These are the reviews of SNU luncheons and rallies that were
published in SNU newsletters. Most were written by Diane Leipper
unless otherwise indicated.
Wheels Wheeler
The Ft. Churchill rally was the perfect fall rally. There were crisp cool mornings around a warm fire. We were surrounded by tall cottonwood trees dressed in the finest fall colors – bright yellow. Light breezes caused some yellow leaves to gently fall to the ground. Stronger winds on Saturday afternoon had the leaves dancing and swirling in many directions. Saturday’s winds also prevented an outdoor meal on Saturday evening. As usual the majority met for the meal in Jerry’s trailer. We had six rigs there and were blessed with a visit by Roger and Jan Jeppson. Some of us took the time to renew our Senior Resident Pass for NV State Parks. Some also took the time explore some of the hiking trails; visit the old fort ruins and the Museum. Others enjoyed the warm afternoon and quiet surrounding by taking a nap or reading.
Diane Leipper
This is what fall camping is all about! Participants at Ft Churchill included: Gary & Anita, Jerry & Dyann, Gene & Carmen, Bryan & Diane, Wheels & Doris and Warren & Merna. We also had a visit from Roger & Janet on Friday. See the President's report for more on the Ft Churchill rally. Wheels, Doris, Warren & Merna had just gotten back from attending the Region 12 rally in Pahrump. They shared stories of their adventures. Sounds like it was a great rally. Approximately 6 SNU members attended. For at least 2 of them, this was their first Region Rally. It appears that the SNU dominated the raffle drawings. Almost every SNU member in attendance got a basket. Marlene was the grand prize winner. She got the specially made quilt. At Ft Churchill, Merna showed off a new flamingo she picked up at a hardware store in Pahrump. It is like one Doris got a while back that moves to macarena music. The great weather at Ft Churchill on Friday enabled us to enjoy our shared meal outside. As usual, lots of good food. Merna shared some of the treats from the basket she won at our Friday dinner. The last time the SNU had a rally at the main Ft Churchill campground was in 2002. I think after this one, we'd all prefer not to wait so long to come back again.
Wheels Wheeler
Dark clouds appeared in the area of the Crocker Campground as we approached. As we got closer it began to sprinkle. We had proceeded to the dirt section and I slowed down. I noticed a couple of pick-ups behind me that didn’t seem to want to travel at 15 miles an hour. I pulled over at a wide spot in the road to let them pass. One of them told me I had a flat on the trailer – street side rear. We were about a half mile from the Crocker turn-off and the tire was still intact and on the rim but not inflated. I decide to proceed at a very low speed to the Campground turn-off. At the campground turn-off there was a level drive out of the way of the campground traffic, it was perfect. I had changed wheels at home on a concrete slab so I knew what was involved. This was no different except for the light drizzle and dirt. I took my time and had the spare on and ready to go in about 45 minutes. It was especially nice to be on flat road away from traffic so I could maneuver without fear of being hit by passing traffic. After parking I borrowed Jerry’s tire pump and gauge to pump my spare tire, now in the left rear position on the trailer, to the designated 65 PSI. Crocker is always a challenge to our leveling skills but the effort is worth it. Crocker is such a beautiful spot among the tall pines. There is carpet of pine needles everywhere. The wind often whistles in the tree tops and makes the trees sway.
Diane Leipper
This rally turned out to be our virtual Oregon Coast rally. For the first time in over 10 years, it was rainy when we arrived and rainy when we left. The whole weekend was off and on drizzle and rain and gray skies. Despite the uncooperative weather, we had five rigs at the rally. This included Jerry & Dyann, Wheels & Doris, Gene & Carmen, Bryan & Diane, and Gary & Anita. Wheels & Doris had a rather interesting trip to the rally but they did make it in one piece. Jerry & Dyann had their new pup, Whistler with them. It was his first Airstream rally. He is a really cute 13 week old McNab border collie. The wet weather gave Gary an opportunity to test the seals on his newly replaced skylight. No leaks was a good sign. Gary & Anita also displayed their newly acquired flamingos. Great additions to the SNU flock. We were able to have our Friday dinner outside.The weather cleared a little and was almost sunny. No wind and mild temps also helped. As usual we had a great variety of good food and of course, great company. Saturday, we ended up having dinner in Jerry & Dyann's Airstream. Saturday evening we had a surprise visit from Shelly, her sister and Jessilynn. They were on their way home from Truckee. The axle is still off Shelly and Dean's Airstream or they would have come for the weekend. It was great to see them. Jessilynn is now 3 yrs old and she has grown quite a bit since we saw her last year at Green Creek. Sunday we were able to have our morning coffee outside but had to sit under the awning of Jerry & Dyann's Airstream to keep dry. We watched the rain and then when it eased off we packed up and headed home. It was an enjoyable weekend in a great location, even if it was a little damp.
Wheels Wheeler
The Rally at Obsidian Dome seemed to be one feast after another.
Bobbie Kingsland was one of the primary instigators of these
great feeds. Everyone chipped in and contributed food and helped
organize and clean up. Randy Grossmann, Victor Kingsland and Jerry
Thornburg were the primary figures involved in preparing the
Saturday morning Waffle Breakfast with bacon and sausage. Others
contributed fruit and waffle toppings. The weather cooperated for
the most part with some breezes in the afternoon. A wild fire
developed a few miles away but we were assured by the Forest
Service Rangers that we were not at risk. If it should become a
threat to our rally they would let us know. As soon as the sun
went down it began to cool off and soon required a jacket.
Diane Leipper
It's a good thing there are plenty of great hiking trails near the rally site at Obsidian. We outdid ourselves with special meals at this rally. It started off with our first ever sandwich and salad dinner on Thursday. Friday we had a brunch of four different types of quiches. Friday dinner was sloppy joes. Saturday brunch was Randy's special waffles. Saturday we celebrated Bobbi's birthday with lasagna and angel food birthday cake. Sunday we had morning pastries and danish. Added to this was all sorts of fruit, including a variety of melons grown locally in Fallon and contributed by Dyann & Jerry. Eggs supplied by Diane were used for the quiches, deviled eggs, waffles and other treats. A motivation for some of the meals was Bobbi & Victor's stop at Schat's Bakery in Bishop for bread and pastries. Randy wasn't able to get his preferred mix for waffles but his alternative was delicious. Very light and fluffy. We had a good turnout for this rally so there was a lot of help ensuring all this food was put to good use. Those participating in the rally were Thornburg, Kingsland, Grossmann, Leipper, Wheeler, Swaffer, Hull, and Liberty. We were also delighted to have John Spenard join us on Friday. Wheels had discovered him once again, at the Minden airfield. We first met John a year ago when Wheels invited him to the SNU rally at Rocky Point. Friday Victor, William, and Warren took a long hike up to the meadow. While up there, they spotted a small fire and called it in. Helicopters and Forest Service crews were on it immediately and we were never in any danger. It was entertaining to watch the trucks and horse trailer drive to the nearby staging area. Friday afternoon Rick stopped by for a visit. He was on duty that weekend so he couldn't bring his Airstream to the rally. Saturday for Bobbi's birthday celebration, Marla had picked up a banner and other decorations for the dinner table. Doris loaned Bobbi her Hobo Crown to wear for the evening. We couldn't have candles but we did have lanterns on the table. Saturday after dinner, Wheels held a short business meeting. Marlene had recently called most of the current SNU members. She was interested in why they joined the SNU and find out their ideas about participating in rallies. There was also discussion on promoting the SNU. Diane thanked Marlene for volunteering to call members. She also thanked Randy for his ongoing efforts to get monthly rally announcements in local news media. Marlene also volunteered to put together an SNU basket for the 2014 Region Rally in Pahrump. Another topic was the 2015 Region rally the SNU will be assisting with and what to do with an unsolicited check the SNU received from the Region, That was tabled for the time being. Wheels also mentioned that we still need officers for the 2015 SNU board. The meeting was ajourned in time for birthday cake. In addition to all the eating, several people enjoyed playing board games and cards. Others read books, listened to ham radio, and just relaxed. We all had a great time just visiting, sharing stories, and catching up on adventures. As always, the rally at Obsidian was a lot of fun. We are looking forward to celebrating our 10th anniversary rally at Obsidian in 2015. If anyone would like to help with plans for that celebration, let the SNU know.
Wheels Wheeler
The rally at Rocky Point at Eagle Lake was more like a typical SNU rally. The weather was sunny. We gathered around a warming fire in the mornings. The wind began to pick up in the afternoon helping to cool it off in the shade. The wind seemed to strengthen as the day progressed. After our evening pot luck and the sun angle got lower it became cool. In fact it got cold and we retreated to our trailers.
