The Life of a Workamper

By now you're probably wondering, "What's it like to be a Workamper?"  I can only tell you about our first experience which may or may not be similar to other's experiences or to our next experience.  I think we got pretty lucky (although I don't believe in luck, just God's divine providence) and selected the perfect place for our first experience.  Here we are with the Welcome Bear in front of the Mountain View RV Resort office entrance.

What is it that makes it perfect, you ask (I thought you'd never ask!)?

First, we work two days (10-hour days) and then are off four days!  Who can't like that?  Having four days off at a time provides us with ample opportunity and time to visit the surrounding areas and even take off for short "vacations" (uhhhh, do we need a vacation since we're on permanent vacation???  Heck yeah!).  And from our recent blogs you know that we have been traveling around to the local areas and enjoying the scenery immensely.

Second, it's so simple even a caveman could do it!  There are times when it is sloooooooooow (and I do mean slooooooooooow) and the day drags on, but I've been creating things to do.  I have not lost my "kaizen" spirit (for those of you who aren't in the Toyota "know", Kaizen means continuous improvement) since I left Toyota.  I'm always looking for ways to do things easier and better.  One thing we did fairly early on is I asked Carter if we could have a rubber stamp made instead of writing the information on every reservation.  He readily agreed and we created it online and got it within five days.  That has really made it easier for all of us in the office because it is also like a "road map" listing the four things we have to do with each reservation and we just check each one as we complete it. 

Another thing I started working on for Carter at the RV resort is getting him involved in promoting on the resort's Facebook page.  He really doesn't like computers so he basically ignored it for the most part.  Well, the Royal Gorge region has so much going on, so many activities and outdoor adventures you can participate in that I felt we needed to tie the RV resort into what's happening in the area.  I went to the Chamber of Commerce and picked up all kinds of literature and scoured the Internet for local activities.  Then I created a Word table listing the dates of all the events and all the outdoor activities which I called "General Posts" (such as zip-lining, rafting, helitours, fishing, etc.).  So, now about three to four weeks in advance of an event, we post it on the resort's FB page and let them know they should stay with us during their time in the area to enjoy the event.  I created the Word document in such a way that he can use it again next year and simply copy and paste the verbiage from the chart and change the dates when he pastes it into the FB page.  He is pretty excited about that.  Click on this link to check out their FB page Mountain View RV Resort and you'll see some of the events I created and posted.  While you're at it, why don't you "Like" us too?

Because he's figured out I'm a software "guru" (in his mind), he also has been asking me to make changes to some of the resort documents, which I'm more than happy to do as well as make signs and anything else he dreams up.  I've also asked him to show me how to make changes to some of the programs we use so that I don't need to ask him to help me each time.  One of my strengths is "Learner" so I love learning new things which in this business is a good thing!

My main front office duties include:  answering the phones, taking reservations from phone calls, pulling reservations off the Internet, cashiering, keeping the office area clean, neat, and tidy, restocking the refreshments, and any other office thing that may pop up.  I actually have to "radio" Gary to let him know when I need to have a potty break because we can't leave the phones unattended.  He is also responsible for bringing me my lunch when we're working ... what a guy!  Here I am in the front office with my walkie-talkie in hand.  See those cute marshmallow pens in the lower right-hand corner? 

My "weakest" task is the money.  I'm sure I've told you this before, but me watching over money is like asking the wolf to watch over the henhouse ... something bad is bound to happen! 

As I was saying before I got on my shortage tangent, I have to count the money each morning and evening when I'm on shift.  It totally freaks me out that I will be short and not be able to account for it! And it finally did :(  I was $10 short in the cash drawer recently.  I think someone gave me $50 and I though they gave me $60 so when I made change I gave them $10 too much.  They never said anything and happily went on their way.  Me, I had to cough up $10 out of my wallet to make it come out right.  you can bet I'll be looking more closely at the bills so I am more accurate!

I asked Carter to show me how to interpret the evening reports so I can check my own work.  That has helped me out considerably because he would come back 3-4 days later and ask me a question about something?*#!  Look it, I'm over 60.  What's he thinking?  Is he believing I'm going to have great recall and give him all the details?  NOT!!  So now I can peruse the reports, make notes on anything that needs an explanation and then if there's a question later I'll be able to answer it ... I hope!

