camping season starts

[Tony D]

Ohio will open for camping this weekend, and I'm so excited. We have a reservation at Hueston Woods and will not give up on it. Now I need to wake up the Scamp, go through my lists, grab all the gear (I'm sure I'll use some of it) and buy some grub. I do have a cigar waiting for a clear evening sky together with some calming flora and fauna.

Shower houses, camp stores, park offices, shelters, and pools will be closed. They are calling for 'self-contained' camping. I wonder if the water is on? We'll bring our masks, I hope not to have it on much. If you see me keep your distance...social distance that is. Please swing by and say hi. If you are not there, I'll let you know how it goes.

Anybody else going out for Memorial Day in the lower 48? How is the great white north treating fiberglass RV's now that we are at the end of May?

[steve dunham]

We are a member of a small camping group (5 couples ) that go camping together once a month in the Summer ( May thru September )
We had a virtual meeting last week via Zoom and decided that we will not be doing any group campouts this Summer
Right now our only campout still scheduled for this year is for late September but that one is a maybe
Our local county campgrounds opened this weekend . When I drove by the park today it was packed and the 6ft spacing - face mask rules were being mostly ignored .
Speaking only for us , right now going camping is just not that attractive
We’ll spend the Summer fishing or lounging on our pontoon boat .

[Bobbie Mayer]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

We are a member of a small camping group (5 couples ) that go camping together once a month in the Summer ( May thru September )
We had a virtual meeting last week via Zoom and decided that we will not be doing any group campouts this Summer
Right now our only campout still scheduled for this year is for late September but that one is a maybe
Our local county campgrounds opened this weekend . When I drove by the park today it was packed and the 6ft spacing - face mask rules were being mostly ignored .
Speaking only for us , right now going camping is just not that attractive
We’ll spend the Summer fishing or lounging on our pontoon boat .

Like you, our group is hoping for our September trip to be a go. If I camp this summer it is more likely to be solo and nearby.

[rpassmore]

We've been preparing for our cross country road trip the last two weeks. We leave Tuesday morning. This will be our first trip in our Scamp. Received our 3" latex mattress topper today, already cut it to shape and got it installed. That was the last piece of the puzzle, otherwise our entire pre-check/outfitting list is complete. We're heading to Seattle from St Paul, going west on I94. We booked KOAs before things started opening because we wanted to be sure of a place to stop each night. We'll be heading back east in two weeks on I90. Montana state parks appear to be open, we've got a reservation at Beavertail Hill state park. Wyoming was still residents only as of last night so we'll do another KOA there near Sheridan. Badlands is partially shut down but we've got reservations at Cedar Pass campground. We'll take all sort of precautions en route, but I'm glad things are loosening up a little. I was feeling a bit nervous heading west with Minnesota plates.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

We are a member of a small camping group (5 couples ) that go camping together once a month in the Summer ( May thru September )
We had a virtual meeting last week via Zoom and decided that we will not be doing any group campouts this Summer
Right now our only campout still scheduled for this year is for late September but that one is a maybe
Our local county campgrounds opened this weekend . When I drove by the park today it was packed and the 6ft spacing - face mask rules were being mostly ignored .
Speaking only for us , right now going camping is just not that attractive
We’ll spend the Summer fishing or lounging on our pontoon boat .

Given what I am seeing here at stores, I have no doubt most people will ignore the rules at campgrounds, just like they are ignoring the rules in stores.

In the end, I would not count on government rules, I would decide myself what risks if any are worth taking.

[WaltP]

Eggs on the Hiawassee is still scheduled for the end of this month. Bath and showers closed, doubling up on campsites has been cancelled, no potluck I think. We'll see how careful people can be while camping.

Walt

[Gail H]

It would be great if those of you who are starting to venture out with your campers would post here what facilities you find open. For example, gas stations, rest stops, fast food chains(and bathrooms in all of these).
Even if one has a reservation halfway across the country, you may have to travel through 6-7 states to get there. How hard is that going to be right now?

[Jon in AZ]

Arizona is pretty open right now, except dine-in service remains limited. I drive pretty widely for work, and grocery stores, Walmarts, gas, and fast food (still mostly drive-through or mobile ordering with curbside pickup) are open for travelers. Restrooms are open at gas stations and places like Walmart. I see an increasing number of recreational travelers out and about. Our mountain town is packed with summer visitors.

Biggest problem is as Thrifty Bill says- mask and distancing guidelines are being widely ignored. If you feel you need to protect yourself, the burden is on you. My wife has even felt some shaming in public for wearing a mask.

COVID is currently spreading fastest in small rural communities.

[jokra]

Hi, just an FYI from the "great white north" which is what I call Canada, I live in Toronto (city) and we are being asked to camp in our back yards, Government run parks are not open except for day visits. The weather for the next 2 days is supposed to be very wet. Small towns do not have the health care facilities to handle Covid-19 problems. Face masks are encouraged and so are 6-ft distance from others. Some towns along the northern shore of lake Erie are fining cottage owners for arriving when no services are available.

[rpassmore]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Biggest problem is as Thrifty Bill says- mask and distancing guidelines are being widely ignored. If you feel you need to protect yourself, the burden is on you. My wife has even felt some shaming in public for wearing a mask.

COVID is currently spreading fastest in small rural communities.

That's my worry. We're old enough to be rightfully concerned about what an infection would do to us. And we're going to see our granddaughter who's just 3 weeks old. We are for sure wearing masks, gloves, etc on those occasions where we need to be outside of our car or camper.

[Chris from Comox]

I too have a burning desire to get out my fly rod, in my “Cabinette” and head out of town, but it ain’t gonna happen right now or possibly this year..

