Today I am interviewing a couple from Maine who just took over the campground which has been in their family for years. Workampers play a big role in serving guests at the campground and helping to ensure it runs smoothly.

Sarah and Pip Bell are the new owners of Dixon’s Campground, which is a small family-owned facility with 125 sites located near Cape Neddick, Maine. It is only 12 miles from the New Hampshire border.

Sarah’s parents owned the campground for more than 25 years before retiring. So she and Pip just completed their first year at the helm of the business.

Workampers play a huge role at the campground because Sarah works full-time as a teacher and Pip works for a local HVAC company. This year, they relied on four sets of Workampers to help serve guests staying at the campground.

Typically, Workampers help inside the office by greeting guests and taking reservations. They also guide guests to their sites, maintain the pool and ensure restrooms are super clean.

The season starts in early May and continues through early October.

There is one catch, the campground sites can only accommodate RVs that are no longer than 36 feet.

Workampers generally work between 20 and 25 hours per week. All hours are paid at Maine’s minimum wage, which is $14.65 per hour. However, Workampers receive a free RV site with water and electricity.

The campground maintains its own honey wagon service, which pumps tanks for guests once a week. However, Workampers can use the wagon to pump out their own tanks more often, if necessary.

Other than having some computer skills to manage reservations, there are no special traits or qualifications needed to work at Dixon’s Campground.

Sarah and Pip like to employ Workampers who have upbeat attitudes and a general willingness to help. It helps if the Workampers have an eye for detail when it comes to cleanliness and landscaping.

Typically, the campground starts looking for Workampers in the middle of August and has commitments for the next year wrapped up by mid-September.

Because the campground is rather small, Workampers really need to honor their commitments because no-shows and early departures can create a real bind for Sarah and Pip.

The campground is right off Hwy. 1, but close enough to ocean activities, like surfing and just enjoying the beach. There is plenty of nightlife in communities like Kennebunkport, Maine, or Portsmouth, N.H., which are less than 25 minutes away.

For people who like to hike, the White Mountains of New Hampshire are about two hours away, and Acadia National Park is a four-hour drive.

History buffs can head to Boston, which is about 90 minutes away. The entire eastern seaboard is a fascinating place with quaint little villages and many historical sites, especially for events related to the Revolutionary War era.

For more information, check out the website at www.dixonscampground.com where people can get a good overview of the campground and it’s amenities. The bottom of the page provides contact information for emailing a resume or calling Sarah and Pip.

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That’s all for this week’s show. Next time I will be speaking with a Workamping couple about their adventures. Tune in next week for another fun episode of The Workamper Show. Thanks for listening!

The post In Episode 304, Sarah and Pip Bell need Workampers at Dixon’s Campground in Maine appeared first on The Workamper Show Podcast.

I have a fun interview for you today. I’ll be speaking with a woman who authored “The 50 States Bucket List,” a book which describes things to do in every state and offers space to journal details of the trip.

I interviewed Jessica Laughlin, the author of “The 50 States Bucket List” months ago. I appreciate her patience as we worked through a whole bunch of interviews with Workampers and employers.

Jessica’s book is a delightful look at the many activities to do and places to see in all 50 states. For RVers planning trips, her book would be a fun resource to use in making travel plans.

Writing the book was her way to combine a passion for travel, a love for writing and a talent for drawing into one big project.

The book features hand-drawn maps of every state that accentuates historical sites and fun things off the beaten path.

Jessica describes the book as her love letter to the open road. In writing it, she hopes to spark an interest in travel among other people and then fan those desires into real flame.

Jessica did a great job in researching so many details about the states, but also in capturing the flavor of each state through her meticulous drawings.

Each state is highlighted in a two- to three-page spread that provides background information on the states as well as suggestions on what to do and see when visiting.

Each state’s full-color, hand-drawn map gives people an idea of what takes place in various regions of the state or what it might be best known for in terms of history and culture.

What makes Jessica’s book so special is that she created space for readers to journal details of their visits. She prompts people to write about the strangest sites they saw in the state as well as the best food they enjoyed and where they found it.

Jessica said it’s also a great book for kids to journal their own experiences in the state while studying history and key facts as well.

