Pouring concrete and a birthday.

Yes, thats me. Doing concrete work again. The campground needed a curb around the"dump station",so one of the other camphosts,Ken and myself tackled the job.
The wives have been taking care of the kiosk,so us men have to find things to do around the park just to keep out from under foot of the wives!
The weather has been a little better as the rain has subsided a bit and the temps have warmed up a bit. The head maintenance guy for the park, Bill Todd, rounded up all the materials we needed for the job. In about 5 hours we setup,poured and finished the curb. the park has some other little projects they need done and Mr. Todd is going to let Ken and I handle some of them. Ken, the other camphost, has already built a cover over the "camp registration" pedestal and built dividers in the firewood shed. He is a retired carpenter by trade,and a darn good one.Ken and I camphosted here back in the summer of 2005,2006,and 2007 briefly as Jeni and I would come in to work the summer season and Ken and his lovely wife Barb,would head out to Washington after working the winter season here.We all have become fast friends.
Jeni really enjoys working in the Kiosk,selling passes, giving out information about the park, and enjoying the stories the customers come up with to avoid paying the entrance fee! Californians are a"cheap" bunch.
She is the face of customer service for the park.She has that winning smile and can do attitude that they all love.
This last weekend, with the nice weather,and warmer temps,the park was very busy. Jeni handled the kiosk by herself with no help from..... yours truly, and she did a great job. Believe me, when I'm in there helping her,I'm a "bull in a china shop".She just nicely hustles me out of the kiosk,telling me to go"outside and play with my friends".Like a "good boy",I do what I am told.
I snapped a picture of me and the boys after we had finished the curb.Left to right is Bil Todd,Ken Carter, and myself. What a "motley crew!"
Jeni and I have been having our grandson,DJ over to spend the night about once a week as he loves it out here. We give him rides on the" park Gator", and golf cart (when I don't have the Gator).He also loves to take his little fishing pole down to the water and fish. He also likes to walk the lake bottom where its dry.Climbing around on the big granite boulders.
Tuesday was our granddaughter Alyx's birthday. We all met at the local bowling alley,for some bowling and fun. Alyx and her mom and dad love to bowl.Jeni and I haven't bowled(except wii bowling) sine we left Az. back in 1989. It was an ugly sight to see as we slipped and stumbled. we pulled muscles, wrenched our backs,and threw more "gutter balls",
than DJ. The pic is of one of his "gutter balls". But I think he had a better score than we did!
Alyx and her friend Jessica were bowling"incognito" to avoid the embarrassment her grandparents bowling was causing them.
After bowling,we all headed to the "Mongollian Barbecue" for dinner. It was kinda" Chinese buffet" style, but it was good.
Jeni and I were talking the other day about the best thing we love about "camphosting". Aside from the beautiful places we have been and the wildlife we see,we think it is the wonderful people we have met.The park rangers,and park Ade's at the different parks we have volunteered at.Every one of them have treated us well and we have enjoyed them all. The people we have camphosted with that we have bonded with and forged friendships with.
A lot of them we still keep in touch with. I think that camaraderie, and friendship keeps us young at heart and active. We can't wait for our next volunteering job in Oregon this summer.
Thanks to all of you, Jeni and I are better people because of you.

RAIN !

