We almost always leave the front door of the store propped open during the day to improve the air flow and keep it cool inside. There is a chipmunk that has taken up residence in a masonry planter in front of the store that is about 50 feet away from the front door. A couple times a day, when there are no people around the front of the store, the chipmunk, that we have named "Chucky", runs into the store, grabs a bag of candy that is on the bottom shelf and runs lickity-split out the front door and into his hiding place in the planter. He did this twice yesterday and had everybody cracking up. Who would have ever guessed that a chipmunk would have the intelligence to know that these little bags contained food, and that they would have the nerve to run in and steal it.
A new fire broke out yesterady afternoon that created some concern to people in the resort. The smoke was clearly visible to the east and looked a lot closer than it turned out to be. It is reported to be in a campground north of Payson and appeared to be spreading rapidly as we followed the smoke. It would be no danger to us though as it is about 35 miles from here.
Our schedule is 8 AM to 2 PM today and promises to be another slow day. We are beginning to lose our seasonal storage customers. Just a couple weeks ago there was only a spot or two available and now we have almost twenty. As the season winds down, people that always come up on weekends to boon-dock in the forest are taking their rigs home for the winter. That means also that our dump business will be falling off on Sundays, and we did notice it yesterday.
We will enjoy our trip to Laughlin this week before the final big weekend this Labor Day holiday.
Til tomorrow...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
More Signs of Slow Down
Yesterday morning there were only 2 tickets from the restaurant. That means that the cooking staff and the waiter only served two tables for breakfast between 8 AM and 11 AM. Wow! The breakfast is a buffet with all the fix-ins and people can also order from the grill. The cooks make a lot of food to put out for the buffet. Of course, we at the front desk are allowed to fill plates and take them to the front desk to eat also. Our food is free to us though. That means the restaurant took a huge loss between wasted food and labor costs. The only potential break-even that we can see is Labor Day weekend. If it were us, we would have asked the kitchen staff to leave a couple weeks ago. Oh, well.
The park is nearly full but we only see a few small children. Most of the people that are here are older but they still bring their ATV's and spend most of the days in the woods. It is also archery deer hunting season so some of the people are long gone in the AM by the time most of us get up. We can hear the hunters leaving starting at about 4 AM. There haven't been any reports of deer taken by hunters staying at the resort so our suspicion seems true that this is not a great deer hunting area. It should be dramatically different for elk season though.
Josie has been asked to come in early (10 AM) today to get a head start on the cabins. Even with the slow down, she is getting more hours as a result of having additional housekeeping duties. The normal hours today would be 12 to 6 PM. We're looking forward to our Laughlin trip on Tuesday...
The park is nearly full but we only see a few small children. Most of the people that are here are older but they still bring their ATV's and spend most of the days in the woods. It is also archery deer hunting season so some of the people are long gone in the AM by the time most of us get up. We can hear the hunters leaving starting at about 4 AM. There haven't been any reports of deer taken by hunters staying at the resort so our suspicion seems true that this is not a great deer hunting area. It should be dramatically different for elk season though.
Josie has been asked to come in early (10 AM) today to get a head start on the cabins. Even with the slow down, she is getting more hours as a result of having additional housekeeping duties. The normal hours today would be 12 to 6 PM. We're looking forward to our Laughlin trip on Tuesday...
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Narrowing the Field
One of the things that we neglected to mention yesterday was that we eliminated another potential job for the winter. We received an offer from the Hart-T-Trees Co. to sell Christmas trees in Florida from 11/23 to 12/23. It was mentioned a couple weeks ago that we had a phone interview with these folks and it went well, but they had to get their returnees lined up first. They did that, and came back to us with one of their openings. Our decision to reject it was based on the fact that it was only one month, even though the money was good. We need to have a commitment somewhere else in Florida for the remainder of the winter season and that hasn't happened.
We also had rejected a job in Tennessee that involved managing a campground that was formerly a KOA campground and was being purchased by two individuals that needed a couple to run the place while they worked regular jobs during the week. There were a couple of problems with that. The campground needed lots of work. Much of the responsibility was to help renovate the campground. The hours and pay weren't that great starting out even though we would have had every weekend off. The other big problem was the location. It's a little too cold in the winter there to suit us. We have rejected a couple others also for various reasons. The "right" job will come along. At least we know we are welcome to stay here as long as we need to. Right now, our projected time of departure is around October 10. Nothing firm, but that's the target. It also gets too cold here after that time frame. One of our front desk co-workers, Grace, was told that her last day would be September 6. She doesn't have a definite winter job lined up but was told she could leave her rig here while she goes "home" to Wisconsin to have some surgery. She has not been invited back next year. More on her at a later date.
Today will be another early day for us - 7 to 3. The crowds aren't getting much smaller for the weekends even though the weekdays are a drag now. We like being busy as opposed to sitting around.
We made reservations to go to Laughlin next week on our days off. It's been about a year since we made a trip there and we do enjoy it. We will leave after work on Tuesday and return sometime Thursday afternoon. We figured it would be a nice break just before the wild Labor Day weekend crowd arrives. We will have to be prepared for much warmer days as that location is as hot as Phoenix. Later...
We also had rejected a job in Tennessee that involved managing a campground that was formerly a KOA campground and was being purchased by two individuals that needed a couple to run the place while they worked regular jobs during the week. There were a couple of problems with that. The campground needed lots of work. Much of the responsibility was to help renovate the campground. The hours and pay weren't that great starting out even though we would have had every weekend off. The other big problem was the location. It's a little too cold in the winter there to suit us. We have rejected a couple others also for various reasons. The "right" job will come along. At least we know we are welcome to stay here as long as we need to. Right now, our projected time of departure is around October 10. Nothing firm, but that's the target. It also gets too cold here after that time frame. One of our front desk co-workers, Grace, was told that her last day would be September 6. She doesn't have a definite winter job lined up but was told she could leave her rig here while she goes "home" to Wisconsin to have some surgery. She has not been invited back next year. More on her at a later date.
Today will be another early day for us - 7 to 3. The crowds aren't getting much smaller for the weekends even though the weekdays are a drag now. We like being busy as opposed to sitting around.
We made reservations to go to Laughlin next week on our days off. It's been about a year since we made a trip there and we do enjoy it. We will leave after work on Tuesday and return sometime Thursday afternoon. We figured it would be a nice break just before the wild Labor Day weekend crowd arrives. We will have to be prepared for much warmer days as that location is as hot as Phoenix. Later...
Friday, August 28, 2009
An Amazing Sight
Our voluntary trip to Flagstaff for the second day in a row began at about 9 AM. We stopped at the front desk to get last minute instructions from Chi Chi about where the office was in Flagstaff and to get the list of items to pick up at Home Depot. There were lots of food items to pick up and the Home Depot list included beams, saw blades, nails and some roof hardware. This turned out to be a major trip to perform resort business on our day off.
The trip itself was made worthwhile because on the way up to Flagstaff, we saw the most amazing sight we've ever seen. What looked like birds or stumps from a distance turned out to be at least 500 elk grazing in the lake bed of Mormon Lake. The pictures below can give some idea of this sight:
The trip itself was made worthwhile because on the way up to Flagstaff, we saw the most amazing sight we've ever seen. What looked like birds or stumps from a distance turned out to be at least 500 elk grazing in the lake bed of Mormon Lake. The pictures below can give some idea of this sight:
Josie had brought her binoculars and even though you can't tell from these pictures, there were many, many, huge bulls in that herd. It is unbelievable that there could be so many elk in one place in this area. It was like a convention. The first picture, even though you can't see the elk real well, still doesn't capture all of the elk that were there. Then, on our way home at about 2 PM, we discovered that the elk were still there, and moving into what was left of the water in Mormon Lake:
The difference in the afternoon was that most of the elk were just bedded down. What a sight! That took the sting out of wasting a day off to do lodge business. When you think about all these elk in one place, and the fact that the forest is still full of elk, you begin to gain an appreciation of just how many elk there are in this area of Arizona.
The excitement didn't end there though. We have been filling up our hummingbird feeder almost twice a day, from the previous schedule of about once a week. The reason is that our feeder has been discovered by a flock of hummingbirds that literally fight over a spot on the perches. I tried to capture a picture of all these birds but they are so fast that this is the best I could do:
This picture shows 5 hummingbirds, but we've seen as many as 7 at the feeder at the same time. We ordered another of these window feeders that we will place on another window so we can watch even more of them. We have been so fascinated by these birds that we started researching their habits and the species that are in this area. We can now tell the difference between the males and females and have learned a lot about their habits. For example, the females have white edges on their tail feathers, have crimson feathers around their neck, make the nests, hatch the babies and care for them, while the males do nothing. Sounds fair to me.
All in all it was a nice break the last two days. Today we start early - 7 AM - and get off at 3. It will be busy as we again get ready for the weekend crowd. Til tomorrow...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Going to Flagstaff Again
We stopped in the store yesterday before going to Flagstaff to run our errands. As we usually do, we asked the Manager if he needed anything while we were there. He said that a list of needed goods was faxed to the General Manager, whose office is in Flagstaff, and they may want to call us to pick up the goods and bring them back to the resort. We gave them our phone number and said sure, give us a call when they are ready. We gave him our phone number.
Our day in Flagstaff - actually, half a day, was nice. We dropped off the laptop at the Kinko's/FedEx office, Stopped at the bank, had lunch at Carl's Jr, did our grocery shopping and came home. First of all, the burger (The Big Carl) at Carl's Jr did not disappoint. It was charbroiled and big. The only disappointment was it didn't look like the picture on TV. They never do. By the time they wrap them in the paper they get squashed down to about half their size. We thought from the picture on TV that we would have a problem getting our mouth around the sandwich. Although big, it was not a problem. With fries, onion rings and a drink, it came to less than $10 - a great deal. Second, we didn't get a call from anybody to pick up anything so we headed home after grocery shopping.
When we returned home we immediately received a call on our radio from Chi Chi asking us what our phone number was. We had evidently given him the wrong number, or he wrote it down wrong. It turns out that they tried to call us, and also the General Manager tried, to no avail. They had some things for us to bring back and neither could get a hold of us. How embarrassing. Anyway, we volunteered to go back up to Flagstaff today to pick up the supplies and bring them back. They also want us to stop by Home Depot to pick up some beams that are needed by our maintenance crew. Looks like a trip for the truck.
We had talked about taking one of the hikes that we have information on but it looks like that will have to be scheduled for next week. Darn! We were getting excited about these hikes since we recently received more information on them from the Forest Service. Oh, well. That's about it for now...
Our day in Flagstaff - actually, half a day, was nice. We dropped off the laptop at the Kinko's/FedEx office, Stopped at the bank, had lunch at Carl's Jr, did our grocery shopping and came home. First of all, the burger (The Big Carl) at Carl's Jr did not disappoint. It was charbroiled and big. The only disappointment was it didn't look like the picture on TV. They never do. By the time they wrap them in the paper they get squashed down to about half their size. We thought from the picture on TV that we would have a problem getting our mouth around the sandwich. Although big, it was not a problem. With fries, onion rings and a drink, it came to less than $10 - a great deal. Second, we didn't get a call from anybody to pick up anything so we headed home after grocery shopping.
When we returned home we immediately received a call on our radio from Chi Chi asking us what our phone number was. We had evidently given him the wrong number, or he wrote it down wrong. It turns out that they tried to call us, and also the General Manager tried, to no avail. They had some things for us to bring back and neither could get a hold of us. How embarrassing. Anyway, we volunteered to go back up to Flagstaff today to pick up the supplies and bring them back. They also want us to stop by Home Depot to pick up some beams that are needed by our maintenance crew. Looks like a trip for the truck.
We had talked about taking one of the hikes that we have information on but it looks like that will have to be scheduled for next week. Darn! We were getting excited about these hikes since we recently received more information on them from the Forest Service. Oh, well. That's about it for now...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Slow, and Long Day
We are thankful that our weekend has arrived. Yesterday was probably the slowest day since we arrived. Bob worked the store, alone until noon when the second shift started, and had maybe 6 customers all morning. There is a two hour overlap with the AM and PM shifts, so the two of us basically just chatted for two hours. We did get a few calls but the whole morning was a drag. Josie worked in housekeeping to get all the cabins ready and with the help of the other part time housekeeper were able to get them all done. She worked a couple extra hours and got home about 4 PM.
The packaging finally arrived for the return of the laptop to HP for repair. Bob did a complete data backup and will have the package ready to go today. Our plan is to take it to Flagstaff, drop it off at the Kinko's/FedEx store and do some grocery shopping while there. This is the first post done with the old laptop that has become Josie's. It should be fine. Bob has been craving a Carl's Big Burger (for only $1.99) since they started advertising them on TV so we will have lunch at Carl's JR while we are there. They are the biggest burgers we've ever seen, so we are anxious to try one. We hope we aren't disappointed.
There are some new potential Workamping opportunities that we are pursuing and will report on those when we get close to getting offers. It seems that the employers are beginning to advertise more now that it is getting closer to the winter season. That's about it for now...
The packaging finally arrived for the return of the laptop to HP for repair. Bob did a complete data backup and will have the package ready to go today. Our plan is to take it to Flagstaff, drop it off at the Kinko's/FedEx store and do some grocery shopping while there. This is the first post done with the old laptop that has become Josie's. It should be fine. Bob has been craving a Carl's Big Burger (for only $1.99) since they started advertising them on TV so we will have lunch at Carl's JR while we are there. They are the biggest burgers we've ever seen, so we are anxious to try one. We hope we aren't disappointed.
There are some new potential Workamping opportunities that we are pursuing and will report on those when we get close to getting offers. It seems that the employers are beginning to advertise more now that it is getting closer to the winter season. That's about it for now...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Hunting Season Starts
I'm not exactly sure what day - probably Friday or Saturday - but the first hunting season has started. The archery for deer season is in full swing as evidenced by hunters coming into the store dressed in their camouflage. A hunter came in about lunchtime yesterday and described an encounter with 4 bucks, all huge, that he had just up the road on Forest Highway 81. He took a shot at one from about 75 yards but misjudged the distance and missed. We have not seen one deer since we arrived and we have traveled a lot of miles on these roads. Also, one of the kitchen staff members that stays in a trailer in another part of the resort said she saw about 7 deer yesterday morning at the edge of the resort. I guess the hunters are shaking up the deer population and they are going places they haven't been. The hunting seasons will run now until well into December. There's archery, muzzle loader and rifle seasons for deer, and the same for elk. Then there is a late season. It makes me wish I had applied for a tag.
Yesterday, we posted several travel websites that were given to one of our restaurant staff. While that woman was doing laundry her husband tripped in the resort parking area and landed on his face, causing a nasty gash on his nose. We all thought he should have been taken to Urgent Care but she only took him back to their rig to lie down with ice and towels on his face.
The packaging is supposed to arrive today for the laptop repair. A full backup of the data will be done after work today and the computer will be packaged and taken to Flagstaff tomorrow on our weekly trip for supplies. We could have called them to schedule a pickup but since we were going to Flagstaff anyway, we decided to drop it off.
Today is an 8 to 2 day on our schedule, then we have our weekend (yea!). We are looking forward to these two days off since last week we were on standby because of Jaymie's trip to Montana. We'll try to schedule some fun, like maybe a short hike. Until tomorrow...
Yesterday, we posted several travel websites that were given to one of our restaurant staff. While that woman was doing laundry her husband tripped in the resort parking area and landed on his face, causing a nasty gash on his nose. We all thought he should have been taken to Urgent Care but she only took him back to their rig to lie down with ice and towels on his face.
The packaging is supposed to arrive today for the laptop repair. A full backup of the data will be done after work today and the computer will be packaged and taken to Flagstaff tomorrow on our weekly trip for supplies. We could have called them to schedule a pickup but since we were going to Flagstaff anyway, we decided to drop it off.
Today is an 8 to 2 day on our schedule, then we have our weekend (yea!). We are looking forward to these two days off since last week we were on standby because of Jaymie's trip to Montana. We'll try to schedule some fun, like maybe a short hike. Until tomorrow...