There were nine trailers there, only eight at any one time. Gary left on Saturday and was replaced by Jim and his brother Chris Walker. I invited Jim when I found his Airstream parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot. There are some similarities between this year’s rally and last years. Last year I invited an “Airstreamer” I found parked in the campground at Minden Airport. He also found his way to Rocky Point with a little help. Last year prospective members Bruce and Kathy Rhymes flew over our rally site on Saturday. Unfortunately their plane crashed much later in the day as they were approaching Auburn Airport killing both of them. We had grown to like them very much and looked forward to welcoming them into our unit. This year I brought a practice Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) beacon with me and one of the Civil Air Patrol crews flew over our rally site several times practicing homing on the beacon. We continue a tradition of welcoming visitors to Rocky Point and to all our rallies.
Diane Leipper
We had a total of 9 rigs at this rally, including Warren & Merna. Other rally participants included Jerry & Dyann, Wheels & Doris, Gary, Mike & Cindy, Randy & Vicki, Bryan & Diane and we were especially delighted to have Roger and Janet join us on Friday. We also had some guests, Jim Walker & his brother Chris. They just purchased their 1975 Tradewind a few months ago and plan to be traveling for most of the summer. This was their first Airstream rally. In addition to Airstreams and people, this was definitely a dog rally. We had a total of 12 dogs this year. Our Thursday KFC dinner worked out really well. Bryan & Diane stopped by KFC in Susanville on the way to Rocky Point and picked up enough chicken and sides for everyone. Having a "catered" dinner made for a relaxing beginning of the rally. Friday Wheels was assisting in some Civil Air Patrol exercises and one of their planes flew over our rally site. Be sure to check the picture the CAP plane took of the rally site We couldn't help but think of Bruce and Kathy whose vintage Cessna crashed one year ago killing both of them. Randy had a copy of the final FAA report of the crash. It seems we'll never know exactly what happened. Randy had a good time setting up his unique yard art, "The Thing". It's been a while since he's had it set up and thankfully he had printed a picture of it to help him put it together. He now has some ideas for enhancements so it will be interesting to see it at the next rally. The rally site looked pretty awesome after dark. Most of us now have a variety of solar lights of one type or another and they added to the nighttime ambiance.
Friday night Wheels held a short business meeting. The primary topic was Randy's report of various potential rally sites. He and Vicki had visited Prosser Reservoir, Hereford Ranch and the Likely Spot RV park after the Boca Rally. Prosser Reservoir is right of hwy 89 near Truckee. There are several camgrounds at Prosser including a group area. There are lots of trees and some nice, spacious, fairly level RV sites. This might be a good place for a future SNU rally or a joint rally with NorCal. The next stop was Hereford Ranch which is also off hwy 89 North of Susanville near Hat Creek, CA. It is a private RV park and campground. It is a nice place with lots of trees, a fishing pond and other amenities, Randy thinks it might be OK for the backup list of SNU rally sites. Hereford would require long range planning and reservations. The next stop was the Likely Spot RV park near Alturas. This place has definite possibilities. There are two areas with gazebos that would make good rally sites. Amenities at the park include star gazing pads, a golf course, an onsite restaurant, hiking paths and full RV hookups. Randy was pleased with the staff that he talked with about the park and the potential of holding a rally there. It looks like the SNU will add this place to the 2015 rally calendar.
Saturday was another nice day. It started out with a morning campfire and coffee. Midday the wind picked up but by dinnertime, things had calmed down enough for our shared dinner. Diane had recently found a bunch of pink flamingo items at a thrift store and she passed around some flamingo ornaments so everyone could add to the decor of their Airstream. Our shared meals on Friday and Saturday had lots of variety and as usual, more than enough good things to eat. It was a great weekend of catching up, visiting, and just enjoying great company in a very scenic place.
Wheels Wheeler
At last our schedule allowed us to join our SNU Airstream family for a rally. What a rally! It was fine Thursday afternoon – sunny and dry, a little wind that continued to increase. After a cold Thursday night Friday was cold and windy with a little snow. Thanks to Jerry and Dyann, we met in their trailer for our pot luck. Saturday dawned with beautiful coating of snow on ground but particularly on the hills and trees that surrounded our camp site. The sun was out and as we sat around the camp fire we hoped the sun would remain out and make it a warm day. Intermittent clouds kept the sun from making a significant impact on the temperature. The wind picked up to defeat what little warming the sun provided. We got some warmth from the campfire but the wind won and we retreated to our trailers. We met for our potluck in the warmth of Jerry and Dyann’s trailer again. Sunday the sun came out and the wind was calm. We burned the remaining wood in the campfire and then prepared to leave.
It was a challenging rally. Tbolt Power and electric (i.e. Jerry’s generator) provided power to all four trailers. That left only the cold to deal with. Our trailers provided protection from the wind and our heaters kept us warm. At night a few extra quilts kept us warm in bed. It was nice to spend some time with our SNU Airstream family. It was the first time we had been to Boca Rest. It is a nice campground with pretty surroundings. The snow added a special touch of beauty. There was plenty of room for more trailers. The reservoir was low like all lakes during the current drought. It was very nice to get out and “rough” it with friends. All of our camping thus far this year was in commercial camp grounds on the way to family functions.
Diane Leipper
It's clear that the SNU is not just a fairweather rally group. After some beautiful Spring weather, Mother Nature decided a little more winter would be appropriate and chose the weekend of the Boca rally for it. We had a little wind, rain, snow, and cold temps but that didn't stop us from having a great weekend. The hardy rally participants included the Wheeler's, Leipper's, Thornburg's, and Grossmann's. We had sunshine mixed in with other weather and that gave us the opportunity to enjoy some nice morning campfires. Randy was able to do more experimenting with kite flying. Saturday, Wheels tested is coordination with a game of Labyrinth. Doris showed off her Hobo Queen trophy and her “throne”. Friday after dinner, Wheels, the SNU President, held a short business meeting. He announced that Don Williams will act as the SNU delegate at the meeting at the WBCCI rally this summer. Bob Stansbury is the alternate. Wheels shared information on the motions to be presented and got the input from the SNU members present. He mentioned the need for anyone planning to attend the July SNU rally at Weed Heights to rsvp soon so that we can let the RV park know how many sites to hold for us. Most of the discussion centered around 2015 rally ideas. One item was the decision to not have an SNU unit rally in October 2015 so that we can fully support the Region 12 rally planned for Carson City. Other rally options include a Joint rally with NorCal and recent invitations by some commercial RV parks. Another critical discussion item was the need for a nominee for SNU President for 2015. After more discussion, Wheels adjourned the meeting. Sunday was nice and sunny. Perfect for one last campfire and coffee. After this rally Wheels and Doris headed to Chico for a rally with their retired military group. Randy and Vicky will be doing a grand tour of potential rally sites. They will check out the group areas at Prosser, stop by Hereford Ranch near Hat Creek and after a visit with friends in McArthur, will spend a day or so at the RV Park in Likely CA. After he and Vicki get home, they will check out an RV park closer to home. Randy will have a full report for us at Rocky Point. His report will also be in the next newsletter. The weather at Boca may not have been the greatest but you couldn't ask for a greater group of people to spend the weekend with. Once again, the SNU's showed it's ability to adapt and enjoy an Airstream outing no matter what the conditions.
What a great way to start off the 2014 rally season. The weather was almost perfect, the best March we have had in several years. There was water in Lahontan, there were fish in the water and there were pelicans and lots of other birds. This was also a TMTPS weekend. Jerry had ordered tire pressure, tire temperature monitoring systems for Bryan and Gary. Some time was spent learning about the system, installing it, and checking for accuracy. With this system in place you can travel down the road and keep an eye on the tires on your Airstream as well as your tow vehicle, We were glad to see Baxter and Marlene. They were on the way home from a trip to parts of Southern CA and Nevada to test out their new 2014 19ft Bambi. It seems to have passed with flying colors. While at the rally Baxter was given a lesson on unfurling and retracting the awning on his new trailer. Gene and Carmen and a few of their grandkids also came to the rally. The kids had a great time cooking s'mores over their campfire on Saturday night. For our Friday night shared meal, Dyann cooked corned beef and cabbage in her slow cooker. It turned out really good. Along with Anita's deluxe salad and Diane's cornbread, we had a very enjoyable dinner. This rally provided a great opportunity for the seniors in the group to renew their annual Nevada State Park pass. This will come in handy not only for our October rally at Ft Churchill but any personal camping trips to Nevada State Parks. There was no business meeting as such, but Diane handed out a sheet of information on potential future rally sites for people to read through, think about and discuss. Two different RV parks have recently contacted the SNU about hosting a rally. Another recent contact was from the NorCal Unit discussing the possibility of a joint rally in 2015. All of these options are described in more detail in other parts of this newsletter. This rally provided a good opportunity to check everything out if your Airstream has been stored over the winter. Only a few minor water leaks were discovered and no essential supplies had gotten left at home. I think now we are all ready for rallies and other travel adventures.