Writing and drawing for books is just a hobby for Jessica, who works full-time as a realtor in the Las Vegas area. She has done some travel already, but RVing with her husband and dog remains on her bucket list of things to do.

People can connect with Jessica on Instagram or by visiting her website at www.jessicalaughlindesigns.com.

If you’re looking for a nice gift for someone who wants to travel, I encourage you to pick up a copy of "The 50 States Bucket List" on Amazon or at other bookstores.

Want to be featured in an upcoming episode of The Workamper Show? Schedule an interview with me at workampershow.com.

We’d love to hear about your Workamping experiences, how you got started RVing, and what you love and dislike about the RVing lifestyle. You can help others explore all the different ways to live this great lifestyle by sharing your story.

If you are an employer of Workampers, we invite you to be on the podcast too! Share all of the details of your Workamping jobs in a future episode. It only costs a little bit of your time.

Schedule an interview with me at workampershow.com. You’ll find the schedule buttons on the home page.

That’s all I have for today’s show. Next week, I will be speaking with a couple who just took over a campground run by their parents for 25 years in Maine. I’ll have more details on the next episode of The Workamper Show. Thank you for listening.

The post Jessica Laughlin talks about her book “The 50 States Bucket List” on Episode 303 appeared first on The Workamper Show Podcast.

Today I am speaking with a representative from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who describes a beautiful opportunity to volunteer for a few months at a wildlife refuge near the northern California coast.

Denise Seeger is the visitor services assistant for the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Eureka, CA, which is located about 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

Her agency is tasked with maintaining a diverse range of wildlife habitats, including a salt marsh, mud flats, sand dunes and even a forest dune ecosystem.

Denise is responsible for environmental education programs at the refuge. She also hires about 12 Workampers every year to serve as hosts in opening and closing the park every day as well as maintaining trails and public areas.

The refuge is open year-round, so Denise is looking for volunteers to make a three-month commitment in exchange for a full hookup RV site in a beautiful area near the coast.

The refuge sounds like a unique place to visit, let alone live for several months. The agency maintains two wildlife sites in the area. One is a pasture grassland near Humboldt Bay, and the other is a dune forest where people can hear the ocean as they walk among the trees.

Denise said the refuge is similar to visiting the Oregon dunes, but on a smaller scale.

Although Workampers don’t get paid, they do get a wonderful perk. After they put in 250 volunteer hours, they receive a free annual pass to get into any federal recreation area, be it a national park, national historic site or national forest.

Workampers are asked to put in 24 hours a week, so they qualify for the pass in about 10 weeks. The 24-hour commitment is also required to get a free RV site. So, a solo would do the 24 hours by themselves, or a couple can split the time.

Much of the work involves contact with the public, but it also involves habitat restoration and trail maintenance duties as well.

No special skills are needed to be a Workamper at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge and any needed training is provided. All Denise really looks for in Workampers is the ability to be friendly and engaging with guests.

People interested in the job can email Denise at denise_seeger@fws.gov. She will send a two-page application to become a federal volunteer. Hiring decisions are made relatively quickly after a phone call with applicants.

There are a lot of natural recreation opportunities near the refuge. If you like birding, Denise said there are more than 250 different species that either live at the refuge or migrate through the area.

With a population of nearly 50,000 people, Eureka is the largest city along the coast between San Francisco and Portland, OR.

For more information about the refuge, people can visit www.fws.gov/refuge/humboldt-bay.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Workamper News. Wouldn’t it be nice if Workamping job listings for your ideal location just appeared in your email inbox? They can when you’re a Workamper News member.

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When they turn on job alert emails, members can select to receive help-wanted ads for just one state or all the states they want to be in.

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That’s all I have for today’s show. Next week, I will be speaking with an author who published a book about all 50 states. It’s a good resource for travelers to familiarize themselves with the states and the major activities to check out when visiting.

I’ll have that interview on the next episode of The Workamper Show. If you like these interviews, please consider leaving a review wherever you download the episodes. It’s hard to believe there are less than eight weeks remaining in 2024. Thanks for listening.

The post Denise Seeger talks about volunteering along the California coast in Episode 302 appeared first on The Workamper Show Podcast.