RV Home Yet?

RV retirement: South of the border?

A columnist for the AARP Bulletin Today was asked if it made sense financially to retire somewhere in Latin America. Sid Kirchheimer answered that it could. Your dollars go much father, especially in Mexico. He does point out, however, that you are still subject to IRS taxes and, while you can enroll in Medicare, you will not be able to use your Part A, B or D medical benefits outside the U.S.

Commenters added these points to consider:

• These countries are not democracies
• No close medical treatment unless you are in a metropolitan area
• Boredom (lack of things to do)

They did not mention safety, though in some areas that would be a concern. A number of articles have mentioned banditos in Baja near Ensenada and shootings in broad daylight have been occuring in towns along the U.S. - Mexican border. Also, when I traveled with my sister to Costa Rica, we spent one night in the capitol, San Jose. Nearly every window had bars. I had a relatively inexpensive gold necklace on. A policeman came up to me and suggested I remove it. Someone could try to rip it off my neck!  The rest of Costa Rica was very nice and many people have retired there including my cousin, but going into San Jose would be scary.

Because your legal rights are limited, if the government decides to take away your property, you have no recourse. I've read a few horror stories about that happening in Mexico too.

On a positive note, someone who lives in an RV could live even more cheaply than Sid suggests. And, there are expatriate communities in various places, especially in Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica. My friend DeAnna loves San Miguel de Allende; there are tons of activities of all kinds organized by expatriates.

Getting a lot more for your dollar is appealing. For me, the possible negatives would not offset the positives. Maybe for a visit! What about you? Would you consider RV retirement somewhere in Latin America? Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Alaska: Caravan or go it alone?

We are in Soldotna, Alaska at the Diamond M Ranch RV Park, staying one more night because of another tire problem! (I'll let George tell that story.) The park pretty much emptied out yesterday afternoon on Sunday; the weekend fishermen went home. This afternoon, though, suddenly RVs started pouring into the overflow section where we are parked. A caravan! This one is Adventure Caravan, the same one we'd seen in our park in Anchorage. Some have t-shirts from Homer so we suspect they are now on their way back while we're headed to Homer tomorrow. We hopscotched with a small caravan from Watson Lake to Whitehorse in the Yukon too.

If it's your first trip to Alaska, should you take a caravan? While George and I would not, it could be a good choice for some RVers. Here are the pros and cons that I see.

Pros:

• Someone else makes most of the decisions and arrangements. You don't have to fool with RV park reservations or reservations for included excursions or meals. Where a day is open, you'll have recommendations for activities.
• If you have a breakdown, the tail gunner will make sure you get help.
• You have built in social interaction with other RVers.
• You'll benefit from inside knowledge about Canada and Alaska, depending on the knowledge and experience of the leaders.

Cons:

• More expensive.
• Confining schedule. If you'd like to stay an extra day somewhere, you can't.
• If someone in the group is unpleasant, a complainer, late or difficult to deal with, you are stuck.
• RV parks are pre-selected as are some activities.
• Activities are chosen for the majority. If you like hiking and biking, those will not be planned activities.
• Group activities seem to be those that are more touristy and that accommodate large groups. (Smaller caravans could be different.)
• You are expected to join in at the meetings and planned activities that you have pre-paid for. If you need alone time to recharge, you may find it too much togetherness.

I have never taken a commercial caravan. The closest I have come is a tour when my RV friend Betty and I did a trip via railroad through China, Mongolia and Russia. We did have a good mixture of planned activities and time on our own. But we were several days on a train together. That did get to be wearing for me, but I like my space.

You absolutely can travel to Alaska by yourself. It is quite safe, the roads in much better shape than they were ten years ago. The Milepost gives you practically a mile by mile description so you know where all services are. Plus, there aren't that many choices of routes! You might want to read the article George and I wrote about preparing for a trip like this.The question is, do you want to travel by yourself or do you like company? (and everything planned?)

Weigh the pros and cons and then decide. However you go, RVing through Canada and Alaska is the trip of a lifetime! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

FEMA trailers in the news again

In Pearl County, MS a buyer purchased about 50 FEMA trailers at a government auction.  According to The Picayune Item, the County Board of Supervisors is afraid that people currently living in FEMA trailers will buy one of these auctioned trailers and move into them and they wouldn't know about it. Formaldahyde isn't mentioned - just that they are not up to HUD standards and it is not legal to use a travel trailer as a permanent residence.

