10/18/2026
🌲🏗️ Sunday at Buttonwood – Week 39 🏗️🌲
Good morning from Buttonwood!
I spent considerably less time in work boots this week and considerably more time sitting behind my desk.
And I needed it. 😂
For about three weeks, getting the new campsites open consumed most of my attention. If something didn't involve stone, sod, utilities, roads or getting an RV onto a campsite, there was a pretty good chance I wasn't dealing with it.
Unfortunately, owning a campground comes with this annoying thing called office work.
Apparently it doesn't disappear just because you're outside running a sod machine. 😂
So after getting all of our new sites open last weekend, I finally took a breath this week and started digging out from three weeks of neglected office work.
Meanwhile, construction certainly didn't stop.
🚐 The Guests Are Teaching Us
Our new campsites have now had a couple of weekends of actual use.
And we're learning.
There was an incredible amount of thought, engineering and planning that went into laying out this expansion.
But guess what?
We didn't get everything exactly right.
And I'm perfectly okay admitting that.
Some of the roads and turns need to be a little wider for today's larger RVs.
How did we figure that out?
Well...
The tire tracks through my beautiful new instant grass were a pretty good clue. 😂
In fairness, we also received about two inches of rain last Sunday. The new ground is still settling, so it certainly didn't take much for some of those big rigs to leave their mark.
There are ruts.
There are areas that will need repaired.
There are spots we'll widen or adjust.
And there will probably be more things we discover as people continue using the new section.
That's actually part of the plan.
🌱 Something My Dad Taught Me
My dad taught me something many years ago that I've remembered throughout this project.
When you're developing a new area, put in your main roads and your campsites—but don't be in too much of a hurry to make every edge permanent.
Don't immediately decide exactly where every sidewalk belongs.
Don't obsess over making every grass edge perfect.
Don't assume you've figured out every path people will take.
Let people use it.
They'll show you.
If everyone keeps walking across the same patch of grass...
Maybe that's where the sidewalk belongs.
If RVs consistently need to swing across the same corner...
Maybe that road needs to be wider.
You can spend countless hours looking at plans and trying to predict how people are going to use a space.
Eventually, though, there's no substitute for actually putting people in it.
So if you see a few tire tracks through our brand-new sod...
Don't worry.
We're collecting data. 😂
We'll let the new section settle, watch how our guests use it, and make adjustments where they're needed.
I would much rather learn those lessons now than rush to make everything permanent and spend the next 20 years wishing we'd done it differently.
🚜 Phase 2 Has Officially Started
While we're learning from Phase 1...
Final Grade Excavation has already started Phase 2.
Topsoil is being stripped and stormwater piping has begun.
Next they'll start working their way into the site connections and infrastructure for that next group of campsites.
So yes...
After spending the last few weeks desperately trying to finish campsites...
We're digging up the ground to build more campsites.
Apparently we haven't learned our lesson yet. 😂
💦 Anybody See a Snowman?
There's another new shape appearing beside the outdoor pool in this week's pictures.
And if you're wondering why we're building a giant stone snowman...
We're not.
That's the beginning of the splash pad!
Final Grade Excavation started preparing the subgrade this week.
In some of the pictures, you'll see the stone area beside the pool that almost looks like a snowman from above.
That's where another major piece of this expansion will eventually come to life.
After spending so much time concentrating on campsites these past few weeks, it's fun to start seeing activity shift back toward some of the amenities.
⛳ My Brother Is Still Landscaping...
Meanwhile, my brother and his landscaping crew continued working around the miniature golf course.
Stone walls are being installed around portions of the perimeter, allowing them to establish the final grades outside the course and prepare for landscaping and fencing.
I've given him enough grief about the number of plants he's installed over there.
So I'll just say this:
It's looking really good.
There.
I said it publicly.
He should probably screenshot this because I'm not saying it again. 😂
🏗️ And Inside the Building...
Work continued there as well.
Plumbers and electricians continued rough-ins, and the masons completed more masonry work.
We're continuing with the same philosophy we've had lately:
Keep moving forward anywhere we can.
Not every week produces a dramatic picture, but every completed piece is one less thing remaining on the list.
There's something else I've been thinking about lately that really doesn't have anything to do with construction.
Or maybe it does.
💭 How Do I Stay Accessible as Buttonwood Grows?
One of my favorite parts of owning Buttonwood is talking with our guests.
I genuinely enjoy when someone stops me while I'm making rounds.
I like hearing what you enjoyed.
I like hearing your suggestions.
I even want to hear when we didn't get something right.
Those conversations have helped shape Buttonwood over the years.
But I've also realized that growth creates a challenge for me personally.
With roughly 240 campsites, finding enough time for everyone was already difficult.
As Buttonwood grows toward nearly 400 campsites and cabins, it's going to become even harder.
Here's the simple math.
If 20 guests stop me and we talk for five minutes each...
That's 100 minutes.
And I can easily have another 20 people I'd like to talk with.
Before long, several hours have passed.
That's not a complaint.
It's actually a pretty great problem to have.
People want to talk to me because they care about Buttonwood. They want to tell me about their stay, ask about the expansion, share a story, offer an idea or sometimes just say hello.
I never want Buttonwood to grow to the point where our guests feel like the owners aren't accessible anymore.
At the same time, part of my responsibility is making sure I'm spending enough time working on Buttonwood so that this place continues getting better.
I haven't completely figured out that balance yet.
Maybe I never will.
But I know one big part of the answer.
Our team.
As Buttonwood gets bigger, having the right people becomes even more important.
People who care.
People who listen.
People who solve problems.
People who understand the kind of experience we want our guests to have.
I can't personally be everywhere at once.
But I can surround myself with people who care about our guests as much as I do.
And I think we have some pretty amazing people doing exactly that.
So if you've ever stopped me when I was running from one thing to another and I seemed rushed, please know it wasn't because I didn't want to talk with you.
Sometimes there are simply more conversations I'd like to have than there are hours in the day.
But please keep saying hello.
I'll keep working on the balance. 😊
This week felt a little calmer.
And after the last three weeks...
I'll take it.
We opened Phase 1.
We're learning from it.
Phase 2 is underway.
The splash pad has started.
Mini golf keeps getting closer.
Work continues inside the building.
And I've finally discovered the top of my desk again. 😂
Next week we'll keep moving.
And we'll probably repair a little instant grass along the way.
Until next Sunday...
We'll keep bringing the smiles, getting stuff done, and keeping it real.
That's Sunday at Buttonwood – Week 39.