Monday, August 24, 2009
Almost Back to Normal
Our long night shifts are over - for now, at least. We did our normal Sunday afternoon shift and got off right on schedule just after 6 PM. The only problem all afternoon was that somebody drove off with the key to our outside water station. We keep the station locked so that people don't just drive up and fill their water tanks without paying the 20 cents per gallon charge. It has happened before, only with the key to the dumping station. It will create a little problem for us this morning since the same key operates the trash bin and today the trash people come to empty the containers. That bin contains about 8 trash cans. We lock that for the same reason as the water and the dumping station - to prevent people from dumping their trash for free after spending the weekend in the woods. We charge $4 per large trash bag for that. There are all kinds of ways to make money at the resort.
One of the staff members that works in the restaurant was asking me about vacation web sites since they are trying to find a real good deal on a Panama Canal cruise. I gave her three good sites for discount vacations and will provide those here for anybody else that may be interested : www.cruise-connections.com, www.travelzoo.com, and www.dunhillvacations.com. This person lives in Sun City, AZ, during the winter and has been coming to the resort in the summer for the last 15 years. They (she and her husband) stay with their little 20 foot trailer at a membership park - Sunrise Resort, a Western Horizon park - down the street about 2 miles. They spend two weeks in that park, then they have to vacate for one week before staying another two weeks. Their week out is usually spent at the resort here - for free. Sometimes they buy their week out so they don't have to move so often. They only stay at that park because they have many friends who also have been coming up here for years. Otherwise, they would stay here like us, for free, the whole summer.
Today is the AM shift, 8-2, so we will have some free time this afternoon to relax...
One of the staff members that works in the restaurant was asking me about vacation web sites since they are trying to find a real good deal on a Panama Canal cruise. I gave her three good sites for discount vacations and will provide those here for anybody else that may be interested : www.cruise-connections.com, www.travelzoo.com, and www.dunhillvacations.com. This person lives in Sun City, AZ, during the winter and has been coming to the resort in the summer for the last 15 years. They (she and her husband) stay with their little 20 foot trailer at a membership park - Sunrise Resort, a Western Horizon park - down the street about 2 miles. They spend two weeks in that park, then they have to vacate for one week before staying another two weeks. Their week out is usually spent at the resort here - for free. Sometimes they buy their week out so they don't have to move so often. They only stay at that park because they have many friends who also have been coming up here for years. Otherwise, they would stay here like us, for free, the whole summer.
Today is the AM shift, 8-2, so we will have some free time this afternoon to relax...
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Second Long Night
As expected, the evening last night was a late one and all we had time to do when we got off at 9:45 was to watch a little news and go to bed. We are not fans of the afternoon shift on weekends and will be happy to go back to our normal AM shifts next Friday and Saturday. The problem is that the bar in Jack's Place in the banquet room stays open until 9 PM and we can't close the front desk until after they get the last person out. The good news though is we get extra hours and more pay because our schedule shows we should be off at 8 PM. Our schedule today is back to our normal Sunday 12 to 6 shift. Jack's Place is not open on Sunday so we will be leaving shortly after the scheduled 6 PM close.
Today is checkout day for most people and we will get the usual Sunday "dump" business. It should get back to normal for us.
The weather is in a typical monsoon pattern although we didn't get any rain yesterday. It was cloudy and threatened rain all day and we had a high of only 72 degrees. From what we see and from what people have told us, we are having a very light monsoon season.
We received the new issue of the Workamping News magazine yesterday that has a whole lot of new postings for winter jobs and also, jobs for next summer. That will provide a lot more options for us to pursue in the next week or so. Stay tuned...
Today is checkout day for most people and we will get the usual Sunday "dump" business. It should get back to normal for us.
The weather is in a typical monsoon pattern although we didn't get any rain yesterday. It was cloudy and threatened rain all day and we had a high of only 72 degrees. From what we see and from what people have told us, we are having a very light monsoon season.
We received the new issue of the Workamping News magazine yesterday that has a whole lot of new postings for winter jobs and also, jobs for next summer. That will provide a lot more options for us to pursue in the next week or so. Stay tuned...
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A Long Day and Some Rain
Yesterday was an unusual day in a couple ways. First of all, we worked the afternoon shift for the first time on a Friday afternoon. This meant that most of the check ins would occur on our shift. Plus, Jack's Place in the banquet room would be open on our shift and that meant that we would have to stay open until they closed at about 9 PM - that's close to our bedtime. Of course, the resort would be packed again for this weekend and there were 30 check ins scheduled for the day. The only problems we had were with a couple cancellations, walk ins to replace the cancellations and people calling saying they will be arriving late. It was a very busy day and we didn't get out of there until 9:45 last night. Our cabins are totally filled and the RV park has only a few sites left.
There was a storm that moved through in the early afternoon and lasted for about an hour. There was a little bit of thunder and lightening, but nothing like what they had in the Valley. We heard about some vicious storms in the Phoenix area and it appears that the Monsoon has returned again. We only had .06" of rain the whole afternoon but we heard of rain up to .50" and higher in some Phoenix areas. The rain is desperately needed everywhere in this state and it does cool things down in the Valley.
Today is another afternoon shift for us. There won't be the mass check ins that there were yesterday but, once again, Jack's Place will be open so we expect another late night. We'll enjoy the leisurely morning though as we don't start until 1 PM. Chi Chi and Jaymie are enjoying their time with there friends that are visiting. They were the last group to leave Jack's Place last night. It may be a tough morning for them.
Til tomorrow...
There was a storm that moved through in the early afternoon and lasted for about an hour. There was a little bit of thunder and lightening, but nothing like what they had in the Valley. We heard about some vicious storms in the Phoenix area and it appears that the Monsoon has returned again. We only had .06" of rain the whole afternoon but we heard of rain up to .50" and higher in some Phoenix areas. The rain is desperately needed everywhere in this state and it does cool things down in the Valley.
Today is another afternoon shift for us. There won't be the mass check ins that there were yesterday but, once again, Jack's Place will be open so we expect another late night. We'll enjoy the leisurely morning though as we don't start until 1 PM. Chi Chi and Jaymie are enjoying their time with there friends that are visiting. They were the last group to leave Jack's Place last night. It may be a tough morning for them.
Til tomorrow...
Friday, August 21, 2009
Enjoying Our Time Off
Instead of taking a trip on one of the trails yesterday, we decided to just make it a laid back day and do nothing. The guy came to wash and wax our rig so we stayed around while he did that. He showed up at about 9 AM and didn't finish until almost 2 PM. The fifth wheel sparkles again.
Josie did some laundry and Bob did some reorganizing of the files we brought with us. He also spent a good part of the day communicating online with some potential employers for the winter season. Some new areas became possibilities, such as Palm Springs, Santa Cruz and the Redwoods area of northern California. None of these have produced offers yet but they show mutual interest. It makes us appreciate the arrangement we have here. We'll keep looking and hope that we get a "slam dunk" offer soon.
We work the late shift today since we swapped shifts with the manager and his wife. This has been the longest period of time off that we've had since we arrived. By working the AM shift on Tuesday and the PM shift today, we have been off for nearly 72 hours. We may get spoiled.
Yesterday was 87 and 45 for our high and low temperatures. With light winds and cloudless sky it was a picture perfect day. Today is starting out the same way with a low of 47 so far.
Later...
Josie did some laundry and Bob did some reorganizing of the files we brought with us. He also spent a good part of the day communicating online with some potential employers for the winter season. Some new areas became possibilities, such as Palm Springs, Santa Cruz and the Redwoods area of northern California. None of these have produced offers yet but they show mutual interest. It makes us appreciate the arrangement we have here. We'll keep looking and hope that we get a "slam dunk" offer soon.
We work the late shift today since we swapped shifts with the manager and his wife. This has been the longest period of time off that we've had since we arrived. By working the AM shift on Tuesday and the PM shift today, we have been off for nearly 72 hours. We may get spoiled.
Yesterday was 87 and 45 for our high and low temperatures. With light winds and cloudless sky it was a picture perfect day. Today is starting out the same way with a low of 47 so far.
Later...
