Odds and Ends

Odds and Ends

I have taken a number of pictures, but the time constraints, and difficulty getting access to internet service, have prevented me from including them on my posts.  Take my word for it, for now, the scenery is breathtaking.

Monday had me digging out fire rings and raking up campsites, which is labor intensive and makes me ravenous at mealtimes.  Although my muscles are getting a daily workout, I’ve been lucky not to have experienced too much soreness, and my back muscles recuperate pretty quickly, once I let them rest.  I got nine sites all prettied up for this coming week, but have 4 more (with reservations) to take care of. Unfortunately (?) I have two days off in the meantime, which will translate to a very fast-paced Friday morning. 

Class B’s group left relatively early on Monday, but he wasn’t feeling up to the drive yet, and opted to stay a while and take a nap.  By the time I got off work, he was feeling a little better, so we hung out, had dinner, watched a couple movies (Chef and The Gambler), had some popcorn, then he went back to his RV, and I retired in mine.  I have to admit it was nice to have (well-behaved) company for an evening, and I look forward to his return in a couple of months.  I have been fortunate in my life to know a few good men who can just hang out and be friends, and Class B is a new member of that group.

Yesterday, D showed up to train me on “deep cleaning” the bathrooms.  This involves opening up the vault toilets, and pressure spraying all the dried on fecal matter inside the risers, much of which will not come off.  Then, you have to take a bucket and scrub brush, and reach down inside, and scrub until everything is finally gone.  It’s definitely the worst part of the job, but the longer you use the hose, the more water goes into the vault, covering more of the contents, and reducing the odor before you have to get up close and personal.  The window ledges are brushed off, the floors hosed down, scrubbed with a long-handled scrub brush, rinsed, then squeegeed dry(ish). 

The very worst part, was that my boots are not only old, but in disrepair (with the sole separated in places from the top), and definitely not water proof, so my boots and socks were completely soaked and squishy with disgusting, dirty water by the third bathroom.   When D returned in the evening, he had purchased for me, a pair of sturdy rubber boots to wear in the future!  Have I mentioned, “nicest guy ever!”?

I’ve been reading Thoreau’s “Walden” this week, and although I think him excessively verbose, I do find some value to it.  When he stops pontificating and tells the actual story, it is quite interesting.  In this modern day and age, I am far removed from the skill required to build my own dwelling from small trees and reused planks, but I can fully appreciate what he wrote about mankind sacrificing the actual living of their lives, in order to accumulate goods and wealth that they might enjoy their life at the end of it.  The same is true all these years later.

Next is “Mansfield Park,” by Jane Austen. 

Today, (Wednesday, May 13^th) I hope to get into Porterville, restock my larder, find some work boots, maybe find a laundromat and an internet signal, and upload these several posts.  When I read them back, they seem dry to me, but I hope you find some entertainment in them.

Friends and Family take care, and know that you are in my thoughts, even through the silence.