Aishling the Airstream Update No. 086

 Okay --> This is THE BIG ONE

 

the INTERNATIONAL RALLY in Minot North Dakota - 

  Airstream holds a large gathering each year in different parts of the country and usually has 800-1000 trailers attend...

 

So, okay - I probably took 600+ photos this week - 

and I just grabbed a few to share... in no particular order -

  

This photo probably sums up camping in Minot for me - We were in a fairground with at least 1,000 other trailers and constant wind and a fine dust in the air 

All. Day. Long.

That bandana is not a fashion statement - it was a needed accessory as I'd had a little asthma thing going on since June....

 

International is a convention of sorts with great vendors available to check out things on your trailer, sell you stuff [why not?!] and generally answer any questions you might have. [Truly a great resource!] There are workshops, and gatherings, artsy classes, and lots of fun activities. Here we go -->

 

It always starts with opening ceremonies - where each club president is introduced as they bring in their flag - Craig did a great job and wore the traditional white shirt, dark pants, and blue beret.

 

It was a fun evening.

 

This is Craig with other presidents from our region -

Region 6 = Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, 

and the panhandle of Florida. 

 

Another evening we had Theodore Roosevelt come up from his National Park to visit with us and share how much he loved this land...

Of course that was the evening of the big storm - SO MUCH WIND and flooding... we got there late... and were so glad we were able to see him! 

 

Craig and I did a presentation about hosting a rally [a camping weekend] at the local level - called Let's Flamingle - ha 

 

This is our second year doing this and they were quite prepared for our classroom of 60+ [we had seats for maybe 15 - but kept bringing chairs in from rooms close-by.] We just do a fun overview that people seem to enjoy [Craig says it's mostly because we aren't' trying to sell them something - lol.]

 Side Note: We rode our bikes everywhere.

LOVE THEM.

We also met up with friends from our Alabama Club throughout the week - and enjoyed hosting them at the Prairie Sky Breads for breakfast one morning. 

 

But that wind - y'all.

Plus a reaction to the meds I was given...

It was A LOT - ha. 

i eventually got some over-the-counter stuff that worked. [yay.] 

 

Another fun night we enjoyed was the Airstream Prom from 7-9.

Complete with Prom Photos! 

Of course we had to get photos together too!!

[Confession: The dress is a thrifty find [8$] and the bow tie, corsage and boutonniere are from The Amazon. Pearls are my mama's.]

 

We took the time to visit around Minot...shopping, eating local, and enjoying their Scandinavian Heritage. Pretty cool area - 

 

There is always a fund-raiser tea and this year's theme was the mad-hatter.

Everyone attending wore a fancy Alice themed hat / outfit.

 

Peter and Craig dressed as Boy Scouts 

and gave roses out to some of the attendees.... 

  

I love this crazy man of mine!

[they came up with the idea on their own!] 

 

Alas... the week was BUSY and went by quickly...

We enjoyed visiting with good friends, friends we don't see often enough and new friends that we know we'll keep in touch with... 

 The moon the night before we left was gorgeous.

 

And the rainbow the next morning was perfect.

Minot is called The Magic City and earned this nickname because a tent town of around 5,000 people sprung up practically overnight in 1886 when the Great Northern Railway paused track construction for the winter. Its explosive, near-instantaneous growth made the development seem like magic.

 So many friends were headed on to National Parks... but we needed to go towards home. So glad these guys were headed in the same direction! 

[I'll share more about our next stop soon!]

So - Fairground Camping: We've done it before with no problem - so I know my issues were my own [breathing] situation - We actually had a great area with a tent for all the Vintage Airstream events to happen right across from us [I was volunteer coordinator for most of those things...] and we had a bath and shower house within waking distance that stayed mostly nice and clean.

We'd definitely go back to this venue. 

This part of North Dakota is beautiful. 

#HardwickAdventures