Dead Skunk (Not in the Middle of the Road)

In my last post I said there hasn't been much going on. I can't say that anymore, and I won't complain about nothing going on anymore (I don't really think I was complaining, but still...).

I went home for lunch last Monday, heated up some soup, and went back to work. I didn't notice anything strange. When I got home Monday night, I could smell something outside the mud room, but it wasn't until I went in the house that the smell almost knocked me over! I couldn't identify it at first, it was so strong. My eyes were watering, and my first thought was that I had left the burner on the stove when I heated up my soup! I realized that wasn't the problem, walked through the whole house, and narrowed it down to the front bedroom and living room that were the worst.

I started to get a sinking feeling...I bent down to smell a couple of the heater vents (more on those later) and gagged. I immediately closed the offending vents--three, all on one side of the house. I lit a candle, opened a few windows and turned on a couple fans (kitchen, bathrooms).

My cat kind of liked having the window open.

I texted my supervisor, "I'm 99.9% sure that a skunk died under my house!" That night I slept with the window open.

The next morning, I texted our maintenance specialist (Dave). He said, "uh oh!" and came right over. He walked in the one room I had sealed off (it was horrible) and confirmed that my house did indeed smell really, really bad. We walked around the rest of the house, out to the street, around the house. He thought maybe the skunk had sprayed under the house and then left. Nope. We opened up some of the siding on each side of the house to air it out and made a plan for Wednesday. He was going to crawl under the house and start cutting through the insulation blanket to see if the skunk was on top of the insulation or possibly in the heater duct.

The heater vents: the person who had lived in this house before me told me that when the two sides of this mobile home were put together, "married," the heater ducts on the west side of the house were never connected, so they were just dead. I knew this when I moved in, but I didn't fully understand what that could mean, until the skunk died! It died, it's muscles tensed into rigor mortis, and a few days later, those muscles relaxed. Its scent gland also relaxed, releasing all of that skunk scent under the house and into the heater vents, which brought it right up into the house. (The heater vents are now connected!) All of my clothes, including my work uniform, smelled like skunk, so I went to the store and work smelling. I bought a lot of Febreze candles and a can of spray. I got back in my car, and my car smelled because I had been in it.

I had to do some paperwork and go into town on Wednesday, so I did the paperwork as fast as I could then went to the house to help Dave. I had to go into the bedroom to get my coveralls so I could go under the house and help him find this skunk.

Opening up the skirting. We could see where the skunk had dug under the mudroom and accessed the rest of the underside of the house. The mudroom was added on later, and whoever built it did not add a concrete pad; they built it over dirt. When Dave put the skirting back up, he put it under the mudroom, up against the concrete pad so nothing else can dig under to access the house!

No one truly believed me that there was an actual dead skunk under my house, but Dave was willing to look, and he had a good idea of where to look. Pretty soon I hear, "I see a tail!" I told him he was awesome and ran for some garbage bags. I helped him bag up the skunk (I was probably just in the way), and then took out two more bags of contaminated insulation from under the house. After we stopped at the park dumpster, I took him out to Starbucks for coffee as a thank you.

Thursday I was off, but I spent a couple hours driving around Carson City looking for skunk neutralizing soap while Dave attached the heater ducts. Both of us forgot that we stuffed garbage inside the duct to stop more smell from coming up into the house, so we didn't remember until the next day why there was still no hot air coming up....by the time my husband came home from work Thursday night the smell was so much better! We still spent the weekend washing clothes and renting a carpet shampooer from Home Depot to try to get rid of the remaining smell. There are stiff whiffs here and there but the house is live-able again!

I'm thankful for co-workers willing to help out with such a crazy and not fun situation! He was so impressed that I was there under the house willing to help him out, but he was really doing me a huge favor by finding that skunk!

Winter Has Begun...

I haven't posted anything in almost a month! Except for the past couple weeks, we've managed to stay pretty busy with campers and day-users. I haven't really been inspired much to post anything because there hasn't been anything different going on. There have been a couple bad messes in the restrooms...my supervisor and I have both cleaned up equally bad "accidents" in the campground restrooms (I did NOT take pictures....) but lately people have been behaving themselves!

