A weekend near Mount Mitchell

 It's certainly been a while since I've posted; but I'm thinking about using this blog to document our travels.  The Airstream is getting a lot of use these days, and every.single.time I camp I am reminded to be grateful for the blood, sweat, and all too frequent tears that went into restoring her.

This past weekend was a first...we took our nieces and nephew camping to the Mt. Mitchell area of North Carolina.  Our lovely campsite was right by a creek and the kids enjoyed some water time.  Overall, the weather wasn't too cooperative, but during those brief periods of sun, they hit the water.

We stayed at Mountain Stream RV Park in Marion, NC.  (Mt. Mitchell was about a 30 minute drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway).  Site #20 is the best in my opinion!  The creek side sites have little decks that allow you to chill out right by the creek.  There are fire rings and picnic tables at each site.  The bathrooms and showers are super clean, there's decent wi-fi (upgrades can be purchased) and full hook-ups.

 I love the rock tower my oldest niece, Mackenzie, built.  But we used it as a teaching lesson: don't leave the rocks like that.  Be sure to put the rocks back on the ground when you leave the area, it disturbs the natural habitat for native North Carolina salamanders.  (https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/02/20/help-hellbenders-dont-move-rocks/80617932/)

2019--where does the time go?!

Apache & the Wig Wam

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post, but the renovation is officially over!  The last thing that needed to be connected was the black and grey tank Valterra release valves.  Our good friends at Fatherree & Sons Mobile RV repair came out to take care of that. If your in the triad area of North Carolina, they are a fantastic resource!

Black & grey tank release!

I'm currently trying to track down a pesky leak that keeps happening in the rear of the trailer.  So far I've resealed every seam, every window gasket and even replaced the seal around the window glass.  I believe it was the screws in the tail light allowing water to seep in.  We've had soooo much rain here for the past year that it really never gets a chance to dry out before getting soaked again.  I ended up drilling out the wall beneath the back window to get a true glimpse at the issue.  Thankfully that part of the wall wasn't hard to remove.

Be sure to follow along on my Instagram page for more consistent updates :)  Here are few photos from the past months to get the blog up to date!

Dec 2018 brought us 12" of snow!

March 2018 update

Hello! It's been a few months since I've shared an update.  So much of 2017 is a blur now.  My husband was diagnosed with a cancerous kidney tumor in January and he had the entire kidney removed as a result.  My mom (who's been a financial supporter of this airstream) was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2017 and passed away in October 2017.  I've still found time to hire out some key components of the trailer; and it's been a great distraction from the grief and stress that grief brings.  I wanted to share some lovely custom work that my friends at Perch and Nest created for the Wig Wam.  I can't sing their praises enough!  The took my vision for the dinette and bathroom and completely exceeded all expectations.  I'm sharing some photos of the dinette, the shower, and our exterior set up in our back yard.  We were able to camp on four different occasions in 2017. I look to surpass that quickly in 2018.  We can finally CAMP, people!

The dinette!  The table collapses and rests on the ledge around the seat for another bed

Custom handmade macrame chandelier looks perfect!

Two shower heads

Galvanized shower wall

Maybe it looks like a bucket, but it's actually a horse trough

Over the course of the last year we have also installed vinyl plank flooring, created custom beds, bought foam mattresses and trimmed to size, installed original cabinetry and countertop and reinstalled original overhead cabinets.  Still need to install the fridge and toilet. We'll be using our Rtic cooler to keep our food safe until that fridge gets installed. Until then, I hope to see you down the road! 

Backyard camping :)

Maiden Voyage: April 28-30, 2017

Four years ago, we purchased this airstream and began the renovation process.  I never thought it would take four years to renovate, much less take four years before we had a maiden voyage.  There have been moments I thought we should just give up.  BUT, I refused.  I threw out timelines & deadlines at about the two year mark.  When it happens, it happens.  And it finally happened!!!  We were able to take a trip with the airstream: we slept on an air mattress, we had lights & fans thanks to our battery, and we had one solo curtain.  But I felt some kinda way as I woke up on Saturday morning & the ceiling above me was rivet-lined.  Me and the old girl, we had SURVIVED.

Heading north

Our first campground spot

The view from my sleeping bag

Summer 2016 update

When things move slow, it's hard to get motivated to write a blog post.  For that I do apologize.  The wiring is complete, and now we've moved on to reinstalling the interior skins (walls).  Because of several new outlets that we had installed, each piece has to be measured for those outlets & switches.  So it can take some time to address even one piece.  In this photo, you'll see that we've got the front section of wall back in.

And in this photo, we're moving down the streetside wall of the trailer--headed to the rear--I caught Cliff working, unaware of the photo op:

I've also polished the outside of the trailer.....all but the front and rear end caps.  I can't reach those with my ladder.  But I'm liking the way it looks!  Remy says hi & thanks for stopping by!

