Sunset at Outdoor Resorts Virginia Beach

The photo comes from vabeachboys who says "The sunsets here at Outdoor Resorts are AWESOME."

Tune in next week for another great photo.

Today's photo comes from Jim Scott and highlights the beautiful fall foliage at Mendocino National Forest's Sycamore Grove Campground.

Sycamore Grove Campground, Mendochino National Forest

Jim gave Sycamore Grove Campground the following 5-star review:

"This is a quite campground, packed with options for hiking, birding, and fishing. It's proximity to the town of Red Bluff gives it the feel of a city park."

Jim's other photos of Sycamore Grove showcase its great wildlife including Northern Flickers, Wild Tailed Hawks and Great Egrets:

Northern Flicker, Sycamore Grove Campground, Mendochino National Forest

Red Tailed Hawk, Sycamore Grove Campground, Mendochino National Forest

Jim has shared 79 photos on RVParking.com within a very short time, making him one of RVParking.com's most profilic photographers. All his photos are of great quality, so I hope that some of your check out Jim's profile page so you can have a look at them.

For those of you who are still full of holiday spirit and don't want Christmas to end, there are still ways to celebrate the holidays  and get in on holiday deals at RV Parks throughout the US.

Pine Mountain, an RVC Outdoor Destination, located an hour South of Atlanta, is still offering value day discounted tickets to Callway Gardens' "Fantasy in Lights" show until December 30.  As a holiday thank-you to our men and women in uniform, Pine Mountain is offering a 25% discount to active military through February 2012.

Another RVC Outdoor Destination, Carrabelle Beach in Carrabelle, Florida has a buy two-nights, get one free deal going on until December, 31.

Are there any other holiday RV park promotions worth sharing? Let us know in the comments below.

Today's photo was taken by coachstewart. You can see his other photos here. Here's his four-star review of Pacific Dunes:

Nice being close to the dunes. However, no recreation other than horseback riding. No pool, no horseshoes etc. Full hookups is nice. Discount because we are Thousand Trails Members!

Like many RVParking.com readers, coachstewart is a big fan of the RVParking.com app. He plans to add more photos to RVParking.com which is something we can all look forward to.

When considering a visit to Las Vegas and conjuring up images of luxurious pools, hot tubs, palm trees and plenty of activities for the kids, the notion of accomplishing this in your RV at a campground is seemingly impossible unless you check into a hotel that provides the resort amenities you are envisioning.

The pool and waterfall area at Oasis Las Vegas Resort

Most Las Vegas campgrounds were built to cater to travelers who arrive to gamble, as evidenced by the many “cement parking lots” that offer hookups and a straight path to the casino floor. And while there’s nothing particularly wrong with that style of camping convenience, if you are seeking a family friendly resort-like atmosphere that boasts green grass, lush foliage, and family activities, a lot of campgrounds in Las Vegas simply won’t fit the bill.

There is one campground though where families will hit the jackpot (no pun intended) and that is Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort. It is one of our all time favorite campgrounds anywhere and will likely spoil you in more ways than one with its amenities, conveniences and close proximity to the Strip.

What is most amazing about Oasis is that you are one block off of Las Vegas Blvd., and a mere 7 blocks away from the heart of the strip – but while you are inside the property, the tranquility and amenities would have you believe that you are a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the strip. So you truly have the best of both worlds.

The cleanliness of the park is beyond reproach, but at the same time, it is not so pristine that you feel restricted from sprawling out and using your spot to its fullest or made to feel uncomfortable in the likely event that the kids poke their heads out a window or are so bold as to want to play outside the RV. To the contrary, this is a very family friendly park and care is taken to make everyone feel welcome.

The staff is experienced, knowledgeable and very friendly – much like you would expect to find when checking into a luxurious resort and they maintain a robust calendar of events focused around holidays, special occasions and weekly activities that include family movie night, bible study, horseshoe tournaments, karaoke & poker nights (adults only for these since cocktails are served).

During the last Easter holiday, there was an Easter egg hunt, Easter brunch, and church services to cover every base. And one year, we spent New Year’s Eve at their family gala where the kids were welcomed to dance the night away in a formal ballroom setting that rarely the younger set is able to attend. (And the added bonus was no one at the ball had to worry about driving “home” afterward!)

In addition to scheduled activities, there is a beautifully maintained 18-hold putting course on natural greens that winds players through the entire property to enjoy not only a golf outing with the whole family, but also to absorb the lush landscaping and flora throughout the park.

