People feel uncomfortable when they’re being followed, but cows don’t seem to mind. If one of them turns around and sees a chicken-size bird following in its tracks, it gives a bovine shrug and continues eating.

As we sat in the garage searching through a box labeled “Shenandoah Valley Memories,” thoughts of that beautiful valley made us long to return. We enjoyed our first visit there, and after rereading those stored materials, we’re pining to return to this part of northwestern Virginia.

Every now and then, on warm Nevada mornings, Rosalie Hart, F108669, would read a newsletter out loud over coffee as her husband, Douglas, listened and relaxed after a tiring 24-hour shift at the fire station. If you could peer through a window into their kitchen and look over Rosalie’s shoulder, you’d see “Vegas Vagabonds” printed in large letters across the top of the page.

On November 7, 1994, the Midweek Wanderers received their charter to become a chapter of Family Motor Coach Association. Currently the chapter has 37 member families, who live within the chapter’s geographical scope of Ventura County, California.

Q: I am puzzled! When not traveling, we keep our Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser in our garage. I came home the other day and found the LP-gas detector beeping.

The telephone number listed for Wiper Buddy in the July 2003 “Technical Inquiries” column (page 28) was incorrect. The correct phone number is (972) 272-8528.

FMC regrets this error.

Editor’s note: Mr. Eversmann presented the following report to the FMCA Governing Board during its meeting in Buffalo, New York, this past July.

It is my pleasure to provide an update regarding noteworthy activities within the Family Motor Coach Association.

Writing this column is the last of my duties as FMCA president. At the 70th International Convention in Buffalo, New York, on July 17, the Governing Board elected new FMCA officers for the 2003-2004 term: R.G.

Your motorhome sits in the driveway, ready to go. Everything’s packed, including Rover’s favorite dog biscuits, or Fluffy’s cat toys.

The musical advice to “Climb Every Mountain” is an appropriate suggestion for those visiting the part of south-central Idaho known as the “American Alps.” Travelers who explore this region and the surrounding countryside will have lasting memories of beautiful, varied scenery; interesting sights; and fun activities.
For the sake of simplicity, we’ll begin the journey right off of Interstate 84 in the town of Twin Falls, in south-central Idaho, and then head north from there. Twin Falls is located in the “Magic Valley,” a land of high desert that is irrigated by the Snake River.

It was 1953. Songs topping “Your Hit Parade” included “Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes” by Perry Como and “I’ve Got The World On A String” by Frank Sinatra.

Hello. First of all I would like to thank all of the youth for allowing me to serve a third year as president of the TATS.

In a dell surrounded by the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Kentucky’s Renfro Valley Entertainment Center offers a touch of Americana that time may have forgotten but old-time country music fans love to remember.
Sixty-four years ago, a radio program called the Renfro Valley Barn Dance first originated from this gentle glen. Men, some wearing overalls and plaid shirts, and women, clad in calico dresses and cotton stockings, performed on a stage inside a barn.

According to John Anderson, who founded the Recreation Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF) and served as its executive director until he retired this past July, tires probably are the most vulnerable component on an RV relative to weight and overload issues. They also tend to be the most overlooked.

In 1933 when the Broadway musical Forty-Second Street and the song “Shuffle Off To Buffalo” made their debut, few could have imagined the transportation that FMCA convention attendees recently used to “Shuffle Off To Buffalo.” In mid-July 2003, more than 3,800 families climbed aboard their high-tech homes on wheels and made tracks to the Buffalo Niagara region for FMCA’s 70th International Convention, dubbed “Shuffle Off To Buffalo” in honor of the host area. A total of 4,791 motorhomes gathered for the event in western New York.

An easy way to minimize wrinkles in the bottom bed sheet in the motorhome is to use worker-type stretchy suspenders, which are available at most home supply or hardware stores. The suspenders generally are at least 2 inches wide and come with heavy-duty, 1/2-inch metal clips.
To begin, place the suspenders on top of the mattress and equally adjust each side of the suspenders to approximately two-thirds of the width of the bed.

Barker Manufacturing has added two models to its line of Tote-Along portable gray- and black-water holding tanks. The 16-gallon 4-Wheeler Tote-Along measures 11.5 inches high, 17 inches wide, and 37 inches long and weighs 25 pounds empty.

With winter approaching, many FMCA members are planning to follow the sun to warmer zones. Quartzsite, Arizona, is high on the list of snowbird roosts, attracting thousands of RVers each year.

It’s pleasing to the eye, elegantly appointed, and its cavernous interior reflects the maximum amount of livability that can be coaxed from a triple-slideout motorhome. It’s the 2004 Navigator.
Holiday Rambler, a division of Monaco Coach Corporation, is celebrating 50 years in the RV industry by offering the quintessential luxury motorhome.

Butterflies are more than tiny works of art — they’re fascinating little creatures. So this month we’ll share answers to butterfly questions that we’ve had in the past, and provide answers to other questions we didn’t even think to ask until we began working on this column.

Ponder for a moment just how many items on a modern motorhome are powered or energized by some form of electrical current. Not including the cabinets, sofa cushions, and other soft goods, quite a few of our amenities are electrical in some sense.

Since we don’t have a huge motorhome, we try to carry multiple-use products as much as possible. Lemon juice certainly fits our requirements.

