Housesitting In the Pine Forest In Rapid City, USA

Details

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  Description

  We hosted Workawayers for almost ten years at the Victorian bed-and-breakfast we ran in Deadwood, but we sold it several years ago and relocated 50 miles south to a house on 1.4 acres of pine forest in Rapid City. Now we do remote freelance work from home, work on the garden, travel whenever we can make the time.
  
  That's where you come in!
  
  When we travel, we like to have a housesitter to water our plants, feed our cat, care for the garden, and generally make sure that nothing burns down.
  
  In exchange, we can offer you your own little apartment. The bottom level of the house has a large bedroom with a queen bed, a living area, a kitchenette, and its own private entrance that opens up into the forest. We have high-speed wireless internet and a large enough driveway to accomodate a van or small RV, if you're traveling with one.
  
  We'll generally keep our travel schedule up to date here, but feel free to reach out even if we don't have a specific month marked down. We sometimes travel at the last minute, and it doesn't hurt to check!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Pets

  

  Culture

  

  Plant care

  

  Performing arts

  

  Architecture

  

  Books

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Gardening

  

  Photography

  

  Animals

  

  Nature

  

  Camping

  

  Mountain

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Rapid City is relatively small with just 80,000 residents. Overall, we're in a pretty rural outdoorsy setting, on the edge of a forest in a small mountain chain, which makes us a fun way to see some of the wild lands of America away from the cities. It's a region and subculture in the United States that most visitors don't ever get to see!

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  Help

  If we're traveling, we're mostly just after someone who can keep our cat alive and happy! We currently just have one: Luna is scared of everything, but she starts demanding cuddles once she gets to know you. And frequent feedings, of course!
  
  Laura also loves plants, so we have lots of them. For the most part, the indoor plants just need water once a week. In summer, there's a large outdoor garden (a 20x40-foot enclosed space with several raised beds) that needs daily watering and maintenance. Also, we'll probably want someone to mow the lawn once a week or so in summer.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  French: Intermediate
  Spanish: Beginner

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  Accommodation

  The guest apartment on the lower level of the house is pretty self-contained. There's a private entrance at the back of the house, which you can reach from either side along the wrap-around deck, or you can access it through the house from near the garage. It has a large bedroom with queen bed, a living area with a TV and a dining room table, and a small kitchenette. It's a bit dark - aside from one large window in the bedroom, there's no other natural light - but it's private, quiet, and cool year-round.
  
  The house is fairly large - about 3,200 square feet. We have our bedroom on the top floor, along with our offices. There's a kitchen and open living space with a fireplace on the main level. There's a media room next to the garage, and a studio addition where Laura has her noodle workshop. The house has solar panels that generate all the electricity we need in the summer. We have EV hookups in our garages.
  
  We really like the neighborhood. It's forested and feels fairly rural: houses here have about 1.5 acres each, with mostly wild landscape and very few cultivated lawns. You'll often see deer and turkey in the neighborhood, and sometimes foxes, bats, and other wildlife. It's a nice walkable loop. But we're also near the intersection of two major roads, which means there's a retail area in walking distance. Among the places you can walk: a coffee shop, a wing place/sports bar, Domino's Pizza, a couple of liquor stores, a butcher, two fitness studios, and a couple of dental offices. It's a very quick few minutes to other stores (including Walmart), and a straight shot to Highway 16 (which takes you to Mount Rushmore), the airport, and Interstate 90.
  
  And the surrounding area is incredibly beautiful. Rapid City is on the center-east slope of the Black Hills, a mountain range about 195 km long and 100 km wide. It’s probably most famous for Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the mountain sculpture of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, which is about 30 minutes from our house. There’s also Badlands National Park, Wind Cave National Park (the fourth-longest cave in the world) and Jewel Cave National Monument (the second-longest cave in the world). As far as wildlife goes, we have bison, elk, coyotes, mountain lions and wild turkey. Summer is great for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Winter is a good time for snowshoeing, snowmobiling and skiing, and there are two moderate-level ski areas about 70 minutes from our house.

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  What else ...

  Did I mention that we're easy-going? We are. We'd love to take advantage of any skills you have to offer!

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  There's high-speed 200Mbps wireless internet throughout the house. There's a table in the guest apartment that's a suitable private workspace, but you're generally welcome to work elsewhere in the house (or at an outside table, if the weather is good).

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have a driveway that's suitable for a campervan or an RV up to 24 feet long.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  

  Luna

  Luna is a shy, fluffy black rescue cat. We've had her for about 13 years, and we figure she's probably about 14 or 15 years old.

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