Category Archives: Work Camping

Jul5

Basura

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Blaize Sun

I had come down from the mountain for supplies. It was hot and dry in the valley, and I was dog dead tired. I had one more stop to make before I could head back to higher elevation, cooler temperatures, and the last few hours of my day off from my work camper job.

I went into the 99 Cents Only Store, where some prices were a lot less than 99 cents and some prices were substantially more. I perused the bargain baskets in the front of the store, cruised down the aisles of beans and other canned goods, and grabbed the best looking produce at the best prices. When I got up to the cash register, I told the worker that I wanted two sacks of ice, and I even remembered to extract them from the freezer in the front before I hit the exit door.

I pushed my cart over to my van, which I had parked at the edge of the parking lot. My 1994 Chevy G20 conversion van was a hulking beast and easier to park in places where there were no other vehicles around. I preferred to park easily and have farther to walk to a store’s entrance rather than fight to maneuver into a tight parking space.

This time, there was no car parked on the van’s passenger side. I threw open the side doors, as much to gain access to the interior as to let the parched air escape. I climbed into my van and lifted the lid of the ice chest. Yuck. I’d forgotten to empty it before I left camp. The ice had melted completely and left the cooler half full of water. In the water floated some small broccoli florets that had turned limp and yellow before I could eat them and stray bits of cabbage that had been jostled from the most recent head. At the bottom of the cooler lay the waterlogged plastic ice bag left behind when the ice became liquid. I had to get all of this out of the cooler before I could put the new ice and groceries in.

I pulled the plastic bag from the bottom of the cooler. The water it sat in was tepid and smelled a bit sour. I let the water drain from the bag and into the cooler. When most of the water was out of the bag, I threw it onto the floor of the van. The drops of water clinging to it weren’t going to hurt anything and in the heat of midday would probably dry before I was ready to throw it away.

Next I had to dump the water from the ice chest. I figured since any vegetable matter floating in the water was natural, it was ok to let it fall onto the asphalt. If some bird didn’t eat it right away, it would decompose soon enough. I lifted the cooler and wrangled it to the open doors. I lowered it to the floor of the van, then slowly tilted the container so the water drained onto the ground.

The Man likes to joke that you can always tell when hippies have been in a parking lot because there’s at least one wet spot on the ground. On this day, the big wet spot I left had plant matter in it too.

Once I got the cooler back in place, I wiped it out with a couple of paper towels, then loaded in the two slippery and deliciously cold sacks of ice. After that, I carefully placed the eggs and milk and orange juice and produce and whatever other cold groceries I had that day into the chest.

Some time after I had the cooler and the ice in, but before I’d packed in the groceries, a car pulled in next to my van. Why the driver decided to park next to me instead of elsewhere in the vast parking lot will always remain a mystery. I glanced out and saw an older Latina lady getting out of here car.

When I looked out, I also saw the plastic ice bag I’d left on the floor of the van had made an escape. I suppose the desert wind had kicked up while I was busy packing the cooler and sucked the bag right out of the open doors. I’d have to pick it up from where it had landed on the ground before I pulled out of my parking spot.

I wasn’t the only one who had noticed the bag on the ground. My parking neighbor took a look around and saw the plastic bag as well as the huge wet-but-rapidly-drying spot dotted with limp, yellow broccoli and waterlogged bits of cabbage. I saw her shake her head and say under her breath (but loudly enough for me to understand her completely), Basura.

I don’t know if she saw I was white and thought I wouldn’t understand what she’s said, if she didn’t care if I understood, or if she wanted me to know how she felt. In any case, I’d studied enough Spanish to know that basura means trash and that she wasn’t happy with the mess I’d made.

Oct28

Vandweller Report: Working at a Christmas Tree Lot (Guest Post)

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Blaize Sun

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This blog post was written before we knew about COVID-19 as a threat, before there was a global pandemic affecting us all. I’ve decided to share this post today in the hopes that it will be helpful to someone, but I don’t know if Christmas tree lots are open this year or if they are hiring. If you want to follow up on the information offered here, you will have to do your own research.

Aerin (the author of this post) and I are both in a vanlife Facebook group. When I heard Aerin was going to work at a Christmas tree lot during the 2019 holiday season, I asked if they would be interested in writing a report for my blog. I was excited when they said yes.

Working at a Christmas tree lot is one of those seasonal jobs I’ve heard are available to nomads but have been able to find precious little real information about. The information that is out there is from the perspective of RVing couples managing lots. I thought I’d do my readers a favor by sharing the insights of a vandweller who spent a couple of weeks before Christmas slinging trees.

Are you a fan of the holiday season? You know, that magical time of year when some traditions call for bringing the carcasses of dead evergreens into our homes to be the backdrop for our revelry.

I’m talking about Christmas trees.

How Did I Hear About the Job?

Well, I was just an unsuspecting nomad looking for work at the beginning of December when I spotted the post in a workamping Facebook group. It wasn’t more than 20 minutes old and had one comment so far. Usually I don’t see these kinds of posts until much too late.

Labor in a Christmas tree lot? How hard could that be?

Was Living In a Van Helpful to Get the Job?

Not really. I was looking to park onsite as part of my employment, so living in a small rig that is self-contained and doesn’t need hookups made that possible.

I could have parked elsewhere and driven in to work. There was no requirement to live onsite, aside from the managers, and the rest of the staff drove in. However, it was a selling point that I would be around in case things got unexpectedly busy and they needed someone to jump in right away. That didn’t actually happen, but it made the managers feel more secure since they were learning the ropes too, and it helped get me the job.

The person who had responded to the post before me had a large RV and was looking for something that offered hookups. This job was literally in a parking lot. One that was technically the property of the swim school next door, so space could be at a premium when both businesses were crowded. One extra vehicle of regular size was not going to crowd things.

The Job

The lot that hired me is affiliated with Valley View Christmas Trees. Valley View has lots all over the Phoenix metro area. Each lot is managed by a workamping couple who have the authority to hire staff.

From conversations with my managers, I learned that they get bonuses at the end of the season if they hit a certain threshold in total sales and keep labor costs below a certain percentage of sales. Otherwise, they are paid a flat salary, and at least one of them is expected to be working 9-9 every single day.

For me, I was labor staff. Pay was $11/hr gross. Not awesome, but it did come with several useful perks:

a parking spot for the duration of my time there
regular access to their port-o-pottie so I didn’t need to find another bathroom or use the one in my rig
unlimited water for drinking that I could have gotten straight from a hose and filtered myself (if I had a filter) but my managers were kind enough to let me use the faucet in their RV so it went through their filtration system
grocery store within walking distance

Each lot had the same five types of fir trees: Douglas, grand, Fraser, noble, and Nordmann. A big part of my job was knowing the difference and a little bit about each to assist customers. After a sale, I moved the tree to the back area and processed it for loading. This involved removing the stand, cutting a little off the bottom of the trunk so it would absorb more water once in the customer’s home, and trimming any branches as requested. Loading was either putting it in a truck bed or tying it to the roof of a car.

