Join Eric Stark and Alexis as they reflect on the highlights of 2024 in the RV lifestyle, sharing memorable moments from their favorite episodes and essential tips for enjoying life on the road. This episode dives into the joys of RVing, including the importance of being prepared with dog-friendly parks, managing towing anxiety, and essential buying tips for your first RV. The hosts also discuss unique destinations such as Colonial Williamsburg, Rio Grande, and the stunning landscapes of Wyoming, emphasizing the diverse experiences available to RVers. With a blend of humor and practical advice, they address the significance of community in the RV world, encouraging listeners to embrace their adventures without guilt. As they wrap up the year, Eric and Alexis hint at exciting changes for 2025, promising even more engaging content for their audience.
Enjoying the RV Life: Eric and Alexis covered the past year's highlights, which included their favorites, such as RVing with dogs and RVing without guilt. They talked at length about what the Podcast does for The Smart RVer and how much we have enjoyed interacting with our followers and helping them improve their RV lives.
Dog-Friendly RV Parks #155 - 10 Dog Friendly RV Parks
Overcoming Towing Anxiety #147 - Navigating the Road to Overcoming Towing Anxiety
Jase Case #154 - Jase CasePurchase a Jase Case. Use Coupon Code "SmartFirstAid" to Save 10 Bucks.
Tips for Purchasing your 1st RV #141 -Tips for Purchasing your 1st RV
Extended RV Warranties by Wholesale Warranties
RV Party Planning- It's Possible! #143 - Hosting Exciting RV Parties
RVing without Guilt #159 - RVing Without GuiltStaying On The Road:
Eric shares a list of his favorite episode segments from 2024 and discusses why RVers should know certain things about their RV. He strives to make all his followers better and Smarter RVers. Eric is willing to give one-on-one time with anyone who calls and needs more advice than what's offered on the show. The Smart RVer Podcast is becoming a staple for any RVer, and we want to thank our followers for being loyal and supporting the show!
The Next Stop: Alexis and Eric talk about their favorite RV places and the restaurants they love the most. One of the places they highlight is Mr. Korny, a place that became TikTok famous for its colorful storefront and really colorful food! It could be a healthier place to eat, but it is fun to see all the junk food combinations they create and sell. There are a lot of Takis inspired dishes, making this place a unique and popular joint!
Colonial Williamsburg, VA #128 - Colonial Williamsburg
Rio Grande, TX #91 - Rio Grande Texas
White Sands, NM #119 - White Sands New Mexico
RVing in Cody, WY #145 - Cody Wyoming
Discovering the Heartland: All About Kansas! #155 - KansasExploring the Most Famous RV Parks in the US #141 - Most Famous RV Parks in the US
Breads Bakery, New York, New York #162 - Breads Bakery, New York, New York
Farm & Fire, Banff Canada #117 - Farm & Fire, Banff Canada
Mr. Korny, Rio Grande Texas #91 - Rio Grande, Texas
El Guero Canelo Tucson The Lost Episode El Guero Canelo
Sheridan, TX BBQ, Brisket #152 - Sheridan, TexasA
rco Idaho Pickles Place # 153 Craters of the Moon - Craters of the Moon, IdahoRV Envy: Eric summarizes our year of RV Envy and how much RVers can benefit from hearing about potential products that can make their lives better and easier. This year has been full of exciting things to discover, and the following year has much more to offer. We are so excited to see what this year has to come!
RV Defender Trailer Tire Blow Out System
Flow Max Toilet Water Valve for Dometic 300 Series Toilets
Smart View 30 & 50 Amp Power Inlets
Other Online Resources:The Smart Rver YouTube Channel - Check Out Our No-Nonsense YouTube Videos
Sunpro Mfg - RV Sunshade, Windshield Covers & Slide Out Awning Fabrics
Hot Boat Ropes - Marine Cordage- Anchor Lines, Dock Lines, Tow Lines, etc.
Top Rated Podcast -The Smart RVer Podcast Website
The year end at the Smart Rver.
Eric Stark: d this is our last episode of: Eric Stark: but just our last episode of: Eric Stark: ing through the highlights of: Eric Stark:Alexis and I are going to be going back and forth between three of our favorite episodes and the enjoying the RV life section of that episode.
Eric Stark:And then the next stop, basically the same thing.
Eric Stark:Staying on the road.
Eric Stark:I'm going to cover the ground on several things that stood out to me that we talked about.
Eric Stark:I just couldn't make my mind up.
Eric Stark:So, yeah, I'm running the show.
Eric Stark:So I picked a bunch of stuff.
Eric Stark:Then RV envy.
Eric Stark:I got three products that we're gonna just quickly talk about.
Eric Stark:They're great products and things we need to be reminded about.
Eric Stark:So this is Eric Stark with the Smart RVer podcast, delivering the smarts you need to enjoy the freedom of the RV lifestyle without the fear of breaking down.
Eric Stark:So let's talk everything RV in today's episode 166.
Eric Stark:And we have Alexis in the studio with us, ready to go.
Eric Stark:She's got on her California Joshua Tree.
Alexis:Yes, I wrote about that.
Eric Stark:Fun fact, Joshua Tree used to be the murder capital of the world.
Eric Stark:Oh, that may not the murder capital, but a lot of people got killed there.
Eric Stark:Yeah, by the heck, you know, you know, don't worry about that.
Alexis:We won't think about that.
Eric Stark:Just bring a big stick when you go there.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:All right.
Eric Stark:So rather than.
Eric Stark:We don't really have anything.
Eric Stark:None of my normal rants, we're just going to get right into this because we have a little.
Eric Stark:Shows me a little longer than normal.
Eric Stark:So we're going to clock in a little over an hour, which takes us past our normal time.
Eric Stark:But anyway, let's get to enjoying the RV life.
Eric Stark:So we're going to start with Alexis and her first pick, which is dog friendly RV parks taken from episode 155.
Alexis:Yes, this one was really, really fun to write about because I love dogs.
Alexis:You know, we see a lot of RVers come through here with their pets, whether it be cats or I think somebody had a rabbit even, but usually it's dogs.
Alexis:We want to talk a little about how we can fit our dogs into our RV life.
Alexis:And this is a really good one.
Alexis:We covered 10 originally and that's still up on our page, but we're only going to highlight three of them today.
Alexis:So the first one is in Utah.
Alexis:That is the Zion River Resort.
Alexis:And this is a really nice One, because they have a select spot just for dogs to run around.
Alexis:And that is off leash.
Alexis:So you don't have to keep them on their leash.
Alexis:You can just let them run, let them exercise, which is super, super, super convenient.
Alexis:Get all that energy burnt off that they, you know, have when they're stuck in the rv.
Alexis:And so that's really.
Alexis:Actually that, that was the other thing.
Alexis:They have dog walking services there.
Alexis:So if you're older and you can't get, you know, mobility wise around, hire somebody to walk your dog.
Alexis:It's kind of convenient.
Alexis:Or if you're just morbidly obese.
Alexis:So the other one I wanted to cover was in California.
Alexis:It's Pismo Coast Village RV Resort.
Alexis:That is a mouthful.
Alexis:This place is super beautiful because it's right on the ocean front and they have this quartered off piece of beach front that you can let your dogs run on off leash again, which is super nice.
Alexis:And they can play in the ocean.
Alexis:You know, you're going to want to watch them, obviously, but that's anywhere you go.
Alexis:That place is also very friendly for dogs.
Alexis:And then the last place I wanted to talk about was the top Sail Hill Preserve State Park.
Alexis:And this is in Florida for our Florida friends.
Alexis:And again, right on the beach, they have designated areas for dogs to run around.
Alexis:And they have it all set up.
Alexis:So it's super convenient for the owners to pick up their poo in case they do that.
Alexis:Because they do.
Alexis:But we just, we want you to be able to, you know, enjoy your RV life with your dog.
Alexis:And so my takeaway is call before you make a reservation at one of these, make sure if you're bringing your dog that it is going to be okay for them to be in that resort.
Alexis:That's my call to action.
Eric Stark:Wow.
Eric Stark:So here's what I was thinking.
Eric Stark:Here's what I got from that is like, you know, most places like, like an in and out burger, they have a secret menu.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:So if you go to these parks and you say, hey, on the flip side, can I put my kids in there?
Eric Stark:You know, let them run, run wild, no leashes.
Alexis:I would do that.
Eric Stark:All right, man, we can't do that.
Eric Stark:But like in California, I don't know, I better shut up.
Eric Stark:See, a Sunday, we're not on a normal day here, so we can get pretty stupid, you know, wild here, let our hair down.
Eric Stark:As you can see.
Eric Stark:You know.
Eric Stark:Anyway, so now we're gonna go to hosting an exciting RV party.
Eric Stark:Parties are like just part of the RV lifestyle.
Eric Stark:Right.
Eric Stark:Everybody wants to have a good party.
Eric Stark:So hosting a party, though, it takes some responsibility, it takes some planning.
Eric Stark:And you know, you can't just do it anywhere, Especially in an rv, you know, you don't want to, I don't know, pick a really lousy place to go and just not be able to do it, or pick a place that's great, but then the park ranger say, no, not here.
Eric Stark:It isn't happening.
Eric Stark:So you want to pick the perfect spot.
Eric Stark:Someplace where, you know, you can do this and get away with it.
Eric Stark:Get away with it.
Eric Stark:Or you can do it and have a nice time, not get away with it.
Eric Stark:And, you know, sometimes there's, you know, a park might seem pretty loosey goosey, or maybe you're up in the mountains or out in the desert.
Eric Stark:You want to make sure there's no regulations or anything that's going to ruin it.
Eric Stark:You'd hate to be into your party, you know, an hour or two or three, and all of a sudden you got to pack it up and stop.
Eric Stark:I think that's basic stuff most everybody knows, but also something to kind of add a little spice to.
Eric Stark:It might be picking a theme.
Eric Stark:Now, it doesn't have to be a crazy theme.
Eric Stark:You know, you could all dress up as rvers and go that way.
Eric Stark:That'd be the simplest thing.
Eric Stark:Or just a beach theme or something like that.
Eric Stark:Something simple.
Eric Stark:Something where everybody's not going to have to spend a lot of money to do it and bring us, you know, a lot of extra clothes because that takes up space.
Eric Stark:There's enough stuff you're already trying to put in your RVs.
Eric Stark:And then when you do this, think about the meals.
Eric Stark:I mean, everybody loves to eat, especially at rving.
Eric Stark:That's kind of the thing thing, you know, having all that fun food, comfort food, as they call it.
Eric Stark:So think about that.
Eric Stark:Or 1, 2, 3, or all of you gonna bring stuff.
Eric Stark:Everybody brings a dish.
Eric Stark:Or is one person gonna do it?
Eric Stark:Or you gonna just buy a bunch of stuff and bring it, like catering or 50 pizzas.
Eric Stark:But think about that.
Eric Stark:Make sure there's a lot of fun food there.
Eric Stark:Chips, dip, salsa.
