Free Republic

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill this week to ban one-pound, single-use propane cylinders, meaning that only more expensive reusable cylinders will be available in the state. The San Francisco Chronicle reported: Disposable propane canisters like the dark green ones used with camping stoves will soon be phased out in California, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Sunday requiring all one-pound cylinders sold in the state to be reusable or refillable starting in 2028. … Between 4 million and 7 million of the single-use cylinders are sold in California each year, according to an estimate from the California...

In what sounds like one of the weirdest cases in recent memory, the Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 in favor of municipalities in the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson. The case involved whether municipalities could bar homeless people from “camping” in public spaces, addressing the question, “Does the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property constitute ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ prohibited by the Eighth Amendment?” The short summary from SCOTUSblog's Amy Howe in the site's live chat is that "The court holds that the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public...

At this time of year, a reservation with Chill RV Rentals isn’t usually the easiest to come by. The Los Angeles-based company’s 16-camper fleet is typically booked solid, with the RVs oftentimes reserved weeks in advance. That’s just not the case this year, said Nika Shneyder, who started the recreational vehicle rental business with her father in 2016. Bookings are light; plus, the people who are traveling are taking shorter trips, she said. “We’re definitely seeing demand for RV travel slowed down compared to previous years, and I don’t think it has to do with people coming out [the pandemic]...

Ever wonder how to build a campfire the right way? I’ve got good news for you. Making a campfire is easy, conditions and experience willing. But you can always craft a better one than your last. Here’s some intel that’ll take your next burn a little further, even if the weather’s bad.Perfect the IngredientsAny fire, no matter how you make it, needs three basic things: Fuel, oxygen, and heat. Altering the ratios of those ingredients will change the way in which a fire lights, burns, and lasts.Take moisture content in wood, for example. Wet wood produces less heat because energy...

Wherever we drive nowadays, we see electric vehicles (EVs) amid the normal internal combustion cars and hybrids. Maybe one in ten, maybe one in twenty, maybe one in a hundred. It all depends on where we live and where we go. They are no longer the noticeable rarity they were just a few years ago; you no longer turn your head in surprise when you see that Tesla logo beside you. The modern Left has a dream – that soon, very soon, every vehicle in the world will be electric, running on a heavy, cobalt-laden, lithium battery that needs to...

PORTLAND, Ore. — A new bill in the Oregon legislature is proposed as the Right to Rest Act. House Bill 3501 would decriminalize camping in public places. Under HB3501, homeless individuals would be able to have "a privacy interest and a reasonable expectation of privacy in any property belonging to the person, regardless of whether the property is located in a public space" – i.e., granting the individual rights to treat public spaces like a private residence "without discrimination and time limitations that are based on housing status." Homeless individuals would also be able to sue for up to $1,000...

Last year, California took a step that riled plenty of RVers. A new California Air Resources Board (CARB) rule essentially hit the off-switch on RV generators. While not outright banning small (less than 25 horsepower) generators, the state severely tightened emissions restrictions. The reaction was quick. The lynchpin of the RV generator industry, Cummins, announced it would no longer sell LP and gas-fired Cummins generators in California after the end of 2023. The backlash was swift. RV industry talking heads issued immediate warnings. If the regulations stuck, the RV industry would lose a million dollars in sales in the Golden...

Wifi signal pretty poor in camper

Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz County is partially reopening later this month—with reservations accepted starting Friday for limited day-use access—for the first time since the CZU Lightning Complex Fire destroyed much of the park in August 2020. The fire burned more than 97 percent of the park, destroying its headquarters, campgrounds, employee housing and nearly every other structure, and the park is still without electricity, running water or phone service, California State Parks officials said. Big Basin will partially reopen starting July 22 to allow visitors to explore the Redwood Loop and about 18 miles of fire...

Forcing children to sleep and undress next to kids of the opposite sex effectively puts up a ‘Christian kids need not apply’ sign on public recreation activities.This spring I got an email from 4-H, a club I participated in as a child, effectively communicating that my Christian family need not apply to summer camps and other activities sponsored by the quasi-public organization. (County governments often sponsor 4-H activities.) This email was signed by a 4-H staffer who put pronouns in his signature and told me, “Youth are assigned cabins based on gender indicated on the 4-H camp application and registration,”...

Expandable campers have really been pushing above and beyond simple pop-tops into more advanced forms, like transforming Cybertruck A-frames, stretchable off-road teardrops, and flip-open truck-top tents. Germany's ICC Offroad played a big role in the rotating Flip90 pickup camper, and it also has another expanding camper design in the pipeline. Its FlexCamp prototype is designed to start the journey as a basic trailer or pickup-top box, expanding up and out at camp to become a cozy micro-cabin for a family of four. ICC Offroad is developing the FlexCamp to meet the demand for a compact, four-season, off-road-ready camping solution. With...

