before it was under consideration - now it is official. Camping in South Dakota state parks will cost more next year. Prime campsites will cost $26, preferred campsites will cost $23, modern campsites will cost $20 and tent only sites will cost $15. The new fees are expected to closer resemble how much it costs to run the campgrounds, and it is expected to bring in $3 million. The South Dakota park system is largely funded by user fees, and the state had not had a fee increase in five years. MIKE Man and woman arrested in Mexico for driving truck and camper belonging to couple murdered when camping A man and a woman were arrested in Mexico last week driving the pick up truck and camping trailer belonging to a murdered New Hampshire couple. The New Hampshire couple,

This week in Episode 266 of the RV Podcast, we’ll meet Len and Sherrie Johnson, a remarkable California couple with quite a story to tell us, a story of a devastating injury from an airplane crash and a determination to embrace the RV Lifestyle afterwards despite the obstacles. You’ll be inspired by this couple! But also this week, lots of RV news, RV Tips and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE This episode is being released on just before Halloween 2019 and it’s a time that many, or most of the campgrounds in the northern states and provinces have now pretty much shut down for the season. This is also the time for the first wave of the annual snowbird migration, when the frost and early snow flurries up north are sending tens of thousands of RVers flocking to southern states like Florida and Arizona. JENNIFER The second wave always happens right after Christmas as snowbird RVers who stayed home with family for the holidays head south to take advantage of those snowbird campground special seasonal rates, typically from Jan 1 through March 31. MIKE For those whose remain in the colder states, now is the time to make sure they winterize their RVs, draining out water and running antifreeze through the plumbing system. There are about as many ways to winterize an RV as their RVs but if you’re new to this, or maybe looking for some new ideas, head over to our RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube, where we have put together a whole playlist of videos related to winterizing. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE RV LIFESTYLE WINTERIZING PLAYLIST ON YOUTUBE While we’re talking about the YouTube Channel, lets remind everyone that the best way to stay up to date on our videos and special YouTube reports is to subscribe. And when you do subscribe, be sure to click the little bell icon you’ll see there on YouTube to be notified as soon as we post new material, which we do all throughout the week. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE RV LIFESTYLE CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE JENNIFER We are coming to you this week from Florida, where we’ll be until about Thanksgving time. Among other things, we’re using this time to travel Florida’s Gulf Coast, from pretty much Naples up through Tallahassee, doing research for one of our 7 Day Adventure Guides. We’re actually planning two of them on Florida – one on the gulf, or west coast; the other on the Atlantic, or east coast. We hope to have those guides ready right after the holidays and they’ll be joining our growing library of RV travel guides. MIKE We have five of those 7-Day Adventure Guides already available… for the Michigan Upper Peninsula, for Utah, Colorado, Yellowstone National Park and the Adirondacks. Plus we have a guide on boondocking and how to buy an RV. We hope to get the new Florida guides out right around the first of the new year. CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON OUR LIBRARY OF RV LIFESTYLE GUIDES JENNIFER Besides the research for our Florida RV travel guides, we’ve been traveling around in our RV, visiting small southern towns and digging into the history of how they got their names. We’ll have a video on it in a couple weeks but it was another reminder to me about how much better it is traveling off the interstate on two lane roads. We’ve also forced ourselves to slow down and take our time as we travel through those small towns. They all have a story to tell and there are always fascinating things to see and do. This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Fears rise over fate of Missing RVers near Padre Island, TX As this episode was being reported the RV community was intensely following the disappearance of a New Hampshire cou...

This week, we talk to RV salesman who has become a celebrity video star with a huge following you’d never have expected from the first video shot almost a decade ago He is Dean Corrigal, from Leisure Travel Vans, who shares with us how he became a YouTube star in his own right and therefore the most popular RV Salesman in all of North America We have lots of RV News for you, answer your questions, share some RV tips and trips, including a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #263 October 9, 2019 of The RV Podcast; WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We're just back from the California RV Show, held at the California Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. We met so many of our followers and really enjoyed this show, the biggest in the West. Look for a full video on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel this Thursday. This week we head up to Mackinac Island n a short family vacation. This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER Growing popularity of Glacier National Park triggering new plans to manage crowds  Long time readers know we love Glacier National Park, so it was with great interest we read a story out last week about the Park Service's concern in how to deal with the growing popularity of the park. Nearly 3.5 million people visit the park each year, which is three times the population of Montana. The growing crowds are causing extreme gridlock, parking lot congestion, and many other challenges. One of the options under consideration is a shuttle system. Glacier is one of our favorite national parks, with wildlife and views that are spectacular. To get a glimpse of what makes it so special, see one of our videos of a gathering we held at Glacier here. MIKE Man severely burned after falling into hot spring near Yellowstone's Old Faithful geyser  A man was severely burned at Yellowstone National Park last week after he fell into a hot spring at the Old Faithful geyser. The man told rangers he went for a walk after dark without a flashlight and fell into the thermal water. But rangers found the man's shoe, hat and a beer can and footprints leading to and from the geyser. The matter is now being investigated and the man is recovering at a local hospital. JENNIFER Park service seeks to know why so many wolves relocated to Isle Royale die We have shared with you before the year-plus effort by the National Park Service to repopulate remote Isle Royale National Park in Michigan's upper peninsula with wolves. The island is overrun with moose, which are wreaking havoc on its ecosystem, and its once thriving wolf population which used to keep them in check is dying out, down to just one male and one female, both aging. But as the park service has captured and released wolves from Minnesota, Michigan and Ontario, Canada, on the island, three have died shortly after their release and one walked across the frozen ice to return to the mainland last winter. This interesting article explores what scientists are doing to try to determine why. MIKE Man dies at Idaho campground after fifth wheel falls on him  A 71-year-old man died last week in an Idaho campground when his RV fell on top of him. The man was jacking up his fifth wheel trailer when it fell on top of him, trapping him underneath. Others at the campground freed the man and started CPR until first responders arrived. He died at the scene. The man was camping at the Snake River RV Park and Campground. JENNIFER Wildfires in New Mexico's Carson National Forest burning near El Rito Wildfires in New Mexico last week were reported near the El Rito Campground in the Carson National Forest and were still burning as of this...

One of the most common questions we get from people planning to go full time or planning log RV trips away from their sticks and bricks home is what do we do about our mail while we are on the road. This week in the interview of the week, we talk to Amber Hobert, the President of Dakota Post, one of the largest of the various mail forwarding companies that service RVers. We also talk about when it makes sense for RVers to declare residency in South Dakota and also registering their vehicle in South Dakota. It’s an interesting conversation coming up in the Interview of the Week Segment. But also this week, your RV Lifestyle questions and comment, RV News, tips and a great ff the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride, Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #260 Sept. 18,2019 of The RV Podcast; WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We’re just back from Hershey PA and America’s largest RV Show. Almost 1,500 RVs on a huge area the size of 33 football fields. We’ll have a full video on it this Thursday on the RVLifestyle YouTube Channel. We hit the road again this weekend, headed to Elkhart, Indiana and the annual RV Dealers Open House. This is not open to the public but is an industry event. We will be attending for you and let you know what the manufacturers are planning for next year. And then we head west for a very big show that is open to the public, a show so big it runs for two weeks We’re talking about the California RV Show, which opens Friday October 4 and is being held this year at the California Speedway in Fontana. This is a new location for the show and it offers free parking and lots of room. We will be doing meet and greets on Friday and Saturday. Look for us at the Leisure Travel Vans Display the afternoon of Friday the 4th and the afternoon of Saturday the 5th. From 11am till 1-pm Saturday, we will be hanging out with some other RV influencers at the Campground Views/California RV Parks booth. This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dish Outdoors, which lets RVers pay as they go and watch HD satellite television from wherever they are camped with easy to set up gear made with the RVer in mind. Just go to https://rvlifestyle.com/dish for details on the service and special deal just for listeners of this podcast. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Winnebago to buy high-end Newmar motorhome company The big just keep getting bigger and another well-known RV brand is being gobbled up. As if they weren’t big enough, Winnebago Industries Inc. announced this week that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Newmar Corp., a manufacturer of high-end Class A and Super C motorhomes for a price just shy of about $344 million. Newmar has been around for half a century and is known for luxury and quality. So far, Winnebago plans to keep on Newmar’s executive team and to keep the brand headquartered in Nappanee, Ind. The deal could close as soon as first quarter 2020. JENNIFER Thousands of migrating monarch butterflies appear at Canada's Point Pelee National Park and other spots in the midwest If you are planning to be in the midwest this week or next, keep an eye out for migrating monarch butterflies. About 4,000 monarchs were counted at Canada's Point Pelee National Park in the southern tip of Ontario last week. They are also being reported in large numbers in Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan and elsewhere in the midwest. The butterflies fly 2,500 miles from Canada to Mexico each fall, and viewing them in the thousands in one spot is something everyone needs to see one day. Here is a link to the Monarch Migration trail where you check if they are appearing in large numbers at a location near you. MIKE Message in a bottle saves family trapped at waterfall when camping trip turns terribly wrong  A man, his girlfriend, and his 13 year-old-son are crediting a message in a bottle found by strangers with saving them when a central California campin...

One of the first accessories many RVers consider is a cellular booster, to help pull in cell phone signals for Internet connectivity when visiting remote places. That's what we talk about in the RV Podcast Interview of the Week. You'll meet Brett Beatty, the product manager for weboost, probably the leading company out there making cellular booster kits for RVers. Brett will tell us what a booster can and cannot do for you and he’ll share details on the company’s latest system aimed at the RV market. Plus, lots of your questions and comments, RV News, RV tips and a great of the neaten path report from the Burketts. But first my lifelong traveling companion and my bride, Jennifer. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE The fall RV Show season is officially underway. At the end of this podcast, tell you about all the RV shows around the country. It will be like this for a couple months ago and I hope you can attend one near you. JENNIFER This week Hershey, PA hosts the annual event they call "America's Largest RV Show." While it may or may not be the largest (a couple of other big shows claim to be larger), there is no doubt Hershey is HUGE. Mike and I will be there for several days. You might see us in different parts of the show Thursday and Friday as we work on various videos. If so, come say hello. We'll be posting lots of updates on and Facebook. And from 1-3PM Saturday, we'll be doing an official meet and greet at the Leisure Travel Vans display. So please come by and say hi. MIKE With so many people shopping for an RV and visiting shows this time of year, I want to suggest you check out our 70-plus page RV Buying Secrets ebook. It offers a step-by-step guide to buying what for many is the second most expensive purchase they will ever make after buying a house. For more information on our instantly available RV Buying Secrets ebook, click here - https://rvlifestyle.com/buy In the book, we share our experience in how to negotiate the best price, what salesperson "upsells" you should say no to, how to get the best insurance price and coverage, the hidden costs of buying an RV and lots of additional tips and tools to save you time and money and get the right RV for you at the right price. We know it will really help you buy wisely, whether you're purchasing a new unit off the lot or at an RV show, ordering one direct from the manufacturer or buying a used RV from a dealer or private seller. JENNIFER Before we turn to the news of the week, I have a great tip I want to pass along that came from one of our subscribers on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel.  A subscriber named Lucille saw on one of our videos the paper towel starting to unwind on the roll behind is. A good way to prevent that from happening, Lucille says, is to use a push pin in the paper towels. What a great tip Lucille! Thanks for sending that in! It was so simple yet practical that I in turn had to share it with our podcast audience. We’re Fellow Travelers in this RV Lifestyle and I love getting your tips! Keep them coming. A good way to do that is to phone them in on our Voicemail number… just call 586-372-6990. Again, that’s 586-372-6990. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER Olympic National Park conducting more search and rescues this year, triggering reminder for visitors to be prepared Park rangers in Washington's Olympic National Park are trying to get a message out to visitors - if you come to visit, be sure you're prepared! Why the seemingly obvious message? This year there is a rise in search and rescues - 71 as of Labor Day, while typically there are 50 to 60 the entire year. The weather on the mountains often changes, so even if you are camping or just planning a short hike, be sure to bring navigational tools, sunscreen, warm clothes, food, water and first aid supplies. The story made me think of an interview we did some time back on hiking safety with a hiker from the West Coast. (To listen click here.

