Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Closed

Well, the 2009 is over and we have closed. We actually closed about 7 weeks ago (seems like yesterday) but we have been busy getting the park ready for winter coming. And the weather forecast says we will be having winterstorms soon....

The Park will open for the 2010 season on March 15th. As always, we accept reservations at any time through the year. Our phones are not closed, but we are not always in the office in the off-season so be sure to leave a message. We will call you back.

We thank our customers for a fun and memorable 2009 season. As always, you make this all worth while.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

RV Rentals

I get questions all the time about RV Rentals, so I thought I would post some website/companies that I have found that rent motorhomes and/or trailers:

Nationwide (for pickup and drop-off):

Cruise America : cruiseamerica.com ; 800-671-8042
El Monte RV : elmonterv.com ; 888-337-2214
Road Bear RV: roadbearrv.com ; 866-491-9853

Local (from Northern Nevada & the Sierras):

Classic Adventures RV : classicadventuresrv.com ; 775-825-1200 (Reno, NV)
Sierra RV & Rental : sierrarv.com ; 800-972-8760 (Reno, NV)
Adventures in Camping : adventuresincamping.com 760-435-4890 (Mammoth Lakes, CA)

I do not have information or an opinion if one company is better than another, or even if they are still in business. I found this information on the web and listed it in alpha order for you to further research if you are interested. If you click on any one of the names I have linked it directly to the home page of the website.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

There Are Two Blogs

I'm still working hard on reservations and the entire summer schedule. And in between I'm getting alot of feedback about the website, the LakeCam and the "blog." And the comment I hear the most about the "blog" is that I need to update it more. So I guess I'm at the point of a little explanation.

There are two blogs! This one, "Topaz Lake RV Park," is for business notices, general info and whatnot. It is updated as needed with information that I think our customers should know. The second blog, "The Daily Topaz" is updated more often with a photo and story about life at Topaz Lake & the Park. There are links to both blogs from the Park website and you can find a link to each blog from each blog in the right hand column. ---->>>>

I hope this explanation helps.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Reservation Openings

Well, we sent out a mailer over the last week to everyone who has enjoyed our little RV Park in the last several years. It was huge! And I am exhausted! But the response to the mailer has been enjoyable and we are getting alot of calls for reservations. Don't stop calling! But this blog is about business, so time to get down to business.

All reservations that can be made at this time with the openings that we had available are done. All remaining requests continue to be on a Wait List. As openings become available, then I will continue to work from the Wait List to fill the openings. I don't not call customers to give status updates (impossible!), but if you have questions you are welcome to contact us. Otherwise if you have any questions/changes about your reservation(s) - you know what to do - contact us.

The following generally addresses the openings we have this season.

April: Openings available.... why aren't you here fishing?
May: Openings available.... Seriously, the fish are biting. Limited availability for Memorial Day Weekend.
June: Limited availability entire month, especially last two weeks, for daily reservations. Some nice sites are available, though. Wait List for monthly requests but with good possibilities. Summer season starts 6/19/09 and the lake is at it's highest point in June and the fishing is good!
July: Limited availability first week of July. Wait List for last three weeks of July for all daily and monthly requests. A very busy month - get your requests in now.
August: Wait List first two weeks of the month with availability the later part of the month before the holiday. Especially between the dates of 8/22 - 9/1.
September: Labor Day Weekend has limited availability. The summer season ends after Labor Day. Openings available after Labor Day until we close a month later in the first week of October. Perfect, perfect month for retired couples to vacation!

What are you waiting for?

UPDATE! 5/6/09: Our customers are really starting to think about their vacations and reservations. Over the last month we have alot of changes in the form of cancellations and reservations. I have worked on another round of reservation requests and the following is an update for the availability we have at this point.

May: There is still availability in this month, though weekends are getting full. Memorial Day Weekend is full with a short wait list.
June: Limited availability throughout the month for daily reservations. One site only remains for a monthly reservation.
July: Very limited availability the first week of July. There are no weekend sites available at this time for the holiday, but I am taking requests. The 2nd week of July (11th to 18th) has a few very nice sites open that are up for grabs! The 3rd week of July (18th to 25th) & 4th week of July (25th to 1st) is full with a wait list. There are no monthly sites available right now and I'm still trying to accommodate a short wait list for monthly requests.
August: The first week of August (1st to 8th) has very limited options (2?). The 2nd week (8th to 15th) has zero, "0", nothing available at this time with a healthy wait list. The 3rd week (15th to 22nd) has more possibilities. And, as before, the last week and just before Labor Day Weekend has many nice sites still available.
September: Labor Day Weekend is starting to fill up and openings remain after the holiday weekend for daily and monthly requests until we close after the first week of October.

Questions? Want a reservation? Call us and get your request in!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

THE 2009 SEASON HAS ARRIVED

First order of business: Thank you all who have had so many nice things to say about the new website, LakeCam and blogs. I really appreciate it. For those of you that have had to endure through my chatty (historical!) newsletters, the new internet connections have allowed me to express my creative side now to the world at large. Hmmmm...I think I need to rethink this.... Nahhhh.

