May 2007 Travel Log

05/29/07: Huntington Lake, Sierra NF, CA: We survived Memorial weekend pretty good. Although we try to not let it get to us, there IS frustration in this job. In this case, the reservation company (Reserve America) really screwed us up! We have no control of this other company. They were telling people all of our campgrounds were full. They were taking reservations for only one of them (Rancheria). Ugh! So we ended up with one campground full (160 sites) and the other 6 campgrounds empty! Actually, we were taking

people for the other 6 campgrounds on a first-come basis. While one campground was full, the other 6 ended up being about 50% full for the weekend. Larry also upset a host couple at one of the campgrounds. We only have 2 golf carts assigned to all 7 campgrounds. Based on the previous year's setup, our largest campground only had 1 golf cart and the other was assigned elsewhere. After only one day of a full campground did we realize this wasn't efficient! While Rancheria campground has 160 camp sites and 45 toilets to clean, the other campground with a golf cart had 48 camp sites and 8 toilets. While the 2 hosts at Rancheria were only 60% completed after 8 hours of work, the other campground's host (with the other golf cart) was sitting around all day. That lasted one day! Larry re-assigned BOTH golf carts to the largest campground. It made a HUGE difference the second day of the weekend. Of course, the other campground host complained and threatened to leave, although they did understand the reason for the cart re-assignment. As of now, they've decided to stay, but have told us they can only do "minimal" work on half of their campground, since it hurts her knees to walk to the 2nd bathroom. Ugh! 2nd bathroom (8 toilets)! Connie has 18 bathrooms (45 toilets) here to clean!

Now that the holiday weekend is over, the campground is quite again. I think there's only 6 campers here. We finally enjoyed 2 days off in a row again. We made it a point not to stay around. Of course, there's the usual chores of grocery shopping and laundry. But we also had time to squeeze in a 2-mile hike to Rancheria Falls. Today, we made a day trip with picnic to the "High Sierra", which is only 20 miles away, but on a single lane windy mountain road. it's beautiful on this other mountain. Our main reason for going there, besides seeing what's over there, was to enjoy the natural hot springs at Mono Hot Springs. We enjoyed our soaking in the hot springs for about an hour. Although, it was a natural pool full of algae. We've also become pretty good at sighting Bald Eagles. We see one about every other day now, since we know what to look for when they're flying.

We now have about 3 weeks of few campers before school lets out and the summer rush is on. We still have much to do in the campgrounds to get them "up to par", then it'll be normal daily cleaning. Although, maintenance still has plenty to do. It's part of this company's (California Land Management) contract to paint 20% of the tables, bathrooms, etc each year. So we have plenty of painting ahead of us. We're also VERY EXCITED that our eldest daughter, hubbie, and our granddaughter will be coming to visit us. Hopefully for a week. Either they'll tent camp next door to us, or stay with us in our home on wheels. Kaylee (granddaughter) will be 1-year old the beginning of June. Of course, we're pretty upset that we'll miss her first birthday party.

05/22/07: Huntington Lake, Sierra NF, CA: WOW, time as slipped by us! We've been working EXTREMELY HARD for the past 3 weeks! We worked HARD at Dorrabelle campground getting it ready to open. I never realized how much work it takes to get a campground open after winter. We had some help the last week there, but it was still rough. That campground needed (and still does) some serious cleanup. TONS of pine needles to rake and blow off the roads. Getting the pump and water system going, trimming trees and bushes, and picking up TONS of old concrete blocks laying all over the place. We felt used, as the people who work at this campground all summer didn't do much of the work. We finally left there and headed up to 7200' elevation to Huntington Lake. This is OUR area. But now we had 8 campgrounds here that needed a TON of work! We started cleaning the campgrounds and soon the employees for this area started showing up. We've been cleaning for over a week, and there's still much to do. But they're safe and the bathrooms are clean, so we're opening all of the campgrounds tomorrow for guests. Just in time for Memorial weekend. We've been working 6 days a week to get these campgrounds presentable.<

We have a pretty good staff, but there's always the lazy ones and the complainers. Hopefully, all will work out. Our boss is pretty good, and real supportive. He's given Larry much freedom and authority, which is going to work out fine. I may have mentioned it, but Larry is the "Site Manager" for all of the campgrounds on Huntington Lake. Connie is a camp host at Rancheria campground. The area is beautiful, and we're looking forward to exploring the area (when we get time). Some of the campgrounds are fairly modern and clean, while some are rustic. The campground Connie's hosting at is a little old and has a mix of large sites and small tent sites. It's the largest of all campgrounds in the area, with 160 camp sites (and ONLY 2 hosts). We are getting a free, pretty camp site. But there's no sewer and our electric is minimal voltage. We need to run the generator to run the microwave. But we're given gas for the generator and the honey wagon pumps us every couple weeks. Huntington Lake is real pretty and is currently quiet. But I'm sure it'll get real active for this weekend. We have Osprey in the area and we've seen a pair of Bald Eagles a few times in our campground. We're told, they have a next nearby. But we haven't located it yet. I hope to eventually get some good photos of these large and majestic birds. There's plenty of Stellar Jay's, always cackling at us. One keeps attempting to make a nest in our Motor Home under the hood. She hasn't gotten the hint yet, but twice a day we remove the twigs she's putting there. I finally placed a large rock in the nest location, so maybe she'll stop wasting her time here and find a safer location. We've also had a Chipmunk climb our screen door while we were sitting inside. I think all of these local animals are used to humans feeding them and are looking forward to the campers returning.