Fascinated by the Sugar Beet Harvest

When we did our first peak work camping gig for Amazon in Coffeyville, Kansas way back in 2011, we met a fellow camper who started later than we did because he had just finished working the sugar beet harvest up in North Dakota.  He and his wife both worked, and told us they had cleared close to $6,000 in the 2-3 weeks they were up there.  Well, dollar signs for eyes, we've been interested ever since, although we have not yet managed to get our proverbial butts up there since then.

My friend Beth Lafata worked at Amazon with us back in 2014.  That was enough for her, and she has not returned but I follow her travels in the Tin Lizzy (her little travel trailer) and she worked the beet harvest this year.  Here's one of her videos on the subject:

Another work camper who did the beet harvest this year goes by Adventure Van Man.  He lives in his van and makes videos about his travels.  Here's his perspective of the job:

This one fascinated me because this camper worked the night shift inside the lab where they do the testing for sugar in the beets. 

Given that hubby is 73 but really wants to experience working the beet harvest at least once, we probably ought to put it on our high priority list for 2017 because we sure aren't getting any younger.

For us the 2 things that will have the biggest impact on our ability to do this will be finding somebody to keep an eye on our son (adult, disabled, living with us) and being able to withstand the cold.  I'm not as worried about the cold for myself as I am for hubby.  However, there are some things I know would be good for staying warm on the job.  Here are some examples, courtesy of Amazon. (Affiliate links - if you purchase from Amazon, I get a small commission that does not affect your shopping experience nor does it increase the price you pay.) 

I imagine that after living in Texas for so long, we'll both need to buy cold weather clothes if we decide to try the "unbeetable experience" in 2017.  In the meantime, we still have another 8 weeks of working at the warehouse to get through.  

We've heard from other campers that sometimes they keep a few of us on into January or February to help do an entire inventory of the facility.  Naturally hubby has already told them we will stay.  I know staying would be a good thing financially - not only would it give us more time in a free campsite and money in the bank, it would also extend the time we are covered by the health insurance without having to pay the cobra costs.  Still ... it makes me tired to even think about it.

Time for another cup of coffee, I guess.  

OK, so it says tea - don't judge me.  It's the biggest cup I own and I need a LOT of coffee some mornings.  I bet you can relate.