Readers who are members of SKP's will or course recognize this "landmark" as almost a "Mecca" for those who belong to this growing organization. Though not members, we decided since we were in the area to see first-hand what the home park and national headquarters of this organization were all about.

Our travels had taken us through the colorful Cajun Country in Louisiana, and we had a schedule which required us to be in Houston, TX in a couple of days. But one day was free, and we happily opted to use it to visit the SKP operation in Livingston, TX. As we approached Livingston from the labyrinthian back roads that toured us through portions of the Big Thicket, we found ourselves nearing town on State Highway 146. That was the first time it occurred to us we had no knowledge whatsoever where the SKP park was in relation to the town of Livingston. Our trusty dusty Trailer Life Directory is silent on SKP parks. Yet we reasoned that an operation of this size would surely be well publicized by signage, and if we simply checked along the main roads into town it should be easy to spot.

That assessment proved overly optimistic. As we drew closer -- somewhere between 6 and 7 miles -- to the target town, we suddenly spotted RVs on the west side of the road. Could it be we'd just stumbled into it? Then the sign: "Escapees Long Term Health Care". We'd heard about that one -- a managed care facility where RVers could live in their units in an assisted living environment. We reasoned that must also be where the RV park was, so slowed down and executed a rather tortuous U-turn on the two lane highway, borrowing liberally from the shoulders on either side. As we re-approached the entrance, we saw a smaller sign. It offered the further information that the RV park was some 1/4 mile further north. Curiously , that's approximately where we'd made the tight U-turn, but we'd seen no sign of an RV park there.

So around we went again -- another Ueee -- and cautiously headed north once again, this time straining to see any hint of the national headquarters of one of the nation's largest RV clubs. Fortunately there was no other traffic on the road at the moment, and creeping along to the very point we'd made our first U-turn we spotted what appeared to be a genuine antique sign, no more than perhaps 12" by 18", and with the paint so faded one could barely make out the fact it was announcing "Escapees RV Park" with an arrow. As we swung into the narrow entrance road, for the first time we were able to see a considerably larger sign facing the southbound traffic. Our first lesson in SKP'ing was simply this: Always approach their national headquarters from the north, or you'll almost certainly miss the turn!

We followed the signs a few hundred yards and soon found ourselves parked in front of a small office for registering new guests. We were very cordially greeted by two of the campers who were working the registration office. The welcome was not just perfunctory -- it was warm and genuine. We explained that we were not SKP members, but we wanted to purchase a year's membership so we could learn more about the Club, examine the publications, and perhaps sample a handful of their parks located in various parts of the country. Unfortunately we had encroached into the lunch hour, and we were told that the headquarters office, an attractive building located only 50 yards or so away, would re-open at 1:00. We left our RV parked in the registration area, and began to survey the surrounding area.

While the park wasn't completely full, most of the spaces were taken -- most with RVers who obviously weren't just overnighting as we would be doing. Most RV parks have a pleasant ambience, but there was something here that was noticeably different. There was a subtle but discernible sense of camaraderie among the guests which we would increasingly sense through our short overnight visit. We caught our first glimpse of the facilities offered by the park: A large social hall, where during the high season there is a daily "social hour" at precisely 4:00 pm (which apparently was to be focused primarily on daily news and announcements, as opposed to the more traditional activities described by those words); a small swimming pool, a smaller clubhouse with kitchen facilities and adjacent library, and even a small (slightly larger than phone booth) room appended to the office registration building which offered a modem line. This room is referred to as the "technology center". While it didn't fit precisely with the image we have of technology centers we're associated with in the business side of our lives, it fit nicely here.

Precisely at 1:00 pm the main headquarters opened for business, and we proceeded to sign up for a one year membership. The office staff was efficient, and apparently staffed by both paid employees and volunteers. With our new member cards in hand, we returned to the registration office and were assigned a space -- a site with water, power and electric for something under $7. We were escorted out to the site by one of the staffers, and slid into our assigned slip. The width of the sites seemed to vary considerably through the park. Some being reasonably spacious, while others (including ours) was perhaps 70 feet in length, but barely 18 feet in total width. We found it a tad on the crowded side, though surely not if measured only by the price of the stay. The shower and restroom facilities were spotless. The hookups where we were parked were shared hookups. Unfortunately our sharing neighbor had attched onto the only 30 amp outlet, leaving an unusable (for us) 50 amp outlet (there were no 20 amp outlets).

When I pointed our dilemma out to Dan, one of the staffers who escorts new guests to their sites, he said he'd find a solution to our predicament, and off he raced in his golf cart. When he returned, he had a power adapter in hand -- one which would convert the 50 amp outlet into the 30 amp outlet we could use. He explained the park had spare 50 to 30 amp converters for which they usually request a $20 refundable deposit. But this time he'd gone home and brought us his own -- one he'd apparently never had occasion to use. He did not request a deposit; he simply said "When you leave tomorrow, please just drop this off at the office and tell them it's Dan's". A remarkably friendly gesture, and this time one which seemed to say something about the trust these folks all had in their neighbors -- even new ones like us.

