WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

 By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(a 1977 Airstream that experiences "wildness" on a daily basis)

Yep, it got even wilder around these parts 

when the grandkids arrived.  

It was like another one of my favorite quotes...

"Let the wild rumpus start!"

from Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

Granddaughter, Maddie, is always a little on the "wild side".

She is giving V and D and myself one of her original performances.

She's a keeper.

The 2 "V's"enjoying a late evening burger.

Grandson...Vincent and Vannie

Columbine Trail

They made it to the 2nd bridge...and that's a good thing.

Dave, Vannie, Maddie, Vincent, Son-in-law...Roy

Maddie and Vincent are looking a wee bit concerned.

They are pointing to a "bear sighting" on this trail.

Yikes..."Wild Things"

Maddie...the butterfly whisperer

She could sneak up on a butterfly, and it was clueless.

There it is.  Sitting so peacefully.

Totally unaware of the upcoming capture.

Vincent and Maddie...On the ski lift all by themselves...

heading to the summer tubing down the mountain.

All Good...

They came down connected to each other.

V and M were heading on a "wild" ride on the Zip Line.

Wheee

Pretty exciting for about 5 minutes...then it's over.

$10 bucks each Please.!!!

Just a little rest about the Zip Line

Daughter...Emilie and Vincent

Excited about being in Colorado

They were headed to San Luis...Oldest town in Colorado

Emilie and Vincent headed up the hiking trail to the Chapel of All Saints at the top.

There are 14 Stations of the Cross along that hike.

V and D and Vincent

Inside the church...relaxing after the hike.

Vincent is showing his grandparents something very important.

I think he said something about a bird nest in the sky light.

Maddie loved sleeping over in me.

Here she is reading one of her favorite books from the Gerald and Piggy series.

She is an expert at the voices of Gerald and Piggy.

Of course, T-Pop and Vannie were mesmerized.

Maddie saves the day.!!!

They woke up the next morning, and the door would not open from the inside.

The lock was broken.  Maddie, Dave, and Vannie were stuck inside.

What to do...What to do???

Dave thought that maybe he could crawl out the back window.

But Vannie said, No Way.!!!

Then Maddie said, "I can do it."

Dave handed her the key...then he slowly helped her out the back window...

she ran around to the door...unlocked it with the key...

and

SAVED THE DAY!!!

Those grandkids are good for something.!!!

Mallette Park Trail in Red River

Another great hike...perfect for kids

Cool Fresh Mountain Air

I think Dave was feeling a little "wild" himself.

Maddie explores a cave along the trail.

Roy goes a little deeper.

Sure hope there are no critters back there.

All the Salvagio's are enjoying the peace and quite of the tepee.

This trail was full of one adventure after another.

Oh my goodness...

That is a little to close for comfort.

The gang was going on a trail from the Visitor's Center in Wild Rivers to the Fish Hatchery.

Roy, hold on to Maddie.

Dave's going to check out the view.

Vannie and Vincent said...No way...not getting that close to the edge.

A Moment

Just a moment on the trail...

Those wee toes were ready for soaking on the cold waters of the Red River.

Ahhhhh

After a long hike, the van automatically turned into 

Frank's Eats and Sweets in Questa. A yummy ice cream cone was in order.

What a great way to end a wonderful visit...

A Rainbow Trout Dinner

Dave can hardly wait to dig in.

DELISH.!!!!

WILDNESS IS A NECESSITY

By

Gypsy Rhapsody

(a 1977 Airstream that is not tired, nervous or over-civilized.)

"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity."

John Muir

Vannie said John Muir got it right...and he said it a bunch of years ago.

It fits just as good today as it did back then....

actually, she  thinks even better.

Covid-19 has definitely made us tired and nerve-shaken, and even

over-civilized.

Check out how V and D make "Wildness a Necessity."

I know Dave doesn't look too "wild.
He is actually relaxing by the Rio Grande River...getting ready to be "wild".

Looks like I'm just waiting around for my "Wild Things"
to come back from their hikes.

The Cemetery Hike
Check out Vannie's new "Camel Back".
It's holds water and a bunch of other stuff...
like a bunch of snacks.
(it's so cool how it matches her pants...fashionista. ) 

Dave's enjoying a cool drink of water among
the former residents of Questa.


OK...Vannie said it was no way this hike was only
3/4 mile down and 3/4 mile up...
It had to be at least 10 miles both ways.

Dave said he was so thankful that their friends,
Phillip Jowers and family, were with them
on this hike.
The Jowers had extra water...which was MUCH needed.

2 Wild Things

They were not so "wild" by the time
they got back up the trail.
More like "wilted" things...


