6/1/07 For the past week we have been at Lake Kachess campground, having sunny days and being very busy. This situation of being employed 30 hours a week really cuts into our free time! But what a beautiful place this is, with trees everywhere and a large, gorgeous lake. Because of all the rain and snow this past winter, the lake is the highest it has been for about 30 years. In fact, as we drove here, we passed many areas where there was still snow on the ground. We have seen deer, chipmunks, squirrels, and lots of birds.
When we first arrived here, we expected that we would be camp hosts at a loop called Thetis, which is right on the lake. Because this is a small loop, we would also be responsible for working in the entry booth to collect day use fees on Fri, Sat, and Sunday. Well, because of downed trees and other damage, Thetis loop is not open and there is no projected date for it to open. It all depends on the Forest Service and when they get all the clean up done and the sites ready. One of the other loops, Beargrass Flat, was without a host, because they hadn’t arrived yet, so we parked there and worked that loop, and also the booth. Last Wednesday we had to move because those hosts were arriving and we were in their spot. So we moved to site 55 and hated it. It was too surrounded with trees for us to have any solar, we couldn’t get level, and it wasn’t very private. The very next day Ron & Charmaine, the camp hosts on 2 of the other loops, Mineral Creek and Lodge Creek, quit. They had worked here last year on a different loop and were not happy with the manager this year and with the way some things were handled over the very busy Memorial Day weekend. So we were again moved, this time to their spot and we are now working both of those loops and have an occasional stint in the front booth and at the boat ramp. This weekend will probably be fairly quiet, which suits us fine because we are still in the learning phase of this new job. The other camp hosts are very nice people and we are also getting along well with the manager, Laraine, and her husband, Marvin, the maintenance man. There have been a couple of meetings and also a social evening together last night. One of the nicest hosts is a guy named Frank, from Yuma, who handles Gale Creek loop and the picnic area all by himself. I have taken a few pictures around the campground and I will try to attach them at the end of this.
One of the problems here was no internet access, so on our first day off we went into Issaquah, and purchased an air card. Now we have access but it is slow. We also have limited phone access because we have a low signal unless we are attached to our trucker’s antenna. This means we can’t have the phone with us when we leave the rig. So we leave the phone off and just return calls if people leave messages. Today we tried to tune in our satellite TV and are unable to do it at this site because of the location of trees around our site. So on our next day off, we will probably have to go into town again and purchase a portable dish and long cable that we can put in a clearing to get a satellite signal. It is looking like we will be spending all our earnings on items to make our stay here more comfortable!
Another problem we had was another leak in the hose going into the water heater, a problem Pat Jenkins helped Elaine with when we were in Quartzsite in January. This time Elaine got a better hose and appropriate fittings and installed it and our leak is fixed. Isn’t she a marvel?! Actually, I have been wanting to tell a story about what a marvel she really is, so I will do it now.
When we were on our way back from Spain and stayed overnight in Madrid, we told the guy at the hotel that we had to leave early in the morning to take the metro back to the airport. He said to just leave the keys in the room. So we did that and when we got down to the entry area of the building, we learned that there was a big deadbolt type arrangement being used at night and we could not get out without a key. So we tried to get back into our room to get the keys, but those doors were locked automatically behind us. We tried knocking, ringing the bell, etc. but couldn’t get anyone to respond. Time was passing and we were going to be late for our flight check-in if we didn’t get out of that hotel very soon!! So Elaine got her Swiss army knife out of her suitcase and used the little screwdriver tool to take off the latching hasp for the deadbolt. We managed to make it to the airport in time thanks to her wonderful mechanical skills. They are also helpful here in the campground, and with our new rig. It would have been priceless to see the looks on their faces when they arrived at their hotel that morning and found their lock all disassembled!
We have been having warm weather, even hot (89 degrees today) but colder, rainy weather is predicted for next week. More stories from Lake Kachess (is this like Lake Wobegone?) in a week or so.