Some may call it the “Forgotten Coast,” but travelers who visit a 120-mile portion of Florida’s Panhandle will long remember it. The section of coastline in question stretches between Panama City and Tallahassee, from Mexico Beach (east of Panama City) to St.

What mile-high city is rich in natural and cultural history, has a mild year-round climate, is bisected by one of the most famous highways in the world, can be seen from the world’s longest tram, and hosts the largest and most-photographed hot-air balloon event in the world?
If your answer is Albuquerque, New Mexico, give yourself a pat on the back. Most people associate any reference to a mile-high city with Denver, which lies 450 miles north of Albuquerque.

As noted in last month’s “Type A Chassis: The Gas Pullers” story, only two manufacturers build gas-powered chassis for type A motorhomes today. At least 10 manufacturers are vying for the consumer’s diesel dollar.

Afraid of misplacing or losing my keys, I needed a place to keep an extra set that was easily accessible. I found it with this push-button box that can be mounted on the motorhome, holds two keys, and is worth its weight in gold.

The Traveler golf pull cart, which weighs just 11 pounds, disassembles easily and folds down to 24 inches long by 12 inches wide by 20 inches deep for convenient storage. Made of welded 18-gauge steel tubing, the cart includes 12-inch removable wheels with steel ball bearings and a width-adjustable axle.

Luxury motorhome manufacturer Country Coach, C2132, is celebrating its third decade in the RV manufacturing business with the 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Magna. This 42-foot flat-floor, triple-slideout motorhome, which debuted at the annual Country Coach Class Reunion Rally in September 2003, will be offered in a limited production run of 30 units.
“This coach is a culmination of the things people look for in a Country Coach — and then some,” said company CEO and founder Bob Lee.

Georgie Boy is prepared to soar to new heights with the introduction of the 2004 Cruise Air XL. The latest version of this popular diesel pusher offers many upgraded appliance options, new interior wood finishes, redesigned lighting, and a black water tank rinse system.

If it looks like a diesel and drives like a diesel, then it must be a diesel, right? Wrong! Totally redesigned and built on the Workhorse W22 chassis, the 2004 Fleetwood Pace Arrow has all the earmarks of a high-line diesel pusher. These features include new graphics, a roofline that is 5 inches higher than that of the previous model, and 22.5-inch wheels and tires.

Life today is lightning-paced, with constant changes in everything from taxes to technology. Overdraw a checking account because your automatic electronic deposit was late by a few minutes, and you’re charged $50.

Want to see a fossil firsthand? No, we aren’t talking about your great aunt Mary, but about really old fossils. Check out these national monuments, parks, and recreation areas that claim fossils as part of the reason for a visit.

Whether you’re cooking for two or 12, you’ll find a recipe here that’s easy to prepare and is sure to tantalize your taste buds.
Low Country Shrimp Boil
The nice thing about this recipe is that it easily can be portioned to serve a dozen people, making it ideal for campground potlucks. For even cooking, choose potatoes that are all approximately the same size.

This time of year, you’ll notice that birds frequently feed and move about in mixed flocks. Why would they do that? What is the advantage in having more mouths at the table? Actually, there are several payoffs for such behavior.
For one thing, feeding with companions increases the number of eyes and ears available to detect predators.

On a warm, sunny day in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, a rural community just north of Chattanooga, the door to Horsin Around, the only carousel animal carving school in the United States, stands wide open. Inside, sunlight floods the 1,500-square-foot studio, illuminating rows of shelves laden with carved wooden animal heads — horses, dogs, giraffes, and more — many of them works in progress.

Q: I have a 2001 Jeep Wrangler and would like to wire it so it can be towed behind my diesel pusher. Is there a wiring harness that will plug into the existing factory wiring, and if so, where can it be purchased?
Robert Laird, F321471
Beaumont, Texas
A: RoadMaster (5602 N.E.

