Jim and I have been volunteering here at Unicoi for three winters. We are usually gone by the 1st of March, as we really do need to work and make some money. But, this year, we are still sitting here, waiting to hear the final word on the job at the Grand Canyon. Because we have always left so early, we have never been here in the springtime.
In the last two weeks, the campground came alive with campers. The whole place has been full, including the tents camping area, and today all of the platforms at the Squirrel's Nest were also occupied. The place is simply buzzing with people. I sold all the firewood we had today. And the excited fishermen bought nearly all of the red wigglers I had, too.
Little children were wading in the creek, which surely must still be ice cold. It is such a change from the gloomy winter days, when we hardly see other people all week.
I'm going to try to get some pictures tomorrow, just so you can see the difference just a couple of weeks make.
Showing posts with label unicoi state park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unicoi state park. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
A Day In The Life Of A Volunteer Camp Host
So, just what is it that a volunteer camp host does? And why do we do it? Here at Unicoi State Park in north Georgia, we are required to work 24 hours per week. The things we do vary from week to week, depending on what they need done. 
Most often, we do the normal campground duties, like cleaning out fire rings at the camp sites. We are amazed at the number of people who burn their trash in their fire rings. It is hard to believe that they enjoy the aroma of burning plastic. We wind up cleaning out all the leftover paper and plastic debris, so that the next person who uses that site won't get toxic fumes in their wieners and marshmallows.
We also pick up all the trash left behind. All of this rubbish came from one site. I know to some people it doesn't look like a lot, but if everyone left this little bit behind and it wasn't picked up, the campground would soon look like a dump. And no, those cigarette butts don't break down and disappear. They are still just as ugly to see next year when you come back if someone doesn't pick them up. And what about all those little bare feet running around next summer? If they stepped on those bottle caps it could ruin a nice vacation.
One of the camp hosts does a site check twice a day to document which sites are occupied and by whom. We give this information to the front desk at the lodge, so when they have new arrivals they will know which campsites are available, and so that they will know where each guest is camping in case they need to contact them.
The is always a project list of little things that need to be done. Here, Jim is attaching colored reflectors to the sign posts so that campers will know what color campsites are available on each road in the campground. The sites are color coded to designate what utilities are available and/or how long a of a camper will fit into the site.
In the camp store, called The Trading Post, there is always something to be done. Keeping the t-shirts folded and neatly stacked, stocking shelves, and sweeping the floor are things that need to be done every day.
The volunteers who are assigned to the trading post also ring up sales, give out trail maps and hiking information, and directions to other points of interest in the area. We meet a lot of people who come in for the day or to camp with us over the weekend.
The park hosts a huge arts and crafts show every year. The show takes place in a couple of weeks. Getting ready for it means a lot of very important, but little, tasks need to be done. We stuff envelopes, make name tags, and prepare parking passes for the show.
Although not a part of our official duties, we like to help guests when they need a hand. This young couple, Brian and Jude and their cute little dog, Russ, hiked down the mountain from Anna Ruby Falls, a 5 mile trip one way. It was getting late in the day, so Jim and I drove them back up to their car at the top of the mountain. They are a very interesting couple--she is from England and he is from Atlanta. They are getting married soon, and going to the Phillipines where she is going to teach in a British school there. Cool!
We do a lot here, but the Georgia State Parks give us a lot of perks, too. In addition to that spiffy black hat Jim gets to wear, and a certificate good for five free nights of camping at any Georgia State Park, we get a very nice full hook up site. We use the Toro cart to get around the park while we are on duty.
We get to use the laundry facilities free of charge to wash our clothes, and we get a 50% discount at the lodge restaurant, where the buffet features fried trout every night of the week. And, oooh, that dessert bar is quite yummy, too.
Best of all, we get to work with all the nice people who are on the paid staff. This is Scott and Ellen. Ellen is the person we go to with any questions, and who assigns the jobs we do. We have already signed up to come back next winter. They have five camp host spots here, so if anyone wants to come, let me know, and I'll send the info on how to sign up. Oh, and did I mention that we get to live in this beautiful place for a few months, where most people only get to visit for a day or two?
Most often, we do the normal campground duties, like cleaning out fire rings at the camp sites. We are amazed at the number of people who burn their trash in their fire rings. It is hard to believe that they enjoy the aroma of burning plastic. We wind up cleaning out all the leftover paper and plastic debris, so that the next person who uses that site won't get toxic fumes in their wieners and marshmallows. 
