March 2024 – Lost Dutchman State Park is one of Arizona’s most beautiful and most loved state parks. Nestled up against the towering cliffs of the Superstition Mountains, it is a showcase for stunning Sonoran Desert scenery, and it has a lovely RV campground with paved loops that is ideal for both RVs and tents! . Lost Dutchman State Park: GORGEOUS scenery & RV campground ..read more

Trying to tie down an ATV, side-by-side or boat on a trailer for safe towing can be a real pain in the neck! Fortunately, we’ve discovered the CargoBuckle Retractable Ratchet Tie-Downs which are a total game changer for us. Easy to install and a cinch to use, the CargoBuckle retractable ratchet straps revolutionized our tie-down process! CargoBuckle Retractable Ratchet Tie-Downs – SO EASY ..read more

March 2024 – The Salt River in eastern Arizona boasts some of the finest Sonoran Desert scenery in the state, and it’s one of our favorite places for exploring, hiking, biking, photography and relaxing in the lush desert!. The river flows westward from Arizona’s White Mountains, and as it approaches Phoenix, a portion of it known as the Lower Salt River flows through a series of dams, creating Roosevelt Lake, Apache Lake, Canyon Lake and Saguaro Lake. The Apache Trail parallels the river on an impossibly winding and gorgeous route. The contrast between the dry desert and these lakes makes for ..read more

RVers preparing to go RVing full-time have asked us, “What are the essential tools and supplies we’ll need for the RV life?” That’s a big question, but when we began gathering items for our online Gear Store last week, we realized it was a perfect time for us to provide an answer and outline a good solid basic RV tool kit. Mark just completed two sizeable repair projects in the last few weeks too: replacing the landing legs on our fifth wheel toy hauler and replacing the start motor plus relocating the start relay (so it’s easier to access) in our Polaris RZR side-by-side. Since he had just pu ..read more

January 2024 – Roosevelt Lake is a beautiful lake in Central Arizona that was created by damming up the Salt River, and it is one of our favorite places to go winter RV camping in Arizona. When a warm “January thaw” swept through the state, we took advantage of the spring-like weather and spent a few days at Windy Hill Campground. Mist rises from Arizona’s Roosevelt Lake in view of Four Peaks at dawn. Windy Hill Campground + Tonto National Monument ..read more

Way back in the Dark Ages of 2004, a long long time ago, back when flip-phones were cool, when “social media” was a phrase no one had heard of and a “big screen TV” was smaller than 40 inches, Mark and I tied the knot. Hurray for 20 years of wedded bliss! . 20 Years Later! Hassayampa Inn and The Dells ..read more

June 2022 – Traversing the state of Idaho between Montana and Washington, the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway (US-12) follows fast flowing and wildly zig-zagging rivers for about 200 miles, paralleling part of the 8,000 mile route that Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery took on their famous out-and-back cross-country expedition in 1805-06. We had eyed this route on the map several times and had heard how beautiful it is from friends, but we’d never ventured down it with our RV. What a wonderful RV trip it turned out to be, especially the eastern portion in Montana! Camas flowers in bloom on ..read more

Christmas is such a special time. it is my favorite holiday — a time of full of wonder and love on many levels. Family traditions are the cozy essence of Christmas for many people, and activities in the kitchen are especially beloved. We’re not thinking about Christmas too much in this photo from Crested Butte, Colorado, but what fun it has been to relive an old Christmas tradition this year. Christmas Traditions Past and Present – Lebkuchen ..read more

September 2023 – We were chatting with friends the other day about travel research and travel prep, and we agreed that the most exciting travel experiences usually show up unexpectedly, without any advance planning! And so it was in for us in Utah as we were flying down I-70 with our RV in tow at the end of our summer travels in Colorado. Little did we know that we were about to embark on a thrilling adventure of discovery about remote Sego Canyon, Utah, a place whose history dates as far back as several millennia and as recently as just a few decades ago. As we cruised out of Colorado and in ..read more

October 2023 – We recently made a quick weeklong RV trip to San Diego and had an absolute ball. As soon as we got there and set up camp at Sweetwater Summit Regional Park Campground, we made a beeline for Shelter Island, our all-time favorite place in this beautiful city. It was a foggy morning, but seeing the sailboats bobbing at anchor and hearing the seagulls mournful cries warmed our hearts! We had been fortunate to live on Shelter Island in our sailboat, Groovy, for two weeks before our sailing cruise of Mexico and for six months afterwards. For us, it is the heart of San Diego, offering ..read more