Lots of work at Tompkins

 Friday 17 September 2021

Wednesday 8th, Thursday and Friday we worked at Tompkins doing site clean up and flood clean up.  We did quit early enough on Friday to get some kayaking and fishing in.  Came back from work hooked up the boat loaded the kayak on top and off we went.  Backed  in the boat and tied it to the pier and got Diane off on the Kayak.  We planned for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Diane paddled out of site as I started the boat and headed out on the lake.  About 100 yds. out the motor quit, restarted it quit again and finally would not start.  I had to use the trolling motor to get back to dock. Mad, sad, and disgusted I loaded the boat on the trailer and went home.  Diane had a great time kayaking so at least one of us had a good trip. 

Saturday the 11th we went into Wellsboro I went to a auction and Diane went to crafty/fund raiser show at the fair grounds.  We both bought something and she picked me up around noon to head back home.  I walked Rudy and then headed up the mountain to relocate the trail camera while Diane went back to town for groceries. 

We are sitting out at the fire and the neighbors above us are out unloading some things from the truck.  3 deer just look at us all then go back to eating.  

Sunday we started packing up the Moho for a trip to Williamsport for some service work, Diane did another kayaking trip.  She is enjoying her trips more and more.  Dinner with Jen and Greg always a good time.

We finished packing Monday morning and headed to Rhone's in Williamsport.  I drove straight down and was parked up 2:30.  Diane on the other hand left, stopped at the post office, went to check the tomatoes at Tompkins where she met another camp host(talked) and then the wine store before joining Rudy and I at 5:00.  We were going to do burgers but opted for wings from a local restaurant.  We have to be up and out of the Moho by 8am!

Tuesday morning we were up and ready to walk out by 7:30.  We had Rudy and had to pack enough of his stuff for the day.  Food, drinks and snacks for us and the truck was quite full. First stop was breakfast at Mark's dinner.  We were the only ones there at first and I guess the waitress was bored she took our order but stood and talked for awhile.  Good we had all day to kill.  Food was good and we were on our way by 9am.  Into Williamsport hit a few stores, a few antique stores before lunch.  By  now it was getting warm so we couldn't leave Rudy in the truck.  We decided on Sheetz for a wrap for lunch, big mistake it was mostly just dough just wasn't good.  Then I got out pumped some gas and couldn't find the keys.  We were disappointed with lunch, hot and now I lost the keys while pumping gas.  After looking everywhere Diane found them on the dash!  All was not lost on the way back she spied a seafood store.  We stopped loaded up with shrimp and seafood salad.  Oh YUM and that would be dinner tonight.  They didn't bring the Moho out until after 5pm and we decided to spend the night again.

Wednesday we were up early than we wanted to be but once they opened up you just can't sleep anymore.  Only two hour drive so we packed slow I headed home Diane took the cooler back to load up at the seafood store, more shrimp, more seafood salad, scallops and a nice swordfish steak.  Back to Ives Run, Rudy and I had the camper already parked and set up, until she showed up.

Thursday was another work day cleaning up a site pulling vines and cutting branches.  We worked longer than normal but wanted to finish up this one site.

Friday we worked helping the rangers disassemble, pull and move the boat docks for winter storage.  That was quite interesting.  We quit just after lunch to give Diane some time for another kayaking trip.  We had so many left overs we couldn't cook the swordfish but don't feel to bad, all the leftovers were some sort of seafood.  Next started getting ready for trip south to Chris's birthday party tomorrow.

Glad to be on land and that
the rangers had this job.
Using 2 small boats to move 
a fairly large dock.....glad they made
it to shore.  

No more floods for us!!

Tuesday 7 September 2021  Happy Labor Day

 Hello everyone what a crazy time we have been having this year.

   We never did go back to Tomkins to camp the water came up over 20 feet flooding the electrical posts so we are staying at Ives Run for the rest  of the season.  We have settled in now and after several trips back and forth we have retrieved all of our stuff and redecorated this site.  We did have to leave the tomato plants behind just to big to move but we pick them every time we go over.
 
