I spent some time this spring, redecorating our pickup camper. It's a traditional type pick up camper, 10 foot, with the bed over the cab. We picked it up for $100 at a farm sale ...It was in good shape, no leaky roof, and a nice floor plan, with two big closets, and a bathroom... We put it on our four wheel drive pickup, we needed a camper that will get us to some of the places we want to go, where a 5th wheel just won't fit!
This photo is of my grandpa, with one of the horses he raised. You can see part of the big haystack to the right, and more horses in the background.
It's not every husband, who could buy something like this for his wife, and have her be happy about it! But this is one of the presents Robert bought me for my birthday. It was an antique bottle opener, but we turned it into a cupboard door handle.
I recovered the back wall behind the table, with the same material I used in the curtains. The knick knack on the back of the table, with the cowboy boots, I painted to match the dishes. We'll use it for napkin holder.
Made the curtain tie backs from strips of leather and some conchos.
Imagine this, I even found a hair brush with a horse on it! The antique spoon, matches the wire whip from the other photos.
Robert made me a towel rack from an elk antler, I made the curtains, hung some antique items on the wall, and the horse just fit into the corner.
The rope hanging here, came off a bale of twine, from long, long, ago! The photo is of the Ridgway Saloon, in Camp Crook, South Dakota. Robert's grandpa ran that saloon for 50 years, and at one time, he owned Tipperary, the famous rodeo bronc.
There's a little horse show cowboy in the corner, swinging his rope, some Sweet Grass in the very corner behind the cowboy, my Grandma Allen's old spice cans, and the cowboy coffee pot, come on in, we'll sit and visit, the coffee's on!
I have an old wire whip, my old cinch ring, and some other antique decorations here...
I recovered the seat cushions with green denim...and made some bandana pillows. I was going for a "cowboy" look.
I painted the table red, and Robert remodeled it, so it sat against the back wall. We'll use the antique cowboy dishes my aunt gave me, many years ago.
This is our gallery wall, Charlie Russell prints, and my art work. We bolted the frames to the wall, so they'll remain where we put them! I do need to find a piece of glass to go over the Charlie Russell at the bottom, at the moment, I placed that print inside a clear bag. It works better when you're actually in the camper, than it does for photos! All you see here is the glare...
We placed black and white family photos on the cupboard doors, we wanted a feeling of nostalgia, and a personal touch. In this photo, you see my grandpa branding the calf, my Uncle Bill on the horse, and my great granddad Howe, looking on.... this photo was taken when they were proving up on their homestead land.
Scarlet had to pose on the bed! She loves it there. We found this southwestern type comforter at a yard sale for $3, we love bargains. I made all the curtains. They're made of denim, and I added the horses you see on the front curtain.
So there you have it, a Cowboy Camper!
Donna Ridgway
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