Endurance Ride Planned
More than 50 riders and horses will embark August 31 on a 515-mile endurance race retracing a portion of the historic Santa Fe Trail. RVers are being invited to follow along with the riders.

The race will begin at Wagon Mound, New Mexico, on August 31 and end at Council Grove, Kansas, on Sept. 13. At the end of each day the ride participants and RVers will gather at a race village to share meals and experiences. Arrangements for water and sewer service will be made for dry camping at the race villages, and RVers also will be able to stay at nearby RV parks with hookups. Details about the event can be found at www.sfthorserace.com.

This will be the second running of the 14-day equestrian endurance event, which was won last year by Scott Griffin of Seattle. Sponsors of the event include the Kansas Lottery and the New Mexico and Kansas departments of tourism.

Winnebago Offers Free Tours
Winnebago Industries is offering free tours of its main manufacturing plant in Forest City, Iowa, twice daily through November 30. The tour begins with a 20-minute video, followed by a bus tour of the grounds and a walk inside the main production area. Each tour takes about 90 minutes.

The company’s visitors center houses the Winnebago Industries Museum, which details the company’s 50-year history. On display are a 1959 Aljo trailer, which was the first product built, and a 1967 Winnebago D22, which was one of the company’s first motorhomes. Tours are offered at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on holidays. Reservations are recommended for groups larger than six. The phone number is (641) 585-6936.

Jayco Celebrates Anniversary
Jayco has launched a new Web site, www.jaygo40.com, to celebrate its 40th anniversary and share information about the company, its history and innovations. The Web site includes photos, videos, timelines and other information.

Jayco, which was founded on a farm in Middlebury, Indiana, in 1968, is now the world’s largest privately held manufacturer of recreation vehicles. The company employs 1,800 people at plants in Middlebury and Twin Falls, Idaho, and sells RVs under 15 brand names through a network of more than 300 dealers in the U.S. and Canada.

Boaters Sponsor Life Jackets
The BoatU.S. Foundation has launched a campaign to raise $50,000 to expand its program of loaning life jackets for infants, toddlers and children at marinas, water resorts, boat clubs and other locations. The life jackets are typically loaned out for a day or weekend.

The program was begun in 1997 and is now operating at 350 locations. (To find loaner sites, visit www.BoatUS.com/foundation/ljlp.) A tax-deductible donation of $10 will buy one life jacket and $250 can create a fully stocked loaner site. Donations may be made through the Web site or by mail at the BoatU.S. Foundation, 880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304.

The program loans jackets more than 50,000 times a year. “When boaters or anglers bring young guests aboard, they may not have the right-sized life jacket, or a child may have outgrown their old jacket, so the youngster is sometimes put in one that is too big, or worse goes without one,” said the foundation’s program manager Ted Sensenbrenner. “Putting a kid in an ill-fitted jacket can be dangerous. Once in the water, small children can easily slip out of them.”

Xanterra to Reduce Waste
Xanterra Parks and Resorts, which operates concessions at national and state parks, will soon provide guests with shampoos and lotions in biodegradable containers, vegetable-based soaps that are ring-shaped, and shower caps made from a resin drawn from corn starch.

These steps to aid the environment will keep more than 1 million bottles out of the waste stream each year, the company said. Plastic bottles will be replaced with bottles made with a cornstarch derivative. The program will be started in June at lodges at Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Zion and Death Valley national parks and at seven state parks in Ohio. Andy Todd, president and CEO of Xanterra, said the steps are being taken to minimize the environmental impact of tourism. “Hotel room amenities like shampoo and soap have become an expected part of the guest experience,” he said, “but those little bottles and packages can wreak havoc on nature. We are delighted that we can offer this solution to our guests.”

Jayco Backs Tread Lightly!
Jayco has renewed its partnership with Tread Lightly!, an organization that works to protect recreation access by encouraging recreation users to maintain and protect the environment.
Sid Johnson, director of marking for Jayco, said, “Tread Lightly! has demonstrated an important commitment to educating RVers on the significance of responsible and ethical recreation. We’re happy to support a cause that will allow future generations to enjoy RVing in an outdoor environment in a responsible way.”

Lippert to Acquire Seattech
Lippert Components, a subsidiary of Drew Industries, has agreed in principle to acquire Seating Technology and its affiliated companies (Seattech). Seattech manufactures products for fifth wheels and travel trailers, including upholstered furniture, mattresses and folding sofas for toy haulers
Seattech’s sales for 2007 were $40 million. The company is based in Goshen, Indiana. Drew Industries is headquartered in White Plains, New York.

Mt. Hood Launches Season
Mt. Hood Railroad at Hood River, Oregon, has begun a new season with two-, three- and four-hour scenic rail tours through the Hood River Valley. New this year is a Wine Adventure Train that includes a tasting of local wines and appetizers, and the Cabaret Dinner Train, offering music, comedy and magic.

The 102-year-old railroad offers excursion, dinner and brunch tours along with other special attractions, such as the Murder Mystery Dinner Train. For information, call (800) 872-4661 or visit www.mthoodrr.com.

Flags Retired Properly
The Snohomish County Tourism Bureau in Washington has established a retrieval box where people can drop off worn U.S. flags that need to be retired. The box is at the East County Visitor Information Center, 1301 First Street in downtown Snohomish.

The box, designed with a stylized U.S. flag, was built by Dayk Kohler as an Eagle Scout project, and the flags will be retired by his Boy Scout troop with the appropriate ceremony.

Boaters Must Take Class
A law being phased in by the State of Washington requires anyone from 12 to 20 years old to take and pass a boater education course and carry their education card with them when operating a vessel with 15 horsepower or more on Washington waterways.

The law will eventually be applied to everyone born after January 1, 1955. Next year it will cover everyone under 25 and be expanded by additional age groups in stages until 2014. Boaters can meet the education requirement by taking a course in a classroom, online or at home. Information is available at www.parks.wa.gov/boating or by calling (360) 586-6590.

Yellowstone Offers Education
The nonprofit Yellowstone Association is offering educational programs on wildlife, geology and history this spring under the Lodging and Learning program for guests at lodges at Yellowstone National Park. Each program is designed for up to 12 people, and is for adults and children 12 and older. The programs are offered in cooperation with the park’s concessionaire, Xanterra Parks and Resorts. For information, visit www.yellowstoneassociation.org and www.travelyellowstone.com.