Tying a tree to the roof of a car is not fun. At all.

Aside from sales, my job also involved restocking. Trees that were delivered from Valley View (grown in Oregon) needed to get the bottoms drilled (for our center spike stands), stands pounded in, moved into place, twine wrap cut off, and bowls filled with water.

Most trees were in some partial state of readiness. For example, if things were slow, we might drill a bunch of trees in succession so it would be easier to restock later. Drilling takes a minimum of two people, sometimes three or more for larger trees, so getting that done all at once is more efficient.

*The drill and drilled trees waiting to be put out. Photo provided by the author.*

Drilling is also not fun.

Trying to guess whether a tree is standing up straight is difficult. If the hole isn’t straight, it becomes super obvious once the tree is on a stand. Redrilling an unwrapped tree is even less fun.

My hours varied week to week depending on when the managers expected to be busy as we got closer to Christmas. Valley View does not pay overtime, so a strict cap of 40 hours also meant some creative shifting to make sure enough staff were working. The lot itself was open from 9am to 9pm every day. The managers were required to work all day every day for their salary.

*The result of experimenting with painting trees. Photo provided by the author.*

Towards the end of the season, one of the operations managers for Valley View came with a sprayer so we could try painting the trees. It was a mess. We did end up with a purple, blue, and white tree though. Believe it or not, the blue and white ones did sell.

The only thing I didn’t do was cashier because managers were the only ones allowed to run the register.

The Experience As a Vandweller

I liked it overall. Technically the job started towards the end of November, but I came in a bit later. I started on December 5 and the job ended December 24, so I was working or on call for 20 days. Also, my paychecks came on time, on approximately the 15th and 30th of the month.

Positives:

It is a lot of manual labor. That meant I was being paid to exercise. I am primarily a digital nomad, but it can be difficult to make time for physical fitness. I was sore a lot and developed bruises on my legs from the trees, but nothing serious.

The port-o-pottie was pumped out every week, so using it was not an issue. It never got to smelling bad. I was happy to not have to use my camp toilet or walk somewhere.

I was a paid employee of Valley View, meaning they took taxes out of my pay. This may not be a positive for everyone, but I prefer to have the money taken out now and worry less about paying it later. Also, my paychecks came on time. The first came by paper check to the lot because of a snafu, but this wasn’t an issue for me. The second check went through electronically.

Near the end of my time working at the Christmas tree lot, I found that the Crunch Fitness nearby has a drop-in rate of $5.08 (including taxes) so I got to work out and take a shower. I don’t have a shower in my rig, so this was nice.

It was cold, but never unbearable. However, I would not want to do this job any further north.

Negatives:

I was muddy and wet a lot of the time.

I had pine needles EVERYWHERE.

It is easiest to just wear the same outfits over and over again. I had two pairs of pants, three long-sleeve shirts, and two vests that I cycled through so things had a chance to dry out before being worn again. I did laundry maybe twice the whole time I was there.

Since I wore my heavy work boots every day, I had a towel down as a kind of rug by the door so I could take them off and let them air out a little before the next day. They needed to air out for a full 24 hours once I was finished.

I didn’t feel comfortable setting up an outside area to cook, so I relied a lot on convenience food from the grocery store (which was a 5 min walk away). Not very healthy or frugal.

All of the above are tough in a very small space. Everything gets everywhere. I was constantly sweeping dirt and pine needles out of the van. The walls were slowly coming in with dirty clothes draped to air out in the cab with the windows open, boots by the door, and trying to keep my bed relatively clean.

Bottom Line

I enjoyed myself. It was hard work, but I don’t mind that. I got paid to exercise, a free place to park, access to a great grocery store, and excellent managers. My hope is to work with the same couple again next season. A month of part- to full-time work with parking is a welcome thing at that time of year. The positives more than outweighed the negatives and the mehs.

I enjoyed the challenge of a new job, learning about the trees, and meeting some wonderful people. Being a vandweller was both a help and an inconvenience for a job like this, but I found ways to make it work. I learned a lot about how I use the space and made some changes.

I would definitely do this job again. It isn’t for everyone, but definitely worth investigating.

Aerin is a vandwelling nomad who has big dreams and is using a combination of frugality, zero waste, healthy living, alternative sources of income, and whatever else comes along to help achieve them. Aerin also makes masks, modular utility belts, and more at Hermit Crab Creations .

Apr15

A List of Posts about Vandwelling, Camping, Boondocking, and Living Nomadically from the Rubber Tramp Artist Archives

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Blaize Sun

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It’s a tough time to be a nomad because we’re all grounded right about now.

*Where are you hunkered down during the COVID-19 pandemic?*

If we’re not hunkered down at our home base, we may be staying with friends or family members. Some of us may be self-isolating in a still-open campground or while boondocking on public land. In any case, we’re not out and about as much, not able to see new things or visit new places.

If you want to be productive while you practicing social distancing, I’ve compiled this list of Rubber Tramp Artist blog posts of particular interest to nomads, vandwellers, vagabonds, rubber tramps, RVers, drifters, and travelers of all kinds. You can use these posts to learn about everything from safety on the road and how to prepare for disasters to how to deal when the weather is bad and how to train your canine companion for life on the road. Especially if you are just beginning your nomadic journey, these posts can help you prepare for a nomadic life.

So here we go. Browse this list to find posts you missed and posts you want to revisit so you’ll be ready when it’s time to get back on the road. (I’ll also include some photos from my travels for your viewing pleasure.)

If you don’t understand what all the fuss is about with this coronovirus and COVID-19, check out the post Living Nomadically in the Time of COVID-19 for information about what the pandemic we are currently experiencing means to individuals and to all of us.

Before you hit the road, familiarize yourself with the basics of living nomadically. From lingo to budgets and all the preparation in between, these posts will help you get ready to go.

If you don’t already have a rig, these posts may help you choose the rig that’s right for you.

Many nomads are going to have to work, at least part time. These posts will offer you tips on getting a variety of jobs, from camp host to house sitter to human guinea pig.

Staying safe is important to everyone, especially when driving a large, powerful rig or living alone. Check out these posts for tips on staying safe while living on the road.

Maintaining mental health is extremely important too. These posts will offer advice for staying mentally healthy while you travel.

Unfortunately sometimes disasters happen. Here are some precautions you can take to help you avoid disasters.

It’s important to know what to take with you when you hit the road. Here are some of the things I recommend.

*White Sands National Monument, New Mexico*

It’s also important to know what to leave behind before you move into your rig and how to organize the things you decide to keep. These posts can help you purge and organize.

