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. 

On our way out we made a quick stop at the ranger station to say goodbye to Joe, the park manager who jokingly asked us if we if we really wanted to leave.

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 50^th 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.

May 2015

Little Manatee River State Park

Wimauma, FL

The month of May, our last at Little Manatee River State Park, was extremely hot.  With the exception of a couple of days, we had the air conditioner running 24/7.

By the beginning of month there was only one other volunteer couple in the compound so the work load had to spread around more than in previous months.  Monte had been putting in the majority of the hours of work because he was mainly doing maintenance where I could offer little assistance.  But when he was assigned to clean the day use areas and campground I went along to help out.

 

 

Some of the duties included putting new trash bags in all the bins in the park, raking the mulch in the playground, cleaning out the restrooms and ashes from the fire rings in the campground.

Despite the heat Monte spent a considerable amount of time doing outside maintenance chores on our rig including waxing it and treating all the seals.

 

Some of Monte’s maintenance chores for the park included repairing and performing routine maintenance on the Dixie chopper as well as all the chain saws, installing equipment on the fire truck

 

 

and repairing a door closer on a rest room that had somehow become detached.

 

 

He also gave a lesson to two of the volunteers on tractor operation.

 

Monte forgot to mention a mask should be used.  Sorry John.

One day Monte accompanied the volunteer coordinator Chris to Alafia State Park to pick up some recycling bins.  When Monte stepped up on the trailer, the rotted wood gave way and he fell through up to his waist.  Luckily he wasn’t seriously hurt and only ended up sore with a few black and blue marks.

This mishap resulted in his last big project for the park-removing and replacing all the rotted wood on the trailer.

Our social life spiked in May as we spent quite a bit of time with John and Darlene, the only other couple remaining in the compound.

  My mom extended an invitation to them on Mother’s Day.  On the way down to my parents’ house we stopped off at Venice Beach. 

 

 

 

 

John and Darlene purchased a new rig-very nice.

 

 

Of course getting a new rig requires taking a ride to Camping World for some new goodies.

  I was very proud of Monte because he managed to walk out of the store empty handed-a first for him.

We were treated to a wonderful dinner by John and Darlene at the Riverhouse in Palmetto. 

 

 

Monte noticed a couple of birds hopping in and out of my chair.

  Upon closer inspection we realized they were building a nest.  Wow-they did this much work in less than an hour. 

 I felt bad about moving the nest but I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my chair.

I took one last walk through the park.

Mom and Dad visited a couple of times in the month.

My brother and sister-in-law hosted a surprise birthday party for me.  My birthday is in June so I wasn’t expecting a party in May so I really was surprised.  As a ruse to get me to their house, my brother had invited us for a BBQ and to go swimming.   I almost missed my own party because I wasn’t feeling well and told Monte I was going to call my brother to say we couldn’t make it.  Monte got me to go by laying the guilt trip on me by saying how disappointed my parents would be if I didn’t show up.

In addition to delicious food and great decorations my sister-in-law also made me this awesome tote bag filled with goodies.

John and Darlene surprised me with birthday cupcakes and a bottle of sangria.

My hair was getting to the length where I had to make a decision to allow it to continue growing or get it cut.  I opted to get it cut real short.

The last two days at the park was spent packing up.  There was a lot more to do after being in one place for six months. 

 

Joe, the park manager gave us a nice send off with a cake and ice cream social. 

Our next destination is Werner Boyce Salt Springs State Park in Port Richey.  Werner Boyce is a day use area.  Monte will be working in the maintenance department.  I am not sure what I will be doing. 

We chose this particular park because of its close proximity to the house we still own and rent out.  The house requires some work and we wanted to be near enough to periodically check on the progress.