A different type of retirement These full-time RVers have found a great way to spend their golden years by ANTHONY F. BREDA
LIVING THE DREAM: Full-time RVers Anthony and Marguerite Breda have spent a number of years volunteering at state parks and national wildlife refuges throughout the U.S. —photos courtesy Anthony Breda
Thinking of what to do when you retire? Or maybe, what you could do now that you are retired? Well, perhaps our experience might be of interest to you.
We are full-time RVers. We tour the U.S.A. in our RV doing volunteer work at various government facilities in return for a place to stay. “So, you are homeless,” you say. “Not at all,” say I. We just do not have the same physical address for very long. “Oh, so you are really gypsies,” you say. No; although our RV is bright and cheery, we do stay at one place for two to three months at a time.
CHAPTER ONE: the basics
Let me tell you more about how we actually live. First of all, our wheeled abode is 34 feet long and has about 380 square feet of floor space. It is a 2005 fifth wheel RV pulled by a 2000 Ford F-350 diesel pickup truck. This is our second RV.
We started out with a four-year-old fifth wheel that had only one slide-out compared to the three slide-outs we now have. We decided to buy a used unit initially just to make sure we would enjoy living in an RV. After three years of full-timing, we knew that we were hooked and so we went out and purchased a new unit. Our truck has proved that it can pull the heavier rig.
As to where we stay, the answer is like the joke about the proverbial 800-pound gorilla. Anywhere we like, as long as we have agreed upon an assignment! State parks were our favourite places to stay, initially, and we have stayed at state parks in Texas, Michigan, Maryland and California. Now, national wildlife refuges (NWR) are proving quite attractive to us. So far, we have stayed at nine refuges in Nevada, Texas, South Dakota, Nebraska, Florida and Michigan. I’ll tell you later why we think refuges are interesting.
Finding a facility
The list of facilities at which one can serve is quite large in addition to the types already mentioned. There are national parks (NP), national forests (NF), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), county and city parks and private campgrounds.
National parks are mostly in remote areas, but tend to be very well visited, so there are plenty of people to talk to during their visit. National forests and BLM sites tend to be even more remote, but are usually quieter. Refuges are also remote but usually offer an opportunity to see wildlife, along with fantastic views and solitude. The others are somewhere in between, with some private parks requiring more hours but offering an opportunity to earn a small salary. This aspect of RVing is called workamping, and many RVers enjoy this.
Checking the menu
What’s on offer? Most state parks usually provide full hook-ups, consisting of water, electricity (30 or 50 amps), and a sewer connection. Some offer free firewood, ice, propane, a telephone connection—with local calls at no charge—Internet access and laundry facilities. All of this is free in return for a pre-agreed-upon number of hours of labour.
State parks do not pay any extra money to volunteers but what you receive is pretty generous. Private parks will match these amenities and usually pay an hourly wage once you have worked a certain number of hours for the site. In locations where the cost of living is high, such as Alaska, the extra money comes in handy.
Some refuges pay a small stipend in addition to matching the amenities mentioned above. The minimum requirement at most state parks is 18 hours per couple per week, but some require up to 24 hours per couple. Note the “per couple” part; this means that the duties can be completed by one person or half the hours can be worked by both people—not bad for what you receive in return.
At our favourite state park, we work a total of 21 hours—split equally between the two of us—on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We are off-duty the rest of the week. We usually do something in the park on our time off—like litter control, making walking sticks or painting—all of which we enjoy and do on our own time. We really like working at this state park.
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Selecting work
Now you know what type of facilities are available, hours to be worked and what type of amenities you might receive. Here is something that we consider very important: what type of work does the facility expect us to do? The most common assignment for volunteers at state parks is campground host. This position requires a couple to be present in the campground to assist campers, either in getting them into their campsite, selling ice and firewood, or cleaning up after they leave. Depending on the clientele, this latter task requires either very little effort or you can expect to find a big mess on Monday morning. Not surprisingly, experienced volunteers tend to migrate to those parks that are frequented by neat campers.
