Week 2: our first 50 hour week is done

Posted on October 12, 2015 by liv2rv

We decided to jump right into the swing of things, and picked up voluntary overtime this week. Going from 4 five-hour days right into 5 ten-hour days was a little tough on the feet! But our goal this year at Amazon is “fatter wallet, slimmer waist”!! And the 50 hour weeks will help us achieve that goal in no time.

There are two main picking areas at the Jeffersonville center: East and West. Last year we were both on the West side the entire time, until our very last day when I “moved on up” to the East side. I happily discovered it was the easier side to pick, since the majority of the pickers, stowers and ICQA employees were assigned to the West side. The two sides are identical, except for the fourth floor. The West side contains the HRV floor (high retail value), consisting of watches and jewelry. The East side just has more clothing on the fourth floor.

This week, they moved all the Camperforce employees to the East side, and stated we will remain there the rest of the season. It is closer to our lockers and the seasonal break room, so it made sense to move all of us there. Those of us that picked on the West side last year are thrilled to be on the “easier” and less crowded side of the building.

Also new this week, Amazon removed the metal detectors at the entrances, and replaced them with RFID panels. I am not sure how this technology works, but we no longer have to remove items from our pockets (keys, coins, etc). You just simply walk between the panels on the way out. It used to take several minutes (or more during peak) to go through the metal detectors. Now it takes no additional time at all. You still need to stop at a table if you are carrying a lunch bag or purse, but it is a huge time saver.

They post a weekly newsletter on the back of the bathroom stalls (Dan says they are also posted above the urinals), and this past week they hired an additional 200 employees as they start ramping up for peak season. Although this is not a job I would want to do year round, Amazon does offer some nice benefits for their employees, including fully paid health insurance and stock options.

Mandatory overtime has been called for the upcoming week. Amazon has opened up their Halloween “store” and are having a sale. They are expecting a very large volume of orders this week. Camperforce is required to do the mandatory overtime, up to 50 hours. We are happy to have the hours. And we both enjoy picking Halloween costumes. They are easy to pick, as they stand out in a drawer of socks, shirts, jeans, jackets and underwear. It is also fun to see what people are planning to dress up as. Some of you are going to be very “naughty” this Halloween, as we have seen a lot of very “adult” costumes! In fact, we are picking about five times more adult Halloween costumes compared to the kids.

Tonight we are having another get together with our fellow Camperforce employees. The best part of Amazon is the social side. You sure do meet a lot of great people!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is our overtime day, and then back to our Wednesday through Saturday schedule. Wednesday is “pink out” day, to show support for breast cancer research. Looking forward to another “fun” week!

Work….eat….sleep….repeat! This will be our life for 10 more weeks!

Quote for the day: “What’s dangerous is to not evolve.” – Jeff Bezos

Week one of our fitness program is done! (Amazon year 3)

Posted on October 6, 2015 by liv2rv

We have finished up our first week as Pickers at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana. This is our 3rd year as part of the Camperforce team with Amazon. After 2 years at the Campbellsville, Kentucky center, we decided to work in Indiana this year.

Last November, we were a part of 98 Camperforce employees that transferred to Jeffersonville, to help out with their peak season (from Thanksgiving to Christmas). We enjoyed our time there, so when they decided to add this location as part of their Camperforce location, we applied here. You can read about last years events here.

This year Amazon again offered four locations for their Camperforce program. That is what they call their work campers that they hire. Campbellsville and Murfeesboro, TN were the returning centers. New this year is Jeffersonville, and Haslet, TX. We briefly considered going to the Texas location, but then we found out that facility uses the robots. With the robots, you stand in one area, and the robot brings the pod containing the merchandise to you. Then you pick the item you need, and the next bin is brought to you. We did not want a stationary job, so we ruled out going to Texas. We enjoy the freedom you have with picking, along with all the exercise. We often refer to Amazon as our 12 week fitness plan. They are paying us to exercise!

Amazon pay/benefits

Amazon has standardized their pay for Camperforce. It is $10.75/hour at all facilities. You can earn $1.00/hour completion bonus for every hour that you work, if you make it to your release date (no later than 12/23). In addition, Amazon pays for your full hook-up campsite, including electricity. The campsites vary as far as amenities.

Amazon has four 10 hour days, and there will be both voluntary and mandatory overtime, which is paid at time and a half. The mandatory overtime usually comes in November and December. Another reason we choose Jeffersonville, is the possibility of a lot of overtime, due to the tremendous growth in the apparel business.

