April Projects

April is probably the slowest time for businesses in Greer, but a busy time for business owners.  This is the time of year to deep clean, re-model, paint, fix-up, etc.  I have painted a bathroom, re-caulked a tub, replaced window coverings, painted a stairwell and hallway in the lodge, and then gutted our little cabin to replace flooring, bathroom fixtures, and kitchen cabinets and counter tops.  I'm ready for a vacation!
In the last week we've had three little snow flurries, but spring is coming!  The trees are just starting to bud, the grass and willows are greening in the meadow, the robins and other birds are back, the deer are coming around.  The sounds of ducks quacking, birds singing, and frogs chirping are in the air.
It's pretty windy here in the spring and lots of dead trees from the Wallow Fire are blowing over.  Jim and Zella hike Butler Trail often and Jim has been taking a chainsaw to cut through the fallen trees across the trail.
Jim started watering the lawn to green it up, but Zella decided chewing on hoses was fun, so our indestructible hoses are in several pieces.
Pretty soon, it will be warm enough to begin the outside projects of planting new flowers and the sanding of weathered wood for re-staining.  Everything wood needs a fresh coat of sealant and painted decking needs touch-up.  There's always something to do!   I will be glad when Jim retires from Honeywell and he can join me full time!
Happy Spring!

The Rules Don't Apply to Me

An all too common attitude with people is that rules only apply to other people.  5 years ago the mountains were very dry and fire restrictions were everywhere.  It would be nearly impossible not to know that you could not have a campfire.  Yet, two campers decided the rules did not apply to them.  After their morning campfire, they left their site for a hike, the wind whipped up and blew embers from their fire and ignited the largest wildfire in Arizona's history.  Over 538,000 acres of forest and wilderness areas were torched, with a cost of $79 million dollars to contain and a loss of homes, barns, and other structures.  21 homes were lost in Greer as well as other structures. Zella and I walked among some of the ruins recently.  Some home owners have rebuilt, but other sites contain only the remnants of a stone fireplace or flagstone patio.  At the end of East Fork Road is an old church camp, built in the 1920's, that welcomed summer campers, and hosted church retreats and family reunions.  I spent some summer days there as a camp counselor, and winter days with a college young adult group playing in the snow.  I saw my first bears early one morning as they headed up from raiding the trash at the mess hall.  I sang around the campfire and listened to stories.  It's heartbreaking that this place stands empty, surrounded by sandbags, concrete barriers, burned trees, and silence.Tragedy can occur when you decide that the rules don't apply to you.

Stop and....

We get so busy that we often fail to stop and be in awe of the wonders around us....a beautiful sunset, the intricacy of a flower, shadows on the mountains, clouds blowing across the sky, or amazing animals.  Most people who live here, buzz right on by, but I am compelled to stop and watch these magnificent creatures.  This herd of big horn sheep is often elusive, so I am delighted when I get to see them.  I hope I never lose my wonder and just buzz on by.

S*** Happens

I really don't like vulgar language, but today, the expression fit the circumstances....literally.
We've been getting some morning lows below zero and unknown to us was that our sewer line that services the older part of the lodge had frozen.  So, when our guests upstairs were running water or flushing, it all backed up in the down stairs bathroom tubs and toilets.  This was our third crisis of the day, after a toilet valve blew and we had a geyser in another bathroom, and our neighbor's well pump went out and Jim had to rig up hosing from our property to her tanks so her guests would have water.
Earlier in the week, I was wondering why we didn't have any reservations for our down stairs rooms. Now I know!
It's the end of the day, our neighbor's guests have water, the toilet valve has been replaced and all the water mopped up in our bathroom, the sewer line is thawed and has a space heater keeping it warm, the guest bathrooms have been thoroughly scrubbed down with disinfectants, and we are exhausted.
Oh, almost forgot about the disaster in the basement laundry room awaiting my attention.  A pipe from a toilet busted and rained water all over.  That awaits attention another day with a complete bleaching of floors, sanitizing rugs and re-washing the bin of clean laundry that was at the door waiting to come up, tearing out water logged insulation and assessing what all has to be replaced.
As Forrest Gump said, it (meaning s***) happens.  I'm going to go have some chocolate.

Frozen

Zella and I went out exploring one day last week.  We headed over to check out the three reservoirs that make up Greer lakes.  They were frozen over and Zella and I walked on water...frozen water.  I wondered how thick the ice was and when we got to another of the lakes, came across blocks of ice 10 inches thick extracted for ice fishing.  At our last stop, we came across this very nicely constructed snowman, but it appeared he had come upon hard times. We gave him a new prosthetic arm, facial reconstruction and hair replacement.  It was just the right thing to do.

Mission Impossible

As a recovering people-pleaser there are times I have to remind myself that it is an impossible mission.  That's a hard reality in the hospitality industry and in all of life.  Over this past year of running a lodge, I have worked hard to create an atmosphere that people will enjoy, decor that is enjoyable to the eyes, cleanliness that is critical to me as a former nurse, breakfasts delightful to taste and get people off to a great start of their day.  The coffee center is stocked and the pot is going early in the morning with that wonderful aroma.  The fireplace is set for a crackling fire.
Not everyone will have a good experience or desire to come back and it is hard for me to let that go. I wonder what I could have done better or differently.  There's no harm in evaluation, but then it's time to move forward instead of feeling personal failure.
This morning my guests came out of their suite and the gas fireplace had shut off during the night and it was quite chilly.  The thermostat was not operative so I took off the bottom vent to access the wiring and jump started the circuit as Jim had shown me in the event this happened.  I apologized profusely for the malfunction of the unit, but I felt like a dark cloud was going to remain no matter what else went right and that they will never come back.
This morning I had to renew my mind with the truth that my mission is not to please all people, which is impossible.  My mission is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, which is possible or He would not have given it to us.  That must be my focus and all else will flow from that.  I won't please everyone, but I don't need to, just the One.

Surprises

Some friends who stayed with us at the lodge asked what our biggest surprise was over our first year of owning and operating the lodge.  Not sure about the biggest, but here is a list:

• the propane bill, especially in the winter
• the number of people who ring our doorbell and assume they are at the right place because their gps said "you have arrived"
• the number of people who call us looking for another lodge 
• how long it takes to get any repair or construction done up here
• people who want a "cheap" place in Greer
• how many elk Jim has encountered hiking, how many elk or deer have been in our yard, and how much they poop
• the puppy Lyn brought home and now is Jim's exercise buddy
• how fast our first year went

So far in this new year the biggest surprises are how much it is snowing, icicles up to 4 feet long, and how much fun our dog has playing in the snow.