As I sit here typing this I am aware of the sound of the Merced River nearby---I can see the white water from my window here in the Wawona Campground. Our house sets just a chip shot (90 feet) from the river. It is quiet here except for the water and the birds; occasionally I hear the breeze rustling the leaves; once in a while I hear a deer searching for tender foliage just across the road in the woods. 

Even when the campground is busy, it is a quiet campground. People seem to sense the peacefulness here and keep it that way. At night I can look around and see lots of campfires, but all I hear is the crackle of the logs burning. 

This is truly different from the Coast to Coast campgrounds and their club houses, swimming pools, and tennis courts. There we would have electricity. Here we don't. 

When we arrived on April 1, we were relieved to find that we had water and sewer hookups because our ranger boss, Kevin, had mentioned the day before that we didn't. We really didn't think we could stay under those conditions since there are no showers, and it was one mile to a dump station. We were so happy when the first thing Kevin said was, "I made a mistake, you do have water and sewer." We were getting settled at the campsite and wondered aloud where the electrical hookup was. Kevin answered, "There is no electricity anywhere in the campground." We said, "April fool" (remember, it was April 1) and he said, "No, I wouldn't kid you." We discussed the situation and thought we could make it, especially, since we had our little 600-watt generator and they promised to give us lots of firewood. 

It gets mighty cold here in the evening and not a lot warmer during the day. The first three weeks, we saw night time temperatures in the mid-twenties. At first, we ran our furnace enough to be comfortable and quickly ran our battery down. Ron tried running the generator 
during the day to charge it up, but we were losing ground. We made the decision to use the furnace only in the morning to take the chill off. 

We build a fire at night and stay by it until 10 o'clock when we come in, light a candle (for warmth), climb on the bed with our clothes on, cover up with the afghan, turn on the light over the bed and read until the cold gets unbearable, about 30 minutes. By then, the bed has been warmed and we undress and climb under the covers. Our duvet (down comforter) is so nice and warm that once under the covers we are toasty. Only our faces get cold by morning. In fact, it gets so cold in our house at night that ice left in a glass of water at night is still there in the morning. 

Before we get out of bed I turn on the furnace (the thermostat is right on the wall next to my side of the bed) and wait for the indoor temperature to get to at least 40 degrees before I get up to make coffee. Since we use the gas stove to make coffee, that helps warm us too. Once the coffee is done, we go outside and build a fire again to keep warm. 

We had to have son Karl get our long johns out of storage and send them to us; and we always wear several layers of clothing. I am so glad we had winter coats, hats and gloves with us too. We have made a game out of keeping warm. 

But we get to take brisk walks in the morning (that is always good for warming one up) and breathe lots of fresh air. We watch the coyotes, and the deer watch us. We spend hours searching the woods for firewood and meet lots of wonderful people (and a few not so nice ones). The rangers, as usual, are super and can't do enough for us and in return, we try to do a good job for them. 

So, if you are wondering why your Newsletters is late, it is because I hate to ruin the quiet here by running the generator (I need it for the printer and to recharge the computer) and I'd rather be wandering in the woods, by the fire where it is warm, or talking to our campers. Sorry about that!!! Bear with us for one more month while we struggle without electricity. 

Editor's note:  They don't usually use campground hosts in the Wawona Campground until mid-May. We were an experiment. When we arrived, there was four-feet of snow on the ground. It was a great experience.