by Dianne O'Keefe (05/07)
So, Dale, here I am.. You have shamed me into writing again.
When I left off we were beginning our first season at Heise Hot Springs in Ririe, ID with the following……..
“Our life as fulltime RVers has given us the freedom to choose where we live and when to travel. Although we have some idea of where we will go next, once in a while plans change. Just as the weather changes, so does life. We have weathered storms and are thankful to have each other and our way of life.”
How true and fortuitous this statement was….but let me back up a bit…..
2005, a year of change. When we first started out as fulltimers, we anticipated volunteering some of our time at State Parks as camp hosts. We did this for several years at many different parks. The summer of 2005 we would try workcamping for pay. The main reason we decided to take a paid position was to get me qualified for Social Security benefits. That time was rapidly approaching.
I had worked a great deal of my life as a sole proprietor and had not really paid attention to preparing for our retirement. I knew that Terry would retire with good benefits and that was about as far as it went. When I finally woke up, I realized that I needed a few more quarters to qualify for SS on my own. The position at Heise afforded the opportunity to get those quarters.
Working for pay is a bit different than volunteering, although not much. We have always put 100% of our effort into each position and this would be no different. Terry would be working in the office and doing maintenance and I would be the “flower lady”. I love working with plants and by myself, so this was a great opportunity for me.
The first 15 hours of work each week went to pay for our site and utilities. All hours after that were paid. We had use of the golf course, pools, discounts at the pizza restaurant and small convenience store. As we had never worked at a campground as paid employees, we did not know quite what to expect. As it turned out, the job was so satisfying that our summer flew by.
The resort has been inexistence since the late 1800’s. It was at the site of one of the first river crossings of the South Fork of the Snake River. There was a ferry that crossed the river and a lodge was built to accommodate guests. A hot springs was located on the hill above the lodge and over the years, pools were built and the resort developed. The history is absolutely fascinating.
Resort owner, Mike and his wife Robin are some of the finest folks we have ever met. Mike hires people to run every aspect of the resort and he runs the fishing expeditions. His crew is outstanding and we are privileged to be a part of his team. Terry helped in the office and did maintenance, such as electrical, plumbing and machinery repair. I was in charge of landscaping and also stocking the convenience store. We hosted at the newest of the three campgrounds. We were very busy, but managed to get in some day trips on the river and to West Yellowstone, WY. We hiked and enjoyed all of the wildlife that frequented Heise.
Fourth of July is a big event at Heise. The folks who own the campground and driving range to the south of us partner with Mike to put on a real fireworks display. The fire department shows up with trucks and ambulance to take care of any mistakes. Thankfully, we only had good times! Other notable events are dinner out with Mike, Robin and the whole crew. They really know how to treat their staff well, and we all appreciate it. River trips are frequent and we take advantage of them.
One of the most important things Terry accomplished was to bring the resort into the computer age. He set up a computer program and we all said goodbye to the pencil and paper reservation and check-in system. What a difference it makes! At the end of our time we were asked to return the next year. We agreed to come back for the summer of 2006.
We left Idaho and headed east with a stop in Ohio to spend a week with our son Brent and family. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed our time with them. We managed to catch a few volley ball games and had a barbeque while there. One of the reasons we love fulltiming is the time it gives us to be able to spend with family.
During our winter stay at McGrath SB in Ventura, CA we were offered a fall 2005 position in Maryland at a State historic site. Greenwell State Park was a former tobacco farm that was established in the early 1700’s. Located south of DC in the Maryland countryside outside of Hollywood, MD, Greenwell is right on the Patuxant River. The estate was donated to the state by the last owners and has been developed with trails, manor house, gardens, barns and a special focus on providing recreational opportunities for the disabled.
Terry was to be working with the grounds dept…mowing, building projects and helping to restore different aspects of the park. I was in charge of the gardens and also to help with the therapeutic riding program. I would be involved with care and training of horses as well as helping with students. It gave me the opportunity to once again use my skills as a trainer and educator.
One reason we chose Maryland was to spend time in the DC area where Terry’s sister Robin and her husband Butch lived. Thanksgiving was spent at their home, which was on the bank of the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia. We spent quite a bit of time with them, and they introduced us to our newest hobby…geocaching. This fun pastime is kind of like treasure hunting with the aid of a handheld GPS system. It gets us to places that we never would have seen otherwise. Geocaching is a great way to spend time with kids and grandkids, too.
We would love to go back to Greenwell at some point. There is so much to do and the area is rich with history. This area of Maryland was one of the first places settled by the English is the 1600’s. Treading the same ground as our forefathers is an awe-inspiring experience.
