WORKAMPING IN OKLAHOMA
2015 has come and gone with some lows but many highs. It started with unexpected major surgery, but Thank the Lord, it was successful and recovery was quick. Next was a wonderful trip into the Hill Country of Texas where we saw the most beautiful array of wildflowers plus many other sites Central Texas had to offer. Our friends Larry and Beverly were heavy in discussions about full-timing and all that involves, so we tentatively planned to meet up in the fall for a trip out west (postponed from earlier in the year). With that decided we headed to Oklahoma to try workamping during the summer.
We chose a position as campground hosts in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Surprisingly this area looks a lot like the area we're from in Texas. Slightly hilly, with lots of trees. The only things missing were the big pine trees back in Longview. We didn't know what to expect but caught on right away. As campground host we were the interface between camper and ranger, their eyes and ears. We stayed busy answering questions, passing out maps, helping campers at the fee machine and cleaning sites after campers left (sometimes amazing and sometimes disgusting what people would leave behind). In this campground were 65 single tent campsites and 12 group sites all primitive, no utilities, but on most nights they were full. Regular campground animal visitors were deer, raccoons, armadillos, stray dogs and cats.
As summer gave way to fall, we moved to another campground in the park on the lake. We covered 2 loops (around 90 sites) consisting of electric and non electric sites with one loop being reservation only. Our duties were the same as before but the campers needs were a little different since so many of them were in RVs. We saw some of the same animals deer and armadillos but also saw fox and wild turkeys. Most evenings we could hear owls and coyotes in the distance. 
One of the more interesting things we saw was the Tarantula Hawk Wasp. It hunts Tarantulas and although we didn't see it capture the spider, we did see one dragging its prey away.
We hiked and fished at the boat house, had nightly campfires and learned about and enjoyed the "rocket" fire log. 
Bill (an LE ranger) was telling us about the big acorns he saw in the park on the Burr Oak. Since we weren't familiar with them, he stopped by later with several to show us. Oh My Goodness. They are HUGE.
Our volunteering extended further than just campground hosting. David checked out their radios and antennas after they found out he had experience in the communications (2-way radios) industry. We also helped Paul (ranger) with preparations for the Christmas party. What started out as a summer commitment to be camp hosts, turned in to 6 months, 4 campgrounds, 2 loops, a total of 4 moves.
We found out lots of things we didn't know about the National Park Service and the people that work for them. There are several types of rangers: Fee Rangers take care of the money and all that goes along with that; law enforcement or LEs are the police; and Interpretive Rangers host campground talks about various subjects of interest in the park. We worked daily with the fee Rangers, interfaced most days with the LEs and at least weekly with the Interpretives. All were extremely friendly and always concerned about us not being put in an unpleasant situation. One holiday weekend, about a week after we arrived, Heather (LE Ranger) was visiting with us when a mass of cars converged on our campground. There were probably 20 to 30 cars parked every way and Heather was caught in the middle. She was immediately on the radio calling for someone to "come help these people". They all thought we would leave.
One of the funnier things was when Bill (LE) came by to check on us but had a phone call. He stepped aside to take it and when we looked around, he was standing on the bumper of his truck doing a stork imitation. We never did know what he was doing and not really sure he did either.
Chickasaw National Recreation Area and our campground hosting experience was great fun for us and we hope to be able to return in the future. We really miss those people.
Two highs for our family in 2015 were the adoptions of our newest grandsons in July and November. These boys, 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 have been with the family since they were born. They are a great compliment to our wonderfully handsome teenage grandsons and our beautiful pre-teen granddaughter. David and Nicole, you have your hands full. If you wonder what happened to our friends and our planned fall trip, well.......Larry broke his leg. After surgery, 3 months with no weight being put on the leg, then rehab, he is mostly back to normal and ready to go. Actually, they are now full-time and are visiting their grandkids. That early 2015 trip which was changed to a fall 2015 trip has now been changed to an early 2016 trip. We are meeting up with the Quinns in the DFW area and heading toward Arizona.........Finally. We'll let you know what's happening. See you on down the road.
