[VAC] Rally in the Rockies

["Terry Tyler" <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Hey - my name is on the list and we'd love to attend, but this summer we'll be in the northeast
working on our 1963 22' Flying Cloud. What with our daughter getting married this year, the annual
WBCCI International won't be in the picture either. 

Today, I bought another aluminum wheel for the Flying Cloud. This time, the cost was only $25.
Discount Used RV Parts at 11838 Foothills Blvd, Yuma AZ is a little like Billy Pollard's place in
Jackson, Mississippi. If you know what you want and get permission to rummage around among the piles
of stuff, you may strike paydirt. 

In an earlier posting, I mentioned the abundance of tow vehicles for sale in this area. Every day,
there is an increasing epidemic of "for sale signs" popping up on trucks in driveways of lot owners.
It's astounding. Prices range all over the map with no apparent rhyme or reason. If I find a "young"
van with "my list of required equipment," the temptation will be great.

There is a 1960s Airstream for sale ($4000) and prominently positioned among 50-60 other RV brands
being offered privately on a "community lot." We have been to this place several times during the
last four months and many of the same RVs are still available with their owners sitting in lawn
chairs outside, but more are coming in every day and being offered for sale. If the trend continues,
the glut will become more intense. Then, when the boom town atmosphere begins to dissolve as
snowbirds start leaving, either the prices will drop dramatically or these RVs will go into storage
until next year or be towed north for continued sales efforts. For now, it's a buyer's market.

This is our first brief experience with snowbirding in a neighborhood community. The ambiance is
very different from that of a campground. Little did we know our recently widowed 86 year old lady
landlord would look upon us as her personal emergency room physician when her dog bit a chunk of
skin and flesh out of her hand, as her lawyer in her fight with the electric company, as her
locksmith for regaining entry into her house and truck after she locked the keys inside, as her
shade tree mechanic when her truck's steering acted up, and as general all around ombudsman for
problems that are increasingly becoming more difficult for her. We are only one family is a parade
of community members who check on her daily. Yesterday, we found ourselves waiting for her to return
from driving to the store and hoping she'd be back before dark. Our friends, who arranged this
rental for us, had been instrumental in rallying a neighborhood support network for our lady
landlord. Bottom line, we're delighted to be of some small assistance to her. She's a lovely lady
who is trying hard to hold her act together.  

Airstreaming is more than just traveling,

Terry
1977 31' Airstream Excella 500
1978 Ford E250 Van
mailto:tylerbears@airstream.net