↓ Episode 166 –2024 RV Highlights: Reflecting on Freedom and Fun

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...

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The year end at the Smart Rver.
And this is our last episodeof 2024.
Not our last episode period,but just our last episode of 2024.
So today we're going to begoing through the highlights of 2024
and enjoying the RV life.
Alexis and I are going to begoing back and forth between three
of our favorite episodes andthe enjoying the RV life section

(00:23):
of that episode.
And then the next stop,basically the same thing.
Staying on the road.
I'm going to cover the groundon several things that stood out
to me that we talked about.
I just couldn't make my mind up.
So, yeah, I'm running the show.
So I picked a bunch of stuff.
Then RV envy.
I got three products thatwe're gonna just quickly talk about.
They're great products andthings we need to be reminded about.

(00:44):
So this is Eric Stark with theSmart RVer podcast, delivering the
smarts you need to enjoy thefreedom of the RV lifestyle without
the fear of breaking down.
So let's talk everything RV intoday's episode 166.
And we have Alexis in thestudio with us, ready to go.
She's got on her CaliforniaJoshua Tree.

(01:06):
Yes, I wrote about that.
Fun fact, Joshua Tree used tobe the murder capital of the world.
Oh, that may not the murdercapital, but a lot of people got
killed there.
Yeah, by the heck, you know,you know, don't worry about that.
We won't think about that.
Just bring a big stick whenyou go there.
Yeah.
All right.
So rather than.
We don't really have anything.
None of my normal rants, we'rejust going to get right into this

(01:28):
because we have a little.
Shows me a little longer than normal.
So we're going to clock in alittle over an hour, which takes
us past our normal time.
But anyway, let's get toenjoying the RV life.
So we're going to start withAlexis and her first pick, which
is dog friendly RV parks takenfrom episode 155.
Yes, this one was really,really fun to write about because

(01:49):
I love dogs.
You know, we see a lot ofRVers come through here with their
pets, whether it be cats or Ithink somebody had a rabbit even,
but usually it's dogs.
We want to talk a little abouthow we can fit our dogs into our
RV life.
And this is a really good one.
We covered 10 originally andthat's still up on our page, but
we're only going to highlightthree of them today.

(02:11):
So the first one is in Utah.
That is the Zion River Resort.
And this is a really nice One,because they have a select spot just
for dogs to run around.
And that is off leash.
So you don't have to keep themon their leash.
You can just let them run, letthem exercise, which is super, super,
super convenient.
Get all that energy burnt offthat they, you know, have when they're

(02:32):
stuck in the rv.
And so that's really.
Actually that, that was theother thing.
They have dog walking services there.
So if you're older and youcan't get, you know, mobility wise
around, hire somebody to walkyour dog.
It's kind of convenient.
Or if you're just morbidly obese.
So the other one I wanted tocover was in California.

(02:55):
It's Pismo Coast Village RV Resort.
That is a mouthful.
This place is super beautifulbecause it's right on the ocean front
and they have this quarteredoff piece of beach front that you
can let your dogs run on offleash again, which is super nice.
And they can play in the ocean.
You know, you're going to wantto watch them, obviously, but that's

(03:17):
anywhere you go.
That place is also veryfriendly for dogs.
And then the last place Iwanted to talk about was the top
Sail Hill Preserve State Park.
And this is in Florida for ourFlorida friends.
And again, right on the beach,they have designated areas for dogs
to run around.
And they have it all set up.
So it's super convenient forthe owners to pick up their poo in
case they do that.

(03:37):
Because they do.
But we just, we want you to beable to, you know, enjoy your RV
life with your dog.
And so my takeaway is callbefore you make a reservation at
one of these, make sure ifyou're bringing your dog that it
is going to be okay for themto be in that resort.
That's my call to action.
Wow.
So here's what I was thinking.

(03:59):
Here's what I got from that islike, you know, most places like,
like an in and out burger,they have a secret menu.
Yeah.
So if you go to these parksand you say, hey, on the flip side,
can I put my kids in there?
You know, let them run, runwild, no leashes.
I would do that.
All right, man, we can't do that.
But like in California, Idon't know, I better shut up.
See, a Sunday, we're not on anormal day here, so we can get pretty

(04:21):
stupid, you know, wild here,let our hair down.
As you can see.
You know.
Anyway, so now we're gonna goto hosting an exciting RV party.
Parties are like just part ofthe RV lifestyle.
Right.
Everybody wants to have a good party.
So hosting a party, though, ittakes some responsibility, it takes
some planning.

(04:41):
And you know, you can't justdo it anywhere, Especially in an
rv, you know, you don't wantto, I don't know, pick a really lousy
place to go and just not beable to do it, or pick a place that's
great, but then the parkranger say, no, not here.
It isn't happening.
So you want to pick theperfect spot.
Someplace where, you know, youcan do this and get away with it.
Get away with it.

(05:02):
Or you can do it and have anice time, not get away with it.
And, you know, sometimesthere's, you know, a park might seem
pretty loosey goosey, or maybeyou're up in the mountains or out
in the desert.
You want to make sure there'sno regulations or anything that's
going to ruin it.
You'd hate to be into yourparty, you know, an hour or two or
three, and all of a sudden yougot to pack it up and stop.
I think that's basic stuffmost everybody knows, but also something

(05:23):
to kind of add a little spice to.
It might be picking a theme.
Now, it doesn't have to be acrazy theme.
You know, you could all dressup as rvers and go that way.
That'd be the simplest thing.
Or just a beach theme orsomething like that.
Something simple.
Something where everybody'snot going to have to spend a lot
of money to do it and bringus, you know, a lot of extra clothes
because that takes up space.
There's enough stuff you'realready trying to put in your RVs.

(05:45):
And then when you do this,think about the meals.
I mean, everybody loves toeat, especially at rving.
That's kind of the thingthing, you know, having all that
fun food, comfort food, asthey call it.
So think about that.
Or 1, 2, 3, or all of yougonna bring stuff.
Everybody brings a dish.
Or is one person gonna do it?
Or you gonna just buy a bunchof stuff and bring it, like catering

(06:08):
or 50 pizzas.
But think about that.
Make sure there's a lot of funfood there.
Chips, dip, salsa.
And you know, an Uncle Leogoes over, this is chip to double
dip.
Now you boot him out.
No double dip in here.
All right, let's keep the dip clean.
Let' good party.
You know, you want to inviteyour neighbors or at least warn them,

(06:29):
depending on how out of handit's going to be.
But inviting them always kindof brings them in there.
You know, it's guilt bythey're there they're guilty.
They can't complain at that point.
So you've invited yourneighbors, you've invited all your
friends, you're having thisgreat time.
And so that's what it's allabout, you know, and RV life is about
community and getting togetherwith other RVers, other friends.

(06:49):
And so this isn't somethingyou're probably going to do spur
of the moment.
You're going to have to plan this.
My takeaway from this is, youknow, having a party is a great way
just to get together, let yourhair down, eat some great food, and
have a good time with yourfriends and family and fellow RVers.
That's going to take us to ournext choice in enjoying the RV life.

(07:11):
Can't talk here.
So this is Alexis number two choice.
And by the way, these aren'tin any order.
We just picked them.
So Overcoming towing anxiety.
And this came from episode 147.
Yes, it did.
Did.
This one really speaks to mebecause we got a camper this year
and my husband is learning totow it, and I should probably learn,

(07:31):
too, but I haven't yet, sothis would be a good thing for me
to think about as well.
So that's kind of what Iwanted to talk about.
Learn it beforehand, not whenyou're going up to the campground.
You know, you don't want toget there and it be just full of
people and you're stressedalready and you're trying to tow
this thing or back it up.

(07:53):
That would be, you know, foryour first time.
That's just not kosher.
So learn beforehand.
And there are ways you can do that.
You can practice with somebodywho'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.
You can take a course at the college.
They do offer things,especially, you know, locally if

(08:13):
there's a lot of camping around.
So there are things you can doto make your life less stressful
and have more fun in your RVor your trailer.
And then practice.
Practice with easy places.
And maybe, maybe it's a bigparking lot.
Maybe it's your home, your owndriveway where it's private.
You're not going to bestressed out.
You're not going to be watchedby a bunch of people or kids screaming,

(08:34):
you know, as you're runningover them, I mean, because it happens.
But, you know, we're justgoing to crunch them and move on.
It's fine.
Well, if they're in the way,you know, that's their Fault.
So this is.
This is one I think about alot because I could definitely work
on this.
My.
My husband's very good at it,and he's learned, but I need to learn,

(08:54):
too, in case there's an emergency.
And so you out there, ifyou're an avid camper and you go
places where there's, youknow, low signal or no signal out
there, you need to learn howto tow and back up.
So that's important.
So my takeaway from that oneis be ready before you go out there.
Get out of your comfort zone,and just be brave enough to do it.

