The Ultimate Guide to RV Park Ownership: Real Advice from Experts

In this jam-packed episode I (Patti Hunt) take a deep into the world of campground ownership with a panel of seasoned experts. From financial planning and land development to daily operations and long-term strategies, this conversation uncovers the realities and rewards of owning and running an RV park. Whether you are dreaming of owning a campground or just curious about how these vacation havens come to life, this episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look with tips, tales, and takeaways you won't want to miss. Guests include Amie Mersmann of Mersmann Consulting Group, Chase Becker of Open Road Resorts, Wes Henderson of Talona Ridge RV Resort, and Sonya Zacker & Maurice Gilmore of Clayton Park RV Escape.

Amie Mersmann - Mersmann Consulting Group (MCG)

Chase Becker & Jim Omstrom - Open Road Resorts 

Wes Henderson - Talona Ridge RV Resort

Sonya Zacker & Maurice Gilmore - Clayton Park RV Escape 

Thank you for listening to the RV LIFE Podcast, I would love to hear from you, please leave me a comment or question here on the podcast page or on my social media channels:
 RV LIFE Podcast Instagram or https://www.claytonpark.net/

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Have you ever dreamed of owning a campground?
I'm Patti Hunt and you'relistening to the RV Life Podcast
.
What is one thing you wisheveryone knew before they
started thinking about startinga campground?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
The most important thing is it probably costs more
than you expect.
All the infrastructure and theutilities that you don't see
underground on the beautiful RVsites cost a ton of money.
So pre-planning and being readyfor that from the beginning is
always really, really helpful.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
And today we are going to cover all things
campground ownership frombreaking ground to thinking
about that time where you mightbe looking to sell, if you're
actually considering being acampground owner or you're just
curious, this episode will havereal stories, big lessons, great
tips.

(00:58):
You don't want to miss this.
Now a little bit about me.
Four years ago, my husband, dan, decided it'd be a great idea
to sell everything we own andget in an RV full time.
The funniest part of this was Ihad only been in an RV for
seven nights prior to thissuggestion, so at first I

(01:22):
thought it was crazy, and thenafter about I I gotta admit only
after about two months I saidwhat the heck?
And I jumped in with both feet.
We were on the road for overthree years full time, and I
have to say it was one of themost incredible experiences I've
ever had.
Now, a year ago, life changedfor us because Dan became ill

(01:44):
and is now in a nursing home.
So I had to reinvent myself,and that meant a solo podcaster
and a solo traveler.
But I am not going to miss outon the campground experience
that I love so much.
Now I just go by car or plane.
I've stayed in cabins, I'vestayed in yurts, I've stayed in

(02:07):
retro RVs and this year my planis to stay in a beautiful tiny
home.
We'll talk more about that andexplore the RV lifestyle, with
the mission to inspire you tolive life to the fullest.
Talking about incrediblecampgrounds, open Road Resorts

(02:30):
has six incredible parks inIdaho, nebraska, new Mexico, two
in Texas and their newest parkis AB Camping and RV Park in
Cheyenne, wyoming.
They are open and ready to takebookings and they are planning
to upgrade and make expansions.

(02:52):
All six of these parks arehighly favored by you, the RVer.
If you go tocampgroundsrvlifecom, you could
see what your fellow RVers aresaying about these six
incredible parks and why theyare highly favored parks.
Also, check them out onOpenRoadResortscom.

(03:15):
Now for my listeners, thisepisode is very different.
I have six people.
There are six of us on thisepisode, seven if you count my
producer and we are coming infrom six different locations.
So this is going to be a verydifferent podcast episode, but

(03:36):
we're going to journey down thisroad of RV campground ownership
and I want to start byintroducing you to my guests
ownership.
And I want to start byintroducing you to my guests and
I'm going to start with AmyMercerman, president of
Mercerman Consulting Group MCGfor short and she has about 27
years of professional experience, including over 19 years of

(03:59):
experience in planning,development and management for
the outdoor hospitality industry.
Amy specializes in strategicbusiness planning, market
analysis, economic modeling,financial analysis, marketing
and branding, resort andfacility operations and event
management.

(04:19):
She was introduced to theindustry by working directly for
a high-end RV resort as amarketing and sales director and
then transitioned intoconsulting, providing services
to clients in 38 US states andinternationally.
Welcome, amy to the RV LifePodcast.
Thank you, it's a pleasure tobe here.

(04:40):
I am so excited to have youhere.
Tell my listeners why thecampground industry.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Well, it sort of happened by life.
My husband moved me to themiddle of nowhere, east Texas,
and I thought, what in the worldam I going to do?
And I applied for the positionat Mill Creek Ranch in Canton,
texas, and the general managerhappened to be Bud Searles.
I consider him a legend in theindustry.

(05:08):
He worked for many national andstate parks and just a
visionary, and so it was just atrue learning experience and a
joy to work with him.
He passed away about five yearsago, so the team stuck together
and I've just been doing itsince and I can't imagine a life
, you know, without thisindustry.

(05:29):
So I love what I do.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
And that I think is so important really truly loving
what you do and I felt thatwhen we talked several times we
had conversations and we'regoing to hear more from you for
sure.
Let's introduce Chase Becker.
He is the co-founder andco-president of Open Road
Resorts.
Chase has many years ofexperience at several hedge

(05:53):
funds, including groups coveringa wide array of companies in
the RV, power sports, gaming,lodging, leisure and restaurant
industries.
Chase was previously vicepresident in the equity research
department and Chase was anative of Scottsdale, arizona,
but now lives in Dallas, texas,with his wife and two daughters,

(06:16):
his business partner, who couldnot be with us today, jim
Armstrong, is also co-founderand co-president of Open Road
Resorts.
Chase, welcome to the RV Lifepodcast.

Speaker 3 (06:29):
Thanks for having me, patty, pleasure to be here.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
It is great having you.
We have been connected for wellover two years and it is
awesome to have you on Now.
If my listeners caught on, openRoad Resorts was mentioned in
the beginning of the podcastwith their six highly favored
parks.
But, chase, both you and Jimwere in the finance world.

(06:54):
What were those firstconversations, the two of you?
What are those firstconversations where you think
campground ownership is a goodidea?

Speaker 3 (07:05):
It's a good question.
We always joke that one of uswas going to have a midlife
crisis first and I was the firstone to have it.
So no, we were fortunate to getexposure to the RV space in our
previous jobs, where weinvested in the public companies
like Camping World and ThorLippard, so we had an

(07:26):
appreciation of why people werebuying RVs.
But I was looking to dosomething different after a
number of years and ultimatelynever had looked at it from the
real estate side and kind ofwent down the rabbit hole and
thought it was fascinating andhave learned a lot and it's been
a great adventure so far.
So a lot to learn.

