INZANE CAMPING PLEASE READ if you posted about camping!

[Crazyhorse]

I spoke to the lady at the Sands Springs Campground today and she wants way to much information for me to gather on this site. I thought after speaking with her the first time she only needed minimum information. So if you want a site called 304-594-2415. Sorry for the let down but I work full time and can't spend the amount of time needed.

[Rams]

Appreciate the information, have tried multiple times to get them to answer that phone but, to no avail up to this point.   Just tried again, left a voice mail message, let's hope they return the call..........

[Jess from VA]

Who ever gets through to them, tell them:

WE (the Valk crowd coming for our national rally) have been trying to get organized to hopefully get a group discount for 6-10 spots for the week.  But it has not worked out.

So we are all going to make reservations individually (but each will say they are with the VRCC rally to be noted in the reservation).

But we are hoping after we all arrive and explain we are all with one group, they will find it in their hearts to give us one (based on how many actually show) anyway.  

And we are all old guys with early bedtimes, and will be on our best behavior.... and keep the drugs, alcohol, wild women, lewd behavior, fist fights and shooting down to a minimum.    

  

[Rams]

Who ever gets through to them, tell them:

WE (the Valk crowd coming for our national rally) have been trying to get organized to hopefully get a group discount

snip  

And we are all old guys with early bedtimes, and will be on our best behavior.... and keep the drugs, alcohol, wild women, lewd behavior, fist fights and shooting down to a minimum.    

Jess,
I assure you, I won't forget the request for a discount but, I was hoping to not make any promises in reference to extra curricular activities................. 

[Jess from VA]

Ron, after think about my humor (above), it occurred to me that the slow/no return call might just be because people are mentioning a motorcycle rally.  Especially a small mom and pop business where some folks can still have a basic distrust/fear of motorcyclists (and maybe some bad past experiences).  

It happened in Easy Rider, and in 1988 it happened to me.  Rode into a small mom and pop motel in Big Bear CA after dark (not late) with the wife.  It was cold up in the mountains after dark and we were all in leathers.  Someone looked out through the office curtains, and then all the lights went out, and the pink neon NO went on in front of the existing pink VACANCY sign.  No one would answer a knock at the door, and off we went into the night looking for another place to stay.

I said VRCC rally instead of INZANE, because the latter could have negative implications.

I could be wrong.  

[Rams]

My gut feeling on this is that, once they get a visual of us, any and all of the aforementioned activities will be long forgotten............  

Edited: Well, after the 9th call, I finally got reservations made.   I was also able to ensure that all fear of elderly bikers has been thrown out the window along with the kitchen sink, bath water and the baby..........

The reason I was given for the "non-response" was that it's still not camping season.    In addition to the timing of some of my calls,   it seems that they don't answer their phone prior to 9 AM this time of year.   

Yeah, I'm one of those kind of guys...............

[Willow]

The VRCC staff has been repeatedly in contact with the owners/operators of the campsite.  They do the campsite as an add on and not as their full time jobs.  They have been very cooperative with the VRCC staff and early on offered a discount but the staff backed away in favor of Budman's offer to organize.

Sometimes our expectations and strong inclination to complaint will cause us to repeatedly communicate negatively about situations that we don't really bother to understand.  That tends to be the way things play out elsewhere as well, including the VRCC which is run by a few as an add on to their real jobs.  Ninety-nine percent of the VRCC members are people that are easy to deal with.  Every once in a while there is an exception.  I don't identify with the exceptions.

There will be a conversation likely taking place today or tomorrow between VRCC staff and the owner of the campsite.  No promises.  It will be a connection between two people who each do what they do added on to their primary jobs.

We'll get back to you.  

[Marinakorp]

So - we should hold off on calling the campground to secure a camp site?


I am new to the Inzane...

I posted in the Inzane portion, that I would like to camp... I tow a Roll a home.

I can use electric if available.

[Gryphon Rider]

And we are all old guys with early bedtimes, and will be on our best behavior.... and keep the drugs, alcohol, wild women, lewd behavior, fist fights and shooting down to a minimum.    

Old guys who can afford to get away with that stuff can probably afford hotel rooms...just sayin. 

[Rams]

And we are all old guys with early bedtimes, and will be on our best behavior.... and keep the drugs, alcohol, wild women, lewd behavior, fist fights and shooting down to a minimum.    

Old guys who can afford to get away with that stuff can probably afford hotel rooms...just sayin. 

While that may be true, cash fluidity is not always an indicator of a willingness to spend.......

I'm told.   

[Rams]

So - we should hold off on calling the campground to secure a camp site?


I am new to the Inzane...

I posted in the Inzane portion, that I would like to camp... I tow a Roll a home.

I can use electric if available.

I was able to make a reservation for my RV this morning.    Was told that the Manager is going to put all the Valkyrie folks together in an area not too far from the main facility.    Have no idea what that distance will be.    She did advise me to ensure I follow the directions on the website to find her location, said that we could easily find ourselves getting off at the wrong exit if we used a GPS.

