The next ride we are featuring in our Rides Around series is a VW bus that was spotted at a Couer d’Alene, Idaho coffee house.
It is amazing to me what these vehicles continue to represent. They have been the quintessential mode of transportation, and sometimes lodging, for the folks living on the fringe, or at least dabbling in the lifestyle since their creation. Their engine coughs in time to the beatniks’ groove, and the lines of their form takes the admirer to a different place in history.
My father owned one of these monsters, and I vividly remember being impressed by the functional space it had when set up as a camper. We had spent years tent camping before he invested in this piece of luxury equipment. He would perpetually endeavor to catch as many fish as he could, on any given weekend, at any freshwater spot within driving distance. The van allowed maximum fishing time, due to its easy set up, and was much more comfortable than tent living.
When we were van camping, I always felt a sense of the fringe. We weren’t living on it, but it could be seen from our camp. Like the bug trip down the Baja, the VW drew attention and sparked many encounters w/ fellow travelers.
These rigs are fabulous and continue to fill our minds w/ inspiration, start interesting conversations, and remind us of fishing trips w/ Dad.
The Rig: VW Bus
The Location: Lake City, Coeur’D Alene, Idaho
The Driver: a speculatively caffeinated modern day beatnik
The Special Circumstance: tripping down memory lane
Edgar~
It IS amazing how many of them are still out there! It’s too bad you don’t have your Dad’s anymore!
we had one of those. It was something my Father wanted also and we used it to carry all our gear including the tent in which we slept. Ours had a decal on the side front door of Fred Flintstone. As a pre-teen and teenager I felt a little less than classy pulling up to our campsite in our VW. Still, it was a good time of life and your blog reminds me of the good memories of family time. Thanks.
I never knew you took one camping. Good memories.
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For VW fans