Return to RV Travel Issue 847.
Plans for a 102-site RV park at the gateway of Montana’s Glacier National Park have moved ahead. In May 2017, county officials gave first approval of the plan brought by Glacier Park Inc. This month, state environmental officials gave the nod to the final environmental assessment. No word on when the project will open near West Glacier Village.
Oregon State Parks announces a FREE day at some of its parks on Saturday, June 2. This list shows participating parks that have special events and free access. Any on that list with camping will offer Saturday night stayovers free. But, to ensure you’ll have a spot, parks officials suggest you put in an advance reservation – at $8.
RV club Escapees is looking to get the pulse of RVers regarding the future of national park campgrounds. The organization is suggesting advocating the use of public-private partnerships, wherein concessionaires would “manage, maintain, and operate the [National Park Service] asset.” The group admits that while this would likely increase available amenities, it could raise prices, but feel using a menu of options could still keep camping rates economical. Got any thoughts on the matter? Follow this link to an Escapees-sponsored opinion poll.
Campground hosts are needed in Oregon’s Umatilla National Forest, at both the Jubilee Lake and North Fork John Day campgrounds. In exchange for their work, hosts are given an RV site, a food allowance and propane. There’s also a reimbursement for mileage used in host duties. For information on Jubilee Lake, call Celina Moreno at (509) 522-6277; for North Fork John Day, contact Janel Lacey at (541) 278-3781.
Northern states RV park owners say they’re getting off to a late start, thanks to the unseasonably cold weather. From Wisconsin to New York, reports are similar, some suggesting that parks could be running about a month behind normal schedules. Still, park owners are optimistic that 2018 will be a banner year for business. Source: Woodall’s Campground Management.
Visitors to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Arizona) will soon see entrance fees more than double and campground fees also increase. Starting June 1, gate fees go from the present $12 per carload to $25; campground fees jump from $16 to $20 per night.
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Got reservations to stay at a campground in Montana’s Glacier National Park? You may be hearing from them – it seems not all of the reserved sites will be ready to roll on the earlier projected opening dates. If your site and date is one of them, campground staff will be in contact, likely to offer you an “alternate space.” And by the way, leave your llama at home – park rules have changed, and these ungulates are no longer on the approved list of pack animals.
Camping World’s (CW) plans for a new store in Fort Pierce, Florida, have hit a traffic jam. The building at 80,000 square feet could cause traffic delays for a nearby school, and school officials want the RV outfit to put in longer turn lanes than the plan calls for. CW counters their plans meet state minimums. Both parties told the local planning board they’ll try and resolve their differences amicably.
Pima County, Arizona, officials have shut down a campground popular with “canned ham” enthusiasts. After an anonymous tip, county officials swept into the tiny town of Arivaca and checked out Sunset Campground, declaring it unlicensed, effectively shutting the place down. Sunset Campground operator, Steve Rendon, started up the campground five years ago, and it quickly became a favorite of vintage RV owners. To get the campground legal, Rendon would need to apply for a conditional use permit, along with a requisite environmental impact study – all of which, Rendon says, would be too much money for a campground that doesn’t turn a profit. More info here.
Custer Gallatin National Forest in Montana has found itself in a lawsuit after the Forest Service had proposed to log or thin out 5,600 acres of trees near the west side of Yellowstone National Park. The Service says part of the work would better protect campers at Rainbow Point Campground from grizzly bear encounters. But two environmental groups say the impacts of the planned logging could be devastating and are taking the matter to court.
From the “none-too-bright” department: A Pierce County, Washington, woman reported to police that she had given the keys to her motorhome to a man who was to get inside to make repairs. Instead, after getting inside he drove off. The next day police officers in Yelm, Washington, spotted the misappropriated motorhome passing through town. The driver attempted to “hide” behind a semi-truck, to no avail. Faced with a police officer, the “repair man” handed over a handwritten bill of sale: A forgery.
