Lincoln Rock - Of Marmots, Men and Musings

Three weeks have slipped by without a word in the blog and for that I apologize. I wish I could blame it on us being so busy in the park there wasn't time but that would be far from true. With the exception of one spring break weekend where we were just 4 sites from being packed full, we 've easily managed the 16 or so campers scattered about the 104 sites and 12 cabins.

Our job is quite simple: pick up litter and tend to the fire rings. Our first week here had Chris and I combing the park for litter and debris. If the number of buckets hauled was any indication, we definitely did some work! It has paid off though, since then it has been the occasional pickup after a water balloon fight.

Tending fire rings has been a different matter and requires me to get on the soap box to vent a little frustration. How can anyone be so careless as to leave a fire burning unattended – fire ring or no. After the fires of recent years you would think folks would have learned the dangers and put out their fires properly. Nope, hasn't happened. I don't believe we've gone more than 3 days without finding at least one fire still smoldering away after the campers have left – this at sites where a water source is usually less than 10 feet away. Harumph and several grumblings. Now getting off the soap box.

The park is more than just a campground. The 80 acres also encompass a boat launch, swimming area, full sized play ground, soccer field, volleyball, tennis and basketball courts and several large picnic areas.

Fortunately we only have to attend to the campground area though we have been helping out as we wander around the park. As you can see from the pictures, the park is really spacious.


(Yes, we are biased and do love it here.)

Marmots, aka groundhogs, rock chucks, lawn rats. There is a huge population of these cute, noisy, nuisances; so much so they are losing their fear of people.


Last week I got a complaint of a marmot that had begun setting up house inside the engine compartment of one of the campers. The industrious critter had already begun to shred some of the insulation off the hood to make a nest and was chirping up a storm about his/her territory being invaded by the nasty human owners. Water sprayer to the rescue and eviction completed with no harm to the critter other than a dampened enthusiasm for nesting in vehicles.

The bright side? Marmots tend to not break into things such as coolers or tents in search of food like a raccoon would and they are a bit too large to get into most of the nooks and crannies of RV rigs.

Our off time has been filled with all the personal baggage that comes with transitioning to full time RV life. We've changed real estate agents in the hopes our old home will be better marketed and sold, had our yearly appointments with the doctors, downsized our storage unit once again and caught up with some maintenance we can't get elsewhere.

Oh, and of course, did a little fishing (with even some catching this time!)