(07:47):
Still Interested to hear whateverybody else has to say and
learn from others.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
That sounds great and I know we're also going to
learn from you.
I have had the pleasure ofbeing at one of your campgrounds
, so I know firsthand the kindof commitment, the kind of
properties that you look tocreate.
We're going to talk more aboutthat, okay.
Wes Henderson is the CEO ofTolona Ridge RV Resort in East

(08:16):
Ellijay, georgia, a premier RVdestination he designed, built
and has managed for the pastthree years with his father and
brother.
With a bachelor's degree ininternational business and
economics, wes brings over adecade of experience in
multifamily and commercial realestate, gained through his

(08:37):
involvement in his family'sbusiness.
He also spent three years as ateacher, further shaping his
leadership and communicationskills.
I could totally relate to that.
Years as a teacher furthershaping his leadership and
communication skills I couldtotally relate to that, having
been a teacher.
Wes is passionate aboutbringing ambitious projects to
life from the ground up.
He continues a strongfoundation in research, with a

(08:59):
keen eye for agricultural design, and thrives on assembling the
right teams and investing inpeople to turn vision into
reality.
His work at Tolona Ridgereflects his commitment to
quality, innovation andcommunity, and he is married to
his lovely wife, abigail.
Welcome to the RV Life podcast,wes.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
So background in commercial real estate.
Why didn't?

Speaker 2 (09:25):
you.

Speaker 1 (09:26):
You built this campground.
We've talked many timesliterally from the ground up why
campground ownership?

Speaker 4 (09:34):
We actually we kind of got sucked into it by
accident, if you will.
We had actually bought landacross the street from where
Tolona Ridge sits and we hadheard that someone was going to
do a campground on this piece ofproperty and I actually thought
it was going to hurt our valueof what our plans were from
across the street.
So I can't stress the amount ofno knowledge and no information

(09:57):
that we dove ourselves intothis industry.
It's been a wild but anamazingly fun ride, and so when
I first heard the word luxury RVresort, I laughed at that.
I was like there's no suchthing as a luxury RV resort.
And then I Googled it thatnight and I went oh, I stand
corrected, there absolutely issuch thing as a luxury RV resort

(10:21):
, and the more we had, the morewe studied this land that we
purchased, the more it justscreamed this needed to be
outdoor hospitality, even thoughwe had never done anything
hospitality related in our lives.
So that's how we got into it.

Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay, so it sounds like a lot of learning as you
went along, and I can't wait foryou to share all the ups and
downs with my and you to shareall the ups and downs with my,
and I'm sure there were ups anddowns with my listeners, okay.
Sonia Zachar and Maurice Gilmoreare the proud co-owners and
operators of Clayton Park RVEscape, a seasonal lakeside RV

(11:02):
park nestled along Lake Henry inthe Pocono Mountains of
northeastern Pennsylvania.
And just before I got on thecall because I am outside of
Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, Ifound out you are a two-hour
drive from me, so we areneighbors and I am going to come
see you guys.
Oh good.
Together they blend a sharedpassion for nature, community

(11:26):
and hospitality into everycorner of the park.
Sonia holds a bachelor's degreein computer information systems
with a minor in business, andspent over a decade as an
auditor and technical writer.
She also studied fine art atKeystone College and brings
creative energy to the park.
And her greatest inspirationwere her parents.

(11:50):
Maurice earned his bachelor'sdegree in environmental science
and built a long career as aquality safety and environmental
professional.
Primarily nuclear facilitiesacross the US Well, that aligns
with campgrounds.
Clear facilities across the USWell, that aligns with
campgrounds.
His strong background inenvironmental stewardship aligns
naturally with the couple'scommitment to maintaining a

(12:12):
peaceful and scenic parkenvironment.
Together, sonia and Mauricestrive to create a welcoming,
family-friendly escape wheretradition, tranquility and the
beauty of outdoors come together.
Escape where tradition,tranquility and the beauty of
outdoors come together.
Welcome Sonia and Maurice tothe RV Life Podcast.

Speaker 6 (12:29):
Thank you so much.
We're so glad to be here.

Speaker 1 (12:32):
I'm glad to have you.
Please share with my listenersyour story.
What was the conversation?
And this was 19 years ago thatyou started this campground.
What was the conversation?
How did that start?

Speaker 6 (12:57):
It was like raising a child 19 years old, and it has
been a lot of learning and itreally is kind of, I mean, I
guess now it's off to college.
So we did not expect to do this.
This was not part of our plan.
We actually were workingoverseas and we got evacuated
from a place called Wake Island,if anybody knows where that's
at and it was supposed to betemporary.

(13:19):
But we came back and stayedwith my parents because our
house was rented out and I foundout they were in some trouble
and we said how can we help?
So here we are, all these yearslater, and the park has
undergone a lot of changes, butit has really good bones and we

(13:42):
thought it was worthwhile tosave it.
I knew it had been in my familyfor a long time, but I didn't
know it was in my family, theproperty itself for 160 years.
So that's I'm kind of thebearer of the torch now, so, but
I, you know it wasn't always acampground, but it started as a

(14:04):
farm, but eventually myancestors started renting boats
and here we are today with an RVpark and he just is along for
the ride.
There you go.
He does a really good job ofsupporting me.

Speaker 1 (14:21):
And I cannot wait to hear more about this, for you to
share with my listeners, thisjourney, 19 years at this
campground.
We are going to hear more aboutthat.
Thank you for sharing yourstory.
Thank you all for sharing yourstories.
I'd love for my listeners tohear about the journey and how
it started, and everybody's gota cool story.

(14:43):
So now my listeners are curiousor thinking about starting a
campground, and I'm going tostart with you, amy.
This is really your.
Tell us a little bit more aboutyour business.
You and I have had a number ofincredible conversations.
I have asked you several timesof what your business side of it

(15:03):
does, and there's a lot to itthat I couldn't even keep track
of.
So give my guests an overviewof what you do to help people
start a campground, even goingthrough the process of.
Does it even make sense?

Speaker 2 (15:20):
Our company specializes in outdoor
hospitality and our servicesrange from land selection so you
know we can help clients decideif a property is suitable or
not.
If they have the property, wecan conduct a suitability
analysis.
We'll let them know.
Yes, no, here's why, Onceproperty is selected, we offer

(15:42):
feasibility studies so thatdesign component, coupled with
the business plan, that'sutilized for loans or investors
or anything needed futureplanning.
From there we offer consultingthrough regulatory permitting
and construction.
We offer startup marketing andoperations services.
So just the minute the shovelhits the ground we're in

(16:11):
marketing and operations,getting everyone ready to open.
So after grand opening we canhand you the key and then be
available as needed forconsulting services.
And that applies to we've got agroup of clients, you know,
looking to acquire RV parks andresorts.
So you know it's similarprocess.
We help them with the duediligence and then it kind of
goes into that startup analyzing, you know, the current

(16:31):
situation and operations andstaffing and marketing and then
transitioning to the newownership and then expansion as
well.
Clients will come to us.
I've got actually in Georgiathis weekend we're going to go
visit a really beautifulglamping site looking to expand.
So you know we'll evaluate theproperty and work with the

(16:52):
client to get them where theyneed to be.
But yeah, a wide range ofservices but a lot of fun Wow.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
Yes, and there's, as somebody already said, there's
so much more to it than we even,certainly, than I even realized
, I know.
For me, owning a campground isprobably not what I want to do,
but I no longer never say neveranymore.
So who knows?
But each of you on the call soWes, chase, sonia, maurice, you

(17:23):
kind of had a very differentstart, so I want each of you to
kind of chime in.
So for you, chase, why did youdecide to acquire campgrounds
that already existed, and isthere any thoughts of building
your own from the ground up?