   Now we are working at Tompkins cleaning up just tons of debris.  You see pictures of flooded areas but once you stand in the debris you get a real sense of the enormous task of clean up.  Day after day we went back to the camp ground just cleaning the small beach area, us and the 4 maintenance volunteers.  The rangers spent days upon days moving big debris clearing the boat ramp so insurance people and boat owners can retrieve their boats and trailers.  Each day they let 4 or 5 owners in and they are escorted down to and from the boat launch area.  We finished the beach area in about week but the smell of the mud and debris will stay in our minds for a long time. On Labor Day weekend we had about 35 volunteers working to clean up the South Shore boat launch area and playground.  It was amazing to see what that many people could do in four hours.  We had the three Kubota's and a dump trailer running the whole time.  And like ants at picnic a Kubota would stop and before the driver got out it was full and off to dump again.  The concession stand was open and they offered all the workers half price meals and free coffee.  It was a good day for everyone. 

The picture above is most of the work crew, we did have

a few show up after they took the picture.

The pictures on the right are a little hard to see, but the top one is the mess when we showed up and the bottom one is after the clean up  They accomplished what the rangers wanted to get done, the Play ground was getting a wash from the Fire Comp. in the afternoon, but it is cleaned and ready for the kids!!

  

  We did take a day off and went to NY for supplies(mostly hunting) and treated ourselves to lunch at The Nine Elephants Thai restaurant.  It was good, Diane had  Pad Thai with scallops and I had scallops sautéed with fresh vegetables.  Both were very good and no cooking or dishes. Oh Yea!  The first stop was picking up a tree stand and trail camera from Sportsman's Warehouse we then hit a few more stores before returning home with a empty check book but a full belly.

    The bear visited again this past Saturday night I didn't see him but he left his tell tail sign, the grill lying on the ground and grease pan removed.  Rudy is always happy when he stops by because he smears the grease all over the ground.  We have been lucky no damage to the grill just need to replace grease pan.

    We did manage to get one job done that has been a long time coming.  The shower door has been leaking just a little bit over the past month or so and Diane finally got me fixing it.  As you can imagine no good plan ever goes the way you think.  All I had to do was remove the door take it outside clean everything up reinstall the door.  All went well and according to plan until about 5 minutes after 5 and I went to put back together.  I couldn't find my tube of caulking!!  We looked and looked no caulking.  The hardware store had just closed and there is nowhere close to get any.   Sooo I look at Diane and say we can go a day so without a shower, right.  After watching her eyes for a second, I decided it best to get caulking first thing in the morning and finish it up.  And so I did but we had to wait 8 hour before using the shower and at 8 hours and 5 minutes she was in the shower and we lived happily very after.

This is the mess he left in my shower......but we survived!!

 

   Last Monday I had to take the truck in for new tires and oil change not that big of a deal and it went smoothly.  But now we need the Moho serviced and inspected and the truck inspected by the end of September. Ouch on the checkbook.  We probably could have waited a month or two for tires but why chance it especially up here on this gravel roads one pointy stone and you have a flat and Diane doesn't enjoy changing them like she used to.

   The boat is now all fixed and ready for a trip in the lake.  All we need now is a nice day to take her out.  I can't believe it has taken this long to get everything and I still haven't used it.  I'm telling you I will get it in the water at least twice this year.

    Other than that we have been working on flood clean up and more and  more and more clean up.  I did take the government driving course so now I can drive the work trucks.  So now I'm certified to run an electric chain saw and drive a government vehicle.   They require us to do a total of 24 hours a week combined.  We probably get closer to 40 hours total but of course you get nothing extra for the extra hours just a feel good feeling.  

    Things should be picking up for blogging topics soon.  We  are going to Williamsport for some maintenance next Tuesday and don't know if it will one day or two days but always a fun time waiting to get the coach back each evening.  The seasons are changing, temperature is dropping (low of 49) last Friday,  a few trees are starting color and of course bow hunting starts 2 October.  We will still have to get our hours in but probably not as many extra hours.    

 

There is a pontoon boat and 

3 if not 4 trailers under this pile, 

when we first got there, there was a 

gigantic tree laying on top of it all.  😕

This is more of the South Shore
boat launch area, what a mess.

