John-n-Diana,

Back Bay NWR is primarly located on the barrier islands at the end of Sandbridge Beach and before False Cape State Park. The body of water to the west is Back Bay. We are sitting on the Canoe & Kayak Launch on the west side of the bay. We are primarily tasked with mowing the grass here, keeping the vault toilet clean and most important meeting and greeting the public who use the site. We get of course the kayakers but also people who have discovered the site when out drivin around. There is a canal behind us that some use for bass fishing. There is a plan to build a fishing pier hopefully next year which will increase the traffic. There are a few private homes on the road leading to the site but generally its very quiet. There is a gate that is on a timer to close at sunset and open at sunrise but you can drive out and we have the instructions to make it open to return. We have also learned to drive the visitor trams, manned the entrance booth at the main gate, helped with the annual feral hog hunt, I will man the hdqtr on Sunday and answers the phone the first of the week when the receptionist is on leave. But generally our 20 hours a week each is super simple and we also get a stipend. Now beware that there is not a direct sewer hookup but we run the hose the 50ft to the vault toilet clean out when we need to dump. There is a well which we use for showers, dishes etc. Its pretty hard water but I think that a water softener is being added next spring and they provide us with drinking water. The only reason they consider the water unpotable is because they have never had the water tested since they aquired this property from private ownership. Contrary to what they told us here is no odor to the water.
There is a refuge house about a 1/4 mile up the road with a washer & dryer.
The whole city of VA. Beach is just minutes away.
We have the whole bay about 15 ft from the RV and it is a beautiful spot.
The launch is open from April 1st thru the end of Oct. Contact Walt tegge at the refuge is you are interested.

Hi y`all,
We are currently @ Yaquina Bay Lighthouse/State Park in Newport OR. till end of Dec.
We are here to experience the Fall storms, had one last week. Excelent place to host, 4 days on 4 days off (5hr. days). Free cable and laundry facilities. Also have Broadband with Verizon air card.

We will be with the OR state pks. till the end of May 2008.

Life is very good :-)

Art and Bev

John-n-Diana
We are from Texas, lived in Houston area, call Canyon Lake area really were we are from. Yes, we are hoping that we still have paint on the coach when we leave from the air in the area and the other things flowing around in the air.
C

Art & Bev, we will be back in May 2008 at Cape Mares then off to Fort Stevens. Keep us posted on the fall storms as we really are thinking about getting with one of the parks next year for that same reason. You have a wonderful view there.
Cheryl/Claude

We have just finished up our first day of training at our latest site, The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas, which will be our home for the next three months.

How easy it is to become part of an instant family when we live the volunteer lifestyle, and once again that is the case. They have two RV pads, both of which are now filled, with a work schedule of 3 days on, 4 days off. We will be giving tours of the Pacific Combat Zone for those of you who have been here before. With each of us giving 4 tours of approximately 1 hour duration on those work days.

Then on our off days we have all of the Hill Country to explore. Found the website for the museum on the Internet, called them and asked if they used RV volunteers and here we are. Ain't Life wonderful.

Art & Bev we live just across from you here in Winchester Bay. I run the Vessel Assist boat. Ill stop by and check on your guys after this storm passes.

K9

K9,

Drop in anytime we work the Lighthouse, which by the way has been closed the past couple of days because of this MONSTER storm. Thank God the three RVs host sites are well sheltered from those high winds, gusts were up to 125 miles per hr overnight.

We wanted to experience these fall storms and certainly got our wish with this one. Ocean swells were topped @ 40 ft. It is incredible to watch the wave action along the beach in front of the Lighthouse.

In seventh heaven... Art

I stopped by yesterday, But the gentilemen I talked to didnt know you guys. Where are you camped at?

We just began our first volunteer assignment at Everglades National Park, Pine Island district. Cyndi is working HQ and visitors center and I am doing interp programs. So far it's been great. I was impressed with the 10 day training program we went through. The Park itself is incredible. Working with a lot of fine people. The weather has been perfect so far, we leave in Apr before the rainy/buggy season starts. Being our first time, can't compare it to anywhere else but we sure are having fun.

Kirk- How long will you be at Joshua Tree National Park? I believe you may of stated such on the board somewhere, but I've lost track. We might be near Joshua Tree in mid January and was wondering if you would still be there. Thanks.

K9,
Sorry not to catch your last post earlier.
I don`t know which park you went to but we have been here @ Yaquina Bay Lighthouse since Oct. 1st. Our RV is parked @ the Lighthouse (small 3 RV sites in back of the lighthouse).
Remember we are @ Yaquina Bay Lighthouse not the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.


Art Redmond

Ops Bev. My bad. Your saying Yaquina But Im hearing Umpqua. Your in Newport, Im down here in Reedsport/Winchestor Bay. I have a boat up there, I will come by next week and say hi. Sorry about that.

Boy do I feel silly

Art & Bev, I LOVED THE WINTER STORMS along the coast of Oregon. Lived in Newport for about 8 years, and before that, in a cottage at Otter Rock for one year. I remember that, when the waves were whipped up enough, foam dense enough to be nearly solid would be rolling and flying along the beach and the road above Devil's Punchbowl. Loved it out there!!

Then, when we lived on the edge of a hill overlooking Yaquina Bay, I would go sit in my car in Yaquina Bay park, just watching the surf breaking over the jetties. That's how I unwound after chasing four kids all day long!

You're gonna get some good photos for me, aren't you? Sure.... we're family, right?

SKP HUGS! Lee

K9....Not a problem. I wondered about that, but figured there must be a second Winchester Bay along the coast that I didn't know about.

If you're in the area, by all means stop in. We're scheduled to work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but expect that the lighthouse will be closed due to the storm that's supposed to hit us Monday morning. If the warning lights are flashing on the Newport Bridge, we don't open the lighthouse. The rangers figure that if the wind gusts are bad enough to close the bridge, we're better off leaving the LH buttoned up tight. That works for me every time!

If not at work, we'll probably be hanging around the rig or down by the beach watching the waves. Come on by and we'll have the coffee on.

Bev

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Lee........Great to hear from you. How're you getting along these days?

You know the area and you've experienced some of the things we love about Newport, so you understand the magnetism of this place. We spent September at Yaquina Head Lighthouse, and have been at Yaquina Bay LH since October 1. Like you, I love to watch the surf during these wild storms. The one last week was awe-inspiring. Gusts to 140 mph, sustained winds at 45-60 mph for 36 hours straight. The Oregonian reported waves measured offshore at 85 feet. Our reason for spending the winter on this coast was for the storms. We're snuggled into a little cubby hole at the bottom of the hill behind the LH and are sheltered on all sides. We rarely feel the wind here at the site, and didn't lose power in the rig at all during the last big one. We have the generator just in case, but haven't needed it yet this season. And we're above the tsunami hazard zone, so that's not an issue.

We grab a cup of coffee, load Max the schnauzer into the truck and head for the beach when it gets really wild. We do get some amazing pictures, which I'll be happy to share. I'll go through my files and e-mail some of them to you in the next couple of days.

Take care......Bev

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