Not one of the cool kids...

[ttpadilla]

Hello, everyone! My friend, D, brought me a modem this evening, and set it up for me. It's a total flashback to 2005, and I am once again reminded how we take for granted the technological advances we enjoy. I cannot get on Facebook at all, but i was able to check emails, bank balance, and happily, was able to get onto this site, so as long as my luck (and patience!) holds, I hope to stay in better touch with everyone. This is just a quick post, before I head, with my book, to bed, but I'll try to get on earlier tomorrow evening.

I survived my first holiday weekend as a camp host, I'm happy to say. It went very well, all the campers were lovely and well-behaved, observed 10 pm quiet time, and mostly cleaned up after themselves (except in the bathrooms, where they were absolute pigs). Several did leave their campfires burning when they left though, so I spent much of Memorial day hauling buckets of water, and then scrubbing down the vault toilets and bathroom floors. If the purported plague of flies sent to Pharaoh was anything close to what I had to deal with, I don't see how he didn't "let my people go" immediately. Biblical proportions!! So thick I couldn't even walk into one of the bathrooms until I had sprayed with Raid, and waited for them to die. Even then, I was surrounded by a cloud of them all afternoon, so I think maybe I've already seen the worst of this job. And as I said, I survived! Ready to settle in and enjoy the rest of the summer.

My first real paycheck is coming up, and I'll be happy to have a little money back in the bank. There's a mechanic in town who has agreed to drive up here and look at the transmission, for $160, to see if it needs to be rebuilt, or if a new seal and transmission fluid will fix things for me. Keep your fingers crossed, as I'd really love to save most of my earnings from the summer, and trade in the motor home and car for a van-sized RV.

I saw two snakes today while driving up MR208, but wasn't able to get a good look at them. I'm not concerned for myself, but for Bella. What DOES concern me, however, is the the stupid mouse that has entered the motor home duct area, giving it access to my kitchen drawers. So far, it appears it can't enter the main living area from there, but I'm sure tired of washing all my silverware everyday. Broke down and bought some bait for it after battling it for two days. The campground signs warning of plague and hanta virus have me more vigilant than usual.

 

[cyndi]

Thanks, for checking in T!

I'm a little worried about this statement: "... I've already seen the worst of this job..."

Some dogs have an instinct about snakes. Stumpy would give a bull snake, gopher or garter snake a bad time. But if a mohave green was anywhere near, she wouldn't leave the deck.

You may want to look into snake aboidance training. It's frequently offered in the spring, in many places.

Take good care!

 

[ttpadilla]

I can't even buy a dog collar in this town, let alone find snake avoidance training, but it's definitely on my list. I'm more worried that she'd accidentally encounter one while chasing squirrels into their boulder villages. I am also looking into rattlesnake vaccinations for her, but I hear they are ridiculously expensive. Can't be more expensive than post-bite treatment, though.

I realize I'm tempting fate with that "worst of the job" statement, but for me, the nastiness of the vaults is my biggest horror. I stopped the pursuit of my nursing degree largely due to my inability to handle those kinds of smells. Blood and guts doesn't bother me. Death doesn't bother me. Fecal matter, urine, and vomit, are not my friends!

Speaking of vaults, I have one more duplex bathroom to clean today. Best get to it. Have a wonderful day, Cyndi! ttyl

 

[highdesertranger]

glad to hear from you nana. glad you made it though the weekend. be careful with the bait so bella doesn't have access to it, and she doesn't get a hold of a mouse that has died or is sick from the poison. highdesertranger

 

[ttpadilla]

glad to hear from you nana.  glad you made it though the weekend.  be careful with the bait so bella doesn't have access to it,  and she doesn't get a hold of a mouse that has died or is sick from the poison.  highdesertranger

That's why I held off on getting it in the first place, but I've put it in areas she can't get to, and constantly checking for corpses. Glad to hear from you, too!

