First annual....

9:48 am - Wednesday - Cool, slept in until almost 10 am......weather: Clear blue, cloudless skies, 31% humidity, 57 F degrees, no wind.....I love Lake Tahoe!

Tuesday revolved almost entirely around our plans to have a beer tasting, chips and salsa party at our site for our fellow employees.  I've been collecting interesting beers for about a year, and have run out of room in our Norcold reefer for any more, so it was time to thin out the heard.  The party was TLE's idea.....I provided the beer, she did the rest.  I did, however, spend about 90 minutes detailing the ranger cart by cleaning the seats, which had gotten very grimy, cleaning stains out of the fiberglass gel coat, sealing the emergency lights cable against the weather, etc.

We haven't been down to Carson City in several weeks, and we needed a few things we get specifically from TJ's and Costco so we left around Noon, made the run up and over Spooner Pass, did our shopping and were back by 2:30 pm.

Our beer tasting party was scheduled for 5:30 pm, so we spent most of the next three hours getting ready.  TLE made up a batch of her famous salsa Tuesday afternoon, bought a lot small plastic cups for the beer tasting, and I organized my cache of beer, got the fire ready to light, and then relaxed until 5:30.  TLE took down our sunscreen for the first time since sometime in June to make room for everyone to gather around the picnic table.

One of our fellow employees, Morgan Morris, made up a batch of her famous cucumber/guacamole dip and brought it to the party, and Sandy Dittus (store manager) brought a shrimp/dip platter and a cheese platter.  In all we had about 7 fellow employees join us for three hours of fun, laughter and enlightenment.......I say enlightenment because many of our friends had no idea they would like some of the beers I chose......  

 Morgan, who took the picture below, is the redhead waving

Left to right: Sandy, TLE, moi, Phil, Carol, Dan and Gordy (Morgan was the picture taker.....she is pictured in the shot above (Victor, our assistant manager, missed the picture taking)

The lineup

.....in all we sampled 14 beers consisting of IPA's, ales, shandys, browns,  hefeweizens, stouts, porters and a lot in between.  There were jalapeno porters, chocolate stouts, and a chilebeso (which, by the way had a real chile bite at the end).  Probably the most popular, even among those who do not like dark brews, was the Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Stout, which also happens to be my favorite of all time, still.  The second most popular beer was the Great Basin Cervesa Chilebeso (going left to right this is the 5th one), and the third was Leinenkugal's Summer Shandy.  The very large bottle pictured above (3rd from the left - Chipolte Porter) was a big disappointment in a big bottle, but otherwise all the brews were well received.

It was agreed all the way around that everyone had learned a lot about the different types of beer available, and that not all of the various classes are created equal.  There are great offerings within each class, but you have to try them to find the ones which fit your taste pallet best.

Morgan was kind enough to take a bunch of pictures, which I share with you now....

The.... 

....three.....

....favorites....

The spread

We called it a night around 8:30, and then TLE and I sat by the fire until about 9:30 before heading inside for the night.....yeah, Tuesday, was a great day!  Thank you to all our friends, who happen to be fellow workers (Morgan, Sandy, Phil, Dan, Gordy, Carol, & Victor), for making our first annual beer tasting event a success!

Thanks for stopping by!

It's over......

8:19 am - Tuesday - I know, it looks like I'm up too early, but actually I did not get up too early......but you'll have to read on to find out why.  Of course, the daily weather report for South Lake Tahoe......sunny, no clouds, 61% humidity, no wind......37 F degrees.

By the time we got out of bed Monday Section E was already a ghost town......we had 253 departures scheduled with just 20 arrivals.  Order has been restored, and quiet is the operative word.  While TLE made a grocery run I spent time cleaning up our outdoor area....sweeping, wiping off the picnic table, recliners, camp chairs, etc.  

I was working on 5, or 6 hours sleep and really wanted to take a nap, but kept getting distracted by one thing, or another, and before I knew it my watch said 2 pm, and we had to be at work by 3.....rats!  I did manage to get a 30 minute nap, but it wasn't enough by a long shot.

