Response to 89 Days
This is part of a comment that was left on the" 89 days" post.
Is your "89 days till..." a GOOD sign or a BAD sign? How do the
locals(BRL,Wilderness,Twin Rivers etc.) really feel about this
upcoming season? Are they seeing a decrease in reservations for
this summer yet?
It differs from place to place. First, as you have seen from poll, most of the readers of these posts are from BRL and I have not heard from anyone that is not coming back. Having said that I know that Linda is worried, but I think that is just her nature. Wilderness is in the process of changing owners. I've heard that the new owner plans on doing a lot of cabin repairs plus new carpet and furniture. I think they plan on changing their reservation plan, allowing people to pay for their room separate from their meals. So I think that Wilderness will be in a guest recovery plan for a few years and it won't have anything to do with the Taum Sauk event. A neighbor that works at Twin Rivers told me they are having a normal amount of reservations at this time. So my personal feelings are that this will be a fairly normal summer, except for one factor. If the Shut-Ins is open for day use (ie. no camping) I think that the area will see a big increase in tourism. Why? Because lots of people that have not been to the area before will want to drive down and see the damage/recovery for themselves. I know that when Pam and I went to Alabama to see Pam's sister in January we went out of our way to look at some of the Katrina damage. Just this past Saturday we had a couple from the Springfield area stop by the pottery after they had driven out past the Shut-Ins and they said they had not been to Lesterville since they spent their honeymoon at Wilderness 22 years ago. So I'm not worried about the season.
posted by staff @ 7:42 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
We are avid BRL'ers. My parents (mom) has been going to BRL since she was in her mid-20's, tomorrow she turns 79. for 60 some-odd years people have loved BRL and the river and the essence of the area. I don't think any flood, damage or color of water will change that. The people I talk to who know and love the Black River intend on being there this summer as always. There is something special there that exists whether the clear water does or not.
Thanks Lee for taking the time, energy and commitment in keeping us all informed. We truly appreciate it.
See you soon! We intend to come see the river again soon! And we will be there faithfully this August!
The OTooles
If your family has enjoyed BRL for 60 years, yours and mine probably overlapped vacations at some point. I haven't been back in nearly a lifetime though not for lack of desire.
I remember catching black baby catfish & crawfish & keeping them as long as reasonably possible in a coffee can with pebbles, rocks & water, then returning them (hey, catch & release!) to the river before they expired, the weekly & always shocking Cutting Of The Tie at dinner, the bat that hung just outside the dining hall door with the scale that never contained the promised Fortune, Diane & Danny Onder (where are they now?), the single tether ball, the wooden stilts, the nifty pinball machine, BINGO!,the hayride, the very fantastically scary bridge (sadly gone; why couldn't it have remained for pedestrians?), the campfires. . .
The memories go on and on. The people and place are unforgettable. If anyone posts photos of those years, please link us. I have a few meager minutes of weathered video when the swimming pool was brand new (diving for pennies anyone?), but the getting of screen captures is more than I can manage. I'd love to see it as it was back then.
What a fine place to miss!
-Feeling Nostalgic on a Sunday Morning
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