The winding down of our first work camp position of our 2014 year has begun. Being planted next to the peaceful Spokane River was a treasured pleasure.

A bit frosty at the onset of our stay but warmed up to brilliant Cornflower mornings full of distant haunting raptor chirrups and echoing woodpecker rat-a-tat-tats.

Every campsite was filled this weekend, even the overflow. Said goodbye to Ellen, the upstairs maid, (John and I are the downstairs maids) as she left for another work camp position. Thoroughly enjoyable stay but if we ever return, it will be early in the year. The closer to summer months are greatly congested with noisy smoky-fire-building campers.

A bubble recipe from my niece posted on Facebook provided us with ample reason to turn a few hours into a play time and we blew happy rainbow orbs out across the river. They exploded midair leaving Spiderman webs trailing along the breeze.

Our closest osprey, his nest positioned at the top of a tree across from our campsite, flew to perch on a nearby limb and watch the popped bubble strings float away. Sensing it wasn’t food, he loudly broadcasted his disappointment and returned home.

We sighted another coyote next to one of the camp sites but he wandered off by the time I got the camera out of the motorhome. One of our campers saw an old porcupine waddle slowly by our site at the water’s edge and our marmot poked his head out to watch us greet the newbies. Our geese waddled their babies out of the water and up into the campground to teach them the proper way to poop on our little patches of grass.

One day left. Lots of campsites to clean, lots of last minute cramming belongings into available spaces to achieve. Weather is not being cooperative. 9:00 am cool, windy overcast. 9:15 am brilliant sunshine. 9:20 am pouring down rain. 9:25 am wind with sleet, sticking to Ribbit’s window. 9:45 brilliant sunshine poking out between clouds. 10:10 am sleet sticking to our work camp cab cart. 10:20 am warm brilliant sunshine. Spokane is truly a “if-you-don’t-like-the-weather-wait-five-minutes-and-it-will-change-drastically” kind of town. Just enough time for a Kodak moment with the Spokane River minutes before another down pour.

A quick sneak out to take one last picture of our Spokane River sunset before a much needed nights sleep.

We put in another full day of physical work today. Raked 13 sites, cleared and hauled away 4 garbage cans full of pine needles, made homemade fish stew and cleaned LilyPad. Phew…ready for dinner, a movie, put up the feet and drain a bottle of wine to the very last drop.

Still cautious about staying outside after dark to look for wildlife leaves us only early evening to spot something wild. Walking the park to greet our newbie’s turned up a fat fuzzy marmot who was interrupted from his lounging, spread eagle on top of tree stumps in the sun

several dozen geese who have chosen our little splotches of grass as their personal port-a-potties

some raptors out hunting for nesting materials to repair the goose disruptions

and fishing for their nesting family.

Ducks of all kinds land in quiet coves of the river, bobbing up and down fishing for hours before flapping off into the sunset.

Tonight the moon was eclipsed but the clouds hid the copper color. Very disappointing show considering we stayed up until 12:30 am to watch and rise early next morn to rake and clean 10 sites.

A scraggly little herd of Mule deer roam through our campsite when the sun comes out, which in Spokane, is a rarity.

On the way to the grocery, a local coyote was watching hikers and their dog from a few yards away, not an ounce of fear showing. John’s camera phone was all we had but you can tell how at ease he is with us so close to him as he intently watched the dog.

John and I have been trying for over a year to secure a host position in a local Texas State park near The Woodlands. It seems, unless someone dies, the same people are given positions year after year, Texan or not. Oregon limits volunteer hosts to three years so they don’t become overly possessive with the campground as does Washington.

Today I received an email accepting us for a position with Washington on the Brazos at Barrington Living Farm for December, January and February. John will dress in 1800’s garb and work on the farm with oxen, chickens, repairing fences, etc. I shall be working in jeans and a T-shirt at the Visitors Center answering questions. We have a wonderfully large full hook-up site and have first pick of positions for future years. Only an hour from The Woodlands. Finally we got our foot in the door for Texas State Parks…Go Team Perrella!

Our “time off” has been snippets here and there as our work load consumes most of the day and some of our evenings. Deciding to visit the whole 300 acres of Riverside Park, we took Ribbit and KatieBug on tour. First to the day use areas, not much but tables, garbage cans but with one fantastic view of the river. The dam by the Ranger Station had lots of rushing water and damp mist floating up into our faces but no Kodak moments. Docks for boat access are the main draw to the smaller Nine Mile Recreation Area camping, not as nice as ours and closed until next month.

