Golly Gee Whiz Batman....

Crazy Horse, Custer, SD

Yeah, we're here....and we're here to stay the summer!

If you recall our last bat-blog we were in South Dakota without gainful employment for this summer. Our scheduled job mapping BLM roads was stopped before we could start do to BLM retracting a significant percentage of the miles scheduled for inventory.












We started researching potentials jobs in the Black Hills while acclimating to the cooler temps and higher elevations. We stayed in touch with our former co-workers at Crazy Horse and exploring some of our old haunts from 2014.












Our 2nd week here one of our friends called and left us a voicemail......"Don't leave. Stay put, something is in the works!" The next day we got a visitor late in the afternoon......"Call Crazy Horse today. I think they need you to work tomorrow". Rather than call I drove over and spoke with the director "Can you work tomorrow?" "Absolutely" I replied. One Down (I had a job), One to Go (Joan).





My new job was in Visitor Services working in the Welcome Center; greeting guests, manning the information counter directing guests and answering questions; stepping on arriving tour buses and narrating the drive to the base of the mountain; and one of my favorite jobs......guiding guests to the top of Crazy Horse mountain and out onto the arm of the carving. I worked Friday and Saturday, took Sunday-Monday off and then we got .....The Call! For Joan....."We would like for you to start work on Tuesday!" Yahoo! Success.




Success is not always easy to achieve. Life takes you on unusual and challenging twists and turns. You just need to be able to roll with the punches and take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.






So Joan and I are working together again, both of us in Visitor Services. I've been taking guests to the top of the mountain, sometimes 4 trips a day. Joan has been learning the ropes, shadowing the tour bus step-ons, and she's ready for her 1st step-on any day now. We got our first pay checks yesterday and our check book is extremely happy! As are we! What Fun!

And for those of you that don't know, I'm now a grandpa times 2. Greyson Cade was born 5/16/16.

Tristyn and her brother Greyson

Well, that's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come.

Holy Guacamole Batman! What Next?

Custer, SD

Mt Rushmore

Yes that's right sports fans, Joan & I are in Custer, SD!

"What is going on?" you might be thinking. "You guys are supposed to be starting your summer job driving the back country BLM roads!"

Well if you recall the last episode of our blog you'll remember that Joan and I were delayed starting our summer job due some unexpected doctor appointments that we needed to return to Las Vegas to take care of. The appointments and follow ups went fine, everything is OK.








So now we're ready to work. We are not ready for full retirement mode just yet and still need to earn a little somethin' somethin' each year to make ends meet. After a very good summer last year we had several large expenditures such as extended warranties for the motorhome and jeep; and we remodeled and bought some new furniture. With all that our checkbook is also ready for us to go to work!

Strike One!

We called our employer to update them on our availability and determine when & where we would be starting. But wait....all is not well in Gotham City! It seems as though BLM decided to withhold/delay a lot of the miles that the company was scheduled to inventory this summer. And with the fewer miles to be driven, another team (that would be Joan & I) would not be needed to complete the work scheduled. Well that certainly burst our bubble!









So now what do we do? We really hadn't made any other plans for this summer. And it's already May! All the preferred jobs are already filled. We're drifters without direction. No home base, no job! Oh woe is me! What will become of us? What shall we do?








Wait just a minute. No need to worry. Just come up with a plan. We're mobile! We're smart! We're strong! We're capable! We can do it! What would we really like to do on short notice? Hell, let's go back to the Black Hills and see if we can find something there! We enjoyed our summer at Crazy Horse; great place to work; great area for motorcycling and off-roading; lots of friends there including Jim & Deb. We could spend a great summer there. So we packed up and headed north.

Strike Two!

We called Crazy Horse and spoke with the HR recruiter. "We find ourselves without a summer job and wanted to see if there might be an opportunity at Crazy Horse" we say. "That would be great" he says, " Give me a day or two to see where we're at with our current work group and I'll get back to you." So we set up and start calling friends to catch up. The HR recruiter calls us back a day later "Sorry guys, but we have a full compliment right now. But I've got you at the top of the list if an opening comes up."




So now we're in a holding pattern. Looking at options and opportunities. We're going to give it a couple of weeks here in the Black Hills. After that? Who Knows!









But Tune in Next Week. Same Bat Time. Same Bat Station....er...Same Bat Blog!

That's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come!