After upgrading their coach a couple of times and trying out the full-time lifestyle for a few months, the Andersons discovered an answer in productive and interesting volunteer and paying jobs. For the past two summers, Richard and Pauline have served as park attendants at the Shiloh Public Use Area on Arkansas' Greers Ferry Lake. In the winter, they make their way to Arizona where they volunteer for the Desert Outdoor Center, a Maricopa County park on Lake Pleasant.
A chance trade-in for a motorhome put a new spin on retirement for Arkansas residents, Richard and Pauline Anderson. After placing the family's convenience store and boat storage business in the capable hands of their son Greg, an older Bounder turned up in a transaction. Greg insisted that his parents take the rig on an extended trip.
On a lark, the Andersons took off and returned home two months later. "We were bitten with RVing," Pauline states
After touring Northwestern states and British Columbia, they agreed they could go for a lifestyle on the road. But only on the fringes of their collective acquaintances did the Arkansas couple recall people who lived full-time in an RV. For certain, they knew no Workampers.
However, getting to the end of their active and varied working careers, Pauline had pondered, What are we going to do for the rest of our lives?
At the LBJ National Historical Park in Stonewall, next-door—well, actually across the Pedernales River—to the LBJ State Park, the LBJ Ranch sprawls over Texas Hill Country. On the property in less than a quarter mile, Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, was born and is buried. Johnson’s boyhood foot prints were all over this ranch land, on the road between his birthplace and his grandfather’s house, and along the sandy banks of the Pedernales. In 1952, Lyndon Johnson, then a U.S.
The Lyndon Baines Johnson National Historical Park is in Stonewall, Texas, adjoining the Lyndon Baines Johnson State Park. But a mile or so east on Texas Highway 290, a sign says: Lyndon Baines Johnson National Park—10 miles in Johnson City, Texas. Confusing? Yes. But well worth sorting out, especially for Workampers seeking volunteer positions.
“Sometimes it seems like yesterday that I pulled into my first job outside Big Bend National Park,” she says. “The ad described the place as a resort, but it looked like a typical convenience store. It did have running water and a desert golf course, so maybe that reckoned a resort in West Texas. I had to give myself a big pep talk before going inside.” However, the Big Bend Motor Inn turned out to be a good experience. Joy met other Workampers, and she found that she enjoyed interacting with the patrons as a waitress—a job she’d never done before.
Life handed Joy Ethridge a bag of lemons—the end of a 31-year marriage and the “loose ends” that followed. She could have pulled herself inside a warm hoodie and let life pass by. But not Joy! Her name signifies her personality. Despite her heartache, she dispersed over three decades of “stuff,” sold her house, and subscribed to Workamper News. After landing a transitional job as a waitress outside Big Bend National Park, and a summertime job at Adventureland Park in Altoona, Iowa, Joy took a leap of faith and bought a travel trailer to pull behind her truck. She set out for a new life. January 2013 marked Joy’s eighth year of Workamping adventures.
Norm and Chris had known they wanted to full time RV from the time they purchased a tent trailer in 1983. Their first motorhome was a brand new 1988 22' Class A Itasca, which they owned for five years before upgrading to the 1993 29-foot Itasca that took them to their first Life On Wheels Conference. After selling their stick and mortar home about mid-year of their first year of full-timing, they ordered a 1997 35-foot Safari Sahara diesel pusher that they named “Grizzly.”
In the summer of 1995, Norm and Chris Denton backed their 29-foot Itasca motorhome out of their driveway in a well-appointed Washington neighborhood. A Realtor hammered a “For Sale” sign on their manicured lawn as they drove away on their first day of full-time RVing. Three days later they arrived at the Annual Life On Wheels RV Conference on the campus of the University of Idaho, eager to learn about their new lifestyle in classes spanning from septic and electrical systems to fire safety and generators and gadgets.
In the same year, Theodore Roosevelt first visited the Badlands of North Dakota, principally to hunt big game. Roosevelt, known best for soldiering, hunting, and conservation, soon partnered with two other men in cattle operations. The following year, grief-stricken and devastated from the deaths of his young bride and his mother on the same day, he returned to North Dakota and established the Elkhorn Ranch. Roosevelt claimed that life in the Badlands gave him the strength to later become the President of the United States.
