1st full week

We have been here for about 10 days now and we have had a pretty full week of activities. We have done site maintenance (litter), started to try to organize the shop area, site patrol throughout the park, etc.,  a lot of different activities as needed by the staff.
This park has gone through several years of benign neglect, and is in need of some good management.
The problem of good management appears to be fixed.
The new park manager arrived just 2 months before us and has started programs to improve the park with the staff at hand.
Smiley, as he is called by his friends, has a gentle touch with the staff and volunteers and it seems that improvements are on the way.
The assistant park manager, is a go getter. He is very visible in the park and is available when things need attention. You may see him at all hours.


As opposed to Washington State Parks, all paid staff here that work in the field are called rangers.
The park manager, assistant manager and the volunteer coordinator are all law enforcement officers, the rest of the field staff are not peace officers. They maintain  the facilities much like the senior park aides do in Washington. They also have seasonal staff.
The volunteer coordinator was on vacation last week and was extremely busy during her shift on the weekend. She appears to be a go getter and is available whenever we have a question. We have not spent much time with her, but i am sure we will get to know her as time moves on.

Last weekend, in our loop, we had 35 sites reserved for 35 kindergarteners and their families. It was neat to see all of the kids outdoors and enjoying the great weather, riding their bikes and scooters, throwing balls with some of the adults and just doing what I remember kids did when I was small.
This loop has water, electric and sewer, but I saw no electronics at all during the weekend.
There were other campers as well as all sites were occupied Saturday night. There was a boy scout troop next to us and when they left their sites looked better than when they came.
During the day, the kids were doing kid things loud and boisterous, but at night you could here a pin drop.

We had an issue with the bath house in our loop, Saturday night and the problem was so severe that it had to be closed. The people here handled the situation well with little or no complaints as they were directed to other bathrooms in the park by maps and signage.

This time of year, the park gets pretty empty during the week. We are the only ones in our loop, the last 2 sites were vacated on Monday.
It is very dark out here, with the tree cover and the only lights on the bath house which is a couple of hundred yards away. We don't even close the curtains during the week. It is very private.

We are off today and tomorrow and we may go into Houston today or tomorrow. Or we may drive up to Lufkin to see what is there. We just don't know.

Ta ta for now.