quilts - RVing with Rex

RVing is a great way to escape it all. You can relax in the quiet beauty of the natural world. Some people live in the peaceful and relaxing setting of a campsite.

But sometimes camping by itself can be a little, ahem, dull. While a quiet and serene landscape may be incredible for a few days, you may need a hobby while on the road.

Maybe you’ll find a new hobby on this list!

1. Create nature art

Many RVers enjoy creating art out of items they find in nature. For example, some folks like to create a nature journal and include leaf rubbings of the foliage nearby. While creating art out of natural items is engaging, be sure that you follow all park rules and laws. For example, picking flowers from a national park is a big no-no. You want to ensure you know what you are and are not allowed to do before starting a hobby in a state or national park.

Yarn for knitting *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

2. Knitting

Knitting is a great portable hobby that’s perfect for camping. Not only is it enjoyable but it is useful too. While you create beautiful, handmade items, your body relaxes and experiences therapeutic healing at the same time. Using both of your hands for a focused activity is stimulating for your brain. So if you find yourself wishing for something to keep your hands and your mind busy, give knitting a try.

3. Metal detecting

A unique hobby some RVers enjoy is metal detecting. You never know what hidden treasure might be found in a campground or on a deserted stretch of beach. You can find a good metal detector for only about a $100. Not too pricey for a new hobby that keeps you active. However, it’s important to research metal detecting restrictions and the code of ethics before you dive into this hobby.

4. Wood carving/turning pens

Turning pens is a woodworking technique to create custom pens, pencils, and other writing instruments. Many people like to work with wood in varying capacities whether by carving or making a helpful tool from wood. You can get a mini wood lathe for about $200 and wood carving set for under $20 to keep in your RV.

Hiking in Catalina State Park, Arizona *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

5. Hiking

In my mind, there are few things more rejuvenating than hiking or walking in nature. One of the biggest reasons I fell in love with the RV lifestyle is that beautiful nature is so accessible wherever you are. It seems like I am always just minutes away from a spectacular trailhead. Whether I am hiking in the mountains or traversing trails in the desert, nature is a refuge—it’s a change of pace from city life, from being stuck inside, from being sedentary.

6. Painting Rocks

Painting rocks is a fun thing to do while camping. Rock painting is a fun, creative outlet that doesn’t require you to be da Vinci in order to enjoy it. It requires minimal supplies (paint brush and paints) and you can search for smooth rocks right at your campsite. It is like treasure hunting and painting in one fun hobby.

7. Geocaching (modern day treasure hunting)

One of the more popular activities that many campers and hikers take part in is geocaching. A geocache can be anything from a simple logbook where you add your name and the date you found the hidden cache or something larger such as an ammo box which may be filled with trinkets left by other geocachers. (If taking something from a Geocache, it’s customary to replace it with a similar object of equal or more value.) Geocaching can be a fun way to get out and explore around your campground and people of all ages love treasure hunting.

Texas Quilt Museum, La Grange, Texas *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

8. Quilting

Quilting is another relaxing hobby you can work on when traveling. It’s a wonderful way to create items you can use in your RV or give as gifts. Some RVers make quilts out of t-shirts they buy wherever they travel. So, the quilt becomes a storyboard for their journey.

9. Paper quilling/paper crafting

Paper quilling is the art of cutting paper into long thin strips and rolling and pinching them into different shapes to create an overall design. You can buy paper quilling kits online to get started. They have everything you need to complete numerous beginner projects.

Fishing at Parker Canyon Lake, Arizona *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

10. Fishing

Fishing offers a double dose of fun and food—as long as the fish are biting. Be sure to check the local fishing regulations, get your fishing license, and read up on what kind of fish you’ll find near the campsite.

11. Jewelry making

Another fun hobby you can try is jewelry making. Create earrings, necklaces, or bracelets that are just your style. Jewelry making includes many different options including wire wrapping, leatherworking, and beading. There are numerous starter kits available. Some RVers sell the jewelry they make at swap meets or on Etsy. Talk about a creative way to make money while RVing.

12. Travel journaling

Instead of waiting until after their trip (and inevitably putting it off), many RVers journal and/or scrapbook as they travel.

13. Lego

Lego aren’t just for kids anymore. Some folks find it relaxing to build intricate lego sets while camping. You may think taking these tiny bricks camping will be a disaster but you can use an organizer box to stay tidy. You can even build a Volkswagen T2 Camper Van. The building kit for this classic camper van comes with 2,207 pieces.

Horseback riding at Lost Dutchman State Park, Arizona *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

14. Play outdoor games

Fun outdoor games to play while camping include horseshoes, bocce, cornhole, ladder golf, and Frisbee. You can also toss around a mini football or play catch with a baseball.

15. Painting

While getting started painting can be daunting given the wealth of incredible art that has been produced for centuries, it can also be an enjoyable pastime for anyone to try. Painting is a calming hobby that also allows you to express yourself creatively. On top of that, it’s surprisingly affordable to get started and you can make real progress very quickly with a little dedication.

16. Gardening

Keeping a garden while traveling can be challenging but it also helps ground you and brings in wonders like fresh herbs and produce or simply beautifies and detoxifies a closed space like an RV. Start small and then work your way up to edibles. Even a cache of succulents can brighten the interior of a motorhome or trailer and are low-maintenance.

Gambel’s quail in Usery Mountain Regional Park, Mesa, Arizona *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

17. Birding (or bird watching)

Bird watching is an ideal way to keep in touch with nature and you also have the satisfaction of learning something new. Birding also relieves stress and can provide a place of solitude except for the sweet song of a bird. Most people go birding as a casual activity. One of the must haves for this activity is a field book that has pictures and tips about birds in your area or wherever you plan to identify them. Good binoculars are one of the most important items for a pleasurable time.

