Touring America

Idaho

Mesa Falls Scenic Byway is in eastern Idaho about 50 miles northeast of Idaho Falls. The southern terminus is in Ashton off US 20. From there, the byway travels north back to US 20 near Harriman State Park. It follows ID 47 and Forest Service Road 294 for a total of 28 miles.

The Mesa Falls are the last undisturbed major waterfalls of the Columbia River system, with the Upper Mesa Falls plummeting 100 feet and the lower falls dropping 70 feet. The Lower Mesa Falls were chosen as the site for a Civilian Conservation Corps project where an overlook provides a view of both falls.

Camping is available at Warm River Campground, which has 14 RV/tent sites and 12 tent-only sites for about $12 per night. No hookups are available, though. The campground is open mid-May to mid-October.

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.

Planning Your Vacation - Part I

Planning a vacation can be as simple as picking up the phone and making a reservation at the same place you went last year but when you are ready to try something new you have several choices to make. You can go somewhere recommended by a friend or find something on your own. If you have no idea where to begin, try this approach.

Some of us want to know exactly where we are going, how we are going to get there, how long it will take, and what we will do when we get there. Other folks like to wander where the road takes them. If you want to have your whole trip planned before you pull out of the driveway here is one process you can try. Keep in mind, the longer the trip, the more unknown factors will come into play to mess up the best laid plans of RVers. We can't control the weather or traffic, but research can help us avoid showing up in the middle of a motorcycle rally when we were really looking for a peaceful getaway overlooking a lake.

There are four major factors involved in planning your destination - how much time you have, how far you want to drive, what you like to do and how much you want to spend.

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Fun Stops U.S.A.

Wyoming

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, is a large complex containing four museums and an art gallery: Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, Draper Museum of Natural History, and the Whitney Gallery of Western Art.

RV Dump Stations

Here are some recent additions to the RV Dump Stations web site:

Discovering Your Public Lands

Arkansas

Ozark Lake is a Corps of Engineers project in northwestern Arkansas. The project encompasses 36 miles of the Arkansas River. There are six Corps-managed campgrounds within the project. Aux Arc is the largest and has 60 sites with water and electric hookups. The camping fee is about $15 for a site with hookups and $9 for a site without hookups. A discount of 50 percent is given to those that have an America The Beautiful pass.

Michigan

Managed by the National Park Service, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore features sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, lakes, and forests. Located in northern Michigan, the Lakeshore hugs the Lake Superior shoreline for more than 40 miles. There are three public campgrounds within the park. The largest is Twelvemile Beach Campground, which has 36 sites. All of the campgrounds are rustic and do not have electric, water, or sewage hookups. Typically there is no cell phone reception, either. The camping fee is about $12 per night (holders of America The Beautiful passes receive half off).

RV University

by Mark Polk

Mark Polk is the producer of training videos on how to use and maintain your RV. He is also the author of The RV Book, a personal guide to understanding and enjoying your RV.

Controlling Trailer Sway

This 3-minute video instructs you on what contributes to trailer sway and what steps you can take to prevent it.

Exploring State Parks

Arizona

Kartchner Caverns State Park is in southeast Arizona about 9 miles south of Benson. The park features guided cave tours, hiking and walking trails, interactive displays, and a theater with video program. The campground here has 62 sites (some pull-thrus) with electric hookups for about $22 per night. There is also water, restrooms, showers, and a dump station.

Camping in City and County Parks

Kansas

There are three RV sites with electric hookups inside the Swope Park/Chase County Fairgrounds in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. The park is east of Kansas Highway 177 on E Pearl; camping fee is $5 per night.

Tennessee

Chester Frost Park is a county-managed park northeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The park is about 5 miles northeast of Hixson via Highway 319 (Hixson Pike). It offers 200 sites with water and electric hookups for $18 per night (seniors 65 and over receive a discount).

Do you know of a city or county park that has a campground? Tell us about it!

Gadgets & Gizmos

Powrtouch Trailer Mover

The Powrtouch Trailer Mover is a unique gadget that allows you to move your trailer simply by using a handheld remote control. The remote uses radio signals to communicate with a receiver unit mounted inside the RV. Watch the video for a demonstration.

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.

Steins, New Mexico - A Railroad Ghost Town

This old railroad and mining town south of the Peloncillo Mountain Range, got its start as a small stop on the Birch Stage Line in 1857. A year later, Birch was replaced by the Butterfield Overland Stage Company, who continued to use the station. At that time, it was called Doubtful Canyon, for the nearby pass by the same name, called such because of the constant threat of Indian attacks. In 1873, another such skirmish occurred in the canyon between the Apache Indians and the cavalry led by Captain Enoch Steins, who was killed in the attack. Afterwards, it was called Steins Pass.

When rich mineral deposits of gold, silver, lead and copper were found several years later, in the Peloncillo Mountains north of the pass, the area began to crawl with prospectors. Called the Kimball Mining District, a number of mining camps, with names like Kimball, Pocahontas, and Beck, sprang up along the base of the Peloncillo Range.

In 1878, the Southern Pacific Railroad began to blast away at the rock bluffs of the area, developing a quarry and taking away tons of rock for a new railroad bed. During this time, some 1,000 Chinese railroad workers lived at the foot of Steins Peak. By 1880, the railway was complete through the area and the railroad stabled a station at Steins Pass. In 1888, a post office, called Doubtful Canyon, was established on the main wagon road to serve the mining camps. For more than a decade, the area was dotted with little more than ramshackle cabins and prospector tents, though Beck's Camp sported a store and a hotel, with buckboard service to the Southern Pacific Station.

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