November in Death Valley should provide a respite from rain and cooler weather, right! At least that’s what we thought when we started planning our informal Death Valley rallies back in 2008. Randy and Vickie Grossmann expected to enjoy a leisurely trip south from Reno at 4500 feet to our planned camp at Mesquite Spring (1800 feet) in Death Valley. The Death Valley weather projections, 5 days out, were improving, mid to upper 70s in the daytime and mid 40s to 50s at night with the chance of rain dropping to 20. Well the weather conditions didn’t improve, maybe even worsened and then there’s a 6270 foot pass along the way that SNU members from the north need to cross. Gail and I even had to cross a 3000 foot pass coming in from Southern California; you guys are used to it aren’t you? As reported by Randy and Vickie, conditions were dicey in some spots with rain, blowing snow and ice but Gail and I can’t confirm it because all we saw was light to moderate rain from Riverside all the way to Mesquite Springs. Look at Randy’s pictures and judge for yourself.
Randy & Vickie and Gail and I arrived Thursday evening within 15 minutes of each other, meaning we both had to get parked in our sites, leveled and setup with temps in the mid 40s in light rain. Friday brought gloom, rain and cool temperatures in the mid 40s through most of the day. Both families took advantage of the weather to rest up, read and visit. Saturday’s weather teased, on occasion the clouds parted enough to show a dusting of snow on the higher mountains surrounding the north end of the valley. The rain, like the clouds, lapsed into wind driven sprinkles, giving us the illusion that it might quit. Randy and I attempted to fly his kites after lunch but we lacked the knowledge, skill, luck or possibly a larger tail needed to stabilize them and avoid their sometimes-slow spin to the ground. Emotionally spent from our efforts with the kites, we climbed the bluff to the west to hike for an hour and enjoy the views of the mountains and valley.
Sunday brought the promise of better weather, well the sun did shine but wind and temperatures in the mid to upper 50s meant we still had to bundle up for our (Randy and my) hike into and around Ubehebe Crater. With only two trailers and the cold rainy weather we broke tradition and dispensed with Bryan’s early morning bottomless coffee carafe and the community potluck dinners. Friday night we enjoyed chili-verde in our trailer, Saturday Chinese chicken and rice at Randy and Vickie’s and soul warming chili again in our Airstream on Sunday. Oh yeah, Sourdough buttermilk pancakes as a brunch on Sunday morning.
Bright sun with some clouds and snow on the mountains provided a beautiful backdrop for our separate trips towards home on Monday and an opportunity for some great photos in the lower Death Valley. A great time with Randy and Vickie but not quite the same as an SNU rally! Hope to see you next year.
We couldn't have had a nicer weekend for the SNU October rally at Crocker. It was cool in the mornings but the afternoons were sunny, warm and clear. Best of all, there was almost no wind. We had plenty of firewood to keep a fire going most of the weekend. Saturday night we had a few showers. It's always nice to hear raindrops on the roof of the Airstream. Sunday morning the showers had quit and we enjoyed one last campfire with our coffee before heading home. The weekend was perfect for walks near the campground and for sitting around a campfire enjoying the peace and quiet. Gene updated us on the work he and Carmen have been doing on their place near Spring Creek. Jerry talked about the work he has done on their motorhome. It should probably be ready for rallies by next spring. Gary talked about the potential trip he and Anita are thinking about in January 2014. We had our usual coffee and goodies in the morning and shared meals on Friday and Saturday. Rally participants included Gary & Anita, Jerry & Dyann, Gene, and Bryan & Diane. Gene's wife, Carmen is visiting her Mother so Gene was on his own. Although we didn't have a quorum, it seems the slate of SNU officers for 2014 met with no objections. We had a little discussion on the SNU Rallies planned for 2014. Everyone is looking forward to another great year of camping with our Airstreams. Crocker was a great way to wrap up the 2013 rally year. Don't forget though, Don and Gail will be hosting an SNU rally in Death Valley in November.
We had a great rally in Fallon over the Labor Day weekend. There were plenty of Heart's of Gold cantaloupe this year. We were delighted to have some of the SNU's newest members Richard & Sharron Baldwin and Jim and Lynda Kunter join us at this rally. Other members at the rally were Jerry & Dyann. Wheels & Doris and Bryan and Diane. Saturday Steve and Jan Erickson came by for a visit. They have been doing quite a bit of traveling since we saw them at Green Creek. Friday we walked down to the Cantaloupe Festival for dinner. Each person picked a food vendor to suit his or her own taste. After dinner we spent some time checking out all the booths and other festival activities. Smoke from the fire near Yosemite was pretty thick on Friday but it was fairly clear the rest of the weekend. We spent a relaxing weekend visiting the festival, enjoying the Jr Rodeo, sharing dinners on Saturday and Sunday evening and most of all, just visiting. Sharron bought tickets for the quilt raffle and although she didn't win, she felt she had contributed to a worthwhile cause. Monday morning, while enjoying our coffee we watched a steady stream of RV's heading down hwy 95 from Burning Man. Jerry and Bryan quickly learned how to tell which vehicles where which. If they were covered in white dust or had white wheels (because the car had been washed but not the wheels), that was a good indicator. If they had white wheels and a bicycle, it was almost a certainty they had been at Burning Man. Diane recently discovered the 1980 and 1981 WBCCI membership directories in some of her parents stuff. Those directories listed all the activities of each unit in WBCCI. It turns out that the SNU held rallies at the Cantaloupe Festival both of those years. So what we thought was a new event turns out to be a tradition for the SNU. We all enjoyed carrying on the tradition at this year's Cantaloupe Festival rally.
Wheels Wheeler
The Obsidian Dome rally had 9 Airstream rigs in attendance. It almost required reservations but SNU will continue to resist that and parallel parking. At least two other Airstreamers were in the area (Mammoth RV Park) and came to have some meals and conversation with us. The food was delicious. The scenery was beautiful as always.
Diane Leipper
Was it an SNU rally? Was it a Region Rally? Was it a kennel club outing? Wait – it was all three! Obsidian Dome was an amazing rally for many reasons. For one, we set a new record. We had representatives from five different Units. From the SNU we had Thornburgs, Wheelers, Leippers, Williams and Swaffer. From San Fernando Valley we had Victor, Bobbi & William Kingsland, Bruce & Lisa Levitt, Marla Liberty and Jerry & Jackie Freeman. From the Long Beach Unit we had George & Carol Oelkers. From NorCal we had Gregg & Valri Ayers. From the El Camino we had LeRoy & Jeannie Waldo. We had nine Airstreams at Obsidian and three Class A's at Mammoth RV park for a total of 13 rigs at this rally. The Motorhome contingent drove to Obsidian for happy hours and meals. As for the kennel club, there was a total of 11 dogs of all shapes and sizes at this rally. Bella, the Doberman that Gregg and Valri adopted in February was the clown of the rally. When she was tired she would flop down on her back just about anywhere. It didn't matter if people walked around or over her. Friday Wheels and Doris' friends, Jim and Karen and their dog Spud joined us for a visit. Another interesting aspect of this rally was that for several people, this was the last stop on the way home. Marla has been on the road since June. Among other destinations, she attended the WBCCI rally in Huron and visited relatives in Maine. Marla met up with Jerry & Dyann and Bryan & Diane in Fallon and caravanned to Obsidian. Gregg and Valri were just finishing up a 9 week trip visiting friends and relatives. Don and Gail have also been on the road. Their travels included Huron and the Airstream Company in Jackson Center. LeRoy and Jeannie were on their way home from Alaska. They didn't know about the rally but when the got to Big Pine a little south of Obsidian, they checked their email and discovered we were just up the road. They headed back up 395 and joined us at Obsidian.
We started this rally off with a Spaghetti dinner on Thursday. It was rather windy so we used Victor and Bobbi's Airstream for a windbreak. A great meal to start a great rally. Friday was our first special breakfast. A beautiful morning for setting up the griddles, firing up the propane stove, cooking eggs in a hole, fried potatoes, sausage and bacon. Victor and Marla cooked up the fresh eggs which were supplied by Diane's hens. Valri and Gregg fried up the potatoes. We had all sorts of fresh fruit, from Fallon cantaloupes that Dyann brought, to Gail's home grown peaches. Blueberries, bananas, oranges, and other goodies and of course, plenty of fresh coffee rounded out the menu. By Happy Hour the wind started picking up again. We had our potluck dinner outside but ended up with a little extra grit in some of the food because of wind gusts. Because of the wind, cool temps, and fire restrictions which prevented building a campfire, we called it an early evening and adjourned to our Airstreams. Saturday morning again, was clear, calm and sunny. The special breakfast treat this morning was Don's sourdough pancakes. Wow! Don has been experimenting with sourdough and his pancakes were delicious. He made some with blueberries and some without. Baxter helped him with the cooking. Meanwhile Jerry cooked up more bacon and sausage on his grill and yet more fresh fruit was brought out. Once again, by Happy Hour the wind started picking up. This time for dinner, we moved behind the Airstreams and ate in a more protected spot. The SFV group had their meals in a more civilized manner, bringing out tables and chairs. The SNU seems to prefer sitting in their chairs holding on to their plates. Maybe that comes from too many windy dinners or, is it because we are too lazy to get out the tables? Jerry came up with a new SNU slogan that describes our propensity to take whatever empty chair that's available no matter who it belongs to. “If the chair doesn't have a bottom, put yours in it.”
