Roses and wine! What a happy lady I am!

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. -- Hugh Downs

Being a campground host is not all roses and wine or fun and laughs --- but I deliberately and hourly make the decision not to let ‘stuff’ get me down. Life is too short to let the occasional inconsiderate camper and frustrating situation ‘own my attitude’. Besides, I can find a blessing in most things. My daily prayer is:

Lord, help me to put up with little annoyances for the sake of greater good.

When Axie and Chris, regular campers here, found out I was retiring from park volunteering they delivered a beautiful potted rose plant and a bottle of her favorite wine!

Park Rangers are super

I have been so blessed at the parks where I’ve volunteered because all the rangers are grateful for the help. A campground host’s job as I see it is to be sure campers know the park rules and to help them find a campsite. I’m to “inform” and the rangers’ part is to enforce. NLSP has seven law-enforcement rangers – the ones with the guns, badges, and ticket books. If I have an issue with a camper who thinks the rules don’t apply to him, they respond.

            We also have a group of great seasonal employees that take care of so much – including bathroom cleaning! With so many campsites throughout the park property they are a continual presence and do their part to keep the park running smoothly.

Basic campground cleaning done

With the hot daytime temps, my campsite cleanup has been limited to early morning and early evening. All 78 campsites have been cleaned of stuff and trash. Now it is a matter of asking incoming campers to leave their sites clean when they leave.

Here’s my “trash” list so far

1. Of course it includes hundreds of cigarette butts, bottle caps, pull tabs, bread bag clips and wire ties.
2. Olga 38-D brassiere
3. Child’s pink hat
4. Knot-tying booklet for fly fishermen (Arbor knot, Nail knot, Blood knot, and improved Cinch knot along with instructions on how to Assemble Your Lines)
5. Silver and turquoise earring – yep, just one and it was sort of buried in dirt and rocks. The sun was shining just right to see it.
6. Tent stakes – should have been collecting them to see just how many I found both at Santa Rosa Lake and Navajo Lake.
7. 99 cents, bringing my new Dairy Queen fund up to $1.14.

Weekends are a zoo here

We are wall-to-wall RVs, boats, boat trailers, trucks, cars, people, children, and dogs. And because of that, I’m super busy even during the hot midday!

That’s all for this blog – I hope your world is wonderful.