It’s been three weeks since the Gypsywagen and I returned to Northern New Mexico. Back at the original build site, I found the former shelter the worse for wear after a harsh Rocky Mountain winter. After dismantling the wreckage of that site, I setup a new, simpler shelter to go to work on the building […]
After 128 days and 3,700 miles on the road I’ve returned to Taos, New Mexico, where I began this journey on a cold day in December 2018. Last Autumn I built the Gypsywagen on a friend’s ranch, located about forty miles north of Taos. The “shakedown cruise” of the past four months has provided a […]
After a nine day stay at the Bell Trail camp (on US Forest land) near Sedona, I’ve returned to the Flowing Springs campground (also US Forest land) on the Verde River. Both of these campgrounds are in wilderness settings along the Mogollon Rim in Central Arizona. Like thousands of other US Forest and Bureau of […]
“There is so much weariness and disappointment in travel that people have to open up — in railway trains, over a fire, on the decks of steamers, and in the palm courts of hotels on a rainy day. They have to pass the time somehow, and they can pass it only with themselves. Like the […]
In December, when I finished the initial build of the Gypsywagen, I wanted to take it on a shakedown cruise to climates warmer than northern New Mexico. For more than 100 days now, I’ve been traveling and camping all over western and southern Arizona, staying in places along the Colorado River, the Gila and Verde […]
Over the past couple of months I’ve been traveling with my Gypsywagen in southern and central Arizona, camping in the high mountains, sheltered valleys, deep canyons and deserts that were once the homelands of the Apaches. Traveling is an excellent form of education, and I’ve learned a little about the history of the peoples who […]
Tombstone, Arizona. The iconic “Gunfight at the OK Corral” lasted all of 30 seconds and occurred here on an October day in 1881. The mythic struggle between good and evil found high expression in this event and will be forever embedded in the collective psyche of countless generations. It’s been nearly 20 years since I […]
Sometimes one conversation can change your whole life. One evening not too long ago I received a phone call at my home in Topanga, California. When I picked up the receiver to say ‘hello’, there were a few moments of silence. Then… “Hello, Bob?” I hadn’t heard that voice in many years, but I knew […]
It was a wild place out in the open and exposed to the elements. Working at 8,000 feet in sub freezing winds was a rugged experience. It was a test of endurance, but those days are done now. It all seemed fitting as the Gypsywagen and I were destined for the wild and rugged places […]
The plan was to design and build a modern teardrop style trailer and then set out on an open ended road trip. On a ranch in the high plains of Northern New Mexico, I’ve begun the build. I call this coach my Gypsywagen. First things first – purchase the 5’ x 10’ trailer bed and all […]