Camp Hosts and RV Art

If you take some time to look at the world around you, you would be amazed at the things that go on everyday (haven't you heard that before from a teacher somewhere down the line?). You know, those kinds of things that one simply never notices. Some years ago, we were fortunate enough to learn about the world of Camp Hosting. We aren't camp hosts but in our older years, who is to say, we just might give it a whirl (speaking of "whirling", one of the traditional jobs of a camp hosts is cleaning toilets). Ewww, sounds gross but let me take a stand here.

There are probably thousands of people that spend some amount of time visiting state parks around this country. Have you ever wondered just who is responsible for cleaning those bathrooms? Who is responsible for blowing leaves off the camp sites in the fall? Who is responsible for picking up trash and debris? And what about directing traffic during craft shows and other events? What about the person that switches the little name tags on camp sites so people know which site is open? How about the person you look for when something is going wrong or you just need some directions? A camp host does all of these things and then some.

It is from my observation that a lot of camp hosts are people that are near retiring or have already retired. All of these people own their own RV (or camper). They have the time to spend "camping" and hosting. I have even heard of some people that camp host year round. When their time is up at one camp site, they spend the rest of the year at one or more other camps.

There are some retired individuals that I have heard of, that sold their homes, bought the most expensive travel trailers or motor homes that they could afford, and do nothing but move from their favorite camp sites from year to year.

So why would people actually want to clean public restrooms? Think about this. The average camp host probably spends a minimum of one month hosting. They are getting free power, free water, free yard maintenance (except for the leaf blowing they may or may not have to do themselves), in some cases, free cable tv, and all they have to buy is their food. They don't even have to pay for their campsite. In return, they preform the maintenance duties that each park may assign them. Not to bad a deal I would think.

Some people love to camp. Some people don't. For those that do like to camp, hosting is a fabulous opportunity to live the "good and slow" life. Could you imagine waking up every day in the great outdoors but still have the comforts of home? Wow.... (Can you tell that I wouldn't mind at all, having a camper?)



In a larger park that a lot of RV's park in, there are a lot of interesting things to see. Each person adds a little individuality to their campsite. Take Mr. Tin man here. Isn't he awesome? I spotted him right away and asked his proud owner, Mr. V, if I could snap his picture. He gladly said, "Snap Away". Notice Mr. V's doggy under the camper. Mr. V has definitely personalized his, "home away from home". Did you happen to notice that awesome little light beside Mr. Tin man? I happen to personally know the creator of that cute little light. That light is a hobby of that someone.


Here is another version of the decorated light. It's official name is, "Bucket Light". If you can believe it, bucket lights are popular at campsites of serious RV'ers. They emit a soft light that lets you see but doesn't draw a lot of bugs to your site. This bucket light was made and decorated by Mr. P.

Mr. P decorates his bucket lights with all kinds of pictures, colors, and designs. If you happen to be a friend of Mr. P, chances are, you are already the proud owner of a "bucket light".



Art in the park. I like that..... Great job Mr. P!

"BOB"

If you follow my blog, recently I let you all know about "Bob" the salamander. My little one is obsessed with calling any critter that she sees, "Bob". Well, her little joke carried on when we went on a day trip to a park recently. Guess what? There were "Bobs" everywhere we looked. Bob at the camper, Bob on the ground, Bob in the water, Bob by the lake shore. You get the picture. My little one discovered that it was fun to call everything Bob because she got laughs from us all each time she did it.


This is the first "Bob" that we came across. Bob the turtle had crawled up to my father in law's AstroTurf (I had to look up the spelling for that one- never had to spell "AstroTurf before in my life....). Anyway, Bob the turtle was waiting patiently for my little "Bob-namer" to see him before he was turned loose. While waiting, he had some apple peelings and even a bite or two of baloney.

This is Bob the caterpillar. I have no idea as to what kind of caterpillar, but Bob sure does make an interesting one if I may say so myself. We just sort of left Bob alone since we had no idea what he was in the first place.


This is Bob the water bug. Once again, I have no idea as to what kind of water bug Bob is, but he cleared the swimming hole for sure that day. Bob was persistent in trying to swim away from the shore as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Check this "Bob" out. This Bob captured our attention after flying over the swimming hole and landing on the bank. Wow, the "Bobs" you see out in nature.......

