Tag Archives: News

“Roads Less Traveled” is named a “Top 50 RV Blog”

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We received a special email message the other day from the the folks at Florida Outdoors RV Center saying that they have compiled a list of their 50 favorite RV blogs, and that our blog is on the list.

Now that’s a heartwarming email to wake up to!

Website on the laptop

Photography and writing have become a passion for us since we hit the road full-time.

Compiling any kind of “Best Of” list is time consuming and sweat inducing, to say the least, and my hat is off to Brandon Esparza who took it upon himself to run all over the web hunting down RV blogs, read them all, and then pick out his favorite ones.

Coffee Cups in the rig

Getting the morning started right —
Home is where the heart is!

Before we started full-time RVing in 2007, the blogging world was just getting going, and not that many travelers had websites.

How fabulously far the online world has come!!  Nowadays, almost every full-timer has a blog, and they are as varied and distinctive as the special travelers who create them.

Compiling a “Best Of” list is daunting, as everyone out here has great stories to tell and excellent tips to pass on.

This list from Florida Outdoors RV Center includes a wonderfully wide variety of blogs from younger folks to older folks, from singles to families, from people in small, simple rigs to those in big, fancy ones.

Fleetwood Lynx travel trailer and Us

Just seven months into this crazy full-time traveling lifestyle in December, 2007,
we parked in the Quartzsite, Arizona, desert with a million other RVers!

Each blog offers a unique perspective on the full-time RV lifestyle.  I am really proud that our site appears in such great company.

Brandon made his selection based on several criteria, including content, design, popularity, and activity within the online RV community, and for these last two I want to say “thank you” to all of you, our readers.

 

Our first RV License Plate

Our popup tent trailer was “The Luvnest” and the name has carried on
through two full-time trailers!

By returning to our site on a regular basis to see what we’ve been up to, and by sharing our many stories and links with your online friends, and by subscribing to our RSS feed and email newsletter, you have given our site a far greater reach than I ever would have imagined.

I know a few of you found us early on and have been following our adventures from our first days on the road, and I am both humbled to have sustained your interest this long and utterly delighted that you enjoy traveling along with us in spirit!

The Hitchhiker fifth wheel at sunrise 761

Sunrise in Phoenix Arizona just a few days ago…

I also know that many of you have gone on, after reading our pages, to embark on your own full-time travels and create your own thoughtful blogs where you share your experiences and insights.  It is really satisfying to know that our blog played a small part in helping you fulfill your dreams!

One of the most special rewards of creating this site has been that it has become a springboard for communication. Not only has it kept us in touch with people as close as our immediate friends and family, but it has put us in touch with others as far distant as Afghanistan where three years ago a marine corresponded with me at length about which kind of truck to buy once he got home and could live his full-time RV dream. What a surprise it was when, a year after that, another marine emailed that he was “writing from a tent in Afghanistan” to touch base about the costs of RVing and cruising, as he strove to keep alive his dreams of casting off for new horizons once his military duties ended.

It is really gratifying to know that our adventures on the road bring both pleasure and inspiration, and I can’t tell you what it means to be able to put something from our hearts out there into the online world and receive such positive feedback through your comments on our blog posts, Facebook, Google+ and email.

On a rooftop in Guanajuato Mexico

We found magic in Guanajuato!

I’m actually a really reserved person, and this cocktail party style of online social media conversation is a bit out of my comfort zone.  However, the friends we have made through our online connections have been wonderful!

It is my sincerest hope that our blog will continue to paint a vivid picture of what our life on the road is like, and that it will help future adventurers plan and prepare for a new phase of life that is a little unconventional and a whole lot of fun.

Check out this new list of top RV blogs, get inspired to go traveling, and when you are in Florida, have a look at the rigs at the Florida Outdoors RV Center — we will!

 

 

Escapees 2014 Travel Guide Cover is Our Photo!

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Escapees Travel Guide 2014 Cover

Escapees 2014 Travel Guide
Photo: Emily & Mark Fagan

Posted January 6, 2014

The 2014 edition of the Escapees RV Club’s Travel Guide features our photo on the cover. This image was a true collaborative effort between Mark and myself. We were walking down a road in La Manzanilla, Mexico, while staying at the lovely beachside villa, Casa Maguey, when we came across a string of beachfront RV parks.

