After almost a year of your photo submissions, a week of voting, and a few busy days of assembly, the 2008 Truck Camper Magazine Calendars are finally ready to order!  And while we may be somewhat biased, we think they completely rock!

The calendars are available online for $14.95 plus shipping. 

Here’s a link to the 2008 Truck Camper Magazine Calendar – USA Version:
www.lulu.com/content/1608781

Here’s a link to the 2008 Truck Camper Magazine Calendar – Canada Version:
www.lulu.com/content/1609004

But wait, there’s more!  Below we have compiled the stories the winners sent in about their winning photos.  Order a calendar and enjoy the read!

COVER

Gary Love actually had two photos place in the top twelve with a tie.  While we didn’t want to have two photos in the calendar from the same person, we found a good compromise of putting one of Gary’s winning photos on the cover.  We also happen to like this particular shot having just driven through central Oregon and seen the beautiful fall colors.  Congratulations, Gary! 


JANUARY

Martin Menard from Milwaukie, Oregon
Photo Location: Mount Rainier State Park, Washington
Truck: 2008 Ford F450 HD, King Ranch, 4WD
Camper: 2008 Okanagan 117DBL

This is when we were leaving Seattle and returning home to Portland, Oregon.  I decided to take a side trip through Mount Rainier Park in Washington. It is an easy drive but will have you stopping many times when you go around a curve.  The view takes your breath away. That's what having an RV is all about!


FEBRUARY

Phillip Welty from Vacaville, California
Photo Location: East Shore of Pyramid Lake NE of Reno, Nevada
Truck: 2006 Ford F350, King Ranch Edition, DRW
Camper: 2006 Bigfoot 3000

We live in North Central California.  A short two hours west puts us on the ocean.  Two hours east and we are in the Sierras, the perfect location for my E-Pod (escape Pod) Camper.   We own a conventional RV that requires more planning for longer trips but, when I want to hit the road for the weekend, I toss the dogs into the truck/Bigfoot and make my escape from the rapidly over crowding Bay Area. 

We left early Saturday morning bound for Pyramid Lake and we stopped in the Sierras to let the dogs play in the snow.  After spending the night in Reno we continued to Pyramid Lake.  Pyramid Lake sets on a Piute Indian reservation and is a geological and Historical wonderland.  It’s only sixty miles from Lake Tahoe and it is as big as Tahoe with none of the over crowding.   It’s not the best place to take your RV but a wonderland for an E-Pod with four-wheel drive.  Anaho Island in the middle of Pyramid Lake is the rookery for American White Pelicans.  It is not uncommon to see pelicans gliding over the Lake.   The east shore of the lake is covered with spectacular tufa deposits.

Pyramid Lake is a great escape pod destination with fishing and hiking, plus it’s peaceful and just difficult enough to keep the not so hardy away.  It turns out that paradise was not paved after all.


MARCH

Mike Johnson from Whitsett, North Carolina
Photo Location: Just east of Silver City, New Mexico
Truck: 2007 Chevy Silverado 3500, Duramax Diesel, 4WD
Camper: 2002 Lance 921

The photo was taken in May of 2007 on Highway 152 on our honeymoon.  After getting married in Cades Cove, Tennessee, we went on a three-week honeymoon across southern Texas and New Mexico.  The scenery along highway 152 is stunningly beautiful.  The curves along the road are just as stunning as it is a very winding road. 

There was a bridge height warning 22 miles prior to the bridge.  We knew we would be close because our truck camper with Duhon foldable bikes in the luggage rack is 12' 6".   I rode on the back ladder making sure we had plenty of room between us and the bridge as my wife slowly drove through the bridge.  The angle of the photo makes it look like we had more clearance than we really did. Fortunately we made it though.

Our camper is a Lance 921 that we bought new just before this trip.  It is all for sale too!  It is time for a bigger TC!


APRIL

Stan Kennedy from Davis, California
Photo Location: Capay Valley, Northern California
Truck: 200 Ford F-150, Extra Cab, Long Bed, 4WD
Camper: 2007 Four Wheel Granby

I enjoy taking pictures of my Four Wheel Granby.  This picture was taken in September, 2007 in Northern California.  I just drove out towards Cash Creek in Capay Valley, which runs from Clear Lake to the Sacramento River.  I went off-road exploring.  I like to find the most remote spots possible and get off the beaten path.


