The Rally, being held from July 19-22 this year in Redmond, Oregon and hosted by: Good Sam Club, Coast to Coast, President’s Club, Trailer Life, Motorhome, Woodall’s and CampClub USA, is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) camping/rv rallies of the year in the United States.

There are lots of fellow campers to have fun with plus a large show of RV’s, campers, and camping equipment to drool over. Ther are also going to be more than 30 seminars on topics such as: RV Travel and Camping Tips, Cleaning and Protecting your RV, The Segway Human Transporter, Strength Training, Tips on Mexican RV Travel, The Pros and Cons of RV Extended Warranties, plus dozens of other topics.

Entertainment includes an appearance by Suzanne Sommers, music by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Gary Puckett/BJ Thomas, plus a live musical tribute to the Beatles by “Ticket to Ride.”

Other events and activities include: wine tasting, a world record attempt at the “largest simultaneous whoopee cushion sit,”
Geocaching, a golf tournament, and a rally dog show.

Kids aren’t left out either. There is lots planned for them such as: an Oreo Cookie Stacking Contest, a trip to Juniper Swim and Fitness Center, a trip to Sun Mountain Fun Center, a Home Depot building project, and an on-site youth center for kids to gather for activities, crafts and games.

There’s still time to register if you want to attend. For all the details plus the cost go to the official website for the event: therally.com

I have to admit that I had no idea what the name of this game was until my brother and sister-in-law bought it. I’ve seen the game set up at people’s campsites a lot when we go camping and I’ve seen people playing it. It’s always looked like fun but I never had the opportunity to try it until a recent camping trip when the campers next to us were playing it and invited us to join them.

Now (wouldn’t you just figure) I think it’s one of the most fun outdoor games there is so now I want to get my own. The people we met at the campground purchased their ladder golf game online at laddergolf.com. My sister-in-law purchased hers at a discount store.

While I like the very reasonable price my sister-in-law paid for her ladder golf game, I really like the sturdiness of the game our fellow campers purchased at laddergolf.com. Although I have to admit I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to spend more money and get a high quality game at laddergolf or if I’m going to look for a less expensive one on sale at my local discount store, I know I want to have the game to play the next time we go camping.

If you’ve never played ladder golf, you toss bolas (two golf balls attached to sturdy rope) at a ladder with 3 rungs. Everyone takes turns throwing the bolas at the ladder. A person scores by getting the bolas to wrap around a rung of the ladder.

What makes the game really fun is that nobody gets to take their score until everyone playing (up to 4 players) has thrown their bolas because a player can knock off other people’s bolas and take away their points. It’s a lot of fun and easy to play so almost anyone can do it.

Plus, the game can be played almost anywhere which makes it a great game to take camping. It can be set up on grass, on concrete, gravel, sand - almost any surface. The game is easy to set up and take down, plus it doesn’t take up much space when it’s dismantled which is another great reason it’s a great game to take camping.

It’s an especially great game for families to have because kids love it when their parents play games with them (although they won’t admit to that fact until they’ve become adults themselves) and it’s a great way for parents to spend time with their kids. But, that doesn’t mean you have to have kids to play the game. When my husband and I played, it was with a retired couple who bought the game for themselves and who take it on every camping trip because they love playing it.

If you’d like to order ladder golf for yourself, you can get it here.

Could there be a better place to celebrate Independence Day in the United States than with a visit to Philadelphia? After all, Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.

While in Philadelphia visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell but make your first stop the Independence Hall Visitor Center where you will find out what to go see, when to go and how to get there.

And, instead of staying at a hotel, camp nearby (yes, you can). There’s a Woodall’s rated campground only 14 miles from Philadelphia (15 minutes from the historical downtown area of Philadelphia according to the campground’s website). It’s Timberlane Campground

They offer RV and tent sites and they also have a camping cabin. When you’re done taking in the sites in Philadelphia you can head back to the campground and unwind by taking a swim in the pool, relaxing in the TV lounge, going fishing, playing some basketball or volleyball, or playing a few games in the game room.