Types of Jobs

I have previously written about the various jobs, so I won’t go into too much detail. If you are interested in learning more about Amazon, type in the word Amazon in the search box on our website, and it should bring up all the prior posts that I have done.

Amazon has two basic types of jobs: mobile and stationary. The mobile jobs are Picking (using a hand-held scanner to identify the location and product, you pick the item and place it in a tote). Stowing is also a mobile job, and you take a cart full of merchandise and place it on the shelves.

The stationary jobs are Receiving (unloading trucks) and Packing (putting the merchandise in boxes for shipping).

Jeffersonville, IN

Jeffersonville specializes in apparel, shoes, jewelry and watches. Apparel is the fastest growing segment of Amazon’s business. This center was opened in 2012, and the business continues to grow. They are expecting orders to be up 30% over last year. We have noticed there is more merchandise already than last December when we arrived.

We wanted to work here this year, because Picking is easier than Campbellsville. You do not get bumped around to different buildings and different floors. The place is so big, that you can work on one floor most of the day. And clothing is easier to pick than some of the big, bulky heavy items that Campbellsville currently carries.

Campbellsville is in the process of remodeling over the next several years, and will eventually be mostly apparel as well.

Week One

Our first week consisted of one eight-hour day with orientation, paperwork and safety school. The next four days were only 5 hours, and involved working in the picking department. They refer to this as “work hardening”, and it really helps us get used to all the walking. This year Amazon is allowing employees to wear Fitbit’s and other wearable exercise tracking devices. So I will be keeping track of my steps again this year.

Week two consists of the four 10 hour days. We were happy when they announced voluntary overtime, and we signed up for it. Camperforce employees are only required to do overtime when it is mandatory, so only a handful of us signed up this week. Nothing like going right into 50 hour work weeks!

On our two days off, after running a lot of errands, we did go down to the riverfront and walk over from Indiana to Louisville, KY on the Big Four Bridge. Originally, this was built as a railroad bridge across the Ohio river, it was abandoned in 1969, and was redone into a pedestrian/bicycle bridge in 2013.

Big Four Bridge

Big Four

In addition, we got together with several of our fellow Camperforce workers for a nice dinner at Boombozz pizza in Jeffersonville. You don’t have much time for socializing at work, so it was nice to get together with our fellow workers. We are going to try to do a weekly get together, as we are all working the same shift in Jeffersonville.

Only 11 more weeks to go….but who’s counting? (I am!)

Quote for the day: “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson

“My” Summer Vacation

Posted on September 29, 2015 by liv2rv

Hello everyone! Did you miss me? I know I have not blogged in a while, but “the Jack is back”!! While my parents are busy starting up again with Amazon, I thought I would recap my summer vacation.

Keeping my peeps informed!

I know my parents had several posts regarding their adventures in Yellowstone National Park, but I have nothing to add, as I never went into the park. It is really not a dog friendly park. Dogs are only allowed where cars can go, and I know what parking lots look like! I guess the rangers don’t want us little dogs to be appetizers for the bears.

However there is plenty of US Forest Service land in West Yellowstone, so I was able to go on plenty of walks in the woods. As a matter of fact, I even lost over 1/2 pound this summer (unlike my parents). My doctor would be proud of me, as he was concerned about my weight during my last visit! Yes, I am back to a “lean, mean, playing machine!”

ready to play

Homeroom at Madison Crossing, the place where my parents worked this summer, was very dog friendly, and I quickly learned where the treats were located behind the counter. I visited several times, during our walks around town.

Thanks Pam!

For those that have been following me for a while now, you may remember my parents purchased a 16 squeaker stuffed squirrel for me.

I diligently worked on destroying the squirrel this summer. My parents were thrilled that this toy lasted over 6 months, but then decided the “dead” squirrel would make a good wig for me. I was not amused!

feeling groovy!

Once they finished up their summer jobs, we started heading east, and we stopped at a nice rest area in Montana, which had the best pet area I have ever seen. It was all fenced in, and had a fire hydrant right in the middle of the area. Lot’s of good smells! Too bad all rest areas can’t be like this!

wayside pet area

We stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota for a night. My parents drove around the park loop, and I was able to check out (from the comfort of the truck) the prairie dogs. My parents said I was not allowed outside of the car (another unfriendly dog park), so I could only view the hundreds of “park dogs” from the window. I barked and squealed a lot, just to let them know I was in the area.

let me out!

acres of prairie dogs

prairie dog

After a nice stop in MN visiting with Dan’s brother Gary and Julia at Camp Anderson West, we made it back to “Camp Meyer” (Dan’s sisters Linda and Doug). It’s my favorite place, because I can run around off leash, and get plenty of treats and attention. Since my parents were going to be busy with dentist/doctor and other appointments, my grandparents came down to take me to their place and spoil me for several days. I was so excited to see them, that I fell down the stairs of our 5th wheel, and got a big cut above my eye. So I was put on a “time out” for a little bit with an ice pack on my head.

ouch!

