Not all who wander are lost

Not all who wander are lost, is a line from the poem "All that is gold does not glitter," written by J. R. R. Tolkien for The Lord of the Rings. A fitting quote when describing the three souls who wandered through Sidney, Wednesday.

A 1969 Dodge Travo is a rare and interesting recreational vehicle to bump into in Cheyenne County, but when paired with a 1962 Shasta pulled behind a 1964 Ford Falcon, its quite a caravan.

Dubbed the "Hip Gyp Trip" the caravan left Indiana June 3, bound westward with no particular place to go, with the exception of being in Colorado in July.

Candy Treft is no stranger to travel, she has spent the last 15 years migrating from city to city as a traveling nurse.

Travel nursing is a nursing assignment concept that developed in response to the nursing shortages, the industry supplies nurses who travel to work in temporary nursing positions.

"I travel mostly in the medical surgical field, helping when hospitals are shorthanded," Treft said.

A self proclaimed Gypsy Nurse, Treft has spent the past four years running her online site, TheGypsyNurse.com, finding more and more that she had less and less time for herself, Treft made the decision to sell the site to private investors, leaving her more time to travel.

Treft's co-wanderers, and the "hippies" to her " gypsy" is, her dad Ron Becker, and long time family friend Dan Halferty.

Treft said she has always wanted to travel with her dad, but didn't think he would until he bought the Shasta, she calls "Little Blue", and began fixing up his Ford Falcon.

Becker owns a pool and spa store in Kendallville, Indiana, he said, "it was time to turn the page in life."

Halferty said he worked mostly in the propane business and would probably still be working there if it was for Becker and Treft.

"We really don't have a set plan, except that we'll be traveling West," Treft said.

The trio traveled traveled through, illinois and Iowa stopping at various campgrounds and making friends along the way before stopping in Sidney.

"We are headed to Fort Collins, Colorado to see friends of dads," said Treft, "and then who knows where we will go after that."

Becker said the Hip Gyp Trip, "Ends when it ends."

For information on traveling nursing or to follow the trip online go to https://arediscoveredlife.me/

or #HipGypTrip on twitter.