West Dusty Airstream Society

[Ray Eklund]

If you resist getting your Airstream muddy, dusty, dirty or 'cow patty' flipped under the fender wells... you are a Glamper.

If having a thousand squashed crickets from Utah State Highways is not something you want to see on your front Airstream Rock Guards and lining your tow vehicle grill... you are a Glamper.

Glamping is not bad. It is just a much cleaner society. I can wear a Tee Shirt, Short Pants and a pair of socks for a week.... and Ahhhhhhh. Keeps Grizz and Mountains Lions out of my way. My Blue Heelers can find me near the Airstream and a mile or two...upwind. Stinking Crazy... you bet.

If a tee shirt had printing on the outside and inside... turn it inside out and get another week of use. No one will steal your clothing in the laundry bag tossed into the back of the pickup truck. Even wild life are weary... but want to get a closer look. This is why BIG Game hunter do not shower or bath when out Hunting. Perfume and soap stinks worse... Ask a hunter. They will tell you how to STINK. Me too.

The Airstream Glamping Society has 90% of the attention. They actually use the Microwave in their trailer.

When I had a microwave, I pulled it out to store toilet tissue and potato chips. At elevation the AC is weight on the roof... but excellent for resale in the future. Smart OTG thinking, pays off.

Dirt Bagging OTG Boondockers... 10%, at best and maybe declining in numbers.

Wrong place for finding isolated RV Parks next to a National Park with great company for conversations and enjoying stories of previous Rallies and paying for it.

Dirt Bagging. Off the Grid Boondocking. Camping away from crowds that need company. Call it what you will... it is a challenge to learn how to find National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management campsites. Maps show roads, but rarely offer Hunter's Camps, former logging campsites, clearings along the edges of a Mesa... non Fee Areas, no amenities... no nothing but you and nature.

Some individuals are 'insulted' that their evening or a week long trek to RV Parks and Rallies are not part of Boondocking. It is not Boondocking in the definition. There is nothing wrong about RV Parks or Rallies. This is much too crowded for my primitive tastes of social activity... like... "Hey Tom. Find any more of that Hoplophoneus skeleton?"

"Nope... still looking. I have to leave the Ranch in a couple days, so need to walk the outcrops better."

Everyone has a particular interest that the other 90% scratch their head, not understanding... what is wrong with these people. Airstreams are NOT intended to leave the paved road... they will pop rivets, blow out tires and wreak the interior... Kind of talk.

The only rivets I see being popped are those on the pants of sedentary RV owners. Levi's can only handle so much and... pop.

This is a lifestyle. A choice. It does not make it Good, nor Bad. We just do it and enjoy what we do. Often we invite others to come and try it. It usually does not work out well from my experiences.

The 10% of Airstream Owners that 'like' to OTG Boondock are from different backgrounds and usually more into Nature and the places that are more remote. It does not mean one can go from OTG and then a Rally with 1,000 people... but I doubt many can make the transition going back and forth. If so... you are a master of Human Nature.

I am 40,000 years prior to being a Human. I like it that way.

If you hate flies. Ants. Scorpions. Gnats. Yellow Jackets... WE AGREE, me too.

If you like Fly Fishing, Rock Hunting and wandering along a Mesa at 8700 feet to explore... WE AGREE, me too. But do not count on it.

Can anyone else explain WHY they are a Dust Bagger, Boondocking, Boonie Camper? Maybe the Dusty Airstream Society says it all.

Sign UP by posting. The rest. Go take a shower.

[Ray Eklund]

I went through 14 years of Boondocking Photographs.

Fourteen... and I came up with only two. And exactly 14 years apart.

First: May 1, 2006 Medicine Bow, Wyoming- 2006 23 foot Safari towed by a 2006 Tundra 4x4. A bit light for tow vehicle, but managed very well.

Second: May 1, 2020 Gila National Forest, New Mexico- 2019 27 foot International towed by a 2016 F350 4x4 Diesel. More truck and trailer than I deserve.

Airstreams never seem to show any dirt. Dark colored tow vehicles... lots of dirt.

Dirt Good. Clean Bad, when Boondocking. Do not wash until your return home.

[Ray Eklund]

My FIRST Dusty Airstream Society opportunity:

Ely District- Recreation Opportunity Guide www.blm.gov
Great Basin National Heritage Area www.greatbasinheritage.org

This is primarily for OHV Trails, Campsites, Historic and Prehistoric Sites. They give out for free a Recreation Activity Map. It is very large and very detailed. It is Public Knowledge and if you do not know about it... maybe you ought.

Prehistoric Sites are Rock Art Archaeology. Petroglyphs.

Three Brochures of Prehistoric Rock Art.

Crystal Wash
Mt. Irish Archaeological District
Shooting Gallery

Eventually we will find time to actually explore more than what we have over the years. SUMMER is OK here as much is at elevations and cool evenings. Two weeks ago... beautiful there. Las Vegas... HOT.

ATV access for miles and miles. Great camping and Off the Grid Boondocking for you and your Airstream. We stay at a site with nice clean BLM 'Pit Houses' when in the area.

The Natives are Nomadic and moved with the Seasons and Game. But the Rock Art is everywhere once you understand where and how to find them. We have not, but you may want to explore everything.

Do some research. Ask for the OHV Map of the area. Maybe the three Petroglyph brochures. Much in the Junipers, remote and you may be the only one camped. Easy access for where we camped... a number of times.

Oh yes... the road can be dusty... but not as bad as the most. True Grit.

[rmkrum]

I must admit to being deeply suspicious of the person driving a totally tricked-out fancy 4x4 that shows absolutely no signs of ever getting dirty.

Easy to spot with a quick glance at the inside of the fender liners and frame rails. No dirt, assume poseur or ‘Cafe muddier’!

Note that ours is clean on the outside, but has dirt in places that DW won’t see...its her truck, but I drive it into places by myself where 4x4 low and the rear diffy lock is occasionally necessary. Nothing works quite as smooth as Toyota FWD systems, IMHO.

[mythbuster88]

It's not that we like dirt, but the best places just seem to be that way.
If its really bad I just disrobe before entering the teepee.
And there is thing about campfires, and tending them, that adds to the overall dirt experience.

Grinding around in 4WD low, or jetting on those beautiful dirt roads in Utah add to the dirt.

My dog sleeps in the dirt with one eye open.

We get back and clean it all but there is always some corner somewhere with dirt from 3 years ago.