We did do more than just prepare meals and eat. Various groups set out on hikes up past the waterfall to the meadow or up the trail near camp. Bobbi got out a ladderball game and she and Jim had a good time throwing balls, that is until Cody decided he wanted to play too. LeRoy's new refrigerator started having some problems so he, Jerry and Bryan did some work on that. Bryan helped Bobbi and Marla install some decorative screen protectors on the doors of their Airstreams. Doris and Wheels had a good time washing all the dirt out of Andy's paws. Gregg hooked up his bass guitar for a little afternoon practice. In addition, there were some indoor card games. reading, dog walking, and a whole lot of just visiting and catching up on everyones recent travels. Several people had new “yard décor”. Don and Gail had a new flying flamingo. Baxter and Marlene showed off their new solar light flamingo. Jerry also had a new fancy solar light. Our rally site looked pretty neat after dark. This rally provided something of a fashion show of Airstream themed t-shirts. It seemed like everyone had at least one t-shirt featuring an Airstream of one sort or another. Marla had a shirt and a message folder she had gotten at the International rally that had an Airstream, her name and her membership number embroidered on them.
Saturday Wheels held a business meeting. Agenda items included Don presenting a review of International Rally in Huron. Don also talked about the SNU November rally in Death Valley. Valri talked about the October Region 12 rally in Lodi. She and Gregg are doing a lot of work on that rally and they have some really great ideas about getting people together, making new friends and having a great time. Diane announced that the dates for 2014 Obsidian will be Thursday August 14 to Sunday August 17. Again, it will be a multi-unit rally. We will also be celebrating a birthday so needless to say, this will definitely be a rally you won't want to miss.
Sunday, after a leisurely coffee and goodies everyone got ready to head home. The Kingslands, Liberty, and Williams headed to the Mammoth RV park to join the MoHo contingent for a day or two before heading home. After leaving Mammoth, Don and Gail headed to Churchill Peak near Silver Springs. Don was part of the amateur radio group monitoring an off road race. Another great rally comes to an end.
Wheels Wheeler
The July rally at Weed Heights was a challenge for our Air Conditioners. Temperatures were in the low 100’s Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Andy didn’t want to get out of the trailer. The Club House swamp cooler was very effective and I spent a fair amount of time there. We had five trailers at the rally. It would be nice if we could attract more members to our rallies. Maybe cooler weather will help attendance. Diane started a 500 piece puzzle and I used it as an excuse to hang out in the Club House coolness. We got the puzzle finished Saturday evening. Thanks to Jerry’s perseverance and my cheering him on.
Diane Leipper
We can now paint another pink flamingo on our fuselage. The SNU has held rallies despite, snow, wind, sand, bugs, hail, and rain. We can now add heat to that list. At the Weed Heights rally we had daytime temps of 100F and above. By 9pm it had cooled down to 90F. The mornings though, were very enjoyable and we had our morning coffee and goodies outside under the shade of the trees. Sadly, the local donut shop has closed down but Wheels and Doris made a trip to the grocery store so we weren't short of pastries. During the heat of the day we made good use of the cool club house or our air conditioned Airstreams. Dyann and Wheels played cards. Wheels, Diane and Jerry worked on a puzzle. We watched movies, read books, took inspirational naps, and of course, discussed Airstreams and various repair and maintenance projects. The ice machine in the club house also got a lot of use. We were delighted to have some of our members we haven't seen much of this year join us at Weed Heights. Although Janet wasn't able to come, Roger came with his grandson, Jason. Jason has been spending a lot of time this summer with Roger and Janet. He's a great young man and it was nice to get to know him. We missed Janet but she was there in spirit. Saturday Roylaine showed up with her friend Jim. It seems Jim was the one who encouraged Roy to get the Airstream out and come to the rally. He helped her get the trailer and suburban fixed up and ready for the road. They brought all 3 of Roy's dogs, including Scout. Scout was the dog that had been abandoned at Scout Camp almost 2 years ago. After Gene and Carmen's grandkids befriended him, Wes and Roylaine adopted him. Scout is looking good and seems to have turned into a great dog. Other rally participants included Jerry & Dyann, Wheels & Doris, and Bryan & Diane. Saturday we had a great BBQ dinner. Jerry cooked a roast with his special rub and sauce on the slow cooker. Diane brought some bratwurst to grill. Along with several salads, melons, and casseroles we had a great dinner. Then we had our ice cream dessert. Wheels and Doris brought the makings for root beer floats, Dyann had some yummy ice cream and toppings, Diane brought a variety of ice cream bars. Needless to say, nobody went hungry. Other activities over the weekend included a visit from Bob and Cecilia. Bob gave a nice report on the recent WBCCI Rally in Huron, SD. Wheels was assisting the Civil Air Patrol this weekend. He had a beacon that transmitted a signal for CAP planes to home in on. Saturday we had planes flying over the rally site while we drank our morning coffee. Saturday Wheels held a short business meeting. Main items on the agenda were the review of the 2014 SNU rally schedule and a Region 12 request to review the SNU bylaws. The SNU bylaws had been submitted to the Region in February 2013 per an earlier request. Sunday, after morning coffee, everyone finished packing up so we could head home before the heat of the day. Hopefully now we can look forward to cooler weather for the remainder of our 2013 rallies. No matter what, I know we'll have a great time.
Wheels Wheeler
The June Rally at a camping area along the Green Creek was my idea. Green Creek is a tributary of the East Walker River and the creek is accessed by Green Creek Road off US 395 about 5 miles south of Bridgeport, California. The camping area I chose was about 6.5 miles south on Green Creek Road from the intersection of US 395. Green Creek Rd is a wide but rough dirt road. The camping area I chose was a popular area with a fairly large open area that could accommodate about 8-10 trailers. When I originally scouted out this area it was earlier in the year and there were only a few bugs but I suspected that the water adjacent to the camping area might mean more bugs. There were indeed more bugs particularly mosquitoes and we brought out all our defensive measures. They were moderately effective.
The Rally was originally scheduled for 20 – 23 June but I asked for a change so I could attend a rally with the military camping group I belong to. It turned out I had problems at home that I had to attend to when I would have left for the other rally. I could have made the original date. Fire restrictions went into effect on Friday the 28 and we were not allowed a fire on Friday or Saturday.
The abundance of bugs did have one positive effect, it brought out the Tree Swallows. If you look this bird up in your bird book the picture doesn’t do them justice. They have iridescent blue-green feathers on their back that make them very attractive. Like most swallows they are spectacular fliers. They particularly liked to hunt bugs in the open area of our campsite. At times there were up to four of them cavorting in and around our campsite to entertain us. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to have an impact on the mosquito population.
The gurgling creek running by our campsite added to the pleasant surroundings as did the tall trees and beautiful view up the canyon. There was still a little snow in pockets on the north sides of the peaks.
To sum it up – long rough ride to the campsite, picturesque setting, irritating mosquitoes entertaining Tree Swallows, no camp fire and a comforting babbling stream.
Diane Leipper
Wow! What a beautiful spot. Green Creek is up a little over 7,000 ft. Quite a bit cooler than the record breaking temps this weekend at lower elevations. We had 7 rigs at this rally including Mike & Bette Jo Hansen from Elk Grove, Ca. Other participants were Wheels & Doris, Dean, Shelly & Jessielynn, Jerry & Dyann, Bryan and Diane, Gary & Anita and Steve & Jan. The only downside was bugs. Any bug repellents we had that needed to be used up got used up. Jerry and Dyann made a trip into Bridgeport and bought a whole variety of fresh repellents which supplemented what we had on hand. Despite bugs, we were able to have our shared meals outside on Friday and Saturday. We were also able to dodge afternoon thunderstorms. Friday we had a nice little rain shower before dinner and Saturday the thunderstorms waited till after dinner. Saturday's storm included a little bit of hail. Wheels has added some new solar lights along the bottom rim of his Airstream. It really looks neat. In fact, between Wheels new lights and Jerry's and Diane's solar lights we had quite a festive light show after dark. Then there are the pink flamingos. Doris has added a few to her collection. Shelly had some new ones too. Jan has caught flamingo fever and now has about 7 or so in the motorhome. Saturday Mike and Bette Jo took a ride over to Bodie. They enjoyed walking through the town and seeing the sites. Also on Saturday, Wheels and Bryan took a ride to the Virginia Creek area to check out potential rally sites. Back at the Green Creek, Dean tried a little fishing but didn't catch anything. Doris, Anita, and Bette Jo waded in the cool water. Dean and Jessielynn actually took a little swim in the creek. Other entertainment for the weekend included our usual morning coffee and goodies, sharing ideas, maintenance tips, and stories, reading, taking walks to explore the area and enjoy the abundant wildflowers, and just relaxing and enjoying the great views and cool breezes. Wheels held a short business meeting on Saturday. The main item on the agenda was the preliminary determination of rally sites for 2014. He also reminded everyone of the upcoming July rally at Weed Heights and the Cantaloupe Festival rally over Labor Day weekend. We were delighted that Mike and Bette Jo could come to this rally and we hope we see them at many more SNU rallies. All in all the first SNU rally at Green Creek was a big success. Bugs or no bugs, I'm sure we will be back in the near future.
