A brief overview of our “wanderings” to this point, we will write in more detail about some of the highlights (and low-lights) of our travels.
So here goes…………….
Almost 5 years ago we made a major life change………we sold everything, bought a motor home (and a car to tow behind) and hit the road to see the USA! Our kids and friends all thought we were crazy, but it is probably not the first crazy thing we have done in our lives so we left Lewiston, Idaho and headed southward to see what we could see!!! We were sure we could see everything in 2 years……………..little did we know that we would still be out here on the road 5 years later.
For the first 2 years we played tourist and did a lot of sightseeing from Washington State to Arizona, from Texas to Nova Scotia, NB, Canada (via Key West, FL) and a lot of places between. There is no way you can see “everything” along the way so our mantra became “we’ll see that next time we come here”! We have since realized that is almost impossible, but we are giving it our best effort! Soon we began to tire of the tourist thing and started looking for something else to do. We had talked to folks along the way who did volunteer work and that sounded like something we would like to do, so how do we get started?
Our first volunteer position was in San Antonio, TX with Texas Parks and Wildlife at Government Canyon State Natural Area as park hosts. We signed on for 4 months starting in October 2006, ending January 2007. Government Canyon is an old limestone canyon with numerous hiking and biking trails throughout, most of them very steep and rocky. Kay worked in the Visitor’s Center and Bill did maintenance. It turned out to be a very good introduction to workamping and the rangers and staff was great.
Spring of 2007 we headed westward to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge out in the high desert of eastern Oregon, 30 miles from Burns. Again Kay did the Visitor’s Center on the weekends while Bill did whatever building projects they needed done. We spent May and June 2007 there, met a lot of good folks, and saw many animals and birds. We were not “birders” before Malheur and can’t really lay claim to the title now, but when we left there we had actually learned to recognize and name many, many kinds of birds and ducks. Also there were many deer, bobcats, and coyotes. We really enjoyed our stay at Malheur and we were treated like gold by everyone there. The Volunteer Village had full-hook –up concrete pads and a “community house” with laundry facilities and a kitchen. The staff included us in all activities, both on the refuge and off, and told us constantly how much they appreciate us being there to help. We decide that we have “found a home” with Fish and Wildlife and would try to do all our volunteering with them if possible.
From there we moved to Wildwood (BLM) Recreation Area in Welches, OR, near Mt. Hood. The area is for day-use only and is very popular for its picnicking and hiking along the Salmon River. Again the volunteer facilities were great as each site was located in the area where you worked and was usually secluded in the trees. The crew worked as a team in all things as everyone pitched in to make sure no one was doing more than another, and on Tuesdays we all went out to a local restaurant for fun and conversation together.
Then south again for the winter months and to renew friendships. We belong to Escapees and call Texas our home now as we license our vehicles (as well as ourselves) on Livingston. We have used their mail service since going full time and have been very pleased.
While there we visited a campground with some old friends and were offered a job for 4 months over the winter. We had not worked in a campground up to this point and after 4 months we decided that volunteering at campgrounds is not for us and we will stick to wildlife refuges and recreation areas from now on.
From Texas we headed east with visits at the SKP Park near Foley, AL, Pensacola NAS, Kings Bay NAS, then checked in a Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Folkston, GA for a 3 month stay as volunteers. What a great experience, if you have never been there, you are missing an experience of a lifetime.
After taking the month of July off for a little sightseeing, we checked in at Wheeler NWR in Decatur, AL for the next 3 months. We were pleasantly surprised by the volunteer area and the warm reception we received...........more later!