One of the biggest frustrations we hear from RVers is how difficult and expensive it is to find an RV camping spot, particularly without advance reservations. People are always surprised to learn that, very rarely do Jennifer and I make advance reservations. Yet we almost always find a great spot, whether boondocking or in a commercial or government run campground. Our guest in the interview of the week segment for this episode is Mark Koep, a fulltime RVer who travels with his family in a 44-foot RV. Mark seldom makes reservations either, even though finding spots for his big rig are more challenging than Jennifer and I experience. Mark runs an awesome and totally free website called Campgroundviews.com that makes it easy to find that perfect campsite… without advance reservations. I asked Mark to break it down for us, step-by-step, to show us just how it works. AZLso this week... lots of RV News… RV Lifestyle tips, Q&A and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #258 September 4, 2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We’re coming to you this week from the beautiful Emerald Coast in the Northwest Florida panhandle. We had a great meet and greet gathering Sunday in the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The weather has been very hot and humid but very beautiful. We’re getting ready for the fall RV show season. It starts next week in Hershey, PA, where we’ll be attending what is billed as America’s Largest RV Show. We’ll be looking at all the new RVs and doing meet and greets. If you’re attending Hershey we’ll be hanging out with our friends at the Leisure Travel Vans display there so come by and say hello. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Electric bikes now permitted on national park trails under new presidential order  Did you hear that electric bikes will soon be permitted on trails in the U.S. National Parks? Last week President Donald Trump signed an order permitting e-bikes to be classified the same as bicycles so they can go on every federal trail regular bikes use. E-bikes are bicycles that are powered by petals and a battery to assist people who are older, have a disability, or maybe would just like a little assistance with pedaling. The move was opposed by many hiking, horse-riding and other outdoor groups who are concerned the electric powered bikes would cause people to go too fast and fundamentally change the experience on the trails. Personally Jennifer and I have had Rad Power Bikes for some time and we really enjoy them. We use them as regular bicycles, and only use the assistance when we need a little help. Here is a video we did some time back explaining how the bikes work. JENNIFER Don't get caught speeding in Yosemite National Park's new wildlife protection zones If you're heading to Yosemite National Park this fall be on the lookout for signs marking wildlife protection zones. So far this year 11 bears have been hit by vehicles in the park. The zones were established to reduce collisions with wildlife, be it bears, butterflies, foxes, deer or other creatures. The wildlife protection zones will have a slower speed limit and officials will be strictly enforcing it in the hopes of preventing more loss of life. MIKE Article shows how the early days of RV camping began   A fun article looking at camping 100 years ago captured my attention last week. The article, complete with pictures, talked about "Tin Can Tourists" and the early days of RV traveling. It showed how when cars were new, the national parks didn't have official campgrounds. People could just drive in and set up camp wherever - even on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It was a fun read and got me thinking back to the amazing display of early campers at the RV Hall of Fame and Museum. We did an article on it here, and highly recommend a visit. JENNIFER Water pipe break at Grand Canyon National Park places entire park, including campgrounds, on water conservation mode

Welcome to another edition of the RV  Podcast. And this week, in our interview of the week segment, we’ll learn the cold hard facts about financing an RV, what’s needed, how to get a good interest rate, how not to get burned by owing more than it’s worth. Plus, we have lots of RV news this week from across North America, your RV Lifestyle questions, our RV tips and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #256 August 21, 2019 of The RV Podcast;  WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER We’re just back from an awesome stay at Chautauqua Lakeside, a very unique summer resort on the shore of Lake Erie in Ohio, located on the Marblehead Peninsula halfway between Toledo and Cleveland. We stayed in their campground and were kept busy attending music concerts, enjoying the fitness facilities, taking in lots of organized programs and activities, hiking and strolling "Ohio's Most Beautiful Mile" along lakeshore the beautiful grounds that were bursting with brightly colored flowers of every shape, size and species. On Thursday, look for a full video of this very unique place on our YouTube RV Lifestyle Channel at https://youtube.com/rvlifestyle MIKE We’re hitting the road right after this podcast is published, headed down to the hot and humid weather of Southwest Georgia. We’ll be in Albany, GA Friday night to watch our grandson Matthew play the season’s first high school football game of the season. Matthew is in his senior year at Deerfield Windsor and like I have done for my two sons, and Matthew’s older brother Nick, who graduated a couple years ago, I’ll be doing a movie on his senior team’s season. That’s a lot of work and though we have to do some coast-to-coast RV show travel over the next couple of months, we hope to make most of those Friday night games. In between, we’ll be hanging out on the beach at our condo on Okaloosa Island on the Florida Panhandles Emerald Coast. JENNIFER As we plan out the stories and blog posts and videos we’ll be creating over the next few months, we’ve been asking our social media followers to share what's the #1 challenge you are having right now with the RV Lifestyle? And we have had dozens and dozens of replies. MIKE We wanted to give you the same opportunity and then build a whole episode of this podcast around your relies, answering and offering tips as we go. So, to you loyal podcast audience… what's the #1 challenge you are having right now with the RV Lifestyle? We want you to phone it in our RV Lifestyle voice mail at 586-372-6990… just tell us your #1 challenge or RV frustration… 586-372-6990. JENNIFER We’ve had some great responses already, ranging from not having enough time to travel because of work… to having to wait until retirement…. To overcrowded and full campgrounds…. To a lack of timely service from RV dealers…. To dealing with mice in the RV… managing space… storing food. All sorts of things. So let us know. We want to help you manage those challenges. We can’t wait to hear your response. MIKE So what’s your #1 RV Lifestyle challenge right now, Jennifer? JENNIFER Dealing with Bo when we have to be away from the RV and can’t take him with us, like this coming Friday when we’ll be attending Matthew’s football game? We’ll be camped at a campground in Albany, GA and we know it will be very hot and humid. We’ll have the air conditioner on but what if there’s a power failure? MIKE That’s a legitimate concern. We use a temperature monitor called RVPetSafety that will send me a text alert as soon as the temperature reaches a prescribed level. This is a wonderful tool we’ve been using for over a year. It really gives peace of mind when leaving your pet back at the RV. Here's a link to RVPetSafety that explains how it works. If you do buy, be sure to use the coupon code rvlifestyle to get a 10% discount. If people prefer having a human watch over their dog, they can use Rover.

This week we get the inside secrets about RV dealers…how much they should be willing to discount, how much your brand new RV depreciates the moment you drive it out of the lot, why it can sometimes be so hard to find good service and what upsells they’ll try to talk you into like extended warranties and insurance you should reject. Our guest is the straight-taking Bob Zagami of the New England RV Dealers Association and you will not want to miss his interview on the RV Podcast this week. Also this week, your questions, RV News, tips and another great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer Show Notes for Episode #255 Sept 12, 2019 of The RV Podcast; WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK This week’s show comes to you from the Holly State Recreation Area near Holly, MI Besides camping in Holly, we also traveled across Michigan to Holland Motorhomes where we met some other RVers and did some modifications to our Leisure Travel Favs Unity. This week, we plan to leave Holly and head to Lakeside Ohio, a long established resort and conference center right on the shores of lake Erie on the Marblehead Peninsua. We also want to give a shoutout to our reviewer of the week…Keithafer who left us this wonderful five-star review on iTunes: “We currently are not RV owners; however, we are in the process of considering an RV lifestyle. There are, of course, a great many things to learn. Even though we had a travel trailer many moons ago, a lot has changed in the industry. The RV podcast has helped me to approach this with a broader perspective. I thought I had in mind what I wanted to do, but their style has got me thinking. There are several things about this particular show. First, the show is that it is well rounded. It is a combination of news, interviews, places to visit, industry trends, and so much more. They pack it with excellent information that is also entertaining. I'm often listening, and then, the podcast is over! Second, he is not over-advertised. I like their commitment to keeping a healthy balance of sponsorship and information for the listener. Third, they seem very personable, and Mike and Jennifer work well together in the podcast. I like their honesty and family orientation. There are a lot of podcasts that I have found on RV living, but this one I look forward to the next weekly episode. I'm hoping someday, my wife, and I will get a chance to meet them in person. They also have a YouTube channel and website that adds to the overall learning experience.” Thank you, Keithaver. We so appreciated those kind words and your review. And we invite you dear listener, to do the same. Please leave us a review and a rating on iTunes or Stitcher or whatever app you listen to us on. We so appreciate the feedback and we read every one!  RV NEWS OF THE WEEK  JENNIFER Grandma never saw the ocean or mountains, so her grandson set out to show her A story captured the hearts of many who saw it last week about a grandson - in his late 30s - taking his grandma - in her late 80s - camping in all 61 national parks so she can see the world. The grandmother has been a widow for 20 years, worked minimum wage jobs, and never saw much of the country - which was a regret. So her grandson set out to turn that around, seeing the country's national parks. MIKE Family tent camping in southern Arizona fight off bobcat as it attacked 4-year-old girl  A bobcat attacked a 4-year-old girl camping with her family in southern Arizona last week. When the girl's family heard her screams, they all ran to help and were also attacked as the fought the animal off. Officials came out to try to trap the animal but were unsuccessful. Fifteen people ended up being treated for rabies as a precaution and the wildcat, as of this writing, was still on the loose.  JENNIFER Park service has a message: Don't pet the bison  Don't pet wild bison. Seems obvious, right?

Staying connected on the road is right at the top of every RVers must have list. But choosing the best system and then navigating all the different price points can be a real challenge. This week we learn about a rooftop solution called Togo that combines a wi fi extender and a 4g cellular connection at what – at least right now – seems to be the best priced system available for RVers. Also this week, RV news you can use, tips, comments and your questions, plus another great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride… Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #254. Aug. 7, 2019 of The RV Podcast;  WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We update the audience on what’s new with us and our travels.. A planned trip to install a ladder to the back of our RV A planned trip to a Lake Erie campground retreat Planned trips to Georgia to watch a grandson play high school football RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK  JENNIFER Look for falling meteors this week in dark night sky One of our favorite things about camping is gazing out at the night sky. And this week is going to be a big one for stargazers, as the Perseid meteor shower, which typically produces 100 meteors per hour, is underway. This year the shower peaks August 12-13 when the moon will be particularly bright, limiting sightings. That means the best time to start looking is right now, with the show typically beginning after midnight. If you want to try to photograph the stars or showers, check out this post we did a while back. MIKE Driving slowly in the left lane? If you are in Minnesota, you now may get a ticket for $125 We all have seen it. People in their RV, maybe towing a car, driving slowly along the freeway -- in the left lane. Other drivers do it, too, of course, but we’ve too many RVers hogging that left lane for all its worth. This always makes me cringe. While I understand the complexities of dealing with merging traffic in the right lane, the left lane really is for passing, and when RVers stay in this lane, well, it gets people mad and gives all of us a bad name. Apparently I am not the only one concerned about this because starting August 1 anyone driving too slowly in the left lane in Minnesota can get a traffic ticket for $125. We expect to see other states follow suit with similar laws.  JENNIFER Camper trailer used so 6-year-old boy with cancer could travel stolen - then found after news report  A Texas family was celebrating last weekend after a camping trailer stolen from their driveway was recovered after a local news channel reported their story, and a viewer recognized the trailer the next day and called police. The trailer was something the Texas family purchased so their 6-year-old son, who was fighting cancer, could travel with them without excessive germ exposure from other people. The family was heartbroken when it was taken, especially because they did not have it insured.  The thieves had broken a window, trashed the inside, and taken some things out, but the family was happy it was recovered and working on fixing it up so they could hit the road soon. MIKE Officials close Cape Cod beaches over weekend because of too many great white sharks  If you're heading to Cape Cod any time soon don't be surprised if the beach is closed. The reason? Great White sharks! Officials report there have been more than 150 shark sightings since June, with 20 sightings just off the cape last week alone. Shark reports are much higher than normal, with higher water levels and more seal spottings to blame. But the presence of great whites is a serious concern. Last year a man died after being attacked by a shark off Cape Cod.  JENNIFER Three people in separate incidents slip and fall near waterfalls at Yosemite National Park, with one person dyingA tourist died and two other people became seriously injured in three separate incidents last week after slipping and falli...

