| Author | Message | ||
| Ross Carlisle (Ross) (66.238.217.221)
Rating: N/A |
The overnight parking thread below gave me an idea. Why don't we compile a list of places to stay. For instance, someone with a 300 acre ranch might not mind if a fellow bus nut camped overnight on his land or maybe a resraunt owner might not mind if a bus family camped in his parking lot after having dinner. My thinking is that a list like this would a nice thing to have along on a trip. Everyone knows that there are campgrounds that don't take the big or older rigs. I personally don't care for campgrounds. I'll start by saying that here in Newport, New Hampshire we have a small airport with plenty of room for overnight stays. It is a small home town type airport. There is a hotdog/icecream stand on the field in the summer. There is also a guy that gives airplane rides around the Lakes Region. Most of us that fly out of there are so friendly that if you strike up a conversation, you're likely to get yourself invited for a plane ride anyway. Anyone interested can contact me directly and I'll provide details. Maybe who ever is keeping up with the busnut list might want to do this as well. Makes sense to have both lists in the same place. What do y'all think? Ross | ||
| CoryDaneRTSIIIL (4.17.253.113) Rating: N/A |
Just such a list could be placed in the "PLACES WE STAY" section. It would be easy enough to set up, how 'bout it IAN, what do ya think? cd | ||
| Craig S (65.202.123.254) Rating: N/A |
Hi Ross, I'd be happy to host such a list. I think a discussion about what should be included in each site entry should take place. A private entry might include contact name, email, address, city, state, phone number, parking size, hookups, directions, proximity to fuel, food, dumping, siteseeing, etc. For places that are public or out-of-the-way boondocking sites, a subset of the above would do. They might include Wal Marts, churches, fields, pull-offs, small cheap unheard of campgrounds, etc. It will be interesting to see what turns up and if any of those secret places are mentioned. By the way, the list was updated with one more entry last night. http://www.nortonspond.com/buspics/busnuts.html Craig S | ||
| Ross Carlisle (Ross) (66.238.217.132)
Rating: N/A |
Craig... Cory has a good idea also. I thought of Ians "Places we stay" section after I posted this. That seems to be geared more toward commercial sites and campgrounds though. I was thinking that this list should only contain free places to overnight sponsored by a busnut. I've found that places like this can be alot more fun than a commercial campground. We get RV'ers at the airport now and then who come in with a trike or ultralight on a trailer. The last one stayed at the airport for a week and flew his trike every day. He is planning to come back this summer for two weeks. So...I wonder if Ian would want to add a "Busnut Sponsored" places to stay section as Cory suggests. Or Craig, if you maintain the list, maybe Ian will link to your page in an easy to find place on his site. We should probably include the following information.... (1) Location (2) Is the location seasonal? (3) Are there hookups...Electrical, Sewer (4) Attractions in the area (5) Onsite ammenities such as food and restrooms (6) Offsite ammenities and distance from site (7) Specific comments about the site (8) Contact info for the sponsoring busnut I don't know about you guys, but when you have to deal with incompetent campground employees who hate their job and campground owners who only seem to care abou maximizing profits, it takes all the fun out of traveling. I'll bet some of you have even been through the Lake Sunapee area. We see a number of converted buses in the area in the summer. Ross | ||
| R.C.Bishop (128.123.221.142)
Rating: N/A |
Amen to the paragraph about dealing with less than "service" minded owners and employees.. We prefer to go it alone in most circumstances, but find that it is desirable to stop once in a while for a look at how folks are being treated here and there in the profit campgrounds. Mostly over charge and lousy attitude is our experience; but then, we do not look for high end places. Our coach is a '64 and many won't give you the time of day in an antique; nevermind the appearance. While the list of things to include, as Ross suggests, is ideal, many probably can't ( or won't) supply that much information. Seems to me a way to include as much as possible would not be precluded by the word "must". I can imagine a rather sophisticated site maintanence challenge if it is to grow and be useful. For instance, the Places We Stay category here on BNO is a super idea and has the potential of being exactly as outlined by Ross. I can't help but wonder if this is not what Ian had in mind when he started the category. HOWEVER.......for what ever reason it has not developed. We have not been contributors mainly because we haven't done any traveling since it was opened. What has been supplied is minimal and for the most part very sketchy information. I can imagine, in my mind's eye, a bunch of places in the travel business, including chambers of commerce, that would help support such an endeavor. There are other sites out there, but leave a lot to be desired. Best wishes....Thanx Ross for the input...and Craig for volunteering...  RCB | ||
| Ross Carlisle (Ross) (66.238.217.123)
Rating: N/A |
