Assateague National Seashore - Another new - old experience. While I have come
down here many times in the past, this is a first time as a volunteer and also
the first time I have served as camp host thus will be the place that I will always
use as a reference base to compare other parks with. I have been impressed with
the professionalism so far, quite different from some other parks I have seen.
The trip down here was uneventful except fighting the rush hour traffic on I95
for a while. I cruised comfortably at 60 most of the way. It is 204 miles, doing
this in four hours with two gasoline stops, one supermarket and one bait shop
stop. US 50 is a good four-lane highway that gets snarled in very few towns along
the way. I can remember however when it took two ferry rides and all two lane
roads to get here.
The largest city, Salisbury, has been in the
process of building a bypass for several
years now. It crosses two major tributaries
to the Chesapeake Bay, the Choptank and
the Nanitoke rivers, that drain a good
portion of the Delmar Peninsula. Once one
crosses the Chesapeake Bay bridge, the
land is most agricultural but regrettably
showing signs of encroaching urbanization. Urban sprawl will eventually
reach all the way from the Bay Bridge to Salisbury
as the requirement for housing continues and to
support the light industry that is creeping into the Eastern Shore area.
All of the Eastern Shore as well as all the DELMAR Peninsula was some of the poorest land
in the state due to the inadequate distribution system taking goods and food toward the
metropolitan areas of Washington and Baltimore.
On arrival I was briefed, given all sorts of stuff such as written procedures, radio, cell
phone and gobs of numbers to memorize for
use with the radio and phone from the camp
sites as required. I went directly to the
camp site and set it up and spent some time
helping two families get their tents up and
ready to sleep in. It is so hot and humid
that I could ring out my T-shirt. I saw a
few horses but none really up close. By the
time I set up and had dinner prepared I was
bushed and turned in early. I guess the heat really gets
to me as I drank two liter bottles of water before going
to bed and still slept through the entire night.
There were
two sweet young things acting totally unfamiliar with
tents struggling across the way but there were three studs
from New York were more than willing to assist.
Who am I to interfere in such a situation? They might have fallen in love and
lived happily ever after or some other fairy tale.
Up early because I went to sleep so early and spent
a few hours working on the computer. Hopefully I will find time today to check
e-mail and get caught up with that as well. The park here is much more user-friendly
than some parks I have been at. It appears my first responsibility here is to
check whose was supposed to check out or people who checked out early and get
that information back to the ranger station to assist in registering new arrivals.
I may have to change the sequences in which some
of these actions are actually done as I think it is cumbersome. I sometimes wonder
if it is actually needed but since it gets me outside
to where I can talk with people I am happy with it. I guess in my advanced state of senility
I have become less of an introvert and enjoy gabbing more. I do not think Mimi would object
to that statement either.
The RV and drive in sites are normally not a
problem; the walk-in tent sites are more of a
problem as they are frequently hidden out of
direct observation from the paths. To see if
they are actually empty, one has to peek in
the bushes. Another problem is that the
numbering system is screwy and sometimes
confusing as sites were apparently
numbered when additional sites were added
I also get to write citations for violations of
parking and other similar regulations. While
I am only working four hours, it can be
hectic and a good portion of it is outside and
it is hot hot hot! I am dripping sweat by the
time I return to the ranger station. The other
camp host has been coming here for years
and is well acquainted with the system.
July 3, 2002
I was running late this morning, I didn't get the
information I needed for my patrol until 0930 as it seemed that half the fee collection
crew was behind the counter and I didn't want to interfere with their operations.
As a result I didn't return to the ranger station until after 1100. It seems
as if every other person I saw had questions and I of course had to attempt
to answer them. I had to back track in the walk in area as I missed a few sites.
It is a learning experience. I would think there is a better way to do this
whole operation but I certainly can't say anything at this point. I will play with until I find
something comfortable and still get the job done.
Today must have been horse day as they
were all over the place. People never cease
to amaze me with their stupidity, getting too
close to the horses is one of them. I will
admit that some of these ponies will beg or
even intimidate to get food and will steal
anything they think they can get away with.
I was sitting on the picnic table when I was
nudged from behind by a pony who was just
telling me that he was there and that he
would appreciate any attention given to him.
There is a local bird, the egret, that feeds off these
ticks on the ponies here but I did notice he had more than just a few ticks
on him that would be difficult for a bird to reach. I have also noticed that
there sometimes would be birds walking after the horses that would dash to pick
things up that perhaps ticks that were gorged on blood and had fallen off.
I strongly suspect the ticks are a major concern this
year here as well as it is other places I have visited the last two years here
in the Eastern United States. The lack of a cold winter has allowed the ticks
to grow viciously and it is becoming a major health problem. The dog tick, most
common in this area can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and the deer tick
is the carrier of Lymes Disease. I know people who have experienced Lymes and
it isn't a pleasant experience. While it is not usually fatal, it can make you
wish that it was.
Of course another problem on the horizon is the Nile
Virus that is carried by mosquitoes. Birds have been found carrying the appropriate
bugs in both Maryland and Virginia.
July 4, 2002
When I returned to Tiny I found the drain
pipe from the shower stall was clogged and
I worked unsuccessfully on that dilemma for
a while. I finally gave up and went to bed.
