Something different

Okay, in my last post I said that the volunteer job of camp hosting had become monotonous and that there was not much new or different worth writing about.  But just when we thought we had seen everything, somebody shows us different.

It is not unusual to see motor coaches that have been built from the shells of busses.  In fact, these bus conversions are some of the most expensive, luxurious coaches on the road.  Sometimes costing several million dollars.  Of course there are more economical versions and in some cases an individual will salvage an old school bus and refashion it into an RV.  They will replace or cover over the windows with interior walls and cabinets, the rows of seats are jettisoned with a galley, bath and living quarters in their place.  The familiar yellow and black exterior of the school bus is painted over to reflect the personality of the occupants.  We have seen everything from modern commercial graphics, like a factory RV paint job, to giant murals, to canned spray paint jobs that look like something from the flower power days of the '60's.  But today we saw something that was none of this.

Last night we did the normal routine of writing permits and posting them on the campsite for people that had not arrived by the time the registration kiosk had closed.  It is common for us to do eight or ten of these and when we make the first rounds at sun up the next day, half or more will have made it in sometime during the night.  This morning was no different and as I swung down the road to check on the late arrival to campsite number 69, the vehicle occupying the space immediately stood out from its surroundings.

There it was, a bright yellow school bus, one of the short ones.  From a distance it looked as though a misguided bus driver had just left the school yard and was trolling the campground to end kid's summer vacation early.

 Pulling closer and alongside, some "modifications" became visible.  While all the original windows were intact they were covered with beach towels.  The original equipment bi-fold walk-through doors were still there and apparently the primary way to get in and out of the ....camper?  The door was still operated by linkage and a lever next to the driver seat.  Still, this bus looked authentic enough that I caught myself looking for the name of the school district painted on the side, but that had been removed.  However, the license plates did say Alaska.

I had hoped that one of the beach towel curtains would be opened to see whether the inside had been modified or maybe meet one of the occupants to ask them about it.  But neither occurred, by the next time I came around (which was less than an hour), they were gone.

As I moved around to the front of the bus one other modification became apparent.  Normally, where the large black lettering is declaring "SCHOOL BUS" it had been changed to reveal what these people were really up to.

That explains a lot.