By Andy Zipser
Owner, Walnut Hills RV Park, Staunton, Virginia
Never underestimate the power of one individual to effect change – especially if that person is hysterical. Case in point: This past Monday, the governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, issued a “temporary stay at home” edict. Tucked into the middle of this order is the one sentence that has upended our lives, commanding the “cessation of all reservations for overnight stays of less than 14 nights at all privately-owned campgrounds.”
The order makes no mention of any other sector of the hospitality industry, leaving hotels, motels, resorts, B&Bs and all other lodging open for business. As icing on the cake, the order is effective for more than two months, until June 10.
And, just like that, we teeter on the edge of insolvency. Ninety percent of our business is short-term campers, anything from over-nighters traveling the I-81 corridor to residents within a 250-mile radius looking to camp with us for a few days.
So for the past week we’ve been burning up the phone lines, calling literally scores of campers to tell them we have to move or cancel their reservations. Some are rescheduling for the fall, when we all hope the virus pandemic will have petered out. Some are accepting rain checks, good until December 2021 and packaged with a 25% discount coupon. A few are accepting our BOGO offer: pay for a one-week stay and we’ll throw in a second week for free, meeting the executive order’s arbitrary 14-day threshold. Anything, in other words, not to have to return the deposits we’ve already taken in — and yet, despite all that, a tide of red ink is threatening to overwhelm us.
In just the first three days following the March 30 order we’ve voided more than $20,000 in reservations, and we’ve yet to finish working our way through April.
MAY STILL AWAITS, including the fully booked Memorial Day weekend. Our occupancy rate for April is now looking to be less than a third of last year’s 30%. I haven’t had the heart to start calculating what it will be in May, when the season historically starts swinging into high gear.
So okay — life is tough all over. Lots of businesses are on the ropes, and the ranks of the unemployed are swelling by the millions. I get it. But the question that has to be asked, in every instance that our lives get curtailed by executive fiat, is how a particular edict protects public welfare. The state has a legitimate interest in proscribing behavior that further enables the pandemic that is ravaging the world. But short of martial law that confines everyone to their homes — presumably with roadblocks at the state borders to keep out non-Virginians — people will be traveling. They will need a place to stay, other than a highway shoulder.
So why were campgrounds singled out for special treatment, while all those sticks-and-bricks accommodations are allowed to continue serving the traveling public? Why is the most self-contained, inherently socially distancing form of shelter shunted aside, but not facilities that flip rooms every day that must be accessed through public hallways and elevators? Why are RVs, whose occupants have their own linens, their own beds, their own bathrooms and their own cooking and dining facilities, regarded as a grave threat to public safety?
ENTER THE HYSTERICAL POLITICIAN — no, not Governor Northam, although he deserves a measure of opprobrium for his role in this sorry mess. Rather, the problem arose with a Virginia delegate who reportedly heard from a friend that there were too many people crowding into the state’s campgrounds on the Eastern Shore. The delegate then conveyed that opinion to others in state government, lamenting with a note of urgency that . . .
. . . “travelers to the campgrounds will take all our food” and complaining that “there are thousands of travelers coming from all over the country.” “People will die if we don’t do something,” he was quoted as saying to a campground official.
That “something” landed with a thud just days later, as the panicky prognosis rippled throughout the Old Dominion’s legislative halls and seeped into the governor’s office. There was no prior consultation with the state’s privately owned campgrounds, no heads-up on the draconian prohibition that was coming, no articulated rationale for the knee-capping we would all experience this week.
There are other consequences of the ban that are still emerging. One is the predicament it has created for RVers themselves, including a substantial number of Canadians and New Englanders who are still struggling to get home from their wintering grounds in Florida, the Gulf Coast and New England.
Interstate 81 traverses 325 miles of Virginia landscape, much of it hilly enough to require construction of separate truck lanes. The executive order means RVers are unable to reserve a site for the night anywhere along this section of their route, and reports are that Pennsylvania is just as buttoned up. Care to be on the same highways as these over-tired fifth-wheel and motorcoach drivers?
ANOTHER IS THE RIFT the ban has exposed between private campgrounds that cater to transients and those that are predominantly focused on the seasonal camper. The latter tend to be much larger properties (especially on the sun-and-surf oriented eastern end of the state), with only a tiny slice of their revenue coming from overnighters, and most haven’t even opened for the season yet. For them, a two-month ban on short-term stays approaches a rounding error for the year’s financial results; for campgrounds like ours, it’s catastrophic. For them, with openings still more than two weeks away, there’s time to lobby and pressure for a reversal; for us, every day under the “new normal” means that many more refunds and cancellations we have to absorb.
The most problematic consequence, however, means a more far-reaching disruption of our business model — one that may be irreversible for many, many months. Because as our ability to take short-term reservations gets frozen, our only recourse has been to start converting our overnight sites to seasonals. We make less money that way — but still more than if the sites sit empty. But the long-term implication is that once we get past this pandemic and business elsewhere returns to something more familiar, we’ll still be dealing with commitments that will have removed even more overnight sites from the nation’s shrinking inventory.
If for no other reason, that alone should prompt dedicated RVers to petition Governor Northam to rethink his ban. You and your friends can do so here.
Andy and his staff can be reached at (540) 337-3920 daily between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Or visit the park’s website.
##RVT942
Couldn’t you just automatically book or rebook everyone for 2 weeks? 2weeks for the price of 5 days, 1 week, whatever?
This would be fraud and open the camp ground owner to a whole new can of worms and additional costs of legal fees. He’s bleeding money–you don’t open another vein to leak more.
Considering the business’ that are on the essential list (like realtors) a better solution for this type business would be to a single night stays for people transiting the State. This would place a minimal burden on local commodities (health, food etc). Campers would check in for the night with FHU and be on their way the next day. Longer stays would require the minimum 2 weeks required. During this one month stay at home people should be in their homes following the guidance or be traveling to their home.
