Day 230 / 135 Early Winter

Saylorville Lake – 35 Degrees Sleet and Rain and Snow

We are sitting in the front Campground Attendant’s site here at Cherry Glen, our assigned site upon being moved out of Volunteer Village last week. This was the last weekend for this campground for the season. As we sat and watched the sold out campground visitors dump their tanks and pull out for the last time this season we reminisced about the days when we would too, be wrapping up our last weekend. It was always a sad day each year when we unloaded and winterized our 5^th wheel against the cold Iowa winter that loomed ahead. My homemade chicken soup simmered in the slow cooker all afternoon as we watched the giant snow flakes against the red and gold of the trees. It was a day to sit around inside and watch movies. Our last week here is much like our first week back in April. cold and snowy.

Last night was our last get together with our companions, Will and Judy and some of their family.  We had a beautiful 50-degree evening, with a roaring fire, Tex-Mex munchies and margaritas. As the ISU game played on the radio in the background about 4 different conversations took place simultaneously. Everything from what we look forward to next year when we come back, memorable moments from this season and of course a bit of razzing at the four of us for our impending exodus toward southern parts while our north dwelling campfire companions endure the frigid temps and snow and ice. We know it won’t always be 80 degrees and sunshine but at least we won’t worry about sub-zero temps or feet of snow.

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By 3:30 this afternoon, the campground was empty, the guard-house was closed up and barricades in place. Now it’s just the volunteers like us who will leave in a few days.

This time next week, we will be sitting on a beach in the Dominican Republic with our group of 13 friends and family that we have camped with over the years.  It’s a nice thing to look forward to on a cold, wet day like today. We will work tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday before we turn in our keys and say our final goodbyes for the season to the Rangers. The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site awaits. They are re-opened now after being closed a couple of days as Hurricane Michael tracked inland and crossed through that part of Georgia. I will check blogs from other volunteers we know and see how they are doing in their new winter digs or see if their plans have been changed due to extreme conditions around the country.

In the meantime, meals out with friends and family and seemingly endless errands are filling our last two weeks. Sub consciously, I think, I asked my good friend Joyce for a suitcase for our trip so I would have a reason to see her one last time before we take off for the winter.  We have had grandkids spending the night every weekend the past month and are trying to soak up all we can before the dreaded day we leave the end of the month. A warmer climate, new ‘job’ for a new agency, new corner of the country and who knows how many new friends await us for the five months we will be away.  Like fall in Iowa it is a bittersweet time of year for this full-time RV Volunteer couple.

Until next time…

 

Day 224 / 141 The Wind Down

Saylorville Lake 71 Degrees – Rain

The season is coming to a quick end. I don’t know what is more stunning, how fast it went or realizing how much we crammed into our 6 months in Iowa. Yet, I feel like so much has been left undone.  We are ending on the same note as we arrived on. Unseasonable weather. I’ll just say what everyone is thinking, “The weather sucks”  It has not been normal anywhere in the U.S. this past 12 months or so. It’s been a rough year in Iowa in terms of flooding, extreme heat and then the end of days like plague of giant, voracious mosquitos that won’t go away till we get a hard freeze. Iowa has had a big year for West Nile Virus with 5 fatalities and dozens hospitalized. Not the kind of records we like to see.

A thought entered my mind as I watched the Weather Channel, showing the path of Hurricane Michael as it sets it’s sites on Tallahassee Florida, due south about 125 miles from our next gig in Plains Georgia. Last year we came in on the heels of Hurricane Harvey when we worked at Goliad. I wonder if hiring us to volunteer at a park is a bad omen for a hurricane to hit?  I watch the Dominican Republic anxiously as we near our departure date for our vacation with our friends in 13 days. Our destination has been skirted by the storms and an earthquake happened at the opposite end of the island but no damage to the area where our resort is, so far. Another storm, they are calling depression # 15 is developing. Fingers crossed.

The summer has included two weddings, a retirement party, lots of hard work and hard play with friends and fellow volunteers who are more like family each year, and sleep overs with grandkids. I made a successful transition to Paleo style eating and am happy to report am following it pretty much effortlessly. I feel great! I have dumped another 15 pounds along with my migraines and stomach pain issues. My foot is healing slowly but steadily.

We will evacuate from Volunteer Village again tomorrow. Another historic first. The Village has never been evacuated for flooding twice in the same season. This time we move to a vacated contractors spot in another campground at the south end of the lake. Campgrounds are starting to close, and some seasonal volunteers have pulled out to fly south with the Pelicans. Our neighbors Pete and Rena left on September 30^th for their winter digs in, you guessed it, the Florida Panhandle. They evacuated yesterday and are now in central Alabama sitting tight and hopefully high and dry. At least we only have to move a few miles down the road instead of 5 hours inland.

