NOT MY FIRST RODEO

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(a 1977 Airstream that knows how it's done)

Yep, Folks, this is not my first rodeo.
I know how it's done, and I'm always ready
to do it.  "It" being moving from one spot
to the next...and enjoying every minute of every mile.


We said bye, bye to our "sweet spot" in
Gloria Gonzales' RV
in Questa, NM.
 See ya next summer, Gloria.


Vannie and Dave pointed me in the direction of Rio Rancho, NM
where they gathered with friends...Judy, Helen, Loretta, and Carmen.


V and D always love having a sleepover with Loretta
(friend from Lafayette now living in NM) and Rudy (dog)...
and watching DWTS. 
They LOVE watching it with
both of them...especially when an Airstream shows up.



Bottomless Lake State Park near Roswell, NM
Always a fun and interesting place to stop for an overnight-er.
Check out this pic showing a relative of mine parked close by.
Guess the Airstream Gods were hovering over Roswell...
or some such nonsense.  LOL


The Wetlands Trail...in NM
Who'd thunk it?
This was a new addition since our last visit to
this state park.




Vannie and Dave could hardly wait to explore the trail.


Almost felt like Louisiana...


except no alligators...
This little bird was enjoying itself so much.


According to this plague, it is an American avocet.
It is related to the egret and heron...only with shorter legs.
 They are both referred to as shorebirds and/or wading birds.

Pass the salt, please. 
These grasses along the path have
adapted to the salt.  These plants are called "halophytes."
They can tolerate...or even rely on...salt in the soil.
Another phenomenon...salty areas in NM...
Who'd thunk it???




Special Sunflowers that are "halophytes".
The Pecos Sunflower...


Ahhhh...back among my people...and my daughter, Minnie G.
Hillsboro, Texas
North Texas Airstream Community


Greeted with a beautiful sunset over Walmart...
Yes, even sunsets can make Walmart look great.!!!


...and gorgeous crepe myrtle trees.




Vannie and Dave could hardly wait to get to Austin
to see the grandkids...Maddie and Vincent.
Maddie started off the visit with a style show...
first she dressed like a pig and tried to look like a pig.


...then a little glamour queen...


...her best friend, Audra, got in on the fun.
Roll out the red carpet.!!!!


Play Ball...
Vincent stepped up on the pitcher's mound.
This was his first game to pitch.
Vannie and Dave are still talking about it.
So proud.!!!


The kids came home with V and D.
Maddie loves the "rainbow bridge" at NTAC.
She was pretending it was the Billy Goat's Gruff's bridge.


Vincent hanging out in "Me" waiting for breakfast.


Maddie ready to dig in.


Whitney's Pioneer Days Fair...
Whitney, TX
It was hot, but Vincent and Maddie didn't seem to care. 
Vannie thought those burlap bags looked kind of scratchy.


Swinging Free...


Hillsboro City Park


Hello, Folks


Waco Zoo
A 2 hour stop on the way back to Austin
Dave said that the Waco Zoo is one of the best in the area.


Vannie said, "Never too old to enjoy the elephants."


Back in Austin and Vincent enjoying
backyard baseball...mud and all...


Maddie and Audra inside doing paint projects...


Just have to love those hand-prints on the backdoor glass.

New Mexico...check
Loretta and Rudy...check
Bottomless Lake...check
Hillsboro...check
Austin kids...check
Back in Hillsboro...check...
WAIT...is that Dave on a ladder...
Caught in the act...busted.!!!
I told him..."Don't do it, Dave...Vannie is not going to like it.
She said NO LADDERS unless I am around."

Well, to make a long story short...
She didn't kill him.!!!!

So...moving right along...
Airstream Rally in Brownwood, TX
Can't wait...Actually, I think MinnieG is handling this one.

Enjoy V and D and MinnieG

THE PASEO...OUTDOOR ART FESTIVAL...TAOS, NM

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(an 1977 Airstream that likes to take a stroll once in a while)

Paseo

(a leisurely walk or stroll, especially one taken in the evening)

...and what a evening stroll it was...

Vannie, Dave, and Bernice friends (Jimmye and Jo), 

had an evening that practically blew their minds away.

Art, Science, and Technology in every direction in Taos...

...in Kit Carson Park...

...down the streets leading from the park...

...around the plaza...

...back of the plaza...

...in the John Dunn area...

