Airstream, Idaho, and the Open Road with Jay Cullis
Jay Cullis, posing for a portrait wit his family.
Travel has a way of shaping our perspective, and few people understand that better than Jay Cullis, Content Manager at Airstream. Jay shares the journey that took him from newspaper reporting and teaching to helping tell the stories behind one of the most recognizable names in the RV industry.
We talk about several notable Airstream projects, including the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired travel trailer, the Airstream x Stetson collaboration and AirLab, a creative initiative that brings together artists, designers, and storytellers. Jay also reflects on how years of travel have influenced his approach to family, creativity, and life on the road.
The conversation then turns to eastern Idaho, where Jay and his family spent nine weeks exploring the region surrounding Yellowstone National Park. From wildlife encounters and expansive mountain landscapes to the history of Earthquake Lake and the outdoor recreation opportunities around Island Park, Idaho, he shares the experiences that left a lasting impression and inspired him to return.
Along the way, you'll hear stories about RV travel, Airstream ownership, remote work, road trips, camping, and the value of slowing down enough to truly experience a destination. It's a thoughtful discussion about curiosity, adventure, and discovering new places across the American West.
If you're planning an Idaho RV trip, dreaming about Yellowstone, interested in an Airstream, or simply looking for inspiration for your next road trip, this episode offers plenty of ideas to fuel your travels. Download the episode, settle in, and join Brooks and Jay as they explore the roads, landscapes, and experiences that continue to call them back for more.
SHOW NOTES
In This Episode
How Travel Changed Everything
Jay reflects on the experiences that first sparked his love of travel, from studying abroad and backpacking across Europe to a life-changing trip to Australia as a teenager. He shares how travel continues to challenge him, inspire growth, and create meaningful family experiences.
From Newspaper Reporter to Airstream Storyteller
Before joining Airstream, Jay worked as a newspaper reporter, educator, novelist, and technology instructor.
Today, as Content Manager at Airstream, he helps lead storytelling initiatives that bring the brand's rich history and owner experiences to life through articles, photography, video, and creative partnerships.
Behind the Scenes at Airstream
Jay provides an insider's perspective on several major Airstream projects, including:
The limited-edition Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired travel trailer
The Airstream x Stetson collaboration
The launch of the new World Traveler travel trailer
The introduction of AirLab, Airstream's creative platform showcasing artists, musicians, designers, and creators
He also shares stories from unique photo shoots involving horses, cattle, and even hundreds of butterflies.
Exploring Eastern Idaho by RV
One of the highlights of the conversation centers on Jay's nine-week stay in eastern Idaho near Yellowstone National Park.
Why Eastern Idaho Surprised Him
Like many travelers, Jay initially associated Idaho with potatoes. What he discovered instead was a vast landscape filled with:
National forests
World-class fishing rivers
Wildlife encounters
ATV adventures
Horseback riding
Scenic mountain vistas
Endless opportunities for boondocking and dispersed camping
Wildlife Encounters
During his stay, Jay and his family experienced:
Moose sightings along river floats
Bears moving across the landscape
Exceptional birdwatching opportunities
Close encounters with the wild character of the American West
The Island Park Area
Jay spent much of his time around Island Park, Idaho, often called the "Longest Main Street in America."
The area provides easy access to:
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Teton National Park
National forests
Scenic byways
Rivers and outdoor recreation opportunities
Earthquake Lake: One of Idaho's Most Fascinating Natural Stories
One destination stood out above all others: Earthquake Lake.
Created after a massive earthquake in 1959 triggered a catastrophic landslide that dammed the Madison River, Earthquake Lake remains both beautiful and sobering.
Jay describes standing among wildflower-covered hillsides while reflecting on how quickly landscapes can change and how powerful nature truly is.
Learn more about Earthquake Lake and the 1959 Hebgen Lake Earthquake:
The Future of Airstream
Jay discusses several exciting developments happening within Airstream, including:
Increased focus on off-grid capability
Larger battery systems and inverter technology
Easier access to RV ownership through lighter-weight trailers
The newly launched Range Line 21 PL touring coach
Expanding opportunities for younger travelers entering the RV lifestyle
Explore Airstream's latest models:
Memorable Quotes from This Episode
"Travel's scary. And I think that's what I like about it."
"Nobody grows by being stagnant."
"The world is fundamentally a good place, and it's full of good people."
"This lifestyle has rewritten my DNA."
