Approximately 42 days and counting~

Well, it has been two and one half weeks since I posted last, and I must admit that my last post was ... hmmm, how do I say it? ... almost cheating. I mean, I didn't really write anything at all, but just copied and pasted. Now granted, I did want to share what I posted. I have read the one about giving a cat a pill several times over the past ten years and it never fails to make me laugh so hard I cry. Maybe I am too easily amused, who knows?
About a week ago we interviewed with a particular campground in Colorado and were really looking forward to the possibility of working there next summer. We are familiar with the area as well as the campground and had been talking about pursuing a job in this location for the past couple of years. Unfortunately it didn't work out. Oh we were sent a contract and they wanted to hire us for sure. However, we were surprised to find that they consider their workampers "contract workers" or independent contractors. Seriously? Sure we were independent contractors working as gate guards in south Texas. We could understand that, although at least one company down there was sued for this practice and has since put everyone on their payroll. However, the only stipulations for working as gate guards was that one of us had to be onsite at all times. Other than that, it was up to us who worked at what times, etc. We were pretty independent insofar as how we did the job. That said, working in a campground is a completely different scenario. We have to be at work when we are told, do what we are told and how we are told to do it. The IRS most certainly does not consider this an independent contractor situation and neither do we. No way will we work twenty hours for our site, make minimum wage for the remaining hours, and take on the entire tax burden too! We do not have the word "stupid" tattooed on our foreheads! So the search goes on.
About that search for a 2013 summer job ... we are seriously talking about working for Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. They hire between 300-450 workampers every summer to work their rides, games, food service areas, and retail stores. Granted this is farther away from family than we wanted to be, but quite frankly, we are ready for a change from campground work. Yes, this is what we wanted (want) to do most of the time while workamping, but our summer here in Montpelier has worn us down quite a bit. We work very hard here and get grumped at frequently. The hard work would be fine with a happier atmosphere and we have been hoping it would get better. However at this point, it has become obvious that this is not likely to happen. Boo! :-( We had a great time for the first month, but for some reason, things changed just after the beginning of June and with a few notable better days, has remained difficult. We wish we could do something to make it better, but so far we haven't figured out any way to change the situation. That really has to come from the bosses and we aren't them! Anyway, working at an amusement park would be very different, and according to many, many workampers, it is a blast. It might also give us something on our resumé to make it easier to apply and get hired by Disney. They hire workampers as well, but the hiring process is not quite as easy as Adventureland. Disney does not go out of its way to hire workampers, but Adventureland does. We will see.

Last week on one of our days off we went to the Minnetonka Caves just forty miles from here. It was cold ... only 40 degrees inside! Fortunately we knew what to expect and dressed accordingly. (There were women that came in short shorts and flip-flops! Brrrr!) It was quite a hike but absolutely beautiful. To get all the way into the cave on the tour, it was 444 steps up and down, not counting the flat parts. I don't really know the actual distance we traveled, but those steps were amazing. Of course when we got all the way in, then we had to turn around and come back out those same 444 steps! It was a lot of exercise to say the least, but well worth our time.