[4sarge]

Is there a nightly rate with or without Electricity. I my camp IF its cheap enough 

[Willow]

Is there a nightly rate with or without Electricity. I my camp IF its cheap enough 

If everyone chose that route there would be no InZane.  Those staying in the ground zero hotel contribute to InZane because the hotel will give us what we need based upon their income from hotel rooms associated with the event.  If not enough people stay at ground zero the cost of the resources we use would prohibit our being able to hold InZane.

That said, if camping will allow one to attend InZane whereas staying at the hotel would keep one home I am all for that person camping and participating in InZane.  Just not everybody, please. 

[Willow]

Mama spoke to Taya, the owner/operator of the campground.

She has what they call tent sites and camper sites.  Electricity is available for the camper sites.  She will place all people mentioning Valkyrie or VRCC together as much as possible.

She is offering a discount to InZane attendees.  Based on our information it's difficult to figure how deep that discount is but it seems to be somewhere around twenty percent. I say it's hard to figure because honestly their prices tend to float.

The hotel folks think they are about two miles away.  Mama says it wasn't very far but she's missing the information that will allow her to determine the exact distance.  The campground folks define it as "just at the bottom of the hill" or ten miles.  They're country folks.

To me the important factor would be the InZane campers being near one another. 

[MarkT]

I'm afraid the reviews aren't good.  But it appears there aren't much choices close to GZ with hookups.

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/west-virginia/morgantown/sand-springs-campground

[motomama]

We went to the campground when we did the scouting trip.  There was another campground right by it and Sand Springs was the nicer of the two.  If you look at those reviews, one is from October 2015 and the rest are from 2012 and 2013.  I do know that the owners were out of the country in October and it was also after the peak season when they close a lot of the facilities down.  It did look nice to us when we were there.  We recommended it because we knew there would be campers looking for a place and the owners were willing to give discounts to our folks.

[MarkT]

First off - thanks for the unpaid effort on this subject and all the rest of the hard work you do for the VRCC.  Might be - less than stellar news on the camping might encourage staying at GZ instead.

But - you discredit 23 reviews most of which report negative issues. Paraphrasing from the above review link, most of these repeated by several: "Bad bathrooms & showers, smelly toilet, baths & showers locked, owners loudly arguing in front of customers, WiFi only works within 80ft of office, Satellite may not work due to trees, unlevel sites, human excrement, noisy tenants and dogs, very poor and narrow rough gravel roads, overpriced for the poor condition, trees too close making manuvering difficult at best..." and so on. Granted, over several years. But the most recent post sounds like it's a long-term situation. And other review sites have similar reports.  OK.  Whatever.  I reserved there anyway and if it's too bad we will stay only the first night.  The saving grace will be if the VRCC folks are together.  I need a pretty level campsite and electricity.  The wife hates dirty baths.  Per RVparky.com and other sites there are MANY campsites in the area.

From the most recent review, Oct 2015:
"The park is truly beautiful but I can only give 3 stars because of the other issues. The campers were all down by the office except for one. The bathrooms down by the campers were all locked up. The only bathroom/showers were up on the top of the hill by the million dollar RV. The manager at first said they should be unlocked. He was told they were not unlocked. Then he changed his story saying the owner told him to lock them up. Then he told us he didn't have the keys. I have a disabled husband whom could not walk to the top of the mountain to take a shower or use the bathroom. We would have stayed two nights had the bathrooms been opened. However the Internet sucked. We keep being told the Internet is good only to find out we can't even get online. Oh and watch your step, it looked like human feces around the campground. I guess others couldn't make it to the top of the hill. We just used our motorhome. We camped here at the end of October. We camped at Sand Springs Campground in a Motorhome."

But thanks for your legwork finding it anyway, I know you are volunteers.

[motomama]

Mark, I did not discredit anything!  Look at the DATES on those other reviews!  2005 thru 2013. Why do t you re-read my post.  In October, like I said, the owners were out of the country and they DO close  some things down during OFF season.  Reviews 3 years older and MORE do not have even come close to knowing what things are like NOW!  The only FAIRLY current one is October 2015 and like I said, the owners were out of the country and it was OFF season and they shut things down during that time.  I have been there...you have not.

[MarkT]

As I said.  Other review sites report the same problems.  So what if I haven't been there - which you ASSUMED, did not know.  I'll believe repeated multiple witnesses who have stayed there rather than one person who has merely driven around the site, has not stayed there and is denying users reports.  Reread your report?  Why?  Granted most of the reports are older - though the one from last year reports many of the same problems.  The owners not being there means nothing. They have a staff or they should have and if not that indicates a competence problem.  DeNile is not just a river in Egypt. I already said I reserved there to give them a chance - and I'll bet the problems are still there.  If not - then I will stand corrected.  At that time. Not by you now.   And as I said before - this being a stinker of a camping site might benefit the VRCC with GZ reservations.

