Road Trip!

Posted on July 20, 2016 by liv2rv

Another couple asked to switch one of our off days, which resulted in us having 3 consecutive days off one week. So we took advantage of the extended time off to go visit our friends Tom and Ellen in West Yellowstone, Montana. We had an excellent time (despite not being able to do too much with my foot) and were able to get together with our former co-workers at Madison Crossing from last summer.

Tom and Ellen had everyone over for a nice dinner, and Makena was on her best behavior helping Tom in the kitchen of their 5th wheel!

The food was delicious, and it was great to catch up with everyone!

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Diane, our former co-worker, had everyone over for a campfire at her house. It was an enjoyable evening, meeting new friends, and catching up with our old friends. It’s one of the best things about this RV lifestyle!

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Of course, no visit to West Yellowstone would be complete without a visit to the local Packers bar, Bullwinkle’s (Packer fans are everywhere!)

giddy up!

It was a quick, but enjoyable 3 days, and we hope to do it again so we can get together and do some hiking in Yellowstone, Montana, or Idaho.

On our way back home, we decided to take the scenic route through Idaho, and come over the Teton Pass, across the mountains. Since Idaho is famous for potatoes, and potatoes are the main ingredient in vodka, it would only make sense to stop in at the Grand Teton Distillery in Driggs, Idaho on our way back! We did a short tour of their facility, and sampled a few of their spirits. We both agreed their regular vodka, was excellent. Probably the best we have ever tasted. Their other spirits were ‘okay’.

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The finishing pot

fermenting pots

The Teton Pass through the mountains is a beautiful drive (as long as you are not towing a 5th wheel, which we were not!). It has 10% road grades, and many people that work in the city of Jackson, drive this pass everyday. Housing prices in Jackson are crazy expensive, so many folks live in Idaho, and have a long, but scenic, daily commute.

The city is officially called Jackson, but the area is called Jackson Hole, as the early settlers described the valley between the mountains, as the “hole”. The city is off in the distance in this photo:

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I would not want to drive this every day. Many times, the pass closes in winter due to storms. It snowed here on July 11! The locals said that made summer officially 21 days this year!

Quote for the day: “There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met.” – William Butler Yates

Meanwhile, back at the cabins

Posted on July 13, 2016 by liv2rv

It’s hard to believe that we have been here two months. Time has really flown by! Being in such a peaceful setting, with very pleasant weather, is good for the soul. Since school has let out, the 14 cabins have been at 100% occupancy almost every night. Work has been very busy, but we have managed to get out and do some fun activities.

My particular job duties have changed slightly, as I am now in the office 3 days a week, and 2 days in housekeeping. These new duties started before I broke a bone in my foot, not as a result of the injury. The office work is a split shift, from 8am – 12pm, and then back again from 3pm – 7pm. However, from 12 – 3pm, I still am responsible for answering the telephone, assisting guests that have locked themselves out of their cabin (seems to happen at least once a week), or guests arriving before the 3pm check-in time. When the owners, Brad and Joanne, put in the 5 RV sites behind the cabins for the work campers, they also put in telephone lines. So I have a regular land line telephone in the RV to answer calls from 12 – 3pm. Because of the unusual hours, I now get a flat daily rate of pay, instead of an hourly rate.

The office person is also responsible for cleaning the main lodge, daily cleaning of the BBQ grills, assisting housekeeping on busy days, watering flowers, and emptying the quarters from the coin-operated washer and dryers. The job keeps me busy, and I really enjoy interacting with the guests when they check in, and helping them plan their trips to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.

To give an overview about what this work camping job entails, I will refer you to a post that Karen wrote in June of 2014, her first summer here at Luton’s Teton Cabins, in which she went into great detail on the job duties. click here to read the post. Needless to say, the cabins are immaculate! I have cleaned more ovens this summer, than I have in my entire life!