Time went by so fast, and now my parents are starting their 3rd year at Amazon, this time in Jeffersonville, IN. I’m sure my mom will be posting soon about that. So I’m back to being in the camper for long days. Hopefully I can get some more treats and toys from this!

Take care everyone, and thanks for following along on my journey. I’m starting year three on the road, and I am one lucky dog!

Quote for the day: “Scratch a dog and you will find a permanent job.” – Franklin P Jones

Back to Wisconsin and a Few Side trips to Idaho

Posted on September 11, 2015 by liv2rv

Our time in West Yellowstone has ended. Sunday morning we hitched up and headed East. We had several very long travel days (we took turns driving) and our currently parked in Wisconsin at Dan’s sisters house. We will have a very busy two weeks here, before heading down to Jeffersonville, IN at the end of the month to start our fall work camping job with Amazon (year 3).

This morning we did our drug test for Amazon. The woman at the lab remembered us from last year, and said she is still trying to convince her husband they need to follow in our footsteps! We will be driving to MN for a bridal shower this weekend, and then down to the Milwaukee area for dentist and doctor appointments early next week.

We really enjoyed our jobs this summer at the Homeroom at Madison Crossing. The owner asked us every day for the past several weeks to come back for next year, but we have always maintained we want to see other parts of the country each summer. We have a few ideas in mind for next summer, but nothing definite at this time. Hopefully we can solidify next summers job before this year is over.

In the meantime, I do have one last blog from our time this summer.

SIDE TRIPS TO IDAHO

We took advantage on some of our off days this summer to venture over into The Gem State, Idaho. Most people would consider Idaho to be the potato state, as that is what it is most famous for. But they are called the gem state for its abundance of natural resources and scenic areas. The mountains contain veins of various minerals.

We checked out many of the local scenic areas that were a short drive from West Yellowstone.

Johnny Sack Cabin

Located in Island Park, Johnny Sack Cabin is a popular tourist destination. Johnny Sack purchased a parcel of land from the forest service in 1929, and spent the next three years building a cabin and water-wheel on Big Springs. The scenery is beautiful, and the water is crystal clear and a perfect spawning area for trout.

Johnny Sack cabin

Big Springs

cabin with outhouse

water wheel

kitchen

stone fireplace

Mesa Falls

About 51 miles from West Yellowstone is the Mesa Falls Recreation Area which contains two water falls, along with Big Falls Inn, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Mesa Power Company built the Inn between 1912 – 1914, possibly as an office. There were plans for a dam and power plant, but they were never built. The Inn became a stage-coach stop and hotel for travelers to Yellowstone, and served many other purposes over the years, before being acquired by the Forest Service in 1986.

Mesa Falls Inn

There is an easy walking path from the Inn to Upper Mesa Falls, which is 114 feet high. The falls is a very popular spot for photographers, because there always seems to be a rainbow present.

Upper Mesa Falls

Lower Mesa Falls is located about one mile downstream from the Upper Falls. There is a distant overlook to view the 65 foot high falls.

Lower Mesa Falls

Our co-workers Tom and Ellen recommended we stop at Frostop in Ashton, Idaho for lunch. They had delicious hamburgers, outdoor service and ice cold root beer. We were too full to enjoy desert, which also looked good. This place was a blast from the past!

Frostop

Sawtell Peak

When you approach Island Park, you can see a big metal ball on top of one of the mountains. What most visitors don’t know, is that you can drive up to the top of Sawtell Peak. Those that do venture up the 12 mile gravel, windy road full of switch backs, will discover spectacular views. You can even see the Grand Tetons from the peak, which is amazing considering they are over 60 miles away (but difficult to get in a photograph).

Why is there a road going up to the top of the 9875 foot summit? The big round ball is actually a FAA flight traffic radar control unit. Our GPS shows how windy the road to the top is!

GPS of Sawtell Peak

spectacular views

Big Sky, MT

When I saw Dan walking back up the hill, I immediately thought of Julie Andrews singing “The Hills are Alive” in the Sound of Music movie!

The Hills are Alive!

