• Home
  • About Geogypsy
    • Herstory
    • Parks where I’ve worked
  • Places I’ve been
    • United States
      • Arizona
        • Antelope Slot Canyon
        • Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
        • Colossal Cave Mountain Park
        • Flagstaff
        • Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
        • Grand Canyon National Park
          • Grand Canyon National Park North Rim
          • Grand Canyon National Park South Rim
          • Toroweap
        • Havasu Canyon
        • Horseshoe Bend
        • Jerome
        • Kaibab National Forest
        • Lee’s Ferry
        • Meteor Crater
        • Navajo Bridge
        • Oak Creek Canyon
        • Painted Desert
        • Pipe Springs National Monument
        • Prescott
        • Quartzsite
        • Saguaro National Park
        • Sedona
        • Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
        • Vermilion Cliffs
        • Walnut Canyon National Monument
        • Wupatki National Monument
        • Yarnell
      • California
        • Anzaberrego
        • Bakersfield
        • Death Valley National Park
        • Joshua Tree National Park
        • Redwoods NP
        • Salton Sea
        • Yucca Valley
      • Colorado
        • Mesa Verde National Park
      • Florida
      • Illinois
        • IL River
        • Morton Arboretum
        • Starved Rock State Park
      • Michigan
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • Oregon
        • Crater Lake NP
        • Mt Hood
        • Oregon Caves National Monument
      • Texas
        • Alpine Texas
        • Padre Island
        • Port Isabel
        • Rio Grande Valley
      • Utah
        • Brian’s Head
        • Bryce Canyon National Park
        • Buckskin Gulch
        • Cedar Breaks National Monument
        • Cedar City
        • Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
        • Dixie National Forest
        • Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
        • Johnson Canyon
        • Kanab
    • World Travels
      • Germany
      • Mexico
      • South Africa
  • Tours
  • Photography
  • Work with Me
    • Sponsors
  • Contact
Geogypsy
Menu
  • Home
  • About Geogypsy
    • Herstory
    • Parks where I’ve worked
  • Places I’ve been
    • United States
      • Arizona
        • Antelope Slot Canyon
        • Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
        • Colossal Cave Mountain Park
        • Flagstaff
        • Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
        • Grand Canyon National Park
          • Grand Canyon National Park North Rim
          • Grand Canyon National Park South Rim
          • Toroweap
        • Havasu Canyon
        • Horseshoe Bend
        • Jerome
        • Kaibab National Forest
        • Lee’s Ferry
        • Meteor Crater
        • Navajo Bridge
        • Oak Creek Canyon
        • Painted Desert
        • Pipe Springs National Monument
        • Prescott
        • Quartzsite
        • Saguaro National Park
        • Sedona
        • Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
        • Vermilion Cliffs
        • Walnut Canyon National Monument
        • Wupatki National Monument
        • Yarnell
      • California
        • Anzaberrego
        • Bakersfield
        • Death Valley National Park
        • Joshua Tree National Park
        • Redwoods NP
        • Salton Sea
        • Yucca Valley
      • Colorado
        • Mesa Verde National Park
      • Florida
      • Illinois
        • IL River
        • Morton Arboretum
        • Starved Rock State Park
      • Michigan
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • Oregon
        • Crater Lake NP
        • Mt Hood
        • Oregon Caves National Monument
      • Texas
        • Alpine Texas
        • Padre Island
        • Port Isabel
        • Rio Grande Valley
      • Utah
        • Brian’s Head
        • Bryce Canyon National Park
        • Buckskin Gulch
        • Cedar Breaks National Monument
        • Cedar City
        • Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
        • Dixie National Forest
        • Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
        • Johnson Canyon
        • Kanab
    • World Travels
      • Germany
      • Mexico
      • South Africa
  • Tours
  • Photography
  • Work with Me
    • Sponsors
  • Contact

Tag: my gypsy life

13 March 2019

My gypsy life moving to California mid 1970s

After my first solo adventure from Illinois to California and back I was sure I should move to California, the land of golden opportunity.  So I traded in the Vega for a 1968 Chevy camper conversion van to live in and moved west.

