COLORADO RIVER AT NORMAL

Since arriving to Island Acres, we watch as the Colorado river rise, putting everyone on alert to flooding.  They feared that the Day-Use area would be the first to go under and then maybe a couple of our campsites.



Then at one of our sister park, the berm broke away while a park ranger was checking for stability, causing for an emergency shut down to any trails along the river banks.  The park ranger was safe and was able to pull himself back up.

Now that the snow run off has stopped and the rain being sporadic, we finally are seeing the Colorado River for what it is, with a constant motion and ripples.  Rocks and boulders are starting to appear once again.  Rafters are back out having a good time. 

water rushing over the rocks as they show their appearance

Great Blue Heron perched on a rock in the Colorado River

The Island where bears have been known to cross over and come over towards us.

Unfortunately the River still continues to claim a lives.  In one incident a down tree was across a big portion of the river, causing many to divert.  Not knowing if the tree was the actual cause of the drowning or not, authorities decided not to take any more chances.  So calling in the bomb squad, clearing the area, the tree became an instant debris field, which has now been cleaned up.

With the river going back down to normal, we have been told that bears will cross over in a couple of sections, so I wonder if I will finally get to see one?

CARVING ON ROCKS

As we travel across the great American land of ours, we meet so many interesting and talented people along 0ur route.
There is one in particular that really has caught our interest.  He works seasonally here at the Colorado River State Park/Island Acres and is in maintenance.  His name is Tim and several years back he had broken his esophagus-laying him up for months on end with nothing to do but sit, sit and sit.  After several days of twiddling his fingers, he decided he needed something to do.
We have seen many folks that paint on rocks as a hobby, but never have we come across where someone has carved into a rock like he does.  Not sure what had inspired him to try carving on rocks,  but he gave it a whirl and has come up wit some magnificent carvings!  He uses a Drummel wheel to do the carving.   Now, not just any particular rock will do, it has to be one in particular and only can be found between here and just inside the Utah line.  The rock is called oil shale or Green River Formation Rock.  It’s basically flat with layers after layers of sediment and is fragile.

Tim does this strictly as a hobby and nothing more.  He sits in the evening or on weekends, whenever he has a spared moment along with his loyal corgi at his feet and carves on the rocks.  Here are some of his work that he has shared with us.

CAMP HOSTING

So many State and Federal Parks are always looking for good camp host.  But the question is: What makes a good Camp Host? 
Brian and I have done camp hosting at several state parks in Texas, Arkansas and now Colorado.  We have seen good host and some bad host.  We also seen camp host that have been in that position for so long in just one park that they start to become obsessive with their position and start thinking the park belongs to them.  We have this case going on right now in the park that we are in. The folks have been here for so long that they think they set the standard on how this park is run.
I remember one park host in particular in Texas.  He was a single gentleman and when we introduce ourselves to him, he greeted us in his underwear!  Then the park was getting ready for spring break and we started to get busy, we had trouble with the septic tank over running into one of the sites.  When the folks went to let this host know what was going on-they were greeted with the man wearing nothing but a Tutu! (no joke).  He had to be carried back to his camper, because he kept falling down-stone cold drunk!  Needless to say the manager gave him only 24 hours to pack up and get out of the park.  Leaving us to camp host a huge park by ourselves over spring break.
Being a camp host varies from park to park and state to state.  Most require at least 20 hours per week, per person for a campsite-most having full hook-ups.  Duties will varies as well.  But all requires good PR for the park.
Our very first camp host position was in Arkansas basically being a campground babysitter.  All we had to do was go through the park at least twice a day to make sure there was no vandalism.  But in other parks we have done trail maintenance, rake sites of leaves & debris, clean fire rings and help relocate bird houses.  We have also helped in the office/gate house; which is what we are doing right now.
To become a good camp host,

• you must first like to camp-of course, being outdoors and around other campers of ALL ages.
  
• You shouldn’t be afraid of  getting a little dirty or grimy.   Labor work might come into play, but they never require you to do more than you are able.
  
• Always remember when doing PR for the park, talk to the ones visiting the park, the way you would want to be treated as a guest.  Even if the camper/guest maybe breaking a rule or doing something wrong, coming across aggressively won’t get you cooperation from that party, but doing it in a friendly manner will get you a long ways- even with a difficult person.
  
• Remember-you set the example.  A clean campsite, dog on leash and following all park rules yourself, helps make it easy for others to follow.
  
• another camp host is NOT your boss, and only the ranger in charge should be telling you your does and don’t.  If you have questions about how another host is dealing with certain duties, let the rangers know-but make sure you have your facts in order.
  
• Remember, you as a host will see more, hear more and probably know more of what’s going on inside the park, than even the rangers, but communication is a key factor between host(s), visitors and rangers.  You are the ears and eyes and represent the park you are working in and only you can make it either enjoyable or miserable. 