My question is what happens if you ignore the order and tell the government to go to hell? Will they send armed guards out to shut you down?
Good thought, Tim!
I’d make everyone a great deal….. Pay for two weeks and if you unfortunately need to leave earlier than 2 weeks for unanticipated reasons, then i would consider a refund 🙂 Also, make them a real deal and encourage everyone to stay as long as possible .
And start screaming about the illogic of the decree to your rep…. that’s what they are for….. to represent you. Make calls to the top person in the legislature and get the RV park organization involved. People make snap decisions based on whatever data they have at the time…. when made aware of what little some decisions make sense and who it is hurting, most reasonable decision makers will revise their decisions.
Agreed. Pay with a credit card for two weeks. Let me know when you depart and get refunded you balance. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Hopefully VA law enforcement have more responsible things to do than limit commerce and harass people who tend to “social distance ” already.
How about requiring every guest to reserve for two weeks but allowing them to cancel at any time without a financial penalty.
It really sucks that you’re having to cancel all these reservations. Wife is a cruise travel agent. She spent a certain amount of time taking bookings to get a commission. Then she spent more time *unbooking* to ensure she didn’t get any commissions. At least $15K lost.
We are one of the customers that stop at Walnut Hills RV Park for one night. We have stopped several times when traveling Rt. 81. It is a clean and well run RV Park and that is why we chose to stay there. I wish more RV parks were as nice. I have fears that with this pandemic we will all see a lifestyle change like we did after 911. Our government will get more control over our freedoms and we will have more regulation hoops to jump through to do something we use to take for granted. I quote from former President Gerald Ford ” A government big enough that can give you everything you want, is government big enough that can take from you everything you have” When we ask for big government this is what we can expect. More control over our lives and less freedoms.
Dress rehearsal for the future. (“Patriot Act”)
Express yourselves now or the kids will have to endure your empathy… and empathy is complicity!
Dunromin, I believe you mean “apathy”?
Remember everyone, WE are the ones who vote people into government. It’s not called public *service* for nothing. They work for US. And it’s on us as informed and active citizens to keep them accountable and petition for redress. Let them know exactly how you feel and what you’re thinking. It’s literally their job to listen to us.
You are correct. Apathy. Like the bumper stickers I had made about 10 years ago.
“Apathy is Complicity”
Thank you (I got up at 0300 – wasn’t sleeping)
Exactly what made Canada the So…..sT political calamity it’s become. America act now to prevent that from happening to you –
Start by framing Johns statement – he got it totally correct, as did Ford decades ago.
Don’t forget come election time those who are willing to remove your liberties in the name of safety.
Agree to some extent…but bear in mind that state governments think they ARE acting to ensure public safety. They don’t have all the pieces though, and the RV community needs to make them aware of the unintended consequences of hasty action. So in addition to venting here, please check out the Escapees page and support and join their efforts to get local representatives to re-open public campgrounds, as long as it’s for self-contained RVs only. That way they can keep public facilities such as showers, bathrooms and (unfortunately) gift shops/convenience stores closed and allow the park employees to maintain appropriate quarantining efforts.
Forgot to post the link to the Escapees page! It has detailed information and who to contact. They even have suggested templates to help you phrase a response.
https://www.escapees.com/coronavirus/
:Perhaps he knows something our govts haven’t talked about…yet.
Missouri closed all the state parks earlier this week
I’m told Illinois has done the same.
Please check out and join the effort Escapees is putting out to get our local representatives to realize how essential a service RV campgrounds are.
I am based in Texas and have already written my state and local representatives requesting that the state keep public RV camping areas open as they fill an essential service.
https://www.escapees.com/coronavirus/
Austin Business Journal in Texas, April 2, 2020
“All construction is considered essential, city now says”
“Realtors told they can show properties again”
…hmmm
Sooooo, the virus doesn’t affect thousand’s of construction workers or hundreds of realtor’s ???
Actually, most construction workers are outside, or inside of an incomplete building with lots of breezes and are not in much trouble with a virus. But real estate folks are always inside buildings and ‘mingling’ with folks.
Most of these restrictions seem to be not-quite-ready-for-prime-time. Not well thought out at all. “Knee jerk” is the term that comes to mind.
Please tell these panicers that they are screaming for nurses and Drs. A lot of their incoming help are rvrs. Where are they suppose to park so they can help out. If they have nowhere to put their home, they are NOT coming.
Presumably the nurses and doctors will be there for a month or more, and having a park with monthly rentals available, not taken up by travelers, is a good thing.
Excuse me, but obviously some State Governors are no smarter than the US federal government, who is cutting all ties with their best friend in all of this. Cutting the livelihood of those who own and those who work in the campgrounds by closing the safest place to be. Ignoring the safety of people travelling in self-contained, self-isolating units is just plain STUPID.
In California the campgrounds and RV parks are closed. RVers are told to park at the homeless shelter in their “safe parking” area.
I heartily agree about the hasty action. However, please note that in the article, Andy specifically states it wasn’t the governor who instigated this, but a representative from the Eastern Shore. Let us all take action outside of venting in the comments. Efforts are and have been underway to address this. Please join the effort that Escapees is putting out to alert state and local representatives just how essential RV campgrounds are to aiding with quarantining and physical distancing.
I am based in Texas and have already written my state and local representatives requesting that the state keep public RV camping areas open as they fill an essential service.
https://www.escapees.com/coronavirus/
The comment by the “hysterical politician” (I’d like to know his/her name) about travelers to campgrounds taking all their food is particularly hilarious, considering in my mostly rural state, New Mexico, “city folk” from Albuquerque spread out like locusts to every grocery store within 100 miles and cleaned out the entire stock of essentials in small towns to take back to their wholly unprepared metro area, leaving locals, who sometimes don’t travel to town for days (I have rancher friends who often only go to town once a month), totally without when they needed to replenish.
Considering the average storage space in an RV, and the size of the average RV refrigerator, coupled with the friendly and helpful attitude of the vast majority of RV’rs, RV travelers taking all the food is the least of their problems.
