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the official magazine of the fulltime families camping club june 2011 issue 14

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page 2 www.fulltimefamilies.com in this issue letter from the editor 3 close to the counters 4 sweet potato jackets 5 what s in season 6 summer 2011 family reunion astoria or sponsors update 6 can you lease your home on wheels yes you can 7 the mod man folds the satellite dish 8 our road trip usa giveaway 9 protecting your family from melanoma 10 are you at risk for giardiasis 11 don t leave home with our ftf card 13 free family fun in las vegas 14 why we re on the road the seeleys 15 june is a great month to 16 can you help joplin mo 17 our new partner mountain directory 19 factory tour highlight how do they make those a-liners 19 celebrating fourth of july 18 want to contribute there s always room just email info@fulltimefamilies.com with your ideas on the cover super dad chris travaglino with the kids of family gone wild submit your photo for our juky cover to info@fulltimefamilies.com your ad here did you here the one about the guy who dreamt he was eating a marshmallow he woke up and his pillow had vanished fulltime families is seeking corporate sponsors get your brand seen from coast to coast email info@fulltimefam ilies.com for more information can you find pinky the marshmallow somewhere in this issue pinky is hidden find her and send an email to info@fulltimefamilies.com with the page number all participants will be automatically entered to win this month s giveaway see the giveaway column for prize details copyright © 2011 fulltime families magazine all rights reserved personal use of this material including one hard copy reproduction is permitted permission to reprint republish and/or distribute this material in whole or in part for any other purposes must be obtained from ff for information on obtaining permission send an e-mail message to info@fulltimefamilies.com by choosing to view this document you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.

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june 2011 issue 14 page 3 happy father s day from the editor greetings from the central oregon coast we are excited about summer and meeting more families in campgrounds it s been great having the peace and quiet but we are ready for ice cream socials mini golf competitions and all the other family activities that campgrounds offer during their peak season all summer long we will be hosting a weekly s mores campfire so keep an eye on the ftf family finder and come roast some marshmallows and share some laughs with us this year we will be celebrating father s day with a bunch of traveling dads at our ftf summer family reunion in astoria or i m sure they will regale us all with black tank tragedies outrageous road stories and enlighten us all with their unique modifications and upgrades dads play a special role in every family but their responsibilities multiply when your family becomes a fulltime family while our company name refers to our status as full time rv ing families those of us on the road know that a fulltime family is exactly as the name implies a family that is together full time this means some dads have laundry duty or cook the meals or work from home with a gaggle of kids at their feet they are there to kiss booboos fix bikes attend field trips and help school the kids a full time father is very hands on and very available our kids are so tremendously lucky to be able to spend so much time with these doting dads so to chris and all the dads on the road we dedicate this issue to you for all that you do to make our family s dreams come true hope to see you down the road kimberly the traveling travaglinos at yosemite happy father s day you re the tops your list of good traits never stops you re smart you re strong you re always there to fix a bike or change a spare you re good for laughs and grins and yucks and could i please have twenty bucks by denise rodgers · · · · · let us put sunglasses on your rv custom fit ­ made at your rv site daytime privacy ­ enjoy the view without being the view black for best unobstructed view blocks up to 98 of uv rays 10-year warranty todd and renee seeley distributors · fulltime families member #81 713 208-5569 · rvsunshade@gmail.com · www.rvsunshadeco.com