It has been raining for 3 days and the forecast calls for more rain the next 3 days! I've never missed the southwest as much as i do right now.
To get out, we headed to a new casino for lunch. Red Hawk Casino, nestled in the foothills just off Hwy 50 east of Shingle Springs. We opted for the "buffet" lunch which was a deal at $9.95. We were seated by one of the big windows that gives you a view of the surrounding area. Unfortunately the low clouds and rain diminished the view to about 500 feet. The food was very good by buffet standards. We usually eat at the cafe as you only get one plate.I always help my self to that dreaded 2nd plate at the buffet and pay later.
The park has been slow. Only 2 campers in the last couple of weeks. Three days on and six days off is not working for us, but we will tough it out til April 21st. After that, we plan to head to Park Sierra to move our stuff into our storage shed and participate in "Stagecoach Days" April-22 to April-25. We will probably stay 2 or 3 weeks , to get a feel for our new place, then head to Oregon for our summer jobs.
I like taking walks in the morning.usually 1 or 2 miles. I check the campgrounds,day use area, and the bike trail as I walk. It is a beautiful area to walk, no traffic, not crowded, and when the weather's good, It's Assume.
Last Saturday we watched our Grandson DJ while my daughter and her husband went out. The next day Jeni and my daughter went to the movies and left me to babysit DJ. What were they thinking! Me babysit!!! I got football to watch, and it's raining outside. Hey the little guy was a trooper. We bowled,played with "monster trucks",and drove the golf cart down to the day use area to check things out as DJ says. I didn't babysit him, he babysat me!
I think I will go to bed early tonight and dream of sunny warm places and swimming pools.Hopefully the sun returns here soon.

Fog, Birthday,and "were in !"

I remember last winter when we were camphosting in the sunny warm desert of southern California, the hikes, barbeque's, walking around in shorts, relaxing in the spa on our days off. What a difference a year makes! Taking hikes bundled up like an Eskimo, enjoying soup inside the rig, hot showers to keep warm, and coffee, lots of coffee! That's life at Folsom lake these days. If it's not raining it's foggy.
One thing that doesn't change is the card games.We have the other two camphosts, Ken and Barb & Jerry and Deb over on Tuesday evenings for cards! That's one thing we do enjoy while camphosting here. We have camphosted with both couples back in 05 and 06 and we all have become fast friends.
The best thing about being in Folsom is seeing our two daughters and their families.Spending some Quality time with them and our grand kids.
Oh, by the way, somebody had a birthday on Jan. 3rd.......Me! I turned the ripe ole age of..... well, it's on my coffee cup. Enough said. Jeni and the family took me to the "olive garden" for Italian food. One of my favorites. I usually don't like a lot of "fanfare " for my birthday,but it was very special for me this year.
Well, as of yesterday Jeni and I are official members of Park Sierra escapee park. We called on Wednesday and they had a site for us as we moved to #1 on the list.Thursday morning we headed down to the park to pay our money and check out our site. Oh, our site number is 419. (3 pictures of the site). It has shade in the afternoon and is a "pullthru"site which means easy in easy out for the rig. It is a corner lot and it is close to the clubhouse. It also has a 10x12 foot storage shed.We also will have mail service and they will forward our mail
to us when we are on the road. The downside is we have to change our address to the park and give up our old address. I'm sure my Daughter Jackie will be happy though. She has forwarded our mail ,without a hitch, since 2005. Not many kids would do this for their parents that long. Jeni and I can't thank her enough. It's high time she gets a mail break! Job well done sweetie.
We won't change our address until we hit there in Oct. I will post it when we actually change it.
While we were at the park we got to see all our friends and get congrats from them. our good friends Gary and Laverne had us over for a delicious dinner. We then went over to the clubhouse to play "wii"bowling and a couple of games of "Peg and Jokers". Jeni and I felt like we had never left the place as we picked right up where we left off when we left.
We just drove the car down from Sacramento,so We got a room for the night in Oakhurst about 10 miles up from the park. We stayed at the "Best Western" motel. I booked it online and got a great rate. My sister in law Martha turned us on to this place as when her and my brother Gary visited us at park Sierra last summer they stayed there. It is a beautiful motel with a great restaurant for breakfast. In the middle of the complex, they have an ares for relaxing with a table and chairs, a barbecue, and a scenic and serene waterfall setting. I snapped a picture of Jen and I posing with the waterfall behind us. It was a great two days for us and we hated to leave. We were already planning our decorating of our site and how much stuff Jeni could get into (her) storage shed!
One note to add for our summer itinerary,In addition to our camphosting job at Cape Blanco State Park in Oregon for June, We have just picked up another job for July and August. Deshutes State Park in north central Oregon. It is on the Deshutes river where it ties into the Columbia River. It's 15 miles east of the Dalles. We have talked to some people that have been up in that area and they say it is beautiful.
Well, as I look out my "fog shrouded"window, pouring myself another hot cup of coffee, I'm day dreaming of the warm sunny desert southwest,me in my tee shirt and shorts, drinking a "cool "one And working on my tan!

