Camp Hosting

Being a Camp host. So, just what is a camp host. It depends on the employer. 

Concessionaire companies , this is a company that has won the bid to manage government sites. 

Camp Host Volunteer, a volunteer that works directly for the Department of the Interior. Example, would be: Corp of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, National Forest and National Parks. 

The main difference, you are consider a paid employee for a concessionaire, where you work 32 hrs., a week, receive a site, and a small salary. 

As a volunteer, you normally just receive a site. 

The main job is to take care of the campground and a source of information. We inform the campers of the rules and regulation. Most campers are very agreeable to follow the rules, however there is always that 1 %, that believes otherwise. 

This was the case on Friday, June 18. A camper was informed of the rule, by Joe (volunteer). Joe was polite and courteous, however the person would have none of that. At this point Joe, walked away, came to our site to discuss the situation. 

We all agreed to contact our supervisor, and informed him of the situation. I am not going into a great explanation as to what happen. No one was fired, nor hurt in anyway. Just to say, the Law Enforcement Agent new the person, stated he was a good man. 

Our area manager will be meeting with the agent on Thursday, to discuss the situation. Needless to say, the Agent, who is in charge of enforcing the rules, refused to, and stated, in his 15 years he has gone thru many volunteers. Needless to say, that did not sit will with us nor our supervisor or his supervisor. His comment indicated that the person/his friend was more important then some volunteers. 

Life is to short, to let someone dictate to you. Dan has been a great supervisor during our time here. You could not ask for a friendlier person. 

Be that as it may, Joe, Susan and I, handle it very well. We walked away, stayed away from his site, informed our supervisor, and waited for an outcome.  

So, this was an isolated case, this is the first bully we had at this campground in the 2 seasons we were here.

So, the take-away is a Camp Host is not law enforcement, we inform the campers of the rules. Most of them will make a few changes, and life goes on, and we all have fun. A Camp host always has to make command decision, just be aware of the perception, to the other campers. Do not be afraid of being a camp host. Just remember, read the application and job description. Remember everyone in the campground want's to have a good time. It is their forest to enjoy. 

Remember if the employer goes beyond the description, then hey, you are retired, you can leave at anytime and you can be fired anytime. 

Would Susan and I do it again? No, and not for the issue above, but if we need to work, we have Show Low. Otherwise we will continue to travel and enjoy life and this wonderful country.

Our reason, for leaving is not due to the incident. We knew that the possibility of 1 person, would be a bully. It just came about at the wrong time.  

Ok, now onto some good things:

First, we were able to say our goodbyes to RC & Dan. This will have to do for Dave, Zac, John, Charles,  and some of the other workers. We will miss saying goodbye to Pat, Tawana, Dan, Karen, Linda, Kathy and many other campers that we have come to know. Including our fur friends Oz, LoLo, Kirby, Miles, just to name just a few.

There are only 2 reason, 1 is the power issue and the other is our purchasing the cabin in Show Low. We decided we can work at the cabin, just the same as working here. 

Susan and I have many fond memories of being here and we will cherish them immensely. 

Safe Travels and Journeys

Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me.

DaGirls Rv

  

Catching Up With Photos

 As promised, we have faster internet, which allow me to upload photos:

Safe Travels 

Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me

DaGirls Rv.

Remember the 3 W's to protect your bubble

        

Finding Our Spot

So, let’s talk Dry – Camping, specifically finding places to dry Camp.

First, how do we locate a place where we can camp . I like to 3 different websites, this along with a laptop, enables a large screen to be used.

https://freecampsites.net/

http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com/

https://www.campendium.com/

Some people my ask why not use certain Apps. Well most of them will charge you a yearly fee, whereas the above websites are FREE, and FREE is Good.

Once we have identified where we are going, we then locate a place where to explore. Next, is to locate a disconnect zone, where we leave the Rv and take our vehicle and scout the areas. Using Googles Maps (Satellite view) zoom in and search out locations to visit and check to see if the conditions are safe for our Rv.

Other references we use, especially if going to a National Forest (Not a National Park), we will go to the National Forest (NF), website.
Example: Coconino NF 
Website - https://www.fs.usda.gov/coconino/

Then if you closely look at the menu left side:

The first menu to use is the Recreation menu.

Next will be the Camping & Cabins

From there we search for location, in addition to Fire Dangers and other information.

