Working the dream life for 17+ years.
Experience the wild and scenic beauty of landscapes, forests, lakes, rivers and deserts across North America
By The River RV Park emergency evacuation during Guadalupe River flash flood in Ingram Texas.
RV living hasn’t turned former backpackers Jim Nelson and Rene Agredano into outdoorsy wussies.
Best natural hot springs ever are at a secret location near Fenton Lake New Mexico Sate Park
RV road trip sabbatical takes us to Big Bend Texas, where we start to learn the stereotypes about Texas are mostly wrong.
Jim promises to catch up on recent adventures and rants about OHV types who trash the environment while boondocking in the Mojave desert.
Why we decided not to move to Etna, California, in the Scott Valley area.
Playing ichthyologist for the day with workamper friends at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center Alsea OR
A mysterious hat grows from a mossy tree in the damp northwest of the Hoh Rainforesrt in Olympic National Park
Watching fall colors and saying goodbye to our best friend Jerry at Yellowstone National Park.
Jim raves about his manly Stanley classic bottle Thermos and refers to lyrics for the thermos song sung by Steve Martin in The Jerk … I’m picking out a Thermos for you …
OK. Life must go on I suppose, as lonely as it is without Jerry …
But enough about my hay stories. By now, I’m sure you’re as tired of the hayin’ as I was when we finished. How ’bout some fishing?
This isn’t exactly timely anymore, but consider it my summer fishing report for Lake City, Colorado – from the Vickers Ranch fish ponds, to their upper ranch mountain lakes, to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.
A fun time was had. No gear was broken. And a few fish were caught. But not too many.
Young couple on RV road trip sabbatical leads unusual workamping life in the Southwest Colorado wilderness.
I might have said it before, but this time I believe I have truly found the best biscuits and gravy on the planet. I can stop looking now.
Perhaps it was the real cowboy coffee, cooked over an open fire, or the crisp rocky mountain air. Maybe it was the horse ride up the mountain, the breathtaking views, or all of the above.
But I can honestly say Carla and Paulette make the best chuck wagon team when it comes to a ranch style breakfast that would please any old cowpoke. Or workamper in this case.
As soon as our rig crossed the border into Colorado, my spirit felt as if I had returned home. This land just calls out to me.
From Minnesota to Maine, there are lots of beautiful places in this country that I think I could live in. But none of them feed my soul like Colorado does. I know I’d love living here. But it could be a pipe dream.
Because in Colorado, you’d never know real estate is crashing all over the country. The Rockies are the most beautiful place in the U.S., and property owners know it. They have it made. I’m not seeing reasonable prices on any pieces of land, except for the most isolated patches of non-irrigated ag fields in the plains regions.
Time for another reality check.
Ten years ago, Jim and I moved to Eureka on a whim. I knew it was rainy there, but I thought I could tolerate it, because I’d lived in San Francisco. But after a while, the rain forest was getting to me. The endless cold gray days, coastal winds and thick fog was wearing down my psyche. I constantly griped about what I knew I could not change; the weather.
So I started to have these fantasies about living in the desert. I wanted to feel the warm sun. Munch on chips and hot salsa and wash it down with cold beer. Sit next to a saguaro cactus and play my guitar. Go out at night wearing a summer dress, flip flops and a tan.
I thought that workamping here in T or C would convince Jim that living in the desert was a good idea. But after just one month, I’ve discovered that I’m too much of a wuss for this kind of environment.