Well, today was the end of my 6th working week here at the swamp. I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. This is definitely the kind of living I was thinking of when I signed up for work camping. Good place. Good pace of life. Good folks to work for and with. I'm having a great time.
This week the mornings were cool so we didn't start until 10 most days to let the temps warm up some. The big projects right now, while bookings are slow, is maintenance on the cabins. Herman and Carl have been working on the decks for the luxury cabins out in the back wooded area while Linda and I took on the day cabins out front. First we had to take all the screening down around the decks. Note I said screening, not screens. We had to pull all the splines out carefully for reuse and then remove the screen pieces and store them while we stained some areas of the decks that for some reason weren't stained. Then after the staining was done and dried we had to respline all those screens. I have a whole new skill set to add to my resume but by the end of the second day of splining I know I'll be listing that skill low and in small print. Ugh. It's not that much fun. Still there's a certain amount of pride in seeing the job done and how much it adds to the finished appearnce of the cabins. And I think the guys were surprised to see that us gals could do it all without their help.
So what do worn out workcampers do at the end of a hard week? Well, if you're across the street from a great swamp like Okefenokee you put your kayak in the water and go for a paddle. Finally. Can you believe I've been here 6 weeks and just now paddling? Only the cooler weather and work and holidays have kept me off the water. But those days are behind me now so look out swamp!
This was Linda's first time in a kayak so we went out after lunch and only went about a mile up the canal and into the swamp. I think she was nervous at first but by the tine we got back she seemed pretty proud of herself. And she should be. She did great. She learned how to get in, launch, paddle forward and backward, turn around, get out of the way of the tour boats when they were passing, and most importantly after a successfull venture on the water - she got out again without falling in the water the whole time. In fact, I don't think she got her feet wet. Great job Linda! Hope you're not too sore tomorrow.
We didn't see any gators today. I think they all know a storm is coming in tonight and they headed to the muddy islands in the prairies where they can stay warm during the rain. We did see a pair of red shouldered hawks going after something and a very pretty water plant sprouting some new growth. And of course there was a woodpecker but I didn't get my binoculars up quick enough to see if he was an RCW. Next time I guess.
After working this morning and paddling this afternoon and then putting all the boats and gear away, I am pooped. Time to take a shower and hit the sack early tonight. Will try to find some new trouble to get into tomorrow I guess.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Reflecting on my first month at the swamp
It's hard to belive that a month has already passed since I pulled into site 12 at Okefenokee Pastimes. I guess the old adage is true - time does fly when you're having fun. And while there's been plenty of work to get done I can truthfully say that this first month has been a great time. Of course it did start off a little rocky.
I was less than 100 miles away when I learned that the battery in my tow car was cracked which explained why it kept losing a charge. I was able to buy a new battery and get it installed in Tifton and head on down Highway 82 to Folkston. For a small town there's a lot to offer. We've got a McDonalds, a Burger King and a Dairy Queen Chill&Grill. Harvey's is the local grocery and while I'd never heard of this chain (have since seen several in other small GA towns), it reminds me a lot of the old Food Town chain that Mother and Daddy used to work for in Nashville. There's also a local restaurant and a barbecue place, but all the talk around town these days is about the new Thai restaurant that just opened up on Main Street. Yes, Thai. That really surprised me. I've eaten there twice (they even have Singha) and it's quite good.
And of course we have the trains. People come quite literally from all over the country and beyond to visit the Folkston Funnel and watch the trains go by. I've only been by there one time that there wasn't at least one person sitting there waiting to watch the trains. There's also a train museum at the Chamber that runs a segment about the funnel that aired on the Sunday Morning TV program about 2 years ago (it loops over and over again). But I'm not in town, so if you want to find me you have to follow the alligator signs along Highway 121 south. It's just an 8 mile drive on straight road with a few houses and the middle school scattered along the way. Just as you get to the east entrance to the National Refuge take a left instead into our drive.