Happy New Year

We hope everyone had a great Christmas.Ours was great as we had a great family gathering at our daughter Katie's house.
Jeni and I worked the day after Christmas at the park. It was a cool sunny day and we had a few visitors in the day use area enjoying the day hiking and biking.The main multi use trail that follows the American River from Sacramento up around part of Folsom lake, runs right through our park. We get all kinds of walkers,hikers,bikers,and horseback riders through the park. So,there might be only a few cars in the park, but a lot of people in the park. It's a great park for all these activities. The campground has been slow with 2 or 3 people camping on the tent side(mostly homeless living in their cars) and 5 or 6 RVs in the full hookups side. As new years approached, we got a few more RV's in but still had plenty of sites for rent.
Our grandson DJ came out to spend the day with us this week. He loves to come out when we are working because he knows Grandpa has the " Gator"! (the vehicle we get to drive when we are on duty) He loves to ride around with me as I make my rounds through the park. We also have our golf cart with us,so we ride in it when we are not on duty.Jen and I sure enjoy having him come see us.
New years eve DJ spent the night with us as his mom and dad went out to celebrate new years. We had a great time playing games and eating cookies. We didn't quite make it to midnight though, we were in bed by 10:30.
I haven't been on Jeni's good side the last few days as there has been 10 football bowl games on TV the last two days and 5 more tomorrow. I don't dare tell her NFL games on Sunday!
We are still #4 on the list at Park Sierra. We have to call in every Wednesday between 8am and noon to keep our place. I think we will be in about mid Jan. or early Feb.
My brother Gary and his wife Martha spent the Christmas holiday in New Mexico checking out the "land of enchantment". They loved Las Cruses. In New Mexico they celebrate the holidays by putting out "Luminaries, Candles placed inside a small brown paper bag that has sand in the bottom. they are placed on fences along the edge of walks and driveways. Whole subdivisions do this along with the downtown area, and commercial buildings.At night,when their lit, it looks spectacular. Gary and Martha loved them.
I wish I could say all my family had a great holiday.My Brother Larry, who lives in Phoenix, had pneumonia and had to go to the hospital. I talked with him yesterday and he didn't feel well and went back to the doctor. Hopefully he will feel better in a couple of days. Hang in there Lar. were thinking of you.
2009 was an "OK" year with it's ups and downs for us. Winter found us at Agua Caliente county park volunteering.We met some wonderful people there and we miss them now. Spring we were in Riverside,Ca. helping our son with some difficulties.That is what family does. Summer we were at Park Sierra workamping and getting a feel for the place in case we wanted to make it our "homebase. We were sold! we are #4 on the list. Fall brought us down to Sacramento for our daughter Katie's wedding. Now we are camphosting in Folsom at Beals Point State Park for the winter. Time flies when your"Livin the Buena Loca" HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010. May it be a great year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

The shopping is done,the presents are wrapped,another Christmas is upon us.

Jeni and I reminisced that we have been together for 40 Christmases......that's a long time! Am I that old? Where does the time go?Hopefully we can enjoy many more.

This year we will have all the kids together for the holidays for the first time in a long time.My daughter Katie is having Christmas dinner for all of us.This will be a special one for us this year. I know I complain. about volunteering here in the winter,(cold wet weather) but it is nice being with our Sacramento family.Jeni and I are so lucky to be RVers,Able to freely travel the country being where we want when we want.

