A Piece of the Rock

“Alcatraz rocks!“ was the comment from one of the children on our tour boat. We were headed to Alcatraz—the former federal prison and now national park—for a tour of the facility and island. The boat ride is the only way to get there. We departed from the San Francisco wharf next to the infamous Pier 39—itself, a major tourist destination. Alcatraz was made a part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area in 1972. The National Park Service (NPS) operates the facility.

Infamously known as “The Rock,“ Alcatraz was the ultimate destination for prisoners deemed incorrigible or a troublemaker. A few prisoners whose names you may recognize include Al Capone, Alvin Karpis, George “Machine Gun“ Kelly, and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz.“

After stepping off the boat, the walking tour of Alcatraz is at your own pace. Numerous departure times for the return boat are posted so you can stay on the island as long as you want. There is a steep walk (12% grade) up to the main Cellhouse building and a tram is available for those unable to make the climb.

An audio tour is the recommended way to hear the information. You get a comfortable set of earphones and a simple-to-operate player that allows you to stop the narrative at any time, replay when needed, and there are clear directions pointing you to the next point of interest. The information is excellent and the stories and comments by former prisoners are interesting.

Alcatraz was a real prison specially designed to hold some of the toughest and meanest prisoners this nation had incarcerated at that time. The tour walks you through the cell blocks where you have a close-up view of the real cells where prisoners lived.


During the tour, viewing the individual cells, “segregation,“ and “isolation“ is an eye-opening experience. Rule Number 5, Alcatraz Prison Rules and Regulations, 1934, stated that, “You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else you get is a privilege.“

When a prisoner was placed in “segregation,“ it was not considered additional punishment. This move was designed to simply separate prisoners and prevent contact. Interestingly, the “segregation “ cell is actually larger than the normal cell.

Special cells called “Isolation“ were designed for the highest level of punishment. Inmates referred to the isolation cells as the “Hole.“ When the outer door to the cell was closed, the interior of the cell was in total darkness. Listening to the audio tour, one prisoner described his time in isolation as follows…
He stated that to pass the time and keep from going crazy, he would rip a button off his clothes, then flip that button up in the air, he would turn around three times, and then search the floor for the button—by feel—by crawling around. Simply, it gave him something he could do in total darkness.


Prisoners were kept in the isolation cell 23 hours per day. This punishment was, in effect, the total loss of all privileges.
Visitation with the immediate family was also a privilege (remember Rule #5) and, as with all activities (privileges), was regulated by a set of rigid rules. These visitation rules were designed to control the visitation and prevent potential problems. The inmate and his visitor were separated by a window of thick glass and conversation was by phone. All conversations were monitored.

Occasionally, prisoners would be able to see across the bay. There, San Francisco beckoned them. One Alcatraz myth is that it is impossible to survive the swim to the mainland because of sharks. However, there are no “man-eating” sharks in San Francisco Bay. The cold water (averaging 50–55 degrees), strong currents, and 1-1/4 miles to shore were excellent deterrents.


In 1934, prior opening Alcztraz, a teenage girl swam to the island to prove it was possible. The fitness guru Jack LaLanne once swam to the island pulling a rowboat, and two 10-year-old children also made the swim.

Thirty-six men (two who tried twice) were involved in fourteen escape attempts from 1934–1963. Twenty-three were caught, six shot and killed, and two drowned. Officially, no prisoners succeeded in escaping from Alcatraz, however, five prisoners are listed as “missing and presumed drowned.“

Frank Morris, with John and Clarence Anglin (brothers ) escaped from their cells and never seen again. Another inmate, Allen West, believed to have been the mastermind, was involved but was still in his cell the next morning after the escape. “Escape from Alcatraz,” the movie starring Clint Eastwood as Frank Morris, was the story of this escape. The men used prison-issue raincoats to make crude life vests and a pontoon-type raft to help them survive the swim. The three men were never found.

RV Tips - Driving

Saving Your Rear End

Here are two driving maneuvers you can easily use to prevent dragging.

Dragging the rear end of your motorhome, especially while flat-towing a car with the tow bar attached, is not good. This is a common way to cut or damage your safety cables. Plus the noise sounds like you are ripping apart the rear end of your coach. Learning driving maneuvers that will help keep you and your RV out of trouble is a worthwhile endeavor and may prevent you from hurting your coach.

These depressions usually become even worse over time due to repaving the street or parking lot. Sometimes the depression does not look too bad but a history of grooves or marks from hitches dragging through the pavement provides evidence that you, too, will likely drag. If possible, go around the block one time to take a closer look. We once entered a parking lot and were forced to exit onto a different street. It was nearly a disaster with its steep ramp going down to the street but was impossible to know this without actually driving by it.

Watch the car traffic entering and exiting. If you observe vehicles angled up or down, like the one in these photos, you, too, will likely drag. Even though they set lower to the ground than you, the distance from your coach’s rear wheels to the rear end of your RV may be 4-5 times longer than that of a car. Therefore, if you observe a car’s rear end dragging (or almost), it’s practically guaranteed that you will, especially in an RV.




We suggest two driving maneuvers you can easily use to help prevent dragging the hitch on the pavement. The trick is to maneuver the RV so that the hitch stays up in the air as far as possible above the pavement. This is easily accomplished with practice.

Here’s the first trick…

1. Approach the depression as straight as possible. Position your coach perpendicular to the cross street. Keep your drive wheels pointing straight forward until both front wheels are down into the depression as far as possible—it’s easy to feel your wheels settle on the bottom of the depression. Then stop—completely stop with your foot on the brake.


2. Turn your wheels as far as possible before moving the coach (no creeping while turning the wheels). If you find it difficult to turn the wheels, let off the brake for just a second.


3. Then creep out slowly—dead slow—less than idle speed! (You can creep at less than idle speed by tapping the brakes as you ease out.)

Following this procedure will cause your rear wheels to pass through the lowest part of the depression at slightly different times. This, in turn, causes the center, rear end, of the coach (where your hitch is located) to literally stay up, at a higher point above the pavement, and the result is no dragging. It works!

The one major negative in doing this procedure is that you need lots of time and little cross traffic or lots of courage. You literally have to stick the front end of your coach out into the lane of cross traffic, then stop, then maneuver out very slowly. You will need ample time as this must be done slowly. A heavy flow of oncoming cross traffic will enhance the need for lots of courage!

Here’s the second trick…

If possible, enter and cross the depression at an angle to make the turn into traffic. Doing this creates the effect of the rear wheels entering the depression at different times—the same thing you accomplished in the first maneuver by turning the wheels at the correct time. If you have the space available, this is the easier of the two maneuvers.

However, the problem with this maneuver is that you have to keep your drive wheels absolutely straight while crossing the depression. This means that the egress must be wide enough to cross it at an angle (with wheels straight). Using this technique, you must have ample room in the parking lot to maneuver the RV so as to approach the egress while driving straight forward.

As we always suggest in our driving seminars, find an empty parking lot and practice these driving procedures before you have to use them. The classic church parking lot at 10:00 A.M. on a Tuesday morning is a great place to practice. Go to an empty mall or big vacant store lot to try these driving maneuvers. You always find yourself in a difficult driving situation by surprise. Rarely, if ever, does anyone drive their RV into a bad or questionable position on purpose. Therefore, you really need to know what to do and practice doing it at your leisure—not during your first emergency.

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(This, and about 500 more excellent suggestions, are yours in “All the Stuff You Need to Know About RVing” (ISBN 156870514-X) by Ronald Jones and Robert Lowe. Order at www.rvstuff.org.

Also available... "Wrinkle-Free RV Laundry" and "The Wal-Mart Locator")