Carrying as park hosts

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MotherBear
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Carrying as park hosts

#1

Post by MotherBear »

This is pretty long-range thinking, but figured I'd ask anyway. My husband and I are talking about the possibility at spending some of our time as park hosts when we retire (a lot of years from now -- but hey, ya gotta have dreams). Generally the park provides you with a free site with hook-ups for an RV, and you live there for a month or more as the go-to person for your little area. Exact duties vary, but it's usually 20-30 hours a week of things like making sure site occupancy matches what they have written down at the front office, litter pick-up, answering visitors' questions, resolving minor issues, reporting bigger issues, maybe staffing the visitors' center sometimes, and generally keeping an eye on the place. What I'm wondering is, what would it mean for CHL? Obviously the standard rules apply: no carry in buildings in national parks, COE land is out, etc. But say we're at a non-COE Texas state park (where carry would be legal for visitors), volunteering as representatives of the park, being compensated with a camp site. Does that change anything? I know when I volunteer for my city's Citizens on Patrol unit I'm not allowed to carry because I'm representing the city and liability and oh the horror. Just got to wondering if volunteering for the state would subject us to anti-carry rules.

(By the way, lest that look bad, our Citizens on Patrol unit is mostly for things like manning the barricades at the local festivals -- there's no crazy vigilante CHL neighborhood watch stuff.)

Abraham
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Re: Carrying as park hosts

#2

Post by Abraham »

MotherBear,

First off, I don't know the answer regarding your gun question.

However, I've been a camp host and believe me it isn't for everyone. I did it as an experience I wanted to have as my wife and I were very strongly thinking about becoming full time RVers when we retired and doing the camp host thing all over the country. However, I didn't want to assume I'd like it and then find it wasn't for me. As I retired before my wife, I had the opportunity to try it before fully committing. So I did at two different Texas State Parks.

As a camp host ask yourself, will you be able to tolerate: Being woken up in the middle of the night because a park visitor ran out salt and expected you to supply some?

Or wanted you to resolve disputes between campers? Again, late at night.

Or demanded you break a ten dollar bill into coins so they could get a cokes and snacks at the vending machines - at midnight.

I could go one with many other unexpected situations I found not to my taste and finally abandoned the idea of camp hosting.

So, I then tried a variation as a resident volunteer at a National Wildlife Refuge. Here too they supply a trailer site, complete with electrics and sewerage. No host duties. What do you have to do in return? Put in 32 hours a week either doing manual labor or working in the office. Just like a regular job. I did trail maintenance for four months and finally realized I was working for a significantly small return. In addition, I was dismayed to find the vast majority of my fellow volunteers had no interest in wildlife (I'm an avid birder) and were only volunteers for the ahem "free site". Also, if you volunteer as a couple, 'both' of you put in 32 hours a week. Such a deal!

Paying for an RV commercial trailer site is the way to go. The sites are fully equipped with everything you need at a very reasonable cost. Your time is your own to do with as you please and you can rub elbows with folks who have an active interest in wildlife.

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MotherBear
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Re: Carrying as park hosts

#3

Post by MotherBear »

Excellent information... thanks for the perspective. We'll definitely keep it in mind as we consider. I guess the trouble is I see no reason to wake a park host in the middle of the night if the forest isn't on fire, so I have trouble imagining other people would. Other people often surprise me, though. :grumble

Our major reasoning is that we like the parks and my husband is the type who needs to have a job to do, so it seems like a nice set-up to allow us to travel without him feeling at loose ends. We'll see, though... we've got a lot of years to come up with a plan.
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johncanfield
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Re: Carrying as park hosts

#4

Post by johncanfield »

The wife and I have volunteered at two different state parks in Virginia but that was before I had my CHL, I have no idea what their firearm policy is but if I had to make a guess, they wouldn't permit you to be armed as a volunteer/camp host. As an aside, we've been to many commercial campgrounds that state "no firearms allowed" which we ignore, they aren't going to dictate to me what I have in my house on wheels.

Like Abraham mentioned, I wouldn't want to be a camp host (you can also be a camp host in a commercial campground) unless you are very familiar with the particular park and know and like the rangers or campground owners. Some campgrounds (typically non-commercial ones) get really crazy on weekends with drunks, loud music, etc, we've been in a few of those :nono: .

Volunteering is fun and RVing is fun - we have 90,000 miles on our motorhome, bought it brand new in 2005 and no plans to stop going and blowing.
LC9s, M&P 22, 9c, Sig P238-P239-P226-P365XL, 1911 clone

bayouhazard
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Re: Carrying as park hosts

#5

Post by bayouhazard »

I think Old Gringo has been a seasonal park host for a few yeas. I hope he shares his experiences.
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Terlingueno
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Re: Carrying as park hosts

#6

Post by Terlingueno »

The answer to your question about carrying while representing a State agency:

As a State park host, volunteer, etc while "on duty"......no

As a volunteer campground host, visitor center volunteer, volunteer in general at a Federal agency site, National Wildlife Refuge, National Park, Forest Service or BLM site while "on duty"...no
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