Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BNBRv.com Receives 2011 Best of Anchorage Award

U.S. Commerce Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

NEW YORK, NY, December 14, 2011 -- BNBRv.com has been selected for the 2011 Best of Anchorage Award in the Automobile Rental category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2011 USCA Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a New York City based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association

CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@uscaaward.com
URL: www.uscaaward.com

Denali National Park Alaska Day Tours & Activities

The highlight of any Alaska vacation is a trip to America's crown jewel of the National Park system - Denali National Park! Denali National Park is an absolutely stunning location that the whole family will love, and it offers up a wide variety of different tours allowing you to fully absorb the magic of the setting and the wildlife that surrounds you. This the 'theme park' of the north. Go on a hike, play in the lakes, fish in the rivers, be a part of nature. Mother nature's magic is in full bloom in Denali. The majestic mountains, the fragrant flowers, and the pure landscape are enough to make you pause in awe. Come see the unspoiled frontier of Alaska, in Denali National Park.

Denali National Park Wildlife Viewing & Park Bus Trip		Product Info
Searching for wildlife like Grizzly Bears, Wolf, Moose, Dall Sheep, and Cariboos in the wild tundra with 20,320ft tall Mt McKinley (the tallest mountain in North America) looming large in the background, is the prime reason why people come to Denali National Park. You can take advantage of Denali Backcountry Adventure, a full day narrated trip that will take you deep inside Denali National Park in the Kantishna region along the Park Road. Click Learn More for further information.		Price $149 per person Learn More

Denali ATV Adventures

Four fully guided Denali National Park ATV Adventures. Some excursions are available as early as May 24th, and as late as September 15th. Come see Alaska the way Alaskan's do!Learn More

Denali Jeep® Backcountry Safari		Product Info
Take the wheel of a 4-WD Jeep Wrangler® and follow your guide on a spectacular off-road journey into Denali's Backcountry. Keep a look out for wildlife; this is habitat for moose, foxes, caribou and bears.		Price $139.00 Adults / $93.00 Children Learn More

Denali National Park Flightseeing Tour

Seeing Mt. McKinley from the ground is never a sure thing as it is located ninety miles from Denali Park entrance and conditions constantly change.Learn More

Denali National Park Heli-hiking & Heli-tours

Stunning views of Denali Park, ancient glaciers, towering peaks and a guided glacier hike combine to make this a memorable opportunity.Learn More

Denali National Park Iditarod Dog Kennel Tour		Product Info
Step back from the crowds and join an intimate group for a personal tour of the homestead and Iditarod race kennel of an Iditarod champion.		Duration Departure: 8:30am, 12:30pm, 7:00pm Price $49.00 per adult / $29.00 per child Learn More

Dog Ride And Wilderness Living Adventure		Product Info
The Dog Ride and Wilderness Living Adventure is an exciting, fun filled adventure that provides a up close look into wilderness living. At this riverside location, visit with Alaskans that make their living and raise their families in the wilderness near Denali.		Price $79.00 Adults / $49.00 Children Learn More

Denali National Park Whitewater Rafting

Choose from the two-hour introductory, family-oriented "McKinley Run" (class II & III), where you may see moose, dall sheep, caribou and bears.Learn More

Denali National Park Wilderness Safari		Product Info
Take a covered and heated powerboat for a 3 hour round trip river safari into "bush Alaska." Travel to a remote trapper's camp in the wilderness. Several convenient departure times available.		Duration Departure: 7:30am, 8:00am, 12pm, 2pm, 5pm Price $119.00 per adult / $60.50 per child Learn More

Perhaps you have wondered about taking an RV vacation. It seems like fun and you'd like to try it, but you aren't sure if it's for you. As baby boomers take to the road, the RVing pastime and lifestyle are becoming increasingly popular.

If you have a hint of the RV itch, then here are 10 common reasons for taking an RV vacation:

1. Getting Back to Nature: If you are interested in the great outdoors, an RV is a great way to vacation. You can visit state or national parks, tour famous landmarks and simply enjoy some fresh air and natural settings. Take a hike or go fishing. Try white water rafting or canoeing. Play some golf, go swimming, ride your bike. Get some exercise or simply do nothing but enjoy your surroundings.

2. The Comforts of Home: With an RV vacation, you can have the best of both worlds. Enjoy the great outdoors with more creature comforts than tent camping. Whether you own an RV or try a rental, most RVs are well equipped. You will likely have a kitchen with microwave, fridge and stove, a TV and VCR, beds, living and dining areas and bathroom with shower. Many RVs have slide out rooms that increase the living area at the touch of a button. You can sit outside under your awning, get out of the rain if the weather changes, and turn on the air conditioner if it gets too hot.
   