From Maryland we made our way south to North Carolina. My sister Patty and husband Jim live in Asheville, as does their daughter Jennifer and husband Jessie. We had not seen Jennifer for over twenty years, and had a great time catching up on lost years. We took a day to visit the Biltmore Estate, which was in full decoration for the Holiday season. Hundreds of decorated Christmas trees were on display along with all the holiday trimmings. The estate is a fascinating trip into the past, a window on the way of life only the very few privileged, lived.
We arrived in Nashville, one of our favorite cities, in time to settle in before the first snow of the season fell. We spent a week enjoying the city and visiting friends and then were off again, heading for California. We were going to try to be back for the Christmas holidays. In Shamrock, Texas, we awoke to snow…and a “lights” problem with the fiver. We had no tail lights. After an hour lying in the snow under the truck, Terry finally got them working…….probably a loose connection…….
When we arrived at the small park in Shamrock, we had taken note of the park layout. It was very nice and clean and about halfway between two freeway offramps on the frontage road. This turned out to be very fortuitous. By the time we were able to leave the park, three inches of snow was on the ground and starting to stick to the road. We were the first ones to venture out and were trailed by three other rigs! We could not see the interior roads, but remembered where they were. By the time we made it to the freeway all of the signs were covered with snow…which way to go?
We have a Garmin GPS system that we named “Elsie Mae” (Elsie “mae” get us there, or may not!!!) We decided that we had to rely on Elsie this time! OK, Elsie, which way to the freeway? Right did not seem to be correct, but neither did left…..we trusted her and turned “left in 50 feet”…Whew, we made it to the freeway and the road was clear! We were off again for California…..(Later, we learned that Texas and much of the southeast was frozen under an ice storm that lasted for days…..)
We arrived in Albequerque, where we were going to stay a few days. We have friends there, who we had not seen in a while. We enjoyed the time with them, and were off again. We made it to California just in time for the holidays with the family.
We received a call from our supervisor at McGrath while in Apple Valley. You guessed it…McGrath would be closed until the end of January 2006 due to the annual flooding! So we stayed in Apple Valley, on our lot until it was time to go to Quartzsite, AZ for the rally with our Freightliner group. When we got there, the field was filled with those great trucks, and corresponding fivers. Of course, most of the time the guys spent looking at everyone’s truck, and the gals….. the fivers. We had a great time and planned to attend the rally the next year, as well. Quartzsite was definitely a yearly event…..
While at the rally, we introduced friends to geocaching, and added to our list of finds. We don’t do it regularly, but we do enjoy it! Ed and Alice ended up getting a GPS unit and are now geocaching regularly! Another convert…yes! We did quite a bit while we were in Apple Valley, as well. Our son Brian and family do it regularly. We found quite a few while there.
Our stay at McGrath SB was good, as usual. We had a great time with Art and Cindy, and even managed to take a trip to Morro Bay. We had been in contact with some folks we had met on the internet thru an RV site called RV.net. Tony is a retired fire captain and volunteered at Morro Bay SP, a place that we have always loved, and hoped to volunteer at one day. He and his wife, Charlotte invited us up for the day to get to know each other and discuss the possibility of hosting there.
Tony is a moderator for RV.net and unbeknownst to me, had been approached by the administrators to check me out! They had been observing my posts on the site and thought I would make a good moderator for the Workcamping and Fulltime forums. Tony asked me if I was interested….ME???? I like to use the internet and to write, but I am completely lost when it comes to the workings of computers! Terry and the boys are my gurus…..I told him that I would consider it……
We enjoyed our visit with them. As we got ready to leave…..no tail lights on the truck! EEEKKKK…..not again! Terry and Tony spent a good while under the truck, changing fuses and such and finally got them working. This was beginning to be a problem……
Several days after our visit, I received a phone call from an administer of RV.net. Would I be interested in the position? It is volunteer and lots of time is involved…..well, I am on the internet anyway, so why not? Turns out that “admin” lived only a few miles away and came over to McGrath and got me all set up on the computer…to moderate the minions! I have been doing the job since, and love it. We have met many members of RV.net while on the road. It is a terrific way to meet folks.
At this time we were offered a position for the fall at a National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana. We had tentatively planned to spend the fall in South Dakota and Ohio, before heading to California for the winter. We changed those plans to go to LA for the month of October, to volunteer for the refuge. We agreed that if we liked it, we would go back for the fall of 2007 for the entire three months. It would be a “trial period”.
From McGrath we went to our former town of Borrego Springs for a week, to visit friends and relax. We stayed in the new RV resort called “The Springs at Borrego”. It is a beautiful, well laid-out park that will do well. We know the owner and developer. In fact, before we left Borrego Springs for the open road, Bill asked us if we would be interested in managing it for him when he got it built. We respectfully declined…….we were retired! Ha….as it turns out….we love workcamping and volunteering…..