Dear Editor:
As many of you know, my husband, Eddie, and I traveled to Buffalo, New York, in July to attend the FMCA convention and the Governing Board meeting. On July 16, the first morning of the Governing Board meeting, Eddie became ill.

The September 1980 issue of Family Motor Coaching magazine contained an article written by FMCA’s national president at the time, Harry Palmer, L481. His “FMCA Update” was titled “Help Choose A Convention Site.”
I thought you would be interested to see the convention site specifications he shared with the membership in that article, because they make for an interesting comparison with those of today.

It is said that opportunity knocks only once. In 1998 I was given the opportunity to serve on the Legislative Advisory Committee, and accepted the appointment with the hope that the work I would be involved in would benefit my FMCA fellow members.

There has been much discussion and support through the years for FMCA to have a permanent site for one of its annual conventions. In his final address to the Governing Board at the convention in Buffalo, New York, this past July, immediate past president Jeff Jefcoat, L118344, asked the new Executive Board to give consideration to this idea.

There are houses, and then there are houses. Some are the cookie-cutter variety, while others incorporate customized features.

As the holiday season approaches, many cities, towns, and hamlets in America are decked out in lights or finery. But some are garlanded every day of the year by a name that is associated with the yuletide season, such as Bethlehem, Noel, and North Pole.
A number of tourist attractions have special appeal during the holiday season, although they can be enjoyed any time of the year.

One Thursday in October, we pointed the motorhome toward Laughlin, Nevada. I had convinced my ever-accommodating wife, Julie, to spend a day (two nights) there to satisfy my curiosity about the place I had heard so much about.

If you are an active RVer and have ever pushed your coach westbound late in the evening as the sun was about to set, I’m sure you have experienced what I call the “brutal sun zone.” Actually measured in inches, it’s that space between your lowered sun visor and the top of your dashboard. Ring a bell? The pervasive glare of the sun penetrates unabated through this gap, literally blinding you at times.

First impressions do matter when it comes to motorhomes. The Coach House Platinum type C, for example, exudes elegance and luxury, and has great eye appeal.

The Olympic Peninsula forms the northwest corner of Washington, with Puget Sound and Seattle to its east, the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. That may be its geographical description, but after you experience it, you’ll want to describe it with another word: diversity.
An amazingly different array of trees, wildflowers, weather, and land elevations all exist together here.

During our first year as full-time RVers, we paid an average of $17 per night in camping fees. That was seven years ago.

People go to Laughlin, Nevada, because it offers fun and games, right? Well … partly right.

At one time, all of the “Big Three” American automakers — Chrysler (Dodge), General Motors (both GMC and Chevrolet), and Ford — competed in the type A gasoline-powered motorhome chassis marketplace. Of the three, only Ford remains in the fray.

Finding a place to store paper plates; plastic knives, forks, and spoons; wax paper; plastic wrap; aluminum foil; resealable plastic bags, etc., has always been a problem. They never stay where they’re put.

No Stink Inc. offers a variety of odor-eliminating products under the brand name of ODORZOUT.

The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma, now offers visitors a peek inside a historic diner, similar to those that lined Route 66 many years ago.

The restored Route 66 Diner, which opened this past May, is not being used as a working restaurant, but it contains original equipment from an eatery that operated from 1956 to 1964 in Shamrock, Texas, called the Porter House Cafe.

I’ve been told that a number of Coach House Inc. customers are folks who are downsizing from high-end diesel pushers, and it’s no wonder.

When you decided to become a full-timer, you probably realized that you’d be giving up some of the time-honored traditions that your family cherished for years. In many ways, that’s good.

This month you’ll be reading the words of just one of us: Kaye. I have been interested in my family’s genealogy for more than a decade; Lowell’s involvement is limited to helping me with my research.

Opossums (Didelphis marsupialis) are the only marsupials (pouched mammals) native to North America, and they’ve been around a long, long time. Unfortunately, we’ve seen far more opossums dead than alive.