When you’re living on the road, you’ll find yourself dealing with the impact of the weather. These posts will help you stay comfortable when the weather is less than pleasant.

Need help staying busy and connected while traveling? These posts will help you find things to see and do while you’re on the road, as well as help you stay connected to other people.

If you’re traveling with a companion animal (or more than one!) or if you’re considering getting one to join your nomadic life, these posts may be helpful

If you’re traveling in a travel trailer, these posts might be of special interest of you.

So you want to go camping…Whether you’ll be sleeping in a tent or boondocking in your van, travel trailer, fifth wheel, or motorhome these posts will help you have an enjoyable experience.

*Mesa Arch, Canyolands National Park, Utah*

Now that you know how to camp, I’ll tell you where to camp. These are campsites I’ve actually been to, most of which I have spent at least one night at. Many of these campsites are free.

New Mexico State Parks Annual Camping Pass
Free Camping Along the Rio Hondo (Northern New Mexico)
Las Petacas Campground (Northern New Mexico)
Free Camping at the Big Tesuque Campground (New Mexico)
Free BLM Camping (Southern New Mexico Edition)
Brantley Lake State Park (New Mexico)
Primitive Camping at Brantley Lake State Park (New Mexico)
Oliver Lee Memorial State Park (New Mexico)
Elephant Butte Lake State Park (New Mexico)
Rockhound State Park (New Mexico)
The Last Rest Area in New Mexico (I-25 north)
Superbowl Campground (Utah)
Free BLM Camping on Willow Springs Road Near Moab, UT
Willow Flat Campground (Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park)
Free Camping Near Walnut Canyon National Monument in Arizona
Saddle Mountain (Arizona)
Free Camping near Quartzsite, Arizona
Ajo Scenic Loop and BLM Land (Southern Arizona)
Gunsite Wash (Southern Arizona)
Indian Bread Rocks Recreation Area (Southern Arizona off of I-10)

If you want to learn from other nomads, check out these interviews, as well as the post all about blogs written by other vagabonds, nomads rubber tramps, and van dwellers.

I hope this post helps you pass the time and sends you on your way to so much good information. If you read all of the posts listed here, by the time you come out of self-isolation you will be totally ready to hit the road.

If you found this post helpful, I’d love your support! Hit the donate button in the toolbar to the right or go to Patreon to become my patron.

I took the photos in this post.

Jan13

Nothing to Work With

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Blaize Sun

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Just when I thought I’d heard it all…

It was the Saturday before Labor Day Weekend, and while we weren’t having a slow day at the Mercantile, it was slower than normal. There were only a few customers in the store when the fellow approached the counter.

He seemed to be in his mid-30s and had short dark hair. When he began talking, his accent gave him away as a non-native speaker of English. His lack of English words when he tried to express himself reinforced my first impression.

He asked me about the hot springs. I told him everything I knew about them.

Then he said, We are staying…up…somewhere. Can we get there…in two hours?

During my career in the National Forest, I’ve had lots of people ask me all kinds of questions, including some really stupid ones, but always, always in the past the questioners gave me something to work with. This guy? …up…somewhere…is just not much to go on. Hell, that’s nothing to go on.

Sir, I said, shaking my head. I don’t know where you’re staying. You don’t even know where you’re staying.

It is true, he said sadly and wandered away.

If he had told me the name of a town, a campground, a region even, I may have been able to help him figure out how far it was from where he was staying to the hot springs, but he gave me exactly nothing to work with. I’m good, but I can’t perform miracles.

I took this photo.

Nov11

Lack of Linens

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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There were yurts in the campground where the Mercantile was located. People could rent the yurts for $85 per night. The yurts were basically glorified tents with wooden floors and furniture. The furniture included a futon that converted from a couch into a double (or maybe a queen) bed, a bunk bed with a double bed on the bottom and a singe on top, a wooden bedside table, and a wooden rocking chair. Unlike the traditional Mongolian dwellings on which these camping structures were based, these yurts had windows with flaps outside that rolled down for privacy. There was no electricity in the yurts–or anywhere in the campground–and no running water within a ten mile radius. The yurts were also without heat. Even so, the half dozen yurts in the campground were booked nearly every weekend and often during the week too.

A green yurt with a brown door is covered with a dusting of snow. Snow is on the ground in the foreground and trees are in the background. — Yurt in the snow

I could understand the appeal. Some people don’t want to sleep on the cold, cold ground. (I sure as heck don’t!) Some people have physical limitations that make sleeping on the ground impossible. Some people are too afraid of spiders, snakes, bugs, and other critters to even contemplate sleeping on the ground with them. The yurts were sort of a middle ground between sleeping in a tent or not going camping at all.

Not only were the yurts lacking in electricity, running water, and heat, no linens were provided for the beds. This lack of bedding was a practical consideration. Sheets and blankets and pillow cases would have to be changed between guests, and the nearest place to the campground to do laundry was 25 mountain miles away. Each yurt would need a minimum of two sets of sheets and blankets for each bed so fresh linens would be available even in the event of back-to-back check ins. Someone (probably the already overworked camp host) would have to drive the dirty bedding the 50 mile round trip to the tiny laundromat with one one coin operated washer and one coin operated dryer. That person would likely have to spend a whole day loading linens into washer/out of washer, into dryer/out of dryer, then folding, folding, folding. Providing linens just wasn’t practical, so the yurts were strictly BYOB (Bring Your Own Bedding).

Whenever visitors in the Mercantile asked me about the yurts (and multiple people asked every week), I always explained that folks who stayed in the yurts had to provide their own bedding, either sheets and blankets or sleeping bags, I spelled it out for them.

Unfortunately, the reservation website doesn’t spell things out for campers quite as well as I did. While the website gives the (questionably punctuated) information

No Pets, No cooking or No smoking allowed in the Yurts[,]

it doesn’t say anything about bedding not being provided. Ooops! Hopefully when a person actually reserves a yurt, the reservation information includes details on the lack of bed linens.

Many visitors to the mountains don’t understand that the higher they go in elevation, the cooler the temperature will be be, especially at night. Sometimes people staying in the yurts brought bedding, but not enough of it to stay warm. The camp hosts in 2016 were super sweet and lived in a converted school bus with plenty of room, so they would loan their personal extra bedding to yurt dwellers who were cold. I appreciated their generosity (as I’m sure the campers did too), but I would never loan my blankets to strangers. First of all, when I live in my van, I don’t have room for extras. Secondly, sometimes people are harboring bugs! Besides, campers should plan ahead and prepare for all eventualities, even if they are going to sleep in a yurt. Yurts are a bit sturdier than regular tents, and the walls are a bit thicker, but not by much.

