High Sierra Topix

hjldennis wrote:BTW, many people get grossed out when they find out what they have to do to "dump".

Umm. Never on the driveway

Most rest areas have dump stations. A good thing. Even when in Oregon (McMinnville ), they had a free dump station at the sewage treatment plant.

And what Dave said,.. Definitely watch 'RV'.

I'm adding this.. Things do break. And at the exact wrong times, in an RV or even a trailer. You have to be prepared to deal with it, one way or another. Duct tape is a good start

maverick wrote:My wife will not camp any more, bad past experiences, so which is a better way to hit up several parks, hotel (in park or near park) or RV? If you have done both, would love to hear a comparison. What are the pluses and minuses of both? Which is more expensive in the long run? Thanks

ok.. so you never said where you're going???

Oh.. one more thing to consider in c class RV, don't consider the overhead bunk bed as your primary bed. So having a fulltime bed other than the overhead is a big plus in my opinion. Ours has 1 pullout sofa which is not too great because of the spring, and the dinette that converts to bed which is inconvenient. Kids used love the overhead bunk, but now I am the only one who really doesn't mind the tight ceiling up there...

Hotels for my wife and I.

Mid May we are going to Lake Louise and Jasper to check out the Canadian Rockies, where she can read a book and enjoy the mountain air while I take a flyfishing lesson. Since I am not retired, driving an RV there would take way too much time to just get there. Besides, after spending so many years camping in pristine conditions, the thought of jumping through all the RV hoops does not interest me. Instead, we enjoy applying my minimalist approach to backpacking to air and hotel travel- 5 days of the necessities into a carry on travel case. To me many of the public campgrounds are more like apartment living without the walls than a relaxing outdoor experience with my wife.

$500 a night at the Majestic? Totally worth it for us.

freestone wrote:We are going to Lake Louise and Jasper to check out the Canadian Rockies.

Flying into Calgary, driving to Banff, LL & Jasper along the Icefields parkway? Yeah, that's definitely too far to drive from Calif unless you're taking a month to drive around N America. We've done the fly in, drive & fly out up there 3 times over the last 12 years.

Helpful hint: if you have your own car (ie not on a tour bus), consider the time to drive over to Emerald lake. The turn-off is right after Lake Louise. According to Google, it's only 25 miles. LL, Emerald & Moraine (just south of LL) are the 3 (lake) crown jewels.

North of LL along the parkway is where some of the more spectacular peaks are located. If you have the time/inclination, take the time to walk over the Athabasca glacier. If the road up to Edith Cavell is open, definitely consider going up. You can hike right up to the base next to a glacial moraine:

Flying into Calgary, driving to Banff, LL & Jasper along the Icefields parkway?

Hobbes, yes that is exactly what we are doing, except for a sidetrip down to Lethbridge to visit family. Thank you for the Emerald Lake suggestion, that's exactly the kind of thing we like to do!

The answer is: Off-road 4x4 Motorhome

Sportsmobile:
Tiger Adventure Vehicles:
EarthRoamer:
More to come.

I wouldn't wish that ER1 move on anyone..

Global Expedition Vehicles:
Action Camper:
Ursa Minor:
JK Habitat:
Action Mobil:
And there are quite a few others. There are also off-road trailers that can be towed by a Jeep, which have fold out kitchens and sleeping quarters.

I liked the Action Mobil... Tom, which one do you own?

Nice to dream though, right up until the first service interval..