With the park back down to about 150 sites occupied there was not much to do but pick up the litter left behind by our weekend revelers, and there is a lot of it.  Once the sun set, which is now around 7:21 pm, I spent time inside helping TLE clean black magic marker off our counters with acetone, removed old Scotch Tape from the counter edges.....it was that kind of night.  We clocked out at 10:40 pm and headed for home, and were asleep before midnight.  

In about a week we will go back to working days.....there will be no need to keep the office/store open until 10 pm, and no need to patrol the park until after midnight.  The population of TVC will continue to drop until only Section G is open.  We'll begin winterizing each section by turning off the power, and water, and then draining all the water lines so they don't freeze over the winter.  We'll cut our weekly hours back to about 30, or less.

The Fall in South Lake Tahoe, or anywhere in the Tahoe Basin is a wonderful time of year.....you are between the summer crowds, and the winter ski crowds.  The day time temps stay pleasantly in the low 70's to high 60's even though it gets into the 30's most nights.....we are really looking forward to more down time, and more time to explore.

Thanks for stopping by!

Surviving Labor Day.....

10:21 am - Monday - Wow!  Didn't get to bed until just before 3 am this morning, and was awakened by a phone call from my boss at 7:30 am.....of course I couldn't go back to sleep.  On top of that I had to dump the black tank before I had my first cup of coffee.  So, how was Sunday? Let me tell you.....

I was awake far too early Sunday morning, but it's understandable.....I was put in charge of our annual Labor Day weekend horseshoe tournament the day before, and there was a lot of work to be done Sunday morning in preparation.  My mind was going 100 miles per hour processing all the things I needed to get done before 1 pm, which was the start time for the tournament.  I left the coach just after 9:30 am......six hours before the beginning of my normal shift....

 8 pits raked and ready

32 people, 16 Teams, 8 brackets, single elimination

 And they're off!

 The winners - Joey (left) and Robbie (right)....Joey was on last year's winning team, also.

......the tournament ended at 3:05 pm.....I took care of putting everything away, pumped some propane, turned off a leaking water heater, then clocked out for one hour at 3:24 pm, took a nap, and was back on the job for my afternoon/night shift at 4:25 pm.

I was in the maintenance yard cleaning my cart....it was filthy....when I heard a call on the two way radio requesting all rangers on duty report to the northwest corner of Section G for an emergency.  I immediately replied I was on my way......I found Ben, who had made the call, walking toward Section G and picked him up.  We arrived at site 166 to find a woman sitting in a chair with a bloody knee and a dog bite on her left hand.  She had been walking her very small dog when three off leash dogs came charging out of site 127 at her leashed dog....the lady scrambled to protect her dog and was knocked down by one of the three dogs (pit bull, bull dog and lab) and then bitten on her hand.....her small dog was also bitten, but not seriously........

Left to right: pit bull, bull dog, and lab

.....the people who owned the three dogs immediately accused the woman of being the cause, and did nothing to retrieve their dogs, or assist the woman and continued to yell at, and taunt the woman for several minutes according to the witnesses.  It was actually a pretty disgusting, disgraceful display of raw human nature.  After interviewing the woman I proceeded to site 127 to find the dogs (pictured above) in cages in the bed of the owner's pickup.  At first they denied the dogs were off leash, or that all three had attacked the woman and her small dog.  I then interviewed 8 other people in adjoining sites who advised the dogs had been off leash not only most of Sunday, but Friday and Saturday, too.....two of the witnesses being 'friends' of the people in 127.  I went back to site 127 to confront them with the witnesses' statements and they finally admitted the dogs were unleashed.  At first they denied one of the dogs was a pit bull, but finally admitted it.

The El Dorado County Sheriff was called along with an El Dorado County animal control officer.....it was confirmed that all three dogs were current in their shots, and then the three dogs were put into a mandatory 10 quarantine.  We were inclined to evict the folks in 127, but the officer advised they were 'under the influence' and, therefore, it would be unwise to force them to drive that evening, so they were allowed to stay overnight, but had to leave at first light today.  I, with TLE spent the next 2 hours calming everyone down, and keeping the parties separated.  The Sheriff promised to return several times that evening to patrol Section G and be sure all remained peaceful, and I, of course, did the same.

