Ups & Downs Of Camphosting - (Moab, UT)

We worked for our $10 stipend today.  :)

We did our early morning round - no problem.  Got a call from Arches entrance at 7:35 am that they had given out the five sites Danielle told them would be available.

So those folks would get their sites for sure.  But we had held back a few sites because people in the reserved section whose reservations were up decided they wanted to stay longer or because the late walk-ins we stuck in reserved wanted more nights.

Then the shuffling began.  Of course the folks that wanted to move had to wait for the folks leaving - checkout is 10:00 am.  And of course, all the folks leaving from the sites we needed stayed until 10:00 am or a little later.  :)

But okay, we got everyone moved and situated, the five new folks came in, and all was well.

Then we had to deal with making sure a big tanker truck with water had enough room to maneuver.  The pump that pumps water into the campground water tank stopped working.  So the park brought in two huge loads of water to fill the tank.  Gravity would take care of getting the water from the tank to the bathrooms and to our cabin.

No problem.  It was the middle of the day and there was no one around to get in the truck's way.  In fact, I had plenty of time to sit and watch the first round of the NCAA tournament.

One issue during the day was that we moved a group from a group site into a campsite that we understood would be vacant.  They had four vehicles and I asked them to park at least one or two in overflow.

They didn't.  They went four-wheeling and left two vehicles behind ... blocking their neighbors drive.  Sheesh.  Dudes I asked nicely, and you said you would move.  Fortunately, their neighbor was gone longer than they were and we got it worked out.

At that same site, there was a tent and firewood left from the night before.  So that was our mystery for the day.  Who left the tent?  What should we do with it?

We weren't sure if something got confused in the shift change.  Our paperwork showed they were supposed to be gone, but the ticket we pulled said they paid for two nights.  Unfortunately, on the ticket, in the place the campers were supposed to indicate the dates of the nights they paid for, they just put "2".  So we didn't know which two nights they paid for.

The tent was out of the way of the other tents that were just set up, so we left it hoping we could figure it all out later.  So the only things that nagged at me during the day were the mystery tent and the inconsiderate parking of one group of young folks.

Then a group of three travel trailers came in.  Turned out that was a problem.  Two of their sites were back-ins, and the third was a pull off.

Well the folks with the pull off didn't like their site because they would be limited on their use of their slideout.  And they had the lady in the group that made all the reservations all upset.

Note:  I can't stand ReserveAmerica, ReserveUSA, and Recreation.gov - they're all the same company - for exactly that reason.  The information they have on campsites on the web is often wrong or misleading.  You can't tell that eight of our reservable sites are pull-off sites rather than back-ins or pull-throughs (they call them pull-throughs on the website).  And if you call in, they can't tell you squat about the sites.

Fortunately, three reservable sites had been canceled yesterday.  And one of them was a back-in.  And the sites had all been reserved for the same length of time as the group with the issue.  Lucky there.

So we moved the one disgruntled camper to a very tight back-in.  Whew.  Okay.  We can relax again.

Linda made an afternoon round.  She was curious about our mystery tent, so she checked inside.  There was a sleeping bag and it looked to her like there might be a person in it.

She made a racket.  Nothing.  Now she thought that maybe they didn't move because the person in the tent was, uh, ... deceased.  With a little more investigation, she determined that there were no sleepers - neither temporary nor permanent.  We were going to move the tent to a spot by our cabin, but then it got really windy, so we bagged that idea. 

Then about 5:00 I made another round.  I wanted to confirm that the people leaving in the morning didn't want to extend.  Also, I had a large rig in the reserved section that wanted to move and add two more sites.  So to make that happen and let Linda know how many sites to call in, I had to know for sure everyone scheduled to leave was actually leaving.

Whew!  It's all gonna work out.  Linda made her call to Arches entrance and told them we would have five sites available.

It was calm again until around 7:00 pm.  Then we had a knock at the door.  It was a nice couple that I had helped guide into their site last night.  They were part of a huge group.  I think they have five or six RVs and they seem to have their full allotment of 10 people per site.

They wanted to know if they could show their whole group a movie tonight.  But that would require running a generator after generator hours.  I had to tell them "no".

Then they asked if they could show it at the ampitheater since they had their own projector and a portable generator.  I didn't know how to answer that.

So, I used my judgment and told them they could do that, but I would have to check to see how loud they were.  If it was too loud, they would have to abandon that idea as well.  Never expected questions like these.  :)

Then a family shows up at the cabin.  "We thought the campground was full", so we left our trailer at another place.  Can we get a site?"  Well, because of the cancellations, we could give them a site and we did.  Now, it was almost dark and it was going to take them at least two hours to get their rig and get back here - hardly seemed worth the expense or trouble since they were only going to stay .... one night.  Whatever.

Next problem.  Two young ladies came by to see if they could borrow jumper cables.  During a cooler spell and those gusty winds earlier, they decided to hang out in their van and watch a movie on the van's DVD.  Yep.  Dead battery.

So I got my jumper cables and drove the Jeep to their site where their husbands sheepishly got the van started.  Nice folks and we chatted a bit.

Now it's dark.  I make my 8:00 round to check generators.  Sure enough, one of the rental RVs in the big group had their generator running.  Had to be campground police, track them down, and request they shut it off.

On my way back, Linda tells me she just filled the last non-reservable site.  It's a guy with his young, autistic son.  I meet him at his site and show him where to park.  He is so grateful.  Linda got a hug and a kiss from his little boy and I got a hug of my own.  We needed that!  :)

Back at the cabin, another long travel trailer pulls in.  I check them in, but I know the site they have reserved probably isn't going to work.  They head off.

A few minutes later, two different young ladies show up at the door.  "Um.  We locked our keys in our car."  I knew they were leaving in the morning, and I also knew it was going to be tough to get a locksmith to come up to the campground.

While I'm talking to them, my recently checked in travel trailer comes back.  I know what's coming, so I make a pre-emptive strike.  "Okay, I've got a canceled pull-off site that might work better.  No, the other sites that look good are reserved, so you can't go there.  You'll take a look at the other site?  Okay."

I send him on his way, and I tell the girls I'll see what I can do (maybe Jack knows how to pop a lock).  As they are leaving, another vehicle comes in looking for a site.

"Well, I've got a site, but I'm not sure which one until that travel trailer heading up the road decides where he is going.  Wait here and I'll follow him and find out."

I hop in the golf cart and go after the travel trailer.  As expected, he takes the site I recommended.  Now his previously reserved site is open.

After I make sure they are satisfied, I casually say, "Now I have to go help two young ladies that locked their keys in their car."

The guy says to me "I have a kit".  What?  "Yeah, I have a pop-a-lock kit.  It was the last thing I threw in the trailer and thought it could come in handy sometime."

So I put him and his kit in the golf cart and we went to see if we could get the girls' door unlocked.    Voila!  Those were two lucky young ladies.  And I didn't have to bother Jack.  :)

I dropped this nice guy back at his trailer and went back to the cabin to fetch the couple I left waiting there.  Oops.  I had forgotten to turn my walkie-talkie on, so Linda was not happy that I left those poor folks and she had no idea what was taking so long.

"Well, I had to find out where that trailer was going.  Then, you're not gonna believe this, the guy had a kit to open the car door for those girls.  I wanted to get that out of the way, so he could get back and set up.  Then the guy with the autistic son stopped me for a minute.  Then I had to chase down a vehicle that was randomly searching the campground for a couple they met in Moab that told them to come up here to sit around the campfire and talk."

But now I'm back.  Linda did the paperwork for the waiting family.  "Come on folks, follow me."

