The Toronto Fall RV Show and Sale is being held October 17 through October 19, 2008 at the Toronto Congress Centre.

There will be travel trailers, fifth wheels, expandable hybrids, hybrid lite weights, folding campers, truck campers, class a motorhomes, class b motorhomes, class c motorhomes, park models and toy haulers on display.

Some of the manufacturer brands that will be on display include Forest River, Heartland, Cruiser RV, Monaco Coach, McKenzie, Coachmen, Cikira RV, Dutchmen, Sunvalley, Keystone, Carriage, Fleetwood, Crossroads, Airstream, Hitch Hiker, Open Range, Doubletree, Adventure Manufacturing, Thor, Starcraft, Winnebago, Discover Canada, Damon, Tiffin, Great West Van and KZ-RV.

Expert Garth Cane will be at the show with seminars on how to Winterize Your RV.

Plus anyone purchasing an RV at the show will have a chance to win up to $25,000.00 cash back.

Show Hours:
Friday October 17 - 10 am to 9 pm
Saturday October 18 - 9 am to 7 pm
Sunday October 19 - 10 am to 5 pm

Admission:
$10 - individual
$18 - couple
$23 - family
Seniors get reduced admission on Friday only with a single costing $6 or $10 for a couple.
There is also reduced admission on Friday evening from 5 pm to 9 pm with individual admission costing $7, $12 for a couple, or $18 for the entire family.

Official Show Website:
TorontoFallRvShow.com (there’s a handy exchange rate calculator, loan calculator and a metric conversion calculator on the home page of the website in the left hand side menu).

The 15th annual Fall Atlantic City RV show is being held October 31 through November 2, 2008 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

There will be over 250 RVs on display including class a motorhomes, class b motorhomes, class c motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth wheels, folding trailers and park models. Over 90 manufacturer brands will be represented at the show.

For easy travel to and from the show, take the New Jersey transit system train. Trains from as far away as Philadelphia travel to the convention center. Click here for more information and for train schedules.

Show Hours:
Friday - 12 pm to 7 pm
Saturday - 10 am to 9 pm
Sunday - 10 am to 5 pm

Admission:
Adults - $10
Kids 12 to 17 - $7
Kids 11 and under are FREE
Senior Day is Friday with admission for seniors costing $7.
For a link to a $1 discount coupon for adult tickets, click here.

The 56th annual California RV Show in Pomona, California is being held October 10 thru 19, 2008 at the Los Angeles County Fair and Exposition Fairplex in Pomona.

It opens at 10 am on Friday the 10th and closes up shop for another year on the October 19th at 6 pm.

There will be lots to see and do such as free seminars on topics ranging from How To Choose an RV, to Full Time and Extended RV Travel, to the Joys of Travel to Small Town America.

And, of course there will be lots of RVs on display: folding camping trailers, travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers, truck campers, toy haulers, class a motorhomes, class b motorhomes, class c motorhomes, and van conversions; along with some specialty towable and motorized models. Plus there will tow vehicles on display.

In addition, every day of the show at 3 pm there will be a drawing for a $200 Shell Gas Card and Laughlin, Nevada 3 day mini vacations will be given away daily each hour from 11 am to 5 pm.

Another special feature will be an appearance by Warren Eckstein, the Pet Therapist on Saturday October 11 from 11 am to 3 pm.

Admission: Monday through Wednesday, $1 for adults and senior citizens (an awesome deal). Thursday through Sunday regular admission is $6 for adults and $5 for seniors but there is a $2 discount coupon available for those days on the show’s official website. Plus a complimentary return guest pass is available for guests who are unable to see everything they want in one day. There is no admission charge on any day for children 18 and under accompanied by an adult or any active duty military personnel when their military id is shown.

Show Hours: 10 am to 6 pm daily.

Parking: $9 for cars; $12 for RV’s.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING
- Free 1 year Good Sam Club Membership - Every family who attends the show can receive a free one year membership in the Good Sam Club just by stopping by their booth at the show and completing a membership application - no strings attached.

- Lots of RVs to see.

- Free seminars.

- Free Entertainment.

FOR MORE INFORAMTION VISIT: carvshow.com.

Almost every camper, at one time or another, entertains the thought of chucking in their day job and hitting the road in a RV full time. For most people it is just a thought that enters their mind when their camping vacation is over and they have to head home and back to work.