Javier and Sandra, the camp hosts my last year on the mountain were nice people too, but they were also vandwellers without room to spare for extra bedding. When campers arrived unprepared for their night in a yurt, there was nothing the camp hosts could offer but sympathy.

One evening I was hanging out with Javier and Sandra on their campsite when a European couple arrived. There was some discussion I couldn’t hear between the man who’d been driving and Sandra. I did hear Sandra say they should find the yurt and she’d be over before dark to do the check-in paperwork. The couple drove off, and I began saying my good-byes so Sandra and Javier could finish their work before they ran out of daylight.

Before I could leave the host site, the European man had driven back to the front of the campground and was asking about bedding. The mattresses in the yurt were bare, he said, and they hadn’t brought any linens. Did Sandra and Javier have any sheets and blankets they could use?

Javier and Sandra shook their heads. No. Sorry. Linens were not provided in the yurts.

The fellow wanted to know what they should do.

I asked if they had sleeping bags. I thought maybe if their itinerary included actual camping at some point they might have camping gear.

The fellow said no. They hadn’t brought sleeping bags. Then he asked if there was any place nearby that might sell bedding.

I told him the Mercantile had sold out of both sleeping bags and blankets. If there had been anything useful in the store and if he could pay cash and if he didn’t need change, I would have unlocked the door and helped him out. However, during the last cold snap, unprepared campers had wiped us out of all things warm.

Sandra told him there was a general store about 25 miles away that maybe sold sleeping bags, but she didn’t know if the store was open so late in the day. She also mentioned the store 35 miles away in the opposite direction that sold outdoor supplies. Maybe that store had sleeping bags.

The European man stood and stared at us in disbelief.

Of course there’s Wal-Mart, Javier said. He explained it was at the bottom of the mountain and about 60 miles from the campground.

It was obvious the camper didn’t want to drive 25 miles (and back!), much less 60. He just stood there and looked at us, and Sandra kept repeating that she was sorry. Finally the camper got back in his car and drove to the yurt where he and the lady would be spending a chilly night. At least they might have enjoyed the cuddling they probably had to do to stay warm.

Having never reserved a yurt, I don’t know if the reservation paperwork spelled out the lack of linens and if it did, how prominently that information was displayed. I do know if I were paying to stay anywhere other than a conventional hotel or motel, I would find out if bedding was included instead of assuming it was.

I took the photo in this post.

Nov8

Bear Bells

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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Photo of Grizzly Bear The Mercantile where I worked sold bear bells. Folks who’ve never hiked in bear country may have never seen these large jingle bells that attach to a backpack or a belt. They jingle as the hiker moves and are meant to warn bears of the human’s approach. In theory, the foreign sound tells a bear that a hiker is approaching so the bear can amble off and avoid a confrontation it probably doesn’t want any more than the human does.

Some experts don’t believe bear bells work. Some sources say hikers are better of talking or singing or clapping their hands when moving through ursine territory. However, since the store I worked in sold bear bells, I tried not to discourage customers from buying them. When customers straight out asked me if the things really worked, I told them I’d never used one (truth) and different people have different ideas about their effectiveness (also truth). I mentioned clapping and singing and talking as bear deterrents too.

The company that manufactures the bear bells takes precautions to cover their corporate ass. Upon the cardboard the bells are attached to for display are printed the words “Alerts bears of your presence and sometimes sounds can cause bears to run and hide.” I love the word “sometimes” in that statement. I can imagine the company lawyer saying, Add “sometimes” in there so we don’t get sued if a bear doesn’t run and hide when it hears the bell.

Each bell came in a little black mesh bag. A magnet is sewn into the bottom of the mesh bag. When the owner of the bell doesn’t want it jingle jangling, the magnet is placed at the bottom of the bell so the little metal ball inside that otherwise bounces around in there and makes noise is held in place and the bell is silenced.

One day a couple of young women in bikini tops and short shorts were browsing in the Mercantile. One of them saw the display of bear bells and decided to examine them carefully. She picked up one of the bells and gave it a little shake. The magnet must have been in the perfect position to hold the inner metal ball in place because the bell made not a sound. She held the bell up and said, Does this make a sound only bears can hear?

I suppose it’s a reasonable question if one encounters one’s first bear bell and it produces no noise.

Image courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-grizzly-bear-1328414/.

Nov1

Sandwich

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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According to the National Day Calendar website, this Sunday, November 3 is National Sandwich Day. What will you do to celebrate?

In recognition of this popular food, today I’ll tell you a little story about a sandwich. It’s kind of a gross story which also involves pit toilets. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

I’ve heard it said that humans can grow accustomed to anything. Anything? Well, probably most things, including the gross and the stinky.

Pit toilet with lid down. — This photo shows an actual pit toilet.

When I worked on the mountain, pit toilets at the very busy trailhead and the campground next to it had to be pumped several times between the middle of May and the middle of October. The truck that came up to pump the toilets was the same kind that removes the waste from porta-potties. A long, flexible hose was dropped down into the chamber (also referred to the pit or the vault) below the seat. A pump on the truck sucked up all the waste materials from inside the chamber and deposited everything into a big holding tank mounted on the truck. When the tank was full, the truck went down the mountain to deposit the waste I-don’t-know-where.

A sign reads, "For better smelling restroom keep toilet seat down." Two drawings of the side view of a pit toilet show that with the toilet lid down the "smelly" stays below the toilet and then vents up and out of a pipe, but when the lid is up, the "smelly" fills the toilet room. — Even keeping the lid down couldn’t control the bad smell after the pit toilets were pumped.

The pumping process stirred up all the decaying waste material and created a HORRIBLE smell. If you’ve never encountered a large concentration of decaying human waste, let me tell you, it smells really bad. It stinks to high heaven. To put it simply, it smells like death, and death does not smell one bit pretty.

I wouldn’t say I grew immune to the stench of toilets being pumped, but at least after the first couple of times I encountered the process, I knew what to expect. As GI Joe taught us, knowing is half the battle.

Most of the visitors to the trailhead and campground were city folks; many of them had never encountered a toilet that didn’t immediately flush their waste away. On a regular day, the smell from the pit toilets was often enough to make them mighty uncomfortable. When the city folks were present for the pumping or its immediate aftermath, they were quite surprised and quite disgusted and quite unhappy.They had no idea shit and piss could smell so nasty.

One day the pump truck came up the mountain. We could practically smell it before we saw it.

Small building with two doors, each with a restroom sign next to it. Two metal trash cans sit outside the building. — This is the building in the middle of the parking lot that housed the pit toilets.

Here we go, I thought. I knew the visitors were going to be melodramatically grossed out, and I was sure to hear complaints.

The pump truck went down to the middle of the parking lot where the two pit toilets were located. I couldn’t see the two men at work, but I could hear the pump and smell the funk. Yes, as always, the churned up human waste smelled horrific.

