Beet Harvest Over, Bring on Amazon

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Well, it’s over for me and a lot of other seasonal workers anyway. I left MN a week ago so I could get to Campbellsville KY on time to start my next job.

It was a strange season for the harvest, at least for me. First, the start of the harvest was delayed due to warm temps. Then we got to work for a day and went into another hold for snow. The rest of the season was very slow due to wet and cold conditions. As of today, they’re still trying to finish the harvest but the farmers may have to resort to collecting crop insurance. Even if enough people stay to work, Mother Nature may have the last say.

So, I had an uneventful drive to IN to visit family. It was a little dicey driving around the twin cities in MN since it was the tail end of rush hour, rainy, dark, construction zones and several Interstate merges. I stayed at Caboose Lake Campground in Remington IN again, always a nice place to stay. The owner was testing her customers by putting a special line in the campground rules. I caught it and was only the 6th person this year to claim a 10% discount in the store for reading the rules.

Finished the drive to KY and got into my campsite. I was catching up on some computer stuff when I noticed another 5th wheel backing into the site next to me. A little while later I went outside and discovered damage to my kayak racks. After surveying the situation I decided that the neighbors must have hit it. I knocked on the door and explained the situation to the wife. She assured me that they couldn’t possibly have hit my kayak or racks and invited me to inspect the rear of their RV. We both walked back there and discovered a 1 ft gash in the endcap, at the exact same height as my kayak rack. What a surprise!! We’re dealing with insurance now for repairs.

Just started training with Amazon this week but it doesn’t look terribly difficult. Can’t wait to get back to warm weather in FL.

 

Weather delay already

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….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!!

Decisions, Decisions

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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.

 

Another sugar beet harvest

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I arrived in Stephen MN for (hopefully) another profitable sugar beet harvest. This year I elected to arrive early for the pre-pile. I guess pre-pile is sort of like training camp for athletes. Everyone from the farmers to truckers to piling station workers to yard processing folks get to make sure everything is working properly. The company also gets early looks at the beets for size and sugar content.

We don’t work as many hours as during the main harvest and there’s no weekend premium pay but it’s still money coming in and a free camp site. It was definitely strange working my first shift in a T-shirt. Last year I was layered everyday I went to work.

Speaking of weather, I definitely need to find someplace warmer to spend the summer of 2013.  The Tacoma WA area was just plain chilly and overcast most of the time I was there. The local newscasters referred to June as Junuary since it was so cold. And now here in the northern plains, the temps are getting into the 40s at night and I’ve already broken out and plugged in 1 space heater to take the chill off.

RV Repairs in Pacific NW

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Just thought I’d make a quick entry about some excellent repairs on my 5th wheel before I roll on down the road and lose the info. First, Wescraft RV and Truck in Fife WA (between Seattle and Tacoma), 253.926.3443. They did major repairs to the back end of the RV that I damaged in Nebraska while pulling away from a fuel pump. They took the endcap completely off to repair and repaint the whole thing. Looks just like new. They also had to replace inside wallboard that was cracked during the incident. Great job and good communication throughout the process.

The second repair was more of an emergency repair. About a week before scheduled departure my landing gear quit working. I couldn’t find any mobile RV techs advertised in the local area. Called Wescraft and got one phone number to try but he was booked solid for the next week. I talked to the camphost and he told me about Alan at RV Service Pro, 253.229.6209. He’s a certified master RV technician and was able to respond the next morning. He was very knowledgeable and fixed the problem in about 2 hrs. Unlike most mobile techs, he didn’t have a travel fee, just a 1 hr minimum of a reasonable hourly rate.

I would certainly recommend either of these folks for any repairs if you’re in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

Greetings from the Pacific northwest

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I left Texas on Memorial Day weekend with the intention of stopping over for a day or 2 in Ogden UT before finishing the drive to Tacoma WA. You know what they say about the best laid plans. The first day and a half of driving were very uneventful. Traffic cooperated and I had a good tailwind. No problems with truck or 5th wheel. Then I stopped to refuel in Grand Island NE. While pulling away from the pumps, the tail end of the RV swung out a little too wide and caught one of those yellow barriers. I didn’t even feel it, just noticed after parking in the back with the trucks. It looked pretty nasty and I really felt like crap for not being more careful. So, I searched for a nearby campground and found a small county park that was very nice and inexpensive. Called the insurance company and got authorization for a temporary repair on Tuesday morning so I could finish the trip. Temporary repairs were completed on Wednesday and I left Thursday morning. Boondocked in Wyoming, again no problems except for decreasing fuel mileage due to increasing elevation and headwinds. The next day I made it through Utah and into Idaho when I started smelling diesel fuel in the cab. I could also see the fuel guage moving to the left. The next exit was about 9 miles away so I was trying for that but had to pull over and turn off the engine when I noticed smoke coming through the dashboard. Made a call to my emergency road service and got towed to a truck repair in Jerome ID. They quickly replaced a broken fuel line the next morning and I was on my way again. This time I made it as far as Oregon before developing another problem. This time the clutch linkage came apart. Fortunately, it waited to break until I was in a rest area instead of happening on Deadman Pass with the truck runaway lanes. Another night boondocking in a rest area, another call to emergency road service the next morning (naturally a Sunday). This time I got a mobile mechanic to come out and fix the problem, or so I thought. I was able to shift into all gears in the rest area parking lot and entering the Interstate. But when I decided to exit the Interstate for another break, I couldn’t shift out of 6th gear. I pumped the clutch a few times and was finally able to shift again. Since I could continue driving with this workaround, I decided to press on to my final destination instead of looking for a mechanic in the wilderness. I made it to Tacoma without further incident and the clutch seems to have worked through its problems. I have an RV repair shop lined up to finish repairs to the 5th wheel. And most important of all, I got to see my daughter and grandkids. I hope the rest of the summer is nowhere near as exciting. Here’s a couple of pics of the worst of the damage from the truck stop incident:

