Full-time RV living comes in many shapes and sizes. The way we prefer, is to volunteer at campgrounds in the area we want to spend time. Armed with our skill sets we find jobs quite easily. The things we have been able to take part in and the experiences during the first two seasons has resulted in growth for both of us.
Champ is quite skilled at all things mechanical and is a retired equipment operator. In terms of maintenance type positions his skill set is highly desired. I tend more toward gardening and am strong in the public speaking and interpretive type positions at parks. Since we work together most of the time one of us is usually a little out of our comfort zone. With our skill sets as a foundation, the parks still give us tasks that sometimes stretch us both.
In two years Champ has become comfortable interacting with visitors coming to the park and giving directions or explaining different aspects of the park we are at. He has even gained a comfort level working with cash registers and POS systems. Not something he ever encountered during his working years, nor wanted to. A result of tagging along with me when we have an interpretive gig. He has also become quite the social butterfly around the campgrounds we stay in. Having spent about ½ of his career sitting in a glass box at the top of a crane he is used to being alone, but now craves social interaction on a level that is new to him. Not that he was reclusive before, but he seeks out social interaction more than he used to.
When we are doing a maintenance stint, I learn things all the time. I have always been handy and am comfortable running power tools. But now I have learned a bit of basic wiring having helped Champ with some electrical tasks. I can say now that I can wire a ceiling fan in my sleep after helping him do 9 of them at Goliad last winter. Even cooler was my opportunity to help net birds a couple of winters ago. To this day I think it was one of the most humbling experiences to hold a small bird in my hands and be able to observe it so closely and feel it's heart racing against my hand.
When you volunteer at the Refuges or big parks, you see things from a different angle, being involved in what’s going on behind the scenes to make it all work. Getting to participate in habitat restoration projects, wildlife management projects and coming into the wake of Hurricane Harvey in South Texas last winter has broadened us both in ways we didn’t realize while it was taking place.
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Planting Sweet Grass for the Deer[/caption]This summer Champ is doing forestry and wildlife habitat projects for Saylorville and getting to learn how much work is going on to improve both the visitor experience, and habitat for the animals that call Saylorville Lake home. Our skill-set and experience broadens with each new engagement. As we continue on this path, we both look at parks differently, knowing more about what goes on behind the scenes. We visit with other volunteers who talk about the neat things they have been able to experience. My friend Cathy got to be involved in the Sea Turtle rescue and release efforts in South Texas last winter when the cold spell threatened them. She’ll never forget it. Doing this work brings us closer to the natural world and the people who work so hard to maintain it in our industrial, polluted, synthetic world.
It’s a far cry from our careers, even though the skills we developed are the foundation. There is no chance we would do these things if we were not volunteering as our brand of being full-time. It’s a simple matter of access. As a visitor you are restricted to the public areas. As a volunteer you get to see the rest which is a bit like the iceberg below the surface. We are growing with each new experience. The best part is we don’t know what will come to us from one job to the next. “Other Duties As Assigned” the dreaded bullet point at the end of most job descriptions is now seen as an opportunity to do something new and cool! Unless it is painting. We both hate that job.
Until tomorrow...
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