While the title of this post is entirely accurate, it’s also an unintentional pun. I’ve been working very hard here at the sugar beet harvest in Stephen MN. Right now it looks like the harvest is paused all through the Red River Valley of the North due to high daytime temperatures. There’s supposed to be an update today at noon but the weather forecast is now calling for thunderstorms (at least in my area) so the restart may be delayed another day or 2.

So, these days off would normally be unwelcome but the circumstances are a little different for me right now. 2 days ago I twisted my ankle and fell in some pretty nasty muck. I kept thinking it was just a bad sprain but some inner voice convinced me to go to the hospital a few hours after the fact. Well, the X-Rays showed a broken fibula, just above the ankle. I got a quick education in the bones of the lower leg and a walking boot. I can still hobble around with the boot but the big problem is driving my manual transmission truck. That boot is so big and clunky that it’s difficult to fully depress the clutch and still have access to the brake pedal. I’m thinking about a temporary modification to the clutch pedal to fix that problem. I tried driving without the boot and it’s just too painful. (Note to self: next truck should be an automatic transmission.)

In the meantime, the company has been very understanding and supportive. I obviously can’t perform my normal duties so they’ve offered me light duties so I can still qualify for the season bonus and stay in the campground. The current weather situation is giving me another day or 2 to let the healing process work its magic.

Full recovery will take 4-6 weeks so my next planned job, picker at Amazon warehouse, will not happen. Instead, I’ll head back down to Florida early and maybe find another job before Christmas.

Late edit on 10/13. 2 things have come to mind the last few days. First, this is only my second broken bone ever. The first was a toe. So, 2 possibilities come to mind. Am I working my way up the body for broken bones? Sure hope not! And I still haven’t required a cast for either bone. The toe was just taped, the fibula required a walking boot. Hmmmm.

I’ve recently decided to exercise my mind as well as my body. Since I can claim some experience and knowledge of this lifestyle now, I wrote an ebook titled “Home is Where the Wheels Stop”. It should prove very useful for those who want to become RVers or those who’ve recently become RVers. Right now, it’s available on Amazon for Kindle readers here.

Somehow I’ve managed to survive the last few weeks and the end is in sight. Lots of blisters and sore feet and one stomach virus that fortunately happened on some days off. My last day was supposed to be Dec 22 but they just sent out another email changing that to Dec 21. So, looking at the calendar I only have 1.5 shifts left. I could practically do that walking on my hands so the bonus should be a ‘gimme’. Of course, the downside is losing more pay this period, especially the overtime. There’s been a lot of that this season. One week they cut our overtime shift entirely. Other days they would release us early to minimize the overtime for that week. I’m not sure if it’s because of the economy overall, whether people are shopping elsewhere or if it’s still Sandy-related problems. Now I’ll adjust my pre-departure a little and be on the road to nice, warm Florida this Saturday. That means I’ll be set up at the campground at Patrick AFB well before Christmas day and get to see my new granddaughter that much sooner.

So, now that I’ve been working here at Amazon for a few weeks, it’s time to compare 2 non-traditional workamping jobs.

At the sugar beet harvest, I was a piler operator. That paid at the high end of the range for the seasonal workers. It required a lot of concentration and attention to detail. The most physically demanding part of the job was standing for the entire shift. Being in the cab of a million dollar piling machine I was largely protected from the weather although it did still get cold in the cab. I was responsible for the machine itself, the ground crew and the trucks arriving to offload their beets.

Here at Amazon I’m a picker. I carry a hand-held scanner which tells me where to go and what product to pick out of a bin to put in my tote. As long as I follow the directions on the scanner and apply some common sense, I stay out of trouble. It’s a very fast paced environment. To meet the productivity goals I estimate I’m walking at a 6 mph pace between bins or different warehouse locations. When I power walk for exercise, my pace is usually between 3 and 4 mph for 1 or 2 hours. My shifts at Amazon are 10 hrs right now and will bump up to 12 hrs as we get closer to Christmas.

There are other, less mobile, jobs available at Amazon. The folks who take the product from the loading docks and put it in the bins don’t spend as much time walking. They take large stow carts to a location and work that location until the cart is empty. The packers are the ones who actually put your merchandise into mailing packages. They are stationary for the entire shift, but just standing on concrete can really break you down. I’m not sure if they’re allowed to have some type of cushioning mat to stand on.

As an added bonus for RVers, Amazon picks up the camping tab at nearby campgrounds. I’m at an RV park directly across the street from the warehouse so I can walk to and from work although others in the park elect to drive everyday. My guess is that it’s a half mile round trip from my site to the warehouse door. But working at Amazon is not for everyone. My first neighbors here in the RV park were a couple in their late 60s/early 70s. At the end of their first 5 hr conditioning shift, they quit. The next folks on the site, another couple considerably younger left sometime during their first week. I’m sure Amazon loses a lot of people that way

So far, I’m doing OK. I’ve had to make some adjustments to what I wear and some nights I hobble back up the hill to my RV. Hopefully I’ll be able to survive the next 4 weeks with all the overtime and qualify for the end of season bonus, then rest up a lot in sunny Florida.

