By Machelle James
Well, AJ and I are pleased to say that our Campground has definitely been noticed in the RV world. We are full almost every weekend and we have calls daily for those last-minute drive-ins. You know exactly what I mean, those nights that you’re exhausted from driving and you need to pull over NOW! We are that place to rest your head for the night and let you go on your way the next day.
This week, we had a surprise visit from our County Assessor. She pulled in, gave us her card and asked how big our building was. She asked to drive through the park so she could “update their records.” Ugh… We felt sick. We can already see that our taxes are going to go up now that we opened.
Weather is changing
I have noticed a change in the air. The days are cooler, the campground is quieter and the days are getting shorter. The kids are back in school and there is a different vibe here. Most of the campers here are over 55 and they are loving life! A few families come through on the weekends, but during the week, it is QUIET and we are both really loving this transition. From being so harried, getting the sites turned over, and mowing every day, it was wearing on us. It is calmer now as these folks are staying longer.
Now we know this is temporary, until Labor Day weekend, then BAM—it’s crazy town again. That is the weekend our Chamber of Commerce decided to hold its Oktoberfest event. I am on the Board of the COC and we have been fortunate enough to bring in a band from Nashville for the Main Event on Saturday, Sept. 3rd. We can now say their name as the contract has been signed. We are welcoming House Whiskey to come play for our little town! This group of Singer/Songwriters sounds AMAZING and we cannot wait to see them in person.
Meanwhile, we are booked solid and are praying that all goes as planned as we haven’t really had any big events at our local park over that weekend in the past.
Our RV got ruined when we were busy running our campground
On a side note, the band will be staying here, in our RV. We went to check in on the RV and the roof has a leak so bad that it went down into the wood and you can see it sagging. It has been this way for a while now, but we haven’t even opened the doors for a year. WOW! Is it stinky and yucky and severely disappointing.
So, guess who needs a new-to-us RV? We put the word out there on what we are looking for and have had great feedback. What we need is a toy hauler so we can take our Can-Am with us when we travel to Marketing Events this winter. We plan on going to Sand Shows and Off-Roading events, and even to scope out other RV parks for marketing ideas. We’re a little nervous about the new technology and the touchscreens and slide outs in the newer RV models. We have some homework to do, as this is all new to us.
Black ants
Now, if only I could figure out a way to get rid of the black ants that pop up overnight as we have had so much rain. The diatomaceous earth and the granules I bought are NOT working, so I am going to Plan B: Borax and confectioners sugar. I read that works. So I will be trying this as soon as I can make it!
While we settle in for the weekend, we want to thank you for following our Campground journey. This is an ongoing process and we have such a learning curve to follow!
See You in the Trees, and please leave a comment!
Machelle, AJ and Jenna
Read previous articles here.
Machelle James and her husband, AJ, built, from the ground up, a 15-acre RV park in Heber-Overgaard, Arizona, in the beautiful White Mountains 140 miles from Phoenix. Follow them at their website, or on Facebook @ AJ’s Getaway RV Park, or on Instagram at ajsgetawayrvpark.
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Good Morning Machelle,
You might try Tempo from Bayer on the black ants. It comes in powder or spray form. It kills most insects and is safe around humans and pets. I have a small ant hill that I dust real good with it and they are gone by the next day.
Good Morning Machelle, AJ and Jenna,
It looks like you have done all the right things with your digital marketing, The only addition you might consider is TripAdvisor.com. You would list your campground as a Hotel and look at how other RV parks have listed their amenities. We use trip advisor for Things to do wherever we are staying as we stay 2 weeks in most places. Good Luck on finding a replacement RV.
Hello Donald! That is good feedback. I use Trip Advisor myself, so why not join in? We have a toyhauler to go checkout next week and it checks all the boxes so far! Stay tuned and thanks for your advice!
Ah, the joy’s of owning your own business! Aside from that, congrats on your first successful year and wishing you both many more. Hope you have a great celebration and all goes well!
Hi Joe! Thank you so much! We already have ideas for next year on how we will have Events and activities here! Always learning and expanding ideas for the future!
Glad to hear your campground is doing well but sorry to hear of your RV woes. Definitely frustrating. So is dealing with ants. We use Drion dust. We get the handheld puffer. Works great! And gets into the nooks and crannies where they travel.
1 LB Drione Pest Insecticide Dust w/ Puffer Duster Bellow Hand Duster, Carpen… https://a.co/d/7AM6tE2