Work-Camping Update #6 – Travel to New Job
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On Monday, October 21 we left our beautiful site in Fisher, MN and began our journey to our next work-camping gig near Encino, New Mexico. In total, it was over 1770 miles!!! We are VERY grateful that we didn’t have any tire blowouts or other truck/RV issues!
Because the sugar beet harvest ended before the end of October, we weren’t really needed around the farm anymore so we asked if we might be able to leave a little earlier than October 30, and possibly make our way to Texas to visit with our grandson, Henry, and his mom and dad! Curt, our employer, encouraged us to take advantage of the break and head out. So, we packed up and hit the road!
If you know us, you’ll know that we are pretty frugal! We stayed at two campgrounds en route to Ferris, Texas. The first was the Union Grove State Park in Beresford, South Dakota. We were one of two campers in the entire park! The cost was $35 for W/E (water/electric). The next place was at the Perry Lake Campground in Perry, Oklahoma. This was a cool town campground that cost just $25 for W/S/E (water/sewer/electric)!!! Then we made it to Ferris, Texas and stayed at Maggie and Garret’s house for the week.
What did we do with the fifth-wheel, you might ask? Well, we joined the Ferris, Texas and Ennis County Facebook pages before we left Minnesota and asked if anyone had room for us to park the RV for a week. SEVERAL people made very kind offers, but we settled on Michelle and Darrin’s place in Bristol TX because they had lots of room, were campers themselves and would allow us to plug in to their electric to keep our refrigerator running for just $20/day!!! They were only 15 minutes from Maggie’s house!
We spent the week enjoying the company of our grandson Henry and took him for walks and car rides. Maggie and Garret were celebrating their second wedding anniversary, so they took off for a quick get-away while Chris and Ken were on Henry and Waylon (the dog) duty!!! We thoroughly enjoyed our time!!!
On Tuesday morning (10/29) we left Ferris, TX and headed toward “Bowlin’s Flying C Ranch” near Encino, New Mexico. We spent the night at the Camper’s Corral near Clarendon, Texas and had full hook-ups for just $15/nite!!! This is incredibly cheap!!! Sure, the park was nothing to brag about, but it fulfilled our needs!
We made a stop at the “Cadillac Ranch” near Amarillo, Texas for the second time. The first time we went, the cars were in standing water. This time was much better. Of course, in the past year, what we had painted on the cars and walls was painted over (numerous times). So. this time we left a “We RVery Blessed” sticker on a post at the entrance.
We arrived at the “Flying C Ranch” on Wednesday around 2:00pm. We met our new supervisors and got our RV settled in and set up in the “Workers Compound” located behind tall metal fencing behind the travel center. On Thursday we completed all of our new-hire paperwork and drove into Edgewood (nearest town with amenities (45 miles)) for groceries. Then, because it was Halloween, the kids that live in the “workers compound” came around trick-or-treating at about 7:45pm. All nine kids came in a group so we were done handing out candy in about 2 minutes!
We start on the work schedule on Wednesday, November 6th. We will be working in customer service at the travel center. The Flying C Ranch is kind of like a Buccee’s or a Wally’s with lots of souvenirs, t-shirts, handmade Native American items and jewelry, and lots of Mexican items. Half of the store is stocked with a huge variety of fireworks as well!! So, if you are traveling on Interstate 40 through New Mexico between now and March, be sure to get off at exit 234 and visit us!!!
Why don’t we start until Wednesday of next week? Well, because between now and then we will travel (fly) to New York for our eleventh annual “Meet in the Middle” gathering with Up With People friends!! More on that in the next post!!
One last bit about the beet harvest. If you happen to see American Crystal Sugar in your local grocery store, that’s the company that the farmers we worked for are part of. It’s a co-op. Support them and the farmers in your area!
We RVery Blessed!
We had a water and electric site at the Union Grove State Park in South Dakota. We were fortunate to find a “pull through” site so the backing up was minimal. It was a nice, quiet park and only $35/night!
The sunset at the Union Grove State Park in Beresford, South Dakota.
FINALLY!!! We stopped at a Blue Beacon Truck wash in Denton, Texas. They washed both the truck and the RV for less than $60. Both came out great, but the truck still needs some TLC.
The boys!!! Henry and Waylon.
This little man is so awesome!!! He is happy the vast majority of the time and growing and prospering!
P-Pop and Hal.
Granny Chris and Henry.
Henry is chasing the phone camera!
Ken’s little man!
Henry is watching an episode of “Miss Rachel” and snacking on the remote!
Ken, Maggie and Henry’s hands.
Chris and Ken took everything out of the bed of the truck and used a power washer to get the truck closer to acceptable. The bed and wheel wells were so dirty that we had to hose down the driveway when we were done! Look at those door jambs!!!
Two very happy grandparents!
Our site at the Campers Corral in Clarendon, Texas. The full hook-up site was only $15/night!!!
We stopped at the Cadillac Ranch for a quick visit on our way through Amarillo, Texas.
Everywhere we go, we leave a reminder!!!
Home, Sweet Home for a few months! If you happen to be on I-40 in New Mexico, we are at exit 234. Watch for all the bill boards!!! It really is the middle of nowhere!!!