I can visualize a web form consisting of check boxes for items such as hookups (yes or no) and or drop down list boxes. The form could data could be stored in a flat file useing a CGI script. I've done a bit of that. I'd even be willing to do it in this case, but I thought it would be a nice enhancement to Craigs busnut list. I think it's important to have things like ammenities and attractions. If you knew that you could rent a boat on a lake only 3 miles from your parking spot, you might plan to stay for a day or two instead of just staying overnight. Important info when planning a vacation. Contact info is also important. The purpose of this list is not to rate or recommend commercial campgrounds. It is so that busnuts can extend the welcome mat to fellow busnuts. An RV'er may have a question or two about the site or may just want to confirm that the site is available before making plans. Not being a commercial site, this would be hard without some sort of contact info. I would have no problem supplying my phone number and email as a contact for our airport. You could also specify "No Contact Info Available" for sites that you might want to list but have no direct involvement with such as state parks. I don't think I would plan on staying at a non-commercial site unless I could confirm that it was OK. In most cases we would be talking about private property. I mean...You wouldn't want to plan on staying on a fellow busnuts private property if he was going to be out of town that weekend. Ross | ||
| Sam Sperbeck (206.230.105.250) Rating: N/A |
We belong to Converted Coach Chapter of FMCA and they publish a list of stopping spots in their annual directory but we have never had anyone even call about stopping. So, while your idea of a list sounds good, I doubt anyone will use it. But just in the event someone wants to stop at our house, you are welcome to. We have full hookups for one bus (50 amp elect.) and room for two others with 20 amp electric only. Come on by! Sam Sperbeck 507-895-3216 525 South 14th Street La Crescent, Minnesota 55947 | ||
| Craig S (65.202.123.254) Rating: N/A |
Ross, On a different ISP I once had a database for a classified idea. You could add, edit, with a password, search, in that case by area code, have a linkable email, a link to a picture, etc. I'd have to track down the code and see if it could be fashioned into this application. And then I'd have to see if my new ISP supports CGI the same. Sounds like a fun little side project. Any pieces/parts you would like to help with I'd appreciate. If I remember, it was a few pl scripts. Of course today, it might be done with java. I'm no internet expert. I program micro controlers at work in C and have dabled in HTML, etc. Craig S | ||
| Ross Carlisle (Ross) (66.238.217.95)
Rating: N/A |
I have quite a few perl scripts that do just about anything. The last was a catalog with image and URL links with a front end interface for entering, editing and deleteing catalog items. I can get all the scripts running and tested. You'll just need to make sure that your ISP is running the latest version of Perl. My ISP just upgraded and it effected all of my scripts. Ross | ||
| Craig S (65.202.123.254) Rating: N/A |
Ross, Do you have a small test set of files that I can FTP up and test? I'd say an HTML main and a pl that returns a virtual HTML page. Craig | ||
| Ross Carlisle (Ross) (66.238.216.101)
Rating: N/A |
I don't have anything real simple. First thing I need to do is rattle some cages down at my ISP about their latest Perl install, then I can get a simple script together that reads a form, writes it to a file and displays the file. I'll work on that this weekend. Once I have something working here, I'll email you file and you can try it on your end. Ross | ||
| Bill Butler (172.138.16.86)
Rating: N/A |
I found a interesting web site "Free campgrounds of the West" I ordered the download as we plan to spend several months in Texas shortly and it looks as if it will be very helpful. JFYI | ||
| CoryDaneRTSIIIL (4.17.253.102) Rating: N/A |
Well first things first gentlemen, I looked at the bus nut list sorted by state and it has me all alone between ID and IN, I think, anyway, I am not in with the IL group where I belong. Need to get the first list working before starting another list. CD | ||
| Craig S (65.202.123.254) Rating: N/A |
Hi CD, The list is just a text file. If you are not where you belong in the list, I have to edit it. It looks like I got some of the Is out of place. Thanks for pointing it out. Craig S | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.82.9.11) Rating: N/A |
I'd be willing to develop a full web application to create a dynamic list with all sorts of features. The difficult part, I think, would be getting people to keep their info up-to-date. Maybe some sort of e-mail reminder every few months asking them to log-in and update their profile etc. Of course, a certain amount of security is needed too. If people are listing their home addresses and when they will be home (or out of town), it would be a gold mine for a burgler ring. So, some level of security would be vital. My guess the reason the FMCA list doesn't/didn't get much use is that it may be too general. Busnuts are a smaller crowd and have a common hobby amongst ourselves with specific and unique problems and challanges (and joys) that the average RVer doesn't have. This topic has come up in the past, so I'll spare a long detailed description of what I envision the project could be. But I see such 'list' as a comprehensive, fully dynamic, searchable, database of busnuts and their current locations. I think it would be as fun to meet up with a busnut on the road as it would be to stop by their place for a visit. But meeting on the road requires even more frequent updates. I've got time to work on a project like this now, but can't afford to pay for Web and Database hosting. I work in ASP with a MS Access (or $QL $erver) database and can't do such a project on a budget Unix host like I use for my own Web site. So if anyone owns a hosting company and can donate a MS Database account (or would be interested in funding it), I'd be willing to do the development work. Scott | ||
