LACEY, Wash. - There are two things to remember at the Land Yacht Harbor: Every resident should help take care of the Harbor's 60-plus acres in north Thurston County.

And everyone should participate in some of the social travel events planned by the Washington Unit of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International.

Life at one of the world's largest communities for owners of Airstream travel trailers and motor homes doesn't have to be complicated, said Carol Ortiz, one of the caravan club's vice presidents. Work together. Play together. That's about it.

The Washington Unit is part of Region 10, which includes Canada, Alaska and some of the Northwest, and the region is the largest slice of the international caravan club, Ortiz said.

While the Washington Unit has about 700 members, there are 200 occupied residential lots at the Harbor. "You have to be an Airstream owner to move in," Ortiz said.

Harbor resident and club member Larry Alvar summed up what it means to participate in the Airstream lifestyle and community: "I pledge to be an active member and not just an old goat sitting on my couch," he said. "It's fun to be a part of what's going on."

The brand name Airstream is most often associated with the classic, tubular "Silver Twinkie" style travel trailer. While dozens of Airstreams are at the Harbor, the first ones were built in the 1930s by Los Angeles businessman Wally Byam, who encouraged fellowship and adventure. At the Harbor, both attributes are evident.

Everyone helps out one way or another at the Harbor, said resident Cash Barber, from mowing lawns to holding club offices. Many residents bring specialized knowledge to the table, he said, such as his own safety expertise.

Barber, now in his 80s, worked for Airstream as a traveling public relations officer and trailer safety expert in the 1970s after retiring from a 30-year career in the Navy. He has become the Harbor's safety coordinator and often gives presentations (planned or impromptu) about traveling safely with Airstream trailers.

He often checks trailers and gives advice to his neighbors. "I guess I get kind of nosy about safety around the park," Barber said. "I can take one look at a trailer and see if it's well balanced or not."

Several members have held offices at the caravan club's regional and national levels. Ortiz, second vice president in a rotating system, is in line to become the president of the Washington Unit in 2010, and she is the "rally host" for this year's Potlatch & Salmon Rally.

During a recent drive around the community, Ortiz took a minute to catch up on the latest gossip with her sister, another Harbor resident, who was out and about in a golf cart. "We don't have a golf course, but we've got a lot of little golf carts zipping around," Ortiz said.

Resident Leonard Fiske took advantage of warm weather on a recent Monday to cut the grass in the small field adjacent to his home. And President Phil Latimer recently returned from a club fishing caravan to Eastern Washington.

The main gathering spot in the community is Harmony Hall, the massive clubhouse built by members in 1972. In a 1998 obituary for Milton "Slim" Robinson, The News Tribune reported his effort in directing the construction for the hall. Robinson's friend and Harbor neighbor Al Kerwin noted that the raising of the hall was an astonishing sight.

"It was all volunteer help, and the average age was probably about 70-something," Kerwin said in the obituary. At Slim's funeral, "I told everyone it was like Slim was conducting a symphony," he said.

The hall features a large stage, a kitchen, pool tables, a game room, a trophy case and a wall of photos of past presidents. A long deck overlooks Tveten Grove, named for Mel Tveten, the man who purchased the Harbor's first 44 acres in 1960 and owned one of Washington's first Airstream dealerships, Ortiz said.

At the clubhouse, Monday nights are bridge nights for Ortiz and her friends. It's a low-stakes, high-laughter game.

"I doubled my money!" Ortiz said after coming in second place during a recent night of gaming. Her take? Fifty cents.

Other weekly activities include Bible studies, board games and exercise classes. Every Saturday, coffee and rolls are served for breakfast.

A huge barbecue pit sits outside Harmony Hall. It's where residents cook for the club's annual salmon feed. And it's near the Harbor's "Terraport." In addition to nearly 200 residential lots at the Harbor, the Terraport features another 160 or so trailer hookups for visitors, either club members or "like-minded" members of other recreational-vehicle clubs, Ortiz said.

Trips away from the community often result in bonfires and singing, picnics and a chance for residents to catch up with club members who live outside the Harbor. The Washington Unit plans several caravan outings throughout the year for its members. There are sightseeing trips to Whidbey Island and seasonal caravans to fairs and festivals held around the Northwest. The Harbor hosts a large crab feed in early May and will be full again in early August for the Potlatch & Salmon Rally, a national event that draws Airstreamers from around the country.

In years past, "It wasn't unheard of for caravaners to ship their trailers overseas and go on safari to Africa," said Barber.

Once overseas, caravan members sometimes loaded their trailers onto trains and traveled by rail to different parts of continents, Barber said.

"Of course, that's becoming more and more cost-prohibitive," said Ortiz, who also recalled stories of the "good old days."

Some members, such as Ortiz and Alvar and his wife, plan months of travel around events hosted by the Washington Unit and other caravan clubs.

"We all want to see family and see the country," Alvar said, noting that the Wally Byam spirit of adventure and travel remains alive at the Harbor.

Besides her sister and brother-in-law, Ortiz's parents lived at the Harbor until a few years ago. Ortiz said she and her sister caught the travel bug from an older generation of family members.

"We had an aunt and uncle who traveled by Airstream," Ortiz said. "For years, we heard about their adventures."

Airstream makes the claim that 65 percent of its trailers ever made are still on the road. Many of the younger club members work to restore and preserve the older trailers, so much so that the international club has another wing, called the Vintage Airstream Club, dedicated to the hobby.

"A lot of kids catch the Airstream bug from their parents," Ortiz said. "We've got several second-generation Harbor residents." (For example, Milton Robinson's son, David, is now a Harbor resident.)

But rising gas prices and what Barber said seems like a general reluctance of younger Airstreamers to join social groups have affected international membership over the years.

"When I joined (in the early 1970s), they had 31,000 members," Barber said. "Now we're down under 10,000 members."

In past times, caravan club members could expect more than 1,000 trailers, or "one big sea of silver," at national meets, Ortiz said. They'll be lucky to get anywhere near that at a summer meet in Bozeman, Mont., she said.

As older Airstreamers like Barber and his wife sell their last trailers, Ortiz said it's up to "the kids" like her, in her 60s, to carry on the traditions and the spirit of adventure put forth by Byam so many decades ago.