Dear VICE - We Are 'Gyspy Steampunk Time Travellers' and We Want You to Write About Us

From time to time at VICE, we receive emails, letters and incredibly annoying Facebook chat messages from people who think that we should write about them. Typically, these people are either very angry with us or the world in general. But the other day, I was forwarded a very friendly email from two people who didn't seem angry at all. They also described themselves as "gypsy time travellers".

Here is the email:

"Hello Vice Magazine "My husband and I were just saying we need another Hunter Thompson today
and then we found VICE.com "Thank you.  I am attaching some media about what we do and our
crazy Land Yacht “Florence the Freightliner” "We might be an interesting story. "Thanks for your time and gonzo journalism.  Hunter Lives!!!!!!!!!!! "Christy Horne “The Brains” and Michel Olson “The Brawn”"

Obviously, because they namedropped Hunter S Thompson, used the word "gonzo" and hinted at the existence of a "crazy Land Yacht", I rushed to open the attached media. And then I read it.

Below, I have bolded all the parts of the article about Christy and Michel that give me acid reflux. I know that they didn't write it themselves, but if they're pointing me to it, and using it as evidence of why we should write about them, I think it's fair to say that they believe it's representative of their "vibe".

(link)

“Weirdness is a byproduct of being awesome,” said Christy Horne, as she gazed out over a sweeping view of the foothills around Copperopolis from her home perched on a hill above New Melones Reservoir.

She and husband Michel Olson, known as the Gypsy Time Travelers, are renowned across the country for performing their traveling Vaudevillian stage show.

“We are basically modern gypsies,” Olson said, adding their lifestyle feeds body, mind and spirit.

They travel all across the United States in “Florence” their recreational castle, blacksmith shop and stage rig. After setting up at an event, the couple combines storytelling with anvil accompaniment and takes great pride in the stage show they created, which both entertains and educates crowds.

Olson, who may be the youngest master blacksmith in America, creates four to 25 items out of iron during each show and gives them to audience members. While he uses brute strength to shape iron, Horne captivates onlookers with mystical tales of yesteryear.

“I tell stories from the lore of blacksmithing, while Michel makes items,” Horne said. “We give everything away. We have 25 different stories. Crowds are able to watch something made right in front of them, and then they have a chance to win it.”

In 2011, more than 4,500 items were created and given away to audience members following shows across the nation.

Both Horne and Olson see themselves as keeping the traditions of Vaudevillian-style entertainers alive for future generations.

Despite earning widespread acclaim for their show, GTT has yet to perform in Calaveras County.

Both Olson and Horne said they would love to have the opportunity to share their talents and substantial fan base with Calaveras County residents.

The lifestyle the couple lives is certainly unique for this day and age. The couple spends about eight months on the road each year and four months enjoying the beauty of 23 acres with sweeping views of New Melones Reservoir, Bear Mountain and the foothills surrounding Copperopolis.

When traveling, their show rig “Florence” acts as both their home and stage. Olson straps a motorcycle and mountain bikes onto Florence for excursions in the area around a show, and the couple oftentimes spends weeks at any given location.

“I strip out towns,” Olson said. “We leave a week early and explore new regions.”

“You have your house, your job and your recreation all in one place,” he continued. “You’re always at work, you’re always home and you’re always on vacation. There is a simplicity to it that allows this immense freedom.”

“We say, ‘Go small, live big,’” Horne said.

A shared thirst for curiosity is a main driver that has held the couple together for the past 19 years of marriage.

They developed their skills with large crowds from guiding rafting trips on the Stanislaus River during a period of drought when New Melones Reservoir wasn’t covering the run from Camp Nine to Parrott’s Ferry Bridge.

Olson refers to the run as “astoundingly enchanting,” describing a beautiful white marble canyon, despite all the vegetation having been killed by the lake’s high water levels.

“It helped us do what we do today,” Olson said. “It’s to entertain people and be their social director. In the past, we used to play to an audience of six in our boat, and now we play to an audience of 600 on a hillside. We learned enough through guiding to play to bigger crowds.”

Both highly educated, the couple have each lived interesting lives. Olson has stood atop the great pyramids in Egypt before getting “busted” on the way back down, climbed Mt. Kenya in Africa and served in the U.S. Navy, just to name a few. Horne sold her first television script at age 18, swam from Alcatraz to the mainland and climbed the face of Mt. Whitney twice.

Nearly every year, they attend Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and hold their own large gathering dubbed “Freezing Man” in Death Valley around Christmas time.

In everything they do, they live by the motto “radical self-reliance.” The couple’s newest business venture is opening a 2-mile-long labyrinth trail to the public that winds across their 23-acre property.

Olson has spent thousands of hours carving the trail seamlessly into the natural terrain, and the couple walks it nearly every day at sunset.

“It’s a meandering trail through oak savannah, featuring spectacular rock formations, art pieces and incredible views,” Horne said. “You can see the whole Central Valley. At the top of the trail you can see the snowcapped peaks of the High Sierra all the way out to the Coastal Range.”

The couple hopes to attract tourists visiting the wine country along with locals to take a meditation hike or reflective walk.

“I built it because it’s the walk I like,” Olson said. “But it’s like my church. Wouldn’t it be cool if you spent several hours reflecting in nature instead of sitting in a manmade structure?”

Also on the drawing board are plans to feature the works of artists placed along the path and organize artist-led tours.

While the trail is intriguing in every season, it’s breathtaking in springtime, Olson said.

“It looks like Scotland,” Olson said, enthusing about the shades of vivid greens and lush mosses growing everywhere. “It’s pretty fairytale.”

The walk will open in spring 2013 and the cost will be $15.

“We want to make the people we meet feel better for having overlapped with us,” Horne said. “We want to share our magic.”

Thanks for writing, Christy and Michel.

Previously:

Dear VICE - I Don't Hate You

Dear VICE - I Make Wacky Internet Art

Dear VICE - I Think You Got Me Fired