Well we spent the last three days catching up on our sleep, doing laundry (you get really dirty working in a warehouse), and preparing food so that I don’t have to do much cooking when I get home from work this week. We did get to hang out with some folks here at the park a couple of nights and had a lovely time with nice wine and good food.

Mike: Yummy! Pizza! 

Then today at work we were certified on the VRC which stands for vertical reciprocating conveyor but which means elevator. We had to be taught how to operate it safely so that we have no excuses if we do something wrong and get hurt. Then it was off to do more stowing but only for a little while as there wasn’t enough work to keep us all busy. They were actually asking for VTO today (voluntary time off) which means you get to leave but don’t get paid, but we started car pooling today and we didn’t want to go home anyway. So we got moved to a different department, we ended up in IC/QA. I have no idea what that stands for, but they are the people who do quality control and make sure the right product and the right amount of product are in the bins. So, for most of today we wandered around the building counting product and general straightened the bins to make the pickers lives easier. It was kind of nice to do something a little different, and it did help us to become more adept at navigating the building as we were moving from area to area instead of being stuck in one place. The pedestrian areas for the most part are marked with green tape on the floor so as long as I’m following that I’m ok. It’s when I have to go to or through an area that doesn’t have tape that I get confused, but I’ll get there, if a forklift doesn’t get me first.

Well our first week is over and it seems as though both of us survived. We spent day three and four stowing our little hearts out – who knew Amazon sold so much stuff, and in every size shape and colour imaginable. I don’t think it’s going to be so bad for the weeks that we are here, although I’m glad we get to finish at Christmas and that I don’t have to do this for the long haul. The work is hard on our bodies, as there’s lots of walking and bending and crouching and such, but the worst part is that the work is very repetitive and super boring. I am glad that we are stowing though as for the most part we get left alone to do what needs to be done, and other than doing safety checks at every possible moment nobody really bothers us. At least we’ve met some cool people who make it fun and I have seen all kinds of items that need to be added to my Christmas list. Most of the people who work there permanently are very friendly and willing to answer the multitude of questions that we have during any given hour, and at the end of the day we are earning a little cash, so it’s not all bad.

Mike: I was thinking this might might be my next career!!!

Day two started off the same as day one – in the dark – but at least this morning we had badges to get us in the door. We got clocked in and then went to ‘Stand Up’. They do it every morning and after lunch, and it’s where any info is given out and we get given safety and quality tips. We also get to stretch; for about 10 minutes everyone in the building stretches together. Then the stowers, which is what we are for the next few months, were gathered together and off we went to learn how to stow. On our shift there are only five workcampers that are stowers and the other three with us all seem to be really nice and very friendly. Laurie was our teacher today and at about 7.30 off we went to stow school. We learned how to use a hand held scanner and how to check for damage and all kinds of other exciting things. Then we took another simple test then it was off to work for real.
We were taken to Aqua and set free. Aqua is in the Nevada side of the building, it’s all on one floor, and has really narrow aisles. For the rest of the morning we took product of a cart, scanned it, and then found a place on a divided shelf (they call them bins) and put the product in the bin while scanning the bin barcode.  It’s not quite that simple (there is bin etiquette to take into account), but it is that boring.  It wasn’t too complicated to figure out what to do but the scanner does have a nasty habit of beeping a lot – is it something I’m doing wrong?
After lunch we got to do the same thing but in Tan which is in the Utah side of the building and a million miles from aqua. The ground level of the building is 800,000 sq feet, and there are two more floors in most areas so every section has a name, colour, letter and number; it’s going to take some figuring out I can tell you. This afternoon was pretty much like this morning only in a much bigger area, but it wasn’t too bad.

Mike: Considering this is one of the smaller warehouses, some of the other ones are 4 times larger,
I can't imagine!

