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You make me want to become a host again!
Bob
Bob
Gorgeous Day to be a Camp Host!!
- Thread starter ttpadilla
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I was sad to see some great new friends leave today. The couple from Ventura County (accompanied by Gracie the Great Dane) and I had many good conversations over the weekend, and they stopped on their way out and thanked me for a wonderful vacation. "We'll be back soon. The campground is even better with you here," they said. Then it was time for my wonderful 6 old men to leave (after our morning cup of Armenian coffee, and pastry), and they all gave me a big hug, and said they would come back before I left this Fall, and that I was a "wonderful girl." One of them gave me his hat with netting that hangs from the brim down to your chest, because I'd admired it yesterday and said I was definitely going to buy one to keep the bugs out of my face. Even the party groups stopped to say good-bye and thanked me for a great weekend, assuring me they would return soon, and the unofficial day-users (we don't technically have day-use here) who came in this afternoon yelled, "Thank you, T" on their way out.
Some new very nice people arrived this evening, though, and I still have the great family on 20 and 21 for a couple more days, who are carrying on our new custom. As the bears are getting more bold and continue to arrive when people are cooking dinner, everyone at the same time, yells "BEAR!!! BEAR!!!!" as loud as they can, and whistle and cheer. This makes them feel brave, and encourages the bears to move along. And, I can hear them from all the way over here, which makes me feel like part of the group.
So, yeah... The bathrooms were horrendous, and there was SO much trash left in some of the campsites (one party group even left their homemade toilet behind) that I'll still be cleaning up through Tuesday, but... Damn, this was a great day!
Some new very nice people arrived this evening, though, and I still have the great family on 20 and 21 for a couple more days, who are carrying on our new custom. As the bears are getting more bold and continue to arrive when people are cooking dinner, everyone at the same time, yells "BEAR!!! BEAR!!!!" as loud as they can, and whistle and cheer. This makes them feel brave, and encourages the bears to move along. And, I can hear them from all the way over here, which makes me feel like part of the group.
So, yeah... The bathrooms were horrendous, and there was SO much trash left in some of the campsites (one party group even left their homemade toilet behind) that I'll still be cleaning up through Tuesday, but... Damn, this was a great day!
It's 6:45pm, and I've been ready for bed since 5pm. A very long day of scrubbing vault toilets in the heat, but with 9 finished, and only the 4 easiest left for tomorrow, I feel relatively accomplished.
I saw my first two (unless the first one crossed the same road more than once!) live rattlesnakes this afternoon. On both occasions, I noticed the odd behavior of the ground squirrels long before I saw the snake. The first time, I had just turned the corner in the golf cart, doing a follow-up bathroom check, and saw a squirrel walking very slowly toward me, as though it were stalking something. Then I saw a 2-3 foot long rattlesnake with probably 3 buttons crossing the road in front of me at a good pace. The squirrel crept after it as far as the edge of the blackberry bushes, then stopped, and stared underneath, twitching it's tail in agitation, but completely silent. After watching for a minute, I completed what I'd come to do, then drove around to let the campers know about the rattlesnake sighting, and its location. As I completed the loop, arriving back at the same bathroom, I saw a ground squirrel up on the curb by the bathroom, and another just a couple of feet farther down the road on the blackberry bush side, acting in the same strange manner I'd previously witnessed. And then I saw another rattlesnake crossing in front of me into the blackberry bushes. I didn't see the full length of the second one, but it looked like it had more (and larger!) buttons so I'm pretty sure it was a different snake.
I know the Forest Service is concerned about altered wildlife behavior because near another one of our campgrounds, they've witnessed 3 mountain lions hunting in a pack, which is abnormal. I'll have to alert them to the rattlesnake gang we have up here.
I saw my first two (unless the first one crossed the same road more than once!) live rattlesnakes this afternoon. On both occasions, I noticed the odd behavior of the ground squirrels long before I saw the snake. The first time, I had just turned the corner in the golf cart, doing a follow-up bathroom check, and saw a squirrel walking very slowly toward me, as though it were stalking something. Then I saw a 2-3 foot long rattlesnake with probably 3 buttons crossing the road in front of me at a good pace. The squirrel crept after it as far as the edge of the blackberry bushes, then stopped, and stared underneath, twitching it's tail in agitation, but completely silent. After watching for a minute, I completed what I'd come to do, then drove around to let the campers know about the rattlesnake sighting, and its location. As I completed the loop, arriving back at the same bathroom, I saw a ground squirrel up on the curb by the bathroom, and another just a couple of feet farther down the road on the blackberry bush side, acting in the same strange manner I'd previously witnessed. And then I saw another rattlesnake crossing in front of me into the blackberry bushes. I didn't see the full length of the second one, but it looked like it had more (and larger!) buttons so I'm pretty sure it was a different snake.
I know the Forest Service is concerned about altered wildlife behavior because near another one of our campgrounds, they've witnessed 3 mountain lions hunting in a pack, which is abnormal. I'll have to alert them to the rattlesnake gang we have up here.
akrvbob said:
Hi Bob, in your Blog about Workamping you provide great list of questions to ask the potential employer. One of which is: "Do you encourage or discourage your hosts from applying for unemployment? This is an extremely important question!"
Curious about why that should be asked of the potential short-term employer?
Thank you! jj
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JJPDX said:
Because sometimes they won't let you come back if you file for unemployment. If you don't want to return then that wouldn't matter.
Somehow I've gotten the impression they can resist paying for it when you do apply, but I could easily be wrong about that, it's a fuzzy memory.
Bob
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