Today I’m interviewing a woman who travels around the country in an RV with her husband while preparing curriculum and other educational resources for teachers.

Michelle and Scott McDonald are originally from Washington state. They started RVing three years ago and today own an Airstream travel trailer large enough for the couple, two dogs and a business.

The McDonalds have always enjoyed the outdoors. In the past, Scott worked in the outdoor recreation industry helping others to enjoy exploration, adventure and travel. Michelle worked in a classroom before jumping into curriculum development.

She specializes in designing high-quality social studies lessons for children in kindergarten through 8th grade. Homeschoolers as well as students in public and private schools across the country use the curriculum Michelle designs.

RVing lends itself to creating great material because Michelle and Scott can actually visit historic or cultural sites to gather information and images before developing the material. Traveling gives them a great perspective.

COVID actually helped Michelle because she was able to design virtual field trips to various locations. The curriculum needs to be accurate and engaging for teachers to spend their own money to acquire the lessons. Technology makes it easier for the McDonalds to develop stunning virtual travel experiences for classroom use.

However, the couple doesn’t confine their curriculum development to sites they can visit. For example, the McDonalds conducted a lot of online research to create lessons pertaining to ancient Rome and Greece where they tried to spark student interest by telling often untold stories from that era.

After creating resources, the material is made available for sale on a website called teacherspayteachers.com.

The curriculum develop provides enough income to support their travel lifestyle. It’s kind of a perpetual cycle. The McDonalds travel to a location, like a national park, to gather information, pictures and videos. They assemble that material into compelling lessons for students that teachers and parents are willing to buy. That helps fund the next leg of their travel adventure.

Michelle found a need and figured out a way to fill it. As a classroom teacher, Michelle discovered options for really good social studies curriculum in kindergarten to 8th grade was lacking, so she and Scott started creating their own. The response was wonderful with teachers asking for other resources as well.

Eventually, Scott and Michelle saw RVing as a way to add even more flavor to their lessons by incorporating images, information and stories they uncovered through their travels. The McDonalds also maintain a blog site at www.strategiceducationalservices.com.

What’s really interesting is that the McDonalds discovered a secondary market for their material. Seasoned citizens living in retirement communities or long-term care facilities are acquiring the curriculum for use in group activities. It’s been a great way for people to rekindle memories and spark interactive discussions when travel really isn’t an option for them anymore.

Michelle and Scott are planning even more trips in the months ahead. They’d like to travel from Florida to Maine while documenting historical places and national parks along the way. Not only will the McDonald’s benefit from seeing these places first hand, but they are using their skills to help young students and seasoned citizens to experience the adventures in meaningful ways as well.

You can follow their adventures at

Today, I’m talking with an employer from South Dakota who has a really unique Workamping opportunity for people who have construction experience – and they’re looking for dozens of Workampers this summer.

The Vivos Project is a community being developed near Edgemont, S.D. It was once an old U.S. Army base where ammunition was stored in underground bunkers. Those 575 bunkers are being converted into private homes that people can use as emergency shelters, vacation homes, permanent residences and storage facilities.

Stephen Church is one of the people working to transform the shelters. He is joined by Edith Horn, a Workamper who serves as the lead project manager.

The project involves a standard build-out process to convert 80-by-26-foot concrete, domed open space bunkers into 2,200-square-foot homes with separate rooms, like bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen space, a living room and storage closets. Vivos needs Workampers who have experience in carpentry, plumbing, electrical installations, painting, etc., as well as people who can use equipment like excavators and skid loaders to move earth.

It was described as a humanitarian project, which led me to believe it was volunteer work. But, I was wrong. All the jobs are paid with wages starting at $15 to $25 per hour, based on experience, speed of their work and the level of commitment they can make. Stephen is looking for people who can commit to working for six to nine months on the project. In exchange, Workampers receive a free full-hookup site.

The project is surrounded by a fully-functional cattle ranch and Vivos is planning to create an entire community as well, including a “town area” with a restaurant, laundromat, stores and a community center.