Our time here is coming to a fragmented end this year. As the village evacuates, our little neighborhood is being split up once again. Don and Sharon are pulling out for the year. With some serious health issues, Don has told us he will likely not be back. At 79 years old it's understandable but we are so fond of him and are sad that his time as a volunteer is coming to an end. Deb and Denny are moving into an apartment for the winter while they have extensive work done to their camper. Everyone is scattering to the wind like the falling leaves. Our village will look different next year with some new volunteers joining the team and what will likely be a huge hole left by Don, if he doesn't return. We will say our goodbyes and hope for the best. Ben and Rhonda and Pete and Rena will be in the same quadrant of the US with us this winter so we may well see them in a few months.

Here is a photographic snapshot of our summer. I left our wildlife pictures on purpose. I post plenty of them. For me this is all about the people.  It's been an adventure every day and I wouldn't trade this life for anything. The pictures both make me smile at the memories and all the new people we now call friends. The stark absence of some people also reminds me how much we didn't get done this year.

 

Until next time…

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Day 218 / 147 The Last Warm Day

Saylorville Lake 85 Degrees Humid, Windy

If you live in a 4 Season climate you are familiar with that 80-degree day that you know is probably the last one till spring. Today was that day here. These are tumultuous times here at Saylorville. The lake is rising rapidly again and threatening to encroach Volunteer Village once again. The first time in the memory of the long timers, that it has happened twice in the same year.

[caption id="attachment_1142" align="alignleft" width="225"] Judy standing in the debris field from July's flood watching the water rise today[/caption]

I spent today with Judy, working with her here at the lake. She and I spent the morning blowing off 10 miles of the bike trail that goes through here. As we rode along in the Polaris I couldn’t help but beam as she shared 18 years of memories working out here. She really loves this place.  She is 25 years my senior and everything I hope to be when we have been at this as long as she and Will have been. Every turn presented a memory. A kiosk she helped build, trees that she planted years ago, fence lines she has worked on over the years. A place where she slid of the trail in adverse conditions, years ago. The afternoon was spent in the Butterfly Gardens with her as she shared her vision for next year with me as we worked on cleaning out some of the leggy, bent over annuals that have run their course for the season. We watched the Monarchs and dreamed of what different areas can look like next year with some work. This afternoon, when I came home, I took advantage of the warm afternoon to unpot some of the annuals that will be killed by frost in the next couple of days. I am down to two pots on the patio, several things moved inside, that will go with us in a few weeks and many of the lawn ornaments put away. Better to do it today. A cold front is coming tonight, and the remnants of Hurricane Rosa will arrive with heavy rain over the weekend. Cold and wet is the forecasted theme for October 2018 in Iowa. Not unlike April. Champ decided this evening that it was time to take the motorcycle to his brothers 40 miles north of here. It was a nice evening ride for him. Anytime after tonight promises to be cold and wet.

People are starting to pull out of Volunteer Village for warmer climates. Two are gone and two more will leave this weekend. Another two couples will leave mid-month and we will pull out the day before we leave to go on our trip to the Dominican Republic late this month. The motor home will sit at a relative’s house, far from the flood waters that will revisit here. Our little house will be safe, and the cats will be cared for while we bask in the tropical sun on the beach for 6 days with our old group.

Time is winding down quickly. The excitement for our tropical vacation is building along with our anxieties about leaving everyone for 5 months. I spent yesterday with my good friend Joyce, all the while knowing it was likely the last ‘play date’ of this year. Every time I see my kids or grandkids, I hug them a little longer and a little tighter knowing the season is winding down. There is a long list of visits that we hope to get in before we pull out for the winter on the 31^st. Starting with our grand-daughter Nora, spending the night this weekend.

The rain is beginning to drum on the roof. It will likely continue more or less steadily for the next several days. The water at Saylorville will rise. There are several feet of water on the parking lot where I stood to take my picture for the last post. My big question is where are they going to dry dock all the house boats that are still on their buoys in the marina? The dry docking lots are under water and winter will be here before we know it. I won’t be around to see the solution.  I’ll have to look forward to the stories about it when we return next spring. Already a slide show of 2018 at Saylorville is starting to scroll in my mind. I’m looking forward to putting it together for next time.