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june 2011 issue 14 page 4 close to the counters surviving cooking in a 20 sq ft rv kitchen by pam daley last month we traveled across canada from just north of seattle wa up through british columbia and the yukon on our way to fairbanks alaska ­ definitely a `bucket list dream-come-true type of trip while it s probably not fair to judge an entire country based on our small sampling i have to say that the canadians friendliness was akin to our own `southern hospitality super nice people everyone interested in where we were from and eager to answer our questions where s the closest public wifi an example we arrived at the riverside rv park vanderhoof bc late one afternoon to see a maintenance crew and a big closed for the season sign as we pulled over to check our milepost for alternatives one of the workers walked over to our motorhome he told us they were working on getting the park open but since we were just looking for an overnight stay he d open the gate and we were welcome to choose any spot hook up to the water electricity and stay for free you can imagine how quickly we said yes to that offer we were the only people in that park ­ and while it did rain all day it was a great place to relax for a while some of the differences we ve noticed that ­ while subtle ­ let us know we were in a different country spelling · re instead of er ­ although this seems to be limited to very few words centre/center theatre/theater and fibre fiber were the only ones we saw · · our instead of or as in colour/color or savoury/savory caribou ­ we were excited to see the first road signs to look out for these animals but when we started seeing `cariboo hardware `cariboo restaurant and the like i thought they were just playing with the spelling but nope that s how you spell caribou in canada cariboo you wouldn t believe the trouble my spell checker is having with this month s column · the other thing that struck me ­ after spending a significant part of my life in california ­ was that signs are in english/french instead of english/spanish makes sense of course but it s just one of those little differences and yes as expected gas prices are higher in canada but for all of our complaining in the u.s our gas prices are significantly lower than the rest of the world europeans including the british the irish the germans the italians and the french pay somewhere between $7.50 and $8 per gallon and gasoline is $9.28 per gallon in norway ­ figure out how much that would cost to fill your tank as of this writing the highest priced gasoline we ve found in canada was $5.32 per imperial gallon definitely painful but i m absolutely not going to complain about it what did give us sticker shock though were grocery prices once we figured out how to actually unlatch a grocery `buggy and take it in the store they require quarter deposits we stopped to take a look at the store directory and set off to knock out that grocery list first thing i noticed was that they don t have many generic brands ­ even in the safeway store their `store brand wasn t near as prevalent as you see in the states and items are in bigger packages ­ for instance hot dog hamburger buns the only option was packages of 12 ­ no 6 or 8 counts at all since there are only 3 of us a package of 12 hamburger buns can take a while to use up so we re using those buns as our `sandwich bread this week and prices are just plain higher ­ black beans $2.29 a can versus the 99 a can i was used to seeing aluminum foil ­ over $7.00 not the extra thick style and not a 500 ft package either yikes after that first stop to replenish the cupboards in quesnel bc i m rethinking our menus for the rest of this trip i m going to be looking to stretch that food dollar even more than usual besides i love a challenge pam her husband mike and teenage daughter sarah survived the alcan highway and are now in fairbanks alaska where they will spend the summer you can contact her at rvkitchen@fulltimefamilies.com · chinese restaurants advertise `chinese canadian food instead of `chinese american food what s canadian food

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page 5 the recipe almond-topped chicken maple french toast bake i have one recipe for you this month plus some other ideas for thrifty meals enjoy tuna sweet potato jackets · · · · · · 4 small sweet potatoes about ½ pound each 6 ounce can tuna drained ½ red onion finely sliced 1 small red chili deseeded and chopped lime juice fresh or from the little plastic limes plain yogurt greek style yogurt or sour cream would work if you have them on hand scrub the sweet potatoes and prick all over with a fork place on a microwaveable plate and cook on high for 18-20 mins or until tender split in half and place each one cut-side up on a serving plate flake the drained tuna with a fork and divide between the sweet potatoes top with the red onion and chili then squeeze over the lime juice top with a dollop of yogurt to serve add something `green ­ salad broccoli raw veggies whatever you have and quick biscuits and you ve got a great inexpensive meal recipe from good food magazine january 2010 other ideas for easy inexpensive meals · the baked potato dinner just top cooked baked potatoes split in half with whatever toppings you like a great way to stretch leftovers chopped broccoli salsa a bit of chili or some chopped chives sprinkle some grated cheese on the top too and broil till the cheese melts potato salmon pie is a meal made with 1 can of salmon drained and with the bones and skin removed and then flake the salmon add 2 cups thick white sauce and 1 cup cooked peas to the salmon put in casserole dish top all with 2 cups mashed potatoes dot with butter and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes a thrifty tasty dish that serves six eggs are always a great starting point for an inexpensive dinner omelets or scrambled eggs using whatever leftovers are in the refrigerator are quick easy if you re a bit more ambitious an oven frittata is another option · · have a favorite quick inexpensive meal send your recipes to me and i may share them in future columns pictures courtesy of taste of home books 2005 reiman media group inc

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june 2011 issue 14 page 6 june produce eat fresh eat local eat in season stay healthy by eating what s in season each month we will include a list of in season produce here is what s fresh right now vegetables · peas · radishes · garlic scapes · kohlrabi · broccoli fruit · strawberries · · · blueberries currants plums availability varies from state to state so check field to plate s seasonal lookup guide to see what s freshest near you make healthy eating an adventure by picking your own check out this great website for a pick your own farm by you http www.pickyourown.org/index.htm · spinach thank you to our sponsors of the summer ftf family reunion we couldn t do it alone so we re taking this opportunity to say thank you to the sponsors of the summer ftf family reunion please take a minute to check out there web sites campink makers of beautiful pink camping products one lucky rally attendee will be leaving with a lounge chair from campink http www.campink.com the astoria warrenton chamber of commerce is graciously providing some great goonies products for our goonies trivia contest goonies day in astoria is june 7th if you are arriving early be sure to participate in this fun family event more details can be found here http www.oldoregon.com seaside family fun park is providing a family pack of tickets to their amusement park with bumper boats go carts mini golf and more this is a great place to check out while you re in the area http www.seasidefamilyfun.com can t make it to this family reunion we will be announcing the location and dates for our fall rally shortly stay tuned!