Last week I went tent camping with my son at a GA state park. When we checked in, I had to sign an acknowledgement that I understood bears would be in the area. Yawn. I didn't give it further thought.The second day, at 0500, the food cooler outside my tent was knocked over. I thought, oh man, this is it. The cooler was about 8 feet from the entrance to the tent. It took me a while to get on my glasses, jeans, find the flashlight and get personal protection.I got everything together and unzipped the flap. I shined the...

Nearly a year after the CZU Lightning fire burned through California's oldest state park-the clean-up continues. The fire swept through 97% of Big Basin State Redwood Park's 18,000 acres. With historic structures now gone, the public is being asked to help with the rebuilding process. It's really going to be a labor of love, as this week the state parks unveiled a new website: ReimagingBigBasin.org, where the public can get information and get involved in the planning for its rebuilding. "The canopy is gone. So what you have are big hulking, tall hulking things that is now sprouting out greenery...

With lockdowns lifted, Americans are heading for the great outdoors but in doing so some of the country's National Park are becoming overrun with visitors. As a result, the parks and nearby towns are becoming overcrowded with visitors with some even requiring reservations including California's Yosemite National Park and Maine's Acadia National Park. The main reason for such high visit numbers well before the peak summer season is due to a higher percentage of first-timers checking out the nation's natural wonders, according to the Bureau of Land Management after people were forced to endure months of lockdown and strict travel...

Rebeccah Kellman says shortly after she moved to Canmore, she remembers going on a hike to Grassi Lakes, which overlooks the Alberta mountain town. Kellman said another group of hikers was staring at her and whispering, before one woman approached her, put her arm up against hers, and said "Hey, I usually don't see people darker than me climbing out here." "I was about 21 at the time, and I didn't know what to make of it. I was like OK, clearly I am in a very white-dominated space," Kellman said. That experience, and others, prompted Kellman to found Darken...

On eBay, buyers often hunt for hard-to-find items. Ismael Almada was one of them. Except that he was searching for military-grade weapons and accessories — and they weren’t for fun or sport. Almada and his brother, Carlos, used over 50 PayPal accounts to avoid suspicion. Steathily, they made purchases of tactical gear like grenade launchers, gun parts, night-vision goggles, and bullet-proof vests. Ismael was also using his mother’s credit card to make many of the purchases, he would later admit to the DEA. Then, the brothers provided the gear to New Generation — a fearsome cartel operating in Jalisco, Mexico....

A few seconds into John & Mercedes Condon’s latest YouTube video, this famous RV couple states the cold, hard truth. Known as the RV Odd Couple, the Condons are known for telling it like it is. In the recent video, Mercedes starts by saying, “I bet you can’t wait to go camping this year.” John’s direct realization follows, “Good luck, guys! ‘Cause America’s pretty much sold out already.” Is this true? Are most of the campgrounds in America sold out? Well, while we know there’s still availability (in Kansas, maybe), the tourist hot spots are booking quicker than ever this...

Robert W. Gore, whose invention of what created the breathable-yet-waterproof fabric known as Gore-Tex revolutionized outdoor wear and helped spawn uses in numerous other fields, has died. He was 83. Gore, who was president of W. L. Gore & Associates for almost 25 years and company chairman for 30 years, died on Thursday at a family home in Maryland following a prolonged illness, company spokesperson Amy Calhoun confirmed Saturday. Gore discovered a new form of a polymer in 1969 at a company lab in Newark, Delaware. His father, who began the company, asked Bob Gore to research a new way...

Holidaymakers can once again carry on camping in Wales - but it won't be as you remember it.From Saturday sites with shared facilities are allowed to open, with strict rules and regulations, having missed most of the high season. Businesses said they had been inundated with inquiries but it would not make up for lost trade during lockdown. There had also been the expense of deep cleaning, adding social distancing and reducing pitch numbers, some said. Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford warned holidaymakers they "must get used to some changes" to protect everyone from coronavirus. "It's the responsibility of all of...

President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is shown, Wednesday, July 10, 2019, in Palm Beach, Fla An Iranian national armed with a pair of knives, a machete, and a pickax was detained Friday by police about four miles from President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Officers responded to a call at around 9:30 a.m. about a suspicious person in Bradley Park, which is northeast of the Flagler Memorial Bridge, according to Palm Beach Police Department public information officer Michael Ogrodnick. They arrested a man named Masoud Yareilzoleh on a charge related to a concealed weapons violation, Ogrodnick told the Washington Examiner....