Whoa, who knew five o’clock was so early in the morning. It was still dark and more than a little bit chilly but I managed to drag myself out of bed in plenty of time to get to work by 6.45 a.m. From where we are staying we have to drive about 30 miles to get to the Amazon fulfillment center so at least I had that time to drink plenty of coffee; by the time we got to Fernley I felt almost human.
When we arrived there was already a long line of workcampers waiting in the lobby; we couldn’t get in out of the cold because we needed cards to get through the turnstiles so we all stood around waiting for someone to come get us. Someone did around quarter to 7, and we were all herded into a conference room; there are about 65 or so starting today but I think they are planning on employing around 350 workcampers here this year.
The first order of business was to hike from one end of the building to the other – on the outside – to sit in another room and wait to have our names called. We were called in groups of 10, alphabetically by first name, and we got to smile for the camera. We had to have our pictures taken for our badges that we get to swipe or scan every five minutes or so so that those upstairs know where we are at every minute of every day.
Since M comes before R Mike was called first and that was the last we saw of each other for a few hours while we attended SAFETY SCHOOL. The things I learned at safety school are mind blowing, or maybe attending made me want to blow my brains out? Anyway, everyone had to do it, and they showed us how to push a three tier cart the correct way, how to use a box cutter the correct way (it has a blunt end so I’m not sure what damage I could do if I used it the wrong way), how to lift a package the correct way, and the best one of all, how to use a folding step stool the correct way.  Only a single step though as we aren’t certified to use a two stepper or a ladder!
After safety school we had to take a multiple choice test which I think was impossible to fail, then we were taken back to a conference room and got to have lunch. Little did we know that the best was yet to come.
After lunch we filled out a bunch of forms and then we got to watch videos about more safety stuff and other stuff and sexual harassment stuff – it didn’t make a big impression to be honest. We got introduced to a bunch of people who in a place this size we might never see again, and then we got to leave.
Our first day didn’t involve anything too strenuous but I’m sure we’ll make up for that in the coming weeks.

Mike: Wow! I learned sooo! much!

We didn’t do much today other than take a drive to Fernley to find out where the Amazon facility is and too see how long the drive will be taking us. We have to drive about 30 miles there and back everyday, but fortunately it is freeway the entire way and there doesn’t seem as though there’ll be too much traffic on the road.
It took us about half an hour to get from the park to the front door of the warehouse and despit e the fact we have to make the drive everyday we work, I am still glad that we are staying in Sparks and not in Fernley. We drove around Fernley for a little bit, and other than a Walmart and a Lowes there is very little in the town. At least where we are staying at there’s lots of shopping and restaurants and other things to do – that’s if we have the energy to do any of them.
We spent the rest of the day lounging around and getting ready to rejoin the workforce tomorrow.

Mike: Piece of cake!

We took a walk around the marina this morning as we hadn’t yet had a chance to check it out even though it’s so close to us. We didn’t go immediately when we got up as it was too chilly – who knew it would be down in the 40’s at this time of the year in Nevada? I suppose we are in the high desert and above 5,000 feet. Anyway, we took a swift stroll all the way around the marina, which is about 2 miles in total. It’s a really nice place, especially for walking, running or biking, and there were loads of people doing just that. There’s also a beach, but at 9 in the morning there weren’t too many people on it.
It was a lovely walk but I’m not sure how much we’ll be walking around it after we start working, I think we’ll be getting all the exercise we need there.

Mike: We're tuning up for work!

We got to see much of Sparks and a little of Reno today as we drove all over checking out storage for the trailer and truck for when we leave at Christmas. I think we visited about 10 different places and either they were not anywhere I’d want to leave our home or they had no space available for us; I guess a lot of people put their RV’s and boats in storage here for the winter months. There is an outdoor storage facility right next door to us that is owned by the same people that has some space. Although it’s not covered, the advantage of it being so close is that it  would make the process of putting it into storage simple, but there are a few more that we have to check out before we decide. Do we lead a fun life or what?

Mike: We had good Thai food today for lunch! Yum!

We left California this morning for the last time in a while; we don’t plan on coming back until sometime next year. We didn’t rush too much getting ready as we didn’t really have a long drive today, but we were still ready to go by nine. We drove the miles back to Highway 20 and from there we headed East for about 60 miles along a road that was more up and down than it was even. When we left the park today we were at around 900 feet in elevation, and by the time we got to I80 I think we were at close to 5,000 feet – quite a climb over a relatively short distance, but not the highest point we got to today. As we drove further east the terrain changed quite drastically, instead of being farmed fields and livestock it became much more mountainous and really rocky; quite a change from what we have become used to over the past few months. We were driving on I80 after leaving highway 20, all the while climbing until we got to Donner Summit which was our highest point on our trip today at 7,227 feet. We stopped to wee wee at the summit, but didn’t feel the need to eat each other or anyone else!

