Issue 1220
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Today’s thought
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” —Marcel Proust
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!
On this day in history: 1873 – The Clay Street Hill Railroad begins operating the first cable car in San Francisco.
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Featured news
Amazon may be the underdog in today’s satellite internet market, but that could soon change. Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite internet could be real competition, according to a new report from analysts at Barclays Bank. Amazon’s Project Kuiper is gaining momentum fast—and it’s starting to look like a serious challenger to SpaceX’s Starlink, which currently leads the market.
HERE’S A NEW ONE: Camping World closed 16 stores but… sold more RVs? What? Camping World reported $2 billion in revenue from April through June, up 9.4% from the same period last year, driven by strong RV sales—45,602 units sold, an increase of more than 7,800. Both new and used RV sales grew more than 20%. As part of a broader restructuring, the company cut over 900 jobs and closed 16 stores to streamline operations. Learn more.
The U.S. Forest Service is eliminating its nine regional offices as part of a major reorganization. New USDA “hubs” will take over in cities like Raleigh, Fort Collins, and Salt Lake City. Some local offices will stay—but what does this mean for visitor services, campground info, and wildfire response? Find out here.
A weekend camping trip ended in heartbreak when two Massachusetts women were fatally injured in an RV explosion at Powder Horn Campground, a popular seasonal RV park in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Fire investigators believe propane gas had been leaking into and underneath the camper. The women told first responders they smelled something like garlic inside the unit. Thinking it might help, they opened windows and lit a candle to mask the odor. Tragic mistake! Continue reading.
An investor in a $2 billion Oklahoma theme park and RV park is suing three fellow investors for masterminding a failed business venture that defrauded him of more than $60 million by manipulating his religious beliefs and emotional vulnerabilities. According to the lawsuit, what occurred was a multi-year campaign to drain devout Christian O. Gene Bicknell of his wealth while presenting the illusion that the instructions were coming from God. You can’t make this stuff up!
The June 2025 RV shipment statistics are out. According to the RV Industry Association’s latest report, manufacturers shipped 29,332 RV units in June, marking a 15.9% increase over June 2024. That brings the year-to-date total to 190,705 shipments—up 6.8% compared to the same period last year. For RVers, this means more options hitting dealer lots—especially as new 2026 models start to show up with upgrades aimed at meeting a wide range of budgets and lifestyles. Here’s more info.
DON’T BE LIKE THIS GUY! If you’ve ever camped in a national park, you know one of the biggest draws is the natural peace and quiet. But a recent video shows just how fast that peace can be shattered. In this case, the noise didn’t come from a loud generator or rowdy campers. Rather, it was a man who wheeled a full DJ setup to Schwabacher Landing in Grand Teton National Park and started cranking up the volume. This will make your blood boil!
Don’t be like this guy either… RVtravel.com readers may remember the story of a slick scam artist who drove off with a new RV and a pickup truck from two Billings-area dealerships using fake financial documents. Now, there’s a new twist in the saga of the Montana RV dealership theft. Finally, a step forward in efforts to bring the suspect to justice.
FACTOID: Inflation, ballooning home values and a decades-long push into stock markets by average investors have turned millions of Americans into millionaires. A June report from Swiss bank UBS found about one-tenth of American adults are members of the seven-digit club, with 1,000 new millionaires added every day last year.
COMING TOMORROW: The inflatable, floating motorhome
Now, this looks like fun! We’ll tell you all about this inflatable motorhome in tomorrow’s Sunday RV Travel Newsletter. Not signed up? Here’s where to do it (free). Be sure to check out our other newsletters while you’re there. Like Tony the Tiger says, “They’re g-r-e-a-t!”
Reader poll
Have you ever seen a UFO?
More on “UFOs”:
- Wacky, weird UFO sites to visit in the U.S.
- Discover Colorado’s UFO hotspot
- Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway: Must-see out-of-this-world attractions and pit stops
News briefs
The Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) Area Chamber of Commerce says vacationers from Canada were down more than a third during the recent snowbird season, driven by cost concerns and political tensions, according to WBTW. RV parks got hit hard: “You know, we probably lost 85% of our Canadian business,” said Travis Thompson, general manager at Myrtle Beach Travel Park.
RVers planning to camp in the Golden State can now search campsite availability directly on the California State Parks website, thanks to a new customer-focused upgrade.
A 74-year-old man is facing serious charges after a fatal hit-and-run crash in Skyway, Washington, involving a motorhome he had recently purchased. Authorities say Daniel R. Hayes admitted to drinking six beers before driving his RV the night of the crash, which left a woman dead. Hit-and-run charges for the RV driver are just part of the story.
