Bear Creek Campground on the south side of U.S. Highway 101 at Milepost 206, along the Sol Duc River.
Time: Summer months only. One-month stay minimum; longer stays are welcome. Campground is open all year. Recreational opportunities: Sites available for self-contained overnight camping (RVs welcome) and day use. Hiking trail to Sol Duc River. Two ADA-accessible sites and two ADA-accessible toilets. Viewing platform (ADA accessible). Fishing. Host Site Accommodations: No water or electricity. Requirements: Two hosts preferred.

Contact: Cathy Baker, 360-374-2860 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 360-374-2860 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or cathryn.baker@dnr.wa.gov.

Lyre River, five miles outside of Joyce.  Hosts are needed now through September. Recreational opportunities: 11-site campground. No trail access. Host Site Accommodations: RV pad, water, no electricity. Requirements: Two hosts preferred.

Contact: Wayne Fitzwater, 360-374-6131 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 360-374-6131 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; wayne.fitzwater@dnr.wa.gov.

The Argus Leader says that state officials recently sent a memo to county treasurers throughout the state, mandating more information from folks renewing or applying for vehicle registrations. “The goal,” says Debra Hillmer, chief of the state’s Motor Vehicle Department, “is to discourage falsified applications and collect information on where people really reside. Ultimately, that information could be used by other states to crack down on their residents who license cars, boats and motor homes here.”

Apparently this information swapping has already started. Witness a 2007 information exchange between Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. Comparing Nebraska driver license data to South Dakota and Iowa motor vehicle registrations yielded some 13,000 matches–8,000 alone from South Dakota. Nebraska’s DMV was not pleased, figuring the crossovers cost Nebraska plenty of tax money.

But it’s one thing for neighboring state residents to try and cheat on taxes; the issue for full time RVers is a whole different matter. It’s often held fulltimers can choose any state they want to call “home,” from a legal perspective. South Dakota doesn’t disagree with that, but the requirements to ‘prove up’ your domicile status can be a bit of a pinch.  While “nomads” as the official state jargon calls fulltimers, are welcome to register vehicles in South Dakota, those who use a mail-forwarding service address must sear out an affidavit that they have no other address outside of South Dakota.

That could prove problematic for those who own a deeded RV lot in say, Texas or Arizona, but chose to only visit the place occasionally, or never touch tire there, and simply rent it out to others. Or what about the snowbird who maintains a post office box in a snowbird town for the convenience of receiving that mail forwarded from South Dakota. Lie on the affidavit and you’ll set yourself up for a possible felony charge.

The issue is one that’s emotionally, and politically charged. Some point the finger at pressure put on popular fulltime domicile states by neighbors jealous of the revenues made. Others say that the increasing noose of US Homeland Security regulations are at the base of the controversy. Regardless of the cause, it must give something for those fellows up on Mount Rushmore to discuss when the subject of freedom is raised.

The National Wildlife Refuge System is considered by some to be the world’s premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s fish, wildlife.  Teddy  Roosevelt kick started the system when he designated Florida’s Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge as the first wildlife refuge in 1903. Since then, the system has grown to more than 150 million acres, with nearly 600 wildlife refuges.

Many refuges offer interpretative car routes that cross some amazing landscapes and provide close-up views of wildlife. The government says there’s a wildlife refuge within an hour of every major US city, and the gate fees are typically very low, or free.  Many refuges in the system are more than just big fish ponds with flapping birds. While you’ll see plenty of birds in most refuges, depending on your locale you may even see bison roaming the road up ahead, or experience the last untilled prairie grass in the US.

Some refuges allow RVers to camp during their visit. Others have hiking trails for those who want to get out and about on their feet.  Fishing fin-attic?  There are refuges where visitors are granted piscatorial privileges. To find a refuge along your trail, point your browser to http://www.fws.gov/refuges/

One of the best days of this former-property owner was the day we closed the door on our sticks and bricks house, and I sent the lawn mower to the garbage dump. I haven’t touched one of those things since.

