Need to getaway?

Here are a few places that will get you away from it all.....Far, far away from it all.

Forest Fire Lookout Cabin Rentals
Locations in CA, ID, MT, WA, OR, WY, CO, BC

Rates, accessibility and locations vary.

Season & Amenities: Variable

Contacts: www.ffla.org

Wild Cat Cabin
Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park, NV

$188 wkd. From south Lake Tahoe, east on US 50, left onto NV 28 at Spooner Junction, right into the Spooner Lake day use area.

Hike 2.5 miles on North Canyon Forest Road

Season & Amenities: Year-round, propane stove, kitchenware, woodstove, water

Contacts: 888-858-8844, www.flumetrail.com

McGuire Mountain Lookout
Kootenai National Forest, MT

$20/nt. From Eureka, take FR 3656 to FR 854. Turn right on FR 494 (Gut Creek Road) and drive 18 miles to the trailhead.

Hike 2.3 miles on the McGuire Mountain Trail

Season & Amenities: May through early November, two single bed platforms, woodstove

Contacts: (406) 296-2536, www.fs.fed.us/r1/kootenai/recreation

Corbin Cabin
Shenandoah National Park, VA

$18/weeknight $28/wkd night From I-66, take US 211 west to Skyline Drive and park at mile 37

Hike 1.5 miles on the Corbin Cabin Cutoff Trail

Season & Amenities: year-round, fireplace, cookware, upstairs loft and bunkhouse

Contacts: (703) 242-0693 www.patc.net

Meadow Creek Cabin
Nex Perce National Forest, ID

$25/night From Us 12 in Lowell, turn south at mile marker 97. After 20 miles, turn right onto the bridge and continue to Slim's Camp.

Hike 14 miles on MEadow Creek Trail #726

Season & Amenities: May 15 to September 15, four single beds and two cots, woodstove with firewood, running tap (bring filter), kitchenware

Contacts: (208) 926-4258 www.fs.fed.us/r1/nezperce

Falls Brook Yurt
Adirondack Park, NY

$65/night From I-87, take exit 26 to US 9. In Olmstedville, turn right onto Morse Memorial Highway, then right onto O'Neil Road, and right onto John Brennan Road. The Trailhead is .2 mile down.

Hike .6 mile through a white birch stand

Season & Amenities: Year-round, stove, kitchen hardware and canoe

Contacts: (518) 761-6187 www.fallsbrookyurts.com

Pearsoll Peak Lookout
Siskiyou National Forest, OR

Free. From Selma, take US 199 south. Turn right on Onion Camp Road (FR4201) and park at Onion Camp.

Hike 6 miles on the Kalmiopsis Rim Trail

Season & Amenities: June 15 through September 30, bed, footstool and two chairs

Contacts: (541) 592-4000 www.fs.fed.us/r6/siskiyou

Crooked Chute Cabin
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

From $31/night, Take Hwy 17 to Pembroke. Turn left on CR 28, then right on Barron Canyon Road. Park at kilometer 57.

Hike 7.4 miles on the Crooked Chute logging road or full-day paddle.

Season & Amenities: Late April to Thanksgiving weekend, woodstove, four bunk beds, table and chairs

Contacts: (705) 633-5572 www.algonquinpark.on.ca

North Fork Canadian Yurt
Colorado State Forest, CO

From $55/night, From the main Colorado State Froest entrance west of Gould on CO 14, drive 8.5 miles to the end of CR 41

Hike 1.1 mile over gentile terrain

Season & Amenities: Year-round, two bunk beds, foldout table, chairs, burner-stove, wood-burning stove with firewood

Contacts: (970) 482-9411 www.neversummernordic.com

Yellow Mule Cabin
Gallatin National Forest, MT

$20/night, From US 191 in Big Sky, turn right on Buck Creek Ridge Road and follow it to the end

Hike the 8 mile Buck Creek Ridge Trail #10 on a 1,000 foot elevation gain

Season & Amenities: June through October, possible snow early in the season

Contacts: (406) 522-2520 www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin

Information is correct as of September 2004. Please consult with the places direct for current information.