There is always something to work on when
one has a RV or a boat. I also think there
must be a wasp nest in the exhaust fan over
the stove. They become most irritated when
I use the fan; I am glad there is a filter in
place.
It was a zoo this morning, and people were
lined up fifty deep at the ranger station by
0800. The line at the entrance station was
probably longer than that and before lunch
time they were limiting admissions as
parking space was not available. People
were fighting for camp sites and I had to go
back out and re-verify certain sites several
times. Once this was accomplished, it was
time to go back out and write citations
again.
When I finally returned to Tiny, I figured out what
the problem was with the plumbing and fixed that. Now I will be able to take
a hot shower which will feel good. While there not many mosquitoes there are
some biting little black flies which raise ill-proportioned lumps when they
bite. I have been bit a few times today, I didn't get the repellent
on the right places I guess.
The air is quite hazy this evening and while I
had hoped to see the fireworks from Ocean
City I haven't been able to. I have been able
to hear it quite clearly. It is another hot and
muggy evening meaning that some people
will want to run the generators on their RVs
so they can have air conditioning. I know
that I will be called to ask them to turn them
off, quiet hours start at 2100.
At 2300 I have somebody knocking on the
door complaining about a generator running
and it takes me thirty minutes before I can
get one of the law enforcement rangers on
the radio. So much for the effectiveness of
the best laid emergency plans, I have since
learned alternative methods.
July 5, 2002
Today was another mad house of a day. At one time
the traffic at the gate was backed up a mile and a half. All the parking lots
were filled and the beach was darn near standing room only. There were very few
check-ins this morning nor were there many people departing. It was quiet. Checking
the camp sites doesn't takes that long and there were few violations so I took
the opportunity to explore a little bit. I went over to the visitor's center
for a few minutes and looked around; I will have to go back for a closer visit
later.
I cruised the camping area a few times,
telling people about violations, if I saw
anything, so they would be corrected by the
time I would do an official walk through. I
have a great time talking to many of the
people. I have been invited for dinner
several times, often to have a beer, all of
which I have to gently turn down as I do
represent the park.
There is one pony that comes through the camp
ground who is really a mooch and who will steal anything not tied down. I had
a lady come up and tell me that she had fed him a carrot and now he was following
her around and what she could do to get rid of him. I asked her what she fed
him - a carrot - and just told she now knew why she shouldn't feed them.
The horses are more than willing to become dependent on hand outs.
Later in the afternoon a herd of close to
twenty lawn mowers came eating their way
down the camp sites but they were not
mooching, just mowing. It has been hot but
not hazy so it should be a great night this
evening.
July 6, 2002
I woke up to 65 degree temperatures, fantastic.
It didn't last that long but it was great while it lasted. The park was
filled completely with waiting lines outside the gate. There were a few empty
camping spaces but they were booked and paid for. I know that collecting the fees
are the most important aspect for the collection people but I do think more attention
could be made toward satisfying customer needs.
I spent two hours chasing down a family on the beach
who hadn't checked out by lunch time. I found them and cured the problem.
It never ceases to amaze me what length people will go to save a few dollars.
Every night somebody gets caught staying at a site not their own. I have chased
one couple every day this week. The irony is that I have talked to them, he is
a retired police officer from York, Pennsylvania and I guess he has picked up
on what time the patrols are. I mess things up as I do my patrols somewhat randomly.
Why people like this avoid the $9.00 camping fee I do not know. Hopefully it is
not that they are too poor to afford the charge.
Several pony stories
here in my camp ground. There is a pony loner that wanders through twice a day
and he acts like he is on his last legs. He looks like Don Quixote's horse “Rosamunda”
from the “Man From La Mancha.” He is a most accomplished mooch and
has no qualms about stealing. This one stole my watermelon by reaching over my
shoulder and stealing it from directly in front of me. It was nice and cold and
I was really looking forward to eating it. I have heard about the horses eating
corn. bread, hot dog buns and bagels but this is the first for watermelon. I hope
he got a tummy ache from it. I think there is some form of secret pact between
the horses and the grocery stores downtown. The groceries must send a trainer
out here to show the horses how to open the food chests.
.
There are signs posted not to leave food out but
there are always a few who disregard this. The site next to me had their site
trashed by the herd yesterday. Everything was opened and debris left all over
the place. The occupants of the site had to go out to eat last night as there
was nothing left after the ponies cleaned them out. I wish I had been there to
see them do it as I had warned them about the way they stored the items in the
screen tent and not packed in anything. I have seen the horses snatch a garbage
bag from somebody on the way to the dumpster and just spread that around the area
until all edible items have been consumed. Roasting ears of corn are a delicacy
of course and it doesn't seem to bother them that it is hot.
The horses have figured out how to open any food
container they find except screw-topped or locked. I have been told that the safest
place to store any food chest is under the heavy picnic tables. Storing them in
a tent only increases the possibility that the tent will get torn up. There was
a blood curdling scream from a close by site last night caused when a horse stuck
his head in a tent and rubbed noses with the young lady occupant. She maintains
she thought it was her ex-husband except the nose was smoother. I did think it
was an original reason to be yelping that loud at least. It makes for another
good story to add to this collection. Unfortunately I feel too many people do
not believe in my veracity. Everybody should know that I am the paragon of truth
and never would I stoop to adding additional coloration to any of my efforts.