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page 7 can a lease be the answer to your full time dreams by wendy ellen taylor admit it you too have had that dream the one where you cash it all in and take off on the adventure of a lifetime for some it s the adventure itself that calls to them for others it s the desire to live a simple and more fulfilling life for our family it was about timing after 12 years of marriage 3 kids 2 sold businesses and more moves and air miles than we care to keep track of we were at a crossroads my husband has a wonderful job that he loves but it involves a lot of travel we already homeschool and had recently sold our home we were as free as we were ever going to be and for the first time in nearly 2 decades we had no big ticket items awaiting us each month no mortgage no utilities no club dues or sports fees it was just our little family and a big world waiting to be explored so we took the leap we started out like many of you shopping at our local rv center here s an example of how our first shopping day went class c or class a the class c has the sleep over bunk but the class a feels more like a home what about a fifth wheel they seem to have the most living space no not a fifth wheel that involves buying the tow vehicle and for that combined price we could just be in a class a and tow our minivan maybe we should look at used so we get a better price no new will be less likely to break and we have no clue how to fix anything on an rv what s that every rv will break even the new ones especially the new ones better to buy new and have the warranty but i wouldn t recommend that brand because they are slow with their warranty work now what about resale value what s that you estimate we will retain up to 70 of the value if we take really good care of it and if we don t put on too many miles and if we don t actually live eat or breathe in it we did the math that s a potential loss of $30,000 before we have to fix anything after our first day of rv shopping we were more confused and discouraged than when we started it wasn t looking good not ones to be deterred when everything appears to be stacked against us we turned to the trusty internet and began exploring the option of a long term rental from a private owner we soon realized there were 2 problems with that first we would have to drive halfway across the country to pick it up and second we would be on our own when it came to breakdowns oh and there was a third it was going to cost a small fortune and we had no guarantee that the coach we were about to rent was even paid off so if the owner was having some financial difficulties who isn t these days and skipped a few payments our home could be repossessed and we could be left stranded in the middle of kansas we decided there was just too much risk with private rentals we also didn t want to live in the rent america rv that larger companies offered for an even larger fortune we were running out of possibilities and about to write it off as a great idea that just wasn t going to work out and that is when we found luxury coach partners luxury coach partners is a leasing and management company that specializes in short and long term leasing at an affordable price they have a fleet of diesel pushers that they rent out very nice coaches but way out of our price range no problem they say within a few hours they had sent us 4 gas coaches to look at they were well within our price range we could choose the interior finishes and they would buy the coach outright and lease it back to us now we were getting somewhere it gets better the lease price includes maintenance and repairs if something breaks they send out a technician to wherever in the country we are and it gets fixed they also set up the insurance pay the taxes and handle the registration all we have to do is show up with all of our earthly possessions and move in so we did just that lcp gave us a complete rv education a full tank of gas and propane and a warm sendoff we will be on the road for at least a year maybe longer lcp is flexible and we like that about them in fact we like everything about them they continue to be what they promised and more as for us we are on having the time of our lives and there is still money left in the bank for a souvenir or two to lease an rv and go off on an adventure of your own contact the nice guys at www.luxurycoachpartners.com www.fulltimefamilies.com

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page 8 the mod man knobs make all the difference by christopher travaglino one of the hard tasks of setting up your campsite is getting your satellite dialed in just right using the stand tripod with the hardware that comes with it requires you to use tools to adjust and align your skew elevation and azimuth replacing the hardware with simple knobs can save you lots of time and energy these knobs can be purchased at any hardware store such as home depot lowes or ace hardware all you have to do is remove the original hardware that came with the dish and tripod and replace them with the knobs shown in the picture once you have the settings in place just tighten the knobs by hand and you re ready to enjoy your favorite tv shows another great benefit of this mod is the ability to fold the mast of the dish so it takes up less room in your rv while your traveling the mast where the lnb is connected to and the dish are spot welded together if you drill through the spot welds you can use a blot to hold the mast in place when in use and also when you are in travel you can fold the mast up and use the same bolt to hold the mast in place while in travel dishes are very bulky items and by getting the mast out of the way it can make storing the dish much easier this quick and easy mod makes a big difference when adjusting your satellite dish and packing it for travel do you have an easy mod send it to support fulltimefamilies.com www.fulltimefamilies