1968-chevy-sport-van-camper-conversionMy van was navy blue and no colored wheels but had the popup and looked like a VW bus camper inside

I was conveniently laid off from my job and collected unemployment for the first time.   Wasn’t so easy back then and I had to actually knock on doors to ask for a job, fill out paperwork that was signed by the employer who didn’t need me, then mailed in along with a weekly phone call.

My plan was to travel westward during late summer on the northern I90 route but my departure date was put off until October.

Chicago to Durango mapBadlands was bitter cold wind.  Mount Rushmore was fogged in.  Then it snowed overnight and I woke up afraid to crawl out of my gifted Alaskan issue down mummy bag.  Time to turn south.  Yet the under-powered 6 cylinder Chevy could barely climb the Rocky Mountains.  A mechanic in Durango adjusted the carburetor to get more air than was needed in the low lands of Illinois.  Still, there were times I could have walked faster.

Durango to LA mapI vaguely remember turning west at Albuquerque and I think I drove through Petrified Forest and maybe even Joshua Tree.  I was very sick with bronchitis on the verge of pneumonia by the time I arrived at relatives’ home in La Canada just east of Los Angeles.

LA to SF mapAfter visiting a free clinic for meds and convalescing for several weeks I started to look for a job.  Figuring I had experience as an office clerk at a seed company that’s the direction I took.  I was familiar with several seed companies in western California so I started applying and headed north along the coast.  Sure would have been nice to have a cell phone instead of saving coin and calling from payphones along the way.

Ferry Morse Seeds logo on thimbleI finally took a temporary job south of San Francisco in Mountain View at Ferry-Morse Seed Company in their seed lab.  Rented a room in a house for a couple months before getting an apartment with a lady I met through a mutual friend.  Within a year I’d moved from the Credit Department, to accounting and finally Lawn Seed.

St James Infirmary t-shirtI did own this shirt, pretty sure in another color

The clutch went wonky on the van so I rode my bike a lot until getting it fixed.  Was an expensive place to live and I struggled working two jobs.  Secretary by day and pizza maker at night.  I’d go out on a weekend night drinking with a friend at the St James Infirmary Bar where the beer was .39 a mug and mixed drinks were .89 each.  I could go with change, get others to fill my mug from their pitcher, and go home with a happy buzz.  Come to find out, the bar burned in 1997.  A real shame.  Inside was heavily decorated with props from Hollywood back lots, so the story goes.

Sometimes I would charge a tank of gas, buy a six-pack, and drive over the Santa Cruz Mountains to the free beach on days off.  I was rather lonely and wasn’t meeting people.  There was an attitude of many displaced people about not getting to close as you, or I, might move away.  I met one native Californian.  Everyone else were transplants like me.

After a year I finally figured I couldn’t afford to live there.  So, with tail between legs returned to Illinois on Mom’s Shell Oil credit card in the same ole van—clutch fixed—along the southern route.

SF to IL mapThat took me through Texas, which is huge to cross, and no Shell Oil fuel stations.  I did finally make it to southern Illinois where I lived with an old beau in Carbondale for about a year.  Then finally back north to the Chicago suburbs, took a job as a waitress, hostess, and eventually night manager and met my future husband of 15 years.  And although we raised a family we also moved across country and traveled to Mexico.  The gypsy life is in my blood.

12 round trip Chicago CA map - Copy-1Sadly, all photos from this time of my life were destroyed in a flood in my parents Illinois’ basement.

Push my buttons!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...
Gypsy life, RV life Chevy van, moving, my gypsy life 12 Comments
09 March 2009

