Looking forward to Summer 2006

I had a little trouble finding a job for my second summer of workamping.  I had learned my lesson during the summer and knew better than to put a situation wanted ad in Workamper news.  I put an ad in the magazine for a winter position. This may work well for couples but not for single females.   I was really kind of mad and disappointed that what I got was responses from single men...and they were not offering work!  I did not have a lot of workamping experience.  I did respond to several ads in Workamper News and was excited to hear back from the Teton National Park Association.  They said they would be calling me about a position working in one of their bookstores.  I could not even dream of not getting the position with my years in retail and as a Librarian!  What a perfect fit that job would be.  Well....long story short they hired a couple instead!  Bummer!  I still would love to work there but until there are two working people in my RV it is just not going to happen.  Then I applied to work at a store in West Yellowstone.  The guy seemed really interested in hiring me,we talked on the phone several times, but I could never get a definite decision out of him.  So I decided to apply with the Yellowstone General Stores.  They responded quickly and hired me right away.  Then almost immediately I got a phone call from someone in Colorado with a job offer...wouldn't you know it right after I committed to work in Yellowstone!  That Awesome Applicant on Workamper News does work. 
I must say it was a relief to finally have a position secured for the summer.  I was also beginning to get excited about the trip.  It is always fun to plan the trip from one job location to the next.  One of the good things is I am usually traveling in the "off" season.  That can also be bad because not all the campgrounds are open. 
I planned this trip so I could go up through McCook Nebraska.  My sister-in-law Dot was living there at the time.  I hoped to stop in for a visit...I don't see her and her family nearly often enough. One other thing I had to do was go by the Ford dealership in Granbury.  I had discovered that I did not have the "key" to unlock my spare on the truck.  When I called them they said they would remove the locking device for me if I would bring it in.  Well I arrived with trailer in tow and my dog.  They were super nice after I went and got the used car salesman and he explained that he had promised they would fix the problem.....he had forgotten to tell the service department I was coming.  I asked them if they wanted me to drop the trailer in the parking lot.  They said no that it would fit in their shop.  Cool that saved me some work!  Everyone in the dealership made a fuss over Ellie.  She loved the attention.  Within an hour we were back on the road!  I had a good day on the road with no problems.  I spent the night at a little campground at the Best Western in Childress, Texas.  I never seem to get out of Texas on the first day!
My second day on the road I went up US highway 83.  It is a really good 2 lane road. I went through the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and into Kansas.  I spent the night at the High Plains RV park in Oakley Kansas.  When I was setting up I discovered I could not get my electrical cord out more than a couple of feet.  I finally went up to the office and asked if they knew anyone that could help me.  The nice lady behind the desk said yes let me give Bill a call.  He said sure after he got off work he would be over to help me.  So since I had some time to kill I walked over to the antique store nearby to browse.  That little place is cram packed with goodies but alas I have no place to put any of it!  I got back to my trailer shortly before 5 and a few minutes later here comes Bill....he was the guy running the antique store!  He managed to pull the cord out of the back of the wooden box that housed it.  Then we were able to pull it out the side of the trailer.  Well, I learned a new trick and the nice man would not even accept any payment!  I was thrilled to be able to plug in.  That evening I walked the RV park and discovered water running out of a motorhome.  I went up to the office and reported it.  I am sure the motorhome owners were not going to be happy when they got back to a swamp!  I highly recommend the High Plains RV park to anyone traveling through the area. 
The next day I made it to McCook before noon.  I was able to park my rig in the Dollar General parking lot.  Dot and C.D. came and picked me up and we had a nice visit.  After I left I went up US 83 to North Platte and spent the night at the Holiday RV Park and Campground.  The next day I spent driving on I 80 to Rawlings where I spent the night in a Passport America park.

Then it was on to Jackson.  I went I 80 to Rock Springs then took US 191 up to Jackson.  I had to stop at Farson for an ice cream break.  I had stopped at the Wyoming Visitors Center in Cheyenne and the man behind the counter said they had the worlds best ice cream in Farson.  Okay...I can't say it is better than BlueBell but I had to give it a try didn't I?  I spent the next several days at the Jackson South KOA.  I had a spectacular view of the Tetons from my site!

WOW the Tetons are beautiful.  I had a wonderful few days visiting the park and enjoying Jackson.  There was still snow piled up around the Jenny Lake store and the creeks and rivers were running pretty full.  What a beautiful time of the year to travel through the area.   

                           

You just can't find prettier country than this!  I also saw lots of elk and moose in the area! 

My next blog will be about my time in Yellowstone!

"New" truck

Well, I had survived my first year of traveling alone! Wow, how blessed I was with new friends and experiences.  My only regret is that I did not hit the road years earlier!  I started off the year by giving myself a month off.  After working a Christmas season for See's I was pretty tired!  I decided to go down and spend a month in the Texas Hill Country.  So I made a reservation at the Pioneer River Resort in Bandera. http://www.pioneerriverresort.com/ Bandera is not a large town, but then I had just spent a couple of months living and working in a big city.  So I was ready for a little more slow pace!
On my way down there when I stopped on a hill my trailer tried to slide around.  Well....it was not real bad but I did feel it try to take control.  I had been thinking about upgrading my truck to an F250 so I decided to spend my time looking.  I ended up purchasing a 2002 F250 diesel.  Well...boy was that a mistake!

