Any good Camp Host stories?

MTPockets1 wrote:
It was a dark and stormy night. Our first couple days in host site and orientation was still a couple days away. A young couple knocked on the door, the girl said she was sick and had to leave just an hour after arriving and paid the $17.00 in the self serve station. She asked if she could get a refund. Being new and not sure, I gave her $17 and felt I would get my money tomorrow. Tomorrow came and ranger said there were no pay envelopes in the post. Scammed... Live and learn .

I LOVE your first sentence! Maybe the opening line in dozens of horror novels. :)

There were three young men from Houston who showed up at Big Bend NP at dusk (600 miles trip). "We've been camping for years, and been here several times."

But they forgot the tent, and sleeping bags. They had the fly and some jackets so they tried to sleep in the Prius.

Life of volunteering has been interesting these past 10 years which we have volunteering on and off ... at campgrounds, lighthouses, and historical areas. Told one couple that their yurt would not be available before 3 pm, and they said "but it is empty", and we told them that it hadn't been cleaned yet, and they replied that they didn't know they were cleaned. Just had to smile and tell them that indeed they had to be cleaned after being rented.

One of the nuisances is people who do not realize that raccoons are everywhere and they leave chips, fruit, etc. on their picnic tables and take the dog on a walk or leave it there over night .. and yes, raccoons make a mess of it, which causes the critters to come back night after night in search of more food. But these past couple of years have not run into people who are novices at being in campgrounds.

It was a dark and stormy night. Our first couple days in host site and orientation was still a couple days away. A young couple knocked on the door, the girl said she was sick and had to leave just an hour after arriving and paid the $17.00 in the self serve station. She asked if she could get a refund. Being new and not sure, I gave her $17 and felt I would get my money tomorrow. Tomorrow came and ranger said there were no pay envelopes in the post. Scammed... Live and learn .

ScottG wrote:
Come on now folks, there just has to be a bunch of funny or at least stupid drunk stories alone. Or how about first time campers doing things.

Stupid drunks is a call the law enforcement ranger for me. I don't get involved. Nor in domestic situations.

One of the weirdest was I walked through the campground one morning and saw a car rolled up against another - minor fender bender.

The people who owned the car were no where to be found.

Later discovered the young lady was in such a hurry to get on a hiking trail early, she didn't set the parking brake well, and a few minutes later the car rolled out of her camping site parking area, across the road and into the other car.

Another time there were these two guys who were birders. Total geeks. Camped next to them were two cheerleader types. They guys invited them over for a few beers.

The next morning my wife asked the girls how the party went "Those guys would only talk about those stupid birds til we got bored and left."

Well, there was one guy who wanted to see if he could get close enough to a bear in the campground to pet it. I told him I would make his survivors do all the paper work.

Well..... "One time at Band Camp"...... Oh never mind. ;-)

(Guess you had to see the movie)

Come on now folks, there just has to be a bunch of funny or at least stupid drunk stories alone. Or how about first time campers doing things.

we were camp hosts at Chadron State Park in NE for about 4 years and enjoyed every day of it. There were very few problems with people there. Once, a group of girls from the local college came up to camp and of course, some college boys came up to visit and they got a bit loud late that evening, so DH had to go run them off (nicely). The last year, we had to evacuate the park because a forest fire was threatening. Luckily the fire fighters kept the park from burning, but it burned all around it.
It's a nice park, well run.

eb145 wrote:
OK, it's December and I'm bored.

Anybody have any good Camp Host stories?
Ed

You mean like the one when we found a dead guy face down in a creek running into Convict Lake in CA? Final determination as to cause of death: Alcohol poisoning.

Or, at the same location, the person who lit a fire on the floor of one of the BR stalls at 0200, cuz he was "cold"? Again, we suspect that alcohol was a factor :B


Oh, I'm sorry, you said GOOD stories!

And in all fairness, we were area managers at the time and had to respond to all sorts of nonsense.

Over the years as hosts, managers and other worker bees, the positives outweighed the negatives, sometime by only a slim margin. :)

Ed, Point Lookout SP in MD is always looking for good hosts. They will take you from April - November or any period of time over a two week period. There are 6 campgrounds within the park and at least one host to each campground. Two hosts in a few of the campgrounds is really needed, but they usually don't have that many volunteers.

They require 20 hours per week per camping unit, so if there are two of you, that's 10 hours a week. If there are 4 of you, that's only 5 hours per week. They only require you to be there on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday until about 7:30 or 8:00, so you may be able to work and still host if that would float your boat.

PM me if you would be interested. The rangers there are great and you are appreciated for what you do.