I won't bore you with lots of flowery prose about how wonderful it is here because it's not that great all the time. In fact the last few days have been cool and cold at night (well, in the 30s which I didn't sign up for). And I'm sure at some point I'll be blogging about heat and bugs. But it is a peaceful, laid back atmosphere where we work together and help each other and share tidbits of food and info and adventures. There's no hot tub or shuffleboard tournaments, but we put together an outstanding covered dish/pudgie pie party for new year's eve. Yes, for me it's just right. I'm learning about UPers from Carl and teaching Linda and Herman about geocaching. Gus has taken a liking to everyone except Tequilla the host cat. The two of them just keep a respectful distance. I think Gus and I have found a place to call home for a few months. Come on down and see us!
I was less than 100 miles away when I learned that the battery in my tow car was cracked which explained why it kept losing a charge. I was able to buy a new battery and get it installed in Tifton and head on down Highway 82 to Folkston. For a small town there's a lot to offer. We've got a McDonalds, a Burger King and a Dairy Queen Chill&Grill. Harvey's is the local grocery and while I'd never heard of this chain (have since seen several in other small GA towns), it reminds me a lot of the old Food Town chain that Mother and Daddy used to work for in Nashville. There's also a local restaurant and a barbecue place, but all the talk around town these days is about the new Thai restaurant that just opened up on Main Street. Yes, Thai. That really surprised me. I've eaten there twice (they even have Singha) and it's quite good.
And of course we have the trains. People come quite literally from all over the country and beyond to visit the Folkston Funnel and watch the trains go by. I've only been by there one time that there wasn't at least one person sitting there waiting to watch the trains. There's also a train museum at the Chamber that runs a segment about the funnel that aired on the Sunday Morning TV program about 2 years ago (it loops over and over again). But I'm not in town, so if you want to find me you have to follow the alligator signs along Highway 121 south. It's just an 8 mile drive on straight road with a few houses and the middle school scattered along the way. Just as you get to the east entrance to the National Refuge take a left instead into our drive.
I won't bore you with lots of flowery prose about how wonderful it is here because it's not that great all the time. In fact the last few days have been cool and cold at night (well, in the 30s which I didn't sign up for). And I'm sure at some point I'll be blogging about heat and bugs. But it is a peaceful, laid back atmosphere where we work together and help each other and share tidbits of food and info and adventures. There's no hot tub or shuffleboard tournaments, but we put together an outstanding covered dish/pudgie pie party for new year's eve. Yes, for me it's just right. I'm learning about UPers from Carl and teaching Linda and Herman about geocaching. Gus has taken a liking to everyone except Tequilla the host cat. The two of them just keep a respectful distance. I think Gus and I have found a place to call home for a few months. Come on down and see us!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Baby It's Cold Outside
OK, I know I'm not in Florida, but I'm close enough to spit on the state line (if I was the spitting kind of girl) so I really thought the weather would always be as warm and wonderful as it has been for the first 2 weeks here. And then a cold front blew in and brought me abruptly back to the reality of winter. Granted, it's not as cold here as it is back in Campbellsville. And I was expecting maybe low 40s high 30s, but last night it got down to 24. Brrrrrrrr !!
The owner had all us workcampers meet him just after dark when it was still above freezing, albeit barely, and we followed him around learning the procedure for protecting the pipes in freezing temps. I personally vote for just not having any more of this nonsense but no one listens to me on these matters. So we turned off pumps, set faucets to dripping, disconnected our rv's from the water lines, and tucked ourselves into our respective homes for a cold night. Luckily I have a warm dog to help me keep warm.
The only bonus to all this cold weather is that we couldn't go to work until the temps rose this morning so I had till 10am to just goof off and sleep late. Good thing about the sleep since Gus really thought he had to make a restroom walk at 2am. Once we were outside he decided to make it a quick walk. I meant to check out the sky for the quadrantids but it was tooooooo cold. I'll see shooting stars another night.
Late this afternoon I had to check one of the basic cabins before the guest checked in and just as I was closing the door I noticed an anole. He was moving kind of slow so I just picked him up and closed the door. I took him back to behind the office where I found Steve, our owner and highly knowledgeable source on all local flora and fauna. While he schooled me on anoles I warmed the little critter in my hands but decided if I just put him on the ground he'd probably freeze outside tonight (which is why I found him in the warmed cabin) so I placed him on a shelf just outside the workshop. I'll check on him in the morning. If he's still there I think I'll name him Ralph. He just looked like a Ralph to me.