It was the off-season, so the parks were virtually empty, but there was one lone Airstream trailer that looked so inviting. I climbed up on a wooden fence and leaned on Mark’s shoulder to get the photo. It turned out a little underexposed and lackluster. Luckily, Mark loves post-processing, so he adjusted it in Lightroom to create a wonderful final image.

La Manzanilla is a tiny town near the popular cruising destination of Tenacatita, known locally as Bahia de los Angeles Locos (Crazy Angels Bay). It lies about 100 miles due south of Puerto Vallarta in the middle of Mexico’s Costalegre, or “Cheerful Coast,” which cruisers have dubbed the “Gold Coast.”

Each year the Escapees RV Club puts together a members’ Travel Guide that highlights inexpensive overnight RV parking spots. It is divided into three main sections: 19 members-only Escapees RV parks which charge as little as $5/night for dry camping; many pages of public RV parks that offer Escapees members discounts of up to 50% off their daily rates (sometimes with seasonal or day-of-the-week restrictions); and dozens of free overnight parking spots at members’ properties (some charge for electricity).

The first and last categories are our favorites, since we are avid boondockers/dry campers, and our preference is for free or nearly-free camping. This little book is one of the many benefits of joining Escapees.

For our travel stories from the area where this photo was taken, see:

Casa Maguey – Kindred Spirits in a Beachfront Villa — Describes our surprise invitation to experience Mexico as land-based vacationers rather than as boat-based cruisers, and the bigger surprise of discovering that our host grew up touring North and South America in a 26′ RV in the 1980’s.

La Manzanilla – Exotic Animals and Copper Canyon — Tells a bit about what we found to see and do in this tiny seaside village, and continues the wonderful story of our host’s 12 years of boondocking adventures between Alaska and South America.

New to this site?  Here is a link to our most recent posts and our other published work.

Escapees Magazine features our story – Enchanting Ensenada

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Escapees Magazine Enchanting Ensenada

Escapees Magazine
by Emily & Mark Fagan
November-December 2013 Issue

Posted November 9, 2013

The November/December 2013 issue of Escapees Magazine is featuring our article Enchanting Ensenada about Mexico’s fun-filled waterfront city in northern Baja California (you can read the story from the link above).

We lived in Ensenada, Mexico, for six months as we outfitted our sailboat Groovy to go cruising, and we recently enjoyed another month there. When we first arrived nearly four years ago, we weren’t sure what we would find, but in the ensuing weeks and months we fell in love with the energy and vitality of this multifaceted coastal city.

Very much like the recent Baja Ha-Ha sailing event that took 130 sailboats on a two week voyage from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas en route to further sailing adventures in Mexico, the Escapees RV Club’s “Mexican Connection” Chapter is hosting a ten day RV rally that will bring 50 RVs from San Diego into Baja California on February 3-13, 2014.

Starting at the KOA RV park in Chula Vista, this rally will spend a week in Ensenada and then travel down to San Quintín where the RVers will regroup either to return north or to continue their road trips south to Baja hot spots like Bahía Concepción, Loreto, Los Cabos and La Paz.

Ensenada, Mexico, is a fabulous destination for RVers and cruisers alike.  Lying just 70 miles south of San Diego, it is a lively university town that offers a full-flavored taste of life in Mexico, whether living aboard a sailboat in one of the two excellent marinas or staying in one of the RV parks along the shore.

For more info about what we found to see and do in and around Ensenada, please visit the following links:

For a glimpse of what life is like in the rest of Baja and mainland Mexico, please see these links:

Cruising Mexico Video Series!

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Cruising Mexico Off the Beaten Path is a three-part video series to help you plan your cruise. Our goal with this series is to:

  • Introduce you to Mexico’s lesser known & prettiest anchorages
  • Teach you Mexico’s overall geography, both coastal and inland
  • Explain the general weather patterns and climate
  • Help you plan an itinerary where you see the best places at the best seasons without backtracking too much
  • Inspire you with ideas for what to see and do during your cruise
  • Ensure you get the most out of your sailing adventure.

Each video is chock full of maps, tips, insights and hints, along with vivid images of the most beautiful spots!

