One of our FAVORITE Job Sites - JUNIPER SPRINGS!!

We need a hosts or host couples immediately for our Juniper Springs Recreation Area near Ocala, Florida.  We are looking for hosts to help manage the day use area at the Springs and we are also looking for someone to help with security (a class D security license is preferred but not required for the security position).  Hosts may be driving a company vehicle so a clean driving record is a must.  The position pays wages plus a host site and utilities.  You can find pictures and information here. 

We ask you to take two steps to apply:

1.  If you have not already done so, apply for a 2016 camp host position at this link.   If you have already put in an application, you do not need to do it again, but you will not be considered without an application. 

2.  Please contact Samantha and Daryl Rolando by email at RRMJobs@camprrm.com to communicate your interest.  Our jobs database has lots of people in it, so make sure they know that you are interested in this particular job.  Please do not contact them until you have completed an application.

The job of camp hosting in state parks usually only requires 3 or 4  days of duty....for a total of 20 hours a week...maybe 24 max.  So the obviously nice benefit is your freedom to roam.  We took advantage and explored Juniper Springs for a day.   The Chateau has claimed site #9 in the "Tropical Loop".  It's a mystical and foggy morning.  We can't remember Florida being more humid or more still.

A wondrous trail starts at our site.

There are small springs everywhere, so this jungley path soon crosses a bridge.

The signs warn that you are about to become gator bait, and you'd better not fight back...because this is a national reserve and everything in it is protected.

Who can resist a boardwalk into the wilds?  Just ahead, under the bridge, is a large pool of green water.  What's that about?

A peek into the pool from the bridge shows "boiling" sand that looks very much like the mud pots that bubble away in Yellowstone Park. 

I turned around and about lost my breath....  What an unusual series of dreamy pools.  They were riddled with sand boils.  How fascinating! 

 The oak branches growing over one pool were almost too tempting.  They were plenty big enough to walk on...and perfect as a platform to jump from into the warm water.  How exotic! 

I just kept taking pictures because it was so surreal...isolated...peaceful.  There was no one else around...no sound but that of moving water and wildlife.

I decided to follow the boardwalk along the spring run to its source.

And here it is...Juniper Springs!  Bob jumped in with his clothes on.  That's how irresistible it was.  He was floating face down looking into the spring just like he was a glass-bottomed boat.  I knew he was harking back to his childhood, which was filled with joyful days splashing, diving, and exploring in the stream behind his home in State College, Pennsylvania. 

Bob swam around and around, so I went to explore the rest of the area.  He was totally alone in his own "Blue Lagoon".  I returned after the sun had set...and he was still paddling around, marveling at his "best experience of the year so far".  So what's so special about perfectly clear, warm water surrounded by bright green ferns and well-done CCC rock work?  Come see for yourself!

Get SMART about Camp Hosting--not STUNG

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 WorkampingReviews.com Provides a Needed Resource for the Workamping Community

A Voice for the Thousands of U.S. Workampers

On the road, Wyoming – September 18, 2014

A new website has been launched giving workampers and traveling volunteers a voice. WorkampingReviews.com is an easy-to-use free website that allows workampers to share their experiences.  Users will help their fellows to avoid possible bad situations, and encourage the organizations that provide positive employment and service opportunities.  This website equips workampers and volunteers with information so they can determine which opportunities are best for them.

Each year, thousands of workampers and volunteers cris-cross the country filling vital roles in short term and seasonal positions. By all accounts, full-time RVing and workamping is a growing lifestyle.  “A website like this has been needed for sometime,” said Christian Dunn of WorkampingReviews.com. Who, along with his wife, is a full-time RVer and workamper.  “Most workamping and volunteer experiences are positive, but when a situation is bad, it can be a tremendous drain on time, money and emotions,” said Dunn.  “Prior to developing this website I had often wished there was such a resource.  A situation this past year prompted me and my wife to do it ourselves, in the spirit of community.”

The website relies on users to review and share their experiences.  “We wanted the website to be free, easy to use and allow users to post reviews anonymously.  Hopefully, people will come to the website regularly, and share honestly without concern of employer blow-back,” said Alayne Dunn of WorkampingReviews.com.  “So far there is not much in between, people either really enjoy their experiences or not,” said Dunn.  WorkampingReviews.com is the only website of its kind and is solely dedicated to the workamper with no other interests.  It is free, requires no registration, and users can begin posting and searching immediately.   

