Winter Excursion 9, Day 118 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was Thursday and that means we get to leave camp for a few hours. We still do not have a co-host!

We left camp around 1000 and headed to Wally World to do our shopping for the week. Then we headed to Chevo's Mexican Restaurant. The food was excellent. We will go back again.

We drove to Gray a small town about 20 miles away and visited the largest Ace Hardware Store we've ever seen. We spent about an hour there. They had a lot more than just hardware!

On the way back to camp we stopped at Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site. It's only a few miles from camp. We will go back when we have more time. The Ranger offered us a host job when he found out we host at Dames Ferry. He was actually looking for a summer Maintenance Host, but we don't want to be here in the summer. Temps would be brutal!

Back at camp we checked out the Campground and Bathhouses and had a light dinner after the Mexican Feast we had for lunch.

The find of the day was this old bungee strap.

It's in the trash now.

The bird of the day is no bird at all!

It's a damn squirrel! And you all know how much I love squirrels!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 117 The Life of a Camp Host

We finished all our duties by noon. We had a quick lunch and then got the Screen Gazebo set up in the afternoon.

It will be nice to have the Gazebo as temps are warming up and that means bugs! The Mylar top our camping friends made for us keeps the gazebo about 5 degrees cooler than the outside (in the sun) temperature. It will be great, we get the afternoon sun.

The find of the day was this small bungee cord.

It will come in handy holding down our propane tank cover. After 8 years ours finally broke. The bird of the day is a Mourning Dove.

I always thought it was Morning Dove not Mourning Dove! The stuff you learn from Merlin!

  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 116 The Life of a Camp Host

Ground Hog Day. Today was just like yesterday. Only a few campers in the park and duties were easy.

Temps got close to 80 with low humidity. It's so nice to be able to sit outside!

The find of the day was these pennies.

They were on a picnic table at a site I cleaned. And to think I thought I wasn't worth 2 cents!

We had another super sunset this evening.

We get these sunsets almost every evening!

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 115 The Life of a Camp Host

The campground remains almost empty, but I'm sure we will make that up this coming weekend. We are booked solid!

We did our normal duties and then hung out at our site. We had our first taste of temps in the 70s today so we spent the afternoon outside.

The find of the day was these missiles. 

I thought that kid was gone, but it looks like I need to watch out for an ambush.

Here's our new thing. It's "The Bird of the Day". We won't do this everyday, but when we get a good bird pic on our feeder I'll post it.

It's a Pine Warbler!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 114 The Life of a Camp Host

Typical for a Sunday almost everyone in the campground left. We got the sites all cleaned up and the bathhouses done and then just relaxed by the campfire and watched the sunset.

The find of the day was this "widget".

Even after searching with google lens I have no ides what it is!

Today was day 20 without a co-host. We wish one would show up!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 113 The Life of a Camp Host

For a Saturday it was a slow day. We have 10 empty sites! I think it's the cold weather. A warm up is in the forecast. I guessing business here will pick up in the coming weeks.

We did all our normal duties and in the afternoon we were able to sit outside by the campfire without freezing.

The find of the day was this really nice, new Double Carabiner Clip.

I'm not sure what I will do with it! But for now it's in my tool box in case I think of something. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 112 The Life of a Camp Host

It was cold last night with temps in the teens. We had a couple of faucets freeze up in the campground due to campers not dripping their faucets when asked to. Luckily none of them broke and we were able to thaw them out.  We will be glad when these freezing temps go away. Here's a pic of our pedestal this morning. I call it our "Ice Field"!

The campground is only half full so it's been a slow day.

The find of the day was this Trailer Jack Block.

The camper must have pulled out from their site with this jack block still holding the tongue jack as it dug a fairly deep hole in the site when they pulled out. I just hope it didn't bend their jack arm. These things cost almost $50! That's why mine are homemade!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 111 The Life of a Camp Host

Thursdays are our new favorite day. Both the maintenance guys are here so Cath and I can leave the campground to do some shopping and grab lunch somewhere besides the camper.

We checked the bathhouses this morning and then left around 0930. We went to the Class VI at the Air Force Base and then headed to downtown Macon to a joint called The Rookery. Here's a few pics.

The food was excellent and the prices are right. The Allman Brothers Band used to frequent this restaurant. The atmosphere is really cool!