And by the way - I WAS NOT quoted a discount but the full price as stated on rvparkreviews.com.

The (only) three reviews on goodsamclub:

July 2015. Rating one star:
"We stayed a single night. We were greeted by two barking owner's dogs that we heard throughout the night. With 3 sites to choose from, all 3 were not level having crushed stone and the RV sunk into the rain soaked site. The connection for the sewer was not accessible to reach from the parking spot. "

July 2015 rating 1.75 star:
"Had high hopes for this camp site. Pictures on the web site looked nice. The reception cabin was a bit run down, gutter hanging off, moss growing on the roof. No camp store.

Our biggest disappointment was the pool they advertise. It had been out of commission all season. The owner did care to share this with us when we made our reservations. Feel like a little bait and switch.

The camp sites are gravel and not very level. You definitely need wood or plastic stackers to level it your camper.

The camp sites were nicely spaced - giving you privacy.

OH and here is a shocker...... you had to pay 25 cents to take a shower!!!!!!! They had a coin machine you deposit your quarter for 9 minutes of shower. You didnt need more than 50 cents, but simply the idea of having to pay for a shower caught us off guard. The bathhouse was clean - appreciate the smell of bleach over old mop water like in some bathhouses. However it was old. Toilets rocket a bit but usable.

The campground could be a keeper IF they upgraded it a bit. "

July 2015 rating 3 stars:
"The site that we parked at was not very level and the roots from the trees were right in front of the entry door. Could not move back with the room extentions. My main problem was the person who checked me in (I believe her to be the owner) did not fully understand the charge card machine technology. I was double billed for my one nights stay. I found the error 5 days after leaving the campground and made no less than 6 calls (in a 30 day period) to the same lady and was assured no less than 4 times that the problem would be corrected. One month later on my last call the lady finally offered to send me a refund check. 6 days later I finely received my refund check. If I would not have stayed on top of this situation the campground would have been $41.40 richer without providing any additional services. The campground was not worth $41.50 and what made it worse was when through no fault of mine, I spend over an hour and a half making calls and filling out a dispute letter to my credit card company for something that was not my fault or problem. We came back through this area and passed right on by, so as not to ever experience additional problems. Pricey YES and not well versed on registering a camper. With much additional training my hope is that they will understand that customer service is a FIRST and the best way to keep, as the saying goes "a happy camper customer"... "

Enough current reviews for you?  I can list more...

OH, here's one, old from 2012, but just for entertainment - from rvparking.com:

Do Not Stay Here!!!!!!

Owner's are horrible! Staff is friendly, place is shaded well, pool is beautiful, but, I repeat DO NOT STAY HERE!!!! The owner's live above the store and are very obnoxious. They yell about everything. When we arrived we were shocked that at this prime time of year that the sites were not filled with campers! Well, now we know why! One family was so irritated that they left the first night they arrived. I walked into the store and found myself in the midst of a argument between the owners. They didn't even acknowledge my presence for several minutes. It was not a pleasurable, relaxing experience. We had to find another place to swim because the owner was screaming at kids in the pool for being too loud, she said "this is MY pool!" It said no inner tubes, yet, the owners were using them....but don't let them see u put one in. Horrible, horrible, horrible!!!!!!

[motomama]

Very interesting Mark.  The only 2015 review on the site you listed the link for is October 2015.  Not sure where you got the others...  Oh and you failed to mention all of the positive reviews...  The excellent ones, the good ones and the average ones...what about those?

I am really done with this conversation with you.  I am not going to wasted time!

[MarkT]

Very interesting Mark.  The only 2015 review on the site you listed the link for is October 2015.  Not sure where you got the others...  Oh and you failed to mention all of the positive reviews...  The excellent ones, the good ones and the average ones...what about those?

I am really done with this conversation with you.  I am not going to wasted time!

I said above, goodsamclub, not hard to find from that but here's the actual link of those 3 reviews.  Thx for implying I made them up.

http://www.goodsamclub.com/travel/campgroundsandrvparks/generalinfo.aspx?cgid=780003347#section-underline-4

There is a small handful of positive reviews on some sites.  Not "all of the positive reviews", just a small handful.  Got some links?  Nope. Hmm.  So they have earned kudos what 2-3 times?  As opposed to pissing people off a couple dozen times.  I'd say I'm right about them.

I think, on second thought, now that you inspired me to go find more reviews on this outfit - and having found more bad ones - I'm going to canx my reservation and stay at a campsite with a good rep.  If anyone is interested in what I found - you can email or PM me.

[Rams]

So, is there an official count of how many are going to try and stay at the campground?

I'm attempting to stay there but ran into a "withdrawl" issue but still trying to make it happen.

[Marinakorp]

I was planning on it.. but have made other plans nearby.