A Crazy time in Tioga County

 Saturday 21 August 2021

   Wednesday the 11th I returned the old motor to the guy I bought the boat from and got part of my money back.  Now we have the boat with new registration in our name, no motor, and a trailer with no title(on the way the man says).  Found a motor in State College planned on pick on Friday the 13th then Saturday and finally got it on Monday. We put it on the boat Tuesday but didn't put in the water because of pending heavy rain.  But we are ready to go.  Then Tuesday evening it started to rain.

  It rain Tuesday night over 2 inches, no big deal.  Wednesday it rained 3 inches kind of a deal but no worries it is a big lake.  Wednesday night it rained 3. 4 inches and the lake just ain't THAT big.  I went to bed around 9:30 at 10:00 the rangers knock on the door, we needed to help them evacuate the Bench section of the campground.  So in a driving rain Diane went to assign vacant camp sites to people having to move.  I went to move our boat to higher ground then down to get the kayaks out of the rising water.  To late the water was already knee deep by the time I got there.  I moved all five kayaks to a safer spot. Just in the time it took to get the last kayak, the water camp up over a foot.  I went back to the Moho put on dry clothes had a glass of wine and waited for Diane to come in. The rain quit about midnight and at 12:30 am Diane comes in just dripping wet, changed and we walked down to check the water level before heading to bed just after 1:30 am.  I thought I heard noise around 4:30 but fell back to sleep.  At 5:00 am a loud knock, Rudy started barking and I was awake.  I stumbled to the door only to find Ranger Brad and I could tell by the look on his face, we had to evacuate!  No hurry we had a couple of hours.  By now we were just getting on and off rain showers but rain none the less.  Diane packed up the inside, stuffing things anywhere they would fit and we had a lot of stuff out.  I packed up the out side.  I made three or four trips moving big items up to the gate house.  Bikes, table canopy, rugs, awning screen and bunch of other stuff all dripping wet and muddy just got moved higher up the hill.  Diane kept making coffee and offering breakfast bars  to keep us going.  

The first picture is about a foot below the sign at 6:30 AM,

at 8:00 AM it was at the bottom of the sign and

at 1:30 the sign is no longer visible, under water...

   By 9:30 am we arrived at Ives Run volunteer spot.  We parked the Moho, plugged in, and hooked up the basics before just sitting and having a coffee.  Completely drained and with everything wet we couldn't rest long.  We cleaned all day separating damp, wet and soaked stuff to dry out.  Talked to Jen and Greg just a bit.  Burgers and bed 8:30.  The last 24 hours we went through 3 or 4 sets of clothes,  had mud, water and debris everywhere inside and out and just 3 hours of sleep.  OMG what a day.
    We had over 7 inches or rain in two and half days and making it worse they cut the out flow from the dam because of down stream flooding.  Many, many small towns around here had flooded roads, washed out bridges, downed trees and power lines.  And I almost for forgot Diane was to head down state for Morgan's baby shower but we couldn't even think about it at all.

All settled at Ives Run,
 this is our evening sky!!

   Friday the 20th of August 2021 the sun came up time to get back to normal.  Diane picked up a rental car a headed down state.  I made two trips over to Tompkins(now closed for the year) to pick up the things we left behind.  Still tired and still not rested well it was a struggle to focus.  I left my glasses at Hall's, went to the post office but forgot to drop off the out going mail so I had to make another trip.  But making progress on getting everything over to the new campsite. 

  So now we are at Ives Run, the boat is at Tompkins but both lakes closed until further notice.  Doesn't that just figure.  They will open I'm sure by early next week.  The camp site is looking good and ready for a day or two of normal.

  Saturday morning update!!  Now that we are all moved over they may want us to move back on Monday to help with clean up.  Oh yea!

Sunday 23 August 2021

   I woke up to a noise around 3:30 am.  As I looked out the window I saw something running across the road.  Turns out it was a bear!   He knocked the grill down cleaned out the grease pan and I can't image why, but he ate my work gloves.  When daylight came I surveyed the area and the other campers no real damage but I need some new gloves.

Images from the bear visit.  He got the grease pan from 

under the grill, but why did he eat my gloves!!!