This week in Episode 250 of the RV Podcast, you’ll meet our friend Joe Raetano, a computer scientist and a new kind of workcamper, who shares with us how commuting to his high tech North Carolina job in his RV and then staying in it during the week saves him lots of money and yet still provides all the comforts of home. He calls it his "mobile condo" Joe is our featured guest in the interview of the week segment… but we also have lots of RV News, tips, answers to your questions and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer Show Notes for Episode #250  July 10, 2019 of The RV Podcast; WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER - We hit the road this week, headed south through Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, exploring our way across the heartland in our RV as we eventually hit the Nashville area, where we will meet up with our three grown kids and all eight grandkids for a weeklong family vacation. We also want to give a shoutout to our reviewer of the week…Trish-Northeast who left us this wonderful five-star review on iTunes, which she headlined as “Don’t Leave Home Without it! “I'm hooked on this podcast no doubt about it. Listen to Mike & Jennifer as I walk my laps around the outdoor high school track and enjoy every minute of it. Have learned so much with the many guests and shared experiences. Thank you both. We’re buying our first RV this summer and can’t wait to get out there. Keep doing all you do, Mike & Jen” Thank you, Trish. We so appreciated those kind words and your review. And we invite you dear listener, to do the same. Please leave us a review and a rating on iTunes or Sticher or whatever app you listen to us on. We so appreciate the feedback and we read every one!  RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK One killed, several injured in two different lightning related incidents last July 4th Lightning injured several people enjoying outside activities in at least two different parts of the country on July 4th. In two incidences lightning hit a tree and the people who were standing nearby were either killed or seriously injured by the electrical field created by the hit. One incident happened in a state park in Maryland and the other in South Carolina. Last year we interviewed a lightning expert who described how campers and hikers are two of the most at risk groups for lightning strikes, and he provided tips on how to stay safe when lightning is in your area. To learn more click here. MIKE BLM considers overnight restrictions as boondockers tear up fragile landscape, leave human waste behind We love to boondock, and one of the best places to do it is on federally owned Bureau of Land Management lands near national parks. The landscape is beautiful, there are little to no people around and it is free. But, as camping off the grid becomes more popular problems are arising, and the BLM iwill likely start getting more involved in some areas. A story out last week highlighted issues of boondockers killing rare wildflowers by driving over and uprooting them, and leaving behind human waste improperly disposed near Moab in Utah. JENNIFER America's new national park, Indiana Dunes, experiencing increase in visitors and many saying it is worth the trip Indiana Dunes National Park on the shores of Lake Michigan is seeing an increase in visitors this season as more people come to see America's newest national park. The park became the nation's 61st national park earlier this year, and while we have written about it before, wanted to share this story because it does a great job of describing what is there. We’ll link to the story in the shownotes for this episode at rvlifestyle.com/250 and if you haven’t yet visited the Dunes…put it on your bucket list. MIKE So how did Utah's gorgeous Dead Horse State Park get its name?   Sometimes when Jen and I are traveling across the country,

How much time do you spend planning an RV route? Can you trust the campground reviews you find online? Could you use some practical help in not driving too far and coming up with a comprehensive map and route that will take all the hassle out of trip planning? And do you want to save money doing so? If you could use some help in any of those areas, then stay tuned because in our interview of the week, we’ll talk about a tool Jennifer and I just used on a long trip that even allowed us to keep to our 330 Rule for RV travel. Plus, lots of RV news, your RV Lifestyle questions, and off the beaten path report from the Burketts and much more. Show Notes for Episode #248 June 26,2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Jennifer, Mike and Bo on a hike last week in the Adirondack Mountains MIKE - We’re back now from a big trip out east, mostly in and around the Adirondack Park region of upstate New York, with a couple of days in the Finger Lakes district and then down to what has been voted the best state park in America – Letchworth State Park south of Buffalo (I was one of the travel writer judges for the USA contest that so designated Letchworth, by the way). Much of our travels and discoveries will be fully detailed in a soon-coming Seven Day Adventure Guide to the Adirondacks. And we’ll also have a couple of YouTube videos coming, too. JENNIFER - The park itself is immense, bigger in size than greater in size than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, and Grand Canyon National Parks combined.  It was created in 1892 by the State of New York to protect the land from too much lumbering and clear cutting. It is a constitutionally protected “Forever Wild” area. Of the Adirondack Park’s 6 million acres, 2.6 million acres are owned by New York State. The remaining 3.4 million acres are privately owned. MIKE - As such, the Adirondack Region is the largest publicly protected area in the contiguous United States. It is also home to 105 towns and villages. There is often a misperception that the Adirondack Park is a national or state park, yet the region’s mix of public and private land allows for conservation and civilization to thrive. JENNIFER - We were out in the Adirondacks to get lots of photos and information for one of our Seven Day Adventure Guide books. We hope to have it finished in several weeks and it will join a growing library of these guides that will eventually cover every region we can think of that will be of interest to RVers in North America. MIKE - We have four of our Seven Day Adventure Guides already published with many more planned. Also we want to point out that our Beginner's Guide to Boondockingand our How to Buy an RV books are very helpful for newbies and those looking to get a new RV. We now have a special page with information on all our guides and books at https://rvlifestyle.com/books  Please check them out and share the link on social media with your friends. JENNIFER - But besides the upcoming book, the best way to tell you about this area is with video and Mike is putting together an epic one of all the sights and sounds we experienced in this magnificent state. Look for it Thursday on the RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube. In fact, there’s so much to see and do there that we think it will take two videos to adequately tell the story, one this week and one next. MIKE – We also want to give a shout out to a listener named Lily who left us this great review of the podcast on iTunes. Says Lili: “Love this RV podcast! One of a handful I listen to regularly and the only RV podcast I listen to regularly. The information is great for all kinds of RV'ers. So many helpful tips, links, and information. And best of all, it's FREE! Thanks Mike and Jennifer, for all your efforts! I travel for work a lot and look forward to each episode!" Please remember to rate and review the show on iTunes or your favorite app. It really helps new listeners find us.

This week we talk about RV Clubs and why you may want to consider joining one. We talk about their many benefits, including their efforts to help us find and preserve free overnight places to camp by promoting a Good Neighbor policy. Our guests are the people who run one of the most popular and active such organizations, Travis and Melanie Carr of the Escapees and Xcapers RV Clubs. RV clubs serve as a network of like-minded folks, offering support, encouragement, adventure and fun, usually with special perks and discounts for its members.  I think you’ll enjoy meeting the Carrs in the interview of the week segment, coming up in just a few minutes. But also this week, we’ll update you on our activities, share the RV News if the weeks, answer some of your questions and get another great off the beaten oath report from our friends the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride… Jennifer. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Jennifer overlooking the Ausable River in the Adirondacks JENNIFER -We are in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of New York, where we plan to spend a couple weeks taking photos and video and researching things to do and places to stay for another of our Seven Day Adventure Guides. MIKE - Look for it later this summer. We arrived here Sunday after spending the past several days near Montreal, Quebec, attending a rally put on by the French-speaking Leisure Travel Vans club of Quebec. Although neither of us speak French, club members made us feel very welcome and we had a wonderful time meeting folks and touring their RVs.  Jennifer and Mike peaking at the Quebec rally JENNIFER -Many of those attending spoke English as well and when Jen and I gave a little talk to the group they provided a translator. We've attended many rallies and gatherings over the years but this was one of the best organized such events e have ever seen. We had a ball! RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Grand Canyon National Park set to receive designation for promoting dark sky  Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park has been working for years to reduce its light pollution and apparently it has paid off, as it is about to become an official International Dark Sky Park. The International Dark Sky Association promotes reducing light pollution so people can see the stars in all their glory, and recognizes certain spots throughout the country and even world  that do this. I highly recommend finding a Dark Sky spot near you. Jen and I had members of this organization on our podcast a while back. To learn more and hear that podcast, click here. JENNIFER Campers urged to stay below 4,000 feet in New York's Adirondacks to protect alpine zone If you are heading to the Adirondacks, where Mike and I are this week, be sure to keep all your boondocking below 4,000 feet elevation. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is advising people against camping above 4,000 feet in the High Peaks and is ticketing those who do not follow these guidelines. The agency is trying to keep campers out so plants in the fragile Alpine zone won't be trampled,. contributing to soil erosion. MIKE Writer describes his love affair with state parks, offering beautiful places to camp often inexpensively  When Jen and I are somewhere new to an area and hear there is a state or provincial (if we are in Canada) campground nearby, we often check it out. State campgrounds are usually in beautiful locations and are relatively inexpensive. So when I read an article recently in the New York Times by a writer who tells of traveling the country and searching out previously unknown gems in each state, we had to share. JENNIFER Stopping to view bears along a stretch of highway near Canada's Jasper National Park not allowed If you're heading to Canada's Jasper National Park anytime soon, there is now a no stopping rule along highway 16. The reason is so many bears feed along the highway this time of year,

If you are a regular listener, you know Jennifer and I love to boondock. We love to get away from the crowds and enjoy the peace and quiet. So do many RVers, of course, but this week we want to talk to the substantial segment of the boondocking community who are solo travelers. Being alone in the middle of nowhere is equally enjoyable as it is for couples or those who travel with a friend. But what happens if you are alone and an accident or emergency happens? If you’re traveling solo, you need to take some extra precautions. We’ll talk about that and get some advice in this week’s RV Lifestyle interview segment. Our friends at the Camp Addict website, Marshall Wendler and Kelly Beasley, will share their expertise and a harrowing story that illustrates just how bad things can go and how much worse they could be…if you are all alone. Plus, RV news, tips, your questions and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #245 June 5, 2019 of The RV Podcast:  WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE Can you believe it's June? Camping season is in full swing, The roads are filled with RVs crisscrossing the country and summer fun is on everyone's schedule. JENNIFER We are heading north into Canada, camping our way through parts of Ontario, and then on to Montreal, Quebec, where we'll spend the weekend before turning south and visiting parts of New England and then New York for some exploration of the  Adirondacks.  MIKE We usually start the summer by heading to the Rockies and the west. This year, its the east and the Adirondacks for a few weeks. Then we'll see. We're trying to pick regions of the country that we haven't extensively toured yet JENNIFER We plan to resume our "Ask Us Anything" live stream on the RV Lifestyle Channel next Sunday at 7PM eastern time, from wherever we happen to be. MIKE We've taken the past couple of weeks off to catch up on some projects but we've missed our weekly visits and the excitement of a live audience so we're planning to be back this coming Sunday night.  RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER New York State Health Department warns all heading outside to protect themselves from ticks  The New York State Department of Health warned residents and visitors to protect themselves and their pets from ticks and the diseases they carry as the number of tick caused illnesses has been steadily rising. New York is averaging about 5,500 new cases of Lyme Disease each year. Mike and I are noticing more and more ticks as we travel the country making it more important than ever to wear protection and educate yourself on safety tips. To see a report we did on this subject not too long ago click here. MIKE Four-year-old boy attacked by mountain lion expected to recover   A mountain lion that attacked a 4-year-old boy walking with his family in California's Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve was shot and killed. DNA samples confirmed that last weekend. The boy was with about a dozen people in the area called Carson's Crossing on Memorial Day when the mountain lion attacked him. His father kicked and threw rocks at the animal to free his son who was flown to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to recover. Mountain lion attacks are rare, but it is important to watch young children when walking trails in mountain lion country. JENNIFER Millennial writer urges manufacturers to make smaller, more interesting RVs  A writer published an interesting read last week urging RV manufacturers to listen to what millennials want in an RV, as that age demographic becomes a bigger and bigger share of the RV market. Many of her suggestions Mike and I agree with, even though we are not in the millennial generation. Making smaller RVs, focus on quality and technology and improving designs are things we have been talking about for a long time. MIKE

 With the upcoming long Memorial Day weekend kicking off the 2019 camping season, a lot of RVers are going to be frustrated to discover no vacancy signs and if they do get a spot, overcrowded and expensive campgrounds that offer far from the idyllic getaway they hoped for. We can help. In this episode, you’ll hear how Jennifer and I prefer to camp as we present to you our complete guide of free or almost free camping, from overnight stays to full two-week vacations. And along the way you’ll hear from a variety of experts. We’ll have complete links to the places and services we describe in the shownotes on the rvlifestyle.com travel blog as well, so stay tuned… you’re going to get some great suggestions. Also this week, lots of RV News, your RV Lifestyle questions and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride… Jennifer. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER These are sure busy times for RVers, with the Memorial Day weekend now upon us and the summer camping season well underway. We’ve been traveling somewhere every week since we returned to Michigan a month or so ago. We had a wonderful time last week in northern Indiana in Amish country. MIKE We were down there for meetings with some potential new sponsors and we took the time to explore a little. There are lots of fun shopping opportunities, one of the biggest flea markets you’ll find anywhere in the town of Shipshewana and down-home delicious food. I confess, my healthy eating plan went out the window when I found the bakery at the Essen Haus in Middlebury and, in particular, a raspberry cream pie. JENNIFER But you are back eating healthy again and I’m proud of you. Little break and occasional indulgences are okay. But the key word is occasional. And you’ve been working out every day.  Which makes it not quite as bad when you give in to that raspberry cream pie which, I agree, was worth it. MIKE Speaking of working out, we want to give a shout out to our new partner, Anytime Fitness. We’ve just become sort of traveling ambassadors for this chain of health clubs, which as regular listeners know we have been using for years. There are more than 4,000 Anytime Fitness locations around the globe and besides group exercise classes, well maintained equipment and a friendly welcoming atmosphere for visiting RVers, they all have clean, individual bathrooms with showers and privacy, which is great when you’re boondocking. Your membership gets you in any of their clubs and we always can find one as we travel across North America. JENNIFER We’re working on a video that shows you how we use Anytime Fitness when we’re on the road. We stopped by the Portage, MI club last week. I did one a group class as Mike ran the camera. Hey, come to think of it, I didn’t see you working out that day! MIKE Somebody had to run the camera! And I did. I got on a spinning bike. JENNIFER That’s right. You did. Anyway, we’re glad to be partnered with Anytime Fitness. Exercise is vitally important to good health, especially as we age and especially when sitting behind the wheel of the RV for a long time as a lot of us will be doing now with the summer camping season in full swing Our 330 Rule T-Shirt, available at https://rvlifestyle.com/rule330 MIKE For the summer of 2019, we have a fun promotion we want all us us to participate in: Telling the world about the 330 Rule! Here’s how: By wearing our very cool new 330 Rule T-shirts. They are now printed and available. They are very comfy T-shirts with Rule 330 printed across the back, celebrating our favorite way of RV travel, which is driving no more than 330 miles in a single day and/or stopping by 3:30 pm local time. We want to see a picture of as many of you as possible wearing those shirts taken in your summer adventures. Take the photo and then post it on Instagram, using the hashtag #rvlifestylemike .