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june 2011 issue 14 page 9 ftf june giveaway win a copy of road trip usa that the interstates have left behind mile-by-mile highlights celebrate major cities obscure towns popular attractions roadside curiosities if you re looking for the world s largest jackalope you re in luck local lore and oddball trivia if you like us in real life jamie jensen lays it all out for you with great routes and must see stops along the way inside you ll find cross-country routes and road-tested advice for adventurers who want to see the parts of america hurry entry deadline is june 30th 2011 and no this is not the one keep looking please take a moment to like us on facebook the evansville museum is a great traveling companion take your membership with you as you travel the country with our $35 friend membership which is good for the entire household you can get into over 275 museums across the country ­ free to join today call the director of membership at 812 425-2406 or go online at www.emuseum.org to see a list of participating museums go visit www.astc.org/passport evansville museum of arts history science 411 s e riverside drive evansville in 47713 812 425-2406 fax 812 421-7509 www.emuseum.org

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page 10 june is national skin cancer awareness month keep yo u r fa m i ly sunsafe sunscreen are still misunderstanding the message there are seventeen approved sunscreens in the us available in creams lotions powders sprays and sticks zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are considered best for children because they provide superior uv protection and are not absorbed through the skin although they should not be used on broken skin including the lips spray sunscreens are popular but have their own health risks they should not be sprayed around the face because ingredients may be inhaled proper use of sunscreen includes using a spf 30 applying adequate coverage and reapplying every two hours and after swimming perspiring or towel drying spf 30 sunscreen blocks 97 of uvb the burning rays when applied in adequate doses i.e one ounce per application simply stated a handful of sunscreen is the adequate dose to cover the entire body a waterresistant claim indicates that the sunscreen maintains its protection for up to 40 minutes of water submersion a very water-resistant claim indicates protection for 80 minutes at this time there is no rating system in the united states for uva tanning rays protection although some products have begun to use a 4-star-rating system approved in your europe and asia even the term broad-spectrum does not indicate full protection while sunscreen is the preferred method of sun protection for most americans cmpf s first recommendation is to avoid unprotected exposure to sunlight and secondly to wear sun protective clothing this includes widebrimmed hats long-sleeved shirts be safe be sunaware much has been said and written lately on the subject of sunscreen why it is important which one is best how it should be applied etc the number of products on the market is daunting and labeling is often inadequate and confusing one organization committed to addressing the need for correct information about sunscreens as well as other forms of sun protection is the children s melanoma prevention foundation cmpf using their program sunaware cmpf educates children and young adults about ultraviolet radiation skin sensitivity and the five action steps represented in the acronym aware the proper use of sunscreen is addressed in a apply recommended amounts of broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sunburn protection factor spf 30 to all exposed skin and reapply every two hours or as needed the food and drug administration fda considers sunscreen an overthe-counter medication and provides guidance in its use despite this cmpf educators have found over their eight years of teaching that almost no children and very few adults fully understand how to properly use sunscreen the number of cases of serious sunburns nationally suggests that consumers even those who insist they applied www.fulltimefamilies.com

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june 2011 issue 14 page 11 are you at risk for giardiasis pants and sunglasses cmpf executive director maryellen maguire-eisen states children need to be able to play outdoors safely we hope that we are teaching them how to do this through our sunaware program but ultimately it is the responsibility of parents and caretakers to make sure their children have proper sun protection to prevent sunburns and reduce the risk of skin cancer be safe be sunaware a avoid unprotected exposure to sunlight seek shade and never indoor tan w wear sun protective clothing including a longsleeved shirt pants a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses year-round a apply recommended amounts of broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sunburn protection factor spf 30 to all exposed skin and reapply every two hours or as needed r routinely examine your whole body for changes in your skin and report concerns to a parent or healthcare provider e educate your family and community about the need to be sunaware for more information visit http www.melanomaprevention.org well if you have an rv the short answer is unfortunately yes your stomach is cramping you ve got aches and your fatigued you decide you ve caught a stomach bug and start disinfecting your camper like you anticipated other family members start coming down with the same symptoms living in tight quarters you start to suspect you have norovirus or the cruise ship bug and you break out even more bleach but the bug never goes away and you start to notice the symptoms are becoming very pronounced explosive diarrhea lots of vomiting loss of appetite bloated abdomen and my personal favorite ­ burps that can clear a room now you know your family is not traveling alone anymore giardiasis beaver fever in humans is caused by the infection of the small intestine by a single-celled parasitic organism called giardia lamblia it can enter your camper through your fresh water connection and is impervious to low temperatures to protect yourself attach a filter with a micron rating of 3 or less to your outside connection and add a teaspoon of bleach to a 40 gallon fresh water tank if you suspect you have giardiasis seek medical attention promptly as prolonged cases can cause chronic illness thoroughly disinfect your entire water system tanks and pipes iodine is your best defense against giardiasis but household bleach will work too as does boiling it is never advisable to drink straight from a stream or outdoor water source without proper filtration and water treatment and as always hand washing goes a long way in keeping your traveling family healthy ­ so soap up often!

