Forest Service
Packing for six months on the road – it isn’t easy
As our departure date approaches, all the big decisions have been made. By big, I mean we have a departure date, selected the national forests will be visiting and campgrounds to survey, our route is mapped, and all that stuff. I have my lists of what we need to take like laptops, medicines, files, etc. Read More >>
Cold Weather Camping
Cold weather camping requires an RV have a dependable and adequate source of heat, reliable batteries with enough amperage for your needs and a way to charge them, full propane tanks, plenty of warm clothes, extra food for “just in case” situations, and some way of receiving weather reports. Winter is a beautiful time of Read More >>
Firewood tips to contain nonnative critters
Perhaps the only thing better than sitting around a campfire at the end of a summer’s day might is sitting in front of a fireplace with a roaring fire on a cold winter’s night. As cold winter temperatures settle across the country and many people cozy up next to their warm fires, experts warn that Read More >>
Why National Forests?
Have you ever noticed how simple questions can lead to the longest answer? We were recently asked “Why National Forests?” Here are a dozen reasons to explain why Fred and I prefer camping in a National Forest and Grasslands: Elbow room to spare There is no need to worry if your neighbor might hear a Read More >>
No Ash trees in our national forests? Say it ain’t possible
A tree with many uses Black ash, a dominant tree species of forested wetlands in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, serves several purposes. It provides multiple ecosystem services. It is a valuable resource for Native American basket-makers. Now the ash tree’s existence is threatened by the emerald ash borer (EAB). It is killing virtually all ash Read More >>
Volunteers Needed
Every year dozens of volunteers contribute their time, knowledge, and muscles to our national forests. They contribute hours upon hours of their personal time doing everything from wildlife surveys and manning fire lookouts to hosting campgrounds and doing general office work. These people build and maintain trails, paint picnic, dig post poles, and so much Read More >>
Tuskegee National Forest
There are only two national forests with no developed campgrounds: Tuskegee in Alabama and Delta in Mississippi. A little background info on the Tuskegee NF. The land, purchased by the federal government between 1935 through 1938, was once one of the most eroded and abused territory in Alabama. Many restoration projects and changes occurred between Read More >>
Morel Mushrooms – yummy
As a results of last year’s 41 Complex and Saddle Complex wildfires, which burned more than 47,000 acres on the Bitterroot and Salmon-Challis national forests, conditions are expected to provide a bounty of morels mushroom. This means you, private citizen, can pick up to five gallon per day or 20 gallon for the season of Read More >>
Thoughts on national grasslands
I love national forests but national grasslands are special and unique unto them selves. Maybe it’s because they are so open and vast and empty. They are cris-crossed by barb wire fences so cattle can safely graze on the tall rippling grass, so maybe they aren’t really so open. And as to empty? Grasslands are Read More >>
August 17, 1959 – earthquake!
There are dangers in the forests. We recognize this. These dangers seem more like urban legend than reality. However, an earthquake caused scar on a mountain-side visible from US Route 287, in the Gallatin National Forest (MT) and just northwest of Yellowstone National Park, shows us, even in a place of such beauty, a terrible Read More >>