So I take them to absolutely our last available site.  They are pretty excited.  While they were getting settled, I took their little girl for a walk to show her Skyline Arch in the bright moonlight.  Another really nice moment for the day.  :)

More good news.  The people that wanted to do the movie decided against it.  Good.  Don't have to deal with that.  Okay, that should be it for tonight.

But noooooo.  At 11:00, we get another knock on our door.  Guess who?  That's right, it's the mystery tent owner.

"We went out hiking all day and it was crowded in town for dinner and we just got back to find a group of people on our site.  And they burned all our wood."  Great.

But she was very nice, and everyone was fine with sharing the site.  She was just upset about her wood being gone because she had some friends up and they were going to have a campfire.

Remember the folks I chased earlier that were looking for someone they recently met in Moab?  Bingo.  This is who they were looking for.  Figures.

I had spent some time earlier in the day with a young man traveling on his own from Florida.  He had been hiking and happened upon the campground.  I talked to him for awhile, and he ended driving his car back to the campground and gave us three bundles of firewood he wouldn't be able to use.

So, thinking quickly, I went around to the back of our cabin and grabbed two of the bundles.  I put them in this lady's car and sent her on her way - she was happy.  Whew!  Now we can get some sleep.

Not so fast.  At 1:45 am, we get a knock on the door.  "Yeah, we just came in.  We have reservations in Site 46 and there is a Dodge Durango parked there.  Your sign said "On Duty" so I hope it's okay that I knocked."

The following runs through my head, not out loud.  "You've got to be kidding me!  You come in at 2:00 in the morning and expect me to .... do what?!!  And don't you have any consideration for the other people in the campground?"  Then he tells me, "Our friends will be arriving soon as well."  But I keep all my thoughts to myself and change gears to possible solutions.

Of course, I'm thinking it's the vehicle of another camper.  I know if I saw a vacant campsite next door at midnight, I might think it would be okay to park a vehicle there.  But I'm not going down there to knock on doors in the middle of the night.  I gave the guy some options and told him we'd figure it out in the morning.

As I'm getting ready to hop back in bed, Linda says "Was there anyone in the truck?"  Oh yeah, there probably is.  So I threw on some clothes and walked all the way to the other end of the campground.  I didn't want to take our gas golf cart and wake everyone else up.

Sure enough.  Our late arrivals apparently had awakened the people in the Durango, and it had moved out of their site.  So they were getting backed in, and I asked where the Durango went.

They showed me.  It was in the site where the guy who went back to get his trailer to stay one night was supposed to be.  Guess he didn't make it.  :)

I went over to talk to my "illegals".  It was a young family.  "Yeah, we just paid our entrance fee and didn't know what to do about camping, so we just drove up and picked an empty site."

"Didn't you see the "campground full" sign at the entrance to the park and the one at the entrance to the campground?  Didn't you see the "reserved" sign on the post?"  "Yeah, but ...."

I'm not sure where I mustered the patience to stay polite to all these people.  I sent these guys to one of the group parking areas, but I wanted them to pay for tonight first.

"Got change for a $50?"  "No.  I'll take the $50 and you can get your change in the morning.  Otherwise, I'll be waking you up promptly at 6:30 am."  The female voice in the truck says "Just give him the $50".

So after my middle of the night, full moon, slightly chilly walk, I'm wide awake.  Nothing to do, but write this Journal entry.  :)

This camphosting thing would be a piece of cake except for that hosting part where you have to deal with the small percentage of people that can make things miserable.  But making people happy by getting them better spots, or getting them a spot at all makes up for it.  And showing a little girl a moonlit arch or getting a hug from a little boy, certainly tilts the scale in the positive direction.  :)

Comments

[Gene S.]

You are an exceptional host Howard,worth far more than you are paid for. The idea that you are solution focused, and customer driven speaks to your values, organizational skills, knowledge and kindness. I hope to meet you someday.

[Martin Hill]

Howard, Soloman, in all his wisdom, has nothing on you when it comes to solving a crisis. Sort of gives one a nice warm feeling deep down inside knowing they give "an honest days work for an honest days pay." $10.00.

[Katie Marler]

Wow, this made me exhausted to read it. I'm going back to bed. Good Morning!

[Cindy T]

Yikes - What a day! You really did an exceptional job and my hat is off to you!! I don't think I would have handled all that with as much aplomb as you did!

[Robbie Simons]

Howard and Linda, you are qualified for sainthood for putting up with the exceptions to the reservation system.

I've been in Arches NP almost every year since 1968. Arches used to have a first-come-first-served policy for camping that worked well for many years. Not once did I ever get turned away because there was not a camp site, until in later years when the reservation system was setup. Now, the problem seems that once you get your 'permission' at the entrance gate, it is a sprint to see how quickly you can get there to take one of the vacant sites....is this newer system really better?

I would be one to vote for an internet reservation system similar to what they use for airline reservations…just a thought.

[Lee Solomon]

See, this is what you get for posting that picture of you in your lounger doing your hosting duties. :)

[Ken and Fran]

Hi you two,

Welcome to the world of campground hosting!!!

Wow, you have become totally "trained" hosts... It seems as if you two have encountered every excuse/situation possible to experience in hosting.

Ain't life fun?

And we agree, the hugs and grateful campers make up for those inconsiderate @#$%!#& (uh, persons) who like to think they own the world. :)

We sure enjoyed our visit with all six of you...at the change-over campfire. Life is certainly good when you can enjoy a campfire with great people...

Yesterday we enjoyed visiting with our daughter and grandson. Today we are off with friends to visit the small hamlet of Gateway. It appears that the owner of the Discovery Channel has purchased land there and built a supermarket, restaurtant, motel and museum for his antique cars...so today we are off on a field trip to see the sights!

You all keep your chins up and just know you are doing a GREAT job hosting...

Fran (and Ken)

[Judy]

Whew!! What a nite, hope you get caught up on your sleep.
southwestjudy

[Racerguy]

Howard, Your post today convinced me I could never be a camp host. Your patience is admirable. I have zero patience with inconciderate people.You and Linda are why America is a great place to live.

[Ray Scrafield]

Ditto to what Racerguy said.
Ray

[foxriverguy]

I think I would have been tempted to tell the 1:45a.m. guy that a pack of skunks has been seen in the campground and you didn't want a run in with them. Or, maybe some Pumas? Mountain lions?

[CowgirlCreations]

In my dreams of one day going full-time...I long for the play by play your site offers! You both truly are special to receive a hug from an autistic child :-)

[Stew/Janice/and William]

It's the full moon Howard. It gets you every time. Please don't take me the wrong way because I have tears in my eyes from rolling on the floor. I just love reading your journal it's become part of my every day "I've got to see what Howard and Linda are into today" hats off to you guys for the excellent info you folks share about RVing

[Randy & Pam Warner]

Wow,
I agree with the other posts. You guys do an invaluable service to the rest of us who are thinking, "One day maybe I'd like to be a camphost".

Plus I look forward to reading the events of the next day so when our time comes it won't be a shock. Great word pictures to complement the digital shots of other days.

[Amelia Sahentara]

What a day! You're a wonderful writer and thank you for sharing so much.

[Diane N]

Can you clarify what you mean a $10 stipend..you dont mean you worked all day for $10..do you?

[Howard]

Hi Diane!

Yes, that's the deal. :)

Many volunteer jobs like this one only pay a stipend to reimburse you for expenses. In this case, we are 20 miles from groceries, services, etc.

So, here, we get a stipend of $10 per day per couple. A whopping $70 every two weeks. :)

But we get to live and explore this beautiful area 7 days out of every 14 and we save about $1,000 per month in normal full-timing living expenses. :)

[N. R. Glenn]

And all of this for $10 a day stipend? When do they get to actually spend the stipend?