WENT ON A WILD HOG KILL!!

 

 

 DEER IN FRONT OF OUR LAUNDRY ROOM AND 4X4 DUMP TRUCK WE USE!

 

 

 

                                      

 

THE POLARIS WE USE FOR CHECKING OUT TRAILS OR JUST FOR FUN!

 

 

                    THE ELECTRIC GATE WE LIVE BEHIND, WE HAVE A CODE TO GET IN!

 

                                                   MORE DEER!

                                  OUR ONLY NEIGHBOR, BROOKS THE OTHER VOLUNTEER!

                                                        OUR HOME!

                                                  BONFIRE PIT!

 

                                         OUR HOME IN THE DISTANCE!

 

                                                   DEER THAT ME AND LENNY CAME UPON!


Had a unique experience yesterday! I was telling a ranger that I haven't seen any wild hogs yet, he says "jump in my truck, if you don't mind  riding along I just got a call there are 3 wild hogs down the road and I have to shot them", I said "hell yes, let's go"!!  I stayed by the truck while he and another guy went out in the swamp looking for them, I heard three shots, I guess they got 2, they dragged one out for me to check out, it was a sow and she was huge, the other one was a boar and one got away! Wild hogs are so distructive here, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage, they have to constantly keep them under control because they breed like rabbits!  But I couldn't wait to tell Craig, he was out cutting grass most of the day, which he enjoys on a big Z-mower! 
                                          Got sick of waiting on the camera charger to come so I drove to a Best Buy in Vero Beach to day and bought a battery charger! Been taking pictures of nature all day as you can see! But most of all I got to take over 200 pictures of my e-bay merchandise so I can list my Christmas items!  I bet now that I have this charger mine will show up tomorrow!!
                                          Craig took Brooks the other volunteer out to shut the main gate and make sure everyone is out for the night!  He is a sweet guy, I think he is lonely because his wife wouldn't be here for a couple of weeks yet! I told him we'll have a bonfire this weekend after we finish at the visitor center, we'll see if Pat and Jerry want to join us too! 
                                               Getting use to this place now and loving it, I feel like I am living on a farm but instead of cows and chickens we have deer, manatees, and wild hogs!  Craig loves it, he never has been the social butterfly I am, lol!  Can't wait until the other couple show up in December, I guess they are quite the characters, they sit around a bonfire about every night, this is like the 2nd or 3rd time they have been here and have a few good stories to tell! I still miss my kids and grandkids, can't get away from that, my sons are going thru some rough times right now but are tough and know what they gotta do, my daughter's son and my Grandson has been very ill with Menegitis in Arizona, she is in Virginia and worried sick but he is doing well now, thank God! They have always put one foot in front of the other and kept on going, always making me proud! 
                                               Well, tomorrow when we all wake up we will find out if we have a new president or the same guy! We voted absentee ballot before we left Michigan!  So you all get out there and vote!!!! Until then next time, God Bless!
                                              

BUSY,BUSY,BUSY!!

                                                   The turtle shell we found!

                                           The egg inside the turtle shell!!
SAT. 11/3
We have been very busy as they have been showing us around the trails, getting keys, checking trails out on our own with the gator, that was fun!  The new guy showed up today and we had to help get him set up, real nice guy with a 31' travel trailor with a couple slides, his name is Brook, his wife will be showing up in a couple of weeks,she had to get her Mom set up in an assisted care facility! 
                                          A few days ago we seen a gofer turtle shell that was laying along a trail, we took the gator and picked it up, when Craig looked inside of it he said there was a golf ball in it, but after looking closer it was an egg, yes, an egg! He said what ever killed it must not have been able reach it or it was too hard to break thru, but what a cool find! Can't wait to show the grandkids! If you go to my friend Snookie's blog you will be able to read about the turtles! http://quinnsawesomejourney.blogspot.com/2010/05/5302010-one-egg-two-eggs-three-eggs.html 
                              We got our screen up on our awning and strapped down, got the picnic table where we want it, chairs unpacked, ebay stuff out of the car and into the motorhome! Set out for awhile and drank a few beers and listened to some music, then the mosquitos came, ugh, they are real bad at dusk and dawn, but once it is full light or dark they go away!  Then we get to watch the deer, it is amazing how close they get to us, within 3 feet, they know we're there but as long as we don't move they keep on grazing, we even had the radio playing, Lenny doesn't know what to think of them, he stares and does a low growl! Craig warned me to not let Lenny get too close to the high weeds because of poisonous snakes, there are pigmy rattle snakes, coral snakes, cotton mouth and copperheads, or yeah, don't forget about the regular rattlers! Then there are the big spiders and scorpions, not to mention the giant wild hogs and alligators! I told him if I see any of them that Lenny's on his own because I be gone, lol, just kidding, I will grab Lenny then run!  So I make sure I carry a stick with me at all times and don't go near high weeds!!
                                   Tomorrow we start our first full day by opening the front gate, working at the visitor center from 12:30 to 4:30, then in the evening we check  the trails to make sure everyone is gone then lock the front gate! If the visitor center needs cleaning we do that, but the other volunteers said they cleaned it pretty good today, they had one visitor, said we may get one or two, can get boring, I don't know how, I will be taking my computer, they have TV and dvd player with a lot of nature movies, books, microwave, refrigerator, big rocking chairs, etc.
                                   We washed and waxed our HHR today because for some reason there is 3 big white marks across the right side of the hood, like the paint was wiped off, took it to Advanced Auto and had a guy look at it, he said looks like brush marks from a car wash, I told him I went to a touchless care washes, he suggested we buy an electric buffer and buffing compound and wax and see if that got the marks out, well after spending over 50 bucks and working on it all day it faded the marks a little but they are still there, so I am going to take it to a dealer since it is still under warrantee and if they don't fix it I will try to turn it into our insurance!  I am hoping it isn't from being towed behind the motorhome!  We live on a very dusty road with white sugar sand and it makes a mess out of our car, doesn't even look like we washed it after one trip to town!
                      
