Table of contents for 007 Nov/Dec 2022 in RV TODAY

Campside Social This is a social networking app for people looking to connect with other RVers. Campside Social is creating an online community of campers with the goal of real life meetups. Once you arrive at your location, open this free app to check in at the campground, share posts about your adventures, and find others who are camping in the area. You can even post items for sale or shop for items other campers have posted, making it easy to buy, sell, or trade camping gear. Campgrounds can also use the shop feature to sell products to campers with front-desk pickup or campsite delivery. While planning a trip, use the map feature to browse campgrounds and explore each community to see what other campers in the area are up…

COST $ Up to $30 / night $$ $31-$60 / night $$ $ $61+ / night FAST FACTS Full Hookups Big Rig Friendly Family Friendly Pet-friendly Pool Wi-Fi Pacific Inn Town Campground 9 Kidder Court, Nevada City, CA 95959 This is the top campground in the country, according to USA Today, and it is located in Nevada City, California. Inn Town Campground is a combination of a small RV park, slightly larger tent campground, and amazing glamping destination. The owners of the park, Erin and Dan Thiem, are campers themselves and the nicest people you will meet in your travels. They have provided luxury camping amenities at their campground in a downhome and historic setting that is meant to look and feel as natural as possible. The best time to…

Growing, up, my whole family loved to cook. For us, the holidays were all about good food, good drink, and good cheer, though our dinner table was often out of step with the season. Chalk it up to living near the ocean or our French ancestry, but my father particularly loved to cook lobster for us on the holidays. Where other families would have been seated around a glazed ham or a giant roasted turkey, our feast table was often filled with a lobster apiece, served with vegetables, bread, and plenty of drawn butter. This recipe pays homage to those cherished childhood memories as well as the European tradition of seafood-focused holiday comfort food. The soup is based on a Greek avgolemono, an egg-thickened lemon and chicken soup, but the…

Valley of Fire State Park is Nevada’s oldest and largest state park, and it’s only 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas. It’s no surprise that the park hosts a high volume of visitors due to its convenient location. With a little planning, you can have an incredible trip to Valley of Fire State Park. How to Get There Most visitors will travel to the park from Las Vegas. Take Interstate 15 North for about 35 miles to exit 75 and follow signs for Valley of Fire State Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. From the offramp, continue southeast on Valley of Fire Highway, and you’ll reach the west entrance after 14.5 miles. The day use entrance fee is $10 per vehicle for Nevada residents and $15 per vehicle for…

You want to go on more RV vacations, right? If your finances feel too tight to allow for more travel, you may want to consider whether making some lifestyle changes could help. Living on less than you make is the key to finding the extra money you need to take more trips. Since RV vacations increase your expenses, you’ll want to figure out a way to spend less in other areas of your life. You may be able to find some easy things to cut—for example, can you spend less on monthly subscriptions, eat out less, or cut back on shopping? Alternately, increasing your income can also free up more money for vacations. You can look for a higher-paying job or add on a part-time job, start a side hustle,…

Winter Activities Imagine all your favorite winter activities, like sledding, skiing, and hot cups of cocoa, but in a new and exciting place you’ve never been to before. Or you can try a new winter activity, like cross-country skiing or dog-sledding. Winter travel can open the door for whole new adventures and memories to last a lifetime. Bundle up and get out there! Unique Scenery Snow adds a special element to the landscape, and some places are especially gorgeous when covered in snow. From the rugged mountains of Idaho to the red rocks of Arizona, this scenery is a landscape photographer’s dream. But you don’t have to be a professional to appreciate the added contrast and dimension snowy scenes can create. You can just enjoy your hot toddy and bask…

South of the hustle and bustle of Houston lies a quaint town exploding with character and perfect for enjoying the beach, soaking up nature, and eating delicious food. Rockport will always be one of our favorite beach towns in Texas. As you cross over the bridge into Rockport, you’ll see birds flocking overhead and waves crashing against the shore. If you’re looking for a place to escape from the cold up north, or even just easy access to the beach, Rockport is for you. Start With a Local Coffee We firmly believe every adventure should start with caffeine. After all, exploring a new town is always better with an iced coffee in hand, right? We enjoyed the Rockport Daily Grind, where we also did some downtown shopping. If you need…

When you think of the most iconic sights in the United States, the Grand Canyon likely comes to mind. At 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and 1 mile deep, it’s the largest canyon in the United States and an iconic feature of the Southwest Despite spending the first 8 years of my childhood in Arizona, I hadn’t visited this park until a few years ago and was blown away by how colorful and grand the canyon really is! You truly cannot grasp how impressive and vast it is by looking at photos—it must be seen with your own eyes! ABOUT GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK The Grand Canyon formed more than 6 million years ago, as the Colorado River cut through layers of rock, carving the canyon into what we…