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Payson, Casino and Buffet
We got a fairly late start (noon) for our trip to Payson. The plan was to stop at WalMart to pick up a couple prescriptions and then go to the casino to have their buffet lunch. When we got up though, we were both hungry so Josie fixed a big breakfast which we had at about 9:30. It's not a good idea to plan a buffet lunch after a big, and rather late breakfast. Neither one of us was ready for the buffet lunch when we arrived at the casino. So what did we do until our appetites returned? Right! We gambled. Once again though we didn't have a lot of money to throw in the slots but we both won enough to allow us to keep playing for a couple hours. By then (2:30) we were ready for the buffet. It was very good and with the senior discount it only cost $16 for the both of us. Just last week we had lunch at a Subway in Flagstaff and I couldn't believe that it cost us $20 for two sandwiches and drinks. That was at a SUBWAY! I never thought it was possible to spend $20 at a Subway for lunch. Comparing that to our buffet yesterday was like night vs day.
We left the casino around 4 PM and got the car washed then did our grocery shopping at Safeway. We got back home at about 6:30 PM and just watched some TV the rest of the night. The packaging still did not arrive for the laptop which is making me a little nervous. We need to get the repair process started before we run out of time here. Our manager, Chi Chi, also stopped by to ask us if we would mind switching shifts on Friday and Saturday. We are scheduled for the AM shifts on those days and they (he and Jaymie) are scheduled for the late shift. They are having some friends coming to visit and wanted the afternoons and evenings to spend with them. No problem.
Today is a catch up day for laundry and some things that need to be done to the rig. We are having the fifth wheel washed and waxed today by the guy who has done many in the resort and comes highly recommended. We also have a few minor repairs to make. If we have any time left over, we plan to take a short drive to another lake that we heard was pretty nice and is only about 1/2 hour away. Until tomorrow...
We left the casino around 4 PM and got the car washed then did our grocery shopping at Safeway. We got back home at about 6:30 PM and just watched some TV the rest of the night. The packaging still did not arrive for the laptop which is making me a little nervous. We need to get the repair process started before we run out of time here. Our manager, Chi Chi, also stopped by to ask us if we would mind switching shifts on Friday and Saturday. We are scheduled for the AM shifts on those days and they (he and Jaymie) are scheduled for the late shift. They are having some friends coming to visit and wanted the afternoons and evenings to spend with them. No problem.
Today is a catch up day for laundry and some things that need to be done to the rig. We are having the fifth wheel washed and waxed today by the guy who has done many in the resort and comes highly recommended. We also have a few minor repairs to make. If we have any time left over, we plan to take a short drive to another lake that we heard was pretty nice and is only about 1/2 hour away. Until tomorrow...
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ho Hum Day
There's not a lot to say about yesterday. It was a ho hum day. Normal work day and usual afternoon at home. The work days are pretty long now that the activity has dropped. We are beginning to get hitch-itch if you know what I mean. We love our jobs and the people we work with but we are getting anxious to move on to our next adventure. We've heard from several workamping couples that a 4-5 month stay can get this way towards the end. The problem for us right now though is that we don't yet have a new destination to be excited about. We can see that many more places are beginning to advertise for winter help and that is a good sign. So far, most places have been advertising for help to get them through the remaining summer season. Many places have lost some their help through early departures of some of their staff. It would be hard, at least for us, to take a job for just one month in order to finish a season and then have to move on. Most of those places that are advertising close for the winter season so why bother?
Our schedule today calls for a short trip to Payson to do some small errands and grocery shopping. We will probably stop at the casino to try their buffet at lunch time. You may remember that the last time we went we missed the buffet because it was for lunch and not dinner. We hope to get it right this time. Of course, we may put a few coins in the slots while we're there. I don't think it's possible to get Josie from the car to the restaurant in the casino without stopping at the machines. She would have to be blindfolded.
We still have not received the packaging from HP for the return of the laptop. We hope it comes sometime today since we need to get that process started before it begins to conflict with our departure from here. It's nice to have a couple days off now...
Our schedule today calls for a short trip to Payson to do some small errands and grocery shopping. We will probably stop at the casino to try their buffet at lunch time. You may remember that the last time we went we missed the buffet because it was for lunch and not dinner. We hope to get it right this time. Of course, we may put a few coins in the slots while we're there. I don't think it's possible to get Josie from the car to the restaurant in the casino without stopping at the machines. She would have to be blindfolded.
We still have not received the packaging from HP for the return of the laptop. We hope it comes sometime today since we need to get that process started before it begins to conflict with our departure from here. It's nice to have a couple days off now...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Focus on the Rest of the Season
Our manager came in on his day off to try and put the rest of the season in perspective. The schedules will be changing pretty soon to reflect the slowdown in business. The restaurant has already discontinued Thursday night dinners and will only remain open on weekends. The office has been slower and he indicated that the hours will most likely change so the store will close at 4 PM during the week. We don't know when that will start, but probably right after Labor Day. We have already been asked to stay into October but the rest of the staff will probably be asked to leave after Labor Day. We are certain that the resort business can be handled with just the four of us after Labor Day (Chi Chi, Jamie, Josie and Bob). We'll see what happens.
We're planning to do another short trip to Payson on Wednesday, our first day off this week. We have to pick up a couple prescriptions for Josie and do some basic grocery shopping. We have talked about a short hike to one of the popular areas nearby. That would probably be on Thursday. Bob is hoping that his laptop can be sent off to the repair center sometime during our days off. We are waiting for the box and packaging material to arrive to prepare it for shipping. We also have scheduled a local RV cleaning guy to wash and wax our rig on Thursday. It desperately needs it and people here that have used him were very satisfied with his work and rates. So, we should be busy.
The weather continues to be beautiful. The days go into the low 80's and the nights into the high 30's with clear skies. Great sleeping weather. Today is our last day before our "weekend" and we will work from 8 to 2. Til tomorrow...
We're planning to do another short trip to Payson on Wednesday, our first day off this week. We have to pick up a couple prescriptions for Josie and do some basic grocery shopping. We have talked about a short hike to one of the popular areas nearby. That would probably be on Thursday. Bob is hoping that his laptop can be sent off to the repair center sometime during our days off. We are waiting for the box and packaging material to arrive to prepare it for shipping. We also have scheduled a local RV cleaning guy to wash and wax our rig on Thursday. It desperately needs it and people here that have used him were very satisfied with his work and rates. So, we should be busy.
The weather continues to be beautiful. The days go into the low 80's and the nights into the high 30's with clear skies. Great sleeping weather. Today is our last day before our "weekend" and we will work from 8 to 2. Til tomorrow...
Monday, August 17, 2009
Our Usual Sunday
Sunday's are so predictable here. We get the checkouts in the morning and the afternoon is filled with people using the dump station. It is hard to imagine the number of people that come up here and take their rigs into the back woods for the weekend. And, we don't get everybody in here to dump their rigs before either putting them back in storage or taking them back home to the Phoenix area. The number of people though is starting to drop off as the season winds down and more schools start.
We had rave reviews from all those involved in the wedding over the weekend. This is a great place to hold such an event. Even though they didn't use the chapel here, they said the staff and facilities were excellent and they would recommend Happy Jack Lodge to anyone looking for a good wedding experience. We also found out that the bride is pregnant. Hmm.
The weather was gorgeous yesterday - 79 high, 43 low. There wasn't a cloud in the sky all day and this morning has also dawned cloudless. We had some wind in the afternoon but that is normal for here. Our day today is one of the short ones - 8 AM to 2 PM. It promises to be a fairly slow day so we're glad it is one of the shorter work days. That's about it for today...
We had rave reviews from all those involved in the wedding over the weekend. This is a great place to hold such an event. Even though they didn't use the chapel here, they said the staff and facilities were excellent and they would recommend Happy Jack Lodge to anyone looking for a good wedding experience. We also found out that the bride is pregnant. Hmm.
The weather was gorgeous yesterday - 79 high, 43 low. There wasn't a cloud in the sky all day and this morning has also dawned cloudless. We had some wind in the afternoon but that is normal for here. Our day today is one of the short ones - 8 AM to 2 PM. It promises to be a fairly slow day so we're glad it is one of the shorter work days. That's about it for today...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
A Wedding and Busy Day
The big event yesterday was the wedding. The staff spent a lot of time helping to decorate the lodge banquet room which was to serve as both the chapel for the ceremony and the reception afterward. There was a rehearsal in the morning and the ceremony was to begin at 3 PM. Here is a picture of the banquet room as it is ready for the ceremony. There were balloons added after this picture but this one shows the arrangement better. The ceremony would take place in the front where the seats and alter are and the reception right behind at all the tables. You can see that it definitely was a low budget ceremony. The only flowers were the ones around the arch:
We had to start working at 7 AM yesterday so Bob worked the front desk and Josie worked the front desk for awhile then helped with the decorating. We took our normal break at about 1 PM, but Josie actually clocked out at that time since she had to go back at 3 PM to help with the wedding. Bob worked until his scheduled 3 PM and went home to watch the third round of the PGA championship while Josie went back to work. His day was more fun.
