Where Has The Summer Gone?

The leaves are beginning to turn, and there is a definite chill in the air. The fireweed has topped out; a sure sign that winter is on its way...I've even seen some geese beginning to congregate in preparation for their flight south.

We will have been here four months and have witnessed spring, summer and fall, all from within the confines of this campground. The tourists in May were few; whereas June brought them from everywhere in the lower 48. With the month of July came an influx of Europeans, and the first two weeks of August were consumed with fair vendors and fairgoers. We are still seeing plenty of Europeans, most of whom speak no English, as we head towards September.

But, there is a feeling of unrest amongst our long term campers who have been with us all summer. It is probably the sense of the inevitable winter months ahead and the need to arrange for other accommodations now.

One family, a father and his two sons, are purchasing their airplane tickets to Kauai, Hawaii where they will live. They will leave in 10 days. Another family; husband, wife, two children....I don't believe they have anywhere else to go as of yet. The two single men in campsite 'B' are hurrying to get an apartment, and the family in Site 31 are probably trying to find somewhere to move their Toyota Dolphin Class C to.

One thing everyone is sure of. Winter is coming, and in Fairbanks it comes early.

Now, THAT'S a Zucchini!

BlackJack & the zucchini

19" in length

Flowers are really blooming now!

The zucchini was given to us by the caretaker of the Fairgrounds. 19" in length! I have no idea how I will be able to use it all of it....zucchini bread, zucchini chocolate cake, fried zucchini, baked zucchini? Wow!

Our daughter and her fiance will be traveling with us out of Alaska, all the way to Tacoma, WA. where they will pick up their vehicles which are being shipped, along with our jeep. No double towing for us through BC this time. We will probably have them follow us to Arizona, where they are moving.

For us, on to New Mexico for October, Texas in November, Yuma and Quartzsite, December and January, then Baja, Mexico for the duration of the winter months. That is our plan thus far, always subject to change, of course. The beauty of fulltiming.

As the temperatures cool down....

Our thoughts turn quickly south. The fair is over, the vendors have left and the campground is empty. We are hoping for more tourists to come through as we have till mid September yet. Personally, I would start down the highway and get the heck out before the snow starts to fly, but a little more revenue means more money in our pocket.

The 10 days of the fair brought some interesting people this way, and we had a couple incidents, like kids stealing bikes, and the typical freeloaders, but all in all, it went pretty smooth.

The Fair is in full Swing

The vendors have arrived, the campground is full, and all is well. It's frankly not as 'crazy' as we were told it would be. Because we are full with all vendors, they are gone during the day working their booths, and we have only a couple tent sites to rent out, so the work is minimal.
Nighttime is always a different story though. We still get the knocks on our door at all hours..."here's my situation", "someone is in my sight", "the laundry room is locked", etc. all, despite the sign on our door "Host is OFF duty". One guy said, "Oh, I didn't know what that sign meant." (Duh!).

We are beginning to think about where we will go when we leave here. We are only a month away....YAY!! Wherever the sun is shining and the temperature is above 75 will be fine with us.
Most likely, Arizona first, and will go from there. No schedule, no concrete plan....relaxing is our number one priority.

Brown Barbecue

Okay, not such a great picture of Karen...
the photographer didn't do so good.
But good of the rest of the clan.


Terri and her 'helper', BlackJack


Mike and Terri brought all the fixings for a barbecue! They all came to the campground, because it's difficult for us to leave (fair time). Terri even 'made' chocolate chip cookies, complete with her own label, 'Fred Meyer'. Mike barbecued the hamburgers, we got to meet Justin's girlfriend, Meagan....food was great, the company even better! The rain stayed away for the evening, and the campers left us alone...what a nice break.

Terri always tends to my flowers when she comes by, and last night she had a little help from her friend.

"Can I get 3 feet of tin foil? That's all I need"

Today's ridiculous question from one of the campers. (Ever here of a grocery store?) I guess because we are the campground "Hosts" we are also expected by some to be the local convenience store, medical supplier, local bank, and provider of mechanical tools.