(09:16):
All right?
So there you go.
Anxiety while towing.
Now, just another piece ofadvice Alexis missed.
This should be the most obvious.
If you have your spouse trainyou to drive and back up and do all
that, get an attorney beforehand.
So you can just make this apackage deal.
Okay.
And make sure the hospitalnearby, because there's fights and
all sorts of stuff, you know?

(09:37):
All right.
No, so that's pretty cool.
Toy anxiety is a real thing.
There's a lot of courses, andI would pay someone to do it myself
if, like, if my wife wanted todo that, which probably should, I'd
pay so much.
I know she can go forward, butI'm backing up.
Might be an issue.
Another story.
Yeah.
Yep.
All right, so now we're goingto go to the next one, which is essential

(09:58):
tips for buying your first RV.
And this is taken from episode 141.
Now, I'm pretty negative onbuying an RV from a dealership, but
not your first RV.
That's cool.
You got to buy your first RV,but you got to be smart about it.
And that's where everythingfalls apart.
Everybody just.
They get all taken up.
The emotions start going, oh,look at this one.

(10:19):
It's so nice.
It's so cool.
Look at all these great things.
And behind the makeup, if youwill, it's just a pile of junk.
So you got to be careful of that.
And, you know, it doesn'tmatter where you're buying it.
Quite often, I should say itdoes matter.
But you're going to get sold abill of goods if you're not really
careful.
So first look at some RVs, andbased on what you see, define your

(10:44):
needs.
What do you really need in an rv?
Do you need to have asatellite dish on the roof?
Well, not anymore.
That's old stuff.
But think about that.
If there's a satellite dish onthe roof, that's not cool anymore.
That's just a waste because wedon't Use satellite dishes in RVs
anymore.
Everything's Internet.
But think about your needs.
What do you really need?
You need a furnace.
You need a microwave.
Do you need a tv?

(11:05):
How many bedrooms or how many beds?
Bathrooms?
Sometimes you get two bathrooms.
But think about the biggerpicture and then set a budget.
You know, don't get taken inby, wow, that motorhome is so nice.
And it's just $10,000 more,and that's only a hundred bucks a
month.
Don't do that.
Yeah, just set yourself abudget and stick to that budget.

(11:28):
And here's one of the mostimportant things is inspect that
RV thoroughly.
You want to get on the roof,you want to see every appliance work.
You want to make sure there'sno water leaks.
Inspect the ceiling, inside cabinets.
Make sure there's no signs ofleaks in there.
If there's any sign of a waterleak, just run.
Even if they tell, oh, no, wefixed all the leaks.

(11:48):
Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't risk itbecause when you buy it and the first
winter comes around or firstrainstorm is leaking, you're going
to hate yourself.
If there was a leak, you don'tknow how long it was leaking, how
much damage there is.
There could be soft spots inthe ceiling and the wall.
So make sure you thoroughlyinspect that RV from top to bottom.
And then also, if it's amotorhome, take it for a test drive.

(12:10):
Make sure the brakes work, theturn signals work, everything works.
The fuel gauge, the speedometer.
And a motorhome that's beensitting for a long time is going
to have problems.
So think about that.
You know, it's.
Things go bad just from sitting.
Also, analyze the amenities,the features it has.
Is it what you really need?
If it's a little more thanwhat you need.

(12:31):
But does it fit your budget?
It's not ridiculous.
Okay, Are you going to buy anextended warranty if you do that?
Think about wholesale warranties.
They have a very transparent process.
You can't go wrong with them.
And those extended warrantiesare from wholesale warranties are
good.
Other places are not so good.

(12:51):
And they'll do private party.
In fact, if you're buying aused rv, they'll actually have it
inspected.
Now you pay for thatinspection, but when it's done, you
know exactly where you standwith that rv, its quality, and then
also the warranty company as well.
You'll know whether theycovered it or not.
And then think too about, youknow, if you were to sell it in a
year, if it's not your cup oftea, would you be able to get your
money back or would you betaking a big bath on it?

(13:14):
Or in 10 years, years, is itgoing to be in still good enough
condition where you canactually still get some money back
on it?
Those are things to consider.
It might not be that importantto you because it's always, well,
we'll never get rid of it oncewe buy it.
But after a year, sometimesrvs go up for sale because it wasn't
your cup of tea.
Also, check on insurance, seewhat it's going to cost.
You know, that's another factor.

(13:34):
Sometimes is not thought about.
And that might make the pricetoo expensive for the budget you
have set.
So you might have to loweryour budget to be able to afford
the insurance.
And these are just things.
So my takeaway from this is bevery cautious when buying an rv,
whether it's new, used,private party or from a dealership.
An extra caution from adealership and make sure everything

(13:56):
works.
All right, so Alexis grieveswith that.
She always hears me rantingabout that, buying RVs and how cautious
we have to be because, man,there's just some duds out there.
And we get customers in here.
I got the best deal.
And all summer long, everytime they come in dropping 500 here,
100, I got the best deal.
They're just defeated, lookingafter a while.
You look like one of themgonna go there.

(14:19):
Oh, no.
All right, so now we're gonnago to enjoying the RV life for Alexis.
And this is her third choice.
And this is about Jace case.
And this is taken from episode 154.
Yeah, this one always struckout to me because I think it's a
really good idea.
I kind of want one.
And there's something you canreally invest in, which I think is

(14:41):
awesome.
So what Covid really, youknow, showed us was that the medical
system is very fragile.
It can run out of things very quickly.
So this is really nice becauseit's customizable.
You can get your Jace caseonline, you can put whatever you
want in it, whatever, youknow, features you want about it,

(15:01):
whatever medicines.
They've got a whole list.
I was kind of looking it upthe other day again, just to see
they've got just a laundrylist of these medications that you
can use it.
Yeah, it's pretty awesome.
And they're nice things thatdonate, expire, you know, right away.
But you do have to watch thatbecause eventually they won't be
as potent.
So you'll have to re up yourcase, which is fine.
That's normal, but they'rejust nice.

(15:23):
They're.
They're high quality, top ofthe line stuff.
You can even get a packagewhere you can talk to a doctor about
what you might need.
So that'll help.
You can tell them what yourhealth issues are, and then they
can help you make the rightone for you.
So it just again, gives youthat comfort of when you're out RVing,
whether that be in the middleof the woods or out on the road,

(15:44):
you know, you just know thatyou're prepared because you know
you have the medications you need.
And it's something we don'tmaybe think about all the time.
But it's super important, andnot just to older people, but to
younger people, too, who rv.
So it's something we need to have.
This company's really easy towork with, really trustworthy.
So I just really like them.
I like J's case.
So please take your time.

(16:06):
Look online for them, becausethey are an amazing company and we.
We back them and we probablywill buy one.
So my takeaway of that is beprepared, especially with medications.
And with this company, you cancustomize what you need.
Excellent.
Yeah, being prepared is important.
Now, one thing that I saw ontheir website, too, is because Alexis

(16:28):
mentioned this, sometimesafter time, they're not as impo.
As potent as they could be,but they're all.
Drugs are that way.
Yeah.
And even the United Statesgovernment, when they buy drugs,
they know that there's anexpiration date, but they also know
that it might be good foranother year, two, three, four years.
That's how they stockpile allthis stuff.
Otherwise they'd be throwingit out very quickly.

(16:48):
Like during the pandemic, theywould have been trash and tons of
vaccines.
So they actually tell you theexpiration dates and then how far
you can go before it becomesno longer a good product.
Right.
So that helps because you'renot just throwing money away at that
point.
And there's safety conscious,so you don't have to worry about
it getting poisoned oranything like that either.

(17:09):
You know, Jay's case, go toour website.
There's a link there.
Just click on that bad boy.
It'll also be in thedescription of this video or this
podcast.
I mean, and video.
It'll be everywhere.
And just use that link.
It'll take there.
And I believe you get adiscount, too, when you use our link.
Yeah, be great.
Then we make a million dollarsper purchase.
It's awesome, you know?

