Pets
Pet Protection
Although many of us enjoy having our furry friends sit with us or roam free during travel, a sudden stop could send them flying. Whether you own a motorhome or towable RV, you can still keep them close by, just contained.
Seat belt tethers can accommodate dogs and cats. Simple, inexpensive nylon leads from Friends Forever, Vastar, and many other sellers attach to a pet’s collar on one end and to a vehicle’s seat belt on the other, restraining pets but enabling them to sit, stand, or lie down.
Similarly, pet harnesses from Kurgo Tru-Fit and many other retailers are designed for walks but often come with an extra piece that connects to a vehicle seat belt.
Pet car booster seats will elevate the smallest four-footed travelers in comfort. The soft, material seats can be secured to a vehicle seat or seat belt and provide a lofty view. Snoozer and Pet Gear are two brands.
Of course, a wide assortment of pet crates are available, especially for use in camp. Choose from collapsible metal, lightweight plastic, and easy-to-store fabric models.
Check out pet retailers for options. For more tips on pet travel, visit https://blog.gopetfriendly.com/tips-for-rving-with-pets/.
Destination
Montana’s Old Prison Museum Complex
What do you do with an outdated state prison? That was the question facing Montana officials after the state penitentiary in Deer Lodge was shuttered in 1979. A local group stepped up to make it a museum, and now the former hall of corrections is one of five museums. Visitors see them for one price, which includes ample free parking.
Number one on the Old Montana Prison Museum Complex is the prison itself. Portions were built stone by stone by the inmates themselves, beginning in 1893. Call ahead to ask about a group tour, or take a brochure and make it a self-guided visit. You’ll walk through cell blocks, see maximum-security cells, and visit the courtyard used for inmate exercise.
History resides inside the walls of the Old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge, Montana.
Serious ghost hunters regularly report incidents during paranormal investigations at the prison, and it’s open late into the evening at certain times of the year for that very purpose. For a less intense experience, attend the family-friendly Prison Haunted House event this month, October 26, 27, and 28, starting at 7:00 p.m. Events coordinator Heather Gregory said the facility is also important just for history itself. “It’s like stepping back in time and feeling how it was to be a convict in the late 1800s and early 1900s — up to 1979. The prison was run almost the same way through all those years.”
After you’ve done your time in the slammer, check the other four museums: Montana Auto Museum, with more than 160 classic cars; Powell County Museum, packed with local history; Yesterday’s Playthings, alive with a working model railroad; and Frontier Montana, brimming with handguns and cowboy-ranching Western gear. Other attractions include a re-created pioneer town called Cottonwood City, as well as an art gallery. If you don’t have enough time to see everything, don’t worry. Save your admission ticket, because it is good for an entire year.
Admission: Adults, $15 (some discounts accepted); children 10-15, $8; 9 and under, free.
Details: Old Prison Museum Complex, 1106 Main St., Deer Lodge, MT 59722; www.pcmaf.org/old-prison; (406) 846-3111.
Campground Spotlight
Kampgrounds of America Inc., C456, is a familiar name to many RVers. The logo is recognizable in most U.S. states and Canadian provinces. No wonder, as KOA has 500-plus campgrounds in popular travel spots and scenic areas.
Create treasured moments during seasonal events at KOA campgrounds throughout the United States and Canada.
Many KOAs celebrate fall with special campground events and activities. Here’s a sampling for October:
Eureka Springs KOA, Arkansas — Craft Day sessions for kids and adults, October 20; Halloween Extravaganza, October 26-28
Lena KOA, Illinois – Halloween Celebrations, October 5-8, 12-14, 19-21; Last Weekend of the Season with crafts, pumpkin decorating, group campfires, October 26-28
Boston/Cape Cod KOA, Massachusetts — Oktoberfest, October 13; “Wicked Halloween” weekends, October 19-21, 26-28
Astoria/Warrenton/Seaside KOA, Oregon – Chili Cook-Off, October 5-6; Halloween Fall Festivities, October 12-13, 19-20, 26-27
Harpers Ferry/Civil War Battlefields KOA, West Virginia – Halloween Spooktacular, October weekends
Milton KOA, Wisconsin — Halloween weekends with pumpkin decorating, costume parade, Haunted Barn, October 5-6, 12-13, 19-20
To learn more, visit www.koa.com and click Find A Campground. If you see an Events tab, select it for upcoming campground and local happenings. Or, download the KOA app.
App File
Navigation
Used to be that getting from point A to point B often meant stopping to ask for directions. Now we rely on digital devices to tell us every turn and much more.
Google Maps provides directions for driving, walking, biking, and public transit. You can choose map options that show traffic (by color coding), satellite views, and terrain. If you want to avoid highways, toll roads, or ferries, the app will plot a route around them. The app will point you to pretty much anything you’re looking for — restaurants, coffee shops, gyms, parks, shopping centers, hotels, and more. You can download maps to use when you’re offline. Free for iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play).
Waze is a community-based app owned by Google. It rounds up reports from drivers who are using the app to provide real-time traffic information. With that info, the app can plot the fastest route to a destination, even rerouting you midway if necessary. You can search for destinations verbally. You also can see a live status of your friends arriving to a shared destination. For all aspects of Waze to operate, you’ll need an active data connection. Free for iOS and Android. www.waze.com.
Mountain Directory apps, from R&R Publishing Inc., provide locations and descriptions of more than 700 mountain passes and steep grades in 22 states — information that can be useful for owners of motorhomes and other large RVs. Information from the app is downloaded onto a device so you don’t have to be online to access it. Mountain Directory East is $14.99; Mountain Directory West is $16.99. The Mountain Directory Combined app is $24.99. Available for iOS and Android. www.mountaindirectory.com.
Nature
Mystery Hills
Just as it’s hard to see how a magician does a trick, it’s mystifying to visit roadway spots that seem to defy gravity. Sometimes they are called mystery hills or magnetic hills. If you stop your vehicle, no matter its size, at a spot near one of these hills and remove your foot from the brake, you will start to roll uphill.
North Wales Drive in Lake Wales, Florida — better know as Spook Hill — tests motorists’ perception, as it appears to defy the laws of gravity.
Right. How does this really work?
According to experts who explain these types of things, the slope of trees, nearby hills, or other vegetation along the edge of the road gives motorists an inaccurate point of reference. It’s all a visual illusion. If you were to get out a piece of measuring equipment, such as a carpenter’s level, you’d realize the road was rolling downward, not up.
But it’s a lot more fun to make up a story about some invisible force than it is to admit that you’re being bamboozled. Some of these hills have fantastic tales behind them, which locals love to repeat. Sometimes, stories are similar. Ghostly children are said to push vehicles upward at mystery hills in Texas, New York, and other states. At Magnetic Hill in Moncton, New Brunswick, magnetism is one of many possible forces at work. Spook Hill in Lake Wales, Florida, is caused by either the ghost of a giant alligator or the local American Indian who defeated the beast. You decide.
If you come across a mystery hill in your travels and want to try it out, be careful that you won’t be setting yourself up for a very real vehicular accident. Obviously, these places should be checked out only when traffic is not an issue. Beware, too, that some hills are on streets where neighbors are tired of the attention. It’s safer to go where gravity testers are expected. And welcomed.
North Wales Drive in Lake Wales, Florida — better know as Spook Hill — tests motorists’ perception, as it appears to defy the laws of gravity.
For example, this Halloween is perfect for a stop at the bottom of Spook Hill in Lake Wales, where motorists are greeted by two new signs that were installed in July 2018. If you’re nearby, give it a try. Stop on the line; put the transmission in neutral; and let the spookiness begin! Just watch out for that alligator. . . .