The construction project is located about nine miles from Edgemont, S.D., but it’s part of a vast prairie less than 30 minutes from the border with Wyoming and Nebraska. The homes offer views for miles in each direction.

There are some hotels and stores in Edgemont, but the city is less than 45 minutes from Custer, S.D., which is the gateway to Mount Rushmore National Monument and the gorgeous Black Hills vacation destination. The project is also 40 minutes from Hot Springs, which is near Wind Cave National Park and several lakes or rivers.

This is a unique opportunity to build an entire community basically from scratch. Best of all, Workampers who serve on the construction crew are allowed to acquire one of the shelters for almost 50 percent off – and they can pay that off over time to become permanent residents of the community as well.

South Dakota is a popular domicile state for many RVers because there is no state income tax. Not only that, but there is no corporate income tax or business inventory tax, which makes it popular with business owners. Nor is there a personal property tax or inheritance tax.

Like I said, this really is a wonderful opportunity for Workampers who have construction experience to build a community and become a part of it, if they wish.

Applying for the Workamping positions is relatively simple. People just email Stephen to set up an appointment to talk about the project, their experience, the earning potential and the amount of time they can devote to building out homes.

Workampers have every weekend off to explore the region and enjoy the various attractions as well as all the buffalo roaming freely in the area.

More information about the Vivos Project, including photos of what a finished home will look like, is available by visiting www.terravivos.com and looking for details of the XPoint project. People interested in Workamping this summer can email Stephen at

I closed last week’s show by saying I’d be interviewing a Workamper this week who produces curriculum from her RV, but I’ll need to change that up because there is an immediate need for 300 Workampers to work on a moving project in Minnesota.

Trish Parker works for Express Professionals in Grand Forks, N.D. One of their clients, Digi-Key, is moving into a new location in Thief River Falls, Minn., which is about an hour east of Grand Forks. The company is a world-class electronics distribution company.

Workampers are needed to help move existing inventory to a new climate-controlled product distribution center down the road from the current location. Using handheld scanners, they’ll be tracking inventory from its current spaces to the new storage areas. They’ll be working overnight, but the pay is really good.

Workampers need the ability to stand for eight to 10 hours per shift and occasionally lift at least 35 pounds. Plus, they’ll be moving frequently while working.

They are paid $20 per hour to work from 8:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. All their lodging is paid for, too. Because Digi-Key needs at least 300 people to help with this project, the company is opening the opportunity not only to RVers who can stay in local campgrounds, but to anyone else who can stay in a local hotel.

Workampers will need to make a three-month commitment, but they do have the option to extend beyond that. In fact, Express Professionals will hire a bunch of Workampers to help with the sugar beet harvest this fall. So, it’s possible for people to spend the summer working for Digi-Key and continue working this fall to harvest beets.

Trish is hiring people right now to start within a few weeks. People can choose to start on April 4, April 18 and May 2.

Workampers have to undergo quite a bit of training before they can start their jobs. After all, it’s essential that the right products be moved to the right bins in the new facility.

People can choose to work from Monday through Friday or from Sunday to Thursday. The good news is they have the same two days off every week. Overtime hours are available. So, this is an excellent opportunity to make a significant amount of income in a relatively short time.

Workampers will need basic computer and typing skills, and they’ll need to pass a background check. They should also enjoy working with people of different ages and backgrounds.

There are a lot of things to do in that part of the country when you’re not working. There are many nearby lakes for fishing, boating and paddlesports. Winnipeg, Manitoba, is less than three hours away, and Fargo, N.D., is about two hours south. Summertime in Minnesota is fun because of all the small-town festivals, fairs and concerts that take place.

More information is available at www.theunbeetableexperience.com/dk, including a webinar conducted for Workamper News that you can listen to online. You can also fill out an application, which I encourage you to do right away because the hiring window will close soon.

Today's episode is sponsored by The Dreamer’s Journey, it is an online course and community produced by Workamper News. Life is way too short to keep your dreams on hold, so don’t be held back by fear because you were designed for more!  Get started in the RV lifestyle the right way with this comprehensive guide.