We also pick up all the trash left behind. All of this rubbish came from one site. I know to some people it doesn't look like a lot, but if everyone left this little bit behind and it wasn't picked up, the campground would soon look like a dump. And no, those cigarette butts don't break down and disappear. They are still just as ugly to see next year when you come back if someone doesn't pick them up. And what about all those little bare feet running around next summer? If they stepped on those bottle caps it could ruin a nice vacation.
One of the camp hosts does a site check twice a day to document which sites are occupied and by whom. We give this information to the front desk at the lodge, so when they have new arrivals they will know which campsites are available, and so that they will know where each guest is camping in case they need to contact them. 
The is always a project list of little things that need to be done. Here, Jim is attaching colored reflectors to the sign posts so that campers will know what color campsites are available on each road in the campground. The sites are color coded to designate what utilities are available and/or how long a of a camper will fit into the site. 
In the camp store, called The Trading Post, there is always something to be done. Keeping the t-shirts folded and neatly stacked, stocking shelves, and sweeping the floor are things that need to be done every day. 
The volunteers who are assigned to the trading post also ring up sales, give out trail maps and hiking information, and directions to other points of interest in the area. We meet a lot of people who come in for the day or to camp with us over the weekend. 
The park hosts a huge arts and crafts show every year. The show takes place in a couple of weeks. Getting ready for it means a lot of very important, but little, tasks need to be done. We stuff envelopes, make name tags, and prepare parking passes for the show. 
Although not a part of our official duties, we like to help guests when they need a hand. This young couple, Brian and Jude and their cute little dog, Russ, hiked down the mountain from Anna Ruby Falls, a 5 mile trip one way. It was getting late in the day, so Jim and I drove them back up to their car at the top of the mountain. They are a very interesting couple--she is from England and he is from Atlanta. They are getting married soon, and going to the Phillipines where she is going to teach in a British school there. Cool!
We do a lot here, but the Georgia State Parks give us a lot of perks, too. In addition to that spiffy black hat Jim gets to wear, and a certificate good for five free nights of camping at any Georgia State Park, we get a very nice full hook up site. We use the Toro cart to get around the park while we are on duty. 
We get to use the laundry facilities free of charge to wash our clothes, and we get a 50% discount at the lodge restaurant, where the buffet features fried trout every night of the week. And, oooh, that dessert bar is quite yummy, too. 
Best of all, we get to work with all the nice people who are on the paid staff. This is Scott and Ellen. Ellen is the person we go to with any questions, and who assigns the jobs we do. We have already signed up to come back next winter. They have five camp host spots here, so if anyone wants to come, let me know, and I'll send the info on how to sign up. Oh, and did I mention that we get to live in this beautiful place for a few months, where most people only get to visit for a day or two?
Saturday, February 09, 2008
A Walk In The Park
Yesterday was a beautiful day in north Georgia, so we decided to go for a hike. We didn't make it the entire 5 miles--but we did make a 3 mile round trip of it. Smith Creek Hiking Trail starts in Unicoi State Park and ends up at Anna Ruby Falls on U.S. Forest Service property.
This is where we started our hike, off an old forest service road.
An earth and log stairway down a steep slope. The trees are flashed with blue paint to mark the trail.
Isn't it amazing how this tree hangs on to the hillside with those enormous roots?
I wish you could hear the water bubbling along in Smith Creek. This was a lovely spot to rest and just listen to the forest.
This tree was cut just enough to clear the trail. It must have fallen during a storm we had here last month.
Jim found these feather remains of a large bird--probably an owl or a hawk.
A beautiful fungus growing out of a decaying log.
I wonder if these lovers are still together? They left their mark here years ago on the side of the trail.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Unicoi
Just a couple of pics I wanted to share. The first one is a resting spot on the lake trail at Unicoi State Park. This was taken on January 6, 2008, in the north Georgia mountains. It was 70 degrees! What a beautiful day.
This was also on the lake trail at Unicoi. I was trying to a picture of our shadows on the water. What do you think?
This was also on the lake trail at Unicoi. I was trying to a picture of our shadows on the water. What do you think?
Monday, December 31, 2007
It Must Be Karma
We have been planning to go to Alabama to a National Forest Service campground to work as volunteers for some time now. We have had this planned for months, and even confirmed with them last week. The only thing is, we got an email from the volunteer coordinator at Payne Lake telling us that we would either have a site with water and electricity but no sewer, OR a site with sewer and electricity but no water. We have been trying to decide for a couple of weeks which would be easiest to handle.