We caught Little Spokane River Indian Painted Rock Trail between rain showers. Spokane Indians were colorful artists in comparison to the other petroglyphs we have seen.

Spokane House was closed but, having access to the Park’s gate keys, we looked both ways, swung open the gate, quickly snuck in and drove carefully down the long dirt road, both of us having expectations of old wooden structures filled with old timey trading post treasures.

Spokane House, the first American trade house in Spokane a.k.a. North West Company, opened in 1810. After war broke out in 1812, the American’s merged North West Company with longtime Canadian rival Hudson’s Bay Company. 1826 Spokane District Headquarters closed Spokane House and moved to Kettle Falls on the Columbia.

After a few minutes the road opened up to a sparsely treed field with a 1950’s building titled Spokane House Interpretive Center. No trading house in sight, we were utterly disappointed! Anticipation of private access to the first trading post belonging to a white man in Spokane vanished, no freedom to poke around the site at our leisure. Instead we took a picture of the locked building, let KatieBug out to pee, shook off the raindrops and drove back down the road, reopening the gate, locking it behind us.

Our last stop before returning to Bowl and Pitcher was the ORV, off road vehicle area. Wow…enormous region of dirt roads twisting over and around mountains designed for dirt bikes, ATV’s, motorcycles and trucks. Ribbit drove in, took one look at the mud and steep pitch of the roads and refused to continue. Spokane’s constant rain showers keep dogs and vehicles coated in various stages of muddiness…tomorrow both KatieBug and Ribbit get baths with mani/pedi’s.

Our tour took a total of two hours. Back at camp we greeted newbies, raked and cleaned sites, squeezed in a little TV in-between campers needing shower tokens and firewood, then sleep.

Early rising for photo ops after campground duties. Raptors have returned and are chasing the geese out of their nests to begin raising families.

We have multiple woodpeckers outside our window tap, tap, tapping out holes in the pines, curious but not bothered by our presence. Work camp duties finished out the day.

Woke up to rain, rain, go away…for the fifth day! Quick trip into town for groceries, a one hour stop in downtown Spokane to see the Spokane Riverfront Park Falls staying just minutes ahead of the downpour.

“The Joy of Running Together” sculpture of steel celebrates the Spokane tradition of Bloomsday, the largest timed road running race in the world.

A wild turkey having a nose to nose greeting with a young Mule deer on the hillside created an excellent Kodak moment on our return trip to camp.  A relaxing dinner with our cousins before returning for our nighttime duties of dressing our faces in big friendly smiles for sales of firewood and shower tokens.

John guided LilyPad into our Host Site and the afternoon was spent with set-up, then a quick visit to my cousins Bob and Brenda’s house a few blocks from the Park and back to LilyPad for a much needed quiet nights rest.

My first impression of the “per person” 30 hour work week camp host requirement was met with trepidation. No stinky bathrooms to clean but a slight resemblance to hard labor at our calculation of $3.00 per hour so I expected this to be one incredible Park.

Bowl and Pitcher Rapids

Up early to meet with Ranger Frahm, minimal on instructions but easy going and not the slave driver type. He reiterated, we are not on bathroom duty. John and I took a self-guided tour of this gigantic Washington State Park. Thus begins our 28 day work camp hosting position.

In actuality, we only work 30 hours per site, not per person, and most of the hours are fulfilled by smiling and greeting campers. Now that’s more my style…and did I mention, we don’t’ do no stinkin’ bathrooms!

As hosts, we check bathrooms for supplies, rake sites, clean fire pits, check garbage/recycling and call it into the office if they are full and answer questions from campers. Sadly (wink, wink), I cannot help John with raking or fire pits as I am still on major asthma medication, so my contribution is donning a big smile and answering questions from campers, selling fire wood and ice, checking bathrooms for supplies and posting “site reserved” signs. From about 3pm on, when our campers begin building fires to keep warm, I am confined to our box on wheels.

Amphitheater and Vault toilet in group site

Water hose froze last night. Not surprising as it sinks to the low 20’s around 4 am before creeping back up to the low 60’s during the day. Our “it’s always something” is a snapped off main bolt under our large slide, broken quick connects for our hoses, stuck door awning, loose screws and a split drawer. Not terribly bad, but must still be addressed.

Host walk-about revealed a 216 foot long swinging bridge, originally hand built by The Civilian Conservation Corps to span the Bowl and Pitcher Rapids, rebuilt to withstand heavier foot traffic in 1998 using the same plans.