Idaho, from the small amount that we have seen, is truly a “gem” state. We hope to return and explore many more areas in this area..

Quote for the day (in remembrance of 9/11): “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.” – Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl

Things to do in West Yellowstone

Posted on August 31, 2015 by liv2rv

For a town of 1200, West Yellowstone is a fairly good-sized “small town”, with many hotels, restaurants, and a few tourist attractions. It is land locked, with the park on one side, and US Forest Service land on the other. If you will be staying in this area on your visit to Yellowstone, there are a few things to see.

Fishing is a big attraction, and this area is one of the top fly fishing areas in the country. Dan has gone fishing a few times with our co-worker Tom in various rivers and lakes in the area. (they have not had many keepers though)

Tom fishing on the Madison River

Launching boat on Hebgen Lake

Museum

The town has a very nice museum that details the development of the region, and how tourism has grown over the years. The early visitors to the park arrived by train, and the museum is housed in the historic Union Pacific train depot. On display are several stage coaches that transported visitors into the park, as well as other historical artifacts.

Museum

They left most of the train station in its original state.

All Aboard!

early days of travel

Two excellent movies are also featured, one on the impact of the 1959 Earthquake, and the other on the 1988 wildfires that burned out of control in Yellowstone. We gave both “two thumbs up”, but if you only have time for one, watch the one on the fire. That alone was worth the price of admission ($6).

There are displays on fly fishing, including this unusual Singer sewing machine, which was turned into a machine to tie flies.

not your grandma’s Singer!

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is another very popular attraction in town. It is a non-profit wildlife park featuring several wolves, bears and birds of prey that would have euthanized if not for the center taking them in. Your admission ($11) is valid for two days.

The wolves are always in their habitats for viewing, and are well fed.

DSC_0304 (1) The bears are taken in and out of the bear habitat on a rotating basis. Before they switch out the bears, the staff will hide food under the rocks, and then a few bears will be let out to look for food. They have some nice sized grizzly bears on display. The ravens patiently wait by the bears and clean up all the scraps of food.

DSC_0371 (1) They do have a children’s program where they let the kids come in and hide the food, which they seemed to enjoy, although some kids wanted nothing to do with touching the fish!

The center also tests out a lot of containers to see how “bear proof” they are, and have worked with companies to make bear proof garbage cans.

Although we enjoyed our visit, we thought Bear Country USA in Rapid City was a much more enjoyable experience, as the animals are left in a more natural environment. But they did have a nice couch in their gift shop!

Playmill Theater is a wonderful little theater right in downtown. This summer featured three different plays, Damn Yankees, Mary Poppins and Foreigner. We did receive a free pass ($26/per person) and saw a great musical performance of Damn Yankees. Most of the cast is made up of college students from Idaho, Montana and Colorado. Before each show, they have a quick variety show, displaying the talents of each member.

This is a photo before the play started/no photos during the play.

If you have time for only one thing in town, this would be it. Make sure you book your tickets ahead of time, as the theater is very small, which assures you every seat is a good one. For those of you who like movies there is a giant screen theater in town where we were able to see a nice 45 minute documentary on the history of Yellowstone.

Quote for the day: “The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don’t know what you are doing, someone else does.” – Immanuel Kant

Yellowstone – summary of recent visits

Posted on August 25, 2015 by liv2rv

Today is the 99^th Birthday of the National Park Service!

We have taken advantage of having an entire summer to explore at the very first National Park, Yellowstone. We are very grateful that many intelligent folks had the foresight to protect and preserve so many parks, monuments, caves, historical sites, etc., for future generations to enjoy.

Yellowstone is such a wonderful park with so many unique features and areas to explore. Previously I have written about the thermal features in great detail. Instead of doing a lot of separate posts on the different areas, this one will summarize our last several visits. So this is a bit photo heavy.

ANIMALS

The animals are a big attraction in the park, and sometimes people forget this is not a zoo. The animals are wild, and this is their home. To date, five people have been gored by bison (buffalo). Four of them simply walked up to the bison to take a better picture, and one startled a sleeping bison while hiking. Just remember, bison have no interest in being in your “selfie”! We have seen our fair share of animals, except for a grizzly and Bull Moose in the park. The Lamar Valley area is best known for animal sightings, and we spent a day driving in that area. If you want to see animals, go early (think 6am).

Lamar Valley

The park has a lot of Pronghorn’s

pronghorn

As well as bison

where the buffalo roam

And a few bison that seem to hang out right near the road, so you can view them safely from your vehicle

no selfies please!

