Workamping – Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center
Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center – Fort Davis, TX
We finally took our adventures a little farther west. We’ve traveled to the American Southwest several times, we had planned to return someday as fulltime RVers and this was our first opportunity – The Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute in Fort Davis, TX.
Applying
Once again we found this listing at Workers-On-Wheels. We applied for the position online and provided a written workamping resume. This time we also provided a video resume. We received an email back, very quickly, from the volunteer director, Lisa. She provided us with information about the nature center through email, and we confirmed our arrival time.
Job Duties
CDRI is a Nature Center residing on 500+ acres in the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas. The Nature Center has a botanical garden, cactus greenhouse, bird blind for birders, several hiking trails, a mining exhibit, geology exhibit, information center and gift shop. As volunteers, we were required to work about 3 days per week and assist in other areas based on our interest and skill. For example, I helped make walking sticks (which were sold in the gift shop) and helped manage their social media accounts. However, the majority of the duties were in the visitor center/gift shop. Our duties included greeting guests, providing information regarding the site and cash-out gift shop purchases & entrance fees. During the summer the nature center has their big annual fundraiser. They have a Chuck-wagon cookout and Auction. They need all the help they can get for this event. We worked the beer table. The Chuck-wagon cook is an award-winning cook and it shows. The food is outstanding! The Nature Center employs a small staff but relies on a lot of volunteers….all of which were very nice to work with.
Living
There is only one RV spot on site. The RV site is fairly level on gravel, inside a fence that wraps around the entire botanical garden. The site is next to the maintenance shed. The site has 50 amp hook-up (30amp will need an adapter), water, sewer, free wi-fi. Your TV antenna will not pick up any television channels out here. We only picked up two radio stations. One of them being Marfa Public Radio.
The main gate to the nature center is locked after hours. Host campers have access to unlock. You’ll be living within a short drive from three small towns; Fort Davis, Alpine, and Marfa. Alpine is the largest of the three towns. Each town has a Porter’s supermarket, Alpine has two. Porter’s is a small local grocery chain that is adequate. Alpine also has a True Value Hardware store that was very valuable to us during our stay.
Perks
For a volunteer workamping job, there are a lot of perks. You’ll have access to the maintenance building that includes a washer/dryer, and bathroom with shower. The free wi-fi is an amazing bonus this remote. The most amazing perk is just living in the area. The scenery behind the RV site is incredible. We saw aoudads, javelinas, deer and countless birds from the site. You’ll have access to a 500+ acre nature center after hours, all to yourself. The area is home to several sites: Fort Davis National Historic Site, The McDonald’s Observatory, The Museum of The Big Bend, Davis Mountains State Park, a beautiful 80 mile Davis Mountains scenic drive, a couple hours from Big Bend National Park, authentic Mexican diners, and some of the darkest skies in the country.
Conclusion
We absolutely loved our time spent as host campers at CDRI. Staff was super nice and we had the opportunity to explore an amazing region. We enjoyed all the small towns and will definitely return to work again at CDRI or just visit the area. We made lifelong friends and saw another beautiful region, isn’t that what this lifestyle is all about?
Images from Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center