Anticipated future exploration of our hosting includes a hike over the bridge to see where it leads and another to view the returning birds of prey when they force the geese from their nests. Presently the storm is dumping cold rain, hail and snow on everything but should depart the area post-weekend. Accuweather is predicting a gorgeous Spring Break weekend.

Seventh night…woke to major hissing, growling, shrieking noises outside our window. Didn’t see anything but keen survival instincts warned me not to venture outside to seek an explanation…DUH! A Ranger confirmed that it was male bobcats challenging each other for mates and that nighttime in the park is occupied by countless things that go bite in the night. Fox, wolves, coyote’s, bobcats, all our furry neighbors stalk out in hunt mode when the sun goes down. Note to self…stay close to LilyPad when the moon rises.

We have settled into our Host routine, we being the downstairs maids, Ellen being the upstairs maid, and are in cahoots with our cousins to do the sightseeing-with-out-of-town-visitors “thing” when our off duty days arrive. The riverside is breaking out in Cornflowers and tiny purple something’s …Spring is about to hatch.

Spent the next three days wrapped snuggly in blankets, watching movies and eating popcorn while resting and listening to the rains shower down over our box on wheels. We were wedged between a few other RV’s at the Burien Elks Lodge RV Parking lot until they moved out in search of sun. Our only ventures out were to a breakfast café the second morning, Red Box for more movies and to dine, our final night, at Bizzarro, one of Guy’s Diners Drive-in’s and Dives in Seattle.

Massively eclectic interior, snug seating, although we had the Best Table InThe House, so the plaque hanging on the pole claimed. We did have the largest personal space in the restaurant. Our food was amazing, confirming once again that Guy is spot-on with his reviews.

Plans were to use our next dual days of travel to rest, relax and recuperate sufficiently before our volunteer work position begins. One overnight, Yakima River RV Park in Ellensburg, WA was another sleep deprivation. Beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, a herd of cows, a few horses

and the dreaded train whistling through every few hours just across the slice of meadow. After we arrived, it blew loudly through our quiet at least three times before bedtime, then once around midnight and again at 4:14 am. Looking at the photo, the scenic view is alluring, until you arrive and that darn Iron Horse comes stampeding though and tramples your quiet.

Onward and upward, mountains beginning to show white caps draping the peaks and sprinkling down settling under the trees, beautiful views, relaxing drive.

We arrive at our first work camp position of the 2014 season on April 1^st

Our first morning in Bellingham began at 5:30 am with non-stop wake up sounds from the grumbling of 18 wheeler exhaust breaks and jumbo jet landings and take offs. The park is next to the freeway and under the landing flight pattern of the airport. Bellingham RV Park is small, very clean but not peaceful, beginning with the wee hours of the morning.

Next few days will be spent in interviews with US and Canadian governments in Blaine for our Global Online Enrollment System Nexus border crossing cards along with the uninteresting household tasks of dog laundry and KatieBug grooming, our laundry, vacuuming the dusty shades and general cleaning of our box on wheels.

Our first experience with the Nexus card procedure began with a wrong turn on the way to the office. We got in the wrong lane and ended up having to wait in a mile long line to cross over into Canada, a quick U-turn to come back into the USA and correct turns leading us to the NEXUS office. John jokingly said we could jump the curb and turn around illegally. I think not, especially when you have friends who’s daughter and son-in-law, both border patrol agents, might come running with guns drawn and we could totally embarrass numerous Americans, including ourselves, by getting arrested.

When I arrived for my appointment and was called back to the desk, the Canadian supervisor asked if the man sitting next to me was my husband and did he have an appointment. When I said “yes”, but the appointment was for tomorrow, she laughed and went to the waiting room to collect him. We both finished our interviews and chatted about full-timing.

I don’t think she realized what a diehard American patriot I am when she asked if we traveled with weapons. Bear spray, we were told, is not considered a weapon. Our spray can has traveled with us since Alaska, tucked away and forgotten.

When I told the Canadian supervisor that I had thought about carrying a shot gun but I didn’t want to splatter the RV with blood and damage the inside with buck shot, her eyes opened wide, her mouth dropped open and she gave us a horrified look, gravely telling me that I could not shoot humans with shotguns, only game! The US agent almost fell off her chair laughing and my confused expression made her laugh even harder. She excused herself, being pregnant and needed a restroom break, and when she returned she told us that her co-workers and our expressions were priceless. Apparently in Canada you cannot shoot someone who breaks into your home, even if the burglar is armed with a gun. Being a Texan, I thought self-defense was a given…but it isn’t in Canada. I swear, when I asked her what I should do if a robber with a gun broke into our motorhome while we were in Canada, she seriously said “call the police”, which set off another wave of laughter by the US agent and a surprised and disbelieving look from John and I.

