Adventures on the Road: workamping

June 21, 2011

Quality Service Inc

Today is June 15, 2011 and by the time I am able to publish this will be a week behind. Again we have no inet and counting the days till we have it once again. 30 days (of course that is going by the date of June 15, 2011).

Of course the sky is yet gray again and just within minutes it will rain upon us again. However, today will be about COLD rain. I have no right to complain and I understand how shellfish that may come across seeing Texas and Arizona with all of its fire and lack of rain – I should be so lucky. Everything is so green and beautiful and that cannot be taken for granted and so I apologize.

We have recently met a handful of local residents and what we are not use to, is “The Welcome Wagon” theory. I am so in love with the folks who choose to live here in Rathdrum. They have been full of grace and acceptance to us. We are told to have empty bellies this coming summer for fresh vegetables and such treats. Now how wonderful and giving is that?

QSI

What is QSI – well it is the company we work for: Quality Services, Inc. which is owned and operated by Rick and Shelley. You can visit their web site www.quality-services-inc.com and see for yourself how they work. One of their clients Inland Empire Paper Company (since 1911) is the client Jorge and I are Gate Keepers for. They have a total of 7 major gate accesses: Brickel Creek, Mt. Spokane, Thompson Creek, Mica, Scenic Lodge (this is our gate), Fish Creek and Tesemini. And I have to say we won’t get much of a chance to check out all the gates because there is over 144,000 acreage of land between us. Can you imagine having that sort of playground?

What we do is a little different from the other gates only because we have such a unique situation of where our gate is locate. We have State Land as well as Private land all around us and so with State Land offering free usage of their land along with 2-weeks of camping (I am telling you one of the coolest area to camp in too – a must visit bucket list). Now with QSI we sell and check permits and log all that enters the area regardless if it’s for private, state land use or IEP use. And chat with everyone we encounter and help educate them on the importance of proper use of IEP land – such things like the proper fire gear – the one thing we do have to police is if they have their equipment because it is a state law and I love this law because it makes things safer and easier for us to handle.

Permits we sell are for DAY USE ($10) but if you’re smart like most of the folks around here are to purchase a yearly permit for $40 for a single or $60 for a family. What these permits include is the land use in which you can take out 5 cords of wood (I am so not kidding – this helps out so many of the locals considering a cord of wood can cost up to $200-300 a cord), mushroom picking, berry picking (huckleberry’s), ATV’s/motorcycles, mountain biking, hiking, hunting and Christmas trees. So much to do here it’s amazing. We are just having so much fun….

Here are some more pictures that we’d like to share!! ENJOY!!

Web Service & Donation

March 17, 2011

RV Winter Working

On top of being at a very beautiful friendly location we also have the best winter bosses you can ever imagine. Jorge does the bulk of the work (work for spot -can't beat a deal like that) but today I was able to jump in and do some labor work which I most welcomed - see folks I'm a little out of shape. Jorge works outside of the RV where I work inside the RV on my laptop. From time to time I get the chance to get my hands dirty and for all those who think I am prissy well I still am but in different fashion.

It's 6pm and I should be so beyond tired but I feel great. Got some food in the tum, the dirt washed off and a future beer waiting for me (can't have it until the laundry room is cleaned) - we are not big drinkers and haven't had a beer in 3 weeks and it was awful beer.

I have to say thanks to the bosses for letting us do the work - we love it and hope we are a huge help to them... So the rest of the blog is pics and lol I am wearing Jorge's clothes - his sweater, his pants and everything else is mine just in case you are wondering and you shouldn't and so you should stop. Enjoy! And to our family lol I was saying to Jorge in the one pic I look like my baby brother - we both have that lip thing always going. I miss you all so much... What we are doing in the pictures is glass clean up from a very terrible fire that happened here and they still need prayers of recovery.