Lows tonight are in the low 30s so perhaps Gus will wake me in the wee hours again for a restroom walk and I'll get another chance to look for the meteors. At least it will be warmer.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Happy 2012 From the Shores of the Okefenokee
Just got in from our bonfire here at the campground. Had pizza made on pie irons over the fire and drank hot cider and swapped stories. Our camp host Carl was indeed quite the host and our employers (who own the picture I used to get your attention here) brought the beer and provided lots of firewood for the fire. Hey, it was cold here too (at least down to 52). Listened to a couple of barred owls calling to each other and went looking for spiders' eyes in the dark by the pond. Great way to end the old year and start the new. I'll post more tomorrow but for tonight my tail is dragging. Happy times to all and best of luck in the coming year!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Way Down Upon The Suwanee River
Yep, I'm here in Stephen Foster country and I couldn't be happier. The campground is small but big on friendliness. There are 3 other workampers and they are great to work with. And did I mention the hours? I worked more hours in 2 days at Amazon than I do all week here. And Gus is loving it too. Lots of time for me to walk him and I can walk home to him in 5 minutes or less.
And then there's the swamp. Yep, just across the highway is the Okefenokee National Refuge. This morning I took a boat tour of the swamp with the rest of the workers here. AWESOME!! Good thing I decided to start a birding journal. Ibis, Great Blue Heron, Sandhill Cranes, and even a great barred owl. Oh, and then there were a few gators here and there. Actually, it was a bit cool this morning so we didn't really see any gators until later and then only laying in the warm mud. Overall a great introduction to the swamp. We'll be going back to kayak the swamp sometime after the new year. Can't wait.
Oh yeah, I think it's going to be a great winter down here on the Suwanee. Come on down!!!
And then there's the swamp. Yep, just across the highway is the Okefenokee National Refuge. This morning I took a boat tour of the swamp with the rest of the workers here. AWESOME!! Good thing I decided to start a birding journal. Ibis, Great Blue Heron, Sandhill Cranes, and even a great barred owl. Oh, and then there were a few gators here and there. Actually, it was a bit cool this morning so we didn't really see any gators until later and then only laying in the warm mud. Overall a great introduction to the swamp. We'll be going back to kayak the swamp sometime after the new year. Can't wait.
Oh yeah, I think it's going to be a great winter down here on the Suwanee. Come on down!!!
Monday, December 12, 2011
One More Round of Chingle Bells Then I'm Off
Whew! It's Monday again and hard to believe all that has happened in a week. I had planned to work my last shift on Tuesday night and then go home for some sleep before getting up around noon and calmly hooking up in the warm sunshine. So much for plans.
The water was rising. Yes, because of all the rain lately the lake, the one I was camped beside, was rising quicker than anyone had thought it would. So my plans changed. What's new about that? I got some sleep after my shift on Monday night then with the able help of my neighbor Jeff, tied the kayak on top of the car and after thanking him, ran off to the Work Campers Job Fair at Amazon. I really wanted to see what that would be like. I did talk to an outfit with a job I'm interested in but won't talk about it here for fear of jinxing it. Then I rushed back to my campsite and did a quick tear down. I struggled a little with getting the tv antenna down since I had never used it before but did finally get it all down and secure. Once the car was hooked up it was on to the dump station (no honey wagon visit this week). I was able to dump but since the water at the dump station was turned off to keep pipes from freezing I had to just shove the sewer hose back in the compartment. Will get that taken care of soon. Finally I found a place to park the rig across from Amazon and left the furnance running for Gus while I worked my last shift.
After work my friend Tonya gave me a ride back to my rig to check on Gus. He was OK but I discovered that my house batteries were too low to keep the furnance running and it was 44 in Seeker. Brrrrr. Even for Gus that's cold. So I started the engine and charged the batteries a while and then started the furnance again. Once it was up to 60 inside we decided to leave the heat running for Gus and go eat some breakfast at Huddle House. Ran into my friend Amey from work there and had a nice farewell chat with her and Tonya. Then my camping buddies Sue and Roger came in so Amey and Tonya left me in their hands. Don't worry girls, I survived and even managed to escape.
