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In retirement I’ve traveled to every single city in the United States with over a 10,000 population. Now, don’t get me wrong I did not avoid the little cities, I went to so many I can’t even count them, although I didn’t get to all of them, it took me seven years traveling by motorhome just to ensure that I got to every town of over 10,000 or more people. Two areas I really enjoyed were West Texas and South Texas. The people are very nice there, and cowboy-ism is alive and well. Perhaps the most fun place to visit is a Texas two-step bar and grill establishment, and there are quite a few.

That’s where all the fun and action is, and as long as you are not trying to pretend to be something you aren’t, or shooting your mouth off, you can have a lot of fun even as an outsider. One of the coolest things are the mechanical bull rides, and you might think they are safer than a regular bull, and maybe they are, but they aren’t as safe, at least not all of them as you think they might be. Most of them have automatic shutoffs once the rider is dejected. But in some of the older bars, they have the older style mechanical bull rodeo style set up without the automatic shut off.

If you get thrown off of one of these you hope you get thrown off a decent distance because if you try to stand back up the thing is liable to come back and kick you in the butt, and knock you on your rear end. Not only is it embarrassing, but let me tell you; it hurts. Just because some of the locals can ride the mechanical bull on the higher setting, doesn’t mean you’ll be able too, and it might be fun for a few seconds, but often it ends with a hard landing even on the mats, and you had better get out of the way quick.

It seems that those with the automatic shut off are based on weight, and when there is no more weight on the mechanical bull the spring pops up and shuts it off. Still, on some it takes a little while for it to wind down and therefore perhaps these systems need a seat sensor shut off using a fiber-optic wire under the saddle. Immediately shutting off the power and completely stopping the system. This might add cost to the mechanical bull, but it might also help the bar and grill with their insurance policy, even though every rider signs a waiver to ride the bull at their own risk. Please consider all this and think on it.

Source by Lance Winslow

A campervan is an alternative vehicle for travelling or camping that is sometimes referred to as a “motorhome” or simply a “camper”. Geographically speaking, “RV” is the preferred term in the US that stands for Recreational vehicle, while “motorhome” is the common term used in Germany. Today the terms campervan and motorhome are preferred in Australia and New Zealand, while RV remains a popular term in the US.

Campervans vary in sizes

Size definitely matters; this applies to travelling with it and essentially when choosing for a campervan to rent. Campervan countries strictly impose vehicle capacity. Travellers and renters alike should not exceed the maximum number of people allowed in both regular vehicles and campervans. Sizes of campervans are regarded with the term “Berth”, by definition is a bed on a ship, or a passenger’s stateroom. The common berth sizes are 2 Berth, 4 berth and 6 berth. The number specifies the number of people to sleep in a particular camper.

Some companies offer 2.5 berth or 3 berth models. Many people are confused with these models. 2.5 berth campers simply means that it can sleep 2 adults and a child, while 3 berth of course imply 3 adults to sleep in it. All campers have storage cabins for luggage. Renting these types of models is definitely fine as long as the numbers are not exceeded. Some renters choose bigger vehicles to give more room to move, more luggage spaces or both, this strategy is ideal for travelers bringing in heavy or large amount of luggage than the usual.

All campers are equipped with a sleeping facility, 2 berth campers usually come with a convertible bed while 4 berth and 6 berth campers are usually built with double bed or beds that are immovable. All campers also come equipped with basic facilities of a regular vehicle like radio air-conditioner and seatbelts. Child seats should be secured when renting a campervan because some models cannot be fitted with child restraints.

When it comes to the kitchen facility, 2 berth vehicles may or may not be equipped with it, but campervans for hire commonly include a mini kitchen that is strategically designed to be convenient, thus without affecting the sleeping facility or the performance of the vehicle. Kitchen facilities among 4 berth vehicles and up are better, these models may also include toilet and shower for more convenience, DVD and TV and even awning.

Source by Sydney Liang

Owners of motor homes love to travel and see new places – a life of adventure hitting the road less travelled.

They love meeting new people and trying new foods at the places they visit along the way. Sometimes though, there’s nothing like a good home cooked meal which is exactly what you can have when you take to the road in a motorhome with your quarter acre pot!

A sense of adventure, the freedom to travel and still getting a home cooked meal is pretty hard to beat.

Motorhome adventurers’ love the quarter acre pot because it allows them to do just that! Pack up their belongings in the motorhome and hit the road with the knowledge that a home cooked meal is quietly bubbling away for when they arrive at their destination – this makes the destination even more exciting!

The quarter acre pot allows a motorhome enthusiast to prepare a meal before they leave home and let it cook slowly and gently as they motor down the road, so that when they arrive at their destination, supper is ready to eat and they can just relax after a long journey on the road.

