While on a walk in the Happy Valley neighborhood, I spotted a rare bird. The Free Bird from Caravan Outfitters is a very cool camper van that we got to try out on a trip through Oregon a couple of years ago. We loved it.

The vehicle is unique for a few reasons. The build-out is done in Edmonds, Wash., and is attached to Campbell Nissan. Owner Kurt Campbell used to be the top seller of VW camper vans once upon a time when those iconic rigs were still readily available in this country. 

Kurt took the lessons learned from those self-contained campers and retro-fitted them into a Nissan van. In recent years, a tall version and an off-road version have been introduced. 

We absolutely loved the way this vehicle drove, especially the excellent gas mileage. It's not ideal for full-time RVers, but would be an awesome choice for weekenders. And the price is pretty affordable when compared with similar vehicles. Maybe that's why they can barely keep up with the demand. Only two are currently available through the online store.

Seeing the Free Bird again certainly started us thinking about whether or when we might shift gears and downsize to something van-ish. We'll see.

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