Speaker 3 (17:38):
Maybe you're not ready to share that, I don't
know, coming from a financebackground, I think you know
knowing what you don't know isreally important and, frankly,
when I first started I reallydidn't know anything about the
operational side, nor did I knowanything about the development
side.
I'm interested to hear what Weshas to say.

(17:58):
Just because we've actuallynever built anything from
scratch or I kind of our modelhas been to go in and acquire
existing campgrounds and goodlocations that maybe we can
spruce up and improve operations, maybe add some amenities, add
some additional rv sites, and soyou know, in one say, in one

(18:19):
sense it almost feels like kindof cheating a little bit
relative to what west did.
Um, and and uh, it's funny with, with, with west, our actual,
um, our, our general managersthat are red rock park, just
outside of yellowstone, theywere telling me earlier this
week they actually stayed at hispark.
They're like, oh, you got tosee this park.
So, uh, you know not, not havingthe ability to build from

(18:40):
scratch, I think, certainlymeans that you can't do
everything the way that you'dwant to do it.
Um, so, but frankly, it'sprobably a good thing that we
didn't start out building fromscratch, because we would have
made a lot of costly mistakes.
So, um, I, we do have theopportunity to do a greenfield
in the dfw area.
It's been something we've beenexploring.
That's a market where I liveand I feel comfortable

(19:03):
potentially doing that, or Iguess as comfortable as I'm
going to get.
We've got some smart peoplesurrounding us that are going to
, you know, hopefully make that,you know, possible.
That's not really going to beme, but yeah it's.
It's been an interesting ridefor sure.
So we've been fortunate withwhat we've got with the existing

(19:23):
campgrounds and had anopportunity to expand those.
But yeah, I'd like to hear fromWes on this.

Speaker 1 (19:30):
Yeah, and I'm going to give it to Wes.
So you built from the ground up.
You were thrown into it becauseyou were afraid somebody would
do something else.
That was a great story.
So, yeah, talk about what thatwas like.

Speaker 4 (19:44):
Well, it was these projects.
They seem so easy on an Excelspreadsheet and then when you're
standing there going, I'm goingto put some concrete pads down,
I'm going to put a littlebuilding here for a welcome
center and, bing bang, bop, callit a day.
And that was, of course, notthe case.
I love what you said before.
These things always will cost alot more money than you ever

(20:07):
think they will, especially ifyou're building it from the
ground up.
But what saved us I think whatour secret sauce was is because
we did not come from hospitalityand because we had no idea
about the RV world.
We approached it that way, andso we started out gathering as
much information as we could.
There was some luck involved.

(20:27):
We were in the process ofoffloading our old multifamily
portfolios and we wererepositioning as a company, and
so we had some staff that wewere able to do focus groups
with.
I took a lot of RVers all kindsof different types of RVers out
to dinner and just got them totalk, and we were recording all
the conversations, jotting downall the notes.
All kinds of different types ofRVers out to dinner and just
got them to talk, and we wererecording all the conversations,

(20:47):
jotting down all the notes, andwe kind of put the pieces of
the puzzle together that in ourarea, laj and this particular
site was screaming a destinationRV resort.
And from there because wewanted to go more premium,
because our views werephenomenal, we originally
started out more towards thedeeded lot concept and that was

(21:11):
going to be our plan.
But the more focus groups wewere running, the more we
started learning about the RVindustry and the more we start
looking at our site.
We decided to swap back anddecided that our mission was
going to be a destination,premier destination RV resort
built to the specs of what you'dsee at a deeded lot site.
But we wanted that to be fullrental and open to all the

(21:33):
different types of RVs that wereout there.
But the construction there wereparts of it that were absolutely
grueling and there is aspaghetti of sewer and water and

(21:54):
power and fiber internetrunning through a rocky, massive
limestone slash, blue granitesite.
We had to blast our way throughgetting our infrastructure in.
But having your definition setfrom the beginning is key.
Set from the beginning is key.
Otherwise, when you get to thespot, when you're going to spend
about $300,000 on just treesand you're going.
How is this going to returnvalue on Excel?
And it's a hard thing toquantify, but you know you're

(22:15):
trying to get towards thedestination RV site.
You're going to stay committeduntil the end to make sure all
those finer details are asperfect as they can be for the
guest experience.
We ended up doing a lot of theconstruction aspects ourselves.
We had subs but, for instance,power.
When it came to run power, thiswas during COVID, so there was

(22:38):
sand shortages.
Don't know how we got to thatspot, but that existed for a
minute.
So, as the concrete was trickedbefore the concrete was
trickling in to run our power,our, we had a contractor that
was slow to show up because helost half his labor force and on
a project this scale, if yousit for a month to two months,
that can be financiallydetrimental.

(22:58):
So what do you do?
You sign a waiver with thepower company and you go all
right, if I zap myself, I'mliable for it and you're free to
charge.
And you get in there and yourun your power.

Speaker 1 (23:11):
I can't even imagine.

Speaker 4 (23:14):
Oh yes, I've got four iPhones and several pairs of
shoes buried underneath some ofthese pads in our history of
building this place.
And then being able to makefield changes on these things is
incredibly, incrediblyimportant when you're when
you're standing there and yourealize that your RV pad needs
to be tilted a few more degreesto the left so that a uh, uh, a

(23:38):
a 45 foot fifth wheel could beable to back up without having
to be at an angle is is key.
So, when you're building thesethings, being able to back up
without having to be at an angleis key.
So, when you're building thesethings, being able to make those
quick field changes isincredibly, incredibly important
, which means you've got to havea really good relationship with
the city or municipality you'reworking with and that, from

(23:59):
what I can see, that can also bea hurdle, because there's still
a lot of eyebrows that raisewhen you say I'm building an RV
park.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
Right, which would seem to me to make it just a
little bit easier if theyalready exist.
So you take some of that out ofthere.
So much here, and again I'velooked at pictures of your park.
I plan on coming down there andvisiting.
It is amazing looking andstarting from scratch.
So obviously we have twodifferent thoughts here on

(24:31):
existing and non-existing.
We could do pros and cons ofboth and we're going to talk
about how you guys feel about itafter the fact.
But, sonia and Maurice, youkind of fell into it, it was
there, it was existing.
Reese, you kind of fell into it, it was there, it was existing.
Tell us how that beginning went.
What were some of thechallenges and some of the

(24:54):
things that maybe were easier?

