See the Post after this one for PHOTOS of Juniper Springs...FLORIDA's Best

We need a hosts or host couples immediately for our Juniper Springs Recreation Area near Ocala, Florida.  This is a beautiful, all-year facility -- so with a good work record this summer you will already have a warm and sunny spot for this winter!  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 RRMJobsEast@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. Note that after completing the application, you will be asked to take a short personality profile assessment so we can learn more about you.  This will help us ask better questions in the interview process. If you have any difficulties, each page of the application should have a button says "Technical Difficulties?  Get Help Now."  By clicking this button, you will reach representatives of Applicant Pro, the company that hosts the application, and they should be able to help you complete the process.

Your application will be considered at any of our campgrounds, but please only contact the Rolandos if you are interested in this particular position (they do not have information about any other locations).  Please do not contact us for winter work only, our winter jobs go to our proven summer employees. Thank you for your interest in working for Recreation Resource Management.     Sincerely,   Warren Meyer Recreation Resource Management

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!

FREE Camping at GORGEOUS Natural Springs in FLORIDA

We need host couples immediately at Juniper Springs Recreation Area near Ocala, Florida.   The positions pay 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 2015 camp host position at this link. (The application may say "AZ" but it is good for all states). If you have already put in an application, you do not need to do it again.   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. Note that after completing the application, you will be asked to take a short personality profile assessment so we can learn more about you.  This will help us ask better questions in the interview process. If you have any difficulties, each page of the application should have a button says "Technical Difficulties?  Get Help Now."  By clicking this button, you will reach representatives of Applicant Pro, the company that hosts the application, and they should be able to help you complete the process.

Thank you for your interest in working for Recreation Resource Management.

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

BOONDOCKING...vs. CAMP HOST JOBS

Honestly...it takes a LOT of faith to get a great camp host job or to otherwise find  your perfect "free spot".  We lucked onto a terrific ebook on free camping sites at:  www. frugal-rv-travel.com, "A Frugal Shunpiker's Guide" by Marianne Edwards.  It cost a few dollars, but was so worth it.  [Click on our Amazon link at the top-right and get your own boondocking books.]  True to Marianne's word, she sends detailed updates and/or corrections.  We have also tried our luck by "surfing the web" for free spots...and the truth is, even web pages where the author seemed quite knowledgeable and the information very detailed, we'd be off on a wild goose chase most often.  BLM camping spots would have new development, if they were close to "civilization"; and roads to some destinations were mere figments of some one's imagination (or poor memory).  We learned the hard way its best to talk with someone who has camped-4-free very recently and can give you reliable information.  Let's give you a recent example of one of our "goofs":

First, we went on internet info on a road west of Tucson that went from rough to sandy dirt and then to desolation.  We felt we needed "protection", especially after reading the "welcome" sign below.  Bob had never fired his bit of a gun, so he decided to see if it actually worked.  It did, and I took a bit of film to prove it.  Then check out the last photo of our actual camp site.  Seriously...what is there to do at this spot?  It was coming into focus:  These spots are free because that's what they are worth.  We locked ourselves into the RV and waited for first light.  It was the very next day, in the nearby Arizona Sonora-Desert Museum, we happened to run into an officer who did border patrol in the area.  He told us we were crazy to have camped where we did....that there were regular shootings in the area as it's a hotly contested drug trafficking route.  The sign with the bullet holes was not even close to being a sufficient warning for the risks involved in being alone at night (anywhere) in the area.  Ahhhh.....crap!

The above shadows belong to two lonely, nervous campers.

So....what about free camping as a camp host?  We got a job offer at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, a preserve for open grassy forests of longleaf pine that were once commonplace throughout Florida. Their brochure reads, "The pine flatwoods form a backdrop for other biological communities, including cypress domes, scrubby flatwoods, sandhills, a beautiful strand swamp, and over 50 protected species.  Photographers, bird-watchers, and nature enthusiasts can explore miles of trails on foot, bicycle, or horseback. Canoeing, boating, and fishing on the St. Sebastian River are popular activities. "

The job offer came with the following attachment explaining the cost of a "free" camping spot.
Responsibilities of camp Volunteers
In exchange for a free campsite, volunteers are expected to perform 20 hours of service every week per Camp site [that's 20 hours for each of us, 40 hours total]

Duties include:

• Open gate every day at 8am. (Rotational with other volunteers as available)
• Close gate every night at sunset, check trash at spillway.
• Respond to visitor questions regarding the preserve.
• Work the Visitor Center as per scheduling (Fri – Sat, 10 to 4:30, Sun 12 to 4:30)
• Clean Visitor Center and North office each week   (take trash to dumpster)
• Clean bunkhouse    
• Check shop (sweep and take out trash)
• Check camp sites     (clean out fire pits and pick up trash)
• Pick up trash along roadways.
• Mow and weed eat: Parking lots, shop compounds, camp sites and camp host areas.
• Trail maintenance (may require operation of heavy machinery)
• Miscellaneous projects to be assigned

We came close to taking this job, as the preserve was not far from Miami beaches, but isolated and "wild"...actually too wild, as we couldn't get the internet there...and there was no church or grocery store close by.  As much as we love camp hosting, there is no such thing as a FREE SITE.  Nope...you pay, but almost to a person we hosts love the work and would do it for free.

