On my favorite RV forum, the discussion of public vs private RV parks came up. I mentioned that we prefer private parks, because there is less chance that you will run into screaming kids and smoky campfires. One lady said she loved the sound of children playing and liked being able to sit around a campfire. Then, the discussion turned to 55+ parks. One new guy had never heard of those before.
My response...
---------------------
I was in my late 30s, had a brand new motorhome and a toad that matched. We left the frozen northland, driving through crappy weather to get to "the south." We were told by some RVing friends, "Mesa, Arizona, is where you want to go - there are nice RV parks all over."
After driving through snow in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado, we ran into black ice in northern New Mexico. I was beginning to think this RVing stuff wasn't much fun!
I kept looking at the map and thought, "If we could just get to I-10,
we should be out of the nasty weather." We made it to Demming, and saw
in the campground guidebook that there were several RV parks... pulled
into the first, and half their sites were underwater. Went to the next
and they had a site that was only soggy... on gravel... and not a bit of
greenery anywhere!The next morning, we headed to "the Promised Land." On the way to Mesa, we saw a billboard for Camping World. We had never been in one (I told you we were new at this back then), so we made a detour to Camping World. $2,500 later, we had everything we needed and spent our first night boondocking in the Camping World lot. I remember the guy saying, "No hook-up, no charge." Damn, this RVing stuff is great!
The next morning, we had more stuff installed at Camping World, then by late afternoon went in search for one of those nice RV parks we heard about. The first one we came to had a big sign that said, "Arizona's Finest Adult RV Resort."
"That's what we want!" I said, and we pulled in. There was a guard shack. I was pretty sure the guard would be impressed with our new motorhome and color-matched tow car. He looked at us and said, "Do you have anyone else in there with you?"
"Nope, just the wife, the cat, and me."
"You can't come in."
"Why? I mean why not?" I asked.
He said, "This is an adult park."
"I am an adult," I told him.
"No, this is an adult park."
"I am an adult. I reached puberty a long time ago, I pay adult prices at the movies, I have a kid in college. How adult do I have to be?"
"You have to be 55 or older," he said.
"Are you kidding me?" I protested. "We just want to spend a few nights. We're not going to dance naked on top of the coach and play loud rock 'n roll music! We just want a nice place to stay!" And then I added, "That's discriminatory!"
He didn't back down. We left with our tails between our legs. OK, let's look for the "Second Finest RV Resort in Arizona"!! By the time we left the third place that turned us away because we were too young, it was getting dark. We found another park that looked really nice from the road and didn't say "Adult" on the sign... until we got to the office.
No guard shack, so I went inside and said, "Look, I know you're not going to rent to me because I'm too young, but is there ANYPLACE around here who will take my money?"
The lady was very nice and said, "I'm sorry you've been having a problem. We are completely full, otherwise we'd get you off the road for the night." She suggested a KOA that was on the other side of Phoenix. I dejectedly started towards the door. The manager came out and asked, "Is that your rig? Are you really from South Dakota?"
"Yes, sir. We live in Spearfish, in the Black Hills - where anyone can stay in an RV, regardless of their age."
He turned to the nice lady and said, "Find them a spot for a couple nights."
She said, "We really are full."
He said, "Bob is moving from one site to another. Find out which site he isn't on and give these folks the other one."
"Thank you SO much," I said. "We won't bother anyone. We've been driving for days and we just want to be down for a couple days, maybe have a nice meal out."
"Well, welcome to Mesa. You really didn't know that most of the parks here are 55?" he asked.
"Thank you, and no, I've never heard of such a thing."
-----------------------
Well, that was 21 years ago. We now qualify for 55+ parks and stay in them when we are visiting our daughter and son-in-law, who live just west of Phoenix. Don't get me wrong - I like kids. I think the sound of kids playing and laughing is delightful. What I don't like are loud and unruly kids, screaming for the sake of screaming, driving their bikes through our site, while their loud and unruly parents and their friends play loud head-banging music the next site over, while building a bonfire that can be seen from space, with mostly green wood, and seeing who can drink the most!
These are what I call, "The Amateurs." Frequently, when we've stayed
in public parks, we've come across more than our share of these folks...
well, during the summer and on weekends. You know what I'm talking
about: 18 people staying in a 30 year old pop-up, being towed by a
monster truck! 
It is rare that we've run into this in a private park. And, never in a 55+ park. 
There is a big difference between "The Amateurs" and RVers. We've met plenty of wonderful folks in our years of RVing. Stayed in parks from coast to coast. I think it's great that there are different camping situations to choose from. We still stay in public parks from time to time, but try to pick a site carefully... and still, those Amateurs will sneak in next to you, just after you've gone to bed!
I'm also aware that many people think you aren't "camping" if you don't have a campfire. Unfortunately, I developed asthma as an adult, and smoke is one of the triggers that sets me off. If you're sitting around a campfire, you can keep moving away from the smoke. If your rig is parked downwind of a big smoky fire... well, the options are pretty limited. I'd rather be in a nice RV resort where smoke isn't going to be a problem. I think people should have the choice - just like restaurants used to have smoking and no smoking sections (before smoking was outlawed in most places)... "Would you like to be in the screaming child, smoky fire section or the quiet, fresh air section?" Choice is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment