Get Out of the Car!
Issues for the seasonal worker that have no motor vehicle. Whether it's an environmental, political, or financial decision many seasonal workers do not have their own vehicle. How easy is it to get to a place? Get around?See More
My CoolWorks
Living & Working in Great Places
Thanks for being here! The six of us at CoolWorks welcome you and wish you success in finding your Jobs in Great Places®!
Keith Larson's Groups
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Ski Resort Jobs
51 members
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Book Club
34 members
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Alaska Addicts
295 members
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The Tack Room
25 members
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Photo Phanatics
63 members
Keith Larson's Discussions
Will Glacier Bay Lodge Survive?
Started Jun 22, 2013
Do you have any year-round strategies?
11 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by Jason Mar 31, 2014.
Keeping Up, or Who's Your Concessionaire?
31 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by 40Rob Oct 5, 2013.
Keith Larson's Page
Keith Larson's Photos
Profile Information
- Hometown:
- Oshkosh, Wisconsin
- About Me:
- A little more than a year ago, (hey, it's been ten years now) I decided to take my cooking skills and hit the road....and I've built some new skills along the way. It's all about new people, new places and new experiences.
- Last Seasonal Job:
- Wall Drug
- Favorite Seasonal Job:
- Summer--Alaska Wildland Adventures; Winter--The KL Bar
- Where have you lived and worked?
- Signal Mountain Lodge; Summer 2006 Breakfast Line Cook
Tamarack Resort--Seven Devils; 06-07 Line Cook Sports Bar
Tamarack Resort--Morels; Summer 2007 Line Cook Fine dining
Kay El Bar Guest Ranch; 07-08 and 08-09 Second Chef and
Kay El Bar Guest Ranch; 09-10 and 10-11 Head Chef
Basin Harbor Club; Summer 2008 Ranger Room Breakfast Buffet Chef de Partie
Sheep Mountain Lodge; Summer 2009 Baker plus
Denali Gift Companies; Summer '10 Customer service associate
Grand Canyon North Rim; Summer '11 Assistant Deli Manager
Alta's Rustler Lodge; Alta, Utah 11-12 Line Cook
AWA Kenai Riverside Lodge; Summer '12-13-14 Lead Breakfast Cook
Rancho de los Caballeros; Winter '12/13 Cook
Concordia Eco Resort; Mid-Sep/Mid-Oct '13 Work Exchange Program
Concordia Eco Resort; October 2014 Work Exchange
The Goldminer's Daughter Lodge Winter '14-'15 Line cook
The Goldminer's Daughter Lodge Winter '15-'16 Lead Line cook
Sanders On Mackinac; Summer 2015; Fudge Maker
Wall Drug; Summer 2016; Restaurant
Rancho de los Caballeros; Winter '16-'17 Cook
Los Caballeros Golf Club; Summer 2017 Cook
Rancho de los Caballeros; Winter '17-'18 Sous Chef
- Dream Job:
- Travel writer
Keith Larson's Blog
Random Days in the Life: Summer 2016 Wall Drug, Part 2
Posted on September 3, 2016 at 11:08am 1 Comment 1 Like
This summer I am working at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. In Part 1, I did an overview of three random days. In this part, I'll do 2 more...the 2nd days of August and September. I might do an edit at the end of the season for one more day...but sometimes that part of the season gets a bit hectic.
Part 1 is here:…
Continue Random Days in the Life: Summer 2016 Wall Drug, Part 1
Posted on September 3, 2016 at 11:00am 0 Comments 1 Like
This summer I am working at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. Maybe you have seen the signs if you have ever travelled on I-90. I first heard about the company because of those signs. It was in an advertising class in college. Several years ago I was making a trip across the country and was going to spend a weekend in Pierre. Seeing those signs along the way reminded me of the place and looked up opportunities for seasonal work. I…
Continue Life with CoolWorks....Updated
Posted on August 7, 2015 at 8:00pm 2 Comments 3 Likes
I had been cooking for more than 10 years when I first heard of people that would work seasonally. I was a sous chef at a local resort in Wisconsin and was training a cook for the summer. He told me about how he had worked at the Grand Canyon and at Yosemite National Parks, but that summer he had two sisters getting married and his grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary and decided to stay home for the summer.
