Our Job at Colossal Cave Mountain Park

We are still excited about our new job, even though they aren't ready for us...after a month??  So we were left waiting...and adrift.   Justin and Li (the doctor friends) fed us a delightful dinner, including the most flavorful and varied salad I'd ever had.  Since I think of a vegetable salad as dessert...it was the best treat possible for me.  They had about 5 acres that came with their gorgeous mountaintop home, and they invited us to park there overnight.

Their home is next to a preserve, and protective zoning has changed, so they will remain the only home at the top.  There were javelina and deer tracks among the cacti, so I hoped for visitors.

This is the sunrise the next morning.  Do Arizona skies behave like this often?

The Schmidt's home is steel frame with hay bale insulation--brilliant considering the climate... with no heating or air conditioning required.  The side of the home facing Tucson has a glass-walled family room with a grand piano and large, peaceful spaces that invite meditation.  The "official" family portrait is shown below...a fascinating holographic image.  It's the actual family that anyone would find ultimately fascinating...and gracious.  Tucson is so fortunate to have them!

Justin and Li told us the story of how they met in China and eventually married (in Tucson).  It was clear they should write a book.  We were so spellbound we missed church!

Can you tell we love Li and Justin?  We could stay forever, but on Monday we had an appointment with Martie and the park maintenance manager to figure out just what our duties would be.  This pic of the host site can be enlarged to see the nature of the road.  This is the only good section.  We learned in our meeting there were 3 maintenance people, but no work had been done.  The person who was to bring a grader in was "busy" and he'd need Martie to buy him a new blade, anyway  ???  Why would you have to buy a blade before renting equipment??

We had to wait some more, so I decided to unwrap this great gift of nature.  The canyon we were parked in led up to a wild campground called La Selvilla.  The road to it had been washed out, but instead of fixing it, they had posted signs directing you to drive up the dry river bed.  I picked up trash as I walked and threw bigger rocks out of the "road" just to feel useful.  I discovered the Arizona Trail crossing the campground and followed it for a while, delighting in the rock formations and plants it led me to. 

The next day we found La Posta Quemade Ranch, which is run separately, but Martie gets a percentage.  We saw two full wagons departing the ranch in the rain with the happiest passengers you'd could imagine.  They were all older, but as giddy as little kids getting a pony for a birthday.

I think I'm giddy, too, having always been horse crazy.  Living in a park with a real, working ranch was going to be great!  But what about getting busy with camp hosting?  There's signs posted (BIG ones) saying you can only camp one night.  Martie was not aware of that.  The bathrooms needed cleaning, but one of the maintenance people, Skip, said the boss told him there wasn't any money for cleaner.  ??

What me worry?  No, we just went on a tour of this dry maze cave they call Colossal.  I had already read so much about the cave that I'm sure I could have given the tour myself.  In fact I was so enamored by the Indian and robber history of the area as well as the flora and fauna that I was consuming information wholesale.

Meanwhile...no likelihood of the roads being fixed...and Bill, an arachnid researcher working in the cave, informed us of many things that were less than satisfactory in the operation of the cave...including a maintenance team "that did nothing".  I said I'd start working on the road if I could get a shovel and a wheel barrow, as I'd found a pile of road base...but that just brought chuckles.  We may be dry camping for quite a while, just dreaming of FHUs on those cold Arizona desert nights. 

P.S.  Dr. Bill Savary is not only the wild cave tour guide, but a good friend of Justin Schmidt (Bob's friend).  As a herpetologist, he has been allowed to go into the park's pristine caves and has discovered new species of critters.  These caves are so delicate they are even closed to researchers now.  You may contact Bill through tucsonherpsociety.org or if you'd like to know more about reptiles, email him at:  bsavary@mindspring.com

Our Personal Paradise...FOUND




Sites have HUGE pads for ANY RV or Tent (see table 4 scale)

Not a problem at all at Silver River SP

I researched all of the state parks in the central area of Florida and felt Silver River SP was perfect for us.  I sent in an application (the best I could write) to http://volunteer.gov/gov/  (which is a super place to apply for work all across America)...and have been waiting for several weeks.  No word, so we took our own advice and called (no help needed) and then drove straight there to see the park for ourselves.  It was BETTER than we imagined.  As soon as we were parked in our huge space, I took off on my bike and soon met Don, one of the hosts.  I spooked him, walking up on him as he was enjoying going through his fishing rods.  He told me one host couple would have to be leaving early (for the unhappy job of having a hip replaced).  Don told me to head for the Ranger Station to talk with the Volunteer Coordinator...but she had just left for several days.  



Well then, it's time to explore the surprises that await in this incredibly fascinating park.  We soon found 15 miles (24.1 km) of pine needle-strewn trails...all shaded and wonderfully twisted through the live oaks and palmettos.   The Swamp Trail led to a sacred spot along the river...known for the great peace it can bring to a soul in turmoil.

 

Recreated Cracker Homestead



Straight down the road from the campground we found a village of restored or "newly-built" 19th century farm buildings (houses, meeting house, sheds, blacksmith, etc.) and a museum that has more bang-for-the-buck than any its size in the world!  The next weekend was Ocali County Days, an action-packed festival re-creating Florida a century ago. This is a living history event with displays, tours, and performances incorporating living historians: real buckskins, rifles, hides, Seminole Indians, Spanish Andalusians (horses) cows, all of the farm animals...and my favorite--bunnies!  It has become a popular annual attraction in the area, so Bob invited our nephew and his wife.  They insisted our son, who is a resident at Florida Hospital, take time off and come with his family.  This was all very exciting, except the campground had been sold out for the event since last year!  A quick check confirmed what I feared:  no other park took tents, and they had no openings for the weekend anyway.  Bob took a fistful of money and his faith in his own convincing ways, and said he'd find a tenting spot.

Unusual trailers started pulling into the park.  This vendor had his goods and a generator on the back of this trailer.  The beards on the men were grown to stare at, and the costuming was extraordinary. 

  

This is the first time in a LONG time where I felt like I could really relax.   Ahhhhh......