Christian & Alayne Dunn, also known as the TheRVNomads.com, are non-retired aged full-time RVers that have been traveling around the US with their two cats since March 2013. 

Contact:

Alayne Dunn

TheRVNomads@gmail.com

TheRVNomads.com

443 794 4596

Our Job at Colossal Cave Mountain Park

We are still excited about our new job, even though they aren't ready for us...after a month??  So we were left waiting...and adrift.   Justin and Li (the doctor friends) fed us a delightful dinner, including the most flavorful and varied salad I'd ever had.  Since I think of a vegetable salad as dessert...it was the best treat possible for me.  They had about 5 acres that came with their gorgeous mountaintop home, and they invited us to park there overnight.

Their home is next to a preserve, and protective zoning has changed, so they will remain the only home at the top.  There were javelina and deer tracks among the cacti, so I hoped for visitors.

This is the sunrise the next morning.  Do Arizona skies behave like this often?

The Schmidt's home is steel frame with hay bale insulation--brilliant considering the climate... with no heating or air conditioning required.  The side of the home facing Tucson has a glass-walled family room with a grand piano and large, peaceful spaces that invite meditation.  The "official" family portrait is shown below...a fascinating holographic image.  It's the actual family that anyone would find ultimately fascinating...and gracious.  Tucson is so fortunate to have them!

Justin and Li told us the story of how they met in China and eventually married (in Tucson).  It was clear they should write a book.  We were so spellbound we missed church!

Can you tell we love Li and Justin?  We could stay forever, but on Monday we had an appointment with Martie and the park maintenance manager to figure out just what our duties would be.  This pic of the host site can be enlarged to see the nature of the road.  This is the only good section.  We learned in our meeting there were 3 maintenance people, but no work had been done.  The person who was to bring a grader in was "busy" and he'd need Martie to buy him a new blade, anyway  ???  Why would you have to buy a blade before renting equipment??

We had to wait some more, so I decided to unwrap this great gift of nature.  The canyon we were parked in led up to a wild campground called La Selvilla.  The road to it had been washed out, but instead of fixing it, they had posted signs directing you to drive up the dry river bed.  I picked up trash as I walked and threw bigger rocks out of the "road" just to feel useful.  I discovered the Arizona Trail crossing the campground and followed it for a while, delighting in the rock formations and plants it led me to. 

The next day we found La Posta Quemade Ranch, which is run separately, but Martie gets a percentage.  We saw two full wagons departing the ranch in the rain with the happiest passengers you'd could imagine.  They were all older, but as giddy as little kids getting a pony for a birthday.

I think I'm giddy, too, having always been horse crazy.  Living in a park with a real, working ranch was going to be great!  But what about getting busy with camp hosting?  There's signs posted (BIG ones) saying you can only camp one night.  Martie was not aware of that.  The bathrooms needed cleaning, but one of the maintenance people, Skip, said the boss told him there wasn't any money for cleaner.  ??

What me worry?  No, we just went on a tour of this dry maze cave they call Colossal.  I had already read so much about the cave that I'm sure I could have given the tour myself.  In fact I was so enamored by the Indian and robber history of the area as well as the flora and fauna that I was consuming information wholesale.

Meanwhile...no likelihood of the roads being fixed...and Bill, an arachnid researcher working in the cave, informed us of many things that were less than satisfactory in the operation of the cave...including a maintenance team "that did nothing".  I said I'd start working on the road if I could get a shovel and a wheel barrow, as I'd found a pile of road base...but that just brought chuckles.  We may be dry camping for quite a while, just dreaming of FHUs on those cold Arizona desert nights. 

P.S.  Dr. Bill Savary is not only the wild cave tour guide, but a good friend of Justin Schmidt (Bob's friend).  As a herpetologist, he has been allowed to go into the park's pristine caves and has discovered new species of critters.  These caves are so delicate they are even closed to researchers now.  You may contact Bill through tucsonherpsociety.org or if you'd like to know more about reptiles, email him at:  bsavary@mindspring.com

Camp Hosting Positions - Fabulous? ...or... Farce?

