(Not) Camping during Covid-19 season

[OTRA15]

Great updates, Pat and zapper, thanks.

Peter

[Lily&Me]

I think the “Letters of Invitation and Travel” is an excellent idea, and gives you something to quickly produce if asked your purpose and expected length of stay in a state.

As for over zealous officers, I would be polite, cooperative and completely honest if you are stopped. If the officer seems unreasonable, ask politely to speak with his/her supervisor.

If it were me, I would be sure to read any applicable Governors Executive Order before going.

You might also call the State Police headquarters for information for travelers, and/or go to their website.

They would have an information officer of some sort, who could give you the lay of the land and direct you to written protocols.

I think locals anywhere may be a bit leery of outsiders until this is over, and keeping a low profile while doing whatever it is you need to do while traveling is in order for all of us.

Good luck,

Maggie

[AldeanFan]

Here in Niagara-on-the-Lake they are turning tourists away even for day visits.

A friend who works at a local business told me that a customer placed an order for pick up but was turned away at the edge of town.

We don’t have any RV parks but I thought this might be useful information for someone.

[Silvr_Bullet]

Originally Posted by AldeanFan

Here in Niagara-on-the-Lake they are turning tourists away even for day visits.

A friend who works at a local business told me that a customer placed an order for pick up but was turned away at the edge of town.

We don’t have any RV parks but I thought this might be useful information for someone.

Isn’t the Canadian US border closed to tourists? Is Canada limiting travel within its borders to Canadian Citizens? I once stayed at Windmill Park it was a well run RV Park.

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by zapper

I own one of those essential business. I have to travel occasionally from my home in California to some of my customers located in Arizona. Due to the nature of my work, I use my AS as my office and lodging when I am working remotely.

I just reviewed the self quarantine restrictions for AZ AND for CA, because I didn't want to drive to AZ and find myself quarantined for 14 days before meeting customers and then suffer the same fate when returning to my home in CA. It would be utterly counter productive and silly. It turns out reading the AZ Gov executive order only air travelers from "hot" areas such as NY or NJ (there's a few other eastern states) that are affected. Vehicle travel is OK. CA at the moment doesn't have any travel quarantines from other states. A little weird as CA doesn't like the other 49 states as it has tried to secede from the union three times that I am aware of. Off topic, sorry.

So thinking about this a little more what would happen if some over jealous officer pulled me over just because......what would I say? (Truck is licensed in CA, AS licensed in TX, AZ Corporation, a little odd, but legal) Do I have to carry my articles of incorporation in Arizona with me to show I'm in business? How would the officer know I was on business and not just traveling around for fun? It gets a little messy as each state and local jurisdiction can and does interpret the rules differently depending upon the day of the week.

So I came up with the idea of "Letters of Invitation and Travel". This letter from the customer simply invites me to meet and travel to their business location for the purpose of conducting a specific essential business activity on a specific date(s). It would be printed on their letterhead and signed by a responsible manager as evidence. This should get me there. Coming home to CA may be a different story. We'll see. Travel is scheduled for mid May. Wish me luck.

I'm in the construction/development industry which is essential too, & also travel with our Avion & use it for business too within 500+/- miles (although not doing so for now), & otherwise work nationwide in normal times but fly longer distances.

I think that you'd be fine with that & your business cards, & the invite letter & corp . papers just adds to the documentation. A work order, quote, etc. would also work as well as the letter.

You wouldn't necessarily need to have AZ incorporation to do business there, if CA is your business' home state. I doubt that most troopers or Chippers would be that detailed if asking what you're doing as essential services, but can't hurt to have it in hand. Handing out your biz cards might even get you some more business!

As I & others have said, just recheck just before you go to make sure things haven't changed (for example OK changed from just air travel quarantined, to all travel in just 2-3 days).

I think CA is so far just doing the "normal" check for produce at I-8, I-10 & I-40 so far, from what I've heard, & as noted above.

Good Luck & Safe Travels!
tom
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[waninae39]

The CAn/USA border is closed in BOTH directions

The restrictions are the same on both sides.

only specific types of traffic are allowed. Mostly key commercial business.

Returning home is allowed

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by PKI

CA, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi

There was a sign on I40 in Arkansas that said "Out of state REC travelers not allowed accommodation". We were not turned away from the Little Rock KOA.

One Albuquerque CG said they could not exceed 20% occupancy and were full. Another two were only accepting rigs with prior reservations and may have been following the same protocol. The KOA in Albuquerque efficiently and safely signed us into an overnight site.

Entry into CA - "do you have any fruit or plants? No = proceed.

There are a lot of trucks on the Interstate as would be expected and as you approach metro areas the number of autos increases significantly.

Many rest stops are closed. Rest stop near Flagstaff was signed "Trucks only".

We offer this info, not to encourage camping/travel for pleasure, but to inform folks of conditions if they must travel. We wore masks, used no public facilities, purchased no food or water, sanitized all fuel pumps, practiced strict social distancing, traveled only in daylight hours and drove very conservatively. Note - seeing masks on travelers is rare. Protect yourself. Pat

Pat, was that the rest stop down near Meteor Crater, or up the hill near Flag, or down the hill on the I-40 or I-17 sides?

The ones near Flag had been mostly closed for 15-20+ years, so if it's up there, then they might have reopened them for the truckers as essential services transport accommodations - since many have been using off-ramps to make required break stops, due to lack of rest stop space.

Tom
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[Lily&Me]

Interesting article in the NYT, about sheltering in place in your RV...