That’s not going without saying that maybe there is a park where no one gets along and as much as you try to make it enjoyable it can’t be.  Then my advise to you is try to communicate with the ranger in charge of camp hosting, and then trying going up the chain of command if you don’t feel you are getting anywhere.  State Parks are becoming more and more self sufficient as state funding are getting cut.  Therefore they have to depend on visitors coming into the park.  If a park isn’t up to standard-folks won’t come to visit and then all goes down hill from there.  So it’s very important for all parties involve to work together to make happy campers keep on returning.
How long is too long in hosting in just one park?  In my personal humble opinion anything over 3-5 years is long enough. I personally feel it makes you become obsessive in that park and then you tend to want to “boss” the new host when they come in-making them feel uncomfortable.  That’s not saying you need to stop camp hosting, but maybe check out other parks to host in.  I look at it this way: when camp hosting, after a couple of years, a new scenery gives you a new outlook and allows you to explore new areas.
Camp hosting can be lots of fun with perks to it.  It gives you new areas to explore, and you only have to work just a few hours a day with 3+ more days off to do other things.  It allows you to meet new people as they travel through.  You can spend hours outdoors enjoying natures wonder.  Parks are looking more and more for new camp host as budget cuts affects them, so they rely on us to help them out.
If interested in camp hosting in a state park or federal park, simply Google the state you are interested in and then check out their web page.  A phone call to a particular park wouldn’t hurt either.  maybe if in the area, go visit the state park.  ask for either the Manager or for the ranger in charge of camp hosting. 
State parks are not the only ones looking for volunteers, there is also Corps of Engineer, National Forest, National Parks as well as State Forest & Parks.
Hope to see you down the road as a camp host-It can be fun and very enjoyable.

COLORADO RIVER A RISIN’

The spot that we have chosen to park in for the season here at Island Acres, normally does not allow us any view of  the Colorado River because of the Burm that was built.  But because of it’s rapid rising-we actually can see  the river  from where we sit.

Since the burm has been built a few years back, they have not had a flooding issue here at the park, but then the river hasn’t reached flood stage in a very long time.  They are looking for us to crest at 15 feet above normal.  With this burm-the river shouldn’t flood the campground-but the park rangers are a little nervous-not knowing how much this burm can actually up hold with the river rapidly rising and the rushing flow.  I guess by now, the park would have been flooded at various areas like the day-use,  the B-loop which is the tent area and a portion of A-loop.  So we all are sitting on the edge waiting to see what will or will not happen.
 You can see how close it’s getting to the Burm-this is in the Day-Use area
 This is just before the B-Loop and it’s start cut inwards.
This past Sunday Brian had to go for a special meeting.  I guess with the rising of the Colorado River, very few folks like to come out just up river from us and ride the roller dam down; which causes what they call a Big Surf-like a big wave in California.  If they are crazy enough to try it, then they may have to be rescued.  We as volunteer/worker, may need to assist park rangers where ever we will be needed.   They also briefed Brian on evacuation procedure-only if that should arise….
This is not a person, but a part of a tree that is floating downriver…
Also with the rising of the Colorado River, means road closures.  Yesterday they had to start diverting traffic on I-70, to lighten the traffic load over the bridge just past the town of Fruita & Loma and into Utah.  Now this morning they will completely shut down east bound traffic of  I-70.  That part of the Interstate rides low and when the river rises to the flood stage, debris tends to get trap under the bridge, making water to come over onto the interstate and creating a very unsafe driving conditions.  I feel for the truckers, for I-70 is the only Interstate east to west across CO & UT, now making the drive unto very dangerous roadways, creating truckers to get behind on their loads. 
They also may need to close down the Cameo exit, which is the next exit just past us, again, because once exiting off, it drops downward.  There really isn’t much off that exit other than a power plant, which isn’t in use right now, and a single ranch just down the road a ways.  many folks will take that exit to get back into the canyon where the wild horses are known to hang out.
All of this is caused by 200% snow coverage in the Rockies and high elevation this past winter, and warmer temps right now,causing a fast meltdown, creating flooding  not only in the Colorado River, but other small rivers and streams to go over their banks.
The good news to all of this, is that it eventually lands in Lake Mead; which may finally bring that lake back up to normal pool  level for the first time in years.
This year has been a crazy year not just for us in Colorado, but for others that have had to deal with other flooding in the Midwest,  deadly tornadoes, and raging out of control fires in Arizona.  Let’s just hope that the rest of this summer season gets better and not worse.