….and now we wait. 10 days ago there were rumors that we might start the main harvest 2 days early. Everyone was very excited about that since that would mean starting with weekend premium pay. Unfortunately, the weather changed and it will be a little too warm to pile sugar beets this weekend. Now we might start on Tuesday or Wednesday. Here’s hoping we’ll still get 2 weekends in before end of harvest – that’s where the big bucks are. Time and a half for Saturdays and double time for Sundays!!

So, I’m back in Stephen MN for the annual sugar beet harvest. They actually have 2 parts to the harvest. The pre-pile started in mid-August this year so I was able to get some work in before the main harvest, which starts on October 1 (or close to it). Pre-pile is sort of like spring training for the harvest. It allows new people to get training, work out equipment problems and check the current beet quality.

After the pre-pile at Stephen was complete, I was also able to work at a different site for a few days. Today I got a major surprise. I was approached about becoming a foreman next year. What a conondrum! On the positive side it would mean higher hourly salary and more hours each season. On the negative side, it would mean more hours each season and supervising temp employees. I’m supposed to find out next week what else the job would entail.

I’m really at a crossroads here. One of the reasons they asked me is because they have other plans for my current foreman, who happens to be a good boss. So, if I refuse, I could end up with an asshole for a new boss. This will definitely take some serious thought.

Just thought I’d throw out a quick update. Found a very laid back campground job between Austin and Bastrop. I’m at the Oaks RV Park which was purchased by new owners last year after being abandoned by the previous owners. Possibly the best thing about this job is the city park with boat launch in Bastrop. It’s on the Colorado river. Unlike most Texas rivers, this one actually has water in it. As soon as the weather cooperates, I’ll finally be able to get the kayak in the water for the first time since Minnesota.

Although I’m a paid subscriber to Workamper News, I’m going to review my latest workamping job here so I don’t have to worry about somebody else editing my review.

I agreed to a 60 day commitment at this campground with the option to extend for the rest of the season after we got to know each other. At that time (before I arrived at the campground), one of the owners told me that it would be better to make a decision sooner rather than later. No exact date was specified. So, 2 weeks into my 8 week commitment I went into the store and asked to talk about the rest of the season. I was informed at that point that they had already hired someone to finish out the season. Holy crap!! I can understand them wanting to cover themselves but they never talked to me at all about it. This lack of communication was a trend during the entire stay.

Anyway, the campground is in fairly good shape and in a beautiful part of NC. All the workampers were able to take advantage of a local familiarization tour for free. This included a ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad and a raft trip down the Nantahala River.

When I first arrived, I had to rely on other workampers to let me know what to do. The owners are a married couple who have owned the campground about 4 yrs. The husband spent a lot of time on a riding mower and weed eating. The wife mainly stayed in the store. The husband did take some time one day to give me the official tour of the campground. While showing me all the electrical spare parts, he neglected to tell me that I would not be allowed to actually use any of them. Apparently there was a problem with previous electrical repairs so only a select few people were allowed to make repairs now. I noticed that the US flag which they left displayed 24/7 was not illuminated at night. After advising him of the requirements of the US flag code, I offered to move the flag pole underneath a street light. He declined that offer. He had problems with a clogged sewer line which he snaked out. According to his wife, this was a problem every year. I offered to dig up the line and make repairs. He declined my offer but that was one of the first tasks undertaken by the only returning workamper. At that point, I quit offering help and just did what was required.

There were 2 other workamper couples there who routinely worked extra hours without extra compensation. They said they were either bored or needed the exercise. I would expect that the owners have come to expect the extra hours from most people.

There was only 1 returning workamper couple who have been working here every season for the last 4 years.

During my last week, the wife owner noted that I looked overheated when I was returning a key to the store. She then asked if I was aware that I was authorized 1 bottle of water from the store per shift. Duh! How could I be aware of it if she never told me? I found out several other benefits like laundry money and propane from the other workampers that the owners never told me about.

If you need reliable Internet access, bring your own air card or satellite. The campground WiFi is fairly unreliable. TV cable is good, electric and water are stable.

Also during my last week, I had planned to leave on Wed morning after working Fri – Tues. One of the owners advised me on Sun that I could take off on Mon and Tues and use the time to see any sights that I’d missed. That was very nice of them and made it much easier to prepare the rig. I wish them all the best with their campground in the future.

so if I don’t like where I’m at, I can move on down the road. Unfortunately, the situation at my current park has come to that. There are certain days that are very busy at this park. Those days are known well in advance. The park wants all camp hosts to work on those days. I don’t have a problem with working extra hours but the park wants those hours to be ‘volunteered’. Sorry, but that’s where I draw the line. If they had an RV pull in wanting to stay 3 nights but only pay for 2, I’m pretty sure what the answer would be. It shouldn’t be any different for workampers.