I definitely am glad that I brought a bike with
me. I am peddling my tail all over the park. It takes only five minutes to get
to the ranger station, I can patrol the camp ground in fifteen minutes if I do
not stop and talk which of course I frequently do. I get to meet some very interesting
people that I would not meet if I were in a vehicle. I would agree however there
are a few people that I wish I hadn't met.
The exercise sure helps as well, I can feel that I must cinch
my belt much more just in the time I have been here. This bike
is in desperate need of adjustments
as it will not shift unless I dismount and force the chain to move.
July 7, 2002
Today was the first day on the afternoon
shift. I think I prefer the morning shift but a
lot depends who is the supervisor on duty.
In the afternoon I feel that more emphasis is
placed on writing tickets for illegal parking
than on anything else. I enjoyed myself but I
prefer to be contacting people.
I admit to enjoying meeting with the people in the campgrounds
and getting some feedback to how they feel things can be
improved. I also think it is important for the park to receive and act
on this feedback. I have worked in four parks now and
the personality of each is significantly different.
I did get tasked with locating a group that should
have left their site at 1200 and hadn't left by 1400. By knowing there
were small children I felt they had not walked that far that they should not be
far away from the beach access path and I was right.
This place is a little United Nations; I have
met people from twenty countries so far. I
like this type of contact very much. The
family that I helped get into their site was from the Ukraine, but I have also met with
people from Asia and South Africa.
Russia was well represented, it seems that many come over with summer work
permits and work the seasonal jobs before they go out exploring.
I have spent several hours talking to these students.
A little on the downer site was to be notified that
there were dogs that were without water and “stressed out.” On checking
it out it wasn't true, they had water and just unhappy about being left
behind. I continued checking and when “Mistress” did return we had
a discussion about leaving the dogs unattended. For some reason I didn't quite
believe her when she told me she didn't consider them mistreated; the next day
was the same except one of the dogs broke loose and was scaring people. Eventually
she did leave the park and went elsewhere. It was a shame but she could have taken
the dogs to the beach as long as they were attended to and cleaned up afterwards.
July 8, 2002
Today was my first day
off since I have been here so I slept in a little bit. I woke up to the RV shaking
as if I was in the middle of an earthquake only to find it was one of the ponies
scratching its tail end on the rear corner of Tiny's body. It took me quite a
while to stop laughing. I have spent most of the day reading and even though it
is a day off I have cruised my area to see if I could help. Internet was up so
I did my mail thing; it took an hour to wade through all of it. Many things that
I would usually broadcast I will defer until I return home. The Internet at the
park only also me to use web mail via a browser; that makes using any distribution
list a pain where one has to sit on it and even then it is much slower than what
I would expect normally. It is just easier to forward any mail to "home" and work
on it later.
I do have a minor physical problem. I am not accustomed
to riding a bike after so many years and as a result I developed a blister where
I have to sit on it. I am using a much larger seat than is used nowadays as the
long thin narrow seat really hurts if one is riding on a rough road. The blister
has broken so I will have to suffer a little until new skin develops. It smarts!
I added a buffer pad that I should be using with my oscillating car buffer that
I had along to help with polishing Tiny with for additional padding which seems
to work well. Not that I am not amply upholstered in those regions as it is but
this allowed the sky to grow back. It does get interesting when it rains and I
forget to cover it and then when I sit on it it makes weird sloshing noises. I
guess I should remember to cover it. At my age I cannot be expected to be perfect
however.
I had some fun this evening. There is a very attractive
Russian couple at the site across the road from me that had never camped before
and was having a dickens of a job setting up their tent. I helped them of course
and had a great time laughing. It made a great ending for the day. It is cooler
this evening and I am looking forward to relaxing in its coolness. We had a fire
going in the fire pit and talked about Moscow and Saint Petersburg and the sights
to see in each of the cities. I was also attempting to answer questions about
fishing in the states which I am ill-equipped to talk about as my inability to
catch fish is legendary. Fishing in this area has been very poor since I have
been here and I have not heard of anyone whose is having great success.
July 9, 2002
There have been many shipwrecks on these sand bars
over the years and the history has recorded many of them as far back as the 17th
Century. Erosion has washed away most of these as the beach here has receded significantly
in the last few centuries but new ones are always being found.
The nature trails here
are both interesting and photogenic. I have walked all of them and I see new
interests every time I do so. Of course in some places it requires diligence to avoid the
poison ivy but I am getting better in spotting it before it is too late.
The weather remains hot with significant
haze which is attributed to a forest fire in
Canada. How this is true with the wind
coming from the south I do not know but
who am I to challenge this wisdom. I am not
working today so I can goof off a little bit
more but I still feel responsible for my camp
ground and will patrol during the day and
early evening just to keep things going.
There was a cloud burst of rain last night, sufficient
only to soak the bicycle seat that I hadn't covered and making it a tad bit soggy
while peddling to work. Fortunately the wet spot didn't show all that much. It
might be a little embarrassing if noticed but it wouldn't be the first time this
has happened in my life. I suspect that it will not be the last time either.