AllStays.com, online since 2000 and based in Arizona (US), lists all kinds of lodging, from primitive campgrounds and RV Parks to luxury and haunted hotels and spa resorts. AllStays also links directly to official websites to make sure you have the real scoop on the latest and most accurate information.

Need a getaway to nature but not totally away?

You can camp and still have that connection to the internet.

Do you go camping to get away from it all and to get back in touch with nature? Or do you have the clicking finger itch to get back online around the campfire. Check your auctions and email under the stars. For better or worse, you can do both these days.

Campgrounds, and later RV Parks, have swept the country as a way to get out on and off the road. From solo trips to family outings to snow birds, people are getting out there and away from every day life between walls. Cell phone service at the campsite has steadily improved and you may register a few bars at the fire pit. But can you register a new domain name and get the important email you missed before wheeling down the old highway?

A new amenity is rapidly being added to campground and RV Park listings these days. Internet access. It may be high-speed wifi, crawling dial-up or a single computer in the corner of the park manager's office but it's there for you. "It's a fast growing service that is requested in RV parks these days," says Adam Longfellow of AllStays.com. "We responded to our customers by adding a directory of campgrounds and RV Parks that offer this service. ( /Campgrounds/Internet-campgrounds.htm ) The number of listings has tripled in just the last few months. I think more and more people want to stay connected while traveling."

Guests of these new service oriented parks and campgrounds want to be able to check information, stay in touch by email or do a little work while away from home. "They may be living in a rv park for weeks or months out of the year and don't want to have to run out to a library or coffee shop. With more and more parks offering Internet service, one could run an online business or auction shop from almost anywhere."

Wireless or "wifi" service seems to be the fastest growing for Internet campgrounds. A RV park can share a hi-speed internet connection with a router for whoever logs on. There are some that use a dial-up service but that is a bit more complicated. Any park office can add a computer or two in the corner for guests to use but limited access, privacy issues, and scheduling can be more difficult and a hassle at times.

Costs vary from campground to campground but many are free. Some owners choose to offer this as a free perk to lure more guests away from other parks. Or they may charge for the access time. Still others are part of a network of parks using a particular service. A guest can pay a monthly fee and then connect at any park in the country that is on that network. “You could travel the country and have Internet access at your campsite most of the time if you plan it out,” says AllStays.com.

"We're staying on top of it and adding more places all the time. ( /Campgrounds/Internet-campgrounds.htm ) Most of the U.S. states have places in our directory right now and we would expect every state to have Internet campgrounds by the end of the year. Even a number of state and national parks are getting into this service. We are currently working on listings for Canada and around the world as well," adds Adam Longfellow at AllStays.com

So throw the wi-fi enabled laptop in the car or RV and hit the back roads. You never know when your fingers will itch for the keyboard. Just make sure your fingers are clean after those roasted marshmallows.

AllStays.com, online since 2000 and based in Arizona (US), lists all kinds of lodging, from primitive campgrounds and RV Parks to luxury and haunted hotels and spa resorts. AllStays also links directly to official websites to make sure you have the real scoop on the latest and most accurate information.

We have been wanting LED Lights for every purpose for a while now. We have them in reading lamps, desk lamps, motion detector lights, flashlights.... but they haven't been quite ready for regular lights in our RV until now. Most are a bit dim or not bright enough to let you read small print from a distance or at floor level.

We have been testing LED lights from all over the world, various configurations, shapes and sizes. From cheap ones that burn out within a few months to expensive ones made for yachts.

Now, there is one we can finally recommend and endorse because we love it.
A new one called the Sensibulb from Sailor Solutions. Although pricier than most out there at $39.95 a bulb, it is amazing. This is version two of the light and it is great. The light it gives off is warm and easily replaces both incandescent and halogen light bulbs. There are various adapters available that allow it to fit different lights and a dimmer switch is also available. It runs on less than 1 watt so we recommend replacing your most commonly used light(s) at a minimum to notice the difference. That will save you a ton of power. They were designed with the boating market in mind and unveiled at the 2007 Miami Boat Show. Let's show them that the RV market wants innovation as well.