After lunch we hit Wally World and a store called the Sausage Factory to stock up for the coming week.

We got back to camp around 1530. We checked the campers and dripped all the faucets again as temps will be close to the teens tonight.

The find o the day were two fire bricks.

I googled 11/4 Split and found out it is the size of the fire brick. Interesting!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 110 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a cold rainy day. We spent as much time as we could in the camper. We had a few campers leave and just two arrive. I think it will remain slow as nighttime temps are forecast to be below freezing.

We did have a find of the day.

The only thing I can think of is that it is a mini flying saucer. I have no idea what galaxy it may have come from. LOL!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 109 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a nice slow, relaxing day. We had a few camper leave and a few arrive. Did our normal duties and spent most of the afternoon outside by the campfire.

I found another "root" That reminded us of a large bird head. We put it with the snake! I looks like they are fighting.

The find of the day was this lure. 

The fisherman in this area must be rich or just trying to fill my tackle box.

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 108 The Life of a Camp Host

After yesterday it was nice to have a normal day. Campers coming and going, bathhouses to clean, and campers to help. I did blow off all the campground roads. There was still lots of small debris from the storm.

The afternoon was nice after it warmed up a bit and we sat by the campfire and relaxed.

We dripped the faucets again and yakked with a few of the campers while going around dripping.

The find of the day was something we had never seen before. Here's a few pics.

It is brand new. I found it at one of the sites I cleaned today and yes it is a plastic, fold up toilet!  It even has a toilet paper holder that clips to the side. After I showed it to the staff here no one wanted it. It is now in the dumpster!

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 107 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was a Camp Host day to remember. It was also a very long one!

The day started at 0330 when the weather radio started going nuts with watches and warnings. At 0430 we got a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. We notified all the tent and popup campers and recommended they go to the bathhouses. At 0510 we got a Tornado Warning for this exact area. We notified almost all the rest of the campers and sent them to the bathhouses. Cath and I got completely soaked doing all these notifications. The storm hit at 0550. We had two more campers to notify, but could not see two feet in front of the Host Cart due to the wind, rain, and darkness. We headed to the bathhouse with the rest of the campers. We could not have been wetter if we had jumped into the lake! By 0630 the storm had passed. Our park sustained no damage to facilities or campers. We had dodged a bullet. There were two confirmed tornadoes in the area one just to our north and another just to the south. Another park about 20 miles away had trees down on vehicles and facilities. Temps during all this were in the 60s.

After we surveyed the campground we went back to the camper and dried off and ate some breakfast. I went back out and removed any large debris from the campground roads. When we cleaned the bathhouses they were muddy from all the goings on this morning and it took us a while to clean them. In the afternoon we got a little down time and Cath got a short nap. We still had sites to clean for incoming/outgoing campers. After 1700 we had to drip all the pedestal faucets as temps are going below freezing tonight. Nighttime temps are forecast below freezing for the rest of the week. Thursday night will be in the teens!

After dripping we headed back to the camper and enjoyed some Curry Crab Bisque with some Ciabatta Bread. I forgot to mention there was lots of wine involved.

I hit the rack shortly after dinner and Cath was not far behind.

We did have a find of the day during all of this. I found this light on one of the sites that the campers had left early due to the storm.

It is now at our site.

Today was a day to remember!

  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 106 The Life of a Camp Host

Although the campground is full it was not a busy day. No one was leaving and none arriving. We did our normal chores and just hung around camp.

The find of the day was these bones.

I'm guessing there is a pair of twin dogs that are sad today!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 105 The Life of a Camp Host

Happy Valentines Day!

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Send me some campers

That have half a clue 

As usual it was a busy Friday. The park will be full tonight. We spent the morning cleaning sites and blowing off the debris from the campground roads due to the recent rain storm. This park is almost always full on the weekends.

By late afternoon we were beat and sat outside by the fire and relaxed.

My Valentine made a nice scallop dinner and we watched some TV.

The find of the day was this fuse.

It's a shame someone "blew a fuse" on Valentines Day!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 104 The Life of a Camp Host

We did a quick check of the bathhouses and campsites this morning and then left to do some shopping. Thursday is the best day for this as the maintenance guys are both here. Cath and I still do not have a co-host and none are scheduled to come in. Time will tell.