   I had breakfast with Jen and Greg visited for awhile then started cleaning up the camper for Diane's return from Morgan's baby shower trip.
   No rain now for three days both lakes are open and things are getting back to normal.  I think we are moving back to Tompkins tomorrow and stay there until Labor Day or so.
    I picked Diane up in Mansfield we went to look at a piece of land and drove the back way home.  A nice end to a crazy week!!

Oh yea,  I (Diane) had a great weekend visiting with Shane, Morgan, Lynne and Rick.  The baby shower was wonderful, and everybody had a great time. 

  Morgan just loved her cookie table.....she does have a sweet tooth.  😊

Time is winding down at Tompkins Campground!!

 Tuesday 10 August 2021 weekly update

    I'll try to catch everyone up a bit.  We are back to normal weather for the most part warm and humid days with lows in the mid sixties. We just missed some severe storms that dumped over 6 inches of rain on the small town of Westfield causing road closures and flooding.  Strange how a place 5 miles away is so badly flooded and it barely rained here.  And of course the internet here is hit or miss.  I try to do the blog and no internet.  An hour later Diane is browsing FB at high speed so I jump on the blog and poof it dies again.  Sometimes I swear it sees me coming.

   Diane has been getting some use out the kayak I think she went out at least 4 times this week.  Along with camp hosting she has been quite busy. I'm not sure if she enjoys kayaking so much as the time away from me.  She does almost all the hosting chores herself while I do mowing and site maintenance.

A few pictures from the Diane's kayak trips!!

  

 I did take several days off after having two broken teeth pulled  and a piece of tooth from previous extraction.  Diane enjoyed looking after me and especially cooking for me.  I had a tooth on each side pulled so soft food that I could chew with my front teeth.  She didn't even mind me laying around moaning about how my jaw hurt and can you bring me something to drink, eat, pills etc.  

   We (Diane) bought a bunch of stuff at an on line auction.  Three lots of stuff(mostly Pfaltzgraff) but you know how it works you have to take everything including the shelving.  So Sunday while she camp hosted I drove an hour each way to pick our treasures.  It took over a hour to pack the stuff in boxes then carry it out to the truck that is parked 100 feet away along the highway.  Just to get even I stopped for a coffee on the way back.  I got home we unloaded the truck, unpacked the boxes and started to sort through the merchandize.  You  do remember we live in the RV so in order to sit down and eat we have to repack a few boxes.  By evening we had the truck loaded with donate items.  5 boxes of stuff to keep(Take to storage) and three boxes of stuff she sold.  Tuesday the 10th she took most of the remaining items, about half of what we bought, to donate to the Children's home Thrift Store.

A few pictures of just some of the treasures we snagged.

     😄😄😎

    Now a update on the status of the boat I bought in mid July.  I call the guy and he agreed to help pay for a motor that runs.  So the last two and half weeks I spent endless hours searching for motors and learning what will and won't work on our boat.  Besides horse power and make, you have shaft length short, regular and sail master(extra long).  I would find one call or facebook the owner.  Some owners didn't even know what I was talking about, some never called back, some were sold and in the end I have no motor.  I've have called the seller many times he was looking also to no avail.  Maybe just maybe I have one in State College waiting for a call back.  The next place the boat goes maybe the junk yard.

    It  is hard to believe we are counting down our last month of the summer.  When we parked 15th of May it seemed like a long time until 10 of September now it is just 4 weeks away.  We have so many things out of the basement storage it will take weeks to get the Moho back into traveling mode.  The next big event will be a few days in Williamsport for service on the 14th of September.  Don't know when we will head south.  Dillsburg campground has gotten just terribly full of permanent people and just kind of run down.

  

Our last visitors for the year!!