In one of the bigger towns near me that have a number of WalMarts and HEB (Texas Chain) there is a FB page regarding things going on in the city. They were telling people to go to the little stores that serve small rural area’s. This store, located here, has eggs, tp, go get it. So people would come and wipe everything out. Now the rural people are screwed. My husband and I have been self isolating due to health before everyone else. So I went to our little market in town. Totally wiped out in a day. We are under stay at home orders in our area. We had to get medicine and food yesterday, well I can tell you it does not look like Time Square or Downtown San Francisco. It is business as usual. Some business are shut down, but a lot are still open.
1-THANK YOU THANK YOU I now know another place to stay off of I-81 close to Charlottesville! Once we get through all of this I will definitely book a weekend stay.
2-There is no playbook for what we are going through. I think that most politicians in The Commonwealth of Virginia have our best interests at heart. However I think that his decision was based on industry ignorance.
3-Your little slice of heaven would not only be a great spot for the weary traveler but also the traveling nurses/doctors and the families who have loved ones being cared for at UVA Hospital.
4-Once this is over RV owners, Campground owners and RV Campground ancillary services in Virginia need to make sure we educate Governor Northam and his staff about the importance of our industry.
Eric,
Unfortunately, when this is over- the rv landscape may look nothing like it does today. I hope Andy’s place survives but he’s bleeding a lot right now.
Sounds like a knee-jerk reaction to nonsense from this “Virginia Delegate” I often wonder if there are underlying motives to what appear to be foolish decisions in public orders. Good luck to you Andy and all your peers. I hope that the Governors eyes can be reopened to this silliness of his decision.
Bill T, we can all open our local representatives eyes, everywhere. You may be aware that Escapees is working to get RV campgrounds and RV sites at state parks to be declared essential services. Please add your voice to this effort. Full details are at
https://www.escapees.com/coronavirus/
that’s our “fine” GOVERNOR at one of many ruling he has.
You do realize, Andy specifically states it wasn’t the governor who instigated this, but a representative from the Eastern Shore? Let’s take a deep breath here and think carefully about our response to this crisis. Yes, I agree it the legislative action is short-sighted and has the unintended consequence of freezing out places for RVers to shelter in place in their *self-contained* RVs (note this doesn’t apply to any other vehicle that doesn’t have self-contained bathrooms). But efforts are and have been underway to address this. Please join the effort that Escapees is putting out to alert state and local representatives just how essential RV campgrounds are to aiding with quarantining and physical distancing.
https://www.escapees.com/coronavirus/
Good article Andy and a real valid comparison with the hotel/motel trap. Another point is that some states do charge campers the same, often higher, ‘lodging’ tax that hotels and motels must charge. Would be nice if our RV industry spent some time and dollars lobbying for campers instead of constantly lobbying to beat down the RV lemon law.
What is wrong is not that the RV parks must close but that the hotels remain open, all should be closed to vacationers. An allowance must be made for full timers, but they should not be moving now, those that want to move somewhere else have had plenty of time to do so.
The majority elected your governor, unless the majority can get a recall vote successfully going you’re stuck, this is a perfect example of how your vote counts. All those who didn’t vote against him are to blame, live with it.
You do realize, Andy specifically states it wasn’t the governor who instigated this, but a representative from the Eastern Shore? Let’s take a deep breath here and think carefully about our response to this crisis. Yes, I agree it the legislative action is short-sighted and has the unintended consequence of freezing out places for RVers to shelter in place in their *self-contained* RVs (note this doesn’t apply to any other vehicle that doesn’t have self-contained bathrooms). But efforts are and have been underway to address this. Please join the effort that Escapees is putting out to alert state and local representatives just how essential RV campgrounds are to aiding with quarantining and physical distancing.
https://www.escapees.com/coronavirus/
It’s good more citizens are paying attention. Most of America never really followed politics, and thought about it as “oh well, ho hum” , maybe now you see the power they possess and show the knee jerk political hacks many of them are.
Do you realize the foresight it took in the beginning of all this, listening to 20ty high ranking govt officials in a meeting, telling you don’t order the shut down of flights from China. You know, the known epicenter of the Wuhan virus. And against ALL recommendations, common sense was applied to the situation, politics be damed.
Well people, you have arrived. Yes it matters who you say has authority over you. So please listen to what they say, as they ask for you, to put them in charge. Look at their accomplishments in life, not just what they say, because this, is the best teaching moment all of us will see in a lifetime.
If you didn’t realize it, best estimates (and it will be studied) are hundreds of thousands of lives will have been saved, by the bold, common sense decisions, and leadership happening as we speak.
These decisions are what’s called herd mentality, look who seperated themselves from the fold, made the right decisions, to protect the people they serve. The ones who failed, VOTE THEM OUT.
BBT’s opening statement should be framed.
Read it and read it again and again.
Canadians, a long time ago lost the freedom Americans have taken for granted. I’ve been watching it slip away in America.
Like they say up here – watch California – it all starts there.
Is Texas full of Californians yet? Idaho is filling up, and the natives are getting very restless!
+1. Thanks for stating this.
I’ve been in a VA campground since 3/20. Fortunately we have full hookups and have access to safe laundry facilities nearby. I fully support the Governor’s actions after the irresponsible, no make that ignorant, behavior I saw the first two weekends here. The weekend before the ban four 5th wheels pulled in and set up a joint camp with probably 10 children among all the adults. Now you might claim that is their decision to risk their health. You would be right if they never left their site, but instead they were riding their carts all over the camp, the kids were everywhere. Lord knows what they were touching. The concept of protecting the public’s health was not on their radar. When you have yahoos like that, the responsible members of society are going to find their freedom curtailed as well.
Andy’s complaints about losing business because of the short term ban are callous given the behavior I’ve seen among the weekenders and the serious health concerns among RVers that skew older than the general population. I find it reminiscent of the hit man complaining that murder has suddenly been made illegal.