One family came in with a dog have the size
of a pony; he is the gentlest thing I have
seen. He will walk over to you and very
carefully put his paw in your lap acting like
he is fearful of breaking something. Of
course the next step is to put his head in your
lap and I understand then he will attempt to
climb in your lap. He is just a bit too big to
be a lap dog.
Most of the dogs I have been introduced to here at
the park, especially the larger dogs, are the greatest
group of pussy cats in the world. At worst all they want to do is
play as vigorously as possible. There were some Golden Retrievers
that would play so hard and for so long at the beach they would pass out
as soon as they returned to the camp site. Four dogs can take up most
of the camp site when they are totally stretched out.
As in many parks the most prevalent problem
is under age drinking, this park is no
exception. I listen to the park radio and
many of the calls are based on this problem. It
certainly is an every weekend experience.
There are times I can spot trouble in advance
of it happening and if I can get law
enforcement involved then it is usually just a
warning and the issue is over.
The temperature is lower today and the
following day it will even be lower. I am
hoping that I will be able to sit outside in the
screen tent and read rather than inside Tiny
in the air conditioning.
Sometimes I wonder how these kids get away with it with their
parents? I know I was in trouble all too frequently when I was
out too late and I was not a model kid either. I admit that
I was in the military long before I was of legal age and that
might have had an influence of this however.
July 10, 2002
It has been a great day, it has not been that
hectic at check-in and I had more time to talk
to people while on my rounds. Most of the
fun involved with this assignment is just
talking to people and welcoming them to the park. Some
of these people have been coming to the park every year
for twenty years.
We had a female streaker in my area of the park
today. There are outside showers in each of the
loops with the
water usually at slightly below ambient
temperature. A little two-year-old girl was
taken in the shower by her mother but when
that cold water hit her she let out a banshee
yowl and took off for her tent. I had fun
reporting that incident; it appears that I neglected
to include the age of the culprit.
The weather was overcast all day and the
forecast is for changing weather and the
barometer going up. I guess that means a
front coming through with perhaps some rain.
I could hear thunder earlier this evening but it
never materialized to anything.
I am expecting some problems in my camp
area this evening. On patrol earlier I noticed
some kids sitting at a picnic table drinking
beer and they were asking questions about if
one of the camp sites were reserved. The
camp site is one that I would consider
secluded with little visibility from the road
and one that has the reputation of being used
for drinking parties when not watched. I will
have to let law enforcement know. I will not
stay up that late nor will I ID card these
people; that is not in my job description.
July 11, 2002
Boy, the weather changed direction by 180 degrees
and there were gusts up to 30 mph. There were tents down all over the area. The
air is wonderfully clear with no haze at all and one can see for miles. Tiny was
doing some wild rocking in the middle of the night; I woke up but I didn't
go outside. I could see that my screen tent was still standing upright and I knew
I didn't have anything laying around that might blow away so I just
stayed in bed.
Sometimes it pays just to be a reclusive hermit and ignore
the rest of the world. This seemed to be one of those days
and I took full advantage of it. I didn't get up until
just in time to go to work. I do not even remember making coffee
and I know I didn't shave. Love me or leave me alone.
I had fun peddling
to work as I was peddling directly into the wind. I downshifted just about all
the way but it was still rough going. When I went out on patrol, I saw just how
many tents had gone down. In the RV areas where tenting competes with RVs the
sand is packed somewhat and most of the time the short plastic tent pegs might
hold if driven in all the way. In the walk in area the sand is quite loose and
one needs a much longer tent peg to do any good or even resort to using deadman
to hold it down. I showed a number of people how to use a piece of firewood, dig
a two-foot deep hole and then bury the wood crosswise to the pull of the rope
and of course bury this with sand. I remember being taught this many years ago
in survival training and for some reason it has stuck.
As expected the group last night, despite my
calling in, partied all night creating all sorts
of noise. The park police had a field day the
first thing this morning, I keep hearing under
age, under the age of consent and some other
things that seem to indicate big troubles for
somebody.
I stayed around the ranger station until
shortly after 1200 and returned to Tiny. I
watched a young colt and its mother pull a
flim flam on people. Everybody was
crowding around the colt and not noticing
that mama was attempting to steal food from
the tents. The colt is cute and loves to have
people pay attention to him.
July 12, 2002
Today was the day of the horses being hungry, and
they raided sites all through the park including the walk in sites. I could easily
follow where the groups had been by just following the debris. These horses are
smart, they have figured out how to open coolers of all makes and of course tents
do not stand a chance with these characters. They pull apart plastic bags by stepping
on one end and yanking on the other with their teeth, opening any plastic bag
much faster than humans and of course one inhale and the contents are gone. Perhaps
this again part of the conspiracy with the grocery stores in the city.
I watched while the site across the way was
trashed, people had left a full plastic
container of fresh corn outside. They
deserved to get trashed under those
conditions. I have seen horses take corn
directly off the grill without any difficulty at
all. They are not above sticking their head, or
more, into a tent to see what is available.
That could be an interesting experience to
wake up in the middle of the night and be
rubbing eyeballs with a horse.