For others it becomes more than a passing thought and starts to take root in their minds, becoming something they truly want to pursue.

It is something that has been on my mind for several years. I even got to the point of mentioning it to my husband last year because I figured, or at least hoped, he would be the one doing it with me. At first he wasn’t very enthusiastic about it. But that is because he is the “sensible” one in our relationship and the only things he thought about were how much it would cost, how we would pay for it, and if we could afford it (notice a theme)?

I, on the other hand, could only think about how wonderful it would be to be able to visit the places in North America that I have been wanting to see for myself for a long time instead of just looking at pictures and videos that somebody else took.

Now that my husband has been tossing the idea around in his mind for about a year, he is getting more interested in the idea, so now I feel less guilty about the hours I spend online “researching” full-time rv’ing and reading about the experiences of others (the good, the bad, the ugly and also the funny stuff and the sad stuff).

What is even more exciting to me is that my husband works with someone who has decided to RV full time and who has agreed to talk to me about it and answer all my questions (although he may change his mind when I show up at his house tomorrow with a list of questions as long as my arm)! . Plus he and his wife are letting me videotape it so that I can share it with you (watch for the video to be posted here within the next 2 weeks, but keep in mind that it will in no way be anything resembling an award winning documentary - just a conversation with people who are going full timing and who are sharing what they have learned so far).

Since full time rving is front and center in my mind with my upcoming “interview,” I thought it would be a good time to share some resources with you to check out about full time rv’ing. There is some great information online from people who spent years on the road full time and are now back in a “non-wheeled” home and from people who are currently on the road and who are willing to write about the positives, the negatives, and even share information about the financial end of it including their exact costs. Here’s a few of my favorites:

- Larry and Connie Farquhar - they started traveling full time in their motorhome in September 2004. Their website is Happy-Wanderers.com. They provide detail about how they came to the decision to full-time and also their 12 month countdown to from being “brick and mortar” homeowners to full-time rv’ers.

- Norm and Linda Payne took early retirement at ages 54 and 39, respectively and hit the road to full-time in September 1999. Their website, SeeYa-DownTheRoad.com that has a quiz to help you decide if full-timing might be right for you, an article about the “misconceptions about fulltimers” and an article about their “first eight years on the road.”

- Ron and Barb Hofmeister. They were on the road full time for 14 years and their website, MovinOn.net, has tons of information about full-timing.

I am one of those people that loves a good joke and a good story but cannot ever remember them so when I try to repeat that joke or story it never works out because I inevitably give away the punch line or forget an important part of the story.

So if you love ghost stories and want to regale your family and friends with a delightfully scary tale at your next camping trip, I found a great website, with lots of ghost stories on it that you can print out and take with you. Or, if you are feeling extremely ambitious or if you have a photographic memory you can just memorize them.

But, here’s my disclaimer. Some of these are really pretty scary so save them for “adult” time only or you’ll probably have kids sleeping on top of you for the rest of your camping trip because they’ll think every little noise they hear is something spooky (no, wait…that’s me! I’m such a “scaredy cat”!). Oh, and don’t blame me if you can’t sleep after hearing these!

Are you ready? Then, click here to go to the ghost stories website.

Everybody loves something free. Well, at least I do, unless it is something icky like a piece of already chewed gum.

But, I digress so back to the topic at hand which is free things that are definitely worth asking for. One of those is Travel Oregon’s free magazine.

It’s all about Oregon, and is of course geared towards enticing visitors to come and enjoy the state. The magazine brings to life some of the experiences to be found in Oregon in a magazine format with articles written by experienced travel writers, along with great pictures.

Click here to order your free copy today. You will have the option of ordering the fall and winter 2008 issue, the spring and summer 09 issue which will be available in March of 2009, both the fall and winter of 08 and spring and summer of 09 issues, or all their future issues.

You probably know by now that fall is my absolute favorite time of year and my favorite time to camping. But, it’s not as much fun when I go somewhere to camp and see great fall color only to find that I am either too early and only see a sea of green or am too late and the only color is on the ground where all the leaves have fallen.

That happened several years ago when I went to Vermont and found peak color has occurred the week before. There was still good color but considering I had driven several hundred miles to see it, I was disappointed.

So with that thought in mind I put together a fall foliage guide in 2007 that listed fall foliage hotlines to call and websites to visit for up-to-date fall color information in the United States. Last week I checked each of the website links and called each of the hotline numbers to make sure everything was still current and it’s a good thing I did. I was amazed at how many phone numbers had changed or were no longer valid and how many websites had changed.