But the highlight of our trip this day was seeing a bear foraging for food. We watched him/her(?) about 10 minutes lifting up trees stumps with ease, searching for food. The bear finally stopped and looked back at all the people, and then disappeared into the woods. A park ranger had also stopped, to insure people were not getting any closer to the bear. We stayed in our truck, but many people had exited their vehicles. I think my photo from the safety of the truck turned out just fine. No need to walk closer to the bear.

hmm, tasty people

WATERFALLS

As you are aware from previous posts, Yellowstone has plenty of waterfalls. After viewing the animals, we headed over to Tower Fall, which we had not yet seen. At 132 feet, the falls is a very popular viewing area. It is a very short walk (150 yards) from the general store in the Tower-Roosevelt area of the park. I am not sure why it is called Tower Fall, instead of Tower Falls.

Tower Fall

There is a more challenging ¼ mile walk down to the river, but you are rewarded with some nice views in the valley.

Tower Creek

On our way back up, we encountered a baby pronghorn that was munching away right on the path, oblivious to the warning on the sign!

what sign?

MORE GEYSERS

After viewing the falls, we decided to hit the Norris Geyser Basin even though it was over flowing with visitors. They say attendance is way up this year, and we believe that! This geyser basin has a lot a fumaroles (steam vents), which are the hottest of the geothermal features in the park. They have been measured at 280 degrees, and quickly boil away what little water is in the vent.

Norris Geyser Basin

steam vent

steam vent boiling

ARTIST PAINT POTS

On another day we checked out the artist paint pots area, which is a short walk around some mud pots, geysers and hot springs. The trail climbs to an overlook, which gives a nice overview of the area.

Artist Paint Pots

mud pot

FOUNTAIN PAINT POTS

Another section of the park, on the way to Old Faithful, has more paint pots. Paint pots are a vat of bubbling mud formed by the mixture of heat, gases, volcanic rock, water, minerals, acid and living microorganisms. The pots in the Fountain Paint Pot section are fun to watch. Photos just do not do justice to these. You have to watch and listen to them plop and throw mud up and around.

Fountain Paint Pots

In this same area, is another fumerole, Red Spouter. This was formed after the earthquake in 1959, which is example of just how unstable the ground is in many parts of Yellowstone. Prior to the quake, it was just a grassy hill.

Red Spouter

And as luck would have it, we were fortunate to watch two geysers in this area erupt at the same time! Spasm geyser on the left, and fountain geyser on the right.

twin eruptions

Having our geyser fix, we headed down Firehole Lake Drive to see what was located there. The Great Fountain Geyser, which had erupted the day before, was still very impressive to look at.

Great Fountain Geyser

If you notice in the picture above, there is a castle shaped geyser in the background. (you may have to click the picture to enlarge) Shortly after this photo, that geyser started to erupt, so we watched from a distance. Given the relatively few people around that geyser, it was not a planned eruption.

White Dome Geyser erupting

After that one settled down, the Great Fountain Geyser started acting up, spewing a bit of water, before settling back down.

Great Fountain acting up

We drove over to the White Dome Geyser for a closer look. This geyser continues to get taller every year, as a small amount of silica is deposited on the sides after each eruption.

White Dome Geyser

On our last visit to the park, we explored the West Thumb Geyser Basin and Yellowstone Lake. Due to the wildfires in Montana and Idaho, the air quality has really decreased, and there is a constant haze over the area. We stopped along the road to watch this little geyser erupt, with Yellowstone Lake in the background. You cannot see the mountains on the other side due to the haze.

Yellowstone Lake

Fishing Bridge used to be a popular area for fishing, but the park service no longer allows fishing in the area, as people were too successful, and the wildlife in the park depends on the fish more than us humans do. I was lucky to snap this photo just as four corvettes were crossing the bridge.

Fishing Bridge

The most famous feature at the West Thumb is this hot springs fishing cone in the lake. Fisherman would boast about how they could catch a trout in the lake, then dunk it in the boiling water in the cone to cook it! This practice was banned in 1911.

Fishing Cone

We just never get tired of all the ever-changing features of Yellowstone National Park. It is truly an amazing place. If you have never visited, please put this on your ‘bucket list’. You will not regret a visit to the park, even if you only have a day. Thank you for following along this summer on our trips to Yellowstone. Hopefully you have enjoyed the photos (we have taken hundreds each visit), and learned a few things on geothermal features.