(17:29):
Or is it 3 cents?
I forget.
But somewhere in there, thedifference all Right.
So now we're gonna go.
The last portion of enjoyingthe RV life, And this is RVing without
guilt.
So just do it.
Who cares about everybody else?
That's what I say.
You know, sometimes when youget an RV and you start using it,

(17:50):
you're traveling.
Conversation you have withyour friends and family might be
all about you and your rv.
And everywhere you go,everything you do and all your pictures.
Now look at my pictures.
You pull out your phone andyou know it's 10,000 pictures.
What you think is really cool.
They think they're a waste oftime, you know, which is typical
because what we see isdifferent than what everybody else

(18:11):
sees.
Your husband's a photographer.
I mean, his pictures areprobably much better, but they're
probably still gonna be boringfor somebody after.
Come on, let's look at these pictures.
So also, you know, you don'twant to wear them down that way,
but you also want tocommunicate with people too.
If you are traveling a lot,just let them know where you're at.
Because sometimes we mighttake off on an extended trip, maybe

(18:35):
for three weeks, a month or something.
Not even tell anybody or maybewe mentioned a couple times beforehand.
We just think that theyprocess that, like it's something
they need to know or shouldknow, but it's always good.
Just communicate.
Let them know what's happening.
That way you're not thinkingabout it, oh, we should have told
so and so, you know, whenyou're doing this, when you're RVing,
think about the quality of it.
You know, don't worry abouteverybody else if they can't rv.

(18:57):
Because sometimes just.
It's just funny how humans work.
The mind thinks just, we needto worry and be concerned about this.
Like, do we have too much?
Are we enjoying too much life?
Well, if you got an rv, justuse it and enjoy it.
But don't worry abouttraveling the whole US Just rapidly
pick a couple states and enjoy it.
Get the quality out of itrather than the quantity.

(19:19):
Know if someone's helping you.
Maybe they're watching yourhouse while you're gone, or you.
You call them up.
Hey, can you drive by?
I heard there was a bigrainstorm or a windstorm.
Be appreciative for that.
Show them the gratitude thatyou really appreciate it.
And maybe buy them a giftwhile you're on the road.
That's nice.
In fact, buy a little gift foreverybody, even us here at the Smart
rvr podcast.
You know, Magnet, actually,gift cards will work okay.

(19:42):
Best buy gift cards.
I think all the Nigerians areasking for those.
So we'll get our plug in therefor them.
Well, I meant Nigerian scammers.
Okay, so if there's anyNigerian scammers listening, sorry,
but heck, you brought thisupon yourself.
The takeaway is don't worryabout it.
If you got an rv, use it.

(20:02):
You know, your family andfriends, sometimes there's going
to be some jealousy or maybethey feel like you're leaving them
out, which, you know, now Ithink about that, you might want
to invite them to come alongwith you so they can experience it.
But just enjoy that lifestyle.
That's why you bought it.
Not for everybody else, youbought it for you.
So enjoy it that way.
Think about it.

(20:22):
Just.
It's about you, man.
No, just enjoy it.
Now, what I noticed here isAlexis's picks versus mine are completely
different.
See, hers are more.
How would you say this Alexis,yours are more practical.
Practical.
She wants to worry about dogs,towing, anxiety and medical emergencies.

(20:42):
You know, where I'm just aboutbuying the rv, having a party, and
getting on the road and don'tworry about it.
Don't worry about.
About it.
Wow.
Big difference there, huh?
Go to our website, thesmartrver.com, if you.
And you can read all this stuff.
It's all there.
Well, these articles are there.
And we'll just have a list ofthe articles so you can read the
entire article.
You won't have to go throughthe entire episode.
Just the article where we werepulling this stuff from.

(21:05):
All right, so now that bringsus to staying on the road.
And this is going to be alittle bit different today because
we don't have one topic.
So in the Last year, in 2024,we talked about a lot of different
things like refrigerators,water heaters, furnaces, waste valves
for holding tanks, electricaladapters, you know, how to keep them

(21:25):
from burning up, power cords.
Not buying things just becausethe buy buttons there and purchasing
too many products.
Right.
Going crazy with it, you know,because that's what they want us
to do.
We're fighting back againstthe man.
No, just kidding.
And then communication.
Communications.
If there's no cell phone service.

(21:45):
One episode we talked aboutall that I've learned from the.
I forget 10,000 phone calls orsomething like that.
Yeah.
And, you know, so there's so much.
So all these episodes reallyhave some value in them in the staying
on the road section.
So it was hard to just naildown one that I really liked.
Yeah.
One thing that just stood outto me because there's so much in

(22:08):
them.
And, you know, really thePlumbing system and the, the 110
volt system in your RV areprobably the two most.
I would say Google searched,YouTube searched things or aspects
of an RV that need repair andmaintenance that people are the most
interested in.
So those episodes specificallywhich we'll have them in the description

(22:30):
of the podcast where you cango back and listen to those if you
want to.
We'll also, we've also donevideos on that as well.
We have.
So we'll put links in for thevideos because those are probably
the two things.
Like if you go to an RV park,you know, power is important and
you want to have water.
Especially if you're travelingwithout a fresh water tank filled

(22:50):
with water, which you know, Iwould 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, butyou don't want to travel with 100
gallons of water.
That's just extra weight or 50gallons extra weight, extra fuel,
wear and tear on the tank,everything else, those two things
are important.
When you hook up, see power,you plug in, you want to make sure

(23:11):
that your adapters aren'tgoing to burn up, your plugs aren't
going to burn up, which you'vechecked all those before you left,
I hope.
And then you have power andyou're good to go.
You want that air conditionerto kick on and lights to work, everything
to be there.
The microwave, gotta have that popcorn.
Popcorn or what else do youmicro like that Comfort food maybe,

(23:32):
you know.
Yeah, gotta have that party.
Yeah.
So you get there and they'rehaving a party.
You don't have power.
Come on, man.
Yeah, you'll have a riot.
Exactly.
And who needs a riot?
Then you need that Jace case.
Yeah, you will.
And so water systems, youknow, once you hook up your water
hose, you want everything to work.
You don't want to have to stopwhat you're doing and fix a water

(23:55):
leak.
You know, run into the nearesttown or the nearest place that has
a part that might work if youhaven't already bought the extra
parts, which we've talkedabout having those spare water parts,
which you can find severalkits on sunpromfg.com, our website.
And even if you don't buy oneof those kits, you can look at it
gives you an idea of what youshould be carrying.
And those parts are very important.

(24:16):
In fact, I carry quite a fewof them just to make sure because
things happen.
Now mine's probably a littlemore dialed into my RV because Well,
this is what I do for a living.
I think I do.
Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
It's profitable.
We're not a dot org, we're dot com.
So there's money to be made.
All right.
So anyway, see, I'll just goon a whole different thing there,

(24:37):
you know, so those are the twomain things, but there's so many
other things.
And it's.
That's just some of what wecovered in the year.
You know, we do 26 episodes ayear, so there's 26 episodes.
I mean, I would recommend goback and listen to them all, sharing
with your friends and family,everybody else, but that might not
be your cup of tea.

(24:58):
Think about your RV and whataspects of it are you not familiar
with?
What things do you want tolearn more about?
And we can help you at thesmart rver.
Like I said, we have YouTubevideos, we have our web or all of
our episodes, and they go intopretty detail.
I mean, we don't.
You can't repair a furnace ina podcast where you can see it.
Right.

(25:18):
But we certainly can walk youthrough the steps or how to get it
done properly.
You know, there's a lot to that.
So we've covered some groundin the last year.
And if you're keeping up withthe episodes, then you've covered
some ground too, which is very important.
So you're becoming a smart RVer.
If you're not already a smart RVer.
In fact, you know, we shouldopen up a genius bar.
No, that's taken, isn't it?

(25:39):
Oh, yeah, I guess so, yeah.
Apple people, you know.
Yeah.
Oops.
Oh, well, just gave them a plug.
We take that back.
Continuing that learning process.
Even RV technicians continueto learn.
Now, if you keep your same RVfor many years, that's great.
You know, hopefully you knowit inside and out.

(25:59):
And when you sell it, youknow, it's.
Man, I knew everything aboutthat rv then.
You buy a new rv, you're gonnabe starting all over again.
The systems are similar, butthey're not identical.
Every RV is built a little bit different.
A motorhome has a lot moreelectronics and let's say a travel
trailer or a fifth wheel.
High end fifth wheels arecloser to motorhomes when it comes
to electronics, but not as close.

(26:21):
So there's some differences there.
You upgrade, you go from avery simple trailer to a complex
motorhome.
You're going to have to startthat learning process all over again.
Yeah, but we help you with that.
And being aware of that ishalf the battle sometimes, you know,
Understanding it and just takeoff one little bit of it at a time
so you can understand it.

(26:41):
And that's basically what wedo throughout the year.
Our episodes are, you know,just little chunks here, little chunks
there.
It's like eating that elephant.
You do it one bite at a time.
You don't eat the whole thing.
And so we.
We've developed it that way.
And that's what we're going tocontinue to do now next year, which
I forgot to mention in ourintroduction, we're going to have
some changes.

(27:02):
Yes.
One of them is.
Which.
Might as well just cover itnow, right?
Yeah, we'll get it at the end.
Don't let me forget.
Okay, I won't.
All right, so there we go.
She won't forget, huh?
I didn't see you write it down.
I did not.
Yeah, so I'm on my own on that one.
So I don't want to go onforever about the different aspects

(27:23):
of the rv.
But look at your RV and seewhere we've come into help and where
you might need some more help.
In fact, you know, you cansend us a.
An email.
You can contact us through thecontact us page on our website, the
smartrver.com and we all.
We're putting it in thedescription now phone number and
the contact link.
So we're making it easy as possible.

(27:45):
We don't really like puttingthe phone number out there like that
because of spam bots and all that.
Pick it up.
But we're gonna do it anyways.
We're gonna run the risk ofmore junk phone calls.
But anyways, you can contactus with your questions and we always
have the answers and we don'tgive out answers that are incorrect
that we don't do.
Our information is always good.
It's researched, it's thorough.

(28:07):
Yeah, we just make sure it'sright because we don't wanna make
you the dumb rver.
That's right.
Yeah, there's.
There's no.
Not gonna say that either.
Okay, That's.
Bite my tongue.
All right, so I think that'sgonna bring us to the end of staying
on the road now.
We're gonna go into.
Well, actually, before we goon, go to YouTube.
Spread the word on YouTube.

(28:28):
We want those subscribes.
We've reached.
We're over 2,000 now, so we'regetting closer to that 10,000 mark,
but we don't have much time left.
Yeah, come on, guys.
Yeah, it's in the Decemberpretty much, so yeah, we need 8,000
more clicks.
So come on.
Between everybody out there,you got to have 8,000 friends.
Remember, I gave you somesimple suggestions before.

(28:49):
Sign up your dogs, your cats.
Even though Alexis hates cats.
I like cats, you know, so signup your cats, children, grandchildren,
your neighbors, their kids.
Make up emails.
Come on.
There you go.
Make it up.
Yeah.
Go to Gmail and just start 900Gmail account.
If everybody did that, you got another.

(29:11):
Password once, just one time.
That's it.
All right, now we got carriedaway there.
But, yeah, we are looking forlikes and subscribes to the channel.
It helps the channel helps itbecome found easier, pops up in more
algorithms, people that aresearching for problems.
And it's helpful.
And same with the podcast.
Share it with everybody, you know.

(29:32):
Very helpful podcast.
All right, so now we're goingto move on to the next stop.
We're going to start withAlexis and her top choice.
Well, I shouldn't say top choice.
One of her three top places.
The first one is ColonialWilliamsburg, Virginia, taken from
episode 128.
Yes.
I'm super excited.
So, folks, we're gonna head eastward.

(29:53):
Okay.
We're gonna go to the east coast.
We're going to Virginia.
Colonial Williamsburg is super special.
It's some place I want to gowith my husband.
I think it would be awesomewhether you're an RVer or not.
I just think it's a neat placebecause, for one, they dress up in

(30:13):
period clothing.
They act like they would have.
They even have accents likethey would have back then.
They probably don't showerlike they did back then, so you might
want to keep your distance.
But it's super neat becausethey come out in these amazing colonial
clothing, and, you know, theytour you around the town.
You can see buildings thatwere there when the pioneers first

(30:35):
came over, and it's.
It's just a fun place to be.
They have fudgeries and allthese kinds of things.
The history is just all overthe place.
So it's.
It's very different than yournormal place that you would go and
visit.
It's more theatrical, I would say.
And if you're interested inhistory, in that type of history,
you gotta go there.

(30:55):
It's gotta be on your listbecause it's just incredible.
And there are a ton of RVparks, by the way, around there.
So you're gonna get reallynice scenic RV parks in the area.
So definitely do your research.
Pick where you want to be, and.
And the town will just.
It's amazing.
I mean, you just have to see it.
You have to go buy, you know,whatever colonial stuff that you

(31:18):
want and just.
Just have fun with it.
Maybe it's a bonnet.
Maybe you want a bonnet or youknow those uncomfortable boots that
they wore?
I don't know.
I want to go there.
So my takeaway is it's areally significant center of history
and I think everybody shouldvisit it.
There you go.
Colonial Williamsburg.
Yeah, that's interesting.

(31:39):
Reminds me of an episode ofthe Office Leslie.
Nope.
And that goofball stayed inthe cabin or whatever.
Parks and rec.
Yeah.
See, there's a big differencehere because my Choice would be RVing
in Coyote, Wyoming or Cody, Wyoming.

(32:00):
Excuse me.
Coyote, Wyoming.
Cody, Wyoming.
So there they just shoot thebonnet right off your head.
They will, yeah.
You know, a bonnet.
How'd you pick a bonnet?
That's an interesting choice.
Wear a bonnet.
I don't know, might come in handy.
Oh, no.
Get one for your dog.
Yeah, there you go.
You gotta shoot your dog goingto Wyoming.

(32:23):
Cody, Wyoming, specifically.
These next stops.
There's so many things todescribe in each one that sometimes
hard to describe.
And that's why we have themall on the website, the smarteveryear.com
so you can really go there andtake in more of it.
But even then it's probablynot enough because it goes beyond
even that.

(32:43):
So it's doing that research.
But the whole point is to whetyour appetite about these places.
Like Wyoming in itself is agreat state.
Just that classic old westtype Americana type state where there's
just.
It's changed but not like withthe rest of the country, which is
a good thing.
Yeah, it still has a lot of.

(33:03):
Oh, just old towns, a lot ofthings going on that are very cool.
And of course it's the gatewayto Yellowstone.
So it's.
Yellowstone's right there.
Which if you want to go toYellowstone, spend some time in Wyoming
and you know, then hitYellowstone or afterwards.
But you know, there's.
Wyoming is just one of thosestates that almost anywhere you drive

(33:23):
it's going to be very scenic.
And some are more scenicdrives than others, of course.
But like you have the GrandTetons, that's something to see.
But also besides the scenery,you have the cowboy culture that's
in Wyoming and especially inKaya or Cody.
I don't know why I keepcalling it Coyote Coyotes.
And Cody.

(33:44):
Right?
And Cody they have.
During the summer months theyhave a rodeo every night, which that's
pretty cool.
You know, I mean, if youhaven't been to a rodeo, that's just
an easy way to go to a rodeo.
Oh yeah.
And because it's cowboy culture.
You don't have to wear cowboyboots and a hat.
You can wear just shoes andwhatever shorts.
You know, you can dress uplike a tourist or whatever you want
to do, but you don't have tolook like a cowboy.

(34:06):
You don't have to dress uplike Buffalo Bill.
Now Buffalo Bill, there's acenter there for him too because
that was one of his stomping grounds.
So that's an interesting thing.
So there's many differentthings to do in Wyoming, but specifically
Coyote or Cody Coyote.
Let's just rename it.
I'm calling the governor whenwe're done here.

(34:26):
Rename the state or the city.
Now it's the state.
Oh, boy.
Wyoming is a broad, spaciousstate that's still wide open.
There's a lot of private land there.
So a lot of dirt roads havegates on them.
That makes it an obstacle.
If you're thinking of justexploring that way, that could become
more challenging.
But that in itself is kind ofa good thing.

(34:48):
It's a lot of private land,you know, ranches and stuff like
that.
Go there or look at it on map.
Do your research and see ifit's a place you'd like to go.
It's a family friendly place.
It's an RV friendly place.
Tons of places to eat, rv.
The whole package is there.
And then it could be a greatbase camp for doing other things
or a stopping point along youralong to Yellowstone or coming to

(35:12):
Montana or Idaho or wherever.
So it's a great place to go.
Now we're gonna go back toAlexis and now she's getting a little
more on track here becauseshe's gonna take us to Rio Grande,
Texas.
Yeah.
This is an episode 91, thislittle more western.
I like that.
We're going down south, folks.
No, I don't ruin it.