I live in British Columbia and while the vast majority of our Provincial Park campgrounds will be opening at the beginning of June our responsible Provincial gov’t is telling us to go camping AND to do our camping close to where we live.. We are being told this because the more distance we travel the more the possibility of spreading COVID-19 to non-Covid impacted communities increases.. In addition, a large portion of our campgrounds are not close to the bigger cities with their large hospitals and huge grocery stores.. In addition, should some out-of-towner leave the Covid bug in a small town it could be disastrous.. And then there is the issue of toilet paper and food.. Small towns are impacted by supply chain irregularities as well and to have additional folks come to their communities and purchase food and goods all it does is exacerbate their already bleak situation.. Lest we forget that restaurants and washrooms aren’t available enroute..

Ask yourself this question.. Would I want folks coming into my town that are possibly going to purchase the limited items on our store shelves, and leave the proverbial “Gift that keeps on giving” ??

My answer is a definite NO..

I am also assuming that, like me, the majority of folks that are in the RV’ing community are also of the vintage most susceptible to Covid-19.. I wouldn’t walk into a burning building when I was younger, so why would I start now??

Keep yourself and your FiberglassRv close to where you live this year.. Don’t go out and give RV’ers a bad reputation.. Stay where your infrastructure is in place to support you..

Please stay close to home if for no other reason than to respect the wishes of the folks that live in the small communities..

ps.. Yup, I live in a relatively Big town ��

[bobdobqb]

Hi Chris, Also an islander here and will probably keep Lita in the driveway at least until the stats are in for covid cases post the May two four weekend. It's not so much I'm worried about getting it, more of possibly having it, not knowing and passing it on. As you say the small communities here are the biggest risk. But I may take my fly rod for a day trip and socially distance on the Elk River for the afternoon next week. We'll see.

[Alex Adams]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Biggest problem is as Thrifty Bill says- mask and distancing guidelines are being widely ignored. If you feel you need to protect yourself, the burden is on you. My wife has even felt some shaming in public for wearing a mask.

Unless you are wearing an N-95 mask (and even then you can catch Covid) using a mask does not protect you, it protects the people nearby from you. Same with the social distancing. What a lot of people who think this virus isn't any more than a super bad flu don't understand is the bigger the pool of infection, the greater the chance it will mutate into something worse. The really scary part is how little we really know about this virus and its effects.

[DanielAG]

Going to Walmart and Home Depot is getting old. Wish our Governor in WA would open up camping where we could be kayaking 100 of feet away from people and the people in the other camp sights are not under 6 Feet away and FUN to talk to!!

[Francesca Knowles]

I live in Washington too, restrictions have eased some here and since I always camp very remotely (no campgrounds) anyway I'd be out right now but for the fact that my husband is shall we say slightly broken at the moment.

[vin]

Walmart is nothing more than a large Petri dish. I had to go there 2 weeks ago and they still let unmasked people ride their unmasked mangy mut around in the carts which they don't clean and no longer offer any wipes to wipe the cart with. Filthy, nasty place I no longer will return to. We live in a hot spot area due to chicken plants. Its the people who work in the plants, [60% tested positive], are the problem not the chickens. They will not participate. Another segment aint nobody goin to tell them what to do while waiting for their monthly gov't check. Lastly we have the high achievers straight from their parents basement in their jammies' at 2 pm. who know everything except how to dress themselves. God help us.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by vin

Walmart is nothing more than a large Petri dish. I had to go there 2 weeks ago and they still let unmasked people ride their unmasked mangy mut around in the carts which they don't clean and no longer offer any wipes to wipe the cart with. Filthy, nasty place I no longer will return to. We live in a hot spot area due to chicken plants. Its the people who work in the plants, [60% tested positive], are the problem not the chickens. They will not participate. Another segment aint nobody goin to tell them what to do while waiting for their monthly gov't check. Lastly we have the high achievers straight from their parents basement in their jammies' at 2 pm. who know everything except how to dress themselves. God help us.

After a month of staying at home we finally had no choice but to go to the store
My wife and I drove to the store , I went inside the store ( wearing face mask & gloves ), she stayed in the vehicle . Outside and on the entry doors was a sign
“ All customers are required to wear a face mask and maintain 6 ft spacing “
As I am grabbing my shopping cart ( YES they had an employee wiping down the carts ) , I hear a 250 lb male idiot screaming/ shouting at the female security guard that he was not going to wear any FU__ING MASK and what was she going to do about it

My point is ; It’s easy to blame Walmart or Home Depot or Target for not enforcing social distancing rules yet our own government gets to sit by helplessly and do nothing .
Look at the pictures of people crowding into bars or on the beach - Is that Walmart’s or the beaches fault
Until the authorities in charge put some teeth in these regulations ( Large fines - Jail time ) , the idiots in the “ You can’t tell me what to do” crowd will continue to run the show and we will continue to pay the price.

[WaltP]

Right on Steve. Good post.

[rpassmore]

I was at a Menards here in St Paul last week. They were limiting the number who entered the store. They were requiring masks and if you didn't have one, they would sell you a mask for $1.00. They had security guards stationed at the only door that was open for entry. Very impressive operation considering that just one week before they had NO plan. Customer's were wondering around without masks, no distancing. Someone there got the message. It can be done but most businesses don't seem to care.

[vin]

Costco has the same policy and everybody behaved like adults. Corporate sets policy and it is up to the store to implement. Costco clearly states at entry, no mask no entry. Wear a mask or go elsewhere. If you decide to enter regardless, it becomes civil, security will detain until the police remove the person and then they can tell it to the judge.