Tag Archives: camp host

Nov11

Lack of Linens

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Blaize Sun

There were yurts in the campground where the Mercantile was located. People could rent the yurts for $85 per night. The yurts were basically glorified tents with wooden floors and furniture. The furniture included a futon that converted from a couch into a double (or maybe a queen) bed, a bunk bed with a double bed on the bottom and a singe on top, a wooden bedside table, and a wooden rocking chair. Unlike the traditional Mongolian dwellings on which these camping structures were based, these yurts had windows with flaps outside that rolled down for privacy. There was no electricity in the yurts–or anywhere in the campground–and no running water within a ten mile radius. The yurts were also without heat. Even so, the half dozen yurts in the campground were booked nearly every weekend and often during the week too.

A green yurt with a brown door is covered with a dusting of snow. Snow is on the ground in the foreground and trees are in the background. — Yurt in the snow

I could understand the appeal. Some people don’t want to sleep on the cold, cold ground. (I sure as heck don’t!) Some people have physical limitations that make sleeping on the ground impossible. Some people are too afraid of spiders, snakes, bugs, and other critters to even contemplate sleeping on the ground with them. The yurts were sort of a middle ground between sleeping in a tent or not going camping at all.

Not only were the yurts lacking in electricity, running water, and heat, no linens were provided for the beds. This lack of bedding was a practical consideration. Sheets and blankets and pillow cases would have to be changed between guests, and the nearest place to the campground to do laundry was 25 mountain miles away. Each yurt would need a minimum of two sets of sheets and blankets for each bed so fresh linens would be available even in the event of back-to-back check ins. Someone (probably the already overworked camp host) would have to drive the dirty bedding the 50 mile round trip to the tiny laundromat with one one coin operated washer and one coin operated dryer. That person would likely have to spend a whole day loading linens into washer/out of washer, into dryer/out of dryer, then folding, folding, folding. Providing linens just wasn’t practical, so the yurts were strictly BYOB (Bring Your Own Bedding).

Whenever visitors in the Mercantile asked me about the yurts (and multiple people asked every week), I always explained that folks who stayed in the yurts had to provide their own bedding, either sheets and blankets or sleeping bags, I spelled it out for them.

Unfortunately, the reservation website doesn’t spell things out for campers quite as well as I did. While the website gives the (questionably punctuated) information

No Pets, No cooking or No smoking allowed in the Yurts[,]

it doesn’t say anything about bedding not being provided. Ooops! Hopefully when a person actually reserves a yurt, the reservation information includes details on the lack of bed linens.

Many visitors to the mountains don’t understand that the higher they go in elevation, the cooler the temperature will be be, especially at night. Sometimes people staying in the yurts brought bedding, but not enough of it to stay warm. The camp hosts in 2016 were super sweet and lived in a converted school bus with plenty of room, so they would loan their personal extra bedding to yurt dwellers who were cold. I appreciated their generosity (as I’m sure the campers did too), but I would never loan my blankets to strangers. First of all, when I live in my van, I don’t have room for extras. Secondly, sometimes people are harboring bugs! Besides, campers should plan ahead and prepare for all eventualities, even if they are going to sleep in a yurt. Yurts are a bit sturdier than regular tents, and the walls are a bit thicker, but not by much.

Javier and Sandra, the camp hosts my last year on the mountain were nice people too, but they were also vandwellers without room to spare for extra bedding. When campers arrived unprepared for their night in a yurt, there was nothing the camp hosts could offer but sympathy.

One evening I was hanging out with Javier and Sandra on their campsite when a European couple arrived. There was some discussion I couldn’t hear between the man who’d been driving and Sandra. I did hear Sandra say they should find the yurt and she’d be over before dark to do the check-in paperwork. The couple drove off, and I began saying my good-byes so Sandra and Javier could finish their work before they ran out of daylight.

Before I could leave the host site, the European man had driven back to the front of the campground and was asking about bedding. The mattresses in the yurt were bare, he said, and they hadn’t brought any linens. Did Sandra and Javier have any sheets and blankets they could use?

Javier and Sandra shook their heads. No. Sorry. Linens were not provided in the yurts.

The fellow wanted to know what they should do.

I asked if they had sleeping bags. I thought maybe if their itinerary included actual camping at some point they might have camping gear.

The fellow said no. They hadn’t brought sleeping bags. Then he asked if there was any place nearby that might sell bedding.

I told him the Mercantile had sold out of both sleeping bags and blankets. If there had been anything useful in the store and if he could pay cash and if he didn’t need change, I would have unlocked the door and helped him out. However, during the last cold snap, unprepared campers had wiped us out of all things warm.

Sandra told him there was a general store about 25 miles away that maybe sold sleeping bags, but she didn’t know if the store was open so late in the day. She also mentioned the store 35 miles away in the opposite direction that sold outdoor supplies. Maybe that store had sleeping bags.

The European man stood and stared at us in disbelief.

Of course there’s Wal-Mart, Javier said. He explained it was at the bottom of the mountain and about 60 miles from the campground.

It was obvious the camper didn’t want to drive 25 miles (and back!), much less 60. He just stood there and looked at us, and Sandra kept repeating that she was sorry. Finally the camper got back in his car and drove to the yurt where he and the lady would be spending a chilly night. At least they might have enjoyed the cuddling they probably had to do to stay warm.

Having never reserved a yurt, I don’t know if the reservation paperwork spelled out the lack of linens and if it did, how prominently that information was displayed. I do know if I were paying to stay anywhere other than a conventional hotel or motel, I would find out if bedding was included instead of assuming it was.

I took the photo in this post.

Oct9

Job Leads for Nomads in the U.S.A.

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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The #1 question I encounter in Facebook groups for vandwellers, rubber tramps, and vagabonds is some variation of What do folks do for money while living a nomadic life? In the past, I’ve tried to answer this question by sharing information about getting work at campgrounds, house and pet sitting jobs, participating in clinical drug trials, and picking up temporary work.

Recently in one of the Facebook groups for vandwellers that I’m a member of, I ran across a great list posted by a woman named Jamie Fox. She called the list “Some Links for Working While on the Road,” and it consisted of links to websites nomads can use to find work. I contacted Jamie immediately and asked if I could share the list with my readers. I was delighted when she said yes.

Of course, I’m not going to give you a list of links and leave it at that. I

Person Holding And Showing 100 Dollar Bills From Leather Wallet

researched the links on the list Jamie posted and made sure each one took me to an actual website. I also found the name of the website each link represented, and looked at what kinds of jobs were listed. During my research, I found other helpful websites; I’ve also included those as well as some I’d heard of or written about in the past.

I’m not going to say this list is complete, but it is the most comprehensive list of job leads for nomads I’ve ever seen. From camp host to beet harvest and everything in between, I present to you lots of ideas for making money while living on the road.

Warning: Neither Blaize Sun nor Jamie Fox are vouching for any of the companies or websites on this list. We’re only telling you what these companies and websites say about themselves. You are responsible for your own self. Do your own research before you pay any money or accept any job offer.

