Winter Excursion 9, Day 90 The Life of a Camp Host

The park opened today after a three day closure for tree removal. We had 12 campers arrive. We did a good clean on the bathhouses in the morning before the new campers arrived.

For the most part it was a very slow day.

The find of the day was re-bar stake/loop thing. It's about a foot long.

I have no idea what it is used for, but it was definitely machine made.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 89 The Life of a Camp Host

I helped maintenance with a water repair on one of our sites. It was good to get it done as the site was closed due to a busted faucet.

The rest of the day was debris clean-up. I used a backpack blower and blew off all the roads in the park. I'm sure I'll be sore in the morning. The pile of logs and limbs continued to grow. It will be a huge bonfire if they ever burn it.

The park was closed again today, but will reopen tomorrow. I'm sure we will be full for the weekend. The weather has turned really nice, 60s and 40s.

The find of the day was this stick.

Look close at it. You can almost imagine the mouth and eye of a snake!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 88 The Life of a Camp Host

First day "on" and the maintenance crews (tree crews) showed up at 0800 and had the saws running by 0830! It is very interesting to watch them. They start at the bottom of the tall pine tree in the bucket and limb the tree on the way up with a pole saw. Then they get their chain saw out and cut about 6 foot lengths off on the way back down. Here's a few pics.

Notice the log falling that he just cut. And yes that is a power line just under him!

In all they are cutting about 30 trees. It makes a huge mess in the campground and we have park crews from High Falls State Park cleaning it up. They are stacking all this wood in a huge pile not far from our site. The plan is to eventually burn this pile. We hope we are gone when they do. Notice our satellite dish near the pile.

There are no campers in the park and there won't be any for two days. Hopefully all this debris is cleaned up by then.

We did laundry in the afternoon. Host duties were easy as the bathhouses and campsites are not being used.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 87 The Life of a Camp Host

It rained all night and a little this morning. It was just a drizzle.

After another lazy morning we did a few errands before we are "on" starting tomorrow. It won't be busy as the park is closed for the next two days. The maintenance crews are removing some dead trees.

I'm so happy to have the flattop set up. We had fried rice for dinner! And we used the Ninja to air fry the egg rolls to go with the fried rice! 

All is well in the Boss Camp!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 86 The Life of a Camp Host

I spent most of the day outside. Weather was nice for a change, low 60s and almost no wind! We've actually had the awning out. It's been too windy to use it almost since we got here. I got most of the outside stuff done except for the Gazebo Screen Tent. We are still debating where to put it. We haven't needed it yet as the bugs are not out. I'm sure that will change in the future. Here's a few pics of the site. I finally got the flattop set up. It will be nice to have it.

We spent the late afternoon watching football. The first game was a blowout but the second one get us on the edge of our seat! I'm sure our Grandson is in mourning, he's a Bills Fan!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 85 The Life of a Camp Host

We had a lazy morning and then headed out to get propane and groceries.

The snow is almost completely gone. You have to look hard for a shady spot to find it.

We sat outside in the late afternoon and had another campfire. Temps were almost in the sixties and the sun was shining!

Although we've been here for over three weeks we still don't have all the outside stuff set up. Temps are forecast for the 60s tomorrow and we are looking forward to some outside time and getting camp set up finished.

One more day off and then back to work although the campground is closed Monday to Wednesday. They are going to remove some large, dead trees. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 84 The Life of a Camp Host

We hung out a camp all day. We did a little camp maintenance and relaxed.

The roads in the area are still a little icy. They have no snow removal equipment. We decided to wait until tomorrow to go into town. According to the forecast we have only two more nights below freezing. I hope the weather guessers are correct, these freezing nights are getting old. It will be nice to not have to worry about freezing faucets and how much propane we have left.

Cath made a super beef and barley soup (almost a stew) and we had our co-host over for dinner.

We will see what the day brings tomorrow! 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 83 The Life of a Camp Host

The park did not open until 1100. We checked all the faucets again this morning as temps were in the teens again last night.

We did have a few campers leave and four new ones arrived. I advised all of the new arrivals about dripping the faucets. They told me they had heated hoses. My response was your heated hose will not heat the faucet! I hope they comply with my request.

Most of the snow is gone and our dump valves thawed in the afternoon. Temps climbed into the high 30s.

One of the new arrivals complained about dog poop on their site. I was baffled as I had just cleaned that site this morning. I asked them to show me the poop and they pointed it out. It was not dog poop it was goose poop! We have a tame goose around the park that likes to see it's own self in the chrome on hub caps and bumpers. For the past few days this goose had been hanging around the area near the site these folks had occupied. I raked the entire site and they were happy!