MAY

John Kenyon from Napa, California
Photo Location: Avenue of the Giants Highway in Shively, California
Truck: 2004 Ford F350, 6.0L Diesel, DRW, 4WD
Camper: 2001 Lance 820

This picture was taken July 25, 2007, which was near the end of our 6000-mile, two-month trip. The location is on the Avenue of the Giants Highway just a little southwest of the town of Shively, California in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.  This picture really shows just how big the redwood trees are.


JUNE

Nik Rende from Augusta, Maine
Photo Location: Portsmouth Island, North Carolina
Truck: 2001.5 Dodge 2500, Cummins Turbo Diesel
Camper: 2005 Lance 1010

This photo was taken August 3rd, 2007 on Portsmouth Island, North Carolina.  It is accessible only by ferry from Morris Marina in Atlantic, North Carolina.

2007 marks the 4th straight year on Portsmouth Island for the Rende family.  We initially went down in 2004, arriving in the wake of Hurricane Alex, hauling our Coleman popup camper behind our Ford Expedition.  We fell in love with the island but realized if we were to return, it wouldn't be in a popup. 

Within two months of returning home in 2004, we'd traded our Ford for the Dodge and by April 2005, we'd traded our popup for a 2004 Sunlite 1055ss.  Our Lance arrived in April 2007 after my wife had a look at the 2004 1010 and declared "Oh my God!  I love it!  When do we get one?"  The rest is history.


JULY

Rick Johnson from Silver City, New Mexico
Photo Location: Echo Park Campground in Dinosaur NM, Colorado
Truck: 2004 Ford F350, 6.0L Diesel, DRW
Camper: 2001 Lance 1181 with every option

This photo was taken just after sunset on September 16, 2007 at the Echo Park Campground in Dinosaur National Monument on the Colorado Side.  This park is at the bottom of the canyon at the confluence of the Yampa River and the Green River.  The drive down Sand Canyon into Echo Park is amazing.  There is something like 4000' elevation change in 13 miles.  The road is a wonderful 4WD road with the only concern a 17% grade for a short distance.  Despite what you might read elsewhere, this road has been improved so truck campers with 4WD low range are quite at home on it and a small RV was in the campground the night we were there.  Just watch out in the rainy season for flash floods. 

My photo looks back up the entrance canyon.  I had just lit this fire and it contained lots of small kindling.  Soon thereafter it died down to reasonable size.  A ring-tailed cat (a member of the raccoon family) visited us and crawled all over the tree after dark.  Its eyes glowed green in our LED headlamps as it moved about and caused us to notice its presence.  We approached to within about 3 feet so my wife was able to identify it.


AUGUST

Jerry Caldwell from Church Hill, Tennessee
Photo Location: Rose Blanche Lighthouse in Newfoundland, Canada
Truck: 2003 Dodge 3500, Cummins Turbo Diesel, DRW
Camper: 2005 Lance 1181

We got off the ferry after the five-hour trip from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Port Aux Basque, Newfoundland and headed east on Hwy 470, which led us to the road's end in about 25 miles at the Rose Blanche lighthouse. In the photo, the lighthouse can be seen on the hill in the left of the photo.

The truck camper made it possible for us to spend the night at the location in the photo.  It was a very peaceful place with only two vehicles passing by during the night. Later, we traveled to all the regions in Newfoundland, on that trip, and enjoyed it tremendously. The beauty of the province and the warmness and friendliness of the people made it a trip we will never forget.



SEPTEMBER

Dan Forry from Clarksville, Iowa
Photo Location: Monument Valley on Utah/Arizona border
Truck: 1999 Ford F-250 Supercab, 5.4L V8, 4WD
Camper: 2006 Palomino Bronco B-1251

The photo was taken in Monument Valley right on the Utah/Arizona line on November 7, 2007 just after sunrise.  The original campgrounds here are being eliminated in favor of a new hotel and currently they have a flat area west of the visitor center that they allow primitive camping at. 