For most, an RV is the second biggest purchase they will ever make, next to their sticks and bricks house. So having a warranty to cover major repairs is an important consideration when purchasing an RV. But what happens when the manufacturer’s warranty runs out, or, worse yet, as happened to one major RV manufacturer this year, the company suddenly goes bankrupt and shuts down. What then? In this week’s podcast, we’ll talk about purchasing an extended warranty for your RV to provide peace of mind and Independent coverage regardless of when the manufacturer’s warranty or the warranties on major appliances expires. We’ll talk about how much an extended warranty costs, what it covers, what it doesn’t and whether it makes sense for you. That’s coming up in our interview of the week. But also this week, RV news of the week, lots of listener questions and a fascinating off the beaten path report from the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride… Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #241 May 8,2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE We are very excited to announce the release of the latest in our Seven Day Adventure Guides for RVers... this one for Colorado. We know many of you are planning your summer travels and we wanted to get this one out to provide a handy resource for RVing across one of the most spectacular places on earth. You can learn more about this special ebook and be among the first to get it at https://rvlfestyle.com/colorado   Here's a link to a promotional video we did about it - https://youtu.be/N3dZT3KtyLo  JENNIFER We’re getting ready to hit the road, heading this week to Holland, Michigan, where the community holds a huge festival every spring celebrating Tulip Time. There are parades, concerts, wooden shoe dancing demonstrations and lots of cultural activities by the descendants of the Dutch immigrants who settled this Western Michigan town on the shores of Lake Michigan. But the main focus of the festival are the flowers. Holland boasts over 5 million tulips, all bursting forth in a dazzling display of color, pretty much peaking right now.  Tulips are located in City parks, at public attractions, and along City streets. It’s quite the sight and we’ll be camping there Thursday through Sunday and, naturally, we’ll have a video. We can’t wait to head out.  RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Canada says you can smoke pot at campsites, while Florida sells booze in some state parks Things change and may never be quite the same in some campgrounds. Let’s start Up North: With recreational marijuana use now legal throughout Canada, Parks Canada is working to get the word out this camping season that smoking marijuana is now perfectly fine at campsites. But smoking at beaches, trails and other common areas it is not. We have no comment. Now let’s go down south, to Florida. There, the state is now selling beer and wine in 32 of its 175 state parks in an attempt to raise more money to pay for the parks. “I think it’s a sign of the times,” said Don Philpott, secretary of the Wekiva Wilderness Trust and former executive director of the Florida State Parks Foundation. “We are not unique in Florida. I visit parks all over the country, and increasingly alcohol is being permitted.”  Florida officials say rangers have recently been trained to spot tipsy visitors. Anyone caught drunk will be asked to leave the park. Again, we have no comment. We’re just reporting the news here. JENNIFER Authorities are searching for the owner of an off leash dog which killed endangered seal in a California national seashore  People sometimes complain about strict laws that require dogs to always be on a leash in national and state parks and often limit the areas they can visit. Most pet owners are responsible. But there are those who are not and a case in point happened in California last week that demonstrated just why those restrictions are needed.

It’s estimated that there are a million plus fulltime RVers out there, traveling North America and living pretty much fulltime in their RVs. And those ranks are growing more and more every day. Jennifer and I have noticed this in our travels. We are meeting more fulltimers on seemingly every trip and many of them are families. Mom and Dad work from the road, the kids are educated on the road and the families are thriving, seeing all the wonders of North America, together. Does this idea intrigue you? Then stick around. We talk to an expert who has helped hundreds of families discover the joy of fulltime RVing. She’ll tell you who this is for, who it is not for and how to test if out for you and your family. Also this week, your RV Lifestyle questions, RV news of the week and a great off-the-beaten-path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #240 May 1, 2019 of The RV Podcast WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER April showers bring May flowers. Well, now that it is May we're sure hoping the steady dose of cold, wet, soggy weather we've had in the Upper Midwest lately will indeed give way to May flowers soon. MIKE Especially Tulips as Holland, Michigan and its famed Tulip Time Festival is where we're headed next week.  JENNIFER This week, we're still outfitting and organizing our RV for the summer travel season. People can check out our Thursday video on the RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube for an update on just what we've been doing. MIKE What are we doing here? Catching up, mostly. I’m editing, writing and organizing all the video photos and stories we’ve collected in the road over the past four months. We have family to visit and some yard work to do to get our home up here ready for the warm weather. JENNIFER I’ve been trimming rose bushes. Mike’s been trimming trees… largely so they don’t scrape up against our new RV, which we just purchased a few weeks ago. We’re also hard at work in our next Seven Day Adventure Guide eBook, to join the ones we’ve already done on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the southern part of Utah. MIKE The next guide should be ready in the next two weeks. It’s about one of favorite places to explore by RV… Colorado. Like the others in the series, it will suggest seven must see attractions, tell you routes to follow to get there, where to stay and what to do in the area. We price these guides very low, at just $7 each and being eBooks, they not only give you a curated guide for the trip, but they link to all sorts if other resources that will help you in your RV journeys as you visit the area. Colorado will be the next one. And we have a whole bunch mire planned. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK  JENNIFER A woman at Grand Canyon National Park last week falls to death - fourth such death in a month Another visitor fell to death last week at the Grand Canyon National Park, bringing to four the number of deaths there since late March. Officials are warning visitors to stay on clearly marked trails and not get too close to the edge. MIKE Baby birds discovered living in a nest in the front of a Winnebago  RV after family stopped just 3 weeks to camp  A family making their way north from southern Florida had quite the surprise last week when they made a pit stop in Naples, heard sounds from the front of their RV and discovered three baby birds in a nest in their grill. The family spent three weeks camping around Homestead, which apparently was enough time for the parents to build a nest in there, lay eggs and the eggs to hatch. JENNIFER Man spends $10,000 on RV but never given title, says he was duped A man in Arizona says he paid $10,000 to an RV dealer and drove off the lot with his purchase, but never given the title. Now five months later, he still has no proof the RV is his. The dealership went out of business and without the title he can’t get the RV permanently registered. He’s hired an attorney but the owners of the now closed Scottsdale...

Coming up in the interview of the week is Dan Miller, a New York Times best-selling author whose amazingly successful books and podcast about setting priorities and achieving your dreams has greatly influenced Jennifer and me and helped us find the way to make the RV Lifestyle a reality. For all those of you out there dreaming about doing the same thing…. “someday”… Dan Miller is going to inspire you and motivate you to also make that “someday”…today. You are going to love Dan Miller. Also this week, RV News, an update on what Jennifer and I are up to these days, an off the beaten path report from the Burketts and listener questions in which we tell you the three most important things to do before you take possession of a new RV. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #239 April 24, 2019 of The RV Podcast WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER We’re back home in Michigan after being on the road for most of the past four months. In all we have covered more than 8,000 miles since the first of the year in 16 states. Catching up with work around our sticks and bricks house up here for the next week or so and then we’re off again. MIKE It was quite a trip back… with non-stop rain for the better part of 36 hours as we traveled north from Florida. Our route coincided with the track of a storm front. There’s a post on our RV Lifestyle blog about that you can read. We just took our time and stuck to our 330 Rule of traveling no more than 330 Miles or stopping b 3:30 PM. JENNIFER By the way, while we say “our” rule we mean it in the sense of it’s a rule we follow as best we can, not something we claim to have originated. It’s been around in various forms… a 2/2 Rule…  3/3 rule… that sort of stuff…for years. So we have no idea who first came up with it but we gladly embrace it as a rule we follow. Our 330 Rule sticker pack MIKE And that resonates with a lot of you. So much so that we printed up a variety of fun Rule 330 stickers that we’re selling on our online shop. We have a four pack of the 330 Rule stickers that a lot of folks have been getting, as well as coffee mugs and T-shirts. Just fun stuff that reminds us all to slow down, that it’s all about the journey, not the destination. JENNIFER Meanwhile, we’re looking forward to our next RV … to take in the fun of the Tulip Time festival in Holland, MI in early May. It runs from May 4-12. It’s a big annual event, with more than 5 million tulips of every possible color and shade in bloom throughout the city, along with parades, Dutch wooden shoe dancers and lots of local entertainment. We’ll be hanging out May 9-12 with a group of Leisure Travel Van Owners there for a rally sponsored by the local dealer, Holland Motor Homes, and we’re looking forward to meeting other LTV owners and getting ideas from them on how we can personalize or new 2019 Unity FX. Holland, MI's Tulip Time MIKE We haven’t had much of a chance to add a lot of extras or install things like a cell phone booster yet. We’re looking at new cell boosters soon to come of the market that is engineered specifically for Class B and Class C RVs. We’re thinking we want to try this when it becomes available in a couple of weeks. And we’re also considering replacing our coach batteries with lithium batteries and an upgraded inverter. But we’re in no rush and as we have bought this new RV ourselves, we want to do things right and only install extras. To be frank, right now, it’s performed so well that I’m not sure what, if anything, we need to improve. JENNIFER I’m still finding a place for everything and putting everything in its place. There’s always an adjustment and discovery period with a new RV in which we figure out where things should go and how things should be organized. As we start our second month of ownership of our coach, I’m adding little things like a silverware holder, a wastebasket,

This is the peak of the RV Shopping season as RV shoppers across North America narrow down their selection and make their purchases. So, what exactly are RV shoppers looking for? In our interview of the week, we’ll talk to a group of them and learn what features are most in demand. Also this week, RV News– including a new buyer for the defunct Roadtrek brand – plus your RV questions, comments and another fun off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #238 April 17, 2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER Before we get started, two housekeeping notes. One, in this podcast we will mention a bunch of different resources, news stories and web links that will give you more information about the things we’re talking about. Whenever possible, we build in direct links to those topics on the shownotes page for this episode. You can find that at rvlifestyle.com/238 MIKE Also, you may have a question you’d like us to answer, or a comment on the things we’re discussing. If so, we invite you to leave us that question or comment on the special voicemail number we have for the podcast – it’s 586-372-6990.  If you are driving and can’t write it down right now, just go to the RV Lifestyle travel blog at rvlifestyle.com and scroll down the page. You’ll see that number prominently posted on the blog. JENNIFER We’re just back from Phoenix and the annual Super B RV Show. MIKE We are also very excited about the release our latest 7 Day Adventure Guide, this one on Utah. You can learn all about that one at https://rvlifestyle.com/utah  We have lots more of these guides coming. Our next one will be on Colorado and we will eventually have them most regions of the country and parts of Canada, too. Thanks to all those who have taken the time to send along such great reviews on the Utah guide as the first one that came out a few weeks back on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. JENNIFER Also, by popular request based on the popularity and universal appeal of our 330 Rule of traveling (no more than 330 miles a day or stop by 3:30PM each day, we decided to have some fun and print up a bunch of small stickers and make them available in our RV Lifestyle shop in a 4-sticker bundle for you all. We had requests from a bunch of folks to do this so, why we figured, why not?  MIKE We hit the road this week, making our way back north to our sticks and bricks home in Michigan, which we’ve been pretty much away from since January. In all we’ve traveled through 14 states over the past four months, bought a new RV and watched springtime come to the south and southwest. JENNIFER We tend to do our traveling in quarters of the year, this first one was what we call escape the cold! Now as we enter the next quarter, I hope there’s no snow when we get back to Michigan over the weekend and we don’t have to re-winterize our RV while we’re back north. MIKE We plan to spend a few weeks up there, visiting family and friends, doing some work around our home and making a couple of short RV rips. We have some RV factory tour videos to shoot in Elkhart, Indiana and we’d like to check out TulipTime in Holland, MI. JENNIFER Then, we’re looking a doing a couple of regional tours, visiting places on our bucket list and also gathering material for more of our seven-day adventure guides. Right now we’re trying to decide between New England and California for May through July. It would be great to do both, but that’s a lot of driving. MIKE That’s never stopped us before. But we haven’t firmly made up our minds yet so we’ll let you know what we decide and for what dates. We love doing a couple of meet and greets as we travel different parts if the country and will do that whatever routes we choose. JENNIFER Meanwhile, though, we’d love your suggestions. Where should we go? What should we see? Give us your recommendations by calling our special Voice Mail number ...