Chuckwagon Dinner

We have a good crew of work campers, and the nine of us all went to the Bar J Chuckwagon dinner and show one night. Brad and Joanne, upon hearing that we were all going out together, surprised us by paying for everyone’s tickets. We all had a great time at the Chuckwagon show. We had been to two chuckwagon’s in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but this one was far and away the best one we have been to. The show and the food were awesome!

our work camping crew

On the way down to Jackson, we were amused to spot this sign by the road…!

too late!

Those of you that have been following the blog for a while know that we like to visit craft breweries (always good to support the local businesses!), so we made a trip down to the Snake River Brewery in Jackson on our day off. It is Wyoming’s oldest brewery (started in 1994), and they have a not very catchy slogan “our river runs through your liver”.

cheers!

We did the sampler tasting of their beers, and deemed them to be “okay”. On the way back “home”, we stopped by Mormon Row in the park to view the structures that still remain from the early settlers to this area. Location, location, location!

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Quote for the day: “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius

Grizzly, Moose and Eagles…oh my!

Posted on July 3, 2016 by liv2rv

Before I broke a bone in my foot, we did manage to get in two small hikes in Grand Teton National Park. And we were rewarded with plenty of wildlife sightings! Before we even got into the park, Karen and Al spotted this Osprey in a tree.

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For our first hike, we went to Hermitage Point Trailhead in Coulter Bay, and opted for the short 3.5 mile hike around Heron Pond and Swan Lake. It was a relatively easy hike, with beautiful views of the Tetons (actually, there is no bad view of the Tetons!).

We had some nice views of Mt Moran, which contains what is called the “skillet glacier”, but the locals refer to it as Jimmy Hendrix’s guitar glacier, based on the shape. The more I stared at it, I started to see a profile of a face (might be the high altitude!).

What do you see?

Karen, Al and Dan quickly spotted a Bald Eagle in a tree, and it must have taken me 5 minutes before I could see it. Karen was able to get a nice photograph of the Eagle.

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We also saw a few sandhill cranes, ducks and geese on this hike. Later that night we went on another short trip down by Shwabachers Landing, and found a very active beaver in the water, along with evidence of his recent tree trunk trimming.

DSC_0607 (1) DSC_0644 (1) The next day we went on another hike with our co-worker Jane, and literally ran into a fox crossing our path. Fortunately, he/she ignored us, but it did startle us.

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We also spotted a coyote off in the distance.

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But the highlight of our day was spotting our first “wild” grizzly bear. I will pass along a tip for spotting a grizzly….when you see this:

bear jam!

Make sure you pull over, because something exciting is lurking nearby!

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The park rangers did an excellent job at keeping traffic moving, and keeping the tourists from getting too close.

After I broke my foot, I was relegated to looking for wildlife from the car, and not on a hike. Fortunately, I was finally able to cross ‘bull moose’ off my bucket list of animals to see in the wild. This young man’s antlers are just starting to grow, and still have the velvet on them. Again, Karen had her nice camera with her, and got some excellent photos (Dan’s worried this will cost us money, as I have been looking at new cameras online!).

Hello Mr. Moose!

But the photo I was most surprised with (and one I took!) was of the bee that popped into the picture I was taking of a flower. I really didn’t notice the bee until I was looking at my photos later on.

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We hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Quote for the Day: “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” – Anatole France

I Like It Here!

Posted on June 16, 2016 by liv2rv

Hello Everyone! I’m back, your favorite blog posting full-time dog!

Keeping my peeps informed!

I am really enjoying my time here in Moran, WY just outside Grand Teton National Park. My parents have found a dog friendly work camping job. I am not allowed to go in or near the rental cabins, so I can’t go to work with them (I would be good at licking up all the crumbs on the kitchen floors in the cabins!), but having 100 acres to roam around, is doggie paradise! (even if there are 6 other big dogs on the property)

Before I talk about my current activities here, I will get you caught up on what I have been up to the last few months. After leaving Florida, we went back to my favorite “campground”, Camp Meyer. (Dan’s sister and brother in laws house). I have the full reign of the facilities, and they have several acres to roam around on. I was able to visit with my great nieces. They gave me lot’s of attention and snacks!