Wheels Wheeler
The rally at Eagle Lake, Rocky Point, started out with rain on Thursday, wind on Friday, and finally sunny and warm on Saturday. I found a fellow camping in the Minden airport campground in an Airstream and invited him to the rally. John Spenard was at the Minden airport learning to fly gliders. His planned training was going to be complete by the time of rally and he could spare a few day before he headed back to New England to see his father. I gave him a map and offered to caravan with him. He said the map was sufficient. Jerry found him short of the destination and led him the rest of the way. Friday and Saturday we were treated to the awesome spectacle of soaring Bald Eagles over the campsite and the glimpses of small pelican formations gliding over the lake. Shortly after noon on Saturday we were greeted by a low level fly-by of a Cessna 170 belonging to Bruce and Kathy Rhymes. I had met them at the Ft Sage rally when they brought their 19 foot Bambi. I immediately liked them both and especially bonded with Bruce because he was a fellow flyer. Not only did he fly and own a power plane but he flew hang-gliders and soared in hard wing gliders also. I was looking forward to more rallies with Bruce and Kathy to hear about their experiences and plans both with their Airstream and the airplane. Tragically, that will never be. Late on Saturday as they were flying from a glider port in Middletown California to Auburn their aircraft crashed just short of the intended destination.
Diane Leipper
What a great weekend. Full of surprises, special treats, and new adventures. The weather provided a few challenges which gave us plenty of opportunity to be creative. Thursday, Bryan & Diane, Gary & Anita, Wheels & Doris Jerry & Dyann and John all arrived within a half hour of each other. Although we had run into a few rain sprinkles on the way up, right when we arrived and were trying to park and set up we had a nice little downpour. I think it was the first time we have ever arrived in a rain shower. We got rather soaked trying to park. It appears that a new tradition may be forming for the Rocky Point rally. Several of us stopped by KFC in Susanville on the way up. Since it was still raining off and on, all 9 of us got in Jerry & Dyann's Airstream for an impromptu dinner on Thursday. We had a special guest at this rally. John Spenard who is a member of the New England Unit. John is a retired fireman from Massachusetts and has been a full time Airstreamer for the last three years. Wheels found him parked at the airport in Minden and invited him to join us at Rocky Point. John had just turned off Hwy 139 to Eagle Lake and pulled off the side of the road trying to figure out exactly where we were when Jerry and Dyann drove up. John followed them to the rally site. When they got to the last stretch of “road” John began to think Jerry and Dyann were nuts and were leading him into the wilderness never to be seen again. But when he got to the rally site he was awe struck. He loved Rocky Point and he was excited to run into a group that has such informal and relaxed rallies in such beautiful spots. Thursday, Dyann decided it was Ladies Night at the movies. She invited Doris, Anita, and Diane to watch the first of the Twilight saga movies in her Airstream. An enjoyable evening. Friday we still had a few showers off and on but that didn't interfere with the morning coffee and campfire. As a special treat, John cooked crepes with apricot preserves. We decided right then and there, he needs to come to more rallies. Then he started talking about lobster bisque! Saturday morning Bruce and Kathy flew over us on their way to Middletown. After a walk up the hill with John, Anita and Gary packed up and headed home. A few hours later Steve and his phantom Airstream motorhome showed up. Steve has come to several rallies for a visit but his motorhome has been in and out of various shops having work done. Although Steve had shared pictures it was great to finally get to see the motorhome for real. We all enjoyed taking a tour. We look forward to seeing Steve and his wife Jan, and their MoHo at many future SNU rallies. Saturday, Jerry spent most of the afternoon slowly cooking a pork roast on his battery operated rotisserie over a nice bed of coals. Diane had brought some corn on the cob. After a few instructions from Jerry the corn was wrapped in foil and placed on the coals. Needless to say we had a fantastic dinner. The pork roast moist and delicious. The corn was sweet & juicy. Salads and other dishes made it a sumptuous feast. As is often the case, Sunday was a very nice day. Although it started out a little chilly, the sky was clear. It's always a little sad when the rally comes to an end but we all have a few more stories and some great memories. Besides, another rally is just a few weeks away.
What a great weekend for the SNU rally at Ft Sage. Other than a windy afternoon on Friday the weather was just about perfect. We were delighted to have Bruce and Kathy Rhymes join us at the rally with their 19ft Bambi. Bruce and Kathy flew over our Pyramid Lake rally in their vintage Cessna and Bruce flew down to Sweetwater to visit us in 2011. Other rally participants were Wheels & Doris, Jerry & Dyann, Gene & Carmen & various grandkids and Bryan & Diane. The BLM has been doing some work on Ft Sage since the last time we were there. The best part was that they built a new pit toilet on the edge of the parking area. There is no longer an outhouse in the middle of the picnic area. We had some nice talks with Joe, a BLM employee when he stopped by for coffee. We told him how nice the area has become since our first rally there. The winds on Friday didn't keep us from our shared meal outside. Bryan suggested we build a wind break which is exactly what we did. Gene, Wheels, and Bruce moved their trucks into place in front of Bryan and Diane's Airstream. This created a nice little enclosure with the Bvan on one side, an Airstream on the other and the trucks on the third side. It proved effective as the dishes stayed on the table and the food on our plates. We could eat our dinner in relative comfort and calm. Jerry & Dyann have added to their collection of solar lights. Jerry spent a little time getting them all set out but the results were worth it. Their “yard” looked really neat after dark. Saturday, SNU President, Wheels held a short business meeting. It seems he has gained, yet another title. That being HHHV (Head Honcho & Hapless Victim) It looks like Wheels has the distinction of having the longest title of any SNU President to date. H (to the 5th power)V translated it is, His Highness, Head Honcho, Hapless Victim. Maybe we should just call him “Prez”. The weekend activities included several hikes in the hills, a little target practice and gun safety lessons, a trip or two to the big town of Doyle, and of course a lot of discussions about Airstreams, maintenance, future projects and travel plans. A very enjoyable weekend overall.
A little chilly and breezy but by Saturday we had five rigs at the Lahontan rally. First to arrive were Wheels & Doris, Jerry & Dyann and Bryan & Diane. Friday Gene and Carmen arrived with an assortment of grandkids. Baxter and Marlene planned to arrive Friday but a leaky water valve put them behind schedule. They did make it out on Saturday. Thursday and Friday were rather windy so we spent most of the time in our Airstreams. Friday dinner was held in Jerry and Dyann's Airstream. The big event on Friday was a visit from Steve and his wife Jan. They had planned on coming in their Motorhome but it is still up in Kalamath Falls having some work done. Hopefully we'll see them with the MoHo at the April rally at Ft Sage. If there were a contest for how many people can fit in a 26 ft Airstream, Gene and Carmen would get the prize. They had somewhere between four and nine family members out for the weekend. Gene didn't know for sure as some were coming and going. Two slept in the truck but the rest were on the beds and floor of the Airstream. Saturday Roylaine and her friend Jim came out and spent the day. They stayed for dinner Saturday night before heading back home. It looks like the SNU spring break-out rally was for the most part, problem free. Other than Baxter and Marlene's leaky valve and Wheels and Doris maybe needing new batteries, it appears everyone's Airstream was in good shape after sitting for the winter. There were no quick runs to town for parts, emergency supplies, or critical items forgotten in packing for the rally. We even had enough wood for daily campfires. I think we can safely say, we're ready now for a great year of SNU rallies.
We had a great lunch February at the Overland in Garndnerville. Wheels and Doris were there with stories of the Hobo Rally and their other recent adventures. Wheels brought his King of the Hobo rally trophy which we all admired after congratulating him on being selected for this honor. Doris talked about Andy being in the pet show at the rally. Although Mary Beth wasn't able to make the lunch, husband Barney told us about their adventures at the Rose Parade rally and about their recent purchase of a 20007 Classic Airstream.. Randy gave us an update on his plans for fixing his Airstream. Bob and Cecilia shared stories about the Hobo rally and about their plans for joining two WBCCI Caravans this year. Roger told us about the new hitch he recently installed on his Airstream. Mike share his tale of woe about the transmission in his truck going out on him in Cedarville and having to limp all the way home. Without the truck to tow their Airstream they probably won't be able to get to SNU rallies. So if anyone knows of a good deal on a diesel transmission let Mike know. Other luncheon participants included Jerry & Dyann, Janet, Bryan & Diane, Vicki and Cindy. SNU President, Wheels held a short business meeting. The meeting included voting on the slate of Region 12 officers, the change in date for the SNU June rally at Green Creek, and the upcoming SNU rally at Lahonton. Wheels also mentioned a recent request for the SNU to submit their bylaws to WBCCI for review. They are posted online and WBCCI has been notified. I think we are all looking forward to March and our first rally for 2013.