Eric Stark:And you know, an Uncle Leo goes over, this is chip to double dip.
Eric Stark:Now you boot him out.
Eric Stark:No double dip in here.
Eric Stark:All right, let's keep the dip clean.
Eric Stark:Let' good party.
Eric Stark:You know, you want to invite your neighbors or at least warn them, depending on how out of hand it's going to be.
Eric Stark:But inviting them always kind of brings them in there.
Eric Stark:You know, it's guilt by they're there they're guilty.
Eric Stark:They can't complain at that point.
Eric Stark:So you've invited your neighbors, you've invited all your friends, you're having this great time.
Eric Stark:And so that's what it's all about, you know, and RV life is about community and getting together with other RVers, other friends.
Eric Stark:And so this isn't something you're probably going to do spur of the moment.
Eric Stark:You're going to have to plan this.
Eric Stark:My takeaway from this is, you know, having a party is a great way just to get together, let your hair down, eat some great food, and have a good time with your friends and family and fellow RVers.
Eric Stark:That's going to take us to our next choice in enjoying the RV life.
Eric Stark:Can't talk here.
Eric Stark:So this is Alexis number two choice.
Eric Stark:And by the way, these aren't in any order.
Eric Stark:We just picked them.
Eric Stark:So Overcoming towing anxiety.
Eric Stark:And this came from episode 147.
Alexis:Yes, it did.
Alexis:Did.
Alexis:This one really speaks to me because we got a camper this year and my husband is learning to tow it, and I should probably learn, too, but I haven't yet, so this would be a good thing for me to think about as well.
Alexis:So that's kind of what I wanted to talk about.
Alexis:Learn it beforehand, not when you're going up to the campground.
Alexis:You know, you don't want to get there and it be just full of people and you're stressed already and you're trying to tow this thing or back it up.
Alexis:That would be, you know, for your first time.
Alexis:That's just not kosher.
Alexis:So learn beforehand.
Alexis:And there are ways you can do that.
Alexis:You can practice with somebody who's had a trailer for a long time, who knows what they're doing, that can give you tips, or you can take a course online.
Alexis:You can take a course at the college.
Alexis:They do offer things, especially, you know, locally if there's a lot of camping around.
Alexis:So there are things you can do to make your life less stressful and have more fun in your RV or your trailer.
Alexis:And then practice.
Alexis:Practice with easy places.
Alexis:And maybe, maybe it's a big parking lot.
Alexis:Maybe it's your home, your own driveway where it's private.
Alexis:You're not going to be stressed out.
Alexis:You're not going to be watched by a bunch of people or kids screaming, you know, as you're running over them, I mean, because it happens.
Alexis:But, you know, we're just going to crunch them and move on.
Alexis:It's fine.
Alexis:Well, if they're in the way, you know, that's their Fault.
Alexis:So this is.
Alexis:This is one I think about a lot because I could definitely work on this.
Alexis:My.
Alexis:My husband's very good at it, and he's learned, but I need to learn, too, in case there's an emergency.
Alexis:And so you out there, if you're an avid camper and you go places where there's, you know, low signal or no signal out there, you need to learn how to tow and back up.
Alexis:So that's important.
Alexis:So my takeaway from that one is be ready before you go out there.
Alexis:Get out of your comfort zone, and just be brave enough to do it.
Eric Stark:All right?
Eric Stark:So there you go.
Eric Stark:Anxiety while towing.
Eric Stark:Now, just another piece of advice Alexis missed.
Eric Stark:This should be the most obvious.
Eric Stark:If you have your spouse train you to drive and back up and do all that, get an attorney beforehand.
Eric Stark:So you can just make this a package deal.
Eric Stark:Okay.
Eric Stark:And make sure the hospital nearby, because there's fights and all sorts of stuff, you know?
Eric Stark:All right.
Eric Stark:No, so that's pretty cool.
Eric Stark:Toy anxiety is a real thing.
Eric Stark:There's a lot of courses, and I would pay someone to do it myself if, like, if my wife wanted to do that, which probably should, I'd pay so much.
Eric Stark:I know she can go forward, but I'm backing up.
Eric Stark:Might be an issue.
Alexis:Another story.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Eric Stark:Yep.
Eric Stark:All right, so now we're going to go to the next one, which is essential tips for buying your first RV.
Eric Stark:And this is taken from episode 141.
Eric Stark:Now, I'm pretty negative on buying an RV from a dealership, but not your first RV.
Eric Stark:That's cool.
Eric Stark:You got to buy your first RV, but you got to be smart about it.
Eric Stark:And that's where everything falls apart.
Eric Stark:Everybody just.
Eric Stark:They get all taken up.
Eric Stark:The emotions start going, oh, look at this one.
Eric Stark:It's so nice.
Eric Stark:It's so cool.
Eric Stark:Look at all these great things.
Eric Stark:And behind the makeup, if you will, it's just a pile of junk.
Eric Stark:So you got to be careful of that.
Eric Stark:And, you know, it doesn't matter where you're buying it.
Eric Stark:Quite often, I should say it does matter.
Eric Stark:But you're going to get sold a bill of goods if you're not really careful.
Eric Stark:So first look at some RVs, and based on what you see, define your needs.
Eric Stark:What do you really need in an rv?
Eric Stark:Do you need to have a satellite dish on the roof?
Eric Stark:Well, not anymore.
Eric Stark:That's old stuff.
Eric Stark:But think about that.
Eric Stark:If there's a satellite dish on the roof, that's not cool anymore.
Eric Stark:That's just a waste because we don't Use satellite dishes in RVs anymore.
Eric Stark:Everything's Internet.
Eric Stark:But think about your needs.
Eric Stark:What do you really need?
Eric Stark:You need a furnace.
Eric Stark:You need a microwave.
Eric Stark:Do you need a tv?
Eric Stark:How many bedrooms or how many beds?
Eric Stark:Bathrooms?
Eric Stark:Sometimes you get two bathrooms.
Eric Stark:But think about the bigger picture and then set a budget.
Eric Stark:You know, don't get taken in by, wow, that motorhome is so nice.
Eric Stark:And it's just $10,000 more, and that's only a hundred bucks a month.
Eric Stark:Don't do that.
Eric Stark:Yeah, just set yourself a budget and stick to that budget.
Eric Stark:And here's one of the most important things is inspect that RV thoroughly.
Eric Stark:You want to get on the roof, you want to see every appliance work.
Eric Stark:You want to make sure there's no water leaks.
Eric Stark:Inspect the ceiling, inside cabinets.
Eric Stark:Make sure there's no signs of leaks in there.
Eric Stark:If there's any sign of a water leak, just run.
Eric Stark:Even if they tell, oh, no, we fixed all the leaks.
Eric Stark:Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't risk it because when you buy it and the first winter comes around or first rainstorm is leaking, you're going to hate yourself.
Eric Stark:If there was a leak, you don't know how long it was leaking, how much damage there is.
Eric Stark:There could be soft spots in the ceiling and the wall.
Eric Stark:So make sure you thoroughly inspect that RV from top to bottom.
Eric Stark:And then also, if it's a motorhome, take it for a test drive.
Eric Stark:Make sure the brakes work, the turn signals work, everything works.
Eric Stark:The fuel gauge, the speedometer.
Eric Stark:And a motorhome that's been sitting for a long time is going to have problems.
Eric Stark:So think about that.
Eric Stark:You know, it's.
Eric Stark:Things go bad just from sitting.
Eric Stark:Also, analyze the amenities, the features it has.
Eric Stark:Is it what you really need?
Eric Stark:If it's a little more than what you need.
Eric Stark:But does it fit your budget?
Eric Stark:It's not ridiculous.
Eric Stark:Okay, Are you going to buy an extended warranty if you do that?
Eric Stark:Think about wholesale warranties.
Eric Stark:They have a very transparent process.
Eric Stark:You can't go wrong with them.
Eric Stark:And those extended warranties are from wholesale warranties are good.
Eric Stark:Other places are not so good.
Eric Stark:And they'll do private party.
Eric Stark:In fact, if you're buying a used rv, they'll actually have it inspected.
Eric Stark:Now you pay for that inspection, but when it's done, you know exactly where you stand with that rv, its quality, and then also the warranty company as well.
Eric Stark:You'll know whether they covered it or not.
Eric Stark:And then think too about, you know, if you were to sell it in a year, if it's not your cup of tea, would you be able to get your money back or would you be taking a big bath on it?
Eric Stark:Or in 10 years, years, is it going to be in still good enough condition where you can actually still get some money back on it?
Eric Stark:Those are things to consider.
Eric Stark:It might not be that important to you because it's always, well, we'll never get rid of it once we buy it.
Eric Stark:But after a year, sometimes rvs go up for sale because it wasn't your cup of tea.
Eric Stark:Also, check on insurance, see what it's going to cost.
Eric Stark:You know, that's another factor.
Eric Stark:Sometimes is not thought about.
Eric Stark:And that might make the price too expensive for the budget you have set.
Eric Stark:So you might have to lower your budget to be able to afford the insurance.
Eric Stark:And these are just things.
Eric Stark:So my takeaway from this is be very cautious when buying an rv, whether it's new, used, private party or from a dealership.
Eric Stark:An extra caution from a dealership and make sure everything works.
Eric Stark:All right, so Alexis grieves with that.
Eric Stark:She always hears me ranting about that, buying RVs and how cautious we have to be because, man, there's just some duds out there.
Eric Stark:And we get customers in here.
Eric Stark:I got the best deal.
Eric Stark:And all summer long, every time they come in dropping 500 here, 100, I got the best deal.
Alexis:They're just defeated, looking after a while.
Eric Stark:You look like one of them gonna go there.
Alexis:Oh, no.
Eric Stark:All right, so now we're gonna go to enjoying the RV life for Alexis.
Eric Stark:And this is her third choice.
Eric Stark:And this is about Jace case.
Eric Stark:And this is taken from episode 154.
Alexis:Yeah, this one always struck out to me because I think it's a really good idea.
Alexis:I kind of want one.
Alexis:And there's something you can really invest in, which I think is awesome.
Alexis:So what Covid really, you know, showed us was that the medical system is very fragile.
Alexis:It can run out of things very quickly.
Alexis:So this is really nice because it's customizable.
Alexis:You can get your Jace case online, you can put whatever you want in it, whatever, you know, features you want about it, whatever medicines.
Alexis:They've got a whole list.
Alexis:I was kind of looking it up the other day again, just to see they've got just a laundry list of these medications that you can use it.
Alexis:Yeah, it's pretty awesome.
Alexis:And they're nice things that donate, expire, you know, right away.
Alexis:But you do have to watch that because eventually they won't be as potent.
Alexis:So you'll have to re up your case, which is fine.
Alexis:That's normal, but they're just nice.
Alexis:They're.
Alexis:They're high quality, top of the line stuff.
Alexis:You can even get a package where you can talk to a doctor about what you might need.
Alexis:So that'll help.
