Wi-Fi Access: Campgrounds and RV Parks

by Jamie Rhein on

Justin posed the question about the best way to have internet access while camping. If you’re staying at RV parks or a campground in the U.S., you may not have much of a problem. More and more of them are adding Wi-Fi to their ammenities. At 350 KOA campgrounds, for example, you can get on-line if you have the equipment to do it.

Here’s a link to Wi-Fi Free Spot that lists campgrounds and RV parks that have internet. The Web site cautions that the campgrounds and internet may be seasonal. The phone numbers are provided so you can call ahead.

One of my technical problems at a campsite was more pressing than how to get internet access. When my friend who I traveled cross-country with after the Peace Corps and I were staying at a campground where we were the only people in a tent and everyone else had an RV, we discovered we didn’t have a can opener. We did have a can of beans and were pretty hungry. It’s a good thing RVers have can openers. The retired couple who lent us theirs was happy to oblige and even let us heat our beans up on their stove.

A Dude Ranch in Ohio

by Jamie Rhein on

Although the old west conjures up cowboy images like Martha mentioned in her post on where to find cowboys in Canada, Ohio has a ranch that looks like it could be where cowboys and buffalo roam. Although Smoke Rise Ranch is in the Hocking Hills, one of my favorite areas in the state, there are cowboys who sport chaps and rope cattle, bonafied rodeos on certain weekends, and various activities that generally happen west of the Mississippi River.

I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon at Smoke Rise Ranch Resort with Mark Semingson and his father Walt, the Semingson patriarch. In his 80s, Walt will still climb up on a horse to show off his horsemanship and afterwards talk about the path that brought him to Ohio from North Dakota where he was born. He grew up on a ranch there and eventually transplanted his ranching know how and his family to Ohio. Part of the story has to do with a land deal in Arizona not working out as expected. Knowing horses saved the Semingson’s from losing their shirts and this pristine spot in Ohio held possibilities for a ranching hotspot. This wonderful photo of Walt was taken by Fojo1 and posted on Flickr.

Today Walt’s sons mostly run Smoke Rise. The business is a mix of a working cattle ranch, a place to horseback ride and a vacation destination. Lodging ranges from campsites to cabins. You can come for just a couple hours or several days.

Although, Justin mentioned in one of his posts the cities best for singles, you might want to head to Smoke Rise from July 20 to 22 for the Singles Weekend. There are other events throughout the year. One, “Six Days in the Saddle” would be great for families. It’s a chance to experience cowboy life first hand.

For my own version of cowboy life, Mark took my daughter and me for a horseback ride and pointed out the ranch’s details along the way. His version of a horseback ride is much better than the “nose to butt” rides common with other horseback riding establishments that I’ve been to. We wandered along trails and took in parts of Ohio, even though I felt like I had been transported to some point out West.

Tools for Removing Ticks

by Justin Glow on

Anytime I go camping, I inevitably find myself traipsing through dense woods in a search for firewood. Camping season is, unfortunately, also tick season, and it’s rare to get back to the tent and not find a few of those nasty buggers latched onto my skin. Typically I spend some time hunting about my body, picking them off with varied success. They’re pretty tough to get off!

Kevin Kelly’s got a few good recommendations when it comes to tick removal: the Tick Twister and the Trix Tick Remover. The Tick Twister works by getting between your skin (or your dog’s) and the tick, and twisting it out of its death grip, while the Trix Tick uses a lasso to wrangle the tick off of your skin (seriously).

Check out KK’s reviews:

Castaway New York Style: Stranded on a Deserted Island in Jamaica Bay

by Neil Woodburn on

Purposely stranding one’s self on a deserted island and living off the land until help arrives is a deep-rooted fantasy for most males. Fueled in my youth by the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, the Swiss Family Robinson, and the characters in Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, I too count myself as a wannabe castaway.

Grant Stoddard does as well. The only difference is that he went and acted on this fantasy. The only problem is that he did not do so on some tropical island full of fruit, fresh springs, and warm weather. No, Stoddard had to make things difficult and desert himself on a sorry little excuse of an island in the middle of New York’s Jamaica Bay.

Inspired by his favorite TV show, Man Vs. Wild, this urban adventurer was recently rowed out to Ruffle Bar, “a 143-acre sandbar in Jamaica Bay,” supplied only with fresh water, a Leatherman, knife, tarp, matches, and Bradford Angier’s How to Stay Alive in the Woods.

Stoddard should have read the book more closely because he nearly made a mockery of the title itself. Not only did he fail to even light a fire to cook the mussels he pried off of some rocks, but he also came down with trench foot–a horrendous condition which could lead to amputation if left untreated.

In this classic Man vs. Nature conflict (as humorously chronicled in this month’s New York Magazine) nature basically kicked Stoddard’s ass due in large part to a storm which blew in shortly after he landed on the island and drenched him to the point of near hypothermia. Falling into the ocean while hunting mussels didn’t help matters either.

Things did not go well for Stoddard and the irony of dying from the elements such a short distance from the world’s most cosmopolitan city weighed heavy on his mind. And so, he threw in the towel early and text his buddy to row out and pick him up–hardly an option available to our old friend Robinson Crusoe.

(Read)

Dear Gadling Readers: Best Solution for Internet on the Road?

by Justin Glow on

Dear Gadling Readers,

I am going on a two-week road trip across the U.S. this summer, and I’d like to find a way to keep myself connected to the Internet. I have a Dell Inspiron 640m (e1405) and a Samsung SPH-A840 with Sprint service, so getting a data plan on my phone — along with the proper dongle to connect to my laptop — is an option. But…BUT! Is there anything better? Is there some new fangled technology I should be trying out — something that doesn’t rely on Sprint’s coverage area? The idea of satellites aligning to feed me data sounds romantic.

I’ll be camping almost every night in areas where Sprint won’t have coverage, and I can think of nothing more beautiful than sitting in the remote countryside, checking my email and downloading torrents of the TV shows I’ll be missing.

So, Gadling readers. Help me out. What options do I have?

Love,
Justin

P.S. As much as I’d like to unplug for the duration of the trip, I cannot. Reliable Internet access is a must!