My old school badge - if you recognize it, get in touch!

I have been interested in getting an Airstream travel trailer for the past couple of years and this year, I finally took the plunge. I ended up with a 20ft. Argosy Minuet and used it for a 2 week trip into the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. The trailer is fully equipped with most of the comforts of home - cooker, fridge, shower, toilet, air-conditioning, etc..

  Click on image for larger view

 Unfortunately, the previous owner had not bothered to winterize the trailer so everything leaked! We managed without using any of the on-board facilities except for the cooker, fridge and air-conditioning. Our trip was a total of 2,000 miles and the trailer performed flawlessly - it just didn't look good cosmetically. My intention is to get the trailer repaired and restored during the winter months. Normally, an Argosy is painted, but the previous owner had decided to strip the paint so that it would look more like a classic Airstream (polished aluminum) as you can see in the pictures.

I have recently purchased a bigger Airstream travel trailer, a 1974, 31ft Sovereign model with center bathroom and rear twin beds.

                          Click on images for larger view

If you are interested in Airstreams, then click on the link below to the Vintage Airstream Club (VAC). This site has all kinds of information, a 'For Sale' section, a mailing list and links to all kinds of resources. 

Also, there is another great place called Airstream Forums that is full of friendly people and has advice on any Airstream topic that you might need. 

Picture Copyright, Airstream Inc.

      These are some pictures of my 'Calumet' rose. 

In days gone by, Calumet, Michigan was a 'boom town' due to the large copper deposits in the area. Mines were opened up all around the area to extract this valuable resource and many fortunes were made here. The area between Hancock and Houghton are in the center of the area that was known as 'Copper Country' and the remarkable growth of the copper industry here at one time made Michigan the world's greatest producer of copper. The copper boom lasted for more than a century and peaked in about 1910 as did the area's population. After World War II came a decline in copper mining and also a decline in the population - in 1910, Houghton County had a population of 88,098, but this had declined to 34,650 by 1970.  As the mines closed down and the work-force moved on, whole towns were abandoned and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is now home to 100's of 'Ghost Towns'. A lot of the mining companies had built whole towns around the mines in order to provide housing for the work-force. One of these towns was Quincy, near Hancock, which was home to the workers at the Quincy copper mine. The mine buildings remain as a museum for the tourists, but the town of Quincy is no more.

I came across it while driving around the back roads near the mine. The area is slowly reverting back to nature, but you could see where the houses had been by the odd flower or fruit tree showing through the undergrowth. This is where I came across the rose shown above. It was in a sorry state and I decided to rescue it and take it home - after all, I figured that if it could survive the harsh winters of the UP, then it could survive in my garden! Last year it didn't look as if it was up to much, but this year I have been rewarded with some beautiful blooms as you can see. I have been trying to identify the rose and so far, it looks like it might be an Alba/Damask type rose, possibly named Amelia.