We Have Satellite

The big news of the day…..WE HAVE SATELLITE!!! My new best friend is Robert the tech from DirecTV. The funny part of this story is his wife was camping down by the lake with their grandchildren….all five of them. We saw his truck drive into the campground the evening we were trying so hard to get reception. We had actually talked with two campers who tried to help us by using their satellite finder and when we saw him drive in it was so tempting to go ask him for help. I told Mike not to because he was with his family eating dinner and he was not on duty. When he came today he laughed and said we should have walked down and got him because he would have been glad to help us. Oh well…at least we have TV.

We are off and running in our camp host position. Our first day, Wednesday, we pretty much just rode around our area in the “mule” to see what needed to be done. One of the duties of the camp host is to maintain the camping sites…..to see that they are clean and presentable for the campers. We blow off the patio areas and clean the fire rings. Fire rings are really more a cooler weather job because folks don’t typically have many fires when it is hot and humid. We also answer questions, sell firewood and ice. Beyond that we can volunteer to do what we see may need to be done. One thing we noticed that was in major need was weed eating.  Because of major budget cuts this area is often one that is neglected and it was showing.

We are currently working with another camp host couple that is set up in Area 5, Maria and Sonny Bullock. What we do is divide the campground into sections and each host is responsibility for their sections. Since we are in the main campground we get most of the questions and sell most of the firewood and ice. The upside is we get most of the campers and get to meet some really nice folks.

Thursday we decided to begin getting the campsites ready for the weekend by blowing the patios, cleaning fire rings and Mike began the task of weed eating. At one time, Ranger Peter came by and showed Mike how to use the big industrial mower. What fun that was…..like a kid sitting on a tractor. We have noticed what a huge difference the budget cuts have made in the upkeep of the state park. FDR is more than just the campground. It covers 10,000 acres. We have to remind ourselves of this a lot because we only see this small portion……the campground.

It has been a great beginning for us at FDR. This is a special place for Mike and I and we just love it. It is like coming “home” for us. We are looking forward to spending time here this summer and giving back some of our time and energy to help these folks keep this park as beautiful as it deserves to look.

We have so many people following our blog and we just want to say “thank you” for stopping by and sharing in our adventures. We appreciate each one of you and welcome your comments.