This was sunset last Tuesday night. Saying "night" is weird though, because right now sunset happens just after 4 p.m.!

 

It rained most of the day on Saturday and I was off work, so my husband and I drove around the valley looking at the creeks that flow into the lake. There is a lot more water in the lake than there was even a few days ago! Unfortunately that means the rain melted some snow, but hopefully that is a good sign that there will be more snow and precipitation coming this winter.

 

This is Ophir Creek, one of the major water sources coming into Washoe Lake. It was flowing pretty good after all that rain! Parts of Carson City and Reno were flooding and people could go various places to fill their own sandbags to take home.

Davis Creek, on the west side of the valley.

 

This morning I'm heading out to do rounds throughout the park, then I have some filing to do to make our year-end paperwork easier (I try to avoid filing, but this time I can't). I sent an e-mail about scheduling an interpretive meeting with other park interpreters around the state, and took care of our "office cats." Yesterday we had a program at the office--I did a slide presentation about Washoe Lake with a brief history of Washoe Valley and a "tour" of the park. There were three visitors.

 

Jack loves the pellet stove.

 

I've also been writing down new program ideas for the coming year. I'm trying to not schedule so many because we will have several new park aids coming on this year and they will need training and probably closer supervision than I've had to do in the past.

 

I do want to keep the full moon hikes going, and do some bird watching, sunrise and sunset hikes, wildflower hikes, campfire programs, Junior Ranger programs, and a couple slide shows. That doesn't sound like I'm trying to do less, does it? haha--we are also planning to have the astronomers back twice this summer, a Dutch oven cooking class, carp fishing derby, hike to Virginia City (12+ miles), and the normal outreach activities we do every year. We also have field trips that come to the park and both group use areas are reserved most weekends and sometimes during the week.

 

I've got a full moon hike scheduled for tomorrow night. The weather is supposed to be bad (snow and/or rain) so we'll see if it really happens. I only have a few people signed up but I have done a full moon hike with one person before, on Christmas Eve last year!

 

The Winter Solstice Hike is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. The low is supposed to be around 15 that night so we really will have to bundle up! I do have 14 people signed up for that one though. I was thinking it would be a true night hike, with red flashlights so we can keep our night vision to look at the stars and maybe come across some wildlife--here that means we *might* see deer or a coyote and maybe an owl.



Around the Park

Yesterday I took some sick time--my husband's cooking?--but not the whole day. I went in a little late because I had someone planning to come to the office to buy her annual pass. I also wanted to check restrooms in the campground, go out to Bellview for garbage, and check on the two areas on the south side of the lake--the Wetlands and South Beach. I always pick up a lot of cigarette butts at South Beach for some reason. I tell myself that each one I pick up is one less the park visitor has to see. I'm thinking of planning a Facebook post about cigarette butts--how bad they are for wildlife, how they pollute, and how long they take to biodegrade.

I like checking our equestrian areas. Most of the horses are friendly and so are the dogs. The other day when I was out there checking fee compliance, etc, I saw a couple of people riding their horses back to the parking lot. I overheard the woman talking to her dad (she addressed him as her dad later), saying that I (as a ranger) had my role here too. I'm assuming he had said something that wasn't very nice because I was checking for fees, but I was also there to empty the garbage and clean the restrooms. I know a lot of people expect parks and other areas to be free, but cleaning supplies, gas, and garbage bags all cost money and the facilities aren't cheap to maintain. One of the hardest parts of our jobs is helping people to see that, and to understand why they do have to pay for these park areas.

On Sunday, I cleaned up the equestrian group use area after our last group of the year. There is an informal group using the area, including the arena, next weekend but they didn't make a reservation. They just called to make sure there were no groups scheduled when they were planning to come out, because they would plan around those groups.

As I was cleaning campground restrooms yesterday, a magpie was watching me and chirping at me as I worked. I think they like to supervise!

