Feb. 23, 2013: Propane and cookies

Today we drove in to town to get more propane - it has been very cold and we've been inside more than usual due to the storm, so the propane is down, and they will not be able to refill on Sunday, so we had to go today. Breakfast at Muddy Waters, work session at the library, propane fill, fresh clams for dinner at the seafood stand, grocery run at Fred Meyers, then back to the park for the three yurt cleaning assignment. Next I did a long beach cleanup walk while Mike worked and cooked up the clams. Yummy!

After dinner we made our first batch of chocolate chip cookie dough for bedtime snack. Quite a production in such a small place. First, Mike helped me reduce the Neiman Marcus best ever cookie dough recipe to fit our oven and freezer space,
Then I spread out the ingredients over the available counter space to make the balls, then I cooked one up as four cookies and froze the others for later. Yummy again!

Feb. 22, 2013: Day 53 - High Wind and Rain

Today when Travis came by at 8:30 to give us our assignment - two yurts and the meeting room - he also brought a weather report. There would be gusts up to 50 MPH 2 inches of rain over the passes and 2 feet of snow in the mountains. Good day to be indoors and hunker down. The howling wind was pretty exciting - I went out to look at the ocean at high tide and got this video. ( apparently it won't upload, sorry, but the wind was awesome!)



We did the yurts in the rain but the sun was out by the time we were finished, so we took a beach walk. There were four waterfalls coming down the cape in the distance, ( barely visible in the picture below) but we could not get up close because the stream coming out of the hills through the park to the beah was now an unford-able river.

Feb. 21, 2013: Day 52 - Three cabins

Mike went in to town - his deadline is calling, and I stayed at home to do the park host work in the afternoon. We were assigned three cabins - first time for more than two. Mike drove me there at 10:00 when he left for town, but all the cabins were still occupied since check-out time is 1:00.

To kill some time, we checked the mail - we got our first batch of re-directed mail from our Auburn PO box, so I got our scanner working and processed the mail.

It was windy and a light rain when I left for the 12 minute walk to the cabins at about 12:15. I skipped the outdoor chores since it is silly to sweep in rain. Here are some pictures of the inside of the cabins:




It took me longer to do the three cabins without Mike, and by the time I was finished, it was a hard rain. I walked back to the kiosk where we turn in the keys and paperwok after cleaning, and there was a new guest waiting for the keys and Ranger Dave was checking in with Howard (the on-duty regiration host) to see if everything was OK. They did not see our car and wondered what was going on. Ranger Dave told me I should have let them know I was working by myself and he would have helped - especially since it is a light day and he was not busy. He emphasized that the rangers want to get to know the hosts and this would have been a good opportunity. He said when the park is short a host and the rangers HAVE to do the cleaning, they really appreciate what we hosts do to help. It was all good.

Feb. 20, 2013: Day 51 - Laundry day

We went in to Tillamook library again today, but this time I dropped Mike off, then went to the laundromat. Today I did five loads - first time I really washed a lot with towels and sheets. It was quite pleasant - four different sized machines, a TV on the wall, a coin changer that takes $20 bills ( you need it )a bathroom (where I finished dring my hair from the morning shower) and a seating area while you wait. Today I did not have much time to wait as I was busy processing the loads. Two hours flat with everything clean and dry - Nice!





When I was done, I went to get Mike and we took a short break for a burrito lunch at one of the many food carts that exist in the state of Oregon. Then back to the library for another long session. It started to rain this afternoon. Sounds like a storm is on it's way.

Feb. 19, 2013: Day 50 - TBC work day

Today we went in to Tillamook for a straight work day - Mike is working on the next phase of the project that has kept him busy since we started our travels. We tried out a new restaurant for breakfast, The Fern, and it was good, but not the home cooking we get at Muddy Waters.

We had time to kill before the library opens at 9:00, so we went to Safeway across the street for coffee and a couple supplies, then to a sound-proof room at the library for the morning.

We took a late lunch at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory ( competition for the Tillamook Cheese Factory - both tourist magnets) and returned to the library for another long work session. We had a small dinner of leftovers when we got back, then took a walk out to the ocean ( less than 5 minute walk) - the moon is rising and it was a clear night, so it was beautiful lighting our way and reflecting on the water.