So it’s with wry amusement we found an article in Canada’s Globe and Mail entitled, “Sell the house to buy an RV? Are my parents nuts?” In a plaintive request to the paper’s auto columnist, a “Concerned Daughter,” writes:

“My parents, who are retired, sold their house. They’re putting some of the money in the bank, and buying an RV with the rest. It’s been their life-long dream. I’m worried my kids and I won’t see them as much. I realize this is selfish but we’ve always been a very close family. I’m also worried that they’re making a big mistake, and have tried, unsuccessfully, to discuss the financial repercussions of their decision. How can I get them to listen?”

If you’ve been exposed to the whining cries of offspring who appear (on the surface) to be soooo very concerned about your financial future you know the routine: “Think of how expensive fuel is!” “Those costly RV resorts!” “You’ll break down somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” “A house is so much less costly in terms of maintenance.”

What do fulltimers have to say?

‘That ‘hazard tree’ in the yard that cost us $1,200 to have removed.  Or the time the blacktop driveway needed $4,000 worth of attention?’

What else do fulltimers miss? Weekly experiences with lumbago from mowing the grass, pulling the weeds, raking the leaves. Huge bills from the oil-delivery man when winter winds blow. Washing windows–especially those nice dormer windows two floors up, wherein you had to hang on to the window frame with one hand, while manipulating the squeegy–all the while wondering how it would feel to hit the ground if you slipped.

We don’t miss those months when we had to set out pots to catch drips when nobody could figure out where the dickens the leak in the roof was from. True, we do inspect our RV roof once a year, caulking seams to keep out the wet. But hey, it takes an hour out of our lives, and $10 worth of sealant.

No more do fulltimers worry about the “Valentine Card” they’ll receive from the local tax assessor, reminding them how much money they’ll have to dig up for property taxes this year. Yeah, there are those pesky RV registration fees, but for many, they aren’t even close to the costs of what they “useta” pay for property taxes.

Yep, I know plenty of northern plains folks who really miss that snow shovel.

“We tend to see more skin cancer on the left side of the face - drivers need to be aware of the amount of sun exposure they receive behind the wheel,” said Scott Fosko, M.D., chair of dermatology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and co-author of the study. “The cumulative effect of being exposed to the sun builds up over many years.”

The results of the study also indicate that men are more likely to be affected by left-side cancers, causing the authors to particularly caution professional drivers of the danger. Fulltiming RVers may spend more time behind the wheel than their commute-to-the-job counterparts, and thus they too, need to be alert to the dangers of skin cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, most of the more than 1 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosed yearly in the United States are considered to be sun-related. Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, accounted for a majority of the nearly 12,000 deaths due to skin cancer last year.

So what’s the protection? Sunscreen.Look for a sunscreen that protects not only against UVA rays, but UVB as well. Sunscreen help reduce incidences of skin cancer, but can also help protect against premature wrinkling and skin aging–for those of you who haven’t already been victimized.Sunscreen in the form of tinted glass and UV window filters can also help cut down the amount of skin-damaging UV rays that get into your rig.

artwork: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino23 on flickr.com by creative commons license

But being ranked 16th in US population means that Indiana is a state that needs help. Tasked with managing Hoosier state parks, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources is sending out the call for volunteers to help out in a variety of outdoor settings. Camp hosting is one of those occupations that have a great appeal to RVers; but don’t feel limited. Opportunities for volunteers include greeting interpretive center visitors, demonstrating a craft or skill, assisting with special events, maintaining trails, or monitoring bluebird boxes. Helping control invasive plants such as garlic mustard is another possibility. The latter sounds like something you could add to a ham sandwich on break.

So, how can you pick up on an assignment that might fill your spring and summer hours? A brochure describing volunteer opportunities at DNR properties is at www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2443.htm. Visit www.dnr.IN.gov/parklake and click on “How You Can Help” to download a volunteer application form.

photo courtesy Indiana State Parks

We spoke with a national census representative in Washington, DC, earlier today, and laid out the problem that some fulltimers may face–at least those who want to fill out the form.