I haven't heard of anybody having troubles with
horses wanting to get in their RV; not true however for tents and poptops. These
seem to be fair game. I know they are like camels; if they get their head in it
will not be long until the whole animal is in.
July 13, 2002
Today must be called the day of the stallions.
There have been some of the largest
concentrations of horses I have seen,
unfortunately they have been in the camp
grounds and the leaders of these groups have
been in hot pursuit of any other stallion
seemingly intent in increasing the size of his
herd. The stallions are magnificent when they are in pursuit,
their heads and ear erect, nostrils flared and of course their tails virtual
straight up as they are in pursuit of the offenders. Of course any human who
just incidentally gets in the way is going to be run over so the pony patrol
tends to get things settled down or at least moved to another area. The pony
patrol is all volunteers that have received some training with these critters
and these critters know it. It is amusing to watch them interact.
It has been interesting this weekend watching the
habits of some groups. There is one very large group of Spanish-speaking people
that have four adjacent sites. There appears to be about forty people, including
children, and they all eat together in at one site. The mothers all team up with
the cooking and meals are served cafeteria style. I am apprehensive about large
groups as they tend to violate “quiet hours” but I haven't heard any
complaints about these people at all. The entire family was involved with cooking
and taking care of the children and were wonderful to watch. With that many people
of course there was more noise than normal but they were quiet when they were
supposed to be. The radio was playing some fantastic music and the food smelled
wonderful. I was almost contemplating joining them but that would have ruined
my diet.
On the other hand there was a large group of Vietnamese
that was a problem from the time they were on the site. It appears they were located
at four or five non adjacent sites but wanted to hang out at one site here in
my area. There were about ten vehicles with the group and they would be parked
any where there was room, including on grassy areas or in adjacent sites with
too many boom boxes and too many people in late teens and early twenties. When
I attempted to talk to them, I got the "I don't speak English"
routine” which I didn't appreciate. I finally convinced them to move to
a picnic area where there was room for them and the vehicles. Later on in the
evening they were back into the campground and I had to call law
enforcement and let them take care of it. I
do not get paid enough to deal with people
who have been drinking all day. I will not be
unhappy to see this group leave.
It is almost frightening to realize just how close
this island came to be converted into the southern extension of Ocean City. At
one time Assateague Island extended almost to the Delaware border and maybe even
further but in 1934 a hurricane created a passage between the ocean and Chincoteague
Bay. This inlet was artificially protected by breakwaters and other devices making
the development of Ocean City commercially viable with a protected on shore waterway
and natural marina. In 1954 commercial development had started and lots were laid
out almost to the Virginia border. A black top road was constructed and massive
attempts to drain the swamps and rid the island of mosquitoes took place. Regular
ferries ran between the mainland and the island.
In 1961 another hurricane swept away most of the
development and in 1965 this became a National Seashore with supporting legislation
by Congress. At about the same time the State of Maryland created a state park
on the northern end of the island. The causeway was built in 1975 eliminating
the requirement of the ferry and it was discontinued.
July 14, 2002
I woke up at 0200 to the gentle pitter patter of
falling rain drops and decided not to get up and cover the seat of the bike. It
was just too cool and too comfortable. The temperature had dropped and it was
just so comfy inside the comforter. I turned the air conditioner off to preclude
ice forming on the condensers, opened the windows to benefit from the breeze and
racked out solid until the sun burst over the horizon to the East.
While I know the area
desperately needs the rain, I just hope there is not sufficient to incite the
mosquitoes to start dominating the area. I just do not like taking a bath in
repellent every time I go outside. It will take a lot of rain to create the
hatchlings I have experienced on prior visits to the park however.
However I have found that there are chiggers in
the area and if bitten one itches like mad for a week. Chiggers are mites with
a voracious appetite for blood and were thought to, at one time, dig under the
surface of the skin. This has been found not to be true but that doesn't cure
the itching.
Today was tank draining
day so I had to stabilize everything that might slide around or fall and went
to do this onerous task. Regrettably while doing so I was stung by a wasp on
the back of the head which really rang my chimes and I spent much of the day
sleeping. I was scheduled to work from 1200 to 1600 but luckily since it was
raining there weren't too many people coming in and out of the park I was able
to come back to Tiny and just take it easy
There is just something so relaxing about just
sitting in the screen tent curled up with a good book and listening to classical
music. I think that I hovered between the conscious and the subconscious most
of the afternoon until it started getting dark when I started a fire and spent
time just staring at that.
I did finish revising some slides from
Tuscany and Normandy so I am finished with
that for a while. There is a little more left to
do and I know I will finish before I leave
here. I suspect I will be sending out new
CDs in the future.
I didn't realize just how many slides that I had that had been
stored away in illogical places and that I only had very vague
recollection of. I think I am running out of places to search
so I may be safe unless Mimi makes the decision to scan that print
film that she has taken over the last twenty years. I have not scanned
color negatives before but it cannot be too difficult. I first have
to send my scanner to have the bulb replaced, it gave up the ghost
about two weeks ago.
I have seen very few of the ponies today; I
do not know where they hold up when it is
raining not why the rain would keep them
from foraging through the campgrounds. The
weather is supposed to be clear and sunny
tomorrow so I suspect they will be out in
force.
