Georgia's HIGH Point

Some of the fun things we've been doing!

Took a trip to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. About 4,300 feet above sea level. When I was in my teens we came up here and were allowed to drive your own vehicle to the top, at least that is what I remember! Now you take a shuttle, even let you take small dogs up so Lucie went with us.

Jim & Rita's visit to Georgia

Jim and Rita visited us in May, 2010
On my sister Beth's houseboat

The 4th of July, 2010, boat parade as seen from our campground, Clark Creek North, Lake Allatoona, Georgia!

Workamping This Summer

We are starting our 3rd month of running a campground for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Our park is small, 24 sites and for that we are grateful!

After 5 days of classroom training, Bob and I were put to the test on April 30th, the opening day for Clark Creek North Campground on Lake Allatoona in north Georgia. Our schedule is 4 days on duty, 4 days off. The gatehouse is open and manned (or woman'd) from 7 AM - 10:30 PM. During our first 4 days on, we both stayed in the gatehouse unless one of us was making a round of the park. We soon discovered this was not the way to work it. So we have fine tuned our job sharing, taking 3 hour shifts gives each of us some downtime to clean house or do laundry (Dev) or to take a nap (Bob). Just kidding, Bob usually does the laundry!

As the season progresses and we get busier we may have to spend more time together in the "Box" as I like to call it but so far it is working well for us. We keep in touch with walkie/talkies and either of us can be called into service at a moments notice.

Most of our campers have been very nice and we haven't had any major problems. One night we did get a knock on our door at 11:30 to let someone out of the gate. Not many people have the nerve to ask us to open the gate after hours but if they do we must let them out.

One evening I was in the gatehouse helping someone at the front window and out of the corner of my eye I saw a car zooming past the gatehouse. It wasn't a vehicle I recognized so I sent Bob out to find it and see if they were "legal". As it turned out, he found the car and discovered they were visiting some campers. He explained to the gal that she is supposed to stop at the gatehouse and get a visitor's pass for $4. She told him that she had stopped and I wouldn't look her way so she went on. He sent her up to me to register. When she got to me she threw the $4 at me and said "that Ranger is a jerk" and I proceeded to tell her that he is not a Ranger and that the jerk is my husband! She didn't get the humor in it at all!

Well, I am sure we will have many more stories to tell! Right now I am working on getting my new camera to download some pics to the computer so I can add them to our blog. Its funny, I just got the hang of doing it with the old one and now I have to relearn the process all over again.

On our days off we try to ride the Harleys as much as possible. We went to Dahlonega, about 90 minutes from here. It is an old gold mining town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Very quaint town square where we had lunch and did some shopping.

Friends from back home in Bentonville, Jim and Rita visited us for a few days. It was great seeing them and getting to show off the area. We went to see an exhibit of collector's cars at the High Musuem in Atlanta. We all really enjoyed it but Jim being the car buff that he is had a great time. They were pieces of art and I hope to have pics posted shortly.

Snow on March 2nd in Georgia and More!

It is time to pack up and head to Arkansas in a week. Where does the time go??? We have wintered in Georgia, probably for the last time. Last winter was cold and broke some records but this year winter records are really being challenged. As I sit here looking out our picture window the snow is falling at a fast clip. Yesterday the temp was 55 and today around 25 degrees. About 1 inch of snow so far with expected accumulation of 2-4 inches by midnight. We are toasty warm though and just fine. Bob's 65Th birthday is in two days and it usually snows where ever we are around that time!

It has been an adventure being here. We have had duck hunters here in the park (illegal) and quad runners (prohibited). Bob's had to call the sheriff for the hunters since they gave him some grief but it was all straightened out in the end. The quad runners were able to give Bob the slip since our CR-V is not really an off road vehicle (I don't care what Honda says!).

One morning, about 2 AM, we got a call on the park phone that the police and Search and Rescue Squad needed entry into the park. They were looking for a woman, about 52 years of age, who had left home on foot just up the road from us. She was allegedly inebriated and an Alzheimer's patient. Since the floods in September and October littered the park with huge trees and limbs and debris washed up from the lake, it really was impossible to do a good search for her in the dark. Thank goodness they found her somewhere else and the search was called off. So it can be real exciting, this life of ours! When dealing with the public, you never know what can happen.

We have spoken to other contractors with the Corps that have been doing this for several years. They say we will be amazed at the situations that arise when running a campground. We should have plenty to write about in the coming months!

We've also had very sad things occur. Our co-volunteers, from Florida, had some ill health. The Mrs. went into the hospital around Christmas with breathing issues and she passed away in January. Her poor husband was barely able to function. Neither one of them had any family and now he is all alone. He stayed here until last week and then headed back to Florida and some friends they had there.

My Dad has been very ill. He was diagnosed with lung cancer last July and the prognosis was not good. He has outlived the doctors estimates and continues to fight the battle. He is living in south Georgia and I have been able to see him several times since we have been here.

My Mom became very sick right before Thanksgiving and was rushed into emergency surgery during the night. Her colon had twisted (something that can happen to people of a certain age) and created infection in her intestines. This quickly turned to gangrene and we would have lost her if they hadn't operated when they did. She was in ICU for 10 days and in a rehab facility for 4 weeks. She is doing spectacularly well and is also fighting the good fight. I come from sturdy stock and I am most proud of both of them!

I am very thankful we are going to be in Georgia through the summer. This will allow me to see all my family a little bit more than I usually do!

So on to Arkansas for doctor visits, etc and then back here in April to start our latest adventure. I am looking forward to searching for our new "location" for the fall and winter months. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination!

What's Next in 2010!!!

We have decided to take our first "paying" job since being on the road. Until now, we have been "volunteers" for the Corps of Engineers at Lake Allatoona in Georgia. Volunteers get their site for free in exchange for various duties such as surveillance for closed campgrounds or opening and closing gates for boat ramps and Day Use Areas. Campground "hosts" are required to bid on these jobs and if your bid is accepted you become contractors for the government. This entails a lot of rigmarole since it is the government you are dealing with!

We have started the process of getting our Dun and Bradstreet number as we are considered a business now. After you receive your D&B number, you are ready to register with CCR.gov. All of the information you provide D&B must be exactly how you register with CCR, down to the last dot or dash. I was very careful when talking to the D&B rep, going so far as to spell out our street address. I said "Oak Hills Dr." and he asked me to spell it. I did! "O-A-K- new word H-I-L-L-S Dr." Imagine my surprise when I pulled up our account and our address read "Oak New Word Hills Dr." I was laughing so hard I couldn't tell Bob what was so funny. Talk about doing your job on automatic pilot! Duh!

Well, if we can get all the "stuff" done, pass our background checks and get bonded, we have the positions of campground hosts for Clark Creek North Campground. We chose this park as it is small, only 24 sites. (Some parks have 200 sites) We are just getting our feet wet so we wanted to make it easy on ourselves. We have another couple who will share the duties, 4 days on and 4 days off. The gatehouse must be manned (or woman'ed) from 7 AM to 10;30 PM. The reservation system as well as the check-in process is all computerized which should make it easier. And how hard can it be to register 24 sites? We have camped at some of the other big campgrounds here on the lake and those "hosts" work their tails off! They are so busy they have 4 huge lanes for RVs to line up while waiting to register. We don't want the pressure! Hey, I'm looking forward to the days we are full and I can put my feet up and relax. (If our ranger, Linda, is reading this, I'm only kidding)
We are required to make rounds to ensure all the rules and regulations are being followed and actually have some clout if things are not as they should be. Stay tuned for updates on how it goes.

It may be that we will decide this is not for us but we have to give it a try! The contract is only 4 months, May thru Labor Day, and I figure we can do anything for 4 months. We will be back in Arkansas in March to see the doctors, dentists, etc. and then head back here for training. So we know where and what we will be doing through September 8th, 2010 but after that who knows where our travels will take us?? That is the beauty of this life.

Big City Opportunities

Being in a large metropolitan area is not our usual environs so we are trying to make the most of all the varied entertainment opportunities that come with the territory. Richard, Bob's brother, turned 60 in November so to celebrate we went with Marion and Richard to see "Cavalia" at Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta. Cavalia is an amazing show mixing 60 horses and 40 people on one stage in various acts of revelry including acrobats, aerialists, musicians and dancers. It was created by a co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, Normand Latourelle. It was a magnificent performance as all Cirque performances are with a different spin by adding the horses. You don't have to be a horse lover to enjoy this show. At one point, one of the trainers was on stage with 10 of the horses and to see her put them through their paces was incredible. The communication between her and the steeds was amazing to see as well as the respect she had for them and they for her. You could feel the true affection these gorgeous animals had for their trainer. The energy that runs through out the performance is what you expect from a Cirque show and they don't disappoint with their usual acrobatic maneuvers.
They have a great band for live music and every show is unique in that the band leader adjusts the music to the horse's behavior rather than the other way around! If this show comes to your area, you should consider seeing it.