(35:33):
Everything's on you now.
Yeah.
Okay.
Eric told me not to call itRio Grande, so.
Or Ariana Grande.
Isn't that what.
Rio Grande.
It's Rio Grande, so I willcall it by its proper name.
But yes, this is an amazingplace as well.
Also full of history.
It's got a ton of things foryou to see and buy, so you can go,

(35:55):
you know, if you want to.
They have a big flea market,by the way, which I think is really
cool.
Open during the summer.
I was kind of checking thisout and a lot of local artists will
bring their, their beadworkand their pottery there, so you can,
you can buy that.
And there's also a flea marketI think is like Older stuff too.
So there's a lot of, you know,antiques and gently used things that

(36:17):
you can, you know, lookthrough and buy.
But it's a beautiful place.
It's.
It's got a lot of historical places.
I think there's somegraveyards there that really famous
cowboys died at, or gallowsthat, you know, have a lot of stories
too.
So if.
If what you want to do is tourit, that's a perfect place to go.
You can do a self tour, youknow, do a little research about

(36:40):
what happened there and so youcan hit the spots that you want to
see or hire somebody.
There's a lot of guided toursin places like this, so it's super
easy to get someone to takeyou out there and, and check out
the area.
And I just think it's anincredible place to go.
Texas in itself is really amazing.
It's a unique place, a veryclean place.

(37:01):
So that's kind of neat.
But there's just so muchhistory, there's so much to see.
It's just a.
It's a really interesting place.
So that is one that you shouldhit for sure as an RVer.
And my takeaway is just enjoythe culture while you're there because
it's very different from otherparts of the US So it's unique.
Take advantage of it and go there.

(37:22):
I would agree with that.
Yeah, Texas is pretty cool.
A lot of stuff there.
In fact, all these places arepretty cool.
So now we're gonna hit or goto the heartland of the United States.
Heartland of America.
We're gonna go to Kansas.
This is taking from episode155, Kansas.
Typically, people think it'sjust this boring, flat chunk of land

(37:44):
where they grow corn.
And that's not really the case.
Kansas is a pretty interesting state.
It's in the Midwest.
It's got that old feel to it,that Americana feel, if you will.
Probably countless movies,videos and such where they show like
a car going down the road.
There's the corn stalks or thefields in the background, a sunset,

(38:04):
a rolling hill.
Well, that's parts of Kansas.
That's not all of Kansas, butthat's parts of it.
There's much to do there.
It's a very unique state.
I mean, every state in theUnited States has their own uniqueness.
I mean, no two states arealike, and Kansas just is one of
those states.
There's a lot of old towns there.
There's a lot of history there.
It's not the same kind ofhistory like you're gonna find in

(38:26):
Texas.
Right you know, there were nowars fought there, you know, but
actually the Civil Warprobably spilled over into Kansas,
if I'm not mistaken.
It's not like Texas, wherethere was a lot of battles going
on.
It was an interesting place, alot of history.
A lot of people pass throughthere heading west.
In fact, some of those trailsare still there and preserved where
you can see them.
And then the small towns, which.

(38:47):
That's what I really like arethe small towns.
You know, forget all the big cities.
Forget that.
Go to the small towns.
And sometimes they seem likethe less or least exciting place,
but in reality, they have allthe history.
Yeah.
And like I've been talkingabout lately, as if you can talk
to people in those towns thatknow the history, it'll bring that

(39:07):
town to life.
It'll change your perspectiveon it.
It'll change it on the smalltowns in general.
And so that in itself can makea trip to Kansas worthwhile.
And of course, you know,there's a lot of scenery there to
see, and that's great.
The small towns, there's big towns.
You know, there's, like Isaid, the history, like some of the
trails, the Oregon Trail, thePony Express, spent a lot of time

(39:30):
going back and forth through there.
So there's a lot of thingsthat you can not only see present
in current time, you know, youcan also go back in time and not
to mention, you think aboutall the farmers out there growing
all that food, their lives,what they go through.
You look at these farms arejust vast amounts of whatever they're

(39:51):
growing, corn, wheat, whateverit might be.
That's a life there, a veryinteresting life.
And if you can talk to some ofthose people, that's going to give
you a different perspective onthe next time you eat an ear of corn
or a piece of bread, what theyhave to do to make their living.
And it's back breaking work.
And it goes from family to family.
Although that's changing anymore.

(40:12):
These farms are gettinggobbled up by big companies.
So you want to see why they'restill actually small and nice.
See, it's another slice ofAmericana that, you know, kind of
brings you back to a time whenthings were better.
And that's what he's lookingfor today.
It is.
Not to mention, it's great forchildren because they can learn something
different, set their phonesdown, pay attention to stuff, and

(40:32):
they might complain a littlebit, but, man, it's a something they
won't see every day.
You're not going to see it inmost states, in cities, where most
people live.
So I would say check out Kansas.
Even if you're going someplaceand you're driving through Kansas,
take a little more time thanmaybe you normally would.
Don't make it a rush to getfrom one side of the state to the
next.
You know, stop and enjoy it.

(40:54):
The warm hospitality, thesmall towns.
What a wonderful place to go.
All right, so that's my takeon Kansas.
And my takeaway is just spenda month there and visit the entire
state.
Like, you know, there's somany states like that.
Yeah, definitely.
You know, back in the olddays, the very wealthy, they would
just take years off to go someplace.
1800s, if they wanted to go tothe US that wasn't like a weekend

(41:17):
trip, get on a steamer, headacross the Atlantic, they'd be gone
for a year or two.
We can't do that as easilytoday, but we can do it over time.
All right, so now that's goingto take us to the final portion of
this.
And next stop, to White sansNew Mexico with Alexis taken from
episode 119.

(41:38):
Yes.
Going down into the warmerclimate again, we're going down back
into the south a little more.
This one is very interestingto me because of how unique the area
is and how much you can do,and you might even learn a new sport.
So this is super fun.
It's just covered in whitesands, obviously.

(41:59):
So there's.
The dunes are amazing, though.
There's miles and miles andmiles of it.
There's actually a trail thatyou can take either on four wheelers
or you can do it in your own car.
You can just drive them.
And it's just like another planet.
It is like nowhere else.
And you're used to seeingdesert, but, you know, if you're
used to seeing desert, you'reused to seeing brown sand, probably,

(42:23):
but this is white.
It looks like salt, you know, everywhere.
I'm sure I haven't been there.
I will.
It does.
Okay.
See, he knows he's been there.
This place is incredible.
And.
And what they do out there isthey sled on it, but it's nothing
like snow.
So if you're from the colderside of the US it's not like snow.

(42:43):
It's not slippery like that.
So there's a learning curve to it.
But I think it sounds reallyfun and I've kind of seen people
do it, you know, and the.
The fail videos when they fallis pretty fun.
So wait, do they go to the topof a sand dune and just sled down?
Yes.
Okay.
Yeah, that's Pretty awesome.
And it's like a very wellknown thing that they do out there.
It's gotta be something you do.

(43:03):
You gotta pick up a sled anddo it.
I think it's just so much fun.
But besides that, if you don'twant to do that, I think you should
at least try it once if you're there.
But there's a lot of hikingout there and most of that land is
just you can go basicallywherever your heart takes you.
There's not really designatedtrails here, even though it's a national
park.
It's just the way the placeworks that you can just hike around

(43:26):
there.
So my takeaway is be sure youbuy a sled before you go there, because
you have to do it.
It's incredible.
And just enjoy the.
The weird, unearth like place.
It is different, that's for sure.
Very different.
All right, so I said the lastone, but that was Alexis's last pick.
My last.
So I have mine yet to go here.

(43:48):
The last one.
And that's exploring the mostfamous RV parks in the usa.
Wow.
So still Colonial Williamsburgis bottom of the list, I tell you.
Sorry.
But anyway, so the RV park,they're kind of spread out all over
the US I got a list here.
I'm just going to kind of gothrough the list.
So we'll start with Arizona.

(44:08):
There's a trailer village RVpark, and that's at the Grand Canyon.
Being at the Grand Canyon isreally the thing.
Yeah, RV park's cool, but theGrand Canyon makes it that much better.
The Grand Canyon is quite theplace and you can spend a lot of
time there.
You got the north side, thesouth side, completely different.
You can go on the donkeyrides, you can hike, you can just

(44:29):
explore.
And everything around there isreally interesting too.
So even if you spent time justexploring beyond the Grand Canyon,
you're going to find all sortsof very interesting things.
And then Yellowstone, actuallyWest Yellowstone in Montana, there's
the Yellowstone Grizzly RVpark, which there they serve up grizzly
bear every night.
No, I'm just kidding.