A M A Z I N G

I just wish I could have been there strolling...

but I'm just a wee bit too big.  Shucks...

\
The Gang waved bye bye to me early.
They were on a mission to get ANOTHER fix of Taos Cow ice cream.

Jo had her heart set on raspberry chocolate...but, alas,

they were did not have that one available...

...so she opted for the Rio Grande Chocolate with a dab of

cherry chocolate on top...

D E L I C O U S

Vannie said that girl knows her ice cream.

They made it to Taos...no worse for the wear after the supper consisting of ice cream.

The John Dunn Shops were having a recycled fashion exhibit.

Dave said there were some VERY interesting creations. 

The plastic spoons gown was one of Vannie's faves.

S T U N N I N G 

Then on to Kit Carson Park...

They wanted to be the first in line for the Space Cloud...

and they were. Surprise Surprise...

It was the "Clouds" first visit from Spain (where it was created)

to North America.

Vannie said that she and Ann Dalme (Lafayette Teacher Friend) made a smaller version 

of this when they were teaching Gifted in Lafayette.

Their mentor, Nancy Ehert, had introduced them to the concept,

and they said, "Let's do it".

So...Spain don't have nothin' on them.!!!!

This one was definitely a bit more elaborate than their's.

The door keeper would not let The Gang enter until it got dark...

for obvious reasons.

S E N S A T I O N A L 

It was held up by air and could accommodate several hundred people at one time.

Vannie's could hold about 12 max.

Inside were several stations where one could experience

 a variety of science, art, and technology.

Vannie looks like she is about to "beam up".

R E M A R K A B L E 

The virtual reality station was...

S H O C K I N G. 

Dave said he was literally transported into the movie, Avatar...

expect with shapes, art, and space rather than with animals or plants or people. 

K E E P   S T A N D I N G,  D A V E 

There were various tunnels leading The Gang to another experience.

B E A U T I F U L 

These dancers were interpreting the images projected on the wall,

along with the sound that they were experiencing.

I M P O S I N G   

One tunnel led to an outside courtyard.

There were dancers and music.

The moon was becoming part of the adventure.

It was lighting the way to all the stations.

M Y S T I C A L 

You can see the vastness of the Space Cloud in this picture. 

B R E A T H T A K I N G 

After leaving the Cloud, the Gang stumbled their way toward the rest of the park.

D A R K

The Tepee 

The local school kids had a project that included

using Tagtool (a computer program) to "paint" the outside

of this tepee with images that represented

 indigenous and Western explorations of the universe.

WOW

Circular Dimensions

This was a live laboratory of "microscopic video paintings"

performed with digital microscopes, 3D glasses and live projections.

I N T E R A C T I V E 

After leaving the park area...there was much more to experience.

This team of artists were from Bogota, Colombia and Albuquerque.

The Landscape Re-Invention Society

This group uses space and physical theater...

and they do it all on stilts.

 S O    T A L E N T E D 

They move silently through the streets of Taos

re-inventing the architecture and space.

I M P R E S S I V E 

CauseLines: Coherence/Interference

An audience-generated sound and video performance 

created in response to the nearby Chevron Questa Mine Superfund site.

T H O U G H T    P  R O V O K I N G  

Virtual Umbrellas

What would Gene Kelly say about this?

D A N C I N G    I N    T H E    R AI N

Looking up into the umbrella

N O T   W A T E R   R E P E L L E N T 

Cross-Pollination Portraits

Through coding and the use of electronic gaming

equipment, the audience engages in the

digital weaving of unique human features into oneness.

OK...coding, digital weaving...

I N T R I G U I N G 

Gleamscape...

Musical instruments were used to send ripples of color

and 3D patterns across a vast landscape in Parr Field.

This was created right behind the plaza...next to the Catholic Church.

P H E N O M E N A L 

The evening was completed with a star gazing adventure .

...beside me (GR)

...right in Gloria Gonzales' RV Park.

The stars/planets were incredible....

...The Big Dipper

...The Bear

...Saturn

...Mars

The night sky over Questa was all part of The Paseo...

as least to Vannie, Dave, Jo, and Jimmye.

A W E - I N S P I R I N G 

D. H. LAWRENCE RANCH

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(a 1977 Airstream that is a writer...just like Mr. Lawrence...kinda)

"...New Mexico was the greatest experience

...It certainly changed me forever."

