Outdoor Living Newsletter March 2010

Edition 5, March 2010

Hello again,

Spring is right round the corner. A season of green shoots, new beginnings and a prelude to the warmer months ahead.

This is the perfect time to plan and prepare - spring cleaning the RV, dust off the camping equipment, and make that list of all the wonderful places you want to go.

Be 'Boy Scout prepared' to make this season the best ever. Just like Claudine Blanchard. This young family of four have spent the winter months preparing for their road trip across America, and she shares with us her tried and tested planning tips.

Spring is a season of beginnings, so introduce little ones to the wonders of the great outdoors and encourage your kids to become Junior Rangers. Plant your garden, even if you are on the go! We have great ideas for the green thumbed RVer to take your garden with you, on the road!

Can't wait for the snow to thaw? Well cast off those winter blues and RV into the sun, we have great destinations with sun and surf in mind.

Spring has sprung. The grass is riz. Time for RVing and camping bliss!

OUTDOOR CONNECTION

Planning a two month camping road trip with young children

The idea was sprung two years ago when Claudine and Ken were thinking about their future. Their mission: take a 2 month long road trip throughout the United States before their daughter Arielle starts kindergarten. This spring, their dream road trip will become a reality.

GIVE ME S'MORE

Gourmet on the go

Hot dogs, beans, and s'mores, traditional though they may be, are just too simple for some campers and RVers. There's a new fad on the rise tempting outdoor thrill-seekers: gourmet camping fare. Don't be surprised if you cross forks with a group of foodies while you're enjoying the best of what mother nature has to offer. The days of charred campfire cookouts could be numbered.

I Green Heart GREEN

Gardening on the road

Life in an RV is wonderful. Open roads, freedom, your house on wheels. But what about your beloved garden that you left back at your bricks and mortar home? Being on the road takes you away from your little patch of earthly heaven, but it doesn't have to! While you can't pack the world in a bag, you can have your garden in a bag, a Styrofoam cup or even on a windowsill! Here are a few ideas to keep your green thumb happy on the road.

'ROUND THE CAMPFIRE

How to hook up your RV

It can be daunting taking that first solo trip, but don't fret. Hooking up your RV at your campsite can be as easy as A-B-C: Awareness, Back In, Connect Up. Most campgrounds will have friendly RVers who are more than happy to lend a helping hand. For the uninitiated, rest assured, we have Joel Kiester from the Colorado Chapter of Loners on Wheels, who provides us with some simple tips to make hooking up a breeze.

HEALTHY OUTDOOR LIVING

4 ways to feast as a family while traveling

It doesn't matter if we're headed out of town for four hours or four weeks, eating on the road is hard with a child along. At least, harder than it used to be. Beef jerky and a Mountain Dew from the gas station doesn't get you as far as it once did now that you have growing kids in the back needing real sustenance. Here is the worst: when you are close to home, at the end of a long drive, and it's getting close to dinner time. All you're thinking about is finishing off that last stretch of the trip. Adults know how to put off their hunger. Wait to eat at 9 pm, no problem. If you're a little kid with a littler belly... um, waiting? What's that supposed to mean?

WEE ONES CAMPING

Make your child a Junior Ranger

You are with your kids, camping at a beautiful National Park, abundant with flora, fauna and wildlife, but you just can't seem to get them interested in their surroundings. Sounds familiar? Try the National Parks Foundation's Junior Rangers Program which recruits your kids to help "Explore, Learn, Protect" the environment. You may just end up being the proud parent of a nature lover.

TOP PICKS

RV sun soaker destinations

Punxsutawney Phil (of the Groundhog Day fame) predicted another six weeks of winter and boy has it been a cold hard one! Tired of shoveling snow? Looking for a place where there is a magic combination of sun and surf? Well, pack a bag, throw in some sunscreen, roll up your beach towel and join us where the Spring lows rarely drop below 60 and you and your RV are less than a short drive from the ocean. Here are our top picks of campground and RV parks for RV sun soakers.

THE OUTDOORSMAN

No light? NoPoPo! A camper's comfort

Chances are, if you're anything more than a weekend warrior, you've been in a situation where you needed to find your way in the dark, but when you went to flip on your flashlight you got nothing. A dead flashlight can put a damper on your camping trip in a hurry. Well, this need never happen again. The eco-friendly NoPoPo Mini Lantern is powered by a rechargeable battery, that can be charged through water, cola, beer. or bizarrely, even urine.

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