Finally the pump was switched off and the quietude of nature prevailed. I knew the stench would settle, but at the moment the entire parking lot was enveloped in an awful aroma.

The truck came around the curve leading to the parking lot’s exit, and the driver stopped it near me. Groan. The driver hopped out with clipboard in hand and asked me to sign the form stating he and his partner had been there and done the job. I agreed, wanting the reeking truck away from me as soon as possible.

Sign reads, "Keep this toilet clean." The sign gives instructions (with corresponding drawings) on how to properly use the pit toilet. Instructions include "Sit on the toilet during use. DO NOT stand on the toilet. DO NOT use the floor. Use the toilet. Put used toilet paper in the toilet. Do NOT put trash in the toilet. Use the trash can." — My favorite sign explaining how to use a pit toilet.

Just before I signed the form, I glanced over at the truck. What I saw gave credence to the idea that humans can grow accustomed to anything. The other pump truck worker, a young guy probably in his early 20s, was sitting in the passenger seat munching a sandwich.

The tourists were reeling, practically dry heaving and passing out, and this guy was sitting in the stink truck, nonchalantly having lunch. I wondered if he had no sense of smell or had simply become so accustomed to the stench that it was basically background noise–or perhaps more accurately, background stink. In any case, he seemed to be enjoying his sandwich, not at all bothered by the odor that was causing the rest of us so much grief.

I took the photos in this post.

Oct28

Lost Child

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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It was a pretty good record. In the four seasons I’d worked on the mountain, we didn’t have to deal with a lost child until the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend of my last season.

Not long after the other clerk went to lunch, I saw Cindy from the parking lot leading a kid up to the Mercantile. They were walking slowly, and it was obvious to me there was a problem.

The kid was big but probably only eight or nine years old. He wore one of those sun hats with cloth hanging in the back to protect the neck. The hat was khaki and too large for his head. When he looked at me, his dark eyes were huge with fear.

While the parking lot in front of the Mercantile had been busy all morning, things inside the store had been slow. Things got busy in the Mercantile right at noon. Moments after the other clerk went to lunch, shoppers swarmed the store. Once the line formed at the cash register, all I could do was ring up purchases. I couldn’t help anyone find a size or answer questions about merchandise, much less watch out for shoplifters. I could only scan barcodes and hope the people in the store would behave like upstanding citizens.

The other clerk had been gone about twenty minutes when I saw Cindy walk up with the kid who turned out to be lost. About five minutes after I saw Cindy and the kid walk up, the other clerk came back into the store.

There’s a lost child, she said breathlessly.

Call the police, I said, reaching for the phone.

No. His family is still here. The car is still here, she told me.

Person Wearing Shirt Standing Near Tree The car was parked in the main parking lot. The boy and his family had gotten separated on the trail, the boy said, when he fell behind the group. When he made his way to the family car, it was empty. Now it was just a matter of waiting for his family to return.

I’m going to sit with him at the car until his family comes back, the other clerk said.

The Mercantile was still packed with shoppers. I easily had six people lined up at the register. No one was watching for shoplifters. No one was helping customers.

Really? I wanted to ask. The kid couldn’t sit at the front of the parking lot next to Cindy and the other parking lot attendant? He couldn’t sit there fully supervised and watch for his family? He needed a one-on-one adult to sit with him next to the family car? Was this the best allocation of the Mercantile’s person power at a time when the store was packed with customers?

Instead of questioning my coworker, I shrugged. When the wife of The Big Boss Man says she wants to go sit with a lost kid until his parents show up, The Big Boss Man’s wife sits with the kid. I just kept ringing up purchases, not even worried about what might be going on behind my back.

The other clerk/wife of The Big Boss Man wasn’t gone as long as I feared she would be. The kid’s parents were angry at him when they were reunited. (I hope they were feeling relief laced with anger and not anger alone.) I guess they thought he should have kept up with the group. Someone should probably tell those adults that a group is only supposed to hike as fast as its slowest member.

Image courtesy of https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-wearing-shirt-standing-near-tree-1051321/.

Oct9

Job Leads for Nomads in the U.S.A.

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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The #1 question I encounter in Facebook groups for vandwellers, rubber tramps, and vagabonds is some variation of What do folks do for money while living a nomadic life? In the past, I’ve tried to answer this question by sharing information about getting work at campgrounds, house and pet sitting jobs, participating in clinical drug trials, and picking up temporary work.

Recently in one of the Facebook groups for vandwellers that I’m a member of, I ran across a great list posted by a woman named Jamie Fox. She called the list “Some Links for Working While on the Road,” and it consisted of links to websites nomads can use to find work. I contacted Jamie immediately and asked if I could share the list with my readers. I was delighted when she said yes.

Of course, I’m not going to give you a list of links and leave it at that. I

Person Holding And Showing 100 Dollar Bills From Leather Wallet

researched the links on the list Jamie posted and made sure each one took me to an actual website. I also found the name of the website each link represented, and looked at what kinds of jobs were listed. During my research, I found other helpful websites; I’ve also included those as well as some I’d heard of or written about in the past.

I’m not going to say this list is complete, but it is the most comprehensive list of job leads for nomads I’ve ever seen. From camp host to beet harvest and everything in between, I present to you lots of ideas for making money while living on the road.

Warning: Neither Blaize Sun nor Jamie Fox are vouching for any of the companies or websites on this list. We’re only telling you what these companies and websites say about themselves. You are responsible for your own self. Do your own research before you pay any money or accept any job offer.

Campground and RV Park Jobs Probably the most well-known work camping job is the camp host. The following companies do hire camp hosts, but some also hire folks to do other jobs that keep the campgrounds running smoothly.

American Land & Leisure is “a private contractor that cares for over 400 National Forest, Pacific Gas & Electric and State Park campgrounds throughout the United States,” and hires campground workers.

California Land Management hires camp hosts and other support personnel to work in campgrounds in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada.

The Rocky Mountain Recreation Company website says the company hires camp hosts, maintenance personnel, retail clerks, landscapers, day use area workers, and interpretive personnel.

Hoodoo Recreation hires camp hosts, attendants, and mangers to work in the Wenatchee and Gifford Pinchot National Forests in Washington.

Scenic Canyons Recreational Services hires people for campground jobs. Their website specifically mentions Workampers.

Recreation Resource Management “provides private operations management for public parks…[The company] operate[s] campgrounds and other recreation facilities in the US Forest Service, for state parks agencies, and for many other government parks and recreation agencies. Almost all…employees, even for…stores and marinas, are work campers.”

RV Park Store is a website with listings for campgrounds, resorts, and marinas for sale. It also has a Help Wanted for RV Parks and Campgrounds page.

Sun RV Resorts has a Work Camper program. Work campers in the Sun Resorts program “earn wages for the work…perform[ed], [and] earn rebates that are applied towards…site rent,” among other perks.

