It’s been a while since my last post. After Picketpost Trailhead, we drove a round-about way to our next volunteer position in the Shenandoah National Park. We have been at the park for about a month. In that time we have seen the trees sprout leaves, animals passing through and the rain come and go.
Being a campground host in a National Park is different from what I experienced being one for the Bureau of Land Management. I suspect that each position I accept will be different than any previous positions. So far we have only had two busy weekends where all the sites were full: Memorial Day weekend and a the second weekend the campground was open. I always expect holiday weekends to be busy/full. It appears that many who camp here come from a short distance. On nice weekends, we are busy, but if there is rain in the forecast many don’t show up.
There has been quite a bit of rain; much more than I have seen since starting in Moab almost a year ago. There are some days where we are the only campers, like in Arizona. On these days, we enjoy the solitude and sounds of nature. We usually get a visit from some White Tail Deer or a Bard Owl.
Every now and then I get to see bears. There is one family of a young mother and three little cubs. The cubs are at the stage where they play and wrestle frequently. There is also one adolescent bear that at first was with its mother. But now has ventured off and I only see it alone. Mom appears to have moved deeper into the forest.
The rain does keep us inside more and not out hiking. We planned to do more hiking on our days off, but so far have only gone on one hike. More will come, I am sure. Being in the mountains, the fog/clouds come in and can be dense. At those time driving the Skyline Parkway is slow, as one cannot see very far. The fog does provide some surreal views of the campground at times.
Explore This Land 