Corona Virus

[Davydd]

Minnesota state parks are open but then again most camping will not begin until May 1 and the winter activities are at an end. The lakes are still iced over but very unsafe. So that pretty much leaves the park open to hikers in the woods traversing muddy trails since the frost is not out of the ground. It is no joy to picnic in 30-40 degree weather. Kind of self-regulating.

The next big event will be the fishing opener on the lakes in May. That seems to get half of the residents of Minnesota out.

[LostInWoods]

I don't understand the notion of leaving parks open but closing all facilities, including restrooms. If parks are open then what Ga is doing makes much more sense to me:

"Safety is our utmost priority, so we want to assure you that facilities are being properly sanitized and restrooms are well stocked with soap."

[mumkin]

I'm still in my regular winter RV park in AZ and today I saw a sign on the new toilet facilities at the biggest dog park. It said that it would stay open as long as people didn't steal the toilet paper.

I hope it stays open because most of the facilities have been closed along with the gym, swimming pools, and showers. We walkers may have to start using the dog parks themselves if this one gets locked up.

[@Michael]

Some National Parks, including Yellowstone, Tetons, Rocky Mountain are closing. Seems as though the impact to the gateway cities (I.E. Estes Park) is a factor in the decisions.

[InterBlog]

All these "We are open!" cheery exclamations and social distancing invites in the great outdoors can, and will, be upended in a New York minute as soon as that first positive case crosses the park threshold.

Case in point from late yesterday afternoon (image):

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by @Michael

Some National Parks, including Yellowstone, Tetons, Rocky Mountain are closing. Seems as though the impact to the gateway cities (I.E. Estes Park) is a factor in the decisions.

News article says those parks are getting record amounts of visitors for March and overcrowding. If the support periphery is shut down (towns) and park personnel taking extraordinary protective measures, it compounds the problem.

[@Michael]

This might be interesting RE: the virus, even though it's not directly related to Class B's:

An article in the local paper indicates that some areas of northern WI and MN, where many metro area residents have vacation cabins, are none too happy about people heading up to the cabin to get away from the virus in the big cities.

Counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin are telling vacationers not to visit their cabins, because of fears of coronavirus. Several counties have issued travel advisories, quarantine-in-place orders and requests that cabin owners do not arrive seeking woodsy alternatives to metro area sheltering in place.

<redacted> County will let cabin owners in — if they agree to a 14-day self-quarantine.

“We don’t want you to bring it here,” said <redacted>, spokeswoman for the <redacted> County Public Health Department. “If you do come to your cabin, you stay there for 14 days, and do not shop at our stores.”

(highlights are mine)

It's not a universal request though. Some business in vacationland recognize that cabin owners pay taxes too, and are more welcoming to refugees from the cities.

Personally, I'm not sure how I'd feel if my small, rural community were being invaded by people trying to shelter from a pandemic.

[avanti]

Moderator's note:
I will let the above post stand as corollary to the B-van travel topic. However, let's not drift into a generic discussion of the Covid situation or its politics.

[mumkin]

I understand Avanti, but that issue brings up what could be an issue for us B travelers trying to avoid this virus. We could pick it up along the way... gas pumps... food shopping? And these rural areas often have limited health care facilities even more easily overwhelmed than the urban areas. That is the fear of these areas.

I'm hoping that things are a bit more clear when I head north in just over a month.

[Davydd]

If cabin owners are not welcome in rural areas you can imagine RVers would be even less welcome. Right now it is not a problem in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. They would probably encounter this padlocked dump station and toilet rooms (including vault toilets) locked in our campground two miles away from our home. Also Class 5 gravel roads are very muddy since water is trapped because the frost hasn't gone out yet.

[GallenH]

I believe that we will have clarity in a bit of time. Right now there's a lot of modeling going on and I'm comfortable just siting waiting to see what actually happens. Hopefully it's not as bad as the worst models. Hard to believe that its only been a few weeks that I've been sitting at home. Itching to get on the road. But still, as I've mentioned earlier, we go out on bike rides and walks but avoid people. Our groceries are delivered without signing (unless I'm buying alcohol) and bleached, allowed to sit in sun. Extreme? Yes. Too extreme? Maybe. But we're over 70. I fought valley fever for 4 months with 30-40% lung capacity several springs ago. Not pleasant. I'm hoping that within a month or so I'll be on the road, probably to BLM land in AZ just to get out.

[DUTCH in Atlanta]

The USA is now #1 in the world with confirmed COVID-19 cases - ahead of China and Italy.

Stay safe and healthy, which for me means the Galleria stays parked under its shelter in my yard for now! My suburban Atlanta county has 79 confirmed cases and 1 death so far.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by DUTCH in Atlanta

The USA is now #1 in the world with confirmed COVID-19 cases - ahead of China and Italy.

Stay safe and healthy, which for me means the Galleria stays parked under its shelter in my yard for now! My suburban Atlanta county has 79 confirmed cases and 1 death so far.

And within the US, #1 is New Orleans.

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by Bud

And within the US, #1 is New Orleans.

For accurate numbers visit this website.

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

[avanti]

Originally Posted by mumkin

For accurate numbers visit this website.

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Here's another good one if you are a fan of fancy graphing:

https://coronavirus.1point3acres.com

[DUTCH in Atlanta]

Originally Posted by mumkin

For accurate numbers visit this website.

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

That's where my numbers come from.

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by avanti

Here's another good one if you are a fan of fancy graphing:

https://coronavirus.1point3acres.com

Lots of great coverage mixed in with those fancy graphs.

[booster]

And a third. They all seem to show very similar data, just format changes, so personal opinion on presentation style.


https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

[Sensfan]

Today our RT was woken up from its winter hibernation; during normal times we would make our first run around mid-April. This year, it will remain in our driveway until the pandemic risk has reduced. Our household includes myself, my wife, and one of our adult daughters. Hopefully, it will not be necessary to use the RT for this purpose, but we have prepared it for "stationary habitation" so that it could be used as a 14 day isolation residence, should one of us unfortunately begin to show symptoms of having the Covid 19 virus.

[DUTCH in Atlanta]

Originally Posted by Sensfan

Hopefully, it will not be necessary to use the RT for this purpose, but we have prepared it for "stationary habitation" so that it could be used as a 14 day isolation residence, should one of us unfortunately begin to show symptoms of having the Covid 19 virus.

Good idea! Who gets the RT? The sick one or the healthy one?