Campground and RV Park Jobs Probably the most well-known work camping job is the camp host. The following companies do hire camp hosts, but some also hire folks to do other jobs that keep the campgrounds running smoothly.

American Land & Leisure is “a private contractor that cares for over 400 National Forest, Pacific Gas & Electric and State Park campgrounds throughout the United States,” and hires campground workers.

California Land Management hires camp hosts and other support personnel to work in campgrounds in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada.

The Rocky Mountain Recreation Company website says the company hires camp hosts, maintenance personnel, retail clerks, landscapers, day use area workers, and interpretive personnel.

Hoodoo Recreation hires camp hosts, attendants, and mangers to work in the Wenatchee and Gifford Pinchot National Forests in Washington.

Scenic Canyons Recreational Services hires people for campground jobs. Their website specifically mentions Workampers.

Recreation Resource Management “provides private operations management for public parks…[The company] operate[s] campgrounds and other recreation facilities in the US Forest Service, for state parks agencies, and for many other government parks and recreation agencies. Almost all…employees, even for…stores and marinas, are work campers.”

RV Park Store is a website with listings for campgrounds, resorts, and marinas for sale. It also has a Help Wanted for RV Parks and Campgrounds page.

Sun RV Resorts has a Work Camper program. Work campers in the Sun Resorts program “earn wages for the work…perform[ed], [and] earn rebates that are applied towards…site rent,” among other perks.

Bethpage Camp-Resort in Urbana, VA hires workampers. I was not able to find a list of their available workamper positions, but the website says potential workampers can send a resume and cover letter to bethpage_mgr@equitylifestyle.com.

The Working Couples website also offers campground job listings. (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

The Camp Channel website offers a list of summer camp jobs and employment opportunities. (Note: These are jobs working with children.)

Members of The Camphosts Facebook group often list available campground jobs.

RV Hosts & Work Campers of America is another Facebook group “for posting campground hosting reviews as well as posting of available positions.”

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a volunteer opportunities page that directs folks to Volunteer.gov and advises folks to check with local BLM offices. Volunteer.gov calls itself “America’s Natural and Cultural Resources Volunteer Portal.” I’m not sure if any of the opportunities listed on Volunteer.gov are paying positions or if local BLM offices offer paying positions for work campers.

The Workers on Wheels website has a Campground Work page full of articles about working at campgrounds and RV parks.

Agriculture Jobs If you like working outdoors and don’t mind getting dirty,

an agricultural job might be for you.

The Unbeetable Experience website is where you can apply to work the sugar beet harvest in Minnesota, North Dakota, or Montana, and possibly “earn up to $2,400 in two weeks.” You can also follow The Unbeetable Experience on Facebook. If you are considering working the sugar beet harvest, be sure to read the informative blog post “9 Expectations While Workamping the Sugar Beet Harvest.”

Michigan apparently has a beet harvest too. You can find out more on The Michigan Beet Harvest website or on their Facebook page. In answer to a question on Facebook, they say they do hire Workampers.

While WWOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) does not involve monetary compensation, it does offer “accommodations, meals, and learning” in return for working “usually about 4 to 6 hours a day” on organic farms and other places involved in “an organic lifestyle.”

The Working Couples website has a Ranch-Farm Couples job list page for folks “who enjoy working outdoors and with animals.” (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

The Workers on Wheels website has a page called Agricultural Jobs for Campers and RVers: Jobs Involving Plants and Animals with many articles on the topic.

Caretaking Jobs Some property caretaking and house sitting jobs pay a wage and offer a free place to live, while some only offer free accommodations in exchange for keeping everything safe, secure, and in order.

The Working Couples website has a Caretaker Couples job list page, and says “some pay salary, some are hourly, some are just housing and utilities.” (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

The article “How to Become a Summer Lighthouse Keeper in Michigan” will tell you how to do just that. (Beware: Some of these positions don’t pay a wage and many require application fees or a payment to stay in the lighthouse.)

The Caretaker Gazette is a resource you have to pay for. It is a “newsletter [online or print issue] containing property caretaking and house sitting jobs, advice, and information for property caretakers, house sitters, and landowners.”

Housesitters America is a web based resource that also costs money. Potential house and pet sitters pay $30 per year to browse ads seeking sitters and to make their profiles available to people looking for sitters. I (Blaize) had a membership with Housesitters America for a year and wrote about my (positive) experience with the website and the homeowners I sat for.

The Workers on Wheels website has a Property Caretaking Jobs page with many articles about house sitting, pet sitting, and providing security and care for the owners

Driving Jobs If you like driving—or at least don’t mind it—you can make

some money that way.

The Happy Vagabonds website has a page dedicated to RV Camper Delivery Jobs. The page says, ” Some of the RV transport companies require specific licensing requirements…”

CWRV Transport hires independent contractors to “deliver over 40,000 fifth wheel and travel trailer RVs, annually, using owned or leased ¾ or 1 ton pickup trucks.”

Horizon Transport “is one of North America’s largest RV transporters.” The company hires drivers who “use their pickup trucks to pull RVs and other trailers across the country, one at a time.” Horizon Transport’s Flatbed division hires drivers of flatbed trailers “to haul multiple RVs and other vehicles or trailers across North America.” The company also hires folks for Drive-Away which “is unique in that you don’t need a truck. You simply get in the RV, UPS truck, or other large vehicle and drive it to the destination.”

The Working Couples website has a Driving Couples page. When I (Blaize) looked at that page, I thought a few of the listings might appeal to work campers. (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

Gray Industrial Machine during Golden Hour

Oilfield Gate Guard Jobs Gate guarding jobs often require a couple or a team of two because it is necessary for someone to be on duty 24/7.

The Happy Vagabonds website has a page with Oil Field Gate Guard job listings.

Timekeepers Security, Inc. seems to hire RVers as gate guards. You can contact the company via its Facebook page.

A 2011 post on the blog My Old RV titled “Oilfield Gate Guard Hiring and Contact Info” offers a list of companies that hire(d) “oilfield gate guards in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.” This information is old, but it might be a starting point. Also, the author of this post listed the paperwork he had to complete to get hired as a field gate guide.

If you are considering doing this kind of work, be sure to read the article “Oilfield Gate Guarding” on the Heartland RVs website.

Tourism Jobs If you can stand working a lot of hours during the busy tourist

season, you can bank quite a bit of money in just a few months.

The Black Hills Experience website makes the offer, “Camp for free or at a discounted rate in the heart of the Black Hills of South Dakota and surrounding area while making an honest wage at one of the many area businesses.”

The Live Camp Work website features the article “Jobs for RVers at America’s Theme Parks” which gives information about three parks that recruit nomads for summer work.

The Working Couples website has a Resort Couples page which lists jobs such as bartending, waitressing, housekeeping, grounds keeping, etc. (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

The Grand Teton Lodge Company provides dorm housing for employees as well as offering sites in an employee RV Park. “The GTLC Employee RV Park has a limited number of sites available. There are water, electric (30 and 50 amp), and sewer hookups at each site. These are suitable only for hard sided, fully self-contained RV’s (no tents or pop-up campers)… All RV sites are charged a daily fee of $7.50.”