Alexis:You can tell them what your health issues are, and then they can help you make the right one for you.
Alexis:So it just again, gives you that comfort of when you're out RVing, whether that be in the middle of the woods or out on the road, you know, you just know that you're prepared because you know you have the medications you need.
Alexis:And it's something we don't maybe think about all the time.
Alexis:But it's super important, and not just to older people, but to younger people, too, who rv.
Alexis:So it's something we need to have.
Alexis:This company's really easy to work with, really trustworthy.
Alexis:So I just really like them.
Alexis:I like J's case.
Alexis:So please take your time.
Alexis:Look online for them, because they are an amazing company and we.
Alexis:We back them and we probably will buy one.
Alexis:So my takeaway of that is be prepared, especially with medications.
Alexis:And with this company, you can customize what you need.
Eric Stark:Excellent.
Eric Stark:Yeah, being prepared is important.
Eric Stark:Now, one thing that I saw on their website, too, is because Alexis mentioned this, sometimes after time, they're not as impo.
Eric Stark:As potent as they could be, but they're all.
Eric Stark:Drugs are that way.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:And even the United States government, when they buy drugs, they know that there's an expiration date, but they also know that it might be good for another year, two, three, four years.
Eric Stark:That's how they stockpile all this stuff.
Eric Stark:Otherwise they'd be throwing it out very quickly.
Eric Stark:Like during the pandemic, they would have been trash and tons of vaccines.
Eric Stark:So they actually tell you the expiration dates and then how far you can go before it becomes no longer a good product.
Alexis:Right.
Eric Stark:So that helps because you're not just throwing money away at that point.
Eric Stark:And there's safety conscious, so you don't have to worry about it getting poisoned or anything like that either.
Eric Stark:You know, Jay's case, go to our website.
Eric Stark:There's a link there.
Eric Stark:Just click on that bad boy.
Eric Stark:It'll also be in the description of this video or this podcast.
Eric Stark:I mean, and video.
Eric Stark:It'll be everywhere.
Eric Stark:And just use that link.
Eric Stark:It'll take there.
Eric Stark:And I believe you get a discount, too, when you use our link.
Alexis:Yeah, be great.
Eric Stark:Then we make a million dollars per purchase.
Eric Stark:It's awesome, you know?
Eric Stark:Or is it 3 cents?
Eric Stark:I forget.
Eric Stark:But somewhere in there, the difference all Right.
Eric Stark:So now we're gonna go.
Eric Stark:The last portion of enjoying the RV life, And this is RVing without guilt.
Eric Stark:So just do it.
Eric Stark:Who cares about everybody else?
Eric Stark:That's what I say.
Eric Stark:You know, sometimes when you get an RV and you start using it, you're traveling.
Eric Stark:Conversation you have with your friends and family might be all about you and your rv.
Eric Stark:And everywhere you go, everything you do and all your pictures.
Eric Stark:Now look at my pictures.
Eric Stark:You pull out your phone and you know it's 10,000 pictures.
Eric Stark:What you think is really cool.
Eric Stark:They think they're a waste of time, you know, which is typical because what we see is different than what everybody else sees.
Eric Stark:Your husband's a photographer.
Eric Stark:I mean, his pictures are probably much better, but they're probably still gonna be boring for somebody after.
Eric Stark:Come on, let's look at these pictures.
Eric Stark:So also, you know, you don't want to wear them down that way, but you also want to communicate with people too.
Eric Stark:If you are traveling a lot, just let them know where you're at.
Eric Stark:Because sometimes we might take off on an extended trip, maybe for three weeks, a month or something.
Eric Stark:Not even tell anybody or maybe we mentioned a couple times beforehand.
Eric Stark:We just think that they process that, like it's something they need to know or should know, but it's always good.
Eric Stark:Just communicate.
Eric Stark:Let them know what's happening.
Eric Stark:That way you're not thinking about it, oh, we should have told so and so, you know, when you're doing this, when you're RVing, think about the quality of it.
Eric Stark:You know, don't worry about everybody else if they can't rv.
Eric Stark:Because sometimes just.
Eric Stark:It's just funny how humans work.
Eric Stark:The mind thinks just, we need to worry and be concerned about this.
Eric Stark:Like, do we have too much?
Eric Stark:Are we enjoying too much life?
Eric Stark:Well, if you got an rv, just use it and enjoy it.
Eric Stark:But don't worry about traveling the whole US Just rapidly pick a couple states and enjoy it.
Eric Stark:Get the quality out of it rather than the quantity.
Eric Stark:Know if someone's helping you.
Eric Stark:Maybe they're watching your house while you're gone, or you.
Eric Stark:You call them up.
Eric Stark:Hey, can you drive by?
Eric Stark:I heard there was a big rainstorm or a windstorm.
Eric Stark:Be appreciative for that.
Eric Stark:Show them the gratitude that you really appreciate it.
Eric Stark:And maybe buy them a gift while you're on the road.
Alexis:That's nice.
Eric Stark:In fact, buy a little gift for everybody, even us here at the Smart rvr podcast.
Eric Stark:You know, Magnet, actually, gift cards will work okay.
Eric Stark:Best buy gift cards.
Eric Stark:I think all the Nigerians are asking for those.
Eric Stark:So we'll get our plug in there for them.
Eric Stark:Well, I meant Nigerian scammers.
Eric Stark:Okay, so if there's any Nigerian scammers listening, sorry, but heck, you brought this upon yourself.
Eric Stark:The takeaway is don't worry about it.
Eric Stark:If you got an rv, use it.
Eric Stark:You know, your family and friends, sometimes there's going to be some jealousy or maybe they feel like you're leaving them out, which, you know, now I think about that, you might want to invite them to come along with you so they can experience it.
Eric Stark:But just enjoy that lifestyle.
Eric Stark:That's why you bought it.
Eric Stark:Not for everybody else, you bought it for you.
Eric Stark:So enjoy it that way.
Eric Stark:Think about it.
Eric Stark:Just.
Eric Stark:It's about you, man.
Eric Stark:No, just enjoy it.
Eric Stark:Now, what I noticed here is Alexis's picks versus mine are completely different.
Eric Stark:See, hers are more.
Eric Stark:How would you say this Alexis, yours are more practical.
Eric Stark:Practical.
Eric Stark:She wants to worry about dogs, towing, anxiety and medical emergencies.
Eric Stark:You know, where I'm just about buying the rv, having a party, and getting on the road and don't worry about it.
Alexis:Don't worry about.
Alexis:About it.
Eric Stark:Wow.
Eric Stark:Big difference there, huh?
Eric Stark:Go to our website, the smartrver.com, if you.
Eric Stark:And you can read all this stuff.
Eric Stark:It's all there.
Eric Stark:Well, these articles are there.
Eric Stark:And we'll just have a list of the articles so you can read the entire article.
Eric Stark:You won't have to go through the entire episode.
Eric Stark:Just the article where we were pulling this stuff from.
Eric Stark:All right, so now that brings us to staying on the road.
Eric Stark:And this is going to be a little bit different today because we don't have one topic.
Eric Stark: So in the Last year, in: Eric Stark:Not buying things just because the buy buttons there and purchasing too many products.
Alexis:Right.
Eric Stark:Going crazy with it, you know, because that's what they want us to do.
Eric Stark:We're fighting back against the man.
Eric Stark:No, just kidding.
Eric Stark:And then communication.
Eric Stark:Communications.
Eric Stark:If there's no cell phone service.
Eric Stark:One episode we talked about all that I've learned from the.
Eric Stark:I forget 10,000 phone calls or something like that.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Eric Stark:And, you know, so there's so much.
Eric Stark:So all these episodes really have some value in them in the staying on the road section.
Eric Stark:So it was hard to just nail down one that I really liked.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:One thing that just stood out to me because there's so much in them.
Eric Stark:And, you know, really the Plumbing system and the, the 110 volt system in your RV are probably the two most.
Eric Stark:I would say Google searched, YouTube searched things or aspects of an RV that need repair and maintenance that people are the most interested in.
Eric Stark:So those episodes specifically which we'll have them in the description of the podcast where you can go back and listen to those if you want to.
Eric Stark:We'll also, we've also done videos on that as well.
Alexis:We have.
Eric Stark:So we'll put links in for the videos because those are probably the two things.
Eric Stark:Like if you go to an RV park, you know, power is important and you want to have water.
Eric Stark:Especially if you're traveling without a fresh water tank filled with water, which you know, I would say not to do maybe a little bit for on the road, you know, if you have a breakdown or something comes up, an emergency, but you don't want to travel with 100 gallons of water.
Eric Stark:That's just extra weight or 50 gallons extra weight, extra fuel, wear and tear on the tank, everything else, those two things are important.
Eric Stark:When you hook up, see power, you plug in, you want to make sure that your adapters aren't going to burn up, your plugs aren't going to burn up, which you've checked all those before you left, I hope.
Eric Stark:And then you have power and you're good to go.
Eric Stark:You want that air conditioner to kick on and lights to work, everything to be there.
Eric Stark:The microwave, gotta have that popcorn.
Eric Stark:Popcorn or what else do you micro like that Comfort food maybe, you know.
Alexis:Yeah, gotta have that party.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:So you get there and they're having a party.
Eric Stark:You don't have power.
Eric Stark:Come on, man.
Alexis:Yeah, you'll have a riot.
Eric Stark:Exactly.
Eric Stark:And who needs a riot?
Eric Stark:Then you need that Jace case.
Alexis:Yeah, you will.
Eric Stark:And so water systems, you know, once you hook up your water hose, you want everything to work.
Eric Stark:You don't want to have to stop what you're doing and fix a water leak.
Eric Stark:You know, run into the nearest town or the nearest place that has a part that might work if you haven't already bought the extra parts, which we've talked about having those spare water parts, which you can find several kits on sunpromfg.com, our website.
Eric Stark:And even if you don't buy one of those kits, you can look at it gives you an idea of what you should be carrying.
Eric Stark:And those parts are very important.
Eric Stark:In fact, I carry quite a few of them just to make sure because things happen.
Eric Stark:Now mine's probably a little more dialed into my RV because Well, this is what I do for a living.
Eric Stark:I think I do.
Eric Stark:Right.
Alexis:Yeah.
Alexis:Okay.
Eric Stark:It's profitable.
Eric Stark:We're not a dot org, we're dot com.
Eric Stark:So there's money to be made.
Eric Stark:All right.
Eric Stark:So anyway, see, I'll just go on a whole different thing there, you know, so those are the two main things, but there's so many other things.
Eric Stark:And it's.
Eric Stark:That's just some of what we covered in the year.
Eric Stark:You know, we do 26 episodes a year, so there's 26 episodes.
Eric Stark:I mean, I would recommend go back and listen to them all, sharing with your friends and family, everybody else, but that might not be your cup of tea.
Eric Stark:Think about your RV and what aspects of it are you not familiar with?
Eric Stark:What things do you want to learn more about?
Eric Stark:And we can help you at the smart rver.
