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In the early 20th century, the United States had the largest railroad system in the world, with nearly 300,000 miles of track. Today that impressive system has shrunk to less than 145,000 miles, and more than 2,000 miles of railroad tracks are abandoned annually.
This trend provides that much more of an opportunity when it comes to the development of rail-trails.

You needn’t polish your halo before chasing after the stately spires encountered during the Painted Churches Tour, which originates in Schulenburg, Texas. They may look like typical country churches on the outside, but the interiors of these houses of worship are mini museums of Old World heritage and artistry.
They’re called “painted churches” because of all the wonderful painting on the inside, tour guides explain.

Alabama Bureau Of Tourism & Travel
P.O. Box 4927
Montgomery, AL 36103-4927
(800) 252-2262
www.touralabama.org
Alaska Travel Industry Association
2600 Cordova St.
Suite 201
Anchorage, AK 99503
(800) 862-5275
www.travelalaska.com
Arizona Office Of Tourism
1110 W.

Frostbite is defined as damage to the skin and underlying tissues caused by extreme cold. In its most severe stage, frostbite can cause the skin and tissue to freeze and turn gangrenous, requiring the affected body part to be amputated.

Families will be assigned a day and time of admittance based on the date their registration is received at FMCA headquarters in Cincinnati. All registrations will be divided equally over a three-day period.

Nestled at the foot of the colorful Calico Mountains in the high Mojave Desert, midway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, is the nicest little ghost town you would ever want to visit. Called Calico, it was the site of the richest silver ore discovery ever recorded in Southern California history.
Like all mining towns, Calico had good times and bad times.

It’s the unplanned things that make life fun, and because he recognizes that, Matt Jenkins, F307407, can put merriment into any FMCA gathering. He says his best shows happen when a crowd participates and you’re not sure what will happen next.
Similarly, Matt really didn’t plan to join FMCA and be favored by motorhomers.

A two-lane road from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Hoover Dam snakes across the countryside, through landscape that hasn’t changed in thousands of years. As you crest a knoll, Lake Mead looms ahead like an enormous oasis in the middle of the desert.

What to do about the mail is always a concern for the traveling family. Motorhomers who enjoy extended summer trips or winters in warmer climes and full-timers who travel wherever the winds may take them are especially aware that keeping up with the mail can be a source of frustration and worry.
FMCA’s mail forwarding service* was instituted as a member benefit so that families might enjoy their travels without having to worry about when and where they would receive their mail.
FMCA members who wish to sign up for this service are asked to follow the procedures listed below to ensure uninterrupted mail service once they depart.
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Effective January 1, 2001, FMCA contracted with MEDEX Assistance Corporation to provide active family and life members with coverage under the MEDEX PLUS Program. This program helps traveling members to effectively manage the complexities and expenses of out-of-area medical and travel emergencies.

Updated information regarding the many benefits and services available to members of the Family Motor Coach Association.
Membership in the Family Motor Coach Association brings with it a wealth of benefits that are of value to the motorhome traveler. Some of these benefits are obvious — the subscription to Family Motor Coaching magazine, for example — and some are not so obvious.

Back in 1851 my great-great-great grandfather Washington Peck traveled by horse-drawn Conestoga wagon through fledgling Los Angeles on his way to Sacramento and the gold fields. Fortunately for me, he kept a detailed journal of his travels.

NASCAR drivers do it. Golf pros, bull riders, and hot-air balloon enthusiasts do it, too.

Fixing jalousie window openersWe love having jalousie windows in our motorhome. They can be left open when it rains and we can enjoy the fresh scent provided by the shower.

Envision Series A27W221 TV/computer monitorThe Envision Series A27W221 from AOC Displays is a 27-inch HDTV-ready LCD TV that also can function as a PC monitor. The wide-screen TV, with 1280 by 720 lines of resolution, is said to have excellent clarity, and with its extremely wide viewing angle, everyone is able to enjoy the show no matter where they’re sitting.
Multiple inputs allow users to add a satellite/cable receiver, a DVD player, a game console, or a computer.

Mandalay Luxury Division, part of Thor Industries, C847, unveiled the 2006 type A diesel-powered Presidio this past August at FMCA’s 74th International Convention in Minot, North Dakota.
New features on the 2006 Presidio include a full 84-inch interior ceiling height that expands the living area and increases overhead storage. Attractive porcelain tile has been added in the entryway, kitchen, and bathroom.

Mound Builders is the designation archaeologists have given to the ancient people who built large earthen mounds in the United States. In this column we’ll look at mounds in an area bounded by the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River, and the Appalachians.

Cream cheese has many uses for cooks on the go. Spread it on toast or bagels for breakfast.

Even the most avid motorhomers sometimes feel squeezed for space. Here are ways to make your coach hold more, let in more ambient light, and seem more expansive.

Add a second shower curtain rod parallel to the existing rod. The first holds the shower curtain.

For many years, birds have been getting a bad rap. It’s been a common misperception that birds are not nearly as intelligent as other creatures.

The concept is to use a simple symbol on highway signage that indicates it is safe for an RV to enter, park, and exit at a location. This would make it clear that a tourist attraction, restaurant, fueling station, etc.

In the past few years, an increasing number of women over age 50 have realized that as they age, they don’t have to become less fun or fun-loving. To the contrary, some even say that it’s good to be a bit freer and more unconventional as the years go by.
These ideas are put into practice in many zany ways by members of the Red Hat Society, including FMCA’s version of this fun-filled group.