It was pretty to look at!  I was told it had been through over a hundered point inspection and that it was in great shape.  It even still had some warranty left!  I paid cash for  the difference between it and my 1999 F 150.  I think they saw me coming!  I purchased it in Marble falls and before I got back to Bandera I discovered the windshield wipers were rotten...Uh Oh!  I pulled into the Napa store parking lot and a really nice sales clerk changed them for me!

I told the dealership about it but all I got was "those are not covered under warranty"! Well duh but what about that 100 point inspection!   Now folks this was not a little used car lot it was the Ford dealer!  So much for customer service!  I should have known I was in trouble with this truck when I left the dealership after giving them the check!  The fuel gauge read empty and starting pinging as I turned out of the lot!  I hate purchasing vehicles!!  I always do my research so I know what is best for my needs and I know what the price should be but I expect other people to be honest! 

Well I enjoyed my month in Bandera.  Before I purchased the truck I made a trip to my cousin Nancy's house in Round Rock for a weekend.  Her husband Bob even took me truck shopping one day.  We really had fun running around Austin.  Then I spent a day visiting my cousin Bennie in New Brunsfelds.  He is a car guy!  After taking me to lunch he took me to check out some trucks too.  Unfortunately neither of these nice guys were able to find me a truck. 

Well Big Bend Motor Inn had called and pleaded with me to come back.  So after a little arm twisting and some rest I decided to go waitress again for February and March.  I was able to go a different way than I had ever been before.  Since I was south of I 10 I decided to go down 173  to US 90 and then across. Well I must say there is not a whole lot to see through there but it was interesting.  It got really interesting after I left Del Rio!  The truck started over heating.  Hmmmm  I was out in the middle of no where!  I made a stop when I got a cell signal.  I called Ford and they said I would have to take it to a Ford Dealer.  I asked where the nearest dealer was.  Well it was about 150 miles to Ft Stockton!   Believe me I was praying big time.  I called the Ford dealer in Ft Stockton.  He said it would be several days before he could get it in his shop. I asked if  he had any advice and he suggested I take it slow and watch my gauge! Then as needed add water! He said as long as I could keep the temp out of the red I should be fine. Well wasn't that a fun day. Out on the road alone pulling a trailer and watching a temp gauge! I stopped at Sanderson for the night.  I sure was glad to get into a campground and off the road.  After the truck cooled I added water as suggested. I had decided to go ahead and try for Big Bend after talking to the Ford service guy in Ft Stockton.  Well I made it by babying that truck.  When I arrived at the Big Bend Motor Inn & RV park I was unhooking my trailer and discovered a nail in the sidewall of one of the trailer tires!  Enough to make a person wonder what they were doing!  I called my roadside assistance and told them my problem.  They were really helpful and said they would send someone right out even though I told them the next day would be okay.  A few minutes after I hung up the phone it rang.  It was the roadside assistance lady.  She said she could not figure out where I was.  I explained to her again that I was just outside of Big Bend at the intersection of 118 & 170.  She still could not find me.  So I said look on your map and find Alpine, Texas.  Now look straight south about 78 miles!  Eureka she found me!  I assured her again that I was off the road and could wait until the next morning to have the tire changed.  She insisted on sending someone right on out.  Well about 3 hours later the guy showed up from Alpine.  It took him about 10 minutes to change the tire and get back on the road!  I had to sign the bill....it was $150. Sure glad I have roadside assistance! 

I did not have any trouble with the truck running hot again until my friend Margaret came by to see me.  We decided to go into Big Bend for the day.  When we arrived back at the campground there was steam coming out from under the hood.  Uh oh again!  I already had an appointment to get it worked on in Ft Stockton so I justed added water.  When I took it to get it worked on they said it could be one of 2 things and they had a new fan but not a new water pump.  So they put the new fan on and told me if it ran hot when I hooked up to haul out again they would work me in to put a water pump on. It was over one hundred miles to the dealership from the campground so it should overheat if it was going to before i reached Ft Stockton.  Well it did fine for the next month and a half....I thought the problem was solved.  After I left Study Butte headed to Mexia every thing seemed fine.  I even pulled the mountain out side of Alpine with no problem.  Well about 50 miles east of Ft Stockton oops!  Temp gauge nearly in the red again!  I debated going back but decided to continue at a slow pace.  I figured it would be easier to get it worked on in Mexia.  Besides I really don't like going back....I want to go forward.  I also knew once I hit Junction I would be close to Ford dealers all along my route.  Well it did fine the rest of the way with a little TLC. 

After I got to Mexia I asked my brother's advice.  He said it was 6 of 1 and half a dozen of the other as to wither I would be better off to fix it or trade it in. I decided to do some internet searches and see if I could find another F250 that would not cost me too much more.  That was to be the deciding factor.