Bethpage Camp-Resort in Urbana, VA hires workampers. I was not able to find a list of their available workamper positions, but the website says potential workampers can send a resume and cover letter to bethpage_mgr@equitylifestyle.com.

The Working Couples website also offers campground job listings. (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

The Camp Channel website offers a list of summer camp jobs and employment opportunities. (Note: These are jobs working with children.)

Members of The Camphosts Facebook group often list available campground jobs.

RV Hosts & Work Campers of America is another Facebook group “for posting campground hosting reviews as well as posting of available positions.”

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a volunteer opportunities page that directs folks to Volunteer.gov and advises folks to check with local BLM offices. Volunteer.gov calls itself “America’s Natural and Cultural Resources Volunteer Portal.” I’m not sure if any of the opportunities listed on Volunteer.gov are paying positions or if local BLM offices offer paying positions for work campers.

The Workers on Wheels website has a Campground Work page full of articles about working at campgrounds and RV parks.

Agriculture Jobs If you like working outdoors and don’t mind getting dirty,

an agricultural job might be for you.

The Unbeetable Experience website is where you can apply to work the sugar beet harvest in Minnesota, North Dakota, or Montana, and possibly “earn up to $2,400 in two weeks.” You can also follow The Unbeetable Experience on Facebook. If you are considering working the sugar beet harvest, be sure to read the informative blog post “9 Expectations While Workamping the Sugar Beet Harvest.”

Michigan apparently has a beet harvest too. You can find out more on The Michigan Beet Harvest website or on their Facebook page. In answer to a question on Facebook, they say they do hire Workampers.

While WWOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) does not involve monetary compensation, it does offer “accommodations, meals, and learning” in return for working “usually about 4 to 6 hours a day” on organic farms and other places involved in “an organic lifestyle.”

The Working Couples website has a Ranch-Farm Couples job list page for folks “who enjoy working outdoors and with animals.” (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

The Workers on Wheels website has a page called Agricultural Jobs for Campers and RVers: Jobs Involving Plants and Animals with many articles on the topic.

Caretaking Jobs Some property caretaking and house sitting jobs pay a wage and offer a free place to live, while some only offer free accommodations in exchange for keeping everything safe, secure, and in order.

The Working Couples website has a Caretaker Couples job list page, and says “some pay salary, some are hourly, some are just housing and utilities.” (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

The article “How to Become a Summer Lighthouse Keeper in Michigan” will tell you how to do just that. (Beware: Some of these positions don’t pay a wage and many require application fees or a payment to stay in the lighthouse.)

The Caretaker Gazette is a resource you have to pay for. It is a “newsletter [online or print issue] containing property caretaking and house sitting jobs, advice, and information for property caretakers, house sitters, and landowners.”

Housesitters America is a web based resource that also costs money. Potential house and pet sitters pay $30 per year to browse ads seeking sitters and to make their profiles available to people looking for sitters. I (Blaize) had a membership with Housesitters America for a year and wrote about my (positive) experience with the website and the homeowners I sat for.

The Workers on Wheels website has a Property Caretaking Jobs page with many articles about house sitting, pet sitting, and providing security and care for the owners

Driving Jobs If you like driving—or at least don’t mind it—you can make

some money that way.

The Happy Vagabonds website has a page dedicated to RV Camper Delivery Jobs. The page says, ” Some of the RV transport companies require specific licensing requirements…”

CWRV Transport hires independent contractors to “deliver over 40,000 fifth wheel and travel trailer RVs, annually, using owned or leased ¾ or 1 ton pickup trucks.”

Horizon Transport “is one of North America’s largest RV transporters.” The company hires drivers who “use their pickup trucks to pull RVs and other trailers across the country, one at a time.” Horizon Transport’s Flatbed division hires drivers of flatbed trailers “to haul multiple RVs and other vehicles or trailers across North America.” The company also hires folks for Drive-Away which “is unique in that you don’t need a truck. You simply get in the RV, UPS truck, or other large vehicle and drive it to the destination.”

The Working Couples website has a Driving Couples page. When I (Blaize) looked at that page, I thought a few of the listings might appeal to work campers. (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

Gray Industrial Machine during Golden Hour

Oilfield Gate Guard Jobs Gate guarding jobs often require a couple or a team of two because it is necessary for someone to be on duty 24/7.

The Happy Vagabonds website has a page with Oil Field Gate Guard job listings.

Timekeepers Security, Inc. seems to hire RVers as gate guards. You can contact the company via its Facebook page.

A 2011 post on the blog My Old RV titled “Oilfield Gate Guard Hiring and Contact Info” offers a list of companies that hire(d) “oilfield gate guards in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.” This information is old, but it might be a starting point. Also, the author of this post listed the paperwork he had to complete to get hired as a field gate guide.

If you are considering doing this kind of work, be sure to read the article “Oilfield Gate Guarding” on the Heartland RVs website.

Tourism Jobs If you can stand working a lot of hours during the busy tourist

season, you can bank quite a bit of money in just a few months.

The Black Hills Experience website makes the offer, “Camp for free or at a discounted rate in the heart of the Black Hills of South Dakota and surrounding area while making an honest wage at one of the many area businesses.”

The Live Camp Work website features the article “Jobs for RVers at America’s Theme Parks” which gives information about three parks that recruit nomads for summer work.

The Working Couples website has a Resort Couples page which lists jobs such as bartending, waitressing, housekeeping, grounds keeping, etc. (See more about Working Couples membership in the Companies You Pay…section below.)

The Grand Teton Lodge Company provides dorm housing for employees as well as offering sites in an employee RV Park. “The GTLC Employee RV Park has a limited number of sites available. There are water, electric (30 and 50 amp), and sewer hookups at each site. These are suitable only for hard sided, fully self-contained RV’s (no tents or pop-up campers)… All RV sites are charged a daily fee of $7.50.”

The Grand Canyon Conservancy “employs an average of 80 employees with seasonal retail positions consisting of work campers.”

Delaware North Parks and Resorts at the Grand Canyon “offers shared dorm style housing to its associates…at a minimal cost to the employees.”

Delaware North also hires work campers in Yellowstone National Park. “For those with their own RV’s, our Park RV site rental ranges from $35-78… RV’ers are responsible to pay metered electric and propane… For those living in our dorms, we do charge $29.50/week per person for your housing…You will be charged $63.50/week per person for three (3) set-menu meals a day, seven (7) days a week. All dorm residents are required to participate in the meal program.”

Seasonal positions are available with the National Park Service. You can find the jobs at USAJOBS. Enter ‘national park service’ in the search bar on the top left of the page. You can also sort jobs by location.

