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Well, it’s wonderful how companies like Yelp and Google with their Maps feature help all us smart phone users find what we are looking for and that they use crowdsourcing to help us make safer decisions. But what happens when these tools lead us astray, or when they just don’t give us the information we need. It seems to happen to me all the time.

No I am not angry, because I remember when I bought my first GPS unit for my motorhome. Most of the streets were not listed, only the main highways and main roads, the data vendors were not working together cohesively, even if the platforms like ERSI had a great system. A few years later and the dot-com bubble burst and it didn’t get any better for a long while. Today, Google Maps is pretty good, but I’ve had trouble with bike paths, hiking trails, and such. Soon we are told interiors of government buildings will all be mapped out too, we may never be lost again – a promising future yes, but that future isn’t quite here yet.

There was an interesting piece in the Albuquerque First Business Journal on October 23, 2013 titled; “Rocks, rivers, trails get Yelp treatment from local startup,” by Dan Mayfield which noted; “Fans of the outdoors can now start checking out hiking trails and kayak streams just like foodies check out restaurants on Yelp. PlanitMapper’s site is live with listings for the state’s cycling, hiking, snow sports, kayaking and climbing trails.”

This is really good because not long ago, I was biking up in the mountains in CA and a couple of college gals stopped me on the road to ask if I knew where the “trail head” was for a certain popular local trail. Well, I was on a 65-mile bike ride and I had little idea where it was. They said Yelp gave them the wrong directions, and I told them I hadn’t passed it so it must be the other way. They didn’t turn back so I guess they gave up.

I told them; “Yah, Yelp sucks,” and they said “no kidding” and then I told them; “who invented this road anyway,” pointing back to the winding road behind me and all the switch backs going up some 1,400 feet in elevations, and they said “Yeah, right?!?” Anyway it turns out Yelp was no Help! So, it’s good they are fixing this problem with all the hiking trails, great a start-up idea, I hope they will make this happen. There is still work to do. Please consider all this and think on it.

Source by Lance Winslow

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