So if you want fall color information for any state in the U.S. that has trees who drop their leaves and put on a great fall color show, check out my updated Fall Foliage Guide.

Happy Fall Camping!

If you have been reading this blog the last several days you know about the five day fall camping destination series I have doing. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading about the first four destinations I featured which were Vermont, Michigan, North Carolina, and Georgia.

For the last destination in the series we are heading all the way across the county to the west coast and the state of Oregon.

Did you know Oregon has over 150 state parks (187 if I counted correctly), 53 of which have campsites or overnight lodging? Plus it is also home to Crater Lake National Park. That’s a lot of nature to enjoy!

To enjoy the best fall colors call their fall foliage hotline at 800.547.5445 or visit them online at TravelLaneCounty.com. There are weekly updates. The fall color season typically starts in mid-September and can last through October but varies depending on the amount of precipitation the area receives.

Champoeg State Heritage Area is a great place to watch the oak and ash trees change colors and shed their leaves. It is located on the south bank of the Willamette River near St. Paul and is less than 30 miles from Portland.

The park has 12 full hookup campsites, 67 electrical campsites, 6 yurts, 6 cabins, 3 group tent areas, group RV area, group RV camp with meeting hall; 6 walk-in tent sites and a hiker/cyclist camp. So it pretty much has a campsite for every type of camping enthusiast.

Pets are welcome. They need to be on leash no longer than 6 feet in most areas of the park but there is a designated off leash area for pets where they can run around and get rid of their excess energy (or at least a little bit of it). The park is open year around although loop A closes from November through March, the group camps are closed October 1 through May 24 and the yurts are going to be closed October 27, 2008 through March 22, 2009 because of A loop restroom construction. Reservations for Champoeg are available through ReserveAmerica.com.

The park is a great place for history buffs. It is where Oregon’s first provisional government was formed in 1843 and has museums and historical markers so visitors can learn about what life was like for people who lived there in pioneer times.

Also located in the park is the Butteville Store which was founded in 1863 and is considered the oldest operating store in Oregon, although sadly it is closed this time of year (it’s open from Memorial Day weekend until the last weekend in September).

Other activities to do in the park include walking hiking, biking, fishing, canoeing, playing disc golf or my favorite activity while camping - just relaxing and enjoying the view!

If you visit the park on Saturday, October 4, 2008 you can enjoy the Apple Harvest Festival being held there from 1 pm to 4 pm. There will be cider pressing, dutch oven baking, apple ornaments, music, garden produce to purchase, plus fresh-pressed apple cider to drink, yummy apple butter to eat, and desserts from the dutch ovens to gobble up.

For a great scenic fall drive, take a day trip to Cottage Grove (about 2 hours away) and drive the Cottage Grove Covered Bridge Tour Route where there are 7 covered bridges to view. It’s a 20 mile drive but allow a couple hours to enjoy it. For more information including the specific driving route, click here to go to the TravelOregon website.

If you enjoy wine, check out some of the wineries in the area. The Williamette Valley (which is where Champoeg is located) is the one of Oregon’s major wine growing regions. Click here for information on 16 wineries located in the area. The trip to visit all of them is 37 miles when starting from Eugene, Oregon, but that’s a lot of wineries to visit even for me and I’m a wine lover!

Bald Peak State Scenic Viewpoint, with a 1,629 foot elevation is nearby and worth a visit just to see the view. Try to go on a clear day because you’ll be able to not only see a gorgeous view of the Wilamette Valley but of 5 peaks of the Cascade Mountains - Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Ranier, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Jefferson.

And, if you are golfing fanatic like my brother-in-law is, there’s a golf course just 5 miles away - the OGA Golf Course near Woodburn, which in addition to being named one of the most affordable golf courses in America by Golf Digest, it’s a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

To find more things to see and do in the Willamette Vally in Oregon, such as enjoying area festivals, visiting a pumpkin farm or visiting an apple orchard, check out the TravelOregon website.

And, if you a “foodie,” autumn is a great time to visit Oregon because it’s when Oregon highlights the bounty of the state during Oregon Bounty, October 1 to November 30, 2008.

