Issue 1217
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Today’s thought
“The problem in America isn’t so much what people don’t know; the problem is what people think they know that just ain’t so.”—Will Rogers
Need an excuse to celebrate? Today is National Eat Your Jell-O Day!
On this day in history: 1776 – Captain James Cook begins his third and final voyage.
Featured news
July 4, 2025, will be a date many will never forget. In the Hill Country of Texas, along the Guadalupe River, flooding took away the lives of at least 120 people. Some of those gone are RVers. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the scope of this tragedy. We want to try and narrow down the focus and talk about how the RV community has been affected.
WANT TO HELP THE TEXAS FLOODING VICTIMS AND FAMILIES? Click here and scroll down for resources.
Even though Amazon Prime Day is now over, this is still an interesting read. There’s plenty of “Huzzah” about Amazon’s Prime Day sale. The big sale kicked off at 12:01 a.m. PDT on Tuesday, July 8, and wraps up at midnight on Friday, July 11. Are RVers really saving—or just spending? We checked up on a few RV-interest items and found mixed results. Do Amazon Prime Day sales really save you money?
The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced the launch of the Patriot Program, a three-year public lands initiative. The program blends large-scale conservation work with youth workforce training. It draws clear inspiration from the New Deal–era Civilian Conservation Corps. With a proposed $250 million in federal funding and a 50% private match, the program aims to invest up to $375 million in infrastructure repairs, trail improvements, historic site preservation, and wildfire risk reduction on public lands. Learn more.
It may have been a quiet shift for a patrolman in Bluefield, West Virginia, recently. In a city of fewer than 10,000 folks, perhaps watching for jaywalkers or stop-sign runners is key. Hang on! There goes a guy driving a motorhome with a naked woman straddling his lap! Before it was all over, police had plenty of crimes racked up with a single traffic stop. Sex while driving is a new one—for just about anywhere. Oh, dear!
A quiet Sunday afternoon turned terrifying when a man drove his pickup truck through the steel gate of an RV and self-storage facility in Sherwood, Oregon, and started shooting at people inside. Among the targets was a couple who were inside their motorhome at the time. As bullets slammed into their rig—at least eight shots—the RVers hid from bullets. They dropped to the floor and stayed there, hoping to survive. Continue reading.
Speaking of RV storage… Is your RV safe in a storage yard? Gates, fences, and security cameras all give a sense of security. But a story out of Florida says look out! Police have broken up a large and well-organized theft ring that targeted RVs, trailers, boat motors, and construction equipment across South Florida. Investigators say the RV theft ring stole property worth tens of thousands of dollars and, in many cases, resold it within hours.
In late June 2025, a concessions worker at Grand Canyon National Park became the first person to contract hantavirus in nearly a decade. The National Park Service confirmed the diagnosis on July 7. According to a story carried by sfgate.com, the worker was employed at one of the mule barns along the South Rim. Here’s the story.
If you recently stopped at the Sam’s Club gas station in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and your car suddenly won’t start—well, you’re not alone. Turns out, the station is temporarily out of regular 87 octane gas, but not because of high demand. Over the weekend, a fuel delivery mix-up led to diesel fuel being pumped into the unleaded tanks. Yep—you read that right.
Reader poll
Do you like to RV travel with a planned itinerary or just be spontaneous?
If you enjoy taking our reader polls, keep in mind that we have polled our readers at least 5,000 times through the years. It’s fascinating to see how they have responded, sometimes very surprisingly. You’ll find an archive of some of the polls here. So what are you waiting for? Check ’em out.
News briefs
Moraine Park Campground in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park will reopen with an initial limited release of dates over a two-week period.
The sprawling Southern California RV Show held for many years at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, will return again March 20-22, 2026, as the “California RV Supershow”. Pomona is a suburb of Los Angeles.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park closed on Thursday until further notice after lightning strikes ignited wildfires on both the North and South Rims of the Colorado park. High temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds and dry vegetation have lead to extreme fire danger. Staff and visitors have been evacuated.
California State Parks has new plans for the future of Big Basin Redwoods State Park as it rebuilds after the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in 2020 burned about 97% of its land. The plan includes bringing back about 200 campsites and cabins, close to the number before the fire.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is seeking volunteers to serve as Elk Rovers for the upcoming 2025 season. Elk Rovers enlighten visitors about safe wildlife viewing and help keep elk and themselves safe.
Love’s Travel Stops is extending its National Hot Dog Day celebration this year, offering customers a free hot dog each day beginning Monday, July 14, through Friday, July 18, at select locations in 42 states. Customers can redeem the offer each day through the Love’s Connect App.
