Looking Back in August at Our Summer Adventures as Workampers

     

 A lot has happened this summer. We've learned new skills, gained a lot of tolerance and patience (and many gray hairs) and we added an addition to our little family - Mellie, a blue heeler/Australian Shepherd. This, in itself has been quite an adjustment.

Mellie was 10 weeks old when we adopted her from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, right here in Utah. She was and still is a "wild child" but as you can see, she and Charlie were siblings from other from the first time they laid eyes on each other. They roughhouse and play by the hour...literally and then, tired, Charlie usually retires to the bedroom while Mellie crashes on the floor in the living area of our RV. That's when we can breathe a sigh of relief...for a little while.

She bolts her food - probably the result of fighting her 4 sisters for kibble at the Sanctuary. Sometimes what goes down comes up, but that's life with a puppy. She has had her accidents and occasionally still does but was relatively quick to learn that you went outside, not inside and once the puppy pads were depleted, we just didn't buy anymore. She is doing well for an almost 4 month old but whoo boy! she and I are both really stubborn so sometimes when we lock horns, it's a battle of wills. Lots of love on all our sides and even though she is sometimes a real challenge, she is part of this dysfunctional  little family.

The summer of Workamping taught us a lot, too. Mike and I enjoyed working together as a team, using our individual strengths and weaknesses to balance each other. We made some good friends here, as temporary as they were, and also made some lasting friends who we don't intend to forget. Ah, the power of Social Media and messaging! We were the oldest Workampers here which was interesting as well - to be "first-timers" and the eldest was sometimes a strange mix.

It was satisfying to finally get the office side of things in hand. This was a complicated hotel registration system and took some getting used to but practice gives a person confidence, I suppose. The routine of office, cleaning, scrubbing bathrooms and dealing with guests was different but never dull, even on the quietest days. Mike got used to his friend, the weed-eater and his enemy, the standard-drive beater truck. He damaged his bowling hand some with the constant stress on it. Seems to be a tendon thing that hopefully will mend in time for him to rejoin his league.

We applied to numerous workamping jobs for fall, finding a wonderful fit in Tennessee that unfortunately won't work this year because it was essentially a volunteer position for free space/hook-up. Financially it wasn't feasible right now but we hope perhaps in fall we can take them up on the raincheck. We also discovered the Snowbirds are taking most of the jobs, happy to have a free place to stay in return for doing a short stint of work. IF we were both retired, it would be ideal but not with Mike being well below the age for collecting Social Security. So unless something drastically changes, we are probably headed back to Nevada after the middle of the month.

We have gotten used to living in our motorhome and despite its foibles and restricted space, it's home. Rather than take an apartment again, we will probably get a few repairs done and find a resting place for fall and winter. It will be nice to have a shower again!!

We also found that when your gut tells you it's time to move on, you move on. We put in our notice for the middle of August and are starting to prepare to hit the road again. It was an interesting 2 1/2 months but time is time. After 13 years in the Henderson area we miss some of our favorite shops and restaurants. Utah is gorgeous and we have some wonderful photos but it's not where we want to stay. We loved the little towns - Orderville and Kanab and Hurricane (civilization! a Walmart!) and will miss our favorite bakeries and shops (and Mike's favorite pizza/icecream place) but that's okay. We have the photos and memories to look back upon. Plus we can plan out what we intend to do in Spring and where we prefer to be situated.

We visited Zion Park a couple of times and drove through more it more than that, tunnel, switchbacks and more. I love may Senior Parks Pass! We also visited the Johnson Canyon area with the old set of Gunsmoke and Montezuma's Steps (the Escalante), Eagle's Gate and more. 

  

So with those thoughts, I'll share some of our favorite photos of the amazing Zion Park and the surrounding area to share with you in a mix of nostalgia and joy that we had the opportunity to visit and spend time in an area of the US that we probably otherwise may have never seen. That is the main joy in the freedom when you workamp. Safe travels!

   

The Incredible Journey Begins with Retirement

So by now anyone following our personal journey knows of some of the obstacles we had to overcome to move into our motorhome. Whether you want to call us gypsies, vagabonds or First Timers (we concur with each of these) we are glad at the thought of getting into new surroundings.
Christmas was interesting and next year we will be much better prepared with decorating.

We did get to Disney World courtesy of Mike's mom last February. It was so much fun that she wants us to go with her in January, 2020 again! Here are a few shots from our trip.

6 months at one place is more than enough for us. We endured a lot here and we look forward to many more positive experiences elsewhere. Lida is locked and loaded, I am officially retired and Mike's last day of work is this weekend - until at least in fall when we plan to return to Henderson/Vegas once cooler weather hits.

We got a ding for another $450 when we had to have our waterlines - grey and black - repaired. There went more savings. Between that and previous repairs, we figure we've probably put $1200 or so into this little monster since  moving in but it's like that with any new home so you deal with it and - hopefully - roll on. Still some minor stuff to deal with before our travels begin for real at the end of the month. Finally.

Pluses with living in a motorhome as full-timers:

• Generally less expensive than apartments, especially with increasing costs in Henderson
• Less bills except for propane, power and personal costs (cell phone, satellite TV, loans, etc.)
• You can pack up and leave as soon as you can afford it and not look back. There are no long-term commitments unless that's what you want. We are no longer tied into a lease which is a real relief.
• You get to choose from a wider variety of places for your next site - especially after retirement. In my case that's now - Mike has a few years to go unfortunately. Now this does depend upon availability with all the snowbirds coming here every fall but we can beat them to it by returning from travels a bit earlier.
• When you go camping you go "glamping" with everything contained in your little home.
• We don't have to use public facilities. I like my own shower and toilet, TYVM and Mike does, too. 

Minuses:

• You have to deal with your own repairs which can get costly. No maintenance guy to bail you out. You have to find your own contractors to help you.
• Propane costs. We were lucky to find a good service that gave us premium prices. We will use them again upon our return.
• Space can get tight when both of us are up and around. We want another pup but are seriously thinking about it because of the time and space continuum. 
• We have had to get rid of lots of excess baggage and have to have a storage unit which adds somewhat into the monthly cost of the unit but still beats rental here in Henderson.

As you can see, as in any home there are things to consider. We are just excited at the prospect of getting out on the road and finally starting to see our favorite Nevada vantage points - or even new ones! If we can get the dang battery working and git 'er going, Amargosa, here we come!

Til then, take care, be well and the new post will hopefully be from our summer site!