We know the dream:  The idealized view of a camp host.  Can you see it?  The cute carved sign with your name on it, the Christmas lights hung and the potted plants blooming all around your shiny rig.  And there's probably a cute pet or two in your vision of the perfect hosting site.  Fantasy?  We found more than one such site at California's Carlsbad State Beach.  Hosts had been delighting visitors by inviting them to decorate a rock.  Fun idea, since the beach was made up of wave-worn rocks...all of them natural beauties....wanting a bit of paint.  If you host in a national park or forest, then you will be asked to leave your host site "natural" looking.  This Forest Service "rule" is often ignored...especially by returning camp hosts who have become much-loved by their managers.   Besides, it's always some kind of holiday....isn't it?  And we must do a bit of celebratory decorating.

We were just offered what I thought was a fabulous dream job in Everglades National Park.  We got an email from Environmental Ranger Greg Litton asking if we were interested in working at their Hidden Lake Environmental Education Center.  He included a brief description of duties:  "Provide logistical support to rangers leading 5th grade curriculum-based environmental education programs.  Two people needed who want to be a part of a nationally recognized environmental education program.  Lots of opportunities for making a difference in urban kids’ lives – this can be hard work too."

This was like candy to a former science teacher who likes working hard and misses working with kids a GREAT DEAL .  I read everything I could about the program.  Greg seemed like a super-star keeper of the Earth.

Ranger Greg passes out periphyton to 5th grade students at Long Pine Key.

 Then the "Fabulous" job started its decline. Here's a bit of sad news we received on Dec 15, 2011, from Greg:  "The only real concern I have is that you don't have a vehicle to get you to camp and back.  It is 10 miles round trip across paved and unpaved roads in a variety of environmental conditions.  That may end up being a real sticking point since some of the VIP duties involve hauling bags of recycling and garbage from camp.   I'll be talking to my supervisor today to see if there is really any other solution."

The Everglades is a Sea of Saw Grass filled with life.

I was thinking we'd just ride our bikes to the camp each day, but it was clear we were supposed to provide a "garbage truck" of some type 5 days a week.  I seriously thought of renting a car.  I wanted to do this!  But thoughts of "farce" started to sneak into my mind.  The previous volunteers quit this job....that's why it was open.  I already knew it was a big commitment.   The work schedule is Mon-Fri with hours as short as a half day to as long as 10 hours.  I started to read the fine print about our duties.  They included: 

Duties include python checks under tents.

Pressure wash, mow grounds, “take care” of unwanted rodents, cockroaches, snakes and ants in tents, care for activity boxes and touch tables, split all of the wood, clean fire pits nightly, cut out poisonwood and poison ivy (it’s around the bathrooms where you have to do string trimming) launder kids’ sleeping bags, spray structures with bleach to control mildew, repaint surfaces damaged by bleach...on and on....

Slough Slogging - a kid favorite!

A big job is being “dock master” for the kids, getting them set up in their canoes, hauling, maintaining and locking up the canoes, camp and trail maintenance, cleaning camp and restrooms, helping students to follow the rules (behave)…and lending a hand to the park staff. You are warned it may be humid, buggy, sweaty work with no showers, and as said...you have to haul the garbage away in your own vehicle.   But you get the weekends off! And we’ve heard the staff is wonderful to work with. They are much younger (and stronger) than we are and tend to wonder why volunteers struggle with the work load. 
Greg put a stop to my trepidation over this "volunteer opportunity" with this Dec 20th email:

Bob and Eileen,
Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm for volunteering at the Everglades next month. The January - April Hidden Lake camp caretaker VIP positions have now been filled. I will keep your applications and info close by since you both were in the running for these positions. [If we only had an extra vehicle to offer in addition to our labor.]

Will work for Badge on Hat

So what do you think?  Fabulous job or a Farce??   I'll give you a hint:  I have heard many volunteer coordinators and managers exclaim:  "I cannot believe what volunteers will do for us and the time commitments they will make to one location."  They say it with appreciative wonder, but also with an incomprehensible gasp or two thrown in.   

Ranger Linda at Bahia Honda State Park gave me this insight:  "They [the bosses] think you volunteers walk on water."

Horses R-WELCOME at Silver River State Park

Water Pump & Kiosk at Trailhead

Lottie gets a drink from the hand pump.  A careful check of the trail map on the kiosk in the Silver River parking lot sets you up for the best of adventures. Trails are marked orange, green, pink and red; there is also a river trail...and the river is simply gorgeous...preserved from human harm and lined with mounds of flowers, monkeys swinging on branches, and alligators of all sizes ignoring you.  If you do all the trails and wiggles, the trail is 10 miles. 



