Airstream RV Blog – Save Airstream Ranch! from Sean Michael on Vimeo. |
A fellow down in Florida named Frank Bates has built an eye-catching tribute to the RV lifestyle. He calls the display “Airstream Ranch,” and it’s causing no small measure of controversy. In fact, this is one RV story that could reach the Supreme Court.
Inspired by Texas’s famous Cadillac Ranch, the display consists of eight travel trailers partially buried in the ground (one trailer for every decade Airstream has been in business). The display is located alongside Interstate 4 in Florida. Its creator just happens to own an RV dealership on some adjacent property.
A few local residents have complained about Airstream Ranch. They petitioned the county government for its removal. These residents claim that Airstream Ranch is an eyesore, and little more than a promotion for Bates’s RV dealership. In short, they think it’s just trailer trash, and the bureaucrats have agreed. So this begs the question: is Airstream Ranch art, or is it just trailer trash?
After viewing Airstream Ranch, I’m saying that it’s art. It looks like Wally Byam and Stanley Kubrick got together to have a little fun. It brings some kitschy entertainment to an otherwise unremarkable (sorry, folks) stretch of interstate highway. It should be allowed to stand.
Is Airstream Ranch a promotion for Bates’s RV dealership? To the man’s credit, there’s absolutely no signage on Airstream Ranch. He could’ve erected a huge, screaming neon billboard on the property (not unlike South Dakota’s Wall Drug and many other roadside attractions). Instead the trailers stand alone, unadorned, like sentinels from campgrounds past.
Sure, it’s located on property adjacent to Bates’s RV dealership. But it’s also located next to a massive campground, and near some other dealerships. Without signage, the display is artistically ambiguous. It provokes emotion.
Bates has been ordered by the county government to remove Airstream Ranch. But he’s enlisted the services of renowned constitutional attorney Luke Lirot. This battle will be waged in court, and some say it could reach the highest court in the land. At issue are First Amendment rights like freedom of speech and expression.
I really like Airstream Ranch. Granted, a few vintage travel trailers were sacrificed for the sake of art. But viewing this sort of folk art is what great American road trips are all about. If it’s allowed to stand, Airstream Ranch could become a pilgrimage of sorts for RV owners and road trippers from around the continent.
But what do YOU think? Is Airstream Ranch art? Or is it just trailer trash?
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My wife and I honeymooned in our RV! For more videos like this one, check out our website: www.thelonglonghoneymoon.com.