Teaching Ellie about treats!

Raya and Leia playing with me

I briefly visited with my doggie cousins Rudy and Reagan, who, after sniffing my butt, pretty much ignore me now. My kitty cousins were not happy I was eating their food, and Bandit hissed and pawed at me quite a bit. Callie was much nicer to me this time and Jonell’s sister Margie and her husband Greg always treat me well!

Veterinarian Visit

As many of you may recall, last year my doctor was concerned about my weight, and said I needed to lose 1/2 pound. This year I weighed in 3 ounces MORE than last year! But, the doctor noticed I was much leaner and more muscular, and had a low heart rate, so he was very happy with my appearance this year. I am a lean, mean, football playing machine!!

My parents were concerned about my scratching and licking my butt for the past couple of months. They thought it was fleas and fire ant bites from Florida. Turns out, my anal glands were full (sorry if this is grossing you out, but this can be an issue with us dogs!). In 9 years of living, I have never had that problem. The doctor was able to “express” them, and boy did that make me feel better!

The doctor recommended that I have some canned organic pumpkin to eat (a teaspoon or so with my food). I guess that helps keep things from clogging up!

After my doctors visit, I joined my mom for her annual patio beers with her friend Amy, and I made a new friend, Taco. Taco and I really got along, once he stopped poking around my rear end!

did you get your anal glands expressed?

My buddy Taco and I

And now back at the ranch…

There are miles of walking trails all over the property here. Just look at this view I have every day. You can see my path just goes on and on. It truly is doggie heaven!

A dog’s dream field

I have been marking my spots all over the field, as there are all kinds of wildlife that come through this field.

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The owners have about 11 horses on the property. I was pretty scared of them at first, and when we went walking with my parents friends and co-workers Karen and Al, I stood behind Al while he pet the horses. But then I warmed up to them, and realized they had no interest in sniffing my but, despite their large noses. They are obviously civilized animals!

Al is protecting me!

you have a big nose Mr. Horse

There were cows on the property for a few weeks, but they have been moved to higher elevations for the summer. I was reprimanded for going under the fence to get a better view of them!

My parents have started allowing me to go off-leash on the property for part of our walks. But, after a few drop and rolls in some big horse poop, I have been warned I may lose my off leash privileges.

I have to stay out of the piles to keep my freedom!

I’m glad that I took agility class, because I have to be careful crossing over the cattle guards when I am carrying my football out to the playing field.

walking a straight line

Unfortunately, my mom broke a bone in her foot last week. She was carrying their laundry basket down the steps inside the 5th wheel, and didn’t see her shoes at the bottom of the steps, stepped on them and fell. So she is in a walking boot for the next 6 weeks, which means we won’t be doing this for a while.

Mom and I. Cabins in the background.

But my dad is still taking me out to play, and hopefully he will take me out for some long walks. I miss those. It’s such a pretty area for us dogs and being off leash to bound around the ranch is awesome!

Take care everyone, and thanks for following along with me!

Quote for the day: “I have a simple philosophy. Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. Scratch where it itches.” – Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Work Camping at Luton’s Cabins

Posted on June 1, 2016 by liv2rv

Two weeks of work have flown by, which is always a good thing! I must admit, it is nice to be back to work, and our bank account and my Fitbit are happy as well. For the next four months, we will be working at Luton’s Teton Cabins, located just east of Grand Teton National Park. This is the view we see every day from work!

Grand Teton Range

Our job for the summer is cleaning and maintaining the 14 cabins on the property. There are 3 other couples, and one single that we are working with. We have a nice group of work campers for the summer. Now cleaning cabins may not sound like the most glamorous job, but these cabins are so well maintained, that cleaning them is a breeze. Brad and JoAnn Luton, the owners, have done an excellent job of maintaining these cabins over the years. They actually built each cabin back in the early 1990’s, and have a tried and true method of keeping them looking brand new. It’s easy to clean something that is already clean.

With our job, we work as a 4-5 person crew in cleaning each cabin. There are three levels of service that we do: Makeup, sheet change and check out. Everyone rotates through the various jobs on each cabin: bathroom, vanity, supplies, makeup beds or sheet changes, dusting/oiling, windows, vacuum, floor and final check. The first two weeks, we have not been at 100% occupancy, which has helped as everyone is still learning the jobs, and what is expected. By this weekend, we should be full (schools are letting out!), and we will get into a good routine.

We start work at 9:00am, so we need to leave our RV by 8:59am, as we have a 1 minute walk to the time clock! Although it’s been in the 30’s in the morning, most guests have left for the day, so we can get started on the cabins right away. Because we have not been at full capacity, we have only been working 4-6 hours each day. Since this is a very physical job, we are happy to have the shorter days to start with. But that will change by this weekend!

Here are a few photos of the cabins.

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PERKS

In addition to getting paid for all hours worked (and Wyoming has no state income tax), we have a 50 amp full hook-up site for free. There are five sites behind the cabins, strictly for the work campers. This is our site.

And the view out the back of the site is very nice as well. It is a very peaceful, serene place (and it’s all free!)

view behind our site

Other perks include free use of the on-site laundry room, including the use of the industrial washer/dryer, which is great for super large loads and comforters. We generally average about $30/month on laundry, so this is a nice little savings.

Since the closest major city with a grocery store, Jackson, is 30 miles away, the Luton’s have also provided a freezer and an extra refrigerator for use by the work campers to store extra food. There are a couple of convenience stores that are within a few miles, but they only carry a limited supply of groceries.

All of the cabins have full kitchens, and many guest will leave food behind when they leave (since many people fly to this area). All that food gets put into another refrigerator, and we all take turns picking over the leftover items. So far there has been bacon, ice cream, pizza, butter, cheese, yogurt, bread and more to pick from. And, some of our guests have left tips as well. The money goes into a tip jar to be evenly split up among the nine of us throughout the summer.

We were also told we would have free, fast Wi-Fi this summer as well. We were very surprised at just how fast it has been. This was a speed test that Dan did the other day. It was the fastest we have ever registered.

There are several walking trails on the 100 acre property (Makena will have more to say about them in a future blog). We have also been into the park a few times, and plan to spend a lot more time exploring the park this summer. The Tetons, unlike Yellowstone, is a bicycle friendly park, so we plan on exploring by foot and bicycle this summer.

Quote for the day: “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” – Ann Landers

We have arrived at our destination…

Posted on May 23, 2016 by liv2rv

…for the summer in the Grand Tetons. After several months of relaxing, it is time to get back to work! We are both ready to go for the summer. Before I get into our summer jobs, I will do a little catching up, since it has been 2 months since I last posted. Now that we are back to work, I promise to update the blog more.

We left Florida at the end of March, when it had started to get hot and humid, and made a bee-line to Elkhart, Indiana to have some routine maintenance work done on the fifth wheel. Tiara RV was able to squeeze us in, and we would recommend them for service on fifth wheels and travel trailers if you are ever in the area.

Our next stop was “Camp Meyer” (Dan’s sister and brother-in-laws house). It’s Makena’s favorite “campground” and once again she was very excited when we let her out of the truck. We parked there for about 5 weeks, while visiting friends/family and taking care of routine medical/dental visits and truck maintenance. As usual, there is never enough time to visit with everyone, and we hope to see those we missed this fall.

Several trips were made to Oconto Falls, to visit Dan’s parents. His dad has made remarkable progress in his recovery from guillain-barré syndrome. Dan was able to take him out golfing, and Makena convinced the ‘grandparents’ that she needed to walk and play multiple times every day. Grandparents are such easy targets! We also played many games of ‘hand and foot’, and provided some iPad ‘tech support’.