Jack is our solar-powered office cat. He is in charge of catching mice and keeping them out of the park office. He was actually abandoned at the park around 5 years ago and is now very spoiled. He soaks up the sun, has a cat door so he can come and go as he pleases, regular cat food, a litter box, and treats. Our volunteer buys his food and I buy his treats and cat litter. I keep telling him it's a good thing all of that is cheap!

Programs and Other Excitement

Yesterday I had an animal program at Dayton State Park and I had six people! For Dayton, that's pretty good... I talked a little about the Great Basin and the Carson River Watershed, read an excerpt from Adventures of a Nature Guide by Enos Mills about woodpeckers building their nest, showed my Northern Flicker nest, and some pictures of wildlife from Dayton, Washoe Lake, and Fort Churchill. We also took a short walk down to the Carson River to look for wildlife and signs of wildlife.

The Fremont cottonwoods along the river are at the peak of their fall colors right now!

We talked about bat boxes and cottonwood galleries.

Today I had a guided hike scheduled for 10 a.m. The route I chose was to the gazebo above Deadman's Creek, and then into the hills above, in the Virginia Range. The hike is 2.6 miles long, with an elevation gain of approximately 620 feet. 

I was in the office getting ready for the hike, about to leave, when a visitor came to the office at 9:30 saying the dump station was clogged and he wanted to use it...I'm thinking Of course the dump station is clogged right now. I followed him down, unclogged it, and made it to the parking lot (meeting location) with 15 minutes to spare! Is it weird that I'm proud of myself when I get it unclogged and ready for people to use? (hahaha)

There was a person already waiting to use the dump station when I showed up and he asked me questions about the park the whole time I was trying to get it open. It was a little distracting, but today the clog wasn't that bad so it wasn't hard to answer questions while working on it. Sometimes that's not the case....the first time I had to work on it this year, my allergies were killing me, hornets were swarming around the water, and both my supervisor and a park visitor were watching me, waiting for it to be open. After 20 minutes or so I had to give up and we ended up calling our maintenance specialist on his day off to come work on it. The visitor had to go somewhere else for her RV. 

Our maintenance specialist, Dave, told me I probably did not have enough upper body strength to use the hand snake to unclog the dump station...and that's all it took! I was determined to not have to call him on his day off (or anyone else) to do it for me. It worked...the next few times it was clogged, I was able to get it back open! I even had our volunteer tell me it's not my job and that I should call him, but it really is my job--especially when I work alone on Sundays and that's the busiest day for it. People are heading home from camping and come into the park to use the dump station before they make the drive. I figure it uses less gas because their vehicle is lighter afterwards!

This time of year it clogs more than normal because there is a cottonwood tree in the island beside it. The leaves get washed down and build up. We think...know...there is something blocking the pipe between the main hole and the leach field. There is at least one power snake "head" down there and maybe a cap or something from the RV hoses. We have baskets installed now to prevent more from going down there--the dump station at Dayton State Park had to be dug up and cleared out because someone put a plastic "red cup" down there full of rocks, which succeeded in blocking and clogging the whole thing! The plan is to dig ours up this spring and see why it has been clogging so much and fix the problem. I'm definitely in favor of that plan!!

The guided hike went well. There were three people willing to do a "strenuous" hike in November. The weather has been perfect lately. Today I think we had a high of 60 or so. (Yesterday my husband and I drove to Reno after work and there was a convertible with the top down--it was 75 degrees!) My supervisor and I debated whether to call the hike "moderate" or "strenuous" because it's not really a strenuous hike, but I know that people have very different definitions of strenuous. I had a guided hike to the gazebo this spring, a wildflower walk, and had people who were unable to finish the hike (turned around early), and some who did do the whole thing complained that they thought it was going to be an easy walk instead of a hard hike. I decided that the more description I could give, the better, so I used my Strava app on my phone to measure the distance and elevation gain this time, so I could be exact in the hike description. I think it worked this time. I only worried about one person, a man who showed up with a large energy drink can instead of water, but he didn't seem to have any problems on the hike at all.