Upon returning to Seeker I saw that again the batteries hadn't held their charge and it was cooling off inside. That's when Gus and I said our good byes and headed south. But it was dark out and I hate driving in the dark. And did I mention the rain? Yes, it was still raining. Not hard, but I really hate rain and dark for driving. So, once we got to the Walmart in Columbia Gus and I decided to park it and take a nap. When we woke up around 8:30 the sun had come out, albeit a bit of a gray day, and the rain had stopped. So we hopped on the Cumberland Parkway and in an hour we were on I 65. Only 90 miles to Nashville! I was feeling good. Even picked up a Nashville station which began to talk about the "wintry mix:". Sure enough, just as I was crossing into Tennessee I began to see the wintry mix. The good news was that it was more rain than snow, too warm to stick to the roads, and I was coming into Nashville around 10am so traffic was at it's lowest. But of course I was taking the 2 worst roads for foul weather accidents in the city: 65 and Briley Parkway.
Just as I turned on my street the snowflakes got fatter and fluffier, but I just laughed. I was home, or at least next door. Since my place is rented I had to claim squatter's rights in my neighbor's drive. When I let Gus out to run he looked very confused. Then he ran to Louise's back door to bark for her to come out. Sorry Gus, she's still at work. He ran all over the back yard then went down to the back door under my carport to be greeted by the renters' 6 month old German Shepherd pup. Needless to say he ran back to Seeker quickly. He was more than happy to nap with me inside Seeker till Louise came home. We had a lovely dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant and caught up on gossip and family news. On the way home we visited with Buster and Dawn who are neighbors down the street and parents of my renter. Then Gus and I went to visit Brenda and he decided to stay for the night, so I went back to Seeker alone. Since Louise had let me plug my shoreline in at her laundry room I had a toasty warm bed despite the temps outside in the 20s.
On Thursday I ran a few errands, collected Gus, and headed down the Natchez Trace to Hohenwald. It's my favorite route and since I had the time and knew it would be a while before getting back to here, well, I had to travel it. Of course I had forgotten the construction at the Hohenwald exit and the detour threw me for a minute, but I got to town just fine. And it was, as usual, a whirlwind tour. Stayed out on Buffalo Road with sister Nancetta and Bill the first night. The next morning I unhooked the car from Seeker and ran out to NAPPA to get new house batteries. No more running out of charge for me. Johnsy followed me in Seeker out to NAPPA to get my new batteries then on to the station to top off my LP. Now she's good to go. Johnsy drove Seeker back to his house and parked her next to his shop and plugged in my shoreline. And that's where I spent my Christmas. That night all 3 grandkids were there so we opened some presents and played and laughed and sang songs. I was exhausted when I went to bed. The kids made Christmas cookies and watched videos. The next day we took Aiden's new telescope up into his treehouse to look for deer. I whacked my head on the low ceiling. He laughed and I tried not to cry. Addy kept singing into her karaoke machine trying to find the perfect song. All the while little Drake, who is 4, walked around singing his own unique version of Jingle Bells which somehow morphs into Old MacDonald. Ahhh, to be 4 again.
Sunday morning was chocolate gravy and biscuits (you're the best Darlene) and country sausage. Then load up and hit the road. Gus and I drove about 300 miles on Sunday with my first time of driving the rig through Birmingham traffic. What was worse was the traffic near the malls which I was in and out of along highway 280. But it's Monday morning now and I'm in Columbus, GA touring the Confederate Naval Museum with big brother Mike and his lovely wife Linda. I wonder how things looked to her since she's had the cataracts removed from one eye and in a week will have the other one done. Seems like it would be confusing. I should ask her. After lunch at a very elegant Burger King in the historic district of Columbus Mike and I walked a little of the river walk downtown and he helped me find the answers to an earthcache about the river. Hard to imagine big naval warships on that river.
