Living & Working in Great Places

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At 2:42pm on August 3, 2009, Julie Claus said…: hi becky, i am also hoping to work at zion or bryce , i was supposed to start at bryce this may, but had to delay till next year, i was wondering if you started at zion yet and what you think of it? any info would be great. thanks julie

At 3:31pm on April 28, 2009, Tami said…: I'm not sure what you mean about "my place"??? If you mean where I will be living at Sol Duc, well it's dorm-type accomodations. The dorms are above the restaurant. I hope I get a view of the pools. Ciao

At 2:00am on April 6, 2009, Tami said…: Hi Becky - have you applied yet? Must I remind you that it is already April?? I will be working at Sol Duc in Washington this year. Maybe I'll go to Bryce next year and finally meet you! Ciao for now - Tami

At 11:37am on June 17, 2008, Pat Bradford said…: The hiring process is really simple. There are online applications, and they usually have all the positions filled two or three months ahead of the "season" starting date. In other words, almost all of the seasonal positions in Zion (March thru October) are filled by the end of January. No face-to-face interviews, but i did speak to David (and several of the other properties I was offered positions at) by phone. I received the job offer by email stating my wages, starting and ending date, etc. I had to sign the offer and return within a week or so. Then I just showed up for work on the day specified! Really smooth and easy. The hardest part was picking out which RV site to take, since I arrived early enough in the season to have a good choice.
The thing to remember with most of the jobs in National Parks is that they are not near cities (shopping, movies, etc). Zion is one of the few with a city (Springdale) only 5 miles from the lodge. It's small, but has almost anything you need.
Zion also provides a free shuttle starting April 1st and running through September, which will take you into town. It runs from 6:30 in the morning and the last shuttle leaves the Lodge at around 10:00 at night. Quite a few of the employees don't even have their own cars. They run a van over to St. George (65 miles away) once a week so employees can go to the Walmart.

As you can tell, I really miss Zion....the only thing out here at Death Valley is the General Store. The closest town is Pahrump, NV 60 miles away. Besides the fact that we have already hit 120 degrees and it's just too hot to get out and do anything on your day off! They do have a pool here, but you fry really quickly unless you stay in the water.

Glad to help....any other questions, feel free to ask.

Pat

At 8:43am on June 17, 2008, Becky said…: Thank you for your input Pat--really appreciate it--will keep your comments handy. Plan to apply in Jan. of 09 as I plan to retire in July of 09--hopefully this will give me the time necessary to consider options. Did you have a face to face interview? How are you offered a position? Most interested in any and all comments available.

Thanks again,

Becky

At 3:02pm on June 14, 2008, Pat Bradford said…: I worked at Zion for two months...had to leave because of my allergies. It's a canyon, so most of the pollen, etc. just stays! I loved workiing there (in the gift shop as Retail Lead). David Johnson, in Human Resources was fantastic to work with and was very concerned with getting any problems worked out. I have my own RV, so didn't have a problem with meals, but the main problem people have working at these places is the meals provided...same old stuff, and not the best.
I transferred to Death Valley (more pay and better price on rent), plus they will hire you full time, with benefits after 90 days. Good benefits, too, which I need. To sum up, I love the lifestyle, and the pay is actually pretty good. They do a background check, but it really is a pretty fast hire. You can search all the available jobs at all their properties at Xanterra.com.

At 4:48pm on May 27, 2008, Ron Wheatley said…: I'm planning on pulling th epin next year myself. I'm looking at working in either Bryce or Zion the first year or so. My wife and I live in Las Vegas and she can't retire for a couple more years. We thought if I worked one of the nearby parks she could drive up on weekends. We typically ride our motorcycle up to the Zion area for lunch on Saturdays and thego hiking for a while. Maybe someday we will all work together.

At 3:00pm on May 26, 2008, Ron Wheatley said…: Hi Becky,
I haven't worked at Zion or Bryce, but they are a couple of my favorite parks. I was camping in Bryce last summer and had a chance to talk to one of the men working in the lodge restaurant. He really liked it. He said he had been a school teacher in Detroit for several years but got tired of it and went to work for Xanterra more than 10 years ago and never left. I also spoke to the restaurant matredee(?). She was loving her summer working at the lodge. She said she wished she had started there years eariler. They convinced me that, when I retire I should take a shot at it - now I can't wait. You'll also love the area. You can tour four national parks relatively close by and the evenings at Bryce are cool for the most part. Let me know how it goes. Ineed something to keep my motivation strong.

At 9:12pm on May 19, 2008, Margret Spears said…: Was it hard to get accepted and how long did it take? I haven't applied yet, can't decide where to start first. I would like to find something in Sep., I know that is off season for most places but I would be willing to go full time for now.

At 11:44am on May 19, 2008, Becky said…: Hi Leslie, hope all is going well and I can certainly understand you not being able to write while you are learning a new job--can I ask what you decided to do at the park you are working at? Perhaps you can remind me where you are? I am working at my desk and was hoping to hear from you by now. Will keep in touch.

B

At 7:44pm on May 13, 2008, Becky said…: I agree--let's keep communicating. I am very interested in learning how you are doing as I really have a great interest in potentially do the same in about a year or so. Currently I have a full time job as an insurance broker and let me tell you, I can't wait for the day I can escape my corporate life. I commute about 1 1/2 each day, one way. The only good thing is that lately our boss has allowed us to work 2 days at home--this not only saves gas but also is less grueling as I do not have to get up at 4:30 am!!!

Whenever you have a chance, please let me know more about you and how you are finding your new job. I will need to review your profile to recall some details of your profile.

Thank you for answering my original email. Good luck on the job!!!

Becky

At 7:16am on May 9, 2008, Leslie said…: hi Becky
It is my intent to keep communication going. It will probably be sporadic as I start working more. I will go to my new job tomorrow. Thanks for showing interest in what I'm doing.