The horses are something else. They tolerate people very well but still
depend primarily on Mother Nature for support. I have watched groups of
horses out in the salt swamps munching away on the salt grass all day with
rarely ever moving more than a few inches at a time.
July 15, 2002
I went out this morning at 0200 to look at the
stars; the Milky Way was fantastic. There
was just a sufficient breeze to keep away any
bugs and I stayed outside nursing a glass of
wine for about an hour. It is a rough life but
somebody has to do it.
There is some light pollution to the northeast
caused by the lights of Ocean City but to the south and west there is nothing.
I saw a few shooting stars for the first time in many years. In Virginia even
at the park light pollution is a major problem and had another Disneyland been
built between Washington and the park night observations would have been seriously
curtailed. I do not know of any solution for this; I know deeper and closer to
the major population centers it is even worse. On the street where I live the
county is talking about installing street lights and there are major objections.
One of the fears is increased taxes which are becoming unbearable, ours when up
$4,000 last year. The tax rate actually went down but the assessed valuation went
up 15% to make up for it.
I went out for laundry and some shopping
today and refilled with propane as well. I am
set until the end of the month for just about
everything. I had thought about stopping by
and having something “store bought” to eat
but none of the places looked all that
attractive. I just ate a cantaloupe melon and
called it quits.
There is another scandal in Maryland again regarding
seafood. A few years ago it was about the habit of the local seafood restaurants
selling ray as scallops. Now they have to advertise ray as Maryland scallops.
Tricky people we have around here, honesty is not exactly that high on the priority
list.
Now it is regarding blue crap advertised as Maryland
Blue Crap where in reality it is being imported from South America. The issue
is in court where the local commercial fisherman are crying foul; it will be interesting
to see what name they come up with. Most of the oysters are from North Carolina
and Louisiana.
It has been a beautiful day, warm and breezy
with just a hint of clouds. I spent most of my
time in the screen porch reading and dozing
off. I called the ranger station to see if the telephones had been
repaired so I could do my e-mail, it was good to get that caught up
as it is too easy to get seriously behind. We do just about everything via e-mail
and rarely do we check out snail mail as it is mostly mass mailings.
When Hanna comes down
I will have to take her over to the visitor's center here at Barrier Island
and again to the Visitor's Center at Tom's Cove in Virginia. She
can get two stamps in her National Park Passport that way. Having her here will
be an experience. She has already asked me if she should bring winter clothes.
Of course I probably didn't help anything when I told her maybe she
should bring a winter parka just in case and of course not to forget to bring
the bear repellent powder as there was a bear incident reported in the area
sometime in the 17th Century.
July 16, 2002
I was out shooting pictures all day, I came
back to Tiny a little worse for wear as it was
hot and humid and a good portion of the
hiking was in loose sand. I was pooped out.
Most of the trail I
was on is the Trail of the Dunes trail. It is along that area that had been laid
out for lots, the dunes had been bulldozed and leveled. This land has been left
alone now for fifty years and still looks ravaged. It will take another hundred
years or more to return it back to being pristine.
I dread to think what it would look like had it been developed; how
many fast food joints would have been built right here. The original
forest is quite close by and can be compared very easily.
I did get some interesting
photos, hopefully will get more during the week. I saw many birds but none sufficiently
close to allow half way decent shots despite the 300mm lens. I haven't
been able to get closer than 500 yards to any of the great white cranes but
I did spot a place yesterday where I think I get much closer if I am careful.
I may pick up a tick or two but hopefully will find them before they dig in.
I have gotten close to the White Tail deer, they
are all over the place and will allow people to get fairly close. This is surprising
in a way as there is hunting here in the winter. There was one large doe that
walked to with fifty yards from me before she stopped and posed. I think she is
the largest doe I have seen on the island. There is a larger buck but I have only
gotten a fleeting glimpse of him.
There are two different types of days here,
calm or crisis, depending on who is on duty.
Today was a crisis day from the gitgo. I no
longer take it personally or seriously, I just
do what I think is best.
Crises management is a recognized style of management;
frequently it is described as authoritarian - I would disagree - but it is characterized
with tight span on control and little initiative recognized or acknowledged. It
annoys me no end to work under this style as to me it is counter productive.
July 17, 2002
There are three or four distinct camping areas
within the park. Bay Side is designed mostly for RVs with both pull through and
back-in positions. There are three loops with space in the center for pull through
parking on the inside, almost all sites on the outside of the loop are back-in.
Those on the outside are usually divided by bushes so there is a feeling of privacy.
I like Bayside as I do not feel it is as frenetic as the Oceanside sites.
The Oceanside sites are on two loops with all of
them being back-in sites, some of them have bushes dividing them, most on the
inside do not. It is quite close to the ocean thus people are up early to scamper
over the dune and out to sea.
Group camping and walk-in camping all have to be
walked into from the parking lots and may be completely open - especially those
closest to the beach, and others one has to remember where they are if you are
looking for them. They are completely hidden from the paths.
Early in the morning I saw an incident that
was uniquely and hilariously Assateague. I
watched a lady meticulously and
painstakingly sweep an area at her camp site
clear of horse dung. She subsequently
carefully laid out her plastic ground cloth so
she could place her tent. She then left the
immediate area for a while. This sounds
picture postcard perfect and directly removed
from the text book describing how to pitch a
tent.
Howsoever, here the
unique aspect of Assateague comes into play. Stallions tend to mark their territories
with dung, whether it is purely territorial or whether just as a sign of masculinity
I do not know. It was not long after young lady left that a stallion came back
to his beloved marking spot, found it barren and covered with ground cloth so
he marks it again, directly in the middle of the cloth. Not to be outdone, second
stallion marks it also, definitely with anything you can do I can do better
philosophy and leaves a larger deposit. Third stallion shows up, seemingly feels
that early efforts were mere child's play, really marks the area.
The lady wisely relocates ground cloth.
July 18, 2002
It appears that this will be another crisis day.
Crises so far are emergency phone calls and
a poptop camper that will not go down. It
took two hours and a can of WD40 to figure
out that supports on one side had rotted out
and a metal bracket had been bent. It took a
while but we beat it and they were able to
leave.
I laughingly stated I was going to seek reimbursement
from the park for the can of WD40 and the two rolls of duct tape that I used to
quick fix torn tents and repair tent poles. One would think I was attempting to
steal the gold from Fort Knox. I was informed that it was not park policy to repair
such things and that I certainly didn't have to do it. It takes a while to get
accustomed to my sense of humor I guess.
I didn't feel all that great today but still
managed to do my appointed duties. It was another
crisis day which had me going in circles
for a while but it was managed. I hit
the sack when I returned to Tiny at 1300
and slept an additional four hours.
It was then 1900 and time to do my e-mail
and get caught up. I will confess
that I did not devote any time at all to reading.
I did bring a number of good books and I am slowly
working my way through them. Most I have read before of course. My standard of
what constitutes a good book is that on the second and subsequent readings I find
different levels of understanding. There are too many books that are not challenging,
I might as well be reading a comic book. There are many books that one can find
different levels of understanding and they are good mental exercise.
I am discovering how to adjust the air
conditioner now that it only runs in the
coldest mode. I can increase the size of the
cabin compartment by opening up the barrier
between the cabin and the driver's section or
by opening the rear window. If I do not
adjust it just so the air conditioner freezes
and the requiring that this ice be melted so
the coils are exposed again. My outside
thermometer is showing 98 again but it is
comfortable inside. I have seen the outside temperature at 107
but that is probably due to direct sunshine. One day
when I left the air conditioning off the inside temperature was 99.9.
July 19, 2002
Another beautiful day with rain and
thundershowers forecast for later in the day. It
was hot and humid and the air seemingly just hung on you as you attempted to walk
about. We did have the storm later on in the afternoon, I would think it dropped
several inches of rain in an hour.
I am getting rain drops through one of the
vents for I think is the first time. Even though it was closed, this vent is covered
with a hood; regrettably the mouth of the hood was pointed directly
into the direction this horizontal rain was coming from. It truly was an intense little
micro burst that allowed water to pool on top of the vent cover
so when I opened it I received a shower.
My trusty steed through
the chain and was a bear to get it un-wedged. The gear shift is very poorly made
and goes out of alignment easily. Considering what it cost me it still has done
a yeoman's job.
I had a tire go flat on the bottom earlier this
week; the chap that runs the bike and canoe rental here at the park replaced the
tube for me of which I am most appreciative. He would not charge me either stating
that volunteers do more than enough for the park and he wouldn't feel right charging
them. This was a first for me and I was most appreciative of this. I certainly
felt comfortable about recommending customers to him
I heard the warning and the thunder about the same
time and relayed by radio that I would notify the camp of what was happening.
The response was that “normally” the park didn't notify campers unless
it was to be “extreme” storm warning. I told people anyway and helped
one person raise the awning on the trailer as I have seen how little wind it takes
to flip a trailer or RV when wind gets under an awning. I am glad I used my own
initiative. We still had two tents destroyed and several more blown. One tent
blew out into the swamps and open from Ocean Side blew up over the sand dune and
went out to sea last heading for England. I hear that the awning on an RV in Oceanside
also was destroyed which doesn't surprise me, there is nothing to break the wind
there.
Our friends from Maryland "Angels of Mercy”
next door neighbors of my stepmother, arrived just as the storm it and they got
to see the fun. I received the Pepto Bismol that hopefully will cease the problem
that has required the use of an entire roll of toilet paper in three days; it
was not Charmaine either, and it was the rough stuff It was great to see them
and we talked war stories for a couple of hours.
The couple is a delightful twosome who bring day;light
into anybody's day. Hanna, my stepmother, has been quite fortunate to have them
as neighbors.
July 20, 2002
Two more days before Tropical Storm Hanna
appears, still peaceful and quiet. That will
soon change.
One of the wonderful and under discussed
benefits of these somewhat monastic retreats
of mine masked as blatant “volunteerism” has always
the ability to read and think about the
priorities of life and how best to define them.
For some time now I have defined the spiritualism of man
into a large triangle. divided into three horizontal
groupings, where at the apex is the first categorization
which I called philosophical goals.