“We have a program for folks like these,” our census guru tells us. “It’s called ETL.”  Oh, bless government for acronyms that don’t sound like anything.  ‘Ee-tell?”  They call it the process of “Enumerating Transitory Locations,” like folks working for circuses, at marinas, and in RV parks. That process started back in mid-March and will go onto til April 15. Of course, if you don’t happen to be a “carny” with the circus, or staying at a marina or RV park when the census folks come by–woops, you’ve been missed.

Others too, can easily be missed. Since they don’t send forms to people, if you get your mail at a private mail service, you probably won’t get a census form. If you’re not caught in an RV park, or at some location that a census taker can’t locate, what’s do be done?

The Census folks hope that you’ll take the time to phone their “2010 Hotline,” where helpful workers can point you to a location where you can pick up a 2010 census form. However, other media types have commented that some of these locations are only open during rather limited hours, some are listed, but never got staffed, and a plethora of other issues that could make getting your form a bit on the difficult side. Still, those who persevere may get what they want. The nhotline phone number is (866) 872-6868.

We found it quite interesting that we mentioned that many fulltime RVers are on the road, and don’t necessarily stay at “Joe’s RV Park,” the government guy seemed a bit astounded. He then told us, “We try our best to get to everyone,”  but then pointed out that fulltime RVers are obviously, “a very small minority of people in the US.” Wonder what he bases those figures on? Census 2000 perhaps? When that oh, so small minority of Americans were never found.  Perhaps in the minds of bureaucrats, fulltime RVers just don’t exist.

We’ve had to be dragged, kicking and screaming as it were, into this brave new world of technology. We had a pager long after many folks had cell phones. Eventually we got e-mail, then Internet access. So sure enough, we’ve been slow about some of the exciting technologies that the Internet makes possible. Among them is Skype. If you’re not familiar with the term, stay with us.

Skype is a software application that lets folks make phone calls over the Internet. Sure, you can do that with your cell phone, true. But take it a step farther: Skype turns your computer into a TV studio–two Skype equipped users can see and hear each other over the Internet. We had our own set of apprehensions–the cost, for example. Here’s the real boomer: The software is free, you simply download it from the Internet. From there, “video conferencing” as it’s called, is free. Kind of hard to believe, we know, but it’s true.

So imagine this: Grandma starts stewing about the precious precocious one. Simply log onto the computer, bring up your Skype software, click on a button, and pretty soon, there’s the little one, as close as the screen in front of her nose. And Skype works across country, and across the world.

We’ve found Skype great for keeping in touch with our own offspring, and in other ways, too. We both do volunteer teaching, one on one with our students. When we’re away on the road, we simply log into Skype at the appointed hour and conduct our “class” over the Internet. Much easier, and a better interchange of ideas, than using Instant Messaging, which we’ve done before Skype.

And as to telephoning:  For less than three bucks a month, you can use Skype to call any phone number in the US and Canada to speak with non-Skype folks. We don’t wince, thinking about the use of cell phone airtime, or “long distance” charges when we dial up friends in Canada. We can also “ring up” friends who are living far, far away in Micronesia. True we pay 43 cents a minute there, but oh, so much cheaper than by any other route. Other international rates are really, really low–it just happens Micronesia is one of the higher ones.

So what’s it cost to equip your computer with Skype hardware? Many newer laptops already have what you need–a built in video camera and microphone. We “retrofitted” our system with a camera/microphone combination for less than $25 with an on-line purchase from Walmart. We’re getting plenty of mileage out of the deal. Skype does need a good broadband Internet connection–”dial up” won’t cut it. If you don’t have a broadband card for your computer, we’ve found many folks using Skype at free wireless hotspots like McDonalds, even public libraries. In places like these, of course, it’s best to connect up from your RV or toad car, so your conversations can be kept on the private side, and not disturb others.

Not sure you know how to hook up Skype? Just get out your old-school cell phone and call that precious precocious one–they’ll have you connected in an instant.

For more information on Skype, visit www.skype.com

photo: joeshlabotnik on flickr.com

First, like your mother always told you: Don’t go grocery shopping without a list. If you do, you’re more likely to buy stuff you don’t really need. We made a list on our word processor of all the commonly purchased grocery (and non grocery) items. We broke them down in rough categories, so when we hit the store, our list is already laid out roughly to where we’ll find things group.

