The Silver Gypsy: Woodcarver’s Week

The campground fills.  A few boondockers park while others back up to the electric and sewer to hook up and settle in.  The awnings are pulled out and fastened; the ground cover is spread; the lawn chairs are opened; and a new home surfaces.  The tools come out and new neighbors chat about what they have been doing, where they are going next, what kind of project they have finished or what they are working on.

Excitement reigns as old friends gather to enjoy a week with like interests.  The Activity Center bustles with instructors instructing, laughter exploding, energetic chit-chatting, machinery buzzing.  Cardinals and bluebirds emerge, eagles grow, vultures scowl, cranes hunch, snowy owls stare, bears lumber, spindles become Santa heads, and amazing scenes of horses, wooded cabins, and howling wolves materialize from solid blocks of wood.  Tail feathers are precise; paint colors are bright; and little old men swagger with pipes in hand (The sculptures, not the sculpturers).   Newbies who thought they couldn’t, proved they could, and surprised themselves.  

Concentration and humped shoulders bring pain by the end of the day.  Sitting for hours brings stiffness.  Camaraderie and like interests are the reward.  By the end of the week and the farewell Friday brunch, they are ready once again to hit the road and head for the next adventure.  “See ya next year,” “Where ya goin’ from here?” are shouted between rigs.  Life is good.  God Bless until next week.

Winter in the Wilderness, the first e-book novel published by Minshall, is offered at most Internet book sites. A print edition may be obtained from Amazon, or you can order an autographed copy from the author at Box 1040, Congress, AZ for $7.95 plus $3.50 for postage and handling. The fourth edition of RVing Alaska and Canada is available through Amazon.com.  

Sharlene Minshall - The Silver Gypsy

At 45, Widow Minshall began 20 years of solo full-time RVing throughout Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Sharlene canoed the Yukon, mushed sled dogs, worked a dude ranch, visited Hudson Bay polar bears, and lived six months on a Mexican beach. She lectured at Life on Wheels, published six RV-related books and wrote a novel, “Winter in the Wilderness.”