(44:50):
They serve up humans every night.
The grizzly bears serve uphuman every night.
That's true, they do.
So it's another RV park inthis West Yellowstone.
West Yellowstone's this coollittle town.
You got to go there.
It's right next to Yellowstone.
And that in itself makes againworth going there.
That's where these places arejust in these strategic spots where
you can go to the nearbyattraction or you can go do other

(45:11):
things around it.
You're not Obligated to one thing.
Now Myrtle Beach, Florida.
Florida is another one on the list.
Now.
I've never been to Myrtle Beach.
I've been to Florida and so Ireally can't speak to this.
Florida is a cool state.
It's interesting.
You kind of have to see it tounderstand it.
It's hard to explain.
It's got that kind of beachyfeel to it, but yet it doesn't.

(45:34):
I don't know how to explainthat other than that.
So that's my explanation.
I guess so.
I would go to Myrtle Beach,Florida to go to the RV park.
But there's also.
We talked about that.
I remember that in that areait's kind of expensive as I recall,
just dining.
Sorry.
So there's other places thatare less expensive, I think.
Yeah.
And that was one of the things.

(45:54):
Florida had some kind of highend areas and more affordable areas.
If I was going to go toFlorida, I'd definitely go there.
I'd want to go to Myrtle beachjust because of the reputation it
has.
You know, everybody goes toMyrtle Beach.
It's one of those places.
It's one of those hot spots.
Yeah.
And then of course there's inUtah, the Zion River Resort.
Now Zion is a pretty cool area.
You have the Zion park, youhave Zion itself.

(46:16):
It's a neat place.
Utah has all sorts of theselittle gyms there and Zion happens
to be one of them.
I've been through the park,but I've never really explored it.
Went from one side to the other.
We were going somewhere andwent through.
That's all I can speak toactually being there now.
My wife and I went campingnear there one time, but we never

(46:37):
went into Zion.
But we hit all these parksaround it.
Very cool.
Like Kodachrome Basin.
I can't think of all theothers, but definitely worth the
trip.
And again, it's one of theseplaces where you can do all these
other exploratory trips aroundthe main attraction.
Now San Francisco's on my list.
I'm not even going to talkabout it.

(46:57):
It's in California.
I'm done with San Francisco,California, the whole thing.
Sorry, California.
Yeah.
Alexis knows how I feel.
In fact, I'll let you know howI feel.
But.
So now we'll go back to Utah.
We'll go to Moab this time.
Now Moab is.
Everybody knows about Moab, Ithink bicycling, off roading, rock
crawling and jeeps and stuff.
It's one of those very scenicmoon landing looking places.

(47:20):
You know the Orange Rock andYellow rock and all that and rounded
and everything.
So, Moab, even if you're notreally into that type of outdoor
stuff, it'd probably be worththe trip to go there for a day just
to see it.
Say you've been there, buy alittle sticker, a magnet or something.
Yeah.
And you never know, you mightbe surprised.

(47:40):
There might be some thingsaround there that you would like.
But there's an RV resort there.
So sometimes you talk to otherpeople in the RV resort and you might
find a whole different worldof things to do there.
And you might discover a new hobby.
You know, you might go homeand spend a hundred thousand dollars
on a Jeep so you can go crawlthem rocks.
You know, expensive hobby, butyou can do it.
So Moab is one of those placesas well, the RV resort there.

(48:03):
Then there's Borrego Springsin California.
Now this is down lower in thedesert, so I'm okay with it.
Now Brago Springs is.
I don't know, I think mostpeople think Brago Springs is kind
of a ghetto type area, butit's not.
It's actually pretty cool.

(48:23):
It's not too far from PalmSprings and Indio and those places.
So they do have golf coursesand stuff there, RV resorts.
So I would say if you're inthe area, it'd be worth checking
out.
I personally wouldn't make atrip to go there just to see it.
In fact, I lived in Californiaand never did, only because of everything
I heard about it, you know,But I don't think it's really that
way.

(48:45):
And the next one I'm going toskip because I can't even pronounce
it.
That works.
Ashwagandhi.
I don't know what it is.
And then Garden of the Gods in Colorado.
So that's in Colorado Springs.
That's another RV resort.
Colorado's changing rapidly.
Get in there while you still can.
See it.
While it's good.
There's a lot of things in Colorado.

(49:05):
Again, you go to the RV resortand that can be your base camp for
doing a lot of great exploringin Colorado.
And you know that ColoradoSprings is pretty cool.
Been there, done that.
That whole area in there is nice.
So I would definitely spendsome time there and enjoy it.
So that brings us to the endof the next stop as far as the places

(49:26):
we've gone.
Now we're going to talk aboutsome places to eat, because every
show we always talk abouteating and we're hungry afterwards
and all of that.
So we're going to start withAlexis's first pick on her place
to eat.
So it's Brad's Bakery in New York.
I'm super excited about this one.
I was brushing up on it, and Irealized there are a lot more locations

(49:50):
than I thought.
So it's not just Manhattanwhere the original one is, I believe.
So if you're a New Yorker andI'm wrong, please let me know.
This is an amazing place.
It's family owned.
There are just incredible pastries.
So the patisserie, or theycall it, you know, the Brits.
So it looks beautiful out onthe shelf.

(50:12):
You just go in and it's warmin there, and they've got all your
favorites, stuff you probablyshouldn't be eating.
But that's the best part abouttraveling anywhere is eating what
you shouldn't eat and being apart of the culture and just enjoying
yourself.
So this is a bakery that youcan do that at.
And there, like I said, thereare a ton of locations around New
York, so you're not just tieddown to one.

(50:33):
If you're staying in a certainpart of the city, it's huge.
Just look it up.
I'm sure you'll find onethat's more, you know, centrally
located to you.
That is definitely high on the list.
I think that's from episode 162.
So be sure to check out thatentire episode or entire episode.
Segment.
Segment.

(50:54):
But go back there.
Yeah.
Bread.
Bread's Bakery.
Man, that is one to see.
So that's my takeaway is.
Is go there, eat a croissant.
There you go.
And all these places to eatare in each episode.
So that would be an Episode162on the website.
Right.
All right, Now, Alexismentioned about places where you
shouldn't eat while you're traveling.
All that bad food.
Wait until she gets to herthird check.

(51:15):
Man, you're gonna get sickjust thinking about it.
Oh, man.
All right, so my first pick isin Tucson, Arizona.
And this actually is anepisode we developed, but we never
did it for some reason.
We call it, like the lost episode.
So, you know, for thosemystery hunters out there, there's
a lost episode that we have somewhere.

(51:37):
Find it.
My place to eat was El Guero Canelo.
I'm probably saying thatwrong, but it means the blonde guy.
And the owner of the place isa Mexican guy, but he has blonde
hair, so it fit.
Now, forget about him.
The food is unbelievable.
It's that real authentic fromMexico, Mexican food.

(51:57):
It's not like one of thosechains, like, I can't even think
of any names.
Right now, I can.
California or state where theygot the chain restaurant, like the
Red Onion or something, whereit's just that Americanized stuff.
Yeah.
I remember a Mexican personone time ate at one of those places,
like El Paso Cantina, I think,or one of them places, and she's

(52:19):
like, what kind of food is this?
She's like, this is horrible.
Hilarious.
So this is the real deal.
And probably the thing I likedon their menu the most was their
hot dogs, because they'reMexican hot dogs.
They take a roll and carve itout, and they put the dog in there.

(52:40):
Then you just pack it full of everything.
You can get it with some stuffon it already.
Then you can put all thefixings on it.
You know, the sliced jalapeno,carro, sliced jalapenos, the cabbage,
all that good stuff.
The spicy things, veryfilling, unbelievably good.
So if you're in Tucson, gothere to El Gueto Canelo.

(53:02):
That's the place to go if youwant real authentic, real authentic
Mexican food.
All right, so now I'm gettinghungry, so we're gonna have to speed
this up.
Alexis now, next one is she'sgoing to take us to Farm and Fire
in Banff, Canada.
Ah, this is a cool one.
We're going all the way upinto Canada, our Canadian brethren.
But Farm and Fire is veryinteresting because it's farm to

(53:25):
table, so they take a lot ofpride in doing things locally and
taking meat and their grainand their fruits and veggies, and
it's all local, and they justmake amazing dishes.
If you check out their menu,it's just incredible sounding.
I wouldn't mind having a mealfrom them.
So if you're listening,anybody from Canada, let them know

(53:48):
that's place they kill.
The cow right there.
Right?
It is.
You can hear a mooing in the back.
You'll pick your cow and.
Yeah, exactly.
Right on.
Like Red Lobster, but for cows.
No, it's great.
And people, you know, it'sconcerning what we put in our body.
So this is a place where youdon't have to worry about that.
It's very good.
And.
And the ambiance, too, isreally neat here.