Well I found a 2005 F250 in Granbury, Texas.  After much praying and fretting I decided to go see it.  Well it was beautiful and only had a few miles on it.  The man that purchased it in October had decided he did not need a truck and so traded it back in.  It had only been used 5 months.  It was a little more than I had orginally wanted to spend but I decided to go for it.  It had a big gas engine and was rated to pull over 12,000 lbs!  I knew it could handle my trailer with no problem. 

 

Finally I found a keeper!

Fall 2005

It was hard to believe my first summer workamping was coming to a close.  I will always have fond memories of my days at Adventureland.
As September arrived I decided to purchase a new "home". The little 25 foot Jayco was okay but pretty small to live in full time.  Since I had the means I decided to go shopping for a new home.  I considered purchasing a fifth wheel but could not find one with all the things I wanted that I could tow with my 1/2 ton truck.  I found a Sunnybrook that I really, really liked but the dealer was not willing to deal with me!  He thought I would pay full price!  Duh everyone knows not to pay full price!   I had done a lot of research so I knew what was reasonable.  I continued to shop and found a Jayco 28FKS that I liked almost as well.  That dealer made me a good price and even threw in a power jack!  So I made the deal and returned in a couple of days to pick it up.  I packed all my belongings as best I could into garbage bags.  Then the day I was to move I put all my glassware and small appliances out on my picnic table and covered it with a tarp.  Off I went to sign the papers and  swap homes.

I had Adventureland friends arrive at the dealership to help.  The dealer pulled the two trailers door to door to make the move easy.  While I was signing the paperwork and writing the check my friends were moving my stuff!  Wow, you can't beat friends like those!  By the time I had the papers signed they had me moved!  All that was left was hooking up and hitting the street! 

I have to say I made a wish choice.  I lived in this trailer for three years and was very comfortable in it. Sometimes I wish I had it back!  The Sunnybrook dealer called me after I got the new Jayco to pressure me to take his!  I told him sorry I had purchased from a dealer that was willing to work with me!  Inside my new home!

One thing I really liked about my new trailer was all the windows!  When you live in a small space you appreciate windows.

As the season at Adventureland was winding down I was concerned that I was not finding winter employment.  I had been praying and searching for a job but had not had any luck.  One day I had gone over to tell Margaret B. goodbye and watch here leave.  She was heading out to her homebase of Omaha Nebraska.

A car pulled up as I was telling Margaret goodbye.  I thought the people had also come by to wish her well and tell her bye.  Wrong , they had come to see me!  Gary and Margaret S. were looking for help for the See's kiosk they would be managing in a mall for the Holiday season.  Some mutual friends had suggested they hire me!  Even better is the place they would be working.  The mall was in White Settlement Texas a suburb of Ft. Worth.  I can not tell you how happy I was to have a job offer.  The job did not start until November so I was going to have an opportunity to vacation! 

When I left Adventureland I caravaned over to Omaha Nebraska with some of my Advertureland buddies.  We stayed at the Offitt Air Force Base FAM camp.  While there we reconnected with Margaret and she took us on a tour of her City.  We visited the beautiful batonical gardens and the Omaha Zoo.

Alex, Don, Margaret, Dan & Rita

We really had a wonderful time visiting.  Margaret was a great tour guide.

When we left there we went our seperate ways...it sure was hard to say goodbye to the last of my Adventureland family.  It was really windy that day and before the day was over most of them called to make sure I made my destination okay. 

I headed off to Branson Missouri where I was to meet up with Johnny and Carol.  I arrived a few days before they did and set up in America's Best Campground.  Little did I know that in a few years I would work there.  The weekend before Johnny & Carol arrived I was able to spend a day at Silver Dollar City with Lisa, Butchie, Bethany & Sarah.  They had been visiting Butchie's family in Arkansas and came up to spend the day with me.

Me, Lisa and Sarah at Silver Dollar City

I guess I did not take my camera with me!  This is the only picture I can find of our day.  But hey I have memories! 

Johnny, Carol and I had a good time in Branson after they arrived.  We took in several shows and did some shopping.  Then I followed them back to Texas.  We stopped in Tyler and visited with Lori, Brad and Garrett on our way to Mexia.  It was the first chance I had to hold little Garrett.  It sure was good to see him. 

After arriving back in Mexia I took  a  day to go to Fort Worth to find a place to park my trailer when I went up there to work.  I could not stay in the same park as the rest of the Workampers because I have a dog.  I was able to find a park not far from the mall in White Settlement.  As a matter of fact it was also close to where my step dad Jack was living!  I sure enjoyed working in White Settlement and getting to visit with all my relatives in the Ft Worth area.  Working for See's is not really hard but wearing the funny uniform dress is uncomfortable!

While I was working for See's we had a pretty good ice event. Gary called me and told me not to come in one evening and then not to open up that he would.  Margaret and Gary were very considerate to work for.

This was my first year to work for See's but I worked 2 more seasons for them.  I worked in Lewisville, Texas in 2006 and Baton Rouge Lousiana in 2007.  Then I decided that was enough...I really don't like being in big cities and not being able to walk to work....what can I say I am spoiled!

We had Christmas that year at Lisa's home.  It was only about 20 minutes away.  It was sure nice to be with my family.  I sure miss them when I am traveling.