A couple of weeks ago, a hiker near British Columbia’s Ashlu Creek came back to her car and found someone had broken in. Judging by the damage and the missing item – a cooler full of food – the someone was actually a bear. Authorities think their “suspect” could be the same one that has forced the closure of the Riverside Recreation Site near Squamish, B.C. At that site, multiple vehicle break-ins by a bear have forced authorities to close the campground through May, and possibly longer.
No camping at Ledges State Park in Iowa this year. The 35-year-old campground will be shut down for the season as the existing 30-amp electrical hookups are upgraded to 50-amp, and more full-hookup sites are phased in.
Next spring should see the opening of a new RV park in Eufaula, Alabama. The 18-site park will be adjacent to and operated by a local convenience store, The Gator Stop. Nearby attractions include the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge.
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An RVing couple in Corby, U.K., have put in for a longer stay at a campground there. Jamie Walsh and his partner discovered a mother bird, a pied wagtail, that had decided the couple’s motorhome battery compartment was a great place to lay a clutch of five eggs. Pied wagtail? There are three species of wagtail in the U.K., all of which are known for frantic tail wagging. Walsh says they’ll stay put until the wagging babies are hatched and fledged, normally about month.
It took a while for an RV dealer in Sparks, Nevada, to recognize it was “short” a brand-new 40′ fifth wheel. RV Country was preparing for a show at an outlet mall and a had parked the fiver there with other units. On May 9 they noticed the unit missing, but chalked it up to being sent back to the store. Nope. The $55,000 unit was decidedly gone. Whisking through hours of security tape established the rig had been swiped around 10 days before it was first noticed missing. Police found it after a citizen spotted it, and arrested two men who were living inside the unit. RV Country managers say they hope the next person who enjoys the fiver will at least pay for it before using it.
Last week we reported that Ohio’s Wayne National Forest had increased camping rates at several campgrounds, including those at Leith Run Recreation Area. You may not be paying those increased fees right away – Ohio River flooding has caused so much damage to the electrical and sewage infrastructure at Leith Run that the Forest Service reports the area is closed “until further notice.” Refunds for prior reservations will be made.
RVing means a great deal to Canada’s economy, says the country’s Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association. Manufacturing of new RVs provides 5,400 full-time years of employment and pumps $355 million into the economy. Add on another 10,300 full-time employment years and $681 million to the economy for the sales and service of RVs. Then consider the gains from tourism accomplished with RVs: 32,300 full-time years of employment and a whopping $2.1 billion added to the economy.
Some locals in Fargo, North Dakota, are upset with the possibility that the park authority may turn ball fields into an expanded RV park. The park presently has a 47-site campground that is projected to bring in $160,000 in revenue to the city this year. But some locals argue that Fargo parks should be for locals, not “transients.” Park officials say there’s no decision yet on the fate of ball fields vs. RV sites.
After RV builder Forest River donated four park model units to the Rocky Mountain National Park, the industry’s chief promotion group says it could be the start of something big. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association says the park models were a pilot project for employee housing, and says other parks have now approached it about getting rigs for their parks. Says a press release, “If the pilot program is a success, park models may be purchased for use throughout the 417 national parks across the country.”
Big plans for a 32-site campground in Burnett County, Wisconsin, are on hold. The county’s Natural Resources committee got a gut-punch when construction estimates for the campground, half to be “primitive” and the other half with water and electrical, came in at $1.2 million. To be built near Swiss, Wisconsin, that community’s governance also had a bone to pick, worrying about traffic on a nearby road, and why the county would even think about competing with private campgrounds.
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It’s bad enough having your travel trailer and garage burn up in a fire. But it’s what was inside the garage that probably hurts the most. A Yakima, Washington, resident woke up early to a strange noise and found a neighbor’s travel trailer and garage afire. The fire overpowered his two garden hoses, and both the RV and garage were toast. So was the 1926 Model T Roadster inside the garage.
