Twisp of Fate

This weekend brought the 38th Vintage Wheels Show to Winthrop.  Actually it used to be mainly a vintage car show, but this year they expanded it to include Antique Cars and Trucks – Vintage Motorcycles – Vintage Travel Trailers – Antique Tractors – Antique Bicycles with various venues around town.  The weather remained stormy through Friday night so we were really worried the parade yesterday would be “rained out”, but mother nature was kind!

We missed the parade,  but in the afternoon headed up to the Pine Near RV Park above Winthrop to see the vintage trailers.  This RV park is right next to the Shafer Historical Museum, which is where the antique tractors were.  The RV park is about 40 years old and had fallen on hard times – it was almost turned into a site for condominiums a few years back.  Then a local couple bought it in 2012 and have done a fabulous job on bringing it back to life.  New hookups, grass, all new shower and laundry facilities in the old log cabin, and they are building some camping cabins on a bench up above the main park.

It turns out the vintage trailer folks were mostly members of a group call the Tin Can Tourists.  I just found their website and we may join.  It has been around since 1919, but from a quick read it looks like it disbanded for a while, and was started up again in 1998 by a couple who had founded the Vintage Airstream Club, but wanted a group that was open to all – meaning  an all make and model vintage trailer and motor coach club.

Yesterday they had “open house” so we could wander around and even go into most of the trailers to see the interiors.  There were Airstreams, but also other aluminum vintage trailers, the names of which I have mostly forgotten.  Most of them were significantly older than our 1973 Overlander (sadly, still in Spokane waiting for a new blackwater tank to be shipped from Airstream).  But we got into some useful and informative conversations.

there were many of these type – a Shasta?

I think the one on the left is a Curtis Wright

more vintage Airstreams!

a Spartan – they had been on the road since April, going up to Alaska and northern Canada

new interior woodwork in the Spartan

To round out the day, we went down to the Twisp River Pub to catch the show by Vicci Martinez.  From Tacoma, she started performing when she was just 16 and used to play the Pub on Labor Day weekend on a regular basis.  In 2011 she competed in the TV “talent show” The Voice, and came in 3rd overall.  It looks like her career is taking off so we are probably lucky that she came back to our little valley to perform – may be the last time, who knows?

Vicci Martinez and her band

Rod Cook, the guitarist on the left in the photo, is also fabulous!