Eric Stark:Like I said, we have YouTube videos, we have our web or all of our episodes, and they go into pretty detail.
Eric Stark:I mean, we don't.
Eric Stark:You can't repair a furnace in a podcast where you can see it.
Alexis:Right.
Eric Stark:But we certainly can walk you through the steps or how to get it done properly.
Eric Stark:You know, there's a lot to that.
Eric Stark:So we've covered some ground in the last year.
Eric Stark:And if you're keeping up with the episodes, then you've covered some ground too, which is very important.
Eric Stark:So you're becoming a smart RVer.
Eric Stark:If you're not already a smart RVer.
Eric Stark:In fact, you know, we should open up a genius bar.
Eric Stark:No, that's taken, isn't it?
Alexis:Oh, yeah, I guess so, yeah.
Alexis:Apple people, you know.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Alexis:Oops.
Eric Stark:Oh, well, just gave them a plug.
Eric Stark:We take that back.
Eric Stark:Continuing that learning process.
Eric Stark:Even RV technicians continue to learn.
Eric Stark:Now, if you keep your same RV for many years, that's great.
Eric Stark:You know, hopefully you know it inside and out.
Eric Stark:And when you sell it, you know, it's.
Eric Stark:Man, I knew everything about that rv then.
Eric Stark:You buy a new rv, you're gonna be starting all over again.
Eric Stark:The systems are similar, but they're not identical.
Eric Stark:Every RV is built a little bit different.
Eric Stark:A motorhome has a lot more electronics and let's say a travel trailer or a fifth wheel.
Eric Stark:High end fifth wheels are closer to motorhomes when it comes to electronics, but not as close.
Eric Stark:So there's some differences there.
Eric Stark:You upgrade, you go from a very simple trailer to a complex motorhome.
Eric Stark:You're going to have to start that learning process all over again.
Eric Stark:Yeah, but we help you with that.
Eric Stark:And being aware of that is half the battle sometimes, you know, Understanding it and just take off one little bit of it at a time so you can understand it.
Eric Stark:And that's basically what we do throughout the year.
Eric Stark:Our episodes are, you know, just little chunks here, little chunks there.
Eric Stark:It's like eating that elephant.
Eric Stark:You do it one bite at a time.
Eric Stark:You don't eat the whole thing.
Eric Stark:And so we.
Eric Stark:We've developed it that way.
Eric Stark:And that's what we're going to continue to do now next year, which I forgot to mention in our introduction, we're going to have some changes.
Alexis:Yes.
Eric Stark:One of them is.
Eric Stark:Which.
Eric Stark:Might as well just cover it now, right?
Eric Stark:Yeah, we'll get it at the end.
Eric Stark:Don't let me forget.
Alexis:Okay, I won't.
Eric Stark:All right, so there we go.
Eric Stark:She won't forget, huh?
Eric Stark:I didn't see you write it down.
Alexis:I did not.
Eric Stark:Yeah, so I'm on my own on that one.
Eric Stark:So I don't want to go on forever about the different aspects of the rv.
Eric Stark:But look at your RV and see where we've come into help and where you might need some more help.
Eric Stark:In fact, you know, you can send us a.
Eric Stark:An email.
Eric Stark:You can contact us through the contact us page on our website, the smartrver.com and we all.
Eric Stark:We're putting it in the description now phone number and the contact link.
Eric Stark:So we're making it easy as possible.
Eric Stark:We don't really like putting the phone number out there like that because of spam bots and all that.
Eric Stark:Pick it up.
Eric Stark:But we're gonna do it anyways.
Eric Stark:We're gonna run the risk of more junk phone calls.
Eric Stark:But anyways, you can contact us with your questions and we always have the answers and we don't give out answers that are incorrect that we don't do.
Eric Stark:Our information is always good.
Eric Stark:It's researched, it's thorough.
Eric Stark:Yeah, we just make sure it's right because we don't wanna make you the dumb rver.
Alexis:That's right.
Eric Stark:Yeah, there's.
Eric Stark:There's no.
Eric Stark:Not gonna say that either.
Alexis:Okay, That's.
Eric Stark:Bite my tongue.
Eric Stark:All right, so I think that's gonna bring us to the end of staying on the road now.
Eric Stark:We're gonna go into.
Eric Stark:Well, actually, before we go on, go to YouTube.
Eric Stark:Spread the word on YouTube.
Eric Stark:We want those subscribes.
Eric Stark:We've reached.
Eric Stark:We're over 2,000 now, so we're getting closer to that 10,000 mark, but we don't have much time left.
Alexis:Yeah, come on, guys.
Eric Stark:Yeah, it's in the December pretty much, so yeah, we need 8,000 more clicks.
Eric Stark:So come on.
Eric Stark:Between everybody out there, you got to have 8,000 friends.
Eric Stark:Remember, I gave you some simple suggestions before.
Eric Stark:Sign up your dogs, your cats.
Eric Stark:Even though Alexis hates cats.
Eric Stark:I like cats, you know, so sign up your cats, children, grandchildren, your neighbors, their kids.
Alexis:Make up emails.
Alexis:Come on.
Eric Stark:There you go.
Eric Stark:Make it up.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Eric Stark:Go to Gmail and just start 900 Gmail account.
Alexis:If everybody did that, you got another.
Eric Stark:Password once, just one time.
Eric Stark:That's it.
Eric Stark:All right, now we got carried away there.
Eric Stark:But, yeah, we are looking for likes and subscribes to the channel.
Eric Stark:It helps the channel helps it become found easier, pops up in more algorithms, people that are searching for problems.
Eric Stark:And it's helpful.
Eric Stark:And same with the podcast.
Eric Stark:Share it with everybody, you know.
Eric Stark:Very helpful podcast.
Eric Stark:All right, so now we're going to move on to the next stop.
Eric Stark:We're going to start with Alexis and her top choice.
Eric Stark:Well, I shouldn't say top choice.
Eric Stark:One of her three top places.
Eric Stark:The first one is Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, taken from episode 128.
Alexis:Yes.
Alexis:I'm super excited.
Alexis:So, folks, we're gonna head eastward.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:We're gonna go to the east coast.
Alexis:We're going to Virginia.
Alexis:Colonial Williamsburg is super special.
Alexis:It's some place I want to go with my husband.
Alexis:I think it would be awesome whether you're an RVer or not.
Alexis:I just think it's a neat place because, for one, they dress up in period clothing.
Alexis:They act like they would have.
Alexis:They even have accents like they would have back then.
Alexis:They probably don't shower like they did back then, so you might want to keep your distance.
Alexis:But it's super neat because they come out in these amazing colonial clothing, and, you know, they tour you around the town.
Alexis:You can see buildings that were there when the pioneers first came over, and it's.
Alexis:It's just a fun place to be.
Alexis:They have fudgeries and all these kinds of things.
Alexis:The history is just all over the place.
Alexis:So it's.
Alexis:It's very different than your normal place that you would go and visit.
Alexis:It's more theatrical, I would say.
Alexis:And if you're interested in history, in that type of history, you gotta go there.
Alexis:It's gotta be on your list because it's just incredible.
Alexis:And there are a ton of RV parks, by the way, around there.
Alexis:So you're gonna get really nice scenic RV parks in the area.
Alexis:So definitely do your research.
Alexis:Pick where you want to be, and.
Alexis:And the town will just.
Alexis:It's amazing.
Alexis:I mean, you just have to see it.
Alexis:You have to go buy, you know, whatever colonial stuff that you want and just.
Alexis:Just have fun with it.
Alexis:Maybe it's a bonnet.
Alexis:Maybe you want a bonnet or you know those uncomfortable boots that they wore?
Alexis:I don't know.
Alexis:I want to go there.
Alexis:So my takeaway is it's a really significant center of history and I think everybody should visit it.
Eric Stark:There you go.
Eric Stark:Colonial Williamsburg.
Eric Stark:Yeah, that's interesting.
Eric Stark:Reminds me of an episode of the Office Leslie.
Eric Stark:Nope.
Eric Stark:And that goofball stayed in the cabin or whatever.
Alexis:Parks and rec.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:See, there's a big difference here because my Choice would be RVing in Coyote, Wyoming or Cody, Wyoming.
Eric Stark:Excuse me.
Eric Stark:Coyote, Wyoming.
Eric Stark:Cody, Wyoming.
Eric Stark:So there they just shoot the bonnet right off your head.
Alexis:They will, yeah.
Eric Stark:You know, a bonnet.
Eric Stark:How'd you pick a bonnet?
Eric Stark:That's an interesting choice.
Eric Stark:Wear a bonnet.
Alexis:I don't know, might come in handy.
Eric Stark:Oh, no.
Eric Stark:Get one for your dog.
Eric Stark:Yeah, there you go.
Eric Stark:You gotta shoot your dog going to Wyoming.
Eric Stark:Cody, Wyoming, specifically.
Eric Stark:These next stops.
Eric Stark:There's so many things to describe in each one that sometimes hard to describe.
Eric Stark:And that's why we have them all on the website, the smarteveryear.com so you can really go there and take in more of it.
Eric Stark:But even then it's probably not enough because it goes beyond even that.
Eric Stark:So it's doing that research.
Eric Stark:But the whole point is to whet your appetite about these places.
Eric Stark:Like Wyoming in itself is a great state.
Eric Stark:Just that classic old west type Americana type state where there's just.
Eric Stark:It's changed but not like with the rest of the country, which is a good thing.
Eric Stark:Yeah, it still has a lot of.
Eric Stark:Oh, just old towns, a lot of things going on that are very cool.
Eric Stark:And of course it's the gateway to Yellowstone.
Eric Stark:So it's.
Eric Stark:Yellowstone's right there.
Eric Stark:Which if you want to go to Yellowstone, spend some time in Wyoming and you know, then hit Yellowstone or afterwards.
Eric Stark:But you know, there's.
Eric Stark:Wyoming is just one of those states that almost anywhere you drive it's going to be very scenic.
Eric Stark:And some are more scenic drives than others, of course.
Eric Stark:But like you have the Grand Tetons, that's something to see.
Eric Stark:But also besides the scenery, you have the cowboy culture that's in Wyoming and especially in Kaya or Cody.
Eric Stark:I don't know why I keep calling it Coyote Coyotes.
Alexis:And Cody.
Eric Stark:Right?
Eric Stark:And Cody they have.
Eric Stark:During the summer months they have a rodeo every night, which that's pretty cool.
Eric Stark:You know, I mean, if you haven't been to a rodeo, that's just an easy way to go to a rodeo.
Alexis:Oh yeah.
Eric Stark:And because it's cowboy culture.
Eric Stark:You don't have to wear cowboy boots and a hat.
Eric Stark:You can wear just shoes and whatever shorts.
Eric Stark:You know, you can dress up like a tourist or whatever you want to do, but you don't have to look like a cowboy.
Eric Stark:You don't have to dress up like Buffalo Bill.
Eric Stark:Now Buffalo Bill, there's a center there for him too because that was one of his stomping grounds.