D. H. Lawrence

"...New Mexico is da bomb

...It's made me love Christmas...as in red or green."

Gypsy Rhapsody

Vannie and Dave have been experiencing New Mexico

since the late '90s.  I've been coming with them since

2012.  Every year as we drove down Hwy. 522 toward

Taos, we passed a sign that says D. H. Lawrence Ranch.

Time and again, Vannie would say...

"This year we are going to go check out that ranch."

But every year, it never happened...

UNTIL THIS YEAR.

Vannie and Dave and their friends, Jean and Bob, 

headed down Hwy. 522 on a mission...

THE D. H. LAWRENCE RANCH.

They turned left on San Cristobal Road

and stayed right at each branch.  The ranch

was about 5 miles down a very curvy rocky New Mexico road.

The road dead-ended at the ranch.

This was the New Mexico home of the English novelist 

D. H. Lawrence.  It is located at 8,600 feet above sea level

on Lobo Mountain near San Cristobal.  It was first established

in the 1880's and has had several owners.  In 1920 Mabel Dodge Lujan,

a New York socialite, purchased the property.  Mabel invited Lawrence

and his wife, Frieda, to visit the ranch in 1922.  In 1924 Mabel gave the ranch

to Frieda in exchange for one of Lawrence's handwritten manuscripts...

Sons and Lovers.

In the front yard of the Homesteader Cabin is a

25 foot ponderosa pine known as "The Lawrence Tree".

Lawrence would sit under the tree and write in his notebooks.

He would often sit on a wooden carpenter's bench...other

times he would sit with his back against the tree's trunk.

Georgia O'Keeffe, famous artist of the 20th century,

visited the Lawrence Ranch in the late 1920's.  She was

fascinated with the tree.  

 O'Keeffe Quote:  "I had one particular painting...that tree in Lawrence's

front yard, as you see it when you lie under it on the table...with stars...

it looks as tho it is standing on its head..."

David:  "Quick, Vannie, give me my notebook and pencil.

I have a vision...The tree looks like it is standing on its head."

Yeah, right.!!!!

The cabin has three rooms...this is the dining room.

The more modern kitchen was added later.

The middle room has a 6 1/2x4 foot 24-pane window.

Lawrence loved to relax and look outside at the

beautiful fields of wildflowers.  

Who is that guy next to D. L.?

Oh my goodness...it's W. D.! (William David)

Vannie Quote:  "Well, it's small, but it is bigger than Gypsy."

Is that a compliment?...I'm wondering.!

Trinidad Archuleta, a Native American from the Taos Pueblo,

painted this buffalo 4 years after D. H. Lawrence died.  Trinidad

had lived and worked at the ranch while the Lawrence's lived there.

He helped out with ranch chores and acted as a trail guide.

This window is in a tiny cabin adjacent to the main cabin.

It was called the Brett Cabin.  In 1924 Dorothy Brett from British royalty,

came with D.H. and Frieda to New Mexico to establish a utopian community

called Rananim.  Dorothy helped the Lawrence's with all kinds of manual labor.

She also typed some of Lawrence's manuscripts in her little cabin.  

...on this typewriter...

Vannie said this zigzag path leading to the

Lawrence Memorial was very steep.  The memorial

was built by Frieda's, 3rd husband,Angelo Ravagli.

On this day Dave was the official greeter of the memorial.

He actually sprinted up that zigzag walkway

and welcomed the rest of us "breathing heavily".

\

The Phoenix perched on top is Lawrence's symbol of life and death.

The rosette window above the door helps with the lighting during the day.

Dave said that Frieda's grave is on the bottom left of this picture.

Vannie said that inside the memorial reminded

her of Shakespeare's grave in Stanford-on-Avon, England.

Maybe this is a traditional grave site for the English. 

This is the alter that holds DHL's ashes.

The rosette window above the alter was painted by Dorothy Brett.

Back down the zigzag walkway...

...and down the 5 miles of Lawrence Ranch Road...

...turning left at all the branches...

....on San Cristobal Road...

...turning right on Hwy. 522...

...back to the real world...

So...the moral of this story is...

when you are driving down Hwy. 522 between Questa and Taos,

don't drive by that sign that is pointing the way to the D. H. Lawrence Ranch...

saying that you will visit it later...do it now...it's well worth the adventure.

FYI...D. H. Lawrence wrote Lady Chatterley's Lover...

just sayin'...