Even people who don't own a horse can experience the trail on horseback. Silver River State Park has contracted with Cactus Jack's Trail Rides for guided trail rides seven days a week.   You have to make a reservation because the horses don't live in the park...they have to ride in their trailer to meet up with you.  The cost is $55 plus tax for 2 hours.   It is a wonderfully interesting and pretty ride.  The sounds and sights are all wild:  deer, hogs, hawks, owls.  Of the 151 state parks in Florida, only 32 have horse trails...and this trail system is new. 

I've decided my initial exuberant reaction to Silver River SP was well justified.  It has it all...!

The park not only preserves 5,000 acres of natural Florida but its natural history.  We were told that camp hosts love being in their park, but rangers don't.  We've seen enough at the 20 or so state parks we've stayed at to say that this is mostly true.  Rangers very often start out as volunteers.  But once they switch to the strict schedule and requirements of a ranger, they make the "sad change"...from pure enjoyment of their surroundings to "just another day at work".  Even the most enthusiastic volunteers will succumb once their freedoms are restricted and the pressure of constant evaluation and added requirements sets in.  We are happy to stay in the volunteer category.  You really do have to PAY for a pay check.

Need to save money on the best horse ride in the East?  Check out http://www.groupon.com/  Search for current coupons to this or any other great attraction.  Have fun!

ALERT - Critical Camp Worker Information to avoid BIG Mistakes

Waterfront Camp Host sites next to The Shop

Today, 11/7/2011, we were enlightened! We thought the big advantage of work camping is the free site. When you do the math, your site is often double or even triple what you would normally pay for a camp site. And your site is often sub-standard…next to the camp shop, or crowded together with the other hosts next to a busy road, or in a less-desirable area...like next to the dump station!   

Front Gate Elite Resort at Salt Springs

We found an RV resort across the street from Salt Springs Campground with a lot renting for $250 a month, including cable and all utilities except electric, and activity fees already paid.  (See resort here.)  The lot is landscaped and huge, with concrete pad and patio.  Even the lawn furniture is included.  So if we get a job…maybe checking people in at the front gate…you have a little income that works out to be more than you’d ever get with the “free” site.  The light goes on!  Negotiating the lot rental separately from the job is a much more profitable setup…at least in this instance.  And you’ve avoided losing your freedom to roam, as many host positions actually require you to be "on duty" most, if not all days in smaller campgrounds.

Getting a job at a KOA or RV Resort

Playa Del Rio RV Resort & Yacht Club

 There are many places on the internet that list jobs...but avoid the "farms" where old listings are posted just so you'll fall into "fields" of ads and offers.  I like this list of jobs because it has the date it was posted.  We are currently testing some of the ads to see if there's still a job attached to them...i.e., Playa Del Rio on the Gulf Coast. 

Another add we're responding to:  "Wow" will be the first thing you'll say after one look at this amazing, amenities-packed KOA in the heart of Central Florida. Splash in one of the region's largest pools after a game of sand volleyball. Pull your rig into an RV site complete with digital cable TV and a brick fireplace on the patio.  Work out in the exercise room.... then relax in the gentle breezes and shade of oaks and palms.  Jump on KOA's Shuttle to Disney, Universal, SeaWorld or Wet 'N' Wild and enjoy it all.   [OK!  We were sold...and they were advertising online for help.  We were gung-ho to apply because Craig & Tanya live close by and the LDS Church is "just across the street".] 

The first thing to do is call to see if the job is still available.  It turned out the ad we read online was not fresh.  But we sent our application in anyway, in case someone had to bail and an opening came up.  The owners sent us an email encouraging us to keep them in mind for next season.  That's just it.  The jobs fill up fast, before the season starts.  So the second thing to do is your research.  Make sure you are applying for a job that you will enjoy...for the entire commitment.  Go online and search the name of the resort or KOA with the key words "worked", "job", or something like that because people love to blog about their camp hosting jobs....and you'll usually get very frank opinions about how it was.

The reason you need to narrow down your options to the area you'd most like to live in and the work you'd most like to do, is there's an overwhelming number of camping locations. 