I did not have a find of the day, but the sunset we had this evening certainly qualifies. Here's the view of it from our campsite.

We are off for the next four days. We will see what adventures we find!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 82 The Life of a Camp Host

Today may have been the slowest host day ever! We have four campers in the park for a total of six people. The park was "closed" due to the snow storm.

We woke up to a whooping 16 degrees! It was sunny and warmed up to 35. Most of the snow is gone mainly due to the sun.

We did almost nothing and hung out in the camper most of the time. I did check the campers this morning and walked the campground this afternoon to make sure the faucets were still dripping. Temps are forecast in the teens again tonight.

The find of the day was the snow. Here's a few pics of the lake from the Peninsula Pavilion .

I'm hoping for warmer temps tomorrow as our dump valves are frozen and we need to dump!
   

Winter Excursion 9, Day 81 The Life of a Camp Host

As there are only four campers in the park it was an easy day. We spent most of the day just waiting on the snow and watching TV.

The snow started around 1400 and lasted until 1900. Here's a few pics.

We ended up with about 2 inches, but that was enough to close everything in the area including the campground. The only staff are us hosts!

The find of the day was this clothes pin.

It ended up in the trash!

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 80 The Life of a Camp Host

It was 21 outside this morning when we started our first day "on". The faucets were all dripped, but one failed and cracked the housing. We shut off the water to that site and we will repair it when the weather improves, but that won't be for a few days.

I know I keep writing about the weather, but it is so unusual! We are expecting a few inches of snow tomorrow and temps remaining below freezing until the weekend. That snow will cripple this area. They have no snow removal equipment!

Most of the campers left and there are only four left in the entire campground with none scheduled to arrive for the next few days.

The find of the day was this dual shutoff valve with a pressure meter still attached. I think it was frozen to the faucet when the camper tried to remove it. It will go to the lost and found as the owner is a local.

  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 79 The Life of a Camp Host

We had a lazy morning after the hard rain most of the night.

We put some ribs on around 1200. We planned on the 3-2-1 method. This is the first batch of ribs on the new grill and they turned out perfect. The more we use this grill the more we like it!

We played some cards in the afternoon. While playing we had a visit from our co-host's cats. Here's a pic of the two of them. They are indoor/outdoor cats and are a little skittish. They will not let us get to close. I must say though they are good mousers. I've found a few around our camper. 

We watched the NFL games and then hit the rack.

Heavy rain is forecast again tonight. We are keeping an eye on the weather. Snow is still in the forecast!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 78 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was the warmest day we've had since we arrived here. Temps were in the 60s with light winds. We spent the late afternoon by our first campfire since arrival.

The weather is going to change! We are expecting some heavy rain tonight and into tomorrow morning. It will be mild again tomorrow after the rain, but then the fun begins. Sunday and Monday night temps will be in the teens with daytime highs in the 30s. Tuesday and Tuesday night will be snow! It's just a question of how much. Some forecast say up to a foot! If we get any at all it will cripple and shutdown this area. I'll let you know what happens on Thursday!

We filled our empty propane tank today and will top the other one off on Sunday. We can run off the batteries for a few days if necessary, but have the generator if required.

And yep we will be on duty during this crazy weather. Hopefully all the campers leave. Time will tell. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 77 The Life of a Camp Host

After a lazy morning we left camp and drove the 40 minutes to Robins Air Force Base. They have a super nice commissary and we did a little shopping. Back at camp we were not sure we could fit everything into the fridge and cabinets, but we somehow managed. We won't need any more food and such for the rest of the month!

On the other side of the lake from us there was a fire today. Not sure if it was a control burn or a small forest fire. There was a lot of smoke and it blew right into our campground.

All in all it was a good lazy first day off. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 76 The Life of a Camp Host

Our last day "on" was another very slow day. We had no one leave and three arrive for a total of five in the campground. I told Cath not to expect this for long. We don't want to get spoiled.

It was also one of our favorite days...LAUNDRY DAY. It was not too bad. We did not have any competition in the laundry room as there is hardly anyone in camp. And yes it is free to hosts!

The find of the day was this hair clip.

Baby let your hair fall down!