Mike: FYI! Donner pass is where early settlers camped for the winter, but ran out of food and ate each other! Yummy!

After that it was all down hill, literally, until we got to Sparks. Nevada, where we will be spending the next 3 months (almost 3 anyway) provided we don’t get fired or quit before then.

We got to our new home a little before noon and went in to meet the folks in the office and get checked in. There was lots of paperwork and questions but the office staff was all really nice and helpful, as was the little dude who showed us to our space. The park is nice, all very clean and well kept, and I think our stay here will be most enjoyable providing Mike doesn’t do any damage to the astro turf – they appear to be quite protective of it here. So, until Christmas Eve 2012 we will be residing at space # 279 at the Sparks Marina RV Park.

We drove into Oregon House proper this morning and visited the 7th annual North Yuba Harvest Festival. It was basically a decent size farmer’s market with people selling foods and crafts, but it was ok, and we got to sample fake meat kebabs and delicious fudge. We didn’t buy much other than juicy nectarines and some organic salad greens that were grown at 5,000 feet (I didn’t realize that made a difference but they are definitely tasty).  The proceeds from the parking go to the Community Center so it was for a good cause and it got us out of the campsite for a while.

Mike: This is the most people I've seen in two weeks!

We finally made it down to visit Lake Mildred this morning which is not bad going since we’ve only been here about 10 days. We have every intention of going to check it out but we haven’t been getting up too early and then by the time we get going it’s already 90 degrees out and too hot to take a hike.
Well this morning I managed to get Mike up and motivated fairly early and so we headed out of our section, down the road to the beach area for dogs (Tal-y might have liked it as the water didn’t lap, but she’d have to keep an eye open for rattlers in the long grass), and then around one side of the lake. The path was a little narrow and broken up – definitely not for old folk – but it was a nice stroll along the waters’ edge. We didn’t see a soul the whole time we were out other than the geese on the lake. It was lovely and peaceful and made it seem like we are in the middle of nowhere – oh wait, we are in the flipping middle of nowhere!

Mike: This is what the early settlers saw. No civilization at all!

Lake Mildred

Resting

More of Lake Mildred

Checking out the dock

I was making dinner tonight and heard some rustling outside the front door; I figured it was the birds on the feeder since the Jays especially make a lot of noise when they are throwing seed everywhere. Turns out that it was a different kind of bird than the ones we normally get eating from the feeder. I think it’s going to cost us a little more to keep this variety fed, but at least he seemed to like what was out there.

Mike: GO! AWAY! your just a tick magnet!

Ready for dinner

Yummy

Am i done or should I go back for more?

We got up earlyish this morning and took a short drive to Brownsville to check out their farmer’s market. Unfortunately the market ended around Labor Day and there was nothing else in Brownsville to see, or do, or anything. We drove through the town, which took all of 15 seconds, before turning round and heading back. We stopped and picked up some food for the humming birds before stopping at a little farmers’ market in Dobbins and picking up some food for ourselves – nice fresh eggs, and some dried strawberries that are to die for.

Mike: Wow, an Ace hardware in the middle of nowhere! It's like an oasis in the middle of the desert!
A farmer's market too, I don't think I can contain my excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It took us a little while to get packed up today; at least it took Mike a while to pack up the outside as he was so busy chatting to our neighbour. Everything takes him longer when he’s distracted as he’s not a very good multi-tasker!
We finally got on the road around 9.30 and headed north to Marysville before turning east. For the next 12 or so days we are going to be staying at the Lake of the Springs RV park in Oregon House, which is close to nothing and is right in the middle of nowhere.
We arrived mid morning and got checked in then drove right through the park and found a lovely pull-thru spot with full hook ups, 50 amp service and a clear view of the southern sky. The wi-fi is a little dodgy, but hey you can’t have everything thing. The park is huge, over 950 acres with a giant lake, but some of the spaces are a little narrow and we are quite close to our neighbour – I hope they are friendly!

