Trailer Life Magazine – August 2013 Story: “Flaming Gorge” by Emily Fagan Photos by Emily & Mark Fagan
Posted July 22, 2013
On newsstands now!! The August 2013 issue of Trailer Life Magazine features our story about our travels to the exquisite Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.
Situated between Utah and Wyoming, Flaming Gorge is a beautiful red rock canyon that rises steeply in shades of crimson that contrast vividly with the rich blues and greens of the Green River far below.
We visited this area last summer and were treated to majestic rainbows following intense summer thunderstorms. We also wandered among a herd of nearly tame pronghorn antelope that were in residence at the Lucerne Valley Campground on the Wyoming side of Flaming Gorge, and then mingled with an equally tame herd of bighorn sheep at the Canyon Rim Campground on the Utah side.
Trailer Life is a popular magazine from the good folks at Good Sam Club, and it covers everything to do with trailers and towable RVs. It is available as a print magazine subscription or as a Kindle subscription, and can also be found on newsstands. Covering lots of technical issues as well as many great RVing destinations, it’s a magazine we have always enjoyed.
A couple from Canada fell in love with Groovy too, and after closing on the purchase in June, 2014, they have taken her off to new sailing adventures in the waters of the Pacific Northwest.
Groovy has a comfy interior
We put this page up on our website when we listed Groovy for sale, and will keep it here so you can see some nice photos and the full listing of specs and upgrades she had when we owned her.
Groovy anchored at Tangolunda Bay
Groovy is a Glen Henderson designed 2008 Hunter 44DS. She was the last Hunter 44DS ever built. Because she was on the assembly line at the same time as the first Hunter 45DS models, she includes many of the upgrades that are part of that line, including the fabulous cherry interior and 66 gallon fuel tank.
In a nutshell, she has the Mariner’s package of factory upgrades, including electric winch, folding wheel, Bose 3-2-1 surround-sound stereo and upgraded galley equipment. In addition, she has:
710 amp-hours of Mastervolt AGM batteries
555 watts of solar power
60 gallon-per-hour watermaker
60 lb stainless steel Ultra anchor
300′ of 5/16″ G4 (HT) chain,
Brand new Balmar 6-series100 amp alternator and ARS-6 smart charger
and all the bells and whistles necessary for fully independent and comfortable cruising without being dependent on staying at marinas.
Groovy anchored at Cuastecomate Bay on Mexico’s Costalegre
Galley and dinette on the port side.
Starboard side: Bose 3-2-1 stereo/DVD and 22″ TV.
The galley has a stainless steel fridge and standalone freezer plus pantry and slide-out can storage!
The dinette has lots of seating, great for entertaining!
Master stateroom – queen-sized berth with custom 8″ mattress and bedding
The v-berth is very comfortable for two adults.
Groovy anchored at Las Hadas Resort in Manzanillo Mexico.
Here is a VIDEO WALKTHROUGH of our boat:
To help you plan your cruise and get you inspired, we created the video series, "Cruising Mexico Off the Beaten Path - Volumes 1-3," shown below. This is a fun-to-watch and easy-to-digest introduction to Mexico from a cruiser's perspective, giving you lots of valuable information that isn't covered by the cruising guides. Each video is available individually at Amazon, either as a DVD or as a download. For discount package pricing on the whole series, visit our page Cruising Mexico Video Series.
Volume 1 reviews the geography, weather and seasons in Mexico and shows you what the best anchorages between Ensenada and Manzanillo are like.
Volume 2 gives detailed info that can't be found in any of the guidebooks about the glorious cruising ground between Manzanillo and the Guatemala border.
Volume 3provides all the info you need to get off the boat for an adventure-filled trip to Oaxaca.
Our Gear Store also has a boatload of ideas for your cruise!
RV Life Magazine – July 2013 Chasing Rainbows at Flaming Gorge Cover Photo by Emily Fagan
Posted July 1, 2013
RV Life Magazineis featuring our photo on the cover of their magazine for the July, 2013 issue!
Last summer Mark and I spent a glorious week at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area on the Utah/Wyoming border. This magnificent park is a land of red rock cliffs that plunge into aquamarine water far below, and we were blessed with a myriad of rainbows every afternoon we were there.
I took this photo while we were parked at the Greendale Overlook. We stopped to do a hike and have lunch, but in the middle of all our fun the heavens opened up and a deluge of rain poured out. All heck broke loose as everyone in the area scrambled for cover! Once the rain cleared, the most beautiful rainbow formed over our trailer.
Our story, Chasing Rainbows at Flaming Gorge, is featured inside this issue, and it tells of some of the other fun adventures we had in this gorgeous park. From photographing majestic views to enjoying intriguing encounters with very tame wildlife in the campgrounds, we loved every minute of our stay there. If you like the story, the online version has a place where you can rate it with 5 stars!!
RV Life Magazine is one of the oldest independent regional RV magazines in the US.
Over the years, we have really enjoyed our subscription to RV Life because of the high quality travel destination stories and the news stories about the current happenings in the RV industry. The print version of the magazine is available for free at Camping World stores in the western states and/or as a paid subscription. The online version is on their website.
We are also delighted that one of the other feature stories in this month’s issue is about RVing in Mexico… and it sounds like the writer had a very good time there in his truck camper…
Taking Your RV into the Mountains Escapees Magazine July/August 2013
Posted June 27, 2013
Escapees Magazine is featuring our story Taking Your RV into the Mountains in their July/August 2013 issue.