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www.fulltimefamilies.com

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june 2011 issue 14 page 13 don t leave home this summer without your ftf card your number here we are for families we like to have fun and save money if you like to have fun and save money then we re the club the for you fulltime families host four family reunions a year our rallies focus on good clean fun friendship education and lots of laughs have you ever wanted to follow the lewis and clark trail ride in the footprints of jesse james or have history come alive on a revolutionary tour ftf hosts an annual caravan to discover these and many more historic trails across the us since we are full time on the road we have an in depth knowledge of the tools and services avid campers need if we spend our money on it you can rest assured we are working diligently to get our members a savings for it this includes campground memberships campground subscription websites travel directories camping supplies and digital scrapbooking we are also building a nationwide directory or restaurants rv techs and family friendly destinations where your ftf card will save you 10 15 off so what are you waiting for upgrade your membership today to start taking advantage of these great benefits ftf members are saving money on these great products and services

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june 2011 issue 14 page 14 free family fun in las vegas while sin city has a reputation as an adults only wonderland there is actually a great deal of things a family can do there and most of its free here s a list to bring with you when you head to the strip location bally s bellagio bellagio circus circus ceasers forum shops description light water sound fountains water show botanical gardens live circus acts atlantis festival fountain shows and aquarium viva vision light sound show live music flair bartenders lion habitat volcano salt water aquarium miracle mile rainstorm variety acts time sunset show time every 20 min m-f 3pm midnight every 30 min sat sun 12pm mid continuous 11am midnight 10am 11pm open 24 hours continuous every hour fremont st experience harrah s carnival court mgm grand mirage mirage planet hollywood sunset midnight sun thur noon 1am sat sun noon 2am 11am­ 10pm dusk 11pm daily sun thur 10am 11pm fri sat 10am midnight dark mon tue wed 2pm 10pm daily every hour continuous continuous every hour continuous every hour every 30 min 7pm midnight 2,6,8 10pm 7pm 8:30pm 10pm 11:30pm rio sam s town treasure island show in the sky mystic falls sunset stampede show sirens of ti the coast to coast trips overlooking the las vegas strip

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page 15 why we re on the road the seeley family the need to travel must be in our blood even when we were dating our conversation often turned to places we wanted to go every year we took full advantage of our vacation time from work and were hardly ever home in 2000 we received word that the company my husband was working for would be going out of business we had always known we didn t want to live in our hometown forever we didn t have our son yet and the economy was good so we sold everything bought a truck and 5th wheel and hit the road in search of a place to live three months and 10,000 miles later we settled in beautiful western colorado and started a family we thought often about our short stint at full-timing and knew that some day we would rejoin the rv lifestyle we still traveled every chance we got and often talked of our dream of being true full-time rvers like most people we thought full-timing was something you did after you had raised your kids and put in your time at a profession it certainly wasn t something you did before you retired but there were a couple things constantly nagging at us we had learned so much more during our three months of travel through museums national parks etc than we ever had in school wouldn t it be great if our son could be taught that way we were also well aware of the fact that there is no guarantee of tomorrow we had seen too many people put off their dream for later when they retired only to find they no longer had the good health to pursue that dream if we could go full-timing now as a family we could give our son a wonderful education while building family memories we had no idea that this was something families actually did then one day after doing some internet-surfing my husband came to me excited saying there are families out there who are living our dream he had stumbled across the families on the road and then the fulltime families web sites from that moment on we knew that this was the lifestyle we wanted we started our preparations ­ looked into health insurance started homeschooling got our house ready to put on the market started researching motorhomes and 5th wheels and read lots of blogs the part that stumped us however was how to earn a living while traveling i had a background in bookkeeping and could work virtually my husband was a welder/mechanic so we looked into sending him to rv technician school we also looked into the workamper program none of it seemed to be quite what we were looking for meanwhile word was spreading about the new lifestyle we wanted to embark upon we knew that a couple at our church had a business traveling making and installing sun shades on rvs what we didn t know was that they were thinking of retiring our pastor made a comment to us that we should talk to them about their business and get some ideas unbeknownst todd and seth seeley completing a junior to us he had also made a comment to cont pg 18 ranger program www.fulltimefamilies.com

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