If you have your mind made up you must have a free site, then just park on the road in front of a good friend's house.  That's just what we're doing in the following pictures:

Now...because I need the money, please notice my gorgeous stone necklace and then get curious enough to look me up on ebay.  Just click "Advanced" to the right of the search box and then go almost to the bottom of the page and type in my seller name:  RunningHorse48 ... and then you can see all of my astoundingly gorgeous diamond polished stones set in hand-crocheted adjustable necklace bands.  I'll give you a 20% discount if you mention you visited my blog.  Appreciate you!....and thanks, sincerely.

GEMS, Necklaces and My Best Buddy!

YES, I am selling these on ebay...for a fraction of their value. Do I need the cash?  Yes.  Appearing on the left is old-stock Tiger's Eye Agate with mesmerizing heliotrope chatoyancy. It also goes by the name of Iron Stone, and this particular chunk was formed in Australia.  Fascinating as its ever-changing bands are, it's over shadowed by the crystals in the Ocean Wave Jasper  and the finely colored spiderweb turquoise teardrops.  I offered my best-ever childhood friend any of my hundreds of necklaces she wanted...and she shunned these two stunning creations and went for a dozen of my simplest treasures.  She deliberated for quite a while.  She's modeling one of her choices below, a "Dragon's Blood" agate.



It was hard work deciding. Can you see how my Buddy struggled? See if it's easier for you to decide which is the nicest. Just look me up on ebay using the "Advanced Search" and type in my Seller Name: RunningHorse48...and see what's currently offered. (It changes all of the time.) 
Both my Buddy and I have a long history of admiring, collecting and now wearing beautiful stones. I had to part with my gem, fossil and rock collection to move into the RV. The hardest to give up were the geodes, particularly the Thunderegg collection. Having so many Thunderegg Slice Necklaces helped me survive the separation crisis. So how did we get our energy back from our decision making? ...by going to The Olive Garden, where the menu asked us for much simpler choices.

 I had my own hard choices to make.  I would love to stay with my Best Buddy in Arizona forever, but it was time to fly to Salt Lake City to visit my children and the growing-up-to-fast grandkids.  The views during my flight almost overwhelmed me with their intriguing geology.  The one above is of an area in a protection battle right now.

 This view from the plane is THE GOAL:  Hike Mountain Timpanogos with as many of the family who can stand the all-day hike.  I signed up at Gold's Gym as soon as the plane landed to get closer to this goal!

 The grandkids look so grown-up compared to my last personal assessment.  And they seemed more interested in the big screen than their grandma...except baby Zeke.  He's made of love!

Can you read the words on this cake?  Maybe they did miss me after all.  They still like chocolate cake, I do know that.  Look at the picture below to see how little chocolate missed their mouths.

The grandbaby who changed the most while I was off camphosting was baby Izzy.  She was now bigger than her baby dolls!

So...It's wonderful to be among my extra-darling family again...but there's still the hard matter of making a living.   As a grandma, it's so important to buy toys, and more toys.  Please remember to look me up on ebay using the "Advanced Search",  type in my Seller Name: RunningHorse48...and see if there's something that interests you.  Thank you!....sincerely.

The AMAZING Desert Museum - Tucson's BEST attraction

We heard the Desert Museum is the best in the west, which makes you curious; but experiencing it makes you want to bring the world here... especially kids!  Clearly any child would learn beyond measure, without even knowing it amidst their fun.  It's a huge adventure with garden after garden, a zoo with natural habitats, and many inviting interactive exhibits.  You can dig for fossils, go underground to see how critters live there, or go underwater to visit beaver, otters and fish. 

I couldn't get myself out of the Earth Science section, with minerals that had me drooling and mystified by their local history. It's the first time I saw big chunks of minerals displayed as they might have looked when discovered in the country rock.  Pictured are Wulfenite and Mimetite (the yellow crystals) and Vanadanite (reddish).

The blue of course is Malachite (found near Bisbee, Arizona).  The Vanadinite was found in the  Superstition Mountains.  It's part of one of the finest collections of regional minerals and gemstones found anywhere!  But the limestone cave trumped them all with its running water, pools full of crayfish, and inviting exhibits that explain the formation of caves and the earth itself.  They made the speleothems out of a foam base, and then carved and painted it.  Most people think they are in a real cave with real decorations when they enter.  Fun.

I was excited to see how many of the cacti I could now name in the cactus garden (after my fine walk with Ed the Naturalist).  I was just admiring the displays when sure enough... despite my precautions, a cactus got me again!  By now I had even more tricks for dealing with the pointy hitchhikers (click here).  People who harvest cacti or hike around cactus plants are bound to get stung from time to time, but I still felt pricked on.

It was time to look at safer exhibits, like the giant ram that kept eyeing me.

The exhibits re-create the natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region so realistically you find yourself eye-to-eye with mountain lions, prairie dogs, Gila monsters, and rattle snakes. Within the Museum grounds, you get to see more than 300 animal species and 1,200 kinds of plants. There are almost 2 miles of paths traversing 21 acres of beautifully alive desert.  I lost Bob in the maze.  Maybe the mountain lions got him!  The video clip shows just how vicious this pair of cougars could be.

My guess is this is a Guilded Flicker, or maybe the state bird...a cactus wren...not a woodpecker.  But then the only bird I actually know is the robin.  I need more lessons from Naturalist Ed.

If you visit this fine museum give yourself some hours to take it in and you'll be rewarded with some insight into the abundant, complex, and varied life in the area.  A careful exploration helps put this special and rich environment in a much better context... beyond consumption tourism. Photo ops are tremendous.

Read more: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/Arizona/Tucson-750502/Things_To_Do-Tucson-Arizona_Sonora_Desert_Museum-BR-1.html#ixzz1kR8oxTL6