For example, we keep the milk, cheese, and other “dairy” items in one clump on our list. We print several copies of the “list” and hang them on a hook inside one of our galley cabinets. As we notice we need something, we simply put a check mark next to the item on the list.

Since much of our time we find ourselves in “little burgs,” where grocery store competition is small, we only buy the stuff we really need to get by when in that area. Once a month we typically hit a “big city,” and take our list with us to do our “major shopping.”

Take advantage of coupons where you can. Not always easy if you’re on the road, but we have found that you can sign up with some of the big chain stores to get weekly special ads sent to you by e-mail. Once a week we get a big advert from Safeway–and we can print manufacturer coupons from their site. Most of these are indeed, manufacturer–as opposed to “store brand” coupons, so they can be used in any store that takes coupons, including Walmart.

Don’t imagine that everything you purchase at a “club” store like Costco or Sam’s Club is going to be cheaper than at the regular retailer. We’ve found milk to be a lot less expensive at a club store, but other items may actually cost more when compared on price per unit basis. And produce at the club stores is usually way out of line in terms of price, and not necessarily of any better quality than at a more upscale supermarket.

When shopping, try to stay in a dollar limit. After our major once-a-month blast, our chief purchasing agent (her) takes the remaining grocery budget dollars–in cash–and divides them up into equal amounts for the remaining number of weeks on the month. If say there’s a hundred grocery dollars left, then we’ll likely have $25 a week for the rest of the month.

So how do you avoid “overspending” when trekking through the store? Set your spending limit before you step in the door. Don’t worry about trying to keep track of how much you’ve put in your cart to the cent–especially if you “do it in your head.”  As you stick an item in the basket, round the dollar amount up or down. For example, if the loaf of bread is $4.15, then mentally add $4.  If the hamburger is $6.67, then mentally add $7 to your tally. We’ve found it better to use a calculator, but sometimes you can forget to punch in a number.

Interestingly, a study by the Georgia Institute of Technology found that those on really tight budgets, the ones that had the most to lose by overspending, we’re those who were most likely to overspend.  Why? Because they were so engrossed in keeping a mental tally down to the penny, that invariably they’d ‘muff it,’ and forget to add something. That same study says that customers who find themselves spending more than they planned held it against the store; those who spent less, we’re happier with the store. Stores who have in-cart “scanners” to help the customer keep track of what they’d put in their baskets are big winners.

And oh yeah, you know this one too: Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry You’re bound to spend more money–and probably on stuff that isn’t good for you!

photo: Poldavo (Alex) on flickr.com with creative commons license

But there are plenty of times when you know you need to get hospital help that isn’t as emergent. How do you choose a hospital that’s right for you? Provided your health care insurance will “work with you,” in terms of allowing a choice of hospitals, fulltime RVers have an advantage:  They can go where they want. Still, how do you choose from among the thousands of hospitals around the US?

First, some simple things to look at: Is the hospital in an area convenient to your RV lifestyle? Can you find a suitable park or other location to put your RV? Some hospitals have RV spaces for patients and their families. Does the hospital recognize (and work with) your health care insurance plan? Is it accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body–we’ll give you more on that later. Is the place clean? Look around in the waiting rooms, and then ask to see patient rooms.

In terms of accreditation, you can turn to The Joint Commission, a medical accreditation body that examines medical providers and hospitals to see if they meet quality care standards. Their website lets you search for hospitals based on zip code or city and state. You’ll find out what specialties (if any) a given hospital is recognized for, which can be real helpful if you have a major health problem you need help with. Check out their site at www. jointcommission.org and look for the “Quality Check” area.

Another web site that can help you sort out the good from the bad is provided by the magazine, US News and World Report. They publish an annual list of the country’s best hospitals by specialty. The outfit ranked on a variety of areas, but included in the evaluation process were patient safety issues, deaths, and a facility’s reputation. Drilling down to a specific hospital also shows how patients viewed their own treatment at given facilities, and these outcomes were measured against state and national standards. Visit the site at http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals.