Interesting clouds in the sky west of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Cancun, Mexico on November 1st.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

"I'd like to make a campsite reservation please..."

Yeah, you, and everyone else!

Yesterday was the day we began taking reservations. We figured it would be busy, and we were right. The phone started ringing at 7:45am, and there was even one guy who arrived here at that time to make his booking in person!

There's only one phone line and only one computer, so it was really only a one person job. I was already more familiar with the software, so Ruth went off and did some leaf work while I sat in the office for five hours straight.

Between 8:00am and 1:00pm I booked 39 reservations. The phone calls never stopped. As soon as I hung up with one person, it rang again within 10 seconds.

After 1:00pm, it slowed down a bit. Then, I had time to check the voice mail for messages! There were 35 messages, and as I sorted through them, it turned out that the majority were from people I had already booked at some point in the morning. Ended up with 47 reservations for the day.

Meanwhile, Ruth was on leaf detail!

Yep, this could take a while.

Making progress.

If she goes slow enough, the leaves will stay where they are!

By 4:30pm, we decided that was enough and took advantage of the nice afternoon to go for a walk in the hills behind the park. Before we even got out of the park, Ruth spotted an owl!

A great horned owl. Second largest owl in North America.

Then, I spotted this beaver by the shore.

It's going to be a pretty spot when the leaves come out and everything is green!

Looking down at the entrance gate.

The hills behind the park.

Someone made a wrong turn at Albuquerque!

Ruth, walking on the hills behind the park.

Our entrance way.

Pretty lichen design on this rock.

Looks like a chipmunk, but it's actually a thirteen stripe ground squirrel.


20 comments:

  1. Wow, lots and lots of leaves - ya'll need a dump truck! Love all the photos - that owl is just too cute!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, there are quite a few leaves but Kevin, our student worker mulches most of them with the mower and then afterward we go around to rake and gather them which makes it easier than last year. The section I am working on though is to steep for the mower so these have to be done by hand.

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  2. Hopefully the reservation frenzy will slow down once everyone gets their favorites dates and favorites sites booked. It does look like a lovely place to spend the summer. I can see why you mentioned a while back about this becoming an annual summer job.

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    Replies
    1. The phone has already slowed down, Kevin didn't even have to sit in the office much yesterday. Most of our July is booked up. We think this will be a lovely place to spend the summer working.

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  3. Looks tranquil. Except for that phone situation. I think I'd sooner do the leaf detail.

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    Replies
    1. It is quite lovely here but come July it won't be so tranquil! I spent many of my former years working in an office, and that's why I am quite happy doing leaf detail.

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  4. The reservations will keep you busy, but at least you got out for a hike!

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    Replies
    1. The reservations only kept Kevin busy that first day up until about 1pm since then the phones have been pretty quiet. I can see us doing quite a bit of hiking around here in the months to come.

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  5. And boy are those squirrels beggars. Watch out! Great wildlife shots and what a gorgeous place. Can't wait to see it green it looks fabulous now. I think you are going to have a wonderful summer.

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    Replies
    1. I think we will see a fair bit of wildlife in the area around here maybe not so much once the campers are here. So far we have seen the owl, the squirrel, beaver, deer, pronghorn, porcupine and apparently there are bull snakes here but no bears. It's going to be a wonderful summer.

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  6. Have never seen squirrels like that!

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    Replies
    1. Never have we. They live in the grasslands and prairies of North America, guess that is why we haven't seen them before.

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  7. Cool squirrels! When I was gathering leaves I used a blower, blew them on a tarp, gathered the corners and loaded in wagon. Much easier than raking....................if ............... IF you have access to a leaf blower.

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    Replies
    1. Believe it or not, they don't have a leaf blower here but it is on the list of equipment to get. I did try raking the leaves on to a tarp and then lifting in into the back of the gator but it is a big tarp and very awkward for just one person. Once our student, Kevin is finished with mulching then we can do it that way.

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  8. Well with Ruth doing all the hard work, I hope you spent some creative time in the kitchen...

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    Replies
    1. Well not quite, I got the food ready and he BBQ'd it, so it was a joint effort.

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  9. Wow. These photos make me want to jump in the van and head west...NOW. Absolutely stunning countryside!

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    Replies
    1. So jump in the van then and come and visit us, we have two extra rooms and we would love to have you. :-)

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  10. Looks like you guys are going to have a wonderful summer!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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