When we accepted our job for the winter, we had never worked
for a resort style RV Park. We had only stayed in them as guests and enjoyed
the amenities in between our jobs with State Parks or Federal Wildlife
areas. Last fall as we dipped our toe into
this style job, I was a little apprehensive about being disconnected from the
wilderness and we had no idea what the work camping experience would feel like
in a park like this.
Now that we are nearing the end of our five-month
commitment, it is safe to say we are pretty much sold on working for this type
of park in the winter months. Llano Grande has been especially kind to my call
to nature hard wiring. I can walk the levee, about 100 yards from our RV, and
in less than ¼ mile I find myself in the middle of Estero Llano Grande State
Park where the wildlife and birds are so dense it’s hard to remember the park
is surrounded by the bustling Rio Grand Valley full of RV parks, chain retail stores and restaurants, souvenir
shops, Progresso, Mexico and Winter Texans.
Working for this resort is very business-like, in the sense
that we have a written contract, duties and departments are well defined and
the expectations are quite clear. We each work 12 ½ hours per week. Monday and
Tuesday’s are our days. Me in the office, Champ with Maintenance. After that we
are free to take in all the live music entertainment, card games, clubs for
virtually every hobby and interest as we can stand.
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| Juarez St Site- |
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| The Levee that protects the park from the Resaca |
Wildlife area type parks are less formal. The work is not as
defined, and the hours are more fluid. We show up on our days and do whatever
the Rangers ask of us. There are loose job descriptions but as I have written
over the past three years, “other duties as assigned’ is a very popular bullet
point. We enjoy the variety and I relish working outdoors or in a Visitor’s
Center interpreting the park to visitors. During our first winter, at a
Wildlife Refuge, I was weeding out a flower bed in front of the offices. The Head Ranger’s voice startled me when he
spoke the words “You are really in your element aren’t you?” I was so engrossed
in the flower bed and so happy doing the work I lost sight of my immediate
surroundings and was completely unaware that he had been standing there for
nearly a minute before he said anything. That pretty much sums up my love of
working in natural areas.
However, there is something to be said for having a heated
pool and hot tub available at the end of a busy day. I love having a Yoga class
to take free of charge on Monday and Wednesdays before dinner. Then there are the Friday
afternoon Happy Hours. 2 hours of live
music, dancing and whatever we take in our coolers to drink or maybe a snack to
share. For $10.00 each we went to a dance with a great oldies band one Saturday
night. There are more activities than there are hours for the taking. All
without leaving the park.
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| Hot tub and heated pool await each evening |
There are pros and cons to both brands of work camping. We love working for the Corps of Engineers in Iowa during the summer months. We are both very attached to
Saylorville Lake and hope to return there many more years. What we learned
about ourselves this winter is we would rather work at the resorts in the
winter.
Like many work campers, we are learning through experience
what we like and don’t like. What questions to ask and how to find the perfect
job for us as a couple. One very important thing I have learned about myself is
that I need a park that has natural areas nearby, preferably walking distance.
I all but suffocated in the concrete jungle of Ocala, Florida last winter. Even
though we had breathtaking State Parks nearby and wonderful park neighbors who became friends, I really struggled with not
being able to walk out the door and engage with the natural world. Llano, fits
that need well.
We still want to work in
the Southwest but are no longer seeking a job with AZ State Parks or FWS for
the winter months. Deep down, I don’t think I will
like being in a place where the sites are crushed rock instead of grass. On the
other hand, I hear there are no mosquitoes in AZ. We won’t know until we try it
for a winter. Even though we have spent 3 of 4
winters in Texas we aren’t quite ready to adopt the brand Winter Texan.
Through our conversations with others who have worked for
private parks, in both paid and site trade scenarios we have gathered a great
deal of food for thought. For now, my sites are on April when we will return
to our ‘nest’ in good old site #7 at Saylorville Lake’s Volunteer Village.
We aren’t yet ready to settle into a ‘rut’ of going to the
same parks winter and spring. We have a
lot of places in the south that we want to still work camp during the winter
months. What has changed is the focus on what kind of job we will seek out. Many people we run into who have spent many years in the same park have shared that they wished they had tried different places early on instead of falling into the routine of summer/winter in the same park. We will heed that advice as we have other sage advice from those who have gone before us. For now we will do one more year here before we start sampling other southern destinations once again. Maybe someday we will settle into a
park permanently, but neither of us sees that happening any year soon.
Until Next Time…
