Woolywagons
Steve Auth contacted me recently about his Wollywagons and I thought you would enjoy his story about them.
While always having an interest in the old west, which Indiana was once considered the west frontier, anywhere west of the Missouri River to me is the old west these days, and nomadic living in small quarters such as mountain mans cabins, Native American tipi’s, wickiups (a Native American lodge built of sticks and bark) and sheep herder wagons, sheepwagons, (A wagon on wheels with small living quarters, the idea brought to the United States by the Basque people of Northern Spain’s mountain region employed by many a sheep rancher of the west, and I suppose they immigrated here also for a better life as well with all the open range we had at that time.
So after watching the movie The Woolyboys with Peter Fonda and Kriss Kristoferson that takes place on a sheep ranch out west, I said to my wife the only thing wrong with those wagons with living quarters is their a bit small, so I set out and built my first wagon I dubbed the “Woolywagon.” Continue Reading »
Willow Wagon
Terri Freeman met Ron Dakotah last summer coming down the road with a team of horses and this wagon – the wagon didn’t look like this then.
They fell in love and Terri went and towed the wagon back from South Dakota with Ron and he spent all winter putting those willows on the wagon and refurbishing the inside.
If you will look on their website www.rondakotah.com you will see their story and pics of the wagon when Ron lived in it, which he did in this wagon and others for the last 20 years while traveling throughout the US. Well, since Terry took him off the road, they need to sell the wagon to buy a 4 horse trailer so they can get themselves to the Southwest and out of Montana. Terri is a western artist www.rustycowboy2.com. Terri just painted the door on the wagon in a little while ago, you can check out the pictures below. Continue Reading »
George’s Mini Vardo Project
George one of our readers spotted Katy’s Don Vardo and emailed me to let me know he was in the progress of building his own little vardo and would enjoy sharing his project with us.
Using a home built trailer using classic and modern building techniques and style. Based on traveler’s and “gypsy” wagons from Britain and France as well as sheep wagons from the western U.S. George is keeping this to the absolute minimum in size and weight. George doesn’t plan to live in it so it can be thought of a base camp.
You can view more pictures and follow his project at his Paleotool’s Weblog. I will also do an updated post when George completes the vardo, so stay tuned.