Our brunch at Bavarian World turned into a birthday celebration. Saturday was Marlene's birthday and Wednesday January 23 is Jerry and Dyann's birthdays. Our decision to make this a brunch instead of lunch worked well. Everyone enjoyed the special breakfast items that included German pancakes, sausage, potato cakes, omelets, pastries and other goodies. Topics of conversation included the pros and cons of various hitches, LED lights, and upcoming rally and travel plans. Other than our birthday kids, luncheon participants included, Gary & Anita, Baxter (& Marlene), Roger & Janet and Bryan & Diane.
This was the first time the SNU has had lunch at Louis' Basque Corner in Reno and I think everyone agrees that it won't be the last. The food and service were great. Although it is a little difficult to do much visiting at the lunches we did manage to share Christmas plans and other upcoming activities. Right after the lunch, Baxter and Marlene headed to Calistoga to house and dog sit for one of their kids. Barney and Mary Beth will be going to the Rose Parade rally at the end of December. We look forward to hearing all about that experience. It looks like Bob and Cecilia will be on the road most of 2013. They plan on participating in a couple of WBCCI Caravans as well as the International Rally and other Unit and Region rallies. The rest of us – Jerry & Dyann, Randy, Mike & Cindy, and Bryan and Diane will be spending Christmas with family and friends. We all look forward to a great year in 2013, one that includes participating lots of SNU rallies and other Airstream outings.
El Charro, as always was a great place for the SNU November luncheon. It was really nice to see several people we haven't seen in a while, Baxter & Marlene, home from travels in Mexico. Barney & Mary Beth, taking a break from some major landscaping work in their yard. Roger & Janet home from an extended visit with family in Michigan. Randy & Vicki recuperating from an aborted trip to Texas. Mike has been busy at work and he and Cindy have also been busy moving family here and there. Other members at the lunch were Gary & Anita, RoyLaine, Dyann, and Bryan & Diane. Dyann and Mike came without spouses as Jerry had to work this Saturday and Cindy had another commitment. We were also delighted to welcome Cindy Merrell. Cindy saw the lunch announcement in the local paper and called. Cindy has a 1967 Overlander she bought about a year ago. We look forward to having Cindy join us at rallies next year. Bob Stansbury stopped by. He and wife Cecilia have a host of family members visiting them so they weren't able to come for lunch. The last visit we had with Bob and Cecilia was at the SNU rally in Fallon. Bob is Region 12 first VP and Cecilia was elected WBCCI recording secretary in July so their schedules are pretty full. We do hope they can squeeze in an SNU rally sometime next year. Great food and great company made for a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday.
What a gorgeous weekend! Due to weather concerns the rally location was changed to Lahontan. We decided to try out the civilized campground at beach 7 rather than our usual dispersed area. Except for one other camper, we had the whole place to ourselves. On the downside, if you wanted to fish or go boating you were out of luck. The reservoir was empty! None of us had ever seen it that totally empty We spread out and took full advantage of the empty campsites. This campground has had extensive work done on in recently. The roads and campsites are paved, the restrooms (closed this time of year) and other facilities look fairly new and there were cement walkways to the facilities. After Thursday, the weather couldn't have been better. Warm days and very little wind made our Friday and Saturday dinners outside very enjoyable. The almost full moon made the evenings pretty spectacular. Jerry and Bryan brought firewood. A nice campfire took the chill off the mornings. We were delighted to be joined by LeRoy and Jeannie Waldo (WBCCI #5065) from Arizona. They were on their way home from the Region 11 Rally in Cortez. We had a good time swapping stories and hearing about LeRoy and Jeannie's travels. Saturday Roylaine came out for the day. Other rally participants were Jerry & Dyann and Bryan & Diane. This weekend was the CQ Worldwide Sweepstakes and Bryan was getting great ham radio signals from all over. Some contacts included Australia, Japan. Brazil and China. We later heard that SNU friend, Bruce flew over Lahontan in his vintage Cessna. He didn't see us in the trees but Diane saw him flying down the empty reservoir. All in all a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.
What a weekend! Pink flamingos, the sound of whinnying horses, pink flamingos, rain showers with thunder and lightening, pink flamingos, the smell of cows, pink flamingos, cantaloupes, pink flamingos, the smell of popcorn, pink flamingos, the thumping of the bands playing on stage, pink flamingos, Indian tacos, pink flamingos, allergies, pink flamingos, a very special birthday celebration and so much more. This was definitely NOT your typical SNU rally but everyone had a great time and wants to go back next year. There were eight (one in disguise) Airstreams at this rally. Dean & Shelly from Downieville and Russ & Debbie from Yuba City had the longest drives to the rally site. This was Russ and Debbie's first SNU rally. It was great to meet them and have them join us for the weekend. Russ and Debbie are both ham radio operators. The SNU now has 13 hams, almost half our membership. We hope we'll see Russ and Debbie frequently in the coming years. Rally participants also included Wheels & Doris, Gary & Anita, Bryan & Diane, Baxter & Marlene, RoyLaine, and Jerry & Dyann who had a long and arduous eight mile commute to the rally site from their home in Fallon. Sunday SNU member, Steve Erickson stopped by for a visit. His MoHo is still having some work done on it. Hopefully it will be all finished in time for the rally at Hickison. Thursday was arrival day for the rally and set-up day for the Festival. Friday was the first official day of the Cantaloupe Festival. We decided that instead of our usual shared meal to walk over to the Festival for dinner. Jerry had gotten some Indian tacos earlier in the day and that got everyone wanting to try them for themselves. Most of us got tacos but a few tried some of the other food vendors. There was definitely something for everyone. We also wandered around and visited the other vendors at the Festival. The Lattin Farms spot was high on everyone's priority list. Although apparently the Hearts of Gold cantaloupes ripened early this year and there weren't many for the Festival, there were lots of other delicious melons. There was also a good variety of other farm fresh produce. When we got back to the campsite we sat around for a while and enjoyed a beautiful evening. Having electricity, several of us hung up decorative lights on our awnings. These augmented our solar lights. All these lights made our campsite look pretty special in the dark, especially with the blue lights on Russ and Debbie's awning. The entertainment started up and although we could hear the thumping of the bass till after 11pm, almost everyone got a good nights sleep. Saturday was the first day of the Fallon Lions Club Junior Rodeo. The open area by the campground filled up fast with horse trailers and horses. It was kind of neat listening to the horses whinnying nearby and watching some of the kids practicing their roping skills. Saturday we had a shared meal in the evening. I think the SNU cooks could provide some good competition for the food vendors. After we had a chance to digest our meal, Dyann and Doris brought out cantaloupe and ice cream for dessert. Sunday was the big event of the rally. Sept 1 was Dean and Shelly's granddaughter, Jessielynn's first birthday. Shelly has gotten a bad case of pink flamingo fever so this birthday party was a pink flamingo extravaganza. Jessielynn's dress had pink flamingos on it. The birthday cake was decorated with pink flamingos and also an Airstream. Dean and Shelly's whole campsite was decorated with a variety of pink flamingos. Doris's unique pink flamingos made the perfect back drop for the buffet table. Doris's pink flamingo crown fit Jessilynn perfectly. Dean BBQ'd some chicken and Shelly cooked some corn on the cob. Other people contributed a variety of salads, dips and other goodies. It was quite a feast. After we ate we watched Jessielynn open her birthday presents with her Dad, Jessie assisting. This was definitely a birthday party nobody will forget. As if the Cantaloupe Festival, the Jr rodeo, and the birthday party weren't enough excitement for the weekend, there were also a few trips into town to do some shopping or go walking in a nearby park. Perfect weather, perfect weekend. What more could you ask for.
