Epic Jam

Outside Cincinnati

 

 

You’ve heard about it, read about it, and seen it on TV…The Epic Traffic Jam.

 

Yup, we were one of those poor schmucks stuck in a legendary snarl.

Six hours at a dead stop on the Interstate.

 

Most fortunate that we were in the motorhome – potty and refrigerator at hand!

 

We were heading up north, cruising merrily along on a beautiful day, when around 4:30 the traffic came to a stop. Aw, it’ll clear up, just a little fender bender. Ohhhh...but noooo.

 

After a while of no movement at all, folks started getting out of their cars, stretching, complaining on cell phones, peeing in the margins. We turned off the engine and waited.

 

Hours stretched by. Nowhere to go. Can’t turn around. No exits in sight.

We took the dog for a walk. Made a snack. Laid on the couch. Watched TV.

 

Every 60 minutes or so a bit of hope would arise. Truckers would start their rigs, everyone would  jump back in their vehicles, and we’d move…about 100 feet.

 

Afternoon gave way to night. Our side of the highway was a line of dark cars and semis – everyone conserving gas and batteries. Knots of stranded folks formed in the aisles, trading what little news there was about our situation. Surprisingly, people were pretty calm.

Word was that a tractor trailer had overturned, then caught fire when it was being hauled away. It was carrying a load of powdered animal fat that kept igniting and spreading across the pavement. It got so bad that airport crews were called in to foam down the wreckage.

 

Around 10:30pm we had crawled to the site of the accident. We picked our way through police, firemen, excavation crews with backhoes, and a quarter-mile line of dumpsters. What a mess!

 

Finally made it to my folks house at midnight, six hours too late for supper.

 

Epic, I’m telling you. A legendary traffic jam.

Here’s hoping once was enough!

Appalachia

Renfro Valley, KY

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When we are way up in the mountains, in high altitude and thin air, our GPS decides to set itself on Sherpa Mode. It carefully maps a route that is Longest, Obscure, and Steep Terrain (L.O.S.T.)

Such as today, leaving camp in NC, when a simple turn to the right would have led to the highway in a couple of easy miles, but instead the GPS sent us to the left. So we traversed the Appalachian Mountains on the backroads for two hours, though hill and holler, over dale and dell, around switchbacks and hairpin turns. All in the motorhome.

 

 

 

 

We crossed into Tennessee in this fashion, only to come to an abrupt halt at a washed out bridge. I parked the coach next to the barricades and we both sat there in stunned silence, thinking we would have to backtrack to Asheville. A construction manager came toddling over with advice. He pointed to a sliver of asphalt that disappeared over an embankment. I thought it was a boat launch.

“That’s the detour,” he said. “It’s one lane, and you gotta watch out for oncoming traffic.”

Possibly the longest six miles of my life. The “detour” was the service path for the railroad, squeezed between the tracks and desperately eroded banks of an angry-looking river.

We made it through. And I refused to drive for the rest of the day.

 

We’ve stopped for the evening in Renfro Valley, which is a music venue and historic pioneer village. Think Branson crossed with Dukes of Hazard. 

 

I took a long scooter ride through the valley, and then we toured around the village. There were two musical shows tonight, but we skipped them both in favor of a quieter evening at the campground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow will be an easy ride home. This has been a great spring break, and we’ll be planning our next outing soon. Stay tuned for more adventures to come! 

 

 

 

 

RVIA Show 2012

Louisville, KY

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Thanks to our friends at the Auto Channel, I had an opportunity to attend the RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) show in Louisville and peruse the exciting offerings for 2013-2014. This is the annual RV manufacturer’s show, and a chance for them to wow dealers with the latest in innovative design.

As the saying goes, the devil’s in the details, so I concentrated on both the small and large innovations. I was looking for usable design features - clever features to thrill the RV buyer – and I was not disappointed! Here’s a compendium of brilliant design touches I stumbled upon:

BATHROOM

There’s no question that RV bathrooms can be cramped and dark. Thank goodness several manufacturers are addressing this issue, even in small units. A running theme was the use of very large skylights in the shower, which gives a sense of spaciousness and a less claustrophobic bathing experience.

Even in Class B motorhomes, I saw a trend toward dedicating extraordinary floor space to the bathroom. Sure, this addresses a consumer complaint, but in a 23’ Class B that’s a lot of space to give up in the rest of the cabin. Everything else becomes compressed when you lose all that footage to the bath, and I’m not sure that’s an important enough benefit to compromise living space in the rest of the unit.

Huge Bathroom in a Class B

KITCHEN

Kitchens are always a big focus, especially for the cook in the family. I loved the trend toward upscale residential faucets in the the more expensive coaches, and I expect it’s only a matter of time before this feature will filter down to smaller units as well. Induction cooktops also make a lot of sense, especially when you’ve got 50 amps of juice to power it. 

Upscale Faucet - Monaco Dynasty

Induction Cooktop - Monaco Dynasty

Another great design was the use of curved sink islands in some larger Fifth Wheels. Good thinking! The curved design opened up the aisles and reduced the hip-bump factor.