We had to start working at 7 AM yesterday so Bob worked the front desk and Josie worked the front desk for awhile then helped with the decorating. We took our normal break at about 1 PM, but Josie actually clocked out at that time since she had to go back at 3 PM to help with the wedding. Bob worked until his scheduled 3 PM and went home to watch the third round of the PGA championship while Josie went back to work. His day was more fun.The ceremony started a little late because the people providing the music were delayed. Below is a picture of the young couple at the alter:
They are a very young couple. He is 19 and she is 18. He is going to go to basic training in the Army after the wedding- hence the camouflage. He then will be designated to probably Iraq or Afghanistan. They are both from very nice families and are nice young people. They are going to spend their wedding night in one of our cabin suites.
The ceremony was then followed by the reception and that's when the work began for Josie and the rest of the staff helping with the event. She didn't get home until almost 9 PM so it was a busy time for all. Josie took some other pictures of the crowd and families but the following was taken just before she came home and is of our Managers, Jayme and Chi Chi:
Jayme is the one that just returned from Montana to visit her first grandchild. I believe it was mentioned in an earlier post that they met as employees of United Airlines. He was a pilot and she was a flight attendant. Before that, Chi Chi was an F18 pilot in the Air Force and also was a flight instructor at Luke AFB in Arizona. They are fun to work with.
Today will be a much more calm day. We don't start until 12 noon and work until 6 PM. That will about do it for now...
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Start of a Busy Weekend
There were 18 check-ins scheduled for yesterday so that helped keep us busy during an otherwise slow business week. Josie didn't have to do any work in the cabins so she spent most of our shift cleaning restrooms and floors in preparation for the wedding that is taking place in our banquet room this weekend. We have a small, and very nice, chapel behind the lodge but it is too small for this wedding so they decided to do it all in the much larger banquet room. This room normally serves as "Jack's Place" on weekend night's where we have a cash bar and entertainment to supplement the restaurant. The afternoon staff had to help prepare the room last night for the wedding rehearsal so we don't know yet whether they had to close Jack's Place early or not. I'll try to get some pictures today if I get a chance.
The verdict on my PC is - back it goes. HP is going to send me packaging and prepaid FedEx labels to prepare the system for pickup and ultimate delivery to the service center. I hope it goes smoothly - Happy Jack is not just down the street. The other concern is sending all our data to a place with super techs that can do just about anything with computers. It shouldn't be a concern since they do it all the time with other people's critical data. It will all be done for free since the unit is still under factory warranty. I'll just use our old PC to do the blog, emails and other things so there should not be any interruption in our PC activity.
Today is another early (7AM) day so we need to get ready. More later...
The verdict on my PC is - back it goes. HP is going to send me packaging and prepaid FedEx labels to prepare the system for pickup and ultimate delivery to the service center. I hope it goes smoothly - Happy Jack is not just down the street. The other concern is sending all our data to a place with super techs that can do just about anything with computers. It shouldn't be a concern since they do it all the time with other people's critical data. It will all be done for free since the unit is still under factory warranty. I'll just use our old PC to do the blog, emails and other things so there should not be any interruption in our PC activity.
Today is another early (7AM) day so we need to get ready. More later...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Crazy Weather and Work on our Off-Day
The storm finally passed through late yesterday after giving us another .13" of rain. It was a steady, but light rain most of the morning. The crazy thing is that our high was only 65 yesterday with a low of 54. Just a couple days ago we had a nearly 50 degree swing in temperature. Comes with the territory I guess.
Bob went in to work at 10 AM while the Manager (Chi Chi) went to Payson to do errands and worked until just after 2 PM. The plan was to have Josie go in around 4 and help out with the restaurant service. We guess that the restaurant was again slow, as Josie was never called in. It was pretty much a waste of the day for us.
Bob spent a good part of his time trying to resolve his computer problem. It appears now, after several hours of chat with the HP Support Team on-line that the PC will have to be sent to the service center for repair. The problem is not serious, but is a nuisance. The display background flickers and changes color (to pink) when the lid is moved past a certain angle. The problem is that the most comfortable angle for the display is in the problem zone so we have to deal with that problem all the time. He tried several steps to diagnose the problem and it was decided that the problem is with a connection somewhere between the display and the graphics card or the mother board. It's a good thing the PC is still under warranty and the repairs will be free, including the shipping. I hate the thought of sending it anywhere with all the computer piracy happening today but what other choice is there?
It's back to work as scheduled today. We are in at 7 AM (ugh!) and work to 3. This will be a long day...
Bob went in to work at 10 AM while the Manager (Chi Chi) went to Payson to do errands and worked until just after 2 PM. The plan was to have Josie go in around 4 and help out with the restaurant service. We guess that the restaurant was again slow, as Josie was never called in. It was pretty much a waste of the day for us.
Bob spent a good part of his time trying to resolve his computer problem. It appears now, after several hours of chat with the HP Support Team on-line that the PC will have to be sent to the service center for repair. The problem is not serious, but is a nuisance. The display background flickers and changes color (to pink) when the lid is moved past a certain angle. The problem is that the most comfortable angle for the display is in the problem zone so we have to deal with that problem all the time. He tried several steps to diagnose the problem and it was decided that the problem is with a connection somewhere between the display and the graphics card or the mother board. It's a good thing the PC is still under warranty and the repairs will be free, including the shipping. I hate the thought of sending it anywhere with all the computer piracy happening today but what other choice is there?
It's back to work as scheduled today. We are in at 7 AM (ugh!) and work to 3. This will be a long day...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Rain Again
We finally got some rain yesterday. It rained .23" and it was sorely needed. We had gone 19 days with no rain and that is almost unbelievable considering it's monsoon season and we are located on top of the Rim. The rain has continued into today and so far, we have another .05". There was only a little bit of thunder and lightning as the rain started and there was hardly any wind. Not a typical monsoon storm, but we'll take it.
Our trip to Flagstaff was uneventful. Josie did get her nails done but the problem with the laptop computer was not fixed by Best Buy. They ran diagnostics on the system and concluded as I suspected that it is a hardware problem with a connection either on the graphics card or another connection to the motherboard. It would require sending it off to HP's service center in CA to get serviced. That is a three week period without the use of the PC and I need to really think about that. It is not a serious problem, but a nuisance in that the background color of the display flickers and changes from white to pink. Anyway, we had lunch at Arby's and headed home in time for the storm to begin at around 2 PM.
The store has been dead the last two days. Chi Chi (our Manager) called on our radio to tell us that if it weren't for the phones he would have fallen asleep. He closed early and we invited him over for Taco's at our rig for dinner since his wife is still in Montana. It turned out to be a small party as two of our maintenance staff also stopped by to talk to Chi Chi and we also invited them to stay for a taco and a Corona.
Bob will go into work today for a couple hours so Chi Chi can go to Payson to get some supplies and Josie will help out late this afternoon in the restaurant and will work until about 9 tonight. So much for our second day off. The extra hours are welcomed though. Later...
Our trip to Flagstaff was uneventful. Josie did get her nails done but the problem with the laptop computer was not fixed by Best Buy. They ran diagnostics on the system and concluded as I suspected that it is a hardware problem with a connection either on the graphics card or another connection to the motherboard. It would require sending it off to HP's service center in CA to get serviced. That is a three week period without the use of the PC and I need to really think about that. It is not a serious problem, but a nuisance in that the background color of the display flickers and changes from white to pink. Anyway, we had lunch at Arby's and headed home in time for the storm to begin at around 2 PM.
The store has been dead the last two days. Chi Chi (our Manager) called on our radio to tell us that if it weren't for the phones he would have fallen asleep. He closed early and we invited him over for Taco's at our rig for dinner since his wife is still in Montana. It turned out to be a small party as two of our maintenance staff also stopped by to talk to Chi Chi and we also invited them to stay for a taco and a Corona.
