Airstream Club International Rally - Minot, ND

Greetings!  

Paul and I are so enjoying our Airstream and when we first bought it 2.5 years ago, we decided to join the Airstream Club and we have enjoyed every moment of our time at Airstream events.  When you join the club, you affiliate yourself with a local club and we are part of the South Florida Airstream Club where we have participated in many local rallies and events and have met some incredible people and made some really wonderful friends.  The International Rally is the pinnacle of the Airstream event schedule - held annually and this year we attended for the first time and we had a blast.  The rally was held in Minot, North Dakota at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds with about 1000 airstream rigs attending from allover the US and Canada.

The International Rally is like a huge convention - there are main sessions and entertainment, along with an exhibit hall, breakout sessions, community service, and several other fun elements.  Paul found the breakout sessions particularly helpful - there were typically 6-8 options per time slot - and we also really got a lot out of interacting with the exhibitors.  Above all, however, it was getting to know so many new people and seeing our friends that made it such a special event.  

Back in February, we met a super fun couple at an Airstream rally at Disney - Tracy and Chuck.  They live in Tennessee and we have stayed in touch with them since February and we ended up camping next to each other during the rally, which was so fun.  You will see them in lots of our photographs and we feel super blessed to have them as fun friends and look forward to many more good times ahead.

The rally officially began on Saturday, so we arrived Friday midday.  We arranged it so we would meet up with Chuck and Tracy first and then drive in together.  As this is the 69th annual rally, it is a well-oiled machine and they have a huge crew of volunteers who greet you upon arrival and then another group who lead you to your parking area.  Many of these volunteers do it year after year.  And as this was our first time, everyone was so welcoming.  

Arriving - ready to rally!

In the "Red" lot next to Tracy and Chuck - they have the same model Airstream as we do - a 30' Classic - their rig is a 2024 (ours is a 2020).

A sea of Airstreams - over 1,000 in attendance!

Our first evening - fun HD's with Tracy and Chuck between our rigs.

A really cool aspect of the event was that Paul was asked to carry the South Florida flag by our unit's President - Matt Ponzio - in the Opening Ceremonies.  He went to a rehearsal in the morning, then we snuck out to Heritage Park, which is a cool place to see in Minot.  Minot has a significant Scandinavian heritage and this is on display at this park.

This church is a replica of a church overseas - it was built 25 years ago and the detail is incredible.

Inside the Church - so cool.

The intricate woodwork at the entrance was amazing.

This horse is right next to the church.

We then headed back to the Fairgrounds to get ready for Opening Ceremonies.  

The first night we were there we had dinner with Matt and Kim - this is when Matt asked Paul to carry the flag!

Before the start, Paul getting ready!

Paul carrying the South Florida Flag.  There were over 100 clubs represented and it was a really cool way to start the rally.

Paul met some really nice other flag carriers!

Throughout the week, there were other cool events as well:

Our club got together for a group photo before one of our evening events.

One evening they had a Teddy Roosevelt impersonator perform and he was great!  As we had been in Medora the week before, it was fun to hear some things we already knew and learn a few more.

On Tuesday afternoon, we went on a Minot Food tour with Tracy and Chuck - there were about 24 of us in total and it was fun to walk around downtown Minot, sample some food, see some fun places, and learn a little more more about this city's history.

Paul, Chuck and Tracy near the end of the tour.

A hilarious highlight of the week was the Tuesday evening theme party - Airstream Prom!  As you will quickly see by the photos below, Paul and I took a much more casual approach than Tracy and Chuck!

Thank goodness for Amazon t-shirts, along with the Prom King/Queen sashes!  Who has room in the Airstream for a big poofy prom dress?

Tracy and Chuck looked fabulous - he got his tux for $25 on FB Marketplace!

Riding the limousine (aka golf cart) to prom!

They had a fun photo booth with props - lots of laughs and good fun!

We also participated in a photo contest and I got first place in the Architecture category and Paul got Honorable Mention in the Airstream category.  Tracy and Chuck placed too - Chuck got second place in the Travel category and Tracy got third place in the Seasonality category.  Paul and I also volunteered at the photo area and we were all thrilled to win a ribbon!

My photo was of Big Red at Sunset - the beautiful lighthouse in Holland, Michigan - taken in June.

Paul's photo was from a star lapse he took last year in Great Basin National Park - amazing!

The last full day of the rally was my birthday and it was a great day!  Paul and I volunteered with over 100 other people to stuff over 2,000 backpacks for local kids in need and then we went out to dinner with friends and I was serenaded by the Airstreamers from the Alabama Club - so fun!

It was such a great week in Minot and early the next morning, we left to head to South Dakota for 9 glorious nights at Custer State Park.  More on that in the next post - but wanted to share some beautiful early morning photos from our drive.

A beautiful sunrise as we headed south.

We stopped at the Geese in Flight (along the Enchanted Highway) to eat breakfast.  We visited it on our way to Medora, which I shared in our last post.

As luck would have it, Tracy and Chuck were about 15 minutes behind us and she took this photo of our rig, not knowing it was us, but hoping it was!  Awesome!

South Dakota  . . .  here we come!

We loved South Dakota so much and can't wait to share all of that with you on the next post.  We just arrived to Colorado and will be here for a few weeks before we continue our way south.  

Thanks for all of your love and support and for following along - love, Jen & Paul