Resources Mentioned
Airstream
Airstream on Instagram
Airstream on YouTube
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Taliesin West
Taliesin West
Taliesin West Visitor Information
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park Official Website
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park Official Website
Island Park, Idaho
Island Park
Follow Jay Cullis
Jay Cullis on Instagram (@jsjycullis)
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Podcast Episode Transcript (EP203):
Airstream, Idaho, and the Open Road with Jay Cullis
Brooks, Host Some of the best adventures come from the people who know the road best. Today we're catching up with an old friend who works at Airstream, and he's going to share some of his favorite corners of Idaho and the places that continue to inspire his travels. Welcome to RV Out West. I'm your host, Brooks. My family of four is base camp is located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and our RV adventures radiate out from there. Please grab a mug of coffee and join us as we discuss our RVing around the American West from sweet camping spots. Gear and equipment to tips and tricks, we've got you covered. We are RV out west. Over twenty years ago, I worked at a community newspaper that was right on the outskirts of the Los Padres National Forest, just up into the hills above Ventura, California. I was the chief photographer, and Jay Collis was a colleague and a newspaper reporter. He and I hit it off almost immediately, with a shared interest in music, travel and a passion to tell stories. And then there were the falafel Nights, those impromptu mid-week dinners that started with just making a Mediterranean style dinner at one of our homes. That always ended with great conversations and lots of laughter. Over the span of the past two decades, the miles in time took us in different directions. But thanks to social media, we could at least always get a snippet of what adventures were currently going on in our lives at that moment. Jay has been working for Airstream for just about the last nine years as a writer, and now as a content manager. He has worked on some amazing projects which we are going to get into. He's also going to share what he discovered during nine weeks on the road in Idaho, exploring corners of the state that I haven't even made it out to yet. Before we jump in, I want to invite you to join the RV Out West newsletter. It's where I share extra tips, resources, and adventure ideas you won't always hear about on the show. Plus, it's where I share some updates first. Signing up is quick and easy. Just click the link in the episode description and join the community today. J welcome my friend and thanks so much for joining us here on RV out West.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Glad to be here. Yeah. It's great. I'm really excited. It's really good to have you here,
Brooks, Host Jay. I've been looking forward to this conversation for a while, not just because of the work you're doing with Airstream, but because we've known each other for a long time, since our days back in a newsroom in Ojai, like twenty years ago, which just blows me away.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Yeah. Time flies, doesn't it?
Brooks, Host It does. But I've been watching you, and it's great to see how deeply this lifestyle has become a part of who you are, and not just what you do. I'd love for our listeners, just to get a chance to meet you for the first time. So tell us a bit about yourself and how did this lifestyle of storytelling, traveling and RVing become a part of your journey?
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. I've been a traveler my whole life. I was very lucky as a young person, as a in high school. In college, my parents were very supportive of travel. I did a couple study abroad exchange programs in high school and college, backpacked across Europe with my brother when he graduated from college, did about thirty days Eurail pass. Living the dream. You know, as I became an adult, travel continued to be part of my life. My wife and I, you know, I tell a story every once in a while that when I was dating my wife, um, a lot of people were like, you know, if you really want to know if someone's your soulmate, take a long road trip with them. And if you come back and you're still together. That's a big green flag. And we ended up taking a thirty day trip in a hatchback across the country, circled the country, ended up near the end at the edge of the Grand Canyon. I proposed in the most romantic way possible by saying, hey, do you think we should get married? She rolled her eyes and then, you know, said yes, and the rest is history. And then the pandemic hit, and we were working remote, and I was working for Airstream. I was like, you know, I've been I've been writing about this. I've been talking to Airstream hours. I believe in this brand and what it does to people. And so we bought an Airstream, started traveling. I was working from anywhere. We were doing long trips, six weeks, eight weeks, weekend things. And I just, you know, I, I had talked about it and written about it for so long, but then I felt it and I, it, it got into my bones and it has been life changing in no small way.
Brooks, Host. Well, and that's a great segue because do you remember the first time travel really changed you?
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I, I think, I think the first time that I really felt that powerful ability that travel has to kind of shake you up. Um, when I was thirteen, my family went to Australia for two weeks. Cool. And I can remember vividly, you know, realizing how big the world was and how many hours away we were, how long it took to get there, and the time zone and the feeling in my body of, man, this is weird. Like I the jet lag and then being in such a different place that looked and felt like places I've been before, but everybody had a different accent. The food was different and the animals like. What a bizarre place for a little Midwestern kid to just get like, dunked under the strangeness and the the breadth of our planet. Uh, I, I, I, I think that was a moment that really set me, um, toward chasing those sorts of experiences.
