Cape Disappointment, or as they call it here….. Cape D
The structure is very different from Oregon. First and foremost, the Rangers are actual officers of the law…ya, cops! I found out very quickly when driving up to the Interpretive center for our first meeting. A ranger came up behind me, lights flashing and actually hit his siren! I pulled over and after showing him my drivers license and proof of insurance, he informed me I was speeding through the park. I was guilty, and in my defense as soon as I recognized I was over the limit (35 in a 25) I did slow down, but he caught me at the right time. Very embarrassing to have to explain to him we are campground hosts and were on our way to our first orientation meeting. He was gracious and said since we were already finger printed to become hosts, he did not need to call in my license and see if I had any outstanding warrants. Hah! Little did he know that our finger prints failed! That is another story. But I am having trouble living it down with Deane, he takes great pleasure in reminding me to slow down when we are driving in the park.
Nice group of people, although it feels like the camaraderie we found in Oregon is not here. We are the Hosts for Pod 1, which is campsites 1-60. Our responsibilities include litter picking the 60 sites and the Amphitheater which is here in our Pod. Don't have any set hours we have to work, just need to donate 28 hours between us a week. We are also to be available for questions and if we see anything out of the ordinary we are suppose to call for the Rangers. It was stressed that we are to ‘advise’ of the rules and if more needs to be done call the rangers. In case of a real emergency that could be a problem, as we do not have any cell service or internet service and will need to rely on a coin free pay phone close by.
We did have an opportunity to call the rangers today, as one of the sites came to us to say their sewer hookup had backup and overflown. We called from the payphone and the rangers were there in about 10 minutes. That quick reaction may have been because they had a real sewer overflow on the 5th down by the registration booth. We heard from some campers that was not the first time it had happened.
We have litter picked these last couple of days, and I have to tell you I have a whole new appreciation for encouraging everyone to do their part and NOT litter. Amazing how just little pieces of paper, string, and cigarette butts can add up and really make the landscape look dirty. And who told beer drinkers that when they are sitting around a camp fire drinking, that bottle caps will burn if you through them in the fire! One site we cleaned had over 30 bottle caps in the fire pit. I think I am going to start keeping a journal with pictures of some of the sites we encounter... might make a cute book.. "Tales of a litter Picker"
There is lots to see and do here on this peninsula and we are close to Steph and Mike as well as D'enne and Mike and the grandkids. We are looking forward to having most if not all the grandkids come stay with us while we are here.
Our only frustration so far is the lack of internet and cell service at our site. But we have found if we walk to the beach which is only couple of hundred yards away we can pick up a couple of bars and pick up emails and text messages from my phone. The library here in Ilwaco offers internet service, so we make it a practice to come down here a couple of times of week to catch up.