I think your reply addresses the lack of supervision by parents.
It addresses the lack of responsibility by a wide range of people, including parents. And when that responsibility is lacking and risking the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, then the government will step in and do things you don’t like.
And make no doubt about it, the lack of responsibility falls on the campground owner as well. Upon seeing the situation they should have immediately put that group on notice. Instead, it continued all weekend long and risked the health of the other RVers in the park.
In Vermont all hotels and motels and air BandBs are closed. I will miss my FL spring break trip starting next week, but I’m doing my part to help control the virus. Maybe we should all honker down at home until the “coast is clear”.
Fact is you can’t fix stupid and politicians prove time and time again that they have stupid down to a science.
This **** [bleeped by Diane] virus is bringing out all the STUPID political decisions like closing campgrounds…closing businesses…destroying the economy.
The simple solution would have been to isolate (stay at home) all high risk elderly members
of our communities…deliver food and other essentials to their homes while maintaining a healthy economy.
It is now too late to save our economy…I predict that in about 30 days the oppressed citizens
will start acting like the oppressed citizens of 1776 and violently revolt against our government leaders. Record breaking sales of firearms in the last few weeks indicate the
citizens are getting ready.
The destruction of our economy will also result in a major increase in crime.
The right to keep and bear arms will be our salvation.
Patrick, I hear a lot of frustration in your comment. It’s scary as hell for sure, I’ve never been so anxious and stressed, myself.
Unfortunately, the virus is world wide, and cases in the US started popping up in places where people hadn’t come into any contact with any travelers back in late February. While epidemiologists have hypothesized that the virus originated in “wet markets” in Wuhan, that is undermined by the occurrence of the virus in places like Iran, India, remote areas of Spain, and Latin America where NO contact had been made with anyone from or who had been to China. My sister lives in Honduras and there are cases there in her city, which, guaranteed, has seen no travelers from China. Also, tragically, this virus has been killing young, healthy people, not just the elderly. The situation is changing every day, we simply can’t make assumptions. We have no idea how we’ll react. The only thing we can know is that life will be different after this.
I myself am encouraged by the countless acts of kindness, community building and mutual support I’ve been seeing in the news and can only hope to do my part to help others and make things a tiny bit better in my tiny way.
Great comment, Ellen. Thanks! 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Folks, this is a sad wakening day for America! We are the forgotten people out there, believe me! We all need to stick together and call your senator, representative, mayor, city or county government official and express our desire to be heard! We are a small group, but as one voice, can make a difference. I know that Escapee’s is trying, as are others. Yes, your vote does count and we can now see that there are people out there that we have put in charge making decisions that effect us all, both good and bad. On another note, if you are at a Thousand Trails park and you need to extend, talk to the management at that park and they can help in most cases. We were scheduled to leave Las Vegas tomorrow and got extended till May 3rd. A huge shout out to Thousand Trails for seeing the situation and taking command of it to help fellow RVers’. This was a huge load off our minds for sure! Stay safe out there and be kind to all. It makes for a better world out there!
Thank you for your constructive, helpful reply!
The following rant is my opinion only.
Don’t t waste your time signing a petition, the governor will just laugh as he throws it in the trash. He is obviously not concerned about RVers or their problems. The RV community isn’t even a blip on his radar. Hotels/motels have people lobbying for their interests, RVers do not. Hotels/motels are considered an important part of the hospitality industry, RVers are not. Most importantly, hotels/motels bring in tax revenue at a much higher rate than RV parks and that is all that matters to the gov. We all see decisions come down every day that defy logic…knee jerk reactions really, that are supposed to be “for the greater good”. HA! We are supposed to practice social distancing, right? Then why have store hours been shortened? We have to crowd in to buy the pathetically few items on the shelf, but at the same time, keep your distance from others. The big box stores have the money ride out the storm while mom & pop operations are left to flounder. It comes down to money. The more money received from a business sector, the more sympathetic they are to your plight. Why do you think liquor stores are considered “essential”? Getting drunk isn’t a critical activity, but alcohol/cigarette sales generate a lot of tax revenue. The public can suffer and go broke, but the gov is going to authorize almost anything that will feed their coffers.
Allan beautifully stated – tax, tax , tax.
I wish they would close the liquor stores, because every time I see the partys’ representative who want to try and get elected to the highest of ice in the land speak, I just have to drink!!!! Please stop sleepy Joe, or I’ll become an alcoholic.
Well, this just goes in lockstep with some other decisions of late by the esteemed Virginia governor.
To me, though it speaks of the larger problem RV’ers of every size and shape face is that we have very little representation in government circles, whether that be local, state, or national.
The one group I would point a finger to that should be doing a hell’uva lot more for the RV’ing community is RVIA. How many hundreds to thousands of dollars are collected by them to put a useless RVIA seal by the door of your RV of choice. What do you or “WE” get in return? My 2011 Georgetown had a totally un-secured hot water tank. Now, what would have happened if that sucker blew through the compartment panel held in place by two small self-tapping screws. To me, the mixture of propane gas and electric doesn’t sound too enticing. Yet that Georgetown had an RVIA seal that I believe the MSRP showed added $800 to the price of the rig new and paid by the original purchasers.
RIVA – doing something for the RV community???????
Seriously Vincee you’re kidding – aren’t you?
“Those who would sacrifice freedom for security shall have neither.” Ben Franklin??? If we continue to look to gov’t to “do something” we are asking for more trouble, it’s like Chicken Little screaming “the sky is falling, the sky is falling”.
Walnut Hills is a perfect CG for us. We stop there twice a year as we head south in the fall and north in the spring. Thanks to stupid politicians we are stuck in our winter location. There is no way we can travel all the way thru VA without an overnight somewhere, and there is no way we are staying in a contaminated hotel room. The only change I should need to make at WH is when we check in we could call the office then tell them we are there rather than entering the office. We usually drive into town for dinner and spend some money locally, but we would promise to “bring our own food” and not take all of yours. We could check in, hook up, and never get near anyone in the process. In addition I have a large fuel tank and could get thru the state without taking any of your precious diesel either.