These easy-to-make and delicious dishes will keep you out of the galley as summer really heats up.
Chinese Crockpot Chicken
This recipe from Wendy Louise’s The Complete Crockpot Cookbook ($16, Champion Press) is a festival of flavor that requires little work. If you don’t have a slow cooker, put it in a roasting bag in the oven (see label directions, which call for the addition of a tablespoon of flour) or follow the directions for a three-pound chicken when using your microwave-convection oven in the combination mode.
One 3-pound chicken
1/4-cup soy sauce
1/4-cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons ketchup
6 cloves garlic, pressed
1 onion, sliced
Salt, pepper to taste
Place the chicken in the slow cooker.

FMCA president Jeff Jefcoat, F118344, has said on many occasions that if a person wants to learn the operation of FMCA, he or she should be a member of the Risk Management Committee. When Jeff was the national vice president from the Eastern Area, he spent three years on this committee and still attends all of our meetings.

You’re a medical transcriptionist, an expert on oil well fires, a highly specialized Wi-Fi installer, or even a top executive at a major corporation. You long to go full-timing, but you must continue to work.

Raynell Proksa says that Ed, her husband of 13 years, is the most committed FMCA member she knows.
“The magazine is practically his bible,” she said with a smile. “He reads it cover to cover, then at campgrounds searches out coaches without a goose egg (oval FMCA membership plate).” Considered a “great recruiter” by his wife, Ed has given away many copies of Family Motor Coaching to non-member motorhomers, hoping to entice them to join the organization.

Thank you for the responses you forwarded to us regarding the shaking problem we experienced in our Holiday Rambler Vacationer (“Vibrating Vacationer,” March 2003, page 32). We took the motorhome to a Ford garage and a mechanic there was able to identify and fix the problem.

Dear Editor:
One of your readers showed me a copy of the March 2003 issue of Family Motor Coaching. My grandfather’s RV predates the RV pictured on page 24, in the “Readers’ Forum” column, by about 14 years, and I wanted to share a photo of it.
The bashful young lady to the left of her mother is my mother, Barbara, at the age of 6.

The new FMCA North American Road Atlas & Travel Guide is now available to members. I hope you will take advantage of FMCA’s offer to send you a free copy of the revised FMCA atlas when you sign up a new FMCA member.

I am the son of Portuguese immigrants. When I was growing up, Portuguese was spoken in my home more frequently than English, and the food smelled of cumin, onions, and garlic, as does most Portuguese cooking.

I consider FMCA to be the premier organization in promoting a lifestyle of road travel and adventure in North America. The friends my wife, Jean, and I have made; the education we have gained; and the pleasure we’ve experienced traveling the continental United States and Canada will forever be instilled in our memories.
This month I’d like to highlight some of the most interesting locations we have visited in our retirement years.

I stood near the side of the road, mesmerized by the beauty of the striped red sandstone walls at Snow Canyon State Park near St. George, Utah.

Most people know it’s wise to keep several fire extinguishers in an RV, car, boat, and house. However, going through the process of choosing which fire extinguisher is the best for each situation can be difficult.

It is written that James A. Garfield may have been the best prepared candidate to seek the office of president of the United States.

While preparing for a trip some years back, my wife, Saraine, was driving our sport-utility vehicle to the grocery store to load up on supplies when she thought she smelled gasoline. When she jumped out and opened the hood to check, she discovered a fire in the engine compartment.
Having been a school bus driver for years, she had received fire safety training and knew exactly what to do.

My husband and I don’t rely on hand signals to help us park the motorhome. Instead, we use a pair of personal two-way radios.

The Quad-Loader from Hitch Things is described as a “revolutionary new way to haul an ATV.” It also is said to be ideal for hauling lawn tractors, golf carts, and even go-carts. The Quad-Loader features adjustable platform tracks to fit any width ATV; a powder-coated finish; lights; aluminum diamond-plate ramps; and a stowage compartment for the ramps.

Alfa Leisure Inc., C8898, of Ontario, California, which began building the See Ya motorhome three years ago, is now offering the See Ya Gold, an enhanced model offered in the same 40-foot long, dual-slideout floor plans that are available in the Alfa See Ya. The See Ya Gold incorporates many additional luxury items as standard equipment.
The See Ya Gold is powered by an 8.9-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine that develops 1,200 pound-feet of torque and yields 400 horsepower.

At FMCA’s 69th International Convention in Pomona, California, this past March, Ron Domiano and his grandson, Jeremy, were in the outdoor motorhome display area doing a land-office business. Ron and Jeremy operate Domiano’s RV of Stanton, California, one of several West Coast dealerships that sell Travel Supreme diesel-pusher motorhomes.

As thousands of motorhomers congregate at the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg, New York, for FMCA’s 70th International Convention July 18, 19, and 20, they’ll find plenty to see and do. Awaiting them will be hundreds of new motorhomes to inspect and test-drive; buildings filled with exhibitors displaying RV-related products and accessories to peruse and purchase; and many hours of great entertainment to enjoy.

You have to wonder how jellyfish got their name. These spineless creatures certainly aren’t fish.

This is a wonderful time of year to visit Canada’s national parks. For the most part, it’s much cooler in Canada than it is in southern latitudes of the United States.