Everybody Loves Hot Air Balloons

A hot air balloon landing in the RV Park in Verde Valley is a fairly regular occurrence.

For starters, let me explain that I have never yet ridden in a hot air balloon. It’s not that it doesn’t look thrilling, or that I wouldn’t love the view from one. Instead, it’s my aversion to cold—and from experience I know it is mighty cold at daybreak, even here in Arizona in summer.

My first up-close experience with a balloon was when I was writing for a newspaper in Washington State and was assigned to interview an eighty-something year-old woman who owned a balloon business. She asked if I would like to watch the launching of one, so I agreed to meet her at some ungodly hour in a field somewhere to get photos and watch the takeoff at daybreak. I did get some great photos (property of the newspaper) from the inside of the balloon as it was being inflated.

Then the woman asked if I would like to “chase” the balloon to its landing spot. What she meant by “chasing” was following by road and trying to figure out where it would land as it dipped behind trees and hills. That’s when I learned that hot air balloons don’t have a specific landing area because it all depends on air currents. So we chased it for miles until it finally started drifting downward, but I couldn’t get close enough in the car to get photos, and I certainly wasn’t going to hike through muddy fields in that damp, frosty air!

Since then, I’ve witnessed several balloons lifting off and landing here in Arizona, and specifically, settling to the ground here in the RV Park outside Cottonwood. This morning was one of those occasions. About 6:30 AM I heard the familiar wh-o-o-o-sh, wh-o-o-o-sh of one overhead and looked out the window to see it coming down over the park, and then grabbed the camera.

Again, this is an instance where traveling by RV increases the chances of witnessing hot air balloons both aloft and landing because both activities often coexist in high-tourist areas with wide open spaces. RVers can find plenty of opportunities to hitch a ride in one, if they wish. I had only seen a precious few balloons aloft before we started RVing.

Above is one of the photos I snapped early this morning.

IS FREELANCE WRITING ILLEGAL IN SOME RV PARKS?

One of the most common rules in RV Parks is that no business activity is allowed. That could technically include writers, investors, artists, web designers, business consultants, or any other activity that makes money. If taken literally, this particular rule could exclude a lot of people from staying in most RV parks across the country.

So what do you do if you are a writer or consultant who uses your computer to earn a living while you travell?

After much discussion with various park owners I've discovered that these rules were made to prevent any activity that would be obvious to other guests. They don't want businesses that would:

1) Create or increase traffic.

This would include retail businesses operated from an RV or someone providing a service that requires customers to come into the RV Park. Writing and consulting don't normally cause such problems.

2) Cause a risk to the owners' reputation.

Anything illegal could risk the reputation of owners, but if a guest is not doing anything illegal, immoral, or creating excessive noise or pollution, RVers should have no problem. Obviously, operating an illegal Website could become a problem if it attracted the attention of authorities.

3) Cause a nuisance to other guests or create a hazard or risk for the park:

Obviously, making money as a mechanic who works on cars or RVs, giving haircuts and shampoos, or grooming animals, or any number of other activities could be a nuisance to other guests if they increase traffic or take place outside the RV. And some of these activities could run afoul of local officials if proper permits weren't obtained. However, businesses that use computers inside the RV, or where the guest leaves the Park to call on clients should in no way compromise the owners.

4) Use excessive utilities.

First of all, if you are on extended stay and paying for electricity along with your site rent, using your computer extensively should not be a problem. And those using their computers for business may not actually spend as many hours on them as non-working guests emailing their friends and surfing the Internet. Overnighters use the park's electricity, but since those visitors aren't on site for a long period it's doubtful that much extra electricty would be used.

So if you are a working writer or consultant you should have no fear of breaking this particular rule, or of angering management because of your business activities. If you obey the other rules and don't call attention to your business, you should not have to defend your activities.

Some places we stay know that I'm a writer while others don't. Writing has no more impact on the RV Park than guests using their computers for emails and to surf the Internet, so there is little to be concerned about. The only reason I could think that management might kick someone out of a park for violating that rule would be that they use it as an excuse to get rid of someone they want to exclude for some other reason, which could be anything from discrimination based on race and nationality, or simply not liking the condition of their RV.

So do freelance writers need to fear being refused a site in an RV Park? The answer is no as long as you don't call unnecessary attention to yourself or your rig. Write to your heart's content and enjoy a thousand different views outside your window as you roam the continent. We RVing writers are a very lucky group of individuals.