We're Back. With a New Book!

December 25, 2007 - Merry Christmas!

We're Back! Our introduction to the "RV Notebook" says "with whimsical irregularity". We have to admit, though, that a four month lag is kind of ridiculous. We'll try to be less whimsical in the future.

Big News! Vicki's new book.

"My RV Kitchen and Favorite Recipes", is finally available. Vicki has never made a secret about how much she enjoys cooking. For years now, RVers have been asking her when she was going to write an RV cookbook. Her response has been that she cooks in her RV the same way she cooks in her house. But she has also had questions about RV kitchens and appliances.

So Vicki wrote a two-part book. The first part tells what to look for when selecting an RV Kitchen, how to equip and pack it, and how to use the RV kitchen appliances.

The second part is a collection of more than 100 of her favorite recipes, most of which are easily prepared in an RV kitchen. Vicki has identified about 50 of these recipes as "quick and easy", meaning they take less than one hour from start of preparation to setting them on the table.

The book is sprinkled with about 70 helpful tips and has a spiral binding so the recipe pages lay flat for easy reference. If you are going to use your RV kitchen, you ought to read this book.

"My RV Kitchen and Favorite Recipes" can be ordered by going to www.rvknowhow.com/books.html

Here is one of the recipes:
Hot Crab Spread
(Quick and Easy)

Our Friend, Jodie Ginter, fixed this appetizer while we were in Alaska together. It was so good that I ended up making it my entire meal.

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated, divided
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 pkg. (12 oz.) imitation crab
Crackers of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
3. Add onion and crab to the cream cheese mixture.
4. Top with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
5. Bake 30-45 minutes or until heated through.
6. Spread on crackers (I prefer Ritz).

Makes about 2 cups.

For more recipes order "My RV Kitchen and Favorite Recipes" by going to www.rvknowhow.com/books.html



Big Trip! We leave sunny southern California on December 29th and head to the east coast in our RV for our winter seminar circuit - see www.rvknowhow.com/seminars.html
Our primary route will be Interstate 10 but, if weather conditions permit, we may jump up to Interstate 20. We will post daily entries about our cross-country trip. It won't be as detailed as our Alaskan report but it may give you some insight into what to expect if you plan a similar journey.


Return to RV Know How

Our Alaska Trip

In This Post: What's new with us:
Our Alaska Trip --

July 25 - Wednesday - Seattle to Cache Creek

We are on an Alaska RV trip. We'll try to update you at least once a week about our adventures. It has been a few years since we last drove north on I-5 from Portland, Oregon. So, we were sort of surprised when we encountered very heavy traffic all the way from Portland, through Seattle and into Everett, Washington. Especially around Seattle.

Our first day's journey (on a clear, sunny day) took us from the Seattle/Tacoma KOA to the Brookside Campground in Cache Creek, British Columbia. We left I-5 at Exit 256 and followed Highways 539, 546 and 9 to the border crossing at Sumas, WA. There was only one car in line when we arrived at Canadian Customs at 1:00 pm. The courteous officer wrote down our license plate numbers and entered them into a computer. Then he asked for identification (we gave him our passports). A number of questions followed: "Where do you live, How long will you be in Canada? Are you carrying any firearms? How much tobacco and alcohol are aboard? Any commercial products? Gifts for Canadians? Surprisingly he did not ask about food products, nor did he enter our RV.

We continued north a short distance and turned east onto Trans-Canadian Highway 1. Highway 1 is a pleasure to drive. As it leaves Abbottsford it crosses relatively level farmland, moves into tree-covered hills, and then through mountainous terrain with many curves and a number of brief 6 and 7 percent grades. The route follows the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. This is a spectacular scenic drive. The Fraser Valley is better described as a canyon with vertical, tree-covered cliffs. Building the highway and two railroad tracks along this route is an engineering marvel.

Traffic on the highway was extremely light. We arrived at the 97-site Brookside Campground in Cache Creek at 4:00 pm. There were only a few vacant sites when we arrived. The campground owner said we would take the last big-rig site he had available.

A level pull-through site with 30-amp electric, water and sewer hookup cost $28.00. WiFi was also available for an additional $2.00. There were a lot of rental RVs in the campground. Most, if not all, were occupied by Europeans. All the Americans we spoke with were heading south. There were mixed reports about the condition of the Cassiar Highway.

Read a detailed journal of our Alaskan journey in "RVing Alaska: Insights and Observations" Return To RV Know How ======================================================================================

A few snapshots from our Alaska trip.