Planning a stay in an Army Corps campground near Vicksburg, Mississippi? Listen up: The Corps is changing some rules. Stays at Arkabutla, Enid, Grenada, and Sardis Lakes campgrounds will be limited to 14 consecutive days. At the end, you can apply for an extension for another 14 days. From March through October, a 28-day total stay will be allowed; from November through February a total of 42 consecutive days may be allowed. A 14-day “away” period must be observed between stays, but staying at another campground on the same lake is OK. Want to bring your golf cart and ride it in the campground? OK, but only if you’re permanently disabled, and get a free permit at a field office.
Autonomous vehicles are coming to Ohio, since the state’s governor gave the OK. The testing program requires companies to register their vehicles with the state and outline how they’ll make the test drives safe. A “designated operator” must monitor operations, although they don’t need to be inside the vehicle, but tests with operators outside the unit must pre-report the location of test drives. Both automobiles and big rigs are accepted under the new order.
Want to rent out your parked RV in Twin Harbors, Minnesota? City fathers say that’s OK – with a couple of small provisions. Naturally, they want their “share” of the action – which means an annual permit, a $125 fee, and a 3-percent cut for lodging tax. And by the way, just make sure the RV is parked in a “designated campsite.” All of this may be great if you’re an RV park owner in Twin Harbors, but for the average Joe RVer who wants to make like Airbnb when not rolling his RV on the highway, forget it.
A plan floated to allow winter camping in a city-owned RV park in Revelstoke, B.C., has hit a dead end. City staffers studied the proposal but found that costs of upgrading the park to handle winter camping would be too expensive to be feasible.
A big expansion in available RV camping is set to hit the Prescott, Arizona, area. Orchard Ranch Resort already offers 633 sites and will soon begin development of 37 more acres that will eventually offer 493 more sites. The initial phase will add on more than 200. Dates for completion of both Phase 1 and the final wrap-up are still tentative.
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I looked for the article How to increase water flow with your RV faucets” but could not find it. Where would I find it?
Sorry you couldn’t find the article, Max. In the little paragraph referring to it in the newsletter there was a link to the article where it said “Read more” — so you could get to the article by clicking on those words. But here’s a link to the article directly so you don’t need to search for it in the newsletter: https://www.fulltimerver.com/increase-water-flow-rv-faucets/ I hope this works for you and that you get some useful information from the RV Doctor’s article. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
The email link went to the BREAKING NEWS section and not to the NEWSLETTER so the article was not shown at all. I had to click on “Return to RV Travel Issue 847” at the top to see the article.
Sorry, Ralph. I’m not real sure what you’re talking about. The prior question was how to get to a particular article, but the question was at the bottom of the news section (which did not contain that article or link). The article was in the main RV Travel Newsletter, and the link to it was in the main newsletter, not in the news section. Sorry for the confusion. –Diane at RVtravel.com
I wonder how long it will be before we see “self driving” motorhomes . . . I’m thinking we’re quite a ways from safe self-driving anythings . . .
Probably true, Tommy. But, from everything I’ve heard or read, nearly all of the accidents involving “autonomous vehicles” were not the fault of that vehicle but of a “human controlled” vehicle. Even when they become available, though, I’m not sure I’d want a “self-driving” motor home.
They have a problem recognizing pedestrians. Those that have been hit have not been driven by the driver. They cannot anticipate as a human can. They are years off.
Sometime in the early 1960’s, 10-year old or so me read an article about the coming and unstoppable obsolescence of cars, trains and buses because of flying cars and jetpacks. 50 years from now, today’s 10 year-olds will likely be equally amused by the notion that a sane society would embrace “self-driven” anything.
The Newport News VA Daily Press reported this morning that Camping World is buying Dixie RV Super Store. Sorry to see that happen. Figured it was just a matter of time before they reared their ugly head in the region.
Camping World is a good place to go if you want it to sit there for months without any repairs done.
Then it is done wrong. I will never do business with Camping World again.