First we stopped at the tire store where I had the new tires put on. I noticed we had a vibration at any speed above 60. They rebalanced the tires and all is now good! We hit Wally World, Publix, and Tractor Supply. We were gone about four hours.

Back at camp not much was new. There is only six campers in tonight. We did have a walk-in show up around 2000 and we got him settled into a site.

The find of the day was This fishing lure. 

It was almost brand new and now lives in my tackle box!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 103 The Life of a Camp Host

Today we hardly did squat! We had one camper leave and two arrive for a grand total of six in the campground. Only one of the six campers is using the bathhouses so it was easy for us to keep them clean. Cath did make us cleanup the boat ramp bathroom. 😡 

The find of the day was this golf ball sized "yap hound" ball.

If you don't know what a "yap hound" is, just ask.

It's going to get busy for the weekend, so hopefully I'll get some more good stories.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 102 The Life of a Camp Host

It was another very slow day, but we are not complaining as we know what the weekend will bring.

We cleaned a few sites, did an electrical repair on one of the sites, and cleaned the bathhouses.

We spent the afternoon playing cards.

The find of the day was this key.

I sure hope the camper that lost it has a spare. Otherwise they will be living in their camper at home because they are locked out!

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 101 The Life of a Camp Host

After yesterday today was super slow. There is only five campers in the park. We did our normal routine and then relaxed outside.

When I did my first rounds this morning there was a car parked on one of the sites. I was not expecting anyone on that site, but I checked with the office first. No one was supposed to be on that site. A little later the car was still there so I went up to it and motioned for the occupant to roll the window down. The windows were almost blacked out. I asked him what he was doing and how long he had been there. He spoke very little if any English. I told him he had to leave as this area was for paid campers only. He left and went to the boat ramp parking area and left the park sometime in the afternoon. When I checked the campsite he had parked on there was a bunch of trash he had left for me!

The find of the day was these two Canadians.

They did not have a park pass so I asked them to leave. They refused!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 100 The Life of a Camp Host

Super Bowl Sunday!

I think the entire campground left today. We cleaned 22 sites and were beat by mid afternoon.

A camper with reservations showed up around 1630. He went to his site then called the booth and said he wanted another site as there was no picnic table on his site. The lady in the booth called me and we were both perplexed as there are tables at every site. This camper had pulled into an old site that is now closed right next to the site he was supposed to go to. There was no sign on this site, but right next to him was the sign for the site he belonged in. I pointed this out to him. I think he was a little embarrassed!

We were all excited for the Super Bowl. We had the food and the beer/wine all ready. The game was so bad I went to bed at half time!

The find of the day was this fire stick.

We actually found it on our site while we were raking some leaves.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 99 The Life of a Camp Host

The park is full, but we did have a few leave today. We got those sites cleaned up as new campers are arriving.

We had a young couple arrive late afternoon with reservations. After they checked in they went to their site and then came back to the check in booth. They asked if there were any other sites available as there was "stuff all over their site". The girl in the booth called me and I raced over to the site. There was nothing on the site and it was clean. I called the booth and reported this. Then the couple said it was the kayaks parked on the beach below their site. Meanwhile they were looking at two other sites. They didn't like the other two sites. I had already asked the neighbor with the kayaks to move them which they did. About then the couple came over to me and said they wanted their original site and "it's all good"! BTW they did not have any kayaks with them. They pitched a tent about the size of a dog house. They are here for just one night. I just love dealing with "experienced campers".

There was a fishing tournament at the boat ramp today. The parking lot was totally full, so some of the participants parked all over the area. After they all left around 1600 the boat ramp was a mess. I spent about an hour doing cleanup. Good thing they only do tournaments once a month!

The find of the day was this vape thingy! 

Hopefully the guy had a spare or else he'll be in nicotine withdrawal!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 98 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a busy day. The park will be full tonight as it is the weekend. We spent all morning checking and cleaning the sites and bathhouses.

Because our co-host is gone and we have no replacement Cath has her own cart now! She spends her day riding around and checking my work...LOL!

The find of the day was this coin.

It is so corroded that I'm not sure if it's a penny or a dime. Maybe it's a rare coin and worth millions!

The maintenance guys noticed this on their truck this morning.

It's a wire wheel for a drill. When they pulled it out the tire deflated. A plug fixed the hole.