Curved Sink Island - Aviator

Airstream also showed a microwave-in-a-pantry concept, which frees up space for an additional overhead bin. Not sure how practical that might be, but it sure was innovative thinking!

Pull-Out MW - Airstream

The one noticeable absence was a lack of built-in coffee makers in the new RVs. Really? No coffee maker? I know that's an old-school feature, but from this addict’s point of view it's a serious omission. Get between me and my caffeine at your own peril!

LIVING ROOM

The usual floor plan for a large fifth wheel is to situate the master bedroom upstairs, with the living quarters and kitchen on the lower level. I was impressed with Jayco’s reversed design in the Pinnacle, where the living room is located up a half-flight. The overall effect is a quiet, comfortable room to relax and watch TV, away from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen and dining room, as well as the entrance door. A bonus was the tall ceiling in this area, making the room seem even more spacious.

Aviator stepped further into the comfort zone by offering luxury power recliners with a lighted charging station and desktop between. My friends took the opportunity to relax in style.

Power Recliners - Aviator

Power Chair Controls

BEDROOM

In a large motorcoach, I spotted a dedicated hamper drawer in the bedroom. This was a feature I’d never seen before, and it solves a persistent problem – what do you do with all those dirty clothes?

Hamper Drawer - Allegro Bus

In smaller RVs, where space is always at a premium, I saw a couple of clever Murphy bed designs that seemed to solve a lot of problems. The dinette/couch is usable during the day, then the bed folds down for a comfy nighttime sleep. My only dislike was that in several units the Murphy bed blocked one of the primary windows when it’s folded up. Think about it – you can only look out this window when the bed is down, and that would be at night when it’s dark outside. Essentially you’re giving up a key view for a queen size mattress. So the Murphy bed is a good idea, but it has a big trade-off.

Murphy Bed – Folded Up

WINDOWS

Speaking of windows, there were some lovely touches found throughout the show. Renegade showed windows that were framed inside like a residential home, and what a difference it made in the ambiance of the living room. Airstream added a splendid art glass window in the bath door. And Sabre showcased a slide-out with full-length windows on every side.

Framed Windows - Renegade

Art Glass Window - Airstream Serenity

Slide-Out Windows - Sabre

EXTERIOR

The RV industry has gone a long way to making units attractive on the outside as well as inside. And there’s still some innovation left to explore. Monaco’s 2014 Dynasty will offer LED running lights in the nose cone, a beautiful and interesting touch of class to this flagship coach.

LED Running Lights - 2014 Monaco Dynasty

Manufacturers have also gotten smart by installing side-opening doors on exterior storage bins. No more kneeling in the mud to rummage for those tiki torches! The industry is also moving toward larger entrance doors. All of us wide-body folks thank you!

Side Opening Bins, Extra Wide Door - Holiday Rambler

Overall, I had a great time touring the RVIA show, and can’t wait until next year to see more design goodies!

Home Sweet Home

We are home safe and sound. We traveled 3621 miles in about 3 weeks, and had a wonderful time all the way.

Many thanks to our Readers who kept us company along the way!

We’ll keep this blog open, and add to it each time we go camping. But we’re going to rest for a few weeks first.

Coming Soon – You can read my weekly RV Travel column at BoomerTravelPatrol.com. The website is scheduled to debut in December, 2012.

Happy Trails!

T & R

Dog Creek, Nolin Lake KY

We spent the weekend at Dog Creek Campground in central KY, on the east end of a sprawling valley flooded to create Nolin Lake.    View Map

Did Ya Know - There are no natural lakes in Kentucky. All are man-made.

There are many campgrounds on Nolin Lake, but lovely little Dog Creek is just the right size to suit us. There are only about 50 electric campsites, each generous in size, with plenty of green space between and thoughtfully angled so you're not wedged against the neighbors' clothesline of wet bathing suits.

Dog Creek campground wraps around a cove, and there is direct access to the lake everywhere.  You can slip out your camper door and go jump in the water.  Plenty of folks bring a boat as well.

Half a dozen miles away, motor scooting along serene country roads, we found Webb Mart - a genuine country store with creaky wood floors and old-timers behind the counter. Stacked on shelves, or hanging  from the ceiling you can find “a little bit of everything” from groceries and tackle, to hardware and clothes. There’s even a yard sale aisle and a case of dressed dolls. We bought ice cream cones and a used DVD of 20 western movies.

Not to be missed is nearby Cub Run Cave. Discovered in the 1950's by a couple of curious boys, ownership was disputed for 50 years by farmers on the properties above the cave. In 2006, the land rights were finally figured out and the cave was opened for public tours.

This is a wet cave, about a mile long, with a spring running throughout. Inside is a delicate ecosystem, replete with spotted salamanders, cave crickets, and tiny brown bats half the size of your thumb.  The tour takes you on wooden walkways built by local Amish to protect the cave floor.  We spent a deliciously cool hour gawking at the fabulous formations.

On the way home our speed was slowed to a charming trot behind several Amish buggies. They tend to make abrupt turns with nary a notice, so keep your distance!