RV Vacations: Ten TipsWritten by Jill Ferrer of Your RV Lifestyle
Continued from page 1 Flexibility: In an RV, you have flexibility to change locations if you get whim. But take this with a grain of salt. For popular destinations, you may not be able to pick up and find another campground without a reservation. You also want to strike right balance between seeing different areas, amount of time spent driving and ensuring you have enough time to relax. Cautions aside, an RV can give you a lot of freedom and spontaneity. RV travel appeals to an inner pioneering spirit and allows you to create your own adventure as you go along your way. You can explore country at your own pace or take off for last minute mini-vacations, tailgating events and weekend trips.Affordability: The question of whether it is cheaper to take an RV vacation doesn't have a "one size fits all" answer. The comparison really depends on type of vacations you would take instead, as well as way in which you plan to RV. For a one-time trip, you can compare costs of renting a suitable RV to costs of hotels, airfare or other means of travel. Or if you are considering regular RV vacations, you may want to purchase a motorhome or towable trailer. In this case, you would need to factor in operating costs, maintenance and purchase price. In an RV, you can save money by cooking meals at home vs. dining out. You can minimize expenses if you take advantage of activities and amenities already included in campground rate. Fuel expenses can be managed by reducing distances traveled and staying longer at a given campground or park. Driving RV: Driving yourself gives you control over where you go and pace of your travel. You don’t have hassle of airline counters and keeping to schedules. You can stop and take a break when you choose. You don't need a special license to drive an RV. Sure, it takes some getting used to -- but number of RVs on road should tell you that it is doable. Practice on your own (or with one other person) before you load up your passengers. Take advantage of any classes available through your dealer or one of many RV organizations. How about a relaxing vacation for a change? How many times have you returned from a trip saying you need a vacation from vacation? Now don't kid yourself - if you are type who likes to schedule all details of a trip, that's not going to change simply because you are traveling in an RV. But in choosing an RV vacation, you may shift your thinking and be more apt to use your time off as an opportunity to truly relax and unwind. Test out RV Lifestyle: The RV vacation may serve as a test drive to gauge your overall interest in RV lifestyle. There are RVers who spend several weeks per year in RV travel. Other RVers take off for months. Snowbirds are RVers who make an annual trek to warmer climates for winter season. And then there are fulltime RVers whose only home is their RV. Many of these people started out by vacationing in an RV as a way to try out RV lifestyle.
Copyright 2005 Your RV Lifestyle, all rights reserved. Publication permitted if resource info and links are intact. About The Author Jill is a fulltime RVer and editor of www.your-rv-lifestyle.com, where you can find more tips on choosing, affording and enjoying your RV lifestyle.
| | A Trip To Iqaluit In Nunavut, A Canadian Arctic CityWritten by Clint Leung
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One thing that was very noticeable in Iqaluit was large numbers of children everywhere. Nunavut has a very young population with 56% under age of 25. I saw many Inuit mothers wearing traditional Inuit parkas with large hoods in back where their babies are carried. The Inuit youth is one of Canadian Arctic's untapped resources and its future. They have access to satellite television and dress just like their counterparts in south. However, at present only about 25% of high school students graduate so a big challenge for Nunavut government is to encourage Inuit kids to stay in school. During my second trip, there was darkness for only a few hours each day so it was very strange to be walking around town at 10 pm in evening with daylight still present. Even at this hour, there were still quite a few young Inuit children playing outside. The locals, Inuit and non-Inuit alike were very friendly. I got impression of a tight community perhaps because of isolation of Canadian Arctic. However, local Inuit were also very open to visitors and willing to share a bit of their lives. During daytime, I went up to a few Inuit art carvers who were working outside their houses. Each turned off their power saws when I approached them and seemed happy to talk to me. I met most of them later during evenings when they showed me their finished works of Inuit art. I had opportunity to walk about 30 minutes to outskirts of town past airport one day. I climbed up a hilltop with a satellite dish facility overlooking an expansive valley. There was nobody else around and it was incredible how silent area was. It was like a vacuum where I could hear only my own breathing. It was a very peaceful and even spiritual moment there. While sitting on this Arctic hilltop, I was suddenly startled at one point by a noise and it turned out to be flapping wings of a large raven flying by. There are tours offered by local outfitters to see northern wildlife and experience some of Arctic tundra further out. I hope to take one of these tours on a future visit. A trip to Nunavut is not cheap since everything, including flights are so expensive. However, I will definitely return not only for more Inuit art, but also to experience more of local Inuit culture and Arctic land.
Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.
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