FEMA wants people out of the trailers they are living in but it is up to the county to enforce the law and the County Board of Supervisors in Pearl County has not set a deadline. The County would probably not know if someone moved out of a FEMA trailer and replaced it with another FEMA trailer that had been sold at auction. Confusing? If neither FEMA nor the buyer tells the county, then the buyer could probably continue to live in a FEMA trailer as long as they wanted to and no one would be the wiser. Probably "wanted to" isn't why they would replace their old FEMA trailer with another - but that another trailer is cheap and affordable.

As an aside, I wonder if a full-time RVer could live in an RV in an RV park year-round in Mississippi. Perhaps it isn't allowed in this state. We have been in RV parks in other areas where living all year-round was not permitted. However, I imagine in some of the hurricane-stricken areas, some people don't have a lot of options when it comes to affordable housing.

In Pearl County, the fellow who bought this lot of trailers at auction said they are going fast and that he makes sure to tell people that they are not for permanent living but are for use as hunting camps and storage.

Unless FEMA communicates with the counties, these FEMA trailers could be the gift that keeps on giving. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

MSNBC Shoutout: Why do you adore your RV?

RV owners are invited to participate in The Elkhart Project: The Need for Change.

Why do you love your RV? A shout out to all you RV owners. You love your home away from home. You've taken it on the road. Send us a picture of your RV and tell us why you adore it.

Participate at the MSNBC site. Your entry may be used on MSNBC.com or broadcast on NBC news! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Ride a bull moose and other photo ops

"Ride a bull moose!" the brochure says. My sister, Georgia, did when she and her husband were in Anchorage in May prior to catching a cruise.

Hank the Moose has an interesting story. First of all, Hank is a big bull moose. He is 7' tall, 9' long and has a 60" rack. He resides - most of the time - at a photo study/gift shop at 333 W 4th Avenue in Anchorage. Sometimes he goes to events, though, so check ahead if you are making a special trip to see him.

The owners saw Hank for sale on Craig's List and called but the price was way too high. It was owned by a woman with a photography studio but she wasn't doing well getting folks to have their picture taken with or riding Hank. This fellow didn't buy, but a couple of months later, his son-in-law urged him to check on Hank again. Hank was still for sale. Hank came with his own trailer and computer and program so, after a family conference, they bought the outfit and moved him to Anchorage. While the owner wouldn't tell me what he had paid for the moose, he did say they have brought in four times what they paid for him and also that they made more in a couple months than the previous owner had in a year. They take Hank to various events as well as have him on display in the store. So, here's Georgia riding Hank the bull moose with husband Mike holding her hand!

There is a charge to get your photo with Hank -$15. A ladder is placed strategically in front of Hank and a sign hangs off his rack, blocking his face, when no customer is aboard so you can't sneak a photo. $5 gets you a CD along with the print.

We  got a peak of Hank behind the ladder and sign but decided one family photo with Hank was enough. We chose some other critters, though, on our trip for photo opportunities. No charge, but we didn't get to climb aboard, either.
 

Here we are with the Royal Canadian Police bear along the Icefields Parkway. Jaimie is standing by a chainsaw carving of a bear in Chetwyn. Amazing work done by these artisits.

George got up close and personal with the rest of these- with a wooly mammoth at the Yukon Beringia Interpetive Center in Whitehorse, a sculpted moose in Teslin, and below, a penguin found on the streets of Anchorage.

Yes, very touristy! But the grandkids love them and our kids get a kick out of them. Sure is safer and more fun than trying to get with a wild version. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Chasing the bore

A bore tide, that is. We are in Girdwood along the Turnagain Arm at an excellent time to see a phenomena known as a bore tide. A bore tide is when the tide coming in looks like a wave coming to shore - only it's not a wave. The tide comes in so fast due to several factors that it looks like a wave.

Bore tides happen, particularly during times of extreme minus tides here in Turnagain Arm off the Cook Inlet, because of two factors. One is the shallow, gently sloping basin that is Turnagain Arm. As the tide rises quickly in Cook Inlet, it fills Turnagain Arm so rapidly that a tidal flood or "bore tide" is formed where the incoming water collides with outgoing water. The second factor is a large range in tides. Turnagain's most extreme from the lowest low to the highest high is almost 40 feet! This week minus tides occur during the day. Wind blowing down Turnagain Arm towards the advancing tide will also make the wave larger.

Bore tides can vary from .5 feet to 6 feet high and travel at sppeds of 10 to 15 mph. We went to Bird Point yesterday (7/22) to watch. It was raining off and on, cold and the wind was gusting to 50 mph. That made the tide late, but perhaps larger. We watched with perhaps 20 others as it traveled up, covering rocks and sand bars as it advanced. Then, once the bore passed us, the crowd lunged towards their cars; some glad to be out of the frigid weather while some of us raced to one of the next pullouts to watch again. Here it was in a narrower channel. We could not only see better, but the wave was larger. And, even more fun, a kayaker paddled towards the advancing tide and then surfed the leading edge! (Photos 2 & 3)

We went back today (7/23) with a larger minus tide but not so much wind. The tidal wave was slightly larger. After the bore passed our first location, we jumped in the truck and sped to the next pullout for another performance. I went down on the rocks about 10 feet above the water. It sounded like being on a beach listening to a large wave come in. A local said the larger ones actually roar. He is predicting tomorrow will be a 4-foot bore since we will have a -5.2 tide. I think we are moving on to Soldotna. Enjoy the photos- it really is the advancing tide! Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Photos by George Bruzenak

Discover your wild side

That's how the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center advertises in tourist papers. The Center is a non-profit wildlife refuge located just off the Seward Highway in Portage. The animals aren't tame, but they are kept in enclosures to protect us - the visitors- and to keep species separate.

Some of the animals like the moose are there because of injuries or because they were separated from their mothers when too young to fend for themselves. The center also has breeding programs going on like that of reintroducing wood bison into Alaska. What the center does is allow the visitor to get a pretty up close look at these species while protecting individuals and species. Taking photos of animals in the wild is more rewarding - if you can get them, but these close up views let you see detail. For example, on the musk ox below, that white colored hair on the top is where he is apparently shedding out his coat. Not totally photogenic, but real life!

Unlike the musk ox at the Large Animal Research Center in Fairbanks, both sexes were together. The males are considerably larger than the females. Their horns are impressive too! When the attendants put out fresh leaves, the males get first choice and the babies are definitely at the bottom of the pecking order. They later came back for bites when the older musk ox had moved on. Both females and babies got nervous and moved away when visitors came up near the fence.

The moose orphans were the cutest. Four orphans were in the pen. Again, fresh leaves enticed them up near the fence. I'm not sure if these were triplets, but George got a fun shot of all three lined up. The babies are bottle fed three times a day. We just missed the one o'clock feeding and didn't stay until 4, the next one.

Most impressive was Hugo the bear. He had been given some sort of snack so was hanging around the fence, making low yowling noises we thought were his way of trying to get more. Hugo was big and close - as close as I want to get to a grizzly bear. The electric fence between us kept him from being even more insistent that he be fed.

Signs all over said not to feed the animals, but some people can't resist. This moose was slipped a couple of munchies while we were there and must have been handled by people when small. Several people stroked his muzzle and felt the velvet on his antlers. Not a smart thing to do to a moose, but they disregarded the signs for their safety and his health anyway.

Caribou, reindeer, elk, a coyote, black bears, both plains buffalo and wood bison (the wood bison are the larger), a porcupine, two horned owls and red fox rounded out the inhabitants. Sitka deer, an eagle and a linx were on the map but we saw no signs indicating they were currently in residence.

The enclosures were fairly large. Only the porcupine seemed unhappy, pacing up and down his fence. Since most of the animals have been rescued because they were injured or orphans and would not have survived in the wild, this is a good way for them to continue to live and help educate people about wildlife. It provides visitors a chance to see these animals up close even if they miss seeing them in the wild in their travels. It's a win-win situation and we were happy to support their efforts and enjoy the animals.

RVers can bring their RVs into the center and park. You can drive by all the enclosures and people in smaller RVs and campers often did that. Larger RVs would want to park, then walk. Or, leave the RV at a park and then drive the only the tow or toad vehicle. We boondocked 9 miles up the road in Gerdwood at the Mt. Aleyska Ski Resort for $10/nite and drove back in the truck. The parking lot in Portage right near the center where George boondocked for free in 2003 is for sale and we saw no RVs parked there so went to Girdwood instead. (Note: 7/23 - we did see 4 RVs parked next to that lot by an expresso stand on our way to Soldotna.)  Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Photos by George Bruzenak

Highights of Anchorage

We stayed in Anchorage for 8 days due to commitments and a special at the Golden Nugget RV Park . It's slim pickings when it comes to RV parks in Anchorage, though there is always Wal-Mart. Anchorage isn't a very pretty city but we did enjoy exploring and the chance to stock up again.

A don't-miss stop is the Alaska Heritage Center. Admission is expensive, but the Great Alaska Tour Saver book has a two-for-one coupon. Each of the five Alaskan tribes has a village site on the edge of Lake Tuilana on the grounds and people to show some of their handicrafts and share something about their lives. Exhibits inside also share their history and stories. Each day, a few native sellers sell their hand-crafted items. The Gathering Place inside hosts programs and native dancing throughout museum hours. We enjoyed watching a demonstration of games and then dancing. I couldn't resist joining the dancers when they invited the audience to participate. George said, "No way!" but took a few photos instead. 

In 2002, I was in Anchorage for a press trip. I remembered an outstanding exhibit at the Anchorage Museum so wanted to see that again and for George to see it. Our experience was less than pleasant. The museum is undergoing expansion, a good thing. However, our young cashier was either short on training or having a bad day. She did not give us several pieces of critical information and, since there were no signs, we wandered up and down stairs trying to find the 2nd floor exhibit. The stairway we went up said that floor was closed! Turns out you had to go an entirely different way but there were no signs to indicate that. The exhibit is still outstanding, just that we were worn to a frazzle by the time we located it. Pictured is the Nunivak stone head discovered in 1986 on the island of Nunivak, probably from the late prehistoric period. I wrote the director right after our experience and did hear something back yesterday - apologies, a desire to improve and free tickets (which we won't do) to make up for it.

Independent bookstores are always on our list. Tidal Wave is excellent with two locations. I found a couple of good fiction books by Alaskan authors. The main location buys used books too and adjoins Kaladi coffee shop. Kaladi's is an Alaskan company that roasts coffee beans. Their Americanos are the best we've had on our trip!

Because of how dirty RVs get on the Alaska Highway, we decided not to bring our bicycles. So, we rented them and biked the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Nine miles each way was too long to walk. It was a bit nippy but a nice ride. George's sharp eyes spotted a moose and calf just a few feet from the trail. Here's the baby - so cute! Earthquake Park brought back memories for George. He was in Anchorage when it happened. He's promised to blog about it.

The Golden Nugget RV Park has nightly entertainment. The  best was an evening with eight Alaskan authors and three young women who did Irish dancing. "River Dance" is my all-time favorite musical; I love the intense beat, flying feet and the sound of the tapping. We met Ron Hess who winters in Green Vallye, AZ, buying his latest book Murder at Fire Bay. I thought it quite good and will be on the lookout for his earlier books.

Drizzles started our last day with reports of more rain on the Kenai. We're now in Girdwood and the reports are correct. Will give an update on that soon. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

Camputing

I love these new words! So what is camputing? It's computing to work from a campsite. Pick a campsite close enough to be in driving distance to work, then the whole summer is a series of mini-vacations. This article at Freep.com profiles couples living and working in the Detroit area. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak

RVLifestyleExperts.com - updates

Here's what's new at RVLifestyleExperts.com:

1. Are you thinking the RV lifestyle may be for you? See the new article, "Ten More Reasons to Retire to an RV."
2. Home study courses on working on the road and volunteering that Jaimie instructed are now available. Get an in depth start with a program you can watch on your computer, plus handouts and bonus articles. See RVLifestyleExperts.com for more information.
3. Also, read the July issue of RV Lifestyle Ezine.

To your RV lifestyle!
Jaimie Hall Bruzenak