Vacation Silvanaparedes

The recent volatile fuel prices and the falling value of homes have impacted both RV owners and the RV Industry.  In the past several months many major RV manufacturers have shut their doors permanently.

Quite a few people, who recently bought new RVs at the highest monthly payments that they could qualify for, are now regretting their decision to get the RV of their dreams. In other words they over bought their RV and they are now paying the price for it.

Is this all doom and gloom for RVers and potential RVers? The answer is a resounding NO! If you were ever thinking about buying an RV or upgrading to a different class of RV, now is the time to do it.

Because this is where the basic concept of Supply and Demand (also known as price and demand) you learned in your Economics class in high school kicks in.  To put it in RV terms, when the economy is bad, the demand for RVs goes down.

With less demand, the RV dealers are going to do everything they can to get rid of those new RVs (in other words they will accept less money for them).  The volatile fuel prices and questionable economy have also caused panic amongst some current RV owners.  These owners have hastily made the decision to sell their RVs because they believe that they will no longer be able to afford to use them.

This has created a buyer’s market for RVs right now. Whether you are planning to buy a new or used RV, you will be able to get a lot more for your money. Of course you are going to have to still negotiate the best price you can for what you want, but now more than ever you are in the driver’s seat during these negotiations. Depending on what type of RV you are going to buy, the money you save on the purchase price could pay for your fuel and other travel expenses for quite awhile.

In some cases you may have to finance your RV purchase.  When financing, remember the finance company will give you a loan for as much as you want (based on your credit).  But, just because they are going to give you that much credit does not mean that you have to use that much credit.  You might believe you can afford the monthly payments.  But, you need to ask yourself if you can comfortably afford the monthly RV Loan payments and still have money left over to pay for the other costs of owning an RV such as fuel, maintenance, storage and of course camping.  In other words don’t overbuy.

Now, let’s address the concerns of the cost of going camping in your new RV. The biggest cost, depending on the type of RV you have will be fuel. This would be a major concern if you are planning a 3,500-mile cross-country trip. Now, even for the most avid RVer is not the time to spend all of your money seeing the whole US (unless you have deep pockets).

Getting away from it all and camping does not require traveling 100s or 1000s of miles. Look around within a 50-, 60- or 70-mile radius of where you live and you will be surprised at all of the places there are to camp. Remember, the whole point of RVing and camping is to relax and enjoy your surroundings. I guarantee you there is no mileage limit on relaxation. Whether you are 25 miles from home or 2,500 miles from home, you can and should relax: after all, that is what the RVing Lifestyle is all about.

Our family has been RVing for over 35 years, and we have been all over the US and Canada and have enjoyed every minute of it. Have we changed our RVing habits as a result of the economic crunch? YES, we are not planning to travel 1000s of miles right now. Have we given up RVing? NO, we just go camping closer to home, visiting destinations we have not been to before. This change in our habits has not diminished our zeal for; or enjoyment of RVing.

You won’t regret your decision to buy an RV. Just plan ahead and don’t put a financial strain on yourself as this will diminish your enjoyment. 

When a road trip planner first sets his sights on Alaska, he invariably wonders if Alaska can truly be explored in one road trip. Alaska offers vast mountains, colossal blue-white glaciers and an abundance of wildlife with activities unique to the state; this combination earns an Alaskan Road Trip top honors in travelers’ memory books.

For most road trip planners, their itinerary will start with flight plans. Most people flying in will land in Anchorage. At this point, they’ll either rent a car and stay in hotels along the way (reserved in advance of course!) or they’ll rent an RV to explore Alaska at their own pace (with their itinerary allowing impromptu exploration options).

After exploring Anchorage’s offerings, many place the city of Tok as a destination in their road trip planner because it helps create a good triangle for your road trip. Tok is known as the “Sled Dog Capital of Alaska”. Plan on 5 ½ hours driving time from Anchorage but I know you’ll stop – even spend a day or two – around the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Get ready for the largest and most magnificent of the National Parks of Alaska, with 9 of the 16 highest peaks in the United States. This mountain region contains numerous glaciers, lakes and mountain streams and is home to a rich variety of wild life. It is superb country for climbers, walkers and water sports enthusiasts.

Fairbanks would be the third point of your trip triangle to add to your road trip planner (Anchorage to Tok to Fairbanks). Some travelers start their Alaskan Road Trip by flying in to Fairbanks, so for them, their trip triangle would be Fairbanks, Anchorage, Tok. Fairbanks is second biggest city of Alaska and has the all the amenities of an urban community. The Gold Rush Street at Pioneer Park was a replica but a real operating gold mine exists in this proud city. Visit the Museum of the North, take a river trip for half-day cruise through the Chena and Tanana Rivers. In the summer, the Riverboat Discovery Tour runs twice a day. Trip reservations are a must so make the necessary arrangements ahead of time.

Leaving Fairbanks, include the impressive Denali National Park in your road trip planner before hitting Anchorage. Denali contains Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America and is definitely worthy of some heavy-duty exploration.

A four- to six-hour drive down south from Denali National Park, passing through Talkeetna, you’ll reach the town of Wasilla. Have your camera at the ready because moose or bear sightings along the way are often part of the journey. For canoeing experience, go to the Nancy Lake Recreation Area. There are plenty of cabins to rent for overnight stays. Further south, visit the Big Lake for swimming, camping, jet-ski and fishing. Proceed to Mat-Su Valley and drop by Iditarod Trail Headquarters on Knik Road. Learn some history at Knik Museum and the Sled Dog Musher’s Hall of Fame.

Another town to add to your road trip planner is Palmer, only 15 minutes away from Wasilla. There is a great RV campground here as well as some cool farms like the Musk Ox Farm. Best time to be here is in late August when the Alaska State Fair is celebrated.

Leave another day in your road trip planner to explore more of Anchorage. It has plenty of hiking opportunities, cultural events and art exhibits. The Flattop Mountain and Chugach State Park are the city’s pride together with Alaska Zoo and Potter Marsh, a bird and wildlife sanctuary.

If you have more time, add another leg of your road trip by driving along the Seward Highway, designated as the All-American Road, and enjoy the scenic view. Picnic opportunities are everywhere, and the picture perfect backdrop is hard to resist. Fishing, camping and canoeing activities in the Kenai/Soldotna area are nice options too.

I’ve shared one road trip example, but customize yours to reflect your own Dream Alaskan Trip. Below are some tips to help you get the most out of your trip.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO…?

* See the Northern Lights; plan on coming either late fall and early spring.

* Enjoy the Midnight Sun; put June 21st in the middle of your road trip planning.

* Go whale watching; head to Alaska anytime from mid-May through mid-September.

* View the most wildlife; summer-time will get you sightings of moose, bear, mountain sheep, caribou, coyote, wolves, sheep, beaver, otter, mink, or hare. In addition, birdwatchers can photo-capture eagles, hawks, jays, owls, spruce hens, grouse, and ptarmigan and migratory waterfowl coming north to nest each summer.

Make this the year you go wild with your road trip planning and head North to Alaska for a trip of a lifetime.

Are you curious about blogging? Do you feel it\’s time you took the plunge and started a blog of your own? Here\’s a straightforward beginner\’s guide to the world of blogging.

What is a blog?

At a basic level, blogs are websites in which individuals can write about themselves, their thoughts, feelings, and concerns about any subject that interests them. For more details www.greatblogbox.com For example, a horse rider might have a blog about horse riding, and the contents of that blog would be all about how she learnt to ride, what equipment she uses, what her thoughts are about various aspects of riding, competing, or just enjoying her life with horses. Someone else might have a blog about traveling, and he might post updates on the new places he\’s seen, what he has experienced there, and what advice he offers fellow travelers. As you can imagine there is no limit to the types of blogs and thousands more are started each week.

Regardless of the design of a blog, most will contain the following elements:

* Posts – these are the updates added to the blog by the author or any contributor. They can be a few lines or a whole article of several hundred words.

* Comments – these are the responses and reactions from the blog readers to posts by the author

* Plug-ins – optional extras that a blog owner can add in order to add to the features on the blog. These might be a plug-in which allows the author to display pictures or adverts in the sidebar of the blog, or it might be something that increases the likelihood of the blog being found by search engines. There are thousands of plug-ins available and more are being devised all the time.

* Widgets – like plug-ins, widgets enhance the display or add to the functions on the site. For more details www.blog-link-generator.com For example, you might want to use the calendar widget so that a calendar appears in the margin of your blog and the days on that calendar are hyperlinked to the posts (updates) you added on that particular day.

* Blogroll – a list of links to other blogs that the author recommends

* Theme – each blog design is known as a theme. There are many hundreds freely available and there are commercially produced themes which anyone can buy. Some bloggers even go as far as having a theme tailor made to their specifications.

How do I get started?

If you are familiar with using the Internet and sending email then getting started in blogging should be very easy for you. You don\’t need to know how to build a web site and you won\’t need to learn any new skills. All you need to do is register for a free blog at one of the many sites that offer this service. For example, there\’s WordPress, Blogger, or Technorati. Once you\’ve registered at one of these sites you can start one or several blogs. As a beginner you\’ll probably want to start just the one for now so that you can learn the basics and get used to the various areas. Make good use of the FAQ pages and User Guides on any of these sites. They are generally clear and easy to understand and are there to help you.

Your First Blog

So you\’ve registered and created your first blog – now what? Well, this is the fun part, or the difficult part depending on your point of view. The important thing is to adopt the habit of posting as frequently as possible. Add fresh content to your blog as often as you possibly can. This will probably be easy at first, especially if you have started a blog about your favourite pastime or hobby. You\’ll be enthusiastic and you\’ll have plenty to say so by all means add plenty of posts, but keep something back so that you can keep up the momentum of posting as the weeks pass by.

In my next article I will describe how to enhance the look and feel of your blog, how to interact with other bloggers, and how to make your blog more attractive to search engines so that people will find it. After all, you\’ve decided to express yourself so you will need to know how to attract some blog readers!

Copyright 2009 Ben Lovegrove

Ben runs My Footwear; a blog site listing the best in men and women\’s footwear, designer shoes and boots, socks, tights, hosiery, stockings, belts and other accessories. Frequently updated with the latest offers from a variety of UK footwear and hosiery retailers

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