Quote for the day: “There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons; and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Hiking in Montana with Friends from Wisconsin

Posted on August 18, 2015 by liv2rv

We received a text message from Dan’s former co-worker, Laura, stating she would be in Bozeman, MT for her nieces wedding. Laura is a high-school science teacher, and once a year I would take over her anatomy classes for a “career day” and talk about a career as a Radiologic Technologist, and go over the various areas (X-ray, CT, MRI, etc. that you could specialize in). I think both the students and the teacher enjoyed having a “day off” from their regular classroom studies.

Dan and I made plans to get together for a short hike with Laura and her husband Mike in Bozeman, at Drinking Horse Mountain. In the photo below, there is an “M” on the hill. (upper left) That is another hiking trail, but we opted not to do that one. Our hike had both ‘easy’ and ‘difficult’ options. We chose to go up the ‘easy’ route, which was also the more scenic of the two options. The trail is very dog friendly, and we encountered many off-leash dogs along the way. Sorry Makena, but you weren’t invited on this trip.

The beginning

We have had several months to adjust to the altitude, but it does catch people by surprise when they first arrive to the area. We stopped for several breaks and photo opportunities along the way.

Mike and Laura

The ‘easy’ portion of the trail.

The ‘easy’ trail

When we arrived at the top, we noticed someone had built a make-shift ‘shelter’. The view of Bozeman from the top provides a nice contrast of the “big city” living in a rural setting.

City of Bozeman

view from the top

The crew is still looking fresh at the top!

Ready to head down

We had a wonderful hike with Laura and Mike. Dan was able to get caught up on many of the happenings at the high school for the past two years. After our hike we decided to check out downtown Bozeman for lunch. The downtown area, despite the usual big box stores and a mall, has many unique and thriving businesses. We had a great time for lunch, and then checked out the local distillery and micro-brewery that was also located downtown.

cheers to lunch downtown

Montana is known for Huckleberries, and the distillery makes a huckleberry vodka, for use in Moscow mule drinks.

my new ‘hiking’ outfit!

The brew pub has what they call a “frost line” on the bar that you can set your beverages on. We all thought that was a nice feature to keep your beverages ice-cold.

the frost line

We tried a little sampler platter of local brews

We said our good-byes for now, and made the 90 mile drive back ‘home’. Mike and Laura’s kids were going to be flying into Bozeman later that night. A few days later, they made the drive down to West Yellowstone, along with a number of other relatives. They rented out a bus and did an all-day tour of Yellowstone National Park.

Before heading back to Bozeman, they stopped in to our store, and Dan was thrilled to spend some time catching up with their kids, Rachel, Michelle and Ryan. Dan had all three of their kids in his math classes.

Rachel, Michelle, Dan and Ryan in the store

It was nice for all of them to take some time out of their busy “wedding week” to spend some time with us. We look forward to catching up with them again in the not too distant future.

Quote for the day: “Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.” – Andy Rooney

Hiking with Friends (x 2)

Posted on August 11, 2015 by liv2rv

Wow, it is hard to believe that our time here in West Yellowstone is almost over! We have only 4 weeks left of work, before we start venturing back east for a few weeks to visit with family and friends, as well as dentists and doctors (for Dan….Makena and I are good!). Then we will be heading down to begin our fall jobs at Amazon in Jeffersonville, IN.

The temperatures here still get in the low 40’s at night, with 70’s during the day. It has been a very pleasant summer. We have been venturing into Yellowstone every week, mostly for just a few hours, as it gets extremely crowded. Towards the end of August, it should get better, as the kids start going back to school.

Since we need to start increasing our walking to get ready for Amazon, we met up with friends for two hikes last week. Originally, I was going to do both hikes in one blog, but decided to split them up, as it was getting a bit lengthy. So the second part will be posted in a few days.

On Sunday, we met up with Karen and Al at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone for a short 3 mile hike to Mystic Falls. We started out looking at the various geysers in the area, the most famous of which is the Sapphire Pool. It had biscuit shaped formations surrounding it, but they were all blown off in the 1959 earthquake (our previous blog gave more details about this earthquake). The beautiful sapphire color remains, and it is one of the prettiest geyser (as far as color) that we have seen this summer.

Sapphire Pool

The trail starts out relatively easy, and then the trail splits off. We had been advised to “go left” as it was the easier route to the falls. We discovered later that was very good advice, as it is much easier to go down the steeper climb of 700 feet, then up! The trail winds along the Little Firehole River, and is very scenic.

the easy trail

Even though there were “bear aware” signs, we did not see any wildlife at all, except this little guy.

our ‘wildlife’

After less than a mile, we reached the 70 foot high Mystic Falls.