SUN: 11/4  FIRST DAY OF WORK!!
                  Had to unlock the front gate at 8 am and unlock the bathrooms. Carol and Stan, other volunteers left today so we have the new guy Brook and us on northeast side and Pat and Jerry on the northwest side. We worked at the Visitor Center today 12:00 to 4:30... Relaxing and enjoyable, had about 7 visitors plus 3 workers! Place was super clean so I played on the computer and Craig watched movies on the big screen, took our lunch with us, but they failed to tell us we can't drink the water from the sink because it is unsafe, so I ran into town and got us some ice tea from Mickey Dee's!  We then had to check and make sure everyone was out of the reserve and then lock the gate at dusk, had to ask 3 vehicles to leave or they would be locked in, was a little nervous about that but they were fine with it and very polite!  Long day but an easy day, tomorrow Craig has to cut grass around the office and horse stables, he gets to use the fancy z-mower, so we'll see how that goes!!
                              
 Well, gotta get off here for now, have a good one!  By the way, I am waiting on the charger for my camera yet, hopefully it will be here by Monday! So good night and God Bless!

1 CAMPWORKER GONE 2 LEFT!

We had 2 volunteers here on the Northwest side when we arrived and on the Northeast side are volunteers  Pat and Jerry! One set of volunteers left here today after being here for 6 months and are coming back in April, the other set are leaving here Sunday, they are leaving because they just don't care for it here, too secluded they say, they have only been here for a month, there was another volunteer arriving this weekend but their travel trailer got blown over from the winds of Sandy, now they don't  know when they will arrive! Soooo, it looks like after Sunday we will be the only ones on this side and Pat and Jerry the only ones on the Northeast side!  Jerry showed us around yesterday and today and this place is massive, 22000 acres and only 6 rustic campsites the rest is a reserve with horse stables and paths, a fireman's cabin (they have several controlled burns here), hundreds of hiking and horse trails, next weekend they are having a marathon run over 100 miles thru the trails, they will be out there for 24 hours!  We will be taking turns at the visitor center on Sat. for about 6 hours, opening and closing the front gates, mowing the trails, around the buildings, and our area, but we get to use a z-mower which Craig loves, I have to be trained on it yet, count manatees and scrubjays, make sure all the bathrooms have toilet paper (2 in the visitor centers, 2 rustic outhouses, clean the visitor center while we are on duty there, which is every other week, vacuum and clean the offices once a week, take the dump truck or gator out every night around dusk and make sure all the visitors have left befor the gate is shut!  Sounds like a lot but we only work a total of 20 hours a week!  More then we expected but not any heavy physical work or a lot of walking for Craig!
                                I am waiting for a new charger for my camera to arrive or I would be posting more pictures of the deer, manatees, horses, cranes,herons, etc. I have yet to see the 350 pound wild hogs yet but they laugh at me and tell me I will see them when I least expect to!! Jerry and her husband are about our ages and have an older class C motorhome with 3 cats, one they rescued while here, they took it to a cat rescue and they had no room there for about 3 weeks so she took it home and gave it a name, lol, sounds like my daughter Susan!  She told me this gig will be like none we have ever done, there is no camphosting here because there are no rv campers, the only campers here our backpackers and they have to hike back in for miles before they get to a campground and when they get there it VERY rustic, no bathroom, electricity, just a few benches around a firepit, ugh, I give them a lot of credit, maybe when I was younger but not now!!
                            We will start working on Sunday at the visitor center because the gal the does it then will be out of town, but are official start in Monday! So wish us luck, we will either really, really like it or really, really hate it! Ah, the life of a volunteer!!!
                                                      Ok, out of here, have a great day and God Bless!!
                           

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"!