Eric Stark:So that's an interesting thing.
Eric Stark:So there's many different things to do in Wyoming, but specifically Coyote or Cody Coyote.
Eric Stark:Let's just rename it.
Eric Stark:I'm calling the governor when we're done here.
Eric Stark:Rename the state or the city.
Eric Stark:Now it's the state.
Eric Stark:Oh, boy.
Eric Stark:Wyoming is a broad, spacious state that's still wide open.
Eric Stark:There's a lot of private land there.
Eric Stark:So a lot of dirt roads have gates on them.
Eric Stark:That makes it an obstacle.
Eric Stark:If you're thinking of just exploring that way, that could become more challenging.
Eric Stark:But that in itself is kind of a good thing.
Eric Stark:It's a lot of private land, you know, ranches and stuff like that.
Eric Stark:Go there or look at it on map.
Eric Stark:Do your research and see if it's a place you'd like to go.
Eric Stark:It's a family friendly place.
Eric Stark:It's an RV friendly place.
Eric Stark:Tons of places to eat, rv.
Eric Stark:The whole package is there.
Eric Stark:And then it could be a great base camp for doing other things or a stopping point along your along to Yellowstone or coming to Montana or Idaho or wherever.
Eric Stark:So it's a great place to go.
Eric Stark:Now we're gonna go back to Alexis and now she's getting a little more on track here because she's gonna take us to Rio Grande, Texas.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:This is an episode 91, this little more western.
Eric Stark:I like that.
Alexis:We're going down south, folks.
Eric Stark:No, I don't ruin it.
Eric Stark:Everything's on you now.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:Eric told me not to call it Rio Grande, so.
Alexis:Or Ariana Grande.
Alexis:Isn't that what.
Eric Stark:Rio Grande.
Alexis:It's Rio Grande, so I will call it by its proper name.
Alexis:But yes, this is an amazing place as well.
Alexis:Also full of history.
Alexis:It's got a ton of things for you to see and buy, so you can go, you know, if you want to.
Alexis:They have a big flea market, by the way, which I think is really cool.
Alexis:Open during the summer.
Alexis:I was kind of checking this out and a lot of local artists will bring their, their beadwork and their pottery there, so you can, you can buy that.
Alexis:And there's also a flea market I think is like Older stuff too.
Alexis:So there's a lot of, you know, antiques and gently used things that you can, you know, look through and buy.
Alexis:But it's a beautiful place.
Alexis:It's.
Alexis:It's got a lot of historical places.
Alexis:I think there's some graveyards there that really famous cowboys died at, or gallows that, you know, have a lot of stories too.
Alexis:So if.
Alexis:If what you want to do is tour it, that's a perfect place to go.
Alexis:You can do a self tour, you know, do a little research about what happened there and so you can hit the spots that you want to see or hire somebody.
Alexis:There's a lot of guided tours in places like this, so it's super easy to get someone to take you out there and, and check out the area.
Alexis:And I just think it's an incredible place to go.
Alexis:Texas in itself is really amazing.
Alexis:It's a unique place, a very clean place.
Alexis:So that's kind of neat.
Alexis:But there's just so much history, there's so much to see.
Alexis:It's just a.
Alexis:It's a really interesting place.
Alexis:So that is one that you should hit for sure as an RVer.
Alexis:And my takeaway is just enjoy the culture while you're there because it's very different from other parts of the US So it's unique.
Alexis:Take advantage of it and go there.
Eric Stark:I would agree with that.
Eric Stark:Yeah, Texas is pretty cool.
Eric Stark:A lot of stuff there.
Eric Stark:In fact, all these places are pretty cool.
Eric Stark:So now we're gonna hit or go to the heartland of the United States.
Eric Stark:Heartland of America.
Eric Stark:We're gonna go to Kansas.
Eric Stark:This is taking from episode 155, Kansas.
Eric Stark:Typically, people think it's just this boring, flat chunk of land where they grow corn.
Eric Stark:And that's not really the case.
Eric Stark:Kansas is a pretty interesting state.
Eric Stark:It's in the Midwest.
Eric Stark:It's got that old feel to it, that Americana feel, if you will.
Eric Stark:Probably countless movies, videos and such where they show like a car going down the road.
Eric Stark:There's the corn stalks or the fields in the background, a sunset, a rolling hill.
Eric Stark:Well, that's parts of Kansas.
Eric Stark:That's not all of Kansas, but that's parts of it.
Eric Stark:There's much to do there.
Eric Stark:It's a very unique state.
Eric Stark:I mean, every state in the United States has their own uniqueness.
Eric Stark:I mean, no two states are alike, and Kansas just is one of those states.
Eric Stark:There's a lot of old towns there.
Eric Stark:There's a lot of history there.
Eric Stark:It's not the same kind of history like you're gonna find in Texas.
Eric Stark:Right you know, there were no wars fought there, you know, but actually the Civil War probably spilled over into Kansas, if I'm not mistaken.
Eric Stark:It's not like Texas, where there was a lot of battles going on.
Eric Stark:It was an interesting place, a lot of history.
Eric Stark:A lot of people pass through there heading west.
Eric Stark:In fact, some of those trails are still there and preserved where you can see them.
Eric Stark:And then the small towns, which.
Eric Stark:That's what I really like are the small towns.
Eric Stark:You know, forget all the big cities.
Eric Stark:Forget that.
Eric Stark:Go to the small towns.
Eric Stark:And sometimes they seem like the less or least exciting place, but in reality, they have all the history.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:And like I've been talking about lately, as if you can talk to people in those towns that know the history, it'll bring that town to life.
Eric Stark:It'll change your perspective on it.
Eric Stark:It'll change it on the small towns in general.
Eric Stark:And so that in itself can make a trip to Kansas worthwhile.
Eric Stark:And of course, you know, there's a lot of scenery there to see, and that's great.
Eric Stark:The small towns, there's big towns.
Eric Stark:You know, there's, like I said, the history, like some of the trails, the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express, spent a lot of time going back and forth through there.
Eric Stark:So there's a lot of things that you can not only see present in current time, you know, you can also go back in time and not to mention, you think about all the farmers out there growing all that food, their lives, what they go through.
Eric Stark:You look at these farms are just vast amounts of whatever they're growing, corn, wheat, whatever it might be.
Eric Stark:That's a life there, a very interesting life.
Eric Stark:And if you can talk to some of those people, that's going to give you a different perspective on the next time you eat an ear of corn or a piece of bread, what they have to do to make their living.
Eric Stark:And it's back breaking work.
Eric Stark:And it goes from family to family.
Eric Stark:Although that's changing anymore.
Eric Stark:These farms are getting gobbled up by big companies.
Eric Stark:So you want to see why they're still actually small and nice.
Eric Stark:See, it's another slice of Americana that, you know, kind of brings you back to a time when things were better.
Eric Stark:And that's what he's looking for today.
Alexis:It is.
Eric Stark:Not to mention, it's great for children because they can learn something different, set their phones down, pay attention to stuff, and they might complain a little bit, but, man, it's a something they won't see every day.
Eric Stark:You're not going to see it in most states, in cities, where most people live.
Eric Stark:So I would say check out Kansas.
Eric Stark:Even if you're going someplace and you're driving through Kansas, take a little more time than maybe you normally would.
Eric Stark:Don't make it a rush to get from one side of the state to the next.
Eric Stark:You know, stop and enjoy it.
Eric Stark:The warm hospitality, the small towns.
Eric Stark:What a wonderful place to go.
Eric Stark:All right, so that's my take on Kansas.
Eric Stark:And my takeaway is just spend a month there and visit the entire state.
Eric Stark:Like, you know, there's so many states like that.
Alexis:Yeah, definitely.
Eric Stark:You know, back in the old days, the very wealthy, they would just take years off to go someplace.
Eric Stark:1800s, if they wanted to go to the US that wasn't like a weekend trip, get on a steamer, head across the Atlantic, they'd be gone for a year or two.
Eric Stark:We can't do that as easily today, but we can do it over time.
Eric Stark:All right, so now that's going to take us to the final portion of this.
Eric Stark:And next stop, to White sans New Mexico with Alexis taken from episode 119.
Alexis:Yes.
Alexis:Going down into the warmer climate again, we're going down back into the south a little more.
Alexis:This one is very interesting to me because of how unique the area is and how much you can do, and you might even learn a new sport.
Alexis:So this is super fun.
Alexis:It's just covered in white sands, obviously.
Alexis:So there's.
Alexis:The dunes are amazing, though.
Alexis:There's miles and miles and miles of it.
Alexis:There's actually a trail that you can take either on four wheelers or you can do it in your own car.
Alexis:You can just drive them.
Alexis:And it's just like another planet.
Alexis:It is like nowhere else.
Alexis:And you're used to seeing desert, but, you know, if you're used to seeing desert, you're used to seeing brown sand, probably, but this is white.
Alexis:It looks like salt, you know, everywhere.
Alexis:I'm sure I haven't been there.
Alexis:I will.
Eric Stark:It does.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:See, he knows he's been there.
Alexis:This place is incredible.
Alexis:And.
Alexis:And what they do out there is they sled on it, but it's nothing like snow.
Alexis:So if you're from the colder side of the US it's not like snow.
Alexis:It's not slippery like that.
Alexis:So there's a learning curve to it.
Alexis:But I think it sounds really fun and I've kind of seen people do it, you know, and the.
Alexis:The fail videos when they fall is pretty fun.
Eric Stark:So wait, do they go to the top of a sand dune and just sled down?
Alexis:Yes.
Eric Stark:Okay.
Alexis:Yeah, that's Pretty awesome.
Alexis:And it's like a very well known thing that they do out there.
Alexis:It's gotta be something you do.
Alexis:You gotta pick up a sled and do it.
Alexis:I think it's just so much fun.
Alexis:But besides that, if you don't want to do that, I think you should at least try it once if you're there.
Alexis:But there's a lot of hiking out there and most of that land is just you can go basically wherever your heart takes you.
Alexis:There's not really designated trails here, even though it's a national park.
Alexis:It's just the way the place works that you can just hike around there.
Alexis:So my takeaway is be sure you buy a sled before you go there, because you have to do it.
Alexis:It's incredible.
Alexis:And just enjoy the.
Alexis:The weird, unearth like place.
Eric Stark:It is different, that's for sure.
Eric Stark:Very different.
Eric Stark:All right, so I said the last one, but that was Alexis's last pick.
Alexis:My last.
Eric Stark:So I have mine yet to go here.
Eric Stark:The last one.
Eric Stark:And that's exploring the most famous RV parks in the usa.
Eric Stark:Wow.
Eric Stark:So still Colonial Williamsburg is bottom of the list, I tell you.
Eric Stark:Sorry.
Eric Stark:But anyway, so the RV park, they're kind of spread out all over the US I got a list here.
Eric Stark:I'm just going to kind of go through the list.
Eric Stark:So we'll start with Arizona.
Eric Stark:There's a trailer village RV park, and that's at the Grand Canyon.
