So many RV travel memoirs come across my desk, I thought it was time to revisit the classic "Travels with Charley: In Search of America" by John Steinbeck.

In the fall of 1960, Steinbeck, then 58, embarked on his 10,000-mile trek across America with his poodle, Charley. For the next three months he weaved his way through America in “Rocinante” his pickup truck and custom-build camper.

Published in mid-1961, this non-fiction reflection became one of the largest commercial successes of Steinbeck's career and won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

"Travels with Charley" is both a journal of personal discovery and brilliant commentary on America during the year John F. Kennedy was elected president.

The paperback book is still in print and retails for about $9. Available in both paperback and audio cassette (read by Gary Sinise) in most public libraries.

Image: Cover art for the audio cassette version of "Travels with Charley."

If you've ever dreamed about training to be an astronaut, learning the harpsichord or working in a dig alongside professional archeologists – Elderhostel is here for you.

Read more about Elderhostel programs that welcome folks with recreational vehicles in "Are you mature enough for Elderhostel adventures."

For more information about Elderhostel programs call toll-free: 1-877-426-8056 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Hearing- impaired hostelers with TTY equipment call toll-free: 1-877-426-2167.

Image: From Elderhostel Web site.

Over Memorial Weekend Jaci and Todd Zimprich of Spokane are camping in their 1997 34-foot Dolphin motor home in Glacier Campground, a private campground on 40 acres just a mile south of Glacier National Park.

"We're having a family get-together," said Jaci, before leaving for the long weekend in Montana. "We're an RVing family and try to do this at least once a year," said the Spokane librarian. "There'll be 20 of us spread across six RV sites and one hut."

Jaci said the group selected the private campground over the national park because the campsites are larger and they have easy access to facilities such as showers, laundry and free dump station.

RV rates for two are $26 with water and electric hookups; sleeping cabins are $35 to $45, depending on size.

Glacier Campground is pet friendly and has senior, military and AAA discounts. Call toll free (888) 387-5689 . For more information on camping in Montana go to www.visitmt.com.

Image: Campsite at Glacier Campground.

Eric Sharp, Detroit Free Press outdoor writer, talks about five great places to recreational vehicle and tent camp in Michigan in "Happy campers: A place where birds sing, but sirens don't."

Sharp writes: "It took nine years, but I've finally camped for at least one night in every Michigan state park and recreation area that allows camping. Here are five that will satisfy about every kind of camper."

In "Happy campers" he also interviews early RVers who are braving wet weather "to get away from it all."

Image: Dorene and Keith LaPorte of Sterling Heights (Mich.) set up their camper with lights at Algonac State Park. (Photos by STEPHEN McGEE/Detroit Free Press)

A recent article in Northern California Homes Magazine On-line talks about how one couple started collecting classic travel trailers.

"Vintage trailers fall into three main categories: teardrops, canned hams and Airstreams. Teardrop trailers are sleek single-axle designs with low, arching rooflines. They can be pulled by small cars."

"Named for their outward resemblance to the preserved meat tin, canned ham trailers are boxy, wooden-framed structures, typically with painted, corrugated aluminum sides."

"Airstreams are, of course, the silver pods of yore, with metal frames and bare aluminum sides."

Read more in: Hitching heaven: The shiny world of vintage travel trailers by Jeremy Walsh.

Image: Cherokee (Calif.) resident Sherry Morris stands in her 1959 DeVil. Known as a canned ham for its visual similarity to the preserved meat tin, this small, lightweight trailer can be pulled with a modest vehicle and provides ample headroom for comfortable camping. (Northern California Homes Magazine On-line/Brett Holman)

"Lessons on retirement from the experts: retirees" by Marilyn Gardner, staff writer with The Christian Science Monitor, among other things, talks about retirees who have moved to The Sun Belt too impulsively and those who are having second thoughts about living full time in a recreational vehicle.

"The most regrets seem to come from people who enter retirement abruptly, without daydreams, thoughts, or plans," says Anne Hartman of Truro, Mass., a retired career counselor who now advises retirees.

Image: "Retirement Bliss" graphic by Scott Wallace/ The Christian Science Monitor.

Washington State Samboree
“Hobo Daze,” June 1-4, 2006, at the Grant County Fairgrounds in Moses Lake.
Costs: $55/2, $47/1 - includes registration and camping site with electricity and dumpsite.
Call: Joan Shelton (360) 600-5308 or Ron and Kathy Borchers (509) 886-5893.

Idaho State Samboree
“Four Seasons of Paradise,” June 7-11, 2006, at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in Coeur d’Alene.
Costs: $55/2, $40/1 registration; $10 a night for camping with electricity; $8 a night for dry camping.
Call: Larry and Marna Wier (208) 762-4502 or Dick and Ardell Easterday (208) 762-5126.

For more information on Good Sam Club membership click here or call toll free (800) 234-3450

Read more about the Washington and Idaho Samborees on Saturday, May 20, in Wheel Life in the Today section of the Spokesman Review.

Hot, dry weather is closing down forests in New Mexico to all activity.