The Grand Canyon Conservancy “employs an average of 80 employees with seasonal retail positions consisting of work campers.”

Delaware North Parks and Resorts at the Grand Canyon “offers shared dorm style housing to its associates…at a minimal cost to the employees.”

Delaware North also hires work campers in Yellowstone National Park. “For those with their own RV’s, our Park RV site rental ranges from $35-78… RV’ers are responsible to pay metered electric and propane… For those living in our dorms, we do charge $29.50/week per person for your housing…You will be charged $63.50/week per person for three (3) set-menu meals a day, seven (7) days a week. All dorm residents are required to participate in the meal program.”

Seasonal positions are available with the National Park Service. You can find the jobs at USAJOBS. Enter ‘national park service’ in the search bar on the top left of the page. You can also sort jobs by location.

The Xanterra concessions management company offers jobs in several National Parks including Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Zion, Glacier, and Death Valley. In many cases, housing for employees is provided. “Employee lodging facilities are generally dormitory-style facilities with communal baths…A limited number of trailer sites with full hook-ups are available for employees who bring their own self-contained recreational vehicle (single body, hard-sided with shower/toilet facilities). Meal and lodging costs vary by property. ”

Forever Resorts has “over 20 properties located in and around National Parks across the United States…” The company “…offers opportunities in the hospitality, food & beverage, retail, marina, and outdoor adventure industries as well as operational and administrative support positions.” Forever Resorts offers seasonal employment.

The Blair Hotels in Cody, WY hire workampers May through October for jobs such as housekeeping, front desk/reservations, maintenance, line cooks, buffet servers, and retail/gift shop clerks.

Adventureland Resort in Altoon, IA has a Workamper Program and “provides a free hook up campsite that includes electric, water, and sewer” to seasonal workers with RVs. Workampers primarily work in the amusement park and are paid for all hours worked.

Cal-Am Resorts food service team hires workampers for their Mesa, Arizona location. They hire singles and couples and jobs range from servers and bartenders to cooks, food-runners, bakery assistants and restaurant managers.

Cal-Am Resorts also has numerous workamping opportunities at their other 10 RV resorts.

Dollywood hires work campers but does not seem to offer RV sites. Instead, the website mentions the abundance of campgrounds in the area and says “[m]any of the campgrounds are within 10 miles” of the amusement park. The website also says,”[w]ork campers will mostly be working outside” and “should be aware of the high humidity level and seasonal temperatures.”

PeakSeason is a job site “specializ[ing] in seasonal and resort area employment, including hospitality, restaurants, outdoor and adventure jobs, transportation, food & beverage, golf & tennis, and retail.” It is free for job seekers. You can also follow PeakSeason on Facebook.

Other Work Camping Possibilities This work camping job didn’t fit in any other category.

Amazon CamperForce “is for mobile RVers who work seasonal assignments at Amazon facilities.” Amazon CamperForce has three sites in Kentucky (Lexington, Hebron, and Shepherdsville), two in Tennessee (Murfreesboro and Chattanooga), and one in Arizona (Phoenix).

To learn more about CamperForce, you can read a book written by a woman who was part of the team in 2013, 2015, and 2016. My Guide To Camperforce was written by Sharee Collier of Live Camp Work.

Free Work Camping Listings The following websites offer job listings you can look at for FREE! Some of them also allow work campers to post free “position wanted” ads.

The Workamping Jobs website was created “to give RV workers and those businesses that hire them a place to find each other…for free!” You can place a “work wanted” ad or peruse the “help wanted” ads. You can also follow them on Facebook, but there are no workamping ads on their FB page.

The Snowbird RV Trails website offers a list of “hundreds of current work camping jobs.”

Wanderlust Estate community has a workamping section with available jobs listed by state, an explanation of the difference between “workamping” and “work camping” (Spoiler alert: none, really), a video about work camping job experiences, and really helpful workamping FAQs. You can also follow Wanderlust Estate on Facebook.

Cool Works lists “Jobs with RV Spaces.” You can also follow Cool Works on Facebook.

On the Workers on Wheels website, you can subscribe to the free Workers on Wheels Newsletter which includes job listings and tips from working RVers. There are current job listings posted on the site as well. The website also offers a LOT of helpful information for folks new to work camping.

The Happy Vagabonds website has a Work Camping Jobs Menu page with many different categories of job listings. You can also follow them on Facebook.

The Job Exchange Powered by Escapees RV Club “matches job opportunities with traveling contract workers who want full or part-time work.” Job seekers at RVer Job Exchange must sign up for a free account. After signing in to the site, job seekers can post resumes, view jobs, contact employers, and receive job alerts. You do not have to be a member of the Escapees RV Club or Xscapers community to use this job board.

The Your RV Lifestyle has a job board.

Good Natured Jobs “was created to connect passionate job seekers with…employers offering unique…career opportunities all over the world in the outdoor adventure and travel industry” and has a work camping category. You must be signed in to apply for a job, but creating a profile is free for applicants. Folks can sign up for FREE Custom Job Alerts and have an email sent to their inbox immediately after a matching job has been posted You can also follow their page on Facebook.

Backdoor Jobs lists “short-term Job adventures” in categories such as wilderness therapy jobs; summer camp and ranch jobs; jobs in the great outdoors; and resort, guest services, food & hospitality job opportunities.

The mission of itravelft is this: “bring every employer of full-time travelers and every full-time traveler who wants to work together on a one-site job-and-lifestyle platform.” The FAQ promises “searching jobs and applying for them will always be free,” but suggests folks will want a membership because of the extra job-search tools and value-added items available to members.

Facebook Groups about Jobs for Travelers You can join these

Facebook groups where people often post job openings.

The single workampers working together group is “for anyone that likes to workamp.” Members are invited to post gigs for single workampers and to share reviews and experiences.

The I Travel Full-time and I Work Here! group is a “forum for travelers seeking jobs and people who employ them.”

The Work Camper Jobs group is “a place to match super park hosts and work campers with extraordinary employers.”

Members of the Work Campers/Volunteers group are invited to “Post Work Camping or volunteering experiences (good or bad).” Members are also allowed to post “work camper or volunteer (camp host) positions available.”

The admin of the group Work Campers mobile jobs has invited members to post information about employers looking to fill positions.

Companies You Pay for Job Listings or to Help You Find Work Camping Jobs If the free job listings aren’t enough, here are some companies you can pay to help you with your job search. These sites offer listings for several different kinds of work.

Workamper® News “has been the premier source for connecting RV lovers and potential employers for more than two decades.” There are three levels of membership (Gold for $19.95 per year, Diamond for $47 per year, and Platinum for $67 per year), each with different benefits. Workamper News also has a Facebook page. (Note: A reader alerted me that Workamper News does off some job information for free. There is a free intro option that includes email with “hotline jobs” delayed 14 days and digital access to the previous month’s magazine. The reader says, “There are also Featured Employer pages, volunteer opportunity listings, upcoming Jobinars, and banner ads ran by employers available for free.”)

