Month: April 2013

(April 16, 2013) -- Retro To Go is currently featuring a personalized bay campervan bird box by Lindleywood, which the website says would look cool in any garden.

(April 16, 2013) -- Caravan, campervan and motorhome enthusiasts can keep their mobile holiday home clean with the new cordless Gtech sweeper, the SW20, Gtech has announced.

(April 16, 2013) -- Chimani announced today a range of products and new features to enhance national park visitors experiences while in the parks. The announcement coincides with the celebration of this year’s National Park Week, which runs from April 22-26.

(April 15, 2013) -- Exposure is important. It takes a minimum of 20 to 35 times of seeing your campground name before your potential campers will begin to trust you with their leisure time. Clothing with your logo on it is more cost effective than business cards. 

(April 16, 2013) -- Gonzales County commissioners on Monday approved the construction of an RV park that will hold 96 units on a 15-acre tract of land, about 4 miles east of Gonzales, Texas.

(April 16, 2013) -- Pecos, N.M. business operators are livid that the U.S. Forest Service has closed a campground, locked day-use toilets and taken away trash cans from popular recreation sites in the Pecos Canyon, reports The New Mexican.

(April 16, 2013) -- Region One of the Florida RV Trade Association will return for its 18th annual admission-free RV show at the Lee County Sports Complex/Hammond Stadium in South Fort Myers April 19-21, Dan Wylie, president of Region One, announced today.

GATLINBURG, Tenn. -- Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the completion of road repairs to Newfound Gap Road (Hwy 441). The road has been closed since the Jan. 16 landslide that washed away approximately 200 feet of the road. At 10 a.m. on April 15, the park officially opened the road to all thru traffic between Cherokee, N.C. and Gatlinburg, Tenn. Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson, North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Michell Hicks, and Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) Construction Operations Engineer Emmett Melton jointly announced the opening of the road 30 days ahead of the scheduled completion date of May 15. The National Park Service, FHWA, Phillips & Jordan, Inc. (P&J), APAC Harrison Division, and all subcontractors worked cooperatively in the most efficient and expeditious manner possible to restore Hwy 441 to a safe byway for the traveling public, the gateway communities, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The primary repair contract was awarded to P&J for the submitted bid of $3,989,890.00 with the completion date set at May 15. The contract included a monetary incentive of $18,000 per day to the each day of completion prior to May 15, up to a maximum of $504,000 offered jointly by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian (EBCI) and the National Park Service. "We recognize the economic importance of the road to our neighboring communities and are grateful that our partners at Federal Highways Administration and were able to respond efficiently to our need and work with the contractors to make the necessary repairs in less than 90 days," said Ditmanson. APAC Harrison Division completed Phase 1 of the reconstruction project on Feb. 21 by developing the access road to the slide area, removing of debris, and stabilizing the slope above the work area. P&J mobilized equipment on Feb. 22 to begin Phase 2 of the reconstruction project, which included rebuilding the roadway and filling the area washed away during the landslide with crushed stone. The final design includes more than 200 feet of pipes to allow for the drainage of subsurface water flow along with 150 feet of side drainage leading to a culvert at the end of the slope. This drainage system and pervious crushed stone material will further protect the road and park resources from future damage due to both overflow and subsurface waterflow. The fill area was naturally sloped and planted with seed. In addition, erosion measures were put into place along the 900 foot debris field below the landslide, which was also seeded. For the most current road conditions, call 865-436-1200 x 631 or follow SmokiesRoadsNPS on Twitter. SOURCE: National Park Service news release

(April 16, 2013) -- Northeast Coffee will provide a free Keurig (regular or coin operated) at no charge to the campground if the owners agree to purchase their coffee from Northeast. The company offers more than 150 varieties of coffee, tea, hot cocoa and apple cider. Shipping on all orders over $75 is always free.

(April 16, 2013) -- York Dispatch reports Gifford Pinchot State Park is using local goats to manage unwanted vegetation on its campground.