The article describes some of the techniques we have found useful when driving our 36′ fifth wheel / one ton truck combo over the huge mountain passes in the west.
My favorite part of the story is Mark’s 2-page photo spread. When we were at the Sheep Creek Overlook in Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. he scrambled up the hill behind us and got a fabulous shot of the red cliffs, blue water, and our rig overlooking it all!
Escapees is the membership magazine for the Escapees RV Club, a wonderful organization for RVers that offers its members many things, from a bi-monthly magazine to low-cost RV parks to mail forwarding services to the biggest boondocking database in existence to an extended community of RVers traveling around the beautiful lands of the US and Canada. If you are an RVer, join the fun!!
We’ve been using Kyocera solar panels since May, 2007, when we installed a single 130 watt solar panel on our first full-time RV, a 27′ Fleetwood Lynx travel trailer. We have been living on solar power full-time in our moveable homes since then.
That first solar installation, like our first trailer, was a little small. After a year of skinny solar living, we upgraded to 490 watts of solar power on a 36′ Hitchhiker fifth wheel trailer (which included some Mitsubishi panels because the store was out of Kyoceras in the size we wanted!), and we posted a page describing the two RV solar installations. A few years later, with even more solar experience under our belts, we installed solar power on our sailboat Groovy. And of course, we keep learning. Our NEXT solar panel installation will be even snazzier!!
The gist of the story is the value of anticipating your needs before installing a system. In general, from what we’ve learned over the years, more and bigger is always the best way to go!!
Inside the magazine is our six page story about the many stunning hidden gems in Utah that lie between the more famous National Parks.
This pic was taken at Red Canyon State Park, perhaps the most magnificent of these too-often-overlooked destinations. We climbed high up on one of the hiking trails and watched the endless stream of RVs parading by on the highway below us: Rental Class C RVs, truck campers, travel trailers, Class A motorhomes, fifth wheels, and popup tent trailers dominated the roads in the area, many driven by foreign visitors to America’s crown jewels.
We loved the historic Mormon town of Panguitch(2nd half of page) and seeing the miniscule home of Ebenezer Bryce. The small city of Kanab, Utah, is the other anchor between the great national parks, and tiny Alton Utah(2nd half of page) is one of the most unique communities we have ever visited, where the stop signs say “Whoa!” instead of “Stop.”
While in the area, we visited Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, an impressive and extraordinary multi-acre no-kill animal sanctuary that is set in a beautiful red rock canyon and caters to all of God’s creatures from bunnies to horses.
Southern Utah is absolutely ripe with possibilities for fun summertime RV travel, and I’m sure we will return many times in the future. Even though Elkhart Indiana is the official heart of the RV industry with its RV/Motorhome Hall of Fame set smack in the middle of The RV manufacturing industry and Amish Country, I would claim that this southern portion of Utah is the heart of RV travel from June to August!!
Coast to Coast Magazine is the membership magazine for Coast-to-Coast Resorts, a family of resort RV Parks that is very popular among long-term and full-time RVers. Unfortunately, the magazine does not appear on newsstands, but if you join or if you know a member, you can get a peak at our story in this season’s issue!
Escapees Magazine has featured our story Pacing Your RV Travels in their May-June 2013 issue. When we started our full-time RV travels six years ago, we hurried and hustled just like all new full-timers do. We wanted to see it all, and see it all Right Now. Since then, we have learned to slow down and immerse ourselves a little deeper in our travels, finding hobbies and a “theme” that have given greater meaning to our journey…
Escapees is a multi-faceted organization that looks after the needs of RVers. From their wonderful bi-monthly magazine to their awesome database of boondocking locations, to their Texas-based mail forwarding service, to their involvement in RV advocacy, to their many inexpensive member RV parks, to their programs for elderly RVers that have hung up their keys for good, Escapees is an excellent organization for all RVers to join…
You can join Escapees by calling 888-757-2582 or by clicking here: Join Escapees
If you mention our blog, Roads Less Traveled, when you join, the good folks at Escapees will put a little something in our tip jar. For years we recommended them without that, but we sure appreciate it!
What a total thrill — Blue Water Sailing Magazine has put my photo on the cover of their April, 2013 issue. On newstands now! Get a copy!!
I took the photo during Zihuatanejo Sail Fest this year. Part of this festival, which benefits the underprivileged school children of the area, is a boat parade where all the boats cruise around the bay under sail.
The fun part about this pic is that we know the good folks on both boats. The boat under sail is an Amel 54 ketch called Liebling, with seasoned Mexico cruisers Linda and Jim aboard. I was delighted when they sailed near the pretty turrets and roof-lines of some of the villas in the heart of the bay. Their boat is also in the banner photo at the top of this page along with the schooner Patricia Belle.
At anchor just to the right of the ketch is the Fontaine-Pajot catamaran Rapscullion. Henry, her single-handing owner, has brought her back north this season after cruising the Pacific coast of Central America for a while.
Sail Fest was a great success this year, due largely to the tireless efforts of Pamela Bendall, reportedly raising $67,000 USD to help educate the children of Zihuatanejo.
The popular NikonRumors.com website has published my guest blog post about learning photography as we travel. We use several models of Nikon cameras — Nikon D5100, Nikon D40 and Nikon S3100 — and photos from all of them are showcased.
The December 2012 edition of Blue Water Sailing Magazinefeatures out story, “A Colorful Christmas in Zihuatanejo.” We spent Christmas in Z-town during our first cruising season in 2010. The town came alive and the cruising community banded together to celebrate Christmas, far from snow and far from home.