The third thing to do is to put together an informal resume that pinpoints the skills and experience you have that match the job.  You'll need a current picture of yourself and your rig.  It's best to email your application, and then follow up with a hard copy in the mail (if you are really interested in the position.) Then the final thing to do is an evaluation:  Focus on what you want and do your homework so you don't get stuck in a bad situation.

For instance... I found a compelling RV Adventure site, called Traveling on the Outskirts with the true stories of a young couple dedicated to living on the road.   Last year they were desperate (bad condition) for a workamping position and watched the postings religiously on workamping.com .  One came up at Sun N Fun RV Resort in Sarasota, Florida. This is a huge place with 1,515 sites and activities galore.  Our young adventurers called, sent a flaming resume with superior references, and then aced the phone interview to land the job.  The only problem was they didn't get the details on how they were to be paid and how much their spot would cost them...or even what the spot was like.  It turned out to be $450 a month for a little strip with no privacy whatsoever and a wage $3 less than anyone else was getting and no possibility of making a living...as they were working for tips outside in Florida's coldest winter anyone could remember.  You can read their almost tragic story at: The Real Deal   (A Reality check for campworkers.)

List of Jobs Currently Available

Ready to go to work?  Here's a list of jobs put out by "Work for RVers and Campers".
We responded to the following ad from this list....with enthusiasm....but received no reply whatsoever.  We couldn't get even an acknowledgement that our application was received:
FL: Winter Position on Citrus Ranch Near Disney World
Work campers needed. Work on a 2500-acre ranch close to Disney World. Job runs November through April. We have a U-pick citrus grove, old time country store, eco tours, and a camp ground. Please see our website showcaseofcitrus.com for more info about us.  Call Julie at 352-267-9903, if you are interested.

I like this list because it gives a posting date...so you have an idea if the job might already be filled...or so undesirable that no one has responded and the listing is still active. 

There's a free list by Cool Works of jobs you may have never considered...but could have a riot with.

There ARE many, many camp hosting positions that are paid (in real money).  One of the must varied lists of camp host jobs is found at http://www.simplyhired.com/ .  You can get your free spot without even being in a campground.  Another surprising site is jobsonline.net  with an easy search gadget.  You could be involved with anything from camp counseling to RV sales.

Then we checked the list of jobs posted by Happy Vagabonds.  Why not?  You have nothing to lose by applying.  We sent emails and made phone calls (no answers) and we left messages (with no replies).  We'll let you know if these are valuable lists or not....shortly.   [They are...but apply early and expect quite a bit of competition for the job.]

Here's a sample of a job posting that is supposedly available right now:
Workamper Needed at Fishermans Cove Resort
Needed immediately workamper 20 hrs a week in exchange for site and utilities. Duties are cleaning/general maintenance, friendly, relaxed atmosphere, ideal for retired couple, Come and experience our little fishing / resort. Contact Brenda at (941) 729-3685.

Bob called and left messages several times, and I wrote excited emails, because we used to live close to this resort and know (and love) a lot of people in the area.  After two weeks we gave up, as there was no acknowledgment whatsoever of the communications, resume and pictures we'd sent.  The "paradise" the owner of Fisherman's Cove described went up in vapors for us.  [Note:  We did follow up personally on this job lead, and it had been filled as we had supposed.]

Emergency in the Florida Keys

 

Life is more than good at Bahia Honda..... for the mosquitoes.  We just completed our emergency evacuation.   This chair is in our "back yard" breeding ground at the Volunteers' RV parking. The camper in #20 emailed me today (Oct 28th) about their emergency evacuation, after vicious mosquito attacks. And we were informed of at least one other camper who had to get medical attention for their bites. Hurricane Rina is now a tropical storm, which chose The Keys as its dumping grounds for the moisture it's been scooping up in The Gulf. At first a lake rising around us was rather a novelty. Our neighbor, John, just got out his kayak to mock the flood. But then the police boat SANK, Buttonwood Campground vanished under water, and our RV sank ever deeper in the sodden mess.

The brown waters of the campground made islands of the restrooms.  The campers were very brave.  Here's Volunteer Andrew strolling in our front yard.  And the last pictures are of park rangers saving the police boat. 

So...what does one do?  There are better things to do with a life than offer your body as mosquito bait and live trapped in an RV to escape the bugs, mud and weather.  Let's go on an adventure!  We really are in Florida, and our youngest son and his darling family are in Orlando.  Where should we flee?    (2B continued....)