Sometimes during a hectic summer, we overlook things we would normally see. Getting away for the summer has shown us something we should have been paying attention to.
During the busy season, it is all about work. Tourists flock to town, employee management causes everyone all sorts of grief. As the summer dies down, we think of taking time off. We go the same places we go every fall or winter. See the same family, forget about work.
Perhaps we should be paying attention to new places, new ideas, struggles that could just as easily be our own. Some examples of what I mean.
Gold Beach is a tourist town. For the most part, we, (Gold Beach) depend on the flow of traffic, mainly from the south and from the valley, to bring in a large amount of our yearly revenue:
- Bed tax
- fuel
- food purchases
- Jet Boat riders
- vacation rentals
- RV Park income
- fishing and fishing guide revenue
Yes, they do jam up Ellensburg, parking lots, side streets, etc. Many oversize RV’s hang out onto the street as they try to get gas. We tolerate and complain and are then thankful when things get back to normal.
For the most part, all this depends on tourist flow. The same way it does in the mountain town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Yes, they have a bigger population. Yes, they have more traffic because they are on the busiest cross-country interstate highway in the country. Yes, more businesses and employees are dependent on this flow than in Gold Beach. But both towns are much the same.
Gold Beach is one highway slide away from being closed for a month or more. Glenwood Springs just had a landslide wipe out a large portion of the 4-lane interstate. It could be closed for more than a month. With detours that will add more than 100 miles to a trip. IF. . . you still want to get to Glenwood Springs. To say their 2021 tourist season is a bust would be putting it mildly.
Gold Beach could have a fire (we pray it doesn’t happen to Gold Beach or any place for that matter). The town could be gone, or the smoke chases away the tourist flow. The Black Hills in South Dakota has an air quality index that is unsafe for sensitive groups. Glenwood Springs also has the same lousy air from western fires.
Gasoline prices are stable for the moment, but what would $5 a gallon gas do to the tourist flow?
My point of all this is not to scare anyone but to point out that we sometimes lose sight of what is essential in all the frantic summer season. Covid should have taught us that it would not take that much to devastate us again. Was it that great to have a summer off while Covid was placing restrictions on travel and business?
When the season has calmed this year, take time to go someplace you have never been, look around, and see that what we have in Gold Beach is exceptional. The area, even filled with tourists, is still a great place to call home.
Remember what the philosopher Leif LeFevre once said. “With an attitude of gratitude.” It seems that we need to appreciate all we have and visit places that make us look at our hometown with an eye towards what could be if just one thing were to change. One dramatic event.
This summer on the road is opening our eyes to new ideas and opportunities. Take a vacation to someplace new this year and open your eyes to what you have and how you can promote your business in your hometown.
Guest Author: EsQue