On our trip we also visited Valley of the Gods, Natural Bridges NP, Canyonlands NP, Hovenweep NM, and Gooseneck and Edge of the Cedars State Parks, which are all in Utah.  It was a great trip, 3,200 miles round trip from our residence in NE Iowa.

I am a Park Ranger for the Butler County Conservation Board, holding that position for twenty-five years. I have five small campgrounds that I take care of in the summer. That is why my wife and I take our vacation after most everyone else.  We really enjoyed our trip and like all aspects of the F-250 and the Bronco Camper.  We hope to visit many more areas in the future.

Prior to getting this camper we had stayed in motels or cabins with an occasional night spent in the bed of our former '96 F-150 that had a topper on it.  Truck camping rocks!  It is the way to go!


OCTOBER

Eric Smith from Flagstaff, Arizona
Photo Location: Kaibab Plateau, north of the Grand Canyon
Truck: 1984 Ford 150, 4WD
Camper: 2006 Outfitter Caribou 6.5

Before buying the pop-up I have now, I used to carry a hard-sided camper.  I bought my Outfitter Caribou 6.5 new in February 2006, primarily because of a lower center of gravity and lower profile.  No more fighting headwinds in the badlands of Wyoming!

I am fortunate to live in Northern Arizona, where I have access to some of the most incredible landscapes on the planet; the Colorado Plateau in general and Southern Utah in particular.  I spend most of my time in the backcountry, on little used dirt roads, away from crowds.  I have been exploring the Four Corners region for most of my adult life, and even though I have covered a fair chunk of territory, I have seen just a fraction.  What a life!
 
The picture was taken in September of 2007 on the Kaibab Plateau, the landmass that forms the north side of the Grand Canyon.  The average elevation is above 8000 feet, and the forests are composed of aspen trees and mixed conifers.  I was looking for some fall color.  The aspens are the only deciduous (leafed) trees in the area, and they turn a warm golden color as the season changes.
 
While I was there, the weather was fantastic.  Days were clear, although sometimes breezy.  It was pleasantly warm in the sun, however, nights were downright chilly with low temperatures in the 20's.


NOVEMBER

Gary & Pam Veeder from Pleasant Valley, New York
Photo Location: Meziadin Lake Provincial Park, British Columbia
Truck: 1997 Ford F250 Standard Cab, Diesel
Camper: 2002 Northern Lite Ten 2000RR

My wife and I travel extensively throughout the USA and Canada.  Our twelve year-old Cocker Spaniel, Nixon has been with us on all of our trips.

The picture was taken in Meziadin Lake Provincial Park, Meziadine Junction, BC.  For this trip we left Pleasant Valley, N.Y. and headed West on interstates, boring but necessary to get to new areas for discovery.

Our trip through Glacier National Park was outstanding.  We had a great day exploring and traveling.  We headed into Idaho, the last of the 50 states we have visited, and started North to the Canadian Border traveled into Banff and the Canadian Rockies.  In all of our travels, this is among the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen.  


DECEMBER

Gary Love from Riverside, California
Photo Location:  On the back roads of Central Oregon
Truck: 2007 Ford F550, 6.0L Diesel, Crew Cab, 4WD
Camper: 2007 Okanagan 116ULT

We headed up into the back roads of Central Oregon. The weather predicted one to four inches of snow.  When we got there it was as dry as a bone with no snow in site. In fact, if you look under the truck you can see it's dark.  Then it snowed for 72 hours straight.

This shot was taken the very next morning while it was still snowing. I also had to get up on the camper each day and shovel snow off the roof.  I learned that's not a fun job.  I tried to hold onto something the whole time I was working up there. The scariest part was the front above the cabover because it slants down.  It came off easy since I just let gravity do it's job.  Most of it ended up on my hood.

Luckily we went in prepared and had plenty of food, propane, and water. We ran the generator quite a bit since the heater was on 24 hours a day. We were finally able to get out on the fifth day. I put chains on and used the four-wheel drive.  We actually had a great time knowing we had plenty of supplies. I also got some new snow shots!