Dan’s parents

We had a few nice visits down in the Milwaukee area with friends and family, in between our appointments. Our good friends Dave and Angie had us over for an excellent BBQ, and Mike and Karlyn took us out for a fun night on the town. We also had a delicious Cinco de Mayo dinner with college friends Robin and Mary (forgot to bring the camera).

My brother Brian, and sister-in-law Annette had us over for a visit, and we were able to take advantage of some nice weather to get in a short hike in the Kettle Moraine Forest, along with a climb to the top of the fire tower.

Brian, Dan and Annette

We stayed at my sister Margie and brother-in-law Greg’s house for a few days, and had a nice time catching up with them, as they are temporary ’empty nesters’ with my nieces both away at college. Dan and Greg snuck out for a local beer tasting, and seemed to have a good time!

Cheers from Greg!

I was also able to get together for my annual “patio beer” with a former co-worker, Amy.

Patio Beers! It’s always nice to catch up with family and friends, but we had only a limited amount of time, before beginning our journey west. First stop: Des Moines, Iowa. We were able to attend the Drake University College of Pharmacy Hooding Ceremony. After 6 years, Jasmine received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, along with about 105 other students in the program. During the ceremony, her father Gary (Dan’s brother) leaned over towards me and said “We now have a Dr. J in the family!” I think he’s been waiting 6 years to say that!! I’m not sure what he was happier about: the fact Jasmine is now a doctor, or the fact that he no longer has anymore college tuition to pay for, as all three daughters are finished with school!

Congrats Dr. J

No More Tuition!

While we were in Des Moines, we were able to meet up with fellow RV’er Linda Clayton for dinner. She will be workcamping for the summer at a campground in northern Wisconsin. It was nice to catch up with a fellow Amazonian! I don’t take selfies, so the picture is not very good! When Linda and I were both Picking together at Amazon, people insisted we were sisters.We left Iowa and continued West through Nebraska and up into Wyoming towards Grand Teton National Park. We will be spending the summer at Luton’s Teton Cabins in Moran, WY. I will do a separate post in a week or two on our specific jobs and perks. If you want to see what the cabins look like, or follow along on a live web cam of the Grand Tetons, you can click on the link above.

We found this job courtesy of our friends Karen and Al, whom we will be working with this summer. We have not been doing too much exploring yet, as I have been battling a bad cold, and the weather has been a bit chilly (27 degrees this morning!). Today it alternated between sunshine and snow flurries which is typical Spring weather for Wyoming!

Our drive into the Tetons was interesting. Nothing like a snowstorm in late May!

I did manage to plant some basil, cilantro and a container tomato plant. They were outside for 2 days, and have been sitting inside the RV the past couple of days. It should warm up next week, so hopefully they will start perking up a bit with some sunshine.

My summer garden

The big pot was a gift from our former neighbors, The Kierzek’s. They have four wonderful kids, and they used their thumb and finger prints to create designs on the pot. Thanks again Adam, Faith, Josh and Ben!! (and Kyle and Jolie too!) Hopefully with all the love that went into the pot, it will help produce some good tomatoes this summer!

Stay tuned, more frequent blog posts to follow! And as always, thank you for following along on our adventures!

Quote for the Day: “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

I’m a senior now!

Posted on March 20, 2016 by liv2rv

Hello Everyone! Your favorite dog blogger is back!

Keeping my peeps informed!

Today is my 9^th Birthday! I am officially a “senior” now!!

First off, I want to say how happy I am that my grandpa Stu continues to get better and stronger every day! We share the same date of birth, 70 years apart, so we have a special bond. Happy 79^th Birthday Grampa Stu! I said lots of prayers that he would get better, because I really enjoy going for walks with him. He is a fast walker, and I have a need for speed!

Keeping my peeps informed!

The last two years, we have been able to get together for our birthday, and have treats and presents. This year they were unable to make it down to Florida, so cake will have to wait!

2 years ago

However I did get some treats and presents. My mom went all out and put everything in a brown paper bag….but it is what’s inside that matters to me! I love opening gifts. Once again, I received a multi-squeaker toy…my favorite! I promptly ripped out 4 squeakers, and then took a nap! (after all, I am a senior now…wonder if I will be getting fed earlier ….?!)

the toy destroyer!