Last chore today was to empty all the trash cans scattered around the park. There is only nine of them and we like to leave them empty for the next host on duty. While doing the ones at the boat ramp we followed in a lady who stopped near one of our cans. She got out of her SUV and immediately lite a cigarette. While we were emptying the can she asked if it was OK to smoke here. We said "sure"! She told us she was not allowed to smoke at her apartment complex so she drives over to here indulge. Her apartment complex is about 10 miles from here!😮😕
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 75 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a super slow day. We had two campers leave and none arrive. There is only two campers in the park.

We had our first "late arrival with no reservation". He showed up around 2000. We did the paperwork, got his $$, and put him on a site. The guy was from Michigan and drove to here in one day. He is leaving tomorrow and driving to Florida to do some fishing. He is towing a boat and slept in his truck last night!

The find of the day was this bobber.

Even with the cold weather we've been having these local guys are still fishing!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 74 The Life of a Camp Host

Once again it was not real busy. I think the cold weather is keeping campers away. We did have a few leave and a few arrive. We will have four in the campground tonight! I did cleanup a few extra areas (not sites) in the campground just to keep busy.

We met a camper while we were finishing up the bathhouses. He wanted to chat and introduce us to his family. He has three boys and one girl. The oldest is twelve. The youngest just turned three. I'm telling this story because the youngest is a boy and his name is Ruger Evinrude Smith! We got a big kick out of that. Talk about a southern Redneck! That were actually a very cute, nice family.

The find of the day were these mushrooms growing right next to the campground road.

There are no Hobbits in the area and I'm sure they are not "magic mushrooms". I'll keep an eye on them.

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 73 The Life of a Camp Host

It was chilly this morning, but there was no wind. As soon as the sun came up it started warming. It actually got to 50 today. That might be the warmest since we arrived here.

There is only six campers in the park, so it was a slow day. The bathhouses were hardly used.

I have been fooling with the satellite since we arrived here. I have probably tried 20 different placements of the dish. Since we were not busy and since it was NFL football playoff day I decided to fix this once and for all. After trial and error for 4 hours I finally had the light in my head turn on! I can't believe I had not tried this spot before, but I found the sweet spot. Not only is it a sweet spot, but the signal strength I'm getting now will even allow TV in a hard rain storm! I'll sleep better tonight..LOL

The Find of the Day was this painted rock.

I'm particularly happy with the colors. I'll hide it again for another Kid to find.

That's it for today. I'm watching NFL Football in HD with a super great signal!
  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 72 The Life of a Camp Host

The high today was 36! I keep trying to remember we are in the south.

Today was the last of our four days off and it's forecast to be 24 tonight. Tomorrow morning will be a little chilly.

We made one last trip to the grocery for some last minute things to gets us through the next four days.

We did a little laundry at camp. We get free laundry as one of our bennies. Only thing is we have to run the machines. LOL.

Weather is supposed to start warming a little starting tomorrow. I'll let you know the day after tomorrow if the "Weather Guesser" is correct.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 71 The Life of a Camp Host

The ice storm did not happen. All the bad weather stayed just north of us. The campground was closed due to the forecast. There are only 3 campers in the park. The park system did not make folks leave, just the park employees were not here. I guess that leaves the hosts in charge, but we were off today.

We did have a camper arrive around 1630. The truck and the camper were covered with snow. I'm not sure where they came from.

Cath and I just hunkered down, played some cards and watched TV

Winter Excursion 9, Day 70 The Life of a Camp Host

We drove to Wally World in Forsyth to do a little grocery shopping. It is a regular sized Wally World. Not like the one the size of a football field we visited last week. This will be our new go to!

Back at camp we got everything put away and had some lunch.

I worked on the satellite this afternoon. We are dealing with technical issues with DirecTV. For the most part we got them resolved. If it wasn't for the trees around our site we would have no issues. I've found some work arounds!!

We are forecast to get hit with an ice storm starting tomorrow morning. Time will tell. I'll tell you how it was tomorrow evening...LOL. Propane and water tanks are full, batteries are charged, let it ice.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 69 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was our first real day off. We did a little exploring, got the propane tanks filled and work gloves for Cath (see needs to work, LOL) from TSC. 

Checked a few tire stores in the area. I'll need truck tires before we head out to Oregon this spring.

Our weather is cold, 40 today and in the low 20s tonight. There is a chance of an ice storm later this week. Time will tell.

The fires out west are terrible. We feel sorry for the folks in Los Angeles.

Tomorrow we will do some food shopping and laundry and then hunker down for the ice storm. The locals are freaking out. We hope it's not as bad as they are planning for. 

I've got some finds of the day saved up, but will only post them when we are working.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 68 The Life of a Camp Host

These cold temps have led to easy days for us. There is almost no one in the campground and the few that are here just hunker down in their campers.