Eric Stark:Being at the Grand Canyon is really the thing.
Eric Stark:Yeah, RV park's cool, but the Grand Canyon makes it that much better.
Eric Stark:The Grand Canyon is quite the place and you can spend a lot of time there.
Eric Stark:You got the north side, the south side, completely different.
Eric Stark:You can go on the donkey rides, you can hike, you can just explore.
Eric Stark:And everything around there is really interesting too.
Eric Stark:So even if you spent time just exploring beyond the Grand Canyon, you're going to find all sorts of very interesting things.
Eric Stark:And then Yellowstone, actually West Yellowstone in Montana, there's the Yellowstone Grizzly RV park, which there they serve up grizzly bear every night.
Eric Stark:No, I'm just kidding.
Eric Stark:They serve up humans every night.
Eric Stark:The grizzly bears serve up human every night.
Alexis:That's true, they do.
Eric Stark:So it's another RV park in this West Yellowstone.
Eric Stark:West Yellowstone's this cool little town.
Eric Stark:You got to go there.
Eric Stark:It's right next to Yellowstone.
Eric Stark:And that in itself makes again worth going there.
Eric Stark:That's where these places are just in these strategic spots where you can go to the nearby attraction or you can go do other things around it.
Eric Stark:You're not Obligated to one thing.
Eric Stark:Now Myrtle Beach, Florida.
Eric Stark:Florida is another one on the list.
Eric Stark:Now.
Eric Stark:I've never been to Myrtle Beach.
Eric Stark:I've been to Florida and so I really can't speak to this.
Eric Stark:Florida is a cool state.
Eric Stark:It's interesting.
Eric Stark:You kind of have to see it to understand it.
Eric Stark:It's hard to explain.
Eric Stark:It's got that kind of beachy feel to it, but yet it doesn't.
Eric Stark:I don't know how to explain that other than that.
Eric Stark:So that's my explanation.
Eric Stark:I guess so.
Eric Stark:I would go to Myrtle Beach, Florida to go to the RV park.
Eric Stark:But there's also.
Eric Stark:We talked about that.
Eric Stark:I remember that in that area it's kind of expensive as I recall, just dining.
Eric Stark:Sorry.
Eric Stark:So there's other places that are less expensive, I think.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:And that was one of the things.
Eric Stark:Florida had some kind of high end areas and more affordable areas.
Eric Stark:If I was going to go to Florida, I'd definitely go there.
Eric Stark:I'd want to go to Myrtle beach just because of the reputation it has.
Eric Stark:You know, everybody goes to Myrtle Beach.
Eric Stark:It's one of those places.
Eric Stark:It's one of those hot spots.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:And then of course there's in Utah, the Zion River Resort.
Eric Stark:Now Zion is a pretty cool area.
Eric Stark:You have the Zion park, you have Zion itself.
Eric Stark:It's a neat place.
Eric Stark:Utah has all sorts of these little gyms there and Zion happens to be one of them.
Eric Stark:I've been through the park, but I've never really explored it.
Eric Stark:Went from one side to the other.
Eric Stark:We were going somewhere and went through.
Eric Stark:That's all I can speak to actually being there now.
Eric Stark:My wife and I went camping near there one time, but we never went into Zion.
Eric Stark:But we hit all these parks around it.
Eric Stark:Very cool.
Eric Stark:Like Kodachrome Basin.
Eric Stark:I can't think of all the others, but definitely worth the trip.
Eric Stark:And again, it's one of these places where you can do all these other exploratory trips around the main attraction.
Eric Stark:Now San Francisco's on my list.
Eric Stark:I'm not even going to talk about it.
Eric Stark:It's in California.
Eric Stark:I'm done with San Francisco, California, the whole thing.
Alexis:Sorry, California.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Eric Stark:Alexis knows how I feel.
Eric Stark:In fact, I'll let you know how I feel.
Eric Stark:But.
Eric Stark:So now we'll go back to Utah.
Eric Stark:We'll go to Moab this time.
Eric Stark:Now Moab is.
Eric Stark:Everybody knows about Moab, I think bicycling, off roading, rock crawling and jeeps and stuff.
Eric Stark:It's one of those very scenic moon landing looking places.
Eric Stark:You know the Orange Rock and Yellow rock and all that and rounded and everything.
Eric Stark:So, Moab, even if you're not really into that type of outdoor stuff, it'd probably be worth the trip to go there for a day just to see it.
Eric Stark:Say you've been there, buy a little sticker, a magnet or something.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:And you never know, you might be surprised.
Eric Stark:There might be some things around there that you would like.
Eric Stark:But there's an RV resort there.
Eric Stark:So sometimes you talk to other people in the RV resort and you might find a whole different world of things to do there.
Eric Stark:And you might discover a new hobby.
Eric Stark:You know, you might go home and spend a hundred thousand dollars on a Jeep so you can go crawl them rocks.
Eric Stark:You know, expensive hobby, but you can do it.
Eric Stark:So Moab is one of those places as well, the RV resort there.
Eric Stark:Then there's Borrego Springs in California.
Eric Stark:Now this is down lower in the desert, so I'm okay with it.
Eric Stark:Now Brago Springs is.
Eric Stark:I don't know, I think most people think Brago Springs is kind of a ghetto type area, but it's not.
Eric Stark:It's actually pretty cool.
Eric Stark:It's not too far from Palm Springs and Indio and those places.
Eric Stark:So they do have golf courses and stuff there, RV resorts.
Eric Stark:So I would say if you're in the area, it'd be worth checking out.
Eric Stark:I personally wouldn't make a trip to go there just to see it.
Eric Stark:In fact, I lived in California and never did, only because of everything I heard about it, you know, But I don't think it's really that way.
Eric Stark:And the next one I'm going to skip because I can't even pronounce it.
Alexis:That works.
Eric Stark:Ashwagandhi.
Eric Stark:I don't know what it is.
Eric Stark:And then Garden of the Gods in Colorado.
Eric Stark:So that's in Colorado Springs.
Eric Stark:That's another RV resort.
Eric Stark:Colorado's changing rapidly.
Eric Stark:Get in there while you still can.
Eric Stark:See it.
Eric Stark:While it's good.
Eric Stark:There's a lot of things in Colorado.
Eric Stark:Again, you go to the RV resort and that can be your base camp for doing a lot of great exploring in Colorado.
Eric Stark:And you know that Colorado Springs is pretty cool.
Eric Stark:Been there, done that.
Eric Stark:That whole area in there is nice.
Eric Stark:So I would definitely spend some time there and enjoy it.
Eric Stark:So that brings us to the end of the next stop as far as the places we've gone.
Eric Stark:Now we're going to talk about some places to eat, because every show we always talk about eating and we're hungry afterwards and all of that.
Eric Stark:So we're going to start with Alexis's first pick on her place to eat.
Eric Stark:So it's Brad's Bakery in New York.
Alexis:I'm super excited about this one.
Alexis:I was brushing up on it, and I realized there are a lot more locations than I thought.
Alexis:So it's not just Manhattan where the original one is, I believe.
Alexis:So if you're a New Yorker and I'm wrong, please let me know.
Alexis:This is an amazing place.
Alexis:It's family owned.
Alexis:There are just incredible pastries.
Alexis:So the patisserie, or they call it, you know, the Brits.
Alexis:So it looks beautiful out on the shelf.
Alexis:You just go in and it's warm in there, and they've got all your favorites, stuff you probably shouldn't be eating.
Alexis:But that's the best part about traveling anywhere is eating what you shouldn't eat and being a part of the culture and just enjoying yourself.
Alexis:So this is a bakery that you can do that at.
Alexis:And there, like I said, there are a ton of locations around New York, so you're not just tied down to one.
Alexis:If you're staying in a certain part of the city, it's huge.
Alexis:Just look it up.
Alexis:I'm sure you'll find one that's more, you know, centrally located to you.
Alexis:That is definitely high on the list.
Alexis:I think that's from episode 162.
Alexis:So be sure to check out that entire episode or entire episode.
Eric Stark:Segment.
Alexis:Segment.
Alexis:But go back there.
Alexis:Yeah.
Alexis:Bread.
Alexis:Bread's Bakery.
Alexis:Man, that is one to see.
Alexis:So that's my takeaway is.
Alexis:Is go there, eat a croissant.
Eric Stark:There you go.
Eric Stark:And all these places to eat are in each episode.
Eric Stark:So that would be an Episode162 on the website.
Alexis:Right.
Eric Stark:All right, Now, Alexis mentioned about places where you shouldn't eat while you're traveling.
Eric Stark:All that bad food.
Eric Stark:Wait until she gets to her third check.
Eric Stark:Man, you're gonna get sick just thinking about it.
Eric Stark:Oh, man.
Eric Stark:All right, so my first pick is in Tucson, Arizona.
Eric Stark:And this actually is an episode we developed, but we never did it for some reason.
Eric Stark:We call it, like the lost episode.
Eric Stark:So, you know, for those mystery hunters out there, there's a lost episode that we have somewhere.
Alexis:Find it.
Eric Stark:My place to eat was El Guero Canelo.
Eric Stark:I'm probably saying that wrong, but it means the blonde guy.
Eric Stark:And the owner of the place is a Mexican guy, but he has blonde hair, so it fit.
Eric Stark:Now, forget about him.
Eric Stark:The food is unbelievable.
Eric Stark:It's that real authentic from Mexico, Mexican food.
Eric Stark:It's not like one of those chains, like, I can't even think of any names.
Eric Stark:Right now, I can.
Eric Stark:California or state where they got the chain restaurant, like the Red Onion or something, where it's just that Americanized stuff.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:I remember a Mexican person one time ate at one of those places, like El Paso Cantina, I think, or one of them places, and she's like, what kind of food is this?
Eric Stark:She's like, this is horrible.
Eric Stark:Hilarious.
Eric Stark:So this is the real deal.
Eric Stark:And probably the thing I liked on their menu the most was their hot dogs, because they're Mexican hot dogs.
Eric Stark:They take a roll and carve it out, and they put the dog in there.
Eric Stark:Then you just pack it full of everything.
Eric Stark:You can get it with some stuff on it already.
Eric Stark:Then you can put all the fixings on it.
Eric Stark:You know, the sliced jalapeno, carro, sliced jalapenos, the cabbage, all that good stuff.
Eric Stark:The spicy things, very filling, unbelievably good.
Eric Stark:So if you're in Tucson, go there to El Gueto Canelo.
Eric Stark:That's the place to go if you want real authentic, real authentic Mexican food.
Eric Stark:All right, so now I'm getting hungry, so we're gonna have to speed this up.
Eric Stark:Alexis now, next one is she's going to take us to Farm and Fire in Banff, Canada.
Alexis:Ah, this is a cool one.
Alexis:We're going all the way up into Canada, our Canadian brethren.
Alexis:But Farm and Fire is very interesting because it's farm to table, so they take a lot of pride in doing things locally and taking meat and their grain and their fruits and veggies, and it's all local, and they just make amazing dishes.