 

[cyndi]

Keep in mind with the rattle snake vaccine that it MAY only give you 45 minutes to get to a vet for treatment. When I lived in dirtville the closest vet was an hour away. The vaccine would have been useless.

And much like the lyme vaccine protection is about 50%. There's no real statistics on either one.

 

[highdesertranger]

what I did about snakes, I did my own avoidance training. around my sisters house in the high desert of Oregon there are a lot of bull snakes that act very much like rattle snakes but are nonvenomous. they coil, they strike, and they hiss which almost sound like a rattlesnake. so when I came across one which was quite often I would make sure Scout(my dog) saw it and would tell him no no real sternly so he knew I meant it. he got the idea, I even grabbed a couple of them and threw them on his back all the while telling him no no, Scout didn't like that. well in seems to have had the desired effect. a few months ago we were doing some work around our corrals and Scout was barking at something along the fence line. I went over to check it out, it was a rattlesnake coiled and rattling but Scout was staying out of striking range. boy he got a lot of loving for that, many many good dogs. btw no bull snakes were harmed with this training, can't say the same for the rattlesnake. highdesertranger

 

[WriterMs]

What DOES concern me, however, is the the stupid mouse that has entered the motor home duct area, giving it access to my kitchen drawers.  So far, it appears it can't enter the main living area from there, but I'm sure tired of washing all my silverware everyday.  Broke down and bought some bait for it after battling it for two days.  The campground signs warning of plague and hanta virus have me more vigilant than usual.

When I was vandwelling last year, I had mouse problems repeatedly in only one location: The Box (BLM land) near Socorro, NM. I ended up buying the round mouse traps "houses" (I think by Raid?). The mouse is lured in and gets killed inside.. you pick the whole thing up and dispose of it without seeing or touching the mouse (you can tell when one has been triggered). If a dog was determined, I'm sure he could tear it open but she might not be that interested in it. And you can let it stay inside the cabinet.

 

[ttpadilla]

what I did about snakes,  I did my own avoidance training.  
highdesertranger

I'm thinking Bella should come to you for rattlesnake training 'cause Nana's snake handling days are about 30 years behind her...     jk, sounds like what you did worked well.  Should the opportunity arise, I'll do the same.  Thanks, HDR!

 

[ttpadilla]

Keep in mind with the rattle snake vaccine that it MAY only give you 45 minutes to get to a vet for treatment. When I lived in dirtville the closest vet was an hour away. The vaccine would have been useless.

And much like the lyme vaccine protection is about 50%. There's no real statistics on either one.

Really?!  I had no idea! Still, it seems that some protection would be better than none. By the time I get down the mountain and anywhere near a vet it's at least 45 minutes, so it would be pushing it.

 

[ttpadilla]

When I was vandwelling last year, I had mouse problems repeatedly in only one location:  The Box (BLM land) near Socorro, NM. I ended up buying the round mouse traps "houses" (I think by Raid?). The mouse is lured in  and gets killed inside.. you pick the whole thing up and dispose of it without seeing or touching the mouse (you can tell when one has been triggered). If a dog was determined, I'm sure he could tear it open but she might not be that interested in it. And you can let it stay inside the cabinet.

That sounds just about perfect!  I bought those glue traps but haven't had the heart to set them out, snap traps usually get ME while I'm setting them, and the humane traps would only encourage them to come back. Thanks, Writer!

 

[ttpadilla]

Well, this weekend was a bit more difficult than Memorial Day Weekend. I had 36 people show up after 6pm on Friday, and one part of their group didn't show up until after 10:30pm, at which time they all apparently decided it was time to party. Had a few complaints about that, Saturday morning, but I didn't hear them from my place. I DID find a disaster of a mess when I did morning rounds though. Wish I could show you pictures, you'd be amazed at how some people treat their surroundings. As expected, the bathrooms were an exhibition of the nastiness of humanity. At this point, I'm just waiting for them all to check out today, then I'll repair the damage as much as possible.