Feb. 18, 2013 - Day 49: First tip

Not too much turn-over today - we were assigned only 2 yurts. Takes less an hour. One yurt was kind enough to leave us a table tip. Mike and I think our assigned work is a fair trade for what we receive, (the right to hang out in this beautiful park for a month) so the tip was appreciated but definitely unnecessary:)

We decided to take a holiday afternoon drive up the coast about 10 miles to the northernmost physical feature of this park's management responsibilities - Cape Mears - where there is an historic lighthouse. It was windy and cold, so we read the sign boards by the parking lot, but did not take the 1/4 mile walk out to the end of the cape to get a closer look of the lighthouse.

Feb 17, 2013 - Day 48: First Japanese artifact

We noticed a lot more noise in the campground last night - many campsites are taken. Up till now, being a cool, damp February, the park has been pretty empty except for the people in the yurts and cabins. Not so this weekend, despite the dampness which comes and goes quickly. Here is a shot of some afternoon sun on our rig coming from the beachside toward our host circle.

Today we cleaned 4 yurts after a beach run and some delicious leftover Jambalaya. Then some more TBC work and a beach cleanup walk - no wind today as all- it was very pleasant. I met a woman from California who was here with her daughter staying in a yurt and interested in the beach cleanup effort. She mentioned the trash pit in the middle of the Pac Ocean that we have been hearing about for several years. Well, some of the stuff washes up on our beach daily, so off I go. Today I found my first identifiable Japanese artifact - not much but still exiting! SOrry about the orientation - it looks fine on my camera:(

Feb. 16, 2013 - Day 47: In to town for Propane

We use propane for the water heater, kitchen stove and the inside heater. We are getting more skilled at managing the propane level because we have to drive to get a fillup (just like gasoline)and it is a hassle making the rig road ready ( need to make sure counter space is fee of flying objects, etc.). We never noticed this aspect of buying propane before since we were always traveling - it was easy to pull in to fill up. But now that we are stationary for a month, the only reason we need to drive the motorhome is to get propane, and today was the last possible moment.

So in to town we went first thing in the morning - breakfast first, of course at Muddy Waters again, then to the Tillamook library for a couple hours of TBC work, then to Tillamook RV for the propane. We decided to check out the fresh fish market next door to the propane lot, and bought a 2.4lb fresh cooked and cleaned crab for dinner tonight- YUM!

Back at the park, we were assigned 5 yurts. It was a pretty day, so I finally got some pictures.

There are 13 yurts and 6 cabins. So far we have done 2,3 4 and 5 cabins in one day. Don, of Don and Judy across the street, told me yesterday that once they did all 13 yurts and 6 cabins in one day when the park was short staffed. I'm not sure I believe that, but who knows:).

Feb. 15, 2013 - Day 46: Staff Potluck

Today we worked the TBC business as usual in the AM. I made black beans in the crock pot and guacamole to take to the all hands safety meeting and potluck. It was held in the meeting room building very near our site. About a one minute walking commute today. I'm bummed I did not take a picture of the group. Six full-time park employees and us eight volunter hosts. The potluck was mexican themed. After lunch there was a safety meeting to discuss hazards and how to anticipate and avoid them. The state of Oregon is a big employer and is understandable safety conscious. Our job hazards lean toward picking up sharp objects, hot fireplace coals and golf cart accidents. Not too scary, but the point is well heeded.

Our Camp Hosting assignment was 5 yurts today - beginning of a holiday weekend and people are checking OUT? All good. We were the only cleaning team on duty at the yurts today.

Back to Business work until late afternoon when we went for a beautiful day beach walk.



Tonight after dinner (soup and salad clean-up because we are going in to town tomorrow), I did a major overhaul of the kitchen area cupboards. Everything came out and went back in re-arranged to make most efficient use of the space. Let's see if I can find things in the morning:)

Feb.14, 2013 - Day 45: Happy Valentines Day

Today we spoke with Ranger Travis when he passed out our daily assignment ( he brings it by our site first thing in the AM). We were ready to ask about coming back for another hosting stint in the future and he was wondering the same thing. How did we like our experience so far and were we interested in coming back? He has at least 4 hosting positions to fill ( I bet there are more in the summer months) and he mentioned that several of the regulars were aging out or going "to Alaska" this summer. So we are in for the month of May. Very excited about coming back for another month!