 Tuesday 27 July 2021

   Just as our luck goes last night  the weather turned nice with cool evenings and low humidity so we turned off the A/C and opened up the windows.  Diane was opening the window by her side of the bed and I hear a small bang(small window) I look over and she is holding the top of the window frame in her hand, no window attached and the window fell shut.  Another item to the list of things to do.  Ah, the list gets a little longer.
   This morning was nice I took advantage and hit the water for a little kayaking trip.  Very clam and only a few boats.  I paddled across the lake and up along the south side shore line.  Very relaxing mid morning ride there were a few fishing boats but only one buzzing by me.  I made it back just over a hour paddling almost non stop.  A good workout.  We had a coffee and tried to figure out what the propane smell was in the kitchen.  Turns out we were out of propane.  Diane went to get propane and to the deli for supplies for our up coming shift on Thursday.  I mowed around the volunteer sites and finished weed whacking by the horse shoe pit.
   She called Kate and made arrangement for us to have diner with her at Schiffty's  in Westfield around 6.  We just had wings and talked.  Poor Kate is cleaning up the house and personal stuff from Tony's passing.  We feel for her and offer our support the best we know how.  The wings were good and we talked for more than 2 hours.  Almost 9pm until we made it home.  I forgot to feed Rudy before we left and he was not a happy dog but he got over it once I filled his dish.  That's it for today.

Wednesday 28 July 2021

   Not much going on today.  Diane headed to Wellsboro for everything.  I think she had 6 or 7 stops to make it took her half the day.  I stayed here and did some site clean up.   Another whole day without rain.

There was a bird nest in the glove box of the Gator.  I walked in to the maintenance shed and the nest is sitting on the hay bales, the eggs had hatched and Andrea didn't think it should be in the gator when we used it for work.  I wasn't sure they would even hatch.  

Thursday 29 July 2021

    I guess the fishing will have to wait awhile.  I had this brilliant idea to buy a cheap boat use it a year or so and sell it, great plan.  But as great ideas go(especially mine) it didn't work out according to my plan.  I brought it home last week and ordered the part it needed and of course it didn't fit.  Returned it, ordered another ( the right part) and it arrived in record time.  All excited I headed to the marine repair shop in town to get it fixed up.....Today they called with the bad news....It can't be fixed. I can still use the boat with the trolling motor but that's it.  I always wanted a boat...until now.
   We worked today and the luck continued.  It started to rain just as we got into the buggy for the first round and it rained steady the whole time we were out.  After two hour getting in and out, tagging and cleaning sites we were soaked.  Got back to the Moho parked the Kubota and the rain quit as we walked inside.  Just our luck.  Another inch of rain in two hours.
   Things did pick up then.  Dave and Julie showed up we stopped by said high and they came down for burgers on the grill and Julie brought cauliflower potato salad.  Don't roll your eyes it was good.  We ate, sat by the fire and of course had a glass(or more) of wine and called it a night.

Friday 30 July 2021

   What a crazy day.   It started off good enough we had breakfast with Dave and Julie (eggs & scrapple) then we headed out on rounds.  It was busy with over 50 sites checking in and 15 checking out.  The first pass took about 2 hours and we were back for lunch.  After lunch I worked on site clean up and poor Diane started a day long shift of question, complaints and problems.  I was the lucky one as it turned out I quit at 4pm showered and walked Rudy up to visit with Dave and Julie we had hobo chicken. It was very good.  Diane stopped for a quick bite around 5:30 then headed back out.  I came down around 7pm Diane was dealing with campers until after 9pm,  dog bite, site screw ups and trying to make reservation for someone.  She finally came in as I was getting ready for bed.  What a day. 

Saturday 31 July 2021

   Woke up to a really nice day cool but sunny.  We swapped work days with Kathy so we could spend a day with Dave and Julie.  Up to Julie's for breakfast again, they are going to spoil us for sure.  We took a little break after breakfast then headed over to a local winery for a tasting.  We spent two plus hours, first the tasting then a glass of wine  and we sat out by the creek.  Took the back way home just a beautiful day for a drive.  Back to the Moho and another short break then back up to Dave's for dinner  (steaks and grilled vegies) with a few glasses of wine of course.  We sat by the fire, talked and had a great evening.

A fun time for us and the Metzger's at the local winery
'Shutter Homes'

                            

Sunday 1 August 2021 

   The morning started great, sunshine and cool.  We started the fire and had breakfast underway by the time Dave and Julie showed up for breakfast(sausage and eggs).  We all ate and sat by the fire until almost 11am.  They headed back up the hill and we packed up the buggy and started out for first trip around the campground.  We are trying to get a head start before the storms roll in again this afternoon.  We stopped to say goodbye to Dave and Julie and finished up the round just as the thunder storms hit.  We did about 80% of the sites but we hunkered down until the storm passed.  We had another 1/2 inch of rain.  The ground just started to dry out after two whole days without rain. Diane finished up the sites just before diner.  Time for some wine.