The Xanterra concessions management company offers jobs in several National Parks including Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Zion, Glacier, and Death Valley. In many cases, housing for employees is provided. “Employee lodging facilities are generally dormitory-style facilities with communal baths…A limited number of trailer sites with full hook-ups are available for employees who bring their own self-contained recreational vehicle (single body, hard-sided with shower/toilet facilities). Meal and lodging costs vary by property. ”

Forever Resorts has “over 20 properties located in and around National Parks across the United States…” The company “…offers opportunities in the hospitality, food & beverage, retail, marina, and outdoor adventure industries as well as operational and administrative support positions.” Forever Resorts offers seasonal employment.

The Blair Hotels in Cody, WY hire workampers May through October for jobs such as housekeeping, front desk/reservations, maintenance, line cooks, buffet servers, and retail/gift shop clerks.

Adventureland Resort in Altoon, IA has a Workamper Program and “provides a free hook up campsite that includes electric, water, and sewer” to seasonal workers with RVs. Workampers primarily work in the amusement park and are paid for all hours worked.

Cal-Am Resorts food service team hires workampers for their Mesa, Arizona location. They hire singles and couples and jobs range from servers and bartenders to cooks, food-runners, bakery assistants and restaurant managers.

Cal-Am Resorts also has numerous workamping opportunities at their other 10 RV resorts.

Dollywood hires work campers but does not seem to offer RV sites. Instead, the website mentions the abundance of campgrounds in the area and says “[m]any of the campgrounds are within 10 miles” of the amusement park. The website also says,”[w]ork campers will mostly be working outside” and “should be aware of the high humidity level and seasonal temperatures.”

PeakSeason is a job site “specializ[ing] in seasonal and resort area employment, including hospitality, restaurants, outdoor and adventure jobs, transportation, food & beverage, golf & tennis, and retail.” It is free for job seekers. You can also follow PeakSeason on Facebook.

Other Work Camping Possibilities This work camping job didn’t fit in any other category.

Amazon CamperForce “is for mobile RVers who work seasonal assignments at Amazon facilities.” Amazon CamperForce has three sites in Kentucky (Lexington, Hebron, and Shepherdsville), two in Tennessee (Murfreesboro and Chattanooga), and one in Arizona (Phoenix).

To learn more about CamperForce, you can read a book written by a woman who was part of the team in 2013, 2015, and 2016. My Guide To Camperforce was written by Sharee Collier of Live Camp Work.

Free Work Camping Listings The following websites offer job listings you can look at for FREE! Some of them also allow work campers to post free “position wanted” ads.

The Workamping Jobs website was created “to give RV workers and those businesses that hire them a place to find each other…for free!” You can place a “work wanted” ad or peruse the “help wanted” ads. You can also follow them on Facebook, but there are no workamping ads on their FB page.

The Snowbird RV Trails website offers a list of “hundreds of current work camping jobs.”

Wanderlust Estate community has a workamping section with available jobs listed by state, an explanation of the difference between “workamping” and “work camping” (Spoiler alert: none, really), a video about work camping job experiences, and really helpful workamping FAQs. You can also follow Wanderlust Estate on Facebook.

Cool Works lists “Jobs with RV Spaces.” You can also follow Cool Works on Facebook.

On the Workers on Wheels website, you can subscribe to the free Workers on Wheels Newsletter which includes job listings and tips from working RVers. There are current job listings posted on the site as well. The website also offers a LOT of helpful information for folks new to work camping.

The Happy Vagabonds website has a Work Camping Jobs Menu page with many different categories of job listings. You can also follow them on Facebook.

The Job Exchange Powered by Escapees RV Club “matches job opportunities with traveling contract workers who want full or part-time work.” Job seekers at RVer Job Exchange must sign up for a free account. After signing in to the site, job seekers can post resumes, view jobs, contact employers, and receive job alerts. You do not have to be a member of the Escapees RV Club or Xscapers community to use this job board.

The Your RV Lifestyle has a job board.

Good Natured Jobs “was created to connect passionate job seekers with…employers offering unique…career opportunities all over the world in the outdoor adventure and travel industry” and has a work camping category. You must be signed in to apply for a job, but creating a profile is free for applicants. Folks can sign up for FREE Custom Job Alerts and have an email sent to their inbox immediately after a matching job has been posted You can also follow their page on Facebook.

Backdoor Jobs lists “short-term Job adventures” in categories such as wilderness therapy jobs; summer camp and ranch jobs; jobs in the great outdoors; and resort, guest services, food & hospitality job opportunities.

The mission of itravelft is this: “bring every employer of full-time travelers and every full-time traveler who wants to work together on a one-site job-and-lifestyle platform.” The FAQ promises “searching jobs and applying for them will always be free,” but suggests folks will want a membership because of the extra job-search tools and value-added items available to members.

Facebook Groups about Jobs for Travelers You can join these

Facebook groups where people often post job openings.

The single workampers working together group is “for anyone that likes to workamp.” Members are invited to post gigs for single workampers and to share reviews and experiences.

The I Travel Full-time and I Work Here! group is a “forum for travelers seeking jobs and people who employ them.”

The Work Camper Jobs group is “a place to match super park hosts and work campers with extraordinary employers.”

Members of the Work Campers/Volunteers group are invited to “Post Work Camping or volunteering experiences (good or bad).” Members are also allowed to post “work camper or volunteer (camp host) positions available.”

The admin of the group Work Campers mobile jobs has invited members to post information about employers looking to fill positions.

Companies You Pay for Job Listings or to Help You Find Work Camping Jobs If the free job listings aren’t enough, here are some companies you can pay to help you with your job search. These sites offer listings for several different kinds of work.

Workamper® News “has been the premier source for connecting RV lovers and potential employers for more than two decades.” There are three levels of membership (Gold for $19.95 per year, Diamond for $47 per year, and Platinum for $67 per year), each with different benefits. Workamper News also has a Facebook page. (Note: A reader alerted me that Workamper News does off some job information for free. There is a free intro option that includes email with “hotline jobs” delayed 14 days and digital access to the previous month’s magazine. The reader says, “There are also Featured Employer pages, volunteer opportunity listings, upcoming Jobinars, and banner ads ran by employers available for free.”)

To be a member of Work Camp Connections, you pay $14.95 per year. The company sends you a “host profile to fill out.” They verify your profile, run a background check, and check your references. Then they mail your “profile out to prospective campground in the areas you want to work.”

To see complete contact information on job postings on the Working Couples website, you have to be a subscriber and sign in. There are three subscription levels. The Free or Limited Subscription allows you to see featured jobs only. The $5 per month Monthly Subscription and the $12 per quarter Quarterly Subscription give full, unrestricted access to employer contact information for all active job listings, provide access to forums, and offer the optional upgrade to resume posting for $14.95.

