Tucson Mountain Park lures you in...YES!

The trails of the Sonoran Desert lure you in, hold you captive, and make you grateful that you came.  Nothing is more tempting to me than a clear view of a trail.  Where does it go?  What will I experience?  But I was distracted by the litter at the beginning of this trail.  True to my Mom's training, I have my own grabber (blue) to aid my compulsion to pick up garbage, especially cigarette butts and anything plastic.  Bob takes this as odd behavior, and he took the following pictures...to prove I'm wacky.  Does anyone else do this?

Ewwww... more butts.  Notice that by now the trail is forgotten...and I deposit the trash in our RV's basura.

Every mountain has Saguaro growing to its top!  The fuzzy cacti are Buckhorn Cholla, and I already had spine wounds and fine needles still paining my hands from a fall 2 days ago.  I didn't know these tricks for removal (click here) and threw away the needle-infested gloves I'd been wearing when I fell, and I wished I could throw away the pierced flesh of my hands as well.  But it's incredibly beautiful in the park.  We were excited now to find Gilbert Ray Campground.  Click here to see an excellent description (with photos) of this premium camp.  Volunteer jobs are for 3 month stints, but there were no openings...in case you were looking. 

The campground has one trail, so I happily followed it to Rattlesnake Trail, which I decided to cross because I saw Old Tucson Studios in the distance.  I knew John Wayne movies had been filmed here, so I let myself get curious.  The bright paint and kiddie rides betrayed my expectations, but it's still a fun, fun place.

On the way back to camp I got to celebrate the beauty of the area by raising my own arms with so many others in praising God's creation.  What an evocative area for the imagination and the spirit!  It certainly resonated with my eternal nature.

I found an ad posted in the bathroom of the educational group site for a walk on the Brown Mountain Trail.  I watched a film on YouTube of a crazed biker riding down this mountain trail, with hairpin turns and huge sharp shards or rock flipping up as the bike bounced over them.  But the crazy part to me would be the risk of falling into that cacti and being injected with the tiny, fine spines called glochidia. The glochidia are the most difficult cactus needles to see and remove, and will cause dermatitis if left in the skin.  (I should know.)  I took a chance the 9 o'clock walk was on and rode my bike to the trailhead in the chill of the desert morning.

Parks and Recreation Volunteer Naturalists Ed Bartlett and John Scheuring were prepared and ready to take a mob into the desert for a fabulous learning experience.  We waited together as exactly not one other person showed up.  I was not surprised, and let my new friends know they could cancel the walk...but I had a few questions about the crazy cacti I'd met on my own walk.  Ed graciously said he'd take me on the walk.  Later he said I had so many questions that the walk had taken twice as long as it usually did....but, boy, did I learn a lot!  Again my theory was verified...you learn so much more and retain it much better if you experience your learning.  Nevertheless, I was presented a gorgeous book at the conclusion of the walk to help me retain the excellent instruction I had just received.  Ed deserves the Volunteer of the Year Award!

Buckhorn Cholla standing in a Row with Rhyolite Peaks in the background.

Every Saguaro has its Story

Why grow arms at all?  So many seem tortured by the elements.  More arms equals more surface area for photosynthesis plus more places to grow flowers.  Each fruit may have 2,000 seeds!  If the Saguaro cannot reproduce itself (at least once) in its lifetime, it has failed...and that may be after putting out 40 million seeds!  Saguaro babies can grow to be as tall as I am in 35 years...if conditions are ideal.  Usually it takes 47 to 67 years to reach my height.  Adult weights are in the tons. 

 

Read more: How to Remove Cactus Prickles | eHow.com

Camp Hosting Positions - Fabulous? ...or... Farce?

We know the dream:  The idealized view of a camp host.  Can you see it?  The cute carved sign with your name on it, the Christmas lights hung and the potted plants blooming all around your shiny rig.  And there's probably a cute pet or two in your vision of the perfect hosting site.  Fantasy?  We found more than one such site at California's Carlsbad State Beach.  Hosts had been delighting visitors by inviting them to decorate a rock.  Fun idea, since the beach was made up of wave-worn rocks...all of them natural beauties....wanting a bit of paint.  If you host in a national park or forest, then you will be asked to leave your host site "natural" looking.  This Forest Service "rule" is often ignored...especially by returning camp hosts who have become much-loved by their managers.   Besides, it's always some kind of holiday....isn't it?  And we must do a bit of celebratory decorating.