One of the other showpieces of the property is the pool and waterfall area. An adult only pool removes any hesitation for kids to be kids as this separation allows everyone to enjoy what they are seeking. But it’s the family pool anyway that boasts the sandy beach area, with a walk-in edge and a cascading waterfall that the whole family will comfortably enjoy in lounge chairs spread throughout the area. This is truly a tropical oasis and brings the beach to the desert in style.

Another feature at Oasis is the on property restaurant, called the “Divine Café” and offering a scrumptious menu for breakfast, lunch & dinner, a full bar and daily specials. Moderately priced, this on-site restaurant offers alternatives to heading to the strip for meals and snacks.

Everything is conveniently located right on the property, including a well-stocked store for essentials, souvenirs, snacks, drinks, and yes – even a few slot machines tucked in the corner if the adult family members need a quick fix without traveling to a local casino.

Rounding out this wonderful campground is the excellent security staff which provides a level of comfort not found in a few other campgrounds around town. The older kids can easily move about the property, ride bikes and explore without fear of safety – a major bonus these days in any big city.

And finally, the shower facilities will spoil you forever! Conveniently located in multiple spots around the park are huge walk in restroom/shower buildings that are setup as self contained, individual units – usually 6 per building, so rarely a need to wait for availability. Each of the units feature toilet, sink, shower stall, plenty of hooks and benches – perfect for families with small children that want the privacy of showering without being in an open stall setting.

We absolutely fall in love with this campground every time we return and with a small staff turnover, our daughters look forward to seeing their favorite employees who always welcome us back like family. Las Vegas Oasis Resort is truly a diamond in the desert and won’t disappoint.

Stephanie Mulac along with husband Greg and daughters Marina & Morgan are known as the Mulac Family Marketers. They hit the road full-time in April of 2008 along 2 cats and a contagious zest for life. With an established online Internet-based business model that allows them to work from anywhere & set their own schedule, they currently divide their days between roadschooling their daughters, coaching, speaking at events & workshops and enjoying abundant quality time as a family to explore and absorb all that the Universe brings their way. Stephanie thrives on the gratification she gets from teaching others to "monetize their passions" - learn more about their journey at http://www.mulacfamilymarketers.com.

First off, and most notably, we have major updates to our data. We've added 324 new parks and we now have information on over 20,000 RV parks in the U.S.! We've also updated information or added reviews for 3,207 RV parks.

There are a few other small tweaks:

• Now you can navigate directly to a RV park's website (user requested feature)
• Improved usability on "Favorites" list makes it easier to select a park from your Favorites (user requested change)
• Fixed photo select issue on iPad (user reported error)
• iOS 5 tested

If you have the app already installed, you can just go the App Store and hit "Updates" to download the new version. And if you don't have it already installed, what are you waiting for? Head here: http://itunes.apple.com/app/rv-parks/id368237320?mt=8.

My partner Chris and I have been full timing in a small RV since 2006.

Unlike a lot of full-time RV'ers, we are relatively young (we are in our late 30's), and far from retirement.  And though people often assume that we must be independently wealthy or on some sort of extended vacation, these images of us could not be further from the truth.

Rather, we consider ourselves technomads, and have taken our high tech careers on the road with us. As long as we have our laptops and a way to access the internet, we can literally work from anywhere.  And for 5 years - we have done just that!

We have some steady clients that we do consulting work and high end custom software development for that provide our primary income, but after a couple years on the road, we began to realize that there wasn't "an app for that" that handled some of the unique issues that full-time RV'ers like ourselves face.

With some spare time in between projects, last year we decided to start dabbling in iPhone application development.  We figured the worst case would be we had fun, learned some new skillsets and ended up with something useful.  Best case, we'd generate a touch of ongoing passive income.

To be completely honest, one of the first app ideas we started speccing out was an app that would compile a list of all of the RV-friendly campgrounds around the country, gathering lots of information on them and allowing for reviews - all accessible on a mobile device.

Fortunately RVParking.com launched around that same time, saving us an immense amount of hard work. We have to say, the folks at RVParking have done a fabulous job and have created something very close to our vision.  Kudos to them!

Then we thought about all the little laws and regulations that change with each state we traveled into.  It was a confusing chore even trying to keep track of which states had rules about handsfree cellphone use, txting while driving, rest area time limits, triple towing limitations, blue laws that prevented buying real beer in grocery stores, smoking bans in restaurants (yay!), and so on.

We also noticed that planning our fuel stops or shopping runs in states with lower tax rates could really pay off, but looking up these always changing tax rates was too much work to keep on top of.

