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i was last in olympia in 2017 for the west coast puppetry conference and was really looking forward to being back!
one thing i have learned in my travels is that parking at friends locations, as they often suggest, most likely isn’t the most pleasant option— the street or driveway is usually at an uncomfortable angle, neighborhood streets can be too narrow to safely accommodate my vardo, and friends almost universally underestimate what it will be like with my rig on their property— so i am really grateful for all the great apps for finding places to stay when on the road
this time i stayed at a really nice hipcamp location— it was a little out in the country but close enough to make everything easily accessible— and it was really close to the gorgeous mclane creek nature trail, which i visited several times for hikes with finny
i had a wonderful visit with puppet colleagues marjorie and patricia and got to see their latest projects
and i got to visit abel zyl!!— which was super special— i had dearly wanted abel to build my vardo for me but the timing didn’t work out— his magical zyl vardos really inspired me and i was so happy to get to meet him in person
i also got to see a performance of “far away and hard to find,” by string and shadow which was super fun!— they use giant puppets for some of the characters in their shows, operated by more than one puppeteer
i ran out of time for the valentinetti puppet museum— something to look forward to next trip north!
this is my favorite photo of my vardo so far— hipcamping out ia a flower field!!
string and shadow performing “far away and hard to find” at calliope farm, july 2022
