Workamping---NOT for everyone!

I've talked about workamping before, but it amazes me how many people have no idea what it is! If you live in an RV---regardless of type---and work then you are considered a workamper!! That definition may be a little broad, but thats basically it. I guess you don't have to be working at a campground to fit into that definition..... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My first workamping experience was in New Mexico for a retail company that had C-stores along I-10 and I-40. They supplied a full hook up site and a 40 hour workweek plus a check. When I was off, I was free to do whatever I wanted. It was a pretty sweet deal, and I enjoyed myself immensely! It was never meant to be a long term gig, and I only stayed 4 months before heading further west. New Mexico is the "Land of Enchantment" and it was a beautiful state! Especially for a guy that came from the midwest and was used to seeing cornfields everywhere, instead of deserts and mountain vistas! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was in New Mexico that I met my first vandweller. An older person living off a pension/SSI, literally sleeping in a Ford Econoline cargo van. Their champagne tastes always exceeded their beer money income, and before the next check arrived was always broke!! We will call this vandweller Earlene, a woman in her late 60s, with all sorts of allergy problems, who could not tolerate cig smoke, or dogs, or anyone that did not live the way she thought they should. Fast forward to January of 2012.....Earlene decided she wanted to get a workamping job as a campground host, likely thinking she would get paid for doing nothing, other than being a "prescence"......we ALL know people like her!! They want a handout, NOT a hand up!! So Earlene gets a camp host job in a remote area of a western state, and what happens?? She finds out that she actually has to do some work!! And she gets on her blog and cries and complains to her followers that the wilderness area she is in has herds of cows that roam thru her campground and poop all over the place, including the picnic tables she has to keep clean.....and that some campers are breaking rules faster than she can enforce them...and many campers have dogs---oh no!!! I wonder, did Earlene think that it was going to be peaches and cream all the time? Did she do ANY research about the company that she was working for, or the location she was going to, BEFORE making a committment? Very doubtful......and now she is on her blog telling people that they should think twice before becoming a camp host....well, DUH Earlene!! Do some research next time! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before I would accept ANY workamping job, I would research and get as much info as possible about the opportunity. Make it clear my duties, and even more clear my pay and perks if any! Get a FIRM arrival/departure date!! And if possible, get it all IN WRITING!! WORKAMPING OPPORTUNITIES ARE PLENTIFUL EVERY SPRING, IN EVERY AREA OF THE COUNTRY! Have retail experience?? There are jobs in gift shops at attractions, some even pay commission on sales! Have hotel experience? Many national parks have lodging operations where you can get a front office job. Like to cook? Want to put your green thumb to work doing landscaping? Want to be a tour guide? There are workamping jobs for those skills too!! Want to go to Dollywood and hang out for the summer? They hire lots and lots of workampers!! An amusement park in the heartland? AdventureLand in Iowa will fill the bill! Always wanted to see the black hills, or the Grand Canyon? Want to see Crazy Horse Memorial before you die?? Theres workamping jobs there too! But do your research FIRST!!

New solar experiment!!

Well, I have been on the road working for 2 weeks straight without being home to the STEALTH camper.....we are just super busy in Lowes thru the end of this month! Then starting in September we are booked thru end of the year as well, in Home Depots in Indiana/Illinois.....and since I love to travel, it doesn't bother me at all to move from city to city, hotel to hotel, presently am in Logansport, IN at a real nice Holiday Inn Express thru Monday night. And since the company is picking up the bill, I'm not complaining! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- While I was in Arizona this past winter I met a couple who were living in a Chevy van, by choice.....they were in their 60s, no kids, and they were enjoying themselves and adapting to their new lifestyle. They were camped on BLM land outside of Quartzsite and had a little Honda scooter to ride to town. Oscar and I hit it off from the beginning, as he was a retired funeral director so we had an instant connection! Susan was retired from Macys. One day, they invited me over for dinner, and Susan had cooked up a great meatloaf along with potatoes and carrots and onions, with brownies for dessert! It struck me about midway thru dinner that because they were vandwellers, how did she cook up this great meal?? I knew they had a 2 burner cook stove, but brownies require an oven to bake them...so how did she bake the brownies?? In this:

A solar oven!! In fact, she cooked up the meatloaf in it as well!! A SOLAR OVEN!! I had heard of these, but never seen one much less enjoyed food cooked in one!! This intrigued me greatly, but I put it on "the back burner" so to speak...lolol...for more research later on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, has anyone had any experience with a solar oven?? Have done some research online, and these things cost anywhere from $200. to $400. but will last for many years. The concept is simple enough, and the interior temps can get up to 400 degrees F.....so you can bake/cook nearly anything!! Look at it as a solar crock pot, because it takes time to cook in them!

And in the winter when the old sun is lower in the sky, I guess you would have to angle it greatly to get the full benefit of the suns rays.......whether I buy one or not will depend on different factors, but mainly the size of it!! Even folded down, the one I saw in the desert was pretty big!!