Medora, North Dakota, a tiny storybook western town settled on the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park owes its present existence to three men. The Marquis de Mores founded the town in 1883 on the banks of the Little Missouri River and named it for his beautiful wife, Medora. The young Frenchman’s thirst for adventure, along with his ambition to be the richest financier in the world, led him to invest in a meat packing plant, a radical idea for the 1800s. The development of a refrigerated railroad car spurred his vision that the cattle industry and the nation’s consumers would be better served by slaughtering the animals near their range and shipping the beef quarters to markets back east. A scheme ahead of its time, the Marquis’ business failed within three years. A tall brick chimney where the plant once stood and a 26-room summer home open for tours remain as evidence of his dream.
While they work in an American-owned resort beyond the United States’ borders, the Balliets’ forty-hour week is filled similar to those of activity directors in numerous resorts.
“We coordinate all the activities in the park,” Steve says. “One of the biggest tasks involves the holiday meals—Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s, Mardi Gras, and St. Patrick’s Day.”
Steve and Kathy Balliet, full-time RVers from Wisconsin, found their retirement calling south of the border, down Mexico way. Visiting as members in a Colorado River Adventures park in El Golfo, Mexico over four years ago, they first volunteered to fill the roles after the former staff members resigned. The following year, they were offered the jobs. Their duties officially begin on November 1 and end after St. Patrick’s Day. However, Steve and Kathy typically arrive a couple of weeks early to purchase supplies and organize for the coming season.
Fairbanks, 118 miles north, and Anchorage, 245 miles south, are the closest major shopping and city entertainment hubs. Workampers at Denali RV Park schedule shopping trips to Fairbanks, planning ahead to stock supplies for a length of time. Having Denali for a summer’s backyard appeals to folks like Greg and Cindy Langevin from Florida and C.J. and Monie Mouton from Louisiana. The solitude of the National Park and its majestic mountains, gurgling streams, and abundant wildlife are mere minutes away. An occasional peek at North America’s highest peak is a bonus.
Denali RV Park, setting snug against a tall mountain lush with green ground cover, is the place for Workampers who get excited about a moose wandering past their windows. Manager, Ken Engels, stresses to applicants for his Workamping positions that the area is remote, only eight miles from the entrance to Denali National Park. “For people whose entertainment includes a mall, movie theaters, and chain restaurants, a season can quickly become boring,” he says.
Taking up the RV lifestyle following John’s retirement as an instructor in the agriculture department at the Iowa State University, the Schafers spent the first couple of years touring the United States. Retaining a home in Ames, John says his goal in the RVing lifestyle is to spend no more than 50 percent of their nights in their Iowa hometown. Since their children, all educators who have more free time in the summers, beckon them to spend that season at home, volunteering at the Casa Grande Ruins during the wintertime fits perfectly into the Schafers’ traveling schedule.
Some folks tell a rags-to-riches story. John and Grace Schafer from Ames, Iowa, plotted their course from retirement to ruins. On their first visit to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument at Coolidge, Arizona, the ancient culture of the Hohokam people—who lived and developed a sophisticated culture in the desert from approximately 300 BC until 1450 AD—intrigued the retired Iowa educators. Perhaps “intrigued” is inadequate for the passion they quickly developed for the people whose name simply means “those who have vanished.”
Dating back to 1950 and the first Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony located on picturesque property overlooking the White River Valley, the training camp for aspiring performers maintains its motto: “The students are the stars.” No lead singers from professional ranks perform the principle roles.
For over 50 young artists, Opera in the Ozarks located seven miles west of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is all about opera, intense training, dreams of a moment in the spotlight, and sharing personal space. For the general directors, six Workampers, and a technical staff, it’s all about teamwork—pulling together with singers and musicians to mount and perform three major operas in eight weeks.