Even though they get "wilted",
they seem to revive and go again.
This was the Vistas de Questa Trail...
About 2 miles up the mountain
and 2 miles back down.
Longer than the Wild River's trail,
but not so steep.


Lots of great views

...and sometimes after a nice hike,
Vannie will fry up some fresh rainbow trout.
Yum Yum

...and the scenery while she's cooking is spectacular .
That is a mountain in the distance.
The light was just right...made it glow like a heavenly temple.


Just had to wish everyone a happy 4th...
and it's Red River's 125th anniversary.
Free cupcakes and pins for everyone.


And to top off the fabulous day,
God graced us with a double rainbow.

America the Beautiful

COVID-19 BLESSINGS

By

Minuet in G

(MinnieG)

(a 1979 Argosy made by Airstream that was quarantined in Austin, TX)

I am actually in storage at NTAC 

in Hillsboro, TX, and Gypsy

Rhapsody is on the road with

Vannie and Dave.

But, alas, I had a blog 

that I needed to write...

so here goes.

I know Covid19 has been a terrible thing,

but there have been so many blessings

that have come out of it.

One of my greatest blessings has been

being quarantined in Austin, TX

with The Salvagio's...

Emilie,

Roy,

Vincent,

Maddie

Every morning Vannie and Dave would 

pick up Vincent and Maddie

and bring them to the

Lone Star RV Park.

Homeschooling would be in session.

The flag had been given to Vannie's mom, Madge,

on her 100th birthday.  It was the perfect

backdrop for school.

The day started with the pledge to the flag...

and then the pledge to the Texas flag.

Vincent is reading a story that he wrote.

Hard at work on their leaf collections.

Letter Writing

Maddie composed one to her Aunt Diane in Lafayette, LA.

Vincent wrote to Uncle Ashley.

They both wrote to Cousin Cooper.

Field Trip

This one was to see the bluebonnets in the Hill Country.

...and, boy, did they find them...

Harry Potter even showed up.

Vannie said it did get a little crazy on the way home.

PE

Vincent was riding his bike while Maddie did the TRX Straps with Vannie.

That big green bush worked just fine for posting sight words.

Math...Graphing

"Colors of trailers in the RV park"

"The Velveteen Rabbit"

Perfect Springtime story...and one of Vannie's favorites

Maddie would sometime dress-up for school.

Adorable...

Oh my goodness...Yes, Home Ec...even for a 10 year old

and a 7 year old...

Vannie said that sewing machine has seen a lot of miles,

since it was given to her mom in 1963.

Still runs like a top.

Pillowcases...

Success...

Then one day the weather was cold and rainy,

so homeschooling had to be moved to 

Vincent and Maddie's sun room.

The day Maddie learned how to

blow up a balloon was a really big deal.

...and then that same day, daddy 

taught the science lesson

using a balloon.

Math

Geometry...made their on Geo Boards...

So much fun with rubber bands.

Dave said lessons were taught, but the boards

would inevitably become slingshots at some point in the lesson.

Quch!!! Tears!!! 

What in the World!!!

Is that the earthworm Vannie found

on the road at the RV park?

I think so...

Dissecting...

Vincent said "Wow"..

Maddie said "Yuck"....

Earth Day Cakes

The food coloring proved to be pretty powerful.

M and V had green and blue teeth for days.

Field Trip with the whole family

McKinney Falls State Park

Opened for day use

Audra is part of the family, so she would

sometimes come over for a lesson.

This was the old standby...

peanut butter on the pinecone, then covered with birdseed

Fun with Science Lessons

Art Lesson

Clementine Hunter

"Zinnas"

Painted on recycled boards

...and then some days...

we all just went crazy.!!!

Screamed...laughed...ate everything in sight...

On days like that, most of the lessons

got pushed on to the next day.

By the way...those are raspberries on her fingers. 

Thank the Lord...Vincent had a birthday.

A break from work.!!!

Can you guess how old he is?

...or who is his favorite team?

It was one of those drive-by birthdays..

Lots of fun.!!!

Field Trip Time AGAIN

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

San Antonio, TX

We all had to stay in our cars...

perfect trip during CV.

Dave said none of the animals had on masks.

...but they were definitely social distancing.

Back to McKinney Falls State Park

Dave said the wildflowers were popping out all over.

Yay...time to do some more "work".

Vannie had ordered caterpillars...

they did what caterpillars do... 

They made butterfly's...

You can see one at the bottom of this picture.

Maddie's holding one that was born with a crooked wing.

Reading to the Teacher

Maddie doesn't turn 8 until June 2,

but she celebrated with Vannie and T-Pop

a wee bit early.

Our

QUARANTINE TRIBE

2020

That's a bunch of blessings.!!!