Waiting in Limbo

The world of fulltime workcampers has been turned on its head the past few weeks. I have resisted talking about COVID-19 on the blog, mostly because I am so sick of hearing about it every time, I take a breath. But the reality is that this current issue has wreaked havoc on the entire sub-culture of full time RV volunteers.

In a mere thirty days we have gone from looking forward to moving from our winter jobs to our summer assignments, to being in a state of limbo, that is not only inconvenient but could well be dangerous for some. I never dreamed I would own a face mask to wear in public, let alone, learn to sew my own. But, making them has become a way to fill my time. Material under the bed that I thought would eventually become a quilted tote bag is turning into masks.

Campgrounds, parks and amusement parks sit idle all over the country. The work campers who make up a large part of the peak season work force are in limbo, not being allowed to come on site, while in many cases, not being allowed to stay in their winter locations for various reasons.  Instead we are in the very few private parks that are open and those arrangements are often temporary. In our case we have accommodations at one of only three private parks that are still open in central Iowa. That will end on May 11^th. The decisions from the Corps of Engineers come out weekly and are pushing their targeted opening date back with each update.  They won’t let us onsite until they open to the public, even though we are often onsite as much as a month before the recreation season begins to do the pre-season work to prepare the park.  Even the Rangers are working from home to keep interaction to a minimum. These are turbulent times for us all. All we can do is wait.

I have talked to work camping friends who are in the same situation all over the country. Some are literally homeless, moving from place to place and even boondocking in some cases. States have varying levels of restrictions on movement and access to parks. Iowa is restricted but not completely inaccessible like some of the areas in the Northeast.

We are glad to be back in Iowa despite the challenges we are facing. We spend our days semi-isolated from friends and family and know how lucky we are to have two close family members with rural property that will welcome us during our time of limbo between the time we have to leave this park and the eventual date that we can finally start our work at Saylorville Lake.  In a way we are looking forward to staying at our sons for a few weeks just to have the opportunity to spend time with him and the grandkids from that part of the state. It will be a little inconvenient without full hook ups, but we will manage, and hope to make some good memories during our time there.

We stay in contact with those we know around the country and encourage each other as we all navigate these difficult times. I have realized just how tight knit the work camping community is even with hundreds of miles separating us. We know some better than others, but the common bond of the lifestyle is strong and there is a genuine caring for each other.

No one has been untouched by our current events. RV’ers or not.  I have friends and family with small businesses, who are struggling to operate and stay in the black. Entire families are unemployed, and still others are forced to work in situations that place them and their families at risk every day. The world seems to be barely functioning. A new normal is on the horizon and I don’t think anyone will slide into it seamlessly. All we can do is support each other, wash our hands and stay in as much as possible till this all blows over.

The Iowa weather is about to play a cruel April prank and plunge us into late February like temps for the next week.  Social distancing will be easy in the nasty weather. Champ and I will spend it watching the entire Star Wars catalog borrowed from our daughter. Sadly, neither one of us has seen any of the movies since Return of the Jedi. By the time the weather straightens out I should know what a Sith is and what all the weird action figures in the grandkids’ bedrooms are called.

Until Next Time…