Speaker 6 (24:55):
because it did already exist for a long time it
did, and it was kind ofdeveloped in pieces.
My parents and my parents gotthe property in the 50s and at
that time it was pretty muchjust a boat livery.
You know, people would comefishing and they had like a

(25:16):
little grove where they would doclam bakes and things like that
.
And somebody brought along atent and the rest became history
.
But the park was kind ofdeveloped in little pieces.
So I remember my dad saying youknow he didn't really know much
about developing an RV park.

(25:36):
What kind of resources werethere for them in the 50s?
Not really a lot.
You just kind of did what youthought you needed to do.
So he went to a nearby park andlooked at how they had set
things up and so he kind of wentby that.
But in those days, andprimarily I think, a lot of the

(25:57):
park was developed.
You know, as far as the numberof sites were developed, like in
the 60s and 70s, and RVs backthen were, you know, 25 feet.
So we had how many two or threesites that actually had 15 amp

(26:18):
breakers, wow, which was hard tobelieve.
And it was really the beginning.
Part of it was really chaoticand hectic because it wasn't
something we planned on doing.
It was more of an emotionaldecision because it was where I
grew up and I didn't want to seeit go away, and so we just kind

(26:43):
of hacked away at things pieceby piece and eventually we saw
the value in joining our stateorganization and in joining our
national associationorganization and in joining our
national association therewasn't a whole lot of time for
us back in those days because weboth worked full-time positions

(27:05):
in addition to doing this.
So he would take contract workand go you know wherever in the
country and I had a full-timejob in DC metro area and so I
would commute back and forthbetween between the two places.
So a lot of it was, you know,understanding what we needed to

(27:27):
be doing.
You know talking with peoplefrom the regulation side of
things, getting to know, youknow who we needed to know um,
finding out, you know what itwas going to take to do what we
needed to do Um, and we didn't Imean we didn't have the

(27:48):
background that some of thefolks coming into the industry
have now Um.
So it was really a pretty bigchallenge for us just the
management part of it and a lotof our struggle was we had to do
a lot of the work ourselves orhire people, and so you're so

(28:09):
busy sometimes in the weeds thatyou can't be where you need to
be to be managing it properly.
So we've certainly made ourshare of mistakes, and I totally
understand when someone wassaying you know, you put an RV
pad in and then you're like, oh,it just needs to be turned a
little bit, or you know whateverit is, and it seems like, oh

(28:31):
well, that's not that big of adeal, but it turns out to be a
big deal that big of a deal, butit turns out to be a big deal,
right.

Speaker 5 (28:40):
Well, it was really interesting how we kind of
adjusted to what the situationwas.
We knew nothing about brandinga company or finding employees
or anything else, so we found itwasn't just important to get
the right employees and peoplethat you could trust to do what
needed to be done and werecapable of doing what needed to

(29:04):
be done, but it was also reallyimportant, we discovered, pretty
quickly, to make sure that thepeople that you're bringing in
are also the type of people youwant.
In your backyard there'sactually some screening, that's

(29:24):
done.
We meet everybody.
We make sure that they want tobe here, that this is where they
want to be, because the parkkind of branded itself After
years.
We wanted a quiet place, wewanted a safe place, we wanted a
beautiful place, and we'veaimed for all of those

(29:47):
particular ideals and it's cometogether pretty well.
Did you want to say something?

Speaker 6 (29:52):
Well, I think, because he's talking about the
camper side of things, I thinkyou, as as new owners, I think
one of the the things that andyou certainly want to look at
other parks and what other parksare doing, cause I know in the
beginning we looked at jumpingpads and you know, oh, we could
do this and we could do that.

(30:13):
But I think, um, for us,because we're considered the mom
and pops of the campingindustry, I think you have to
look inside, because I tellpeople all the time, do your
homework If you're shopping fora seasonal site.
Every campground is asdifferent as its owner.

(30:35):
We all have different needs, weall have different visions.
It became pretty evident to usearly on we have a beautiful
piece of property and itliterally, if you let it, will
sell itself.
So we, you know, we've done ourbest to enhance what's already

(31:02):
here.
We were fortunate enough to justhave a beautiful place for
people to come, zero in on quietand relaxation and, you know,

(31:23):
just, quality of life.
I will be the first to tell youthat's one of my focuses right
now is trying to establish ahealthy quality of life while
you're doing something like this.
To establish a healthy qualityof life while you're doing
something like this, because Ithink everyone who's spoken has
talked about how you have to beready to pretty much do anything

(31:46):
, whether it's pumping sewer orcleaning a restroom or you know.
You may not be able to layelectric, but you'd better have
some people lined up that youcan rely on.

Speaker 1 (32:01):
And you're bringing up a lot of great points and I
want to go down those variousroads, so let me just circle
back a little bit.
You talked about first of all,which I think is a great tip for
anybody looking inside anddeciding what kind of park you
want.
I think all of you on this callhave very different ideals,
different types of parks.

(32:22):
What you're trying to promoteor do within those parks are
different, and I think that'sgreat.
I think going out and trying tojust be like everybody else
doesn't work.
Being in, working with RV Life,I work with campground owners
and hearing campground ownerssay oh, you know, people are
asking about a pool, they have apark wherever it happens to be.

(32:46):
You can't be all things to allpeople.
And while that sounds prettyobvious, I talk to campground
owners sometimes that are likewell, this is what somebody
asked for, and so I'd like whatyou said about looking inside
what is it you want?
What is it you're looking tobuild?
What type of campground do youwant?
Because there are so manydifferent campgrounds.

(33:07):
People ask me a lot, as I'vetraveled across the country
what's your favorite state,what's your favorite campground?
And for me it depends on whatI'm doing at the time.
There are times I want to be ina campground where it is quiet.
I've been in campgrounds in thePoconos.
I want quiet, I want rest, Iwant serene, I don't care about

(33:29):
the activities.
And then there are times I wasin Texas, in Dallas, at your
campground Chase, and myfavorite thing was every day I
sat literally in the front seatof my RV.
We had a Class A sat in thefront seat of my RV because it
overlooked it's a pond rightChase in Dallas, northeast, I

(33:49):
call things ponds, rivers,whatever word.
It's actually a huge pond.
The sun would set every nightand that's where you would find
me and to me that is beautiful,it is peaceful.
I loved it there.
So there are different.
Not only are there differentthings for different people, but
I look for different things incampgrounds depending on what

(34:10):
I'm looking to do.
So great, I want to continue onthis.
I do want to first, though,mention Blue Compass RV.
So for people out there thatare looking to go camping at
some of these amazingcampgrounds that we've talked
about, blue Compass RV isincredible for sales and service

(34:31):
because they have over 100locations coast to coast.
They have more than 15,000 newand used RVs and over 1,000
service bays, with morecertified RV technician than any
other dealer.
Blue Compass RV is there foryou every step of the way and
you can visit their local BlueCompass dealership or go to

(34:56):
bluecompassrvcom.
Okay, let's get back into this.
Amy, you've heard a lot of whatpeople are saying about the way
they started.
They've shared some of theirissues along the way and you're
there.
That's what your company doesis help people through these

(35:17):
things.
When these guys are talkingabout spreadsheets and Excel
sheets, I'm out Like I have noidea, but it's really important.
Obviously, the finance side isimportant, so chime in.
What would you suggest at thispoint?