After Borrego Springs we went north to Lake San Antonio to meet with Art and Cindy and their family for a camp out over the Easter week. Art takes his ski boat and motorhome there regularly. We had a great week with all the crew and even got to ride a “cigarette” boat used in movies and series like CSI Miami. What a thrill ride that was! A beautiful boat and fast! We even did some geocaching, one that could only be gotten by boat.
The next stop was to be Heise in Idaho for our summer job. A storm was predicted for the Sierras, so we stopped in French Camp to wait it out. We were there for three days, waiting for the pass to be cleared and used the time to our advantage doing laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping. Once on the road, we made it to Heise in two days. The snow in the mountains was beautiful and the drive was pleasant. We stopped overnight in Elko, Nevada and the on to our summer home.
Summer in Heise was wonderful. This year we were made managers of the park, a job that turned out to be quite a learning experience. I don’t like evicting folks from campgrounds, but occasionally it happens. Campground policies are there for a reason and a very few seem to think that they do not apply to them. Unfortunately, those few bad apples make the whole suffer the consequences. Our campground has now set a policy of no offroad vehicles, whatsoever, even if they are in the back of a truck or on trailers. Other restrictions may follow, such as …no dogs. It is truly a shame.
We had a record year at Heise, and are hoping to open another portion of the park to dry camping in the near future. We agreed to return for our third summer in April, 2007 and stayed long enough to close the park for the winter. Once on the road again, we headed directly to Monroe, LA to the Black Bayou Lake NWR. Located a few mile north of Monroe, LA (I 20) is sandwiched between a bayou and the city. The lake is home to a vast variety of birds, snakes, ‘gators and other wildlife. Hunting is allowed on the refuge during certain seasons, as is fishing. Our site was right on the bayou, just past the Visitor’s Center and Education building. I was to help in the Vvstor’s center and take care of the fish tanks in the ed’ building. Part of that job was feeding the baby ‘gators and snakes that are on display. JD and Ernie were about two feet long with teeth like little scalpels. JD (aka Juvenile delinquent) was the most aggressive of the two. Did you know that ‘gators jump? Yup. I found that out when feeding them……I can also tell you personally how sharp those little teeth are…Smile, smile…..
We were privileged to be able to release JD to the wilds a few weeks later and understand that he is doing well. We will try to locate him in the fall when we return. Terry helped in maintenance and had a great time with the crew. It seems that retired LEOs are always welcomed, especially if willing to do the job and do it well. We loved the position and signed on for the fall of 2007. They even offered to let us live there permanently! We love the area, but don’t think we would enjoy the summers….we lived one summer in Mississippi while Terry was in the Navy. That is why we have wheels…to try new climates and places.
During our stay, we had the annual Open House at the refuge. There we discovered the best “hush puppies” we had ever eaten! That was one of the reasons we agreed to return…the food! My, can those folks cook! We loved the food, the people and the country…..yes, we will be back!
During the summer in Idaho, we were aware that Terry’s Dad was not doing well. We stayed in touch and had planned on taking several months to get back to CA from LA. Kind of a vacation….travel slowly and enjoy what was available in various places. That was not to be. We decided to head straight back and instead of two months, we made it in 8 days. We spent most of the next two months with his Dad, who passed away in January, while we were at McGrath. Terry’s Mom is doing well, but the loss of both of our fathers has hit us hard.
McGrath, 2007 was a repeat of the past five seasons…..lots of time to explore the area, geocaching and visiting with friends. We did make the decision not to return next winter. We will be back east again, and it is time to see other area of the country in winter.
We arrived at Heise a few weeks ago, (April 19, 2007) after a trip to Casper, WY to have some work done on the fiver. We are now getting the park ready to open for the season. Thankfully, I did not plant the 200 geraniums I have waiting because we had two inches of snow yesterday. That is the good kind of snow, gone by dark! The flowers can wait a few more days. Terry is out mowing greens on the golf course, and I am writing the latest installment of our journal. As I am sitting here, there is a “herd” of woodchucks on the lawn and two yearling does checking out the field across the street. A two year old bull moose was run off the golf course this morning and the dove and robins are beginning to nest. Summer is just around the corner, even tho we can have more snow at any time.
Fulltiming has been a wonderful way to spend our retirement years, and we have absolutely no regrets. We can be where needed when needed, we get to stay in wonderful places and meet so many fine folks. Volunteering has turned out to be a passion for us. We see no end in sight to our adventures. Hope to see you “On The Road” one day…….