Alexis:If you check out their menu, it's just incredible sounding.
Alexis:I wouldn't mind having a meal from them.
Alexis:So if you're listening, anybody from Canada, let them know that's place they kill.
Eric Stark:The cow right there.
Eric Stark:Right?
Alexis:It is.
Alexis:You can hear a mooing in the back.
Eric Stark:You'll pick your cow and.
Alexis:Yeah, exactly.
Eric Stark:Right on.
Alexis:Like Red Lobster, but for cows.
Alexis:No, it's great.
Alexis:And people, you know, it's concerning what we put in our body.
Alexis:So this is a place where you don't have to worry about that.
Alexis:It's very good.
Alexis:And.
Alexis:And the ambiance, too, is really neat here.
Alexis:Banff is kind of, you know, that ski town a little fancier, and this is definitely fitting in that.
Alexis:But it's also.
Alexis:It's also a place that you can, you know, spend time with your friends and family.
Alexis:It's a very warm environment.
Alexis:I think there's a.
Alexis:A fireplace right in the middle of the restaurant.
Alexis:So very inviting camp Is usually cold a lot, you know, a long time in the year.
Alexis:I don't know what I'm saying.
Alexis:Long winners, long winter.
Alexis:But it's a place where you can cozy in and have a nice meal and just enjoy the environment around you.
Alexis:So if you're in Canada, if you're in Banff, that is the place to look up.
Alexis:That's my takeaway.
Eric Stark:Right.
Eric Stark:You know, that could be your one, like super high end meal if you wanted to.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Eric Stark:I'm sure it's not cheap, you know, but it's not gonna be like your last one here.
Eric Stark:But I decided to share it in Texas because of the barbecue and the brisket.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:Well, these things tell so much about every us, right?
Eric Stark:So many things.
Alexis:It's true.
Eric Stark:Barbecue is just awesome when it's good.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:You know, when you get bad barbecue, man, it's just like, it's horrible.
Eric Stark:You don't even want to finish it.
Eric Stark:It's like, what's the point?
Eric Stark:You know, and they give you some sloth.
Eric Stark:It's just like, you know, is it from KFC or something?
Eric Stark:You know, and.
Eric Stark:But you know, Texas or Sheridan, Texas is known for their barbecue.
Eric Stark:And those are the places to go that are known for barbecue.
Eric Stark:You know, there's a lot of places that have barbecue.
Eric Stark:Like I said, it's just not the same though.
Eric Stark:But when they're known for it, man, everybody's competing.
Eric Stark:You got all these little restaurants and shops that are all competing to get the customers and make their barbecue unique.
Eric Stark:The sauces they put on it, the way they cook it.
Eric Stark:We cook our this way, we cook ours that way.
Eric Stark:And you know, all of a sudden you're just, how do you know what to choose?
Eric Stark:You know, you're kind of going from one to the next and.
Eric Stark:But the hunger you get, the more desperate you get.
Eric Stark:But, you know, that kind of food can be so good and it's that bad food, but generally it's fresher bad food.
Alexis:That's true.
Eric Stark:It's the better quality bad food.
Eric Stark:And the pork and all that probably isn't that bad in itself, but it's everything else that goes with it, you know, especially when you got that really good slaw and when these guys are bragging about it and they're proud about what they're making, those are the good restaurants.
Eric Stark:You know it, they're into it.
Eric Stark:Then you get brisket there, if you like brisket.
Eric Stark:So it's one of those towns that's just all encompassing that type of food.
Eric Stark:And that's not the Only one in the United States.
Eric Stark:But different areas have different types of barbecue as well.
Eric Stark:So you have to consider that Texas might not be your flavor for barbecue, but it certainly would be for me.
Eric Stark:And I've been to Texas.
Eric Stark:I've been to some places there, but I don't recall ever having barbecue.
Alexis:Oh, man.
Eric Stark:I've never been to Sheridan either.
Eric Stark:So maybe I gotta put that on my list and get there so that all that information is in episode 152.
Eric Stark:And again, these things are gonna be listed on our website, so you can check them out.
Eric Stark:This is really what I've been waiting for.
Eric Stark:Especially Alexis is talking about all this good food, and it's good for you and everything.
Eric Stark:This one just blows it right out of the water.
Eric Stark:So Alexis, she's gonna take us to Texas.
Eric Stark:Now, what's interesting is Rio Grande, Texas.
Eric Stark:And there's probably not.
Eric Stark:Not a shred of barbecue on the place she's talking about.
Eric Stark:There's probably not even a vitamin of any kind in this place she's talking about.
Eric Stark:So, Alexis.
Eric Stark:What?
Eric Stark:Tell us about Mr.
Eric Stark:Corny.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:And the name even.
Alexis:Come on.
Alexis:So Mr.
Alexis:Corny.
Alexis:Oh, how do you describe this place?
Alexis:It actually became Tick Tock Famous.
Alexis:Because it is.
Eric Stark:So that right there says it all.
Alexis:Yeah.
Alexis:It is just where you would go to find the grit of the grit of junk food.
Alexis:So one thing they do.
Eric Stark:Mexican junk.
Alexis:Yes, Mexican junk food.
Alexis:So it is just covered in, you know, cheese.
Eric Stark:Get your bag of Takis here.
Alexis:This is one of their dishes.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:They actually take these.
Eric Stark:Okay.
Eric Stark:You can't see this if you're listening.
Eric Stark:She's holding up a bag of Takis.
Eric Stark:They're like, equivalent to Fritos.
Eric Stark:I.
Eric Stark:Or.
Alexis:No, you're all crunchy.
Eric Stark:Flaming hot.
Eric Stark:Cheetos.
Alexis:Yeah.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:So fuego.
Alexis:That means hot, I'm sure.
Alexis:Right.
Alexis:Anyway, but I think.
Alexis:Okay, look at the color scheme of this.
Alexis:So if you look it up online, this is what Mr.
Alexis:Corny looks like.
Alexis:It's purple like this with the yellow.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:You can't miss this place, by the way.
Alexis:It is so.
Alexis:It's just insane.
Alexis:Their sign.
Alexis:And then their whole building is this bright, electric purple.
Alexis:You go in and, I mean, you got your sugar, you've got your carbohydrates, you've got your saturated fats.
Alexis:Anything they do there is just extra.
Alexis:So they've got the Takis and the Cheetos, and they just dump cheese on it and more cheese on top of that.
Alexis:It is just insane.
Eric Stark:And the hot sauce.
Alexis:Yeah, the hot sauce.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:You've got that.
Alexis:The ice cream with the sugar coated on top of it, the blue dye that you're gonna.
Alexis:Your mouth is gonna turn blue do.
Alexis:It's just junk food capital.
Eric Stark:All right.
Eric Stark:So if you're an RVer, though.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:And you go there, you're probably not going to eat anything.
Eric Stark:And if you have kids, though, they're gonna love it.
Alexis:I want to suggest something, and this.
Eric Stark:Is that bad thing.
Eric Stark:You'll let your kids just go wild.
Eric Stark:Here, get yourself some of these, some white.
Alexis:You're gonna need these if you eat anything.
Alexis:They're butt wipes for those who are just listening.
Alexis:Okay.
Alexis:Very vital.
Alexis:Gonna be coming out of you.
Alexis:That's my takeaway.
Eric Stark:It's an interesting choice.
Eric Stark:So along border towns.
Eric Stark:Which Rio Grande's a border town.
Eric Stark:It's catering to the Mexican kids.
Alexis:Okay.
Eric Stark:And not in a negative way.
Eric Stark:It's just they're selling all the junk.
Eric Stark:And this kind of stuff in Mexico just is popular.
Eric Stark:The place looks like it came out of like Tijuana or something.
Eric Stark:Totally Mexico.
Eric Stark:So I would definitely go there.
Eric Stark:Just, if not anything else, to see it, to see this in real life and how much.
Eric Stark:Oh, man, your fingers are just covered with everything.
Eric Stark:You just wipe it wherever.
Eric Stark:It don't even matter.
Eric Stark:You can get Takis in the States.
Eric Stark:You can just try them out.
Eric Stark:You don't have to put anything on them.
Eric Stark:They are smoking hot, man.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Eric Stark:I think they're hotter than those Flamin Hot Cheetos.
Alexis:I think so.
Eric Stark:And these things are bad for you.
Alexis:Real bad.
Eric Stark:So they must be good, right?
Eric Stark:So now we're gonna go to someplace a bit different, a little farther from the border to Arco, Idaho.
Eric Stark:I picked this place.
Eric Stark:We did an episode about Craters of the Moon.
Eric Stark:And that was kind of the.
Eric Stark:The thing because that.
Eric Stark:That's a place by itself.
Eric Stark:So you can go like to Twin Falls.
Eric Stark:You can go to Arco.
Eric Stark:It's kind of out there, but in Arco, Idaho.
Eric Stark:Arco is kind of a cool little town.
Eric Stark:It's one of them older towns.
Eric Stark:Been there a long time.
Eric Stark:But there's a place called Pickles Place.
Eric Stark:Now, there's really nothing spectacular about it other than the cool little stickers they sell that have a pickle with hands and.
Eric Stark:Or arms and feet and stuff.
Eric Stark:So that's some fun.
Eric Stark:But they sell their own little spices, little jars of them.
Eric Stark:And that's.
Eric Stark:That's cool.
Eric Stark:But the place is just unique looking.
Eric Stark:You know, obviously there's a guy.
Eric Stark:A pickle guy out front.
Eric Stark:It's green and, you know it's just got that total feel to it, like you're in a jar of pickles.
Eric Stark:For better or worse.
Eric Stark:I guess that's better than being in a jar of beets, right?
Eric Stark:Like a blood vessel.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:But the food there is good.
Eric Stark:You know, they have hamburgers, hot dogs, all the normal fare.
Eric Stark:And it's not like to die for food, but it's just good food.
Eric Stark:You know what you're going to get.
Eric Stark:The prices are fair.
Eric Stark:So it's just one of those good places to eat that is not the attraction there.
Eric Stark:It's just one of the things there that kind of makes Arco, Idaho a cool place.
Eric Stark:So if you go to Arco, you got to go to Pickles Place.
Eric Stark:Or if you're passing through there, if you're going to Craters of the Moon or Twin Falls, Idaho.
Eric Stark:Is it Twin Falls?
Eric Stark:It's inland.
Alexis:I think so.
Eric Stark:Yeah.
Eric Stark:So but I would go there.
Eric Stark:Buy yourself a sticker.
Eric Stark:Actually get a couple of them.
Eric Stark:Two or three.
Eric Stark:You're going to want more than one.
Eric Stark:Buy some of their spices.
Eric Stark:It's good on a lot of different things.
Eric Stark:You know, try it out.
Eric Stark:Try it on Tater tots.
Eric Stark:Really good on those.
Eric Stark:Oh, man.
Alexis:Yum.
Eric Stark:That some ketchup.
