Meet Darleen Cortez, a woman who gets around. She's the envy of nomadic women (like me) who want to see as much of the world as they can before it's time to leave it.
Darleen and I worked together over 15 years ago in the small town of Norwood, Colorado. She was our friendly, boisterous accountant -- albeit an independent, self-employed one that popped in and out of the office at various times throughout the week -- and I was happily glued to my desk. We worked alongside a handful of other characters with a philanthropic architect who studied at the Frank Lloyd Wright School... and paid us well.
It was a great job. Dogs were allowed in the office, we had "team meetings" (cocktails) every Thursday afternoon, and we weren't allowed to call our energetic, happy-go-lucky and supportive employer "Boss." He presented us with challenges and gave us the respect we earned. Those were happy days.
But Darleen moved on, turning her accounting work over to Nathalie, the town's only French-Canadian resident and another fun soul I'd soon befriend. (I never knew accounting people had so much life in them.)
Thereafter I didn't see much more of Darleen. Where had she run off to?
In a small town, one often gets unsolicited updates regarding other people's personal lives. It was rumored that Darleen had split with her long-time partner, but why she would leave that rancher's paradise on the top of Wright's Mesa, no one knew. She fit in so well and was a part of our lives. We simply didn't see her anymore.
Turns out that all along she had been working in neighboring Telluride, a destination many of us Norwoodians drove to several times a week to clean multi-million-dollar houses, build log homes, man the ski lift or gondola, or do whatever it took to pay the bills. One has to be resourceful in a small town, working various jobs to make ends meet.
Darleen wore many hats (and continues to do so). Back then, she worked for the resource center in Telluride when we still had her close by, worked for the local housing authority and in human resources and security, and kept bookkeeping gigs on the side, never running out of things to do.
"I have worked as a window washer, bartender, human resource specialist, many housing jobs, property manager, program manager, etc.," Darleen says. "The job situation for me just seems to work out."
And she doesn't settle for anything not in alignment with her individuality for very long -- another trait of wayfaring folk. "A few times I had a job waiting for me, but more often, I ended up getting a minimum wage job to work while I look for an interesting job."
Discovering early on that helping others is one of the most rewarding professions on the planet, she has done nonprofit work -- for the Nature Conservancy and Red Feather (working towards improving housing for elders in Navajo and Hopi communities) -- among others. "Most of my jobs are with nonprofits because I love causes and need to feel good about my effort."
Though she has gained much experience via various employment avenues, Darleen's formal education led her on different paths. "My education is actually just like my life. It took me 15 years to get my bachelor's degree. I started out in business and switched to forestry. I finally got a degree in recreation management, specializing in wilderness areas...a fancy name for forestry." Her degree has helped her land jobs in beautiful places like national parks.
And yes, Darleen parted ways with her husband, something that spurred her on, out of Norwood and into the world, beginning her journey into complete independence and exploration.
"He actually hindered my travelling," she says. "He never wanted to leave the country, and I love going overseas. I spent two months in Australia long before I met him."
Darleen now regularly posts photos of her travels around the country, and the world. Turns out she has been a vagabond for much of her life. "Was on the road since I was 13. I saved money for years, bought a bus ticket from Virginia to Florida. That was my first solo trip."
Admitting having a wandering background -- what some older folks might call a "hippie lifestyle" -- she lives out of a travel trailer she maintains herself, going from place to place, looking for interesting work and a place to land, if only for a short time. "I have lived in my vehicles, but mostly those are temporary situations," she says.
Darleen is good at stretching her dollars to boost her travel budget. "I don't travel like other people, so my money goes further. I camp, stay in youth hostels and spend very little on food or souvenirs. Mostly, it's wildlife, geology and archeology that attract me."
Traditional housing is not out of the question. Again, using her unending supply of wits and resourcefulness, she turns a little bit of cash into tidier sums by flipping the houses she has lived in and fixed up. "I have bought cheap old houses, and when I say cheap, I'm not kidding," she laughs. "I then fix them, sell them and move on."
"Most of my moves are somewhat planned," she states. "Some are because I was wandering and my vehicle broke down." Here, she throws in a chuckle of sorts, not taking unwanted pit stops too seriously.
Currently, she is preparing to build a house on the piece of land she owns, close to her job at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. "My latest move, a year ago, was to the San Luis Valley in Colorado. I bought a piece of land and am building a small house."
Shaping employment around her adoration of nature, Darleen works where she lives and and loves where she works. "I started at the park last December. I work in the Visitor Center. It is wonderful and fun! "
Though she loves meeting new people, Darleen prefers the solitary, semi-nomadic life she leads. When she's alone on the road, there's no complaining and no one to argue with. "I have travelled with others, but I'm better at solo. Mostly for selfish reasons. I don't like to hear whining when I inevitably break down."
She doesn't experience the discomfort of whining from anyone except maybe her dog Maya. "Maya has been with me for 15 1/2 years. She has moved and wandered with me all along. She seems to love it as much as me. She has adapted well to city life, farm life, desert life and mountain life without too much trauma."
Dogs can be excellent traveling partners for independent women who want to see the world, offering companionship and security. Outside of a yelp or bark, they don't talk back or voice strong opinions.
"I hate negotiating where I'm going," Darleen says. "I want to do what I want to do, when I want to do it."
Will she settle down after she builds her house? That remains to be seen. "I change jobs often (typically about every two years), so in between jobs, I try to wander. I also move a lot. I had a strange and unexpected two-month vacation in spring, which worked out perfectly for me. I'm planning to do early retirement in two years, and then I will do even more wandering. My goal is to get one seasonal job per year when I retire and go to work at a different location every year. Campground host seems like a good option for me. The money from that job should be enough for at least one overseas trip each year."
Her new home will be the base of operations for future travel. "In my retirement, my hope is to make my property/house my basecamp for considering the world my home."
Being able to pick up and go anywhere you like whenever you choose? That's a dream for many of us. Darleen has made it her reality.
Interested in moving about and finding a job along the way? Darleen recommends several different methods for seeking out a position to your liking.
"There are sites for jobs working in national parks. NPS.gov is a good place to start." (Go to https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/workwithus.htm).
For outdoor adventure jobs like Darleen's, check out Cool Jobs' website at https://www.cooljobs.com/outdoor-adventure-jobs-overview.
Darleen has also found jobs using Indeed.com, and the Sand Dunes job was advertised on a community Facebook page.
Good luck in your quest!
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