We were just offered what I thought was a fabulous dream job in Everglades National Park.  We got an email from Environmental Ranger Greg Litton asking if we were interested in working at their Hidden Lake Environmental Education Center.  He included a brief description of duties:  "Provide logistical support to rangers leading 5th grade curriculum-based environmental education programs.  Two people needed who want to be a part of a nationally recognized environmental education program.  Lots of opportunities for making a difference in urban kids’ lives – this can be hard work too."

This was like candy to a former science teacher who likes working hard and misses working with kids a GREAT DEAL .  I read everything I could about the program.  Greg seemed like a super-star keeper of the Earth.

Ranger Greg passes out periphyton to 5th grade students at Long Pine Key.

 Then the "Fabulous" job started its decline. Here's a bit of sad news we received on Dec 15, 2011, from Greg:  "The only real concern I have is that you don't have a vehicle to get you to camp and back.  It is 10 miles round trip across paved and unpaved roads in a variety of environmental conditions.  That may end up being a real sticking point since some of the VIP duties involve hauling bags of recycling and garbage from camp.   I'll be talking to my supervisor today to see if there is really any other solution."

The Everglades is a Sea of Saw Grass filled with life.

I was thinking we'd just ride our bikes to the camp each day, but it was clear we were supposed to provide a "garbage truck" of some type 5 days a week.  I seriously thought of renting a car.  I wanted to do this!  But thoughts of "farce" started to sneak into my mind.  The previous volunteers quit this job....that's why it was open.  I already knew it was a big commitment.   The work schedule is Mon-Fri with hours as short as a half day to as long as 10 hours.  I started to read the fine print about our duties.  They included: 

Duties include python checks under tents.

Pressure wash, mow grounds, “take care” of unwanted rodents, cockroaches, snakes and ants in tents, care for activity boxes and touch tables, split all of the wood, clean fire pits nightly, cut out poisonwood and poison ivy (it’s around the bathrooms where you have to do string trimming) launder kids’ sleeping bags, spray structures with bleach to control mildew, repaint surfaces damaged by bleach...on and on....

Slough Slogging - a kid favorite!

A big job is being “dock master” for the kids, getting them set up in their canoes, hauling, maintaining and locking up the canoes, camp and trail maintenance, cleaning camp and restrooms, helping students to follow the rules (behave)…and lending a hand to the park staff. You are warned it may be humid, buggy, sweaty work with no showers, and as said...you have to haul the garbage away in your own vehicle.   But you get the weekends off! And we’ve heard the staff is wonderful to work with. They are much younger (and stronger) than we are and tend to wonder why volunteers struggle with the work load. 
Greg put a stop to my trepidation over this "volunteer opportunity" with this Dec 20th email:

Bob and Eileen,
Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm for volunteering at the Everglades next month. The January - April Hidden Lake camp caretaker VIP positions have now been filled. I will keep your applications and info close by since you both were in the running for these positions. [If we only had an extra vehicle to offer in addition to our labor.]

Will work for Badge on Hat

So what do you think?  Fabulous job or a Farce??   I'll give you a hint:  I have heard many volunteer coordinators and managers exclaim:  "I cannot believe what volunteers will do for us and the time commitments they will make to one location."  They say it with appreciative wonder, but also with an incomprehensible gasp or two thrown in.   

Ranger Linda at Bahia Honda State Park gave me this insight:  "They [the bosses] think you volunteers walk on water."

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......

Here’s the job EVERYONE wants!

Salt Springs has to be Florida’s best….very best! Campground. It’s well run by American Land & Leisure. Employees get a free site for as little as 5 hours of work a week. And you are paid minimum wage for your hours. There’s an activities barn with a full schedule of fun get-togethers and staff and campers who are living together as one caring family. Sweet! In fact, this fabulous park-like campground is so popular that every day of the week campers stop by asking how they can camp host here.