For just $29.95 for one year of access, Dreamers have unlimited viewing of 50-plus videos to learn things like what type of RV to buy, goal setting, how to budget for the adventure, developing a positive mindset, setting up a domicile and operating a small business on the road, plus everything about Workamping and how to find the right job for you.

Today I am doing a follow-up interview with a certified mobile RV technician I talked to last year. At the time, he was just getting started and we’ll see whether life unfolded for him the way he hoped.

Anthony Montelongo owns Certified RV Solutions. He works as a certified mobile RV technician in north Georgia fixing problems from Atlanta to nearly Knoxville, Tenn. He has carved out a rather large market area.

He started the business about a year ago after taking classes at the National RV Training Academy where he learned all about electrical and plumbing systems as well as equipment generally found on every RV. He grew up in a family that provided residential construction and remodeling services near San Antonio. So he had some familiarity with handyman work.

When COVID caused problems that kept people from traveling on planes and staying in hotels, Anthony knew they were still using RVs and, because everyone was so stir-crazy, they were using their RVs all the time. That meant they’d break and need repair.

So, Anthony took all the courses offered by the academy, got certified and went to work at an RV dealership for a while before venturing out on his own. He selected north Georgia because it was closer to some family members and situated in a particularly beautiful part of the state popular with weekend and seasonal RVers.

Anthony is very busy at the moment. In fact, he noted that new RVs have more problems today than at any time in history, and for a variety of reasons. Fit and finish problems top the list of complaints, followed by water leaks, and overall quality issues.

In one instance, he discovered a new RV without an exhaust port for the furnace, which could have allowed deadly carbon monoxide to get inside.

He said the problems are related to historically-high demand for RVs, yet manufacturers can’t find enough workers to build them. That means RVs are often rushed out the door before they’re truly finished – causing problems for RV owners and an opportunity for mobile service technicians to fix them.

Many Workampers have used mobile RV repair as a way to support themselves on the road. They take training to learn how to fix their own RVs, then discover they can make a good living working as often as they’d like to work wherever they want to travel.

Marketing an RV service business is often as easy as driving through a campground with magnetic signs on your vehicle. Sometimes, campgrounds keep a list of local service technicians for their guests to call whenever they have a problem. Once a technician gets a few repairs under his belt, word of mouth advertising keeps the phone ringing.

Anthony said RV technicians are often a jack-of-all-trades. They work on plumbing and electrical problems, fix refrigerators, furnaces, air conditioners, awnings, generators, solar systems, hydraulics, water heaters, sidewalls and roofs. The versatility required to fix RVs gives technicians essential skills to find work in any economic situation.

Anthony said it cost him between $15,000 and $20,000 to take all the training, buy the tools and get his business registered with various government entities. Many mobile RV technicians are able to charge $100 an hour for their services, which means they can recover their initial investment relatively quickly.

Right now, getting parts for RVs is a real challenge, not just for RV dealerships and mobile technicians, but ultimately for consumers, too. Fuel prices are also a challenge, which will result in increased trip fees for mobile techs. But, they can often fix an RV in a matter of days, while appointments at RV dealerships and service centers are usually booked months in advance.

However, as a general rule, it is relatively easy for mobile repair technicians to get parts in most circumstances,

Today I will be speaking with a couple from Arkansas who make a very good living as Workampers by conducting surveys of retail and commercial properties. These are not public opinion surveys, rather detailed descriptions of office buildings and strip malls which show locations of various features, like light poles, electric meters and sprinklers.

Terri and Rick Morgan are from Texarkana, Ark., and they have been RVing for about three years. When they started, Rick was a commercial plumber employed by company in Baton Rouge, but Terri was bored just sitting round their RV all day. So, she got a Workamping job at the campground’s office.

However, the Morgans really enjoyed traveling, but both jobs confined them to one area. So, after seeing an advertisement for a Workamping gig with a company called ID Plans, which is based out of Tampa, Fla., they applied and got the job.

Now they travel around the nation conducting physical surveys of commercial buildings for property management companies. They document square footage, parking spaces, lighting, signage, and meters for water, gas and electricity as well as everything else that can be found in, on or around an office building, retail store or strip mall.

