Sun Chasing Full-time RVers
By Kate Swanson
Twin Lakes RV park managers Ron and Janice Povey have been living the gypsy life for a decade. When the lumber industry went into the dumper in 2003, Ron decided it was time to try something else. Janice, who worked in HR, quit her job to join him in the next phase. They sold their house on Vancouver Island, hooked up their new home, a 30-foot trailer, and headed south for a life on the road.
“We’ve been full-timing for 10 years,” Janice explains, on a Monday morning in August, during a brief respite after the weekend campers head home. “We sold our house on Valentine’s day in 2003, so we decided that was a good sign.”
The Poveys are semi-retired. They spend five months of the year touring Texas and Arizona, returning to B.C. after the Easter long weekend to get back into the working world. After managing various RV sites in the Okanagan, the couple has found a second home at Twin Lakes. “We love it here,” says Janice of the 37-site Twin Lakes RV resort. “It’s just the right size.”
The park, located about 20 minutes from Penticton on spectacular Twin Lakes golf course, nestled amongst trees and rock cliffs adjacent to the driving range, does not have any permanent residents. The clientele is a mix of people looking for a few days of relaxation and golf and longer distance travelers attracted by the remoteness and quiet of the mountain setting.
You won’t hear a cell phone ringing at Twin Lakes. There is no coverage.
While the mountains and nearby lakes attract a lot of far-flung European visitors looking to experience Canada in its natural state, the park’s bread and butter clientele come from much closer.
“Our weekend crowd is mostly Okanagan people from Vernon to Osoyoos,” Janice says. “And we get a lot of people from Penticton who camp in groups of two or three. I would say 90 per cent are golfers who like the discount offered to campers by the golf course. For many people, a weekend away can be just getting away from their houses.”
Another resort mainstay are families with kids attending hockey school in Penticton. While the kids skate and stick handle on the ice, mom and dad can play golf on green fairways under the Okanagan sun. “Alex (Twin Lakes Superintendent Alex Inglis) has done an awesome job on the course and that is attracting a lot of people. We’ve actually run out of sites for big rigs a few times (anything over 33 feet) but we have accommodated 45-ft motor homes and toy haulers.”
RVers looking to stay on long weekends should plan well in advance. The park is already 60 per cent booked for the 2014 May long weekend. The Poveys attribute increased demand for RV sites in part to B.C.’s strict drinking and driving laws. Golfers who want to have a few 19th hole pops need only worry about negotiating a couple of hundred yards between the clubhouse and the RV park.
With a couple of months left in the Twin Lakes golf and camping season, the couple isn’t getting antsy about heading south. They celebrate Christmas at Thanksgiving, getting together with their two children to eat turkey and exchange presents before resuming their nomadic way of life.
Janice offers sound advice to couples contemplating giving it all up to chase the sun.
“I tell people, ‘If you’re going to hit the road, you can’t just love the person you’re travelling with, you have to like them also.”
- Twin Lakes Golf Resort and RV Park is located in a mountainous setting on Highway 3A, about 15 minutes southwest of Penticton.
- The park has 37 sites, 30 with full service (power, water and sewer) and seven with just power and water.
- Full service is $45.00 includes tax per night.
- Power and water only is $35 includes tax per night.
- The prime time rate for 18 holes at Twin Lakes golf course is $59 including cart.
- The course offers various discount days, including the enormously popular $10 Tuesdays.
- RVers receive a $10 discount that does not apply on already discounted prices.
- The RV Park welcomes groups wanting to camp together (with proper notice and given space availability).
- The golf course is open until Oct. 15.
- There is fishing at nearby lakes.
- Stay for the whole summer and get a great monthly rate.
For more information on Twin Lakes Golf Resort and RV Park visit www.twinlakesgolfresort.com, email RVpark@twinlakesgolfresort.com or call toll-free (866) 576-3672.