Until then…

 

Day 210 / 155 Fall's Dillema

Saylorville Lake 65 Degrees - Rainy

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with fall.  I love fall colors and the low humidity that makes an 80-degree day splendid instead of sticky. The Iowa roadsides come alive with the bright yellows of Compass flower and the pale purple and silvery white of mature prairie grasses. Burning Bushes turn bright red and the Poplars along the roadsides turn such a brilliant gold, they seem to generate their own light. Fall was when Champ and I chose to get married, outside in the beautiful pallet of color. It’s also the time of year for my favorite seasonal beer, Oktoberfest. These days I drink it sparingly since my Paleo diet frowns on grains. I had one Sunday and savored every last drop.

The ‘hate’ part of fall and its beauty has always been that winter is coming soon. Winter used to mean dealing with icy roads on my work commute. Bone chilling cold that left me shivering for hours after getting home from work, and 4 months of walking like a penguin, shuffling across slick parking lots. Now the chill is in our hearts as we bask in warmer climates, we are absent for the big winter holidays, several birthdays and half a year of grandkids getting older and seeing them only with an occasional face time chat. We struggle with it every year. Some days we feel selfish for enjoying our retirement years in warmer climates part of the year, some days we say to each other the kids have their own lives and we need to live ours. It’s a battle.

Sunday morning, we went for a walk. Since hurting my foot about a month ago, a casual walk has been non-existent. I’m on the mend after shorter work days and learning how to heal myself. The morning was glorious. In mid-50-degree temps and brilliant sunshine we walked the path behind our site and down around the shore line. Migration is peaking, and I marveled at the change in calls from the trees as well as flocks flying above.  Cormorants, Herring Gulls and Pelicans have replaced Red-winged Black Birds, Yellow-Rump Warblers, and Orioles. Some sort of Plover or Sandpiper was flitting overhead, but I didn’t take time to figure out exactly what they were. I was missing my friend John Harrington, he would have known them at a glance. Butterflies moved through in force a couple of weeks ago, giving a stunning performance at the Butterfly Gardens. As I walked up the road that connects our campground to the boat ramp, I couldn’t stop looking at the water mark on the tree trunks some 15 feet above the ground. I marvel at natures ability to recover. 8 weeks ago, the road was lake bottom. Now the grasses are green again, some of the fall wild flowers are blooming and it’s beginning to look like it’s old self again. The fool plots have been replanted, turnips and sweet grass are growing and will provide food to the animals here for the fall and winter. It’s been a rough year for the wildlife at Saylorville. Repeated flooding and extreme heat have been the theme all summer. The lake is on the rise once again I looked at the Corps forecast and see it’s supposed to crest the first week of October nearly as high as it was in July when we bugged out of here. I hope that the food plots will be spared this go ‘round. The animals have had a rough year and the plots will keep entice them to stay in the timber rather than venture out to the populated areas searching for food and meeting with cars and trucks on the highway. The rain just won’t stop in Iowa this year.

We find ourselves scurrying about. Like the squirrels stockpiling food for winter, we are stockpiling time with the kids every chance we get, knowing we will be gone for the cold months ahead. We spent Sunday afternoon watching one of the grandkids play soccer. Several dates are on the books for time with friends and family. My summer job will come to an end this coming week and I’ll say farewell to my friends who own the shop. There is so much to look forward to this next 6-months, but much will be left behind as we continue this great adventure of work camping. It is an internal battle that we agree will always take place this time of year. All choices come with sacrifice on some level and the great sacrifice of snow birds is leaving the kids behind. Something tells me when we are sitting in Southwest Georgia in January and our family are dealing with sub-zero highs and our cold blast will be highs in the 50’s it won’t be as hard to be away.

Until next time…

Day 202/ 163 Kid Fest

Saylorville Lake 90 Degrees Humid Sunny

After beautiful fall weather last weekend for our camping soiree with our old group, Mother Nature forgot it is September in the Midwest and reverted to humid hot July weather. A result of the havoc wrecked on the weather patterns buy Hurricane Florence.  People are headed to the high school football games in tank tops, toting hand-held fans instead of sweatshirts and stadium blankets.

As I sit in my site here at Volunteer Village grappling with our impending departure date I notice that the brilliant green leaves of the walnuts and cottonwoods are starting to turn bright gold. The oranges and reds of the maples won’t be far behind. Things are out of kilter because of the weather. Mosquitoes are breeding and biting voraciously this week, the sound of boats with twin big blocks still roar across the lake all day. By this time of year boat traffic is normally down to fishing boats and sailboats. The water is still warm since the overnight lows are hovering around our typical September high of low 70's  instead of the 50’s like they should be now.

