Intro:
I don’t want to commit to blogging every week. In fact, I am going to take a very Zen approach to it. I will post when I am inspired, and/or have something I want to share. That might lead to a weekly post for a while, followed by months of nothing. If I ever want to do a blog or vlog seriously that wouldn’t work, but for Zen Acres stuff, I think it will work fine. So maybe this will be a seasonal blog or something.
Anyway, today I guess I am both inspired and have information to impart, so here it is:
The Nitty gritty:
Growing Staff:
Daniel, our grounds keeper, has been working hard at clearing limbs, making chips, clipping roads/trails, and helping with site expansion. Christina, our new camp host, has been learning the ropes, and helping with all the above. I have been doing heavy groundwork, getting the road dialed in, and expanding campsites. We have all been getting stocked up on firewood bundles for the Season. In short, this place has been hopping!
It looks like Christina will be working nearly full-time this summer, allowing us to offer new services to our campers. This allows us to do some things that we have been considering or dabbling with for the last couple of years. This includes Fire & Ice deliveries, rentals of tents and other gear, tent setup service, and (hopefully by mid-year) kayak rentals. See below for some more details about that.
Facility Development:
Site 1 & 2: The major expansion of Sites 1 & 2 is nearly done. We made major improvements and created a much more level parking pad (for a small RV) in both. In fact, I would now consider Site 2 as the very best spot for an RV, outside of the Group area. Note, all RV camping at Zen is off grid with no hookups, but we get a lot of requests, and we to improve things for RV’s (the road in as well as leveling some parking for them). Though I still don’t recommend very large rigs, it is quite appropriate for small to mid sized RV’s.
Site 3 & 6: The expansion to sites 3 and 6 is under way. We removed a couple of dead trees, which was unfortunate, but also increased the ground space. We took the time to add some more level and cleared areas tents, and we are adding more wood chips.
Group Site: Group site is getting a major expansion, adding more space for tents on the side and back, and we still hope to do some leveling and smoothing of the open area. The new trees are going in this week, which will provide a very nice visual separation between the group area and the common areas.
Firepits: If things continue this pace, we hope to also be able to upgrade some of the rock firepits to the new steel rings either before we open, or shortly after.
Creek Area: I am still hoping time and weather allow me to get some leveling and improvement work done down in the creek area, and we have a new direction with the space across the small creek (see below).
New Area: We have decided to go in a new direction with space across the little creek. We have rented the 16’ Yurt style tent a few times last year, but it is a LOT of work putting it up and taking it down constantly. These bell tents are designed to stay up year-round. Though we will likely take them down for the winter, too much up and down increases wear and tear on a very expensive tent. So we have decided to make the new area where we will put up a semi-permanent tent or two, and offer them furnished, glamping style. It is also a prime location being creek side to the small creek, overlooking the big creek, and right next to the entrance to the main creek access area. They will likely be priced similarly to the Group Site and may at some point have a little solar/DC power (for lighting, phone charging, etc..). We hope to be able to offer this in the July time frame.
Dirty Talk:
We are off to a great start on the old potty solution. After extensive research, and a lot of discussions with guests last year, we have decided to go with a very cool and innovative approach: Composting. We will have a single, centrally located outhouse style tank for “number two” only. For composting the goal is to keep solid separate from urine as much as possible. For composting this is ideal, but from a guest comfort perspective this offers numerous additional advantages as well.
Primarily when the solids are not mixed with a lot of liquids, the smell is reduced considerably (like 90%+ IMO). Second, the pumping of the large tank will be far less frequent (i.e. we won’t have weekly pumping services disturbing mid-week campers). Third, it is far more ecofriendly and ultimately turns waste into a valuable resource.
Finally, we are taking an innovative approach with our specific application. With the main goal to separate the urine from the solids, we thought “why not just separate them completely”. In other words, different buildings for different needs. So, there will be a single, centrally located small building for the infrequently visited “#2 Shack”. However, the urine only building is far easier to make, so our idea is to ultimately offer 3 or 4 of them, spaced around the campground.
This means that the super frequent use of the facility will be much closer and more convenient and virtually odor free for the all-day everyday use. When nature calls for something more serious, that is the only time it will require a slightly longer walk, and when you get there, it should be a 100 times more pleasant experience than a porta potty.
We see this as a win/win all the way around. We have some work ahead of us to implement this, but we are already off to a good start on the hardest part. We hope to have the “#2 Shack” up and running in the early weeks of June. At that point, even though we will still have the porta potties, we will encourage them to be number one only, which will be an immediate and dramatic step in the right direction. From there we will just start replacing them with site-built urine only outhouses. My hope is that by mid-August there will be 3 or 4 of them, a very short walk from anywhere in the campground.
Rentals Tents & Gear
Yurt Style Tents: We have purchased one bell tent of each size, for a total of four (a considerable investment). The new ones should arrive any day. We will offer the 10’ and 13’ tents as rentals for standard sites (1-9 and Group). We will re-purpose the 16’ and with the new 20’ version, we will set them up in the new area, furnish them, and add them as individual listings on Hipcamp and our web site. If the smaller rental tents are in enough demand that we experience shortages, we will get more. The smaller versions will be much more conducive to being put up and taken down. Our guests will have the opportunity to rent just the tent but will also have the option of requesting the deluxe service of having the tent put up and taken down by our staff. Though maybe not for everyone, this may be a nice service for those who want a more hassle free arrival day, or to avoid the dreaded setting up camp by flashlight routine.