FUNNY: Did you hear about the lawyer who got lost on a camping trip with one of his clients? He was found with criminal in-tent.
Grand Canyon officials advise visitors that wait times are as long as 90 minutes to enter the park midday at the South Entrance Station.
Due to an elevated risk for wildland fire in southern Oregon, wood and charcoal fires at Crater Lake National Park are now only permitted within fire rings at Mazama Campground… Ditto at Washington’s Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest.
RECALL: Airstream is recalling certain 2025 Interstate motorhomes. The Parametric Special Module (PSM) may fail to lock the controls, allowing the awning to extend during transit. An extended awning can detach, becoming a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.
ABOVE: A long traffic jam of bear-gawking rubberneckers crawls through the Roaring Mountain area of Yellowstone National Park. So far this year through June, Yellowstone attracted 1,690,922 visitors, up 4 percent from last year.
The latest Go RVing RV Owner Demographic Profile identified 16.9 million Americans who have a significant interest in purchasing an RV in the next five years. According to the report, 73% of near-term RV intenders are younger than 55, and 34% live in urban areas. Nearly a third identify as African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic, or LGBTQ+. Nearly half (48%) have young children.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a notable decrease in traffic deaths in the first three months of 2025. NHTSA projects that traffic fatalities declined about 6.3% in the quarter with 8,055 lives lost, the lowest in six years.
With summer road trips in full swing, drivers are getting a break at the pump. The national average for a gallon of gas dipped as low as $3.13 this past week before going up a few cents to $3.17. According to AAA, it’s been four years since the national summer average has been this low.
And finally…
WorldAtlas recently ranked the 10 worst fast-food chains based on their nutrition data, menu gimmicks and marketing tactics. Here are the 10 worst to keep in mind the next time you pull off the road for a quick bite. They are, in order of “worstness:” 1. Wendy’s; 2. Sonic; 3. Taco Bell; 4. Dairy Queen; 5. KFC; 6. Quiznos; 7. McDonald’s; 8. Smashburger; 9. Little Caesars; and 10. Chick-Fil-A.
?? MYSTERY PRODUCT OF THE DAY ??
Every December, a lot of people receive one of the tackiest gifts ever made or sold—Chia Pets. But now… OMG! We have found what surely must be the tackiest and most disgusting Chia Pet ever conceived.
FACTOID: When the first regular phone service was established in 1878, the device’s inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, suggested they answer it by saying “Ahoy.”
Latest fuel prices
The latest U.S. average prices per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline on July 7, 2025, was $3.13, down 4 cents from last week, down 36 cents from last year. Diesel was $3.74, up 1 cent from last week, down 13 cents from a year ago. Most expensive gas: California ($4.55); least expensive: Mississippi ($2.70).
Upcoming RV shows & seminars. Click here.
HOT TIP: Need a last-minute campsite at a Vermont State Park? Head here: It will show you all available sites for Friday and Saturday night, right up until Thursday at midnight.
Trivia
The only bears found in California are American black bears, the smallest of North America’s three bear species but the third largest of the world’s eight bear species. Their fur color can vary from off-white to cinnamon to tan to brown to black.
BUMPER SNICKER: You’re not stuck in traffic. You ARE traffic.
Laugh of the week
The perfect scam
Title Pirates: How Scammers Use Quitclaim Deeds to Steal Homes
Dreama and Larry’s house was being renovated after a tree fell on it. They couldn’t live there so they set up security cameras to monitor the property. To their surprise, they noticed a couple repeatedly visiting the house. Alarmed, Dreama and Larry registered for a free alert system that would notify them of changes to their property records. Just two days later, they received an alert. Unbeknownst to them, Michelle Cherry and Victor Rodriguez had filed a quitclaim deed that would quickly and easily transfer the home’s ownership. Would Dreama and Larry be able to reclaim their home and help catch these “title pirates”?
Today in history
Today’s weather forecast across the nation
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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.
RVtravel.com All Star Team
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“With summer road trips in full swing, drivers are getting a break at the pump.” Huh? Not in the PNW. I have yet to find that $1.98/gallon gas that “someone” claimed was out there.
That’s because the PNW tack on alot of taxes onto the base price of the gas. PNW gasoline prices will never be as low as others across the country.
If you plan to live or travel full-time with your RV, be sure to tell your insurance company. Some companies will not insure full-timers. When buying your RV, if you do not tell the company you will be full-timing and then get in an accident, your claim could be declined.
with that said, also look at the manufacturer’s warranty, mine states if you live full time in your rv, the warranty is void…