RV Miles Podcast

What will camping in 2021 look like?

This week we make our predictions about the 2021 camping season, plus we chat about some issues with an unlimited internet carrier, and how one couple got fined $1000 for filming in a National Park. 

The Top RVs for 2021

On this episode, we interview Rick Kessler, Executive Editor at RV Business Magazine about their list of the top 2021 RV models. We answer a question about the difference between 3- and 4-season RVs, and more!

Read RV Business' list of the top 2021 RVs here: https://rvbusiness.com/rvbusiness-announces-top-10-rvs-of-the-year-other-winners/

Yellowstone Canyons and Waterfalls, Top Campground Complaints

This week, we finish off our Yellowstone Journey with the upper Grand Loop Road, including wonderful waterfalls, mud pots, and canyons. Plus, we have the top five campground office complaints, a new winterizing system, and so much more! This is the RV Miles Podcast.

Have you ever wondered what the most common things campers complain about at the campground office? Nanci Dixon, who is a regular camp host and a writer over at RVTravel.com, put together a list of top five complaints: https://www.rvtravel.com/rvofficecomplaints968/

Weekly “ask”: If you’re interested in supporting RV Miles, we’d love for you to use our affiliate link next time you shop at amazon! It doesn’t cost you a dime, and we get a small kickback for every purchase you make. Just go to https://amazon.rvmiles.com next time you shop. 

Something you might want to consider on Amazon, If you’re someone who likes to camp deeper into the season, but have to winterize between trips. You might be interested in the Floe winterizing system. It’s essentially a small on-board DC-powered air compressor that’s installed right inline with your water system, so you can blow out the air lines as you break camp: https://amzn.to/3ltypVU

 

Last Week’s Brain Teaser:

 

Doctor Rob was staying with Cousin Ralph in Ralph’s RV, in a beautiful wooded lakeside campground in a National Park. The two had come together for the camping trip to set up Ralph’s will. As Rob was Ralph’s closest living relative, much of Ralph’s estate was being left to him.

 

One day, Ralph went to Dr Rob very disturbed. "Doctor," he began, "I have just found out that an assassin wants to get me. He will be here very soon. Where will I go? Where can I hide? If he finds me here, he will surely kill me. I do not have time to leave this campground and go further into the woods."

 

Dr Rob thought for a moment, and then grabbed a 5' long bamboo pole, with a diameter the size of a quarter. "Ralph, follow me out to the lake. This lake is 4' deep. If you lie on the bottom of the lake and breathe through this pole, the assassin will never find you. I will swim down to get you when he is gone."

 

Ralph consented, and lay down on the bottom of the lake with the bamboo pole in his mouth. A few hours later, a ranger passed by. He found Ralph's body, dead. Dr Rob told the police of the circumstance, and that Ralph had probably panicked, and died.

Police arrested Dr Rob, on the charges of murdering Ralph. Why?

The bamboo pole did not have any cracks or holes. Its opening was above water the whole time.

Answer:

Ralph died of carbon dioxide poisoning. The pole was 5' long, but only the size of a quarter.

The first time he breathed in, he breathed oxygen. When he exhaled, the air could not travel 5' before he breathed in again. He was just breathing what he exhaled. Before long, all he was breathing was carbon dioxide. He died of CO2 poisoning.

Doctor Rob was the one who told him to use the pole, therefore the cause of his death. Rob is a DOCTOR, and therefore knows about the CO2. Rob did murder Ralph. His motive: the money in the will.

 

The final portion of our Yellowstone journey (Northern Half):

 

Canyon Area - Canyon Village, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and Lower Yellowstone Falls

The Lower Falls area is located just to the east of Canyon Village.  A one-way loop drive takes you to the brink of the Grand Canyon and offers four views.  Lower Falls is the biggest waterfall in Yellowstone at 308 feet. It’s probably the second-most famous site in the park after Old Faithful. We took the Brink of the falls trail, which leads you down a steep set of paved switchbacks right to the drop-off. We then drove a bit further down the loop to see the falls from a distance. It’s a busy area, but well worth it.

 

Norris Geyser Basin

Norris is one of our favorite spots. Steamboat Geyser is really interesting, whether it’s erupting or not. There are tons of noisy and interesting steam vents and pools in this area, and the milky Porcelain Basin is pretty spectacular. We thought it even looked like it was glowing in the early evening. 

 

Artists Paint Pots

If Norris was our favorite area, the Artist Paint Pots were our kids. These muddy cauldrons spit hunks of sludge high in the air, and right towards you. It’s a 1.5 mile round-trip, and there are other thermal features in the area to see along the way.  It’s also a spectacular sunset spot, overlooking a meadow that’s often full of Elk or Bison. 

 

Mammoth 

The Mammoth area is home to giant thermal constructions - like massive wedding cakes crafted through mineral deposits, all linked with boardwalk trails. The mammoth area is where the park headquarters is, and it’s home to many historic buildings, along with gift shops, restrooms, and restaurants. 

 

Gardiner

You can make the 5-mile drive out of the park into the gateway town of Gardiner, Montana from the Mammoth area. When you do, you’ll pass a sign marking the 45th parallel, half-way between North Pole and Equator. You’ll get to see the historic Roosevelt Arch entrance, too. We picked up some to-go pizza from Outlaws Pizza and brought it over to Arch Park, where you can picnic in front of the Arch. There’s also a giant Yellowstone National Park entrance sign in downtown Gardiner overlooking the park, an excellent spot for a family photo. 

 

New Brain Teaser:

Through the day they toiled away

At night their plight was in disarray

A woman entered the picture

And the changes came

Their lives would never be the same

Then the evil showed up

and almost sent her to heaven

Many can name some,

But can you name all of this fearless Seven

Yellowstone Geysers Galore!

This week, part two of our Yellowstone adventure! Plus, a campground that has tripled its monthly rate for 2021. Will more follow? How those awful washboard roads are formed, a Forest River interior that knocked our socks off, and a whole lot more!

Yellowstone Overview, When to Winterize

On this episode, we begin our three-week Yellowstone adventure with an overview of the park and the town of West Yellowstone. A listener asks about what temps to be concerned about water freezing, and so much more!

The Road to Yellowstone

This week, we cover several stays at Idaho campgrounds on our way up to Yellowstone National Park. Plus, we have additional water saving tips, we talk about the positives and negatives of slide-outs, and so much more!

Water Saving Tips and the Most Dangerous Part of the Drive

Whether you're boondocking or rocking partial hookups at a state park, saving water can extend your camping fun. We've got tips for keeping your waste tanks empty and your fresh tank full. Plus, we talk about the most dangerous part of a drive—the last part, and give you an update on the RV manufacturing backlog. 

Dinosaur National Monument and the RV Manufacturing Backlog

This week we share our journey to the Utah side of Dinosaur National Monument and chat about the manufacturing backlog that's making it harder and harder to buy a new RV. We also talk about why the stories about big name YouTubers that are giving up the full-time RV life might not be all they're cracked up to be. 

 

 

 

Marc & Julie from RV Love

They literally wrote the book on RVing: Marc & Julie Bennett share their journey on this week's episode of the podcast. Plus, an important update about that Verizon change we talked about last week, and some new sales numbers from the RV industry point to an interesting trend. 

The State of the Industry with RVTravel.com's Chuck Woodbury

Chuck Woodbury has been independently covering the RV industry longer than almost everyone else, and this week, we chat with him about the state of the RV industry as he marks 20 years at rvtravel.com. Plus, we have easy campground cocktails, a new change to Verizon plans that's great for RVers, and a whole lot more!