About the Authors



During their courtship, Fred told Suzi, "I don't do windows and I don't camp." But that was before they discovered the beauty of the National Forests and the wide variety of camping experiences and other recreational opportunities to be found there. Frustrated in the early 1990s by the lack of specific, dependable information about camping in the 157 National Forests, Fred and Suzi Dow decided to do something about it. In May 1996, they closed the front door on their Virginia home and with Tory, their Golden Retriever, headed out in their 23-foot travel trailer to fill that information void.

Fred, who retired from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Suzi, a former instructor at George Mason University, weren't simply changing lifestyles. No, they had taken on a mission: to create a consolidated information resource that could be used by the public to increase its awareness and knowledge of National Forests and the camping opportunities found there.

The Dows have enjoyed many adventures since undertaking their project. In their travels, they have met and interviewed hundreds of interesting people, driven on some of the worst roads in America, and seen the most amazingly spectacular sights. They've had some scary moments too, but those are more than overshadowed by all the great times they've had.

Occasionally, Fred and Suzi look at each other and wonder at what they've accomplished during their first 13 seasons on the road -146 National Forests visited, over 2,200 campgrounds surveyed, a popular website created, seven books published with two more almost ready for publication, and over 250,000 miles traveled. That leaves only 11 National Forests remaining to visit, some 500 campgrounds to research, and at least three more books to be published. Little did they realize when Fred made his declaration about windows and camping that their shared love and respect for the out-of-doors would become such a major part of their lives. Nor would they have predicted that they would be spending one year after another visiting so many parts of America, collecting information on National Forest campgrounds, and loving every minute of it.