To be a member of Work Camp Connections, you pay $14.95 per year. The company sends you a “host profile to fill out.” They verify your profile, run a background check, and check your references. Then they mail your “profile out to prospective campground in the areas you want to work.”

To see complete contact information on job postings on the Working Couples website, you have to be a subscriber and sign in. There are three subscription levels. The Free or Limited Subscription allows you to see featured jobs only. The $5 per month Monthly Subscription and the $12 per quarter Quarterly Subscription give full, unrestricted access to employer contact information for all active job listings, provide access to forums, and offer the optional upgrade to resume posting for $14.95.

The website for the KOA Work Kamper Program says the jobs offered vary by location but may “include maintenance, front desk staff, and manager.” Apparently to get access to the KOA Work Kamper website, one must pay $35 per year. Benefits include unlimited access to the KOA resume website, unlimited access to all KOA job postings, and training and educational opportunities.

For $50 a year, folks can join The Adventure Collective and get unlimited access to “jobs [sic] opportunities & work exchanges in the world’s best adventure destinations,” gain the ability to contact employers directly, and apply for jobs from anywhere in the world.

FlexJobs is a job site that helps people find professional remote and flexible jobs. A one-month membership to the site costs $14.95, a three-month membership costs $29.95, and a one-year membership costs $49.95.

Resources for Work Campers Some of these websites and groups offer

advice and suggestions for finding and getting work camping jobs while others offer work campers a forum for reviewing the places they’ve worked.

At The Goats on the Road blog, you can find a comprehensive post titled “101 Best Travel Jobs That Can Earn You Money While Travelling.” This post offers many ideas for work beyond the typical camp host job or working for Amazon during the pre-Christmas rush. There’s even more info about traveling and working on the Remote Jobs page.

The Live Camp Work website calls itself “your online resource for information on working on the road.” The mission statement says the site “was created to help provide information to working RVers about ways to make money on the road.” Several of the articles mentioned elsewhere in this post comes from Live Camp Work, and the website offers the extensive article “Workamping Families: Full-time Families Go Workamping With Kids!” You can also follow Live Camp Work on Facebook.

The Workers on Wheels website offers resources for workamping parents in the section RVing Families with Children: Working While RVing with Kids.

The authors of Live. Work. Dream. blog answer the question “What is Workamping?” and share their own adventures as work campers. They also offer an e-book Income Anywhere, in which they tell readers about the “various…revenue streams [they’ve] developed to support [their] nomadic lifestyle.” You can also follow Live.Work.Dream on Facebook.

Reducto posted about making a living as a traveling poker dealer on the Cheap RV Living forums. In the post he writes about what training a poker dealer needs and how to get started in the business.

The Workamper Dreamers Facebook group is the Workamper News intro group for “those that want to live the RV Lifestyle and learn how to take that next step to the freedom we all desire.”

The Workamping for Single Workers. And Campground Reviews Facebook group is “for workampers where a single or one half of a couple is able or chooses to work for a FHU or other compensation. All RV’ers are welcome…” In addition to items for sale and reviews of campgrounds and their staff, there are some job postings on this page.

The Workamping Reviews website allows work campers to post reviews of their worksites. Reviews are also posted on the Workamping Reviews Facebook page.

The Workcamper jobs & Reviews Facebook group “is to REVIEW work campers/camphosts jobs…We hope to be a resource for Work campers. With honest reviews as well as any job opening.”

The Workamper Reviews Facebook group is “for individuals that are WORKAMPERS. Our group offers members a place to share reviews of places they have work camped.”

I hope you find this list of job leads for nomads in the U.S.A. helpful. I would love to know if you get a job from this list. I’d also love to know if you have any other leads for jobs for nomads. In either case, please leave a comment below.

If you found this post helpful, I’d love your support! Hit the donate button in the right toolbar or go to Patreon to become my patron.

Special thanks to Jamie Fox for sharing the list. Jamie is a strong, independent woman who raised two boys on her own with many trials and tribulations. Now in her 40s with her boys on their own, she can travel. She doesn’t think people should let fear stop their hopes and dreams. People who live outside the box are the bravest people, so you’re already one step in the right direction.

Jun3

This Campground?

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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It was Sunday, and I was on my mid-shift break from my duties at the Mercantile. I was hanging out in my van which was parked in the overflow parking lot at the front of the campground where the Mercantile was located. Javier the camp host was sitting in the shade right outside my van, jumping up to collect access fees whenever a new vehicle pulled into the lot. When people stood next to his chair to converse, I heard every word through my van’s open windows.

While Javier was sitting there, a young tourist couple approached him to ask how to get to a nearby waterfall.

This is the waterfall the young tourist couple wanted to see.

We got asked about this waterfall a lot, and I hated giving directions to it. No sign marks the spot, and the directions involve noticing an unmarked road that should not be turned down but simply used as a landmark. At some distance past the road is an unmarked dirt turnout where waterfall seekers must park before going off into the forest on their quest. Usually the eyes of the person who’d asked for directions to this place glazed over before I finished giving all the necessary information, and I had a strong suspicion the person would never even find the right place to park, much less the actual natural attraction.

When I heard the young man ask about the waterfall, I groaned inwardly. I was glad it was Javier giving the directions and not me.

Javier started in. Take a left out of the campground, Javier told tourists.

This campground? the young man interrupted.

Yes, this campground, Javier said like the professional he is, then continued with the directions. I sat in the van shaking my head, thinking of all the things I would have liked to have said to the tourist in response of his question of This campground?

Oh no! Not this campground? Why would I refer to the campground we’re currently in? Just go into any campground, then make a left out of it.

Or course this campground! Why would I be talking about any other campground? Yes! This campground!

My patience grew thinner every day.

I took the photo in this post.

May27

Don’t Forget the Tent

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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Last summer while working at the Mercantile, I heard of not one, but two sets of campers who got all the way up the mountain only to realize they’d forgotten their tent. Groan.

Sandra the camp host told me the first story.

Photo of Blue and Yellow Lighted Dome Tent Surrounded by Plants during Night Time

Two couples showed up at her campground for the night. They arrived around 4 pm. Sandra checked them in and told then the Mercantile closed at five o’clock. Around six that evening, one of the couples was on Sandra’s campsite begging her to open the Mercantile so they could buy a tent.

What?

Apparently as they unpacked, they realized their tent hadn’t made it into their car. They didn’t have a tent. They needed a tent. Couldn’t Sandra please open the Mercantile so they could buy a tent?

Sandra explained she could not open the Mercantile so they could buy a tent. Not only did she not work at the Mercantile, meaning she had not been trained on the store’s procedures, but the cash register was closed and there was no money in the drawer. There was nothing she could do to remedy the couple’s lack of tent.

Sandra was perplexed. She’d told them the Mercantile closed at five o’clock. Why had the people waited two hours to try to buy a tent? Perhaps they didn’t started unpacking right away, I offered. Maybe the Mercantile was already closed when they realized they had no tent.

