RV Podcast #308: Overnight RV Parking at churches

Tired of noisy Walmarts and crowded CrackerBarrels for your overnight stops? Now you can do Overnight RV Parking at churches where it's quiet, secluded, and safe. This week in the RV podcast interview of the week, we learn all about Faithful Parking, a website that helps RVers find overnight RV parking at churches. Often those spots come with electric hookups, too. Plus we have RV News of the week, tips about getting rid of mice in an RV, and an off the beaten path report from the Burketts. You can listen to this episode of the RV Podcast on your favorite app or right below in the audio player.  The interview about Faithful Parking and RV parking at churches is about 25.32 in: Show Notes for Episode #308 Aug 19, 2020 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Mike & Jennifer Wendland, hosts of the RV Podcast. In Episode 308 we talk about RV parking at churches and a website called Faithful Parking, plus the RV news of the week, getting rid of mice in an RV and an off the beaten path travel report We’re on the road, headed to Southwest Michigan to explore some out of the way campgrounds located on some great little inland lakes. We’re also planning a visit to Elkhart, IN – the RV Capital of the World – to work on a little project based on one of Jennifer’s ideas. And we’re planning an extended trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We’ll be leaving after Labor Day and the crowds head back to school and work. Fall is our favorite time of the year up there and we plan to stay until first frost in October. CLICK HERE to read an article on 10 Spectacular Campgrounds in the UP This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer  Listeners of the Podcast can get 10% off all purchases over $99 with the code RVLIFESTYLE10 RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK Woman seriously injured by charging bison after getting too close to take a picture A woman was seriously injured by a bison last week after she got off her motorcycle, and approached a bison herd to photograph a mama and her calf. The woman was at Fort Custer State Park in South Dakota taking the picture when a different bison decided she was too close. The animal charged her, catching her belt on its horn, and flung her around before her pants fell off and she fell to the ground. After the animal retreated people rushed to help. The woman was flown to a hospital and had serious injuries. State park officials are reminding visitors to stay at least 100 feet away from bison. Custer State Park is one of our favorite parks to visit in the fall and the bison are part of the draw. To see our list, click here. Illegal boondockers near California's Big Sur leaving behind big mess With warm weather and totally booked campgrounds, officials near California's Big Sur have experienced problems with people illegally camping along Highway 1 over the past several weekends. More than 150 people illegally camped along Highway 1 in Monterey County last weekend, generally in turnouts. And they leave behind human waste, toilet paper, beer cans and coals from fires. Officials are closing several roads through Oct. 19 to stop the illegal boondocking. We are big fans of boondocking, but ALWAYS clean up after yourself, and check to see if boondocking is allowed before settling in for the night. For more boondocking tips click here or here. Colorado wild fire causing campground evacuations, road closures Wildfires in Colorado have burned part of the popular Chambers Lake campground. The fire was about 62 miles west of Fort Collins over the weekend and was burning primarily on Roosevelt National Forest Land. Several campgrounds in the upper Poudre Canyon have been evacuated, and some roads in the area are closed.  Federal land near some Utah national parks no longer available for lease for gas, oil exploration The Bureau of Land Management decided to take 86,000 acres in Utah off the table as potential oil and gas development sites. The move was praised by conservationists who argued the land was too close to some of Utah's national parks, such as Arches, Canyonlands, and Capital Reef. Some 27,000 acres of federal land in Utah is still available for possible oil and gas lease in September, which conservationists say they will now examine more closely as well.  In this summer of pandemic camping, remember to check ahead As always, we want to remind you that camping is far from normal this summer. Because of COVID-19 safety concerns, some places that opened their campgrounds, are now closing them again. Some roads, like the east entrance to Glacier National Park is closed, and the only thing that is definite is things are constantly changing. So as always, we recommend you check with Campendium, which is doing a good job of staying up to date. To see what things are like before you head out click here. Do you have a question you’d like us to answer or a comment on the things we’re discussing? If so, we invite you to leave us that question or comment on the special voicemail number we have for the podcast – it’s 586-372-6990.   