Cruisers often invite each other over for drinks or dinner to swap info on where they’ve been. And in that spirit, this series is our way of sharing what we learned (and that isn’t in the guidebooks) with you. It’s if we had stopped by your boat and sat down with you for a few hours to go over the charts and give you our insights and tips, suggesting where to go, what to avoid and what to look forward to.

Many people cruise Mexico, but few get to the anchorages where we stayed.

Mexico Regions

There are lots of maps in these videos.
We review the overall geography, weather patterns and climate.

This video series begins by familiarizing you with Mexico’s geography. Do you know where Huatulco is in relationship to Chamela or Chiapas?  This series will teach you.

Then we review the overall weather patterns and seasonal climate variations and how they will impact your itinerary.  Is it better to start in La Paz or La Cruz?  How’s the snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez in January?

Then we dive into the good stuff as we visit each destination and check it out.

Like most cruisers, before we left on our cruise, we were buried in the bilge as we got Groovy ready for our voyage.

Our plan was very simple:  leave San Diego, turn left, and keep going until we got warm.

Lots of first-timers tackle Mexico that way, and that’s unfortunate.  Safe passage from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas is their primary goal, and things get fuzzy after that.  The problem is, Cabo isn’t a place that is easy to stick around (it’s fun but very expensive!), so as soon as you arrive you need to be planning your departure.  But where to?  For how long?  What will you do there?  And then where?

Mexico's Southern Pacific Coast

We had no idea what was in this part of Mexico. Do you?

The invaluable cruising guides we all use and rely on are awesome for telling you how to get in and out of the anchorages and where to find provisions at each stop.  But it is very hard to get an overall understanding of what it is like to travel in Mexico by boat from these guides.

We got well off the beaten path that most Mexico cruisers follow, and I am hoping that by watching our videos you can benefit from all the research we did and all the great experiences we had once we got down there.

I also hope these videos will get you juiced up about your upcoming cruise, and give you a happy break from all the boat projects and shopping sprees that seem to be the very essence of getting ready to go cruising.

As a learning tool, these videos provide a fabulous way to study a lot of information in an easy to digest and highly visual and colorful manner. If you miss something, back up and play it over. Unlike books that you read privately, you can watch these videos with your spouse and talk over your thoughts and plans.

Grab a bag of popcorn and come have some fun with us!

 

Cruising Mexico DVD Volume 1

Cruising Mexico Off the Beaten Path
Ensenada & the Northern Pacific Coast
Volume 1 – Front Cover

Cruising Mexico – Off the Beaten Path – Volume 1
Ensenada and the Northern Pacific Coast
Purchase as an Instant Download

This hour-long video (327 photos) covers Mexico’s overall geography, getting you familiar with what lies where.  It presents a brief discussion of weather patterns, climate and the weather prediction tools we used for passage planning.  After a brief glance at where all the marinas are located and which ones are good for summer storage, it offers an itinerary that will get you to all the best spots in two seasons, making sure you see each area when it is at its peak.  Then it reviews the anchorages between Ensenada and Manzanillo.

This video has lots of maps!  Hopefully, after watching it, you will have a good understanding of the layout of this part of the coast, the general distances between the anchorages, and what’s where in relation to each other.

 

 

 

Cruising Mexico DVD Volume 2

Cruising Mexico Off the Beaten Path
The Southern Pacific Coast
Volume 2 – Front Cover

Cruising Mexico – Off the Beaten Path – Volume 2
Mexico’s Southern Pacific Coast
Purchase as an Instant Download

This nearly two hour video (380 photos) covers our favorite cruising grounds that lie between Zihuatanejo and the Guatemala border, way down at the bottom of Mexico.  Although Zihuatanejo gets a lot of cruising visitors, the areas south of there are so distant that they are little visited by Mexico cruisers unless they are in transit to or from Central America. So it is an area that is not only more exotic but much quieter than other areas to the north.

These areas are not as well documented by the cruising guides as the regions to the north, so this video fills in much of that void by showing loads of detailed maps and offering a ton of information about where to anchor, where to snorkel, and what to do, both around town and out of town.

 

Cruising Mexico Cover Volume 3 281

Cruising Mexico Off the Beaten Path
Colonial Cities – Oaxaca
Volume 3 – Front Cover

Cruising Mexico – Off the Beaten Path – Volume 3
Colonial Cities – Oaxaca
Purchase as an Instant Download

In this 40 minute video we take an inland trip to Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s most beloved colonial cities.  We explain how and where to leave the boat, different modes of transport to Oaxaca and what to see and do in this glorious city.

