By Bob Difley

I blinked and a year had zipped by since last year's Life On Wheels RV Conference at the University of Idaho, that wonderful gathering of RVers of widely diversified talents, experiences, and knowledge who gather each year to learn and share the RV Lifestyle. Now we had again shaken the road-worn reins of the trusty old steed and pointed her north toward Moscow.

I hated to leave our campsite under the trees on the banks of the Lostine River, near the northeastern Oregon towns of Enterprise and Joseph and the Wallowa Mountains. Though the road traffic between here and Moscow could be counted on one hand, if it wasn't for Oregon's Route 3 and Idaho's Route 129, you couldn't get there. Well, you could, but it would require backtracking westward almost to Pendleton, up through Walla Walla, then hanging a right over to Lewiston--a considerable distance.

Out of Enterprise route 3 is wonderfully deserted. It skirts by a bison ranch with a resident herd of bulls, cows, and calves, then passes through a corner of the Wallowa Whitman National Forest (if you follow one of the off-shoot dirt roads you can find dispersed campsites scattered about the pine forest). The open grassy areas and south-facing hillsides bloom with wildflowers as the road hugs a ridge high above the Joseph River, appearing as a small silver streak in the canyon far below. Then the road dives down off the mountain on a dizzying serpentine asphalt ribbon, crossing the Washington State line, and bottoming out at the Grand Ronde River.

Take a break at Broggan's Café that claims to have the "best milkshakes in town," home made pies, and home cooking. You'll need the energy, as now you have to reverse the procedure and snake up the mountain on the other side. This is no place to be in a hurry. Fields Spring State Park, near the top of the incline, is a cool, high elevation little known campground noted for its bird life and wildflowers. We spotted wild rose, wild geranium, lupine, paintbrush, penstemon, columbine, the rare lady mountain slipper, calypso orchids, and cat's ear--a delicate white flower with three petals and purple brush-stroke centers.

A climb up the sometimes rocky, one-mile hike to 4,500-foot Puffer Butte rewards you with a panoramic view of three states, the Snake River Canyon, and the Wallowa Mountains.

Thirty miles later the road descends into Clarkston across the Snake River from Lewiston and after climbing up the long Lewiston hill on US95, in less than half an hour we were in Moscow.

Life On Wheels days are filled with classes held on the beautiful University of Idaho campus, squeezing into already full heads the latest information on the proper charging of batteries, sizing of solar systems, the latest computer and wireless gizmos and gadgets that you can't live without, and lists of maintenance tips. Seminars and slide shows on driving the Alaska highway, snowbird nesting areas across the southern states, and RV experiences in areas as spread apart and diverse as Nova Scotia and the Baja Peninsula titillate the imagination.

It always surprises and pleases me that a large portion of the attendees do not yet own an RV and are attending the conference as a means of obtaining the information needed to make a wise buying decision. I met several people last year who had recently purchased their dream home-on-wheels and had come to the conference to learn its proper use and maintenance. One couple, owners of a spotless Country Coach only two weeks old, had never camped before and had come to "learn everything" before setting off on a cross-country tour. The driving school was filled to capacity with spouses wanting to share the driving responsibilities.

New friends asked us numerous "how-do-we" and "where-can-we" questions on fulltiming, boondocking, and life on the road. What to us has become normal everyday living was mysterious, exciting, and challenging to these new pioneers. Though everyone’s desires, experiences, plans, and style with his new home-on-wheels, whether as a fulltimer or as an extended user, will differ from his neighbor in many respects, there are also many similarities.

After pondering some of these questions the following thoughts and suggestions on RV traveling, gleaned from our experiences, come to mind.

• Slow down and allow enough time to take two-lane roads rather than expressways. Stop early and allow time to stretch your limbs and explore. It's a less stressful way of getting from Point A to Point B.
• Shop in the small towns, at the local shops and general stores. The proprietors will appreciate your business and you will be surprised at what you find and what you learn.
• Smile a lot. Small town people are friendly, interested in you and your lifestyle, and helpful. They enjoy telling you about their area. You will find interesting, and often off-beat, places to see and inside information that you won't find in the guide books.
• Visit the local Chamber of Commerce or visitor information center. Often the volunteers who work these offices have lived there most of their lives and are reservoirs of local information.
• Generally, you can eat more healthful, nutritious meals if you prepare them yourself from fresh local fruits, vegetables, and produce found at roadside stands and local farms along the way.
• Don’t always stay in the easiest to get to or most convenient campgrounds adjacent to the interstates. Use a campground guide or local information to find public camping areas administered by the county, the National Forest Service (NFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation, Corps of Engineers, or ask about small mom and pop campgrounds. Think how much nicer it is to spend the night in total silence rather than with the constant drone of trucks on the highway.
• Some small towns have a park where enroute camping is allowed. It's a great place to spend a night and wander around chatting with the locals.
• If there is a NFS, BLM, or other public lands office nearby, stop in and pick up a map and information on campsites, walking, hiking, biking, and nature trails, vista points, old mines, wildlife viewing areas, and historic sites.
• Pull out your bird book or pick up a regional bird list from the visitor center, chamber of commerce, or local Audubon Society chapter and see how many birds you can identify or attract to your campsite with a feeder.
• Turn out all your lights--including those obnoxious porch lights--and step outside after dark to see how many constellations and stars you can pick out. Watch for shooting stars.
• Always leave your campsites and picnic sites cleaner than you found them.
• If you must cover a lot of miles on interstates or through featureless areas, listen to audio books. There are hundreds of titles available that will help pass the time. You can then trade them with your campground neighbors for new titles.

Finally, don't forget to thank the rangers, hosts, and volunteers that work in the campgrounds and at visitor centers and attractions for all their good work.