In this episode, we talk about a couple of the challenges we face in living and camping in an RV - from using a CPAP machine to getting instant hot water. We’ll answer a listener question about the first and with the second, have an interview with an official from Truma Corp., who will explain to us how their popular lineup of RV water heaters work and why they have become the de facto standard for new RVs. Plus we have RV News if the week and anther great off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #237 April 10, 2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER Mike and Jennifer As we always do, lets share some housekeeping notes. One, in this podcast we will mention a bunch of different resources, news stories and web links that will give you more information about the things we’re talking about. Whenever possible, we build in direct links to those topics on the shownotes page for this episode. You can find that at rvlifestyle.com/237 MIKE Also, you may have a question you’d like us to answer, or a comment on the things we’re discussing. If so, we invite you to leave us that question or comment on the special voicemail number we have for the podcast – it’s 586-372-6990.  If you are driving and can’t write it down right now, just go to the RV Lifestyle travel blog at rvlifestyle.com and scroll down the page. You’ll see that number prominently posted on the blog. JENNIFER We're traveling again this week, headed to Phoenix, AZ and the annual Super B RV Show that specializes in just small motorhomes - Class Bs and Cs. It will be in the State Farm stadium in suburban Glendale. MIKE The show runs Thursday through Sunday, but Jen and I will be there Friday and Saturday, meeting and greeting and doing live reports from the show for our RV Lifestyle Facebook followers Friday at 3PM Eastern time and for our YouTube RV Lifestyle followers Saturday at 4:30 PM Eastern. JENNIFER Also this week... look for a special announcement about our latest 7 Stop Adventure Guides, this one on Utah. It will be released this week! MIKE We're very excited about this new ebook as Utah is a simply awesome state and this practical travel guide will help you streamline your plans and find the perfect places to stay as you see the amazing geography of Utah. Meantime, here's the RV News of the week. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER Visitors to the Grand Canyon National Park urged to keep a safe distance from edge  Officials at the Grand Canyon National Park issued a warning to visitors last week, urging them to stay a safe distance from the edge of cliffs after a 67-year-old visitor fell 400 feet to his death. This marked the third person to die in the park in eight days. MIKE Save the date: Lottery to see synchronous fireflies at Great Smoky Mountains National Park to open April 26 If you're interesting in viewing the synchronous fireflies at the Great Smoky Mountains, be sure to enter their lottery between April 26-29. The synchronous fireflies flash their lights in unison every night, attracting so much interest, you have to win a lottery to see them. Our friends Tom and Patti Burkett did find a few other places to go (click here) that do not require a lottery but you need to plan ahead. JENNIFER Who will buy what’s left of Roadtrek? What’s left of Roadtrek Motorhomes will soon be decided in a receivership courtroom in Canada. The deadline for bids by interested parties to purchase the assets of the Erwin Hymer Group of North America, the maker of Roadtrek, was yesterday. At last report, nearly two dozen parties signed confidentiality statements needed to officially do so. No word yet on when the court and the company will review bids and select a buyer. But bad news keeps coming out about the company. There was a story out last week that Hymer of North America apparently sold tow behind trailers without conducting required safety test...

In this episode, we talk to a leading expert on lithium batteries – Sean Nichols of Battle Born Batteries, one of the best known companies making lithium batteries for RVs. Sean tells us that lead is dead, that the old lead acid batteries found in most RVs are rapidly being eclipsed by more powerful and efficient lithium technology. He explains just what lithium will – and will not – do for the RVer and how they can be made to reliably work even in very cold weather. Sean Nichols will be coming up soon in our interview of the week. Also in this episode, your questions, RV news if the week and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #236 April 3, 2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK JENNIFER Before we get started, two housekeeping notes. One, in this podcast we will mention a bunch of different resources, news stories and web links that will give you more information about the things we’re talking about. Whenever possible, we build in direct links to those topics on the shownotes page for this episode. You can find that at rvlifestyle.com/236 MIKE Also, you may have a question you’d like us to answer, or a comment on the things we’re discussing. If so, we invite you to leave us that question or comment on the special voicemail number we have for the podcast – it’s 586-372-6990.  If you are driving and can’t write it down right now, just go to the RV Lifestyle travel blog at rvlifestyle.com and scroll down the page. You’ll see that number prominently posted on the blog. Mike and Jennifer at the beach We share our whereabouts and plans We’re down in Florida on the Emerald Coast enjoying a spring break vacation with family The next big trip will be to Phoenix Arizona and the huge Super B Small Motorhome RV Show. Once again, Jennifer and I will be attending the Super B RV Shownear Phoenix. The dates this year for the show are April 11-14 and it will be held at what is now known as State Farm Stadium (formerly University of Phoenix Stadium) in Glendale, AZ,  Jen and I will be doing meet and greets Friday and Saturday, as well as video live streams direct from the show. Over 100 Class B and short Class C RVs will be on display.  There will be some new products being shown at the show for the first time, as well as new floor plans being introduced. Manufacturers represented include Winnebago, Leisure Travel Vans, Pleasure Way, Midwest Automotive Designs, Fleetwood, Tiffin, Entegra, Roadtrek, Hymer and Thor Motor Coach.  Sponsored by LaMesa RV (which has RV dealerships in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Florida), this is the largest RV show in North America that features only small RVs. Attendees can see in one place all of the latest floor plans and the and most popular motorhomes from the top manufacturers. People coming to the show will be able to talk with factory reps,  RV manufacturing company owners and RV experts and celebrities. Dean Corrigal from Leisure Travel Vans will be there, our own RV Lifestyle Personal Chef MJ Curry will be talking about cooking in an RV kitchen, and there will be a seminar on solar power presented on Saturday, April 13 at 11:00 am by David Copeland from Van Dyke Enterprises. We’re in our second week of ownership of our new Leisure Travel Vans Unity FX. We have it being detailed tomorrow. Look for a video on the YouTube RV Lifestyle Channel thus week in the 2019 Mercedes Sprinter chassis and the big improvements it offers compared to previous Sprinter chassis used on RVs. Jennifer has sheets and bedding coming for the Murphy Bed. I need to order a cellular booster. Probably won’t install it until we get back to Michigan in late April. Considering lithium… as you’ll hear in the interview Next 7 Stop Adventure Guide is coming out. Probably next week. It will be on Utah and joins the one we did on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK  MIKE

This week we interview the newly named CEO of Kampgrounds of America about the changing demographics of camping in America. Toby O’Rourke shares with us highlights of the company’s latest study and reveals that millennials now make up 35% of all the active campers in the U.S. She also talks about how her company is continuing to grow and thrive in an increasingly digital world. Plus an update from Mike and Jen on their new RV, their travel schedule for the next month and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #234 March 20, 2019 of The RV Podcast: Mike and Jennifer talk about their recent activities and whereabouts This is a photo of us taken Monday, after signing on the dotted line and buying a 2019 Leisure Travel Vans Unity FX. We're giving it a shakedown trip now. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK Two Canadian national parks install country's first electric vehicle charging stations Two Canadian national parks in British Columbia are the first in the country to install electric vehicle charging stations. Glacier National Park and Yoho National Park are both along the Trans-Canada Highway and are part of a national goal of improving electric travel.  Improvements to cell coverage debated at Grand Teton National Park: Would it take away from wilderness experience? The debate about whether to improve cell service at Grand Teton National Park was in the news last week. Proponents argue it would help retain workers and assist in emergencies, while those against say excellent cell service takes something away from the wilderness experience. Great whale watching opportunities along Oregon coast in upcoming week If you're planning to be anywhere near the Oregon coast between March 23-31, you might want to check out some of the many whale watching sites. The gray whales are making their way from Mexico to Alaska, and will be swimming by, and many special view sites are set up to see the giant mammals that week. Fire at Forest River factory in Elkhart, Indiana, leaves production of some towables in question A fire last week completely destroyed the factory in Elkhart, IN, where the Forest River Vibe and Vibe Extreme are built. Officials were still trying to determine what caused the blaze as of this writing, along with what will become of the towable trailers and jobs of those who built them.  This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping  RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK  This week we interview with Tony O’Rourke, the new CEO of Kampgrounds of America: Mike Wendland:           Well first of all, congratulations. Toby O'Rourke:             Thank you. Mike Wendland:           I think we first started interviewing you when you were doing marketing, digital marketing, and then of course President and now CEO President and the Chief everything of Kampgrounds of America. So congratulations Toby. Toby O'Rourke:             Thank you, I appreciate that. Mike Wendland:           You know one of the things that you do [inaudible 00:00:20] is you do the annual camping report every year. Toby O'Rourke:             We do. Mike Wendland:           And I know it's a little early, it hasn't been completed yet, but can you give us any sneak peaks of what the data is showing for 2019 compared to previous years? Toby O'Rourke:             Yeah, so now we've been doing the North American Camping Report for five years, which is great to look at it as a body of work that shows the trends over the past five years. And there's several key trends, things we've talked about before, but we definitely are seeing a lot of people camp, and people are camping more frequently. That's my favorite part of the data, is we're seeing 72% increase over these past five years in the amount of people that are camping at least 3 times a year,

What do Roadtrek owners do for warranty work and parts now that the company has shut down? The biggest scandal to envelop the RV Industry continues to dominate the RV news this week, namely the sudden shut down if the Roadtrek and Hymer factories in Ontario and the immediate termination of more than 850 workers. Nobody saw that coming, especially the revelation that the company is insolvent, $300 million hopelessly in debt because of years of management exaggerating or intentionally overstating profitability. The news has left tens of thousands of Roadtrek owners wondering what will happen to their warranties, what do they do about parts and repairs? We will offer some expert advice from our friend Nick Schmidt of Sunshine State RVs, who is stepping up to help with those issues. Plus, news, tips and another fun off the beaten path report from the Burketts. WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE This episode of the podcast finds Jennifer and me in Florida for a couple of weeks before making our way west along the Gulf states. JENNIFER If you happen to be anywhere near the Florida panhandle this coming weekend, Mike and I (and Bo) will be having a Meet and Greet Sunday, Feb. 24, from 2-5 PM on the Gulf Islands National Seashore in the second parking area west of the Navarre Beach bridge. That is inside the National Seashore boundary and is known as Beach Access #2 MIKE Bring some beach chairs and we can all hang out for the afternoon, tour each other’s' rigs and maybe find a local restaurant to eat dinner. We'd love to see you and show you the Leisure Travel Vans Wonder RTB we are test driving for the next few weeks. We’ll try and do more if these in our travels as we visit other parts of North America. RV NEWS OF THE WEEK Mike Roadtrek's parent company terminates 900 employees, shuts doors Erwin Hymer North America, the maker of Roadtrek, terminated 900 employees, closed its doors, and filed for receivership Friday. The devastating move came after financial irregularities were discovered in January.  JENNIFER America now has 61 National Parks  The spending bill that President Donald Trump signed last Friday included a provision to change the name of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to Indiana Dunes National Park immediately. That brings the number of national parks from 60 to 61. The area is comprised of about 15,000 acres of woodlands, prairies, savannas, bogs, wetlands and the sand dunes. Its beaches run along about 15 miles of the Lake Michigan shoreline. MIKE Oregon state parks break camping records in 2018; higher fees coming  Oregon state parks set a new record in the number of campers using its state parks in 2018. As a result, the state is piloting a program in 2019 that will raise camping fees at its most popular parks, lowering them at the less popular ones. JENNIFER Joshua Tree National Park particularly hard it after tallying damage, lost revenue from federal shutdown   It may be several weeks since the federal government opened after the longest shut down in its history, yet the damage to its national parks is still being felt. California's Joshua Tree National Park was particularly hard hit, with a report out showing $1 million lost in visitor fees, some 120 illegal campsites, and 24 miles of vehicle tracks left where driving is prohibited, among other things.  This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes,an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping  LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK We hear more about why owners love their particular RV… another listener shares a newbe mistake… Mike is asked about ham radio in an RV…and a listener suggests a story from the point of view of someone who delivers RVs to dealerships for the manufacturers. Do you have a comment or question? Just call 1-586-372-6990 and leave us a voice message. RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK

We’ve been traveling North America for the past month. Checking out small motorhomes and visiting various RV manufacturing facilities and this week, we want to share the visit we just made to Manitoba, Canada and the factory where Leisure Travel Vans makes its excellent line of Class B-Plus motorhomes. In our interview of the week, you’ll meet the two brothers who run the operation,Ryan and Mike Elias, and they’ll tell you about their quest to make beautiful, reliable and functional motorhomes that are also foolproof. Plus, we’ll discuss our just-announced partnership with Leisure Travel Vans, offer up the RV News of the week, share some tips and suggestions and hear a great off the beaten path Valentine’s Day report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #229 Feb. 13, 2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE Hello my dear and Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine’s Day. JENNIFER Thank you. This episode is being recorded Feb. 12, my birthday, for release in Feb. 13th, the day before Valentine’s Day. And it looks like we’ll be spending this Valentine’s Day on the road… headed off to Florida in a brand-new Leisure Travel Vans Wonder RTB…. RTB standing for Rear Bed Model. And I suppose now is a great time for us to officially announce that we have become the brand ambassadors for Leisure Travel Van and as part of that sponsorship, they provide us the use of one of their beautiful motorhomes. MIKE Yup. And we’re excited. The unit we drove home from the factory up there in Winkler, Manitoba last week is on the Ford Transit Chassis and that is the chassis more and more RV manufacturers are adding to their model lineup. It’s the HD 350 Transit, a diesel unit, and driving it about 1,200 miles to our Michigan home – in subzero temperatures and a blizzard no less – I find it to be very stable and very easy to drive. After we finish recording this podcast we will finish packing it up and skedaddle down south in search of Spring…to Florida and eventually to Salt Lake City, Utah in mid-March, where we will attend a big RV industry trade show and swap out the Wonder for a new Unity model, built on the 2019 Sprinter chassis. So, we’ll be using the Wonder for about a month or so and will be doing a full review of how it works with a motorhome. JENNIFER Not only are we testing out the Ford Transit as a motorhome chassis, we are also trying out a B+ van, something we have been curious about for years. Mike and I have been big fans of Leisure Travel Vans for years now and as we started looking around for our next RV and the model that would best fit our needs, we found their coaches checked every box. We had some very specific things we were looking for – more storage room, for our photo and video gear and our camping accessories; comfortable, permanent beds with a mattress so we didn’t have to sleep on a pads atop a bunch of sofa cushions; a designated work space for Mike to edit videos and work on the blog and our ebooks; and we also wanted a stand up dry shower, a bigger bathroom and , as we were looking for a new sponsor, a certain type of company we could confidently attach ourselves to. MIKE And that was a big item on our list: We wanted a family owned company with a solid reputation for quality, integrity and customer care. And Leisure Travel Vans is all that and more. You’ll be able to understand why we are so delighted to be their ambassadors and drive their products in a few minutes, when you meet Ryan and Mike Elias. And Tomorrow, Thursday February 14 at 7PM Eastern, we will have a premiere showing of our visit to the Leisure Travel Vans factory on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel. Those of you listening to the podcast after Feb. 14 can find it available to watch on demand on our RV Lifestyle Channel at youtube.com/rvlifestyle. But a You Tube Premiere is a big deal. We’ll all be able to watch it for the first time together as it rolls at 7PM,

Imagine that you are about to retire. In the driveway, is a brand-new RV. Your dream machine. The Florida sun is shining, and life looks good…until you look out over the Gulf of Mexico to see a hurricane named Michael barreling down towards you. That’s what happened to a couple we met this week, who shared their harrowing story of what happens when a hurricane hits …how you – and your RV - need to be prepared, from having enough RV insurance, food and off-grid battery power in the RV. You will not want to miss the interview of the week, coming up in a bit. We also have lots of RV news this week, answer your RV Lifestyle questions about alternate energy for the RV and four-season RVs ready for cold weather camping and we have a great off-the-beaten path report from our friends the Burketts. But first, my lifelong traveling companion and my bride…Jennifer. Show Notes for Episode #226 Jan. 23, 2019 of The RV Podcast WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Mike and Jennifer doing a Live stream on YouTube from the Tampa RV Supershow JENNIFER We've been attending the annual Florida RV Supershow for the past four days and it's good to be sitting! We put on a lot of miles shooting video on the new models and RV Lifestyle accessories we've seen down here. MIKE It seems like we walked pretty much every inch of the 26 -acre display area - several times - each day! There was so much to see with more than 1,500 RVs on display and 400 vendors showing off their RV products and services. JENNIFER Look for a full video on all the cool stuff this Thursday on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/rvlifestyle  And please, if you have not done so, subscribe to our channel there so you can be notified of new videos as we publish them. MIKE We also met dozens and dozens of fans and followers. It was truly humbling to shake so many hands and get so many hugs. We leave the show on an emotional high from all the encouragement and kind words. Thank you to all for taking the time to introduce yourself to us! And we’re off traveling again. By popular demand. We asked you on a recent YouTube live stream what kind of stories you’d like us to focus on besides our regular travel and trip reports and there was an overwhelming response to do more RV reviews and factory tours. So that’s what we plan to do over the next few weeks, visit various RV factories and suppliers and do a video report on how they build RVs, what new gadgets and innovations they have, who are the people building today’s RVs and what are the exciting things they are seeing for the future. So we’re off tomorrow to shoot our first one this week. We have another scheduled next week and you’ll be seeing them all soon on our YouTube RV Lifestyle Channel – https://youtbe.com/rvlifestyle We should note there was a definite downer part to this past weekend. Several very disturbing stories broke about a shakeup and serious allegations of financial irregularities surrounding the Erwin Hymer Group of North America, the parent corporation that owns Roadtrek Motorhomes. Many of you know that Jennifer and I have been on-the-road ambassadors for Roadtrek and the company has been one of our sponsors. We know many of the people who work there and our hearts go out to them in this time of uncertainty. Most of the stories we've seen come from unnamed sources and, as we write this newsletter, the company has not issued any comments at all. I’ve written all I know on the RV Lifestyle blog and if you need a background on it… check there. RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Several unique Florida state parks still closed five months after Hurricane Michael hit An interesting story ran last week out of Florida, highlighting the lingering damage Hurricane Michael did to Florida's state parks with several remaining closed - some five months after the Category 4 hurricane hit. Some of the damage includes the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park's peninsula turning in...

There is no excuse anymore to overnight in your RV in crowded, brightly lit, noisy parking lots. This week, we bring back the CEO of Harvest Hosts who will tell us in the interview of the week about a huge expansion in the number of farms, wineries, fruit orchards, attractions, and now golf courses across North America that welcome members of Harvest Hosts to stay on their scenic, beautiful grounds. We’ll also have him explain how listeners to this podcast can avoid the price hike coming January 1 and even get a nice discount not available to others. Also in this podcast, also answer your RV questions, share some tech tips and bring the Burketts on for another off the beaten path report. Lots to share this week. Show Notes for Episode #222 December 12, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE This is our last podcast of the year. We’re taking our first real vacation break in almost seven years of creating RV and Travel content. Besides pausing the podcasts to enjoy some time off at this special time of the year, we’ll be taking a break on our newsletters, videos and blog posts. In fact, speaking of the Roadtreking RV Lifestyle blog, we’ll be doing a redesign and giving it a slightly different look. We’ll still be checking in on social media but we’re planning a real break. The podcast will return on Jan. 2, 2019 and all our other content will also pick back up right after the New Year. JENNIFER We have a new way to leave us voice messages, besides the link on the right side of the Roadtreking RV Lifestyle blog. You can call us on Google Voice. From any phone, just dial 586-372-6990 and leave a question, comment, tip or any message. We really love hearing everyone’s voices and featuring them in the podcast so we hope you will use that service. We’ll post that number in the shownotes for this episode but again, if you want to jot it down now, it’s 586-372-6990. RV NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Class B RV Sales Continues record setting growth  Class B sales continued to enjoy year-over-year sales growth during the first 10 months of 2018, as overall retail registrations climbed 27.8% in the period. Statistical Surveys Inc. reported that Winnebago Industries Inc. led the segment through October with a 39.6% market share followed by Erwin Hymer Group North America (29.3%) and Thor Industries Inc. (10.9%).  JENNIFER Officials discuss ways to 'haze' Yellowstone National Park's wolves after beloved wolf legally killed by hunter Last week we told you about the legal shooting of a beloved Yellowstone National Park wolf which had wandered just outside the park's entrance and was shot during hunting season. The death grieved both park and wildlife officials who are now working on developing a way to 'haze' the wolves so they are less accustomed to humans.The Yellowstone wolves are used to humans watching them from a distance which makes them an easy hit for hunters looking for a trophy kill, officials said. To read more click here. Others are petitioning for a a buffer zone around Yellowstone, so hunters can't shoot the animals just outside the entrance, like what happened in this case. To read more click here. MIKE Homeowner decorates house and RV to raise toys for needy children Have you ever watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Apparently a man from New Jersey is a HUGE fan, deciding to decorate his house in the same way the Griswold family did in the movie - complete with an RV. The homeowner used mannequins to mimic scenes from the movie. While the decor is fun, the homeowner did it with a purpose. Those who come by to see the display are encouraged to leave a toy for needy kids inside the RV. Visitors are dropping off about 100 toys a night. To see for yourself, click here. JENNIFER Best meteor shower of the year - the Geminid - peaks this week  Anyone who loves a good meteor shower needs to be sure to get outside this Thursday and Friday...

It’s no secret that across North America, many towns and cities are becoming increasingly anti-RV, prohibiting overnight camping anywhere except in RV campgrounds, which often charge an arm and a leg for what can often be pretty dismal campsites. Our interview of the week tells us how we can avoid such places and find lots of great overnight RV camping sites, oftentimes for free or very minimal costs. Also this week in Episode 217, your RV questions, some great RV tips and another excellent off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #217 November 7, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE This week we’re coming to you from our new RV, camped in the Fort Wilderness Campground at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida. JENNIFER We're attending a gathering organized by our friend Paul "Pogo" Pogorzelski, who loves Disney and tossed some dates out last spring and found 50 or so others who agreed that Fort Wilderness would be a great place to gather in early November. MIKE We are loving our new Roadtrek! It rolled out of the factory Friday and made its way straight to our Michigan driveway, where we packed it up and immediately took off for Florida. Friday and Saturday nights, we needed to run the heater. Tonight, in Florida, the air conditioning is on. It's performed flawlessly so far and we can't wait to show it to you. JENNIFER As soon as we finish the Disney World video and we get a little more familiar with all the bells and whistles on this unit, we will be doing a complete video reveal and tour. But let me say that in almost seven years of doing the RV Lifestyle now in five different Class B Roadtreks, this Roadtrek has impressed us the most in every away way possible. And we've only been in it for three days! MIKE We've asked our various social media followers to help us name this new unit and we'll probably choose one for the video reveal. If you have a good idea, send it in! This part of the program is brought to you by AllStays Pro, the best tool for RVers looking for places to camp.  RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Pictures of amazing locations shared on social media can draw millions of visitors, and unintended consequences An interesting story I saw YouTube last week about the affect social media is having on various unique but previously little-known locations around the country was fascinating. As people take pictures of gorgeous places on public land they often share the picture on places like Instagram and Facebook. Those posts typically include location coordinates. So then more people visit the spot, more pictures posted, and more people decided to visit. The result is some unique spots around the country are becoming inundated with tourists before the parking lots are made, before the trails laid out, and before the bathrooms are installed, causing significant environmental damage and a slew of unforeseen troubles. We’ll put a link to this interesting story in the shownotes at Roadtreking.com/217. JENNIFER Couple who fell to deaths at Yosemite National Park were taking selfie, brother said Speaking of social media, last week in this newsletter we reported on a couple who were found dead at Yosemite National Park after apparently falling off Taft Point, with rangers investigating how they fell. This week a relative of the couple was widely quoted as saying the couple was taking a selfie. The couple, who were from India, were travel bloggers who posted pictures of themselves in sometimes dangerous situations while taking pictures to post. This is such a sad story. So many beautiful locations in national parks have no guard rails, and all it takes is a slip of the foot or an unexpected breeze to fall and literally die. One story I found reported a study on literally hundreds of deaths around the world caused by people trying to get the perfect selfie to post online. MIKE