This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes, America's #1 e-bike brand, offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping   RV PODCAST QUESTION OF THE WEEK - Mice in an RV They may look cute but mice in an RV can do major damage Here’s a question posted on our RV Lifestyle Facebook Group this week from Frank who has mice in his RV QUESTION: I've seen discussions on this before but we have a mouse crawling around the ceiling in our trailer and getting into the cupboards. What is the best deterrent for getting rid of mice in an RV? Are the electronic devices any good? ANSWER: We received lots of responses to this question from our RV Lifestyle Facebook Group members. Here's how they say to get rid of mice in an RV Wes: Get a hungry cat Billy says to use: The old standard mousetrap baited with cheese, peanut butter or potato chips Kimberly says she has success with the covered traps Jeff says Dryer sheets have an odor that rodents can't stand and they’ll leave your RV Bob warns “Don't use poison cuz he could die in the ceiling and it'll smell forever, and wherever he is he must have access to water. To which someone else replied,  “My Mom did that!! Oh Lordy! Did it ever stink!!!” Rita says she swears by the Ultrasonic traps Christina also likes those ultrasonic repellant devices and says: “In our 5th wheel, we’d get 2-3 mice per night in 4 traps under the bathroom sink (the only place they seemed to come in)! Plugged in an ultrasonic device (Bell&Howell) into an extension cord and put under the sink. No mice for a week! Unplugged just to see, and back to 2-3 mice!! Back to the device and no mice! Now our class c, camp with them plugged into the inverter and no mice! The only mouse I did have, I forgot to plugin!! Always have traps set JUST IN CASE and it got that one mouse!! We keep our RV plugged in out by the garage when not in use, and plugin 4-5 devices throughout RV (along with backup traps) and no mice ever!! Truly believe in them!!!” CLICK HERE for an Amazon affiliate link to those Ultrasonic Pest Repellant devices Finally, Lissa says “steel wool stuffed into any openings around pipes, etc. is a good deterrent, BUT you have to be able to get at those places to put it there.” Thanks to all the members of our RV Lifestyle Facebook Group for the help thay offered on this question. That’s why our group niw has 41,000 members. It’s the go-to place for good, reliable, and helpful RV related questions. You can join by going to rvlifestyle.com/facebook And a big shoutout to our team of volunteer moderators who keep the spammers, the trolls and the nasty people off, making our RV Lifestyle Facebook Group a friendly, positive community, a true oasis of civility in the online world these days! This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, maker of quality, safe and reliable lithium batteries that can be installed in just about every RV. Get in touch with Battle Born to find out what lithium batteries and an upgraded energy management system can add to your RV Lifestyle. Check them out at https://rvlifestyle.com/lithium RV PODCAST INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK - RV parking at churches We’re all familiar with places to overnight outside of expensive campgrounds. Big box stores like Walmart, Cabellas, and even Home Depots in some places allow RVers to spend the night. Restaurants like Cracker Barrell also welcome RV travelers. And there are membership sites like Harvest Hosts, OvernightRVCamping and Boondockers Welcome. But this week, we want to tell you about one you may not have heard about before. It’s a website called Faithful Parking and it allows RV parking at churches in quiet, often secluded church parking lots across the country. There’s no membership subscription needed, just a very small fee charged by the churches to offset costs Here’s a transcript of our interview: Mike Wendland:           To learn more about Faithful Parking, we're joined now by the founder and the chief guru, the tech genius behind it all, his name is Phil Pietrowski. Phil, welcome to the RV Podcast. Glad to have you on. Phil Pietrowski:             Great, thanks. It's a pleasure to be here. Mike Wendland:           So, let's talk a little bit about RV parking at churches. In this age, where everyone is finding campgrounds full, in need of reservations months, if not almost a year in advance in some areas, there is a great demand for places that people can overnight and find along their route. And I was really excited to see this. Makes so much sense. Explain what Faithful Parking is and then how RVers can take advantage of this. Phil Pietrowski:             Well, Faithful Parking is a network of faith-based organizations located throughout the U.S. and they've come on board with us, at no cost to them. And in doing so,