   
3. Family Matters: Family members of all ages tend to connect with each other when they are away from their normal routine enjoying a simpler lifestyle. Remember that family togetherness can be a double-edged sword. While the RV is comfortable, it is a small living area for a large family. If you are renting, bear this in mind in choosing the size of your rental RV. During the day, try to spend time outdoors or in different activities, so that each family member gets a bit of personal space and time for themselves. But the minor logistics can be managed.

   The general consensus among RVing families is that an RV vacation tends to bring the family closer together with more communication and the sharing of good times.

4. Cool for Kids: An RV vacation can be a great way to travel with children. They can go out to play or take part in campground activities. There are likely to be other kids to meet and new places to explore. Children of all ages will enjoy an old-fashioned campfire complete with stories, songs and stargazing. And most kids think it's pretty cool to be in an RV "home on wheels".

5. Campgrounds: There are many choices in campgrounds and RV parks. In peak season and tourist areas, you should make reservations. Look for the amenities that are important to you. Campgrounds may have swimming pools, lakes, boating, fishing ponds, miniature golf, playgrounds, hiking trails, game rooms, walking or bike paths, tennis courts and activities for kids and adults. You may find dances, barbeques, contests or other entertainment. Consider the size and setting of the campsites and check out overall campground ratings in campground directories. Also consider proximity to other attractions or landmarks that you want to visit on your RV vacation.

6. Flexibility: In an RV, you have the flexibility to change locations if you get the whim. But take this with a grain of salt. For popular destinations, you may not be able to pick up and find another campground without a reservation. You also want to strike the right balance between seeing different areas, the amount of time spent driving and ensuring you have enough time to relax. Cautions aside, an RV can give you a lot of freedom and spontaneity. RV travel appeals to an inner pioneering spirit and allows you to create your own adventure as you go along your way. You can explore the country at your own pace or take off for last minute mini-vacations, tailgating events and weekend trips. There are all sorts of destinations for an RV vacation.

7. Affordability: The question of whether it is cheaper to take an RV vacation doesn't have a "one size fits all" answer. The comparison really depends on the type of vacations you would take instead, as well as the way in which you plan to RV. For a one-time trip, you can compare the costs of renting a suitable RV to the costs of hotels, airfare or other means of travel. Or if you are considering regular RV vacations, you may want to purchase a motorhome or towable trailer. In this case, you would need to factor in operating costs, maintenance and the purchase price.

   In an RV, you can save money by cooking meals at home vs. dining out. You can minimize expenses if you take advantage of activities and amenities already included in the campground rate. Fuel expenses can be managed by reducing the distances traveled and staying longer at a given campground or park.

   
   
8. Driving the RV: Driving yourself gives you control over where you go and the pace of your travel. You don’t have the hassle of airline counters and keeping to schedules. You can stop and take a break when you choose. You don't need a special license to drive an RV. Sure, it takes some getting used to -- but the number of RVs on the road should tell you that it is doable. Practice on your own (or with one other person) before you load up your passengers. Take advantage of any classes available through your dealer or one of the many RV organizations.

9. How about a relaxing vacation for a change? How many times have you returned from a trip saying you need a vacation from the vacation? Now don't kid yourself - if you are the type who likes to schedule all the details of a trip, that's not going to change simply because you are traveling in an RV. But in choosing an RV vacation, you may shift your thinking and be more apt to use your time off as an opportunity to truly relax and unwind.

10. Test out the RV Lifestyle: The RV vacation may serve as a test drive to gauge your overall interest in the RV lifestyle. There are RVers who spend several weeks per year in RV travel. Other RVers take off for months. Snowbirds are RVers who make an annual trek to warmer climates for the winter season. And then there are fulltime RVers whose only home is their RV. Many of these people started out by vacationing in an RV as a way to try out the RV lifestyle.

Minding Your Manners
10 Tips for Campground Etiquette

RVing is supposed to be fun. And some simple campground etiquette helps to keep it that way for everyone. If you are starting out or need a refresher, here are 10 tips on minding your camping manners to make your stay enjoyable.

1. Follow the rules:     Individual parks usually hand you a copy of their rules when you register. Adhering to these rules is one of the basics of campground etiquette. It makes things easier for everyone involved – you, your neighbors and the park operators. Typical guidelines include reduced speed limits on campground roads for the safety of all involved. You are typically expected to unhook a dinghy before driving to your site. There are usually defined quiet hours when you should keep the noise down, turn off outdoor lights, generators - basically, the party is over.