The “Home from Home” was a motorhome built in Australia in 1929 by Gerhard “Pop” Kaesler. Unhappy with the quality of hotels used by his family on vacation, Kaesler decided to build his family an RV that looked just like home, complete with painted bricks, tiled roof, and chimney. Kaesler soon sold “Home from Home” to the mayor of his local town and built a second RV called “The Cottage,” which featured, among other things, a chessboard toilet lid. Both homes still exist today and are on display in South Australia. This is one of more than 300 images featured in Andrew Woodmansey’s new book, “Recreational Vehicles: A World History 1872–1939,” published by Pen and Sword. You can find more information on his book and other early RVs in Andrew’s…

@you.me.andtheboys “We can all be together as a family, have the comforts of home, and value experiences over possessions.” @travelingtiongsons “Because life is too short to stay in one place and not try to see it all!” @cedarandsilver “I RV for the freedom it gives me to explore our lands and live as a local among them.” @kayceesogard “We RV to create adventure and priceless memories for our five children!” @runaway.mattandcass “We RV to adventure and see as much of the world as possible in an economic way!” We want to hear from you—let us know why you RV! Send an email to collab@rvtoday.com.…

In 2021, we purchased an RV co-op space and shed in Hondo, Texas, so we could winter in a warmer climate. We don’t prefer long stays in Florida or Arizona, so Texas was a natural choice for us. Not long after we arrived last April, a huge hailstorm near two passing tornadoes hit our park, and we decided to stay put until all the damage was paid for. Because of this, we’re now in our second year of continuous living here, which has given us time to put things in perspective. There are lots of things to like about Texas, but these are some of my favorites. 9 (Less) Severe Weather We actually lived in Tornado Alley a few years ago, so we know what severe weather looks like and…

My husband, Curt and I love to snowboard—it was something we both picked up when we moved to Colorado. So when we bought our first RV four years ago, it was only natural that we took off full time that winter to road trip up to Canada and then zip around to a bunch of ski resorts in the west. Of course, at our very first destination in Crested Butte, Colorado, our brand new inverter stopped working and we had to sleep in 20-below-zero weather. We were plugged in, but the charger failed, and there was no sun for solar to charge the house batteries. Thankfully, we overpacked on that trip and Curt had a voltmeter and the old charger unit and was able to switch it out so we…

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO Before you set out to explore the stunning Sedona landscape, be sure to purchase a Red Rock Pass. The United States Forest Service has created the Red Rock Pass program to help maintain and enhance Sedona’s red rock landscape. If you park on National Forest land in the red rock area, you’re required to display a valid pass on your windshield or to have purchased an online pass. BEST TIME TO VISIT The best time of year to hike in Sedona depends on what you are hoping to see and do. If you want to avoid crowds, the shoulder seasons of spring and fall are ideal. The weather is also more pleasant at this time of year, with moderate temperatures and fewer chances of rain. If…

My husband, Blake, and I have four kids and a German Shepherd. We live in central Illinois, but you never know where we might pop up—pun intended—for an outdoor camping adventure! We first tried tent camping in 2011 and enjoyed connecting with nature, but we didn’t love sleeping on the ground and only went camping about once a year. After tent camping occasionally for several years, we bought our first tent trailer, a 2007 Starcraft, and fell in love with the wonders of pop-up camping! In 2021, we upgraded to a 2008 Fleetwood Arcadia, a large, high-wall tent trailer that we remodeled to be a completely unique log cabin on wheels. So why a pop-up? Tent feel. Everyone feels the pull—there’s just something about going out to the woods to…

Recovery boards Don’t get stuck -- but if you do, make sure to have these recovery boards onboard. The end doubles as a shovel in a pinch. The boards will give you added traction to get out of a bind in snow, mud, ice, sand, and more. https://amzn.to/3zYfRaL https://amzn.to/3ShoqnY Waterproof Matches Get a fire going even in the worst weather, with these waterproof and windproof matches. Great to add to your survival kit, or simply have on hand in case of an emergency. Each kit contains 25 matches. https://amzn.to/3BEeOOh Heated Clothing You might have just found your new favorite cold weather camping accessory -- heated clothing. Carbon fiber heating elements inside have different settings, and can be adjusted to low, medium, or high to keep you warm and toasty all…