Yay! 16 squeakers!

a senior nap

My parents have not been up to much, which works for me. That means I don’t have to spend long days all by myself. My mom gets up early to exercise, so I get up as well, and fling toys by her feet. She has to stop and throw the balls out of the way, so I get about 30 minutes of exercise as well! Keeps us both in shape! My parents have also been taking me on daily walks, but this RV Park is small, so I get bored going in circles. Plus, this year there are a lot of other dogs here, which I don’t like.

getting my exercise

It has rained a lot this year in Florida, which has caused a lot of mounds of fire ants around the park. They keep biting me, and I keep ending up getting baths, because of all the itching it has caused. Now my parents have put the ‘cone of shame’ on me, to try and keep me from scratching. I hate it, but they promised not to put it on outside, so the other dogs won’t make fun of me!

Cone of Shame!

When it is sunny, I take advantage of the warmth on my belly. And I get some Vitamin D! That’s good for dogs too, right?!

I guess we will be leaving Florida in about a week, and heading back to Wisconsin to visit Grandma and Grandpa. I will miss the warmer weather, but I am ready to continue on in our adventures, and add some more states to my chart of the states I have pooped and peed in!

what happened to TN?

Take care everyone, and Happy Spring!

Quote for the day: “Dogs have boundless enthusiasm, but no sense of shame. I should have a dog as a life coach.” – Moby

Just getting caught up

Posted on February 21, 2016 by liv2rv

Wow, I didn’t realize it has been over a month since I last posted. We have been in a ‘holding status’ down here in Florida. About 6 weeks ago, Dan’s father stated his legs felt weak, and his mom took him to the local hospital, which then told him to go to the hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As the day progressed, his weakness continued to worsen, and spread to his arms as well. By the end of the day, he was essentially paralyzed, as he had no movement in his extremities.

He was admitted to the hospital, and several tests were run. After a few days, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and auto-immune disorder. The doctors suspect this may have been a reaction to the flu vaccination that he received. After 5 days of intravenous administration of high-dose immunoglobulin therapy, his nerves began to regenerate, which was a very painful experience for him. He was transferred to the inpatient rehabilitation center at the hospital, and received 3 hours of daily physical and occupational therapy, and has slowly regained the use of his extremities. Between the excellent therapists, and the fact that his dad is very competitive, he has made a remarkable recovery. After 30 days of inpatient rehabilitation, he had progressed from no movement, to a wheelchair and finally to a walker.

He was discharged home, and continues making remarkable progress with outpatient therapy. Currently he is using a cane, but has been walking small distances with no assistance. The prognosis is for a full recovery! Dan was able to fly back to Wisconsin and visit his dad in the hospital, and get some chores done around the house for his mom. We had discussed winterizing the 5th wheel and returning back to Wisconsin, but they kept telling us to wait. The reason we stay in Scottsmoor, Florida is to be close to the condo that they rent out in New Smyrna Beach. They continued to be optimistic that they would return to Florida, and felt if we came back to Wisconsin, they would not get down to Florida. Time will tell if they will be able to make it down for a visit. We will be here through March 27th. One thing that helped out in his fathers recovery, is the fact he is very active, walking two miles every day prior to this illness. The doctors stated his good health contributed to his quick recovery. Taking care of our bodies now, can pay big dividends later.

Lots of visitors

Mom, nephew Kyle, Dad and Dan

ODDS AND ENDS

We did manage a few visits to Walt Disney World, before our Florida resident pass that we bought last year expired. In addition to the usual cast of characters roaming around, they are now heavily promoting Star Wars, with storm troopers roaming around the grounds.