During August, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) will offer free admission to all its parks for active-duty military, veterans and National Guard members. Those who qualify can pick up their free Military Parks Pass at any Colorado state park or CPW office by simply showing proof of their service.
Thor Motor Coach has introduced updates to its 2026 Class C motorhome lineup, focusing, it says in a press release, on “comfort, functionality, and practical design improvements.” Learn more.
Gas prices… Yippee! There’s good news about fuel prices around the USA. Read all about it, then head on out and fill ‘er up!
After three years of upgrades, Yosemite National Park’s Tuolumne Meadows Campground reopened yesterday, August 1. It’s the first time the campground has welcomed guests since upgrade construction began in 2022. The campground has 336 sites, so hurry up and book your spot.
BZZZZZ… BZZZZZ… Workers at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina found a wasp nest with radiation levels 10 times the federal limit near nuclear waste tanks, but officials say there’s no danger to the public. The nest, likely contaminated by legacy radiation, was safely removed and disposed of as radioactive waste.
Speaking of happy reopenings… If you plan to visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in August, you’re in luck! The North Rim is slated to reopen later this week. On the morning of July 10, 2025, a series of lightning strikes ignited wildfires. Both the North and South Rims of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park were affected. Plan your visit.
Camping World reported its average new RV sales price in the second quarter was $35,386. The average used RV sales price was $30,282. Although the new RV sales price is 8% lower than a year ago, CEO Marcus Lemonis said the trend toward higher prices began in July. “We do not see it getting back to $40,000 for the full year, as we did last year,” he said, “but we hope to see that march back over the next six, eight, 10, 12 months.”
ROAD FOOD: For the second straight year, USA Today has named the Southern California-based Habit Burger Grill as serving the best fast food burger in the U.S. It’s also the second year in a row that California-based In-N-Out Burger has slipped in the annual rankings, from 2nd to 4th.
A strong storm microburst hit the Good Shepherd RV Park in Gunter, Texas, on Thursday evening, flipping six RVs. One RV flew into another. Thankfully, there were only minor injuries.
Celebrate the hard rock mining life at Miner’s Picnic: On Saturday, August 23, participate in a treasured local tradition at Empire Mine State Historic Park in Grass Valley, California. Visitors are invited to enjoy a picnic lunch on the lush estate grounds, accompanied by live music and performances just like the original Miner’s Picnics more than 100 years ago.
Wow! This is true. Honest! Last Tuesday, July 29, just 21 minutes after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, waves were triggered nearly 4,000 miles away in Death Valley National Park. Waves in Death Valley? Yup! And it affected some very rare and remarkable fish that live in a cave’s deep pool there.
If you’re planning to camp in Idaho’s Payette National Forest this year or next—especially in an RV—heads up! Campground fee changes are in the works. The Forest Service is proposing to standardize and slightly increase fees at developed sites to help fund maintenance, site improvements and staffing. Bye-bye, free camping (sigh).
A 9-year-old child was killed and a teen was hospitalized after being struck by a suspected DUI driver in an RV in Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood Thursday night.
HOSE RECALL! If you have an expandable hose stashed in your RV’s basement storage for an emergency long-distance hookup, take a second look—especially if it’s a HydroTech brand. More than 3 million of these popular garden hoses are being recalled after reports of bursting, some of which caused injuries.
… Speaking of recalls, both Tiffin and Forest River recalled motorhomes this past week for serious reasons. More: Forest River. Tiffin.
Harley-Davidson had high expectations in 2021 when it spun off its electric bike LiveWire division. But, oops, big disappointment. In the second quarter of this year, LiveWire sold just 55 electric motorcycles, racking up more than $18 million in operating losses. That’s about one bike per day.
HOT TIMES IN UTAH! No, calm down party animals. We’re talking about hot, dry weather! In other words, lots of fuel for wildfires. In response, several of the red rock area’s national parks have issued fire restrictions (as in, no campfires). More.
Camping? Really? Among the standout RV trends of 2025 are “smart RV features that integrate advanced automation, remote monitoring, and connectivity solutions. These include voice-activated controls, integrated security systems, app-based management of vehicle systems, and enhanced entertainment options. Such innovations improve user comfort and enable owners to monitor energy consumption, climate control, and security from their smartphones or tablets.” So reports Louisiana RV dealer Bent’s RV. Ah… roughing it!
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie signed legislation Tuesday banning RVs from parking for more than two hours on city streets. A 2024 survey counted 1,442 adults and minors living in vehicles in San Francisco.
