Day Off - (not "off day")

I have two days off and one more day on here at Nehalem park and then it's off to Newport, OR and the South Beach State Park - which is exactly 100 miles south of here.

 We had quite a bit of hail and quite "stiff" snow here last night. Quite a bit for here, that is. And although there is bright sun out now, it is forecast to snow more, rain more, and blow hard tonight. We had 2 paying guests in the whole park last night. Any which way one would try to "get outa town," the going would have been pretty tedious last night and this morning. The highways going away from here have hills which would have been almost unpassable. What we got last night was quite an icy mix. So here I am.

My park duties (chores) are light and occupy my time in a fun and interesting way. Yurt cleaning is still just a nice past-time. I had to do 4 yesterday - took me all of about 40 minutes, part of which was me standing around waiting for someone to turn in a key and drive away. I've been assigned to go down to the day-use area which is on the bay (look at a map). The December wind storm blew up a massive amount of driftwood onto the beaches and the boat launching ramp. I have brought up some for firewood a couple of times, but only had the inclination and stamina to sit out at a fire once. (Sure wish I had an inside fireplace) I have a big pile of wood sitting just outside, but I have a feeling I'll be leaving it behind- fooey! I get 2 bundles a month gratis, and all the driftwood I can drive up in my little cart. Maybe I should get a DVD of a fireplace.

I need to remember to get some bird seed for the birds. (a seagull outside there just reminded me that I have been thinking about doing that.) There's some funny little birds that stand around and bore holes in the ground. I suppose they're eating insects,  but it sure looks interesting when they leave. I couldn't figure out what was making those holes at first. And, there's a couple of deer families living here. They don't seem very concerned about me walking up close and doing the papparazzi (sp?) thing.  Yesterday, someone left a note in one of the yurts which said that we should post a sign warning guests about the raccoons. Seems they left their bright colored ice chest - full of food - outside for the night, and that the raccoons got into it and ate everything. Go figure!

Next entry from Newport, I suppose. Toodleoo.

Brian

Dry Spell! (what's that?)

I didn't really believe I'd see a whole day without rain - but the last couple of days have actually been beautiful, with sunshine and temperatures between fifty and 60 degrees. Wow. But... I think I'm going to have to plug in the heat tapes around the outside water lines (all that drain plumbing is exposed underneath the motorhome and has lots of heat tape wrapped around it too), because the nightime temperatures are going to be somewhat below freezing for the next several days. (should do that now)

Yurt cleaning is still a breeze. Just a little brushup, wipe, polish, sweep, and spritz with some air freshener - all done. That takes about 10 minutes. And it doesn't make me feel like I've lowered my career objectives to the level of hotel maid. (OOps! Housecleaning)  I had two today, but one of the guests decided to stay over another night. So I run around and around in my little cart, trying to look busy and play junior park ranger all day. I had some more computer work assigned to me the last couple of days. I had to fetch the tide table data for this area and form it up into a printed sheet that could be posted for the guests at the kiosks (sp?). Oh, yes... that was hard. I had to learn how to use the internet and Excel. (tic)

If the picture shows up ok, I'll try to to more and talk about them. Let's see.

Brian

Let's go to the Movies

After all these years of computering and digital photography, I have finally slipped a toe into the water of videos and video editing.  Just yesterday afternoon, I decided to try shooting a little movie with my Sony digital camera. The quality is not so good in comparison to a camcorder, that is, but doin' it was kinda fun. I used the Movie Maker program which is included in the standard Windows XP installation. I turned off the audio, because I didn't narrarate any of it and you could hear me quietly grunting and whistling - and wind noise, which didn't really add anything interesting. Perhaps I'll try to add some music or a bit of chat about it - just for the drill.

I've always resisted the urge to buy a camcorder because I just knew that I'd use it about once or twice and probably never again. I've got a lot of stuff that fits in that category.  Maybe I should reconsider. Anyway, I added the "Movies" link on my main page. It brings up the assemblage of clips that I did yesterday - a bit of a look around the park near my motorhome and a walk out to the beach. See whatcha think.

Cleaning yurts is a breeze. Every one I have had to clean, so far, has actually looked like no one had even been in it. But one of the other fellows told me this morning that one of his yesterday had a pile of sand dumped onto the floor. I guess the kids were trying to build sand castles inside. I wonder if the parents would allow them to do the same thing at home? Kids will be kids, but their folks ought to have a load of sand dumped into their britches.  There are at least 15 of the 18 yurts reserved for the weekend. That'll keep us busy on Sunday and Monday next.

Another storm again tonight. But I haven't had a drop (or drip) into the ol' motorhome yet. That's a good thing.

Brian

Here's That Rainy Day...

...that's the title of one of my favorite songs and aptly describes the Oregon coast at the moment. Well... that and yesterday, and the day before that, and also tomorrow - I'm sure. The latest storm, which affected the entire Pacific Coast, was quite a weather blast for us. There were winds of 70 mph, lots of rain, and thunder and lightning. Then yesterday evening, we had another hail and electrical storm, and now this afternoon it's raining hard again with some big ol' wet snow flakes (clumps) also. But - the temperatures have been  above freezing and up to over 50 at times.

Yesterday, I got assigned to sit at a computer in the park office and search for materials safety data sheets (MSDS). These seem to exist for everything of a solution-type nature - like paint, glue, incecticide, spray cans of all kinds - and the Park Service is supposed to have all those on hand for the stuff they have on shelves and in storage. Well, that's a bit of a challenge, but something to do.

My windows are foggy a lot. I come in out of the rain and put my coat and hat near the heater... and presto - steam, I guess. I did laundry and am about to either cook up dinner or find someone else to do it - like, go out and eat. I have promised to put up some more pictures, but my internet connection here is so slow that I don't think I can transfer more than a couple of pix all day. But I do have some interesting shots. Perhaps I'll drive the computer down the road where the broadband cell service exists. (Just missed it by a mile or so. Drat!)

Later...  Brian

End of 1st day at Nehalem Bay

It's really slow here, as I suspected, with just a few campers scattered around the campground. It has been cloudy, rainy, windy, and quite like I had anticipated. But the temperature, which is nearly 50 right now a bit after dark, is certainly warmer than I'm used to. My hat is way, way, way to big. I have to keep pushing it up off of my nose. They got my name spelled right on the sign which hangs at the corner of my rv site. My days off are Monday and Tuesday. Boy, those days are really going to be dull. I'll have to find something to do - like explore, or find a piano...  something a bit more interesting to write about.

Orientation was this morning. I sell firewood, answer questions, clean some yurts (not many these days), look around the place, and watch tv. The Rangers are nice. The new park manager seems very anxious to improve the park and all the equipment used by the hosts and staff. My cart does not have lights, so I don't really have much to do after dark. So, slow and quiet is going to be the norm around here, I suppose. However, the weather is supposed to get kind of exciting in a couple of days, with wind up to 60 mph or more and probably lots of rain. Guess I won't fly kites this weekend after all.

Time's up.

Brian