About 2:00 we parted ways since they had about 170 miles to cover returning to Winder and I wanted to get to Tifton before dark. Drove through Plains again but didn't stop since I'd covered most of that this summer when I was down this way. I did stop at the GA Veterans Memorial State Park in Cordele which made me think of Reelfoot Lake. Lots of cypress trees and swampy areas. I did a 5 stage multicache which took me around to all the monuments and gave me and Gus a good leg stretching. I didn't get to do the GA Parks cache for a stamp on my passport because it's near the primitive camping area and I could get in but couldn't get out with my full rig. Maybe next time. By 5:00 we were headed south on 75 and I was glad because as you know, I don't like driving after dark and it was getting that way. And here's one really big reason why: About 6 miles from the exit I needed there was no way for me to avoid running over a huge piece of "road gator". Had it been day time I probably could have seen it in time to switch lanes, but not in the dark. I did pull off right away and checked both vehicles and luckily all seems OK. I eased on down the road to the Pilot Truckstop in Tifton where I am nestled in among the truckers for the night. I walked Gus with my neighbor who was walking his miniature pug. Life on the road is just not right without a four legged companion.
So Gus, tomorrow morning we'll drive about 100 miles to our winter home. I hope you like it. I hope I like it. We'll let you know soon.
The water was rising. Yes, because of all the rain lately the lake, the one I was camped beside, was rising quicker than anyone had thought it would. So my plans changed. What's new about that? I got some sleep after my shift on Monday night then with the able help of my neighbor Jeff, tied the kayak on top of the car and after thanking him, ran off to the Work Campers Job Fair at Amazon. I really wanted to see what that would be like. I did talk to an outfit with a job I'm interested in but won't talk about it here for fear of jinxing it. Then I rushed back to my campsite and did a quick tear down. I struggled a little with getting the tv antenna down since I had never used it before but did finally get it all down and secure. Once the car was hooked up it was on to the dump station (no honey wagon visit this week). I was able to dump but since the water at the dump station was turned off to keep pipes from freezing I had to just shove the sewer hose back in the compartment. Will get that taken care of soon. Finally I found a place to park the rig across from Amazon and left the furnance running for Gus while I worked my last shift.
After work my friend Tonya gave me a ride back to my rig to check on Gus. He was OK but I discovered that my house batteries were too low to keep the furnance running and it was 44 in Seeker. Brrrrr. Even for Gus that's cold. So I started the engine and charged the batteries a while and then started the furnance again. Once it was up to 60 inside we decided to leave the heat running for Gus and go eat some breakfast at Huddle House. Ran into my friend Amey from work there and had a nice farewell chat with her and Tonya. Then my camping buddies Sue and Roger came in so Amey and Tonya left me in their hands. Don't worry girls, I survived and even managed to escape.
Upon returning to Seeker I saw that again the batteries hadn't held their charge and it was cooling off inside. That's when Gus and I said our good byes and headed south. But it was dark out and I hate driving in the dark. And did I mention the rain? Yes, it was still raining. Not hard, but I really hate rain and dark for driving. So, once we got to the Walmart in Columbia Gus and I decided to park it and take a nap. When we woke up around 8:30 the sun had come out, albeit a bit of a gray day, and the rain had stopped. So we hopped on the Cumberland Parkway and in an hour we were on I 65. Only 90 miles to Nashville! I was feeling good. Even picked up a Nashville station which began to talk about the "wintry mix:". Sure enough, just as I was crossing into Tennessee I began to see the wintry mix. The good news was that it was more rain than snow, too warm to stick to the roads, and I was coming into Nashville around 10am so traffic was at it's lowest. But of course I was taking the 2 worst roads for foul weather accidents in the city: 65 and Briley Parkway.