Update on progress

I realize it's been quite a while since I've updated my blog.  Things have moved slowly, but time flies...before you know it, six months have passed.  The wiring is 95% done.  The only thing left to do is wire the brakes, running lights and license plate light.  The trailer has been at Out of Doors Mart in Colfax for the past couple of weeks.  They installed two Fantastic Vents and a Dometic Penguin II Low Profile air conditioner.

Home from Out of Doors Mart

Dropped the Airstream off at Out of Doors Mart in mid-March and went to pick it up this week.  I am so thankful to be this close to Airstream experts.  I took the trailer in to have a door knob installed, shocks installed, brakes wired, 7-way plug installed, gaskets on the access doors, rivets replaced in the front panel and the beginning steps of the belly pan in the front and rear.  Sometimes these pieces are referred to as "banana wraps" but not for the '57.  These are the pieces that I will use to attach the belly pan when the time comes.  However, when I drove the trailer down to Colfax in March, I lost a vent cover on Hwy 421, so now I'm looking at replacing that.  I ordered a fantastic vent from Vintage Trailer Supply so I guess I'll be looking at addressing that when it arrives.

New doorknob!  Don't ya just love my Junk Gypsy keychain? :)

Banana wrap in rear section

Banana wrap in front

Detail of banana wrap--view from below the trailer

Daylight savings time saves the day!

Extra daylight=a super productive work day.  Cliff & Sara came over this afternoon and we worked on putting in two more pieces of flooring (the one at the door, and between the door and wheel well).  We cleaned off the old gasket on the roof vents, washed the screens for those vents, and addressed the rear end separation.
Admittedly, I didn't really know that the trailer had the dreaded rear end separation until I emailed Colin Hyde (with Colin Hyde Trailer Restorations in NY) to ask him why is my floor and C-channel not easily attached to my frame?  It seems like even though I put bolts in the floor and frame, I'm still seeing the frame relax away from the shell.  It was then that he gave me the diagnosis.  So, I invested in a cobalt bit and we were able to drill through the super duty steel that my brother-in-law had used to beef up the back of the frame last year.  We had success!!!!  Still a little bit more work to do back there, but better than before for sure.
I will be taking the trailer next week to Out of Doors Mart in Colfax to do a little bit of work that I just can't seem to get accomplished.

Cliff gettin' after a stray bolt on the frame

Sara snapping pics--can't remember if this was before or after I busted my knee on the frame

Hey there!

Elbow grease

Moved a few items from the farm over to my house this weekend.  Bed rail, kitchen cabinet, kitchen counter, the "walls" that create the doorway to the bathroom....I figured we might as well have them here for when we start planning the plumbing & electrical.

Of course, they have been stored in a barn for over a year, but they were pretty dirty to begin with.  I wiped them all down, but I knew the sink and counter top needed some extra attention.  I'm not completely sold that kitchen cabinet won't need to be replaced (it's a little worse that I remembered).  Even after hitting the counter tops with some cleaner and scrubbing pads, there were a few stains that lingered.  It may have to be replaced too.  But that sink....it's BEAUTIFUL!

Before

Okay....let's do this!

A vast improvement

Ooo la la!

A "step" in the right direction

Thanks to a couple of 60-degree days in the middle of January, there has been a bit of work done on the trailer this week.  My friend Al & I worked for 4.5 hours on Monday and today the welder installed the steps.  Finally no more high-steppin' to get in the trailer!  So thankful for the people in my life that help me on my beast of a project.  I feel like this year is gonna be very productive!

Thanks, Daniel!

Thanks, Al!  Living riveted...

Gray tank has arrived!

So our gray tank has arrived!  The holding pieces were welded in today.  Little by little, the plumbing project is building steam!  (Yes, it's just in time for winter....but we won't go there).

4 custom fittings--woot!

Axle on--Airstream relocated

My brother-in-law installed our axle last week, and because of that, we were able to relocate the Wig Wam to our back yard.  Hoping that this relocation will enable me to get more work done before the daylight hours disappear & colder weather moves in.  That time is quickly approaching, so let's see what we can get done!  Ready to get to work....

Meet Axle Rose

It's been a slow few weeks in terms of Airstream work.  Between rain, work schedules, and various other inconveniences, I haven't been able to address any more windows.  However, my brother-in-law has removed the old axle, moved the new axle into place, had new steel plates cut, discovered the holes were a bit off, fixed said holes, and is getting ready to make sure the axle is aligned before getting the welder to come adhere the plates to the frame.  I have also ordered brand new shocks, grommets for the brake wire, and am currently waiting for the word to schedule the welder.
If there's one thing I've found, it's that you might as well not be in a hurry to do anything.  My ultimate goal is to move the trailer to my back yard for the next few weeks so that I don't have to include travel time in my work time.  With the days getting noticeably shorter, this will be key in getting as much done as I can humanly accomplish.  I even hope to have an airstream work day and get as many folks to help out as are willing.  (If you're local to NC and wanna help, feel free to contact me!)  I look back at my timeline for earlier this year, and it makes me laugh.  I don't think I'll be setting any more deadlines for myself.  Just roll with it.  Literally.
Until then, I leave you with a photo of Axle Rose: