Blog Post No. 201: A Few Thoughts from Girl Camping Girl

I can feel it…2016 is going to be an amazing Girl Camping year. A few thoughts on 'why the vibe.'



* Over the past dozen years or so, and especially in the last few, passion for vintage trailers and the VT culture has gone from obscure niche interest to full-blown social phenomenon.

* The hobby has become an industry, supporting a TV show ('Flippin' RVs'), a magazine in the U.S. and one in Australia, books,  rallies, social-media sites, repair and service businesses, and the re-introduction of vintage-trailer styling by the RV industry.

* VT iconography has been mainstreamed. You can buy a vintage-trailer birdhouse at Rite-Aid, VT-theme pajamas at Walmart, Target, Shopko and JC Penneys, VT fabrics at all major outlets, even flamingo cowboy boots with a vintage Shasta on the soles. If you want a way to flaunt your interest, the product range is there.

* VT interest is large enough now for many tribes to have formed, each with a specialty within the specialty. You can be into it for the restoration/rally award factor. You can join a camping club that admits women only, or one that only allows men. You can go co-ed if you'd rather. You can keep your camp trailer at home for the sole purpose of decorating it and sitting in it once in a while. You can become a vintage-trailer collect-o-holic. You can sign up for trailer-caravan trips and travel to cool places. You can trade your vintage trailer for a new one, or vice versa. Whatever clamps your hitch!

* Social media, Facebook in particular, have opened the hobby's doors like nothing else before them. Thanks to on-line photos and conversations, would-be campers and VT dreamers have a way to see into the hobby and learn from veterans before ever spending a dime. And let's face it: It's hard not to fall for the romance of a perfectly tricked-out vintage trailer. You see one in a picture, and before you know it, want one of your own. Then you go looking, then you find your trailer and your tribe, and then, well, here we are, both on this page together.

I said I'd keep Post No. 201 to a few thoughts, so I'll end here. There's much more to say, but I'll leave that open for you, in Comments!

'Girl Camping Girls' Added to Facebook Groups

An announcement!

Girl Camping Girls, hosted by yours truly, is now a bonafide Facebook group and as such, provides a broader yet more intimate way for us to meet one another, make new camping friends, and plan campouts and adventures in our respective areas.

Here's how the group works:

* It has Closed Group status. This level of FB privacy means that anyone can see who's in the group, but only members can see the posts and respond to them. Your posts and photos to the group won't appear to the FB public, and your non-camping friends won't see them in their news feeds.

* To join, click the Girl Camping Girls link. Once on the main page, click the Join button to be approved. After you have been approved, you can add any other FB friend you wish.

* When you have a campout planned, use the Events tab to announce it and keep track of attendees.

* Any member can add photos--and please do! No one can ever get enough of seeing your trailer, camp setup, decor ideas, and rehab shots. (Trust me on this!)


Over 100 happy Girl Campers got onto the new bus within the first 24 hours, and there's room for plenty more. It's already turning out to be a pretty fun ride, and all you need for a ticket is an account with Facebook.

Continued: Girl Camping Moments, 2015

I ended my previous post with more 2015 Girl Camping outings left to report. Not to say that I'm done camping for the year! But between the July 4 Weekend and mid-September, I seized these other chances to be out and camping with friends:

End of July: Girl Camp! This is a privately hosted (by yours truly) camping bash in Elk River, Idaho. I chose to keep it simple by taking the smallest of my vintage trailers, this 1961 Aloha compact named Little House on the Bumper.

Things tend to go a little wild at Girl Camp. Maybe it's the matching shirts, or the crazy costumes that appear at some point!

August: Miss Shelley took her '53 Aljoa and I took Iron Pony (1972 Red Dale) for a weekend of primitive camping on the fabulous Selway River of Idaho. We soaked up the sun and soaked in the clear running water. This was camping, not glamping, though we did allow ourselves some amenities.

And it's a good thing we did, because just days later, the area was devastated by forest fire. We aren't sure whether this lovely free campground survived or not.

September: Iron Pony made the trip to Cheney, Washington, for Karen's Kamp--a weekend hosted by Miss Karen at her country home. She has the luckiest hens in the world. They live in Karen's Chicken Mansion, and it certainly is that! These chickens live in style. And so did we!

In between these trips away from home, I had plenty of chances to camp at home, too. Wherever, whenever…carpe camping!

Carpe Camping! Girl Camping Moments, 2015

'Carpe camping!' In other words, camp whenever you can.

I love all chances to go somewhere with my own little home(s) on wheels, and seize them often. Here are some carpe-camping snapshots from spring and summer 2015.

March: First outing of the year for Iron Pony, 1972 Red Dale. A group of us got pre-season campsites at Hells Gate State Park on the Snake River, Lewiston, Idaho. It was great just to be out that early in the year, but also an unforgettable Girl Camping weekend for the exciting jet boat trip we took up the Snake River into Hells Canyon.

Hold on, everyone, big rapids coming up!

End of April: Girl Camping on the Salmon River for our Spring Rendezvous at Swiftwater RV Park, White Bird, Idaho. The Airstream, third trailer from left, is my aluminum abode; it spends the winter here, and goes home right after the Rendezvous weekend.

Like Iron Pony, the Airstream is a 1972 model. Name: Big Chief. ('Big' is right, because it's over 30 feet long and weighs 5,600 pounds, empty.)

Mid-May: Girl Camping weekend at a friend's country place for her birthday celebration. Maiden voyage with the 1965 Chief trailer I bought late in 2014. It earned an A+ for remaining dry during a steady downpour!

The Chief brand was manufactured in Seattle, and that's about all I know about it. This model has beautiful turquoise/aqua appliances, and I named it Crazy Horse.

Early June: Iron Pony gets all dolled up for the Farm Chicks campout in Riverside State Park in Spokane, coinciding with the annual Farm Chicks Antique Show.

This is always a fun gathering, with attendees from far and wide.

Mid-June: An impromptu overnight stay in Montana with several fellow members of Sisters on the Fly--the log-cabin trailer belongs to Miss Linda, who was traveling with Miss Patty. I was treated to a
bunkhouse stay, as I didn't have a trailer with me.

However, I was able to furnish the first round of Happy Hour drinks on the front porch of our hostess!

July 4th Weekend: A Girl Camping weekend at GIRL CAMP! The little mountain town of Elk River, Idaho, puts on a great fireworks show, and there's nothing quite like the parade of locals down Main Street. Since we do believe in 'Sum Boyz OK,' this is a co-ed camping weekend.

Obviously OK with Mark, hubby of Miss Mig, both of whom were in the parade!

There's been more in 2015, but I'd better end this post here just so I don't keep you forever. Thanks for coming along on the ride so far!