Bob will go into work today for a couple hours so Chi Chi can go to Payson to get some supplies and Josie will help out late this afternoon in the restaurant and will work until about 9 tonight. So much for our second day off. The extra hours are welcomed though. Later...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Yes, It's Back to Normal
With a high of 85 and a low of 41 yesterday, we can say it is back to normal now. We didn't have to use either the heater or the air conditioner. That's the way it's supposed to be.
The big event yesterday was a telephone interview/discussion after work with the woman who owns the Hart-T-Farms tree farm in North Carolina about selling Christmas Trees in Florida this year. It was about an hour long discussion. They have a classy program where they set up about 30 locations in two counties in Florida - Broward & Palm Beach. This takes in areas such as Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Lauderdale, etc. You work from 9 to 9 every day from Nov 23 to Dec 23. The money is very good, but we decided that it wasn't good enough based on the effort. We calculated that even with their bonus structure, we make almost the same money now where we are working. Besides, what do we do for the other winter months of Jan-Apr?
We also had an offer from a resort campground in Midland, TX . The problem with that one is that the money wasn't that good and it is in a part of Texas that we really don't care to spend a season. The closest town is Odessa, with the major cities at least 5-6 hours away. No thanks. We'll keep looking.
Today is our short trip to Flagstaff as indicated in yesterday's post. We hope to get back by early afternoon so we can be on standby to help out at the front desk if needed. We don't feel that we'll be needed if yesterday was any indication. It was the slowest day we've had since we arrived in May.
Until tomorrow...
The big event yesterday was a telephone interview/discussion after work with the woman who owns the Hart-T-Farms tree farm in North Carolina about selling Christmas Trees in Florida this year. It was about an hour long discussion. They have a classy program where they set up about 30 locations in two counties in Florida - Broward & Palm Beach. This takes in areas such as Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Lauderdale, etc. You work from 9 to 9 every day from Nov 23 to Dec 23. The money is very good, but we decided that it wasn't good enough based on the effort. We calculated that even with their bonus structure, we make almost the same money now where we are working. Besides, what do we do for the other winter months of Jan-Apr?
We also had an offer from a resort campground in Midland, TX . The problem with that one is that the money wasn't that good and it is in a part of Texas that we really don't care to spend a season. The closest town is Odessa, with the major cities at least 5-6 hours away. No thanks. We'll keep looking.
Today is our short trip to Flagstaff as indicated in yesterday's post. We hope to get back by early afternoon so we can be on standby to help out at the front desk if needed. We don't feel that we'll be needed if yesterday was any indication. It was the slowest day we've had since we arrived in May.
Until tomorrow...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Staying Close to Home
Our plans for our days off this week have to change a little bit since we need to be on call to help out if Chi Chi (Manager) needs us. His wife (Jamie) is on a trip to Montana to visit their first grandchild and isn't coming home until Friday. We have to be available to fill in for her if necessary.
We plan a brief trip to Flagstaff Wednesday AM to do some necessary stuff. Bob has a minor hardware problem with his laptop and needs to go to Best Buy and have their "Geeks" take a look at it, Josie "needs" to get her nails done and we have the usual grocery needs. That should only take us away for a few hours though. See, we had an arrangement when we were in the Valley that Bob got to play golf once a week and Josie had here nails done. Bob doesn't play golf here but Josie still gets to have her nails done. Hmm.
It still is amazing to see the wide temperature swings here. Again, it went down to 34 yesterday AM but our high was 81. Nearly a 50 degree swing. We have the heater on in the morning, and sometimes we have the air conditioner on in the afternoon. That won't last too long though as the forecast is for it to warm up again so the mornings will only go down to 50. It feels good though and the temperature rises rapidly when the sun comes up.
The impact of the schools starting again is certainly evident. The only time we will see any kids is on the weekends and that really makes for a quiet park. We kind of miss them though. Later...
We plan a brief trip to Flagstaff Wednesday AM to do some necessary stuff. Bob has a minor hardware problem with his laptop and needs to go to Best Buy and have their "Geeks" take a look at it, Josie "needs" to get her nails done and we have the usual grocery needs. That should only take us away for a few hours though. See, we had an arrangement when we were in the Valley that Bob got to play golf once a week and Josie had here nails done. Bob doesn't play golf here but Josie still gets to have her nails done. Hmm.
It still is amazing to see the wide temperature swings here. Again, it went down to 34 yesterday AM but our high was 81. Nearly a 50 degree swing. We have the heater on in the morning, and sometimes we have the air conditioner on in the afternoon. That won't last too long though as the forecast is for it to warm up again so the mornings will only go down to 50. It feels good though and the temperature rises rapidly when the sun comes up.
The impact of the schools starting again is certainly evident. The only time we will see any kids is on the weekends and that really makes for a quiet park. We kind of miss them though. Later...
Monday, August 10, 2009
Business Slowing Down
The impact of the kids starting school again is beginning to show. Yesterday was not nearly as busy as Sundays have been so far. We can really tell the difference because there were fewer kids in the campground this weekend and we had a lot fewer customers for the dumping station. That means there are fewer people staying in the forest on weekends now.
It's hard to believe the temperature swings in this area. We had a high of 80 degrees yesterday with a low of 37. The altitude, nearly 7300 feet, certainly plays a part in that. We have totally acclimated ourselves to the higher elevation though as we don't get out of breath much at all now.
There appears to be a problem brewing for this weekend. There is a wedding scheduled for Saturday that will take place in our banquet room. Originally, the ceremony was to take place in the small chapel on the grounds but the number of people attending will be too much for the small chapel. The people have asked that we allow them to decorate the banquet room on Friday evening so it would be ready for the Saturday ceremony. The problem is, our banquet room is open on Friday evenings until about 9 PM with our entertainment and dinner overflow crowd. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.
Today is an 8 AM start with 2 PM finish. This is a comfortable schedule for us. It still leaves time in the afternoon for other activities if we need to go somewhere or do something away from the resort. Til tomorrow...
It's hard to believe the temperature swings in this area. We had a high of 80 degrees yesterday with a low of 37. The altitude, nearly 7300 feet, certainly plays a part in that. We have totally acclimated ourselves to the higher elevation though as we don't get out of breath much at all now.
There appears to be a problem brewing for this weekend. There is a wedding scheduled for Saturday that will take place in our banquet room. Originally, the ceremony was to take place in the small chapel on the grounds but the number of people attending will be too much for the small chapel. The people have asked that we allow them to decorate the banquet room on Friday evening so it would be ready for the Saturday ceremony. The problem is, our banquet room is open on Friday evenings until about 9 PM with our entertainment and dinner overflow crowd. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.
Today is an 8 AM start with 2 PM finish. This is a comfortable schedule for us. It still leaves time in the afternoon for other activities if we need to go somewhere or do something away from the resort. Til tomorrow...
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A Little Side Trip
It was still on the cool side yesterday afternoon with a high of only 77, but this morning it only (only?) went down to 37. We're warming up again.
A woman came into the store yesterday with purple fingertips. She described a trip she took with her family in their ATV's on a Forest Service Road not too far from the resort where there were tons of berry bushes - rasberry and blackberry. We, of course, could hardly wait to get off work at 3 PM so we could check it out. We grabbed the camera and loaded a small cooler with water and headed out to FS road 141, about 5 miles from the lodge. All along the road for about the first 3 miles into the forest were boon dockers camping in the forest. We got about 5 miles into the forest and saw this elk:
A woman came into the store yesterday with purple fingertips. She described a trip she took with her family in their ATV's on a Forest Service Road not too far from the resort where there were tons of berry bushes - rasberry and blackberry. We, of course, could hardly wait to get off work at 3 PM so we could check it out. We grabbed the camera and loaded a small cooler with water and headed out to FS road 141, about 5 miles from the lodge. All along the road for about the first 3 miles into the forest were boon dockers camping in the forest. We got about 5 miles into the forest and saw this elk:
Even though you can't see his head in this picture, we saw that it was a spike bull elk after he moved out from behind the tree. The road was one that connected with the Rim Road that we traveled early on in our local travels. We eventually got to where the berry bushes were but the season for the berries is just about over and almost all the areas we saw with the bushes were dried up or the berries were already picked. We decided that if we were to come back we would have to come out about the first of August, or late July to have a chance to get some berries. Anyway, even though we came home with an empty bucket, it was nice to take this mini trip during the work week.
