Sometimes you go into something with high hopes and a positive attitude but you soon realize it just wasn't going to work.  No, we are not talking about our RV life!  We are talking about our latest workamping gig.  We signed up and interviewed for our latest workamping gig way back in March when we were in Mesa, AZ.  We had a virtual face to face interview with the local Lifetouch leadership team that we would be working with in WI and came away from that interview with a really good feeling that this would be a good fit for us, and it was...except for the fact that because of past surgeries and medical issues, my body did not agree!  We started with training and shadowing on a Monday and by Wednesday it was very apparent that I was not going to make it.  We felt really bad not being able to finish out our assignment but we finished out the week and left our company paid campground spot on Labor Day.

For anyone considering workamping with Lifetouch, your benefits are great!  You get your FHU campsite, every hour paid, pay for travel time, mileage and a gas card as well as company shirts to wear.  The job itself is taking school and ID pictures for Pre-K thru 12 but we mostly had Pre-K through 8.  We were split between two markets so our travel times were going to be longer, but we were paid for that time.  We had lots of training and shadowing to set up the lights/camera and backdrops and props.  This would be a great workamping position for someone who can stand for a good amount of time, set up the kits and work with children.  We met a couple other workampers and they really enjoyed it!  

From there we headed back up to our favorite family moochdocking spot at my Dad's and are spending the month of September there.  The peaceful setting gives us time to relax and visit with family, getting lots of hand and foot card games in!  

​We also had a going away party for my sister and her boyfriend who are moving to CA for a couple years while he finishes his studies at Stanford.  Always good to see extended family!

We also got to see the nearly finished resto-mod 1938 Lincoln Zephyr my dad has been restoring.  It is a far cry from the state he bought it in.  Really a beauty!

We took a day to go explore a beautiful park in Fond du Lac nearby.  Lakeside Park is located on the shores of Lake Winnebago.  This 400 acre park is a real gem!  There is a marina, lighthouse, ball diamonds, petting zoo, fountains, playgrounds, picnic areas, kayak rentals and a meandering river through the park with several bridges.  The landscaping is beautiful and well cared for.  We were there on a Sunday and volunteers were busy deadheading plants and picking up trash.

While we are in the area, we also started giving the boys their Christmas presents.  This year is all about "experience" presents.  Our youngest, Brady, has always loved Hamilton, knows every single song and has always wanted to go see the Broadway production in NY.  Well we did the next best thing and took the boys to see the Broadway production in Chicago.  It was an amazing show, with seats in the first row center of the first balcony, we had a great view of the stage!  The CIBC theatre is a beautiful, historic theatre dating back to the gilded age.  The show was amazing and had you laughing and crying.  Yes grown men were wiping their eyes!  After the show, we went to The Italian Village, one block over for a wonderful italian meal.  This restaurant dates back to 1927 and is still family owned.  What a great way to spend a Sunday in Chicago!  Nicholas' "experience" Christmas gift will be later this year in TX.  Again, something he has always wanted to do.  

We also were fortunate enough to get 4 free tickets to the Milwaukee Brewers game through VetTix.  If you are a military service member and have not looked into this program, it is awesome and you need to!  Companies and individuals donate tickets to things like sporting events, shows, concerts, etc. for these military members to use.  We have mentioned this in prior posts and cannot say enough good things about it!  We took Brady and my Dad, since Nicholas had to work.

Rick has also had time to put together a little invention he has been thinking about that will help him dump tanks with the macerator with relative ease.  For the macerator to work, it needs 12 volt power and having the truck right near the macerator to power off the truck battery isn't always going to be possible, so Rick made a hook up cord to solve for that.  Some folks do mount a power receptacle in the RV bay or power off the RV battery, but Rick liked this solution for greater flexibility.  He used a 25 ft, softer rubber coated, 14 gauge ext cord, cut off the end and wired in battery clamps attached to a battery tender cord, that wired into the extension cord.  He did cut the battery tender cord as well to wire in a 12 volt switch where he can easily turn power on/off to the macerator. On the other end of the extension cord he wired in 12 volt, male/female connectors that attached to the connectors on the macerator.  On tip on this wiring configuration is to keep black battery clamp to black wire all the way through the line.  This set up works really slick and we are now able to dump tanks just about anywhere, giving us greater flexibility in the locations we camp.

​He also replaced thecabin filter in our F350 truck and a missing clip on the outside refrigerator vent.  