For many travelers, Oaxaca is their favorite destination in all of Mexico, and it is a definite “must see” for cruisers.  Boasting a lively town square and several grand churches, Oaxaca is filled with stately, centuries-old colonial architecture, yet has an engaging, energetic, youthful and artsy vibe.

 

 

 

 

These videos are available at Amazon:

TESTIMONIALS – QUOTES FROM EMAILS WE’VE RECEIVED

“My husband was enthralled. I loved it.”

“The DVD we watched last night was not only a good reminder of a wonderful season we had, but gave us MANY things to look at doing when we sail south again next season.”

“Wanted to get back to you and let you know how much we enjoyed the video’s. Your correct, they will be invaluable for future reference.”

On the cover! Coast-to-Coast Magazine!

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Coast to Coast Magazine cover by Emily agan Fall 2013

Cover photo by Emily Fagan
Fall 2013 Issue

September 26, 2013

Coast-to-Coast Magazine has put our photo on their cover for the Fall 2013 issue, and our story Legends of the Fall is featured inside as well (you can read the story from that link).

Last year we visited the Fruita Colorado area, home of the fabulous Colorado National Monument (who knew there were red rock canyons in Colorado??) as well as some cool wineries!

Then we spent some time roaming around the back roads between Telluride and Ridgway.  We were both awe-struck by the beauty of the golden aspens set against the craggy mountain peaks.

This year has been a tough one in Colorado because of all the rain, but it will be on our fall agenda for future years, because it is just that gorgeous.   The peak date last year was September 22nd.  If you aren’t in southwestern Colorado to enjoy it now, mark your calendar for next year!!

Coast-to-Coast Magazine is published by Coast Resorts, a membership program for high end RV parks.  Similar to a timeshare, we’ve met full-timers who just love to travel this way.  With careful advance planning between Coast Resorts and other programs, these folks keep their overnight expenses extraordinarily low.

You may also enjoy our other published magazine articles and covers and our most recent posts.

 

Fall Colors on the Dallas Divide – AWESOME!!

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Dallas Creek Road Colorado Fall Colors

Vibrant colors on Dallas Creek Road

Fall is an incredible time to get outside and enjoy Nature’s majesty. Last year, Mark and I had the incredible good fortune to attend a photography workshop in Ridgway, Colorado, when the fall colors peaked at the end of September.

Owl Creek Pass 281

Owl Creek Pass – Stunning!

Views from Owl Creek Pass

Views from Owl Creek Pass

This year, reminiscing about all the fun we had, I decided to write a guest blog post on the cool and informative travel site traveldudes.org about the gorgeous scenery that awaits anyone and everyone who takes a trip to Colorado’s Dallas Divide near Telluride (more pics at that link!).

 

Craggy mountains and aspens in Colorado

We were awestruck by the views in every direction — on every road!

As a New England native, I always thought the autumn colors in the rural parts of the northeastern states had to be the best of the best. Boy, was I in for a shock when we arrived in the midst of the golden aspen covered Rocky Mountains!!

 

Mountain silhouette Dallas Divide autumn leaves

Brilliant fall colors against a mountain silhouette.

We had been to the Telluride area twice before, both times in July. It is an enchanting place that grabbed our hearts instantly. Towering, craggy mountains soar into the sky and adorable little towns fill the valleys in between.

Autumn Color in Telluride Colorado

Autumn in the Rockies.

But Telluride is transformed in September (more pics at that link too!). Now the jagged grey mountain peaks jutted up through gold, red and green carpeted valleys. We were in awe as we prowled around the back roads between Ridgway and Telluride.

Road from Telluride 531

You just can’t beat autumn colors AND craggy mountains.

 

Owl Creek Pass, Dallas Creek Road, West Dallas Creek Road and Lost Dollar Road kept us coming back day after day. These dirt roads are easy to drive with a passenger car, and the views at every turn took our breath away.

Trailer on Road from Telluride 281

What a place to take your trailer!