Speaker 2 (35:34):
Absolutely.
I mean there are certain thingswe'll look at from the
beginning.
For clients, you know, are youwanted?
From a regulatory perspective,we've stopped projects based on
local restrictions.
Is the environment positive?
Are they going to fight you?
And you know, incorporateastronomical fees that will
prohibit you from developing?

(35:55):
We've encountered situationslike that.
The land itself we've hadprojects where water was simply
not available to support.
Does the infrastructureunderground support the
development or the expansion?
You know just the costly thingsthat you'll have to do to even

(36:17):
begin building.
And from the market perspective, you know, is the area
oversaturated?
You know, are you drivingthrough competition and seeing?
You know no one in the RV sites.
That's a red flag.
You want to find out why andyou know what's going on.
So just a lot of initialresearch and looking with that

(36:38):
local market needs and wants isalso important to consider.
You know, are you in the middleof a workforce area?
You know they probably don'twant a luxury resort.
You know they need affordablehousing.
You know things like that.
Just deciding, you know whatthe area needs.
The budget you know that youhave to work with.

(36:58):
Taking a realistic, you know.
Look at what you're able toprovide is a great starting
place.

Speaker 1 (37:05):
Great and there is so much here and I'm just going to
recommend that anybody thinkingabout a campground, expanding,
getting into it, buying likejust those initial things, they
should reach out, if not to you,to somebody, because there's so
many things and somebody elsesaid it you don't know what you
don't know, and there's a lothere and a lot of money involved

(37:26):
.
Let's talk about the upside ofit.
You guys, wes, you've beendoing this for three years.
Chase, for how many years whenyou first started?

Speaker 3 (37:36):
About six.

Speaker 1 (37:37):
Six years and Sonia and Maury's 19 years, and you've
already alluded to some of thethings like quality of life and,
while you have to be ready todo it, all the good in it.
So let's talk about the upsideof it.
What is your favorite parts ofthis, wes?
Let's start with you.
What's the upside?

(37:58):
What's the upside?
What's the good?
You obviously love it.
Whenever I see you, I see youat events.
I saw you in Tampa.
I've seen you in Hershey.
I'll see you again in Hersheyin September.
You're always happy and excited, and so you obviously love what
you're doing.
Talk about the the beauty of it, yeah we're we're.

Speaker 4 (38:16):
We're much more hands-on in this field than we
ever were in a lot of the otherfields we came from.
Love our staff.
You're able to cultivate apretty cool team environment
because all day long you're justas our marketing guy will say.
Well, all of us are officers offirst impressions and we're in

(38:36):
the business of firstimpressions even when they they
they run into the site and sobeing able to just sit back and
uh watch people walk around, andeven all at the landscape or
the sites or uh, you see themsitting around the, uh, the fire
pits.
Or we just opened our, ourrestaurant here on site a week
ago, so I was off in the cornerwatching people go up and order

(39:00):
and eat, and we've been buildingthis stinking building for a
year now.
It's good to see people usingit, and so that's probably one
of the biggest payoffs we getfrom it is watching the guests
enjoy the experience, and thatmakes all the blood, sweat and
tears and the moments on Tuesdaymornings going.

(39:22):
Why did we ever do this?
Worth it.

Speaker 1 (39:24):
Right, exactly.
And for Maurice and Sonia, whatis the biggest joy?
19 years, I'm still trying to.
I don't know that I've donewell.
I taught for almost 20.
So I do know of something I'vedone for a long period of time.

Speaker 6 (39:46):
That's a long time.
So what?
What is your favorite part?
What brings you joy in doingthis?
For me, you know, by OctoberI'm a nub and I think, oh my
gosh, we made it through anotheryear.
And you know, I think I'm notgoing to.
You know, look forward to it.
But by spring I start gettingexcited and it's an incredible

(40:10):
amount of work but I still enjoydoing it and it brings back for
me memories of childhood, when,you know, when my parents had
it, had it and I love it.

(40:32):
And I think Maurice gets thesame joy because he loves to go
out and talk to the RVers thatare going out.
The way that our park is set up, with mostly seasonal and maybe
like 15% transient, is perfectbecause we can go out and we can
interact with the overnightersthat come through, ask them how
their stay was.
And for me, when someone comesand says you know it's, it's

(40:57):
just so beautiful and we've, youknow we've really enjoyed our
stay and thank you so much forfor doing what you do that.
I know it sounds corny, butthat will fill me.

Speaker 1 (41:10):
Not at all, not at all.
And I hear that and I get that.
I can totally understand thatand I love connecting, when I go
into a campground, with theowner, the manager, those kind
of people, and you could see theexcitement and you could see
that they're doing it, becausethat person coming into that
campground truly brings them joy.

(41:31):
Now, chase, I'm going to askyou you and I met a couple of
years ago.
I came down to Dallas Northeast, which is just northeast of
Dallas, incredible area, becausethe campground is in a spot
that is quiet by 20 minutes andI have all this excitement.
I could get to you and I met atthe campground and again you

(41:54):
were.
This is clearly somethingyou're passionate about, it's
something that brings you joyand I want you to talk about
that a little bit, why you dowhat you're doing.

Speaker 3 (42:06):
I mean I would just echo, you know, what everybody
else has said.
It really is the customer andthe fulfillment of people that
are enjoying nature and beingoutside.
And I just was at ourYellowstone property yesterday
and it was seven o'clock in themorning and I was watching a guy

(42:29):
take photos of a moose acrossthe street, and just to see
people interact with nature likethat, that's awesome and I
think you know it's tangible,right like my kids, when we we
go in and we upgrade we upgradedthe playground equipment at our
park in omaha and they say whendo we get to go to Omaha?

(42:52):
You know, check out the newplayground.
It's just very different thanwhat I was doing in the past,
which is a good thing.
It's a lot of fun.
I think customers being happyis very, it's very rewarding and
fulfilling right, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (43:09):
And yellowstone is red rock rv park and that's
where the most incredible tinyhome.
Because of that view, right, II did a lot of research.
I got it right that's where thetiny homes are okay I want to
make sure, I looked at all ofthese different places.
You is spectacular, so that ison my bucket list of places to

(43:33):
go and be in that tiny home thathas tons of windows and just
look out onto the beauty that'sout there.
Don't much here, and I am sograteful for all of you to be
here.
I'm trying to keep this down tolike a reasonable amount of
time, but there's so much tocover.
Let's talk a little bit aboutjust quickly if each person can

(43:56):
touch on that day-to-day type of, because now you've started
your campground or you've builtit from scratch.
You bought a campground but nowyou have to do the day-to-day
type stuff and some of you areon site and for you, chase, you
have a number of differentcampgrounds.
Now let's go back, because Iknow Chase, for you you hired

(44:19):
Elizabeth.
I have had conversation withher.
I think she's your marketingdirector.
I'm not sure of the specifictitle marketing director.
I'm not sure of the specifictitle.
When I talked to her, hervision, which is from you guys,
the vision of the company, tomake a park that is welcoming,
that people feel like they'repart of the family, the way she

(44:39):
talked about it just wasawe-inspiring.
It was incredible because whileyou have six parks and you're
looking to expand, you want eachpark to be that place that the
kids want to go.
I'm going to let you speak onthat.
You talk about that a littlebit.