​We are wrapping up our time here in WI and will soon be making our way south.  As luck would have it, now that we are no longer committed to a workamping gig for October, we have been able to sign up for TWO Grand Design rallies in Arkansas and Texas.  We are super excited to see some Grand Design owners we met at a previous rally and meet some new ones!  We are also meeting up with friends in MO on our way to the rallies.  

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We wrapped up our Scout Camp workamping mid-August and readied for our next adventure.  We had a great time at the camp and will be coming back next summer to be their family camp hosts.

On a drizzly Thursday morning we packed up and said good-bye to our camp friends.  We pointed the RV northeast and began our trek to the UP of MI.  We had a 5 1/2 hour drive ahead of us across a section of NE WI that we have not traveled and were excited to see the scenery of the north woods near Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.  

We arrived at our destination of Indian Lake State Park in Manistique, MI mid-afternoon.  We had been to the park 5 years earlier with the same group for our annual family camping trip.  This year the group was a bit bigger and we had right around 30 people and about 10 sites booked in one section of the campground, which we all booked 6 months ago.  The greater Ciriacks clan was definitely taking over!

Indian Lake is the fourth largest lake in the UP and is six miles long and 3 miles wide, but is only 18 ft deep at its deepest point.  That means that all along the shoreline, you can easily walk out into the lake for a bit.  It is a beautiful lake and made a fantastic backdrop for alot of wonderful sunset pictures

We were the first to arrive and got settled into our spacious site in the back row, up against the woods.  Because of our size, this was the best choice for us.  We still had a view of the lake, but our other family members would all either be on the middle row or with a front row with a beautiful lake view.  

We would be staying 10 days with only electric hook up so we made sure to fill water to the brim and made ourselves familiar with where we could refill water, luckily across the road from our site and readied our lucy loo for dumping mid-stay.  The water option did not have a threaded fill spigot but no worries with our Water Bandit.  That thing has saved us several times and this trip was no different.

On Friday folks began arriving and over the next 3 days, the entire gang, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and one son arrived.  It was quite a motley crew from 3 different states.  We always have a great time together and picked up right where we left off!  We braved cold, windy nights and had some great nights around the campfire.  Even had a big, loveable lab to keep us warm! ​

Alot of games were played, like hand and foot card games, washer box tournaments and alot of shenanigans all around!  What happens in Indian Lake , stays in Indian Lake!

We also had a couple excursions in the U.P.  Some brave soles took a evening trek up to Lake Superior in search of the Yooperlites rocks.  Another day we went to check out the old water tower and historical museum in Manistique.  

There were some beautiful paintings on buildings in downtown Manistique as well as a beautiful marble living monument in the shape of the U.P.

Manistique also has a lovely boardwalk walking path along Lake Michigan and we spent a morning there admiring the lake and lighthouse.

One of our favorite things to see in the area is the Big Spring called Kitch-Iti-Kipi located in Palms Brook State Park.  This natural spring pumps 16,000 gallons of crystal clear water per minute.  The park is just the spring and a great gift shop with delicious ice cream.  But what it lacks in size it makes up for in awesomeness!  The spring is soo crystal clear that you can see the bottom, the spring bubbling below, the large trout that live in the spring and all of the wood that lies beneath.  The best part is that there is a large raft that you ride across the spring while someone turns the wheel to propel you across on a tethered rope.  The middle of the raft is open to view the fish and spring below.  There is no charge, except for state park admittance.  We really enjoy going there every time we are in the area.

Our big excursion of our stay in the U.P. was a day trip to Munising for a Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore cruise.  It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and probably the warmest day while we were there.  It is really hard to describe the beauty of the Pictured Rocks, but we were in awe at the beauty, changing color and uniqueness of the cliffs.  We hope to go back someday and check out all of the trails and overlooks to get a view from the land.  We'll let the pictures do the talking here.

Our time with family in the U.P. went by too quick!  We are looking forward to our get together next year!

Up next...on to our next workamping gig...umm, maybe...at least for a little while.  Stay tuned for that story!

​SHOP AMAZON HERE
Would you like to help support our blog and keep these updates coming?  It is easy to help, just do your Amazon shopping through the link above.  You still get all your Amazon Prime benefits and the prices are the same.  Since we are in the Amazon affiliate program,  any shopping you do through our link, provides a little kickback to support this blog.  
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