Mystic Falls

Karen and Al

We had 2 options, go back the way we came, or take the more strenuous and less scenic route. We all opted for the latter! The new route back down began with a steep climb, but did offer a nice overlook to the Upper Geyser Basin which is about 3 miles away.

Old Faithful in distance

We continued climbing, and commenting that we are supposed to be ‘heading down’. Al has a GPS tracker on his iPhone, and it indicated we had climbed over 650 feet in a very short distance. We were happy much of it was in the shade of the trees. We stopped at the ‘scenic overlook’ which looked over the parking lot and the Biscuit Basin where we began our hike. In the upper right corner of the photo is the Upper Geyser Basin where Old Faithful is located.

Biscuit Basin overlook

And then we began a rapid descent, going down switchbacks for most of the way. Al’s GPS indicated we were going down a 12% grade. We met a lot of people huffing and puffing their way up, and were glad we chose the “left” option up, and the “right” option down. Dan is in the center of the photo below.

heading on down

Al is the tiny orange dot in the center of this picture.

Hello Al!

After we made it back down, we decided to go to the Old Faithful Inn for lunch. After lunch, we discovered a tour of the Inn was in progress, so we tagged along on. The tour lasts about 45 minutes, and is very informative, and includes a view of one of the rooms for rent. This room rents for $109.00 night, and you have your own sink (not original) but do share a bathroom with everyone else on the floor. It was quite the deluxe room back in the early 20^th Century!

Old House Room

sink is not original

On the second floor of the Inn, there is an overlook into the dining room where we had lunch.

Dining room

The flag inside the Inn contains 45 stars, representing the 45 states at the time the Inn was complete in 1904. By 1912 there were three more stars added to the flag, with Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona being added. The remaining two stars were added when Alaska and Hawaii were added to the union in 1959.

45 stars on the flag

We hope to get together with Karen and Al one more time before we leave this area, to do some more hiking.

Quote for the day: “Hiking is just walking where it’s okay to pee.” – Demetri Martin

Earthquake Lake

Posted on August 5, 2015 by liv2rv

The night of August 17, 1959 forever changed the landscape and the lives of the residents and visitors of Madison Canyon (about 10 miles northwest of West Yellowstone). Close to midnight, an earthquake, measured at 7.5 on the Richter Scale, struck this area without warning. At the time, it was the 2^nd largest earthquake measured in the lower 48 states. A massive landslide, over 80 million tons of rock, crashed down into the canyon and blocked off the Madison River.

Many people were camping along the banks of the river in a popular campground. The landslide buried parts of the campground, and the rapidly rising waters submerged the remainder of the campground. Twenty-eight people were killed as a result of the earthquake. By dawn, a lake had formed in what was once just a river.

In this photo below, you can see what is now referred to as “ghost-trees”, where the campground used to be. The hill where the landslide occurred is on the left side, and you can see what is called the “bathtub ring”, along the right side of the photo. This is how high the water rose after the landslide.

Ghost-trees

After the landslide, the water continued to rise and began rising backwards over the dam in nearby Hebgen Lake, causing several cabins to be destroyed. The water washed out many sections of Highway 287 which runs along the river. Within three weeks, what was once just a river, became a 5 mile wide, 190 foot lake. The Army Corps of Engineering was deployed and was able to blast through part of the landslide to create a spillway and relieve the pressure of the lake and control the flow of water. They were concerned if the landslide shifted, the Madison Valley area would be flooded.

This photo shows the other side of the landslide, where they created a spillway to prevent the valley from flooding. Originally the spillway was a straight river, but over time, nature has taken back the landscape and created this winding river, which has become a popular trout fishing area.

Madison Valley river

It is believed that the lake will continue to drain down, and eventually return to a river. But it could be decades before this happens. In the meantime, the lake is a beautiful, scenic area that covers up the scars of the past.

Earthquake Lake

But once you turn around, the evidence of the landslide remains, with a large barren area.

area of landslide

A portion of the rocky cliffs was sheared off, and this remaining rock has been turned into a memorial for the deceased. A plaque has been placed on the boulder with the names of those that did not survive. Over 250 people were camping in the area, so the death toll could have been much worse.

Memorial Boulder

rest in peace

The U.S. Forest Service maintains a visitor’s center at Quake Lake. It offers an excellent video detailing the events on that fateful night, along with many photographs taken after the earthquake, and survivor’s stories.

One interesting fact from this earthquake. Over 200 geysers in nearby Yellowstone National Park erupted following the earthquake.

If you are in the area, this is definitely worth taking a short day trip to see this area.