We have been asked for $5,00, $10.00, a box, neosporin, cold medicine, an extra chair, 6 paper plates, tin foil, cork screw, can opener, ice, hammer, grease gun, screwdriver, wrench, scissors, the use of our computer, printer....Yup. I think that's about it.

This weekend begins the real 'craziness' as vendors will arrive for the fair. We are completely exhausted with all of it. If we could just make it through one night with no disruptions, it would help. Friday night was 'domestic disturbance' in Site "C". Saturday night was LOUD talking in the middle of the night by some woman not even staying here. And last night was just the typical campers who sleep all day, but are UP all night. We figure we may have to buy a new door for our 5th wheel trailer, because ours has been knocked on so many times and opened and closed several hundred more, that it will be worn out by September.

Ahh, the life of a campground manager. And they have invited us to come back next year! No thanks.

My 'Bloomin' Roof"!

The campground office complete
with 'hobbit door' and flowering roof
(click images to enlarge)

A closeup of the roof
(wildflowers)

Finally, the wildflowers are blooming on the roof! And....the Carni's are coming! Fair time is just 2 weeks away and the carnival people are beginning to arrive. The campground is adjacent to the fairgrounds and we have been warned about how crazy things will get. Can it get any crazier? Oh my goodness! Hope I'm ready for it.
Between selling Arctic Circle tours, Dri Wash 'n Guard and running the campground, this summer has been nuts.

Motorcyle MotorHome?

This interesting vehicle pulled in to the campground last night as we returned from the wedding. A 'homemade' motorcycle/motorhome combination. Pretty cool!

Great weekend!

Tyler & Amanda (my baby girl)
(click on pictures to enlarge)

Alicen (my granddaughter) and me

Tyler & Alicen being silly


The kids came up from Anchorage, and we celebrated our daughter's 20th Birthday, attended my niece's wedding, and had brunch at Pike's, served by my nephew.

It was a fantastic but flying two days! We taught Tyler how to play "oh heck", and managed to squeeze in a few games. They had brought a bottle of Greek wine, some Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio with them; so we drank some wine, ate Rum cake and Viennese Torte, and Amanda opened her gifts.

The weather cooperated for the wedding last night, so all went well with that. The bride was beautiful!

Stuck in Prudhoe Bay

Well, Henry's day trip to Prudhoe has turned in to a two day trip. As is common for Prudhoe Bay, the clouds and fog roll in, and the planes can't roll out. He won't be back until Tuesday!
What next?

BlackJack and Stuart....

BlackJack on the left..Stuart on the right
Stuart was the Schnauzer we had when we lived
in Anchorage. We had given him to my brother and
his family in Fairbanks. He looks great!

Caden and Stuart. (how cute!)

Exciting Travels?

As our summer is flying by, we feel our fulltime lifestyle has been put on hold untill we leave Alaska.

Working too hard and not playing at all best describes our day to day routines for now.
For example, Henry flew out early this morning, after getting up at 5 a.m. (no one should have to awake at 5:00 a.m. for anything). He flies from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay, then boards a bus for a one hour ride to catch a helicopter that will take him to an island northwest of Prudhoe.

I will stay here and run the campground, cleaning out firepits, collecting money, and hopefully booking more tours. The tours have proved to be worth my time. For every tour, whether it's to the Arctic Circle, Chena Hot Springs or Manley Hot Springs, I receive 20% in cash, on the day I book the tour. The Arctic Cirlce tour is everyones preference and earns me some decent money for very little work and time. Talk it up, take their $$, and watch my 20% grow. Far more rewarding than being the campground host'ess'.

Then....Why is it so difficult to find good help anymore? They want the money, but don't want to earn it. The couple I have cleaning the bathrooms receive their site for free plus laundry allowance, yet they take the laundry allowance and buy alcohol with it, drink all night, sleep all day, and from one day to the next, I never know if they will show up to clean. The young people today want it all without working for it, and expect everything to be handed to them. We have created a lazy, 'give me' generation. However, I am SO proud of my own kids! Brian is the head title officer with his OWN office...Amanda is a clinical services coordinator for several audiologists; they both show up for work and are proof that not all kids today are lazy.

