by queeniejeanne » Tue Jun 07, 2011 9:01 am
My mom and dad took us three kids on family camp outs fifty years ago at Greenleaf State Park. It’s been our family camping ground all these years. I’m 65 now, retired with a disabled wife. My wife and I were avid campers until she became disabled about 10 years ago. Recently we felt like we really missed camping so we invested in new, up to date camping equipment and decided to give it another try.
Off we went to Greenleaf State Park on Friday, June 3, 2011, unloaded our new gear at our favorite camp site of many years. Although it was 94 degrees we figured when we got our new tent up the hard part was over, we could sit under a shade tree for the rest of the day.
Toward the evening we ventured to the new handicap rest rooms and showers in order to take a shower and cool off for the night. We discovered the showers were pay, which is no problem, we agree with pay showers, only problem was not knowing they were pay, not by anyone’s fault you understand, we just didn’t have any quarters. We had dollars, low and behold we found a dollar changer on the outside. We went back to camp, gathered up some dollar bills, ventured back to the showers only to discover the dollar bill changer didn’t work. We flagged down a ranger and was told they don’t carry money, even though they’re collecting money from campers fees during that time. Maybe they just had bills, I don’t know.
So after some running around and asking people for change we finally have gathered enough quarters for each of us to take a shower. Did I mention we were old and fat? I go into the first shower stall, nice and clean it was with plenty of light and such. I get undressed, put all my clothes on the little bench cause for some reason there’s no clothes hooks on the wall. I waddle over the shower stall itself, drop a few quarters on the way and of course they roll under the shower bench and I’m forced to get on my hands and knees to recover my precious quarter that I’ve spent the afternoon manufacturing. It has, of course, rolled as far as geographically possible to reach, and found its way to the only little slimy puddle in the entire room.
By this time it seems the temperature in the shower room has risen to 120 degrees and I’m sweating profusely and in my mind I’m saying, just get the quarter in the slot and stand under the cool water. So I shove my quarter in the slot and low and behold there’s bent quarter already in the slot and it won’t come out and won’t go in. So, cursing by now, I decide to venture to the next shower stall which requires me to get dressed so I can go out the door and into the next one. Now remember I said I was old, fat and sweating and there are no bars or hooks on the wall to hang on to so as I’m trying to put on my underwear which gets tangled in my legs and I fall on my butt. I decide to just put on my pants and waddle over to the next stall. Once again I have no place to hang my clothes so I put my clean clothes on the only bench and my dirty clothes on the clean floor by the door. I insert my quarters and walah, I get a shower. Now I walk over to my clean clothes and have discovered all of the shower water has accumulated toward the door and my shoes and dirty clothes are now sitting in 2 inches of water.
It has become so hot in the shower room by now that I can’t towel dry fast enough before I’m wet again. I’m so hot and sweaty I can’t get my clothes on, I’m feeling as though I’m about to pass out from the heat so I put on my shorts and get the door open enough to stick my head out and get a breath of air before I go back in and gather up my wet shoes and dirty clothes that weight 30 pounds now after they have sucked up all the contents of the floor water.
I really have never had such a terrible shower experience in my life. Everything else at the park was great. The staff was very helpful and courteous.
My question is; is there a building code or law against having a clothes hook on a wall in a state park? And why must all water run away from floor drains? I don’t understand.
HEY a tiny trailer. Whatever it takes.