This information is beneficial for property managers because if there is a problem, it’s easier for building owners to get it fixed if they can accurately describe the equipment and where it is located.

The couple has permission to boondock in the parking lot at properties they are evaluating during their three- to four-day stays. Then, they move on to their next assignment at whatever pace they desire. There is a lot of flexibility built into the system. For example, they took most of December off just to travel and play.

Training is provided by the company and Workampers given company-owned tablets with special software installed so they know what needs to be documented.

A new couple is matched to experienced surveyors so they can follow along and watch how a survey is completed. Then, at the next assignment, the new couple does the work while an experienced couple offers advice or points out something that was missed.

Terri and Rick have visited all but 10 states on their journey. They get to select assignments in areas they want to visit and the company pays a mileage rate as they drive from Point A to Point B.

They’ve had some interesting challenges along the way, such as having a generator quit on them during the middle of a job. Terri and Rick have since installed solar power to their RV, which is making their lives even more enjoyable.

Working as surveyors for ID Plans sound like it would be interesting work and relatively easy for someone with good attention to detail.

It pays very well, too. The Morgans earn between $2,000 and $6,000 per week, depending upon the size of the assignment and the level of documentation they need to provide.

Terri and Rick are basically performing detective work in trying to find resources and determine what’s powering them, whether the lights are running on photocells, timers or switches. They do have to use equipment like an amp meter to test the wattage of outlets. But, it’s not too difficult to do and easy to learn the steps to completing a survey.

If you’re interested in learning more about getting a traveling Workamping job with ID Plans, visit www.idplans.com. I interviewed Mark Braddy, the company’s director of operations, about this time last year. You can listen to that interview on Episode 112.

Terri offered some great advice for people considering the RV and Workamper lifestyle.

Today I am going to speak with an employer from Georgia which hires Workampers for a campground near the Atlantic Ocean.

Southern Retreat RV Park is located in Brunswick, Ga., and ideally situated halfway between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla. It’s close enough to bigger cities, yet conveniently tucked away in an area that allows people to enjoy the outdoors. It’s not on the ocean, but the shore of Jekyll Island is less than 15 miles away.

Today I am going to speak with Anne, who has been Workamper at the RV park for five years. She asked that we don’t use her last name, so we’ll honor that request.

Ownership of the campground changed in 2019, so the 160-site RV park is planning to double in size this year with an additional 190 RV sites and even more recreation opportunities. There is an on-site restaurant called Fishtails Pub and Grill, which was just approved for a liquor license. The park also features a 4-acre lake set up for fishing and paddle sports. There will soon be two pools at the park, one of which is an infinity pool.

The campground hires Workampers to serve in the front office and kitchen as well as to perform maintenance and housekeeping jobs. Because of the climate in Brunswick, Southern Retreat RV Park is open year-round, but managers want Workampers to commit to stints of four to six months. Workampers can stay longer and return seasonally, if they desire.

There is a good mix of short-term and long-term guests using the park, thanks in part to the elaborate Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which is 10 miles away.

Workampers put in 24 hours per week in exchange for a free full-hookup campsite, and they are paid for every hour worked beyond that minimum commitment. The deal comes with a nice perk in that Workampers and their spouse receive a free meal at the restaurant every day they work, and discounted meals on their off days.

Of all the qualifications for Workampers, Southern Retreat looks for those who have a positive attitude and a willingness to learn. Managers will provide training for every Workamping job, but really seek people with a sense of humor who enjoy working with others, have great personalities, a pleasant disposition and a willingness to work.

When they’re not working, there are plenty of things for Workampers to do in the area. Like I noted at the start of the show, Jekyll Island State Park is only 15 miles away and other ocean beaches are just 10 minutes away. People can also tour lighthouses and museums on nearby St. Simons Island.

Don’t forget the bountiful golf courses and the ability to take part in freshwater and ocean fishing. There are plenty of rivers and inlets for people to use for canoeing and kayaking or pleasure boating and simply admiring many animals and birds. There are miles of roads and trails for biking and hiking, too.