Speaker 3 (44:55):
Yeah, I mean Elizabeth, we're fortunate to
have her because she's afull-time RVer and so she lives
the life and she's providedgreat perspective.
I mean, I think the hardestthing, I think, for what we're
trying to do is keep that momand pop feel as you grow.
And this is back to kind of thestaffing you know no one.

(45:17):
I used to think no one reallycared unless you're the owner.
But I think you actually canfind some fantastic people that
align with you, um, and aremotivated by different things,
but ultimately the kind of thethe center focus is a happy
customer, and I think that'sjust really important.

(45:41):
And there's a lot of basicblocking and tackling.
Um, I mean, there's nothing thatour staff does that I wouldn't
do personally.
I mean, if you call our Dallascampgrounds after hours, like
you're going to get forwarded tomy phone, you know it's just
the way we've always done it.
We probably shouldn't do that,but it's just.
That's just the way we do it,right and um, you know, I think,

(46:03):
just being engaged with thestaff, there's no issue that is
too small to not involve myselfand Jen, and so we think that
that permeates throughout allthe campgrounds and I think
we're very cognizant of the factthat, like, as we get bigger,
the risk is is that we can'thave this personal touch, and we

(46:25):
really try, we're trying tokeep that intact.
So it's a big focus for us.

Speaker 1 (46:30):
Okay, and Wes, I'm going to ask you the same thing,
and now, honestly, I don'tremember what that question was.
But this idea of day-to-day andthe idea of keeping that vibe
of the campground and justknowing you and having hung out
with you the times that I have,how do you create that?

(46:52):
How let's talk about that howdo you create that at your
campground?

Speaker 4 (46:56):
You know, environment is key.
We do.
We pour a lot into our, ourstaff.
We have a department typestructure because we're a full
destination resort and we dealwith mostly transients.
We've got a large amount ofpeople moving in and out and in
and out almost daily.
So you've got that cruise shipmentality.
You've got to make sure theactivities and events are firing

(47:18):
on all cylinders.
An experience for somebody on aSaturday is just as important,
to nail that on a Monday morningfor those guests that are there
as well.
And we try to do some fun stufftoo.
I was this last Saturday.
I was dressed as a Frenchpastry chef in the kitchen.
I was the chef's sous chef fora minute and it wasn't planning

(47:39):
on that.
Never been in a kitchen, neverbeen a sous chef before.
I made a pretty terrible one,but I was able to help him.
I didn't sling hot grease onhim, he didn't like that but we
fed like 110 people.
So, just like Chase was saying,you roll up your sleeves and
you get in there.
There's that servant typeleadership.
I'm running around picking uptrash there's no task that is

(48:05):
beneath anybody in hospitalityand then making sure the guests
go back and have that bestexperience that they can.
There's obviously somedifficulties.
We live in a tense society andyou can get some rude customers.
When you're dealing with RVersbecause 99.9% of them are just

(48:27):
awesome people that rippleeffect of one bad experience can
be larger than you could everfind in other industry and
fields.
And so you take it seriously.
You've got to trust some ofyour frontline people to embrace
the culture that you've set up.
But setting that culture it'san active involvement.

(48:50):
It's something that's reallyhard to just kind of wind the
clock and then let it go backChase.
I was having the same conflictsthat you are.
We're in the expansion phase,we're looking at one or two
other locations and thatterrifies me sometimes because I
know I can't be there as muchas what I've been able to do
here, and that makes me wonderhow will that be able to spill

(49:10):
over.
To keep that, that qualitycontrol and it's always a mix,
the bigger you get betweendancing with a little bit of
bureaucracy to make sure thatstandards are met each time so
that each experience is as bestas it can be, but also still
trying to have that personaltouch, to add that heartbeat in

(49:31):
whatever you're doing to makesure that that experience is the
best it can be.

Speaker 1 (49:35):
When it comes now you've started the campground,
whether it's from scratch orit's an already existing
campground, you've got to get itout to people.
So, amy, can you speak a littlebit on people, making sure they
let people know and I'm goingto talk a little bit about it
because, like I said, I go tocampground owners events Can you

(49:56):
speak a little bit on that?

Speaker 2 (49:59):
Absolutely.
We always say, onceconstruction begins, you want to
start promoting because it'snew and no one knows you and no
one knows you're there.
A couple of things I always sayis really collaborate with your
construction team, make surethat your opening date is solid
and that what you're promotingout there as a start date is

(50:22):
there and real.
You want a really beautifuloptimized website, social media,
you want Facebook and Googleads and you really just want to
put yourself out there.
You know also in the industry,all of the organizations and
memberships and any trade showsthat you're able to attend you

(50:42):
know before you're even built isa huge deal and especially in
certain markets like snowbirds,you know they tend to plan a
year in advance, so you want tocatch them before they make
those reservations.
But it all plays a huge partand pays off really, really well
once you're open and we spoke alittle bit in the beginning

(51:05):
about RV Life Campground Reviews.

Speaker 1 (51:08):
It is a site for those people who don't know.
As an RVer, I have been ontheir site and looked at their
reviews and because they wereauthentic reviews, that's the
place that I went to to find outabout campgrounds, about
campgrounds.
And then they have a featuredpark program where that gives
you, as a campground owner, morevisibility to be able to get

(51:35):
your brand out there.
So I have to put a plug outthere for them.
I know Wes you are part of itand Chase, your campgrounds are
on there as well.
And when I say a campground isa featured park, it is because
other RVers have said they areSonia and Maurice, your
campground is also a featuredpark.
Rvers go in.
They love the campground, theygive a review and I think other

(51:56):
people's reviews is the bestform of advertisement of you
know, hands down.

Speaker 5 (52:02):
It is.

Speaker 1 (52:03):
So yeah, so I just wanted to mention that.
I want now to ask each of youwhere people could reach out to
you and what is next for youguys.
If you're talking aboutexpanding, you're talking about
other campgrounds.
I know Chase for you.
You have openings of some ofthese campgrounds.
I hope to be attending, so Iwant to hear what's next.

(52:23):
Where can people reach out toyou?
And we still have more to coverhere, because I have another
question putting you guys on thespot in just a few minutes.
Sonia and Maurice, why don't westart with you?
Where can people reach you, theCampground website and what's
next?
So you guys, let me ask this ina different way.

(52:44):
You're 19 years.
Let me ask this in a differentway.

