Applegater Fall 2021
9
Argosy Odyssey found
a home in the Applegate
BY MICHAEL SCHNEIDER
As everyone knows, the past 18 months
have seen a major disruption in the lives of
people and businesses everywhere. Families
and individuals have struggled to return to
a “normal” life, and businesses have faced
closures and significant losses.
Among the handful of exceptions to
these difficulties is the RV (recreational
vehicle) market and lifestyle. Indeed, RV
dealers and manufacturers report record-
smashing sales and shipment numbers
over the past several months, and RV
owners have hit the road in such incredible
numbers that finding a simple site to camp
in an RV park has become a challenge.
One perfect example of those enjoying
the RV lifestyle and creating a “normal” life
is close to home: Chad and Cate Battles,
Applegate residents who have become
a “wandering troupe” known as Argosy
Odyssey. Cate is an artist and writer who
operates her studio in downtown Grants
Pass, while Chad is a member of the
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees union and works at Schmidt
Family Vineyards. Together with their
goat, Frankie, the couple lives full-time and
Frankie and the Airstream underneath an
Applegate sunset. Photo: © @ArgosyOdyssey.
travels occasionally in a 1976 Airstream
Argosy trailer that Chad has renovated
inside, and that Cate, on the outside, has
painted with a beautiful, distinct mural
inspired by Woody Guthrie’s “This Land
Is Your Land.”
Their story began in Asheville, North
Carolina, a few years ago, when the pair
became empty nesters and decided to
uproot their lifestyle, sell their riverside
bar, and take a cross-country trek through
25 states looking for a place to settle
down. That trip eventually brought them
to Grants Pass and the Applegate Valley,
where they fell in love with the area
and decided to park and live full-time
in their Airstream at a farm on North
Applegate Road.
“We decided to settle here because we
found the people very friendly,” Cate said,
mentioning specifically the “wonderful
farming community and, of course, the
wineries. We also like its close proximity to
everything we enjoy,” she added. “Within
an hour or two we can be exploring the
coast and the redwoods, skiing down a
mountain, or enjoying the beauty of the
Rogue Wilderness.”
The three of them (including Frankie,
of course) still take their RV on many
overnight trips, traveling about two and
a half months per year—even during the
pandemic. “We’re very fortunate in the fact
that we take our home with us,” Cate said.
“We don’t stay at campgrounds and only
camp in dispersed areas on public lands,
so we’re able to avoid people much better
than if we stayed in town.”
While traveling, they also take beautiful
photos and videos—often with a drone—
of the many wonderful places they visit.
“In southern Oregon, some of our favorite
Cate and Chad Battles with their goat, Frankie, and custom-painted Airstream trailer
on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Tales of the travels of the Applegate-based
“Argosy Odyssey” crew are followed by more than 19,000 users on Instagram
and more than 24,000 members of Facebook.
Photo: © @ArgosyOdyssey.
spots are Crater Lake and the
greater Prospect area, as well as
the Ashland Meadows, Table
Rocks, and Cathedral Hills for
the wildflower displays,” Cate
said. “Closer to the Applegate
we love Squaw Lakes, Sterling
Ditch, and the scenic Ashland
Loop Road.” They have put
together a variety of the
spectacular photos they take
and created calendars of the
area, some of which have
Frankie and the Argosy Odyssey trailer at their
Applegate backgrounds. They
Applegate home base. Photo: © @ArgosyOdyssey.
sell the calendars (the 2022
edition of “Frankie’s Airstream
Adventures” is available now), along
When asked what their family members
with other merchandise, and original think of their adventurous journeys and
paintings, prints and note cards featuring lifestyles, Cate simply replied, “They think
Cate’s artwork.
we’re a hoot!”
They do all this adventuring with their
You can follow Cate, Chad, and
fur baby, Frankie, who joins them for Frankie’s adventures, within the Applegate
hikes, camping, and exploring wherever Valley and to other wonderful locations,
their roaming takes them. “She is a seven- through their website: argosyodyssey.com/
year-old pygmy-Nigerian-dwarf cross, who about and through their Facebook page:
we trained when she was a kid, so she is an facebook.com/argosyodyssey.
outdoor-indoor goat and a great traveler,”
Michael Schneider
Cate said.
mschneider@masassociatesinc.com
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