 
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 97 The Life of a Camp Host

I left camp at 0930 to get new tires put on the truck. The old ones have around 45K and we wanted new tires before we head out west. We put a set of Michelin AT2s on. We've had these before and they ride nice and last for around 60K. And I think they look good too!

I was back to camp by 1200. Cath had already started on the bathhouses and we finished the chore together.

We spent the afternoon outside enjoying a campfire and the weather.

The find of the day was this rock.

I'm hoping that yellow stuff in the middle is gold, but Cath says it's not!

  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 96 The Life of a Camp Host

We had our co-host over for breakfast and then said our goodbyes. We will stay in touch.

We spent the rest of the day doing normal host duties. There is only a few campers in the park so duties are light.

In the afternoon we decided to move our fireplace and prep the area to put up our gazebo. There has been no hurry to get it up as there are no bugs yet. The weather is warming so the bugs will be out soon.

The find of the day was this ear warmer.

Next week we are forecast for one more cold snap. I'm sure the owner will miss their warmer!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 95 The Life of a Camp Host

We took over from our co-host at noon. He will be leaving first thing tomorrow morning. We will miss him we all got along really well.

As of now there is no other host arriving! Cath and I will be "on" forever..LOL!

I did trade carts with the departing host. His is almost brand new. I spent the afternoon modifying it to my liking. Here's a pic.

The find of the day was this bolt and nut or nut and bolt!

I'm guessing someone's something is falling apart. I found it near one of the speed bumps!

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 94 The Life of a Camp Host

Today may be our last day off for awhile. Our co-host is leaving today or tomorrow.

We left camp this morning and drove to the commissary and Class VI for some supplies. On the way home we stopped at Aldi and picked up a few of our favorites.

Back at camp we did a little camp cleanup and I washed the truck. It is nice to be able to wash the truck at our site. Most campgrounds don't allow vehicle washing.

We had homemade pizzas for dinner and had our co-host over. The pizzas turned out great. We are still loving our new Ninja Woodfire! 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 93 The Life of a Camp Host

We hungout at camp in the morning and did a few camp chores. One of the chores was to spread a little "Delta Dust" around to stop the ants. We have not seen any yet, but the place is notorious for ants. It reminds me of the ad on TV "We have Aunts"! LOL!

Early afternoon we drove over to Juliette to eat at the Whistle Stop. We were happily surprised to find the place was not crowded at all. It's usually mobbed.

 Look behind Cath and you can see our truck.

As usual the food was excellent. We had the Sampler Platter with a few extra Rooster Strips.

After the meal we walked the area and checked out all the tourist trap stores. And yes I got another T-shirt. Cath just rolls her eyes now!

Back at camp it was sit by the fire and watch the sunset time. It's been a fun day!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 92 The Life of a Camp Host

Our first day off!

We left camp this morning to do some food shopping and fill one of the propane bottles.

Back at camp we planned on relaxing and enjoying the perfect weather. It's sunny and high 60s.

Around noon the office called and asked if I could help some folks who had rented a canoe. Although we are off I said sure. The canoe dock is right across from our campsite. I made sure these teenagers had their like jackets on properly and helped them into the canoe. I asked if any of them had canoed before and one said a little. I put him in the back. I told them to take it easy and paddle around in the cove to get used to the canoe. They didn't listen and headed right for the middle of the lake about 300 yards off shore. After launching I went to the office and said these folks had no business out in a canoe.

Back at our site I sat down outside with Cath. About 15 minutes later the office called again and said a camper had reported that the canoe had capsized and would I drive out to the peninsula and check it out. Sure enough the canoe had capsized and the crew was being picked up by a fishing boat. The boat took them to the boat ramp. Two of the teenagers were probably in shock and puking a lot. EMS was called. Meanwhile I drove one of the teenagers back to our canoe launch site to get his truck. On the way I asked what had happened. He simply said the were "goofing off"! EMS checked out the other two and eventually they were OK and did not need transport anywhere. Another boat recovered the canoe for us. This could have had a really bad ending, but everyone is OK. I forgot to mention that the lake water is REALLY cold.

Later in the day Cath and I saw one of the teenage girls headed to the bathhouse still in the clothes she had on when the canoe capsized. She said they had just got back from clothes shopping at Walmart as they had no dry clothes! Nothing like dealing with experienced campers!

Back at our site I built a fire, had a few toddies, and finally got to relax. It was quite a day "OFF"!!!!