The bathhouses were once again barely used. I'm sure in the future we will be able to report just the opposite,

Temps tonight are forecast to be in the mid to low 20s. Scary for the locals, no big deal for us.

The find of the day was these dog leashes.

They were brand new and I was surprised the owner forgot them. We called the owners and they said, "thanks we will pick them up when we come back". Many of the campers here are "locals" and frequent the park often.

We are "off" for the next four days! We will be dong some exploring and getting to know the area.

Once again all is well in the Boss Camp!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 67 The Life of a Camp Host

It started raining this morning around 0400. It finally slacked off by 0830 which was nice as I started my day around then. It was 59 deg when I went outside, by 1400 it was 41 deg with a 17 mph wind! The chill would go right through you. The temps continued falling and will be below freezing tonight!

After yesterday today was a breeze. We had five campers leave and one arrive for a total of six in camp. The bathhouses were hardly used. Once again we dripped all the faucets.

The find of the day was these shapes.

I'm sure they are from some game/toy, but were on three different sites.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 66 The Life of a Camp Host

The weather has been cold at night, usually below freezing. Last night I forgot to disconnect the city water hose. I woke up at 0130 for a bathroom visit and the toilet would not flush...frozen hose! I went to the kitchen and the faucet dripped when open. After a few minutes the drip got faster and the water pressure returned. I went outside in slippers, shirt, and undies..burr, disconnected the city water and dripped the faucet. I won't forget it again. Weather forecast has us below freezing for at least the next ten nights.

We had four new campers arriving today and over 20 leaving. We started at 0800 this morning and we did not finish until 1530. It was a long day, but everything is done.

The find of the day was this.

One of the first checks in the morning is the boat launch. There was a "company" advertising  stuff for the duck hunters with a small canopy display. When I drove through with the host cart they called me over and gave me the above thing in the pic. I looked puzzled and they thought they were funny when they gave me my "Pop Tart Case". And yes it had a Pop Tart in it that I ate for breakfast. I thought at my age I had seen it all!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 65 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was our first day "on" by ourselves. The campground is full with only two sites not occupied. We did have a few arrive and a few depart. We started to "deep clean" the bathhouse one room at a time. We actually got compliments right away!

I spent most of the day just getting the "land of the land" of the campground. I think we got it...LOL.

Our maintenance guy brought us all the supplies, equipment, and shirts we had asked for. We are set for the next four months!

The find of the day was this dart.

I think is from that little brat that followed us here from George L Smith SP. It looks like the same ammo he used.

Tomorrow will be super busy, so a good night's sleep is in order.
  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 64 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was our first day "on". It was an easy one, only five campers leaving. Our co-host worked also so we split up the duties. We are finding the staff here to be super friendly which makes this job even better. We are still loving the park and the area.

We started working on the main bathhouse. We think in a few days we will have it to our standards!

As we are working now you will get a "find of the day" when we are on. Here's todays.

As usual when I find jewelry I'm hoping that it is a priceless piece worth millions! So far my hopes have not come true!😔
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 63

I did a few things outside getting things setup. Here's our new welcome mat, thanks to Brian and Nicole.

Cath made a huge batch of Chili. The camper smells like cumin! She sharded some with our co-host and sent some cookies to the kiosk (gatehouse). I think we are going to be liked here thanks to Cath!

I did some finishing touches getting our host cart ready. 

I also spent some time with the maintenance crew learning about the sump pumps at the bathhouse.

We are "on" for the next four days so we went out to dinner at a local TexMex restaurant. The food was good and the margaritas great. There are many Mexican restaurants in the area I'm sure in the next four months we will try most of them.

The weather is cold. Low 50s and freezing at night. It is forecast to stay like that for the next week or so.  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 62

HAPPY NEW YEARS!🎉🎆

I think we had one of our best nights sleep since we left home! It was just nice to know that our new host job is going to be fine. We were use to the one we'd had for the past three years. This one is going to be just as good!

I spent the morning shadowing the current host. He has years of experience here. So now that I know the "ropes" I'm on my own the day after tomorrow.

We went to the local Walmart this afternoon. It's the biggest one we have ever seen! I had to use my cell phone just to find Cath in the store..LOL.

Back at camp we did some more setup, but we are not done. I will post some pics of the site when we get it all setup. We are very happy with this site.

Here's a few pics of our view from the site for this evenings sunset. I guessing we will get some better sunsets in the future.