Tidbits

Since I escaped from the workforce two years ago, I’ve come to truly appreciate simply having the time to “poke around,” as Alan and I like to call it.  Whether that means exploring a new part of town, wandering around a State Park or spending time “blog-hopping” online, it’s a privilege and a treat that I enjoy – a lot.

Over the past month, I’ve come across some interesting little tidbits of news – interesting to me, anyway.  None of them are really fodder for a full blog post, so I thought this format would be a good way to share them.  (I’ve included a few random photos just to add a little color to the page.)  On to the tidbits!

Airstream launches its first fiberglass travel trailer – “Nest” was acquired by Airstream in March 2016 and work continued on the project until it was ready to launch in mid-April of this year.  On the exterior, the Nest reminds me of a Casita travel trailer.  Want to take a look?  Here’s the link:  Nest by Airstream.

National Parks visitors supported 306,000 jobs in 2017 – A press release originally issued by the Department of the Interior on April 25^th (during National Park Week) has been reprinted on the National Park Service web site (link HERE).  The “2017 National Park Visitor Spending Effects” report indicates that “more than 330 million visitors in 2017 spent $18.2 billion in the communities near national parks. Of the 306,000 jobs supported by that spending, more than 255,000 were in those same communities that lie within 60 miles of a park.”   Most of the jobs were in hotels, restaurants, transportation and recreation, benefiting the hospitality industry tremendously.  Wouldn’t it be interesting to know how much money RVers pump into the economy each year?  Think about all the things we spend money on when we’re traveling:  gas and diesel, campground fees, restaurants, activities – not to mention the cost of the RVs themselves!  I’ll bet the figure would be mind boggling.  Good for us - and good for the old U. S. of A!

Yellowstone National Park

"#RV Magazine" enters the digital magazine market - Although it might certainly appeal to RVers of all ages, the publishers of this new magazine are focused on the younger segment of the RV market.  The magazine is delivered every month via apps available through the App Store and Google Play and is designed for tablets and smartphones.  A single issue is $2.99; a 12 month subscription is $23.99.  Find out more about the magazine on the #RV Magazine web site (link HERE).

My Dream LTV Floorplan Contest – If you’re creative and have a few thoughts about what the best floor plan EVER would look like, you may want to enter Leisure Travel Vans' contest.  A grand prize (a 4K Drone) will be award in each of three categories: Slide Out Floorplan, Non-Slide Floorplan and Wildcard Floorplan.  For more details about the contest and to download a floorplan template, visit the Leisure Travel Vans web site (link HERE).

Glacier National Park

RVIA says monthly RV production surpassed a record 50,000 units in March – The RV Industry Association obtained that information from their survey of manufacturers and indicated that this is the first time that monthly production has reached that number.   Wholesale shipment of new RVs totaled 51,607 in March 2018 and represented an increase of 8.5% over shipments from March 2017.  Of the 51,607 units, 45,490 were travel trailers and 6,117 were motorhomes.

Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) changed the title of its monthly member magazine – Beginning this month, “Family Motor Coaching” will be published as “Family RVing.”  The organization’s intent was to create a magazine that would appeal to both current and prospective members.  A member vote last fall enabled the organization to expand its membership to include owners of all types of self-contained RVs.  Rvers are invited to check out the new magazine on the “Family RVing” web site (link HERE).

Buffalo Shores Campground - Buffalo, Iowa

I saved the best news for last . . .

National Park Service fee increase being reconsidered – Having heard from more than 100,000 people protesting the proposed increase to entrance fees (from $25.00 to $70.00!) for 17 of the most popular National Parks, the Department of the Interior is currently reconsidering.  Now the Department’s sentiment is that the large increase might keep visitors from the Parks.  The proposed new fee was nearly 3 times that of the old one.  Did they think we were just going to go quietly in the night?

Happy Spring to everyone!  Here in our northeast neck of the woods, Spring is trying her best to pry the lingering tentacles of Winter from their miserable grasp on the region.  It was snowing here (again) this morning but none of it stuck to the ground – that’s progress!  May your trails - wherever they take you - be full of delightful adventures!