Our Sunday night movie was Zootopia, and we had perhaps our largest viewing audience of the summer.....every seat was taken....

By the time the movie was over it was time for me to do my 'Quiet Hour' patrol, and wasn't that a hoot.  I had to threaten eviction to people in several sites who would not quiet down, but finally by 11 pm all was quiet, and then it was time to do the nightly cleaning of the office/store/laundry areas.  

TLE and I clocked out at 12:15 am after checking the restrooms which included several disgustingly clogged toilets.......disgusting is not really a strong enough word, but that is the best I can manage right now.   We had barely settled into our recliners to watch TV for a while when the Ranger phone rang.....dang!  A young woman and her young son had pulled into the park pulling a travel trailer and she was unable to get into her site in the dark, and needed to be able to plug in top run her gas heater as the temps were already down to freezing.  I got dressed again and drove the cart over to the store and had her park next to the horseshoe pits where there is a 30 amp electrical pedestal.  She plugged in, got her heater going and I went back home.....oy vey!

We didn't get to sleep until almost 3 am, and then I was awakened by the aforementioned phone call from my boss......time for a nap!

Thanks for stopping by!

Half way....

7:57 am - Sunday - 40 F degrees.....another cold night in the 30's.  Woke up way too early.  We are now half way through the Labor Day weekend and it is crazy crowded here at TVC.

I previously estimated that we would get a little over 70% occupancy, but I was way off!  Sometime Saturday evening we passed 100% occupancy....we sold 10 overflow sites!  It was not our intent to sell overflow tent sites, but our policy is not to turn anyone away, especially at night.  All of the remaing unreserved sites quickly vanished Saturday afternoon as we had one 'walkin' customer after another.  I have to say, I admire folks who can make the decision to drive four, or five hours to Lake Tahoe on a holiday weekend with no reservations.  

A few days ago I ordered a 'Trailer Valet' for our trailer based on an ad I saw on Facebook.  After doing some research I decided, with TLE's input, that this is exactly that for which we have been searching for years.  We occasionally find ourselves in situations where we need to turn the trailer around in a tight situation where we have to use someone else's vehicle to do so.

At any rate, it arrived Friday so I got to work Saturday morning installing it on our trailer.  Essentially, by turning the hand crank I can move the trailer, and with the steering handle I can turn it.  It was very easy to install, and I am looking forward to testing it in a few days when I move the trailer forward about 3 feet.

Installed - currently in the 'stow' position

Can be easily rotated to the upright position for use

TLE was on call all day and went in initially at 10 am for a couple of hours, then returned for about an hour before being called back for another hour, then we both reported at 3 pm for our regular shift.  

My left heel is healing quickly....I did not use the crutches at all Saturday.  As I said earlier, Saturday was crazy crowded......there were hundreds of kids riding bikes everywhere, and one had to almost have 'eyes in the back of one's head' as they were coming from all directions.  The Ice Cream Parlor was busy non-stop from 11 am to almost 9 pm selling ice cream at $1 per scoop.  We also added a hot dog stand (independent contractor) and he did great business all day, too.

We had over 50 people for our Saturday night movie in spite of the cool temps (in the 50's by movie time at 7:30 pm).  I spent a lot of my time dealing with problems in the park......one site (136) had two RV's plugged into the pedestal, which is against our policy, obviously.  They were gone when I discovered the issue so I left a note that upon their return they had to unhook one of the RV's.  Well, they finally returned about 9 pm......I saw them return and gave them 30 minutes to unhook before stopping by the site.  At 9:30 they had not unhooked either RV so I stopped by to ask them in person.  The guy I talked with was very uncooperative, and gave me a lot of grief, so I explained his options....he had two....either unhook one RV, or start packing up to leave on the spot.  His tune changed, and within a few minutes he had complied.