New wheels!

There comes a time when all good things must end, and that time has come for my old Ford pickup!! It has been a great old truck, has given me 150,000 miles of solid performance with only a few hiccups along the way, those being in the last year.....new water pump in New Mexico, new hoses in Arizona, scorched rotor cap in Texas......but all in all flawless driving. She has been everywhere I have been in my travels, but is showing signs of her age and wear and tear.....she has developed an oil leak....she had dual tanks but one has quit working....getting rust around the rear wheelwells...she needs new tires, but I just don't think she will last another 50,000 miles on the road, so not buying any! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, yesterday I went looking and found a really nice Chevy Suburban, with 4WD, that belonged to the father of a friend of mine who I've known since school....his dad bought it new but has recently went to a nursing home, so the son had it up for sale. I drove it Saturday afternoon for a few hours, and it sure is nice! We came to terms and shook hands and its a done deal! Here she is.....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ain't she purty!!! And she has HEATED leather seats and heated power outside mirrors, which will be real nice in the winter! Loaded with all the goodies, including fold flat 2nd as well as 3rd row seats and a luggage rack.....

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It already has synthetic oil in it, and the tires have less than 10k on them, so shouldn't have to worry about buying tires for a couple years. I must have drove it at least 60 miles and the gas gauge barely moved.....I suspect it will get the same mileage I got on the old Ford, which recently was right at 18mpg on the highway! Now all I need to do is get everything cleaned out of the old Ford, then get it cleaned and detailed, and put it up for sale!! I couldn't believe the old girl still has a NADA and KBB value of over $3500!! Be tickled to death to get that, but would settle for $2k!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The days roll on.............

Been a few weeks since I have posted anything, have just been super busy with work! Been in Kentucky doing jobs and nothing much of anything else. Money is good, and we are super busy with existing projects! The 3rd quarter is already booked solid and they are telling us the 4th quarter will be very busy as well! ************************************************************************************** Was recently notified that the class action lawsuit settlement will yield me a check for just over $2400. which is not even close to what I was hoping to get, but its low because we settled, rather than going to trial.....but $2400. is better than a kick in the teeth and I will gladly take the money! *************************************************************************************** I make it home to the STEALTH camper generally every weekend, and am happy to report that it is serving its purpose very well! The solar is doing an excellent job of keeping the batteries at a constant full charge, and the fridge is plugged in all the time keeping a constant draw on the power levels. Recently sold the little genset and battery charger I had bought, since we are working pretty much full time and I am hooked to shore power. When I do hit the road again, whenever that may be, will re-think my genset need, but will buy a good Honda genset, something like this---

this is a 2000 watt and the plan is to use it to charge the batteries if/when I get parked somewhere that has more shade than sun. Some fellow Workampers I know out in the Sierra National Forest report that they are parked in such dense shade that their solar power systems never get enough sun exposure to charge properly, so an alternative charging system is needed to maintain their power levels. *************************************************************************************** The Travel Fund grows every week, as I have very little expense at this point. The company I am working for generously pays all our hotel rooms, mileage and a per diem, so my only expense on the road is what I spend on myself, including food and laundry. And my frugality is allowing me to stock up on little "freebies" at every hotel we stay at. I may never again have to buy coffee/creamer/sugar/shampoo/soap/conditioner/peanut butter/jams/plastic cutlery/styrofoam cups ever again!!!!!!! And no, I don't consider that stealing...its there for guests use, I'm just not using it yet!! And some may laugh at that, but have you seen the price of a can of coffee lately????? As long as its available, I'm stocking up!! *************************************************************************************** Hope everyone is staying safe and cool wherever you may be!

The heat subsides......

Whew!!!!!!! Man has it been HOT!! Days on end with record breaking temps and no rain....week after week of no rain, the crops dying in the fields, gardens drying into dust plots....and 100F temps day after day after day.....but this morning as I set outside the STEALTH camper under my awning, with a temp of a cool 75 and a slight breeze, enjoying fresh coffee as I type this out, it seems obvious the heat wave has subsided for a time! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Work has resumed, now in Lowes stores, and have 2 weeks in.....leaving later today for Louisville and will be on the road 2 full weeks there. Getting the travel fund built back up, but wondering now whether will even be going on the road this winter?? We have tons of new reset projects stretching into the spring of 2013, and its just hard to pass up weeks of $1000. or more!! Plus free hotels and per diems and paid mileage and paid drive time.....hate to say it, but the lure of the almighty dollar is creeping back into my mindset.....NOT GOOD FOR A MINMALIST!! But it does take money to survive, even though I spend very little. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Workamping offers for the 2013 season are coming in already, from the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky to the Grand Teton Lodge Company way out west to a huge KOA in south Texas and even from a place in north Georgia. Maybe, MAYBE by next spring I will be tired of working and will be ready to hook up the STEALTH trailer and take my butt somewhere and follow the dream of camping AND working.....but so many places won't let me come in with the STEALTH camper!!! Have been told--"thats NOT a camper!! Thats a cargo trailer!!" Hmmmmmmmmm......it says CAMPER right on the title!! If they were to see the inside of it, I think they would change their mind..... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recently met a woman, 68 years young, at a rest area along I-70 just outside Indianapolis who was pulling a trailer very similar to mine and she was "living the dream" of travelling the country and living out of the trailer. She is a widow, drawing $963. a month social security, and that is her only source of income. She travels with her 9 year old min pin named Sadie, and they are camera shy, so no pics! Sorry gang. But she was very upbeat, telling me she was from Oregon, been on the road 3 months, and loving every minute of it! She will drive anywhere from 100 to 200 miles a day, depending on her mood, and will often stay the night at Walmart lots or rest areas.....she knew that I wasn't judging her way of life, and that I "got it".....she told me she wished that more people "got it".......she had no ultimate destination, and often decided which way to go by flipping a coin!! Serendipity at its finest. More power to you Sally, and enjoy yourself and be safe! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back to work!!