Sandra also wondered why the couple needed their own tent. Their friends

Man and Woman Sitting Beside campfire and in front of tent during Night Time

had a huge tent, Sandra said. It was an 8 or 10 person tent with plenty of room for four adults.

Maybe the tentless couple had been planning a romantic evening that didin’t include their friends, I guessed. Sandra just shrugged. I guess she figured people hoping for a romantic interlude would have planned better.

The second story of a tentless camper came from one of the other clerks in the Mercantile. This clerk’s husband was the camp host at the busy campground down he road. One weekday afternoon, a camper approached the camp host and said he’d forgotten to bring his tent. The camp host suggested the camper drive down to the Mercantile and buy a new tent. The camper said he would do just that.

Later that day, the camp host saw the camper again. The camp host asked the camper if he’d gotten a tent. The camper said he hadn’t. He said he’d been to the Mercantile but there were no tents for sale. The camp host said all the tents that had been in stock must have sold out.

When his wife came home, the camp host mentioned the camper who’d gone to the Mercantile to buy a tent only to find there were none left. His wife assured him there were at least a couple of tents available at the Mercantile. She also told him that no one had asked her anything about tents that day. She thought the camper had gone into the Mercantile and looked around but didn’t see the tents. Not seeing any tents (and perhaps not wanting to admit to another person that he’d gone on a camping trip without one), he simply left without asking for assistance.

I wonder if the camper even made it to the store where I worked. There was a general store very close to the campground where he was staying. I wonder if he thought that was the store the camp host suggested. The general store was going through a transition of ownership and had very limited stock. I would have been surprised to know that store had any tents for sale.

Person in Blue Denim Jeans Standing Outside the Rain

Of course, people forget things. When I was in my mid-30s I went on a fishing trip without shoes.I was barefoot when I got in the car. I thought I’d put my shoes in the trunk. Apparently not. When we arrived at the lake, I found I was without footwear. Luckily my friend had a spare pair of sneakers in the car. I wore them even though they were several sizes too big.

However, a tent seems like an integral component of a camping trip, especially if the camper is not driving a motor home or a camper van and isn’t towing a travel trailer or a fifth wheel. It seems as if one is going on a camping trip and is planning to sleep in a tent, the tent would be the most important item to pack.

On this day, the cultural beginning of summer, I offer you a bit of advice. If you’re going camping this summer or any time, be sure to pack the tent. Check to make sure you have it before you leave home. Ask yourself, Do I have the tent? Go ahead and double check, triple check, and check one more time. If you find the tent is not in your vehicle with the rest of your camping gear, you’ll be glad you looked for it yet again.

Images courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-blue-and-yellow-lighted-dome-tent-surrounded-by-plants-during-night-time-712067/, https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-and-woman-sitting-beside-bonfire-during-nigh-time-776117/, and https://www.pexels.com/photo/feet-rain-wet-puddle-105776/.

May6

Full Truck

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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I was about to close the Mercantile for the day when two men walked in.

They wanted to buy a map one said, but they balked when I told them the only one available cost $20. They just wanted to find a swimming hole or a creek. Their campground didn’t have water, and they just wanted to wash up. They gestured to their arms, as if they just wanted to splash some water on themselves.

I said they should go to the river, but they said 15 miles was too far away. They wanted me to tell them about a swimming hole or a creek nearby. I’m not much of a fan of putting my body in cold water, so I don’t seek out creeks or swimming holes. I knew about a waterfall about five miles away, but it wasn’t visible from the road, and it wasn’t signed, so I didn’t tell people about it unless they were enthusiastic, insistent seekers. I’d also heard of a swimming hole within a few miles of where we stood, but I hadn’t been there myself and wasn’t exactly sure where it was. The last thing I wanted to do was send these guys on a wild goose chase.

Because there were just the two of them and because they seemed to want to just splash some water on themselves, I told them about the creek on the far side of the campground where the Mercantile was located. The descent to the water was pretty steep and the water wasn’t very deep, but I figured it would be better than nothing. I told the guys about the creek; they thanked me and walked out the front door.

I walked out the back door to give a heads up to Javier the camp host who was chopping firewood right across the street. I explained to Javier what the guys wanted and told him I’d sent them to the creek on the side of the campground. Javier was usually easy-going and receptive, but he had a whole list of objections to the guys going to the creek. He wouldn’t get in that water, he said, because of E. coli (from cows, I presume). He had people on site #4, he said, and the people who were looking for water shouldn’t be walking through anyone’s campsite. Well, I knew that. I’d told the guys not to walk through anyone’s campsite. Javier said Sandra, his partner in life and camp hosting, would talk to the guys and handle it.

I went back into the Mercantile wondering why Javier was being so weird and saw it was five o’clock. Time to close the doors! I walked out the front door to flip the sign around so it would read “closed” and hang the chain across the entrance to the long ramp leading to the store.

When I got outside, I saw the two men who’d been looking for the creek or swimming hole standing next to an extended cab pickup truck. There were more people in the pickup truck than I would have thought possible were I not seeing it with my own eyes. The two rows of seats inside the truck were full, and there were easily more than a dozen people sitting in the bed and along its sides. No wonder they didn’t want to go 15 miles to the river. Driving one mile with some many people in the back was probably unsafe.

I stretched the chain across the entrance and flipped the sign, then walked into the Mercantile and locked the door behind me. I walked through the store and out the back door to apologize to Javier.

I thought there were only two of them, I told him. I would have never knowingly sent that many people traipsing through his campground to splash in the creek.

Javier just shrugged. He wasn’t upset especially since Sandra had intercepted them and was giving them other ideas of where they could find some water to wash up.

I wonder where they ended up going.

I took the photo in this post.

Apr26

Parked in the Road

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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After The Man left the mountain, I stayed at the group campground down the road from the Mercantile where I worked. I was usually the only person in the campground during the week, but since I’d moved in, people had come in each Friday night, stayed over on Saturday, and left on Sunday while I was at work. Sandra the camp host told me this week would be no different.

I returned to the campground a little before six o’clock on Friday evening. All I wanted was to eat some dinner and go to bed.

Dirt Road The way into the campground was a dirt Forest Service road. It was rutted and dusty and bumpy and rocky, but if I drove on the wrong side of it as I headed to the campground, I could avoid the worst of it. The Forest Service road continued past the campground and disappeared into the woods.

The campground wasn’t very big and had no marked sites. People just figured out where to park and pitch their tents so they could be as close to or as far from the other people in their group as they wanted. Most groups congregated near the fire ring and the cluster of three picnic tables.

A narrow dirt road ran through the middle of the camping area. That road connected to the Forest Service road at two points, one on each end of the campground. Folks could enter and exit the camping area at either of those connection points. My camp was closest to the first connection point, but I almost never used that part of the road because it was steep and badly rutted. I drove a little bit farther to enter the second connection point, and when it was time to leave camp, I backed out of my parking space and drove through the campground so I could exit where the road was a little better.

