Books for Summer Travel

Many interesting books came across my desk in the past few weeks. Here are some that I think many RVers would enjoy.

Mexico Health and Safety Travel Guide
If your RVing plans include a visit to Mexico, here's a book you'd be wise to pack along. In Mexico Health and Safety Travel Guide, the authors, both medical doctors, provide a directory of more than 180 English-speaking physicians and 50 of the best hospitals in 40 popular destinations in Mexico. The authors say that half of all visitors to Mexico get sick, and if that's true, then this thick book would definitely be a worthy amigo for any visitor who catches a case of the dreaded Montezuma’s Revenge (or worse).

Hospital listings include services and specialties available, English-speaking administrative and medical liaisons, a rating of care, and a detailed description of each hospital and its strengths and weaknesses. Doctor listings include contact information, hours, charges, specialties, and a description of experience and certification.

Also included are city maps and emergency information, a pharmaceutical guide, translations of common medical terms and phrases, pre-travel advice, a comprehensive guide to symptoms and conditions, and recommendations on traveler's insurance and immunizations. The book retails for $19.95.

Camping with the Corps of Engineers
Did you know that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the nation's leading federal provider of public outdoor recreation opportunities? The newly revised, sixth edition of Camping with the Corps of Engineers is a concise guide to visiting these areas. All together, the corps operates more than 2,500 recreation areas and leases another 1,800. The corps estimates that one out of four Americans visits at least one of its sites each year.

Among the amenities at many corps facilities are campgrounds. Almost all are close by lakes, rivers or streams, with plenty of activities including fishing, swimming and boating. Camping fees at corps facilities are reasonable and some even include hookups. Camping with the Corps of Engineers by S.L. Hinkle is the best guide to these areas, and retails for $13.95.

Ghost Towns of the Pacific Northwest
When people think of ghost towns, they often think of those in the Northern California or Southwest gold rush regions. But the Northwest has plenty of abandoned or nearly abandoned towns, too, and they are beautifully showcased in the new soft-cover edition of Ghost Towns of the Pacific Northwest. It's hard not to browse through this large-format book with its stunning photos and not want to hop in your RV and head out to explore these gradually disappearing settlements.

Ghost town expert Phillip Varney takes you on a tour of fascinating historic ghost towns, mining camps, fishing villages, lumber towns and forts in Oregon, Washington and southern British Columbia. With intriguing anecdotes and current travel information (the book was published in 2005), this thoroughly practical book serves as both a fascinating history of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia and a trustworthy travel guide to the region's historic past. If you're an armchair traveler, you'll love the rich color photographs and descriptive text that bring the region's history to life. I believe anyone who loves to explore ghost towns will find this book the perfect traveling companion on a visit to the Northwest's communities of old. Price: $19.95.

Moon Handbook Coastal Oregon
America has plenty of beauty spots, but there aren't many as stunning as coastal Oregon, and the Coastal Oregon Moon Handbook ($16.95) is a wonderful guide to the area. U.S. Highway 101 hugs the beach (or close to it) much of the way from Oregon's southern border all the way to Washington. Campgrounds and RV parks, both public and private, are plentiful. The state parks, many with spectacular campgrounds right near the ocean shore, are among the most appealing in the West and certainly along the Pacific Coast. Moon Handbooks are my favorite all-around travel guides and this one is no exception. Although the book is aimed at all travelers, not just RVers, the information is highly relevant to RV travelers, who will almost certainly have a far richer trip if this guidebook is along.

Managing 12 Volts
One of the best things about RV travel is that we can enjoy virtually all the comforts of home without hooking up to household power. We do it with our on-board 12-volt battery power that runs our lights, water pump, heater fan and sometimes even our refrigerator. But after several days of “dry camping,” many RVers get frustrated because their batteries lose power and their charging systems fail to work adequately.

Few people want to read a technical book but they want answers to their problems. Managing 12 Volts ($19.95) does just that. Worksheets enable an RVer to determine quickly how to improve a 12-volt electrical system. The book offers an explanation of how batteries work and how an RVer should operate his or her system. The important factors affecting batteries are highlighted, and a chapter is devoted to the operation of various vehicles.

Managing 12 Volts provides answers to why batteries fail to support an RV adequately, and gives solutions to help RVers obtain the electrical power they need. Finding information is easy because the book can be quickly scanned to understand the basic points or be carefully studied to understand the important details of batteries and charging systems. This is the best book I have found on this subject.

See you here next month with more great RV books. Enjoy the spring and get those RVs polished up for the summer —dead-ahead and coming fast!