Boating at Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

18. Boating

Boating and camping just go together. Who doesn’t love a day on the water? From canoes and kayaks to small sailboats, fishing charters and recreational crafts, these vessels can be seen gliding across lakes and rivers from coast to coast. Love boating? Many campgrounds and RV parks provide on-site and nearby opportunities for boating rentals and charters.

Biking the Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

19. Biking

In the minds of some, camping and bikes go hand in hand. Nearly everyone is aware of the fact that spending time outdoors is good for your health. In fact, this health benefit is one of the best reasons to go camping. And, this can be enhanced if you throw some exercise into the mix. Riding a bike to get from point A to point B is a wonderful way to get some exercise into your trip while also reaching your desired destinations. Best of all, you’ll be spending even more time outside.

20. Crossword puzzles

You might think of a crossword puzzle as a fun way to pass the time on a lazy Sunday. They’re inexpensive (especially at a Dollar Store), require only a pencil and your brain, and can be played wherever you happen to be including camping. And, it turns out that there are quite a few benefits to solving crossword puzzles. One of the most obvious benefits of solving crossword puzzles is that it can help improve your memory. This is especially beneficial for older adults who are at risk for memory decline. Solving a crossword puzzle also requires focus and concentration.

Photographers at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

21. Photography

Camping is a fantastic opportunity to get started with photography. You will have a wealth of subjects, events, and scenery that you simply have to record for later enjoyment. Taking photos means you can keep a visual record to look back on for years to come. Preferably you want as little equipment as possible—both weight and space are often at a premium when camping.

Worth Pondering…

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

—Albert Einstein

Today’s barn decorating revival became popular with a woman named Donna Sue Groves, from Adams County, Ohio. She wanted to honor her mother by hanging a colorful painted quilt square on her barn.

Barn Quilt Trail, Kentucky *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

From the start, the mother of the quilt-barn movement envisioned mile after mile of quilt trails throughout Appalachia, but the folksy phenomenon has exceeded her expectations.

“We’re celebrating quilting as an art form. We’re celebrating our agricultural heritage and supporting entrepreneurial opportunities,” Groves says.

The history of barn decoration dates back to the mid 1800s. Painting symbols on barns originated from traditional folk art passed along from the German and Swiss immigrants who settled the Pennsylvania Dutch region in southeastern Pennsylvania. Once these groups including Lutherans, Moravians, and Mennonites built their family farms and communities, they would paint small patterns on their barns to celebrate their heritage. Originally these patterns were simple stars, compass roses, or stylized birds from traditional folk art.

In 2000, when Donna Sue Groves set out to fulfill her promise to paint a quilt square on her mother’s tobacco barn, she decided to expand her folk art idea beyond their farm. As an Ohio Arts Council employee, she had a hunch that quilt squares painted on the sides of barns throughout Adams County would provide work for local artists and encourage visitors to travel through the countryside.

Groves organized volunteers for the Adams County Quilt Barn Sampler committee as they established guidelines for the 8-foot-by-8-foot painted wooden squares called “barn quilts.” Her mother Maxine stitched a sampler quilt with 20 traditional patterns chosen by the group and in October 2001, they unveiled their first painted quilt square—an Ohio Star—on a barn during the Lewis Mountain Olde Thyme Herb Fair in Manchester, Ohio.

From the beginning tourists roamed the back roads of the county in search of the colorful quilt patterns, taking photographs, and visiting with barn owners.

As the folk art spread across the countryside, Donna Sue’s gift to her mother became a gift to rural America.

Barn quilts showed up in unsuspecting places such as this building in Georgetown, Kentucky *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

This was the start of the first quilt trail in America. Quilt trails have now being organized all across the country. Barn quilts are displayed around communities and then mapped out for tourists to follow these amazing works of art. They promote tourism and help draw visitors into rural communities.

Barn quilts showed up in unsuspecting places such as this building in the Artisan Village at Berea, Kentucky *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

Traditional stars and various quilt patterns are now being displayed on barns, homes, sheds, and sides of buildings. They are also put on posts and displayed in yards and parks.

Today, more than 4,000 quilt squares adorn barns and other buildings in 34 states, most situated along more than 120 designated barn-quilt trails.

“The trails are very localized. What’s going on is local pride,” says Suzi Parron, author of Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement, published in 2012.

Parron, an English teacher from Stone Mountain, Georgia, became smitten with the folk art phenomenon after seeing a Flying Geese quilt square on a barn in Cadiz, Kentucky.

The quilt squares are painted by farm families, professional artists, high school art students, quilt guilds, 4-H groups, and other organizations.

Barn quilts showed up in unsuspecting places such as this building in the Artisan Village at Midway, Kentucky *© Rex Vogel, all rights reserved*

Each community organizes its own trail. Many groups seek art and tourism grants and donations to pay for paint, wood, and brochures. Local utility companies, fire departments, and building contractors often provide manpower and trucks with lifts to hang the wooden blocks. Sometimes, barn owners pay a few hundred dollars for their own barn quilts.

In Morgan County, Colorado, quilting enthusiast Nancy Lauck has painted nearly 200 barn quilts since 2007 because she treasures the barns built by pioneering farmers.

Another barn preservationist, Marcella Epperson in Johnson City, Tennessee, enjoys meeting visitors and sharing stories about her wooden-pegged barn built in 1898 by her grandfather. A combination of two quilt patterns—a LeMoyne Star set inside Swallows in the Window—decorates the barn.

Barn quilts remind people of their agricultural roots, as Donna Sue Groves intended, and bring attention to the endangered status of century-old barns.

Worth Pondering…

A day patched with quilting seldom unravels.

Tag: quilts

21 Enjoyable and Fun Hobbies to do while Camping

Barn Quilt Trail: Folksy Phenomenon