When I arrived home that Friday evening, I drove over to the second entrance point to find a giant motor home trying to park on the far edge of the campground. An angry-looking woman stood outside the motor home, halfheartedly trying to direct the driver of the behemoth. The driving pulled the motor home forward two feet, backed it up two feet, pulled it forward again. I stayed on the Forest Service road with my blinker signaling a left turn until the woman motioned for me to make my move.

I drove slowly through the campground and saw several vehicles were parked off the road. I went to my campsite, cooked and ate my dinner, then crawled into bed. It was well after dark, but I was still awake when I heard a noise like an 18-wheeler nearby. The noise was close, and it lingered. I got out of bed and peeked out my front curtains. I could see what seemed to be vehicle lights, but I couldn’t tell what sort of vehicle I was looking at. I shrugged and closed my curtains. Whatever those campers were doing was not my problem.

In the morning as I was leaving for work, I saw that what the campers had done was indeed my problem. The sound I heard in the dark was a second giant motor home arriving. Both giant motor homes were blocking the Forest Service Road, and the second one was blocking the path out of the campground. I didn’t get out of my van and try to talk to anyone about the danger of blocking roads. Since I wasn’t the camp host, I was lacking in all authority, and no way was anybody going to be able to move that motor home out of my way in a hurry. I needed to get to work, so I slowly and carefully backed my van all the way to my campsite where I was able to turn around and exit from the steep and rutted part of the road closest to my site.

When I got to the campground where the Mercantile was located, I went directly to speak to the camp hosts, Sandra and Javier. I apologized for starting their morning with a problem, then went on to explain what was happening at the group campground. Javier said either he or Sandra would go down there later that morning to check in the campers and let them know they couldn’t block the road. I left things in their capable hands.

Javier reported back to me after he spoke to the campers at the group campground. The drivers of the motor homes told him they didn’t want to hit trees while trying to park in the dark, which did apply to the motor home that had arrived after the sun was down. However, in the case of the first motor home, darkness was a total bullshit excuse because when I’d seen people trying to park it, there was a good two hours of daylight left. But oh well. Javier said he’d told the motor home folks that there was plenty of room to park their rigs inside the campground, and the situation was all taken care of.

When I returned to the group campground that evening, I found that the motor home people had interpreted plenty of room to park the rigs in the campground to mean plenty of room to park the rigs in the middle of the road running through the campground. No fucking way! No one could drive through the campground because two giant motor home were completely blocking the road.

I stopped the van, turned the engine off, got out, and walked over to the people sitting around a campfire. I told them my name, said I worked for the company managing the campground, and pointed out where I was camped. I told them I was concerned about the motor homes blocking the road. If there were an emergency, I said, if there were a fire or someone if had a heart attack (I looked pointedly at the elderly man who’d come over to talk to me) having the road blocked might delay emergency responders. If a Forest Service employee saw the blocked road, I added, he or she wouldn’t be happy.

We talked to the Forest Service, the elderly man told me. A guy came out here! He said park there!

It turned out they had not discussed the parking situation with a Forest Service employee. They’d discussed the parking situation with Javier. The campers maintained Javier had told them the giant motor homes could not block the Forest Service road but could block the road through the campground.

I shrugged and said, If Javier told you to park there, that’s good enough for me. I turned around, got back in my van, turned it around, and drove slowly down the steep and rutted entrance near my campsite. If they weren’t concerned about most of their cars being blocked in by the motor home, why should I worry? In an emergency I could get my van out of the campground; if the campers weren’t concerned for themselves, I wasn’t going to spend my whole night worried about them.

I didn’t ask Javier if he’d told the campers to park their giant motor homes in the middle of the campground’s road. I didn’t see him until Sunday morning, and I knew the motor homes and the rest of the group would be gone before I returned from work. There was no sense making a big deal out of something that soon wouldn’t matter. Beside, Javier was the camp host, not me. If he’d told people to park in the middle of the road through the campground, that was his call.

A narrow dirt road ran through the middle of the camping area. That road connected to the Forest Service road at two points, one on each end of the campground. Folks could enter and exit the camping area at either of those connection points. My camp was closest to the first connection point, but I almost never used that part of the road because it was steep and badly rutted. I drove a little bi farther to enter the second connection point, and when it was time to leave camp, I backed out of my parking space and drove through the campground so I could exit where the road was a little better.

Javier reported back to me after he spoke to the campers at the group campground. The drivers of themotor homes told him they didn’t want to hit trees while trying to park in the dark, which did apply to the motor home that had arrived after the sun was down. However, in the case of the first motor home, darkness was a total bullshit excuse because when I’d seen people trying to park it, there was a good two hours of daylight left. But oh well. Javier said he’d told the motor home folks that there was plenty of room to park their rigs inside the campground, and the situation was all taken care of.

I stopped the van, turned the engine off, got out, and walked over to the people sitting around the campfire. I told them my name, said I worked for the company managing the campground, and pointed out where I was camped. I told them I was concerned about the motor homes blocking the road. If there were an emergency, I said, if there were a fire or someone if had a heart attack (I looked pointedly at the elderly man who’d come over to talk to me) having the road blocked might delay emergency responders. If a Forest Service employee saw the blocked road, I added, he or she wouldn’t be happy.

We talked to the Forest Service, the elderly man told me. A guy came out here! He said park there!

I didn’t ask Javier if he’d told the campers to park their giant motor homes in the middle of the campground’s road. I didn’t see him until Sunday morning, and I knew the motor homes and the rest of the group would be gone before I returned from work. There was no sense making a big deal out of something that soon wouldn’t matter. Beside, Javier was the camp host, not me. If he had told people to park in the middle of the road through the campground, that was his call.

Images courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/dirt-road-1008739/ and https://www.pexels.com/photo/beige-wood-putted-on-fire-164168/.

Feb25

You Don’t Belong in This Campground

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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It was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. While the Mercantile had been slow all morning, the parking lot had been hopping since at least 10 o’clock. The Mercantile got busy right at noon, and the shopping barely let up for the next four hours.

At 1:30, I ducked out to eat my lunch, leaving the complete operation of the store in the capable hands of the other clerk. As soon as I stepped off the yurt’s deck, I looked across the small front lot and saw a young woman walking toward Javier the camp host. The young woman was speaking loudly enough for me to clearly hear her say, You don’t even belong in this campground!

I looked around. Surely she was speaking to someone other than Javier. Javier was in full uniform–brown shorts, tan shirt with a collar. If anyone belonged in this campground, it was Javier.

I didn’t hear the first few words Javier said to the woman, but I did hear him tell her, You yelling at me is not going to help me help these people.

As this interaction was happening, I’d been walking toward my van. I took a few steps more so I’d be close if Javier needed some sort of backup or support.

I looked over at the woman who’d told Javier he didn’t belong in the campground. She was young, and appeared to be drunk or under the influence of some drug. Her eyes didn’t seem to be focusing correctly, and her face was contorted, but maybe that was from anger or just the way she looked.

We’re trying to help! she insisted.

A large man was standing off to the side, silent. He was ignoring the woman. Maybe he didn’t didn’t know her. Maybe he wished he didn’t know her.