Working in Texas

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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.

More winter in Texas

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It’s now the end of January and I’m back at Ft Sam Houston, right next to the spot I occupied last month. As I look around the RV park I see a lot of the same RVs as when I left. I knew they had a rule that you could stay indefinitely if you were being seen at the army hospital. I’m just not sure how so many retirees are eligible for treatment there.

Anyway, I just left Cottonwood Creek RV park, just west of Dripping Springs TX (west of Austin). The park itself was very nice, not crowded, level sites. Rates were good for sites and electric. Unfortunately, there were also 2 large aggressive german shepherd dogs there. The dog owners didn’t seem real concerned with breaking them of that behavior. As a result, during one of my walks on the trails at the back of the park, the dogs lunged at me as I was walking by. Even though they were leashed, they still managed to get a claw into the back of my leg. After notifying the campground owners of the incident, the couple was NOT asked to leave. They’ve been wintering there for 4 years and were very friendly with the owners. So, if you go to this park in the winter beware of these dogs. The dog owners are from Ohio and drive a pickup truck with Ohio tag number W8FQ. Those appear to be ham radio call letters if you want to google them for the owners name.

The job I thought I was going to get was a disaster. It was advertised as a 3 month contract job by a national staffing agency. When I got to the interview, one of the interviewers mentioned right at the start that the client was very concerned about attendance during the first 4 months. Naturally, I stopped the interview and pointed out the error in the ad. When I got home I emailed the recruiter to be reimbursed for my travel expenses. She apologized but said that was impossible. Her boss also said that there were not procedures for that. After an email by me to the CEO, I got a call from the marketing president for this section of Texas. (I think that’s the same as the old regional manager, just fancier title.) Anyway, we talked, he admitted they were 100% wrong and wrote me a check for $50. Way to go Kforce.

One more job possibility down here but if that doesn’t pan out next week, I’ll quit looking and just start heading west at the end of February.

The rest of 2011

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Wow, I didn’t realize it had been so long since my last post. Part of that was expected since I went from North Carolina to a nudist campground in south Georgia. That experience was much less than I’d hoped for. The campground itself was nice although it had no amenities other than the pool. The hot tub was broken the entire time I was there. At the time I left, the owner was considering just setting it on the curb cuz she was tired of repairing it. The campground was never full in the time I was there and sometimes went days without any visitors at all. Oh well, at least I got to work on my tan.

From there I went to northern Minnesota (after a brief visit with family in Indiana) to work the sugar beet harvest. This was a new experience for me but since the foreman was a friend of mine, I got several promotions while I was still driving there. It turns out I have a certain aptitude for operating a beet piler. The weather was so nice during the first week of October that they had to stop the harvest due to high temps. During that small hiatus I got my first ever kidney stone attack, thought I was going to die in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, everyone in that part of the country is extremely nice and I made it through the ordeal in one piece.  Made some good money and will probably return for at least one more season.

The day I left I only made it about 20 miles down the road before the truck started overheating. I spent a cold Sunday night in a gravel parking lot on the outskirts of Oslo MN, pop 350 but the local Chevy dealer had me back on the road by early Monday afternoon.

Made it to San Antonio with only 2 rest stops and checked in at Lackland AFB famcamp. This famcamp doesn’t seem as friendly as the one at Patrick AFB and it’s certainly not as big. My 30 days is almost up and I have reservations at Ft Sam Houston, on the NE side of San Antonio. Still not sure where I’m going after that but I have a little time to check civilian RV parks in the area for availability.

Quick update to that last paragraph. I’m heading to an RV campground just west of Austin. I also have an interview lined up for a 3 month contract IT job in Austin. Hoping I do well and get the job to pay for my winter camping here in TX and probably expenses up to Washington.

Review of Deep Creek Tube Center and Campground

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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.