Rescued Relics in LaPorte, CO

 

Hello, dear readers!

So, a few months ago, we were driving back from the mountains, going through the cute little town of LaPorte (just outside of Ft. Collins), when I noticed this array of adorable vintage campers.  My curiosity was piqued (actually, I was drooling).

Soon enough, I discovered that these beauties are part of a new family business called Rescued Relics Rentals, started by Lindsey (pictured above) and her mom, Anita. I couldn't resist writing an article about it for this summer issue of Fort Collins Magazine. They were only able to squeeze in a tiny article last minute, so I figured I'd supplement it here with some pics from my visit with Lindsey.

They have several 1960's trailers available to rent (for travel to a campsite or your home) at really reasonable prices. You just need to temporarily add the trailer to your auto insurance. And you need to have experience driving a trailer (though these are light and compact and can be pulled by a small truck or SUV.) These trailers would work well for a small family or couple.

This summery yellow-themed trailer is Buttercup, a completely rebuilt 1969 Go-Lite, just 10 feet long.  Lindsey, Anita, and their husbands (Reuben and Louis, respectively) have renovated all these trailers themselves... this one was quite a bit of work. Totally worth it-- she's so sweet and cheery.

 

And this is La Jolla, a 1965 Aristocrat. Love the color scheme!

On her website, Lindsey has suggestions of campsites you where you could bring the trailers.  You just use the campsite bathrooms, since these don't have toilets. (One of my favorites is Dowdy Lake campground, in the Red Feather, CO area, about an hour from Fort Collins.)

Aren't the minty blue-green appliances beautiful?

And below is El Mojito, who is actually the same year and make as my own Winnie-- a 14-foot 1969 Red Dale, made here in Colorado. :-)  This would be perfect for a family of four (2 adults, 2 kids). Ours fits me, Ian, our 10-year-old son, and Wilma our beagle with room to spare.

El Mojito has the same avocado green appliances as Winnie. It's so fun to see how Lindsey and Anita worked with the color in their design scheme... inspiring! And their back splash tile job looks snazzy-- it's a lightweight, stick-on style perfect for campers. 

This next one is Rocky, an 11-foot, 1969 Colorado Travel Trailer...

He is mountain-and-fishing themed, with a built-in checkers/chess table. :-)

Lindsey was kind enough to give me tours of her works-in-progress, too! Here's a gorgeous 1950's canned ham with amazing potential...

I'm in love with the rich, natural wood interior. Can't wait to see this one finished...

Upon visiting my own trailers, Winnie and Peachy, many of my FC friends have shown interest in getting a trailer of their own. If you're in that boat, I'd recommend renting a camper from Rescued Relics to try it out in the mountains for a weekend adventure. (After that, you'll probably be hooked and scouring Craig's List for one of your own. :-)

If you missed my latest post on my own Winnie and Peachy, you can read it and see pics here.

And you can read my tiny article about Rescued Relics Rentals in Fort Collins Magazine here.

Thanks for coming by!

Happy summer!
Laura

Puerto Morelos, Mexico!

 

Hello beautiful readers!

Hope you're enjoying springtime! I've got a few manuscripts in to my editor and agent, and am now waiting for revision notes and news... At this point, the only thing I have to share with you, writing-wise, is that my new book (involving chocolate-making and the rain forest and magical dreams and a treasure hunt) will be coming out in Fall, 2018 with Scholastic! Oh, and I redesigned my website (by myself... quite the challenge!)... here it is if you'd like to check it out.



I thought I'd share some photos of our fun family trip to Puerto Morelos, Mexico, back in February...

Here's where we stayed, at Rancho Sak-Ol, just a 15 min walk from downtown.

My Lil Dude (not so little anymore... he just turned 10!!!) loved the hammocks....
 

He wanted to bring his guitar, but we compromised on bringing my much-smaller uke instead...



The bed swung from the ceiling... this was relaxing for reading in bed, but for actually *sleeping*, it was a little weird... every time you shifted positions,the whole bed would swing. ;-)
 

Some cool snorkeling right off shore...

 

To get downtown, we walked down a road through a mangrove swamp, complete with crocodiles.
 

Puerto Morelos is nestled between the busy, super-touristy cities of Playa del Carmen and Cancun.  We just flew into the Cancun airport and took a half hour shuttle ride to this sweet little fishing town. There were more locals than tourists, which was nice... we liked hanging out in the mellow town square, where local kids came to play after school.

Nights were magical... we ate outdoors at the yummy restaurants downtown and watched street performers like this fire dancer.

Playground in the town square at night... my dude got to practice his Spanish...

 Lots of bougainvillea...

Very walkable...

Street art!

Our favorite cafe was El Nicho, right on the town square...

 

Some parts reminded me of Huajuapan, the town where I lived in Oaxaca... 
 

Another restaurant we loved-- DK's... This place was made from a shipping container (in this pic, it was closed, but when we went, the walls opened up and cafe tables were set up around it.) Tasty blowfish tacos!



 

We went to Xcaret for a couple days-- it's kind of an eco-theme park.... One of the coolest things about it were these underground rivers that flowed through caves... you could float along the crystal-clear water for about 45 minutes on each river. Enchanting!

There were jungle paths and animals to see along the way...

Swimming and snorkeling...

My dude loved this blowhole!

He and Ian had a blast on the ropes over the water in one of the little coves...

 Thanks for swinging by!

xo,
Laura

Meet Peachy and Winnie, Our Sweet Vintage Trailers!

Peachy, our 1950s canned ham trailer

Hello dear ones,

So, now that I am officially a crazy trailer lady, I thought I'd introduce you to our latest one, and show you some pics from this year of our other one.

This is our beloved old one, Peachy, named after my beautiful great-grandmother. She's a sweet little ten foot long canned ham from the late 1950s. She lives happily in our driveway and gives us a creative space to play and work. I've written three books sitting at her table, and revised more while lounging on her bed. We take her to the mountains for weekend outings in the summers...

 

 

 

And this is our new one, Winnie, named after my loving grandmother. She's a charming 1969 Red Dale, about 14 feet long. During the warm months, she'll be living by a babbling brook among the aspens on our land in the mountains. We'll be visiting her as often as possible. :-)

Winnie, our 1969 Red Dale trailer 

We just got Winnie a few months ago, and I had fun doing some renovations-- mainly painting and ripping up the carpet to reveal gold-sparkled original linoleum. Ian kindly painted marigold yellow stripes on the sides. I love going to flea markets and thrift stores to find cool stuff for her. I've been doing some book revising and tea-drinking on the comfy sofa and hosting a few *tiny* dinner parties in her dining area. When the weather warms up and she's in the mountains, I plan to do some writing retreats with her. :-)

 

We have some cool decals with the trailers' names-- Peachy and Winnie-- but we're just waiting for the weather to warm up enough to stick them on. Stay tuned...

If you're curious to know how we found Winnie and Peachy, it was on Craig's List. Both were pretty incredible deals.... and Winnie's seller was located less than a mile from our house! If you're in the market for a vintage trailer, I'd recommend spending time researching them online and checking Craig's List regularly so that you get a good sense of how much different styles/ages of trailers in your area are going for. Then you'll be able to recognize a good deal and pounce on it. :-)



*Note that these images all came from my Instagram feed.... that's where I do my updates on life, creativity, trailers, travel, etc. You can follow me here.

Here's a link to all my vintage trailer posts. Just click on the link, and once you get to the page, keep scrolling down for older posts, and click on "older posts." Enjoy!

Thanks for coming by!

xo,

Laura