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One Sze Fits All RV-ers:
GIFT IDEAS FOR THE RV TRAVELER
COPYRIGHT Janet Groene
There’s a gift idea here for almost any gender, budget or age on your holiday list.
* Many RV travelers carry “business” cards to leave with new friends made along the way. Follow-up friendship last sometimes for years.
* Dollar stores are a great source of inexpensive disposables, Buy a set of paper plates and matching tableware in the color scheme of the RV itself, the recipients’ favorite team or an upcoming holiday.
* Did they name their rig? How about polo shirts or baseball caps embroidered with the name of the camper?
* A set of colorful insulated glasses will keep drinks cold longer and won’t leave rings.
* Pick up a bouquet of a dozen solar stake lights. They are easily stuck in the ground around a campsite.
* Do you have a great photo of the person with their rig? Order a photo- imprinted mug, canvas print, key ring or other token.
* Luggage straps are good for more than suitcases. Use them to bind any unwieldy bundle such as a bed roll, yoga mat, patio rug, pillows, down-filled comforts and clothing. Bonus points if it’s personalized. with the name of the rig or the purpose such as “Dave’s Duvet” or Diane’s Down Jackets.
* Any camp cook will welcome a bright new pair of fireproof gloves.
Bonus points if you add a barbecue apron. Double points if the apron is personalized.
* The campfire is the heart of the campsite-home. Give a cluster of fatwood fire starters, artificial logs, cedar planks for salmon or “magic” flames for a dash of color. (Or have the kids make Grandpa a supply of homemade fire starters. You know, the kind made with dryer lint and discarded toilet rolls?)
* Give the camp chef a basket filled with a cluster of bottled hot sauces from all over the world. Passed at the table, the colorful labels are conversation starters.
* For rainy days, compact, simple games are found in every size and price range: cards, a bag of marbles or jacks, dominoes, ring toss, age-appropriate crosswords. Suduko, Word Search, adult coloring books.
* Pocket compasses come in many price ranges from toy quality to expensive heirlooms.
* Walking sticks are trendy and can also be a fashion statement. Bonus points for exotic woods, carvings or walking sticks with a built-in compass and/or thermometer.
* Everyone can use slipper socks to wear inside the camper, motorhome or tent. They come in a choice of colors. Find them online in S,M,L.XL and XXL.
* A sleeping bag liner can be changed and laundered easily and often. Bonus points if it’s luxurious silk.
* Chemical light sticks are popular for parties but they are also practical, providing safe emergency lighting without batteries or a fire hazard.
* Everyone can use more stuff bags in all sizes. They stow flat, then come in handy for laundry, catch-alls, toting, shopping, sorting, stowing.
Bottom line: Keep RV gifts compact, practical, useful and perhaps disposable or edible.
CAMPGROUNDS; GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS
* Camp free in a beautiful Oregon,setting, hookups included, if you bring your own RV or boat for housing and are willing to act as a BLM campground host. That means light duties such as checking campers in and out and staying through the season, April through September.
Open positions are in the Alder Glen, Clay Creek, Sharps Creek, Shotgun Creek, Whittaker Creek and Wildwood recreation sites. For more information and to apply, go to https://www.volunteer.gov/s/ To find specifics on each Oregon locale, go to www.blm.gov/
* HersheyPark, Hershey, Pennsylvania is the sweetest place on earth, especially during the Christmas holidays when guests can see reindeer up close and camp in a winter wonderland of five million lights plis a dazzling light show synchronized to music. Shuttle service from the campground’s front entrance takes you to attractions throughout the complex. Ask about the Candyland Camping Package for RV visitors on selected dates between now and January 1. (888) 710-0917
* A luxury RV resort is coming to the souther edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. New near Kenesaw, Georgia will be the Divine Village, with 260 RV sites, 110 acres, a lake, resort-style pool and long-and short-term rentals. Construction is expected to begin early in 2025. For updates on reservations go to https://www.instagram.com/divinevillagega/
* The Columbus, Ohio Zoo & Aquarium will have its own campground and it’s going to be a 75-acre doozie. The Hellbender RV Campground at The Wilds, due to open next June, will have 26 full hookup RV sites plus primitive sites, hiking and biking trails, a playground, camp store, dog park and more. Located in Powell, Ohio the zoo’s phone is (614) 645-3400.
* New owners plan massive upgrades for the Marble Springs Campground in Allen, Michigan. The family campground has a swimming pond, Blue Hole spring, a dump station, pavilion and more to come. Seasonal campsites are now being reserved at: (517) 869-2522.
* Lizella, Georgia will welcome the new Claystone’s Campground at Lake Tobesofkee. It’s the start of an overall improvement project at Claystone and Arrowhead parks. Old RV slots will be replaced with 64 new concrete pads with hookups and modern electrical pedestals. The parks will also get new docks and picnic areas. Closed for the winter, the campgrounds will reopen in spring, 2025.
* Love’s Travel Stops has added another location with six RV hookups. It’s in Jasper, Missouri and has showers, food venues, fuel, laundry facilities and a dog park.
* Be the first kid on the block to one of the first to discover the new Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort on Watts Bar Lake, Louden, Tennessee. Reservations are now open for when the resort opens on February 7, 2025. Here you’ll find RV sites with full hookups plus plenty of water spectacles, ball courts, a dog park and organized activities. There’s a restaurant, camp store and a jumping pillow. In February, special sports events will be organized to coincide with the Super Bowl weekend. Reserve ASAP to get earlybird specials. www.wattsbarlakejellystonepark.com/attractions-amenities/deals/
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| Bigger than ever for 2025! |
* Save the date! Next year’s three-day Night in the Country concert with camping is scheduled for July 24-26, 2025 in Yerington, Nevada. The lineup will be even larger, so follow the story as it shapes up. Camping on various areas in the farmland will be open July 22-31 and requires a concert pass as well as camping reservations.
Live music plays nonstop from the Full Moon Saloon to The Parlor, Be here for food, drinks, good times and good vibes, Proceeds benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley, Go to https://nightinthecountrynv.org/ phone 1-775-463-5114; email nevada@nightinthecountry.org/
* Join a park naturalist on a 1.5 mile, 1 1/2-hour round-trip hike to the Amicacola Falls waterfall. It's on the Appalachian Approach trail in Amicalola State Park, Dawsonville, Georgia. Along the way you will learn local human history and natural history, discover flora and fauna, find photo ops galore. Register for the hikes, to be held December 6 through 31 at (706) 344-1515. The cost is. $12 plus $5 parking. The park has “pull thru” or “back in” sitex with power, water, picnic table, grill and fire ring. Note that the road to the campground is steep, best for mderately size RV’s with good pulling power. The park also tent sites, glamping and has a lodge with restaurant. Camping reservations (www.) gastateparks.reserveamerica.com/
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