(54:11):
Banff is kind of, you know,that ski town a little fancier, and
this is definitely fitting in that.
But it's also.
It's also a place that youcan, you know, spend time with your
friends and family.
It's a very warm environment.
I think there's a.
A fireplace right in themiddle of the restaurant.
So very inviting camp Isusually cold a lot, you know, a long

(54:32):
time in the year.
I don't know what I'm saying.
Long winners, long winter.
But it's a place where you cancozy in and have a nice meal and
just enjoy the environmentaround you.
So if you're in Canada, ifyou're in Banff, that is the place
to look up.
That's my takeaway.
Right.
You know, that could be yourone, like super high end meal if

(54:53):
you wanted to.
Yeah.
I'm sure it's not cheap, youknow, but it's not gonna be like
your last one here.
But I decided to share it inTexas because of the barbecue and
the brisket.
Yeah.
Well, these things tell somuch about every us, right?
So many things.
It's true.
Barbecue is just awesome whenit's good.

(55:14):
Yeah.
You know, when you get badbarbecue, man, it's just like, it's
horrible.
You don't even want to finish it.
It's like, what's the point?
You know, and they give yousome sloth.
It's just like, you know, isit from KFC or something?
You know, and.
But you know, Texas orSheridan, Texas is known for their
barbecue.
And those are the places to gothat are known for barbecue.

(55:38):
You know, there's a lot ofplaces that have barbecue.
Like I said, it's just not thesame though.
But when they're known for it,man, everybody's competing.
You got all these littlerestaurants and shops that are all
competing to get the customersand make their barbecue unique.
The sauces they put on it, theway they cook it.
We cook our this way, we cookours that way.
And you know, all of a suddenyou're just, how do you know what

(55:59):
to choose?
You know, you're kind of goingfrom one to the next and.
But the hunger you get, themore desperate you get.
But, you know, that kind offood can be so good and it's that
bad food, but generally it'sfresher bad food.
That's true.
It's the better quality bad food.
And the pork and all thatprobably isn't that bad in itself,

(56:19):
but it's everything else thatgoes with it, you know, especially
when you got that really goodslaw and when these guys are bragging
about it and they're proudabout what they're making, those
are the good restaurants.
You know it, they're into it.
Then you get brisket there, ifyou like brisket.
So it's one of those townsthat's just all encompassing that
type of food.
And that's not the Only one inthe United States.

(56:40):
But different areas havedifferent types of barbecue as well.
So you have to consider thatTexas might not be your flavor for
barbecue, but it certainlywould be for me.
And I've been to Texas.
I've been to some placesthere, but I don't recall ever having
barbecue.
Oh, man.
I've never been to Sheridan either.
So maybe I gotta put that onmy list and get there so that all

(57:01):
that information is in episode 152.
And again, these things aregonna be listed on our website, so
you can check them out.
This is really what I've beenwaiting for.
Especially Alexis is talkingabout all this good food, and it's
good for you and everything.
This one just blows it rightout of the water.
So Alexis, she's gonna take usto Texas.
Now, what's interesting is RioGrande, Texas.

(57:21):
And there's probably not.
Not a shred of barbecue on theplace she's talking about.
There's probably not even avitamin of any kind in this place
she's talking about.
So, Alexis.
What?
Tell us about Mr.
Corny.
Okay.
And the name even.
Come on.
So Mr.
Corny.
Oh, how do you describe this place?
It actually became Tick Tock Famous.

(57:42):
Because it is.
So that right there says it all.
Yeah.
It is just where you would goto find the grit of the grit of junk
food.
So one thing they do.
Mexican junk.
Yes, Mexican junk food.
So it is just covered in, youknow, cheese.
Get your bag of Takis here.

(58:02):
This is one of their dishes.
Okay.
They actually take these.
Okay.
You can't see this if you're listening.
She's holding up a bag of Takis.
They're like, equivalent to Fritos.
I.
Or.
No, you're all crunchy.
Flaming hot.
Cheetos.
Yeah.
Okay.
So fuego.
That means hot, I'm sure.
Right.
Anyway, but I think.

(58:23):
Okay, look at the color schemeof this.
So if you look it up online,this is what Mr.
Corny looks like.
It's purple like this with the yellow.
Okay.
You can't miss this place, bythe way.
It is so.
It's just insane.
Their sign.
And then their whole buildingis this bright, electric purple.
You go in and, I mean, you gotyour sugar, you've got your carbohydrates,

(58:46):
you've got your saturated fats.
Anything they do there is just extra.
So they've got the Takis andthe Cheetos, and they just dump cheese
on it and more cheese on topof that.
It is just insane.
And the hot sauce.
Yeah, the hot sauce.
Okay.
You've got that.
The ice cream with the sugarcoated on top of it, the blue dye

(59:07):
that you're gonna.
Your mouth is gonna turn blue do.
It's just junk food capital.
All right.
So if you're an RVer, though.
Yeah.
And you go there, you'reprobably not going to eat anything.
And if you have kids, though,they're gonna love it.
I want to suggest something,and this.
Is that bad thing.
You'll let your kids just go wild.
Here, get yourself some ofthese, some white.
You're gonna need these if youeat anything.

(59:30):
They're butt wipes for thosewho are just listening.
Okay.
Very vital.
Gonna be coming out of you.
That's my takeaway.
It's an interesting choice.
So along border towns.
Which Rio Grande's a border town.
It's catering to the Mexican kids.

(59:50):
Okay.
And not in a negative way.
It's just they're selling allthe junk.
And this kind of stuff inMexico just is popular.
The place looks like it cameout of like Tijuana or something.
Totally Mexico.
So I would definitely go there.
Just, if not anything else, tosee it, to see this in real life
and how much.
Oh, man, your fingers are justcovered with everything.

(01:00:12):
You just wipe it wherever.
It don't even matter.
You can get Takis in the States.
You can just try them out.
You don't have to put anythingon them.
They are smoking hot, man.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think they're hotter thanthose Flamin Hot Cheetos.
I think so.
And these things are bad for you.
Real bad.
So they must be good, right?
So now we're gonna go tosomeplace a bit different, a little

(01:00:36):
farther from the border toArco, Idaho.
I picked this place.
We did an episode aboutCraters of the Moon.
And that was kind of the.
The thing because that.
That's a place by itself.
So you can go like to Twin Falls.
You can go to Arco.
It's kind of out there, but inArco, Idaho.
Arco is kind of a cool little town.
It's one of them older towns.

(01:00:56):
Been there a long time.
But there's a place calledPickles Place.
Now, there's really nothingspectacular about it other than the
cool little stickers they sellthat have a pickle with hands and.
Or arms and feet and stuff.
So that's some fun.
But they sell their own littlespices, little jars of them.
And that's.
That's cool.
But the place is just unique looking.
You know, obviously there's a guy.

(01:01:17):
A pickle guy out front.
It's green and, you know it'sjust got that total feel to it, like
you're in a jar of pickles.
For better or worse.
I guess that's better thanbeing in a jar of beets, right?
Like a blood vessel.
Yeah.
But the food there is good.
You know, they havehamburgers, hot dogs, all the normal
fare.
And it's not like to die forfood, but it's just good food.

(01:01:40):
You know what you're going to get.
The prices are fair.
So it's just one of those goodplaces to eat that is not the attraction
there.
It's just one of the thingsthere that kind of makes Arco, Idaho
a cool place.
So if you go to Arco, you gotto go to Pickles Place.
Or if you're passing throughthere, if you're going to Craters
of the Moon or Twin Falls, Idaho.
Is it Twin Falls?
It's inland.
I think so.

(01:02:01):
Yeah.
So but I would go there.
Buy yourself a sticker.
Actually get a couple of them.
Two or three.
You're going to want more than one.
Buy some of their spices.
It's good on a lot ofdifferent things.
You know, try it out.
Try it on Tater tots.
Really good on those.
Oh, man.
Yum.
That some ketchup.
Oh, boy, I'm so hungry.
I know.

(01:02:22):
It's like we just go to Mexicoall the time.
Just get near the border andyou start smelling all the food.
That that's the end of ournext stop and the place to go and
the places to eat.
So go to our website and likeI said in the description of this
podcast, we're going to haveall these episodes listed and what
we talked about as well.
Not the details, just theheading there.

(01:02:43):
So, you know, Mr.
Corny and you got to look thatup on the.
We'll put a picture in therejust for the fun of it.
You'll get a kick out of it.
All right, so now we're comingup to RV Envy.
And so there are three areasthat thought were very interesting
that we talked about throughthe year were RV Defender being one
and the FloMax toilet valve.