We cleaned two cabins today. They have a kitchenette and bathroom, so they take about 30 minutes to clean, while the yurts, with no bath or kitchen take 15 each. Here is the view of the cabin itself, and the one below was taken from the cabin porch. Ocean front property. Very nice.






Mike made us a delicious dinner of Jambalaya to celebrate Valentines Day. Yummy!

Feb 13, 2013 - Day 44: Tillamook Library

First thing this morning we went for a beach run at low tide.



Today was another off day at the park, so we drove in to Tillamook for a change. Had breakfast at Muddy Waters ( good home cooked food in small coffee shop) then went to the Tillamook Library for the first of what will be many times, I'm sure. It is a beautiful building from the outside: new, two story with lots of windows. The 2nd floor had computers and nice workspace. We had our own computers, of course, so we set up at two smaller tables along the window wall until lunch when we left to check out our first Tillamook restaurant - Rodeo Steakhouse. One of the good things about visiting new places is the discovery of good places to eat. Today's selection was as delicious but probably not as health as yesterday's Thai restaurant in Lincoln City.

So after lunch we asked about using one of the soundproof rooms and were told it was OK. We might be able to get a library card with proof of park hosting, but since they let us use the room anyway, who needs a card? Very accommodating:)

Feb. 12, 2013 - Day 43: Lincoln City

Today was a camp host off-day, so we drove south to 40 miles Lincoln City again and worked at the Pirate coffee shop on the AM,



had a delicious Thai lunch and worked at a Starbucks that ued to be a fast food restaurant ( two separate drive thru windows) in the afternoon. We got a few groceries at Safeway in town before returning to Cape Lookout. It was a good day to work - cold and damp.

Not much to take a picture of today so since I am a fan of quilts, here is the pirate quilt on the wall at the Pirates coffee shop - enjoy.

Feb. 11, 2013 - Day 42: Split Pea Soup

Today was a normal workday - TBC biz in the AM and another 5 yurts in the afternoon. This morning I got out my RV sized 6 cup crock pot and made split pea soup in the AM, so after yurt work, we went for a short beach walk, then came home to delicious and easy soup and salad dinner. I am getting the hang of cooking in such a small space, and figured out how to expand my counter space by 200% by placing two cutting boards over a bowl in the sink to cover one half of the double sink. When you only have 12 square inches of counter space and you triple it, that makes a BIG difference:)

Feb. 10, 2013 - Day 41: 5 More Yurts

It is the weekend, and people filled the Yurts last night - 10 of the 13 turned over and we cleaned 5 of them. Each Yurt takes 15 - 20 minutes to clean. There is no bathroom and no linens, just a bunk bed and a futon with a table and three chairs inside, with a picnic table and fire pit outside. The point is to let people come camping and enjoy the park, but not have to sleep in the rain. They bring their sleeping ad cooking gear and food, and use the campground shower and bathroom. We share cleaning duties with the other hosts. Pretty sweet. We get our business work done in the AM, have a good lunch, then do the camp host chores in the afternoon. Today was Sunday, so we took a nap in the afternoon before settling in for a pork tenderloin and baked potato dinner. We are eating very well.

Feb. 9, 2013 - Day 40: Our neighborhood

Today was a pretty nice day - basically dry. Here is a picture of our "neighborhood". We are the first rig on the right. The other three in view are our co-hosts for the month of February.


And here is a picture of our local view - less than a quarter mile walk from our neighborhood. The tide is pretty high here - you can't walk on the each at high tide - the water comes right up to the rocks. Ranger Travis told us the park is making moves to relocate the first row of sumertime camp sites away from the dunes because eventually the ocean will reclaim them.