On an even brighter side, Amanda and Tyler will be up next weekend for my niece's wedding. I am so excited about seeing them, as her 20th birthday is on the 17th, so we will celebrate while they are here. She wants both my rum cake and viennese torte for her birthday cake...so I've got some baking to do! Can't wait!

Happy 4th of July!

85 degrees in Fairbanks today! Clear sky, lots of sun and hot. I love it! Campground is completely full and my overflow lot is filling up quickly. The minute I sit down, somebody needs quarters for laundry while another is pulling in looking for a site. We have tried putting a sign on the door of our trailer, 'Host-Not On Duty' at 9:00 p.m., but have learned that either people don't read, or more than likely, they truly just don't care....because sign or no sign, they WILL knock on our door. At 7:00 a.m., 1:15 a.m., 11:00 p.m...doesn't matter. We have learned to accept that we pretty much do not have a personal life this summer. Not to say none of it is enjoyable, because some of it is. We've met some really nice people from all over the globe, and it's fun to listen to them talk about where they're from.

We have the tadpole boys staying here, the butterfly man, the bird guys, the taxi drivers, the freeloaders, the down on their luck couples, and last, but not least, the tourists.

Since arriving here, we have been given a case of latex gloves (from the bird guys), a 5 gallon gas can (from the butterfly man), a roll of bubble wrap (from ?), a book about women that travel, halibut, salmon, and a crank for the extensions on a motorhome.

Good help is hard to find! We are on the second set of people to clean the bathrooms and laundry room. The first one I fired, because she simply was not cleaning. The second one is completely undependable. They do a great job when they show up, but are they going to show up today??
Time to go. Gotta run some more.

It's Snowing......cotton

Oh, it's summer in Fairbanks. I actually think I had forgotten some of the telltale signs. Such as the sticky sappy things in May, to the blowing cotton in June...all from the cottonwood trees. It all makes such a mess of everything. To catch a clear blue sky with the sun shining, you have to be up at 5:00 a.m. and up again at midnight. Every time in between is pretty much cloudy, and when it's cloudy, it's chilly. I think today's temperature is 72 degrees, but feels like 65 to me.

We are not experiencing smoky air like Anchorage....no fires close enough, yet.

Today was my first day of having my own wheels to actually leave the campground. So, I ran a couple errands, drove through downtown Fairbanks, and now I'm satisfied that Fairbanks really hasn't changed at all. Some of the streets downtown used to be one way streets and are now two way, and the visitors center is filled with tourists and hanging baskets of flowers. But, other than that, it's still Fairbanks. We did have dinner at the Turtle Club Sunday night with friends that came up for the summer. It was nice visiting with them and hearing their stories of the Alaska Highway and all they've been doing here in Fairbanks. They went to Chena Hot Springs and enjoyed the $15.00 Appletini served in a glass made of ice! Guess I need to check that one out!
Gotta run....got incoming motorhomes.

Harley Davidson Rally

Father's Day weekend was filled with Harley Davidson motorcycles. I don't know how many exactly, but may have been close to 300. Needless to say, it was loud around here. Those bikes do roar! There were some beautiful bikes and from all over...as far away as Florida that we heard.

By the middle of this week and through the weekend this campground will be full of about 100 soccer kids and their families. The activity doesn't stop around here. From dawn to dusk, we are running. Speaking of which, gotta run for now....

Middle of June

Here we are, it's mid June, we've both been working many more hours each day than we had anticipated, and I'm afraid summer in Alaska is going to fly by and leave us asking where it went.

My days begin by getting up with Henry at 6:00 a.m. From that moment, until about 10:00 p.m., I'm checking people in, taking reservations, answering all kinds of questions, and listening to some 'poor me' stories from those who feel they're entitled to a discounted night or a free night's stay. (How about getting a job?) Granted, it's not 14 straight hours of all of the above, but it is the knock on the door the moment we sit down to have dinner, or Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m.....
And why don't people read the signs? When the sign says "door will be locked at 8:00 p.m.", that probably is a good indicator that 7:55 p.m. would not be the appropriate time to start the laundry"....And, if my husband and I are sitting outside in front of our trailer having a private conversation, what gives the impression we are wanting to have company for the next 2 hours? I am beginning to feel like we never see one another.
Then we have Henry's job, which is the original reason for coming to Alaska for the summer. He is working long hours there, and always ends of coming 'home' to assist someone (who probably does not speak english) with their electrical plug in, show another where the dump station is or help me with the 'rush' of late arrivals. It's no wonder he feels mentally 'whipped'.