In addition to meeting up with our friends Karen and Al at Disney, we were able to have a nice lunch with friends Forrest and Mary in Orlando, Dick and Cheryl in Cocoa and watched the Super Bowl with Tom and Ellen. It’s always nice to be able to catch up with friends that you have not seen in months. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos:(

Our neighbors in this RV park found a NuWave Pro Induction Oven at a rummage sale, and let me borrow it for a few days. I know a few RV’ers who have these, and love them. I was impressed by the “as seen on TV” oven, and may consider purchasing one. It did a great job with cookies. It uses less electricity than the convection oven, and cooked them in about half the time.

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The weather this year in Florida has been a bit cool, and the three month extended forecast is continued below average temperatures. The Midwest forecast is for above average temperatures, so we may leave Florida and venture north after March 27th. We will play things by ear, but we would like to get back to Wisconsin and spend some time with Dan’s parents, before our summer workcamping job.

Quote for the Day: “Looking after my health today gives me a better hope for tomorrow.” – Anne Wilson Schaef

Amazon – season wrap-up

Posted on January 3, 2016 by liv2rv

Happy New Year!!

Our final checks from Amazon have been deposited, so it is time for our final post for the season! Our 12 week fitness plan turned into 13 weeks, as we worked right up until 5:00pm on December 23rd. This was the latest we worked for Amazon in our three years. We really did not mind putting in an additional 30 hours. Our goal of “fatter wallet, slimmer waist” was definitely accomplished this year at SDF-8 in Jeffersonville, IN.

FATTER WALLET

Amazon pays Camperforce employees $10.75/hour, plus your campsite (including electric) in full. Our total gross pay this season was $15,771.29 for the two of us, which includes our end of season bonus. This year, we received $1.00/hour for every regular hour and $1.50/hour for every overtime hour that we worked. We worked every overtime day that was available, except one.

In addition to the pay, we also received $600.00 in Visa gift cards for working three 59 1/2 weeks. We ended up with $30 in Vendor Bucks, which we cashed out for quarters for laundry. This will cover a months worth of laundry for us.

We each earned 5 points from “fast starts”, which we used to obtain $5 Applebees gift cards. They were awarding weekly points if you made your first pick within one minute of when break ended, and within 10 minutes after start up in the morning and after lunch.

I was able to win a $50 Amazon gift card from a picking contest, and a Kindle FireHD 6 for a weekly perfect attendance drawing. So overall, the extra perks this year were pretty nice for us.

END OF SEASON PARTY

We were pleasantly surprised when our end of season wrap up meeting turned into a little party. They had provided us with a catered meal from Qdoba, and raffled off three Kindle Fire HD 6 for our group. The party was on Tuesday the 22nd, and several people were hoping they would release us after the party. But we did have to go back to work, and work a full 10 hour day on the 23rd. The general manager was present, and said they will spend some time in the off-season re-evaluating the Camperforce program in Jeffersonville. He stated they will not have it next year, but maybe in the future. We would go back to Jeffersonville if they did offer the program again at their center.

SLIMMER WAIST

This year I used a Fitbit Flex, which is the model that clips on to your waist. I ended up walking a total of 659.30 miles during the 13 weeks of work, averaging about 11 miles per day. Some days we would have a good pick path, and “only” walk about 8 miles a day. Dan lost a total of 11 pounds (and is down over 40 pounds since we first started Amazon three years ago), and I ended up losing 12 1/2 pounds. The hard part now, is keeping that weight off!

WHAT NEXT?

We are currently in Mims, Florida for the next three months. Our first 5 days of overtime paid for our site, and the gift cards will pay for our groceries. We hope to hook up with some friends in the area, and make a couple of trips to Walt Disney World before our Florida resident passes expire at the end of the month. We are not planning on renewing the passes this year, as we want to visit some other attractions.

Quote for the day: “I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do It.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” – Neil Gaiman

Liv2RV

Living and working around the country in a RV

Yearly Archives: 2016

Road Trip!

Meanwhile, back at the cabins

Grizzly, Moose and Eagles…oh my!

I Like It Here!

Work Camping at Luton’s Cabins

We have arrived at our destination…

I’m a senior now!

Just getting caught up

Amazon – season wrap-up