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Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Picking Up After Pigs

Thurmond Lake is a beautiful place to visit, mild weather makes it a year round destination for boating, fishing and camping.  Some of the campgrounds have water/electric sites, others are primitive, with nearby water pumps and toilets.  The primitive areas are "Carry In-Carry Out" sites, meaning no trash service.

One campground, despite the large signs at the entrance/pay station informing campers to take their trash with them always has someone that doesn't seem to get the message.  Marti and I have several times this summer had to drive the half hour up to the campground and spend a couple of hours picking up after those "pigs" that can't get the message through their heads.

I can't understand why many people thing the fire ring is also a trash can.  Aluminum cans and glass bottles don't burn well.


In our rounds checking up on the campgrounds, we came across this mess, not only did the camper leave trash everywhere, they left all their equipment behind, too.



Due to COE regulations, we couldn't just pick up the gear left on the site.  Instead, we had to make a second trip to place a Removal sticker on the tent.  The sticker tells the owner to remove the items within 24 hours or they will be disposed of.  




All attempts to contact the owner from the registration paperwork left on the site post were unsuccessful.  Now later this week, Marti and I will make a third trip to pick up the abandoned equipment and spend at least an hour picking up the trash left behind, now scattered over a large area thanks to animals.

It is a tremendous waste of time and resources to have to pick up after pigs, pulling us off of more important tasks to clean up the parks.  We are not fans of these jobs, but we will do whatever it takes to help keep the COE lands up to the high standards they are known for.

Thankfully most everyone that uses the COE parks and campgrounds are respectful and follow the rules, keeping things clean and neat for the next visitor.

Not every job we do here at the Thurmond COE is glamorous, but we're very happy to be a part of the team and enjoy volunteering several months every year.  It's good to give back.

The lake area is in a drought and the water levels are the lowest we've seen in our three years of volunteering.  Grass is growing on the land that's normally submerged.


Now for the latest house build picture.  The house looks bigger than it really is, we chose this model because it is small and on a tiny piece of property.  For our home base, we wanted something that will be easy to keep up so we can still travel around the country.  Don't be fooled by the house next door going up to the right of the garage, it almost looks like it's attached.  Front view:


And the back view:



Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.


13 comments:

  1. I can't understand why many people thing the fire ring is also a trash can. Aluminum cans and glass bottles don't burn well.

    We don't get it either. But like you said, they are pigs. Can't be changed.

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  2. It seems to happen more in public facilities than in private ones. Maybe it's because people pay more to stay there. Of course there are private places that are completely trashy all around. It seems the only thing people understand are HUGE fines that are enforced. I think those fire ring trashers should be blocked from being able to camp wherever they do that sort of thing. Sorry you get stuck with the clean up. It does look like a big house in the pictures. How many square feet? Looks like it is really coming along.

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  3. We are doing the same thing here at Huntington Beach. When we first started doing the trash detail, I got really annoyed with people. Then I realized you just can't fix stupid!!! Now, I have taken a new approach...I always think of how "Disney Magic" happens each night and the park sparkles each morning. So I think of us as "Huntington Magic"...we keep a beautiful place beautiful for everyone!!

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  4. We've been witness to the ignorance of those pigs in the past but as Sherry said it happens more in the public parks.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  5. It really is too bad that there is people like that around, Years ago we had a house cleaning business and some homes were absolute pig pens. Even some we had to refuse to clean because they were so bad.
    You house is looking good, getting there.

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  6. I guess they think it's easier for them if someone else did the work. Too bad you can't put up a sign that would read NO PIGS ALLOWED.

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  7. Oh we saw that in Ocala too. One thing they don't realize is that in Ocala since the campsite is reserved, when they left a mess we could refuse to reserve it to them again :) Some people got sent fines as well.
    Your house is coming right along!

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  8. Unfortunately, you can't fix stupid, and no amount of signage is going to solve the problem. Makes me wonder what their homes look like!

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  9. What? You don't think picking up trash is glamorous? Weird, though. Why would they leave all that stuff. I hope nothing happened to them.

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  10. What? You don't think picking up trash is glamorous? Weird, though. Why would they leave all that stuff. I hope nothing happened to them.

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  11. Wow didn't expect you to be posting much and BAM, you go crazy with them. Looks like your doing much better, good to hear. Good luck with the new house, now we'll be able to track you guys down a bit better.

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  12. Enjoyed reading about your Ozarks motorcycle trip--Arkansas is my home state and the northern half is certainly the most scenic! "Pigs" are everywhere as we discovered on our month long ATV ride in northern Idaho.

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  13. We too cannot understand just how unthinking some can be when it comes to their own garbage. Earlier this year when we hosted at a state park the campers simply could not walk the 20 feet to the dumpster. Oh, and as your picture shows, they all think a fire ring is a trash can.

    Wish there was a way to ban them from the park for a period of time - say 50 years for a first offense.

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