Feb. 8, 2013 - Day 39: 5 Yurts

Today we had an appointment to get the motor home checked out at the same place we went yesterday for propane. We anted to get the roof sealed and they said they needed to keep it all day, so we took it in early and worked at Starbucks in town this morning. Actually, I worked at the laundromat, mostly on three loads of laundry.

We got some mexican food for lunch from a mobile food cart in town, and ate it at a scenic lookout ion our drive back to the park for our 1:00 check in time. Today we were assigned 5 Yurts. Substantial work, so we were OK with taking back off to town when we were finished toi pick uop the motor home from Tillamook RV. The service-man pointed out the inadequate patch job that a was delivered during a previous service call from a shop in Roseville, and advised us that a new rook was in order. That is a major time committment, so we are re-working our travel plans to include a three nights at a motel of some sort in the near future. The rig is 12 years old, and we like it, so, just like a house on an immoble foundation, we need to do routine maintenance. Dang! I was hoping this type of home ownership might be easier:)

Feb. 7, 2013 - Day 38: Propane day

Today we worked the business as usual in the AM. Freezer burritos from the Woodhaven kitchen for lunch ( we brought a lot of freezer food and need to eat it to make room in the even smaller freezer we have now:)

Today we had our first independent cleaning assignment - one cabin is all. Good thnkg, too, as we were very emply in our propane tank, and didn't want to run out in the middle of the night as it is frosty at night. So we unhooked our shore power and drove the 12 miles in to Tillamook to get our propane tank filled at the local RV service shop.

We discovered Fred Meyer - the superstore similar to Walmart or Meijers where we got some more groceries. When we returned to the park, I put on the pot of chichen soup to simmer, and we went out to do another beach litter walk - we want to earn our keep and the sun was setting under the clouds on the horizon - very pretty. We picked up a respectable amount of beach trash - incoming from the ocean, not park visitor trash, then home for dinner and some "How I Met Your Mother" episodes on NetFlix. We have been working our way through the shows since mid November, and are in the middle of season 5 now.

Feb. 6, 2013 - Day 37: Ground Hog Day all over again

Yesterday was so much fun we did it again. Only this time we had breakfast in Lincoln City at Pig and Pancakes. Same coffee shop, Pirates, for morning work, same Indian cafe for real good real food for lunch and Starbucks for the afternoon work session. Then instead of the movie, we went grocery shopping at Safeway and stopped by Barnacle Bills, the local fresh fish stand to get a cooked crab which we had for dinner when we returned home a bit earlier than we landed last night.

Midday, we took a short break to check out the state park in Lincoln City, but decided we would not like to apply for a host position at that park - the sites were more congested, and it was not on the ocean. I'm wondering if we are spoiled already by the very nice park we are currently assigned to?

Feb. 5, 2013 - Day 36: First day off

It doesn't seem right to get a break from park hosting work since we have done so little work so far, but it is true. Our position on the team gives us Tuesday and Wednesday off each week. So, we drove in to Tillamook for breakfast and continued south about 40 miles to Lincoln City where we found a comfortable coffee shop to work the business. We moved to an Indian cafe with wireless for lunch and an afternoon work session, then went to the local theatre for a 5:00 showing of best picture nominee movie - Zero Dark Thirty - number 5 for us. Interesting at the end, but the beginning of the movie was uncomfortable for me (and those in the movie being interrogated). :(

We had a late fish and chips dinner at Dory Cove, then drove home to Cape Lookout State Park and a warm and cozy bed on a cold night.

Feb. 4, 2013 - Day 35: Relief Yurt and Cabin Hosts

Today we worked the business at home until lunch. We both took separate breaks for exercise. The tide was out so the sand was hard - good conditions for a beach run.

Our official park host position is "Relief Yurt and Cabin Host" which means we offer backup support to the other couples on their days off and on heavy cleaning days. The job is to clean the Yurts and/or Cabins after the guests check out, but we did not receive a cleaning assignment, due to low vacancy and turnover today.

Instead of cleaning, we took trash bags and went for an hour walk on the beach. The Oregon coast is beginning to receive Japan tsunami trash which washes up on the rocks at high tide. We found lots of styrophome, small bits of plastic, plastic bottles, rope and dock floatsom.

