my travels in pixels

Living on the road is very different from being in a fixed abode, everything has to be mobile, accessible. Living in a different country also it's challenges as you don't know how things work. Mobile/Cell Phone and Data At home,  it's not uncommon to have unlimited download or large amounts of download to keep up with the digital world. On the road, you are on wireless, so this isn't an option. Like Australia, if you want good coverage, you need to go with the big boys, who are often the most expensive. The two big players in the USA are AT&T and Verizon. If you are going to be in major cities there are other players like Sprint. The first two years we had a contract with AT&T as we believed that they had the best coverage. We were wrong, Verizon does. So often we saw people talking on their phones in out of the way places and we had no connection. Note : It's difficult to open an account if you are a non US citizen as you don't have a social secu...

Battery Charger To recharge our three 12V 120 amp/hr Lifeline batteries properly, we have a 35amp/hr battery charger that runs off the generators or off power if we are connected. We also charge our batteries off the car electrical system by using a Redarc DC to DC battery charger that gets hook up to our trailer every time we take off. The system that comes with all trucks doesn't work, so don't believe what the sales people tell you. When charging from an external power supply like 110v or your generator, you may notice that it takes a long time to charge your batteries. The modern Smart Converters are not all that smart. They take the incoming power and distribute the power to the inside of your RV or Trailer first and the residual power then goes to charging your batteries at a rate no greater than 7 amps. So if your batteries are well down it may take several days to bring them back to a full charge. Even an overnight stop being hooked up may not solve your battery...

I have started using uMap to log places to stay and things to do and our yearly travels. For a travel map, you will need to import a KML version from Google's MyMaps. If you are just logging POI's, you can do it directly or set up in MyMaps, your choice. The main advantage of uMap is that you can add many more locations than Google Maps will allow. The main disadvantage is that the maps don't show on the iPad. Create a uMap Click on uMap  and sign up Click 'create a new map' (right hand side) Click on the pencil next to untitled map (left hand side) Importing a Google MyMap into uMaps Before setting up your new uMap, decide if it might be beneficial to be able to turn on or off different layers. I create layers for Parks, Camping, Attractions and Towns. Even if you have something in the wrong layer, it can be changed to another later. In Google MyMaps, click on the three dots to the right of the 'add layer' and click 'export to KML...

The USA seems to run on coupons, memberships and discounts! Camping Memberships Harvest Hosts Harvest Hosts' is a membership program costs as little as a one or two night stay in an RV park. You can stay at various locations like wineries, breweries; agri-tourism sites, across North America fee free, but may feel obliged to . You need a self contained RV. Passport America You can sign up at Camping world stores. 50% off selected RV parks. The downside is that some parks have blackout dates during peak season, weekends and a limit of days that the discount applies. Some also ask to be paid in cash. Membership is about the same cost as one to two nights in an RV park. We became members last year and have stayed at a couple of RV parks and yes you do pay half price. There is an app for your phone or tablet to makes finding a campground easier. Thousand Trails A complicated membership program. They have divided the USA in zones and you pay for a zone or multiple zones. ...

Being on the road requires planning, I find the following websites and apps helpful. Remember that low altitude places will be hot in summer, high altitude places will be cold in winter! Websites All Stays  - web version of the App. Shows camping, stores, free overnight camping. I use the app version. BLM lands  - shows the Bureau of Land Management areas Campendium  - shows many camping options on a map Campground Photos  - you can sort by state, area. Map or list view. Casino Camping  - list of casinos that allow RV camping Free Campgrounds  - lists by state, campgrounds are listed to nearest town, no map view Free Campsites  - click on a state and it gives you a map with colour coded spots for pay, free etc Public Lands  - map view National Parks  - check for seasonal closures, names of campgrounds National Wildlife and Refuge System  - you can search by state where wildlife refuges. Oh Ranger  - informatio...

Squamish/Brackendale Brackendale calls itself the  Bald Eagles capital of the world, but the eagles mustn't have got the message. A storm came through at the end of December and washed all the dead salmon away, so there's no food for the eagles. We saw a few, mainly sitting in trees, which are not the sort of photos we want. A local told us he had seen quite a few a the local tip, a picture against the snow would have been good, but no, they were in the trees also. On the positive side, we did have some lovely days driving around. Stupidly, I didn't take my wide angle lens so my photos are from my phone and iPad. After Squamish, we went up to Whistler. Our friends Lane and Debbie had just sold their beautiful house that they built. We were their last guests, the owners had wanted all the furnishings, so pretty much everything was left there, we helped them take some things home to Vancouver where we stayed for a few days while they went down to Palm S...

People who know me know I love my Mac and my iPad, well all things Apple really and I subscribe to a number of magazines and learn all these cool things that make life easier. OSX (iMac, laptop) Not getting the most out of your Mac?   Yosemite - 50 tips  Read more...  10 more Magic Mouse.  It has 4-way scrolling so you can get around a spreadsheet with ease. Use 2 fingers to swipe through web pages, use one finger to scroll up and down. And of course it has left and right click like a normal mouse, but without the ball that gets filled up with dust. It's bluetooth, so there are no cords, but on the downside the batteries do not last long, so turn it off when you aren't using it. How to dictate to your Mac want to multi-task and doing something else while writing a long email or word doc?  Read more... 10 Coolest Keyboard Shortcuts all keys are to be selected simultaneously Need that "other" delete key that's not on your laptop keyboard...

A couple of people have asked me about setting up a blog. So if you have ever thought that you want to do the same, now is a good time to start. It can be on anything that you are passionate about, an interest, a hobby or work related. Subject: Decide what you want to blog about Decide on a name. When you sign up, you will be asked for a name of your site which may form part of the URL, so it pays to think about this carefully. The main header of your blog usually relates to this naming convention as well. It needs to be ambiguous so that you are not locked into one subject. Mine wasn't at first so now I have moved all my Kenya safari posts into Travel Bug. Who to use? Most people seem to use Wordpress  or Blogger . Have a look at both and decide which is right for you. Blogger is part of the G+ (google) which means everything is related, sign up for a google account and you have access to email, calendar, cloud drive, a place to upload your photos, a web site, a blogger ...