We had another situation which began Friday afternoon (and was still an issue Saturday) when I stopped a guy in an 'side by side' (a Razor I think) ATV which only had an offroad tag....it was not street legal.  I advised him our rules expressly prohibit the use of unlicensed ATV's.  If they are licensed then they can only be used to enter and exit TVC....no driving around the park, and no using them offroad, period.  He and his passenger, by the way, were wearing full face helmets....not exactly what you would expect for someone who pledges to only drive 5 mph and do no offroading.  He went to talk to our manager and convinced him it was street legal, and so our manager said he could use it only on the pavement, and never to exceed 5 mph.  Well, it turns out they took it out to our overflow area and spun donuts for a couple of hours....fortunately they were observed by my friend Harry.  I brought Harry over to the guys' site and he identified the ATV as being the one he saw (there are no others in TVC right now, so this part was easy).  I confronted the gentleman and he flat out denied it was him.  Nevertheless, I told him not to operate the ATV again in the park, or he and all of his friends (3 sites occupied) would be immediately evicted from the park.  My manager apologized to me for overriding my judgement....he'll let me make the decision in the future.

As quiet hour (10 pm) approached I began trying to quiet down the noisy folks, and there were a lot of them.  It took me over an hour, and repeat visits to at least a dozen sites to get everyone quieted.....I had to threaten three sites with eviction if I had to return a third time.  People under the influence are rarely ever cooperative and several tried to argue with me....it was just one of those nights.....sigh.

As I said earlier.....only two more days until peace is restored and all the craziness abates....our season is almost over and it will be time to begin to get ready for next year.  We're going to try to get a lot of stuff done this fall that we normally put off until spring.

Thanks for stopping by!

One half of one percent......

9:20 am - Saturday - 63 F degrees and heavily overcast.  Slept in today until after 9, obviously.  First off, my left heel feels much better this morning!

Friday I spent most of the morning and early afternoon staying off my feet to give my heel a rest.  TLE went into work about 11 am to allow another front desk employee to leave for two hours for an appointment.  I spent the time reading and resting up for my shift at 3:30 pm.  TLE returned home about 1:40 pm, and then we both headed back to work just before 3:30 pm. 

We expected 185 arrivals Friday, and they came in waves of 3-5 RV's at a time.  We are a little short staffed so I kept getting called away from keeping watch over the entrance to check, or fix cable TV boxes, deliver firepits, check water issues, help people back into their sites in the dark.....you name it, I did it Friday afternoon/evening.  Through all of that we managed to keep the entrance from getting too backed up, and kept people going to their sites.

Of course, all the craziness one might associate with a holiday weekend was in full swing......loud music, inebriated folks talking way too loud, a lot of kid related screaming and yelling, people driving illegal vehicles in the park, etc.  I stayed very busy for my entire 8 hour shift, and by the time we clocked out at 12:07 am I was exhausted.....but wait, there is more.

You will remember I wrote recently about the inconsiderate RVers who arrive at midnight, or later, then spend 20 minutes idling their diesels, and generators getting into their site waking up, or otherwise disturbing their neighbors.  Well, Friday night one them who was assigned to the empty site (427) next to us arrived just after we clocked out.  We had barely settled down to go to bed when these folks arrived in front of our RV in a large Class A running their engine and generator full tilt, and sat there for 5-10 minutes idling while their kids ran around the site talking loudly, and making noise.  Finally they began to back into the site, never having turned off their engine, or generator in all this time, and then sat there in the site for another 10 minutes doing what I have no idea.  Finally at 12:30 am I walked over and asked then "Please finish whatever you are doing and turn everything off.  You are disturbing your neighbors".....instead of just apologizing the guy hurls several 'F' bombs my way, so I walk back over and tell him once again....."Please just finish what you are doing and turn everything off!" and then walked back to my coach hearing more insults hurled my way.  Finally after another 5 minutes he turned off the engine, and then a few minutes later the generator.   The inconsiderate RVers who arrive well after business hours account for about 1% of our customers, and those who are unapologetic about their rude behavior make up 1/2 of 1% of our customers.  It is that 1/2 of 1% who really get my goat.