Meanwhile frustration in Seattle’s Delridge neighborhood is growing over a large RV encampment. Neighbors report ongoing problems with trash, noise, and crime, with calls for action largely unanswered. Councilman Rob Saka is pushing for stronger policies and enforcement to address the issue and support affected residents.
ANOTHER HIT TO PRESS FREEDOM: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced Friday that it will begin shutting down, weeks after Congress canceled previously approved funding for the nation’s steward of public media access. The CPB said in a statement that it will begin an “orderly wind-down” of its operations after nearly 60 years with the support of the federal government. Currently, the CPB helps support more than 1,500 locally owned public radio and television stations. (Editor’s comment: In Heaven, Mr. Rogers is crying.)
(Why doesn’t a multi-billionaire come forward?)
BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW! On average, RVer favorite Cracker Barrel stores sell 70,000 rocking chairs a year. Guests consume 210 million biscuits, 162 million eggs and 75 million pancakes. Now, a question for you: How many seats does the average Cracker Barrel store have? 134 to 152, 177 to 207 or 219 to 255? Answer below.
Upcoming RV shows & seminars. Click here.
Brain teaser
Your sock drawer only contains 18 white socks and 18 blue socks. How many times do you need to reach inside the drawer and take out a sock to guarantee a matching pair?
(Answer in tomorrow’s Sunday RV Travel newsletter.)
Trivia
As of last Tuesday, the U.S. population was approximately 342,201,685. There was one new birth every 9 seconds, and one death every 11 seconds, and one (net) international migrant every 23 seconds. The net result was a gain of one new person every 15 seconds. To put things in perspective, that same day the population of India was 1,419,316,933 (about 12 million more than China).
Laugh of the week
The perfect scam
A trusted friend introduces Taylor to Sylvein William Maximilian D’Habsburg XVII, creator of giant insect-like military robots. Seeing a rare opportunity, she invests $50,000. But promised returns never come. When she asks for her money back, Sylvein claims he’s under FBI investigation. He later pleads guilty to stealing nearly $6 million from investors.
Today in history
Today’s weather forecast across the nation
THIS MAP UPDATES TWICE A DAY
Visit Current National Radar Weather Map
Current fire and smoke map from AirNow
Headed on an unfamiliar highway? Learn if it has low bridges you might not fit under.
CRACKER BARREL ANSWER: The average store has 177-207 seats.
RVtravel.com All Star Team
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What does “Press Freedom” have to do with a company’s inability to provide their own funding? Many Christian radio stations rely on private donations to stay on the air.
I agree. They were going to get 5.5 million dollars this year. I’d much rather see that kind of money spent on wounded veterans who pay the price for freedom
Amen!
Agreed. No freedom of the press issue here at all. Both PBS and NPR will remain on the air and stay healthy without CPB passing out tax dollars to them. They make a lot of revenue by selling Big Bird and other Muppet character toys. Wealthy contributors will still donate to find programming and and I’m certain that Pledge Week will continue every 6 months or so. They could certainly sell commercial as time (GASP!) like all other broadcaster do. All is well.
Hopefully, Fred Rogers is celebrating the fact that his show is able to stand on its merits and supported by like minded listeners/viewers through fund drives and not needing support from the federal government.
This will be a devastating loss of funding for stations in rural portions of the country who depended heavily on financial support from the PBC. Rural communities do not have the capacity to generate funding in the same way larger urban stations and national broadcasting systems have and they do fund raise while on the air. This money supported a number of rural initiatives including programming, weather and emergency warning systems. This will likely mean the closure of many rural stations and the loss of local media options for rural communities.
In case anyone wants more information this is a link to a Time magazine article: https://time.com/7307069/corporation-for-public-broadcasting
More Fear Mongering from the usual crowd.
Everyone is using “Rural” America loss as a reason for NPR. I am currently camping for 3 months 60 miles east of the 4 corners area. You don’t get any more rural than here!! Listen to a delightful AM radio station that has great weather alerts and forecasts, a tradio swap show, agriculture reports, obituaries and much more. They also have some of the most entertaining commercials for a menswear company that specializes in Mormon missionary traveling wardrobe, a combo paint store and meat market game processing center and many other Mom and Pop places….no politics or NPR
So you are listening to a station that is talking about Mormon underwear. You do not think they are promoting something? Everyone wants neutral news. I think NPR has been doing a very very good job of trying to stay in the middle for as long as they could some stuff, yeah they had to tell the truth and maybe our right wing doesn’t wanna hear it. It is what it is folks we have a regime trying to kill anything that does not agree with them. just except that is what it is. We have to fight against it with all we can.