Jacksonville, Fla., and Savannah, Ga., are only an hour away and both of those locations are rich in historical and cultural sites. Charleston, S.C., is three hours north and the theme parks of Orlando are three hours south. Atlanta is a little over four hours away as well. So, there are plenty of things to do within close proximity of the campground.

Anne made an interesting observation that many people first arrive at Southern Retreat RV Park as guests and then stay or return to serve as Workampers, which I think says a lot about the atmosphere and culture of the park, and how they value people.

Because the campground is open year-round, Southern Retreat RV Park is constantly recruiting Workampers. Applying is as easy as sending a resume and an email outlining experiences and a desire to work there to [email protected]. The park has openings right now.

Today I am interviewing a woman who is passionate about helping other single women discover the joys of RVing and to do so in a safe, memorable way.

Kathy Belge is the founder of Solo Women RV, a platform where she shares stories about her travels and offers advice to inspire women, especially those traveling by themselves, to enjoy the freedom of RVing. She maintains a blog and produces a podcast, too.

Kathy nicknamed her 20-foot 1999 American Cruiser Class B motorhome, Squeaky, because of all the creaks and groans the RV emits as it travels down the road. For many years, she also traveled with Olive, a big Alaskan Malamute, who passed away just a few weeks ago. Now she has a kitten who is getting accustomed to the RV life.

Her passion is to help women build confidence and skills to RV safely whether they travel alone or with someone else. Traveling is something Kathy has done since her 20s when she literally walked across America. She started RVing after renting an RV on her 40th birthday and realized it created many more travel opportunities.

She believes RVing offers healing power to women by helping them overcome limitations they’ve imposed on their lives. By getting out of their comfort zones and enjoying new experiences, women realize they possess hidden strength and skills that have been dormant for years.

Taking that first step is often the most difficult, but Kathy offers advice on how to muster the courage to do that.

Kathy is from Portland, Ore., and has worked several jobs as a volunteer campground host for the Oregon State Parks system and is hoping to do more Workamping this summer.

RVing offers Kathy a sense of freedom to travel anywhere and stay anywhere, whether it’s in a campground, state park, Harvest Host location or even boondocking in a friend’s driveway.

She explained the most important considerations for women who want to venture out on their own includes ensuring that they keep their RV or tow vehicle well maintained. The other is for women to trust their gut instincts. If a situation just doesn’t feel right, pack up and head down the road.

Women shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. Kathy found that people are often more than willing to help new RVers back into a site or get hooked up properly. Doing so opens the door to friendships and learning even more from others beyond the initial request for help.

By learning as much as she could about how her RV worked, Kathy thinks it helps prevent her from being taken advantage of by mechanics. It’s sad, but she has found that taking a male friend to service appointments works to ensure she’s treated better.

Living in a relatively small space required Kathy to adapt by creating some unique storage solutions, especially for her bicycle. But she found using storage cubes works well to keep things organized and protected while traveling.

The key takeaway for me from Kathy’s interview was to be careful of the voices you chose to listen to, whether they are an internal voice suggesting you don’t have the skill, knowledge or ability to do something; or well-meaning friends who say discouraging things out of their own fear.

Just because friends and family members are convinced they couldn’t go RVing by themselves, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t embrace the lifestyle yourself. There are literally tens of thousands of solo women RVers crisscrossing the country every day.

To connect with Kathy, listen to her podcast and follow her adventures, visit www.solowomenrv.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.

I wish Kathy Belge the best of luck as she pursues her mission to help women confidently pursue the RV lifestyle.

Today I am interviewing a couple who has been RVing and Workamping for five years. Best of all, they support themselves by working only three and a half months a year.

Steve and Laura Mahoney are from New Hampshire, where he worked as a mechanic on heavy equipment. Together, they have been traveling in a 2000 Newmar Dutch Star motorhome, which they affectionately named Waldo.

Their first Workamping job was at an RV park in Texas, but they also worked in Alaska managing some chalets where they had to run a young black bear off the property because he kept getting into the trash. They also sell Christmas trees in Florida where they work as managers overseeing five lots and the corresponding teams of people staffing them.

