From the Editor

As most of you know from the October/November issue of this newsletter, my brother and I returned from a month-long tour of the Northwest in October. Since then I've written a little bit about the trip in the blog and posted pictures in the photo gallery. It's taking longer than I thought it would but, little by little, more stories about the trip and photos are added as I make time.

It's hard to believe we've entered the last month of the year. This year seems to have gone by quickly. I hope this issue of RoadNotes finds you in good health and enjoying the holiday season. See you next year!

 -- David

Touring America

Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway

The Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway is in west-central Idaho near Boise. It follows ID 21, a two-lane paved road suitable for all vehicles, between I-84 Exit 57 and Stanley. The highway is narrow with some steep grades but there are passing lanes.

Most of the byway crosses Boise National Forest; small portions cross the Challis National Forest and Sawtooth National Recreation Area. There are several campgrounds located along the scenic drive. Some of the larger ones are Bull Trout Lake, Park Creek, and Pine Flats. For a complete list of campgrounds accessed along ID 21, select this link. Camping fees are around $10 per night.

RV Vacation Planner

by Donna Flanders

Donna is retired from computer programming. After 20 years of computer work, she now devotes her analytical, organizational and research skills to developing vacations for others. She is a list maker and she shares her lists with you at RV Vacation Planner.

Tasting More Than Road Dust

We were traveling on Route 2 east across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I began to notice signs for pastries. I commented to my husband - "Gosh, they have a lot of pastry shops around here." Then I looked a little closer at the next sign and realized it was not pastries being advertised, it was pasties. I had no idea what they were, but I knew for sure that I would find out. When it comes to food, I'll try anything once. Well, almost anything. When we were in Hawaii, there were some noodles that looked like worms and I just could not bring myself to put one in my mouth. But I did try poi.

Many years ago when I was a teacher, I had a classroom aid who always tried to get the children in our class (and even me) to try something that they knew they didn't like since "Today could be the day you love it." This is obviously true since there were many vegetables I did not like as a child that I really enjoy as an adult.

Select this link to read the rest of the article.

Fun Stops U.S.A.

Billy the Kid Museum

Billy the Kid Museum is in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Here you'll find 60,000 relics of the historic past, including Billy the Kid's rifle, chaps and spurs, the original Wanted poster, and even locks of his hair. Items of early 20th century life are also on display.

Casino Camping

by Jane Kenny

Casino Updates

Three of Mississippi's 13 Gulf Coast casinos will be back in business by New Year's Eve. They are Imperial Palace, Isle of Capri and the Palace, all in Biloxi. Boomtown and Treasure Bay, also in Biloxi, expect to reopen in six months. The Beau Rivage plans to reopen on August 29th, the first anniversary of the hurricane.

Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, a popular resort for RVers, will reopen its golf course this month; the rest of the resort will reopen in mid-2006. The Casino Magic in Biloxi has not yet made a decision about reopening.

The Copa in Gulfport will rebuild as a land-based casino. That project could take as long as two years.

In Louisiana, all casinos have reopened except for Harrah's and Bally's Belle in New Orleans and Harrah's in Lake Charles.

RVers can find comprehensive casino information and accurate directions in Casino Camping, available in our bookstore. All casinos listed in the book are "RV-Friendly." If this book helps you to save on just one night of camping fees, it will pay for itself!

Road Trip Dreams

by Carol White

Phil and Carol White are the authors of Live Your Road Trip Dream, a book that describes how they turned their dream of traveling into reality -- and how you can do the same.

The following article is from Phil and Carol's travel journal during the time when they were living their road trip dream.

It Was a Short but Interesting Month

If some of you thought you saw us lurking around Charbonneau early this last month - you did! One of the things you can't predict on a trip like this is when an unplanned event will change your itinerary. We have been very lucky to have had few revisions during the year-if you remember, a broken ankle and a car accident barely slowed us down!

Unfortunately, my Mom had to go in for surgery, and we wanted to be there with her, so we left the Van in Phoenix and headed home for 10 days. Thankfully, she is recovering well, and our whole family and her Louvonne neighbors have pitched in to help, so that we could finish our trip.

With the hot weather in the Southwest, we had the opportunity to really enjoy some great outdoor locations. Cliff dwellings were big on the agenda this month. Mesa Verde NP is the largest location of this era, and it did not disappoint as we clambered around many large dwellings that housed 150-200 people at the peak of their civilization.

We also really enjoyed Canyon de Chelley near the Arizona/New Mexico border. A rollicking jeep tour through the river in the canyon took us to pictographs and petroglyphs, as well as many ruins high on the canyon walls.

Easter weekend found us in one of our favorite cities, Santa Fe. Our previous trip there only whetted our appetite to come back again. This time we checked into the Governor's Inn, a lovely hotel just off the main square, with room furnishings and other amenities that really fit the Santa Fe area-and so convenient to all the attractions.

On a crisp, sunny Easter morning, we walked to St. Francis Cathedral to the sound of bells resounding throughout the square. A very memorable experience in this church dating to the 1500s.

Select this link to read the rest of the article.

RV Dump Stations

The new second edition of RVer's Guide to Dump Stations is now available. The book includes information about nearly 2,000 dump stations located across the United States. Visit our web site to learn more.

Discovering Your Public Lands

Carlyle Lake

Carlyle Lake is a Corps of Engineers project in Illinois about 50 miles east of Saint Louis, Missouri on US Hwy 50. The nearly 25,000-acre lake is Illinois' largest man-made lake and offers good fishing, boating, and swimming.

The Corps of Engineers manages several public campgrounds around the lake. The largest is Coles Creek, which has nearly 150 campsites. The camping fee for sites with electricity is $12 per night; sites with full hookups are $24 per night.