2. Eliminate pet peeves:     Literally. Pick up after your pets. Stop excessive or extended barking. Don’t leave a howling dog unattended to bother the neighbors. Use a leash. Even if Spot is friendly, not everyone is an animal lover. Good pet-etiquette on your part helps ensure that the many RVers with pets are welcome at campgrounds.

3. Parking the rig:     Sometimes it is very clear how to orient the rig on a site – you may even have a cement pad. But in many cases, the only guidepost will be the hookup for electric and sewer. General campground etiquette is to stay on your side of that hook-up, and not have awnings or slide-outs encroaching on the site next door. Look at the campground map for a clue about preferred orientation. Or, look around you to see how other rigs are angled, if they are centered on sites or close to the utility hook up. You will get the most out of the space you have (and so will your neighbors) if you are all situated the same way. There are bound to be exceptions – we have been in many campgrounds with no uniformity in the size, shape or orientation of sites. The main objective in these cases is to just “guess the site” and fit the RV into it. But even then, the idea is to park in a way that gets everyone their fair share of privacy and room under their respective awnings. Common sense and campground etiquette go hand in hand.

4. Late arrivals:     If you are arriving at a park after normal quiet hours, attempt some degree of stealth behavior. Not that it is easy to be unobtrusive pulling in an RV. But keep the set-up to the minimum required for the night. Your neighbors will understand that you need to pull in and hook up. They have probably been in the same situation. But they will lose patience if they spend an hour listening to loud conversation, slamming doors and arguments over how to level the rig. Do what is essential and remember that tomorrow is another day. The same sort of courtesy should be used if you are making an early morning departure. Don’t keep the engine idling for an hour before you leave. Tidy up your campsite the night before.

5. Sewer connections:     Do them right. Make them secure. No torn hoses. In most places, your sewer connection faces the side where you neighbor has their “patio” area. Another time where being discreet and careful is part of good campground etiquette.

6. Washing the RV:     Most campgrounds will not allow washing to avoid wasting water, high water bills, muddy sites, etc. Read the rules. You usually have to get by with a small bucket and rag and/or waterless cleaner to just do minimal spot cleaning. If you are lucky enough to find a place where you can really wash the RV, use common sense. Don’t have the water flowing when you aren’t actually using it. Watch the spray – your neighbor may not be interested in having their rig washed. In fact, it makes for friendly campground etiquette if you let you neighbor know ahead of time that you plan to wash your rig. That way, they can close any windows or put away articles that might inadvertently get wet.

7. No trespassing:     When we first started out, a fellow RVer came over and asked if he could look around on “our property” for something he had lost, a paper that had blown out of his car the night before. We appreciated his asking first, and were somewhat amused by the term “our property”. But in fact, one of the unspoken rules of campground etiquette is that you stay off occupied sites. For the time a camper is on a site, it is their space and their privacy should be respected. If you are taking a stroll around the campground, the operative word is “around”. Stay on roads and pathways – don’t cut through your neighbors’ turf.

8. Around the campfire:     Before you light it, make sure it is permitted, and follow any rules the campground may have. Do not use your firepot as a garbage can. There is sure to be a trash can available in your rig or on the park premises. No one likes to pull into a site with a firepot full of beer cans or the remains from someone else’s dinner the night before.

9. Keeping up the neighborhood:     In general, be tidy. RVing is an outdoor pastime and RVers are generally an easy going lot. But there is a point where too much stuff laying around outside the RV starts to look sloppy. Trash or anything loose that can blow around is a definite no-no.

10. Do unto others:     When in doubt, follow the golden rule. If you aren’t sure of the proper campground etiquette for something, think about how you would like to be treated. If you are concerned that something might bother your neighbor, your best bet is just to ask them. If you find yourself in a situation where your neighbors or park operators are doing something that you find intolerable, politely address the subject with them. If that doesn’t work, consider moving to another site or another campground. You are in an RV after all.

Experienced RV drivers share the tips they wish someone had given them.

"If you try backing up for the first time at a campground, you might hit something and make a spectacle of yourself. Practice

parking

before going anywhere. If you never master it, ask for assistance. It's the nature of RV enthusiasts to help each other." --Bob Livingston, vice president and group publisher, MotorHome magazine"Get meticulous

directions

. Let people know you're

driving

As we wind our way around the country, we are reminded of RV advice like the following tips -- which might just come in handy for your travels:

Selecting a Site: When you are lucky enough to pull into a park where you can choose your site, here are a few things to bear in mind:

• Where is the sun? And what is its path, relative to how the site is oriented? You may want to avoid a site where the sun will be beating down on your patio area, just when you want to be out enjoying the late afternoon and evening. On the other hand, you might want to take advantage of a spectacular sunset view, if you are equipped with an awning shade.