Happy Birthday!!

 Friday 24 July 2021     HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANE

   Lynne and Rick were here for the weekend and Diane got to spent many hours sitting by the camp fire chatting with Lynne.  She had a great birthday lots of sister time and lunch  in Corning.  They even got a nice kayak trip in staying along the edge of the lake.

   Other than the occasional relative showing up it has been clean fire pits, mow, weed whack, and pickup trash and repeat.  Diane has been doing the majority of the hosting duties and I have been trying to help weed whack and and trim brush back around the sites.

   The biggest thing that has happened is the rain has let up considerably the last few days and things are drying up a bit.  We had 3 plus inches of rain last weekend to the point they closed the lake to all boating and swimming.  It rained almost every day for 10 or 12 days and getting over an inch on four of those days.  And of course when it rains we loose wi-fi or its really poor reception and the satellite dish also craps out. You talk about boring on a rainy day no internet, no tv and just enough cell service to get a text through equals not much fun.

Rudy and Cody looking
quite fashionable!!

 

We did go down state to attend Shane and Morgan's "BaBy Q" and had a great time.  It was very warm, but didn't rain,  the beer was very cold and the food was very good so everyone was happy.  The pool was open so when you got to hot just jump in and cool off.  Almost everyone stayed until a nasty thunderstorm hit and people scurried to safety and that kind of ended the party mood.

There were lots of people in the pool!!

Monday July 26 2021

    Well, things are back to normal now and hopefully we will be doing some interesting things again.
We have Dave and Julie coming up this week, we are going to visit Kate,  hope to get some fishing in and maybe even over to visit the Folk's  at Ives Run and Diane is holding out for a trip to the Corning Museum of Glass.    Internet is working, we have cell service inside the camper and the satellite is up and working.  

Happy 4th to All!!

 Wednesday July 7 2021

   Holy high water Batman when will this weather ever break.  Another week has past but the weather doesn't change.  Rain, thunderstorms and high humidity with sun shine in between.  It hasn't ruined the entire week just made planning the difficult.  But we adapted, improvised and over came the changing weather to have a pretty good time this week.
   First a story you all need to commit to memory for camping in a  gypsy moth infested area.  On our last work day I put my work boots on outside as requested by boss lady of the camper.  No work boots inside the camper.  So my sneakers sat out side all day.  After working all day my feet were sweaty and tired so I sat outside changed into my sneakers.  I stuck my foot in my shoe and 'SQUISH' that much horrid feeling on your foot.  Pulled my foot out and a gypsy month caterpillar mashed on the toe of my sock. Oh gross. Cleaned that up but my shoe back on and squish again on the tongue of my shoe. I ripped that off pulled out the strings and thoroughly searched both of my shoes and naturally there were no more.  But I will never leave shoes outside again.  I hope Diane gets the stains out of my sock!
   On to better times Lynne and Rick came up for 5 days to visit and spend the 4th of July.  We had a great time playing giant Jenga two different nights and even got a game of euchre in the one night.  We took a trip to Corning had lunch and the girls did some shopping.  But almost every day had some kind of rain, not enough to ruin the day, just enough to keep you guessing about your plans.  It rained so much on the 2nd they almost cancelled the fireworks at Ives Run by the time they decided to have them it was to late to go.  Monday the 5th July was a really nice day.  Campfires and wine time just about every evening with wonderful meals every day. Our menu to mention a few things shrimp, clams, steak, stuffed mushrooms, chicken on the grill and even dogs and burgers one night. Oh the food was good.  Lynne and Rick went to Watkins Glenn to the Famous Brands Outlet and top it off, they 👘had an ice cream stop on the way home.  The weather held out yesterday morning for them to get packed and on the road. A good time.
   Diane headed into the grocery store while I did some mowing around our site and before she got back a thunderstorm rolled though and just dumped on us.  A good thing the outside stuff was cleaned up before she left.  We eventfully went back out side but to late for a fire.
   Now today we go back to work(sounds funny) and of course rain almost every day!

We have had so much rain that we have our own crop of mushrooms

growing under the Moho and the tomato plants have gotten really tall!!