| Ross Carlisle (Ross) (216.107.193.78)
Rating: N/A |
Craigs ISP is running Windows machines. My ISP is running Linux, Unix and as of last week, a Mac G4 running OSX. I can host it on my domain (Unix) or Craig has offered to host on his domain (Windows). I have admin level access to the server at my ISP, so I have no limitations as to what I can and can not run on the server. I'm not sure if Craigs ISP has any script limitations. As far as security, it would be easy enough to password protect the page. To access you would send the moderator an email requesting a password. This way there would be a list of authorized users. Ross Craig...If you want to host his, it sounds like Scott can help with the ASP work. If not, I can do the whole thing in Perl. While we're at it we could also make the busnut list dynamic as well. | ||
| Craig S (65.202.123.254) Rating: N/A |
I have the room on my account with my ISP. What will and will not work is the question on my end. The last time, I had the luxury of having a unix HTTP server machine at work I could experiment with. When I got it working, I FTPed it to my unix ISP and presto I was in business. This time around, the unix box at work is gone and my new ISP is NT/2000 based. So my tinkering days are over. I don't want to try experimenting around with my ISPs box when it comes to CGI. They have a perl to exe utility that is supposed to help in these matters but I'm no expert in this area. Last Ross and I emailed, we thought he might do it on his machine and I'd link to it from the busnuts list page. Let me know how I can help. Craig S | ||
| Peter Broadribb (Madbrit) (65.37.88.124)
Rating: N/A |
Scott, I don't think that dates of when one is at home is necessary to have published on the list. If one is intending to visit, then a phone call or email would suffice. As for the FMCA list, I have never had a visit, but my neighbor has quite a few total strangers come and stay overnight or even a day or two. It depends upon what services you are offering I suppose. I offer assistance and he offers hook-ups, etc. Peter. | ||
| CoryDaneRTSIIIL (4.17.253.19) Rating: N/A |
I think the only safe way would be to only list city and state or, just state. If someone is going to be in an area, there may be a "Travel Board" that someone could post an area to be visited, from there, locals could contact the traveler, perhaps email, and plans can be made. I don't see safety in the internet for important information when they cant stop Pop ups! Just a thought.....cd | ||
| Ross Carlisle (Ross) (216.107.195.162)
Rating: N/A |
Good point Cory. If we list city, state, area highlights and acontact for more info, that should be sufficient. Craig...My ISP has thier directory structure all screwed up. I'll deal with that on Monday. The airport website is also having CGI problems caused by the same directory issue. I'll get a demo working then you and Scott can figure out if you want to do it in ASP. If anyone is curious about the airport I mentioned earlier in this thread, the URL is http://www.newportnh.net/airport/ Ross | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.82.9.17) Rating: N/A |
I have no experience in cgi or any programming languages. But I have figured out how to make Web sites work in ASP with a Microsoft database. So if I am to be of any help at all, it would need to be hosted on a Windows box (2000 Server) and have access to a DSN-less or DSN database such as MS Access or MS SQL Server. My vision of this project, if it should ever come to fruition, is along these lines: * Phone list * Address list * List of bus types * Links to private bus sites * Calender of events * Links to Maps * List of private visit invitations: - services available - nearby attractions - driving directions - etc. * List of campgrounds we visit: - services available - nearby attractions - driving directions - etc. * Scheduling functions: - find friends on the road - know when friends will be away traveling - Rallies, mini-rallies, conventions * etc. I imagine such a project to be much more than a list, but rather a fully dynamic Web application where everything is linked. So lets say you plan to take a trip to CA. You could find all the busnuts along the way to visit. But you could also see which ones were home and accepting visitors and which were away traveling themselves. But maybe you also see that one of your friends who is traveling, plans to be near one of your destinations - or your routes cross. So you go a little off your path, or advance or delay your plans a bit, and the two of you meet up on the road. What fun. Where to meet up? You can search in the Places we stay section and see what other busnuts have recommended in that area. Then as time goes by, the places we stay can get updated with more and more details or even rated. Maybe a campground upgrades its service to 50A. So the busnut that visits it, can then update the record for that location to let everyone know. Anyway, the possibilities are endless. But I think it could be a neat project if a lot of people participate and it becomes a community effort to build the database. In time, it could be a very vaulable tool for traveling, but yet, customized for us busnuts. Just my $0.02! : ^ ) Scott |