The August Obsidian rally was full of surprises and new adventures. It started off with the Thornburg's and Leipper's making an emergency stop in Hawthorne on the way to the rally. Jerry must of hit something going through a construction zone and it shredded one of the tires on his Airstream. While it was getting replaced, Bryan started the generator on the B-Van so we could turn on the air conditioner. Dyann, Diane, four dogs, one cat, and two tortoises hunkered down in the B-Van to try and stay cool. Coming from the South, Victor, Bobbi & son William followed by Marla in her B-Van were stopped not far south of the turn off to Obsidian while a flock of sheep crossed the highway. Randy and Vicki hit something on their way to the rally and did a job on the steps of their Airstream. Everyone else arrived safely and without incident. We were delighted to have Barney and Mary Beth join us at the rally. They are fairly new members of the SNU and this was their first rally. On Saturday we had some special guests, Ted and Laura Nolan from the Nevada Unit. Ted and Laura were starting a two week trip with their newly remodeled and shiny 1971 Overlander. We alll oo'd and ahh'd over this unique Airstream. Obsidian provided a cool retreat after the Nolan's first night at Stove Pipe Wells in Death Valley. Victor, Bobbi, William, and Marla are with the San Fernando Valley Unit. This was Marla's first Obsidian rally. As for the SNU, in addition to those already mentioned, Wheels and Doris were also there. That made a total of 8 Airstreams, 16 people, and 10 dogs representing 3 WBCCI Units. The new dogs included the Rabold's two, Scooby a mixture of Jack Russell and Beagle and Coho a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The other was Marla's greyhound Mario. Marla just adopted Mario a month ago. He is already enjoying traveling and going to rallies. Diane's greyhound Jack, thought it was pretty neat to have another greyhound at the rally. Randy unveiled his latest enhancement to the “Thing”. He has added a few more solar lights and tweaked a few things here and there. It looks pretty amazing, especially after dark. The highlight of this rally were the special breakfasts we had on Friday and Saturday morning. Friday Bobbi, Marla and Doris put together eggs in toast. This requires cutting a hole in the middle of a piece of bread and breaking an egg into the hole. Diane's chickens supplied all the eggs for breakfast. We also had bacon and lots of fruit. Dyann had picked up a variety of melons locally grown around Fallon as a sampler of what to expect at the Cantaloupe Festival rally coming up over Labor Day. It was really neat to taste the various melons all of which were yummy. Saturday, Randy did his famous waffles. This meal came with a variety of syrups and more fruit and bacon. Then there were the dinners! As usual, the SNU shared meals are something to behold. Lots of great food. Everything from salads to casseroles, to desserts with enough variety to tempt everyone's taste buds. There were activities other than fixing food and eating though. These included lots of hiking up the Obsidian Dome, along the creek to the waterfall, and hikes to various other spots near the campsite. The San Fernando contingent had some lively games of dominoes in the evenings. Victor and William got some exercise chopping the limbs off a fallen tree. Bryan listened in on some of the ham radio bands. There were also inspirational naps and reading and relaxing during the heat of the day. On Saturday, Bryan started to take the coffee out of the trailer and heard a sort of hissing noise. There was a small bear on the fallen tree near the trailer. The bear ambled over to the tree where we had our tables set up. We had forgotten to put the trash can in a truck so the bear was checking it out. He ambled off so we got the trash put away. Needless to say, we were much more diligent about getting things put away after that. We had several visitors at our rally. When we arrived Thursday, Wheels and Doris had befriended a woman who was out here to hike. We invited a woman camping down by the creek with her dog up for coffee and waffles on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon a couple on dirt bikes stopped by to say hi. It is always interesting to watch people drive by our rally site as they are usually amazed, considering the road and location, to see not just one, but several Airstreams parked here. Saturday the clouds started building up soon after breakfast. We could hear thunder in the distance. Before long we had a few little showers. These continued along with occasional thunder off and on all afternoon. The great thing was that these showers lowered the temperature which made it very pleasant. The showers abated during our happy hour and dinner although our meal was accompanied by a concert of thunder. About 8pm when everyone was ready to head to their Airstream we had another nice rain shower. Sunday we had coffee and goodies before hitting the road and heading for home. Obsidian is becoming a special annual rally that everyone looks forward to. It is especially nice to have members from other Units join us for this rally. We know Victor and Bobbi will be back and we sincerely hope to see Marla again. We also hope to see Ted and Laura and maybe some other members of the Nevada Unit at future Obsidian rallies.
Everyone who attended the July rally at Weed Heights fully appreciated that the air conditioners in their Airstreams worked just fine and that we had electricity to run them. We also appreciated the nice shady trees and the fact that the park sits up where it can get lots of breeze (wind). Having a cool club house for dinnertime was another benefit. Those who attended the rally were Dean & Shelly, Jerry & Dyann, Wheels & Doris, Roger & Janet, and Bryan & Diane. Friday Steve Erickson stopped by for a nice visit and Saturday Roylaine came out for a visit. Doris brought out some unique flamingos that had come her way recently. Despite her best salesman techniques, she just couldn't get anybody to take them home. Even though we considered leaving them as décor for the club house, or passing them from one SNU member to another, in the end the flamingos went home again with the Wheelers. Friday morning Wheels drove to the nearby local bakery and brought back a box of very fresh donuts and other goodies that went perfect with our morning coffee. Other activities during the rally included Wheels spending part of the weekend participating in a Civil Air Patrol exercise. Roger and Janet took a ride into town to see how it's changed since they lived there. Roger also shared some of his experiences working at the nearby Anaconda mining pit when he was a young squirt. Dean and Shelly also went into Yerrington and visited the museum. Jerry, who has been working some long hours without many days off, spent part of his time polishing his Airstream and truck. Shelly checked out some of the geocaching sites nearby. Most of us spent some time reading, taking inspirational naps, just relaxing, and staying cool. Saturday we had our omelets in a bag breakfast. In addition to omelets, Doris and Shelly brought some bacon. Shelly cooked up some potatoes and we also had some cantaloupe. Saturday evening we had our usual shared meal with lots of great food including some pulled pork that Dyann had cooked in her crock pot. Dyann, Roger and Janet collaborated on a special treat for dessert – root beer floats. That was the perfect way to end a hot day. In addition to those unique flamingos, Wheels and Doris were showcasing a new set of flamingo lights along their awing. These change color and they looked really neat after dark. Sunday, after morning coffee and goodies, everyone started packing up to head home before the heat of the day. A very enjoyable weekend at Weed Heights RV Park.
What a weekend! Despite one member with a sore foot, one with a bum knee and others dealing with various other ailments, we had nine rigs at our rally at Crocker. Everyone seems to think an SNU rally is the best therapy for whatever ails you. Getting nine rigs parked in among the pine trees and around some boulders helped us hone our parking and leveling skills. Rally participants included Jerry & Dyann, Wheels & Doris, Roger & Janet, Gary & Anita, Bryan & Diane, Randy & Vicki, Frank & Carol, Baxter & Marlene and new members Shelly & Dean. Shelly and Dean brought their granddaughter, Jessielynn, who at nine months is the youngest rally participant the SNU has had. We haven't seen Frank and Carol in a while so it was great being able to catch up on what they have been doing. The SNU gained another new member at this rally. Steve Erickson and his wife Jan. Steve came up for a visit Friday. He has a 1983 Airstream Motorhome which is currently having some work done. He and Jerry had a good time swapping MoHo stories. Hopefully we'll see Steve & Jan soon with their Airstream. Baxter and Marlene have been busy promoting the SNU. They have discovered several Airstreams in their neighborhood and have been leaving SNU information with them. As for the Crocker rally, other than the wind and somewhat cool temps, it was a great rally. Randy and Vicki unveiled their latest creative effort. As with the diorama they created in 2006, this art piece is a work in progress. Sunday, Randy, Dean and Diane had a very productive brainstorming session about it which I'm sure means that the next time this art piece shows up at a rally there will be modifications. Frank and Bryan set up their ham radio stations as this weekend was Field Day. Although conditions weren't ideal, both made several contacts. Wheels was having trouble with his hot water heater. Saturday he and Jerry got to work on it and got it working like it should. The Swaffer's and Grossmann's took a nice walk Saturday to the top of the ridge about 2 miles from the rally site. They enjoyed some great view of the surrounding area. Gary and Anita initiated their new flagpole and flew the SNU, U.S., and Nevada flags. We had shared meals on Friday and Saturday and as usual, had quite a variety and no shortage of food. Friday before dinner Dyann asked for a moment of silence in memory of Wes Warn. Sunday we had what old timer Airstreamers call a “mustgo” breakfast. Marlene had some leftover ham and Diane had eggs so we scrambled them all up with some other ingredients for a tasty breakfast. Dyann, Doris, and Vicki contributed some breakfast breads, Shelly brought some bacon and biscuits. A good way to start the day and everyone started home with a full stomach. Baxter and Marlene headed off to Grayeagle to meet up with their hiking group. As it turns out, Frank and Carol were heading for the same RV park to meet some Airstream friends. This rally proves once again that no matter what the conditions, the SNU family has a great time. We just enjoy being together sharing another great adventure and creating more great memories.