Thanks for stopping by!

Negatory!

8:55 am - Friday - A gorgeous day!  49 F degrees, deep blue cloudless skies with no breeze.  Slept very well last night!

Around 10 am Thursday I decided I needed to have TLE take me to the local urgent care (Tahoe Urgent Care) so I could have my foot xrayed for any possible fractures.  After filling out the required paperwork I realized I didn't have my Medicare card with me, so TLE drove 1 mile back to TVC to retrieve it while I waited to be seen.  She returned within 10 minutes, and I was taken into the 'small room' shortly thereafter.....  

.......Dr. Richard took three xrays and they all came out negative.....that is, there are no fractures....YAY!  He asked if I would like some crutches and I answered in the affirmative, and was at the front desk ready to pay whatever I owed.....whole process beginning to end less than one hour....that is probably the best urgent care experience I have ever had, and I have had my share, believe you me.  The receptionist advised me I had no co-payment due under Medicare....."YAY!" again.

TLE reported for work at 2 pm, and returned for yours truly with a golf cart about 3:25 to begin my shift.  The crutches were a great help, and by the end of my shift I was able to walk a few feet without them.  I spent a lot of time in the golf cart trying to stay off my foot, but that is easier said than done.  TLE and I were the only ones on Thursday night so it still fell to me to change out a mini-fridge in one of the cabins which had ceased to work, set up the portable fire pit at the tent for Karaoke Night, grab some firewood from the maintenance yard, service the swimming pool, and mop the floors of the office/store/laundry.  To be sure it was all done very slowly as I don't walk too fast right now, but it got done.

The night shift was very quiet in spite of the fact we had over 70 arrivals Thursday......Friday we are expecting 185 arrivals, and by Saturday we will be over 70% occupied again.  I am happy to report this morning (Friday) that my heel is feeling much better and appears to be on a fast track to recovery, and this in spite of all the time I spent walking around last night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Humpty Dumpty.....

7:36 am - Thursday - Sunny, 39 F degrees....order is restored....Wednesday had begun with overcast skies and then progressed to quite blustery wind out of the south which pushed the clouds away.

Around 11:30 we decided to ride back to Baldwin Beach with our beach chairs to spend a few hours enjoying the view and reading.....from our coach it's about 5.5 miles each way with about 4 miles each way being on the Camp Richardson bike path which wends its way through stands of ponderosa and lodgepole pines.

We found a spot on the beach in front of a large ponderosa pine giving us the requisite shady spot to pitch our beach chairs and towels......

.....there was no one within a 100 yards of us either direction.......

.....we caught a view of the Tahoe Queen paddle boat returning to SLT from Emerald Bay....

....other than the Tahoe Queen there were very few boats visible from our vantage point which added to the feeling of being on a deserted isle somewhere.  The wind continued to blow from the south (now at our backs) until just before we began our ride back to TVC around 2:15.

One of our customers, Elizabeth who is in her 90's, had a neighbor help stow her patio awning while we were gone due to the aforementioned wind.  She asked me, when we returned, if I would come and look at the awning to be sure it was stowed properly (as you might recall I helped her replace a broken support on the awning a couple of months ago).   I climbed up on a short ladder (about 4' tall) to examine the point where the right arm of the awning should have been latched in place for travel as it didn't seem to be latching.  In the process I did something I never do........I stood directly on the top of the ladder to get a better view of the awning arm.  The thing you always fear when you do this happened......the ladder began to wobble, I lost my balance and tumbled to the ground bruising my left heel to the point where it is now difficult to walk.  I don't think I've broken anything, but my heel is quite painful when I apply weight while standing.

In spite of my self inflicted injury I managed to grill up some great filets on the Sea-B-Que to which TLE added a bottle of Pinot Noir, corn/avocado salad and a baked potato.  We ate outside at the picnic table talking and enjoying the balmy early evening air.

Next up....we go back to work this afternoon at the beginning of the Labor Day Weekend.....by Saturday TVC will be about 70% full once again for a few days.

Thanks for stopping by!