Office where we asked for a Job

We asked for a job ourselves, and there’s so many waiting in line to get in, we were given a zero percent chance of being hired. An “internship” is required, where you work through the summer to show you are the right stuff and deserve the job. We’ve lived through 14 Florida summers and you don’t know hot until you’ve experienced stifling, still, super-heated, 100% humidified air. If you aren’t used to it, it can even be life threatening. We went to the Forest Service Visitor Center and found out they need help there, so we blew the dust off of our application and tried to reach someone at the ranger station about getting a job.  We spent hours trying to get an email through to the volunteer coordinator (there's no internet service in The Ocala).  After two days we finally got through and received the following email with 4 generous offers:

Hi Eileen,
I found your application.  Chris mentioned to me that he felt you had great qualifications and would be a great addition to our volunteer program.  We may have a spot opening at the SSVC [the visitors' center link] if we can't work out some details with the current inbound volunteers but I don't know as yet.  We have 3 other sites open:  Delancy West, River Forest, and Big Scrub.

Campground host:  Delancy West is an OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) campground year round and also serves as a huntcamp from November thru January each year.  The host site is primitive and offers a landline and septic.  Water is brought to the host site by forest service employees or volunteers and a gasoline allowance is provided by the FS for a host provided generator.  This position is available right now.  Lake Delancy Link

Campground host - River Forest Recreation Area is a group site available by reservation only.  The camp ground is located on the St. Johns River.  The rec area is currently closed for use while we upgrade the the facilities but we like to have volunteer on hand to help keep up with maintenance and provide security.  This position is available right now.  The host site is full hook up.  River Forest Link

Recreation maintenance - Big Scrub Recreation area is and OHV campground year round.  The majority of the sites are available by reservations with a few sites remaining on a first come first serve basis.  Big Scrub has approximately 60 campsites, 3 full hookup host sites and 2 new (3 yrs old) bathhouses.  This position is available January 1- April 15.  The available position is a recreation maintenance position; duties include assisting with trash removal, bathrooms, mowing, etc.  Big Scrub Link

Emergency in the Florida Keys

 

Life is more than good at Bahia Honda..... for the mosquitoes.  We just completed our emergency evacuation.   This chair is in our "back yard" breeding ground at the Volunteers' RV parking. The camper in #20 emailed me today (Oct 28th) about their emergency evacuation, after vicious mosquito attacks. And we were informed of at least one other camper who had to get medical attention for their bites. Hurricane Rina is now a tropical storm, which chose The Keys as its dumping grounds for the moisture it's been scooping up in The Gulf. At first a lake rising around us was rather a novelty. Our neighbor, John, just got out his kayak to mock the flood. But then the police boat SANK, Buttonwood Campground vanished under water, and our RV sank ever deeper in the sodden mess.

The brown waters of the campground made islands of the restrooms.  The campers were very brave.  Here's Volunteer Andrew strolling in our front yard.  And the last pictures are of park rangers saving the police boat. 

So...what does one do?  There are better things to do with a life than offer your body as mosquito bait and live trapped in an RV to escape the bugs, mud and weather.  Let's go on an adventure!  We really are in Florida, and our youngest son and his darling family are in Orlando.  Where should we flee?    (2B continued....)

Paradise? The majority of camp hosts say "YES"...

 There are 3 camping areas.  We've only been trained in this section so far (with the RVs in Buttonwood Campground)... as of Oct 8, 2011.   In the very center of this picture is the camper marina where Bob has been doing his fishing.  It's wildly alive with fish.  Don't try to count them.  Hundreds of hosts apply for Bahia Honda SP...and keep trying for years.  You are supposed to have a minimum of 500 volunteer hours to even apply.  We came with zero.  We just happened to submit an online application at the exact time another set of hosts had to decline their "place in the sun".  We work 3 days on and 4 days off.  We've explored the other keys this week and are well satisfied we landed in the best one!

Take your shoes off and relax a while....

20 Questions You Should Ask Before Accepting a Host Job

NOTE:  These camp hosting questions apply whether you want a paid working RVer job or a volunteer workamper position.

Camp hosting questions about when you work:
1. How many hours will you be expected to work each week in exchange for the campsite?
2. Is that per couple or per person?
3. Will it be in a certain period of time, such as two full days? Or do you have to be there every day?
4. Can you get away...say for doctor appointments?
5. Will you work weekends and holidays?

Camp hosting questions about the work you'll do:
6. What are your job requirements?
7. Exactly, what does “light maintenance” include?
8. What does “some grounds work” really entail?
9. As a working camper, will you greet campers and assign them to their sites, and then just be there to keep an eye on things?
10. Or, will you also be expected to clean bathrooms, collect money, and solve problems?