RAIN vs. WIND

Coming from and spending the majority of our lives in the Midwest area, it  is almost a given that rain is part of a holiday weekend.
As we worked the federal parks, when campers checked in with us, the first thing they would ask is it going to rain?  We would always put a smile on our face as we respond to them with this answer “of course-it’s a holiday weekend!” 
Sure enough sometime during the course of the weekend, a thunderstorm or just rain would pelt them and get everything all wet.  The worse would be on the Monday they would have  to leave and the rain would come-soaking everything as they try to pack up.  To a camper it would be frustrating, but to us gate attendants and cleaners, it would be glorious-for we could get the park back to shape early.
When we worked one of our parks where we had to clean as well as run the booth, we would almost pray for rain on holiday weekends or Sundays.  When rain was a threat on Sundays or holiday weekends, campers would pack up early and head out, instead of hanging out for the rest of the day, playing on the water or doing whatever.
As we are finishing up the first holiday to kick off the summer here in Grand Junction, we did have a slight chance of rain.  But rain wasn’t the thing that had campers scampering in the middle of the night for safety, it was winds.  We had  several campers in tent that ended up either sleeping in their vehicles or finding elsewhere to finish the remaining of the night out on Saturday Night.  Come Sunday morning as we walked around, fighting the high gust of winds, we found several tents completely destroyed.  We even found one tent that appeared to have flying lessons and ended up in the brush near the river.
We had sustain winds between 25 to 30mph with gust exceeding 55+.  Let me tell you, we felt those gust as they literally about blew you off the road!  Island Acres State Park is situated between canyon walls, so it creates more of a wind tunnel.  The winds started to kick up late on Saturday night and got worse throughout the night and all day on Sunday, letting up just a bit through Sunday night into Monday morning.  Yet the winds still can be felt as I’m still typing this.
By Sunday morning, even our own camper was rocking sideways.  As I said earlier, many tenters tents were either flatten or poles had snapped and broke.  As the day went on, the winds seem to get worse and now the pop-up campers were starting to feel the effect of the wind.  One of them received damage and had to move sites for more protection from the high wind gust.
As one of our rangers went out to due park check, she looked over the Colorado River and saw where the wind had created what one would think as a water spout.  She told us about it and she was amazed by it.
As the afternoon went on, we started to get some very frazzle campers coming off the interstate that just couldn’t handle the winds traveling anymore.  I was glad that the State Park here was able to accommodate these folks.  By late afternoon, the sun was under a cloud of dust, and as you look out, all you could really see what a thick cloud-all dust….
So if asking me whether I would prefer rain or wind, I would actually have to say if the winds are like what we saw the last 24+ hours, I will take the rain.

THE FIRST WEEK

The park was getting ready to start off the holiday weekend, and already was short handed at the gate house.  Although I have been hired on as the new Gate Attendant, paper work still has to be done so that I can get paid.  So until it’s all said and done, I’m still considered a volunteer.  The rangers thought it would be a good time to start training me for the position.
So on Friday Brian and I started working the gate house in the evenings.  Our first night was very busy and hectic-being it was the kick-off for the holiday weekend and to the summer.
I was assigned what is called a shift box which has my starting money and all the passes that they sell for the Colorado State Parks.
Talk about being thrown into the mix of it all during one of their most busiest time!  It was just a bit over whelming at first.  They have different passes that they sell that you have to learn what is for what.  You have your regular day-pass, then the Annual Pass, then Colorado residents that are 64 and over have a choice of the Aspen Leaf Pass; which gives them a discount.  And if that’s not enough then have a Lifetime Aspen Leaf Pass that can be purchase.  AND they have different types of Multiple Passes for customers with other vehicles.  If a customer comes in towing a vehicle, they have a pass for that as well.  Wow!  I think there is about 10 or more different passes to learn and not to get them mixed up or confused can be challenging to a newcomer-like me.
Besides all the  types of passes that we sell, we also do fishing and hunting licenses.  We also can register OHV, snowmobiles & boats!  I haven’t had to those yet, but have learned how to do fishing license.  Then there is  firewood to sell-which has to be kept separate from the rest of the money-and that can be a challenge!
We don’t do reservations here at the park, that has to be done either Toll Free or Internet=thank goodness!!
by the end of the night we both were exhausted.  Once we close the window, we still were not done.  Now it’s time to account for all the passes that were sold, fishing license sold, and campsites sold.  All came up as it should-except for some unknown reason I came up with an extra $25.00 ahead.  Not sure what happen.  It’s hard to say when there was several people with their hands in the till.
My second night, was requested by the ranger training me that Brian didn’t come in-she said it was too hard on her to train the both of us and since I’m the one actually going to be hired, it was decided that he should not help out.  We did feel for her, for the both of us bombarded her with lots of questions.  Oh and the ranger that was training me, has been in the maintenance field for 3 years, and this is actually her first year, first month as a ranger.  So we totally understand that she to was overwhelmed.
The second and third night went smoothly with everything check and balancing the way it should at the end of the night.  Brian did work in the office-cleaning on the third night.  I even have learned most of the passes and what they are for.  The downfall is some of the passes will be changing out the 1st of July as prices are being change.
The park rangers have been really great and very helpful.  They are not afraid to chip in when it gets busy.  They are there if there is any kind of problems.  It is mandatory here that whenever there is a Gate Attendant on duty, at least one ranger also has to be present within the park.
With my upcoming foot surgery, they are so willing to work with me so that I do what the doctor orders.  You don’t find that kind of support in any work place.  I think Brian and I are going to enjoy working the summer here at the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park-Island Acres.