Not only do the Mahoneys sell Christmas trees, but after a brief holiday break, they sell fireworks from roadside stands in Florida for New Years and the Independence Day holidays.

Selling trees and fireworks really fits their lifestyle because it requires short-term commitments of a few weeks, rather than an entire season. Steve also performs consulting work for a lithium-ion battery company completing solar installs on RVs. Between the three jobs, the Mahoneys estimate they are working only 3.5 months a year and spend the rest of the time traveling.

They jumped into the RV lifestyle after a series of unexpected deaths in their families which caused them to re-evaluate their own priorities. Steve and Laura determined that life was, indeed, way too short with too many unexpected twists and turns that can bring an end to dreams of adventure.

Plus, too many of their friends are approaching retirement age and already face health issues that severely restrict their ability to travel. So, the Mahoneys committed to doing the things they wanted to do now, while they were still healthy enough to enjoy them.

The couple loves visiting national parks and, at the time I interviewed them last November, they had already visited 26 of the 64 national parks and were planning to check off a few others this winter.

Of all the things the couple have been able to do in the five years they have been RVing, it’s the ability to make friends all over the country that they like the best. The friends might be people they’ve met along the way, or worked with at a Workamping job. Their paths will cross occasionally, which allows them to pick up the friendship or they’ll even go out of their way to connect with them again in person.

Steve and Laura have enjoyed some memorable adventures during their travels, like dog sledding on a glacier in Alaska, whitewater rafting and even sightseeing by helicopter.

Their work plan really gives them a lot of flexibility to enjoy those activities. The workload is pretty intense from just before Thanksgiving until after January 1, but then they generally don’t have any work commitments until late June through Independence Day. Then the Mahoneys are on their own until the middle of November. That affords them a lot of time to visit places they’ve dreamed about seeing without rushing off to another a commitment.

They have found most of their jobs by scanning ads in Workamper News, but they also landed a few positions by word-of-mouth or they were recommended for positions by other Workampers they’ve met along the way. Knowing that most employers automatically ask for references from Workampers, Laura said they have learned to ask for references from employers about working for them as well.

I really wish Steve and Laura Mahoney the best of luck as they continue crisscrossing the continent in search of memory-making opportunities and new friends.

Today's episode is sponsored by The Dreamer’s Journey, it is an online course and community produced by Workamper News. Life is way too short to keep your dreams on hold,...

Today I am interviewing a couple from Colorado who have been RVing part-time since 2002. They started with a pop-up, upgraded to a travel trailer and even lived in a cabin for a while. But the freedom to travel proved to be strong, and they returned to RVing when COVID-19 caused job challenges for her and shut down a business he had owned for many years.

At the end of 2020, Duane and Jan Sawyer were dissatisfied with the direction their jobs were headed. Jan had worked as a supervisor for decades, but trying to manage people remotely in Zoom meetings just took the fun out of working. With the economy literally shut down for years, demand for screen-printed T-shirts evaporated for sports teams and special events. That caused Duane to shut down a business he owned for many years.

As all that drama was unfolding, Jan saw an ad for Workamper News which enticed her to explore living and working on the road. When the Sawyers discovered Workamping would allow them to work outdoors and still work with people without owning the place, they were sold.

They’ve only had one Workamping job so far, but it was a winner. They spent a summer at the Gualala River Redwood Park campground in California along a river beneath giant redwood trees only a mile from the Pacific coast. Duane was on the campground’s maintenance crew and Jan worked in the camp store.

They really didn’t want a full-time job, and this opportunity only required 25 to 30 hours a week. That meant they had plenty of time to cruise up and down the coast. They spent some time in San Francisco, but mostly enjoyed beautiful scenery along the coast.

The Sawyers describe various tasks they performed at the campground and some interesting activities they enjoyed on their time off. When the season ended, Duane and Jan drove the long way back home while stopping at every national park they could find between California and Colorado.

They liked the experience so much, they decided to sell their home and hit the road as full-time RVers this spring.

The Workamping job they had at the RV park in California seemed ideally suited to their personalities and work interests. It came with some wonderful perks like free firewood, free ice cream, a shelf in a communal freezer and a free pass to visit local beaches.