Just as I turned on my street the snowflakes got fatter and fluffier, but I just laughed. I was home, or at least next door. Since my place is rented I had to claim squatter's rights in my neighbor's drive. When I let Gus out to run he looked very confused. Then he ran to Louise's back door to bark for her to come out. Sorry Gus, she's still at work. He ran all over the back yard then went down to the back door under my carport to be greeted by the renters' 6 month old German Shepherd pup. Needless to say he ran back to Seeker quickly. He was more than happy to nap with me inside Seeker till Louise came home. We had a lovely dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant and caught up on gossip and family news. On the way home we visited with Buster and Dawn who are neighbors down the street and parents of my renter. Then Gus and I went to visit Brenda and he decided to stay for the night, so I went back to Seeker alone. Since Louise had let me plug my shoreline in at her laundry room I had a toasty warm bed despite the temps outside in the 20s.
On Thursday I ran a few errands, collected Gus, and headed down the Natchez Trace to Hohenwald. It's my favorite route and since I had the time and knew it would be a while before getting back to here, well, I had to travel it. Of course I had forgotten the construction at the Hohenwald exit and the detour threw me for a minute, but I got to town just fine. And it was, as usual, a whirlwind tour. Stayed out on Buffalo Road with sister Nancetta and Bill the first night. The next morning I unhooked the car from Seeker and ran out to NAPPA to get new house batteries. No more running out of charge for me. Johnsy followed me in Seeker out to NAPPA to get my new batteries then on to the station to top off my LP. Now she's good to go. Johnsy drove Seeker back to his house and parked her next to his shop and plugged in my shoreline. And that's where I spent my Christmas. That night all 3 grandkids were there so we opened some presents and played and laughed and sang songs. I was exhausted when I went to bed. The kids made Christmas cookies and watched videos. The next day we took Aiden's new telescope up into his treehouse to look for deer. I whacked my head on the low ceiling. He laughed and I tried not to cry. Addy kept singing into her karaoke machine trying to find the perfect song. All the while little Drake, who is 4, walked around singing his own unique version of Jingle Bells which somehow morphs into Old MacDonald. Ahhh, to be 4 again.
Sunday morning was chocolate gravy and biscuits (you're the best Darlene) and country sausage. Then load up and hit the road. Gus and I drove about 300 miles on Sunday with my first time of driving the rig through Birmingham traffic. What was worse was the traffic near the malls which I was in and out of along highway 280. But it's Monday morning now and I'm in Columbus, GA touring the Confederate Naval Museum with big brother Mike and his lovely wife Linda. I wonder how things looked to her since she's had the cataracts removed from one eye and in a week will have the other one done. Seems like it would be confusing. I should ask her. After lunch at a very elegant Burger King in the historic district of Columbus Mike and I walked a little of the river walk downtown and he helped me find the answers to an earthcache about the river. Hard to imagine big naval warships on that river.
About 2:00 we parted ways since they had about 170 miles to cover returning to Winder and I wanted to get to Tifton before dark. Drove through Plains again but didn't stop since I'd covered most of that this summer when I was down this way. I did stop at the GA Veterans Memorial State Park in Cordele which made me think of Reelfoot Lake. Lots of cypress trees and swampy areas. I did a 5 stage multicache which took me around to all the monuments and gave me and Gus a good leg stretching. I didn't get to do the GA Parks cache for a stamp on my passport because it's near the primitive camping area and I could get in but couldn't get out with my full rig. Maybe next time. By 5:00 we were headed south on 75 and I was glad because as you know, I don't like driving after dark and it was getting that way. And here's one really big reason why: About 6 miles from the exit I needed there was no way for me to avoid running over a huge piece of "road gator". Had it been day time I probably could have seen it in time to switch lanes, but not in the dark. I did pull off right away and checked both vehicles and luckily all seems OK. I eased on down the road to the Pilot Truckstop in Tifton where I am nestled in among the truckers for the night. I walked Gus with my neighbor who was walking his miniature pug. Life on the road is just not right without a four legged companion.
So Gus, tomorrow morning we'll drive about 100 miles to our winter home. I hope you like it. I hope I like it. We'll let you know soon.
Monday, December 5, 2011
A Fond Farewell to My Kentucky Home - For Now
It's Monday afternoon - well morning for me since I got off work at 3:30 this morning then went to sleep around 5am. So, yes, 2pm is my Mondary morning. It's my last Monday morning here at the park with all the other Amazonians. In 2 days I will hook up and pull out headed for swampier regions. I have some anxieties of course. Will the engine start? Do I remember how to drive Seeker? Will it still be raining?