We saw a lot of deer from a distance, and this guy showed up as we were heading back to the parking lot. It's a Jerusalem cricket but I have also heard them called "potato bugs." I got to point out a couple of long-eared owl nests along the way. The visitors were interested in seeing the wild horses, but they didn't show up today.

Carson River Snapshot Day

This morning I went to Dayton to help with the Carson River Snapshot Day. The Carson River is a terminal watershed, meaning that its water will never reach the ocean. It starts in Alpine County, California, and ends east of Fallon, NV in the Carson Sink. Each year, volunteers meet on one day, from 9 a.m. to noon, and sample the water. We take several samples that get sent to the state lab for testing. This happens throughout the watershed, beginning to end. We also write out observations, like water color, odor, drainages, inputs, pollution sources, and more. I think this is the fourth year I have been involved and this year I got to work with a representative from the Dayton Valley Conservation District. We had nine high school chemistry students plus their teacher.

Sometimes the river is low enough to walk out to the middle for the sample. This year there is a lot more water so we needed a pole dipper and waders.

The sample comes from the middle of the river, collected upstream from the volunteers so its not polluted with sediment or material washing off waders, etc.

Estimating the width of the stream.

Another shot of measuring the width of the stream. I loved being there surrounded by the fall colors!

Group of volunteers with the site locator--MCR-DAYT (Middle Carson River, Dayton Bridge)

Rob from the Dayton Valley Conservation District talking about water quality and why it's important.

Nevada Day Parade Part 2

Here are the pictures from the Nevada Day Parade:

This is what I was so excited to see. The truck with the ranger hat, eyes, and mouth. This is what everyone saw as the float came their way, and this is what people stopped on the street to pose in front of! We ended up tying for 2nd place.

The outhouse had to be my favorite thing on the float (except maybe my husband). A veteran stopped me on the street and explained that outhouses for women were marked with a moon. These outhouses had hooks on each side for women to hang their skirts and petticoats out of the way!

This is the timeline featuring each state park. I don't have a better close-up picture but I can find one later of the stamp designs.

All dressed up and official for the parade! I've never worn my official "flat" hat, but I have worn the tie before, when the governor and his crew came to the park to talk about the drought (what's a better location for that discussion than a dry lakebed?).

Nevada Day Parade

October 31 is Nevada Day and every other year or so we have a float in the parade. This year the theme was Nevada--Then and Now. I missed a lot of float building and meetings because days off and other activities but I still got to be in the parade! The float turned out pretty awesome. Our mechanic, Kevin, built a giant ranger hat to top the truck, and a mouth like Mater from Cars to go on the front. It even had eyes!

People walking by had to stop and pose with the truck. I think it looked great!

The siding is a timeline of when each state park was designated as a state park. Thanks to our passport program, each park has its own individual stamp, so the stamp designs were used to represent each park along with its date.

Also on the float were camping scenes. This is the "then" side with an old canvas tent, wooden canoe, and Dutch oven over a campfire.

When I upload my pictures, I will add one of me all dressed up for the parade, complete with ranger hat (matching the truck's hat), and a tie!

My job this year was to walk alongside the float and hand out candy, free day passes, and dog-tag necklaces with the Nevada State Parks logo. I was trying to hand the items to the kids and adults when it would have been faster and much easier to throw them at their feet or "sprinkle" them over their heads like my co-workers were doing! Two years ago I was on the float, standing and waving, and it felt like the parade took forever. This year because I was walking and focused on the people, it went by a lot faster! I was sore from the speed walking the next day but during the parade, I really didn't notice how much or how fast I was really walking!

My husband even made it in the parade, on the float as a fisherman dressed in old-fashioned fishing gear, and keeping an eye on the three little girls sitting in the canoe!

We got great comments and reviews of the float, but I haven't heard whether we placed or not. I heard that our floats usually get 1st or 2nd place...so we'll see!