 

 

 

Three of the scenic drives start from State Route 62 on the west side of Ridgway. The first left turn from Route 62 (onto County Route 7) is Dallas Creek Road. The next left turn from Route 62 (onto County Route 9) is West Dallas Creek Road. Both of these are dead ends: drive in, soak in the views, take lots of photos, and drive out. Ralph Lauren’s Double-L Ranch can be seen on these drives too.  (This link has a tale about that ranch).

South of Telluride - autumn color

A tapestry of color south of Telluride

The third left turn off State Route 62 doesn’t have a number but is called Lost Dollar Road. Follow this all the way until it intersects with State Route 145 where you turn left and head east into Telluride (or turn right and return to Ridgway on the highway).

The fourth scenic drive, Owl Creek Pass, is County Route 8, and it heads east from State Route 550 at Ridgway State Park, north of Ridgway. John Wayne filmed the movie True Grit in this area.  (This link has a tale about that movie!).

For a final treat, head south from Telluride on State Route 145.

Colorado Autumn

A shimmering golden aspen grove arches over Lost Dollar Road

We did not find much boondocking in the area, but Ridgway State Park is just a few miles from each of these stunning scenic drives, and they have full hookups as well as dry camping sites.

If you can take a road trip to southwestern Colorado in the next few weeks, go do some leaf peeping in this gorgeous part of the country. Last year’s peak was September 22nd! Allow a few days if you can, and let us know how your trip goes!!!

Ridgway and Telluride are in the southwestern part of Colorado

Ridgway and Telluride are in the southwestern part of Colorado

For more beautiful photos and tips about this area, visit these links:

A Visit to Dinosaur National Monument – RV Life Magazine

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Dinosaur at Dinosaur National Monument

RV Life Magazine
“Dinosaurs and Much Much More”
by Emily & Mark Fagan
September 2013 issue

Posted: Sep 8, 2013

The September 2013 issue of RV Life Magazine is featuring a story by us (Emily & Mark Fagan) about Dinosaur National Monument called Dinosaurs and Much Much More.

We went to Dinosaur National Monument at the Utah/Colorado border expecting to see lots of dinosaur bones and mock-up skeletons.  What a fantastic surprise it was to get there and find that those old bones are just a small (though cool) part of the story!

Dinosaur National Monument is a gorgeous, scenic and fascinating national park.  The newly renovated visitors center houses a unique collection of dinosaur bones still in the ground!!  But it was the stunning bike rides and petroglyphs that kept us at the park for a week.

Our original two blog posts about the dinosaur bones at this park and the fabulous petroglyphs and homesteads are here, along with our RV LIfe magazine story.

RV Life Magazine is a big and informative magazine about all things RVing.  One of the oldest RV magazines in existence, it can be found at camping stores and RV parks in the west.  Even better, they post their feature stories online in their digital magazine.

For more from us here at Roads Less Traveled, check out these links:

Other Magazine Articles            Latest Posts

RV Roof Maintenace – in Trailer Life!

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RV Roof Maintenance Trailer Life

Trailer Life – Sep 2013
by Emily & Mark Fagan

The September 2013 issue of Trailer Life includes a technical feature of ours about RV roof maintenance and repair. This seems like a pretty mundane topic, but we actually got quite wrapped up in it as we uncovered the many subtleties involved in keeping shelter over our heads on the road.

It turns out that RV roofs come in many flavors, from rubber roofs to fiberglass, and each has its own requirements for maintenance and repair.

Mark and I worked together on this article, and when we sent it off to Trailer Life, we thought it was finished. However, TL’s technical team had a lot more tips to add! So, in the end, this article has the input of four or five different people who have owned a wide variety of RVs (not just trailers).

A little side note: I took this fun photo of Mark working on the roof of our first full-time trailer (a 2007 27′ Fleetwood Lynx travel trailer with a non-walk-on roof) not when he was cleaning or repairing the roof, but when he was installing our first solar panel!

We were dry-camping at Westport-Union Landing State Beach campground, a fabulous campground on a bluff overlooking the ocean in northern California.  He managed to install the whole system in one day while dry-camping, and he was under the gun too, because he had to get it done before our one battery got too discharged… He’s amazing!!

Trailer Life is a monthly RVing magazine published by Good Sam Club.  It can be found on newsstands and in camping stores.