Gas Firepits: We have several of these with small propane tanks. The original idea was to give our campers an option if/when we have a fire ban but have since learned through conversations with guests that lots of people prefer them anyway. So, we will soon be offering these for rent as well.
Rain Canopies and Other Gear: We haven’t figured out what items we will offer, but we will likely start purchasing additional gear for rent. We are open to suggestions. The idea being something our campers may either want to try out, possibly a last-minute forgotten item, and/or possibly last-minute rain mitigation. Stay tuned, but hopefully by mid-June we will start offering the rentals and incrementally expand the list from there.
Kayaks: We had planned to offer this last year, and just didn’t get around to it. However, it is on the list this year. We have extended our insurance to cover it, and hope to have something rolled out by mid-July. If/when we roll this out, guests will be able to rent our Kayaks (boat, vest, and paddle). They will also likely have the option of transport (i.e. we can help you get to the river), and/or possibly guided tours in the future. Obviously, there are a lot of moving parts to sort out, but as soon as we finish with all of our pre-season work, our energies will be shifting toward projects like this.
Note: We are also partnering this year with a white water kayaking adventure company, and will be offering discounts and packages to our campers (possibly even with pickup drop off from campsite). So, for those more interested in the adrenaline side, we may have an option for that as well.
Fire & Ice: Last year we (technically) launched Fire & Ice right at the end of the season. F&I is a campsite delivery service, for nearby campgrounds (including our own). We didn’t even advertise last year, but we did a handful of deliveries, and this year we plan to do a full roll out at season open. Our campers will continue to have the convenient self-serve firewood station down in the camp area, but our guests will also have the option of campsite delivery service with credit card payment option, and a lot more products (ice, tarps, flashlights, chairs, batteries, etc..). You can learn more at https://www.fireandicedelivery.com/.
Touchy Feely Stuff:
Mood, Campfires & Family Time:
I absolutely love this time of year. I struggle with Oregon winters. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t live anywhere else on earth, but month after month of very little sun, and constant rain, wears on my ability to maintain a positive attitude. I am very mindful of self-talk, and don’t like to use these words, but most would call it “winter depression”. I just say my attitude takes more effort in the winter.
Either way, I find winter the most difficult times of year to stay connected to nature and maintain a sense of peace and gratitude. In fact, winter is when I lean a little more in the direction of vice. In my case that comes in the form of eating/snacking, too many cigars and video games. Though all of this is much better than drugs and alcohol, now 35 years in the rear view mirror, it is still not ideal in terms of getting the most out of life and enjoying as many moments as I have left.
That said, I did better this year minimizing the negativity. I got outside more and did a lot in my new shop. I was able to go out there, crank up the woodstove, and work on organizing my (near hoarder level) pile of stuff. We also managed to escape the rain for a couple weeks by taking our first vacation (Mexico) in over a decade. All of that helped with the winter state of mind, but nothing beats spring!
Spring makes it easy. Sundays with the grandkids have been full of campfires, nature walks, and barbecues. Cooking and relaxing around an open campfire is a spiritual experience. I also enjoy wood carving by the fire, another extremely meditative activity. I often make what I call “meat on a stick”. A machete and knife make the cooking utensil: A long wooden stick. I jab that into a chunk of meat (steak, chicken, pork, whatever), cook it over the fire and eat it right off the stick. No plates, no silverware; the only cleanup is washing my hands afterward (sometimes before as well). The simple and primitive nature of this approach to dinner often directs my mind to thoughts of how people lived ten thousand years ago, and throughout most of human history. That assists with my ability to maintain gratitude for our modern conveniences. This is the essence of why I think we are drawn to camping, and why literally making the day-to-day work of our lives harder for a few days is somehow regenerative.
Work Cycle:
If I were to add up my desk job time, outside time, and work around the yard, I spend ~70-80 hours a week “working” this time of year. Though the Lion’s share of that is running my other businesses, there is no way I could spend that kind of time doing just one thing. The eclectic nature of my work allows me to truly enjoy most of my purpose filled time. There is no way I could devote that kind of time to it if I didn’t truly enjoy myself.
What happens in the spring and fall is that I attune my schedule to the weather. I am fair weathered with my outside work. I tend not to do a lot on super cold or rainy days. I don’t mind dodging a shower or two on borderline days, but I tend to stay in and focus on desk work on the bad days. Something about that helps me with motivation and teaches me to value my time more. When it is raining, I consider that time precious as an opportunity to hammer away at my “desk job”. Then when it is nice outside, I also see that time as precious because it is! I need to get out there and do the work that I only want to do when the weather is nice.
A lot of what I am doing this time of year is machine work (skid steer, excavator, dump truck, etc..). Not only does this require dry weather, but it requires successive dry days. Ground compaction is tricky and requires the correct level of moisture content, which can vary by soil type. For that kind of work, the soil can’t be too wet or too dry. This results in work that can only be done after 3 dry days in a row. In some cases, it also can’t be done in the middle of summer because it will be too dry to compact. So again, it draws me toward the feeling that the current moment is precious, which is the essence of a Zen state.
All of this puts me in tune with the natural cycles of weather, seasons, and daylight. It creates a sense that what I do on what days is to some extent out of my control and causes me to surrender to the reality of the moment. Each weather pattern creates time that I see as precious and therefore want to get the most out of. I tend to be responsive to the conditions of the moment, which draws me into a more Zen approach to my time and activity.
Outro:
Enough out of me for now! I didn’t think this post would be nearly this long when I started typing, especially the “touchy feely” portion, but I guess I was more inspired than I thought LOL.