In 2022, they’ve already lined up a new Workamping job, this time in Montana at an RV park near West Yellowstone. That job will allow them to spend time in Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park.

Duane described steps they take to evaluate Workamping jobs and ensure a position will be a good fit for them. One of the best pieces of advice Duane offered was the need to go with the flow and perform jobs the way owners and managers want them done.

Workampers generally aren’t in charge of the business. Consequently, their job is to simply take care of customers and make sure they’re having a good time. It’s too stressful for Workampers to come into a business and try to change things to match their preferred way of doing something when they’re only going to be at the job for a few months.

I wish Duane and Jan Sawyer the best of luck as they sell their Colorado home and prepare for a summer of adventure in Montana.

If you have an interesting story about Workamping or RV travel experiences that you’d like to share with others, I’m looking for people to interview for upcoming podcast episodes. I’m also interested in talking to people who operate businesses from their RVs.

All I need is about 30 to 40 minutes of your time to record the interview and I’ll even provide you with some questions to ponder in advance.

If you’re interested in learning more about being a podcast guest or scheduling a time to be interviewed, please send me an email to

Today, I’m going to interview a couple who has been RVing and Workamping at a variety of jobs for more than 10 years.

Barbara and Brad Cunningham started camping in the 1990s using tents and occasionally renting an RV. In 2009, they took the plunge and bought their first 35-foot Class A motorhome.

They have been Workamping for years, but on a schedule that allows them to play for a while, then work for a while. If they really wanted to check out an area, it just made sense for the couple to find a Workamping job. Whenever they do that, the Cunninghams really enjoy becoming local residents for a few months while enjoying nearby recreation opportunities.

They worked several jobs at RV parks where Barbara tended to duties in the front office checking in guests and taking reservations while Brad worked outside maintaining the property and guiding people to their campsites. One campground included horse stables and another was on the Oregon coast. They even worked for an RV park where the sites were owned by RVers themselves.

One job they both really enjoyed involved taking care of three rental homes for a private owner in Alaska. In fact, the couple spent several seasons working that job. Barbara and Brad would greet new renters when they came in for a few days or a few weeks, then clean the homes and get them ready for new renters to arrive.

It was the ability to live in Alaska that made that job so enjoyable because the Cunninghams had lots of time to explore the region. They initially thought it would be fun to work in Alaska, but then realized there was far more to see and do than they thought. That’s why they came back for a second season a few years later.

They would watch glaciers push ice into the ocean that would become floating blue icebergs. They could watch whales feeding and playing just like people watch on National Geographic episodes. They watched bears trying to catch salmon jumping out of the water or they tried their hand at fishing themselves. Barbara and Brad also got to enjoy a dogsled tour.

They share some tips for people interested in visiting Alaska and describe the Milepost publication that helped them find everything they needed from things to do to the location of gas stations and grocery stores, which are spread out in small towns and big cities.

It sounds like Alaska was their favorite place to visit simply because of the variety of experiences it offered. Where else can you take a cruise to see glaciers and sea life, then dock somewhere for a delicious dinner and a chance to hike in the wilderness? They could also take a train trip and enjoy some spectacular scenery along the way.

They really enjoyed working for Spruce Moose Chalets near Moose Pass, Alaska.  The paid job offered a great deal of flexibility to do things around whatever had to be done to serve guests and maintain three chalet homes. There was a full-hookup RV site on the property, and the business was centrally located to a lot of popular activities.

The job was also unique in that there wasn’t someone looking over their shoulders every day. The Cunninghams knew in advance when guests were set to arrive or depart, and they either had to help the guests settle in or straighten up the homes when they checked out.

Guests had their contact information if there was a problem or they needed some advice. But most of the time the Cunninghams just stayed out of the guests’ way and went wandering around by themselves.

The couple offered some good advice for finding a job Workampers will like and it involved communicating upfront with the employer before accepting a job so everyone was clear what they were expected to do and expecting to receive in exchange.

The Cunninghams were also bold in reaching out to prospective employers even if they didn’t see...