b'ON CAMPGROUNDSLouisianas Sun Roamers is a Frequent Stop for GroupsThe park has 11 pull-through sites,whichPoirierusuallyreservesforReports fromovernight visitors, so they dont have tothe field:hook up their rigs before they pull outin the morning.Bob Ashley Open year-round, Sun Roamers isbusiest between November and Maywhen it starts to get hot and humid,Poirier noted.HardlyaweekgoesbyatSun Twice a year Sun Roamers hosts aRoamers RV Resort in Picayune, Miss., commercialbarbecuecontestwherewhen a group of RVers doesnt pull in. points are awarded toward a nationalWe seldom go two weeks without a ranking.Itsabigthingforthem,group coming here, said Sun Roamers Poirier said. There are more than aowner Robin Poirier, who bought the dozen judges sampling barbecue fromparkin2013.Wehavetoschedule as many as 20 contestants. Sun Roamers offers a variety of different sites,them back-to-back sometimes because Forty-five minutes north of New Or- from traditional RV sites to rustic cabins. they all want to use the clubhouse. leans, many RVers use Sun Roamers asThe 155-site park has a 6,000-square- a base camp. Theres very limited RV play along, Chamberlin said.foot clubhouse that features a commer- parking in New Orleans, Poirier said. The clubhouse kitchen is open forcial kitchen and outdoor patio. We use And its expensive, particularly during lunch three times a week, and home-the clubhouse as a draw, said Poirier. It Mardis Gras and the New Orleans Jazz made pizza is available daily.will hold 325 people, and all they have Festival. InadditiontoRVsites,twoparkto do is pay for their sites. We usually Occupancy has been on the upswing, model RVs are available for rent.have20groupscomethroughevery Poirier said. Chamberline describes M RV Resortyear and we get new ones all the time. We had our best year last year and as a convenient place for travelers toPoirier reported that most groups av- weve started off well this year, Poirier stop on their way to the Florida Keys.erage between 10 to 20 units, although reported. He suggested that moderate We are in the country, she said. Wesome are as small as five or six and oth- gas prices and a strong economy are re- have cows on both sides of us. Its a niceers as large as 30. sponsible for more RVs being on the We have events at the rifle range and quiet park.When available, the clubhouse can road. Those have a lot to do with it, he twice a week, said Theda Chamberlin, The resort is full with snowbirds frombe rented by people who live in the area. said. who has managed the park for three December through March. People startA lot of people come in for family re- Besides RV sites, Sun Roamers fea- years. And whenever we have events, wandering down from the north in Oc-unions, Christmas parties and meet- tures eight rustic cabins and 12 travel we have a trained instructor there for tober, Chamberlin said. It depends onings, Poirier said. Weve got one of the trailers for rent. Most of the pads are safety. the weather.largest meeting spaces in the area. concrete while others feature crushed Located on the eastern edge of Lake Duringsummer,RVerstendtoSun Roamers amenities include a limestone, which Poirier said he plans Okeechobee 55 miles northeast of Fort trickle by, she said, while they are onjunior Olympic-size pool, a mini golf to upgrade soon. Myers, activities at the gun range are their way to somewhere else.course and a five-acre pond where fish- We are going to pave some more only a couple of many things that keep * * * * *ermen can catch bass, catfish perch and roads and we are going to update the people busy at M RV Resort. In early February the high daily tem-bluegill. We have stocked it, but not childrens playground, Poirier said. We Theres hardly room on my calendar peratures at Mountain Shadows RV Parklately, Poirier said. Theres been no are going to tear down the old one and to get it all on said Chamberlin, noting in Wells, Nev., were in the mid-teens.need. build a new one. that there are card games nightly in the This is our cold snap, said KarenSet off in a section separate from the * * * * * parksclubhousewherebingo,ice Ensey, who has managed the 38-sitetraditional RV sites are 20 to 30 full- Among the amenities at 252-site M cream socials and musical jam sessions park for five years.timers and another 20 to 30 seasonal RV Resortin Moore Haven, Fla., is a gun are held. We invite anyone in the park Regardlessofthetemperatures,renters. range. who has an instrument to come in and Mountain Shadows was about a thirdfullwithworkersemployedonlocalconstruction projects. We are a smallpark, but the economy is going goodhere and weve had a lot of major roadconstruction in the area, she explained.People come and go, so it varies.The park, 50 miles northeast of Elko,Nev. is in the high desert at an elevationof 5,600 feet among the Humboldt andRuby mountains.The town of Wells was one of the firstcommunities developed to build thetranscontinental railroad, and nearby istheMetropolisGhost Town,aonce-boomingfarmtowndevelopedwithgrand plans that has now disintegrated.Duringtheshoulderseasons,theparkisawaystationforsnowbirdsheading south in the winter and northin the spring. We are a stop betweensomewhereandsomewhereelse,Ensey said, noting that some snowbirdsreturn north as early as February if theyhave medical or other appointmentsthey need to keep.WCM Editor-at-Large Bob Ashley is a Central Indiana-based freelance writer/editor and a 25-year newspaper veteranwho has focused on the RV industry andnational recreation issues for the past19 years. He received the 2013 Distin-guishedServiceinRVJournalismawardfromtheRecreationVehicle Industry Association (RVIA). WCM14 -March 2020 Woodalls Campground Management'