Update September 3-8

Thursday, September 3:
I have written updates that are stored on flash drives and on two different computers, so when I go to bring my blog up to date I will probably miss a few days.

My son and his wife arrived last Friday night and left Sunday afternoon, and daughter, her husband and two little girls came Friday afternoon and left today. I will miss them greatly. We had a wonderful time, just sitting around the campfire, exploring the lake in Steve's new kayak (I certainly don't get into a kayak), doing a bit of hiking, and for me, getting my granddaughter fix! The baby is 9 weeks old and already my daughter was able to hike up Cinder Cone, which is a difficult climb for most people due to the volcanic soil. I am so proud of her, and on top of that she has gone hiking every day as well as kayaking.

So I was sitting outside my rig just feeling blue and I got a real and very happy surprise. Two visitors came up and I realized they were Howard and Linda Payne, owners of the RV-Dreams website. This was the website that gave me (and many, many others) the impetus, encouragement, and information to consider the Rving lifestyle. We had a very nice visit and I look forward to seeing them in the future.

I just love meeting folks I've gotten to know from their blogs, the RV-Dreams chat room, etc., and we always have a great deal in common in our love for the open road and the gypsy lifestyle.

I have less than a week to work here at the campground, and will pull out of here in exactly one week. In the interim, I will face the heaviest occupancy of the season, which will be a challenge as well as good memories to send me forward to my next adventure.

I will post pictures when I get a chance, which will most likely be after I leave Lassen and get on the road again. I am SO looking forward to plugging into electricity and being able to stay up later at night and be online. Look for me soon in the RV chat room.

Saturday, September 5:
People just keep coming! A couple of the bathrooms are already trashed, which I just don't understand. I will have a ranger here tonight, and I just hope he isn't called out to another part of the park. Anyway, I'm happy if he can drive through the campground a time or two – let folks know that someone with authority is here. Thankfully I've made it through the summer with few problems I couldn't handle on my own – mainly the group that had to be evicted a couple of months ago.

I'm taxing my brain trying to figure out the timing of everything I need to do. Someone will pick up all the Park supplies, uniforms, etc. on Thursday morning, so I have to have it all clean and packed up. David will be back to work then after his Tuesday and Wednesday off, and I will need his help to get it all together. When I'm all hitched up the rig will have to go entirely around the B Loop in order to leave the campground, and he has promised to drive it around for me.

Sunday, September 6:
For as many campers as there are, things have gone pretty smoothly. It was very cold and windy all day yesterday and last night, which probably kept many folks inside their tents. I was pretty bundled up myself and doused my campfire about 9 pm to call it a night. Today I put out the flag but as soon as the wind picks up I will have to
bring it in again.

It is possible that what I thought were chipmunks in my rig could actually be field mice, in which case I'm not a bit sorry they are taking the mouse bait like it's candy. Either there are a lot of them, and/or they are carrying the bait back to their nests (hopefully outside my rig) because I've gone through 3 boxes of bait in just a few days. I should probably get something stronger. Ah, nature!

Monday, September 7:
The mice/chipmunks have been chewing up the insulation around one of the truck batteries, so I will go into town
tomorrow and buy several more boxes of bait. I see they have been in the basement storage, which is probably how they have gotten inside the 5ver, so I will place a box of bait everywhere I can think of, including setting one on the battery!

The exodus began this morning and by 11:00 a.m. the campground was nearly empty. I started going around to each site and picking up trash, checking the fire pits, etc. There were a number with warm or smoldering logs, so it was back and forth to the water supply for buckets of water. I got through half of the A Loop, which leaves me pretty many campsites to go.

I've been feeling good because so many campers either left me notes of appreciation or told me verbally on their way out. I've come to realize I do well one-on-one, much better than in large group situations.

I cleaned and waterproofed my hiking boots, and will put them away for a while. I will try to find some (made in North America) that are canvas and mesh for the humid climate in Georgia. It's hard to believe that I will start my job at Fort Pulaski in less than three months. A couple who were camping here lived in the Savannah area some years back, and stopped to tell me of places I should try to see while I'm there.

Tuesday, September 8:
The mornings have been cold for the past week – in the mid to high 30's. Inside my rig the thermometer reads 40F, so I turned on the generator to run the electric heater for a few minutes before I set off to do laundry. It feels strange not wearing a uniform, and I selected a bright red shirt to brighten my spirits and my day!