CINCINNATI — The "stay at home" order issued by Governor DeWine on Sunday has made life a bit more difficult for people whose homes are actually on wheels.
DeWine's order ended camping in state parks, meaning some RV owners need to find new places to park their lives fast.
While park rangers aren't chasing anyone out immediately, the parks plan to shut off electrical, water and sewer connections for RV camp sites means the clock is still ticking awfully fast.
"We were planning on coming up, visiting, going up through the East Coast, New York and stuff, and I don't think that's going to happen this year," said Richard Spitzfaden. He and his wife are both retired Texans who live in their RV, traveling the county. They came to Cincinnati to visit Spitzfaden's mother, but during their trip, rest areas shut down.
Then, when they had reservations to park their camper in Winton Woods, Governor DeWine issued the "stay at home" order. State parks closed as did cabins, showers and bathrooms in other public parks across the state.
"They told us that we could pay, but everything would be shut down," said Spitzfaden. "But we would be able to stay."
A spokesperson for Great Parks of Hamilton County said they kept just one site open for RVs with water, sewer and electric connections. That site is at Winton Woods, because it's closest to Cincinnati and able to serve both travelers like the Spitzfadens and people trying to avoid relatives in quarantine.
Typically, campers can stay for a maximum of 14 days at Winton Woods, but the park is making an exception to that rule during the COVID-19 pandemic.