Our most recent posts:

More of our Latest Posts are in the MENU.   New to this site? Visit RVers Start Here to find where we keep all the good stuff. Also check out our COOL NEW GEAR STORE!! *** CLICK HERE *** to see it!

Escapees Magazine – Our photo is on the Sep/Oct 2013 cover!

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Escapees Magazine Cover Photo by Emily Fagan Sep-Oct 2013

Escapees Magazine Cover, Sep-Oct 2013
Photo by Emily Fagan

We were fortunate enough to have one of our photos selected for this month’s cover of Escapees Magazine.

It was taken with a Nikon D5100 camera at Lucerne Valley in Flaming Gorge, Utah, where we stopped for lunch at a beautiful overlook.  While enjoying the view, the sky grew black, and suddenly a big thunderstorm swept across the valley and the rain fell in torrents.

After the storm passed and the sky cleared, we noticed a rainbow forming and we ran outside to try to catch it with the cameras.  It is always challenging to try to figure out how best to photograph these huge bows over the land, but as I dashed forward into the wet grass in front of the trailer, it began to line up perfectly, framing the trailer as it fell into the lake.

Escapees Magazine is a wonderful all-purpose RV club that provides a very wide range of services to its members, including gatherings for future and current RVers, an excellent bi-monthly magazine, access to an enormous database of boondocking locations, low cost RV parks, care for elderly RVers that have hung up their keys, a fabulous mail forwarding service, and more.

We have enjoyed our membership immensely, and we encourage all experienced RVers and future RVers to consider joining, especially if long-term travel is part of your plan…!

A neat side note: Rainbow’s End is the name of the RV park at the Escapees headquarters in Livingston, Texas.

 

Nikon D5100 Closeouts – Smokin’ Deals!!

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Barn Owl Baby

This baby barn owl seemed bewildered to
find himself outside his nest!

We have always loved photography, and our traveling lifestyle has made it possible for us to study and improve our skills. Scanning this website always makes us chuckle, because we have come such a long way since we started!

This past weekend, while staying with our friends, a baby barn owl fledged and hung out in a tree near the patio, screeching plaintively long into the night. Mark took this wonderful image with his Nikon D5100 with a 55-200mm lens.

Our hosts were really surprised he could get the camera to focus on the owl in the pitch dark and that he was able to capture this image.

They had been thinking about getting a nice new camera for a long time, so we hopped online to see what the latest prices were. Lo and behold, Nikon has discounted these cameras A LOT to make way for the replacement model, the Nikon D5200. They are bundling the cameras in all kinds of ways, with different types of lenses, tripods, memory cards and other things.

If you have been in the market for a “good” camera for a while, this might be a great time to get one. Obviously, Nikon makes all kinds of models, both higher and lower priced, but we have found that this model is ideal for our skills and what we do. I have had mine for two years and Mark has had his for a year, and they are still going strong with 40-50 thousand photos on each one.

Why the Nikon D5100?

There are tons of great cameras out there, but we have loved the Nikon D5100 for these features:

  • Wonderful overall image quality and colors.
  • The articulating screen – you can set the camera on the ground or hold it overhead and still see the image on the back.
  • In-camera HDR – the camera takes two photos at different camera settings and merges them, creating awesome effects.
  • Bracketing – the camera takes three photos at different settings so you either choose your favorite one or pump all three through a software package that will merge them… for cool HDR effects!
  • The fun in-camera “color sketch” and “outlne sketch” photo converters – these turn a photo into a sketch or colored drawing.
  • The modest file sizes coming off the camera. JPG files are up to ~8MB and raw files are up to ~17mb.

Here are a few of the bundles we found at Amazon. The basic gear I purchased two years ago is the second kit in the second row, but I paid 60% more!! Mark got (essentially) the first kit in the second row for 50% more last summer. The basic camera without a kit is the first item — so you can see what a smokin’ deal the bundles are!!

These deals just seemed to good not to share. Obviously, there are lots of other models and options, but I wanted to let you know about these in particular because we have enjoyed our Nikon D5100’s so much, even landing a few magazine cover photos with them.

And of course, if you end up making a purchase (of anything!) after clicking through any of these links, please let us know so we can personally say “thank you” — and so Mark can give you any pointers you might need, and most importantly so we can stay in touch and find out how much you love your new camera!