Everyone, please go to Andy’s web site and join the petition and send the letter to all the governors like I did.
I would be willing to reserve for 14 days and then have “an emergency” and have to leave the next day if you were able to refund 13 days to my cc at some later day.
And speaking of that, how am I more dangerous staying for one night than if I stayed for 14. That just baffles me.
Not sure, but it may have been Lincoln that said “the price of security is liberty” We need to be very wary of what’s going on around us.
SCREW Northam. Open up anyway. He cannot just declare such things. He is NOT KING! Do NOT comply. Make it not about your CG but EVERY CG NATION WIDE!
I feel for this owner. Everyone is affected and suffering from this virus. Obviously some more than others.
I do however see the justification in shutting down short term stays. The point here is to stop the spread from one locale to another. Home bound snowbirds are a big(maybe the real) reason these draconian restrictions were put in place. Why snowbirders have waited to the absolute last second to get back home is beyond me. The time to have left Fl, Az, Tx, etc was early March. Not early April. Interestingly after the Fl. Gov (finally) instituted the stay at home order, coincidentally, that’s when these late flying birders decided “oh, now is the perfect time to hit the road and head home” Nope, too late. You should now be forced to keep your *** right where you’ve been the last 4 months.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of forethought and input from the FT RV community many of these states threw the baby out with the bath water and closed RV parks to all; the FT and weekend warrior alike. That ignorant decision has forced FT to take to the road to find other accommodations increasing community spread. At least VA. made the smart decision to allow long term FT to stay at those parks.
Its too bad the RV owner cant take this virus seriously. Its people like transits and vacationers that ignore this pandemic. They dont call it a pandemic for nothing. Look it up. Most states by now have issued stay at home orders. We have people moving from their state into other states trying to get out of their infected states not knowing whether or not they have the virus or not. The RV park owners are at more of a risk than most establishments. They need to buckle up and quit whining. People should heed the warnings. But a lot of people dont care. You see people gathering at the state parks and moving around like nothing is happening. They just recently closed the Grand Canyon, Teton, Yosemite and others because people were visiting and didnt give a crap about distancing. Its a fact that we all are going to take a financial hit. Businesses that cater to travelers and vacationers will probably take the biggest financial losses. Its too bad but you are going to have to live with it until we can control this virus. Anybody can get this virus. No one can see it. It attacks the young, the old, anyone that comes in contact with it. You can breathe it and get it. The World Health Organization held it from us. The experts failed to recognize it before it became a pandemic. They told us it was serious but not a major concern. The New York mayor didnt respond fast enough. He wouldnt close down the transportation system nor the schools until it got out of control. Over 400 deaths in the last 24 hours. Dont believe your politicians but do believe on what you see happening now in the United States.
..with all due respect rod, you missed the part about if this is so dam urgent, why is the governor not closing every germ factory hotel, motel, B&B, and other place where people are in close contact with others germs and bad sanitary habits.
A sane person understands the safest place to be during this is in your rig, or home isolating yourself from everyone around you.
The problem as i see it is that there simply is not enough people on the ground to police the blockheads “WHO DO NOT GET IT” – that’d be those who continue to mill about, and continue on as they did 2 months ago – therein lies the problem – the blockhead, and it sure isn’t Andy or his staff at Walnut Hills CG.
I take it, by your comments, you’ve never heard of full-timers, those of us who live in their RVs full-time and ARE sheltering in place? Maybe that would be a good survey question…”Those of you that live full-time in your RV, are you ‘sheltering in place’?
FWIW
https://londonreal.tv/the-coronavirus-conspiracy-how-covid-19-will-seize-your-rights-destroy-our-economy-david-icke/?__s=jbi1mau0zkfi2p32d5hh&utm_source=drip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020-04-04+David+Icke+LIVE&utm_content=David+Icke+Returns+on+Monday%21%C2%A0
Oh… the Governor who passed all the anti-gun legislation, and threatened to use the National Guard to go door to door to confiscate weapons? The one who had pictures taken when he was in black face costume, the one with the lieutenant governor who was accused of rape which no one took seriously? The drunk with power Governor Northam? He needs to be voted out of office and I’m confident the good people of Virginia will do just that!
Kinda harsh aren’t you. I mean the uninformed of this gentleman’s party, will re-run this idiot. It’s what political hacks do ladies and gentlemen.
And you stay in that party why?
Enough already, wake the heck up, or you will not recognize this country in the very near future.
If November isn’t a landslide victory for the current people in power, and we get a second bite at the Apple after this destruction, God help us ALL.
Maybe the park owners could sign in all new campers as long term and then terminate the agreement when the camper has to leave because of an emergency at home. (wink, wink). I guess some would rather sit and complain instead of figuring out a work around.
Folks badmouth lobbyist all the time but they really are a necessary part of the ecosystem. They are in your state capital and Washington to educate politicians like the VA governor about the effect of their actions on those who they represent. No politician can inherently know all the perspectives of a decree or law.
Allowing hotels to remain in business while restricting RV parks is incredulous to anyone who’s taken a road trip in the RV. I’m guessing the governor has never spent a night in an RV or on a road trip and has no idea what the reality is. He/she needs an education. You might get enough constituents together to get the governor’s attention or have one well placed lobbyist do it for you. Andy’s not going to get the governor’s attention by himself.
The State of Virginia rule #55 is so ill-informed and wrong. RV’ers are the best and most prepared of all population segments to live in social distancing mode. We have friends who left home in their RV just about 2 weeks prior to the full awareness of the magnitude of this pandemic. We have been in touch with them and have told them, being in their RV is the best place for them. Don’t worry about coming “home”, you are in the best place/situation possible. We returned “home” from our 6 week RV trip mid-March. We now wonder if we should have stayed in place in Florida for another 2 months.