Unfortunately, I guess where the middle is comes from which side you view it from. Mormon underwear is not the point and sad that is all you heard. If you have a good product whether it’s radio,TV or what ever,people will sponsor. If they can’t produce it will disappear… .law of all business
Hahahahaha… hohohoho…. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
What? No more funding for the dems totally biased radio/tv station? Woo hoo!
Can you imagine a yard sign and banner company that only made and gave away free signs or banners for Republicans, to the tune of $50,000,000 worth of free signs each year, and only for Republican candidates while receiving 50% of it’s revenue from Democrat tax payers…… in perpetuity or for the next 70 years minimum? Who moved my cheese?
Happy trails David ✌️ 😎
Who moved my cheese? Haven’t heard reference to that little book in a long time. It will be interesting to see if PBS can navigate the new maze. I have enjoyed some bits of their programming over the years, but couldn’t stomach much of it.
Exactly. The equivalency would be to decry shutting down Pravda in Russia would also be a hit to press freedoms. The FACT is that the editorial board at PBS had 87 registered Democrats and 0 registered Republicans making it a defacto arm of the DNC. PERIOD and FACT. It would be no different than if TAX payers of both parties funded Rush back in the day or the continuing EIB Network. A FREE PRESS can ONLY function in a free market.
Every inch of the planet has internet access in 2025, it is not 1957 West Virginia or Alaska with no other options for news and entertainment.
Happy trails ✌️ 😎
Most public broadcasters are too small to produce quality programming on their own. Part of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting money helps subsidize quality productions which are then ‘sold’ (fairly traded is a better term) to other public stations. And that is the biggest role the CPB has is coordinating the distribution of programs. The loss of this CPB service is going to be very difficult to rebuild.
If a market exists for the content and overall product, someone will rebuild the product. If no functional market exists, it will not be rebuilt. Should the tax payers fund covered wagon factories? How about VCR’S? Maybe a TUBE factory for black and white TV’s?
Now you’ve done it! You have insulted my Black and White TV. I like my Black and White TV. It is Color TV that is making everyone nuts.
Would it be difficult for the comments to tally both the number of thumbs-up and thumbs-down responses, instead of having them offset each other?
That’s the only way to get a true reflection of responses.
👍👍
In my 76 years I never listened to PBS radio. I watched PBS TV for maybe 15 minutes and that time was interrupted with begging for money commercials. I never knew all of us taxpayers were already funding the crap they were broadcasting. I will not miss PBS if they disappear altogether.
You’re missing the Tampa RV SuperShow in your RV show listing. It is scheduled for Jan 14 – 18 in 2026. It is arguably the largest in the nation. Here is what a Google search brought up:
The Tampa RV SuperShow is generally considered larger than the Hershey RV Show. While both are major RV events, Tampa consistently boasts a larger number of RVs on display and attracts more attendees. For example, the Tampa SuperShow in 2019 featured 1,550 RVs according to Outdoorsy.com, while the Hershey show claims over 1,000 RVs. Additionally, the Tampa show has been described as being so large that it requires trams to transport attendees, says Outdoorsy.com.
Thanks, Sheila. It’s been added to the list. (I’ll finish updating the list this weekend.) Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Actually, defunding PBS, NPR, etc is a boon for freedom of the press. Without state funding, PBS, NPR, etc are now free to be as biased as they wish without interference from Congress or The White House. They are now free to be left of MSNBC if they wish and conservatives will have no power to stop them.
Perfectly articulated, John. It is only now that PBS and NPR are finally a part of the free press and they couldn’t even make it in the real world of the actual free press for 3 weeks. Exactly the opposite of the Editor’s Headline and desired message. 3 cheers for a Free Press and 4 cheers for defunding Americas propogandists.
Next up…. school choice.
The “Press Freedom” article should have been in the “Laugh of the Week” section.
As for the brain teaser: 1 is the right answer if you fold your socks before putting them in the drawer.
My answer is: I’ll reach in as many times as necessary. I refuse to do math just to put on socks.
If PBS/NPR put out products people want to hear there will be sponsors. Also what has happened to all the money being made from the licensing of Sesame Street,Dora the Explorer and Bluey toys games and traveling productions???
Thank you, Emily and Diane! Looking forward to seeing the answer to the Brain Teaser in tomorrow’s newsletter. In response to the rhetorical question, “Camping? Really?” I respond, no, not at all; traveling. 🙂 Have a great weekend and safe travels!
In my area our PBS station advertises as much as other stations. It’s just before and after their shows. I like watching this old house and sometimes they don’t put it on for a couple weeks.
When Harley Davidson came out with electric motorcycles they were too expensive. Now they’re talking about coming out with a $5000. motorcycle.