For lack of any more substantive label I indicate
that the essence of mankind's relationships with other members of mankind was
simply “Do under Others.” The middle grouping which I codified as
the many roads available to reach the upper goals or religions. The lowest level
are the churches which I defined as man-made and somewhat self-serving and serve
as interpretations of the roads available to reach the final goal which to me
still remains "Enlightenment" for without helping others I do not feel "enlightenment"
cannot be reached by simply believing in something. "Show me what you are, do
not tell me what you are."
I have been rereading for the nth time James
Michener’s book “The World is my Home.”
I consider Michener not only a great writer
whose abilities I attempt to emulate (poorly); I
also consider him a brilliant philosopher with an
amazing insight into man. Raised as a Quaker, changing eventually
to a more main stream form of Christian then in later life
expanding his horizons even further is amazing.
I have reread many times his expression
describing an aboriginal tribe's culture and I
too shared his epiphany: “We are all
brothers. We all face the same problems and
find the same satisfactions. We are united in
one great band. I am one with all of them, in
all lands, in all climates, in all conditions.
Since we brothers occupy the entire earth,
the world is our home.” I will use this
thought to replace the Golden Rule at the
zenith of my expectations, goals, or needs in
the style of Maslow.
Continuing on the philosophical side of life, I
am also reading the "Art Of War" and the Analects to maintain some degree of balance
in my life. This is not light reading; it is reading that requires putting down
the book and attempting to sort through just what the author was saying and digesting
this for a while. These are not novels.
July 21, 2002
Today could have been the scene of the world's
dumbest tricks. I would have thought it would
be totally impossible to get a car stuck in the
sand in the camp ground; particularly
in a camp ground where one is supposed to stay on
the pavement. This car had front wheel drive and they
overshot the paved area into the soft sand and then
dug the wheels in. Wasn't a problem getting out, and
the three of us could lift
it up but still stupid.
There was a strong onshore breeze causing jelly
fish to get on the beach and while most of the jelly fish are benign and do not
sting. However there is always a couple who did not get the
word and there are kids complaining about it
Today was the mass exodus
of Sunday and yet people were already lined up waiting to get in. The camp grounds
are continually booked solidly yet there are always plenty of spaces empty.
Whether it is caused by late arrivals or simply no shows or even people leaving
early I do not know. The park gets paid regardless of course but people are
irate that they cannot get a spot when so many places seemingly are available.
On Bay Side where I am the spots are generally widely separated and it looks.
even more barren and empty than it is. Early departures, if known, are easily
handled but only if the supervisor is informed and takes the required action
which seemingly doesn't happen at times. I haven't spent that much time in the
office but I know there is a break down in communication. There are too many instances
where the resolution of a problem is known one day but the problem has to
be researched again the following day.
July 22, 2002
I got up early, headed
out for dropping the waste tanks and then to the one nature trail that I hadn't
shot yet. As luck would have it, I had no sooner got to the parking area when
I spotted the premier White Tail buck, all twelve points of him, staring at
me from about fifty feet away. Of course by the time I had reached the camera
he had gone but I will continue to look for him. I did, however, see the largest
doe on the island and was able to photograph her.
The remainder of the walk was most attractive as
it is interesting to see how nature has adapted itself to changes in the climate
over the centuries. Cyclic climate changes have had impact on the animal in the
area, the resident geese and ducks attest to this continually. Just ask any lawn
owner where there are geese feeding.
The tides and of course the storms have changed the coast
line drastically over the years and things that were once on the
bay side of the island are being uncovered on the ocean side. The
general trend is moving to the west or adding additional sand on
the end of the island. The end or hook has been growing
some fifty feet a year. The Coast Guard Life Saving Station was
closed several years ago because the island grew to the extent it
would take too long to get a boat into the ocean.
In this one area,
where developers were attempting to build a
mini-megalopolis such as Atlantic City but
lost out to Mother Nature and a hurricane or
two, to see how long it takes to come back to
anything resembling its prior condition. It
has been more than fifty years and vestiges
still remain. It may be another century, if left along,
before the ravages of man will be returned to nature.
Tropical Storm Hanna and Mimi appeared not too long after lunch
and started rearranging the park.
Not long after that our friends showed up and it was off to Ocean City for a
sightseeing and gastronomic extravaganza at a seafood buffet on the north side
of the city. I fear I am a mere amateur as at least one person at the table
had more than fifty blue crabs to eat. I didn't eat any but had more
than enough snow crab and other forms of seafood.
There was a 20/20 type show on TV not that long
ago about obesity in the United States and it is obvious to me that fast food
and buffet style restaurants are major contributors to this. I think we tend to
eat much more than our body requires as the food is "free." We pay for it in the
end and I would not doubt that Americans are the heavy weights of the world.
The night was quite
humid and water was just pouring from the air conditioner. There was a high haze
in the air that kept the full moon from keeping the entire area brightly light
and one could not see that many stars but it was attractive.
I have seen it here earl;earlier in the year that
one could walk just about everywhere and could probably even go fishing it was
so bright even when it was not a full moon.
July 23, 2002
Today the three of us went to the southern
end of Assateague Island and visited the
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and
the Tom's Cove segment of Assateague
National Seashore. The Virginia side is not
as bad as Ocean City but Chincoteague itself
tries hard to be as commercial as possible.
