On our way out of Cuyahoga National Park, we paid a visit to Airstream Headquarters in Jackson Center, Ohio, to update them on our progress and to ask for some guidance about the best ways to operate our new home on the road from the expert technicians who put the things together.
Walking through the warehouse, we were intoxicated by the new fleet of Pendleton Limited Edition National Park Centennial models being pieced together by the Airstream crew. Only 100 will be built. Artistic details of our national parks are alluded to throughout the design, and the rear opens up to your proverbial backyard: America's great outdoors. The wood is rustic and warm as if it were at home in one of our forests. These are craftsman's creations... it's impossible to look at one and not say "I want that!"
Inside the lobby, the inspiration continues, with couches and tables made of modified Airstream hardware. Historical photos of NASA’s Astrovan and Mobile Quarantine Facility (used to contain Apollo astronauts for testing after their adventures to Earth’s moon) dot the walls of the entryway. Outside and around the bend is the rarest of Airstreams: "Stella's Dream Trailer", designed by Airstream founder Wally Byam himself—a golden capsule in a sea of silver bullets.
What was striking about the town where it is located, Jackson Center, is that you get a feeling from the small size of it that everybody in this town has worked, does work, or will one day work at Airstream—one team member showed us an employee roster with tenures stretching 3, 4, even 5 decades. That says a lot about a company, when the employees don’t just work there, but dedicate their lives to a brand. That’s commitment. And we are very appreciative of that commitment. We recognize that each of them have a hand in the machine that is bringing us to every U.S. National Park this year. Thank you Airstream!
