Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Big Setback. :(

Possibly... and I'm not sure yet, but possibly... the bottom just fell out.  :(

Just got an email today from our work-camping employer, that due to the heavy winter snows, coupled with the extremely wet early Spring, they are delaying giving us a site.  We can still WORK, but they will only give us 400  dollars a month for 40 hours a week between us.  That's insane.  I wouldn't mind if it was enough to cover another campground in the area, but it's not even close.

The area is inundated with drillers from out of state, capitalizing on the Pennsylvania abundance of Marcellus shale.  The campgrounds have raised their rates dramatically, to profit heavily off the miners.  I don't blame them at all, since the process will only be temporary, and most likely leave the area scarred or possibly even worthless for years.  Unfortunately, right now... it's ruining OUR plans.  Selfish?  Sure, but in the end, at this stage of our lives... we have the right to be a little selfish.  :)

I know this isn't insurmountable.  We're not in danger of losing our lives, like the people suffering through these tornadoes that are ravaging the country.  Our health is relatively good, and life is pretty sweet, for the most part.  I don't want to sound like it's a major boo-hoo complaint, I'm just blogging, and as such, documenting what is going on in our lives right at this minute.

My wife is currently working her ass off to find us either another work-camping gig, or to find a decent rate in the area, so that we can work at our original job.  We've got a few leads already, and are hoping to find success with some of them.  It may lead to being in a different area altogether, but at this late date in the work-camping job hunt, we'll take what we can get.  Any wishes of luck and support, would be greatly appreciated.  :)

3 comments:

  1. Nevermind. :)

    Thanks to the furious amount of work Carol put in after the setback, we are happy to announce that we have a NEW work-camping job. :)

    How lucky are we? While just calling around the area of the former job, for a place to stay, we found a campsite that has NEVER used work-campers before. Luckily, they thought it was a good idea to start doing so. They talked it over and called us back, offering us the same set up as we had already had. We'll work 20 hours a week each, for our fully loaded campsite in return. YAY!!!

    AND... the place is gorgeous. I'll post the link to it later, but it's very close to the Pa. Grand Canyon, which is one of the most beautiful places in the state. Wildlife EVERYWHERE. There's a near mile long trail that leads out of the camp right to the main overlook of the Pa. Grand Canyon. Can't beat that, right???

    We went from dejected to elated within a three hour period. :)

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  2. Dejected to elated in three hours? Welcome to the world of full-timing and workamping! :) We started in July 2010, got half way to WI when our 1st workamping job dissolved. Nevertheless, we had amazing months of travel and "shakedown" as full-timers, learning sooooo much during that time. We are into the 2nd month of a probably/hopefully long-term gig and lovin' it! Things do happen for a reason! Good luck, happy trails and have fun!

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  3. Congratulations and looking forward to seeing the pictures of the completed camper. Sounds like you are in for beautiful summer.

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