When we read Glenn Tucker’s bid for immediate help at Coastal Kayaking/Acadia Bike in Bar Harbor, I noted that was a place I’d like to spend the fall. However, his ad appeared on the Workamper Hot Line in mid-August, and we had commitments through mid September. I sent an inquiry, remembering the Workamper’s motto: It never hurts to ask! To my surprise, Mr. Tucker replied saying their season runs until the end of October due to cruise ships arriving in their harbor and providing his company with customers. He welcomed our arrival in the middle of September.
Workamping is a ticket to unexplored places and new experiences. Notice I didn’t say a “free” ticket. Sometimes, you have to pay your way. That’s exactly what my photographer husband, Lee Smith, and I did to spend six weeks in the midst of Maine’s spectacular autumn.
A chance trade-in for a motorhome put a new spin on retirement for Arkansas residents, Richard and Pauline Anderson. After placing the family's convenience store and boat storage business in the capable hands of their son Greg, an older Bounder turned up in a transaction. Greg insisted that his parents take the rig on an extended trip.
Life handed Joy Ethridge a bag of lemons—the end of a 31-year marriage and the “loose ends” that followed. She could have pulled herself inside a warm hoodie and let life pass by. But not Joy! Her name signifies her personality. Despite her heartache, she dispersed over three decades of “stuff,” sold her house, and subscribed to Workamper News. After landing a transitional job as a waitress outside Big Bend National Park, and a summertime job at Adventureland Park in Altoona, Iowa, Joy took a leap of faith and bought a travel trailer to pull behind her truck. She set out for a new life. January 2013 marked Joy’s eighth year of Workamping adventures.
In the summer of 1995, Norm and Chris Denton backed their 29-foot Itasca motorhome out of their driveway in a well-appointed Washington neighborhood. A Realtor hammered a “For Sale” sign on their manicured lawn as they drove away on their first day of full-time RVing. Three days later they arrived at the Annual Life On Wheels RV Conference on the campus of the University of Idaho, eager to learn about their new lifestyle in classes spanning from septic and electrical systems to fire safety and generators and gadgets.
Medora, North Dakota, a tiny storybook western town settled on the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park owes its present existence to three men. The Marquis de Mores founded the town in 1883 on the banks of the Little Missouri River and named it for his beautiful wife, Medora. The young Frenchman’s thirst for adventure, along with his ambition to be the richest financier in the world, led him to invest in a meat packing plant, a radical idea for the 1800s. The development of a refrigerated railroad car spurred his vision that the cattle industry and the nation’s consumers would be better served by slaughtering the animals near their range and shipping the beef quarters to markets back east. A scheme ahead of its time, the Marquis’ business failed within three years. A tall brick chimney where the plant once stood and a 26-room summer home open for tours remain as evidence of his dream.
Steve and Kathy Balliet, full-time RVers from Wisconsin, found their retirement calling south of the border, down Mexico way. Visiting as members in a Colorado River Adventures park in El Golfo, Mexico over four years ago, they first volunteered to fill the roles after the former staff members resigned. The following year, they were offered the jobs. Their duties officially begin on November 1 and end after St. Patrick’s Day. However, Steve and Kathy typically arrive a couple of weeks early to purchase supplies and organize for the coming season.
Denali RV Park, setting snug against a tall mountain lush with green ground cover, is the place for Workampers who get excited about a moose wandering past their windows. Manager, Ken Engels, stresses to applicants for his Workamping positions that the area is remote, only eight miles from the entrance to Denali National Park. “For people whose entertainment includes a mall, movie theaters, and chain restaurants, a season can quickly become boring,” he says.
Some folks tell a rags-to-riches story. John and Grace Schafer from Ames, Iowa, plotted their course from retirement to ruins. On their first visit to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument at Coolidge, Arizona, the ancient culture of the Hohokam people—who lived and developed a sophisticated culture in the desert from approximately 300 BC until 1450 AD—intrigued the retired Iowa educators. Perhaps “intrigued” is inadequate for the passion they quickly developed for the people whose name simply means “those who have vanished.”
Workamping is a ticket to unexplored places and new experiences. Notice I didn’t say a “free” ticket. Sometimes, you have to pay your way. That’s exactly what my photographer husband, Lee Smith, and I did to spend six weeks in the midst of Maine’s spectacular autumn.
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