Thinking about buying at RV? Hold up. Don’t do it until you follow our advice. What advice is that? Simple: Try before you buy. Unless you are an experienced RVer and know – from experience – just what you want, RV newbies should try out an RV for a couple of days to make sure it fits their needs and lifestyle. In our interview f the week coming up in a few minutes, we introduce you to Outdoorsy, a company that specializes in helping people find RVs to rent. Also this week, RV news, especially about the dangers of taking selfies in daredevil locations; RV tips, your RV questions and a great off the beaten path report from the Burketts that all who love Mexican chips and salsa will appreciate. Show Notes for Episode #216 Oct. 31, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Mike and Jennifer We talk about: Our plans to head to Florida this week and Pogo’s Happy Campers Gathering at Walt Disney World The dilemma of whether we bring Bo or leave him back in Michigan with our daughter Using our RV all year around Our winter camping trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - We are taking Bo up camping at Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan's Upper Peninsula January 11-13th. This is not an "official" gathering but an informal one. We have a tradition of five years of doing this and Bo insists on a snow vacation before we head south. Anyway, we have reserved site 177. If you also want to head up there, you need to reserve your own spot with the Michigan DNR at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, at the Lower Falls Hemlock campground. Here's the website: https://www.midnrreservations.com/TAHQUAMENONFALLSSTATEPARK If you do reserve a spot, then join our winter campout group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1697339513886451/and let us know there that you're coming and what spot you reserve. This part of the program is brought to you by AllStays Pro, the best tool for RVers looking for places to camp.  RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK JENNIFER Park rangers investigate deaths of couple who plunged off Taft Point at Yosemite National Park  Another sad story about people slipping and falling to their deaths at a national park - this time it happened in Yosemite National Park. They were a couple who had a travel blog, citizens of India who were living in the US. Their blog has been taken down but previous posts had a lot of photos of them in precarious places and the woman wrote that they were fans of  “daredevilry attempts of standing at the edge of cliffs and skyscrapers, but did you know that wind gusts can be FATAL???” Ironically, she then added: “Is our life just worth one photo?” The National Park Service is investigating how the pair fell.  Their bodies were discovered Thursday about 800 feet below Taft Point. Taft Point is the same place we told you about in last week's newsletter where a photographer took a stunning picture  of a proposal. Again, just how this couple died has not been determined. But the tragedy is a good reminder that many of the most breath-taking locations in our parks do not have safety rails. There is an inherent risk in getting too close to the edge. While we do not know yet if this couple had a camera, let's use this sad story as a reminder to be careful because no  photograph is worth dying over. MIKE RV dealer shipments drop 29 percent for month of September   RV shipments from manufacturers to dealers for the month of September were down about 29 percent between 2017 and 2018 according to a story out of Indiana last week. The story quoted an industry spokesman who attributed the decline to a number of things including RV manufacturers increasing their capacity so dealers do not have to order far ahead, and tariffs. While the drop is being carefully watched, many are not worried. Attendance at fall RV shows, like the recent one we attended in California, is setting records. Also retail sales are up,

Is your RV overweight? Are you overweight? In this week’s podcast we talk to our friends James and Stef from The Fit RV about the importance of weighing your RV to make sure it is not overweight, and thus unsafe for the road. Too many RV manufacturers send their RVs out dangerously close to the weight limits, something many RVers are unaware of when they start loading their gear and themselves into it. And it’s too easy for life on the road to cause us to become overweight, too. You’ll find much of interest with his great RVing couple in our interview of the week. Plus, RV Tips from Jennifer, your RV questions, traveling technology tools for the RVer and a great ff the beaten path report from the Burketts… all this coming up in Episode 214 of the RV Podcast. Show Notes for Episode #214 Oct. 17, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE We’re back in our sticks and bricks house in Michigan to catch our breath between trips. It’s been pretty much non-stop travel, from California to Pennsylvania with many stops between since early summer and we have had a ball. But it’s nice to have a little break JENNIFER We just returned from an absolutely fabulous trip to Kansas, specifically the Flying W Ranch, located on 7,000 acres of tallgrass prairie. It was another one of our Roadtreking gatherings – the eighth of the year – and this one was on a working cattle ranch. We had Roadtrekers from all across the country show up. We camped boondock-style right next to a horse corral and we were so busy. We hiked, took a lot of awesome photos, star gazed under that big prairie sky, learned all about the cowboy culture and actually joined in on some of the ranch activities. MIKE The absolute highlight of those activities was the cattledrive. We mounted up on horses and accompanied the real cowboys out onto the pasture for a longhorn cattle drive. It was an unforgettable experience and so much fun. We were right in the middle of the herd and I can’t wait to put together the video of the experience. JENNIFER The other highlight was the tallgrass prairie itself. You know Kansas is a place that most people go through. On their way to or from some other place. But believe us, it very much belongs on your bucket list. When Mike gets the video uploaded to our RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube you can see for yourself but the prairie is so stunningly beautiful that even my husband’s excellent video skills can’t capture it all. It needs to be seen firsthand. The tall grass prairie used to cover a huge section of North America,170 million acres from Ohio to the Rockies and Mexico to Canada. Today only 4% remains and that’s mostly in the Flinthills region of Kansas where we were. The U.S. Park Service has established the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve there and it’s well worth a visit. MIKE As our gathering broke up Monday, there was a light covering of snow on the ground. The first hard freezes and heavy frosts of the year hit many of the northern and midwestern states this week. Out in Kansas, the cowboys at the ranch told us that they are expecting a much harder than normal winter this year. They said extra thick coats on the horses and cattle are already showing up, which is much earlier than normal. And the Woolly Bear Caterpillars they are seeing are showing much longer black bands than the rust colored bands. The more black showing on the caterpillar, supposedly the more severe the winter will be. The cowboys believe it and say the winter will be tough. JENNIFER Speaking of winter and cold weather, it’s time to make sure your RV is winterized. That means draining your plumbing system and running RV antifreeze through it. We’ll talk more about this in a few minutes in the listener questions segment of the podcast but it’s that time of year again and cold weather is pretty much with us from now on. This part of the program is brought to you by AllStays Pro,...

One of the things we RVers invariably ask ourselves at some point is, "How long will I be able to keep on doing this?" Well this week, in our interview of the week, we're going to hear from an RVer who says, "As long as you're moving, you're never too old." Plus, a report on 5G, the blazingly fast new mobile Internet network launching this week and what it means to RVers. Plus lots of your questions, RV News and tips and another wonderful off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Show Notes for Episode #Oct. 3, 2018 The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK MIKE Can you believe it’s October already! JENNIFER One of my favorite times of the year for the RV Lifestyle. I love fall camping! MIKE We’re headed to California this week and the 66th annual California RV Show at the LA Fairplex in Pomona. Although Hershey calls it’s September show the World’s Largest RV Show and Tampa’s RV Supershow in Florida every January says it is bigger yet, there are many who think the California show is really the biggest. Big it is, too. The show covers over one million square feet of displays and includes a large exhibitor tent featuring countless accessories and aftermarket products to personalize RVs, plus 40 informative seminars on a variety of RV-related subjects. JENNIFER There’s lots of convenient parking and easy access to the show is assured with three entrance gates. There will also be three food courts for hungry show goers, and entertainment for everyone from free Ferris wheel rides, meet and greet celebrities, music and an amazing archer. The show runs from Oct. 5 through 14, 2018 at the Fairplex in Pomona, Gate 9. Show hours are 10AM until 6PM daily. There are supposed to be 1,300 new 2019 models on display and a bunch more 2018s and earlier, so just in terms of space and the sheer number of RVs on site, this show promises to be every bit as big as Hershey, if not more. MIKE We will be doing meet and greets both Saturday and Sunday this coming weekend, October 6th and 7th. You can find us at the Roadtrek Display and the Mike Thomson dealership space there. For those of you in different parts of the country, we will be doing our regular Sunday night Ask Us Anything YouTube live broadcast from the California RV Show at 4PM Pacific, 7PM Eastern this Sunday night. JENNIFER We are really looking forward to attending this show and meeting folks. Adult admission to the show is $15; kids 17 and under are free. There’s lots of RV Parking available. You can save $2 by purchasing tickets online at californiarvshow.org This promises to be a lot of fun, we’ve wanted to get out to California for this show for years. MIKE Something else we are really excited about is the publication of our book, “A Beginner’s Guide to Boondocking.”  We thank you for all those early buyers who have been sending us such kind reviews but it really was a labor of love. We’re asked all the time how do I start out boondocking so we sat down and did a guide, covering everything on managing power use while camping off the grid, to meal prep, handling water needs while boondocking and much more. JENNIFER I think what people will like the most is our suggestions on how to find the perfect boondocking spot, whether just as an overnight stop, or a place to really get away from it all deep in the woods for a few days.  We also address the safety issue and candidly talk about what it’s like to be off the grid, both the challenges and the benefits. MIKE We have special introductory pricing on it that will expire in a couple days, but if you want to learn more about it, go to https://rvlifestyle.com/boondocking JENNIFER We should also give our weekly update on Mike’s Healthy Eating plan. If you heard Episode 208, you’ll remember Mike sharing how all that traveling and eating on the road has caused him to gain much more weight than he wanted. He resolved then to go on a healthy lifestyle plan,

America’s National Parks are in crisis. A growing near $12 billion backlog of desperately needed repairs and maintenance is seriously affecting America's National Parks. Inadequate federal campgrounds and deteriorating or closed roads, bridges and facilities negatively impact visitor experiences and RVers in particular. In our interview of the week, we talk to Chris Bornemann, Senior Manager of Government Affairs for the RV Industry Association, who will tell us what we can do to help persuade Congress to restore our parks. Plus, your questions, comments, lots of RV news and Tips and a great off-the-beaten-path report from the Burketts. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #209 Sept. 12.2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK [spp-timestamp time="2:14"] JENNIFER As this episode comes your way, we’re way up north at Algonquin Provincial Park in Canada, attending one of our Roadtreking boondocking gatherings with a couple dozen fellow RVers. We’re enjoying the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, hiking, taking a lot of pictures and enjoying some early fall weather. Though it’s supposed to warm up later in the week up here, the nighttime temperatures have been in the mid 40’s. MIKE And Bo, our Norwegian Elkhound, loves it. He’s grown weary of the heat and humidity of the past few months as we’ve traveled through the southern US and the Gulf Coast. This Ontario weather is much more to his liking. JENNIFER This is a very busy week for us. We have to leave here and on Thursday start traveling to Hershey, PA and America’s Largest RV show there. We always have a ball at this show. More than 45 RV manufacturers will be displaying over 1,300 RVs here and there are over 100 other companies that make RV accessories and provide RV related services. We will be shooting videos and we have two live broadcasts we plan to do on our Facebook Roadtreking Page. MIKE We will be doing two Facebook Live broadcasts from the Hershey show next weekend. The frst will be on Friday at 3:30 PM from the Rad Power Bikes display.  The second will be Saturday at 3 PM from the Roadtrek. Hymer display.  Both will be on our Roadtreking Facebook Page  Also, we’ll be doing meet at greet appearances at the Roadtrek and Hymer display Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 1 PM. We love meeting you and invite you to come by if you are attending the show. If not, then tune in to our Live reports on the Facebook Page for a look at what we’re discovering. Again, that first live report is Saturday at 3 PM. The second will be on Sunday at 3PM, when we’ll go live from the show from the Rad Power Bikes display. JENNIFER This has also been an exciting week for us as Mike is now well underway on his new healthy living program. If you heard Episode 208 last week, you learned why the RV Lifestyle and all the sitting while driving and eating at those great RV gathering pot lucks can really put on the pounds. Anyway, Mike entered the program that is run by the weight loss expert he interviewed last week and we’ve been following it faithfully. So far so good, right? MIKE Oh yeah… very right. We update my progress on this plan every Sunday night on our YouTube Live broadcast on our RV Lifestyle Channel there. So if you want the details, make sure you tune in Sunday night. But so far, in the first week, I’ve lost several pounds and because this is a simple plan that basically cuts out sugars and starches – carbohydrates – we’re eating healthy, organic, whole foods as much as possible, something we can easily prepare on the road.  Anyway, go to our YouTube Channel at RVLifestyleChannel.com and you can see the most recent update. But I can report there’s definitely less of me this week than there was last week! JENNIFER So, that’s what we’ve been up to. We’re having a ball meeting others, traveling in our RV and seeing North America. This part of the program is brought to you Overnight RV Parking...