We have had a lot of family and kid time the past two weeks with more to come. We had our grand daughter from the furthest point away all weekend. On Saturday we went to pick up her cousins in Des Moines and spent Saturday with all three. A trip to the Jester Park Nature Center, some painting wood planks outside, Legos and a movie quickly filled a 12-hour day. The weekend wrapped, with Isaac’s first soccer game on Sunday afternoon. This is why we come home to Iowa each summer. There are so many summer destinations where we would like to volunteer, but right now the kids are more important to us than watching a light house in Maine or the U.P. or maybe working in one of the Parks in the Rocky Mountains. We have friends working for the Corps in Alaska this summer. While I am envious of their experience, I can’t imagine going a full year without seeing the kids.

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I watched the hurricanes brush closely to our upcoming destinations and wondered if it’s a mere coincidence that we will come in on the heels of a major hurricane again this fall to our next gig. We are excited about our upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic with our group of friends and family next month. I held my breath as I watched Hurricane Isaac brush the island.  No one seemed to notice since Florence was bearing down on the Carolina’s at the same time.

In less than six weeks we will be on our way to Georgia and will experience a new area for both of us. We’ll be doing Visitors Center work like we have done here at Saylorville, but for the National Parks System. We will both be glad for some less physical work for the winter. Especially me, I was told last week that the terrible pain that started in my foot is Plantar Fasciitis. After 53 years with strong, healthy feet I am learning what all the fuss is about. It hurts like hell and I’m following all the orders to the letter hoping to get the angry ligament settled down as quickly as possible. The thought of not being able to hike and walk long distances scares me to death.

In the meantime, there are people we have not seen much of this summer, and still more we want to see every chance we get between now and October end. This is the part where we start to go a bit crazy making plans upon plans trying to savor every last minute of the 2018 Iowa summer season. Like always I will take lots of pictures to soothe my soul over the winter while we are gone. I don't know how grandparents did this before Face Time and Social Media. Talk about roughing it!

Until Next Time…

 

Day 195 / 170 Home Is Where You Park It

Saylorville Lake Sunny 74 Degrees

“Home Is Where We Park It” Visit any campground and you are likely to see one or two signs saying something like that, identifying full-timers passing through or maybe in a camp host site. The reality of that casual statement really hit home with us this past weekend.

[caption id="attachment_1117" align="alignleft" width="300"] Champ and his brother Steve. Both old retired guys now[/caption]

My brother in law retired this past week and the celebration took the form of our old camping group bringing our RV’s to their acreage north of Ames and making a big camping weekend alongside the other visitors who came on Saturday for the party. We were not far from Saylorville for the weekend, so we drove the car instead of trailering it.

[caption id="attachment_1120" align="alignleft" width="300"] Steve and Sue's place turned into a weekend RV Park. View from the roof of the house[/caption]

I drove the motorhome up and got it parked on Friday while Champ followed in the car. It was a good experience for me to drive it solo and turns out I was completely comfortable doing it. Our old group consists of about half family, and half friends who may as well be family. One of the things we have really missed since starting this adventure is camping with our group through the summer months. Going to visit them when they are camping is nice but not the same by any stretch of the imagination. Nothing takes the place of sitting around on a Saturday morning, slowly waking up around a smoldering fire ring and eventually cooking a huge community breakfast that would make most cardiologists see dollar signs. The first mental slip for me happened a couple of nights before we pulled out. I was laying awake doing some 3am planning and started making a mental list of things I needed “to put in the camper” before going camping with the group. Wait a minute….  after 2 years of this I had caught myself thinking like I still had a house and the camper was in the back-yard needing stocked for the big weekend.  For a fleeting moment my mind was back in my old life. Pretty weird.

We spent the weekend reveling in the atmosphere that we miss so much. It was our first time immersed in the old group without Deb. No one is used to it, but it was really weird for Champ and I.  Her passing is very much an elephant in the room. Everyone feels the presence of her absence, if that makes sense at all. No one talks about it.

The next weird moment was on Sunday morning. We were all standing around, each couple getting ready to pull out. Small talk about yard work, little projects around the house and other things calling them to their homes was being discussed. Champ drove the ‘house’ home on Sunday. He leaned out the window and asked if I was going to follow him to the station, to fill the LP tank or go on home. We both realized instantly how weird that sounded. I laughed and said  “you have the house, what am I going to do if I get there first?” We got back to volunteer village and set up quickly. Back at home but not in a different dwelling. It hit us. Home is indeed were we park it. After two years we are finally wrapping our heads around the idea that we are mobile in every sense of the word. I’m doing laundry just like I always did after a camping weekend. We’re happy to sit on soft furniture instead of lawn chairs but we are still in the RV.