You can have this crusty casserole on the table about half an hour after you get up.

In 1989 when the PALS chapter was formed, members named the group by using the first letters from the words “Pace Arrow Lakers.” You had to own a Fleetwood Pace Arrow motorhome to join, and the “Lakers” part referred to FMCA’s Great Lakes Area, which is the chapter’s geographical scope.

Times change, of course, and as members replaced their coaches with other brands, they didn’t want to have to give up their friendships. So ever since July 2000, the PALS chapter has welcomed FMCA members who own any brand or type of motorhome, be it a type A, B, or C, or a bus conversion.

If you think about it, inviting the owners of a thousand big motorhomes to a rally; finding them nice places to park; providing electricity and ample space to deploy their slideouts and awnings; and keeping them happy for four days is a major undertaking. Then figure that there are typically two people in each coach to feed, entertain, and provide relevant RV information.

Q: I have a 2000 Monaco La Palma on a Ford chassis with a V-10 engine. If I drive in town and make a lot of stops and starts, my speedometer stops and the overdrive light on the gearshift comes on.

Dear Editor:
I recently purchased a 1991 Barth motorhome containing a Sharp convection-microwave oven, model R-9H81B, manufactured in November 1990. There was no operating manual for the oven in the coach when I took delivery.

In this month’s column I have chosen to write about an important decision that no one wanted to have to make — a recommended dues increase. This month the Governing Board will be voting on whether to authorize a dues increase for the family membership of FMCA.

This was one of those unusual years for FMCA in terms of the national officer election that was held during the Governing Board meeting in Buffalo, New York, in that only one incumbent was running for the four available offices. National president Jeff Jefcoat, L118344, decided not to seek re-election because of health reasons.

Bernice Beard, F93208, and her husband, Paul, have been RVing for more than 14 years. During that time she’s accumulated a wealth of useful information through conversations with other RVers, reading motorhome- and RV-related magazines and books, and trial and error, resulting in a treasure trove of ideas that help to make the RV lifestyle more enjoyable.

Grandchildren are truly a gift. Just being with these little people, so large with love, vitalizes our lives.

Many travelers delight in attractions that aren’t well-trod by the general populace. And when you’re on the road, finding objects you may once have collected and doted on, or are continuing to collect and prize, is like meeting old friends.

When Terry and Michelle Guinn first saw the 1999 Ultimate Freedom diesel pusher that eventually would be theirs, they immediately fell in love with it.

The Guinns and their family, which includes two teenagers and a pre-teen, spend much of their free time on weekends and vacations participating in outdoor activities such as boating, off-roading, and biking, depending on the weather and the time of year. They found that the Ultimate Freedom was the perfect vehicle for transporting their collection of “toys” and that it had terrific dry camping capabilities.

What it lacked, however, was adequate sleeping accommodations for the family and the friends their kids would bring along on most trips.

Many of us have encouraged our kids in school, sometimes helping them with assignments that are intended to provide them insight into what the real world is all about. School projects typically do not grow into multimillion-dollar corporations, of course.

FMCA’s Executive Board is made up of the national president, senior vice president, secretary, and treasurer, along with the 10 area vice presidents. FMCA members were able to learn more about the four nationally elected officers when their resumes were published in the May 2003 issue prior to the election at FMCA’s 70th International Convention in Buffalo, New York.

Ever since Flipper swam across our black-and-white TV screens in the 1960s, the American public has been enamored with Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. What’s not to love? They are highly intelligent and friendly to man.

… Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”
— Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

This year the United States observes the 140th anniversary of the one event that turned the tide of the Civil War. To many, the Battle of Gettysburg is the most compelling and fascinating milestone of that war.

Every year, hundreds of people in the United States die from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, and thousands of others end up in hospital emergency rooms from breathing this noxious gas. The statistics are regrettable, as most of these incidents could be avoided.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that has no color, odor, or taste.