Next to our house, buying an RV is probably the most expensive purchase you will make in a lifetime. When buying a house, it’s normal to have it checked out by a home inspector. Do you realize you can do the same thing with an RV? In this week’s RV interview of the week, we’ll introduce you to the National RV Inspectors Association of America and tell you what needs to be checked out by a pro before you sign on the dotted line. Plus this week, some great RV tips, lots of RV news and a wonderful off the beaten path report from the Burketts. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #207 august 29, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Well here it is…it’s the big Labor Day Weekend. Summer’s last big hurrah and a major travel time for millions. JENNIFER I can’t believe how fast summer has gone by. It seems like we were just talking about Memorial Day and the start of summer and now Summer is coming to a close. I saw on our Roadtreking Facebook Group that our friend Campskunk awoke in the Beartooth Mountains out west to a pretty thick covering if snow the other day! Snow! Can you believe it?  We’ve been sweating in the heat and humidity that has gripped most of North America these past couple of weeks but those snow pictures from Campskunk tell us what is coming. MIKE Seeing those snow pictures got me thinking about snow and winter and our annual campout in the snow that we do every January. So, Jennifer and I want you to know that we are once again taking Bo up camping at Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan's Upper Peninsula January 11-13, 2019. If you want to come, you need to make reservations now. JENNIFER This is an informal gathering open to all. We have a tradition of five years of doing this and Bo insists on a snow vacation before we head south. Anyway, we have reserved site 177. If you also want to head up there, you need to reserve your own spot with the Michigan DNR at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, at the Lower Falls Hemlock campground. We’ll put a link to the Michigan DNR booking site in the shownotes for this episode at Roadtreking-dot-com-slash-207 There are electric hookups at each site. MIKE If you do reserve a spot, then join our Facebook group for the winter campout. We’ll also put a link to that closed Facebook Group site in the shownotes for this episode at Roadtreking-dot-com-slash-207 Let us know there that you're coming and what spot you reserve. JENNIFER Depending on how many will also be there that weekend, we will make dinner reservations in Paradise. There will be snow shoeing, hiking and exploring. All kinds of RVs are welcome! Here’s the RV News of the week: Bear attacks boy, 10, hiking with family at Yellowstone A 10-year-old boy was attacked by a bear at Yellowstone National Park last week while hiking with his family up Divide Trail. The bear appeared out of the bush and charged the family, causing the boy to flee. The bear chased the boy, knocking him to the ground, while his parents got out their bear spray, sprayed the bear in the face,  enabling them to grab their son and flee. The boy was taken to an area hospital and is expected to be ok. But the report got me thinking back to an interview we did on the podcast two years ago with an expert on Bear Spray. (Click here to listen.) Bear spray is something everyone should have when hiking in bear country. To learn more about the Yellowstone attack, click here. Man caught on video harassing a Yellowstone bison apologizes, sentenced to 130 days behind bars Speaking of Yellowstone, do you remember the report we shared with you recently about the man caught on video taunting a bison at Yellowstone National Park late last month? The man apologized in court last week, and pleaded guilty to four charges tied to drunken misbehavior at both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. His sentence included 130 days behind bars,

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 [spp-player] 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 L...

Lots of us have had it with crowded campgrounds. And we resent having to pay $30 bucks and up for a simple overnight stay. But then, we’d like something a little better than a Walmart parking lot. Sure, there are alternatives. But just for overnight, finding a dispersed camping spot in a state or national forest is often too much of a hassle. Well, we have a much better alternative: Harvest Hosts, a unique membership service that lets you stay for free at hundreds of wineries, farms, breweries, museums, and other attractions across the country. Coming up in our interview of the week, you’ll meet the new owner of Harvest Hosts and learn just why you should consider joining the service and what it offers you. You can get 10% off the Harvest Host annual membership ($49) using the discount code: HHFriends Plus your RV questions, RV tips and a wonderful off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #203 August 1, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK [spp-timestamp time="2:15"] MIKE This episode is coming to you from our sticks and bricks home in Michigan where we just returned after about two months of travel that had us crisscrossing North America, traveling over 10,000 miles and visiting 14 different states and a Canadian province. Whew! No wonder we’re tired! JENNIFER But we won’t be here very long. We take off in a few days for a family vacation along the Lake Michigan shore. Naturally, it’s a camping vacation and we’ll be in our RV. Joining us will be two of our three children and four of our eight grandchildren. Son Jeff and his family will be in their 27-foot travel trailer and Wendy and her family will be tenting. We’ll be in our Class B Roadtrek campervan with Bo, our Norwegian Elkhound. This is the cover of our "Ultimate Guide to RVing with a Dog" ebook. It's free to download at https://rvlifestyle.com/dogguide MIKE Bo’s a great camper. He loves the adventure of it and the togetherness. We love traveling with him. Speaking of which, we have put together a new ebook called The Ultimate Guide to RV Travel with a Dog. It’s filled with lots of tips, suggestions and information about RVing with your dog and its absolutely free. You can get an instant download of it by going to https://rvlifestyle.com/dogguide. JENNIFER Meanwhile, here’s the RV News you need to know about this week… Extreme dry conditions trigger wildfires throughout western states The devastating fIres out west really is THE story this week. Extremely dry conditions are contributing to fires throughout the western states… some on federal land and in or near national parks.   Wildfires were reported on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, but there are also wildfires burning at Yellowstone, Crater Lake and Sequoia national parks. A fire in northern California has claimed several lives, and fires are also burning in Oregon. For a summary of what is happening at the national parks click here. For more on the northern California wildfires click here or Oregon wildfires click here. MIKE Yosemite expected to open this Friday as firefighters work to protect ancient sequoia grove Yosemite National Park is expected to remain closed until Friday, August 3 as officials work to contain the fire ravaging the forest just outside the park. The fire is on the edge of an ancient sequoia grove, with trees believed to be more than 1,000 years old, towering more than 200 feet in the air. The park has been closed since July 25 because of massive smoke infiltrating the park. When it opens this Friday all services - including campground and food related ones- are expected to be very limited. To learn more click here. JENNIFER

In this episode of the RV Podcast we look at the hidden dangers of campground water supplies and the water in your RV’s fresh water tank. There are concerns that bacteria and E.coli contamination are much more prevalent in RV water systems and that without proper filtration you and your family could be at risk when drinking water out of RV faucets. Coming up in our interview of the week segment, we’ll talk to the former CEO of a large RV manufacturer about what you need to do to have safe drinking water. Plus, a serious warning about an outbreak of canine influenza, Jennifer’s RV Tip of the week, your RV questions, lots of important RV News, traveling technology ideas and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #202 July 25, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast [spp-timestamp time="2:10"] WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Mike and Jennifer are in Southaven, MS this week watching their grandson, Jacob, 12, play in the Dizzy Dean League World Series on a team coached by their son, Scott. MIKE Greetings from Southaven, MS, just outside Memphis, TN, where we have been all week watching our 12-year-olld grandson, Jacob, play in the Dizzy Dean League World Series on a team coached by our son, Scott. It’s been great family time for us and we’ve been using our Roadtrek RV as a “boy cave,” an air-conditioned respite for Jacob and his teammates from the 100 degree heat they’ve been having down here, a place to chill out with the AC between games. Those solar panels on our roof have soaked up the southern sun and kept our lithium batteries charged up and we’ve had plenty of power out there in the parking lot. JENNIFER This heat we have experienced this week is happening in many parts of the country. Temperatures approached 120 degrees in parts of the U.S. Southwest on Monday, and forecasters said this week could bring the region's hottest weather of the year. Forecasters issued excessive heat warnings to much of Arizona, including parts of Grand Canyon National Park, and extended into areas of Southern California and Nevada. A heat advisory was in effect for west Texas and southeast New Mexico with high temperatures well into the triple digits. In Waco it was 114 degrees. Parts of Utah were also issued an excessive heat warning with temperatures this week expected to approach 109 degrees. Phoenix reached a sweltering 115 degrees, which broke the previous daily record, according to the National Weather Service. MIKE We are excited this week to announce that our online store is now up and running. If you’ve been watching our RV Lifestyle You Tube Channel you’ve seen us both wearing our hats and shirts complete with our logo. Lots of you have asked how you can get them and we promised we’d find a way. Well we finally have it all set up. Just go to shop.rvlifestyle.com. That’s shop.rvlifestyle.com. And let us know what you think about it. We’ll be adding lots of cool things in the weeks ahead, but right now it has the T-shirts, in men and women sizes, our, hats and a very nice sweatshirt for the colder months that are just around the corner. JENNIFER We’ll be leaving Memphis by the weekend and headed back north again to Michigan where we’ll pick up Bo. He’s been at our daughter’s house there. It has just been too hot for him down here in Memphis. We did take him with us last week to the Owner’s Academy in Cambridge Ontario. We were there in April and they invited us back to the Roadtrek and Erwin Hymer of North America factory there last week. We presented a seminar on our Serendipity Travel style and told some stories from the road as we got to hang out with another cool group of fellow RVers. Bo was really well behaved.

Are you an RV newbie? Maybe you travel with young kids. Or grandkids. How far do you drive each day? Do you like state parks? Commercial campgrounds? Or are you interested in boondocking and camping off the grid? Then, perhaps you’re a seasoned RVer entering those golden years and not able to be quite as physically active as you once were. In this episode of the podcast, we talk about the different stages of the RV Lifestyle and the opportunities and challenges each stage presents along the way. I think you’ll really enjoy – and perhaps learn a few things – in this picnic table campsite conversation we had with a fellow RVer coming up in our interview of the week segment a little later in the program. Also in this Episode. Lots of RV news, RV tips , technology ideas and a wonderful off the beaten path report from the Burketts. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #201 July 18, 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast  WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK [spp-timestamp time="2:25"] Mike, Jen and Bo at Bingeman's Camping Resort in Kitchener, Ontario Canada MIKE As this 201st episode of the RV Podcast is released, it finds us in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, staying in Bingeman’s Campground Resort along the Grand River, just a couple miles from the Roadtrek Motorhomes factory. We’re up here this week to present a seminar at the Owner’s Academy organized by the Erwin Hymer Group of North America. We brought Bo with us and he has been a really good boy and has greatly enjoyed meeting his many "fans." The folks at the Hymer factory are very dog friendly and Bo is very happy with all the attention. JENNIFER We have been very busy. We came here fresh from a wonderful week in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, at another one of our Roadtreking Gatherings. This was the fifth gathering of the year and one of the most active ones we have ever had. We did white water rafting, tubing down a river, took a train excursion in the Nantahala River gorge and Mike is still pumped about an exhilarating zip line mountaintop to mountaintop adventure he took part in. MIKE Exhilarating is right. That zip line had us traveling 1.5 miles across the mountains at speeds of up to 55 miles an hour and 350 feet above the ground. It was a blast. JENNIFER  We’ll have a video coming out about the week there but if you are looking for lots of outdoor adventure, the area around Bryson City, NC is a perfect place to go. But now we’re off on another trip, this one to Canada. We’ll finish our seminar and immediately hit the road again, making a beeline south to the Memphis, TN area, where we’ll be for another week. I’ll tell you, no grass is ground under our tires this summer. We have been criss-crossing North America pretty much on stop since May! MIKE Besides the traveling and exploring, we’ve been shooting videos every day and have a whole bunch of them to edit. Besides that, we’ve been working on a special book, a guide to RV Traveling with a dog. It has lots of tips and helpful advice, learned first hand by us with our dog Bo and shared by many of you who have been gracious enough to share your K9 wisdom. How much will it cost? Nothing. We will be giving it away. It should be done over the next couple of weeks. JENNIFER What about our Merch store? How is that coming along? People are asking all the time about our RV hats and T-shirts and the like. MIKE That, too, will soon be ready. We’ll start with a few items and then expand it. The best way for people to know about these things is through our RV Lifestyle newsletter. We’ll notify subscribers there first. The newsletter is free. They can sign up from our RV Lifestyle travel Blog at Roadtreking.com JENNIFER