No need to worry about disconnecting the shuttle car and traveling into a nearby unknown town to find dinner. It’s right there and ready to enjoy. Get the TV set up and tuned in, then just sit back, eat and relax. Plenty of time to venture into town tomorrow!

Do you know why motorhome adventurers’ love the quarter acre pot so much? Because they can retain their sense of adventure and exciting life of travel but still have all the comforts of home too!

If a family member or friend shows up unexpectedly, they’ll be able to partake in one of your famous home cooked meals served from your quarter acre pot.

Imagine the surprise on their faces when you proudly serve them a delicious meal just like one you would serve back home. They will see right away why you love your motorhome way of life!

If they get up in the morning and decide to leave the camper-van parked, get in the shuttle vehicle to cruise around, they can put a meal together in the slow cooking pot and have a warm lunch or dinner ready and waiting for them when they get back.

You can tire very quickly eating out all the time at high priced restaurants or junky takeaways.

No need to heat up and eat those awful TV dinners either.

With the quarter acre pot, even those adventurous folks that live and travel in their motor homes, can have healthy home cooked meals every night.

Source by Midge Hand

This is one aspect of camping that generates no end of discussion – mostly how other people are doing it! The purists – backpack tent campers – look at the luxurious motorhomes and fifth-wheel trailers and say, “That is not REAL camping!”

For their part, the owners of the sumptious digs-on-wheels look out at the tiny tents and say, “Poor dears! It’s too bad they can’t afford to REALLY camp!” And so it goes, on and on.

Is there no middle ground? Is there such a thing as REAL camping? I know I will never be able to resolve this issue but, since I own this blog, I’ll throw in my own two cents’ worth.

First, I’ll recount my own camping experience so you’ll know I’m not really taking one side or the other out of ignorance. As you may know, I started camping courtesy of the United States Army. We shared two-man pup tents with air mattresses (on the ground) and individual sleeping bags. The temperature didn’t matter! The Army is a 24/365 operation.

On a personal basis, while still in the Army, I started camping with tents that were a lot nicer than the Army version. Mine actually had floors in them! Woohoo! I thought it was pretty cool when I got a cot on which to lay my sleeping bag – no more sleeping on the hard, rocky ground.

There were no nice amenities like toilets, sinks or showers. I had to rely on the campground restrooms for that. I did have a small stove and a cooler cooled by bags of ice. Man, compared to living out in the field while on maneuvers, this was living!

I even went on a motorcycle tour once with several friends and spent the nights in campgrounds. We carried small tents, sleeping bags and camp stoves. We had a fantastic time.

Next came a pop-up tent camper. A lot of the amenities were the same but it was a lot easier to set up if you pulled in late. I still had to use the public restrooms but this trailer had lights and a table and places to sit. Wow!

My first travel trailer was not “self-contained.” That meant I had to carry the waste water and the bottom half of the PortaPotti up to the restrooms for disposal. But! This one actually had a heater, a built-in stove and a gas/12-volt refrigerator. Boy, oh boy, I was moving up into the Big Time with this one!

Since that time, I and my family have enjoyed traveling and setting up in campgrounds with a variety of trailers, vans and motorhomes. Our current rig is a diesel pickup pulling a 31-foot travel trailer which has a large slide-out and is four-season capable. Of course, it’s fully self-contained.

I have enjoyed every kind of camping I have done over the years (military bivouac excepted!). Of course, tent camping is more suited to warm weather but I have set up in cold or rainy weather, as well. If you’re well prepared, you can make yourself quite comfortable, even with minimal equipment.

I believe “camping” is a much larger concept than tents vs. motorhomes. Once I leave home, I can go, pretty much, wherever I want. There are campgrounds all across the nation – even in places where hotels are scarce. A lot of the parks and other tourist locations have campgrounds nearby.

For one or more nights, I can rent my own, private campsite. Normal campground etiquette is that you don’t make noise that disturbs your fellow campers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. It’s just normal consideration of others that is expected of everyone.

Most campgrounds are located in areas away from noisy traffic and city pollution. If you’re looking to relax in peaceful surroundings, a lot of campgrounds and very few hotels can meet that expectation.

Of course, one of the grandest things about camping is the camaraderie between campers. You can walk around the campground and people will greet you as you go by. If you see an interesting piece of equipment, you can stop and ask the owner about it. They’ll most likely invite you to sit down and have a cup of coffee. Try that in a hotel! They’ll be calling security on you in a heartbeat.

These things all apply no matter what kind of camping you do, no matter what kind of equipment you’re using. Campers love being around other campers. Believe me, many of the motorhome owners started out in a tent, too!

The bottom line is that it’s all camping. Enjoy whatever equipment you’re using right now and don’t worry about what you think someone else thinks about it. Don’t be afraid to try different types of camping. You just might come to enjoy something you never thought you would.

That, too, is a fun part of camping. Just get out there and enjoy yourself.

Source by Edwin J. Hill