RV Tech Tip

by Mark Polk

Fuel Economy 101

Today we're going to be discussing something near and dear to all of us, especially RV owners. How can you improve your fuel economy? The 99 cents a gallon days are long gone. We'll probably be lucky to see the $1.50 a gallon days again and depending on what part of the country you live in you may be lucky to see the $2.00 a gallon days again. It took a while but as with everything else you eventually accept the fact that higher fuel prices are here to stay.

I for one am not going to let sky rocketing fuel prices change my plans for using and enjoying our RV. So, with that said and a motor home that averages 7 to 8 miles to a gallon I am forced to find ways to save on fuel rather than waiting and hoping that fuel prices will go down. After a little research I was surprised to learn how easy it can be to improve our fuel economy. Whether you're towing a trailer or driving a motor home there are many ways to improve fuel economy. By performing some simple maintenance procedures and changing our driving habits a little we can save a significant amount of fuel.

One shocking discovery was that for each 5mph you go over 60mph is equivalent to paying 10 cents more per gallon. So if you're traveling down the Interstate at 75 mph add 30 cents to the price on the pump! Wow, that can add up quick. If fuel prices drop to $1.65 a gallon you'll still be paying $1.95 a gallon.

Select this link to read the rest of the article.

Exploring State Parks

Shawnee State Park

Located in southern Ohio, Shawnee State Park lies in the Appalachian foothills near the banks of the Ohio River. Once the hunting grounds of the Shawnee Indians, the region is one of the most picturesque in the state. The scenic valleys and wooded hills of the area has earned it the nickname "The Little Smokies."

Shawnee State Park features a 50-room resort lodge, 25 family cottages, and a campground with 103 sites suitable for tents and RVs. Nearly all of the campsites have electric hookups. The camping fee is around $20 per night.

For information about all of Ohio's state parks, visit the Department of Natural Resources web site. You can also download free detailed maps of each state park in Adobe PDF format.

Gadgets & Gizmos

Amazing Magic Table

The Amazing Magic Table, from Miller's RV Interior Trim, adjusts to five different positions. The solid wood table can be used as an end table, a small table, a foot stool, a stool for sitting on, and a coffee table. Also, a built-in magazine rack is accessible from all positions.

RV Slide Sweep

The RV Slide Sweep allows you to clear branches, leaves, dirt and debris before retracting your RV's slide. The gadget assembles quickly and weighs less than ten pounds. The interchangeable broom head attaches to the straight pole for cleaning awnings. When you're finished, disassemble the device and tuck it away it in the storage bag.

Legends of America

by Kathy Weiser

Kathy is a personal friend and webmaster of the Legends of America web site. Her site focuses on the history-rich travel destinations of the American West.

Cattle Kate - Mystery of a Lynching

Ellen Watson, dubbed by local newspapers in the late 1880's as "Cattle Kate," has long been thought of as an outlaw. Watson and her husband, Jim Averell, were hung by vigilantes near the Sweetwater River in Wyoming on July 20, 1889 for the accused crime of cattle rustling. However, there is a mystery surrounding the hangings and it appears that their deaths were unjustified, perpetrated by powerful land and cattle owners of the time.

Ellen Liddy Watson was born on July 2, 1861 to Thomas Lewis Watson and Frances Close Watson near Arran Lake, Bruce County, Ontario, Canada. Ella, as she was called, was the oldest of ten children, six of which were also born in Canada before the family moved to Kansas in 1877. Settling near Lebanon in Smith County, Kansas, Thomas homesteaded the land.

Before long, Ella met a young man by the name of William A Pickell who lived on a neighboring farm. On November 24, 1879, the 18-year-old Ella and 21-year-old William were married. But within just a few short months Ella found that her husband was both a heavy drinker and an abusive man. Often, he would verbally abuse her then escalate the violence to physical blows and striking her with a horsewhip. By January 1883, she could take it no longer and fled to her parent's home. Later, she moved to Red Cloud, Nebraska, 14 miles north of her parent's farm to put even more distance between herself and her estranged husband. On February 14, 1884, she filed for divorce.

Against her parent's wishes, Ella moved to Denver, Colorado, after filing for divorce. Seeking better opportunities, she lived with a brother for a short time, but didn't stay long. Ella then moved again, first to Cheyenne, Wyoming, then to Rawlins, Wyoming, in late 1885 or early 1886. She found employment at a boarding house called the "Rawlins House" as a cook and domestic for about two years. Watson has often been misidentified as a prostitute because the Rawlins House was erroneously thought to have been a brothel.

Select this link to read the rest of the story.

Bumper Sticker Wisdom

• The more I learn, the less I understand
• We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?
• Never believe anything until it has been officially denied

Camping in City and County Parks

Illinois

Sherwood Forest Campground is managed by the City of Hillsboro, Illinois. It's located about ten miles east of I-55 exit 52 on IL 16 and features 200 campsites with electric hookups. The camping fee is about $12 per night. The park also has 75 primitive sites for $7 per night.

Tennessee

Chester Frost Park is near Chattanooga, Tennessee, about ten miles north of TN 153 via Hixson Pike. The county park has 254 sites; 191 with water and electric hookups.

Roundabout Roundup

Free Guide to the Oregon Coast

A 74-page guide to Highway 101 along the Oregon coast is available from Oregon Coast Visitors Association. The mile-by-mile guide begins at Oregon's northernmost border and reveals the many things to see and do along 400 miles of the scenic coastline. More...

Top 100 Events in 2006

Every year the American Bus Association compiles a list of the top 100 events in the United States and Canada. The list includes a variety of fairs, festivals, and more. It should give you some ideas for things to see and do next year!

Travels with the GTRV Westy

This is the personal web site of Carl Alhemeyer who started traveling this country in 1998 at the age of 62. Here you can read about his travels and view photographs of the many places he has visited.