Mike Wendland shares his list of RV-related goals for the new year.
By Mike Wendland, F426141
January 2013
Looks like those Mayans were wrong.The world didn’t come to an end in 2012. With Christmas celebrations among friends and family now memories and with 2013 looming before us, it’s time to pack our motorhome and get ready for a new year’s worth of adventures.
Like many, we’ll join the Great Snowbird Migration, heading down Interstate 75 from our Michigan home to Florida. From there we’ll visit other Gulf States, meander over to the Texas Hill Country, and also head to Arizona, hunting for stories about the interesting people and places that make the RV lifestyle so rewarding. And that’s just the first trip of many we’re planning.
A new year is a time for planning, and as I begin my second year as FMCA’s on-the-road reporter, I’ve made a list of goals for this new year. Here are my top 10 RV resolutions for 2013.
1. Do some winter camping. The beauty of today’s motorhomes is that they truly are self-contained. Although cold weather requires some compromise, because the plumbing system may have to be winterized, there’s no reason I can’t get out there in the Great White North. In my case, that means Michigan’s snow-covered Upper Peninsula, where I want to try winter camping while videoing other motorhome users who volunteer to help run the annual UP200, an Iditarod-qualifying sled dog race.
2. Eat right and exercise on the road. While touring, it’s pretty easy to overindulge. The challenge is to eat good, healthful food. That means we will plan our meals much more carefully while traveling, consuming locally grown fruits and produce and avoiding fast-food places. Before heading out each day, we’ll walk, ride our bikes, or visit a local gym. My wife is a fitness instructor, so I’ve given her permission to treat me as one of her students. If I slack off, she’ll let me know and hold me accountable.
3. Attend more FMCA rallies. We had a ball at the FMCA Family Reunion in Indiana this past August and can’t wait for this year’s big event in Gillette, Wyoming, in June. But also on our list this year are chapter rallies. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of RVing is the friendships that are made along the way. FMCA chapters are organized by motorhome model, technical subjects, and regional interests. Rallies take place every month in some part of the country, and as we plan our travels, we will find more rallies to attend along our routes.
4. Visit more national parks. Last year, we spent a week exploring Yellowstone National Park. We were totally captivated by its breathtaking scenery, the wild animals, and the park’s sheer size. Yet Yellowstone is just one of 398 national parks managed by the National Park Service. We have added Zion, Yosemite, Glacier, and Canyonlands national parks to our travel goals over the next year or so. I swear, if we did nothing but tour national parks, we would be happy.
5. Boondock more. One of the things we like most about our RV lifestyle is we can pretty much go anywhere and stay anywhere. It took us a few months to venture off the beaten path and away from the convenience of commercial campgrounds, but once we discovered boondocking — camping off the grid and totally self-contained — we were hooked. We plan to explore more state and national forests, Bureau of Land Management properties, and county and local parks. And with so many scenic and private places to camp, it’s like the whole country is open. All we need is a road or forest trail to get in.
6. Try a luxury RV resort in a Type A motorhome. Although we own a Type B motorhome, we really want to see what a Type A is like. So we’re going to rent or borrow one for a trip or two. And we want to try one of those luxury RV resorts that cater to the big rigs. We’re also interested in traveling in a Type C. Someday we may be full-timers. While I do fine with all my video and photography equipment for on-the-road reporting in our Type B, there’s not a lot of storage for long or extended trips beyond a few weeks. By necessity, I can’t bring all my gear with me all the time. Perhaps a Type A is indeed in our future. All I know is that it’s a big country, and my planned story list for the next year runs more than two pages. Who knows, maybe we’ll sell our house, buy a Type A, and keep our Type B for the best of both worlds.
7. Travel more in Canada. As awesome as U.S. national parks may be, Canada’s network of 44 national parks and hundreds of provincial parks are equally stunning. On our travel list is a route west through Canada, coming back to the United States in Washington and then down the Pacific coast. Alternately, we could use that Canadian route to eventually get us to Alaska. This is a long trip, to be sure, so if we can’t do it all, we want to take at least a week this year and explore as much of Canada as we can.
8. Learn how to do my own maintenance. I am, admittedly, the most unhandy of handymen. But being a responsible RV owner means I need to understand how my motorhome works and how to maintain it properly. At the FMCA Family Reunion this past summer, I met RV Doctor Gary Bunzer and RV tire and safety expert Roger Marble. Both taught me a lot. And my friend and fellow RV travel writer Chuck Woodbury introduced me to his RVBookstore.com, the world’s largest collection of RV guides, DVDs, and books. I’ve resolved to read up on RV electrical and plumbing systems to further my educational process.
9. Volunteer more. The devastation caused to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States this past fall by Superstorm Sandy prompted many RVers to bring their coaches to affected communities and use them to provide emergency shelter, as communications command posts for first responders, and as food and water distribution centers. I will check with my local community leaders and see how I can become involved in a time of emergency. I’m an amateur radio operator (K8ZRH) and also will offer my service in times of emergency to the Red Cross and Salvation Army. Giving back is always good.
10. Take advantage of my FMCA membership. I took a couple of hours the other day to research the perks that come with my FMCA membership and ended up mentally kicking myself for not using them. In 2013, before I renew insurance, purchase new tires, get office supplies, book a campground, or consider long-term maintenance of my coach, I will take advantage of the ever-growing list of programs and savings opportunities FMCA has leveraged for its members. Add to this the forums on FMCA.com, the instructional videos offered, and the local and model-specific information available through FMCA chapters, and I have concluded that my membership in this organization may be the best value I have found in my brief motorhoming lifestyle. This year, I will take steps to utilize it in a major way.
So there you have it . . . my top 10 RV resolutions for 2013. I’ll share how I’m doing with the list from time to time on my Open Mike blog at www.fmca.com/openmike.
See you down the road.
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