Well, we are open now for 2009 reservations. We opened to a handful of customers and right now I'm exhausted! I really need to build up my stamina! It was a fun day though - a beautifully warm day - and we had many "looky-loos" drop by to say HI and check us out. By the end of the day I knew that I was busy all day, but don't know exactly what I did all day long....

A word or two about reservations: I'm taking a different approach to reservations this year and am nearly complete with filling all the openings for summer requests. Confirmation letters are going out soon. If you have a request pending and do not receive a confirmation letter soon, you are welcome to call to get an update on your request. We welcome new requests through out the season, and there are still nice sites available in the off-season months. You'll find our contact info on our website (see the link in the right hand column----->.)

Now I'm officially exhausted. Have a great weekend everyone.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

That Groundhog Needs a Better Crystal Ball

We frequently get questions about the lake level. Understandably customers are interested in how much water is in the lake right now and maybe with that information they can approximate how much water will be in the lake later in the spring & summer. Not possible. Unless we have a winter season that is so over-the-top, it's impossible to gauge the lake level months in advance. Even if you thought you could, you would compare this winter to last winter and easily see that the snow pack is lower this year. This would lead you to conclude the lake level would be lower this year. If that were the case, how do you explain that right now the lake is 3 1/2 ft (vertical) higher than the same time last year? That's a huge difference!

The snow pack itself is not the only factor that affects the lake level. After last winter's storms, we hoped for more water in the lake in 2008. However, a warm spring came early and because Topaz Lake is used for irrigation water, the farmers & ranchers started "calling" for water earlier than normal. The runoff to the lake was excellent last spring, but it was literally like "in one river, out the other" and the lake reach just over half full statistically.

So far, this winter has proved to be rather weak, but weather in this month is helping tremendously. I hear through the grapevine (usually better than weathermen) that March maybe a good month, too. It's all good though, because no matter how much water we have in the lake there is plenty for boating, etc. I have noticed though that lake level does affect how most summer vacationers spend their day: If it's high, with little beach area, they spend more time coming and going to their campsites. If it's low, with a lot of beach area, you can bet there is a lot of packing up in the morning and spending the day on the beach.

What is our ideal lake level? I personally like to see the lake fill up every year with a decent runoff from the previous winter's snow pack. Usually late June is when the lake reaches it's highest point and then the water level gradually goes down through the summer. Unfortunately due to too many factors, we don't always get our ideal wish every year.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Father Knows Best

Over the next 5 weeks we will be spending significant time outdoors cleaning up the park for customers to arrive. This is no small feat I might add, however cleaning up the Park brings about a great sense of pride towards our little lakeside paradise. We drag out every imaginable piece of equipment to clean all the nooks and crannies, too. Though the dumptruck, tractors, power blowers and rakes are by far the most used in our annual after-winter cleanup.

Years ago, my father literally taught us how to rake in the Park more efficiently. I think there was some serious eye rolling on our parts as we thought, "Seriously? We have to be taught how to rake?" But I can say without hestitation after all these years: He was right. There is a method to the madness of how to use all equipment to clean more efficiently. I personally enjoy the power backpack blower and relish the damage I can do to a wall of leaves in a few hours. And Dave & I have perfected a method - something we like to think we developed - called Power Raking. You'll just have to use your imaginations.

We have had friends help us occassionally over the years to help with this big clean. Both Dave & I have had to kindly educate them on the art of using a rake or blower more efficiently. We get a small chuckle when they get this look on their face that says, "Seriously? I have to be taught how to rake?" Believe it or not, yes you do. Right, Dad?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

TA DA! Our New LakeCam

Finally... With much thanks to my web designer, Shelly, local tech & computer support, Nick, as well as the great service at StarDot.... We have our new and very, very improved Lake Cam! There is still some tweaking to do, but it is running and about 95% where I want it. It will be be running during all seasons, all weather, barring any technical glitches (knock on wood.)
If you are finding that you cannot see the visual feed on the LakeCam, you probably need to go to Java.com to update or install Java in order to view the picture. I check the camera everyday and, with the exception of power outages, the camera has been running 100% all the time.
Enjoy!!!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Lake Cam Update

We are diligently working on the installation of the new Lake Cam. I am hoping that this will be completed in the very near future. So far we have completed the installation of separate bandwidth for the Lake Cam, which was tedious! The hardwiring and physical installation is scheduled next and after that we just need to install it in the website. Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about? I'm at that stage of computer/tech education that I know just enough to get me in trouble! David is playing an entirely different ballgame than I: He thinks he knows what he is talking about and it does get him in trouble! I won't let him near my computers because "delete" is his favorite button.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Sunny Days

Happy New Year everyone! Another year gone, another ahead with hopes and plans. Invariably, once the new year comes people start thinking about their vacations and summertime. Since we are sitting in the middle of snow and cold right now I thought it would be fun to post a summertime picture.....

Meet Michael Alan. He is one of the many kids who look forward to vacationing at our Park every year. For Michael Alan his days are full of boating, skiing, playing with his friends and cousins. The thought of TV, school and the family dog at home rarely cross his mind while he vacations with his family for two weeks in the summer at Topaz Lake RV Park.

I can relate to Michael Alan because I, too, was a kid at Topaz just like him (many, many years ago!)