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PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Good price on yummy worms!

By Chuck Woodbury

We are posting this issue earlier than normal this weekend due to downtime on our email server that would have held up our Sunday email alert until the afternoon.

The battle of the half price camping clubs has heated up with a new player from the Affinity Group, owners of the Good Sam Club, Trailer Life and Camping World. The latest "club" is CampClub USA, a clone of the Happy Camper Club and Passport America, established family-run organizations that offer 50 percent discounts at RV parks across North America for an annual membership fee of about $45 to $50.

I'm baffled at the need for the new club, when the other two do a fine job. We've had a close relationship with the Happy Camper Club ever since we began publishing on the Web and have grown to highly respect the organization. After Hurricane Katrina, owner Anne Pearson opened her own Louisiana RV parks to New Orleans refugees, hosting many families for months, some living in tiny travel trailers and even pop ups. She spearheaded a fund-raising effort that helped put food on the displaced RVers plates and buy clothing and other essentials for their children. The Happy Camper Club and Passport America have approximately 1,000 participating RV parks in their respective networks, and are responsible for saving RVers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overnight camping fees.

RVers angry at being kicked out of parking lots
We stirred up a hornet's nest recently when we reported that Laughlin, Nev., had booted overnighting RVers from the parking lots of its casinos. Laughlin is a Colorado River gambling town that boomed in the '80s and '90s, in part because of the hundreds, at times even thousands, of RVers holed up in its parking lots, spending their dollars gambling and dining on cheap buffets. Without warning in January, the county health department ordered all casinos who still allowed such overnight parking to give RVers their marching orders. We wrote about this and included email addresses of a few county officials. Well, you know the rest of the story. Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury (no relation to me) was flooded with emails from angry RVers, which caught him by surprise.

Peeved about what he believed was the poorly conceived order by the health department, he wrote to county health officer Dr. Donald Kwalick: "The effects of these actions have reverberated literally across North America. We have received emails from RV owners in Canada and from around the United States indicating their belief that Clark County and Laughlin no longer welcomed their visits or their business. . . It is likely that many thousands of RV owners, and possibly others, are now convinced that Clark County is not a friendly place for them. This could have very broad unforeseen consequences. . . I am puzzled by the actions of Health District staff, and the manner in which this action was undertaken. There simply does not appear to have been adequate prior notice to the hotels involved. Nor does it appear that there was sufficient forethought for possible consequences -- particularly in light of the fact that "dry camping" has been a seasonal norm in Laughlin for many years."

The problem, it turns out, was that some RV squatters had been living for months at a time in the parking lots in beat up RVs with leaking holding tanks, a health hazard for sure. We certainly can understand why such squatters should be booted. Still, RVers across America, writing in RV forums including our own, expressed their anger at the blanket decision to kick out ALL RVers. Many wrote, "I'm not coming back!"

My guess is that the casinos will again welcome RVers to stay the night for free. Those who violate health codes will be cited and ordered to move. That's the way it should be, and that's the way the Clark County Health Department should have handled the messy problem in the first place instead of punishing the entire RV community for the actions of a few.

If you haven't read the new mid-week newsletter from RV Travel please check it out. Editor Jerry Brown is putting out a wonderful, informative and idea-packed weekly e-periodical. Read last Thursday's issue here. And check out last week's issues of RV Tech Tips and Fulltime RVer, both superb online newsletters.

That's it for me this week. See you here next Sunday.

Do you have a comment about this essay? Leave it here.

The Pot of Gold Zip Code contest prize is now $123. Check at RVbookstore.com between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. (Pacific time). You could win the cash by simply living in the day's Zip Code! The pot grows larger every weekday until we have our next winner! Last week's randomly selected codes: 52069, 08904, 85230, 97414, 56547. If you live in one of these Zips and had told us so, you would have been awarded the pot of cash!

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. . . eBook lists Wal-Marts that DO NOT allow overnight stays. Only $4.39.

Russ and Tina De Maris are authors of RV Boondocking Basics and Boondocking Tips for RVers: More Fun Without Hookups

QUESTION: Should I wear gloves while dumping my motorhome's holding tanks? I say it's not necessary, but the wife says it is and I'm tired of her nagging me about it. ANSWER: We agree with "the" wife. Wear gloves -- disposable ones are best. Even though most of the time you will never come in contact with liquids from your tank, just think about all the germs on your sewer hose! Man, they're feasting on a gourmet meal of all the nasty stuff hanging out there. Most RVers wear gloves. Heck, let's make a SURVEY QUESTION out of this: What do those of you reading this think? Gloves or no gloves?

Hico City Park: Hico, Texas
Cross 16,000 lbs. gross weight iron bridge.  Two entrances through iron gates: I would probably take the second since you can make a wider left turn. In Hico off Highway 281, turn east onto west Ave B. In Hico off Highway 6 (2nd Street), turn south onto Elm. 20-30 amp electric, eight pull-throughs, six back-ins. Restroom, shade trees, playground; pavillion. Walk to town, great restaurant with yummy homemade pies. Free.

Baker Creek Campground: Big Pine, California
This Department of Water and Power campground is in the eastern shadow of the Sierra range a half mile north of Big Pine and west on Baker Creek Road along US 395. The campground has 70 spaces, pit toilets, drinking water, tables and grills. Baker Creek runs through the campground. Heavy electric lines run over the length of the campground and buzz loudly. Otherwise it's quiet and feels safe. $6 per night.

Publix Grocery Parking Lot: Key West, Florida
The Publix on North Roosevelt Blvd. seems to have no current restrictions on overnight in RVs. Don't know how long this will last. A good idea would be to overnight and then move in daylight hours to the other side of the island (Smathers Beach). Not a bad place to boondock. Free.

The information above was provided by visitors to FreeCampgrounds.com. The information has not been verified. Learn about more than 1,030 free and inexpensive campgrounds.