In the meantime, Jim's Mom called and asked us to come up to Unicoi State Park for a little while to be close to them. Unicoi is the park where we have volunteered for the last two winters, in north Georgia, in the mountains. Since we have been there before, we know what the volunteer responsibilites are so it wouldn't be hard for us to do it again. But, the day that Jim's Mom called, I hung up from talking to her and called the volunteer resource contact at Unicoi and reached her voice mail. Since we had not heard back from them we just assumed they didn't have a need or a space for us there. We were both wanting to go to Alabama, but also wanting to go to Unicoi because that would be the right thing for us to do.
Today, we got a call from Unicoi saying that they do have a volunteer space for us. And Ellen, the resource person, said that even though she has had other people call wanting to volunteer, we were her first choice, since we had been there before. So, tomorrow we will be going back up to Unicoi until the end of March.
Now, the karma part. We have been applying for jobs out west since before Thanksgiving, and had not heard back from anyone. Not ONE. Until about 10 minutes after we agreed to go to Unicoi. Then, the phone rang and it was a park near Bryce Canyon in Utah. As soon as the man started telling me they were "very interested in hiring us" I told him that we had had a change in our plans since I sent the application last week. We would not be able to come the first week of March because we had just committed to someone until the end of March. And he said, "That is even better for us, because we don't need you until the first week of April" Is that Karma or what?? We don't have a confirmed job yet, but we are closer than we were before that phone call. As soon as we get a firm offer, I will post a link to the place. It is gorgeous!
In the meantime, Jim's Mom called and asked us to come up to Unicoi State Park for a little while to be close to them. Unicoi is the park where we have volunteered for the last two winters, in north Georgia, in the mountains. Since we have been there before, we know what the volunteer responsibilites are so it wouldn't be hard for us to do it again. But, the day that Jim's Mom called, I hung up from talking to her and called the volunteer resource contact at Unicoi and reached her voice mail. Since we had not heard back from them we just assumed they didn't have a need or a space for us there. We were both wanting to go to Alabama, but also wanting to go to Unicoi because that would be the right thing for us to do.
Today, we got a call from Unicoi saying that they do have a volunteer space for us. And Ellen, the resource person, said that even though she has had other people call wanting to volunteer, we were her first choice, since we had been there before. So, tomorrow we will be going back up to Unicoi until the end of March.
Now, the karma part. We have been applying for jobs out west since before Thanksgiving, and had not heard back from anyone. Not ONE. Until about 10 minutes after we agreed to go to Unicoi. Then, the phone rang and it was a park near Bryce Canyon in Utah. As soon as the man started telling me they were "very interested in hiring us" I told him that we had had a change in our plans since I sent the application last week. We would not be able to come the first week of March because we had just committed to someone until the end of March. And he said, "That is even better for us, because we don't need you until the first week of April" Is that Karma or what?? We don't have a confirmed job yet, but we are closer than we were before that phone call. As soon as we get a firm offer, I will post a link to the place. It is gorgeous!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
I started working in the Trading Post at Unicoi State Park a couple of days ago. It is a small camp store, not very busy compared to the store at Bethpage, but interesting. Between customers I can read all the books that are for sale there or listen to the radio. I was afraid I would have forgotten how to do things since last year, but it all came back to me pretty quickly. I only made one itsy bitsy mistake the first day, and it was fixable.
Last night it was 29 degrees. Today the high was about 40 and there were a few spits of snow, not enough to even SEE really, but still snow, in Georgia, in November. Last year when we were here it snowed four times. There was enough to make the ground white when we woke up in the morning, but it was always gone before lunch time. I hope we don’t get a lot if it this year. We bought some groceries and decided to leave them in the back of the truck because it was colder than the refrigerator.
Several people who came into the store today told me they saw a bear last night. I have not seen it yet, but I have seen signs of it. The bears around here are the small black bears, but they are still bears and I am afraid of them. I have read those stories in Reader’s Digest, so I ain’t crazy enough to think I could pet one. If I see it, I will be heading for the nearest building or get in my truck. And there is no way you could get me to camp in a tent here either. Even with it as cold as it is and bears roaming around, there are a lot of people camping in tents! They must be crazy!
Last night it was 29 degrees. Today the high was about 40 and there were a few spits of snow, not enough to even SEE really, but still snow, in Georgia, in November. Last year when we were here it snowed four times. There was enough to make the ground white when we woke up in the morning, but it was always gone before lunch time. I hope we don’t get a lot if it this year. We bought some groceries and decided to leave them in the back of the truck because it was colder than the refrigerator.