The website for the KOA Work Kamper Program says the jobs offered vary by location but may “include maintenance, front desk staff, and manager.” Apparently to get access to the KOA Work Kamper website, one must pay $35 per year. Benefits include unlimited access to the KOA resume website, unlimited access to all KOA job postings, and training and educational opportunities.

For $50 a year, folks can join The Adventure Collective and get unlimited access to “jobs [sic] opportunities & work exchanges in the world’s best adventure destinations,” gain the ability to contact employers directly, and apply for jobs from anywhere in the world.

FlexJobs is a job site that helps people find professional remote and flexible jobs. A one-month membership to the site costs $14.95, a three-month membership costs $29.95, and a one-year membership costs $49.95.

Resources for Work Campers Some of these websites and groups offer

advice and suggestions for finding and getting work camping jobs while others offer work campers a forum for reviewing the places they’ve worked.

At The Goats on the Road blog, you can find a comprehensive post titled “101 Best Travel Jobs That Can Earn You Money While Travelling.” This post offers many ideas for work beyond the typical camp host job or working for Amazon during the pre-Christmas rush. There’s even more info about traveling and working on the Remote Jobs page.

The Live Camp Work website calls itself “your online resource for information on working on the road.” The mission statement says the site “was created to help provide information to working RVers about ways to make money on the road.” Several of the articles mentioned elsewhere in this post comes from Live Camp Work, and the website offers the extensive article “Workamping Families: Full-time Families Go Workamping With Kids!” You can also follow Live Camp Work on Facebook.

The Workers on Wheels website offers resources for workamping parents in the section RVing Families with Children: Working While RVing with Kids.

The authors of Live. Work. Dream. blog answer the question “What is Workamping?” and share their own adventures as work campers. They also offer an e-book Income Anywhere, in which they tell readers about the “various…revenue streams [they’ve] developed to support [their] nomadic lifestyle.” You can also follow Live.Work.Dream on Facebook.

Reducto posted about making a living as a traveling poker dealer on the Cheap RV Living forums. In the post he writes about what training a poker dealer needs and how to get started in the business.

The Workamper Dreamers Facebook group is the Workamper News intro group for “those that want to live the RV Lifestyle and learn how to take that next step to the freedom we all desire.”

The Workamping for Single Workers. And Campground Reviews Facebook group is “for workampers where a single or one half of a couple is able or chooses to work for a FHU or other compensation. All RV’ers are welcome…” In addition to items for sale and reviews of campgrounds and their staff, there are some job postings on this page.

The Workamping Reviews website allows work campers to post reviews of their worksites. Reviews are also posted on the Workamping Reviews Facebook page.

The Workcamper jobs & Reviews Facebook group “is to REVIEW work campers/camphosts jobs…We hope to be a resource for Work campers. With honest reviews as well as any job opening.”

The Workamper Reviews Facebook group is “for individuals that are WORKAMPERS. Our group offers members a place to share reviews of places they have work camped.”

I hope you find this list of job leads for nomads in the U.S.A. helpful. I would love to know if you get a job from this list. I’d also love to know if you have any other leads for jobs for nomads. In either case, please leave a comment below.

If you found this post helpful, I’d love your support! Hit the donate button in the right toolbar or go to Patreon to become my patron.

Special thanks to Jamie Fox for sharing the list. Jamie is a strong, independent woman who raised two boys on her own with many trials and tribulations. Now in her 40s with her boys on their own, she can travel. She doesn’t think people should let fear stop their hopes and dreams. People who live outside the box are the bravest people, so you’re already one step in the right direction.

Oct4

Thank You

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Blaize Sun

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Kids loved the hiking sticks we sold at the Mercantile. They loved to take the sticks out of the display rack, and they loved to thump them on the wooden floor as they walked through the store.

Sometimes a kid would convince a parent to buy a hiking stick, but usually not. The sticks were pricey–$18 to $25–and most parents realized their kid didn’t hike often enough to make the stick a practical purchase. Most often, a kid had to leave the beloved hiking stick behind.

One day a family came into the store. In addition to Mom and Dad, there were two children who seemed to be boys. The older child was on the brink of being a teenager, while the younger kid was probably nine. Each member of the family was dressed in earth tones and sported at least one piece of camo clothing.

The two children were immediately drawn to the hiking sticks. They both walked right over to the display and began to take one stick after another from the rack as they talked about how cool the sticks were. As soon as the mother saw the price of the first stick, she said no. The woman had no intention of buying even one hiking stick and told the boys to put the sticks back where they belonged.

The older kid complied with his mother’s orders and returned the stick to its place in the rack. The younger boy took his stick of choice with him as he began walking through the store.

He didn’t just carry the stick. Oh no. He was a thumper! With each step he took, he brought the end of the stick down hard onto the wooden floor. Thump! Thump! Thump! reverberated through the Mercantile. His parents didn’t do anything to discourage this behavior.

I took a deep breath and let it out. This kid was getting on my last nerve, but I didn’t really think it was my place to correct him. His parents were standing right there. I though it was their job to reprimand him, not mine.

Then the kid started swinging the stick.

Swinging hiking sticks was another popular activity among young visitors to the the Mercantile. I don’t know where they got the idea that hiking sticks were for swinging. Maybe somebody in the Harry Potter movies fights with a staff or maybe they’re emulating Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. I don’t know why, but over the course of two summers, I saw many children swinging hiking sticks as tall or taller than they were.

When the boy began swinging the hiking stick I knew his parents had no intention of buying, it was more than I could take. I walked up to the kid, put my hands on the hiking stick, and firmly took it from him while saying what he was doing was improper use of the stick.

Breakable bear figurines sit on a shelves, a shaft of sunlight illuminating them. — Some of the fragile knick-knacks for sale in the Mercantile

Let’s put this away before something gets broken, I said. My concern was valid. There were many fragile knick-knacks in the Mercantile that could have been destroyed with one unfortunate swing of that stick.

When I put my hands on the hiking stick, the boy immediately let go. He didn’t protest or whine. I think it’s a pretty good indication that people know they’re doing wrong when they don’t even protest when confronted.

As I walked past the mother on my way to put away the hiking stick, she murmured Thank you. She sounded exhausted

I gave her a nod and a grim smile. I was glad she was glad for my help and not mad at my interference, but I felt like I was doing her job instead of my own. I thought it was her job to demand her kid follow through after telling him to return the stick to the display rack. I thought it was her job to tell her kid to stop thumping the stick on the floor. I thought it was her job to tell her kid the stick was not meant for swinging, especially in a small, enclosed space housing breakable items. Apparently she thought her job was to browse while her nine-year-old kid did whatever he wanted to do.

Of course, the father figure hadn’t said anything either. It was his job to correct the kid too, so I don’t think only the mother was at fault.

As was so often the theme in my interactions with tourists on that mountain, when they left, I was glad to see them go.

I took the photo in this post.