In my home in Valley County, Idaho the county commissioners have put a ban on ALL short-term visitation. Hotels, campgrounds, B&Bs, vacation home rentals. Valley County is not a travel through area as such, it is a mountain weekend get-away. The ban is an effort to keep the Corona Virus in the big cities out of the area.
Same thing along the Texas coast. Fulton Rockport area’s are closed to travel. Hotels ,short term rentals RV parks and restaurants closed. Our RV park stopped all reservations new and existing. those who are here can stay if you leave you can’t come back. Food is in short supply, our emergency medical center just closed permanently. As the mayor’s said “ we cannot feed you ,if you get sick we cannot help you “.
Virginia residents you can Vote
Gov Ralph Northam out of office if you support freedom and common sense government. He is among the elitist politicians who believe they know how to manage your life better than you do.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Virginia
Get rid of Northman. Vote for a freedom loving candidate or lose your freedom.
Lake Ouachita State Park closes after three campers test positive for COVID-19
A spokesperson with the state park said the campers had “some level of contact with 12 of the park’s 23 employees.” https://www.thv11.com/article/sports/outdoors/lake-ouachita-state-park-closes-after-three-campers-test-positive-for-covid-19/91-2cf0df7e-383d-4aa4-a691-af787e85c130
Just maybe his fear is grounded in an obvious desire to satisfy some parts of the social-economic community and not intelligently think about the ramifications of his actions. Similar to his (and the entirety of the state lawmakers) interpretation of essential and non-essential surgeries.
I would think that the analogy that goes like this; “If the government crashes a truck into your house making it unlivable–then they, the government , must pay reparations for the damage. Such is the same –if they deem that you must close your business–then the government should pay for your loss and restoration. Apparently no-one in the government thought about that! Maybe enough law suits to the state will enlighten their thinking?
SHW
I wondered if that would happen. I see both sides but wonder if the issue is contact by people outside the unit. Pools, office, clubhouse, laundry mats, maintenance people. Also, people not doing their part to help the situation i.e. physical separation, etc. Its a mess and unfortunately our country did not think it would get to us, at least not very soon, and we are behind in getting a handle on anything. First in number of cases in the world and also deaths.
It is just so sad but we will defeat this thing. We must. Prayers for Andy and our nation.
We are NOT first in the number of deaths in the world nor are we first in the number of cases in the world.
Seems like RV parks are going to have to start playing “lawyer” with the state. When the state of VA puts stay restrictions on “campgrounds”, then many RV parks should simply assume that it does not apply to them, as they are not “campgrounds” but rather “RV Parks”. Their customers are RVers – those people stating in their own self-contained travel units. Most RV parks I have stayed at do not seem to cater to tent campers – for the most part,
My Observations & Suggestions on Government RVing Restrictions –
(1) Almost all Federal, State and Local campgrounds, along with some public lands, were closed very quickly – YET it seems that almost all private RV parks stayed open. So how can they manage to do that while public campgrounds cannot?
(2) So many RVers have been kicked out of /off of Federal and State campgrounds and public lands (such as COE parks) where they thought they were best complying with stay-in-place orders. Now no longer in secluded, often remote, and usually widely separated campsites and instead forced into private RV parks (usually much more costly with sites typically closer together) OR forced to travel around trying to find a place to park each night.
(3) Total lack of understanding of the RV lifestyle, or compassion for RVers by public officials. Many, many public lands have been shut to camping, even though (especially for boondockers) these lands offer the best opportunities to self-isolate and to stay-in-place. In some areas local officials have even ordered private RV parks to shut down or operate at 50% capacity.
(4) What should be done instead is for public officials to:
> Open up campgrounds in order to provide to those who are traveling a safe place to stay put and be self-quarantined.
> Extend allowable stays (beyond the usual 2 week limit) in their parks to help support quarantine periods to help keep more people isolated and not moving around.
> Utilize some of the available open spaces – such as parking lots and fields – and permit RVers (who are so equipped) to boondock there, also with extended stays.
> Enlist those camping to voluntarily assist in maintenance of their camping area through trash collection and basic road and site maintenance. The purpose of this is to allow campers who benefit from these rule changes to demonstrate and acknowledge their appreciation as well as take over some of the work that park personnel would have to do, relieving limited personnel of some workload. In some posts some RVers have already volunteered to help clean bathhouses in these parks as well if they are allowed extended stays during this crisis.
To answer question #1, they can shut down the state;/Federal campgrounds so quickly because the people in charge of those places will still be getting their paychecks, unlike the people who run private parks.
I am going to send a check when I get home. We are 2,500 miles from Andy’s campground. We will probably never be that Far East.
He deserves donations from any RV er that loves RVing
Dave Savage
Indio
Ca
It’s also the I95 corridor. We had reservations in park just south of Petersburg VA for April 4, one night while we’re traveling north. Fortunately, I called ahead on April 3 to confirm our reservation. They confirmed my reservation, but told me we could not stay for just one night. We would be considered a visitor to VA and would be required to self-quarantine in place for 14 days, by order of the Governor. I canceled our reservation and we ended up staying a little further south, just over the line in NC.
I don’t know how they would “force” us to stay for 14 days. We could have just checked in and then left the next morning. I guess if we did this the campground could have reported us to the authorities and they could have chased us down before we were out of the state.
But, being law abiding citizens, we’ll just stay in NC and then travel through VA the next day. The VA leadership hadn’t thought this through very well.
I don’t think individual parks should be punished-they have no choice. We should support the parks. We returned home from U.S. & had to “Shelter in Place” at home for 14 days & NOT to stop for groceries. 1 million $ fine if caught breaking it
I’ve stayed at walnut hills many times both as a transient and staying for days. We love the campground, the location and the present owner and his staff. This is unbelievable and obviously an overreach by the governor! I hope he will see the errors of his ways sooner than later.
Campground’s should be viewed as a relatively safe place to be right now and a good way to relieve people’s stress without providing a risk to others.