We had begun to see first hand why many of the SKP members express such a high degree of satisfaction with their membership in this Club. For them, it's not just a home -- it's a family. Since we're not full timers, our personal perspective is of course a bit different. We still have our family -- children, grandchildren, and many wonderful relatives, neighbors and friends -- and many of them are physically nearby when we're at home in Friday Harbor, Washington. If we had no such permanent home, I'm certain both our perspective and priorities would be quite different. Even so, this was proving to be a valuable opportunity to do exactly what we'd intended for this visit -- to learn more about the interests and preferences of "real" full timers, and to assess how the Escapees RV Club was addressing those needs.

Fortunately, what was on the agenda for that very afternoon would contribute significantly to that objective. Several times a week all of the new guests are given an opportunity to take the "wagon tour". This is literally a wagon on wheels, towed by a motorized vehicle, which winds its way through the entire complex, with a tour guide pointing out all of the facilities and points of interest throughout the park. The new members and guests all meet near the registration area, and the guide provides a welcome message and a short overview of the tour to follow. Next the group walks the short distance to the main headquarters building to get an "inside view" of the operations there. By far the most substantial portion of the operation is the "mail forwarding service". Many Escapees are "residents" of Livingston, Texas. The Club can assign a unique "home address" to each participating SKP member. And so long as the member takes all other steps which are consistent with establishing residency in Texas (beyond the scope of this little piece!) the Livingston address is "home". In one very large room in the Headquarters building, we could see the entire colony of Escapees living in Livingston, Texas. But we weren't looking at bricks and mortar. We were looking at file folders, each with a unique Livingston, Texas "address".

Mail forwarding is one service full timers prize highly. Even those of us who enjoy extended RV travels are aware of the critical need to "keep them cards and letters coming" while we're on the road. The Escapees service is uniquely tailored to the interests and needs of RVers, and the availability of their mail forwarding service is clearly a Club benefit which provides much needed support for RVers whose everyday home is where they park it.

A trip upstairs in the same building brought us to a large centrally located conference table, more than ample to comfortably seat the 15 or so of us touring the building. There we had several presentations by key players on the Clubs management staff. We learned more about the Escapee park system, the rules which have been established to help ensure space will be available to new guest members, a newly established "code of conduct" for RVers (which we applaud), and still other member benefits. Included in the latter category are voice mail and an email forwarding service. The latter struck us as being particularly far-sighted. Those members who choose to have their "permanent" email address as "name@escapees.com" can change their Internet Service Provider as often as they wish, but never have to change their email address. This is a particularly helpful service for full timers who find it necessary on occasion to change internet service providers.

The highlight of the presentations was a short welcome and overview done by Cathie Carr, whose mother and father had founded the club many years ago. As we listened to her presentation we were struck by the fact that she wasn't really "selling" us anything. We'd already ponied up the modest fee for a year's membership. What she was doing instead was explaining the "membership family" philosophy which we'd already observed in a few short hours at the park.

As the group went back downstairs and headed for the "wagon tour", we stayed behind for a moment to chat with Cathie. We had been impressed by her professionalism, sincerity, and genuine warmth. We know there are many fine RV clubs out there, but we fear many may find themselves so close to commercial pressures that some of the most beneficial characteristics of RVers joined together in groups or clubs may suffer in the process. Clearly not so here. We discussed the purpose of our visit with Cathy, and of course touched on our familiar theme of "modem friendly". Clearly with Cathy this is also a priority. But most importantly she has a keen understanding of and appreciation for the needs of full time RVers, and has focused the efforts of the Club on those issues which are of greatest concern to them. Rather than seeing "marketing" here, we saw "caring".

As will happen on occasion, our discussion continued well past the time we had intended, and as we crossed the street back to where the "wagon" had long ago departed, we saw it reappearing again -- it's mission completed.

While our own mission was hardly "completed", and while we intend to look more closely at the communications, benefits, and other attributes of SKP membership throughout the year, I believe we now have a better understanding of comments which we've heard from a number of full time RVers which are highly appreciative of both the services and philosophy of the "SKP family". Because RVing lifestyles differ across the spectrum, there will never be one RV Club which responds to the needs of all RVers. We may in some ways be examples of that fact, in that our own personal interests and perspectives are shaped by a set of RVing interest that differs in part from most full timers. But clearly the Escapee's RV Club has identified a segment of the RVing public which can benefit from both its core philosophy and its service offerings. And our initial impression is that it is providing a quality service to that group. Packaged as it is in flavors of concern, rather than commercialism, our short trip to Livingston has left with us a positive impression.

Note: While we don't here pretend to offer more than our own personal impressions from a quick visit, more comprehensive and specific nformation about the Escapees RV Club can be found at their website.

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