So last year, we launched our first iPhone app, 'State Lines' - which tracks over 50 state laws that affect travelers.   Since then, we've also launched the app for HP's WebOS, Windows Phone 7, and soon we will be supporting Android as well.  We also have the information available in a PDF eBook format that may not be able to auto-locate the nearest state, but which can be opened on any device - including your laptop, or even printed.

The next app we launched solved a very different problem. Like many travelers, we carry multiple cellular devices to get online with - most recently we've been depending on an aircard from Verizon and tethering on our iPhones from AT&T.  And no matter what the advertising claims, every carrier's coverage maps leave a lot to be desired, particularly if you are interested in fast data and are often away from major metro areas. As every traveler knows, sometimes finding a usable signal can be the most frustrating thing in the world.

And while we can check each carrier's web-based coverage maps online, it's a chore.  And impossible to do if you currently don't have any signal at all. There have been so many times that we just needed to know which direction to start heading to get a signal to check e-mail or join in on a conference call.  So, a few months ago we launched 'Coverage?' for iPhone & iPad.

'Coverage?' provides an at-a-glance "universal" coverage map by interactively overlaying the coverage maps from the four major nationwide US cellular providers.  And unlike the online tools, 'Coverage?' works while offline - when you need it the most. 'Coverage?' also lets you zero in on the type of coverage you need - 4G, 3G, or any at all.  And it can even help you avoid roaming areas.

We've found 'Coverage?' to be an awesome way to help planning which route to take for days we need to keep connected, or selecting which town to overnight in with the best odds of being able to get a usable fast connection.

A lot of people ask us if mobile app development is worth pursuing as a mobile-friendly career.  And to be honest, it can be - particularly as a fun and rewarding side job.  It doesn't take a large investment to get started, and there are great free online training and developer resources.  But it takes a lot of luck to win big in the mobile application lottery, and very few developers do.  It takes more than just a great idea - you need solid execution, a marketing plan, and if you want to get seen it takes a lot of outreach to reviewers and the press.

Targeting a niche audience with specialized apps is not a good way to strike it rich, but we are very happy that our apps have been able to earn us a bit of beer money every day.

And for us - we didn't go into this looking to get rich.  We wrote both of these apps because as full time travelers, we needed them, and there is nothing else like them out there.

We now regularly use both our apps in our travels, and they have proven to be extremely useful to us. And we love getting so much great feedback from other travelers (and online reviewers) who have also been finding our apps to be indispensable.

If you try them, let us know what you think!

Here are the key links:

Title: 'Coverage?'
Platform: iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch (Universal)
App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coverage/id388815949?mt=8
Demo Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNNzUtjgJIo (Still shows off version 1.0 - current version is 2.3)
App URL: http://www.technomadia.com/apps/Coverage.html
Cost: $1.99
Twitter: @CoverageMapApp

Title: 'State Lines'
Platform: iPhone / iPod Touch / eBook / Windows Phone 7 / WebOS  (iPad Universal and Android coming soon)
App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/app/state-lines/id371852080?mt=8
App URL: http://www.technomadia.com/apps/State_Lines.html
eBook URL: http://www.technomadia.com/store
Cost: $2.99
Twitter: @StateLines

Bio:
Technomads Cherie Ve Ard and Chris Dunphy have been on the road together since May 2007 - traveling, living, working and playing full-time in a small solar powered RV, embracing nomadic serendipity.

Their most recent adventure has them hitting the road in pursuit of the ideal vintage bus to turn into their next home and office on wheels.  Follow their adventures at: www.technomadia.com

Whether you are planning to travel the road full time or are looking for a family getaway, Passport America could save you big bucks. When used right, you can expect to set your measly ten percent discount aside and start saving 50% a night!

At first I was hesitant to pursue Passport America for three reasons:

• The RV lodging industry has its fare share of scams.
• The Passport America website isn't the most convincing.
• You have to pay a membership fee of $49 for the discount.

I took the chance on it and have been pleasantly surprised. Within my first three nights, I made back the $49 I'd spent for the membership.

How it Works

Basically, the website (and iphone APP) has a map of the entire United States. As you zoom in to a specific region, the participating campgrounds will start popping up. You can click on the campground to learn more about the amenities, rates, and limitations.

The Fine Print

The small catch to Passport America is that the campgrounds can set up parameters for when the discount may be used. This varies from campground to campground but is listed on the campground profile. For example, one campground might only accept the discount Monday-Thursday. Another may only accept the discount October-April.