Hope you are able to open soon!
Andy Best
I just ran the gauntlet up I81 and am happy to report that at least one campground exercised common sense and courage in honoring my 2 night reservation and said that while the government order was to stay put for 14 days, they couldn’t prevent me from leaving. An excellent interpretation of the constitution.
Just as bad are the states discriminating against NY, NJ, CT and LA license plates. Clearly this is unconstitutional, morally reprehensible and demonstrates a lack of geographic knowledge.
Strange days indeed.
I bet a few million dollars could be raised on a go fund me page and, by class action, sue the crap out of anyone going against our constitution!! This abusive power, against our Constitution, needs to stop!
Well, the rest of us that do not live full-time in an RV are staying home. I’ve personally had 4 trips cancelled. I think the point of the mandate is to restrict travel and thus hinder the spread of the virus. Why can’t full-timers hunker down for 14 days in the same place like the rest of us? Win for them and a win for the RV park. Why are they still traveling all over the place? All of us have been inconvenienced, but it seems as if for full-time RVers, this website thinks nothing should change for them. They should be allowed to continue to travel and live life as normal. Life is NOT normal.
In my state, Utah, thousands of travelers from neighboring locked-down states have converged in our parks and hotels to escape staying at home. Now our Covid-19 numbers are on the rise. I don’t know if these visitors are the reason, but in my opinion, these visitors selfishly showed they care more about themselves and their “freedom” than others.
If you are not living full-time in an RV, then cancel your travel plans and stay home! I feel bad for the RV parks but every business is suffering. Everyone is suffering. Everyone is inconvenienced. Think about the essential workers such as police, fire, and medical that are working their butts off to stem this pandemic with no end in sight. Until we all stay home and keep put in one place for an extended period of time, then the end will never come for them.
Is it fun staying home? NO! But, we all need to stop complaining and do our part or life will never return to normal.
Hey, Suru. Probably thousands of full-time RVers have been kicked out of their campgrounds/parks due to closures and are forced to move. But to where? So many places are closed. Where are they supposed to go? And if they find a place to go, they are FORCED to travel to get there. What are they supposed to do? Do you have the answers? Many would like to hear them, if so. Thanks. —Diane at RVtravel.com
Thank you for your response Diane. I’m sorry if I offended you.
Of course I don’t have all the answers. My point was, this RV park owner is complaining because people have to now stay for a minimum of 14 days. So they are not closed. But, that’s what all of us SHOULD be doing; staying put somewhere for more than a few days. Why do full-timers have to move every few days? On second thought, I wonder if the people who want to stay only a day or two are actually full-timers? Are they part time camping people who probably have a permanent resident, but they don’t want to be trapped at home? If that’s the case, then it seems to me that people are more worried right now about their right to travel than about saving lives. They should stay at home!
My neighbors, who live full time in a house, took off a few weeks ago when our governor asked us to stay home. According to them, no one was going to tell them what to do. They have a right to their freedom, blah, blah, blah. So the result is, they are now in Arizona in an RV park taking up a space that a full-timer could be using. According to a recent text from them, they are “warm and having a great time”. I know of another couple from my area that left for the same reason, but they are boondocking in New Mexico and at least not needlessly, IMO, taking up a spot a full-timer could be using.
I feel very sorry for the full-timers. Maybe they should be bringing up the point of how many people who have a bricks and sticks home to stay in are choosing to take up camping spots that full-timers could be using right now. They are in those camping spots just because it’s no fun to be stuck at home, not because they have to. Sad.
Thank you for your explanation, Suru. I’m not offended, just very concerned for the full-time RVers who have no place to go, and no sticks-and-bricks homes to go back to, if even allowed to travel. According to the RV Industry Association, in 2018 there were more than a million full-time RVers — and I’m sure there are even more now. I’m assuming most of them have no place to “go home” to. They’re the ones I’m concerned about — they’re getting “evicted” from campgrounds, etc., with almost nowhere to go and with restrictions on travel if they can even find someplace to head for. It’s very tough on them. Stay healthy, Suru, and everyone reading this. —Diane at RVtravel.com
Easier said than done. We are fulltimers and, while we don’t have a house anymore, we have relatives in Michigan with enough land that we can “hunker down” there. The problem is we have to get from Florida to Michigan to do that. We have already had four campgrounds cancel our reservations and now we are concerned that we may not be allowed to transient a state to get to Michigan. I am not complaining, just letting you know that your simplistic solution is not as workable as you may think.
Looks like a great place to stay and ride out the virus! We have been in an RV park in Silver Springs FL for a month now ( We are FT) and will be staying for at least one more. We will definitely try to stay at Walnut Hills the next time we travel that way.
To think the Governor of Virginia {who has no common sense) would ever consider residing anything he runs his mouth on. Whatever you do NEVER tell them you have a weapon for your protection…..he will freak out!@
I have property in Texas Louisiana and Oklahoma which we can set our 5th Wheel up on, but every trip I have booked between the middle of March to the middle of June has been canceled and most have been non-refundable deposits! One of the trips was involving the rental of a condo on the beach in Sanibell Island, Florida AND a Fly Fishing trip. That was a little over $2,150.00 and they did not refund a dime. Just said it will be good this time next year!
Good luck RV’ers and be safe and stay healthy!
Typical blue governor. A couple of days ago the blue county “Judge” (Glorified County Commissioner) of Dallas County TX ordered all Hobby Lobby stores closed as non-essential. Even sent County Deputy Sheriffs to enforce his misguided order. At the same time, all Walmarts remain open. Hobby Lobby sells materials to make face masks. Yes, most Walmarts sell food these days, but why is the rest of the store open? As my favorite NYC politician crows, “It’s all about the Benjamin’s”
It is incredulous how arrogant and bigoted that so called Governor is. Yes.. bigoted. Why else would he leave all lodging businesses open EXCEPT for RV parks? Does he think anyone who owns an RV is not worthy of compassion, understanding, or equality under the law?