Once or twice a day, the host does a site count and reports this to the park headquarters. This gives office personnel up-to-date information on the campground and enables them to assign sites to incoming campers.
One task that volunteers are not required to perform at any facility is law enforcement. That is reserved for the park ranger or peace officer. If we see someone breaking the law, we contact the headquarters and law enforcement is sent to investigate the problem. We do not become directly involved, for obvious reasons.
At some parks, the host cleans bathrooms (once a day, usually). At other parks, other volunteers perform that duty or it is carried out by park staff.
Then there is fee collection from either the office or a separate building. This is one job that we really enjoy, as it gives us the opportunity to meet and greet every single visitor to the park that day. Besides collecting the entrance fee, we advise the visitor where to go, how to get there and what they might see. We review the park map with them, give them their receipt and send them on their way—with a smile. Other volunteers man the visitor centre, where books, maps, walking sticks and other items are sold. Here, visitors learn more about the park, the area, local history and what type of birds or animals they might see.
For the more ambitious and outgoing, there is the Interpretive Talk and Walk Program. Here, gifted volunteers can really shine. And then, for those who just want to work with their hands, there is light maintenance; this might include painting signs, cabins or pilings on marinas or park buildings. It might also include litter control on hiking trails, sign making, tree and brush cutting, lawn mowing or landscaping. Usually, a full-time park employee does this type of work with the volunteer as an assistant. Sometimes, the qualified volunteer is allowed to perform these tasks all by him or herself.
I spent an entire month during our stay at a state forestry centre cutting grass in the tree plantation while sitting on top of a big John Deere tractor with grass cutters mounted on the rear. At this same facility, we both planted seedlings and learned how to graft trees, collect pollen, and then to pollinate the trees. For city folks like us, that was a big thrill.
Different strokes for different folks
Most of the duties mentioned pertain to state parks. National forests and BLM facilities, being more remote, are looking for volunteers who want to be a campground host—especially ones who can work with very little supervision. There may be a few maintenance duties, but the major responsibility is to maintain harmony in the remote campground or primitive camping area.
We got to know one campground host couple at a very remote BLM facility on the Denali Highway in Alaska. This site was 30 miles from the nearest town in the middle of nowhere. Here, solar panels, four 12-volt batteries, a pit toilet, bottled water and plenty of mosquito repellent served as amenities. The campground was next to a roaring creek, in dense woods, and there were plenty of fish to catch—literally right in their backyard. Fantastic, but obviously not everyone’s cup of tea.
While passing through Montana, we stayed at a national forest campground in the Gallatin Forest. Our site had electric and water and only cost $9 per night. The campground host there had a connection to a septic tank in addition to the other amenities and yet the site was in a very remote area. This was a gorgeous facility near a creek and in the middle of the forest. Different strokes for different folks I say.
National parks are more structured, with the volunteer serving as a campground host, visitor centre attendant or hosting an interpretive walk. Given the large volume of visitors at a national park, the assignments are longer (three to six months); training comes with the job and is well organized.
Go wild
National wildlife refuges, as I said earlier, are really interesting. Why? Because the specific refuge was created to protect or preserve something. And that something usually has a history or story behind it. The volunteer has to learn what is going on here and this tends to have a scientific nature or background.
At our initial assignment at a national wildlife refuge, we had to learn about the pup fish. These minnow-like fish, older than dirt, thrive in shallow water that is 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Wow!
Since then, we have served at refuges where the centre of attraction has been either bird life (herons, egrets, green jays, eagles) or mammals (ocelots, mountain lions, bobcats, panthers, or desert sheep). Oh, I almost forgot the snakes (rattlers, water moccasins, corals and copperheads) and a few dozen alligators. Most of these are not the type of animals you might see in a state park (snakes excluded).