Quote for the day: “In the morning we looked across from where we were, and the mountain had just fallen down.” – JoAnn Gartland, earthquake survivor

Reflections of two years on the road

Posted on July 27, 2015 by liv2rv

2 years ago I left my steady, stable job as a CT Technologist at a hospital and Dan left his 27 year teaching career for a complete unknown. Reflecting back, we continue to have no regrets about making the change. As much as we have experienced in the past 2 years, it seems as if we have only scratched the surface on what our great country has to offer.

Mt Rushmore from Hwy 244

Sometimes I feel we are traveling at a snail’s pace, especially when I read others blogs and they seem to be all over the country. But then I remind myself that we, hopefully, have so much time ahead of us to continue going at our own pace. Eventually we will “get there”. It truly is the journey, and not the destination, that is important.

The past two summers, working in gift stores in major tourist areas, I have encountered many people who learn of our lifestyle, and then say “but you are so young”. Sometimes I wonder if we should have kept on working, and saving more money, but that thought quickly passes! After 2 years on the road, we are able to do just fine with our work camping jobs. It certainly helps not having to pay a mortgage, gas, electric, water, sewer and property taxes. And we make sure to find jobs where we are paid for all hours worked, as well as having our site paid for.

I really enjoy living in a small space. I still have too many clothes and other things, so another trip to Goodwill is in order. If it has not been used in 2 years, it is time to let someone else have it collect dust in their house!

Our current location, West Yellowstone, has dozens of hotels/motels/cabins. Watching people load and unload their luggage makes me appreciate the fact we have everything we need with us at all times when we travel in our 5^th wheel.

THINGS THAT I MISS

A “real” oven. After our first year, I have stopped using our propane oven. Even though it is very small in size, it takes about 30 minutes to heat up, and significantly longer to cook anything. A small batch of cookies takes about 30 minutes. It just became too frustrating to use. In the past year, I have been using our convection/microwave oven, with slightly better results. An electric home oven has 220 volt power, versus 110 volt power in a recreational vehicle. As such, it still takes longer to cook, but I can do a batch of cookies in about 20 minutes, with better results. And things brown better than in a propane oven. Some people use a stand-alone toaster oven for their baking, and have better results. If we ever purchase another RV, it would not have a propane oven.
DVR. We do not have satellite, and we certainly do not miss the big bill! We rely on over-the-air television, which can be hit or miss. We have discovered a lot of excellent shows on the PBS channels, which usually come in when nothing else does. But I do miss the ability to record television shows when we are working. We have thought about going “old school” and getting a VCR! (that’s a video cassette recorder for you young folks!)
Washer/dryer. We opted not to spend an additional $1100 for a stackable unit when we purchased our 5^th wheel. Although we do not mind going to laundromats, we have several t-shirts that are now “tye-died” as a result of using public washers!
Unlimited and fast internet connections
Family and friends events. We have missed some big events due to having to work in the summer. But there were also times with our regular jobs that we could not make it to certain things. We do try to get back to Wisconsin to visit with family and friends, so this does help.

REGRETS?

Zip, zero, nada!!!!

BEST PART OF OUR JOURNEY?

The people that we have met along the road, have been the number one benefit of this lifestyle. As an introverted person, this has truly been a blessing for me. It is very easy to live in a house and not get to know your neighbors. It is almost impossible to walk around a campground and not strike up conversations with others. Work camping is also a wonderful way to meet others, share experiences, and make life-long friends.

Cedar Key 1/14

lunch with friends

Tom, Jack, Ruth Ann, me, Dan and Ellen

We have had some wonderful experiences.

snorkeling with manatees

Crazy Horse Memorial

Disney after Dark

And driven through some beautiful parts of the country!

no problem!

Encountering wildlife.

Big Daddy

And trying new experiences

a small waterfall behind us

Looking back through our photos over the past two years make us realize how much we have experienced. And we have only scratched the surface! Some of you have followed along on our journey from the beginning, and we thank you for that! Others have joined along the way. We are humbled that people follow along with us.

Quote for the day: “The less routine the more life.” – Amos Bronson Alcott

Liv2RV

Living and working around the country in a RV

Week 2: our first 50 hour week is done

Week one of our fitness program is done! (Amazon year 3)

“My” Summer Vacation

Back to Wisconsin and a Few Side trips to Idaho

Things to do in West Yellowstone

Yellowstone – summary of recent visits

Hiking in Montana with Friends from Wisconsin

Hiking with Friends (x 2)

Earthquake Lake

Reflections of two years on the road