After lunch we took a drive to the nearest store which is quite close and stocks a little of everything. As the only store in ‘town’ it’s a little pricey, but it beats having to drive back to Marysville, which is the closest decent sized town. We went looking for a farm store and after bumping along a dirt track and fording a stream we discovered that it’s only open on the weekend, oops.
It’s very quiet and peaceful here, with nothing but fields and hills around. I don’t think we’ll be doing too much or going too far these next days, we’ll just spend the time getting ready for work and doing all the jobs around here we’ve been putting off.

Mike: I think this is the most isolated we have been on our journeys! What a luxury!

We haven’t done anything note worthy these past few days other than take a drive or two to Roseville and hang out at the park here in Nicolaus and try to keep cool; it’s been on the high 90’s the whole time we’ve been here. Mike has been busy trying to keep ahead of the sap that is covering the truck from the trees we are parked under – a never ending battle. And we were flooded by the sprinklers, as the maintenance people are more interested in smoking ciggies than taking care of business, but other than that it’s been all quiet. We’ll be leaving in the morning for Oregon House, but not too early as the drive is only a little over an hour.

Mike: Well, sap this!

We took a drive into Roseville this morning as Mike had made appointments for us to wee in a cup. Our appointments weren’t until after lunch but we went early and did some shopping and finally managed to get Mike a new coffee cup that he likes. Then we headed over to the lab to take our drug test ready to start work next month. We got there and found only one person working there who was busy taking blood from someone, who arrived just before us, so we signed in and took a seat. We sat for about 20 minutes until she called us to check in. Then she proceeded to tell us that we weren’t at the right lab as they were not set up to administer drug tests even though there website allowed us to make the appointments just for that purpose. She gave us directions to their other location and called to see if we could get in, but as you can imagine Mike was not a happy chappy.
Before heading to the other location we stopped off at On the Border and ate lots of chips and salsa, which made Mike a little happier. When we got to the right place it wasn’t hardly at all busy, so we got checked in, drank lots of water, and then took it in turns leaving a sample (which I know was easier for mike than it was for me).
Not a very exciting day but at least we got one more thing out of the way before heading to Reno next month.

Mike: Why is it easier? I still have to drink water! Where's the pic's?

Our last drive today for a while and we headed back to Nicolaus just northwest of Sacramento. Since the drive today was only two hours we didn’t rush very much getting ready, and even took some time to skype my bestest girl (and she looked at the camera today too). Even so, we were still on the road well before 9 o’clock. For the first time this week we didn’t have to get on the interstate but instead took Highway 99 south through Chico and Yuba City. It was a lovely drive, the road was great with little traffic and we drove through farm country the whole way.

Fruit trees, Nut trees, who knows

Lake Minden in Nicolaus looks much the same as the last time we were here and it’s still just as bloody hot. There are more people here than I had expected there to be though but we had no problems getting a nice space that has a little shade. I think the next 10 days or so that we are going to spend here will be nice. We aren’t going to be doing much as we drove around a lot last time we were here, and after all the driving this past week we have to go easy on the gas for a while.

Mike: Xena sure likes the work, but boy-o-boy do I have to pay for it!

After getting caught up with Jaime, Lec and Vinnie this morning on our super duper wi-fi we headed north into Redding to check out the Sundial Bridge. We drove to Turtle Bay Park, parked and walked to the bridge and over it. It’s a glass decked pedestrian bridge over the Sacramento River, and the largest working sundial in the world. It’s really cool and really huge, the pylon is 210 feet tall. The bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava; the design allows people to enjoy the Sacramento River but at the same time it does not damage the salmon spawning habitat – who knew the Chinook salmon make four spawning runs along the Sacramento River each year!

Mike: Cool bridge! Can't tell time, but still a cool bridge! Becc, what a gnomon?

The pylon acts as a giant gnomon of a sundial and at the north end of the bridge is a dial plate where it casts its shadow. While we were visiting it seemed to be running about 15 minutes fast, or maybe it was us that were slow.