This was our final "Bob" that we seen for the day. This particular Bob was drying his wings. I may be wrong but I'm pretty safe in saying that this Bob is a cicada. Bob captured my little Bob-namer's attention for quite sometime until his wings dried and straightened. (I snatched him up and set him free on a tree nearby- so he's safe now). I think he liked the tree better than "Bob-namer's" arm.

So, you can see that Bob-namer was quite busy that day at the park. I'm just glad that Bob-namer didn't get to name a snake.....

A Backyard Critter Out To Get Me.....

It all started when I decided to move the cold frames back into the basement. After all, Miss Slug was not going to let me grow anything else this year. I picked up the wooden frame and noticed something "orange". That something orange had black polka dots too. I lifted an eye brow and proceeded with caution.


This little varmint is what showed himself after I lifted the plastic. Since the Roly Poly girl was with me, she immediately named him, "Bob". Just to let you know, any critter she finds is immediately named, "Bob". It's just her little joke since she watched, "Monsters Vs. Aliens".

Bob started slithering, walking, meandering, (whatever you want to call it), towards me. Ok, I'm not afraid of salamanders but they remind me of snakes (and I am afraid of snakes) so, I was a little nervous. "Bob" decided that he was getting kind of dried out and turned around and went back to the flower planter to hide....(thank goodness). You may not be able to tell in the picture, but at the end of the leaf that "Bob" is walking on, there is Miss Slug. I'm afraid that Miss Slug was about to meet her maker had "Bob" proceeded any further. That wouldn't have been pretty to Roly Poly girl for sure. All in all, things worked out. Miss Slug got to live another day to eat someone else's sunflower plants, "Bob" had to find a new house (in this case, under my flower planter- thank you very much), and Roly Poly girl had the time of her life watching all of this unfold.

I, on the other hand, am still creeped out by it all......
I'm such a wimp.....

Happy Independance Day

Happy Fourth to you and yours! Always remember the reason for the celebration......

Friday Fill Ins

Go to Friday Fill Ins to fill in your own!

1. When I heard that the big jug of maple syrup at the grocery store was going up to over $30.00, I freaked out.

2. Laughter is the best medicine.

3. It's late, but Happy Birthday anyway, to those that I forgot already this year.

4. I'm Arriving late as always.

5. My eyes have seen ♫ ♫ ♫the coming of the glory of the Lord♫ ♫ ♫. (I think that's how it goes?)

6. Laziness in people gets on my nerves and I am not afraid to rant and rave that point very strongly.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleep, once the fireworks stop for the night (midnight is too late to shoot fireworks people), tomorrow my plans include not getting hit by rogue fireworks around my neighborhood and Sunday, I want to rest for once!

Proof that my kiddos have been "Staked Out"

Let me explain....

You see, my kids are being watched. How do I know this? Everyday between 5:00pm and 5:30pm, a familiar sound echoes through out the yard, house, and neighborhood- for that matter. Up until this lucky day, I had not been able to catch a photo of the source of this sound. You know the sound....that familiar "summer time" sound. That of the elusive ice cream truck.


Can you see it? There it is, the truck is parked, yes I said parked in front of my house. How dare they "park" outside my house and play their music for 10-15 minutes every day. Do you think that they figured out that my house is the neighborhood hang out place? I dare to say that they did. The next stealthy move that this ice cream truck made was so shocking to me, that I shiver each time I hear a pipe organ.

That ice cream truck driver had the audacity to pull down the driveway! Can you believe it? It encroached on my territory! Hee, hee, hee. Ice cream truck driver, I know something that would send chills down your spine. Lactose Intollerance runs rampant on this homefront!! Ha! Take that ice cream truck driver and don't come back to taunt my children anymore!!

A Wordless Wednesday

What's Outside My Windows- The Christmas Edition

Hey, even Santa needs some R&R sometimes....

Pay no attention to the scratchy, gray blobs- I had to protect the innocent (that had no idea I was snapping their picture... I'm sneaky that way.)

It's not even Christmas yet and Santa appears to be exhausted. However, it may even be more serious than just sheer exhaustion....It appears that he is hooked up to life support. Don't tell any little kids that you know about this turn of events.....it could be catastrophic.