Camp hosting questions about the campground or RV park:
11. Is the campground facility in a popular place with lots of visitors?
12. What does it cost to stay for one night?  (This is the market value of your host site.)
13. How far is it to shopping, gas, a post office, etc.?

Camp hosting questions about the social climate of the park:
14. Are there many organized activities or other recreational opportunities?
15. What's your guest population...adults, hunters, organized groups, young families....?
16. Are most of the guests overnighters or are they staying for the season?

Camp hosting questions about your pay or benefits:
17. How will you be compensated?
18. If you are working in exchange for a site, is it possible to work extra hours for a salary?
19. Is it mandatory that you work additional hours when the park is busy or staff numbers are down?
20. If free use of the facility’s amenities is included, what are those park amenities?

Asking these questions can help make your hosting experience rewarding for you and free from conflict with the park management. After receiving the answers, give it some thought. Is this really the camphost job that is right for you, or should you look for a different position? Make a realistic list of the pros and cons so you don't make an emotional decision.  Good luck!

Finding the PERFECT National Forest Position



This picture is of Shanty Pond Campground.  Our first job offer from the Forest Service!  We started with an online application, as we didn't know who to call directly.  It was so easy!  Just go to: Volunteer and search the available jobs.  Campground hosts receive free campground site use, so we checked the current fee per day to get an idea of the benefit we'd receive.  Shanty was a primitive campground and only $4/day.  Depending on which forest you would be working in, there may be a "daily subsistence and/or travel reimbursement"...as well as compensation for personal vehicle and cell phone use for Forest Service business.   This job's only benefit was the use of a Kawasaki Mule.  It had no hookup for water, just one water pump and one vault toilet for over 100 camp sites.  It also required a 6-month commitment...but we were excited.  We believed the postings about how hard it was to get any type of offer. 

We studied the Basic Requirements:

• Enjoy working positively with the public and being visible.  Convey the recreation facility rules as necessary.
• Provide own self-contained living unit.
• Agree to a background check as Hosts handle sensitive information, communicate with by radio and in some cases handle cash.  Provide a copy of your driving record and take a driving course.
• In good health and physical condition (repeated bending and lifting to clean restrooms and fire rings, litter pickup, filling potholes, and maybe even splitting firewood and pulling vegetation.)
• Able to operate equipment such as a leafblower, trimmer, mower, etc.

We shared pictures of Shanty, and our family complained 6 months was too long and the Ocala was too remote (no internet or cell service).  But there's only 15 campgrounds in all of Ocala National Forest.  What else could we possibly get? 
While searching on the internet for reviews about this campground, I found police reports of shootings and even a brutal murder of two environmentalists by gun shot.  It turned out this was mostly a hunters' camp and only had dirt roads.  I started nightmaring about drunken hunters laden with multiple guns.  Oh, no.

Camp Hosting National Parks

Hosts in national parks seem extra, extra happy. There's a generic online application that can go to all of the parks, but volunteer coordinators suggest you send a paper copy to any park you are most interested in. We sent a picture of ourselves as well with a cover letter. You have to be enthusiastic and really sell yourself, as the baby boomers are flooding the coordinators with applications for host positions. You can find the ap at any park's site. Here's the one we found for Zion, as we talked with the hosts there in person: http://www.nps.gov/zion/supportyourpark/campground-host-volunteer-opportunity.htm The only pay for your labors is your spot and up to a $30 propane allowance per month.  It's always worth a try...  We got a very nice offer from the Everglades.  Click here to see the Volunteer Application 

Above is the 31K parked on the Virgin River. I went up Watchman Trail to get an "aerial" view of our RV. Taken 4/1/11

San Clemente State Beach - Health Spa Hosting

With the bikes fixed, this park became our own "health spa". You could soak in the ocean, chase and be chased by waves, bike the beach and the gorgeous bike trail along the coast. The bluffs here are an erosional wonder. The trails wander through bunches of flowers. You don't even realize you are getting in shape as you explore the canyons. Wonderful!http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/San_Clemente_Sb/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=CA&parkId=120082&pstate=CA

P.S. California's state park hosts are strictly volunteer....no pay/no stipend. You do get a spot to park your rig and hookups (if available). We don't know if it's true, but we heard that management tends to not treat the hosts very well in Southern California. In Northern California it seems you have to apply and wait at least a year or two for a spot...so hosts must have a better time of it there. On the up side, you can volunteer for as little as a month. There's complete information on all of the host jobs at this link: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=911