This concludes my fall camping destination series. I sincerely hope you are able to get out and enjoy at least one great fall camping trip. Thanks to the miracles of modern technology, while you are reading this post I am enjoying a 10 day camping trip in Northern, Wisconsin (or at least I hope I’m enjoying it because the weather forecast I checked just before I left on Saturday had a chance of rain all week and cool temperatures). I’ll post pictures of the trip, rain or shine, when I get back the second week of October.

Happy Fall and Happy Camping!

Fall is starting to show itself where I live. The trees are just starting their annual color transformation with their leaves just beginning to show a tint of sun kissed gold. Plus, here and there, a few early leaf droppers are starting to turn orange.

When this post goes live on the blog, thanks to the magic of technology, I will be on a camping trip in northern Wisconsin where I get to be outside in the wonderful fall weather for 10 whole days! I just hope the weather is nice and not too stormy and rainy.

But today, day 4 of my 5 day series (day 1 was Vermont; day 2 was Michigan, and day 3 was North Carolina) on great fall camping destinations, focuses on a state several hundred miles from northern Wisconsin. It’s Georgia, with a focus focus on Vogel State Park and Amicalola Falls State Park.

VOGEL STATE PARK
Vogel State Park is one of Georgia’s most popular state parks and is located at the base of Blood Mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It is a popular fall destination because the trees in the Blue Ridge Mountains turn from a sea of green to a gorgeous vista of reds, oranges, and golds.

The park has 103 tent/trailer/rv campsites, 18 walk-in campsites, 35 cottages (3 are dog friendly!) and primitive backpacking campsites.

There are 17 miles of hiking and backpacking trails and the 2,174 mile Appalachian Trail is nearby. There are also opportunities for fishing in the park’s 22 acre lake and miniature golf.

A fall hoedown is taking place at Vogel State Park during its prime fall foliage viewing season. The hoedown is on Saturday October 18, 2008 from 2 pm to 9 pm and will feature hayrides, campfire and dancing, a professional storyteller around a bonfire, with chili and drinks available for purchase.

Some of the nearby attractions include the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Trail I mentioned earlier; the Dahlonega Gold Museum which features an award winning film telling the story of the beginning of the gold rush in North Georgia along with exhibits that include a large hydraulic cannon and nozzle that was used to blast soil from mountainsides; and the Cabbage Patch Kids Babyland General Hospital where they are celebrating their 25th anniversary (remember when Cabbage Patch Kids were so popular that people were fighting over them in the stores?).

If being up as high as possible without leaving the ground is your idea of fun, visit Brasstown Bald Mountain, which is the highest point in Georgia at 4,784 feet above sea level. It’s less than an hour’s drive from Vogel State Park and on clear days you can see 4 states (Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina) from the top of the mountain.

And, if you’re looking for a nice scenic drive to take while in the area, drive the Richard Russell Scenic Highway - Highway 515. It’s a 40.6 mile drive that the NSBP (National Scenic Byways Program) suggests allowing three hours to enjoy.

Plus there are ample opportunities for antiquing in the area plus, fall festivals, rafting, fishing, and golf.

Other nearby state parks include Moccasin Creek State Park (55 tent/trailer/rv campsites, wheelchair accessible fishing pier, lake fishing, 1 mile interpretive trail, and 2 mile Hemlock Falls hiking trail); and Unicoi State Park and Lodge (82 tent/trailer/rv campsites, 34 walk-in campsites, squirrel’s nest camping shelters, 30 cottages, tennis courts, hiking, biking, and fishing) are also nearby.

AMICALOLA FALLS STATE PARK
Amicalola Falls State Park is another popular Georgia State Park and is less than 50 miles from Vogel State Park, so you could split your trip into two segments and camp at both parks.

At 729 feet tall, Amicalola Falls State park has the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River (pretty easy to figure out how the park got its name isn’t it?); gorgeous views; 12 miles of hiking trails; trout fishing; great scenery for “shutter bugs;” and several lodging options with 24 campsites, 14 cottages, 56 lodge rooms, and the unique Hike Inn.

What is the Hike Inn? I wondered that too. It combines getting out into the wilderness and hiking with having creature comforts like soft beds, hot showers, and a family style meals you don’t have to cook!

That means no lugging of food and sleeping gear while on your hike. All you need to bring is water to drink while on the trail, clothing and socks, hiking boots, rain gear, toiletries, sunscreen, insect repellent, a first aid kit and a flashlight - things that you’ll either be wearing or able to fit in a normal sized backpack.

