Episode 144: Dark Sky Places for your RV Bucket List

If you’ve ever looked up at the night sky while on a camping or RV trip and marveled at the beauty of the universe, you know how hard it is to find places where light pollution hasn’t limited night sky visibility. This week, we learn about special places you can visit across North America that are designated as Dark Sky Preserves and Places. These are spots that belong on your bucket list. Also this week, listener questions, RV tips, news of the week and a great off the beaten path destination. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #144 June 14, 2017 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: MONOLOGUE Mike and Jennifer update everyone on: Mike's emergency surgery that caused a detour in their current RV trip west - to the Mayo Clinic for gallbladder removal Mike's current health status How they are back on the road headed to Glacier National Park, following I-94 Lessons learned about times when RVers face unexpected health issues JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK Jennifer Some RVers are not able to keep their motorhomes at their home. So they need to have their vehicle left in a storage yard. That makes for a lot of work, having to take the things you can’t or don’t want to leave unattended. [spp-timestamp time="12:04"] You have to take it home when you put the RV away, and then bring it back when it’s time for another RV adventure. A listener named Lynne has that dilemma… and she’s come up with a nifty way to minimize the extra work. You can listen to Lynne at [spp-timestamp time="12:47"] And be sure to send me your tips and suggestions for the RV lifestyle. You can use the “Leave Voicemail” link at Roadtreking.com. Just click it and then use the built-in microphone on your computer or mobile devise to record a message to me. You can do it over as many times as you want, until you are satisfied. And then you just click a button and it comes right to my email inbox. I love hearing from you! Jennifer's tip of the week is brought to you by RadPower Bikes (www.RadPowerBikes.com_… an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping! LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK: Listener Jeffrey heard our report last week about RV technology and wondered if one of the innovations we featured would make it easy for thieves to steal an RV. The short and long answer is… no. You can hear the discussion and the opinion of an expert we consulted at [spp-timestamp time="16:14"] Sponsoring this part of the podcast is Van City RV in St. Louis, and their Partner Dealerships Creston RV in Kalispell, Montana, and Wagon Trail RV in Las Vegas. Bringing You the largest Inventory of class B’s from three locations. PET TIP OF THE WEEK Lots of RVers like to take their pets with them while traveling, but that creates a lot of opportunity for our animals to get lost, one way or another. [spp-timestamp time="21:24"] That’s a big deal. It can be like losing a member of our family. But there are steps we can take to prevent lost pets and find them if they do get separated from us. That’s according to someone we interviewed not long ago for the RV Podcast back in Episode 117: Texas-based Pet Detective Cindy Gordon. Gordon is one of several dozen trained through an organization called the Missing Animal Response Group. She says there are two things every pet owner needs to do to make sure that if their pet runs off, they can be found. One…Microchip your pets, and immediately register the microchip with your personal information. A great tip is to keep all of the microchip information for each pet as a contact on your own phone. Keep the chip number, and the phone number for the chip company. Immediately report as lost if they escape, and call them and be sure the chip info is up to date. And two…Get them an identification collar embroidered with your phone number: We bought one for Bo from a woman who has an Etsy store. We’ll put a link to her in the shownotes for this episode at Roadtreking-dot-com-slash-144. Good advice for us all…from a real pet detective. This part of the podcast is brought to you by Dozers Dental Chews, an all natural and healthy treat your dog will love. Available direct through Amazon , Retailers and Pet Shops across the USA INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK There’s nothing like camping and RVing to get you to appreciate nature and few sights are more breathtaking than a dark night sky filled with stars. Across the world, communities and local governments are designating dark sky places and preserves. An organization known as the International Dark Sky Association is dedicated to protecting those dark night skies for a variety of important reasons, not the least is your health. [spp-timestamp time="25:17"] Our guests this week are: Dr. John Barentine Internati