[caption id="attachment_1118" align="alignnone" width="300"] Our summer volunteer family[/caption]

As we talked about how much fun we had this weekend, we looked forward to a luau- style village cookout last here in our little neighborhood.  I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.

Until next time…

Day 188 / 177 New Jobs

Saylorville Lake 80 Degrees Muggy

“And All At Once, Summer Collapsed Into Fall”    ~Oscar Wilde

I found that quote while working on the lake newsletter the other day and it really resonated with me.

Iowa has been a demonstration of extremes this year. Record cold and late snow in April.  Unrelenting heat beginning in mid-May and record rain fall all summer.  Just as the lake was returning to normal conservation pool level, the torrential rains have returned. Our rain gauge has captured 5.75 inches since Saturday and we are currently receiving another heavy downpour projected to leave another 2-3 inches with little relief in sight.

[caption id="attachment_1110" align="alignleft" width="225"] The new tributary to the lake[/caption]

We have developed a sort of ravine behind the motor home. Constant run-off from the circle drive in front of our site has eroded a trough along the timber-line. Within a few minutes of a downpour, our little creek (crick in my Midwestern accent) runs with miniature rapids the length of our site and into the woods. The hurricane headed for the Gulf Coast will result in a continued wet pattern in this part of the world. Maybe we’ll install pontoons on the motor home and row to Georgia! It would certainly save on gas.

Champ and I are both doing some different things.  I signed up to start volunteering with Polk County Conservation at the fabulous new Nature Center just across the lake. My first gig was an annual festival event this past Sunday called Glow Wild. It began as a fund raiser when the Nature Center was still being built. It will continue as a fun event to bring people out to the facility that may not otherwise visit. The festival God’s smiled on the event and the rain held off long enough to have a well-attended, exciting event. People could canoe, take a pony drawn wagon ride, there was a lit climbing wall, live birds of prey, butterfly garden seed ball making a food tent and beer tent. My station was a kids craft table where I helped a couple hundred kids over the course of 4 hours make luminaries to decorate the perimeter of the parking lot after dark. It was great fun. I love doing crafts with kids. My grandkids always know I’m good for some sort of project when they visit. After dark when I was finished with my shift, Champ joined me and we were treated to live music from a regional country band,  (good thing I’ve acquired a taste for country music over the past year) and a towering 25’ bonfire. Free S’mores topped off the evening. A hot air balloon was there as a demo, but did not fly. It was a cool luminary though! Some of you know I have switched to a strict Paleo diet. Yes, I cheated on Sunday and ate the bun with my Brat and drank two Exile Brewery Ruthies that tasted heavenly after not having beer for three months. Sad to say I am still paying for it today in the form of terrible stomach cramps from assaulting my insides with grain and gluten.

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I am looking forward to getting involved in some more activities with them next summer. Night ranger walks looking for owls and any nature hike whether we are looking for butterflies, flowers or birds are on my radar. Rangers will lead but volunteers go along to help people identify and be an extra resource, while we expand our own knowledge. I'll be writing the newsletters again here and work in the butterfly gardens. Hopefully, the insurance industry in Iowa will get is act together and I won't have to work to afford my "affordable healthcare" If that happens I'll be able to put in more time here at Saylorville, my first love of volunteering. I would love to be able to spend more time with Judy working in the gardens during the weekdays.

Champ was offered a new job for next year. Saylorville is creating a new position for a volunteer to assist in inspecting playground equipment for needed repairs and structural soundness. In our litigious society it has become necessary to inspect the equipment throughout the campgrounds more often and in more detail and document all repairs and findings. They sought out someone who is thorough and agile. Champ was a natural fit and they offered it to him today. He’s excited that he gets to ‘play’ as part of his work next year. Part of the inspection is sliding down the slides, swinging from the monkey bars, climbing the walls and ladders etc. along with checking every detail of the construction. If you know Champ you can picture him now I’m sure. He's also pretty excited that he won't be continually exposed to poison ivy. Despite all the precautions he has been broken out all summer. We have decided he can get a breakout simply by standing down wind of the stuff.   He's been pretty miserable, though he never complains. 

The summer is indeed collapsing into fall. The sun is setting earlier and the days and weeks till we depart for the winter are starting accelerate, I think I even feel a tail wind.  I need to remind myself everyday to breath.

Until next time…