Dave staining the rails on yurt 4's deck Fall arrived along with us as we pulled into Pocahontas State Park for our second stint as Park Hosts. We quickly found ourselves immersed in a new set of projects to help out at the park.
Project List
The biggest task we took on for our month’s duties was to stain the deck and rails for two of the four yurts in the park. The yurts were new last year and the decks had not been treated yet. We naively thought that this would be done well before month-end. After all, we were just painting right? We quickly became educated.
Project List
The biggest task we took on for our month’s duties was to stain the deck and rails for two of the four yurts in the park. The yurts were new last year and the decks had not been treated yet. We naively thought that this would be done well before month-end. After all, we were just painting right? We quickly became educated.
Cathy shows off her painting tools After power washing one of the decks on day 1, we dove into the staining of yurt 4 with enthusiasm on day 2. The instructions required us to apply 2 coats and to ensure the 2nd coat was applied before the 1st dried. Five hours later, we had only completed 7 sections of about 25 total. And that didn’t include the outside of the sections. This was going to be a long process. Rain delayed our progress the 2nd week, but we were determined to finish this deck early in week 3 so we could move onto the next yurt.
Little did Fred know he'd be put to work - we couldn't have finished when we did without him We were saved by a combination of good weather and a visit from Fred on his way south to Florida. We suckered him into helping us. By the end of a long day (which happened to be Cathy’s birthday), we celebrated finally completing our first project. And now we were onto the next one . . .
Some completed signposts Our rainy day project was to construct new signposts for the campground. As half the sites are converted to site-specific reservations, these sites will be identified by unique signposts. To make them, we needed to cut 6x6 beams to size, cut some plywood squares to top the posts and then attach them. We managed to construct 22 of them by the time the painting weather returned.
Park staff and volunteers at the Pocaventure triathlon When not sawing or painting, we helped deliver several thousand Park After Dark flyers, promoting the Halloween festival and worked the “Pocaventure” triathlon race. We also assisted with a hayride and campfire, in preparation for begin trained to drive the haywagon. And the month’s only half over!
New deck hinge installed RV Stuff
We keep our work clothes under the bed in the RV. One morning, as Dave lifted up the bed to retrieve his clothes, the bed not only didn’t go down, but skewed to one side. Apparently the hinge had snapped. Since the compression arm that lifted the bed up had so much power, we had to screw the bed board on the broken side down to the support frame while Dave went to the local hardware store in search of a new hinge. Once installed, the new hinges allowed the bed to operate as normal. Since the old hinges were pretty poorly made, we are optimistic that the replacements will last for much longer.
In mid-October, our original Forest River warranty expired and we decided to look for a service contract to pick up where the warranty left off. After some research, we opted to go for Good Sam’s product. It offered the most flexibility to cancel if we weren’t satisfied and the cost was reasonable. Any service performed at a Camping World reduces the deductible by $50, as well
We keep our work clothes under the bed in the RV. One morning, as Dave lifted up the bed to retrieve his clothes, the bed not only didn’t go down, but skewed to one side. Apparently the hinge had snapped. Since the compression arm that lifted the bed up had so much power, we had to screw the bed board on the broken side down to the support frame while Dave went to the local hardware store in search of a new hinge. Once installed, the new hinges allowed the bed to operate as normal. Since the old hinges were pretty poorly made, we are optimistic that the replacements will last for much longer.
In mid-October, our original Forest River warranty expired and we decided to look for a service contract to pick up where the warranty left off. After some research, we opted to go for Good Sam’s product. It offered the most flexibility to cancel if we weren’t satisfied and the cost was reasonable. Any service performed at a Camping World reduces the deductible by $50, as well
Droz, Cathy, and Adam celebrated Cathy's 60th. Milestone Birthday
Cathy’s 60th birthday was celebrated with all the trimmings, starting on the Saturday before. We had a visit from Bonnie and Taylor, complete with balloon, cake, and a sweet-smelling gift. Since Cathy was walking around the triathlon with a Happy Birthday balloon tied to her waist, she received many birthday wishes from the park staff as well. A few days later on the big day, we were joined by Adam, Droz, and Fred for a dinner out, followed by more cake. It was a great celebration, even if it didn’t do much good for the waistline.
Cathy’s 60th birthday was celebrated with all the trimmings, starting on the Saturday before. We had a visit from Bonnie and Taylor, complete with balloon, cake, and a sweet-smelling gift. Since Cathy was walking around the triathlon with a Happy Birthday balloon tied to her waist, she received many birthday wishes from the park staff as well. A few days later on the big day, we were joined by Adam, Droz, and Fred for a dinner out, followed by more cake. It was a great celebration, even if it didn’t do much good for the waistline.
Dave oversees his new bike's tune-up Parting Shot
Dave decided to upgrade his bike, narrowing in on a “comfort” bike that he found at Dick’s. Now Cathy is going to have to work harder to keep up.
Dave decided to upgrade his bike, narrowing in on a “comfort” bike that he found at Dick’s. Now Cathy is going to have to work harder to keep up.
