b"said. This can make it not only challenging,Johnson added that shutting down andYearlong Processcheck dynamic pricing but costly to prepare the park and its rentalclearing the parks water lines properly forOur parks complete deep cleans through- and unit types to make units for opening. the winter is critical to avoiding problems inout the year, and before opening for the sea- sure everything is ac-Were up to 25 rental units with onlythe spring. It takes a couple of days for usson is no exception, said Kelly Jones, vicecurate. three that dont have plumbing. You cant turnto get the water lines cleared for the (winter)president of operations for The Jenkins Or- Andwhileevery-water on until the week or two leading up toseason, she said. It's more than just turn- ganization, which operates a dozen Jelly- oneisexpectinga opening, he said.ing the water off. It's a bit of a process: It in- stone Park and Great Escapes RV resorts.busy summer camp-If the weather is still freezing, he said, theycludesturningoffthecircuitbreakers,In the spring, we also have our parks' pre- ingseason,Jones may have to turn on the heat in each cabindraining the pressure/expansion tanks andventative bed bug measures, including heatsaid its to make sure to keep the pipes from freezing, a costlyhooking up a compressor and going site totreating all the units and using pet- and child- ownersdontspend proposition when the cabins are unoccupied.site to clear the lines. The year the campsitessafe dust around them.too much of their in-We might be paying $10 to $20 a day towere put in makes a difference, too. Our olderJones said the weeks before opening arecome on pre-season Kelly Jonesheat those things. That can add up whenarea has what are called curb stops at eachused ensure that reservation software is up topreparation efforts.youre talking about 22 units, he said.site with an underground open/close valvedate. For people with reservation systemsIn the spring, it is easy to overspend and Still, Quigley said his familys park is bet- about five to six feet down. We have a rodsuch as Campspot, she said, make surenot manage your budget. Make sure to keep ter prepared for opening this spring becausewe use to get down there.they update any events in the systems andan eye on it, she said. WCMof the unusually mild weather they experi- Water lines to the bath and pool house enced last fall, which enabled them to re- and rental cabins also require attention, in-movemoreleavesthannormal.Thecluding draining the water heater, emptying weather stayed rather nice and dry for quitethe sinks and toilets and pouring anti-freeze a while after we closed. We worked like crazyinto them as well the shower and floor drains to try to get the leaves cleaned up while theyand drinking fountains. were dry. We were able to get 80% of theFailing to properly drain and prepare a leaves cleaned up in the fall, which will makeparks water lines for winter can lead to it easier to clean the grounds this spring. Butproblems come springtime. If its not done ourworkloadwillstilldependonthe(properly)andawaterlinebreaks,the weather, he said.campers will have no water in the spring, If it heats up too rapidly, he added, theJohnson said. The hardest part is deter-snow will melt and our ground will turn intomining where the break is. Its very costly. mud, which makes a huge mess. Its a realWe had an issue with this and finally deter-roll of the dice in terms of springtime andmined it was a line to one of our cabins that what you can get accomplished. But thereswas leaving everyone with just a trickle of no sense in complaining about it. Just dealwater. with it and do the best you can.But if the waterlines are properly winter-Spring Cleanupized, she added, turning the parks water Michelle Johnson, who co-owns and op- back on in the springtime is relatively easy to erates Schatzis 4 Seasons Resort in Wis- do. Sometimes there are air pockets be-consins North Woods, said she requires hertween sites, depending on elevation. But seasonalcamperstohelpwithspringonce things are running smoothly, it's done cleanup. Site clean-up from fall leaves orfor the season, Johnson said. branches is a busy spring activity, she said. Swimming pools and splash pads are an-Our campers are responsible for their ownother matter, however. While Johnsons hus-site, but they're all so happy to be back at theband, Mark, is a Certified Pool Operator campground they're happy to do so.(CPO) who maintains their swimming pool The 77-site park, located in Gordon-Was- and splashpad during the camping season, cott,Wis.,catersmostlytoseasonalthey hire commercial pool specialists to han-campers. dle both the opening and winter closing of By contract, we say our season runstheir pool and splash pad. The pool and from May 1 to Oct. 1. We do our best tosplash pad are usually closed down by Labor open as soon as we can and stay openDay, she explained. In no way, shape or longer, noted Johnson. In the fall, we usu- form are the mechanics of a commercial ally make it to the second week, around Oct.pool the same as a home pool. It is an elab-15, but weve learned, Dont go any further.orate system, to say the least. Closing and Once we hit 30 degrees or colder for a fewopening is costly but necessary to be done days in a row, the water lines will freeze.by the professionals. We learned that les-Theres usually a good week or two beforeson. that happens in October. But not everyoneOther park operators stress the impor-will make it up to winterize their camper. Wetance of ensuring that rental cabins and other dont want anyones internal camper lines torentalaccommodationsarethoroughly freeze.cleaned and debugged.Real Log Park Model Cabins Real Rustic Log CabinsTurn-Key!Durable and AppealingAmish CraftsmanshipPays Off Within 1-3 YearsPark Model Cabins Starting at $39,900Michelle and Mark Johnson, center, co-owners of SchatzisLocated in Lancaster, PA4 Seasons Resort, with a couple of their seasonal campers. 717-445-5522www.LancasterLogCabins.comWOODALLSCM.com April 2022 17"