The Senat’s RV Club chapter held its Fall Rally September 1 through 4, 2005, at the Wild Frontier Campground in Ocala, Florida. Hosts Howard and Carol Schiffhauer, F319887, and Keith and Shirley Nickerson, F290932, welcomed 46 members who arrived in 22 coaches.

Dear RV Doctor:
I have a question about RV toilets. The one in our older motorhome seems to work fine, but I’m wondering whether the valve is closing properly.

I have a 1996 Georgie Boy on a Chevrolet P-30 chassis, and it’s like rolling along on rocks. Everything in the coach sounds like it’s going to vibrate apart.

Dear Editor:
I never thought I’d be writing one of these letters. But it seems that some members still have not gotten the word, and will ruin our welcome at various retailers, especially Wal-Mart.

I hope that you have been enjoying family and friends as you experience another holiday season. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we look forward to the Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s feasts and festivities.

I think it’s very important that the members — the owners of FMCA — know the history of our organization. Some of you might already be familiar with part of it, but here is a review.
On July 20, 1963, under the guidance of Bob and Jean Richter, L1, of Hanson, Massachusetts, 26 families from eight states and Canada met at the Hinckley School — now known as the Good Will-Hinckley Homes for Boys & Girls — in Hinckley, Maine, to socialize and become acquainted with other “house car” owners.

The road can be one of the toughest places to maintain a sensible diet. You get away from home for a few days and your normally disciplined eating habits have a tendency to go out the window.

What’s so fine about Greenville, Mississippi? On the surface, the portion of the Mississippi River Delta from Memphis, Tennessee, south to Vicksburg, Mississippi, seems to be just a long stretch of flat farmland. But there is so much more to the Delta in the Greenville area than meets the eye.
This Mississippi River town is a good place to relax.

As I pulled into the Cincinnati campground where Bill and Carol Mumma, F230646, were staying, I expected their type A coach to be outwardly different from other motorhomes. I had talked briefly with Bill by phone, so I was prepared for a “wow” factor when I first encountered the coach.

When you’re traveling, the best way to get a good feel for local flavor is to hang out with the locals. In Wisconsin, indoor sports become hotter when the weather turns cool, and many locals enjoy bowling.
But not at one of those modern-day gargantuan 36-laners.

For decades, the name “Blue Bird” has emblazoned the bright yellow buses many children ride to school. It also has been a familiar moniker in the motorhome industry.
The Blue Bird Corporation was established in 1927, when Albert L.

Propane, the most popular of the liquefied petroleum gases, is a very safe product if handled correctly but can be a dangerous commodity if misunderstood. The combustible range of the air-to-fuel ratio actually is quite narrow.

As the oldest continuously settled city in the United States, with one-of-a-kind attractions, Florida sunshine, and plenty to see, St. Augustine is a popular vacation destination.
It’s in a scenic location, too, on Florida’s northeast coast, 38 miles southeast of Jacksonville.

In mid-January, as you approach Quartzsite, Arizona, from any point on the compass, you begin seeing them approximately 20 miles away from town: clumps, groups, and temporary communities of motorhomes and other types of RVs circled around common campfire rings like wagon trains of old. Many solo units also are scattered among the sagebrush.

After a relaxing vacation in Palm Desert, California, George and Helga Dumas, F110246, were on their way home to Goleta, California, in their 38-foot Alfa See Ya! motorhome. George rounded a curve on State Route 126 and noticed a semi truck ahead in what looked like a jackknifed position at the side of the road.

Every year, hundreds of people in the United States die from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, and thousands of others end up in hospital emergency rooms from breathing this noxious gas. The statistics are regrettable, as most of these incidents could be avoided.
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that has no color, odor, or taste.

To run a satellite TV cable or extension cord through a window without crimping the cord and also to achieve a weather-tight seal, I cut a piece of black foam-rubber insulating tube to fit the length of the window. The open tubing fits snugly over the edge of the window.

The Buck/Whittaker Lumina LED knife features a light-emitting diode (LED) placed next to the Buck blade, enabling precise cutting day or night.
The LED light has four programmed functions — high beam, medium beam, low beam, and intermittent flash — and has an automatic shutoff after five minutes to conserve the two 3-volt lithium batteries. The light is water-resistant; has no moving parts, so it’s not prone to breakage; and has an average lifetime of 100,000 hours.
The knife has a 3-inch-long partially serrated, drop-point blade made of 420HC stainless steel and a molded nylon handle.

Home Away From Home: The World of Camper Vans and Motorhomes ($29.95, Black Dog Publishing) chronicles the earliest days of automobile travel all the way to present-day RVing. Editor and coauthor Kate Trant and fellow authors Malcom Bobbitt and Lars Eriksen capture the spirit of automotive travel during the past 100 years both in the United States and abroad.
The book features a general overview detailing the evolution of RVing along with in-depth commentary from RVers themselves and those in the industry.

Blue Bird Coachworks builds luxurious motorhomes that compare favorably with the bus conversions offered by today’s custom coach converters. But Blue Bird units typically cost $500,000 to $700,000 less than those conversions.

Gardens all over North America pour out their bounty during the fall. These recipes were freshly picked to be tasty, easy on the cook, and filled with garden goodness.

Confetti Apple Salad
Splashing the cut apples with lemon juice will keep them from turning brown.

If you use dial-arounds (10-10 services) for long-distance calls, you can learn a lot by regularly checking out www.10-10PhoneRates.com. Rates for these services vary by company and can change at any time.

Rep. Walton J.

Many people think of New Jersey as being filled with cities, factories, and highways. After all, it is the most densely populated state in America.

It’s been some time since we’ve done a traveling tips column, so out came our inch-thick packet of ideas. Here we go.
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