The Gypsy life of a seasonal Park Ranger – Summer 2007

Desert Vulture Mine Road Wickenburg Arizona
Desert near Vulture Mine – Wickenburg Arizona
After a delightful winter of play in the southwest’s deserts I returned yet again to Oregon Caves National Monument to lead cave tours as a seasonal Park Ranger.
Crawling out of small Manhole cave opening Oregon Caves National Monument Oregon
Me in the Man-hole
This year, off-trail wild cave tours were offered once a week to visitors in groups of no more than six plus two Rangers. It was so much fun crawling on bellies through small passages while safely introducing people to the underworld.
Visitors on wild cave tour Oregon Caves National Monument Oregon
Tour group reverse star gazing
I also returned to host at Cave Creek campground located only four miles from Oregon Caves.
Host site Cave Creek campground Siskyou National Forest Oregon
Host site – Cave Creek campground Siskyou NF
This small campground of 18 tent sites along the creek and scattered around a one mile loop road offers peace and quiet in a diverse lush forest of Douglas Fir, Madrone, Oak, Maple and more.
Tiger Lily along Cave Creek Siskyou National Forest Oregon
Tiger Lilly
Coral Orchid Siskyou National Forest Oregon
Coral Orchid
The Cave Creek trail runs two miles downhill from the cave to the campground. Going for a walk in the early morning always offered pleasant surprises.
Dew on spider web Cave Creek trail Siskyou National Forest Oregon
Dew on a spider web
Roth Forest Snail Siskyou National Forest Oregon
Roth Forest Snail
Rogue River Oregon
Rogue River, Oregon
A group of Rangers rented a raft to float about 15 miles on the Rogue River out of Grants Pass. We saw deer, bald eagles, turtles, and osprey. A warm day with rather low water allowed us to float in lifejackets near the raft.
Wizard Island Crater Lake National Park Oregon
Wizard Island – Crater Lake National Park
Seems like it was a busy and fun filled summer as I revisited some of the spectacular landscapes of southwestern Oregon.
Feeling small below the towering Redwoods Redwood National Park California
Colleen at Redwoods National Park
While walking with friends through the Redwoods on a short nature trail we suddenly heard music drifting through the air. A sax player we never saw truly enhanced the experience that day. Even the little people were dancing.
Pelican State Beach California
Pelican State Beach near the California & Oregon border
I don’t think I ever visited the nearby coast when the sun was out, and I’m kind of like a plant when it comes to sun. So I headed back to Arizona.
Elderberry in fall color Oregon
Elderberry

Push my buttons!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...
My gypsy life, Oregon, Oregon Caves National Monument my gypsy life, Oregon Caves, Park Ranger, Redwoods NP, Rogue River 53 Comments
02 March 2009

The Gypsy life of a seasonal Park Ranger – Fall and Winter 2006-2007

Oyster mushrooms Oregon
Oyster Mushroom, choice edible
After the Barter Fair I enjoyed fall mushroom gathering in southwest Oregon before resuming my gypsy life.  There isn’t a side dish any better than sautéed wild mushrooms.  But just like any wild edible, know what you’re eating.
1954 Sears kit cabin Cave Junction Oregon
Colleen & Dave’s 1954 Sears kit-cabin
The monthly gathering of the Domino Dames fell on Halloween where we gathered at Colleen’s for a full day of eating, drinking and playing Mexican Train Dominoes.
Arizona desert
Arizona desert
As the temperatures began to drop in Oregon I felt the draw of the southern desert and returned to Yarnell to park where I had the previous winter.
Little house Yarnell Arizona
Little house/garage
On the property where I park there is a little house, actually a partially converted garage.  So Berta and I set up a bunch of tables inside and put out stuff to sell.  About once a month, when we felt like it, we’d put up signs and have a garage sale.  Both of us are notorious collectors, so once in a while have to high grade to make room.
Inside yard sale Yarnell Arizona
Set up to sell
This was the first winter I actually got a land-line telephone and went online with dial-up. Believe me, it was a giant step.  And as you all know, the internet is addictive, and I didn’t even know what a blog was.  Yet I spent a lot of time sitting at my computer and looking out the window at the birds…
Gambels Quail Yarnell Arizona
Gambel’s Quail
…and other wildlife.
Mule deer at bird feeder Yarnell Arizona
Mule deer
Towards the end of March I hooked up the 5th-wheel and went to sell my jewelry at the Deming, New Mexico Gem and Mineral Show.  Sold a little, bought more, and had a great time with rock people.
Booth at Gem and Mineral Show Deming New Mexico
My booth
As spring arrived I camped in the desert knowing that this winter of fun was almost over and I’d soon be moving on once again.
Sunrise Freeman Road Arizona
Sunrise near Freeman Road, southeastern Arizona

Push my buttons!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn

Like this:

Like Loading...
Arizona, My gypsy life, New Mexico, Oregon jewelry, my gypsy life, RV lifestyle 32 Comments
← Older posts

Hi, I’m Gaelyn, the Geogypsy

I retired after 29 summer seasons as a Park Ranger, traveling solo for 40+ years. My passions include travel, connecting to nature, photography, and sharing stories.

