Another hot one...

 

It's July, what did you expect?  Yep.  Also: moving day tomorrow, so at some point we'll be picking up around our site.

That's how it works here at Hart Ranch; it is a membership park that you have to buy into... you own a membership, not a specific site.  The original concept was that a member could stay for up to 21 days in any 30 day period, then has to go out for at least 9 days.  Our membership is one that allows us to "buy in" for those 9 days, so we can stay in the resort, but we have to go to The Meadows, which is a separate section.  The Meadows (or Meadowlands, or as we refer to it: Purgatory Flats) is more like most RV park/campgrounds - it is gravel roads and sites.  Certainly not as nice as the double wide paved sites in the rest of the park.  It used to have just electric, water, and cable, but no sewer connections.  Two years ago, the resort put sewer in at each of the Meadows sites - a real improvement, so you didn't have to move your RV to go use the dump station (nearby).  Last year, they put in cement patios at a few of these sites; that went over so well that all the Meadows sites now have a cement patio.  There is an expansion project going on right now that will add another 30 or so sites to the Meadows.

Obviously, it is being used.  It was originally conceived to be for RV rallies or just for overflow parking if the rest of the resort is full.  While this place is always busy, it wasn't until the last few years that is has actually been full at times.  It is a big park, with over 500 RV sites and a bunch of rental cabins.  I hear the cabins are all full these days, too.

There was a shift in the RV industry when Covid hit: people were buying entry level RVs at an unprecedented rate.  RVing is a great way to be able to travel and still maintain some social distancing.  These days it seems that few people are concerned with distancing (or masking), but the RV lifestyle is still going strong.  I thought that might diminish some this year, with people finding the RV lifestyle isn't all about being on a permanent vacation... not yet.  As we made our way here, RV parks were quite full.  And I don't think it is a summer thing - it seems there are more families than ever who are making an RV their home.  More families home schooling and people being able to work remotely from anywhere, as long as they have a good internet connection.

Even the nicest RVs are not insulated like a typical house.  Our air conditioner will be blasting on high all day to keep up with beating the heat.  Along with all the rest of the RVs here doing the same.  Fortunately, Hart Ranch was built with a good electrical grid.  We may be cocooning much of the day to stay out of the heat.  The resort has a nice large pool area, which will no doubt be very busy.  I may strip down to my skivvies, and Rufus and I will run through the sprinkler.  Maybe not.

As people told you when they signed your high school yearbook: "Stay cool!"