Brooks, Host. I gotta ask, did you eat Vegemite while you were there? Oh.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. I mean, that was that was part of it, man. Like everybody was like slathering it on toast. And I ate it. And I was like, this is like motor oil, man.
Brooks, Host. Yeah. That stuff. I don't understand that. I do not understand that.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. It is the most acquired tastes of acquired tastes.
Brooks, Host Yeah. Okay. Well, at least you tried it, right? Went in. Yeah. Went in Australia.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Yeah, exactly.
Brooks, Host. You know, you had mentioned how, uh, Covid and working remotely is kind of what initially pulled you towards doing more RV travel. Was there any realities that you discovered early on that where RV travel and the, the things you romanticize in your head to the realities of pulling out of your driveway were different?
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Yeah, it was really driven by, I think, just getting older, watching my children get older, talking a lot with Airstream, who were twenty or thirty or forty years older than me and had had waited their whole life for retirement. They'd saved a lot. And they were, you know, getting into this lifestyle. And to me, it was, uh, an opportunity to make that that kind of thing happen right now. And it, you know, it Yeah, I mentioned kind of chasing that feeling. Like to me, that is what I think every time I hitch up and head out, it's where, you know, what, what, how is this going to change me? I think there's two kinds of people in the world. I think there are people who are happy to stay at home and watch Netflix and live their lives, and then there's other people who want to escape that. And I firmly fall into that category that I'm most alive when I'm out there seeing things, seeing new things, seeing what's over the horizon. Travel's scary. And I think that's what I like about it. You know, I like, I like that it challenges me. And it, it, um, there's an immense amount of self gratification that I get out of being the captain of my ship and solving the little headaches that come along sometimes big headaches. And I love that RV travel in particular, allows me to have the time to deal with those hurdles and the joys in a longer way, and to process them and to, to grow. Like nobody grows by being stagnant. And I feel like life is about growth. It's about evolution. It's about, you know, gaining experiences. And through those experiences, gaining wisdom and RV travel has kind of knocked me over the head with that.
Brooks, Host. It's pretty amazing, actually. Really? Yeah, it really is.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. I think too, there's, there's such a difference between getting in an airplane and going somewhere and having a week of PTO and cramming every imaginable thing you can into your itinerary. And the opposite side of that with RV travel is. I love those long stretches of windshield time where I'm just thinking and you, you feel it. You feel how big the world is as you travel at that pace across it.
Brooks, Host. And watching the landscape slowly change as you do is pretty cool.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc.Well, what a, what a, what a, how lucky we are to live in a country that is this big and has so many different ecosystems and regions of food and culture and people. And, you know, I have I have traveled over fifty thousand miles in the last five years. I my overwhelming feeling is that it is It is good. It is full of people who are interesting and want to share and want to talk. And, you know, the cuisines and museums and little out of the way places, the things that you can do with an RV where you're driving down the road. Oh, we'll just stop and check this out. Yeah. Those, those are the things that stick with me. It's not the it's never Old faithful, right?
Brooks, Host. It's the roadside lunch spots.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Yeah. Yeah. Or the little alley that you wander into because you have the time and the leisure to take your time and figure those things out. I'll say I learned that in Italy, probably two thousand and one, there was a day where my friends and I just sat in a cafe and read the newspaper and drank coffee and talked. And I can remember vividly thinking that I want this to be part of every trip that I ever take from here on out that I want to build days into it that are purposefully slow and you see the people around you and you. You feel the rhythm of that place. And I find that RV travel, uh, is full of that. It's I don't even have to plan it. It's just how it is.
Brooks, Host Yeah. That's true. Well, let's transition a little bit because I would love to find out kind of how did your path professionally lead you to Airstream Circuitously.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc I, I, um, you know, I, I've done a lot of different things professionally since graduating from college. I threw a dart at a map essentially at, in my senior year and landed in Ventura, California, and worked at a Trader Joe's for a while, tried to get jobs. I wanted to be a newspaper reporter. I wanted to be a novelist, and I just wanted to write for a living, and eventually was fortunate enough to get a job at the Ojai Valley News, where then I was fortunate enough to meet you.
Brooks, Host Eventually, we did some cool stories there. Do you remember the.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. We did.
Brooks, Host What was Bob Dylan's original name? I always forget.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Uh, Robert Zimmerman.
Brooks, Host. Yeah, Robert Zimmerman's high school friend.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Uh, who.
Brooks, Host Lived in Ojai. And you and I got called to go cover a story, and we listened to a three inch reel to reel of Robert Zimmerman before he was Bob in high school playing his guitar. And his buddy was Rick.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Kangas was the guy's name. Rick Kangas? Yeah, yeah. And we got to.
Brooks, Host Listen to something that not a lot of people in this world have heard. And it was, yeah, high school boys burping into a microphone and being high school boys and in between making music. It was wild.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Yeah, it's that's one of my claims to fame that I'm one degree of separation. Well, maybe. I guess it would be two degrees or two degrees.
Brooks, Host One degree of separation to Bob now.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. From Bob Dylan. Yeah. That's why that was a magical experience. And Ojai was full of those things. Like, yeah, so many people. Yeah, yeah. So many people that really were full of stories. And I really, I cut my teeth there. I learned a lot about how to talk to people, how to interview people, how to write a story, how to write concisely. Uh, from there, I, I then left California, came back to the Midwest and worked at another newspaper. I was kind of seeing the writing on the wall for newspapers. This was circa two thousand and seven, and I transitioned into teaching. I actually moved to Raleigh, North Carolina with, uh, my future wife got married while we lived down there. I worked at an elementary school teaching technology and blogging, and a little bit of graphic design and web design. And then, uh, came back to the Midwest again. Kept teaching. Um, and during that time, I taught for about a decade. And during that time I actually wrote two novels with the sole purpose of trying to get an agent and sell it, and went through a long gauntlet of rejection, many, many rejection emails and lots of query letters and eventually self-published that, but learned a whole lot about process of writing and sitting down every day and writing a thousand words. And, uh, it was a great experience, uh, that I'm very proud of. And then, uh, during that time, I also had two kids and the second one came and my wife and I were actually both teaching at the same school, actually in the same classroom, which was great ninety five percent of the time. And, um, but, you know, having all of our eggs in that basket, I decided that I wanted to write professionally again. I wanted to try and do something different. And I got in touch with Airstream. They were right up the road. I had met a couple people whose kids were in the class and had some connections there. The way all great jobs tend to come to you, you know, somebody and got my foot in the door and, um, my, my boss today, our CMO, she hired me because she saw the power of this brand that has ninety five years of stories. At the time, it was eighty five years I've been there almost, um, almost nine years, nine years on Labor Day this year. She understood that storytelling was the best marketing and Airstream has travel stories and community stories and design stories and just an archive of incredible history and hired me at first, really as a blogger, wrote a lot for the first couple of years, and over the last nine years have developed what we call the Airstream Content Studio, which is a loose collection, a team of people, agency partners, uh, freelancers who create, uh, the stories that talk about the experience, the, what it's like to own one and, and the, the iconic history of this beautiful piece of industrial art that inspires people to save for their whole lives and hit the road and see what's over the next hill. It's been a wild ride. And, uh, I'm very proud of being part of a brand like that and a company that makes something real, something analog. It's a product, but it is a gateway to magic. And I love it.
Brooks, Host You were on that team that made amazing videos announcing the New World Traveler trailer with Mark and Trish of Keep Your Daydream, and especially I saw the little clips of you on there when they were down there in Florida and you guys were getting that shoot set up. I was like, hey, I know that guy. Yeah. You know, you've participated in both the launches of the Stetson as well as in the Frank Lloyd Wright Models. Share with us a little about what it was like to work on those projects.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Dreams come true. I mean, it's Airstream has a lot of great partnerships and friends in other brands and designers. And we, um, we try really hard to extend the brand through those partnerships. Frank Lloyd Wright was, uh, a project that we'd worked on for almost three years and and really have been talked about for much longer than that. It was a very hard secret to keep for those three years. Uh, worked with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which was an incredible experience. I am a massive Frank Lloyd Wright enthusiast. I've been to many sites. My wife and I often travel specifically to see Frank Lloyd Wright homes and buildings. Uh, what a joy. What a great organization to work with. And then took the trailer to Taliesin West, which was Wright's home for the last twenty years of his life, his his winter home in Arizona. And he would travel back and forth between Taliesin in Wisconsin, which was his summer home and a great, a great connection, uh, through the history with these two iconoclasts, with Wright and Wally Byam, who founded Airstream in nineteen thirty one. And to see the connections design environment travel right would pack up everything and all his students and they would migrate over land basically in, uh, a much nicer probably, but, but very similar to like a Conestoga wagon kind of thing. Yeah. And they would travel across land and purposely stop at cultural sites and art artworks and museums and things. And, uh, so there are lots of cool connections. And then getting to shoot around Taliesin West was just an incredible experience to be part of that to, to see that building so intimately and to bring the Airstream into that environment was, was incredible.
Brooks, Host Well, and the design style of the two, while they're kind of. Yeah. Time period ish, they're also dramatically different from a design standpoint, yet they're still the design principles of use of space. And all of that are very similar. It's just a it was cool.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Right? Right. Was into organic architecture. That was his philosophy, this idea of positioning a building in the landscape, looking at the way the sun moves through the sky, the shadows move across the ground. And, you know, an Airstream is the mobile version of that. It's something that you can physically position within the space. It reflects the environment in that shiny aluminum exterior. And yeah, it was, it was a really interesting design process, kind of working with their team and our engineering and design teams to bring these two different ideas together in one. But you know, it resulted in an absolutely gorgeous piece of, of art. You know, we're only building two hundred of them. Yeah, it's a, it's a limited edition trailer. Each one's numbered. Beautiful trailer. Yeah.
Brooks, Host . That's cool. So speaking of like all of the art and the changes and those things, I am super curious about your lab. I don't know how much you can tell, but I was watching the trailer, the reel that you guys pushed out on Airstream with the trailer getting, having all of that mural art painted on the exterior. Tell us a bit about your lab and what can you tell us about that project?
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Air lab is Airstream's Creative Playground. It is a new channel that we've created on Instagram and YouTube as a place to bring some of these incredible partners that we have in the creative space artists, musicians, designers, uh, of all sorts and give them a jumping off point to use the Airstream as, as a canvas or as a, a cocoon in which to create, create art and be inspired. And it's been a lot of fun. I'm kind of on the edge of that project. We've got some great partners and agencies that are helping us bring that to life, but it's been fun so far. It resulted in one of the more interesting photo shoots that I've been a part of, uh, in North Carolina. We took actually a world traveler shell, and we had a set designer who'd worked on many music videos and projects like that. And he built essentially a terrarium inside the shell of the trailer, uh, with plants and rocks and vines crawling up the walls of the trailer. And we had a butterfly wrangler who brought three hundred butterflies and about thirty, uh, cocoons, chrysalis and several caterpillars. And we, uh, let them sort of move through that environment, filmed it, and then opened the windows and the butterflies were flying out and kind of the symbol of the creative process. People talk about the Airstream as an aluminum cocoon, and I've experienced that. You close that door and the world sort of disappears, the busyness evaporates, and you can think and you can write and you can play the guitar and you can edit photos and, and, and the creative process of, of planning a trip. I mean, creativity is, is woven through travel and through the Airstream brand. Yeah, it's, it's been a, it's been really fun to watch how they're bringing that, that channel to life. Uh, and it was, I'll say wrangling butterflies was maybe a little harder than wrangling the cattle and the horses that we wrangled on the Stetson for sixes. Shoot. So, uh, we've they.
Brooks, Host . Don't listen very well, do.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc They? Yeah. No, the cowboys and cowgirls, they can keep those horses moving in that direction. The butterflies? Not so much. They go where they want to go.
Brooks, Host Yeah. One take.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc Yep.
Brooks, Host Well, what excites you the most about what Airstream is heading right now?
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc Gosh, I think it is. I think it's two things. I think it's power independence. I think it's innovating around bigger batteries, bigger inverters, the ability to go off grid, to escape the campground, to explore the national forests, or go out into the desert and stay comfortably and get closer to the natural world. On the flip side, I think it's about giving a new generation of potential Airstream people who've been we we call them dreamers. You know, there's the streamers and there's the dreamers. And the dreamers are the people whose grandparents had an Airstream. Or like me, they were a kid and they saw one rolling down the highway and thought, what the heck is that thing? And it inspires that feeling of, of wanderlust. And, uh, we're, we're meeting those, those audiences with models that are easy to tow with SUVs. World traveler is a great example. Smaller, lightweight, narrow body trailer that you could hitch up to the vehicle you might have sitting in your driveway right now. You don't have to worry about a big diesel truck or an F-250 or something like that. We've got a brand new van that we launched just yesterday, the Range Line twenty one PL, which is a fabulous fan. I got to do that shoot in, uh, down in the Florida Keys just about a month ago and really fell in love with it. I'm, you know, I'm a trailer guy. I love that rounded, riveted shell. But man, that van had me thinking thoughts I hadn't had yet.
Brooks, Host Van life.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc What a. What a fun little van and how easy to navigate busy streets and have everything right there. Yeah, cool. It's great. It's a great van. It's got a powered loft bed that drops down so you can sleep in it. Yeah, yeah. Perfect for families. That's that's, uh, that's where our heads are at right now. How do we, how do we, uh, make products that, that let you, you know, finally get into this lifestyle and, uh, make your, make your travel dreams come true. As we say.
Brooks, Host We've been chatting with Jake Cullis about his work on projects like the limited edition, Frank Lloyd Wright inspired travel trailer, the release of Airstream's newest model, The world Traveler, and the passion behind sharing the stories behind the RV culture. When we return, Jake Cullis will be sharing why eastern Idaho has left a lasting impression on him and his family. They explored the dramatic landscapes and discovered small towns as their springboard to their outdoor adventures. Stay with us. There are more stories waiting. I'm Brooks and you're listening to RV Out West. First, a word from our longtime sponsor and friend over at Camper alerts dot com. Sold out campgrounds used to mean one thing. Game over. Not anymore. Camper alerts dot com keeps watch on the most in-demand, hardest to get into campgrounds out there, the ones that are booked solid for months, and the moment a site opens up, you get the alert. No constant checking, no lock based refreshes, just real time access to cancellations and openings before they disappear again. The dream spot everyone is fighting for. Yeah, you just got it. Say goodbye to campgrounds, because fall doesn't have to mean finished. Visit camper alerts dot com and set your alert today. Welcome back to RV Out West. I'm your host, Brooks.
Brooks, Host It's fascinating hearing about the evolution of Airstream from the inside, because for so many people, the brand represents freedom, curiosity, and life on the open road. But beyond the work itself, you've also lived those experiences personally. So I'd love to shift from the professional side of RVing to that human side of it. The places that have stayed with you, the roads you still think about, and especially your travels through the Pacific Northwest and across Idaho. I want to spend some time in Idaho because I know that landscapes left an impression on you. What do you remember most vividly from your travels there?
Jay Cullis, Airstream IncIt was an incredible experience. We were in Idaho for about nine weeks last summer, just a stone's throw from Yellowstone. I mean, I think the thing about that area is Yellowstone is the beacon that pulls people there. And it's justifiably incredible. I, I thought Yellowstone would be sort of a cliche, but man, it, it really blew my mind. But what was even more of an impression to me was just how much there is to do in that area from, you know, ATV rides up into the hills, horseback riding, epic landscapes, beautiful national forest that you can just pull off and camp for two weeks for free. I got really in touch with the wildness of our country. It just felt like such a time travel trip back to the way our country was ten thousand years ago. Watching bears like move across the landscape, the moose that we encountered on a river float coming down around the corner and it just stood up out of the willows and I. I felt like it was never going to stop standing. It just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. That's cool. Just a really life changing experience. A beautiful place, really friendly people. And just, uh, you know, such a big landscape that really kind of puts you in your place.
Brooks, Host Was there a route you took through Idaho? Share that with us. And what were some of the main stops along the way?
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc So we, we spent the bulk of that time in one spot, actually. We came up through I, uh, through Utah, into Idaho. And, uh, we moved, we, we spent the, the majority of our time in what I call eastern Idaho. Island park area. It's about a forty mile stretch. They, they call it the longest main street in America. And you know, you've got the Tetons off to the right. You've got, uh, Yellowstone kind of to the northeast. And then, um, you're really kind of we were tucked sort of in the corner of Idaho and Montana and Wyoming. So anywhere you drive, you sort of pass through multiple states. Beautiful rivers. Um, I forget what the, what the road was, what the highway was, but it runs north south and kind of dead ends in, in West Yellowstone. Criss crossed with just gorgeous trout fishing rivers and the the bird life. I'm a I'm a huge I'm a middle aged man who's fallen into the trap of bird watching. But, uh, just loved it, you know, checked off about fifty five new species that I had never seen. And, uh, it just, you know, every day was an adventure. It was, it, it, it, what it did was it, I think as a kid, I thought Idaho was a place where they grew potatoes, and now I want nothing more than to go back and explore even more of it. It's a huge state. I saw a fraction of it, and there's so much more to see there.
Brooks, Host. Well, what were some of your favorite things you did while you were there? Whether you know, a hike or a small town, a restaurant, a, you know.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc Yeah. Um, I think my, my favorite experience in that area was a place called Earthquake Lake. It was, there was a river that ran up through a valley and there was a massive earthquake in the mid nineteen fifties. Epicenter was basically right under the river. And this in a fraction of a second, the valley collapsed and a mudslide rock slide came down. And it it clogged the river. It dammed up the river and it created a lake behind it. It was a tragic story where there were many campers that were tent camping in that area. Uh, there was a like a summer camp there, and it was a huge emergency evacuation kind of situation. You know, today the there's a dam that they've created that holds the water back. They've opened it up so the river can still flow through. Uh, and there's this beautiful lake. I mean, it was like walking through the Sound of music. It was wild flower blanketing the, the hills and this gorgeous valley and this sort of sobering experience about, um, you know, we think our, our planet is static and it's not, it can change in a second. And all it takes is, is kind of the, the snap of a finger and everything changes and really incredible experience.
Brooks, Host That's cool.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Yeah.
Brooks, Host So hearing you talk about these places and these moments across Idaho is painted a beautiful picture of what RV travel can really feel like at its best. Not rushed, Deeply experienced. And I think what stands out is how places like Idaho become more than just stops on a map. They become part of your story. So as we kind of begin to wrap up, I'd love to zoom out a bit and talk about all of this and the road, the travel, the people and the experiences along along the way has meant to you personally. So if someone listening had been dreaming about RV travel but keeps putting it off. What would you want to say to them?
Speaker 3 It's pretty simple. This lifestyle has made me rethink everything about my life, what I want out of it. It's rewritten my DNA. It has, uh, made me think differently about what I want for my kids and what life can be. And it's full of adventure. And all it takes is the the a little bit of bravery and the, the drive to get out there and do it.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Well, when the road not to get all super morbid, but when the road eventually slows down for you someday and you reflect on this chapter of your life. What do you hope you'll remember most about the people, places, and experiences that shaped you along the way?
Speaker 3 I think I go back to that, what I said earlier that, you know, the world is, is fundamentally a good place and it's full of good people. It's full of of nature and expanses and experiences that they kind of they help write your story. And I can't get enough of it.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. For listeners who want to keep up with your RV travelers and see where the road takes you next, what's the best place for them to follow along?
Speaker 3 I'm on Instagram at J s j y C u l l I s, and I don't post as much as I'd like there, but I try to keep a little record of my adventures. And you know, I, I would be remiss if I didn't say follow Airstream on on Instagram and YouTube and Facebook. Uh, that's the place where I put a lot of the content that I'm creating while I'm out on the road.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. Well, Jay, thank you so much for coming on the show today. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 Thank you for having me. This was a pleasure, Brooks, I appreciate it.
Jay Cullis, Airstream Inc. We got to do Falafels again sometime. Every time I eat a falafel, I think of you.
Speaker 3 Anytime, man. I'll share falafel with you.
Brooks, Host All right, my friends, the conversation doesn't have to end here. If anything we talked about sparked your curiosity, head over to RV Outwest dot com and take a moment to check out the show notes. We've got links to everything we mentioned so you can dive deeper and explore more. If you enjoyed this episode, please go ahead, send it to a friend and family member. Before we go, I want to give you a sneak peek at next week's episode. It's unlike anything I've ever produced before and I can't wait to share it with you. I'll be joined by Scott Cohen of Explore Washington State podcast. Together, we're going to set out to explore for coffee shops in a city along the shores of the Salish Sea. Armed with nothing more than our field recorder, a curiosity for great coffee and a willingness to see where the conversation takes us, we'll talk about what makes the perfect cup and share our experiences along the way. It's part travel story, part coffee adventure, and a completely different kind of RV Out West episode. I hope you'll join us next Monday. Thanks so much for listening to RV Out West. Join us again next week. Please like and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you choose to get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. I sure would appreciate it if you left a rating or a review of the show. Special thanks to Scott Holmes Music for providing us the intro song. We Are One RV Out West can be found on Instagram and Facebook, where you can interact with us and follow along on our RV adventures around the Pacific Northwest. So get out there, explore and go see what's beyond the horizon.Brooks, Host.