Speaker 6 (53:02):
You're 19 years.
We haven't talked about thisyet.
Is there a thought of this?
Like you guys leaving and Idon't know this, and I know I
more frequently because of theage that we're at.
You know I always tell people,like when they say oh, how are
you old and tired?
But there is an element to thisthat you know it's very
physical work.
I mean we both are out therewith chainsaws and my excitement

(53:28):
comes when I go to the steelstore.
But certainly, you know we'renot going to live forever.

Speaker 5 (53:36):
I realize that and you know we don't have any
anyone to pass it down to.

Speaker 6 (53:41):
No, none of our children are going to, and that
that's actually common forchildren growing up in this.
You know a lot and you wantthem, even if they do grow up in
this, you want them to go outand explore what it is they need
to explore before they wouldmake a commitment like this
anyway.
But for us at this point andmore so for me because it's been

(54:05):
in my family so many years wehave entertained, selling, but I
want to keep this as long as Ican, given how long it's been in
my family.
So our thought is we're goingto eventually move to having
some other managers in place.

(54:25):
I've been fortunate enough tohave the same front desk manager
for nine years.
I think now I have some reallygood people at my front desk.
What we're doing right now?
We want to have the ability tohave some downtime during the
summer, and we actually boughtan Airstream about three years

(54:59):
ago and I think we've had it outall of three times Very brief
and they were very brief.
So our goal is to try to youknow, as I said before, is to
have a quality of life and ifwe're going to keep this, we
have to find a way to have thatquality of life if we're going
to keep going.
So I don't know what thesolution is or what it's going

(55:20):
to look like right now, but Iwould really like to keep it
really like to keep it.

Speaker 1 (55:31):
So Well, let's put Amy on the spot here and just to
let people know it'sClaytonParkRVEscapescom is how
they can reach you net net.
Okay, you are also oncampgroundsrvlifecom.
You guys are there, amy.
Are there other options thatpeople might not be thinking?

Speaker 2 (55:45):
Absolutely.
Hiring a manager is a greatoption that keeps you involved
as much or as little as you wantto be.
There's management companiesout there that can manage it for
you and then, if and whenyou're ready to sell, there's
options for you as well, and Ithink all of us here would be
glad to help you.

(56:05):
Just helping you in thatsituation, making connections
and sounds like finding theright buyers really would be
really important for you as well.

Speaker 1 (56:16):
Is there ever an option and we are going just in
all kinds of directions wheresomebody comes in and buys but
the owners don't want to stayinvolved, is that?
I guess anything's possible.
You could work anything outwith anybody, right?
Would that be something I'mgoing to go?
I'm going to ask you, chase Iknow you've bought a number of
places Is that ever aconsideration when you go in and

(56:37):
buy a campground?
I know you've bought six now.

Speaker 3 (56:42):
It's a great question , patty.
So our Santa Fe property theprevious owner actually stayed
on to manage the property for us, which has been great.
We did a seller financingtransaction with them.
So while they sold the property, they're still collecting a
monthly payment from us andthey're actively managing it.

(57:02):
And then our property our mostrecent acquisition in Cheyenne,
wyoming it's called AB, thedaughter of the previous owners
that actually stayed on tomanage that property and same
thing, doing a seller financingtransaction.
So we're big on continuity.
We we obviously want to keeppeople that are a want to be

(57:23):
there and, you know, b are funand enjoyable to work with.
So there's definitely creativeways to do that and we've had
some good success with that sofar.

Speaker 1 (57:34):
Okay, so where can people reach out to you and what
is next for you?

Speaker 3 (57:40):
Our website is openroversortscom.
We've got a variety of thingsgoing on at all the properties.
So we've got, uh, we're justopened up an expansion at our
omaha koa property.
We are doubling the size of oursanta fe koa property, um,
which will hopefully be openlater this fall.

(58:00):
We've got some, uh, new premiumsites that we're introducing at
our other property in theDallas area.
It's called Good Shepherd RVPark.
And then, knock on wood, we'llhave another acquisition in the
New Orleans area in the nextcouple weeks that we'll be
closing on.
So that's kind of next up forus.

Speaker 1 (58:24):
So now I have to change my podcast script yet
again.
But that's great, that'sawesome.

Speaker 3 (58:30):
I shouldn't have said anything because I just
probably jinxed it.
So you know.
Just you know you can edit thatpart out.

Speaker 1 (58:34):
Okay, I will let Jacob edit that out, if you want
, by the time this comes.
Actually, this is going to comeout next week, so something
happens in between.
Okay, I'll get back to you onthat.
Thank you, um Wes.
You talked about expanding, uh,tolona Ridge and you said

(58:55):
something about othercampgrounds.
So you talk, tell us, tell ushow to get to you first of all
and what's what's coming for you.

Speaker 4 (59:05):
Yeah, so, uh, tolona Ridgev resortcom, or tolona
ridge, even if you spell it,it'll get you there somehow some
way.
Our marketing team's awesomelike that.
Yeah, no, we're.
Tolona ridge is about to gofrom a a 40 acre campground to a
uh 290 acre resort, so we'vegot we've got quite a lot of

(59:29):
expansions already in place.
We've got 11 1⁄2 miles ofmountain bike and hiking trails
being put in as we speak, and wejust got our restaurant up and
going, and so I'm getting sometiny houses for you to come and
hang out with.
Yes, so I'm excited for thatthere you go another tiny house.
Yep, yep, excited for that.
There you go, another tinyhouse, yep, yep.
And then we've got, we're,we're in talks with uh, uh, one

(59:50):
or two other uh locations to do,uh, like a smaller version of
talona.
That would also that must bemore like an enclave type
situation where you've got uh,it's, it's.
It would only be like 60 to 70sites, but it can be run by our,
our, our team, our team here,and have a smaller, smaller

(01:00:10):
footprint, uh to be able tofunction, because it would be
hard to get a labor force insome of these is the more
beautiful landscape, the theless labor force, the less
infrastructure and less waterand sewer and power and all the
stuff you need becomes.
And then you guys are going tothe steel store and chopping
down trees, that's right.

(01:00:33):
Yeah, so that's our plan.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
Great, I know that we have covered a lot of things
here and I am sure there's a tonmore that needs to be covered.
Amy, do you have any lastthoughts for people on the
podcast that are thinking I wantto own a campground, I want to
start a campground Any lastthoughts there and how can

(01:00:57):
people reach you?

Speaker 2 (01:00:59):
I'll just say it is a wonderful industry to be a part
of.
I've been in it long enough tosee advancements in technology
and in guest service.
People say what do you do?
We build vacations, so it's youknow.
I would say go for it, you know, and it's just a joy to be a
part of and wonderful people tobe surrounded by.

(01:01:20):
I love it and I wouldabsolutely recommend it to
anyone interested.
Our website ismcg-hospitalitycom.

