Stories

Greetings Fellow Air Streamers from Ron and Michelle Elstun - 28252

Ron and Michelle have been married 5 years, but have known each other for over 51! We graduated high school in 1970 together, both proudly calling Colorado Springs our native hometown. In planning our September, 2014 wedding at our 109 year old house, our theme was Air Streams and we asked for monetary gifts so we could purchase one. Air Stream Classified website was a favorite way to dream away our days before marriage. Ron found our 2002 19’ Bambi advertised in Lees Summit, MO. Michelle called immediately to the private owners and inquired - (did she mention what an outstanding group of people Air Streamers are?). She was so excited knowing that this was THE one we wanted that she told the owner “I don’t know how to buy your Air Stream, but we want it and will put a check in the mail to hold it.” She responded: “I don’t know how to sell it, but will hold the deposit, so come on over.” We both chuckled. What? Who makes a transaction like that? Fellow Air Streamers, that’s who!

We drove 1200 miles roundtrip to acquire our Bambi. The trip was challenging as our tow vehicle broke down one day and had a flat tire the next on the return trip. Waiting for repairs to be made, our precious camper sat in a Walmart parking lot and Michelle, with Cassie our Golden Retriever, rested not far under a tree. No one was going to touch our Bambi! That’s when we named him “Thumper” after Bambi’s best friend and named the truck “Friend Owl”, making our family complete.

Three weeks later we married and Thumper was a hit, parked in a prime location in front of our home for guests to oogle over! Ron moved it to our back garage space later that day before honeymoon time and backed into a tree giving it a “love dent” in the top back corner. He didn’t realize it at the time, but later removed that tree.

Many adventures have been had: Albuquerque Balloon Festival, Crested Butte, Steamboat Lake, Lake Irwin, Telluride, South Fork and lots of boon docking in our Colorado Mountains. (A best friend calls it “boon doggling”.) Since we both were working, our trips were fast and furious. After one trip where we did some damage to the bumper, we agreed on the moto “If one says NO, we don’t go” – hopefully preventing future damage. We did attend a pre-rally at Aspen Acres, north of San Isabell National Forest. Most folks went on to enjoy Mueller State Park for the official rally. We had to go back to work! Bummer!

We replaced the refrigerator, had a tire blow out on the way to Steamboat Lake (did I mention the kindness of fellow travelers on the road?), redecorated a bit and totally made it unique. Cassie passed☹, but we soon acquired two rescue golden retrievers, Dixey Kup and Kooper. They totally create a cozy atmosphere and provide endless entertainment.

Fast forward to 2019. Michelle retired in January and was just “looking” on Air Stream Classifieds -just kicking around. A gorgeous 2012 Flying Cloud 23’ front bed was advertised in Mineola, TX. Another phone call to the private owner – this time she knew how to buy an Air Stream! Also, as before, we connected with a wonderful private owner who said “send me a deposit and come on down.” Off we traveled 1700 miles roundtrip, with both pups, to purchase “Klipper” and renamed the tow vehicle to “Tug”. The camper had been stored for 4+ years and was in immaculate condition. This trip was much less dramatic. So for several weeks we had a Silver Bullet in our front yard for sale, and a Silver Bullet parked under our Elephant Structure in our back yard. We were living the perfect life!

A delightful man from Hailey, Idaho called to buy Thumper. Yep, you guessed it. We said “send us a deposit and come on down!” He did and away he took his first Air Stream camper. Now it was time to bond with Klipper.

We camped only one time in Colorado last summer with Klipper – Chambers Lake outside of Ft Collins. We’ve attended CAC monthly membership meetings around the Front Range and can’t wait for our first rally this May – the maintenance rally! We’ve heard great things about how valuable this rally is – a plethora of instruction and sharing of knowledge stuffed into 3 days. We’ll partake in good food, great people and many stories.

The future? Ron retired Valentine’s Day, so off we will go to Grand Canyon in May, a Glenwood Springs area in June and, best of all, an Oregon coastline and Redwood National Forest trip scheduled in September! We think there may be a few Oregon vineyards to check out as well. A New England trip next fall (zillions of colors), southern state trips in the spring (newborn baby animals), many museums, cemeteries, small towns and back roads await us. Traveling alone or with a group, taking a few days or gone a month, discovering grand sites in big places or renewing our spirits under a star filled sky while boon docking – these will fulfill our dreams.

We have waited patiently to head out of town, leaving on a Sunday afternoon against the traffic that is coming back to town or taking trips to explore during the week. We really enjoy the CAC membership as well as their extra-curricular activities.

You want to know WHY these dreams can come true. “Because THEY can!”

See you on the road and hope to share a story and a glass of vino. Support our Colorado Air Stream Club – join and begin making your own dreams. Happy Camping!