Harry Basch - Frommers Exploring America by RV

EXPLORING America by RV

7th Edition

by Shirley Slater & Harry Basch

Published by:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

Copyright 2012 Text and Author Created Materials, Harry Basch and Shirley Slater. Maps Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978/750-8400, fax 978/646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201/748-6011, fax 201/748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

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ISBN 978-1-118-08602-5 (paper); 978-1-118-22325-3 (ebk); 978-1-118-23669-7 (ebk); 978-1-118-26163-7 (ebk)

Editor: Kathleen Warnock

Production Editor: Michael Brumitt

Cartographer: Guy Ruggiero

Production by Wiley Indianapolis Composition Services

Author photo by Donna Carroll

Front cover photo: RV in Alaska winding its way up to Thompson Pass; Alan Majchrowicz/Alamy

Back cover photo: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona: Mushroom Rock in foreground; Heeb Christian/Prisma/AGE Fotostock, Inc.

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5 4 3 2 1

To Joanna Senn, who found RVing a joy for the disabled.

Major Interstate Highways

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Shirley Slater and Harry Basch are a husband-and-wife travel writing team whose books, articles, and photographs have been published internationally for more than 30 years. Former stage, film, and television actors, they have written their syndicated column Cruise Views for the Los Angeles Times and other major newspapers for more than 20 years, produced six annual editions of The North American Ski Guide for Prodigy Computer Services, and written Shirley and Harrys RV Adventures (a monthly newsletter), plus four books on worldwide cruising.

In 1990, at the 60th World Travel Congress in Hamburg, Germany, the authors were only the third writers (and the first freelancers) to receive the prestigious Melva C. Pederson Award from the American Society of Travel Agents for extraordinary journalistic achievement in the field of travel.

On assignment for publications as diverse as Bon Apptit and Travel Weekly, they have covered 188 countries by barge, elephant back, hot-air balloon, luxury cruise ship, cross-country skis, paddle-wheel steamer, and supersonic aircraft, but their favorite method of transportation is by RV. In their first motor home, a 27-foot Winnebago Brave, and their subsequent 36-foot Itasca Sunflyer, they have logged more than 100,000 miles traveling all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Aboard other RVsfrom mini-motor homes to 36-foot wide-bodies with slide-outsthey have traveled an additional 60,000 miles exploring the back roads and campgrounds of America. The journeys in this book are all based on the authors personal experiences.

Shirley Slater and Harry Basch inside their RV.

Introduction: The RV Life & Reasons to Hit the Road

Theres something quintessentially American about hit ting the road. You can almost hum along as the wheels eat up the highwayKing of the Road, Hit the Road, Jack, On the Road Again, Ive traveled each and every highway... I did it my way.

In an RV (recreational vehicle), youre free of airports, timetables, shuttles, and public transport. RVers can go anywhere without any advance reservations or preparations and have a good time discovering something new, interesting, or weird about the world around us.

On the road is shorthand for freedom, independence, discovery, self-reliancebut only if you search out routes that are off the beaten track, with an occasional jaunt via an interstate to speed through less interesting terrain. As TVs On the Road guru, the late Charles Kuralt, warned, Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything. Leave the freeways to the truckers, the information highway to the computers, and virtual reality to the almost alive. With a folding camping trailer, van, travel trailer, truck camper, or motor home, an RVer can explore firsthand the famous, infamous, and off-the-wall attractions scattered all over North America, from the legendary Alaska Highway to Key West, the southernmost point in the United States.

This guidebook picks and chooses overnight oases, from private RV parks with heated swimming pools and golf courses to quiet, forested campgrounds in state and national parks. Youll also find offbeat places to eat or pick up tasty treats, including picking your own farm-fresh fruits and vegetables.

Big cities and famous attractions do not fit our travel styleanyone can find them (though we do swing by Las Vegas and Orlando with advice tailored specifically for RVers). Instead, we may opt to retrace the route of the Klondike Gold Rush, trying our hand at gold-panning; shuffle off to see the buffalo in Custer State Park; or place a bet at Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino in the Yukons Dawson City.

In winter, RVers can learn rock climbing at Joshua Tree National Park or take in the sizzling Terlingua Chili Cook-off in West Texas. In the spring, we set out to catch the dogwoods in bloom in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Late summer is the time to watch an Alaskan grizzly bear as it fishes for spawning salmon, or go rafting on the Colorado River. RVers can hang around New Hampshire in the autumn to sample fresh lobster or see the dazzling display of red and gold leaves, or head south for stone crab season in the Florida Keys.

For some of us, discovering America may happen only after weve had a chance to explore Europe, Asia, Africa, or South America, and that makes the discoveries even richer. Though wed like to think this book is so riveting youll read it from cover to cover at one sitting like a mystery novel, we know youll dip in and out of chapters at random.