Unique Airstream Gathering
©Bert Gildart: Without a doubt, this past weekend’s gathering of Airstreamers was the world’s most unique. For starters, several of us Airstreamers were using Rich, Eleanor and Emma Luhr’s home as a home away from home; and Rich produces a unique magazine, in part about the life and lives of Airstreamers.
WORLD’S ONLY AIRSTREAM MOTORHOME
But certainly the presence of yet another couple makes my opening statement credible, for Sue and Adam own the only Airstream Class-C motorhome ever made. Initially, it was intended as a prototype, and, who knows, it may still work in that manner.
But shortly after it was created, the economy shifted and the Airstream Company decided to postpone their entrée into the world of motorhomes. That means, then, that Adam and Sue own the world’s only Airstream Class-C motorhome, which they now use to explore America.
Yet another Airstream family also showed up at the Luhr’s, and they join Janie and me in now owning one of the few Safari’s with slideouts. In 2006, Airstream stopped including a slideout with the Safari, apparently because they were just too expensive.
For us, however, the slideout provides the perfect floor plan, enabling us to tow a shorter Airstream, but one that has space equivalent to that of a 30-footer.
AIRSTREAM SLIDEOUT
Airstream still makes the slideout, but now it is included only in their most extravagant model, the Classic. For those who can afford the Classic we enjoy our slideout so much that we have absolutely no qualms in recommending an Airstream slideout. If demand increases, who knows, perhaps they’ll build it again for the Safari.
But why are we all assembled here at the Luhr’s? Janie and I are here because we wanted to see all these people, and this gathering provided a perfect opportunity. The others are here, however, as they have been planning a trip to Mexico. We’d like to go-and were certainly invited, but we must wait for another year because of other business obligations.
“LADIES, I RECOMMEND RICH”
In the meantime, Janie and I are using this time to catch up on work and in Janie’s case, a chance to get her hair trimmed. Because the Luhr’s have been traveling fulltime in their Airstream for the past few years, Rich has had to take on a few extra duties and one of those has been trimming Eleanor’s hair. He does such a wonderful job that Janie decided she’d trust him. And now, with her new coiffure, she’s so thoroughly satisfied that she says she wants as many people as possible to learn of Rich’s extraordinary talents, and so she’s allowed her picture to be posted.
“Ladies,” she says, “trust Rich to cut your hair.”
Though most have now departed from the Luhr’s, we’ve remained. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the local Airstream dealer who is going to install the necessary wiring so that I can have a dedicated 12-volt outlet adjacent to the table in my Safari around which I perform all my typing. Previously, when boondocking, I used an outlet that required I run wires through the kitchen area “other people” stumbled over.
QUITOBAQUITO SPRINGS
The job will require about two hours, and then, about 11, we’ll head back to Organ Pipe, for our Tuesday outing to Quitobaquito Springs, something we’ve discussed in previous postings.
And because Organ Pipe has no Internet connectivity, our next post will not be for several days. In that subsequent posting, hopefully we’ll have answers to some problems that are vexing for all who are concerned about access to areas in national parks now rendered dangerous by virtue of illegal border crossings–and the drugs sometimes associated with such crossings.