I looked over at Javier. He was standing in front of a small sports car. I glanced over at the car and realized the driver of the car had somehow driven it up over a very large log set there as a barrier. Now the car’s front passenger tire was on the wrong side of the log. Apparently the driver was having a problem getting the tire back over the log, because Javier was asking the fellow who seemed to belong to the car, Do you think it’s light enough for a bunch of guys to lift it off the log?

At that point the drunk woman seemed to have backed off, and in any case, Javier seemed to be paying her no attention, so I figured my assistance was not needed. I climbed into my van and had some lunch.

Later I asked Javier how they’d released the car from the log. He said a half dozen guys had pushed the car while it was in neutral. It must have been good teamwork because I don’t think the car sat stranded for very long.

How’d they even managed to driver over the log that way? I asked Javier. Let me just repeat, it was a very big log.

Oh, you know, he shrugged, just being themselves.

I probably shouldn’t talk, as just a couple of days before, I backed into a tree and dented my back door. It still closes, and it still locks. The Man says I’m lucky, but I say if I were lucky, I wouldn’t have backed into a tree.

I probably shouldn’t talk, but damn! Driving a little sports car over a big log barrier in a parking lot has got to be a mark of bad driving.

I took this photo.

Dec17

Willow Flat Campground

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Blaize Sun

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When we were planning our visit to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park, The Lady of the House suggested we spend a night in the Park’s Willow Flat Campground. Sunset at the Green River Overlook was a big deal, as was sunrise at Mesa Arch. Camping in the Park would make it easier for us to get to the viewing points at the appropriate times. Also, living in a major metropolitan area means The Lady doesn’t get nearly enough dark sky. The International Dark-Sky Association named Canyonlands an International Dark-Sky Park, so she wanted to camp there to get a good look at the stars in the heavens.

During early April when we visited Canyonlands, campsites were not reserveable. We were on a strictly first come, first served basis, so we wanted to get there early to improve our chances of getting a site.

When we rolled into the Park, no one was staffing the admissions booth, so The Lady said she’d have to go inside the visitor center to show her Southeast Utah Group Annual Pass. As we went past the admissions booth, we were dismayed to see a large wooden sign declaring the campground was full. We’d woken early and emerged from the van into a frosty morning to eat a quick breakfast and get on the road. Could the campground really be full this early in the day? The Lady said she’d double check on the campground’s status when she went inside to show her pass.

I stayed outside to check the transmission fluid level in my van. The Lady returned to the parking lot triumphant. There was space in the campground! The woman in the visitor center said they never removed the sign that said the campground was full, but that morning they’d received no report that all of the campsites were occupied.

(Excuse me, but what’s the point of a sign that’s supposed to report the status of a changeable situation but is never removed?)

The Lady and I hopped into the van and drove directly to Willow Flat Campground. We pulled in and saw a site that seemed unoccupied. We certainly saw no personal belongings anywhere on the site. There was a piece of yellow paper clipped to the sign pole in front of the site. Upon examining the yellow paper, we found written on it that day’s date. It appeared that the folks who’d stayed on the site the night before were scheduled to check out that morning and had in fact already left. Score! We had our site!

I pulled the van onto the flat asphalt parking pad. We got out of the van and looked around. Was there a camp host we should see? Should we look for a self-pay envelope and an iron ranger?

Across the paved road that ran through the campground, an elderly couple was bustling around on their campsite. They seemed to be packing up, so I supposed they could tell me the process to go through to pay for a campsite.

Hello! I called out to them, or perhaps I said, Excuse me, as I walked into the street and approached their site. Is there a camp host here? I asked once I had their attention.

A what? they both asked, not quite in unison.

I thought the problem was one of hearing, so I repeated, A camp host? a bit louder.

A what? they both asked again in utter confusion.

A camp host, I said once again, then added, the person you pay for your campsite.

You pay with an envelope, the old man said, pointing. He and the woman continued to look at me as if I were a very strange person using an obviously fabricated term to confuse them. How was it possible they’d never encountered the term “camp host”? Was this their first camping trip? Obviously, not every campground has a camp host, but these people seemed unaware of the very concept. However, they had answered my question about where to pay, so I thanked them and moved on.

The Lady and I walked in the direction the old man had pointed and found self-pay envelopes and the iron ranger.

Our campsite in Willow Flat Campground

The camping fee was $15, as expected from what we’d read online. For our money we got clean pit toilets with toilet paper, trash cans, a flat space to park the van, a fire ring, and a picnic table under a shade structure. The grounds of the campground were very clean and well-maintained.

When The Lady and I read the information boards near the iron ranger, we learned about the procedure for disposing of grey water. We were either supposed to strain all food out of wash water, then sprinkle the de-fooded water on the road or dispose of nonstrained water by pouring it into one of the pit toilets. I’d never heard of this sort of cleanup, but I suspect it’s to keep wild animals away from campers. I suppose even the smallest food particles on the ground attracts critters, so this is a way to keep the campground unappealing to unwanted visitors.

After dinner, The Lady and I went to the Green River Overlook to watch the sun set. Unfortunately, the sunset was a non-event, but we were still glad to have our spot at Willow Flat. We were in the van soon after dark, early to bed with plans to rise early for sunrise at Mesa Arch.

I took all the photos in this post.

Sep6

There Should Be a Sign

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Blaize Sun

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The campground wasn’t open yet, but people kept coming in. Some were the usual lookie-loos who just wanted to see what was at the end of the dirt road, but some folks were looking for a place to camp. The Big Boss Man told The Man that as camp host, he could choose to let people camp for free, or he could explain the campground was closed and send them on their way. The Man has a kind heart, so he let most of the would-be campers stay even though he was trying to get the campground ready for the opening of the season.

This photo shows the big tree that fell and crushed one half of the gate at the front of the campground. Notice the arm of the gate on the ground.

It was easier to keep folks out of other campgrounds that were closed because other campgrounds had big metal gates at their entrances that could be chained shut. The campground where The Man was the host only had a gate. Sometime before I’d ever been to the area, a huge tree fell and crushed half the gate. One arm of the gate would still swing shut, but the other arm was on the ground.

The Man swung the one arm of the gate shut one day, and that cut down on lookie-loos a bit, but folks continued to come in looking for a place to camp. It was easy enough to squeeze in between the closed half of the gate and the crushed metal and fallen tree on the edge of the driveway. Some people would even get out of their vehicles, open the closed portion of the gate, get back into their vehicles and drive into the campground. People who swung the gate open generally didn’t bother to swing the gate closed.

This photo taken in 2015 shows the Forest Service sign on the standing gate. “Road Closed to Motorized Vehicles,” it says. In 2018, the sign was no longer on the gate.

Two seasons before, when I had been the camp host at the campground in question, there was a Forest Service sign on the standing arm of the gate, visible when the gate swung shut. The signs said the road was closed to motorized vehicles but non-motorized travel was welcome. However, when I checked for the sign after The Man swung the arm shut, I realized it was gone. I think someone must have stolen it during the winter. Perhaps a sign would have kept people from driving down the road when half a closed gate didn’t deter them, but I doubt it.

