WE MADE THE NEWS

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(A 1977 Airstream that loves fame.!!!)

Who doesn't like being rich and famous...

Did I say "rich"? Well, rich didn't happen, but

we did get a little famous...in Questa.

The editor of the local newspaper in Questa, NM,

Lou McCall,

approached Vannie for an article

about our journey...how we started this

lifestyle...how we got to Questa...and more.

Vannie contacted our good friend, Douglas Cunningham,

about a picture he had taken of them standing in front of moi.

He emailed the high resolution picture...Lou loved it, and

she loved the article...

Sooo...here's what's going to make us rich and famous. 

photo by Douglas Carr Cunningham

QUESTA AND BEYOND

By Vanette Harris

 My husband, David, and I are Airstreamers, Louisianans, Texans, Adventurers and Questanites.   When we approached retirement in 2011, we both decided to downsize and not have the burden of a home and yard to maintain.  We decided to become fulltime RVers.  This had not been a long thought-out plan.  It just happened.  We put our house in Lafayette, LA on the market.  We had lived there 42 years, so we had a bunch of stuff, but once we made up our minds, it was easy to get rid of most of it.  We wanted a simpler, less complicated lifestyle.  We wanted the freedom to be able to travel and to experience and live affordably in other parts of the country, for months at a time.

We located and purchased a vintage 1977 31 foot Airstream.  The trailer had been used as a camp and had a few “issues”, to say the least.  The plumbing was redone, interior seating reupholstered, new countertops, flooring, new convection oven and refrigerator installed, and along with a few other cosmetics, and in September 2011, it would serve as our home.  We had only owned a pop-up camper years ago, so we had much to learn.  We joined the Wally Byam Caravan Club International, the Acadiana Unit, in Lafayette.  We were taken under the wings of this fun-loving Cajun group and brought up to speed on all aspects of full-time RV living.  We named our trailer Gypsy Rhapsody.  We had both played this piece on the piano in high school, and the name just seemed to fit.   

We loved New Mexico.  We had been coming out west since the late ‘90’s.  During that time we had purchased a timeshare at the Caribel Condos in Red River. After about a year of retirement, we decided that a part-time job would be nice to cover extra travel expenses.  I called the manager of the Caribel, Angelique Gonzales (from Questa, of course), to see if she knew of a place in Red River that might need a couple of senior citizens to work a few hours a week.  She immediately said that she could use us at the Caribel…so our summer time jobs were born.  We work from Memorial Day to the end of September. The cool mountain air is a dream-come-true for a couple of South Louisianans.

Questa has become our home away from home. David and I park Gypsy Rhapsody at a beautiful shady spot by the river and landlady is awesome.  It’s just perfect.  The Caribel is only 10 miles up the mountain, and the scenery couldn’t be more beautiful.  We share a passion for hiking and touring art galleries. If we are around in the winter, snowshoeing is a must.  We have completed the Vistas de Questa trail three times so far this summer. Not bad for a couple of 73 year olds. We have fallen love with the people of Questa.  Everyone has accepted us and made us part of their beloved community.  Questa has become a way of life for us…as in the Questa Library, visitor center, grocery store, Dollar Store, Ace, Jay’s Thrift Store, Rael’s Coffee Shop, Frank’s, Bobcat, Post Office, St. Anthony’s, Wild Rivers, Eagle Rock Lake, the Chevron Station, Ocho with Barrie, Yoga Sala, the Wild Rivers and Questa Art Tours, Questa Del Rio Colorado News, and, last but not least, the Ancianos Senior Center.  We love driving up the hill to eat several times a week.  Mallie and her workers are wonderful and always so welcoming.  This is our 7^th summer to live and work in northern NM.  What a blessing!!!

Being on the road so much, we needed a base-camp.  We are members of the North Texas Airstream Community located in Hillsboro, Texas, about 50 miles south of Dallas.  It is a 50 acre “gated community” that is open all year with spacious lots with hookups, custom built villas and houses.  They have a full time Office Manager and a mail forwarding service.  NTAC is within an hour or so from our daughter and her family in Austin, TX and about 6 hours from our son and his family in Lafayette. 

A couple of years ago, David and I decided we needed a smaller trailer to add to our family.  A friend in Louisiana saw a 1979 22 foot “Minuet” Argosy made by Airstream on Craig’s List.  We checked it out and discovered it was located in Austin about a block from our daughter’s house. It was in great shape, so “Minuet in G” came home with us.

Airstreamers are a group of RVers who share a community spirit because of their mutual love of the big silver bullets.  Airstream company founder Wally Bram began leading groups of owners on travels way back in the 50’s.  Photos taken of the trailers in front of many famous tourist sites were common.  This promoted a mystique which surrounded Airstreams and persists to this day.

To record and share our journeys, I write a blog, “the journey of gypsy rhapsody and minuet in G” which, is written in the voice of “Gypsy” or “MinnieG”…depending whom we are traveling with at the moment.  Check it out.  You can just google “the journey of gypsy rhapsody”.  Be sure to go back to the beginning.  It’s been quite a journey, for sure.

We have no regrets about following our dream…and are dreaming about more adventures ahead.

Questa and Beyond.!!!