Yup, I did sign up for this job, and yes, I still feel it was a good idea.....but, boy oh boy!
I wonder what the rest of Fairbanks looks like and will I ever get to see it?

Memorial Day Weekend

The kids outside of Pioneer Park


My granddaughter, Alicen and me

Amanda and Tyler on the Chena River

Our Memorial Day weekend weather was awesome, and having our daughter, her boyfriend AND our granddaughter her made it all more memorable!

We spent Saturday at Pioneer Park which was lots of fun. The kids seemed to really enjoy all of it. We rode on the train, had 'old time' photos done, and went in all the tiny little shops. Then we went to the Pump House for lunch on the deck, which explains the photo above. The Riverboat Discovery was cruising by as I snapped the photo of Amanda and Tyler.

Sunday was our barbecue day. Steak, hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans. My brother brought over ribs and potatoes later in the evening. A campfire, some roaster marshmallows, a game of Scrabble and a game of Phase 10. Tyler won both games, so I've challenged him for the next time we see them.

We took them for breakfast Monday morning, and off they went back home to Anchorage. The weekend flew by, but we sure enjoyed seeing all of them and getting to know Tyler better. Alicen, our granddaughter, is such the grown up 10 year old, and such fun. Amanda is as she always remains....'our baby girl' but all grown up. We are proud of our kids and grandkids!!!

Gas Prices Hit An All Time High!

(Click on the link above)

Again, the headlines read 'gas prices hit an all time high'. Check out the article above. They say as the Memorial Day weekend approaches, prices have increased .05 cents per gallon nationwide.
The price of gasoline/diesel are not hurting the rich. They can afford the increases.
The only people being hurt are the lower and middle class people. They are the ones cutting back in other areas (such as food), to afford the increase in gasoline prices. Maybe they've taken a second job, or they're not ordering takeout....whatever. The average american family is cutting back somewhere else so they can afford to put gasoline in their car to take them to work, to earn their measly paycheck to pay their mortgage and their 'increased' electric bill.
Meanwhile......
Bottom line: The rich (that would be the regular rich, the oil company employee/employer rich, their families, and third world country employees) get richer and the poor get poorer. As they continue to live their lives with their $80.00 manicures or country club relaxation, the rest of us average american tax paying citizens will forego our next meal 'out' just to compensate for the increase in gasoline prices.

Such is life......??? Guess So.

Beautiful Weather

Every day has been gorgeous so far! Warm, sunny, and getting greener by the minute. The mosquitoes are not out in full force yet, and I know they will be awful, but for the time being, we are enjoying the sunshine.
We have been working hard at cleaning things up to our liking in the campground, and establishing a routine.
We decided to sell snack items after my brother had checked prices on everything from Sams Club. So, by yesterday I was ready to purchase them. Tony picked me up and away we went. Ending up with a couple additional items we thought might sell, we now can open the 'store'.
Henry has been repainting signs, raking leaves, cleaning, cleaning, sprucing everything up. By the time he starts his 'regular' job on Monday, I should be in good shape.
That's it from the campground for now.

The Golden Heart City

It's been 6 days since my last post because we made the trip to Fairbanks from Anchorage, spent a day and a half getting set up (we are going to be here for 4 months, so we want everything perfect), then we've been learning about the campground I will be managing for the summer. We definitely have had some busy days, but think we're going to like it here a lot. We can pretty much run it the way we want, and can even sell snack items for example, as long as we purchase the items, we don't have to share the profit with the campground!
It will get extremely busy, and I'll probably not have any days off, but I will meet lots of people, and it should be fun! Luckily, both my kids are planning trips to come see us!
The weather here has been amazing! Warm and sunny, not windy and cold like most everywhere else we'd been.

Again, Life Is Good!