In "Dry conditions force forest shutdown," Stella Davis of the Carlsbad, NM, Current-Argus, reports that the Lincoln National Forest will be completely closed to the public, including recreational vehicles, on May 23, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

"We are on a high state of alert. The forest is closed to recreation," says Jamie Kingsbury, district ranger for the Guadalupe Ranger District's Carlsbad office.

"It's extremely dry up there," she said. "There is little to no moisture in the soil, and the trees are tinder dry. It wouldn't take much to start a major fire in the Guadalupe Mountains from a cigarette butt."

"The Lucy & Desi Movie Collection" (Too Many Girls / The Long Long Trailer / Forever, Darling) is out on DVD. (Suggested retail: $29.98.)

The 1954 film "The Long, Long Trailer, in gorgeous Technicolor and directed by Vincente Minnelli, is a somewhat allegorical tale of a newly married couple who invest in a 40-foot trailer as their first home--and immediately regret it. Well, at least Arnaz's character does; he's the one who has anxiety attacks over operating electric brakes while steering up and down one-lane, mountain roads. Sight gags are plentiful: a scene in which Ball tries to make beef stew, a Caesar salad, and cake in a wobbling, moving trailer is classic Lucy. But there are some genuine dramatic sequences in this handsome movie, too, and the stars rise to the occasion." -- Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

"Motorists feeling pain at pump," (by Jeffrey Gautreaux of the Yuma Sun) reveals how people are choosing to vacation closer to home.

"Gas stories: Coping with sticker shock at the pumps," (by Keith Paradise with the Public Opinion in Chambersburg, Penn.) talks about how recreational vehicle owners are starting to change their driving habits as the price for regular unleaded tops $3 a gallon.

"Gas prices on rise, household budgets impacted" (by Nancy Stephens in the Fairview Observer in Fairview, Tenn.) talks about how the impact of higher fuel prices "is widespread and being felt from our nation’s budget to each individual household budget."

"Swedish woman halfway in bid to circumnavigate US"

From Reuters News Service ...
"Since July 4, the 32-year-old Swede (Renata Chlumska) has been circumnavigating the mainland United States, mostly by kayak but also by bike and in-line skates where overland travel is unavoidable.

She has been traveling without a support crew and carries all the gear except her bicycle, which is shipped because it simply won't fit in her 17-foot-long (5-metre-long) kayak.

"I am completely self-sufficient," she said, and while people sometimes join her on land, "I have gone every meter by my own strength."

Paddling an average of 25 to 30 miles a day, she is now more than half-way done with the 11,200-mile (18,000 km) journey that began in Seattle and headed south to San Diego, eastward and along the Rio Grande, up the Atlantic coast, and eventually to New York City which she reached on April 24.

Read her fascinating online journal and follow her progress on her Web site, www.renatachlumska.com.

The recreational vehicle connection? Not much, just that when she bicycles, she piles all her equipment into a small foldable trailer that she tows.

"Like an increasing number of professional golfers ... Davis Love III has adopted the home-on-wheels model as his preferred mode of transport," according to an article posted on the Journal News.

"For these players, sleeping in something resembling their own bed at night and not having to pack and unpack a suitcase outweighs the added time it takes to get from place to place."

Read more in "Love of the open road"

Image: Davis Love III from FootJoy web profile

The three-day Ride the West Horse and Ranch Expo (May 19-21, 2006) will feature two demonstrations by the Northwest Mounted Shooters.

"We have about 30 active members," says NWMS president Terry Irwin, "and about half have some sort of RV--usually either a truck camper or living quarter trailer."

Irwin, the 2005 Senior World Champion, pulls a two-horse 2003 Classic living quarter trailer.

NWMS is having a "World Point Qualifying" event Saturday, May 13, beginning at 9 a.m., at the Fairview Stables near Mead. The free event features shooters from throughout the Inland Northwest.

The group will perform on both Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20, at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center.

Read more about how members of the NWMS use their recreational vehicles in 'Horeseman's dream weekend' rings back a little history.

Image: World Class Champion shooter Terry Irwin and his horse Buzz come down through the course during a winter practice session of the Northwest Mounted Shooters March 19, 2006 at Fairview Stables. LIZ KISHIMOTO The Spokesman-Review.

Jeff Daniels "spends ample time on the road to balance family life with thriving film career," according to an article by Todd Hill, in the Staten Island Advance newspaper.

Daniels owns a 1998 Gulfstream Tourmaster class A motor home. To him, the journey becomes as important as the destination.

"Especially if you take back roads and you have the time to do that. And I get eccentric about it. I drove back from Vancouver (British Columbia), where we shot the movie, ("RV") down along (U.S.) Route 2, all the way from Idaho to (Michigan's) northern peninsula," said Daniels.

"It took about five days, just me. I slept in a pullout in Glacier National Park, slept behind a convenience store in Chinook, Montana. It's very peaceful. It's really kind of a Zen-like thing that happens, 14 hours on the road."