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/r...e=articleShare


Maggie

[Jim Flower]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Interesting article in the NYT, about sheltering in place in your RV...





https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/r...e=articleShare





Maggie

Great article Maggie. Thanks for the reference. I am happy we zoomed home mid March but sad to have missed out on our annual Florida snow-birding. But I am comfortable at home and many of the full timers now have extra stuff to be concerned about. Jim

[bweybright]

Interesting....while Arizona is opening up. I think it is going to get even crazier as the year rolls on.



I have decided that there ain't gonna be any trailer outside the homestead this year so I am finally doing the panel doors on the old pantry that will take me forever to do. And may just set up the scaffolding to do the roof seams too.....



Any we may just camp in the trailer in the shop some Saturday night. The neighbors have a fire pit I can burn the wood I have leftover from last year and we can all do smores.


Not my choice - but oh well.

[OTRA15]

FYI -- For anyone using I-40, as Bob and Julie posted last night, Gallup NM is shutting down due to the virus running rampant:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/01/us/ne...rnd/index.html
______________________________________

"The spread of this virus in McKinley County is frightful," Lujan Grisham said. "And it shows that physical distancing has not occurred and is not occurring. The virus is running amok there. It must be stopped, and stricter measures are necessary."
______________________________________

This ain't the flu . . .



Good luck, all.

Peter

[OTRA15]

Oops -- "New Mexico"

[Gene]

Gallup is very near the Navajo Reservation. The Rez is a hot spot as are other places with poverty and weak health care. The Rez is very large and many families are dispersed across the desert, but they still have to get into town or meet with others for the usual reasons of life. I expect the disease has been brought to and from the Rez from Gallup or came from the proximity to I-40. Further west in Arizona, I-40 goes through part of the Rez. The highway from Gallup to the Navajo capital at Window Rock is probably open and gas may be available to travelers, but you'd have to check locally.

We are scheduled to travel to Bluff, Utah, at the end of June, but really don't known what to expect. The Rez extends into Utah just across the San Juan River at Bluff and is also east of the town, so we are unsure what to expect.

Since states are rushing to reopen without anywhere near sufficient testing, we are flirting with a second wave in the next month or so. That would bring many businesses down as two punches in quick succession are too much for many, but people are impatient and politicians are scared. Any kind of travel is subject to quick changes and the risks of getting stuck somewhere for quarantine may persist. Vaccines usually take years, even decades, to develop and manufacture and to expect an effective and safe one by next winter or summer or the end of next year is pretty optimistic, maybe foolish. There is a TB vaccine being tested for Covid-19 that might provide a little protection and hopefully we see success. Remdesivir is not all that effective, but may help, although test results conflict. Both of those probably only lessen the disease's effect, not eliminate or cure it. I'm trying to come to terms I might not see the end of this in my lifetime.

If I knew the answer to that and it was bad, I'd sell my RV, but who would buy it? Consider that your expensive RV may be a paperweight. And, after the Great Recession, for years campgrounds had to hold their prices down, but in the past few years prices went up around 5 or 10 bucks a night. Now they have to separate vehicles and have half or fewer customers. Will they raise prices? Can they expect any customers then? Same may happen with restaurants where a meal that cost 15 or 20 bucks may suddenly cost 30 or 40. Will travel or a meal out become so expensive few can do it?

[Bigskyrider8]

I live near Big Timber Montana and this is what I've seen over the past three days.
RV's and campers flowing into the state via I-90 most of the plates I've seen are from Texas, Ohio....Michigan.
Also, I drove along the Madison river near Ennis this morning and the campgrounds are full, fish access sights.
My friends say that Montana has such a low Covid 19 rate that people are heading/moving up this way for the summer.
What they don't understand or care about is that the state still has a 14 day quarantine in place, no compliance or enforcement.

By the way Yellowstone Park is closed with no opening date set.

[janetb]

We just canceled a visit to to be with our daughter and family in Long Beach CA, while she gives birth to our second grandchild. We planned to stay at Golden Shores RV Park, who ordinarily don't give refunds for reservations for longer stays. Because of the current situation, they didn't hesitate to refund our full deposit. They were kind, understanding, and courteous.
This pandemic is devastating and life-changing in the worst ways for so many. Our sacrifices are diminished by what others are going through, and our hearts are with them.

[Gene]

I tried to find out more about two places we may go to and it was very difficult. I had to find the town website for Bluff, Utah, and then find a recent post on it about what they are doing. Information can be contradictory. All campgrounds and lodging are shut down now, but can change. Then I tried to find out about Pueblo, Colorado, and could only find on the state website, not the county one, that it is recommended not to go further than 10 miles from home, but nothing about the campgrounds in that county.

The point is if you are traveling you can spend a very long time trying to find out what is open and not. Places between you and your destination may be shut down like Gallup, NM. Gallup is a common place to get fuel, stretch your legs, buy some provisions, but not now.

Our road is used by tourists going to Colorado National Monument on occasion, but mainly to go into the national forest. There are no open campgrounds there, although the City of Fruita used to have one there because they have water rights on a reservoir. Because people were trashing the place and it cost the city a lot to deal with that, they closed it. The other day we saw three RV's going somewhere. Maybe they are boondocking in the forest, but I suspect the roads are still sloppy and wet and there may be snow around at 9,000'. I doubt all of the RV's were local. We are a tourist destination and people seem to be arriving though local state authorities are trying to discourage that.