Answers to the first 2 questions will be known on Wednesday. But so far the weather guessers are promising that the rain will taper off tomorrow and leave me a beautiful sunny day to leave Kentucky in my rear view mirror. I hope they are right. It's such a great adventure here and I would not like for my last memory of this place to be one of gray skies and big fat raindrops (not to mention slick roads).
I must admit I envy the park manager Sharon. Her job is to live here and keep folks happy. Aside from the occassional skunk infiltration (which Gus thankfully avoided) and a few loud campers who had to be put on the road, this would be a dream job. The lake is beautiful and every morning I can watch the sun rise over the cut in the island across the lake (well, if I'm awake I can). She's done an excellent job in my book and I do look forward to returning for a visit here sometime.
I will also miss my buddies at Amazon. I've met some really fine folks there who work hard for the money and my hat is off to them for working at it every day for years. It's crazy hours, hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The warehouse is pretty clean for a warehouse, but it is still a warehouse which means it's dusty and the spiders love it. I've had a pretty wicked cough since I got here and I have no doubt it will clear up just fine once I leave. I don't know how those folks keep it up but I do understand that you do what you have to do to be where you want to be. This part of Kentucky is so beautiful. I understand why folks want to be here.
According to geocaching.com I have visited 103 of the 120 counties in Kentucky and I don't think any of it was any prettier than right here. The rolling hills and green farmlands are just so peaceful. Of course the coal-rich mountains of the east and the river bottomlands of the west have their own kind of beauty too. I saw a lot here and I intend to see more when I return to this area in May for Geowoodstock. I still want to go to Cave in Rock, Monkey's Eyebrow, and the Patton Museum. I did eat dinner at the Whistle Stop Cafe but I didn't eat the fried green tomatoes. There were horse farms in the north and a metorite hole in the southeast. And I'll never forget vomiting all over the haunted sanitarium. I doubt Phil will forget that night either!
But it's time to put away the folding chairs, unhook the landline, and cruise down the road to the next adventure: alligators!!!!!
Answers to the first 2 questions will be known on Wednesday. But so far the weather guessers are promising that the rain will taper off tomorrow and leave me a beautiful sunny day to leave Kentucky in my rear view mirror. I hope they are right. It's such a great adventure here and I would not like for my last memory of this place to be one of gray skies and big fat raindrops (not to mention slick roads).
I must admit I envy the park manager Sharon. Her job is to live here and keep folks happy. Aside from the occassional skunk infiltration (which Gus thankfully avoided) and a few loud campers who had to be put on the road, this would be a dream job. The lake is beautiful and every morning I can watch the sun rise over the cut in the island across the lake (well, if I'm awake I can). She's done an excellent job in my book and I do look forward to returning for a visit here sometime.
I will also miss my buddies at Amazon. I've met some really fine folks there who work hard for the money and my hat is off to them for working at it every day for years. It's crazy hours, hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The warehouse is pretty clean for a warehouse, but it is still a warehouse which means it's dusty and the spiders love it. I've had a pretty wicked cough since I got here and I have no doubt it will clear up just fine once I leave. I don't know how those folks keep it up but I do understand that you do what you have to do to be where you want to be. This part of Kentucky is so beautiful. I understand why folks want to be here.
According to geocaching.com I have visited 103 of the 120 counties in Kentucky and I don't think any of it was any prettier than right here. The rolling hills and green farmlands are just so peaceful. Of course the coal-rich mountains of the east and the river bottomlands of the west have their own kind of beauty too. I saw a lot here and I intend to see more when I return to this area in May for Geowoodstock. I still want to go to Cave in Rock, Monkey's Eyebrow, and the Patton Museum. I did eat dinner at the Whistle Stop Cafe but I didn't eat the fried green tomatoes. There were horse farms in the north and a metorite hole in the southeast. And I'll never forget vomiting all over the haunted sanitarium. I doubt Phil will forget that night either!
But it's time to put away the folding chairs, unhook the landline, and cruise down the road to the next adventure: alligators!!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)