This is a really good learning experience for me. I tend to be super rigid about rules, and honesty, and common courtesy, and I really can't comprehend rule-breakers and liars. I mean, I get REALLY upset!! Yesterday, after my afternoon rounds, I said to myself, "You have just got to let this go. They're all having a good time, no one is really complaining, and no, they aren't here to enjoy and appreciate nature, they're here to party with their friends. That is not YOUR failing. This is not YOUR house!" So, I changed out of my uniform (critical step), had a margarita, and ignored them for the rest of the night. I think I'll probably have quite a mess to clean up today, but that's just the way it goes some days.

 

[akrvbob]

You handled that really well!! But remember, you feel all alone but you're not, your boss is supposed to handle the real problem people--that's his job. If it ever gets out of hand drive down to wherever he is and ask for his help.

You're discovering why I always went remote, the further you are away from towns and conveniences, the less of that kind of a problem you have.
Bob

 

[cyndi]

People never cease to amaze me.

 

[Baloo]

I will never look at camp grounds the same. You are right Nana, people just don't respect campsites or clean up after themselves. As far as the mice go. Put scented dryer sheets everywhere! It works, I had a huge prom me with field mice many years ago, they would get into my car and chew up the headliner and wiring. My insurance agent suggested the dryer sheets, and they worked!

 

[GotSmart]

I have a cat.  No mouse problem.  But the cat knocks things down all the time! :dodgy:

 

[ttpadilla]

You handled that really well!! But remember, you feel all alone but you're not, your boss is supposed to handle the real problem people--that's his job. If it ever gets out of hand drive down to wherever he is and ask for his help.

You're discovering why I always went remote, the further you are away from towns and conveniences, the less of that kind of a problem you have.
Bob

Thanks, Bob! I've been thinking about how you might handle things, and longing for a more remote assignment in the future. My nearest boss is more than an hour away, and not available by telephone most of the time, My only recourse if things get out of hand is to call the local LEOs, but nothing has reached that point yet, and hopefully it never does, as they're at least 35 minutes away. I have a maintenance guy who pops by in the morning to pick up trash, and the Forest Service Fire Patrol drives through once a day!

There is a happy ending to my tale, however... The messiest of the group left the cleanest campsites. All those kids came in handy, and they put them to work roaming that side of the campground picking up trash (unfortunately, the condition of the bathrooms was unchanged). I think the Forest Service guy may have put the notion in their heads, but it's possible that's just how they do things.

The crazy weekends make me more fully appreciate the peace I enjoy during the week!

 

[ttpadilla]

I will never look at camp grounds the same.  You are right Nana, people just don't respect campsites or clean up after themselves. As far as the mice go. Put scented dryer sheets everywhere! It works, I had a huge prom me with field mice many years ago, they would get into my car and chew up the headliner and wiring. My insurance agent suggested the dryer sheets, and they worked!

I'll definitely try that, thank you, Baloo! I've been spraying possible entry points with a very strong pine-sol type of cleaner, hoping that would deter them. When I got up this morning, I swear I saw one run out from under my chair, but my eyes frequently play tricks on me like that (that's what I'm telling myself, anyway).

It's possible these are super-mice, as this area seems to cause all kinds of nature to flourish. Everything is so big up here! And the mosquitoes laugh at insect repellent; they practically swarm on you. I'm getting eating alive out here!!!

 

[ttpadilla]

I have a cat.  No mouse problem.  But the cat knocks things down all the time! :dodgy:

I've been tempted to acquire a couple of mousers, but unless they were old, steady, and knew how to ignore my crazy dog, I wouldn't be able to have them inside, and then there's the problem of what to do with them when I leave at the end of summer, as I'm not equipped to take on additional traveling companions right now. Bella keeps trying to climb up underneath the motor home, and crawl under the car but she's too big. I'm mostly wishing that a gang of cats would travel through here, decimate the mouse population, and be on their merry way!

 

[rvpopeye]

Try Deep Woods Off or Repel 40.
You survived the invasion of the slobs , don't let the critters bother you either...