Sunday, October 7, 2012

And the Answer Is......"We're Going to Hell!"

Monday will be 5 Months, 3 weeks and 4 days since we arrived in Estacada, Oregon. Even though the work has slowed down quite a bit in the last few weeks, our time here has really flown by. Of the 17 campgrounds along the Clackamas River, only 4 are still open; and 3 of those will close next weekend. On Monday I've been asked to assist the maintenance supervisor close and shutter a 2-story cabin. Monday will be our last day working in Mt Hood National Forest this season.

This season we both learned a lot about workamping. After all when we started in April we didn't know anything as this was our first workamping experience. We met some wonderful co-workers and some unusual campers. We drove tractors, felled trees and herded bats and birds. We cleaned campsites and restrooms. We collected camping fees and lots of memories. And we explored, explored, explored.......As much of Oregon as we could; including a couple of short jaunts into Washington and California. We feel as though we got to see everything we intended to; even though we're sure there is a lot more stuff that we didn't know about. Maybe we'll see that stuff on our next trip through Oregon.

On Tuesday Joan and I will be headed towards our next workamping experience. We are scheduled to report to work at Amazon in Fernley Nevada the week of October 28th. For the next few weeks we plan to cruise around looking for interesting places to visit between here and Amazon. We've been asked several times if there's anywhere specific we're going and Joan keeps telling everyone "We're going to Hell"; Hell's Canyon that is.....It is the deepest canyon in the US, deeper than the Grand Canyon. It's located a little ways off I-84 in eastern Oregon/western Idaho. There's also the small community of Joseph found in an area called the Oregon Alps that we're hoping to explore.

Would we workamp again?
- That answer is obvious as we've already accepted a position in Buena Vista, Colorado for next summer. Chalk Creek Campground.

Would we work in Oregon again?
- Yes, but not anytime soon as there are lots of other western states that we want to explore over the next few years. And there's the trip to Alaska we'd like to make in the next 2-3 years.

Would we work for CLM again?
- Absolutely. We really enjoyed working for CLM and feel as though they offer workampers one of the better compensation packages.

All things considered this has been a great experience for us. We're really happy we made the decision to fulltime. And we're looking forward to our next adventure.

Stay Tuned. More to come.


6 comments:

  1. Ah, Fernley, Nevada...amazon.com. That was our first workamping job. Which campground will you be staying in?

    Which way will you be going to Fernley from Hell's Canyon.

    While in Joseph, be sure to check out the bronze sculptures. A couple of galleries use the lost wax technique. See if you can score a tour.

    Love your zest for life!


    Susan

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  2. Another RV Dreamer's couple, Al and Karen worked this summer at the CG in Colorado you are going to be at next summer. Small world! Enjoy your trip to hell ;-)

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  3. Congrats on a successful 1st workamping experience! We'll be leaving Yellowstone on Sunday, having been here since early April. Like you, our time has flown by too! Safe travels!

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  4. We are going to see if we can find something through CLM. Waiting for the postings to show up on the website. Have fun in Hell's Canyon and take lots of pictures!

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  5. Glad you had such a good experience on your first workamping job.

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  6. Congrats on a job well done! Good luck with Amazon. A fellow workamper here will also be in Fernley his name is Bruce Smith, tell him Hi if you run into him and good luck with your next adventure!

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