The Man did let some people who bypassed the partially closed gate camp. After talking for a while, he invited a nice couple to stay the night. I think the woman was pregnant, he confided in me. We agreed a pregnant person should have access to at least a pit toilet.

That couple left the gate open, we discovered later, and a single European man drove into the campground that afternoon. I let him stay, The Man told me after going over to talk to the guy. He didn’t speak a word of English. I suppose it was easier to let him stay than it would have been to try to pantomime campground closed and explain to him where to find dispersed camping.

The next morning when I returned from my night babysitting the yurts, I saw the European man making his exit. He’d driven his car to the edge of the dirt road and found half of the gated closed. Instead of driving out on the side of the road with no gate, he had opened the closed arm. When I approached, he was still outside his car. He knew I’d caught him immediately after the act of opening the closed gate, and he looked hella guilty. Instead of getting in his car and driving away, he did some nervous pacing in circles, as if he was unsure of what to do.

The road into the campground is only wide enough for one car, so I waited patiently on the main road for the European man to pull out before I pulled in. He finally got into his little white sports car and drove away. After I entered the campground, I got out of my van and closed the gate behind me.

About a week and a half before the campground officially opened, The Man discovered someone had stolen the heavy steel fire ring from site #1. He decided he didn’t want anyone coming into the campground while we were down in the valley, so he came up with a plan as we were leaving. Once I pulled the van past the gate, he got out and not only swung closed the half of the gate still standing, he dragged the downed arm across the rest of the entrance. The blocked road should let people know the campground was closed, we agreed.

We spent one night in town, returning late the next afternoon. The blocked driveway was a slight pain in the neck when I left in the evenings to spend the night with the yurts, but it was worth it to have a day off in peace in the still-closed campground.

After our two days off, it was back to work for us. The Big Boss Man asked The Man to get the group campground ready for campers, so that’s what he spent most of the day doing. I sat in the van and reconciled the money I’d collected from the iron ranger over the last several days.

We got back to our campground early in the afternoon. When we pulled up to the gate, we saw the large piece of metal The Man had used to block the entrance was pulled to the side. Someone had moved his barrier!

As I drove down the narrow dirt road, a white pickup truck came flying from the depths of the campground like a bat-out-of-hell. I pulled off the road as far as I could so the truck could (hopefully) get past my van, but then the truck pulled off the road too. So I pulled back onto the road, then drove up next to the white pickup truck.

The driver rolled down his window. He was a young guy, probably no more than 30. The woman in the passenger seat was young too and wore a ball cap with a ponytail passed through the opening in the back. She kept her face turned toward the window facing the meadow, acting as if she were very interested in examining its every detail. Never once did she look in my direction.

The campground’s closed, I told the driver. It won’t be open until Memorial Day Weekend.

Are you the host? he asked me.

He is, I said, gesturing to The Man sitting next to me.

We saw your camp, the driver said.

The campground’s closed, I repeated.

There should be a sign! the young man said, probably to distract me from the fact that he’d not just crossed a barrier so he could enter a closed campground, but had in fact moved the barrier in question.

There used to be a sign, I explained, but now it’s gone. I think it was stolen. That’s why we had the gate closed.

The woman in the passenger seat continued to study what must have been the most interesting meadow in the world.

After wishing the people in the truck a good day, I drove the van deeper into the campground. The driver of the trucked pulled it out onto the highway.

A sign, huh? A 150 pound piece of metal didn’t discourage him from entering the campground, but he wanted me to believe a sign would have done the trick?

I took the photos in this post.

Aug20

Nearest Bar

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Blaize Sun

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It was around eight o’clock on a Saturday morning. I was performing some camp host duties to help out. The folks on site #1 hadn’t gotten checked in the night before, so I was walking over to have them sign their permit.

A slow-moving car approached me from behind. The only other people on the far side of the campground were the young folks who had sites #6 and #7. One of the young women in the group had come over while I was cooking breakfast to ask me now far the campground was from a body of water. Not much later I heard a car leave site #6. I thought they’d taken off for a day on the river, but now I heard a car behind me that could only belong to part of that group. I figured some of the young folks had gotten a late start and were just leaving now.

When the car pulled up next to me, it stopped.

Excuse me, a feminine voice said, and I turned to look.

Two young women were in the car. Both were looking at me expectantly.

Do you know where’s the nearest bar? the driver asked me

I was stunned. I involuntarily glanced at my watch. It was well before 8:30. I try not to judge, but I’m pretty sure anyone inquiring about the location of a bar before noon while on a camping trip has a problem.

The nearest bar? I echoed slowly.

It turned out these gals did have a problem.

Their friends had left with all the food. These young women thought the friends had gone to a bar to watch a soccer game, since that’s what the friends had done the day before. I suppose these young women wanted to track down the friends and get ingredients for breakfast.

I told them about the small community 15 miles away. There’s a restaurant, bar, and general store there, I said, but added it wasn’t much of a soccer kind of place. It’s under new ownership, I remembered aloud. Maybe they’ll have the soccer game on.

I told them about the larger (although by no means large) town 35 miles away. There’s a brewery there, I told them. Maybe the soccer game will be on there. It was only later that I wondered if the brewery would open at eight on a Saturday morning so customers could watch soccer on television. I suspect a brewery doesn’t serve breakfast and would normally open around 11am for lunch.

Where should we go? the driver asked me.

I didn’t know how to help. I certainly didn’t know where their friends had gone. I ended up suggesting they go to the closer place first. At least they could get breakfast there, The Big Boss Man said later when I related to story to him.

I assume the friends found each other. I was at work at the Mercantile all day, then headed down the mountain to get gasoline and propane and a giant ice cream cone. It was dark when I got back to the campground. People were in the tent on site #7, and they didn’t run over to tell me their friends were missing, so I figured everything must have worked out ok.

(The people in the tent didn’t realize their voices carried in the forest. We’re drunk and you’re high! I heard a feminine voice exclaim clearly. Soon another feminine voice was relating the story of the time she got roofied. Oh Lord! I thought. They’re going to be up all night, but thankfully they piped down shortly after 10pm.)

There are lessons to be learned from this tale.

#1 Don’t pack all the food in one vehicle.

#2 If all the food is in one vehicle, don’t drive that vehicle out of the campground while your friends are sleeping.

#3 Communicate with friends before bedtime about who’s leaving the next morning, where they’re going, when they’re leaving, and what time they’ll be back.

#4 For goodness sake, don’t schedule a camping trip for the weekend of the most important soccer tournament of the year.

Rubber Tramp Artist

One woman's stories, rants, and observations

Tag Archives: camp host

Lack of Linens

Job Leads for Nomads in the U.S.A.

This Campground?

I took the photo in this post.

Don’t Forget the Tent

Full Truck

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You Don’t Belong in This Campground

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Willow Flat Campground

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There Should Be a Sign

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Nearest Bar

Image courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/sport-game-football-the-ball-52504/.