Several people who came into the store today told me they saw a bear last night. I have not seen it yet, but I have seen signs of it. The bears around here are the small black bears, but they are still bears and I am afraid of them. I have read those stories in Reader’s Digest, so I ain’t crazy enough to think I could pet one. If I see it, I will be heading for the nearest building or get in my truck. And there is no way you could get me to camp in a tent here either. Even with it as cold as it is and bears roaming around, there are a lot of people camping in tents! They must be crazy!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Yeterday Was A Travel Day...
OK, so we live in a travel trailer that is 30 ft long. There are AT MOST two steps from the bed to the toilet. Every night when I get up to go use the toilet, my husband asks me “Where are you going”? HUH? One of these nights I am going to answer him “I am going to Las Margaritas, do you want me to bring you a bowl of soup?” just to see if he is awake.
The trip to Georgia was uneventful, and took less than two days. It was 574 miles from Bathpage to Unicoi. We went through Westpoint to I-64 west, to I-295 south, to I-95 south, to I-85 south, to Georgia 17 north. We stopped for fuel at the Sadler Truck Plaza in Emporia, where diesel was $2.319 if you paid with cash, but they consider a debit card to be the same as cash. The price of fuel in North Carolina was the highest at $2.499.
We stopped for the night in Concord, North Carolina at Fleetwood RV Resort. I don’t know why they get to call it a resort. It is behind an RV dealership, and right next to the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, a NASCAR racing facility. Our site had an excellent view of the speedway stadium, but no cable TV and no Wi-Fi. It was $25 per night for a pull through on gravel and pavement. Oh, and they were running laps til after 11pm at the raceway, so if you stay there expect noise. I could close my eyes and imagine it full of NASCAR fans. I am so glad I don’t work there. We woke up at 4:30 am and decided to “Just leave”. (that is for Lynn and Mary, hehehe)
We arrived at Unicoi State Park around 11:30 am yesterday to begin our winter Volunteer Camp Host job. Even though the host spaces are first come first served, we go the space we wanted. It is right next to a little creek, Our view out the window is of the forest, very nice. We ran into Gary and Faye at the lodge when we went up to check in with Shirley, the retail manager. They have been here about a week. Shirley was as usual happy to see us. We go tomorrow for an orientation session. We didn’t have to do an orientation last year because they did not have an onsite volunteer coordinator. The new person in is Ellen. We met her when she came by our trailer to introduce herself to us.
We can’t wait to go to Doodle’s, the coffee shop in Helen. They have free Wi-Fi, and good coffee, but the owners, Stan and Linda, are really nice and we got to know them pretty well last year. We are looking forward to seeing them again. We also like to go to Betty’s County Store. They may be a little expensive, but they have good meats and a nice produce department. They make home made breads, and have a good selection of snacks. Yum!
The trip to Georgia was uneventful, and took less than two days. It was 574 miles from Bathpage to Unicoi. We went through Westpoint to I-64 west, to I-295 south, to I-95 south, to I-85 south, to Georgia 17 north. We stopped for fuel at the Sadler Truck Plaza in Emporia, where diesel was $2.319 if you paid with cash, but they consider a debit card to be the same as cash. The price of fuel in North Carolina was the highest at $2.499.
We stopped for the night in Concord, North Carolina at Fleetwood RV Resort. I don’t know why they get to call it a resort. It is behind an RV dealership, and right next to the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, a NASCAR racing facility. Our site had an excellent view of the speedway stadium, but no cable TV and no Wi-Fi. It was $25 per night for a pull through on gravel and pavement. Oh, and they were running laps til after 11pm at the raceway, so if you stay there expect noise. I could close my eyes and imagine it full of NASCAR fans. I am so glad I don’t work there. We woke up at 4:30 am and decided to “Just leave”. (that is for Lynn and Mary, hehehe)
We arrived at Unicoi State Park around 11:30 am yesterday to begin our winter Volunteer Camp Host job. Even though the host spaces are first come first served, we go the space we wanted. It is right next to a little creek, Our view out the window is of the forest, very nice. We ran into Gary and Faye at the lodge when we went up to check in with Shirley, the retail manager. They have been here about a week. Shirley was as usual happy to see us. We go tomorrow for an orientation session. We didn’t have to do an orientation last year because they did not have an onsite volunteer coordinator. The new person in is Ellen. We met her when she came by our trailer to introduce herself to us.
We can’t wait to go to Doodle’s, the coffee shop in Helen. They have free Wi-Fi, and good coffee, but the owners, Stan and Linda, are really nice and we got to know them pretty well last year. We are looking forward to seeing them again. We also like to go to Betty’s County Store. They may be a little expensive, but they have good meats and a nice produce department. They make home made breads, and have a good selection of snacks. Yum!
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