We have updated our Wal-mart locations guide to include more locations (all new stores through March 2007) and more places where you can't park. We have re-run the GPS data for better positioning on the maps. The previous map load was woefully inaccurate, but the technology keeps getting better.

Please let us know about your experiences, positive and negative and what Wal-mart location that it happened. Our Wal-mart store guide gets over two thousand visitors a day and this is the place to share your stories.

Jessica

Have you every wanted to camp amongst the dunes on a sandy beach? Well you can't do that at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. You would think so from the name of it, wouldn't you? The actual campground is located on the other side of Highway 12 so you are in a forest with Dunes just a short drive away. The National Lakeshore is a neighbor of the Indiana Dunes State Park, which itself is right on Lake Michigan. The State Park has electric and more amenities than the National Lakeshore but also costs more than twice as much. There is also the piece and quiet factor that may come into your decision. The National Lakeshore campground, with it's primitive facilities, was nearly empty compared to a busy State Park. We slept great with the windows open.

There is a brand new visitor center for both of the parks. It is on Highway 49, south and outside of both of the parks.

Earlier, we went through Springfield, IL and stopped at the Cozy Dog Drive-in. It is a classic joint and the birthplace of what we now call the Corn Dog. Abraham Lincoln and Corn Dogs! Who could ask for more history from a single town? Highly recommended for anyone passing through or a must on any Route 66 trip.

Another town worth a quick look is Williamsville, IL. The town itself is practically a ghost town. A good looking ghost town. Mostly closed business fronts are in a cute little downtown with a grassy area in the middle. You can just wander and imagine what it once was. All the houses are still occupied and well maintained. American flags and manicured lawns in front of classic grand houses. A great big town park made for a peaceful midday stop.

Hovenweep National Monument is a great member of the US National Park system. It is 45 miles away from any small towns (Blanding, Utah and Cortez, CO) and it takes some intent and effort to get there. But if you are a tent camper or in an RV less than 25 feet, it's worth it.

The campground has 31 quiet sites for $10 as of our stay on June 2nd, 2007. Only a few are even capable of holding a small RV so please note that before planning to stay overnight. No hookups but there is a nice bathroom with flush toilets and drinking water faucet.

Almost immediately upon entering, we saw the campground host. He has been coming there for ten years now and was very nice and helpful. He even collected the money and posted the payment and slip for us. In the summer daylight, there are "no-see-ums" all over. These tiny bugs are quite annoying with their bite and can cause allergic reactions in some people. They disappear with dusk and come out again in the warm sun. The night sky is about as dark as you can find these days and filled with bright stars.

There are short hikes (from 2 miles to under a mile) that let you see some fantastic pueblo ruins still standing after 700 years. The visitor center is staffed with friendly, knowledgeable people as well. We only saw two other people on our weekend visit so it is a quiet out of the way place. You may see a rattlesnake by the trail or a lizard eating a large beetle. This is a place hardly touched by man in hundreds of years.

We also stopped at the Historic Hatch Trading Post on the way in from the west. This is a real locally active Trading Post with canned food and drinks. If you are looking for souvenirs or anything touristy, don't bother stopping. We were quite surprised during our very brief stop.

So go back in time, forget your hookups, look up at the night sky and listen to the natural desert sounds at Hovenweep National Monument.

This is a follow-up to a previous post on the best RV LED lights that we have found so far. We went through a half dozen different companies and LED lights in our testing before finding and trying the Sensibulb from Sailor Solutions. We are not affiliated with this company in any way and we paid full price for all of our lights.

It is now coming up on nearly two years of use. We replaced every light we could with the Sensibulb and they continue to perform in an outstanding manner. Using LED lights like these save you power and money. If you use hookups most of the time, it may not matter to you in your travels. But if you ever do any boondocking or camping without hookups, these will make a difference in the quality of your lifestyle. And that makes it worth it to us. Do you pay for campgrounds based on your power issues? Not worrying about lights may allow you more freedom in camping and parking in other places. In our usage, we no longer worry about leaving lights on for a few extra minutes. In warm camping, you are no longer generating additional heat that your AC then has to work against. You can also buy a dimmer switch for these lights. This is unique in that most LED lights can't be dimmed.