(01:03:03):
Toilets.
Big deal, right?
Well, this thing saves yousome money and headaches and hassles
and then the safe view 30 and50amp power inlets.
So let's go back to the RV Defender.
So the RV Defender is a tireblowout system for travel trailers
and fifth wheels.
It's not going to work onevery trailer.
It has to.
You know, there's a lot ofmeasurements you have to get.

(01:03:25):
It sounds kind of daunting,but it's not too hard to do.
It's just when it.
When you install it.
This is not one of thosethings you want to install to find
out you can't install it,because I did that, and it's a hassle.
You got your axles out,everything out.
And I was swapping axles, soit was already all apart.
The problem I ran into, myaxles were an inch too wide.
Then this could accommodate.

(01:03:45):
So it posed an issue.
Other than that, though, thisthing is pretty darn nice.
And I almost want to get theright axles to make it work, but
I'm not going to do that.
What it is, it's like a fenderthat wraps around your tire, the
upper half of the tire, so ifyou get a blowout, it doesn't destroy
the underneath of your trailerbecause, you know, the blowout in
itself.

(01:04:05):
A tire blowing out, what, 200bucks, 300 bucks.
Not the end of the world.
You got to throw on yourspare, go find another tire, and
we can deal with that.
But when it tears out yourholding tank, your fender skirts
on the side, does some damageto the body, the tire rips up through
the floor, and, you know,destroys your refrigerator, your
furnace or something.

(01:04:25):
That's where the problem is.
You know, a $200 tire cancause two or three or $4,000 worth
of damage pretty easy.
So these things eliminate that.
Definitely worth looking into.
Maybe it's not your cup of tea.
Maybe you don't want to spendthe money on it.
You're not going to worryabout it.
But it's definitely one ofthese items you have to check out.
So there's gonna be a link tothat in our description of this podcast.

(01:04:46):
And I'm definitely a fan ofthat product.
I wish I could have them on mytrailer, man, I really do, but I
can't.
That's life.
And so next is the Flomaxtoilet valve.
Now, the Flomax toilet valveis for the Lippert flowmax toilet.
And the reason why this thing,I think is so cool is because the
it replaces the water valve onthe Dometic 310 toilet.

(01:05:10):
They're identical.
In fact, the toilets lookalmost identical.
Little variation in the past,Lippert has had Dometic make awnings
for them.
So maybe they made this toilet form.
I don't know.
This part is 25 bucks versus$80 or more from Dometic for their
3 10.
You're saving $75 minimum bybuying the Flow Max valve.

(01:05:31):
So if you have a dometic 310toilet and your Water goes.
Water valve fails on you.
Which it will.
They do.
I mean, how many of those wesell a year?
I'll access quite a few tonsof them at 80 bucks are whack.
And most stores are like a hundred.
Yeah, you know, actually we'reunder 80, you know, like 75.
Yeah.
So this thing's going to saveyou some money.

(01:05:52):
It's the exact same valve.
So if Dometic 3, I should.
I said 310.
But any 300 series toilet fromDometic uses the same water valve.
If you go to an RV store andyou see the Flomax water valve for
a Lippert toilet, buy that.
If you have a 300 seriesdometic toilet and you need to replace
the water valve, save some money.
And that came from our episode 158.

(01:06:13):
The next one is the safe view30 and 50amp power inlets for RVs.
So this is where you plug in the.
Your power cord to the side ofthe rv.
Power cord has a twist.
So you twist lock it in there.
And what I like about them isthey tell you if you have a bad ground
or no ground, if you have abad neutral or no neutral if there's

(01:06:34):
no power whatsoever byplugging in your cord.
Those leads in the cord, ifthey're not working in the RV park,
which your cord probably won'tbe the issue.
It's the park where you pluginto and it tells you so.
It has a G for ground, an Lfor load, and an N for neutral.
So if one of those is red, youhave a problem.
If they're all green, you'regood to go.

(01:06:56):
So that's pretty cool.
Then it also has around theside of it an LED light that's just
white.
It's just there at night soyou can find your cord.
It doesn't light up.
It's not like a porch lightwhere all your neighbors are being
all wound up.
What is this guy's problem, man?
It's not that kind of light.
But the red light, if it'sflashing at you, it's gonna drive

(01:07:18):
you crazy because you're gonnawant to fix that problem.
In fact, on my trailer, Iplugged it in yesterday and the cord
I had didn't have the neutralon it.
Someone pulled it off.
Someone.
Someone, probably me.
And that the light was flashing.
I really didn't care becausebefore I put this on, I didn't.
There was no light.
But now I saw the light and Ican't walk away from this.

(01:07:41):
So I got another power cordand I actually had to another outlet
because, you know, one of myoutlets got a little bit of a problem
too.
Yeah, my, my shop's a littleunique, but anyway, so it's like
I had to have all green lights.
And so if you're at a park andyou got a red light, you know, you
definitely want to look intoit because generally LED the red
lights, you'll be able to useyour rv, but it's a safety issue.

(01:08:01):
You might lose your neutral.
You might not have the rightground so you could get electrocuted.
Things can happen and, youknow, you don't want to think that
it won't happen to you becauseit can.
Odd things happen with power.
Even the park where you plugin or the box you plug into have
issues.
You touch it and you get zapped.
You don't want to think itcan't happen.
I remember along these linessomething a little bit different.

(01:08:23):
But in an RV or a mobile homepark in Arizona, installing the sunshade
or window covers on this houseand I leaned against this patio cover
from the neighbor's house andI got shocked.
That's the weirdest thing.
Touch it and I finally put avolt meter on.
It had 120 volts going through it.
So odd things happen with power.
So you want to make sure yourRV is wired right or the park you're

(01:08:44):
plugging into.
So the safe views, and thoseare made by Hughes Autoformers.
Couldn't think of the name there.
So they make great productsand they're definitely a power driven
company.
So they understand the ins andouts of electrical.
Bringing us to the end of theshow today.
Yeah.
So one last reminder thing wetalked about is going to be in the
description.
Check us out on YouTube likeand subscribe.

(01:09:05):
Subscribe.
Subscribe, subscribe.
Share our podcast witheverybody you know, great information.
So we want everybody to knowabout it and learn more about what
we're doing here and how we'rehelping the RVers become smart RVers.
And before I forget, sinceAlexis didn't remind me, I was going
to come on next year in 2025,we're going to be introducing another

(01:09:27):
portion or another segment in,in the next stop.
It's called Shadows of the past.
The towns that once were.
Yeah.
And so we're going to beexploring the normal next stop towns,
but they're going to beneighbors to a town, a very small
town, a town that's a shadowof the past.
Basically.
The town may be alive today,but it's not like a thropping or

(01:09:52):
a Thriving metropolis.
It's just a very small town.
So we've been working on that.
And it's very cool becauseit's bringing back a slice of life
that people miss now.
You know, everybody's kind ofcraving these places.
They're becoming more popular.
There's small towns now wherea house, you know, prior to the pandemic

(01:10:14):
was $20,000.
Now they're 250, 300,000.
So it's amazing how people areflocking to these places and it's
not crazy.
Go on the Internet and look, man.
You'll see it.
Yeah, you will.
But.
So we're going to these placesand we're going to start sharing
them and doing a lot moreresearch on them.

(01:10:34):
The show's not going to be asin depth as our website will.
Sure.
So we're definitely going todo some coverage on these.
So we're going to hit two places.
The normal next stop and then.
Which will be a neighboringtown to a shadow of the past, the
town that once was.
Yes.
Then there's going to be someother subtle changes that we're just
going to work in, but that'sone of the major changes.
So you're aware of that.
You have a little more to lookforward to.

(01:10:55):
That brings us to the end ofthe show today.
And I want to thank everybodyfor listening, everybody for watching
Alexis, for bringing her buttwipes, as she said.
You're welcome.
And a bag of talkies, man, youknow, we should have, like a giveaway.
Yeah.
Or maybe we should save theseand put them in the archive for some
time.

(01:11:16):
There you go.
Yeah, I got a signed packageof butt wipes from the Smart rv.
Well, that just pretty muchsums up the quality of the show.
Anyways, so, hey, I want tothank Alexis for her effort today
and bringing in her gifts thatwe're gonna put in the archives for
a while.
Then one day we'll sell themoff at auction for millions.

(01:11:38):
And I want to thank everybodyelse for watching and listening.
So this is Eric Stark with theSmart RVer podcast.
It's been great hanging outwith everybody today.
I don't see on the road.
Let's connect@the smartrver.com.