For the last couple of weeks,we have been watching all the Christmas movies on TV.You know,to get in the" ole" holiday spirit.The one thing I've noticed though,all those movies have happy endings.The guy got the girl,the family brought back together,the lost son that came home.The miracle of the holidays! All too often it doesn't happen in real life for some.On the tent side of the park we are volunteering at,it's too cold for tent camping but, we have people, homeless because of the economy,living out of their cars staying in the park.There are kids that won't have presents this year because their parents lost their jobs.Our homeless veterans living on the street, where are these people's Christmas miracle?Our family has had to cut back because of the economy this year, make do with less for Christmas, but we all have a roof over our heads, food to eat, and most importantly our health. This is our Christmas miracle.

Our family,as we gather this Christmas, will say a little prayer for the less fortunate in hopes that they too can have their own Christmas miracle. Merry Christmas to all!

Life at Folsom Lake

We started our workamper jobs at the lake as we donned our "state park"hats and vests for our first day.I snapped a picture of Jen and I inside the kiosk just before we opened.You know,I sure have a pretty wife.Anyway,our first day was very slow and uneventful as The weather took a turn for the worse as another winter storm was bearing down on us.
After our first three days on the job,we got the next nine days off as we switched schedules with one of the other camphosts so they could be off.We got to spend some quality time with our Grandson DJ.and Granddaughter Alyx.I would get up early in the morning and DJ would be awake and ready to go.I would fire up the"ole"golf cart
and we would head down to the "day use"area and explore the dry lake bottom.We had to bundle up both mornings as it was in the mid 20s and breezy.
With the 9 days off we got most of our Christmas shopping done.In the few times we were out,we noticed that the crowds were down compared to past years.With the economy,we have had to cut back on the value of our gifts too.
Our Daughter Katie is having Christmas dinner at her house and we will have all the kids there together for the first time in a long time.
The lake is as low as I have ever seen it.With the construction of the levees and the drought,it is only about 29% of capacity.I took a picture of the lake and from were I took the picture,that is usually the water line of the lake in a good water year.Attendance has been down because of the economy,and the price hikes.One benefit is we pretty much have the park to ourselves.
We got word that we are now #5 on the list at Park Sierra.We have to call into the office each Wednesday to see if there is a space available.We might be in by January,a lot sooner than we thought.When were in we will drive down to the park to pay our money,check our site out,and head back to Folsom.We probably won't return to the park until next October,as after we finish here in April,we head to Oregon for the summer.
With the recent rain and snow,the park has really turned green, luscious,and beautiful.When spring arrives,the park will be in full bloom.It is the best time to be here.
After spending the last several winters down south,it takes some getting used to spending winter up here.It is great seeing the kids and spending the holidays with them.But,I can't wait til spring!Until then,we will have to bundle up and endure the cold and rain.Such is life at Folsom Lake.

SNOW #$%^&*

We got up this morning for our first day as camphosts.I threw open the front curtains and we had snow on the ground.In Sacramento!I told Jeni to call the Ranger cause WE ARE OUT OF HERE!I don't do snow!!!I should be headed south at the first sight of the white stuff like a good RVer........After consulting with el jefe(Jeni),I settled down and we opened the kiosk at the park.It didn't get out of the40's all day and low 20's tonight,perfect!
The park actually looked real "christmas like"and our first day was quiet.Hopfully it will warm up soon.
Because of the economy,and the camping rates going up,not many people are in the park right
now.I left Jeni in the kiosk and I set out to find somthing to do.Finally 2:30pm came around and we were off the clock.We headed back to the RV to get warm as the temp was 39 degrees.I took a couples of pictures of the snow.It is highly unusual for Sacramento.In 20yrs living here, I only remember one time that we had snow.
If we can get through the winter,spring is beautiful here.One brite spot is we get to see more of our grandkids Alyx,and DJ.