This past week I made a trip down to Little Rock, Arkansas to see some good friends and just hang out a few days. While there, was reading some blogs I follow and discovered that Cherie and Chris from www.technomadia.com were in St. Louis area visiting family. If you go to their site, you'll discover that they are travelling the land in a really cool restored bus, and they are VERY tech savvy!! And, way cool people! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyway, on my return, I dropped them an email saying I was passing through and would love to hook up!! They were up for it, so we made arrangements and met in Columbia, IL which is where Chris' parents live. Cherie wasn't feeling up to snuff, but she came anyway. We had a great visit, talking about things like solar power, lithium batteries,how I fund my lifestyle, etc....they even did a short video about me which will be up on their site in the near future! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So we hung out in a nice city park in the shade for an hour or so, and then I rolled out for home. No doubt our paths will cross again sometime down the road!! They are a fine example of younger nomads, living their dream, not confined in a sticks and bricks house with all the nonsense that goes with that type of life! I highly recommend their site, tons of useful info on it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I rolled back in home Thursday evening, and found a FedEx envelope waiting for me. It was from this company I am working for as an IC, informing me that we are going back to work on June 25th, with at least 3 months solid work all set up! But, they have switched me from the Ace Hardware team over to the Lowes team! We are starting in Indianapolis district, then heading to Kentucky, and on to Ohio, wrapping up the 3rd quarter in Atlanta.......4th quarter is still up in the air but looks like we will be in Georgia and Florida! I could use a good 6 months of solid work, to build up the travel fund! Will be good to get back on the road with the STEALTH camper, maybe back to Arizona for a few months!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boondocking gear question.....

In my little corner of the world where I am at the moment, occasionally someone from the main road will see my STEALTH trailer setting out here with the awning out, and find their way to where I am.....this happened to me today, and it was 2 young girls bicycling their way from St. Louis to Indianapolis. But these are the type that have money on a credit card, and are not pitching a tent along their way, but rather staying in nice hotels with the creature comforts that 19 year old females feel they need!! More power to them! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We all sat and enjoyed the morning shade under my awning, and they told me this trip was a "trial" run for a cross country trip they were planning for next year, and the discussion turned to boondocking, and what that would entail.....questions flowed freely.....how do you cook something hot? I showed them my Coleman 2 burner LP stove... They seemed to like that idea! But, what if you get cold? And we are in a tent? I showed them my Coleman LP fired heater... OK, so what if we need light to write our experiences down into our journals?? I told them about the little solar stake lights I saw a girl using in Arizona this past winter, but also I have those handy little dot lights in the STEALTH trailer... They thought those were "cool"!! Teenage girls are so much fun to hang out with!! OK, so HOW do we take showers when we are tent camping?? We HAVE to stay clean and fresh!! After all, we're GIRLS!! No problem ladies!! Buy one of these things and fill it with water, lay it in the sun a few hours, maybe heat up a gallon of water on your cookstove, pour the hot water in, find a tree limb to hang it from, grab the soap and have at it!! This little solar bag grabbed their attention!! I told them they might want to buy 2 or 3 to be safe! After all, how many girls can take a shower AND wash their hair with just 5 gallons of water??? Ya, not many!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The discussion then turned to the STEALTH trailer, and of course they had to have a tour.....wow!!! This is way cool dude!! A fridge and a microwave and a coffeemaker and a flat screen tv and an 8" mattress!! Dude, this is wicked!! And just to be cruel, I reached up and turned on the rooftop A/C unit----air conditioning!! In a frickin cargo trailer?? We HAVE to think about getting one of these!!! Seriously, how much money you got wrapped up in this, and where can we get one?? And how big a truck do we need to pull it? And how does the solar panels work?? I have a feeling these 2 will NOT be tent camping next year when they go cross country!