Speaker 1 (01:01:28):
So it's been a pleasure, thank you, and for my
listeners and again, we're notdone I'm going to put all of the
links in the show notes sonobody has to remember anything.
I am now going to ask each ofyou one last question.
I'm going to give you a minuteto think about it after I ask
and then talk about one of mysponsors.
So it is time for the questionof the week, which is brought to

(01:01:50):
you by Cool RV, and I'm goingto ask each of you what is on
your bucket list.
So, whether that's a person, aplace, an experience you want to
have, everybody is now thinking.
Jacob will need video of that.
Everybody just went intothinking mode.
This is why I'm going to giveyou just a minute to think about

(01:02:10):
that, because I'm outsidePhiladelphia, pennsylvania, and
we have already had really hot,humid days.
Now I am in a house right now,so when it gets hot and humid, I
just turn the air conditioneron.
But I certainly remember thosedays being I was in an RV in the
middle of the summer in LasVegas, yes, and there were days

(01:02:34):
it went to 120.
My air conditioners worked okay.
But there is Cool RVK-O-O-L-R-V and it is a game
changer when it comes to RV airconditioners, this unit, it's
small, it's only $89, and itwill give you cooler air, more

(01:02:56):
airflow, and make it so your airconditioners are quieter.
We're getting into summer,people.
You need to check out CoolRV.
Go to CoolRVcom today.
All right, who wants to start?
I'll let you raise your hand ifyou are ready with your bucket
list.

Speaker 6 (01:03:14):
I think for me, if we can achieve a balance of
because this park is part of myidentity, this park is part of
my identity, there's and I'mtrying to think of which
cosmetic company and there areother examples where it's been

(01:03:36):
in the family and then thefamily sells it and then they
buy it back because they realizehow much a part of it that
company is, or how much they area part of that company is, or
how much they are a part of thatcompany.
So for me, my bucket list wouldbe we find a way to keep this
going and travel at the sametime.

(01:03:59):
I don't care if it's just twoor three nights away, whatever
it is.

Speaker 5 (01:04:04):
Or New Zealand.

Speaker 6 (01:04:05):
Or New Zealand Okay, that's more than two or three
nights away, whatever it is.
Or New Zealand, or New ZealandOkay, that's more than two or
three nights.
We did have somebody stay withus from Glass Island in New
Zealand and they said comeanytime and we're like how many
hours flight?
So I think I don't know whatyours would be, but oh, I think
we're right in the same vein,dear.

Speaker 5 (01:04:25):
I think that all sounds good and I think
traveling is great.
I mean, I've been all over thecountry, I've lived all over the
country Alaska and Hawaii andthis is just.
This meets all of my needs asfar as that goes, but I still

(01:04:52):
have a lust to wander.
I want to see different things.
I want to go and see my familyon the West Coast.
I want to do whatever I want todo when I want to do it, and
that's kind of where we haven'tbeen in 19 years.

Speaker 1 (01:05:01):
Okay, and that's good .
And a lot of times I'll askwhat's on somebody's bucket list
and then give me a specificplace or an experience.
I think that's a great goalthat you know well.
You want to go to New Zealand,which is going to be more than a
three or four day trip.
You're going to need a lotlonger.
But you know, maybe withconversations with people on the
call you can create otheroptions.

(01:05:22):
Maybe my listeners have somethoughts for you, okay.
So, amy, what's on your bucketlist?

Speaker 2 (01:05:31):
So I've got two.
My first would be a helicoptertour of a glacier lake, and then
the second is Hawaii, becausewhen I go I probably won't come
back, so it'll be the last thingI do.

Speaker 1 (01:05:41):
There you go.
That's good, that is a greatone.
How about you Chase?

Speaker 3 (01:05:46):
I was going to say is the bucket list with an RV or
without an RV?

Speaker 1 (01:05:50):
Whatever you want it to be.

Speaker 3 (01:05:52):
If it's without an RV , I'm going to say Sonia Marie,
it's the New Zealand thing.
That's always been a bucketlist for me.
See that I'm from the Phoenixarea Originally.
I love the desert, but I lovethe ocean.
I'd love to take, you know,maybe a class B or something
down the Baja California.

(01:06:13):
Not with kids.
My kids are young, not now.

Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
Or you just get some babysitters.

Speaker 3 (01:06:21):
That's right, exactly .

Speaker 1 (01:06:22):
There you go, baja California.
How about you Wes?

Speaker 4 (01:06:26):
Man, I, there you go, Baja California.
How about you, Wes man, mine'ssilly.
I want to have an RV andactually go on an RV trip.
We're in the RV industry and Iwas in an RV for three nights.
I borrowed one from a friend.
It was a Mattalona shirt and Ishot raw sewage all over my feet
and into my boat shoes.

Speaker 1 (01:06:44):
And fled.

Speaker 4 (01:06:46):
I fled the park.
I'm that guy.
I want to go back to that partin a class a something nice,
with a fancy Talona shirt.
I want to tip them big time forthe chaos I caused years ago
and I want to do it right.
So that's my.

Speaker 1 (01:07:00):
There you go well, I'll have to hook you up with
Blue Compass RV, an incrediblecompany, to go check out RVs.
Wow, it's now time for thecampground of the week and it is
brought to you by RV Life.
This week's featured campgroundis Red Rock RV Park in Island
Park, idaho, and if you don'thave an RV, it is totally okay

(01:07:24):
because you can stay in theirtiny home, which is my plan.
That is on my bucket list.
Now.
To stay in that tiny home,people have to go check out the
pictures.
I just can't even describe them.
It is 22 miles from the westside of Yellowstone Park, which
is also really important becausein the over three years that I

(01:07:45):
RV'd, now when, damn, my husbandsaid let's go RVing, I said
what are we going to do?
And he said we'll go to everynational park in the country,
which even at the time I waslike, yeah, I want to go to some
.
I don't know that that's mygoal, but in over three years we
went to zero national parks.
So Yellowstone is definitely onmy list of places to go.

(01:08:07):
They have full hookups, tentsites and, like I said, you can
rent a tiny home.
They have a 9.4 rating on the RVLife campground site with 222
reviews so you could see whatother RVers are saying about
this park by going tocampgroundsrvlifecom and then
you can see all these amazingpictures.

(01:08:28):
I'm talking about all theamenities this park has to offer
.
And the nice thing is, once youare on the campground site the
campgroundsrvlifecom site youcould hit the book now button.
You don't have to go anywhereelse, you could just book your
stay, because once you see thesepictures, you're going to want
to book that stay.
Rv Life Campgrounds, as I said,is part of the RV Life suite of

(01:08:50):
products.
It's the most comprehensivesource for RV parks, campgrounds
, resorts, city, state, nationalparks.
Go to RV Life campgrounds atrvlifecom to check it all out.
Thank you so much for being soaccommodating and being on and
sharing so much greatinformation.

(01:09:11):
I appreciate it.

Speaker 6 (01:09:13):
Thank you for having us.

Speaker 1 (01:09:15):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:09:16):
Patty, you are welcome.

Speaker 1 (01:09:19):
Thank you to my listeners.
Remember life's a journey.
Live each day to the fullest,without regrets.
I'm Patty Hunt and you havebeen listening to the RV Life
Podcast.