June 2015
Werner Boyce
Salt Springs State Park
Port Richey,
FL
Moving
day—It was great to be able to take our time getting ready (our next
destination was only approximately 50 miles so we had set a departure time of
noon.)
We had done
quite a bit of the departure preparation the previous two days so all that was
left was taking disassembling the satellite dish, unhooking the utilities and
hitching up.
Monte was so
sweaty he took the time to take a shower in the meeting room before we
departed.
By the time
we said goodbye to our friends and co-volunteers, John and Darlene, and pulled
out of the compound it was 12:30.
The short
drive was uneventful but setting up at the park was quite a task.
There are
three sites in the maintenance area. One
site was already occupied by another volunteer would is leaving the middle of the
month. Of the two other sites, only one
is 50amp. The other site was 30 amps but
had the wiring for 50 amps.
The 50amp
site had a bed of pea gravel with a layer of stone on top. Due to heavy rains the site was very soft so
when Monte tried backing in he got stuck.
He managed to get out. When he
attempted to back up again and got stuck again we told the volunteer
coordinator the site was not going to work for us.
Even if he had been able to successfully back in we would have been
concerned about sinking the next time it rained.
That left us
with the choice of the 30amp site or another site that was 50amp but was
located a short drive away outside the maintenance compound in another part of
the park.
We
eliminated that site because we didn’t want to have to drive back and forth on
our work days and to do laundry.
Monte easily
backed into the other 30amp site. The
ground is much harder because it does not get flooded.
The sun was
very intense—I held an umbrella over Monte as he worked on the electric box
changing it over to a 50amp plug.
We had
arrived at the park at 2pm and by 5pm we were cooling off inside our rig.
It rained
through the night. When we checked out
the site we almost chose we were glad we hadn’t been able to get into it—it was
totally submerged in water.
The morning
of our first full day in the park was relaxing.
We were scheduled to have our orientation and tour of the park with
Mike, the volunteer coordinator, who wasn’t due into work until 1pm.
The tour
began in the maintenance area where we were shown all the park vehicles,
equipment and supplies.
Werner Boyce
Salt Springs State Park is a day use area with no campground. All three entrances to the park require
driving on US Highway 19, a very busy road.
Part of our
responsibility will be closing the gate at two of the entrances, lowering the
flags and locking the bathroom.
The
maintenance area, that is not open to the public, requires unlocking and
relocking every time we leave and return after hours and on weekends.
We would not
be required to check the trails for trash but Mike requested we bring along a
plastic bag and pickers if we planned on walking the trails for our own enjoyment.
Back at the
shop office I spent time taking the required online courses and tests. The tests are valid for a year-the last time
I took the test was back in April 2014.
We were
given our work schedule that included closing the gates on Saturday, Sunday and
Monday at sunset and working Sunday, Monday and Tuesday mornings for a total of
25 hours.
The next
couple of days were spent doing some chores and shopping.
We found a great pizza place, took a short
drive to a city park, and explored our park.
We were so
busy our first full month at our new park flew by.
Monte will
be working the majority of the required hours leaving me with plenty of free
time to explore the area. One day I took
a walk to the nearby Brasher Park. On
the way I encountered a raccoon. We had
a staring contest for a few minutes before he gave up and scurried back into
the brush.
It was
extremely hot so I was relieved to get a brief respite from the glaring sun
under a covered picnic shelter.
I noticed
there were quite a few dead fish in the water.
Not sure why they died but the crabs where feasting on them.
As well as
this great blue heron.
Our fellow
volunteers from Little Manatee River State Park came to visit us. We took a ride down to Tarpon Springs, a
local tourist attraction famous for its natural sponges and Greek restaurants
and shops.
We suggested
a restaurant to dine in that we had eaten at several years ago. But there are new owners and the food was not
as good as we remembered. And the
service was subpar-our waiter picked up John’s plate while he was still
eating.
After dinner
we stopped in a bakery to pick up dessert to enjoy later.
But I guess the guys couldn’t wait for
dessert so they treated themselves to ice cream.
Back at the
park we gave John and Darlene a tour of the park down some trails that can be
accessed from the maintenance area.
My parents
and brother came to visit for my birthday.
We enjoyed a great meal at Applebee’s.
I can’t believe how fast the last few years have flown by-it seems like
just yesterday I was celebrating my 50th birthday.
We visited
with Monte’s daughter, son-in-law and our grandson Timmy.
The
following day we went back to Little Manatee River State Park to visit with
John and Darlene. They are returning to
their home in Tennessee at the end of the month so we won’t see them until
sometime in August when they will be volunteering at Rainbow Springs State
Park.
For dinner
we chose Woodys located on the water in Ellenton.
We sat outside-big mistake.
Frozen Dreamsickle-coconut rum, black raspberry liquor and pineapple juice.---toooo sweet.
The food was okay but the flies were
horrendous, the live music too loud and the smoke from the other diners ruined
the experience.
The
remainder of the month was filled with taking care of some long overdue chores
including bringing in the Jeep to the dealer for recall issues. We also took in our truck for recall issues,
oil change and for service on another issue.
We also
settled into a working routine-
Monte in maintenance and me in the office taking
care of the blue honor envelopes and other special projects.
And of course closing the gates on our
scheduled nights.
I also got
my certification for operating some of the park vehicles including the ATV and
am looking forward to exploring some of the park trails.
June was
awesome-we visited with family and friends and met and got to know the great park
staff at Werner Boyce Salt Springs State Park.