Alexis:Oh, boy, I'm so hungry.
Eric Stark:I know.
Eric Stark:It's like we just go to Mexico all the time.
Eric Stark:Just get near the border and you start smelling all the food.
Eric Stark:That that's the end of our next stop and the place to go and the places to eat.
Eric Stark:So go to our website and like I said in the description of this podcast, we're going to have all these episodes listed and what we talked about as well.
Eric Stark:Not the details, just the heading there.
Eric Stark:So, you know, Mr.
Eric Stark:Corny and you got to look that up on the.
Eric Stark:We'll put a picture in there just for the fun of it.
Eric Stark:You'll get a kick out of it.
Eric Stark:All right, so now we're coming up to RV Envy.
Eric Stark:And so there are three areas that thought were very interesting that we talked about through the year were RV Defender being one and the FloMax toilet valve.
Eric Stark:Toilets.
Eric Stark:Big deal, right?
Eric Stark:Well, this thing saves you some money and headaches and hassles and then the safe view 30 and 50amp power inlets.
Eric Stark:So let's go back to the RV Defender.
Eric Stark:So the RV Defender is a tire blowout system for travel trailers and fifth wheels.
Eric Stark:It's not going to work on every trailer.
Eric Stark:It has to.
Eric Stark:You know, there's a lot of measurements you have to get.
Eric Stark:It sounds kind of daunting, but it's not too hard to do.
Eric Stark:It's just when it.
Eric Stark:When you install it.
Eric Stark:This is not one of those things you want to install to find out you can't install it, because I did that, and it's a hassle.
Eric Stark:You got your axles out, everything out.
Eric Stark:And I was swapping axles, so it was already all apart.
Eric Stark:The problem I ran into, my axles were an inch too wide.
Eric Stark:Then this could accommodate.
Eric Stark:So it posed an issue.
Eric Stark:Other than that, though, this thing is pretty darn nice.
Eric Stark:And I almost want to get the right axles to make it work, but I'm not going to do that.
Eric Stark:What it is, it's like a fender that wraps around your tire, the upper half of the tire, so if you get a blowout, it doesn't destroy the underneath of your trailer because, you know, the blowout in itself.
Eric Stark:A tire blowing out, what, 200 bucks, 300 bucks.
Eric Stark:Not the end of the world.
Eric Stark:You got to throw on your spare, go find another tire, and we can deal with that.
Eric Stark:But when it tears out your holding tank, your fender skirts on the side, does some damage to the body, the tire rips up through the floor, and, you know, destroys your refrigerator, your furnace or something.
Eric Stark:That's where the problem is.
Eric Stark:You know, a $200 tire can cause two or three or $4,000 worth of damage pretty easy.
Eric Stark:So these things eliminate that.
Eric Stark:Definitely worth looking into.
Eric Stark:Maybe it's not your cup of tea.
Eric Stark:Maybe you don't want to spend the money on it.
Eric Stark:You're not going to worry about it.
Eric Stark:But it's definitely one of these items you have to check out.
Eric Stark:So there's gonna be a link to that in our description of this podcast.
Eric Stark:And I'm definitely a fan of that product.
Eric Stark:I wish I could have them on my trailer, man, I really do, but I can't.
Eric Stark:That's life.
Eric Stark:And so next is the Flomax toilet valve.
Eric Stark:Now, the Flomax toilet valve is for the Lippert flowmax toilet.
Eric Stark:And the reason why this thing, I think is so cool is because the it replaces the water valve on the Dometic 310 toilet.
Eric Stark:They're identical.
Eric Stark:In fact, the toilets look almost identical.
Eric Stark:Little variation in the past, Lippert has had Dometic make awnings for them.
Eric Stark:So maybe they made this toilet form.
Eric Stark:I don't know.
Eric Stark:This part is 25 bucks versus $80 or more from Dometic for their 3 10.
Eric Stark:You're saving $75 minimum by buying the Flow Max valve.
Eric Stark:So if you have a dometic 310 toilet and your Water goes.
Eric Stark:Water valve fails on you.
Eric Stark:Which it will.
Eric Stark:They do.
Eric Stark:I mean, how many of those we sell a year?
Eric Stark:I'll access quite a few tons of them at 80 bucks are whack.
Eric Stark:And most stores are like a hundred.
Eric Stark:Yeah, you know, actually we're under 80, you know, like 75.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:So this thing's going to save you some money.
Eric Stark:It's the exact same valve.
Eric Stark:So if Dometic 3, I should.
Eric Stark:I said 310.
Eric Stark:But any 300 series toilet from Dometic uses the same water valve.
Eric Stark:If you go to an RV store and you see the Flomax water valve for a Lippert toilet, buy that.
Eric Stark:If you have a 300 series dometic toilet and you need to replace the water valve, save some money.
Eric Stark:And that came from our episode 158.
Eric Stark:The next one is the safe view 30 and 50amp power inlets for RVs.
Eric Stark:So this is where you plug in the.
Eric Stark:Your power cord to the side of the rv.
Eric Stark:Power cord has a twist.
Eric Stark:So you twist lock it in there.
Eric Stark:And what I like about them is they tell you if you have a bad ground or no ground, if you have a bad neutral or no neutral if there's no power whatsoever by plugging in your cord.
Eric Stark:Those leads in the cord, if they're not working in the RV park, which your cord probably won't be the issue.
Eric Stark:It's the park where you plug into and it tells you so.
Eric Stark:It has a G for ground, an L for load, and an N for neutral.
Eric Stark:So if one of those is red, you have a problem.
Eric Stark:If they're all green, you're good to go.
Eric Stark:So that's pretty cool.
Eric Stark:Then it also has around the side of it an LED light that's just white.
Eric Stark:It's just there at night so you can find your cord.
Eric Stark:It doesn't light up.
Eric Stark:It's not like a porch light where all your neighbors are being all wound up.
Eric Stark:What is this guy's problem, man?
Eric Stark:It's not that kind of light.
Eric Stark:But the red light, if it's flashing at you, it's gonna drive you crazy because you're gonna want to fix that problem.
Eric Stark:In fact, on my trailer, I plugged it in yesterday and the cord I had didn't have the neutral on it.
Eric Stark:Someone pulled it off.
Eric Stark:Someone.
Eric Stark:Someone, probably me.
Eric Stark:And that the light was flashing.
Eric Stark:I really didn't care because before I put this on, I didn't.
Eric Stark:There was no light.
Eric Stark:But now I saw the light and I can't walk away from this.
Eric Stark:So I got another power cord and I actually had to another outlet because, you know, one of my outlets got a little bit of a problem too.
Eric Stark:Yeah, my, my shop's a little unique, but anyway, so it's like I had to have all green lights.
Eric Stark:And so if you're at a park and you got a red light, you know, you definitely want to look into it because generally LED the red lights, you'll be able to use your rv, but it's a safety issue.
Eric Stark:You might lose your neutral.
Eric Stark:You might not have the right ground so you could get electrocuted.
Eric Stark:Things can happen and, you know, you don't want to think that it won't happen to you because it can.
Eric Stark:Odd things happen with power.
Eric Stark:Even the park where you plug in or the box you plug into have issues.
Eric Stark:You touch it and you get zapped.
Eric Stark:You don't want to think it can't happen.
Eric Stark:I remember along these lines something a little bit different.
Eric Stark:But in an RV or a mobile home park in Arizona, installing the sunshade or window covers on this house and I leaned against this patio cover from the neighbor's house and I got shocked.
Eric Stark:That's the weirdest thing.
Eric Stark:Touch it and I finally put a volt meter on.
Eric Stark:It had 120 volts going through it.
Eric Stark:So odd things happen with power.
Eric Stark:So you want to make sure your RV is wired right or the park you're plugging into.
Eric Stark:So the safe views, and those are made by Hughes Autoformers.
Eric Stark:Couldn't think of the name there.
Eric Stark:So they make great products and they're definitely a power driven company.
Eric Stark:So they understand the ins and outs of electrical.
Eric Stark:Bringing us to the end of the show today.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:So one last reminder thing we talked about is going to be in the description.
Eric Stark:Check us out on YouTube like and subscribe.
Eric Stark:Subscribe.
Eric Stark:Subscribe, subscribe.
Eric Stark:Share our podcast with everybody you know, great information.
Eric Stark:So we want everybody to know about it and learn more about what we're doing here and how we're helping the RVers become smart RVers.
Eric Stark: going to come on next year in: Eric Stark:It's called Shadows of the past.
Eric Stark:The towns that once were.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:And so we're going to be exploring the normal next stop towns, but they're going to be neighbors to a town, a very small town, a town that's a shadow of the past.
Eric Stark:Basically.
Eric Stark:The town may be alive today, but it's not like a thropping or a Thriving metropolis.
Eric Stark:It's just a very small town.
Eric Stark:So we've been working on that.
Eric Stark:And it's very cool because it's bringing back a slice of life that people miss now.
Eric Stark:You know, everybody's kind of craving these places.
Eric Stark:They're becoming more popular.
Eric Stark:There's small towns now where a house, you know, prior to the pandemic was $20,000.
Eric Stark:Now they're 250, 300,000.
Eric Stark:So it's amazing how people are flocking to these places and it's not crazy.
Eric Stark:Go on the Internet and look, man.
Eric Stark:You'll see it.
Alexis:Yeah, you will.
Eric Stark:But.
Eric Stark:So we're going to these places and we're going to start sharing them and doing a lot more research on them.
Eric Stark:The show's not going to be as in depth as our website will.
Alexis:Sure.
Eric Stark:So we're definitely going to do some coverage on these.
Eric Stark:So we're going to hit two places.
Eric Stark:The normal next stop and then.
Eric Stark:Which will be a neighboring town to a shadow of the past, the town that once was.
Alexis:Yes.
Eric Stark:Then there's going to be some other subtle changes that we're just going to work in, but that's one of the major changes.
Eric Stark:So you're aware of that.
Eric Stark:You have a little more to look forward to.
Eric Stark:That brings us to the end of the show today.
Eric Stark:And I want to thank everybody for listening, everybody for watching Alexis, for bringing her butt wipes, as she said.
Alexis:You're welcome.
Eric Stark:And a bag of talkies, man, you know, we should have, like a giveaway.
Alexis:Yeah.
Eric Stark:Or maybe we should save these and put them in the archive for some time.
Eric Stark:There you go.
Eric Stark:Yeah, I got a signed package of butt wipes from the Smart rv.
Eric Stark:Well, that just pretty much sums up the quality of the show.
Eric Stark:Anyways, so, hey, I want to thank Alexis for her effort today and bringing in her gifts that we're gonna put in the archives for a while.
Eric Stark:Then one day we'll sell them off at auction for millions.
Eric Stark:And I want to thank everybody else for watching and listening.
Eric Stark:So this is Eric Stark with the Smart RVer podcast.
Eric Stark:It's been great hanging out with everybody today.
Eric Stark:I don't see on the road.
Eric Stark:Let's connect@the smartrver.com.