RT93: Hey Ranger! True Tales from the National Parks

In this episode of the Roadtreking RV Podcast we share some great stories from a veteran ranger who has served in National Parks across the country. Jim Burnett is my guest [spp-timestamp time="50:28"] and he shares some fascinating stories about life in the parks and gives us a first hand look at what being a ranger is like. He’s also the author of two great books - “Hey Ranger!,” True Tales of Humor & Misadventure from the Great Outdoors and “Hey Ranger!, 2,” with lots more fun stories. Plus we have reader and listener questions and comments, RV news, tech tips and much more. Scroll down for show note details and resources and click the player below to start listening. 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 #93 June 22, 2016 of Roadtreking - The RV Lifestyle Podcast: This episode is recorded from our Roadtreking Great Smoky Nountains National park Photo Safaris. With about 65 Roadtrekers, Jennifer and Mike are here for lots of hiking and exploring in a park that covers 522,427 acres, divided almost evenly between the states of North Carolina and Tennessee. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most popular national park. It gets over 10 million visitors a year. Second most popular is Grand Canyon, which doesn’t even get half that much. We are all staying at the Flaming Arrow Campground near Cherokee, NC In the national park itself, there are 10 campgrounds, with 1,000 total spots. They are booked up months in advance, though, and every year they record more than a quarter of a million camper nights. JENNIFER'S TIP OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="7:21"] This week’s tip has to do with hydration and outdoor exertion. Down here in the Smoky Mountains, lots of our Roadtreking photo safaris campers are doing lots of hiking this week. But this tip applies to everyone, especially those doing fairly strenuous exercise in the warm summer months. Here in North Carolina in the Smokies, the daytime temperatures this week are in the nineties. That means dehydration can hit very fast. Never hike, even for short distances, without carrying water. Everyone is different, but a general guideline is while hiking and doing prolonged exercise outside, you need to take in about 4 to 6 ounces every 20 minutes or so. Better to sip a little frequently than a lot every few hours. We usually add a couple of water bottles into the mesh pockets on the outside of our backpack. For shorter hikes, we may just carry a water bottle. A lot of serious hikers like to invest in a hydration bladder like a Camelback or one of those backpack-style water packs. Water bottles are quicker to fill and clean, but can be more awkward to grab while hiking – depending on how they carried. So those hydration bladders are a good investment if you do a lot of hiking. Generally, you want to be sipping water all during the hike. It’s easy to become dehydrated, especially if its hot and humid or you are at altitude. Watch out for the symptoms of dehydration - Dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea and cramps. Be sure and take breaks. Always wear a hat while hiking and take your time. Especially when the weather is hot. Bottom line – drink early and often. Dehydration can have very serious consequences and lead to medical emergencies. Drink up everyone! The tip of the week is brought to you by Good Sam, the world's most popular RV organization, now celebrating its 50th year. LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK: [spp-timestamp time="13:27"] Listener Judy asks about how to find a manual for the used 1997 Roadtrek she just purchased. Mike refers her to http://www.roadtrek.com/support-contact#section-manuals on the Roadtrek corporate site, where she can download the manual she wants. Manuals for every year since 1987 can be found there. A listener asks if it okay to run the television in the back for children while traveling? Absolutely, Mike answers, for as long as you want. And listener Barbara passes a thank you to our RV Recipes editor Mary Jane Curry, who recently posted a recipe on the blog for making crab enchiladas in the convection oven In our email this week, we received this letter from a reader: I am curious if you had the same experience with your RV that I do. I have need of a repair and call around the Rv places to have repairs done but nobody wants to work on it. I had a few Rv places do some work on mine but wasn't very good and ripped me off when it came to the bill. Mike notes this is the little discussed scandal, the big problem few talk about in the RV industry: The lack of RV service. Dealers have massive problems finding and retraining quality service techs. Thus, their service shops are way overbooked and scheduled, sometimes for well over a month out. Mike shares other feedback he’s had on this, as well as his own experience and challenges the industry to step up and begin a campaign to train and hire more