An RV park does not have staff preparing meals for you, a possible route to transmission of the virus. An RV park does not employ staff to come into your vehicle to clean it, another route to transmission. Hotels do. Motels do. Air B&B’s do. But let’s keep them open and without restrictions. Great idea… NOT.
The virus is a danger… absolutely. Take it from me, with asthma, lowered lung function and an enlarged heart. I know it can kill me. But I’m not flying off the handle screaming and panicking that the sky is falling. The virus isn’t going to destroy this country. Zealots like Ralph Northam will. Discrimination against anyone with a tickle in their throat, a cough or a runny nose… that will be the end of this free nation.
We as a people need to stop listening to doom sayers in the news spreading fear and hate because of a virus that sells airtime, and start working together as a nation to bring calm to those afraid, safety to those in need, and comfort to those who have lost all hope.
This virus will pass… but with the discrimination?
I question WHO gave the Governor the power to close private businesses! America either lives through our Constitution, or NOT! Wake up America! This power WILL be tested in court soon enough.
This is what I have been saying over and over. Many respond “oh, but this crisis is ‘so bad’ that it makes it OK”. Tell that to the people who died birthing our nation. Or those who have died over the past two centuries defending it. I think much of the actions are over-reactions. Two things. One, I am far more afraid we will permanently lose our Constitutional Rights and Freedoms, than I am about getting sick or dying from the virus. Two, the damages from all these closures and people using up their savings, will hurt much longer than the actual virus.
While I understand your frustration with this situation, you set up a false equivalency. The fact that hotels are allowed to remain open is whats wrong, not that RV parks are being closed to transients. As someone who works full time in public safety and healthcare, I know that the whole point of this is restricting travel so that asymptomatic people (or uncaring symptomatic people who care more about themselves than society at large) don’t inadvertently spread COVID-19 from one place to another. 2 wrongs don’t make a right. Depending upon where you are in the US, the COVID crisis probably feels very different. Here in the suburbs of NYC, it is a daily struggle, and people are rightfully scared to go outside their homes. People getting on airplanes at JFK and flying across the country is simply unconscionable, and I’ll never understand why that wasn’t stopped in the very beginning. Hotels should be closed to out of town travelers, unless they are staying for 2 weeks (i.e. healthcare workers coming to assist in an area of surge capacity), but full time RVer’s also need to stay in one place until this all settles down. It has to be all about stopping the spread. What metro area is going to be the next NYC? How many NYC-sized outbreaks can our country withstand? The simple truth is that more rural areas are even less prepared for this than Manhattan. How many ventilators do you think are available in a rural community hospital? Don’t tell me that you’re being “careful”. A person has no idea how often or if they’ve been exposed. Think about all of the items you touch in a given day that someone else has touched before you. Every one of those touches is a potential exposure to COVID. Wearing a face mask or bandanna does nothing to prevent you from getting sick, all it does is reduce the droplets that you emit when in public. Wearing the same pair of gloves all day, while still touching your face accomplishes nothing. In healthcare, PPE is changed after every individual patient encounter to prevent cross-contamination. The longer the entire country remains shut down, the longer it will take for both our healthcare system and our economy to recover. Find a nice place, get comfortable, and stay put for 2-3 weeks !!!
As a Virginian and an RVer, I hope that those who voted for this, *** remember that we are stuck with a stay at home order that , unlike most states, was put in place for almost two and a half months. I know that as we travel in our motorhome that if stopping for a one night stay, we don’t go shopping or sightseeing, but if we had to stay for several nights or weeks, we would be all over the area, potentially spreading or contracting the virus as we buy groceries or other needed supplies. To me, limiting the possible spread would require travelers to limit stays to a single night and send them on their way. We certainly don’t need the travelers to roam for fourteen days and spread this virus to the service stations and grocery stores that we, as residents, must have open for our survival.
We have considered full-timing several times, but being a risk-averse personality, decided we would never be comfortable doing that without at least a cabin in the woods, condo or even a piece of land with hookups to which we could return if necessary.
I feel bad for those who are having a hard time finding a place to stay. But when the orders starting going out, every full-timer was camping somewhere and many could likely have stayed for as long as needed. Those who wanted to continue to “push the envelope” and get in a few more days of sightseeing may be the ones who are now finding the doors shut.
Moral of the story: if you are lucky enough to find a campground now — stay there!
This reads less like an opinion piece, and more like a lawyers pleading to the Court of Public Opinion for relief. I definitely think that this decision is bad for all campgrounds, but it should have been done all over the nation, not piecemeal. Maybe barring guests who have a home address within 240 miles would be good, or working out a ‘contactless’ way of guiding overnight guests to their spot – but the fact remains, STAYING HOME SAVES LIVES. This has NOTHING to do with ‘free will’ or the Constitution. This is about staying alive and keeping your family – and EVERY OTHER FAMILY – healthy and safe.
If you can’t make a minor, inconvenient, sacrifice for the good, the health, of your fellow man…. then you don’t deserve to call yourself a good Christian. Or an American, IMHO.
I understand that this decision effects you adversely. You need to understand that “the powers that be” still don’t fully understand Covid19 and therefore, MUST act in a manner that has the best chance of mitigating the pandemic. You have NOT been closed down permanently. I understand that the majority of your business is SHORT TERM transient but, people moving about quickly is the primary method that Covid19 spreads. I AM a Full Time RVer. I AM “isolating in place” in a campground (I arrived ~ a month ago and, fully expect I’m here for at least a month longer (and VERY possibly MUCH longer). Covid19 MUST be stopped and, since a working vaccine is still a long way off, stopping transient travel seems to be the most effective way of achieving that goal. Get the word out that you ARE open but, ONLY for stays of 14 days or longer. Once the word gets out, there should be many long time and full time RVers who need a SAFE place to hunker down. Before the economy can come back, the spread of Covid19 MUST be stopped.