WORKING ON THE ROAD - MONTANA

In the fall of 2007, after another summer of working in Skagway, Alaska, we drove south on the Alaska Highway for what we thought might be the last time.  Our decision to give notice to our employers that we would not be returning to work the next summer was bittersweet.  We both knew that we would miss living in this small southeast Alaskan town that had been our summer home for the last four years.

When we crossed the U.S. / Canadian border, instead of continuing south toward Arizona, we made a left turn, and drove toward the east coast.  We didn't quite make it all the way to the Atlantic, but it was near Thanksgiving by the time we returned home to Arizona.  During that winter of 2007/2008, I found a summer job in Glacier National Park, driving one of the park shuttle buses.  I think I remember finding that job on the website coolworks.com, but it might have been on workamper.com.  During the telephone interview, the transit director offered me one of the supervisor positions, which paid a little bit more, but not much.  My hourly pay was $14.40 per hour, and the work week was 32-35 hours.  One of the things I liked about this job, was that it started in late June, and finished a week or so after Labor Day.  It was a much shorter seasonal work gig for me, and Patty decided not to work, preferring to take the summer off. 

When the job ended, I decided that sitting in an office all day wasn't something that I wanted to do again the following summer.  Except for being cooped up all day, and dealing with everything that goes along with supervising over 50 drivers, it was a mostly a positive experience.  However, I told the transit director that I would not be returning for the next season.  The National Park did not offer any RV spots, so we, along with all of the workamper drivers had to find a place to park in a private RV campground.  We selected a small park about 9 miles outside Glacier National Park, and our monthly rent was $525 a month. 

During the summers of 2009 and 2010, we did not work, preferring to travel in the motor home.  Our next seasonal employment was during the summer of 2011, and it took us to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  More on that tomorrow.

The Pima County building inspector came by the house yesterday afternoon, and even though I knew I had built the concrete forms correctly, based on past experience with the county, I was prepared for the worst.  Maybe I've turned the corner with my dealings with the county, because the inspector looked at the forms, then took a quick look at the engineered foundation plans, and said "OK, you're good to go".  At first, I thought he was talking to someone else, because I just knew some unexpected issue was going to pop up.  But, it didn't, and as he left, he said to call when I had the other side ready to be inspected.  "Alrighty then, let's get some concrete on the ground"!  I negotiated a deal for two yards of concrete to be delivered at 10am this morning, however at 6am, the rain is falling.  I'll have to make a call whether to cancel, or keep the delivery in a couple of hours.