Rv Update - touring information for recreation vehicle enthusiasts - Brief Article

Travel America, Sept, 2000 by Nancy Baren Miller

Places, products, clubs, & activities you can enjoy in your RV

CAMPING RESORTS

Thousand Trails & NACO, a membership-based camping organization, owns 53 camping preserves (camp-grounds) in 17 states and British Columbia with a total of 17,700 campsites. The campgrounds feature sites with electrical, water, picnic tables, grills, and in some cases, sewer connections. They offer many resort-style amenities. Most preserves provide swimming pools, spas, fishing, nature trails, children's play areas, game rooms, shuffleboard, and miniature golf. Some provide tennis and basketball courts and horseback riding. Thousand Trails & NACO has a special New Guest offer--camp for $29.95 for two nights or $79.95 for six nights at any preserve. While camping, take a few minutes to talk with the staff and tour the facility. For more information, contact www.thou sandtrails.com or call (800) 28-TRAIL.

TRADERS VILLAGE

Traders Village RV Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, is the best rated park in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. It has 210 sites (202 with full hookups), a swimming pool, recreation hall and field, mini-mart, and playground. There is plenty of room for big rigs and slideouts. Best of all, it's located next to Traders Village, a Texas-size marketplace of 106 acres filled with 1,800 dealers. Open Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to dusk, the market is free and parking is only $2. Traders Village has theme park rides, 33 food outlets, 20 mobile beverage carts, and features everything from resale items to antiques. Special events range from BBQ & Chili Cookoffs to October's Championship Indian Pow Wow. For information, call the RV Park at (972) 647-8205, Traders Village's main office at (972) 647-2331, or browse their Web site at www. tradersvillage.com.

JAYCO MOTORHOMES

Jayco, best known for camping trailers, conventional towables, and Class C motorhomes, plans to enter the Class A motorhome market this year. The Middlebury, Indiana, company will introduce gas and diesel-engine models in the low end of the price spectrum, which Sid Johnson, director of marketing, defines as $60,000 to $70,000 for gas and $100,000 to $110,000 for diesel. "Requests from RV enthusiasts and dealers for a Jayco Class A motor-home was the primary reason for entering the category," Johnson said. For more information, contact Jayco's Web site at www.jayco.com or call (800) RV-JAYCO.

FUEL ECONOMY

Those looking to buy a tow vehicle can check out fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for cars and trucks sold in the United States at the federal government Web site www.fueleconomy.gov. It's a joint effort of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. Visitors can make side-by-side comparisons of different models. The site allows users to list vehicles by manufacturer, class, or highest-to-lowest fuel economy. Printed copies of the Fed's fuel-economy guides are available at all public libraries and car dealerships throughout the country.

DOING DALLAS

From sports to zoos, amusement parks to trains, visitors find plenty to do in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The sports-minded attend games and tour the Dallas Cowboys' Texas Stadium or the Texas Rangers' The Ballpark in Arlington. Lone Star Park offers seasonal quarter-horse and thoroughbred racing with simulcast racing throughout the year. The Texas Motor Speedway has a Winston Cup event in April, Indy racing in June, and Legend Car racing Thursday summer nights. For Western fun, check out Texas Lil's Dude Ranch in Denton or watch The Herd driven through the Stockyards area of Fort Worth daily at 11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Train lovers take the old-fashioned Tarantula train between the Fort Worth Stockyards and Grapevine, a small community noted for its historic area, craft shops, wineries, Grapevine Mills shopping mall, and huge Bass Pro outdoor sports store. Family attractions include a tour of The Movie Studios at Las Colinas in Irving, Fort Worth and Dallas zoos, and Arlington's Six Flags over Texas. For more information, contact the Dallas/Fort Worth Area Tourism Council, 701 S. Main St., Grapevine, TX 76051; (817) 329-2438.

ARIZONA MONUMENTS

The recently declared Agua Fria and Grand Canyon-Parshant national monuments give Arizona the most national parks and monuments (14) of any state in the continental U.S. The Grand Canyon-Parshant monument, with just over one million acres, spans the most northwest portion of Arizona. Agua Fria National Monument, with 71,000 acres, is located 40 miles north of Phoenix. It contains at least 450 sites of unspoiled petroglyphs and prehistoric terraces. State officials recommend visitors use high-clearance or 4-wheel-drive vehicles and prepare well for both trips. Visitors are prohibited from driving off road and must heed all signs. For information, visit the Bureau of Land Management's Web site at www.az.blm.gov.