Escapees RV Club on campground closings

[Kirk W]

I just copied this from the Escapee Facebook page.

Quote

We, Escapees RV Club, are working with RVIA and other industry leaders on their respective COVID-19-related initiatives.

Specific to the closure of state and federal parks, we support efforts to enable them to remain open. Please know this is a controversial issue. There are some groups who fear that if state and federal parks remain open to travelers, those visitors will promote the spread of COVID-19 from cities (where it is largely impacting) to rural areas.

Moreover, there are concerns that some public parks lack the staffing to accommodate an influx of visitors, especially if any of their staff become ill. In addition to the closure of public parks, we are witnessing the closure of privately-operated parks.

Our contention is that to close parks is to disenfranchise approximately one million full-time RVers. As the owner and operator of eight parks in seven states, we assert that a park can continue to receive guests and still comply with the CDC’s recommendations.

As such, our parks will continue to remain open with precautions in place to protect our staff and guests, barring anything unforeseen.

We encourage you, as a member of the RVing community, help keep parks open in two ways.

🔘 First, we have joined with Truck Camper in support of their petition to keep RV campgrounds open and encourage you to do the same.



Truck Camper Petition: https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/…/urgent-petition-to-k…/

🔘 In addition to signing this petition, we encourage you to contact a state or federal park that you would like to have remain open and offer to volunteer or work camp for them. Volunteering and work camping may provide these public parks with support staff needed to enable them to continue to operate.

In all ways, and at all times, we strongly urge you to comply with the CDC’s recommendations. Your health and safety should be your primary concern. If you do not have the capability to volunteer or work camp, or if you have concerns about your health and safety, please disregard this request.

The National Park Service, quoting Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, issued a statement regarding our national parks. In summary, the National Park Service is leaving the decision to remain open to the individual parks. Additionally, they issued a temporary suspension of entrances fees.

Statement link: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/statmentonparkopscovid19.htm

Taken together, some of the National Parks may be a good, inexpensive parking option. And, to the levels you are able and comfortable, volunteering and work camping may help these individual parks decide to remain open.

In either event, the National Park Services offers an alert page where you can learn which parks are open and which are closed.

Alert page Link: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/alerts.htm

Please know we will continue to support RVers ability to find parking solutions. To that end, we will provide you updates as we have them. Be safe and responsible.

Read the RVIA Statement Here: https://www.rvia.org/…/rv-industry-association-working-poli…

Keep up to date with Escapees COVID-19 resources here: https://www.escapees.com/coronavirus/

 

 

[accumack]

We are lot owners in a RV park. Some of us live here year round and have worked hard at not getting or spreading the virus. Some people come into the rental area and have a disregard for those of us that live here. No face masks no social distancing walking and gawking in the private residence areas. Most people are coming in from out of state. Please respect those that live here full time wear a mask, do social distancing. This is NOT vacation time. It is supposed to be essential travel only and camping for a few days does not qualify. Our county has only had 2 cases and both were travel related please stay at home! By the way there is a 14 day self quarantine for people coming from out of state.

[hamrs_62]

I though escapee's was for full timers, or is it just for you that decided to pick up and move there, we are full timers so how is it that you want us to stay at home? if this is just for you that decided to stay and buy there well then I need to find another full time site that supports those of us that like to be free and travel. Your fears do not trump my rights, especially  with a virus that has a 99.% survival rate 

[Kirk W]

6 hours ago, hamrs_62 said:

I though escapee's was for full timers, or is it just for you that decided to pick up and move there, we are full timers so how is it that you want us to stay at home? 

Where ever did you get such an idea? The club is for all RV travelers and some are full-time, some part-time, snowbirds, and pretty much any RV user or wanna-be. There are nearly 20, 000 memberships representing about 2.3 people each. There are currently 9 parks that are owned and operated by the club and 11 co-op parks that are owned and operated by their members with Escapee affiliation. The total number of sites in the two systems combined would not come close to accommodating all members at the same time. 

[hamrs_62]

I must have read  it wrong where they started it for full timers, so that full timers would have somewhere to get info, and have help, my mistake, it is for those that want to move somewhere, cool guess we who full time know where we stand, being scolded for going place and admiring peoples places at these parks, I know I have walked around different place looking at places, and even looked at places for sale, but we should stay home, or somewhere else, so people can be safe in their little places away from those of us who travel, safe from a fake a pandemic, with a 99% survival rate, good to know 

[Barbaraok]

First, I don’t believe Accumark was talking about an Escapees park.  And second, it was more of a vent post about travelers not wearing masks, physical distancing, etc. than anything else.   Mark & Annette I take it that you aren’t Escapee members?   I’m not sure what you want Escapees to do for you.  

[Twotoes]

I don’t know if this is true or not since you can’t believe everything you read on the internet but I saw a report that during the Obama administration H1N1 infected somewhere around 6.5 million people and now during the Trump administration Covid-19 has only infected 2.5 million. There were no shut downs for H1N1 and very little reporting. Just something to consider. This is not meant to be a political statement nor do I know if the numbers are correct. 

[2gypsies]

H1N1 (swine flu) was nowhere as deadly as COVID-19.  It hit children and young adults more because older people had already built up immunity through exposure to similar strains of the flu over the years.

COVID-19 deaths in 6 months has hit 162,000 in the U.S.

H1N1 deaths in 1 year was 12, 500

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-h1n1-flu-covid-pandemics-response.html

[sandsys]

3 hours ago, hamrs_62 said:

your fears do not trump my right to live free,

Your rights end where they negatively affect another person. It is illegal to yell fire in a movie theater notwithstanding freedom of speech. I have no problem with you continuing to travel; I only ask that you wear a mask when around other people. Even the vulnerable have to buy groceries.

Linda Sand

[dogyard]

I'm constantly amazed at the amount of pride people display while defending their lack of consideration for others. Perhaps they can begin working on "liberating" those poor cooks, servers and other food handlers from the tyranny of having to wash their hands after using restrooms. Why oh why are those poor kitchen workers made to suffer just keep others safe???  Yep, that is absurd but no more absurd than railing against YOU taking minimal measures to keep others safe as well, that's why it's called "public health" policy.

[bigjim]

52 minutes ago, dogyard said:

I'm constantly amazed at the amount of pride people display while defending their lack of consideration for others. Perhaps they can begin working on "liberating" those poor cooks, servers and other food handlers from the tyranny of having to wash their hands after using restrooms. Why oh why are those poor kitchen workers made to suffer just keep others safe???  Yep, that is absurd but no more absurd than railing against YOU taking minimal measures to keep others safe as well, that's why it's called "public health" policy.

Sarcasm I presume.😀

[Second Chance]

8 hours ago, sandsys said:

Your rights end where they negatively affect another person. It is illegal to yell fire in a movie theater notwithstanding freedom of speech. I have no problem with you continuing to travel; I only ask that you wear a mask when around other people. Even the vulnerable have to buy groceries.

Linda Sand

I agree.