Beginning of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British, Columbia

Alaska Highway Going North

More Alaska Highway

Vicki with the Homer Spit reaching into the bay in the back ground

Turnagain Arm - Road to Kenai Peninsula

Lake Meziadin Provincial Park Campground in British Columbia

Waterfront campsite - $7.00

Wal-Mart parking lot in Whitehorse

Vicki, Jodie and John setting up a DVD segment at Worthington Glacier

Buffalo mom and calf.

A herd of buffalo on the road delayed traffic for ten minutes

Road construction can delay traffic for up to half-an-hour

Loading the ferry that crosses the Yukon river from Dawson City in the Yukon

Top of the World Highway in the Yukon

Captain Tom Lee and Vicki on the glacier cruise

Vicki on the glacier cruise

A big catch of big halibut in Homer, Alaska

Worthington Glacier

Bear catching fish in the river

Vicki, Jodie Ginter, John Holod on the White Pass Railroad

In This Post: What's new with us: Our Alaska Trip -- July 25 - Wednesday - Seattle to Cache Creek We are on an Alaska RV trip. We'll try to update you at least once a week about our adventures. It has been a few years since we last drove north on I-5 from Portland, Oregon. So, we were sort of surprised when we encountered very heavy traffic all the way from Portland, through Seattle and into Everett, Washington. Especially around Seattle. Our first day's journey (on a clear, sunny day) took us from the Seattle/Tacoma KOA to the Brookside Campground in Cache Creek, British Columbia. We left I-5 at Exit 256 and followed Highways 539, 546 and 9 to the border crossing at Sumas, WA. There was only one car in line when we arrived at Canadian Customs at 1:00 pm. The courteous officer wrote down our license plate numbers and entered them into a computer. Then he asked for identification (we gave him our passports). A number of questions followed: "Where do you live, How long will you be in Canada? Are you carrying any firearms? How much tobacco and alcohol are aboard? Any commercial products? Gifts for Canadians? Surprisingly he did not ask about food products, nor did he enter our RV. We continued north a short distance and turned east onto Trans-Canadian Highway 1. Highway 1 is a pleasure to drive. As it leaves Abbottsford it crosses relatively level farmland, moves into tree-covered hills, and then through mountainous terrain with many curves and a number of brief 6 and 7 percent grades. The route follows the Fraser and Thompson Rivers. This is a spectacular scenic drive. The Fraser Valley is better described as a canyon with vertical, tree-covered cliffs. Building the highway and two railroad tracks along this route is an engineering marvel. Traffic on the highway was extremely light. We arrived at the 97-site Brookside Campground in Cache Creek at 4:00 pm. There were only a few vacant sites when we arrived. The campground owner said we would take the last big-rig site he had available. A level pull-through site with 30-amp electric, water and sewer hookup cost $28.00. WiFi was also available for an additional $2.00. There were a lot of rental RVs in the campground. Most, if not all, were occupied by Europeans. All the Americans we spoke with were heading south. There were mixed reports about the condition of the Cassiar Highway. Read a detailed journal of our Alaskan journey in "RVing Alaska: Insights and Observations" Return To RV Know How ======================================================================================

In This Post:

What's New With Us: Life on Wheels and The Rally
Brief Article: Going Places
Vicki's Quick and Easy Recipes: Zucchini with Shallots
RVing Tip: RV Storage Tip


What's New with Us

We presented our RV lifestyle classes at the Life on Wheels Conference from July 16 through the 20th. This annual event has been held at the University of Idaho in Moscow Idaho since 1994. We particularly enjoy teaching here because we get a chance to teach serious RV students in an educational atmosphere. It is also an opportunity for us to get together with other RVing instructors with whom we have become good friends over the years.

Next, we presented seminars for five days at The Rally in Redmond, Oregon. This year's rally had 3,800 RVs of all descriptions camped on or near the grounds of the Deschutes County Expo Center. Most of those attending The Rally were members of the Good Sam Club. Our column, RV Insight, appears in "Highways", the Good Sam Club's monthly magazine. So it is no surprise to us that each of our seminars attracted between 250 and 700 people.

One of the benefits of attending a big rally is that some of the RV manufacturers provide minor repair services on their brand of RVs right in the rally campsites. We took advantage of this perk by asking Country Coach to replace both windshield wiper arms on our motorhome. Country Coach graciously complied and only charged us for the windshield wiper arms.

Monday the 23rd we leave Redmond and head for an RV park in Seattle, Washington where we will attend to some housekeeping chores before beginning our Alaska adventure.