The kitchen staff brought us some BBQ ribs that were left over from the dinner service. We were so tired from the work day and mini trip that we turned in early last night, only to be awakened by the knock on the door. They must think we turn in early every night. That's OK though - we'll take the free dinners anytime. We'll have the ribs tonight.
Today is our noon to 6 PM shift so we have to close tonight. At least we get to relax this AM...
Saturday, August 8, 2009
This is August?
Wow! We woke up to 35 degrees outside this morning -Bob is doing this post with the fireplace on. Our poor tomato plants are being challenged between the gopher and the near freezing temperature. The front went through yesterday with a fury - no rain but winds in the 30-35 MPH range. We feel sorry for the folks who came up from the Valley, the hot Valley, to stay in tents at 35 degrees. That is such a contrast within 130 miles. Actually, once you travel off the Rim, to perhaps Camp Verde which is just 35 miles from here, you get temperatures that are close to the Valley temperatures. Our high yesterday was only 75 degrees, but very windy.
This weekend is strange in that we have most of our sites booked but no huge events. That keeps it pretty quiet. The Ramada is not booked and neither is the banquet room. There are several small family groups that are gathering at one of the family member sites but, so far, they are well behaved. The store was kind of slow yesterday and will most likely be the same today. Several times yesterday Bob caught himself talking like it was Monday. After all, Friday is like our Monday since our weekend is really Wed and Thu. People would come in and ask when the restaurant was going to be open and Bob would say "not until Thursday night" but it was actually open last night and will also be open Sat and Sun AM for breakfast and Sat night for dinner.
The Forest Service people are performing controlled burns in a couple areas fairly close to the Lodge and it will be interesting to find out how much the high winds affected their activity yesterday. The local Ranger comes into the store daily to drop off reports of these burns for the benefit of the people that use the trails for their ATV's and other off road vehicles. We have seen some smoke from these burns at various times but nothing to be concerned about - so far.
That's about it for today. Brrr!...
This weekend is strange in that we have most of our sites booked but no huge events. That keeps it pretty quiet. The Ramada is not booked and neither is the banquet room. There are several small family groups that are gathering at one of the family member sites but, so far, they are well behaved. The store was kind of slow yesterday and will most likely be the same today. Several times yesterday Bob caught himself talking like it was Monday. After all, Friday is like our Monday since our weekend is really Wed and Thu. People would come in and ask when the restaurant was going to be open and Bob would say "not until Thursday night" but it was actually open last night and will also be open Sat and Sun AM for breakfast and Sat night for dinner.
The Forest Service people are performing controlled burns in a couple areas fairly close to the Lodge and it will be interesting to find out how much the high winds affected their activity yesterday. The local Ranger comes into the store daily to drop off reports of these burns for the benefit of the people that use the trails for their ATV's and other off road vehicles. We have seen some smoke from these burns at various times but nothing to be concerned about - so far.
That's about it for today. Brrr!...
Friday, August 7, 2009
No Bridge and Windy
We should have done some homework yesterday before we headed out to the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park near Payson. As we drove into the park we were greeted with this sign:
It was closed as a result of both budget constraints and a construction project at the bridge. Bummer! As a result of taking our time to get ready to go, it was near lunch time so we stopped and had lunch at a nice restaurant in Pine called the Rimview Grill. We had a big lunch, including blueberry pie ala mode for $20. That about ended our "exciting" mini trip for the day. Some days are like that. We headed home and finished the laundry and watched TV.
Today begins a long stretch with no days off for the next week. One of our staff members, Jamie, is taking a trip to Montana to see her new grandson and won't be able to work on our normal days off of Wed and Thu. We've been asked to help out while she is gone. We'll see how they squeeze in our time off.
The day was also very windy for a change. We had gusts up to 26 MPH in the afternoon and the temp only reached 80 for a high. That still is very delightful though, and the forecast is for cooler weather for the next few days. Even with the wind, we have not had any rain for 15 days now which is a long stretch for being so near the edge of the Mogollon Rim during the monsoon. We don't see any rain in the forecast either for the next week, so we may as well enjoy it while it lasts.
Until tomorrow...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
A Visit to the Casino in Payson
Our morning yesterday was used to catch up on rest and do some minor things to the rig. Josie also used the morning to do some laundry. We went to Payson around 2 PM and stopped first at WalMart to pick up a couple prescriptions for Josie and some paper products for home. The plan was to go to the casino (Mazatzal) and then try the buffet dinner we heard was so good.
We only had about $30 each to gamble with and we stretched that into almost 4 hours of slot play. Josie wasn't winning but Bob won enough to keep both playing. There was not a large jackpot won, but several small jackpots of between $50 - $100. Every time Bob won one, he shared the pot with Josie. Sometimes it is the other way around when we play. Then disappointment set in. It turns out that the buffet was between 11 AM and 4 PM. If we were to eat at the restaurant it would have been from the regular menu. The special for the night was $14.95 - compared to the $7.95 buffet - so we bagged that idea. The person that told us about the buffet has only gone on the weekends so he obviously didn't know that the buffet is for lunch during the week. So, we left the casino and went to Pizza Hut in Payson and had a pizza dinner which we haven't had in some time.
The ride home was a bit exciting. We were on the road after 9 PM and spotted lots of elk on the roadside. One group of about 8-10 elk were right on the roadside between Strawberry and the rt 260 turnoff. We then spotted one of the biggest bull elk we've ever seen, all alone, standing in front of a rock wall on a narrow strip along the road between the rt 260 turnoff and Clints Well. Traveling these roads during darkness is always an elk adventure.
Today's mini trip will probably be to a natural bridge that we've seen marked off the road between Pine and Payson. After a leisurely morning, we will leave around 11 AM and hopefully get some pictures of the bridge. Til tomorrow...
We only had about $30 each to gamble with and we stretched that into almost 4 hours of slot play. Josie wasn't winning but Bob won enough to keep both playing. There was not a large jackpot won, but several small jackpots of between $50 - $100. Every time Bob won one, he shared the pot with Josie. Sometimes it is the other way around when we play. Then disappointment set in. It turns out that the buffet was between 11 AM and 4 PM. If we were to eat at the restaurant it would have been from the regular menu. The special for the night was $14.95 - compared to the $7.95 buffet - so we bagged that idea. The person that told us about the buffet has only gone on the weekends so he obviously didn't know that the buffet is for lunch during the week. So, we left the casino and went to Pizza Hut in Payson and had a pizza dinner which we haven't had in some time.
The ride home was a bit exciting. We were on the road after 9 PM and spotted lots of elk on the roadside. One group of about 8-10 elk were right on the roadside between Strawberry and the rt 260 turnoff. We then spotted one of the biggest bull elk we've ever seen, all alone, standing in front of a rock wall on a narrow strip along the road between the rt 260 turnoff and Clints Well. Traveling these roads during darkness is always an elk adventure.
Today's mini trip will probably be to a natural bridge that we've seen marked off the road between Pine and Payson. After a leisurely morning, we will leave around 11 AM and hopefully get some pictures of the bridge. Til tomorrow...
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Plane Crash Near Stoneman Lake
The breaking news late yesterday afternoon on the Valley news channels had a small plane crashing near Stoneman Lake. You may recall that it was our mini trip on Josie's birthday (July 31 post) that we went to Stoneman Lake. The news reported that it was in an area southeast of Sedona when it actually is southeast of Flagstaff. Anyway, the pilot was killed and his son is in critical condition. Based on the photos of the crash site, we traveled near the exact spot of the crash. Small world.
We had a slow day at the front desk yesterday, although Josie again worked about 9 hours while helping housekeeping. After the busy weekend there were 15 cabins to get ready again for the next wave of people this weekend. There is another large family group coming this weekend but it won't be nearly as crowded or busy as the last weekend. We also have a wedding scheduled for August 15 that will take place in our little chapel building on the grounds with the reception in our Banquet room. That should be fun to watch.