A couple of years later in 1996, I was surfing the internet and came…
A Week in the Life Summer 2015 - Day 2
Posted on July 13, 2015 at 7:25pm 1 Comment 1 Like
This morning I decided to walk downtown to catch a ferry over to St Ignace. It's the small town on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the northern point of the Mackinac Bridge. There are also ferries that go to the lower peninsula, that town is Mackinaw City. First, I went to the shoreline where Market…
Continue Day 1 - A Week in the Life Summer 2015
Posted on July 12, 2015 at 9:30pm 0 Comments 2 Likes
This summer I am working, living and exploring Mackinac Island, Michigan. Sanders on Mackinac is where I am employed as a Fudge Maker. And people that come to the island eat a LOT of fudge. So much, in fact,…
ContinueLatest Activity
Get Out of the Car!
Issues for the seasonal worker that have no motor vehicle. Whether it's an environmental, political, or financial decision many seasonal workers do not have their own vehicle. How easy is it to get to a place? Get around?See More
Keith Larson replied to ELIZABETH ONDRUS's discussion Abroad/ Islands/ States"Ken - I was at Concordia for a workaway and then almost worked a season. It was destroyed by the hurricanes that went through. I kept in contact with a couple of people in Coral Bay and they didn't have power for six months. …"
Keith Larson replied to ELIZABETH ONDRUS's discussion Applying for jobs"When to apply depends a lot on where you want to apply. There are some places that begin to look for the next year as soon as the current year is over.
Most companies, however, are like what the linked page says: January through March is…"
Keith Larson replied to ELIZABETH ONDRUS's discussion Abroad/ Islands/ States"It's not easy to obtain work visas to work in other countries. There are a few ways. There are age and other limitations for an Australian or New Zealand year long visa. I'm older than the program allows so I didn't…"
Keith Larson left a comment for Judi Murray"I'm glad to hear everything is going well. I'm in Arizona helping to get a small dude ranch to re-open this fall. They closed during the height of the recession 7 years ago."
Judi Murray left a comment for Keith Larson"Good morning Keith, thank you for checking in! I am loving my first season and safe to say have fallen in love with Vermont and the people.
I am enjoying the work, long hours, but enjoying it. The Beach family, from my…"
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Good morning Keith, thank you for checking in! I am loving my first season and safe to say have fallen in love with Vermont and the people.
I am enjoying the work, long hours, but enjoying it. The Beach family, from my prespective, are a delight to work for. As you said there are a lot of weddings, which I manage as banquet manager. We are now in social season so we are full family reunions and returning guests.
if you know of anyone still looking for work for the remainder of summer/fall we are still hiring for all positions.
Hope your summer is going well. Where are you?
Have a good day
Good morning Keith,
Thank you for the feedback on giving up my home. It sounds doable, and will probably do so after I finish the summer/fall season at Basin Harbor. Hopefully I will have success finding a winter position that starts December/January.
Once again, thank you.
Judi
anyone there can suggest contact for Kitchen, or Porter Matt
I lived in Seward for 7yrs. and Kodiak for one summer..
You are my hero!
Hey Keith - we're working on a few stories, and bloggers/writers/authors would like to hear from the coolest of the cool adventurous job seekers / employees. If you are willing to share a sentiment or two about your passion for jobs in great places, will you please give Courtenay a call or drop an email? 406.270.2949 or courtenay@bigskypublicrelations.com Thanks for playing such a nice role in the MyCW Community too! All the best, Patty@coolworks.com
awesome thanks for the advice I checked out your pictures!
Hey, I am new to coolworks, I have applied for a job at Rancho de los Caballeros. I actually got a call today but don't have a formal interview for a couple weeks, I'm assuming after the chat I had today I will most likely get the job. I read the blog you posted about your experience there. Just wondering if you have any advice for me! I have applied for the pantry or line cook position. Thanks!
Hey, maybe we will meet up sometime in Cooper Landing :)
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