WE MADE IT!!!

                                         Seen a herd of deer right outside our window!

                                               Gator we will be using!

What I seen this morning!

 

Well, we are here, got here about 4 pm yesterday, what a huge place, we are in a gated area with 2 other campworkers, nice people, eager to meet us, but they are leaving us because one couple have been here for 6 months and need to go home another couple are leaving because they want to be closer to a golf course, go figure, not for everyone I guess, but we are about 5 miles from the ocean, and within 3 big towns, with Walmarts, K-marts, Public's grocery store, anything we need, and all within 10 miles.  Two more couples are coming in this weekend, so we will go from newbies to most experienced, lol! Today we will be shown around by Jerry the ranger and what our duties will be! What the other workers are saying is we open the gates to the park by 8 am and close them at sunset, work a couple days in the Visitor center, check and make sure everyone is out of the park before closing the gates, check on the manatees(love that part) and that's about it!
                                Went into town to get a few groceries and when we got back there was a herd of deer right next to our mh, then after we got inside I looked out my window and there were a few more, I was able to get some cool pictures! Feels good to finally get here and relax, temperture is around 70-75, we have some cool nights they are telling us, but not like they have in Michigan!  Our satellite, internet and phone(weak signal but if I step outside it comes in better) all come in! We have a nice lot with green grass carpet, sewer and water! Only problem is that we will have to use our own shower because they do not have public showers for us to use, only problem with that is when our propane gets low we will have to break camp and go into town to refill, unless they deliver like they did in Texas.  I will take pictures today of our living area and surrounding areas. 
                                    Well, gotta get dressed and ready for Ranger Jerry to show us around! So until later, God Bless!!

HELLO ALABAMA!!!

                                                    Craig & Me at Oak Mountain State Camp Ground Alabama

                                                 Me too!
                                                  What a view from our big Windshield

                                                  Oak Mountain S.P. Alabama

                                                TEEPEE MOTEL IN TENNESSEE

Our best day so far as weather goes and for traveling!  Windy but no rain or accidents! We are at least a day behind schedule because of the accident that caused the traffic back up yesterday! I called Ken at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park and told him we will be coming in a day late because of the traffic back up, he said not a problem and to be safe, he said one of his hosts will be coming in late because their travel trailor flipped over in the wind from Hurricane Sandy, so I guess so far we have been fortunate!  We got off the road early today and are at the Oak Mountain State Park in Birmingham, Alabama, it is beautiful here so we wanted to relax a little and enjoy the park! Plan on being up early tomorrow so we can make up some time! 
                                                     Got a shower and a walk in before retiring for the evening, was able to even play some scrabble on facebook! Met the camphost here and swapped stories of camphosting experiences and the love of this lifestyle, they have been here for a year and plan on going to the Gulf State Park campground for next year!  We both agree that state campgrounds are so much nicer then the privately owned resort type campgrounds, more room and privacy but most of all so much more beautiful and scenic, plus all the wild life we see!  If we didn't have a deadline to catch we would stay here for a few more days because I have a nephew that lives near by and friends that we met at our first workcamp job in Texas that also live in Birmingham Al. and only a short distance from us and I would love to see again, told them on our way back home in the spring we will be able to stay here a little longer so we will be able to visit!
                                                  I included some pictures from a motel in Tennessee that are Teepees, even the office is a Teepee, thought it was so cool! Well, it's getting late so until next time God Bless!

OUR FIRST CAMPHOSTING JOB!

                                                 PORT CRESCENT STATE PARK!!

              THE PAVILION WE WILL BE USING FOR CAMPHOSTING ACTIVITIES!

VIEW OF THE LAKE FROM OUR CAMPSITE

 

THIS IS A BLOG THAT I NEVER PUBLISHED SO HERE IT IS A FEW MONTHS LATE!!

Here we are at our first camphosting job and what a beautiful place it is! Port Crescent is right on Lake Huron at the tip of the thumb!  We left Bay City State Park in the rain and arrived in the rain, so we have some drying out to do but today is suppose to be a warm sunny day in the 70's, but then the next few days will be raining! That's ok because we need one sunny warm day to get everything dried out and camp set up!  Waiting for Ranger Betsy to come over and greet us and let us know what and when we start!  The camphost site is beautiful and large, we have a pavilion for activities with storage units for all our crafts, we have a community firepit and a personnel one for our days off, we can see the beautiful lake from our site, so far there is only one camper here, right across from us, but they told us that on the weekend they get about 20 campers! 

I picked up a bunch of stickers, finger paints, plastic eggs and animals to put items in for kids to find around the campground, bought coffee cups for coffee hour, etc., got all of it at goodwill, we will be getting a $150 allowance for any items such as coffee, cups, cream, sugar, or whatever we need to do our camphosting job.  Can't wait, we have so many ideas! Saturday night Craig tried some of the campfire recipes he learned at camphost classes on the grandkids, they loved it!   We have proudly framed our Camphost Certificates and will have them on display, we are as proud of them as college degree, lol!

Well, we are waiting for the rangers to come and mow our area so we can finish setting up our campsite, once that is done I will post more pictures! Until then have a great day!

BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN!1

I know it's been awhile since I blogged but time to get serious about this again since we are back on the road again! Camphosted all summer in Michigan, first at Port Crescent State Park from May 1st to June first, then we camphosted at Tawas Point State Park for 6 weeks and then finished out at South Higgins Lake until Oct.15th! Now we are headed for St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park in Florida, we start Nov. 1st and will be there until the end of Feb.  Got out of Michigan just in time, it was getting soooo cold, but had an appointment I had to be at! Loved the fall colors and spending a few more days with the kids and grandkids! We are in Kentucky right now and getting ready to head into Tennessee!  Said our good-byes to everyone, which I hate, so I take my daughter-in-law Courtney's  advice and just say I will see ya in the spring! Well heading out for now, will finish this blog this evening!!!
                                What a day, we were rerouted because of a horrible accident on I-65 where a semi and van collided, 11 people were killed, yes, that is right 11, 10 were from one family, the truck driver crossed over the mediam and hit a van with 12 menenites, 2 children survived! We were backed up and rerouted in a 5 mile long back-up, we made 15 miles for the day, but thinking about the 11 day died breaks my heart, yeah, we lost a day of travel but they lost there lives! They are in our prayers, how horrible!! We are suppose to be to our new gig by Nov. 1st but don't think that is going to happen, will have to call the ranger and let him know, Ken is pretty nice guy and will understand, plus we are heading into Hurricane Sandy, so the weather hasn't been the best! We were both exhausted last night and we in bed by 8, lol, I fell right to sleep, Craid made it until 10! We are in a beautiful park but a little more then we wanted to spend but the next campground was another hour away and Craig said he was just too tired to drive anymore! 
                               Gotta get off here and get ready to hit the road! So until next time "God Bless"!