Like a Band of Gypsies

LIKE A BAND OF GYPSIES

On any given day, if you sat at the intersection of highway 167 and 270 in Sheridan, I would bet you’d see all types and styles of recreational vehicles going through our city.  During the spring and summer months you can’t blink without seeing a travel trailer, fifth wheel or motor home come through our city west bound for some of the most beautiful lakes in Arkansas.   In the fall, the direction changes a bit and you see the same type of RV’s mostly headed south to squirrel or deer camps.  Some are really nice rigs, while some seem to travel with a bandage and a prayer.  (The owner having bandaged and those stuck behind him saying the prayers). All of them offer one thing to the owner-an affordable chance to get away from their normal routine. 

What is the RV draw?  The love of the outdoors, the freedom to travel from area to area?  Escape from cold, cold winters, or extreme heat? Maybe it’s the big buck, the elusive bass.  Whatever your reason, people from all walks in life go RV-ing.

My husband and I bought our retirement home on wheels in 2006.  We are not near retirement age at this time, but our plans are to travel the United States once we retire.  For us, the outdoors, the tranquility of a lake, the beauty of the changing landscape, draws us to get away from our normal fast paced life. 

During our getaway’s we’ve visited with folks who like camping or RV-ing as some prefer to call it. Many are retired and living the dream my husband and I seek, affordable travel to mysterious destinations.  Some, by economics are living in their RV due to housing costs and travel from RV parks to campgrounds throughout the year.  We’ve made lasting friendships over the years with different travelers who gather at Shouse Ford on DeGray Lake.  Each brings their own special personality to their campsite.  One group of older friends who camp in the early spring comes from different areas of the state.  They have custom built a blue tarp tent large enough for twenty people, where an old moonshine still has been converted to a fire pit and is the center of attention.  Everyone gathers there for the daily fish stories and other such tall tales.

Then you have the man from the Saline County area that made a homemade camper from a former horse trailer frame.  It looks like an outhouse on wheels covered in black tar paper with wood shingles and a large stop sign on the back side.  We heard some were offended and could not believe the park rangers would allow something untraditional like that into the park.  Several watched as he posted three large bamboo poles on his campsite, one that bears the American Flag, the Arkansas Flag and the other a POW flag.  Wasn’t much said about his choice of shelter after those flags went up. 

We have spent spring breaks in the cold rain, even snow, wrapped in blankets while sitting under a tarp canopy with a propane heater keeping us warm just so a group of us can play cards.  We’ve had to keep our feet elevated because of the depth of water running under the picnic table!  Then other years, we are in shorts, out by the campfire roasting wieners over the open flame.  I’m sure all the hunters can relate to these conditions as well!

Regardless of the weather, we are there because there is nothing better than being with family and friends.  Not once have I ever said I’m not going back.  Enthusiastically I tell my family and friends “Let’s go to the lake” and like a band of gypsies we all pack our bags and set forth to our next adventure.

So the next time you are stuck in our local traffic behind any type of RV, don’t complain.  Instead, try to imagine the adventure they are heading too and the fellowship and fun with family and friends you know they will have!  You might find yourself dreaming of the same get away.   

Tracy Gilbert Brown