As you noticed (with the walkie-talkie in my hand) we communicate via walkie-talkies.  Gary gave us "handles".  I'm in the office so my handle is "Dog House" and his handle is "Red Dog 1".  He heard (and then remembered because it's irrelevant trivia) these handles from some war movie he saw once.  Go figure!

While I'm in the office all day, Gary is basically outdoors completing all his assignments which are on a check list.  His responsibilities include cleaning the park restrooms and bath (shower) house (and checking their cleanliness hourly), keeping the front and rear patios free of leaves and bird poop, getting the mail, checking campsites prior to guest check-in, escorting guests to their campsites, cleaning the campsite tables while the guests are getting their rigs set up, checking campsites after guests depart, and he gets to do most of this while running around in a golf cart, which I think he thinks is totally cool!

While we both have "free" time, I am stuck indoors so most of my free time I'm either reading, working on my personal computer, or dreaming up something inside that should be done--like reorganizing the literature rack!  Gary, on the other hand, can spend some of his free time in the RV, walking Sadie, and sometimes taking a nap. 

Below is part of the retail area that is just to the right of the front desk area.  They have RV picture frames and RV Christmas ornaments (second shelf from the top), wine bottle toppers (third shelf from the top, left side and displayed on two wine bottle right below), RV salt and pepper shakers (third shelf to the right of the wine bottle toppers), and some great bear items including bath soap holder, salt and pepper shakers and wine bottle holder (all on the bottom shelf).  Then there's the "mandatory" red neck wine glasses!  Really some cute stuff and we've been selling it fairly well.

Carter is also a licensed contractor and has his other (contractor's) business is in the Springs.  He bought the RV resort thinking ahead to retirement.  When he's here, he lives in his Class A motorhome which is here permanently.  He's made some great changes to the resort.  One of the best is the cement pads he poured at most of the campsites.  These are our "deluxe" sites.  Our standard sites are all gravel (no cement pad).  The majority of the sites have full hookups.  Here is a very recent aerial shot of the park that his buddy at the Helitours company did for him. The park was at capacity that weekend (which is different from the "normal") because of an RV club rally.  Our rig isn't in the park because we were off gallivanting around in Durango with our good friends from Gardnerville.

Here's a picture of the back patio and small grassy area.  Gary's favorite bunny rabbits hang out here a lot.  He is watching the babies grow up right in front of his eyes.  There are lots of bunnies this year and Carter is threatening to ... well, you know!

Carter did all the construction on the brick built-in BBQ (right underneath the patio cover which he also made) and the nice water feature which you can't really see (it's behind the tree on the left side of the photo just to the left of the open door).  The poppies were blooming and it really looked very nice and colorful the day I took the photo.

Here's a photo of the front porch on the right-side of the main entrance.  Sometimes when it's really slow I'll sit out here or out back (see next photo).

This is the other place I might hang out when it's really slow in the office and I've completed all the little tasks I can dream up.  There are three birdhouses and one hummingbird feeder in that tree right behind the fence.  We have Orioles in the area but I never have my camera when I see them.  I am committed to getting a photo of an Oriole, though!

There are a total of three couples and one older, single guy working as Workampers at this resort.  The single guy, Jim, is in his 70s and he is mostly responsible for weed abatement (full time job), maintenance odd jobs, and anything that Carter comes up with.  Jim is actually taking off in July because he wants to travel instead of being grounded this summer.  I think this is either his third or fourth year here.  He winters in Texas and works at an RV resort there as well.

So, have you been dreaming about being a fulltime RVer, traveling around like a free bird after you retire?  Check out the Workamping website www.workamper.com then click on the "Join/Renew" button on the left side and then click on "Dreamer".  That should get you started on your own personal journey. 

However, we definitely recommend you travel around and see the sites before starting Workamping!  You need to fulfill some Wanderlust before you ground yourself in the summers.  There will always be Workamping assignments (there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds), but you won't always have the time to travel in the summer if you start too soon.  We are selecting states that we didn't get to in our four months of traveling on the west coast. We did get to one corner of Montana, but there's still so much we haven't seen in that big sky state.

To end this blog, I thought it was appropriate to include a picture of a recent sunset here in Canon City.  Some nights we have amazing sunsets like the one below and then some nights we don't.  I love to catch them when we have them!

 

Psalms 116:5-6

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.
The LORD preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.