I started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a seasonal Park Ranger.  I’ve lived full-time in a RV for 30 years working summers and playing winters.  I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow old, other than grow up.

Let’s share our stories.  Here’s more of mine…

My wheeleastate

I am currently…

…boondocking somewhere in southern Arizona.  In the area, give a shout.

Geogypsytraveler on YouTube

Follow my journey on YouTube. Just click the pic. Hope you’ll like, share, and subscribe.

Click image for 7 minute documentary (Password “geogypsy” lowercase)

Making the Gypsy documentary is a story of its own.  Click below for the rest of the story.

Living nomadically & connecting to nature documentary

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Photos available for sale include prints, greeting cards, coffee mugs, tote bags, phone cases and more

Reflected Wave 24X16 metal print under $100

Custom Coffee Mugs

Many items to choose from including prints

The Last Blast 24 x 16″ metal print under $100

Need a signal boost? When I boondock on public lands sometimes signal is weak or intermittent and a booster helps. Click the pic to visit WeBoost.

Connecting to nature and the rest of the world too.

Please contact me for photo purchases not seen at GLOlmsted Photography

Order fulfillment is by Fine Art America. If you’re not happy with your purchase, for any reason, simply return it within 30 days, and you’ll receive a full refund of the purchase price.

Why read Geogypsy?

The gypsy life spring-summer 1998 - "You were a real pioneer. RV'ing before it was cool." ...Yogi

How do you process photos? - “Your photographs create an Emotional feeling in the viewer...that they become One with You.” …Cindy

Life’s transitions between travel and work play - "I know you love your job as much as you love travel -- it shines through all your posts." ...Sallie

Lions at Kruger National Park - “Wonderful post, thank you. I was hooked start to finish!” … Peter B

11 lessons looking back 2013 - “A great post -- made me think, made me smile, made me want to cry." ...Sallie

Wildlife video Kruger National Park - “Gorgeous, this makes me want to go straight to South Africa now.” … Ayngelina

Living nomadically & connecting to nature documentary - “What an experience you had and gave to the "crew." Sometimes I think you don't realize how unique and inspiring you are.” …Alan

Search

Popular Posts

1. Prioritize the well-being of nature over photography. 2. Educate yourself about the places you photograph. 3. Reflect on the possible impact of your actions. 4. Use discretion if sharing locations. 5. Know and follow rules and regulations. 6. Always follow Leave No Trace principles and strive to leave places better than you found them. 7. Actively promote and educate others about these principles

Categories

Archives

Sites I follow, read & recommend

  • A Full-time Life
  • A Yankee in Belgrade
  • Bob's Eyes
  • Box Canyon Blog
  • Camels and Chocolate
  • Dawns bloggy blog
  • In the Direction of Our Dreams
  • Jane in her infinite wisdom
  • Janie and Steve, Utah Trails
  • Kathie's Birds
  • Las Adventuras
  • Memorable Meanders
  • Oh, The Places They Go
  • On the Road Abode
  • Port Elizabeth Daily Photo
  • Stillhowlyntravels
  • Take to the Highway
  • Technomadia
  • the good luck Duck
  • Travel with the Bayfield Bunch
  • Wandering Earl
  • Wheeling It
  • Yogi's Den

Caught in a Slot 9×12 canvas print under $50

If you don’t like what’s going on in your government, contact your Congress

Directory of Senators

Directory of Representatives

Lijit

© Copyright 2008-2024. Geogypsytraveler.com
%d