Is it 12.15 or 12.30?

Sacramento River from the Sundial Bridge

This afternoon we did a little shopping (I had to buy some shorts for this super hot weather) but before that we had a beautiful lunch at a little Thai restaurant in Redding, it was delicious.

We got up early today as we had the longest drive of the week to do and the one I had been least looking forward to of all the ones this week. We left Grant’s Pass by about 7.30, got back on the 5 and headed towards California. The drive today took us over four hours and almost the whole way we were climbing the mountain then going down the other side; at least it was Saturday and there wasn’t too much traffic on the road.
Just before crossing the border into California we crossed Siskiyou pass, which at 4,310 feet is the highest point on the I5 freeway; I tried to take a picture as proof but some silly trucker was parked in front of the sign. After the climb, which wasn’t all that bad really, we dropped down about 2,000 feet, entered into California and started the drive towards Shasta Lake. The lake, which is actually an artificial lake created by the construction of Shasta Dam, is California’s largest reservoir, and only Lake Tahoe and the Salton Sea are larger bodies of water in the state. We drove right over it and it was pretty impressive as it extended to both sides of us for what seemed like miles.

Mike: I wanted to stop off and see Bubba's place (we stopped there 2-1/2 years ago on our way to Canada) but Becc didn't think we could get our new larger rig in to the space! Oh, OK!

Lake Shasta

As well as having a beautiful lake here, Mount Shasta also dominates the skyline. At 14,179 feet it’s the 5th highest peak in California and it loomed over us as we drove along the freeway with clearly visible snow drifting down it’s sides.

Mount Shasta

After leaving Lake Shasta behind the next miles we easy, through Redding and into Red Bluff, where we easily found the park we are going to spend the next two nights at. We are staying at Durango Resorts here in Red Bluff and it actually feels and looks like a resort.  We were shown to our space, everything is paved, the grass is green, and all the utilities work perfectly, even the wi-fi is speedy. What more could we want, oh and it's right on the Sacramento River.

Durango RV resort

Xena waiting patiently to do some more work

Sacramento River

So now we are back in California for a few weeks. We had a good time up north, and especially enjoyed the coast of Oregon. The only disappointing thing over the past 7 weeks that we have spent in Oregon and Washington is that in all that time we only had rain one time, and that was for half an hour during the night. I was looking forward to seeing some of the wet stuff!

Mike: Can't prove it by me!

On the road again this morning for one more drive, this time to Grant’s Pass, Oregon, which yet again involved getting on the 5 and driving for three hours in pretty much a straight line. We got to the RV park not too long after noon and found that it is just off the freeway but almost right in the middle of the city. Again we have reserved a pull-thru so we can stay hooked up, and so it was another easy in. The side of the park that we are in is not too busy but it seems as though there are a lot of long term folks in the other side.
After eating lunch we took a stroll down the road, across the road, and up the road. We didn’t see too much other than about 15 fast food joints, and as the temperature is in the mid 90’s here we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon keeping cool inside and getting ready to leave extra early in the morning.

Mike: Man, its HOT!  Who' d a thought! Two months in Oregon/Washington, not a drop of rain!

Rogue Valley Overnighters RV Park

We said goodbye to Washington today after spending the past three or so weeks here. We got up fairly early, got packed up, dumped, got gassed up, and hit the 5 again. The drive was much the same as the last one, we headed south till we got to Albany in Oregon, about a 3 hour drive. Other than a few bathroom breaks along the way it was uneventful. 

The park we had booked into in Albany, the Blue Ox RV Park was situated right off the freeway so we had no trouble finding it. It was easy to get checked in and we had reserved a nice pull-thru site so getting parked and set up was stress free. It’s a nice place, clean and well maintained so that everything works the way it should. We are only spending the one night here so once again we haven’t unhooked, and after a short walk around the park in 95 degree heat we have come back into the air conditioning and Mike at least doesn’t plan to do anything else today. 

Mike: Except ride the Blue Ox! Ya-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ride 'em cowboy

Blue Ox RV park

Completely horizontal!