Retired couple travel country to seasonal and scenic jobs

After Bob Krause retired from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 2005, he and his wife Marna decided they wanted to travel. They had no desire to slow down or stop working completely.

They simply wanted to work on their terms.

After some discussion and a few clicks of the mouse Marna Krause said, they found a wealth of knowledge on various websites that are geared towards people who are looking for summer work.

“In 2005, when he retired, we were planning on selling everything before the housing market quit but that didn’t work out,” she said. “So we moved to Pahrump, bought some property, built a house. Then three years ago, I applied to Death Valley to work for the winter.”

Marna Krause found another link to a website to apply for Yellowstone National Park Campground, and worked there from June through September in 2012.

“It’s so perfect for anyone, of any age,” Krause said. “We get the benefits of traveling and seeing family as well as the experiences.”

There are a variety of websites that are dedicated or geared towards those with recreational vehicles or who just want to work a few weeks or months out of the year.

Marna Krause said last year they worked at the Amazon factory in Fallon and were compensated about $7,000 for 10 weeks of work.

“We just loved it,” she said. “We really enjoyed meeting new people and the pay was great.”

Coolworks.com, a website geared almost exclusively towards those with RV’s, was founded by Bill Berg, who, according to the website, began working in January 1986 as the director of business operations for Yellowstone Park Service Stations. After 13 seasons of assembling, training and disassembling a seasonal staff, Berg writes that he truly saw how the experiences would change people’s lives for the better. Berg writes that it is “beyond priceless, seeing how the experiences shaped each person’s life.”

In 1995, Berg got the idea for Cool Works in 1995 and states he continues to get great satisfaction out of “offering life-changing jobs in great places.” The website states that Bill lives with his wife Colette near the entrance of Yellowstone and their search dog Sula, who is retired and Chapter, who is in training.

“It’s just so wonderful,” said Marna Krause of the various experiences. We get to meet different people, seeing the country, experiencing Yellowstone was just wonderful.”

She said she would work in the park’s office and see bears walking by regularly.

I have so many pictures of the bears walking right in front of my office window,” she said. “It’s just a wonderful experience and we get paid pretty well.”

Marna Krause said she would encourage anyone who wishes to travel or experience some of the nature this country has to offer to apply.

“The great thing is that some of these places will even pay for your RV rent while you’re working for them,” she said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.”

The couple and their two dogs will be leaving for Minnesota this summer.

For more information, go to www.workamper.com, www.coolworks.com or www.snowbirdrvtravels.com.