Amateurs...

Labor Day is more than a 3 day holiday weekend.  For many people, it marks the end of summer.  Oh, sure, Mother Nature would have us believe that happens around the Autumnal Equinox, but a lot of it depends on your elevation and latitude.  Colors are already starting to change in Colorado; we're even seeing a bit of that on our scooter rides through the Hills.

After today, school is back in session, even in those places where they start late due to needing teen workers for tourism businesses or on the farm/ranch.

Staying in an RV resort, this means that weekdays will be relatively quiet after today.  We have seen it wind down in the last couple weeks, as families get ready to get the kids back in school.  Don't get me wrong, I'm OK with kids.  We have seen well-behaved ones here, as well as the screamers and those who haven't been taught how to ride their bikes on streets with vehicle traffic.

This is a great resort, and is well-utilized by families during the summer.  There are campers and there are RVers... those who understand campground etiquette and those who think as long as they are away from home there are no "rules."

OR, as I tend to think of it: RVers and amateurs.  A real sign of an amateur is their total disregard of "personal space" - when you rent an RV site, that is your area.  Amateurs will walk through your site with no regard... that is a no-no in most RV parks.  Yeah, I know: "Get off my lawn, ya damn kids!"  ;-)  It isn't just kids.

Yesterday, my view out the dinette window was of a group of 20-somethings knocking grapes around with a Gatorade bottle... kinda like playing baseball, but without any bases or running... and fruit flying all about.  When they ran out of grapes, moved on to an "egg toss"... in a common area, because that might get too messy in their site.

Another sign of amateurs: 8 people in an RV designed for a couple.  Oh, sure, there are RVs with a "bunk-house" floorplan... that will sleep 8 or 10 by utilizing the fold-out couch and the dinette... with no place for 8 people to put frivolous things like socks and underwear, one small bathroom, and seating for 4.  I always wondered where you put all those people on a rainy day?  Even maximum security prisons have a better floor space to inmate ratio.

One really nice thing about this RV resort: campfires are not allowed.  That's right: no fire rings, no smokey bonfires.  Some people have portable propane "fire pits"...

You get the feel of an open fire, with no wood burning, and no smoke stinking up everything around it.  Yes, I am aware that there are some people who think they aren't "really camping" unless they have a big campfire going all the time... those people would be... amateurs.  When it is 80º (or more) out and they aren't cooking anything over that fire, it just makes everyone in the area smell like a campfire.  I don't smoke, and I don't like my clothes, or my entire motorhome, to smell like smoke.

Speaking of which, how would you like to see this pull in next to you...

Again, I will go on record that I enjoy good BBQ - I don't need that smokey smell on everything I own.  There is a time and place for everything... and a giant smoker like that really doesn't belong in an RV resort.  In a campground - yes.  In your own backyard - maybe, depending on the circumstances.  But amateurs don't understand the difference.

Or, don't care.

They are only here for a couple days and have no desire in keeping the resort looking and functioning good.  There are signs in the comfort stations reminding people to "use the shower curtain to keep the water from getting all over the floor"... signs to remind to you "flush after each use of the toilet"... signs to remind you to "clean up after yourself."  Amateurs don't care because "someone else will do that - I'm on vacation."  RVers understand how much work goes into keeping a resort, park, or campground nice.

After today, it will start getting quiet around here.  There will be more sites that are unoccupied.  In another couple weeks, the resort maintenance staff will start shutting off water in some sections of the resort to prepare for the upcoming colder months.  From my view at the dinette window, 3 of the 4 RVs (in this case, all 5th wheel trailers) are closed up, unplugged, and ready for the storage staff to pick them up and put them away.  The storage area here is huge, and for a fee, they will move your rig in and out of storage.  If this resort is your "weekend getaway," you can own an RV and not have to own a truck, thanks to this service.

We are coming into what we used to call "Mellow Time," when we lived in the Black Hills - the summer tourists have gone home, the weather is generally still very nice, most of the seasonal attractions are still open, and there are no waits to get a table at a restaurant.  It is this time of year (also called the "shoulder season") that many RVers look forward to traveling.  We try to stay put in one place over the "big 3" summer holiday weekends (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day)... we don't want to be on the road, looking for a place to stay.

Our original plan was to head out on September 5th, to get us through the Labor Day traffic.  We decided to extend for another 10 days to take advantage of this Mellow Time.  By that time, they will be closing this section of the park, and we'll hit the road.

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Rufus edit:

Rufus here.  It isn't just the people who are amateurs - dogs, too.  A neighbor from up the street was half walking, half dragging, and half carrying his three dogs by our site.  (Editor's note: Rufus is smart but fractions are not his strong suit.)  The dogs were yapping the whole time, too.  What's up with that?

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Thank you for the commentary, Rufus.

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Jim edit:

I haven't posted many sunrises or sunsets lately.  Our location in this park has a hill to the west of us, so the sun is still pretty high in the sky as it goes behind that hill - not enough angle for those striking colors, although the smoke in the air the past couple weeks has added some color.  This evening, with many of the RVs that had been around us now gone, I had a little better vantage point...

A cloud above the horizon added that dark to it.  The sun is behind the hills, but a nice glow still in the sky.