July 2005

It’s a pleasure to see deer browsing at the edge of the campground or a coyote trotting down the trail. But in truth, much of the wildlife that travelers come across are the remains of animals alongside the highway.

In September 1883 Theodore Roosevelt, a graduate of Harvard University who would go on to become the 26th president of the United States, boarded a train in New York City and traveled to a small town called Little Misery in what is now North Dakota. He had come to “bag a buffalo,” as he explained it, during a trip that historians believe lasted from September 7 to 28.
This part of the country is known as the Badlands.

FMCA members interested in helping to eliminate poverty housing firsthand can participate in an upcoming Habitat for Humanity build in Central America.
Anyone can take a vacation and come back tan and a few pounds heavier. But only special people travel to exotic places in the spirit of helping others.

The 2005 election of FMCA National Officers will be held August 15, 2005, at FMCA’s 74th International Convention in Minot, North Dakota.
This year’s Nominating Committee was elected by the Governing Board in accordance with FMCA Bylaws. Its members are Chairman Bill Walker, F56746; Bob Haught, F82522; Norman Holley, F21819; Fred Kennedy, F44281; Gary Smith, F155557.
FMCA’s Nominating Committee has submitted its slate of candidates for national office.
Although balloting is restricted to National Directors and National Officers, we invite all FMCA members to review the candidates’ resumes and to communicate their preferences to their respective National Director or Area Vice President.

When crew members building the Great Northern Railroad stopped work for the long North Dakota winter back in 1886, they set up a tent city at a place they called Minot. Like magic, the town sprang up almost overnight.

Want to stand where a record wind speed — 231 mph — was recorded in 1934? Want to view breathtaking vistas? Then hitch a ride on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Cog Railway, one of the world’s steepest railroad tracks.
In the spring of 1858 New Hampshire legislators thought Sylvester Marsh’s request to build a cog railway to the top of 6,288-foot Mount Washington, the state’s highest peak, was a joke. “Let him build a railway to the moon!” one legislator taunted.

We’ve all heard the story about the new motorhome owner who set the cruise control and then went back to the galley to make a sandwich, believing that the cruise control would manage the coach’s direction as well as the speed.

Are you tired of replacing that expensive water pump indicator light that is visible only when you’re standing directly in front of it?
After having the third one in three years burn out in my motorhome, I went to RadioShack and found a 12-Volt, Hi-Brightness Red Lamp Assembly with Bulb (part #272-331) that came in a package of two for $2.29. The average life stated on the package is 25,000 hours.

Sitting around a bonfire with friends is one of the great attractions of motorhoming. Campers can enjoy a real campfire in a contained environment with a firepit from SOJOE, makers of rustic-looking steel firepits.
SOJOE firepits have a 3-millimeter-thick cold-rolled steel shell and come with a stainless-steel spark screen, a poker, and a cooking grate.

The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) has designated June as Great Outdoors Month throughout the United States. Great Outdoors Month, of which FMCA is a participating partner, is a month-long series of events that will include a special focus on the role of recreation as a catalyst for physical activity needed to combat obesity.

“Wow!” is usually the response one hears from folks who step inside the 36-foot-long Pace Arrow 36D for the first time. They are reacting to the 36D’s new concept in space: a full wall slideout that measures 23 feet 6 inches long and 30 inches wide and truly opens whole new vistas.

Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park will forever stand out in my mind as the first place I saw a wolf in the wild. It easily could be the one and only time.

Directions to the North Dakota State Fairgrounds Parking for FMCA’s 74th International Convention will commence on Saturday, August 13, at 7:00 a.m. Please display your admittance card on the front windshield, lower left-hand corner of the passenger side.
The holding area will open on Friday, August 12, and is located via Burdick Expressway (Hwy.

The idea for this column came from reading Mary Blocksma’s 1995 book, The Fourth Coast. Back in 1990 she left home and family for three months to drive and camp along the entire Great Lakes coastline — plus some additional waterways.

When you cook double batches of a meal at home and freeze some for future road trips, you save time, mess, and money. Here are some offbeat recipes that can be made in large amounts and then frozen in portions appropriate for your family.
Chicki-basa Stew
1 pound kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, partially thawed and cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 large onions (2 heaping cups), diced
1 large green sweet pepper, diced
1 small red sweet pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
10 cups water
1 cup flour
In a large kettle, sizzle the kielbasa and chicken in hot vegetable oil, gradually stirring in the garlic and vegetables over high heat.

For 40 years, the California chapter of FMCA has been the umbrella under which many motorhomers have gathered. At one point more than 1,500 members belonged to the chapter, but as FMCA grew, more chapters sprouted from within the California chapter and its membership decreased to a more manageable number.

Richard and Loretta Trulson, F342395, of Ardmore, Alabama, used to do much of their traveling by air. That should come as no surprise, since he is a licensed pilot and owns his own aviation company, and both of them are certified airplane mechanics.

Dear RV Doctor:
I was asked a question the other day by a fellow RVer about a 4,500-watt Onan generator. He wanted to know if I could find out what the point gap of the points on his unit should be.

Q: In the “Engine Shuts Off” inquiry that appeared in the October 2004 issue of FMC magazine (page 30), Carl Kummer, F272373, indicated he was having fuel valve shutoff problems on an 8.3-liter, 300-horsepower Cummins engine. I had the same problem on my coach and found the following.
The fuel shutoff valve has two coils: one that activates with the starter circuit to pull the valve in, and a second “holding coil” to keep the fuel shutoff valve energized while the ignition is activated.

The telephone number published for Toyo Tires in “Where The Rubber Meets The Road” (April 2005, page 64) was incorrect. The Consumer Relations phone number is (800) 442-8696; the Technical Service Center number is (888) 444-8696.

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Lack Of “Perfection”
Dear Editor:
I think the proofreaders were taking a nap when it came to page 110 in the article “Perfection In New Harmony” (May 2005).

Family Motor Coaching magazine has been an integral part of FMCA since the association began in 1963. Early on, the founders realized the association needed a magazine to share information about the increasingly popular lifestyle.

When I asked for the opportunity to write this column, my deadline was far in the future. Like everything, time passes by rather fast.

In my December 2004 “President’s Message” column I reported on FMCA’s standing committees and explained their purposes and functions. The FMCA president appoints members to two other groups that I did not mention at that time, but they are very important to FMCA and our first-class magazine, Family Motor Coaching.
The Technical Advisory Committee is a highly qualified group of individuals selected from our family membership to review technical material prior to publication in the magazine.

“Wow!” is usually the response one hears from folks who step inside the 36-foot-long Pace Arrow 36D for the first time. They are reacting to the 36D’s new concept in space: a full wall slideout that measures 23 feet 6 inches long and 30 inches wide and truly opens whole new vistas.