Read more about Daniels and his recreational vehicle lifestyle in "Jeff Daniels lives the 'RV' lifestyle, onscreen and off."

Read more about the recreational vehicles in the film, "RV," in "RVs steal the show in this funny flick" featured in Wheel Life in the Spokesman Review.

Image: Jeff Daniels and Robin Williams in the movie "RV." Courtesy of of Sony Pictures.

A story in the San Antonio Business Journal: "NBA champs taking 'Spurs Experience' to the streets" talks about how the San Antonio Spurs are introducing a new promotional bus that will be touring the streets of San Antonio.

"According to the Spurs, the new 'Spurs Experience' recreational vehicle will feature an exhibition of team collectibles. It will also include video-gaming equipment and other interactive opportunities for NBA fans."

Read more about it in "Spurs Roll Out New 'Experience'" on the Spurs's Web site.

Conway, Arkansas -- Reporter David Smith of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported that the First State Bank of Conway rolled with the first mobile branch in Arkansas--a custom-built recreational vehicle with two teller windows, two ATMs and an interior office.

The bank will rotate the $300,000, 32-foot vehicle weekly among apartments, senior citizens centers and rural Faulkner County communities according to the article: "Conway bank hits the road with RV"

Baltimore, Maryland -- WBAL SkyTeam 11 television news crew has a video report of "RV Fully Engulfed in Flames" on Interstate 95.

Troopers shut down all four northbound lanes of I-95 at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3, when a Class A motor home became fully involved in flames.

Howard County firefighters at the scene found fireworks inside the recreational vehicle.

Video link: RV Fire Closes Highway

Image: From WBAL SkyTeam 11 television news in Baltimore, Maryland.

Denzel Johnson of Johnson RV, 5928 E. Boone Ave. in Spokane Valley, reports that one dump station is open after being closed down temporarily to upgrade the site to meet county codes.

It seems that in the past, when the station was open 24-hours a day, there were abuses by a few folks who dumped “all kinds of things” into the tanks.

“There is a big change though,” he says. “Now the tanks are open only during business hours (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and there is now a $5 charge to help defray costs.”

· According to the Washington State Department of Transportation web site there are RV dump stations available at 19 of the 43 rest areas, most of which are open from mid-April through mid-November. The nearest rest areas with a dump station to Spokane are Sprague Lake (eastbound only) at milepost 241 on Interstate 90; Schrag (westbound only) at milepost 198; Winchester dump stations at milepost 161 are currently closed.

For a map and complete rest area list go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/biz/restareas/restareamap.htm.

· In an e-mail, Bette Price of Elk, Wash., said: “Forget what the AAA book says, the private resorts won’t let you dump. We were blessed last year to find the Argonne and Montgomery Car Wash (8915 E. Montgomery Ave. in Spokane Valley) just west of Longhorn Barbecue. It’s a free dump. It’s a good thing, so let’s not abuse it.”

· There is an online site, RV dumps.com, which lists locations of dump stations across the United States.

New in the travel section of your favorite bookstore is the fourth edition of "Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways," by Jamie Jensen.

This new edition ($29.95 paperback) has updated information for independent-minded travelers who would rather take the back roads of this great country instead of speeding down the "soulless" interstate highways.

Read more about this quirky "two-lane" guide in "Book uncovers hidden treasures"on Saturday, May 6, 2006, of the Spokesman Review.

VW camper van owner and author Jamie Jensen talks about a few of the advantages of taking your time and the joys of talking with local people along the way.

Check out the "Road Trip USA" Web site at: www.roadtripusa.com.

Image courtesy of Avalon Travel Publishing.

Just two of the many stories that talked about the daily lives of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors still living in travel trailers eight months after the disaster.

+ CNN.com's Lila King and Curt Merrill take a guided tour through the trailer's tight living quarters. Go to www.cnn.com and click on Audio Slide Show: Living in a FEMA trailer.

"Since Hurricane Katrina's floods ruined her Ninth Ward home, Patricia Santiago has been living with her husband, Ulysses, and grandson, Colby, in a FEMA trailer in downtown New Orleans. While she is grateful to have a roof over her head and a place to call her own, the tiny trailer and the asphalt it's parked on hardly compare to her Ninth Ward neighborhood, and she can't wait to return."

+ "Tight Squeeze: Life Inside FEMA Trailer" on CBS News.com

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided travel trailers or mobile homes to more than 36,000 families in Mississippi since Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. Most families have their trailers set up on the remnants of their hurricane-battered property."

This report talks about the McKay family in Waveland, Miss.

Image: AP photo of McKay family in FEMA trailer.

The Recreational Vehicle Care and Maintenance class (course number 7320) is being offered through the Spokane Community Colleges’ Institute for Extended Learning.

The class meets only once on Wednesday, May 17, 2006, for three hours from 6:30-9:30 p.m., costs $23 and takes place at Sullivan Square, 15412 E. Sprague Ave. in Spokane Valley. The classes include handouts.

To register, call 279-6000 or stop by the IEL office at 3305 W. Fort George Wright Drive between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.