Be it ever so humble…

There’s history now, in the life of the Gypsywagen. Nearly a year ago I arrived at the windswept mesa in Northern New Mexico where my old friend Mose provided a space for me to construct this coach. That episode is chronicled in many of the earlier posts of this blog. Having completed the initial build just before Christmas 2018, I hit the road.

During a five month shakedown cruise, I camped in deserts and forests, mountains and canyons, by the shores of lakes and along the banks of rivers. Sometimes I spent nights in parking lots at Indian Casinos and Walmarts, where travelers are welcome. A few times I just pulled off the road to sleep the night. Everywhere I went, I met other travelers who were similarly engaged; 21st Century adventurers, rich and poor, young and old, traveling in rigs of all shapes and sizes that fit budgets big and small… folks who are out there even now, celebrating the quintessential American dream of taking to the open road.

I returned to Northern New Mexico in May of this year, and have camped for the past three months on a peaceful spot in the Española Valley. It’s been a good time. I’ve become acquainted with a number of local people whom I had never met before, people that I enjoy getting to know. This is a bounty of the traveling life. The people we meet are as rewarding as the places we visit. Actually, without the people we encounter and share our days with, the places we visit would be wanting.

Now, slowly, I’ve been engaged in multiple tasks of finish work on the Gypsywagen. Unlike the freezing winds and snowstorms, which occurred during the original construction, much of the finish work is being done in sweltering summer weather. It’s almost poetic. 

In time I expect to secure commissions to build Gypsywagens for other people. Anticipating those transactions, I believe it’ll be valuable to speak not only of the rugged conditions under which this craft was created, but of my own experience traveling and living in this coach for the first year of it’s existence. Who knows, I may go on traveling and living in this Gypsywagen for the rest of my life. I like living this way.