A cross-country adventure
My name is Lynne Benjamin and my partner’s name is Fred. We’ve been RVing since the early ’70s and have literally been on the road since 2001. We call ourselves turtles. Even though we are most-timers (as opposed to full-timers) we think of the RV as our home while our condo in Lethbridge, Alberta, is the place we go when we're not at home (that turns out to be maybe two to three months a year).
The months between 2007 and 2008 proved to be our big travel year. When I completed my book about our seven years spent on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, we were furnished with a wonderful excuse to travel back to Cape Breton—and we thought we might as well follow the changing of the fall leaves down through the eastern states and we’ve never been to Texas and so on and so on.
We invite you to join us on our eight-month adventure. Our first installment highlights our experience in Quebec City, Quebec.
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The desert I know and love
A winter storm in the desert took these campers by surprise
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Quartzsite after the shows and vendors
Join RVer Lynne Benjamin as she explores this unique Arizona destination
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Multifaceted Quartzsite
Follow RVwest columnist, Lynne Benjamin, to get an in-depth look at Quartzsite, Arizona
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Sun, sand and rocks
Enter into Lynne Benjamin’s world of wonders as she travels death Valley
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Reaching up to the gods
Check out these hikes and climbs in Zion National Park
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Beyond Laughlin—more than casinos and bright lights
Unique and unusual attractions surround this historic area
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Snowbird connections
The social side to RVing adventures
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Living in the desert
Cacti, birds, animals and people
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Our road always leads to Yuma
Yuma is a winter destination for many RVers and snowbirds but for us it’s the place we go to restock, plan and re-energize for the next leg of our adventure.
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Call of the desert
“This is the setting for almost every old cowboy movie I’ve seen (Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger, Shane)” was my thought the first time I encountered the desert.
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California here we come
We left Oregon in a flurry of rain, mist and fog—surprise!—but that did make for some incredible seas.
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To the Gorge and beyond
The Flatlanders head for the Oregon Coast, to see that the Columbia River Gorge is a sight to behold.
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The Coast of Oregon
Charming communities, historical sites and endless beaches beckon
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Elk Valley
Cabin fever, itchy feet—whatever you want to call it we really needed to get away. Someone suggested that there was a nice little campground in the Elk Valley at Sparwood, B.C.
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Zion National Park
We parked in the Virgin River Recreation area, which is actually in Arizona (Arizona juts out in between Utah and Nevada for about 30 miles) and stayed there for a couple of days. We set up overlooking the Virgin River and our view was of an incredible red-streaked rock formation interspersed with cactus and desert brush.
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Arizona
Casa Grande was our first stop in Arizona. One of the fascinating things about RV travelling is that you continually find other RVers you have met along the way. We stayed at the RoVer’s Roost Escapees RV Park, where we got together with folks we had spent time with earlier in Tennessee.
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New Mexico
The history, archaeology, mix of cultures and people all contribute to making New Mexico a very special place. It is one of the most diverse and fascinating states in South-Western U.S.A. There is so much to see and explore but it does tend to be cooler than neighbouring Arizona or Texas and is often overlooked as a winter retreat.
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Texas
Texans welcome snowbirds and tend to appreciate the boost to their economy that winter escapees, like us, bring. No matter what part of Texas you are in—north, south, east or west—there are vast areas of nothingness with pockets of unique and interesting sights.
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Gulf Coast
After travelling through Tennessee and Georgia, the next leg of our journey led us to the Gulf Coast of Alabama. We stayed at the Rainbow Plantation Escapees Park near the city of Foley for nearly a month.
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Maine
Pristine natural beauty and rich history highlighted this part of the journey.
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Nova Scotia
Lynne Benjamin and her partner Fred experienced the culture and breathtaking scenery of Nova Scotia.
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Quebec City
Like most RVers, we pay a lot of attention to road signs, but what do you do when the signs are in a language you don’t know?