And, if you don’t mind heading there after the color has peaked, consider visiting the park for their Appalachian Thanksgiving on Thursday November 27, 2008 for a traditional Thanksgiving buffet with Appalachian cultural demonstrations, or visit them on Saturday December 6, 2008 for their Christmas Open House where there will be choir performances, gingerbread houses on display, winter hayrides, and visits with Santa!

FOLIAGE REPORTS
Peak fall foliage viewing in north Georgia where Vogel State Park and Amicalola Falls are located is typically from October 15 to October 31, but check the fall foliage report for the area to see for yourself what the color is like before heading there to avoid disappointment like I experienced several years ago when I planned a visit to Vermont but ended missing the best color for that year by a week. Fall color updates for Georgia and the rest of the United States can also be obtained by calling the National Forest fall color hotline at 1.800.354.4595 or by visiting their webpage.

Quote from Elizabeth Lawrence (writer and garden designer born in Marietta, Georgia in 1904) “Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.”

We are to part of three of my five day fall camping destination series. First up was Vermont. Yesterday was Michigan. Today we’re heading to the southern part of the United States, North Carolina.

If you are a fan of taking scenic drives in the Fall, then a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway is a must. It is a 469 mile road that connects the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina with 250 miles of the parkway located in North Carolina.

Yes, I know it is a long drive and gas prices are sky high, but it isn’t necessary to travel the entire distance to see great views, but if you do plan to traverse the entire parkway the NSBP (National Scenic Byways Program - sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation) recommends allowing 4 days.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is called “America’s Favorite Drive” and has been designated as an “All-American Road” because of its scenic beauty. It is an extremely popular fall destination because of its stunning fall foliage.

Construction of the parkway started in the 1930’s and took over 50 years to complete. It was finished in 1987 when the last stretch of road around Grandfather Mountain was completed.

Because the parkway goes through mountainous areas it is susceptible to periodic closures from storm damage. Always check on the National Park Service’s road closures website page to see if there are current closures on the Parkway; or call the park information line at 828.298.0398. In addition to listing the current closures, the website provides detour information (as of 9/22/08 milepost 367.7 to 355.3 and milepost 285.5 to 291.8 in North Carolina along with milepost 105.8 to 112.2 in Virginia are temporarily closed).

Sadly I have not personally driven the Blue Ridge Parkway or camped in the area yet, but it is definitely a trip I plan to enjoy within the next couple of years. But even if you are not familiar with the area, there is tons of information available to help “newbies” plan a great trip and maybe even help seasoned travelers of the area find a new thing or two to check out.

There are nine campgrounds on the parkway that are open early May through the end of the fall color season. Camping is $16 a night for all campgrounds. For a list of all nine campgrounds, along with their location and reservation information click here to go to the National Park Service (NPS) website. BlueRidgeParkway.org also has information about the nine campgrounds.

Julian Price is the largest campground along the parkway with 129 tent sites and 68 RV sites. It is near Boone, North Carolina and is adjacent to Price Lake.

Mount Pisgah Campground is at milepost 408 near Asheville, North Carolina. It has 70 tent sites and 70 rv sites. It is the most secluded campground on the parkway and also the highest with an elevation of 4980 feet so the views are spectacular. Keep in mind though that its high elevation mean that temperatures are usually moderate to cool during camping season (don’t forget to pack your long underwear, cozy sweatshirts and warm socks!).

For a list of 60 things to see and explore along and near the parkway (that should keep you busy for a while!), go to BlueRidgeParkway.info. The list is sorted by milepost number (for example, Linn Cove Viaduct is on the list at milepost 304.4) and has a handy key that lists available resources at each one such as G for gasoline, H for hiking, C for camping, F for food (all that sightseeing and exploring is going to make a person hungry) and FEE - fee charged.

And for one more suggestion, how about taking a trip back in time and to a place where money was no object - the historic Biltmore Estate. It’s near Asheville, North Carolina and is only 4 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway (take the U.S. Highway 25 north exit).

To stay up to date on when and where color is at its best along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina or anywhere else in the state, check out VisitNC.com’s fall foliage reports or call them at 1-800-VISIT NC (1.800.847.4862).

If you’re still not sure whether or not you want to grab your camping gear and head to North Carolina, check out this great photo slide show of some of the sights along and near the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina to see for yourself “what all the fuss is about.”

North Carolina Fall Scenes