We were both approved for our cards but warned, no shooting people in Canada unless we wanted to be arrested.

We finished off the day having dinner by the harbor in the town of Bellingham and enjoyed a brisk walk through Boulevard Park watching the tide and thick fog roll in with not even a slight chance of a photo opportunity.

Beginning of another plain Jane day. KatieBug got a bath and mani/pedi while we spent the day running from raindrops in-between performing normal everyday life duties and responsibilities. The wind shook the RV and our slide toppers vibrated, adding to the road and sky noises. Going to be difficult staying asleep tonight.

Foggy overcast day but one not to waste as we only had 24 hours left.  We drove to Vancouver, allowing me to cross off another adventure from my “Bucket List”, Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, and as John is not comfortable with heights, he tagged along mostly for the scenery and a buddy for KatieBug.

Mary Agnes Capilano was born in 1836 before Europeans began to settle the West Coast of Canada. Her Indian name was Lay-Hu-Lette, which means “Beginning of the World”. Mary’s parents came from two different Nations, Yakutat and Squamish. These Nations had a long history of violence. Being the first child, her birth brought the nations together and sealed peace between them that has never been broken.

Mary’s family was a pivotal part of Vancouver’s history. In 1792 her Grandfather, George Mathias, welcomed Captain Vancouver of the Royal British Navy when he discovered Vancouver. Her father was a chief as was her husband and oldest son.

Mary was baptized “Princess of Peace” and she more than lived up to her name. After her marriage to Chief Joseph Capilano, she welcomed the first Missionaries to the Capilano tribe and, with her husband, built the first church on the reserve. She welcomed dignitaries, royalty and local and federal politicians. Deeply respected among her people for her speaking and language talent, she brought together different tribes and families to pursue common goals.

Both Mary and Joseph were well known for their peace negotiation skills, encouraging cooperation between European settlers and First Nations people of British Columbia’s coastline. The river, formerly known as Homulcheson River, became known as the Capilano River in the early 1900’s to honor Chief Joseph Capilano.

The Park is dedicated to environmental stewardship, reducing environmental impact beyond those required by governmental permit or rule, conserving natural resources and ensuring long-term sustainability.

A totally fitting atmosphere for this former Environmental Health Consultant, it was a joyous hike up and down stairs and pathways constantly followed by the overwhelmingly fragrant newly repaired Cedar fences.

The Bridge, complete with one 450 feet long, 230 feet high, reassuringly wobbly walkway that swings and sways as tourists traverse. It can hold 200,000 lbs or 1,300 people standing on it or parade 96 elephants across the bridge, no problem…at least not for the bridge, good luck getting the elephants to cross.

In 1889, George MacKay asked August and Willie, two well know First Nations People, to help him build the first bridge across Capilano River. The bridge was made of hemp and Cedar planking tied to two huge Douglas Fir trees. The early bridge was named the “the laughing bridge” by First Nations People because of the sound the wind made when it whistled between the planks. In 1903 the hemp was replaced by wire but was just as wobbly so it was renamed “the nervous bridge”.

Crossing the bridge is an adrenaline-charged adventure. Pausing in the center and gazing down the river gives one a sensation of floating on air.

Tree tops are connected with seven pathways, the Tree House Suspension Walk, slightly wiggly, high above the ground, clinging to old growth Douglas Firs

and a Cliff Walk that is bowed out from sheer granite cliff faces, bolted to the rocks, strung-up by wires and includes a clear polyurethane enclosed 8 foot long extended area jutting out over the rushing river below. An spine tingling step out into nothingness for a brave few.  John stood 30 feet above me on a solid rock decking taking pictures with KatieBug glued to his foot.

Unknown to us was how many miles of wooden trails, water pond walk ways, suspension bridges, overlook areas and tree walkways there were in the park, but we walked continually for over 2 hours and still missed some of the paths.

Kids were darting out from behind giant tree trunks and vanishing into the rain forest as if all were secretly playing a game of Robin Hood and his merry men.  Every mossy nook and tuck in this park is designed for the child in us all.

By days end, John, KatieBug and I were all sufficiently exhausted and chilled, either by the damp weather or by intensified lofty height experiences. All three of us were ready for a good night’s sleep. In the morning we will leave this noisy sliver of expensive rental turf and head back to Burien, WA.