Of course the longer you expect to be on the road, the more use you'll get out of the membership, but it's not just for full-timers. We met a family in San Diego that was taking an 8-day vacation at an RV park. Normally there stay would have cost $372. Including the PA membership, they only paid $235.

The Campgrounds

When I read the forums about PA, many people were concerned about the quality of campgrounds that would accept a fifty percent discount. In our five months on the road, from east coast to west, we have only stayed at two bad campgrounds. And those two campgrounds weren't even apart of the PA program. Here's a look into the campgrounds (quoted for full hookups) you might find via Passport America.

Bass Lake RV, Dillon, SC

Bass Lake Campground (Dillon, SC) $16

http://www.basslakecampground.net/

PassPort America ProfileThis campground is very bare bones as far as sites are concerned, but it's about as isolated as you can get parked next to an interstate. They have gorgeous trees lining the property, a playground, and access to canoeing Bass Lake. The owners left the "rat race" to run a
simpler life. They've owned Bass Lake Campground for a few years now.

Santa Fe Park RV Resort (San Diego, CA) $22.50- $26

http://www.santafepark.com/index.html

Passport America Profile

We wildly enjoyed this park. The park is just north of San Diego, but it seemed "15 minutes" away from anywhere we wanted to go (no matter the direction). It was actually only about 10 to get to the zoo! The park is located at the end of a frontage road, so there's hardly any traffic passing the park, however there is an interstate nearby. There's an amazing pool, recreation center, movie room, clean restrooms, and affordable laundry room. We were very pleased with out stay.

Arrowhead RV Park (Logan, NM) $10

Passport America Profile

This type of park is the most basic hook-up site out there. We love finding these lots so we can avoid boon-docking overnight. This place has full-hookups and a shower house. That's all folks!

Favorite of the Trip- Lake Aire RV Park (Charleston, SC) $15

http://www.lakeairerv.com/

Passport America Profile

I can only hope I have a park like this near my house, because it was the perfect escape. The sites were spacious, and you had your choice of a few terrains. We chose the lake view. They have shelters for a BBQ, a playground, hammocks, lots of grass, gorgeous flowers, and ducklings! I can imagine heading here for a week over the summer or staying for a few nights while passing through Charleston.

As you can see, there are a wide variety of campgrounds in PA to meet your needs. Spend a few minutes on their site checking the different campgrounds along your route to see if they are a good match for you. ]]> http://blog.rvparking.com/2011/06/24/how-to-save-big-bucks-with-passport-america/feed/ 0 http://blog.rvparking.com/2011/06/13/photo-of-the-day/ http://blog.rvparking.com/2011/06/13/photo-of-the-day/#comments Mon, 13 Jun 2011 06:42:30 +0000 erik http://blog.rvparking.com/?p=1117 Every day, we spotlight one of our new user reviews on our homepage. We don't currently have a featured "Photo of the Day" on the home page, but after seeing some of the great photos from our community, we may have to add that as a feature.

Jim Maddern sent in a photo today of McCarthy Beach State Park in Minnesota. We liked his photo so much that we figured we would just feature it on the blog:

McCarthy Beach State Park

Have a photo of your own that you'd like to see featured? Send it in!

I have been pretty smitten with myself of late..... cause rvparking.com sent me an email asking if I would be interested in doing a guest blog for them. Well, sure Iʼm interested! You want me to write about what? Our plans for the Holiday Weekend. Gee...that may be a problem as we currently have no plans. Who can make plans! Here in Indiana, it has rained for the last 40 days and 40 nights, okay maybe not quite that bad, but still it is pretty wet around these parts.

The view from a site at the AOK RV Park in Indiana

Just the other day, I awoke to find that our site had been upgraded to a “waterfront” view. As you can see by the photo, the pond appeared just across the road from us. It even has itʼs own little “houseboat”. I have no idea if it is available for use. I guess now that we have a pond right out the front door we might be able to do a little fishing.

If we are lucky, maybe Memorial Day will find us frying up a big ole mess of fish. Or might we get out the inflatables and just take a relaxing “float” around the pond and enjoy the sunshine. Did I say, “sunshine”!
Okay, all kidding aside, as fulltime RVʼers we often avoid doing much of anything during holidays or weekends. We prefer a bit more of a slower pace...without the holiday or weekend crowds. That to us is one of the “perks” of fulltime rving......we can always
wait till tomorrow....for the sun to shine or the crowds to wane!

What did you do this weekend for Memorial Day? Please let us know on in the comments section.