Link Love

Fireworks & Flags
I’ve always appreciated a good small town 4th of July celebration. Maybe because I grew up in a small town. Last year we spent the 4th in Leadville, CO where we enjoyed the parade, a free BBQ at the fire station, and a nice (but chilly) fireworks display. It will be interesting to see how Durango compares. The other day I came across a list of 9 Small Towns that Really Know How to celebrate the 4th of July. They all sound like fun, but I think the winner has to be Maplewood, NJ where they have a circus performance and ice cream eating contest. Sign me up!

You’ve probably seen those cakes where berries are arranged on top to look like the American flag. But have you seen this Flag Cake? From the outside it looks like an ordinary white frosted cake, but inside is a beautiful American flag!

Mind Your Manners
Campground etiquette is a huge pet peeve of mine. There’s nothing that bothers me more than loud, obnoxious, self centered people who ruin the camping experience for the rest of us. Maybe I should print out this list of How to be a Good Camping Neighbor and hand it out to those people who obviously need some guidance. Bet I would make a lot of friends that way :)

But what about when you’re not at a campground? Don’t even get me started on Boondocking etiquette! Wildly inappropriate generator use, improper disposal of trash (a fire pit is not a trash can), disregard for the space of others, the list goes on and on…

Mountain Mayhem
Now that we’re back in the mountains, I thought we should brush up on the Protocol for Bear Encounters. We have yet to come across a bear on the trail, and I’d like to think I am at least somewhat prepared if it does happen. Although can you ever really be fully prepared to meet a 500+ pound beast in the woods? Probably not.

DIY
I recently became a regular contributor for the site DoItYourselfRV.com. This site has a ton of helpful articles about RV related stuff such as how to pick a GPS, properly pack your tiny RV fridge, tips for solo RVing, remodeling ideas, and much more. So far my articles have been more along the lines of travel destination stories. Kind of like what I write about here. My latest is all about taking a trip down highway 395 in CA.

So you know those maps that everyone has on the side of their RVs where they fill in the states they’ve visited with stickers? I like the idea of those maps, but I am always on the lookout for something a bit more…shall we say visually appealing. I LOVE this DIY license plate map, but it’s probably a bit impractical for a mobile life style.

Bike, Eat, Repeat
Do you know about the Riveted Blog? Laura & Kevin are part-time Airstreamers who recently took a trip to Italy- on bikes! Folding bikes that traveled across the Atlantic in their suitcases and then unfolded and then took them all over the country with lots of stops for incredible meals along the way. Laura wrote daily blog posts (this is only the first post, but you’ll want to see them all I promise) throughout the trip with amazing photos of scenery, architecture, and of course…food!

The Pursuit of Happiness
Travel equal happiness. At least that’s the opinion of many according to this infographic on Happiness & Wanderlust. 71% of people said travel is more important to their happiness than getting a promotion, buying a car, retirement, having a baby, purchasing a house, or getting married. Yup, I agree. What it comes down to is that experiences (travel) will always make you happier than stuff (house, car, promotion).

A big part of the reason why travel makes me happy is because I genuinely enjoy spending time with my travel partner. People often wonder how the two of us live full-time in less than 200 sq.ft. and still get along. I’m never quite sure how to answer this because even though we have our challenges now and then, for the most part the constant togetherness in a small space is not an issue for us. Yesterday I read a blog post that might provide the answer to – “No matter how much you love each other, the secret is that you really have to like each other.” So true.

Getting Corny
Last week I made these Roasted Poblano Risotto Cakes with Grilled Corn Salsa. This was not a low effort kind of recipe, but the time I spent creating these tasty little patties was soooo worth it.

There’s really no comparison between grilled and boiled corn on the cob. Boiled is just so…boring. My normal grilled corn method is to shuck off the husk, brush with some olive oil, and throw it on the grill until it’s charred and delicious all over. But then I came across a blog post with 20 Crazy-Good Grilled Corn Recipes and realized that I needed to spice up my grilled corn. So last night I made Grilled Corn on the Cob with Honey Butter. It was ah-ma-zing!

Happy 4th of July everyone!