• Where is the signal? If having satellite TV is important to you, then look for an unobstructed view of the southern sky. Remember that the tradeoff of no trees may mean no shade.

• Where are the restrooms? Some people want to be near the restrooms and/or showers. Others may want to be far away. If it makes a difference to you, take a look around.

• Another bit of RV advice is to look at the traffic pattern within the campground. If you don't want a lot of cars or foot traffic going past your site, then check it out as you make your selection. Or you might want to be right in the thick of things.

• Is there sufficient space? Ideally, you will have a site big enough for your tow vehicle and RV. Also consider the width of the site – for instance, when your RV is sitting level, will the picnic table fit or will it be sitting on a slope that renders it pretty useless?

Avoid sharp moves. Specifically, avoid the temptation to pull into a place (shopping center, parking lot, etc.) on impulse. If at all possible, try to look before you leap.

• For one thing, you want to avoid pulling into a place where you will have no way to get around or get out. This is particularly important RV advice for a large motorhome towing a car, where you can’t back up. It’s a real pain if you end up in a position where you can’t move forward, and have to unhook the toad to get you rig out of the way of other vehicles.
• Another thing to guard against is a move into a lot without checking the grade of the entrance. An unanticipated slope taken a bit too fast and you might end up damaging your back end or undercarriage.
• Of course you won’t always be able to see what you are getting into ahead of time and will have to take a chance. If you MUST stop and a given place is your only opportunity – well, go slow and keep your fingers crossed. Depending on your specific circumstances, it might be a better option to drive further up the road. If you are in a motorhome with a car in tow, it might be prudent to find a place to detach the toad and use it to scope out the situation.

Buyer beware: RV advice at the RV fuel pumps - advertised fuel prices may be misleading. If you see a great price on the signs, make sure you know if taxes are included or not. Some fuel stations post the price for tax exempt purchases (which applies to some truckers doing interstate traffic). This gets the unknowing driver into the station, and more likely fueled up, before the real price is discovered. like the “red roads”: You will probably hear this RV advice from many veteran RVers...if you can, take your time and take the scenic roads. The term “red roads” generally refers to those routes shown on maps as red lines AND which also have some marking denoting them as scenic routes. For example, our road atlas denotes scenic routes with a series of dots (….).

Don’t take the “red roads” terminology too literally – not all red roads on a map or RV road atlas are scenic, and the scenic roads are not always red. The “red road” concept simply refers to the preference of many RVers to avoid the busy interstates, and instead travel the back roads to see the local communities and landscapes of the country.

Holding the record for being the first state park in Alaska the Kachecmak Bay State Park is also the only wilderness park in the state. Home to many marine life creatures, visitors can often observe otters, seals, and whales, as well as land animals like moose, bears, and wolves. Camping is allowed in most areas of the state park, and although there is not a strict campground location, there are areas with fireplaces, outhouses, tent platforms, and information set up throughout the area.

Cabins are available for rent in several locations of the park as well, and come equipped with quite a few amenities at prices ranging from $50-$65 nightly. With its roving wildlife and beautiful land this state park’s camping locations offer campers opportunities for hiking, fishing, and boating.

Alaska is a mysterious land that has been largely untouched in this modern world. While staying at Alaska’s campgrounds within state parks you get to experience the best that this beautiful area has to offer, at a reasonable price, and in a convenient location.

This 80-site campground is located within the Chilkoot State Park, and rests at the outlet of the Chilkoot Lake into the Chilkoot River. Because of its location, from June until October this campground offers some of the best salmon fishing in Alaska. With the large amount of salmon also come large amounts of bears; so be sure to brush up on your bear behavior before booking a stay here.

Basic amenities are included for a nominal fee and firewood is available at an additional cost as well. There are hiking trails and boat access, making this an ideal campground for an avid fisherman.

Located within Chugach State Park, the third largest state park in the United States, Eagle River Campground offers its campers a variety of activities to choose from. Whether you want to go white water rafting, fishing, or hiking, the facilities to do so can be found here. Campground guides are also available to answer any questions that you may have during your stay.

For a fee of $15 per night, you have access to basic amenities such as flush toilets, water, picnic tables, and a dump station. Although the amenities are not first class, the views and surrounding wildlife more than make up for it.