Today is our first day off this week and we will spend it doing some things around the fifth wheel and also with a late run into Payson to pick up a couple prescriptions. We heard that the restaurant in the casino has an excellent buffet every night for $7.50 per person so we may try that while we are in town. Of course, they do have slot machines between the front door and the restaurant. Hmm...
We had a slow day at the front desk yesterday, although Josie again worked about 9 hours while helping housekeeping. After the busy weekend there were 15 cabins to get ready again for the next wave of people this weekend. There is another large family group coming this weekend but it won't be nearly as crowded or busy as the last weekend. We also have a wedding scheduled for August 15 that will take place in our little chapel building on the grounds with the reception in our Banquet room. That should be fun to watch.
Today is our first day off this week and we will spend it doing some things around the fifth wheel and also with a late run into Payson to pick up a couple prescriptions. We heard that the restaurant in the casino has an excellent buffet every night for $7.50 per person so we may try that while we are in town. Of course, they do have slot machines between the front door and the restaurant. Hmm...
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
One Day to Go
Today is the last day before our scheduled "weekend". We are more and more looking forward to our days off. Especially Josie, since she has taken on the added task of helping in housekeeping. Her back is beginning to bother her and the added hours are beginning to take their toll. Last week she put in over 40 hours and she worked another 8 hours yesterday. They have all but two of the cabins to get ready again for this weekend which leaves 16 cabins to completely clean. The new housekeeping person is a big help, but it is a very physical job. We will probably use tomorrow as a rest day and try to do a mini trip on Thursday. There are several small items that need to be taken care of on the fifth wheel anyway.
It's getting interesting watching how some of the existing staff is trying to maneuver for changes in their responsibilities for next year - assuming that they will be asked back. Our chefs (husband and wife ) are saying secretly that they want to come back in another capacity. They are not happy with the response to their cooking efforts and they are losing hours because the restaurant hours are being cut. They haven't been asked to return in any capacity yet. Someday, we'll give a complete description of the Workamping staff and duties.
The days are getting noticeably shorter as it is almost dark when Bob gets up now. As long as the weather stays this nice it doesn't matter though as the monsoon appears to be on break again and that's ok for us.
That's about all for now...
It's getting interesting watching how some of the existing staff is trying to maneuver for changes in their responsibilities for next year - assuming that they will be asked back. Our chefs (husband and wife ) are saying secretly that they want to come back in another capacity. They are not happy with the response to their cooking efforts and they are losing hours because the restaurant hours are being cut. They haven't been asked to return in any capacity yet. Someday, we'll give a complete description of the Workamping staff and duties.
The days are getting noticeably shorter as it is almost dark when Bob gets up now. As long as the weather stays this nice it doesn't matter though as the monsoon appears to be on break again and that's ok for us.
That's about all for now...
Monday, August 3, 2009
Back to Normal
After the Bow Hunters Association had their awards presentation at 2 PM yesterday, the resort emptied out in a flash. Many of the members were staying in our cabins and they had requested a late check out because of the awards ceremony. That put some pressure on our housekeeping staff (Josie included) to quickly clean a couple of them for people checking in at the normal 3 PM check in time. They did it though and things quickly got back to normal. Only the seasonal RV's remain in the campsites and that means quiet. The ATV's are gone again until Friday when the new crowd arrives.
Today and tomorrow are both 8 to 2 days on our schedule. No plans have been made yet for our days off this week but a mini trip is sure to be included. There are still many places to go that we can hike and/or drive that aren't too far from the resort. The truck loves this Workamping gig as we've only put about 200 miles on it since we arrived. We only occasionally drive it because the Jeep is so much easier to maneuver on these forest roads.
We have nothing firm yet on our next destination. We are still sending out inquiries and receiving others but nothing is close yet. The winter season is definitely more difficult to lock in a place than the summer season. There just aren't that many states that are warm in the winter. We are getting closer though...
Today and tomorrow are both 8 to 2 days on our schedule. No plans have been made yet for our days off this week but a mini trip is sure to be included. There are still many places to go that we can hike and/or drive that aren't too far from the resort. The truck loves this Workamping gig as we've only put about 200 miles on it since we arrived. We only occasionally drive it because the Jeep is so much easier to maneuver on these forest roads.
We have nothing firm yet on our next destination. We are still sending out inquiries and receiving others but nothing is close yet. The winter season is definitely more difficult to lock in a place than the summer season. There just aren't that many states that are warm in the winter. We are getting closer though...
Sunday, August 2, 2009
People Everywhere
The Bow Hunters were here in force yesterday. It was by far the busiest day at the resort since we have been here. There were people everywhere and the store had a line almost the whole day. The Bow Hunters group had ranges set up on both the resort grounds and in the forest immediately surrounding the resort. The ranges looked like this:
They set out targets at several distances and the targets themselves were made from many different materials - some stuffed with straw & some were different animal decoys. The ranges opened at about 7 AM and went all day long until 6 PM. The same will happen this morning and will go until their awards presentation scheduled for 2 PM. They also had several booths set up to hand out various information and our own resort management set up a couple booths to sell clothing and various items from our store. They were in the store early taking out a lot of our merchandise to set them up. They even ran a barbecue at the Ramada selling hot dogs, burgers and barbecue sandwiches. Here is a shot of the Ramada area with all the booths:
They set out targets at several distances and the targets themselves were made from many different materials - some stuffed with straw & some were different animal decoys. The ranges opened at about 7 AM and went all day long until 6 PM. The same will happen this morning and will go until their awards presentation scheduled for 2 PM. They also had several booths set up to hand out various information and our own resort management set up a couple booths to sell clothing and various items from our store. They were in the store early taking out a lot of our merchandise to set them up. They even ran a barbecue at the Ramada selling hot dogs, burgers and barbecue sandwiches. Here is a shot of the Ramada area with all the booths:
It was a crystal clear day with a high of 87 and a low of 47. Perfect day. We expect another day of the same.
Our day was supposed to end at 3 PM but Josie went back at about 5 PM to help out in the restaurant. As it turned out though, the restaurant wasn't that busy and she returned home at about 8 PM. We'll be glad to see the resort empty out again as it is a lot more quiet during the week.
Today is our 12 to 6 day so we get to relax a little this morning. We are pretty well booked for all the remaining weekends in August and we are totally booked for the Labor Day weekend. We don't have a firm date yet for our departure from here, nor do we have a firm destination after we leave. We hope to finalize that in the next couple weeks...
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Rim Country Bow Hunters
We mentioned that a large group was in the resort this weekend and they really did show up in force. The Rim Country Bow Hunters Association came with all their trailers full of targets and club paraphernalia to conduct their 3 day bow shoot. They set up these targets in the forest areas all around the lodge for both competitive shooting and just plain fun shooting. We have signs posted all around the campground warning the campers to use caution while entering these target areas that are taped off with red tape. Let's hope there are no incidents. Today, they will have a registration area by the Ramada and also sell hunting goods in a booth that they set up there.
The resort is totally booked for this weekend as a result of this group. That means a busier than normal store today and that is actually good as it makes the time go faster. We work from 7 until 3 today. It is just after daylight this morning and we can see the people already carrying their bows down to the registration area. It looks like a good weather day today. We have now gone 8 days without any rain and yesterday was 83 (high) and 45 (low). It is 48 degrees right now as this post is being written at 6 AM.
Josie has been helping to train the new housekeeping person that was hired. That means some physical relief for her from cleaning cabins. She will still help out though as needed, especially in the laundry where they do all the linens, towels, etc. for the cabins. Other than that, it is a normal weekend at Happy Jack Lodge...
The resort is totally booked for this weekend as a result of this group. That means a busier than normal store today and that is actually good as it makes the time go faster. We work from 7 until 3 today. It is just after daylight this morning and we can see the people already carrying their bows down to the registration area. It looks like a good weather day today. We have now gone 8 days without any rain and yesterday was 83 (high) and 45 (low). It is 48 degrees right now as this post is being written at 6 AM.
Josie has been helping to train the new housekeeping person that was hired. That means some physical relief for her from cleaning cabins. She will still help out though as needed, especially in the laundry where they do all the linens, towels, etc. for the cabins. Other than that, it is a normal weekend at Happy Jack Lodge...
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