The park here and the state of Oregon in general has an organized plan to collect, categorize (the big stuff) and dispose of tsunami trash. Very interesting... I hope to find something with Japanese writing.

Feb. 3, 2013 - Day 34: SuperBowl Sunday

Today we worked in the AM and cooked tuna melt sandwiches for lunch ( I only mention this because cooking lunch for two was not something we did at home - but here we are in the woods and not inclined to drive in to town for errands and lunch.

After lunch we had a Park Host meeting with Ranger Travis and the other three host couples who are also on duty for the month of February. We are all parked together in adjacent spots in the C loop. The meeting was in the ranger building nearby. After the meeting, we shadowed Don and Linda as they cleaned the two cabins with move-outs today.

The most important part of today, however, was the trip to The Schooner - the local bar and restaurant to watch the 49ers play a pretty good game, but lose to Baltimore in the SuperBowl. We had a view of the boat launch and harbor and met some local, private-park RV hosts. Seems once you become aware of a community of full-time RVers, you meet them everywhere.

Feb 2, 2013 - Day 33: Checking out the park

Saturday morning and we had a delicious home cooked breakfast (can't go to Katrina's in Auburn as is our custom) then worked on business until we met with Ranger Travis to get trained on our hosting duties at 1:00. More on that later.

After our chores were complete, we took a really nice walk inside the park along the North Trail.

Mike standing inside a tree whose roots extend high into the air.

Denise in the day use area of the park.

Sunny day sunset at the beach.

The trail goes along the ocean through the forest south toward Cape Lookout spit. There are over 10 miles of hiking trails in the park, so it will take us a few days to see it all.

Feb. 1, 2013 - Day 32: Cape Lookout State Park

We had a short and pretty drive from Salem to Cape Lookout State park, and arrived before noon.

We met Ranger Travis who gave us to low-down on our rights and responsibilities for the next month and told us to relax the rest of the day.

We drove in to Tillamook for provisions, and took a nice road walk along Netarts Bay.

Good weather day for us - it feels like California, but they tell us this is extra nice, becasue it is pretty wet here in general.

Jan 31, 2013 - Day 31: Corning CA to Salem OR

Yesterday we drove from Sacramento to Corning, CA and parked in a T/A truck stop for the night. We worked for a while and drove away about 10 AM headed north with sights on Salem OR.

We stopped for lunch along the highway north of Redding with a great view of Mt Shasta.

and saw sone good scenery along the Oregon roadway

We stopped for dinner in Eugene at a mall parking lot and then went in the theatre to see Ben Affleck in ARGO. Good show. We are on a quest to see the movies awarded for best picture this year. Starting with the ones most likely to be enjoyed. So far we've see Lincoln, LesMiserables, Silver Linings Playbook, and now Argo. We enjoyed them all.

After the movie, we continued on to our destination, Salem, OR, and parked for the night in the WalMart parking lot. Very accomodating!

Jan. 30, 2012 - Day 30: on the road again

Where did two weeks go? Well, let me briefly tell you.....

Wed. - Fri. Jan 16-18. Arrived back in Auburn and spent the day in town on errands, chiropractic care, massage and visits with dad Dempsey, mom Tomczak, PEO friends, clients and co-workers.

Evenings were spent in conversation and relaxation at the Boykin hotel. Thanks, Chris and John, for saving that comfortable bed for us and for having us back so soon after the exciting move-out weekend!

We had a nice visit with Rich and Dollie on Friday night at their house and learned the dice game Zilch.

Sat. - Sun. Jan. 19-20. Family time. We parked on Kelly's street and slept in her "cabin". Very nice. We all visited with dad Dempsey and had dinner at Connie's house on Saturday then spent Sunday at Steve and Terri's house watching the 49ers beat Atlanta to make it into the Super Bowl. Go niners!

Mon. - Tues. Jan 21-29. Busy season work time. Mike has been working on his client's audit and I have been working on year end closing for a couple clients. Intense!

We did take a break to see academy award nominee movies Les Miserables and Silver Lining Playbook.

We parked at Gold Country RV where there was hot tub relaxation.

The park is very near our storage unit, so I got some good organization time in as well.