Now for those of you who want a map, going back to the first image, you will see a menu for maps of the NF. 

When in the NF, I tend to  buy a hard copy and add to my collection, however as you can see there are Digital versions to download.

However, this is one you should get:

Printed Maps

Coconino National Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map - Free!

Great for: Driving, trail riding motorized vehicles

The Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) is the legal document/map that shows where it is legal to drive a motorized vehicle. The MVUM is updated every year, so please be sure that you are using the most current version when driving on the National Forest. The newest version of the map is published and available for pick-up or download by May 1 each year.

A hard copy of this map is freely available upon request at any of our forest offices or by calling the Coconino National Forest Supervisor's Office at 928-527-3600.

Safe travels and Journeys 

Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me

DaGirls Rv

Oops almost forgot Dakota's & my Walk-A-Bout

Heading to the High Country

Well, the last you read from us, was we were hunkering down in Yuma, with our Alfa family in DaHood. Our zip code had only 5, Covid19 cases. We all decided that we did not want to see it increase.

Susan, made masks for all of us, which she shared with family and other friends, here and in other cities. We all agreed to wear these mask when we went out, so as to protect our friends and family. We agreed, if you violated this, you were not to be allowed back into out lot until a self imposed quarantine.

Ok, let's get back to the real important stuff.

First, my Elk's membership has been transferred to Gila Bend. Which was a very fun process, and required a fun road trip. It turned out, the first cards were loss in the process to Yuma. So, I decided a road trip was in order to meet Becky and get my card. Friday morning, we headed out to Gila Bend, met Becky, received my card and then headed back. As no one had any clear destination as to where to go, I headed out to Painted Rock Petroglyph Site & campground just west of Gila Bend.

Along with that, we enjoyed  fee birthdays. We suprised the heck out of Rudy, with a birthday party and special present. The present came all the way from Dallas, specifically from Sebastian Gefeke.  Big thank to you Sebastian for all your help to make your dad's party a big suprised.

This year I turned a corner, 69, yes I turn 69 years old.

Now along the way, we did many Covid-19 projects, (next winter projects), many walks in and out of the hood and of course many helping each other.

I also spent some time repairing a storage compartment door.

Completed Door

Fibreglass repair

Rotten wood inside door.

Our decision was to wait until all our packages had arrived, then leave around the 15th of May. However, on Saturday May 2nd, our next to last package arrived. I asked the question, is there any reason, why we couldn't leave on Tuesday? We all got together (Rüdiger, Beate, Susan & I), plan developed a war plan. Yes we all leave on Tuesday, and head out to the High Country of Arizona. Specifically Coconino National Forest, just west of Flagstaff. 

We left a few minute before 0700, on Tuesday, plan take Hwy 95 north, to I-40, then head east to Flagstaff, specifically exit 185. Along the way, we change drivers, walk the puppies outside Parker, refueled east of Kingman at a Love's (saved over $100 on Fuel), and stopped to closed the garbage door which just happened to opened.

Next was realizing that the radiator cap, came off, and we loss some coolant. But we found the coolant on the Truck.

We arrived around 3ish, disconnected at the truck stop, and we all drove down to NF Rd 171, where we parked the Rv's and went in search of sites.

So, what's the plan? We really have no hard core plan in place except for Rüdiger & Beate. There plan, leave on Monday and head to Custer Mountains & Cabins in Custer, SD., where they will stay in place and work-camp. Susan and my plan hang around for a few more weeks and then make our way someplace.

Now for anyone, thinking of coming up here are instructions.
Easier to head North on US Route 95, then East on Interstate - 40. 
Leave I-40 at Exit 185. At this point, 2 different thing to do:
1. Enter into the Truck Stop (Farthest Left), Go to the back and disconnect. Then leave, turning left onto the frontage Rd. Turn left onto FR 171, proceed until you see the corral on the left, proceed to the 2nd RIGHT hand turn. GO VERY SLOW due to the dust.

Or, you can proceed left to the frontage rd., Stop on the road, disconnect and then follow the instructions. The Frontage Rd, do NOT get much traffic, so you will be safe in disconnecting. 


So, lets get this published, shall we?

DaGirls Rv
Susan, Tilly, Dakota and me
Safe Journeys and Travels
Wear your Mask when going into stores
Wash your hands and keep others safe,
especially your family and dfriends