Six Airstreams participated in the May rally at Eagle Lake, Rocky Point. The weekend started off with stormy skies, wind and even some thunder that shook the trailers. By Friday the weather cleared and the rest of the weekend was close to perfect. Rally participants included Jerry and Dyann, Wheels & Doris, Bryan & Diane, Randy & Vicki, Roger & Janet and Baxter & Marlene. It seems the fish weren't biting so the only other people there were the camp hosts. Randy, Vicki, Baxter & Marlene enjoyed several hikes down the road, over the hills, and around the shoreline. Roger's bumper needed some work so Jerry got some tools and crawled under the trailer to work on that. A few other repair and maintenance jobs also got taken care of over the weekend. There was also the usual discussions on various trailer and RV related topics, lots of time for inspirational naps, time to read a book, time for some great SNU shared meals, and of course lots of time to enjoy the scenery and the great company. On Sunday, Randy and Vicki headed out early to visit friends in Oregon and watch the solar eclipse. The Jeppson's, and Thornburg's headed home by mid-morning. The Wheeler's, Leipper's, & Swaffer's stayed over and watched the eclipse in a more creative style. Using a cardboard box with a very small hole in it as a pinhole camera (wikipedia), we could clearly see the darker circle of the moon pass by the light crescent of the sun. Pretty neat. Sunday night we had an informal BBQ. Monday morning after an impromptu breakfast of eggs with sausage & cheese, English muffins & raisin bread toast, cantaloupe, and coffee everyone packed up and headed for home. In an email from Randy after the rally, he said that on their way to Oregon they came upon some cattle being herded down the road. Needless to say, that encounter required a thorough cleaning of their Airstream. Randy said it wasn't quite as bad as cleaning off Mormon crickets from a trip to a rally in 2005. Another great rally with stories to add to the SNU memory books.
Forecasts of high winds and occasional showers didn't intimidate those of us heading for the rally at Pyramid Lake. What most of us did do was head out earlier Thursday so we could get settled before the winds picked up. Thursday we did spend most of the day inside listening to the few brief showers pitty pat on the roof. We got a very nice surprise at this rally. Don and Gail came up with their brand new 2012 Airstream. They happened to be close (Death Valley) so decided to come to the rally un-announced. It was great to see them and to see their new Airstream. RoyLaine came to the rally with Scout, the dog they rescued from Scout Camp last fall. He has filled out, grown up, and looks great. He's a big energetic boy and it gave Roy quite a workout taking him on walks. Scout is turning into a really good dog and a great watch dog. After Thursday, the weather the rest of the weekend was just about perfect. Almost no wind and very comfortable temperatures. Rather unusual for Pyramid Lake. Other people at the rally included Jerry & Dyann, Wheels & Doris, Mike & Cindy, Bryan & Diane and Roger & Janet. Doris went on a cruise since we saw her at the last rally. Part of the trip included a visit to New Orleans. With the SNU in mind, Doris picked up Mardi Gras bead necklaces with pink flamingos for the ladies in our group. We all wore them during the Pyramid Lake rally. Thank you Doris for thinking of us. Saturday Bruce and Kathy flew over the rally in their Cessna. They got some great pictures of the rally from the air. We waved to them as they flew over. They have ordered a 2013 Bambi from Sutton in Oregon. Sometime soon they will visit us on the ground with their new Bambi. Another Airstreamer stopped by for a short visit. He is a fulltimer and was staying at the RV park by Sutcliff. He remembered us from a previous rally at Pyramid. Cindy introduced a new treat to the SNU for dinner Saturday. Taco salad in a bag. She had the individual size bags of Doritos chips and all the other ingredients. You open a bag, put in the ingredients you want and eat it right out of the bag. Pretty nifty idea and very tasty. After dinner it was a perfectly calm and beautiful evening. We built a nice campfire and just enjoyed the scenery. The SNU's newest member. Laura Funk stopped by. She has an older Airstream which needs a little work. We all chipped in with ideas and suggestions. Mike and Cindy offered to have her caravan with them to a rally sometime. Don spent a good part of the weekend working on amateur radio parts. Bryan spent some time listening in on various ham bands. Jerry and Dyann made a quick trip into Sparks on Saturday. All of us did a little reading, a lot of visiting, and a lot of relaxing and just enjoying the good company, good food, and good weather.
Dyann Thornburg
Well, the first rally for 2012 is over and it was great to get out. Cabin fever was really beginning to set in. Thursday when we arrived the weather was beautiful and we had lunch outside. From that point on we ended up having to eat inside due to the wind. One night around 2 am I took the dogs out and it was great. The temp had to be in the 60's and no wind, by 5 am though it had turned cold. It was good to have Wheels and Doris, Gary Haskett, and Diane and Bryan with us. A small group this time but it was a good thing because we all were able to fit into one trailer for dinners.
Dyann Thornburg
February's luncheon at the Overland Hotel in Gardnerville had another great turnout and I was extremely happy to see everyone who was there. During our business meeting I brought up an option to doing the voting on the WBCCI Constitution Revision this year by the SNU board members for the entire membership. Since the SNU membership's mind frame is known from the voting we did last year, I felt this would be the best way to go about doing it this time around. To do it this way was put up for a vote and approved unanimously. If you were not in attendance at the luncheon and prefer to vote yourself please let me know and I would be more than happy to accept your vote via snail mail or email. Bob Stansbury also reported on the Region 12 Hobo Rally. He said the attendance this year was down a lot from previous years. Apparently there were many Region 12 members that became ill and could not attend. He stated the only attendee from the SNU was Von Gallion. Way to go Von! (And thanks at least we had one.) It's time to get your Airstream out of storage and ready for our first rally of 2012. It is being held at the Mason Valley Wildlife Area from March 22nd - 25th. Diane has given excellent directions in this newsletter and I look forward to seeing everyone there. Have a great month.
Dyann Thornburg
January's SNU luncheon at the Black Bear Cafe in Fernley was great. Oh so much food I couldn't begin to eat it all. Next time we're there I'm going to see if someone would like to share with me. We had a fantastic turnout also, a total of 17 people. I was glad to see everyone had survived the holidays in good shape. Cecilia Stansbury had just returned from the IBT meeting and gave us a rundown of what took place. She was interviewed for the position of WBCCI secretary and she says she thinks it went very well. She said that since she is the only one running for the position she really wasn't too terribly worried but she did need to brush up on the policies and bylaws. Apparently there was a lot of negative comments from members regarding the motorhome amendment and therefore it has been withdrawn but will still be up for a vote at the Delegates Meeting during the International Rally this year. This didn't quite make sense to me so if you need clarification I suggest you talk to Cecilia. Bob Stansbury brought the new poster for the 2013 Hobo Rally, IBT Meeting and the Regional Rally. They're going with the Flamingos again and are reusing the decorations from the 2011 Regional Rally. I think this is a excellent way to save costs and everyone at that rally loved the theme. I received an email from Judy Bechthold letting us know where the next three International Rallies are slated to be held: 2012 in Sedalia, MO, 2013 in Huron, SD, and in 2014 in Gillette, WY so hopefully this will give you enough time to plan to attend one or all of them. They're still working on the schedule for the Hobo Rally (February 6 - 12, 2012) but she says it should be out shortly. If you will be attending please let me know and I'll make sure you get a copy. Bob Stansbury has volunteered to be the SNU Delegate at the 2012 Delegates Meeting being held at the International Rally in Sedalia. Thank you Bob! We sincerely appreciate him stepping forward to do this because I have a feeling it's going to be a very long meeting. I hope everyone is prepared to go through what we did last year with all the amendments for the WBCCI Constitution Revision being voted on separately. To refresh everyone's memory this was suppose to take place in 2011 but was postponed in order to give members enough time to review the proposed changes and make their decisions. You will be voting as individual members to the Unit and then the majority vote for each amendment will be given to our delegate who will vote for the Unit as a whole. Needless to say this is very important, it could change a lot of how the organization operates and it's to your benefit to become informed and vote. I will be taking votes again starting this month so be prepared. We'll also be voting on Cecilia becoming the WBCCI secretary. We wish her the best of luck and I can't think of a better person to take on the position. I sincerely hope to see you at this month's luncheon being held on Saturday, February 25, 2012 at the Overland in Gardnerville, NV.
It was a beautiful December day for the drive to the SNU lunch at the Overland in Fallon. The food was good and the company as usual, was great. Jerry & Dyann, Mike & Cindy, Roger & Janet, Bryan, Diane, Bob & Cecelia, Rich & Marian and Gary & Anita were all there. Bob & Cecelia filled us in a little on their recent cruise through the Panama Canal. Looks like Bob & Cecelia along with Rich & Marian are planning on a spring trip to China. That's in between a full schedule of Airstream trips and rallies and other personal travels. The rest of us are looking forward to travels closer to home. Other topics of discussion at the lunch included yet another Motorhome proposal coming up at the 2012 WBCCI International Rally and the SNU's possible involvement in the 2015 Region 12 Rally. This luncheon was a great way to end 2011. I think we are all looking forward to another great year in 2012.
The November lunch at B.J.'s BBQ gave us a chance to catch up on everyone's travels. Mike & Cindy recently returned from a trip to Italy. Baxter & Marlene toured the Southwest in their Airstream. Check the link in this newsletter for their excellent trip report. Roger returned home from spending time in Michigan with his daughter. Roger and Janet had a little excitement the day before our lunch. They live close to the area affected by the Caughlin fire and had to evacuate their home. They took the Airstream to a safer location in case they needed a place to sleep and Roger got his classic MG out of harms way. Although homes near them burned their house survived. Wes and Roy reported that Scout, the dog they so graciously took in. got a clean bill of health from the vet and is adapting well to his new home and family. The only problem with the lunch at B.J.'s was deciding which of the great menu items we wanted. Everyone got it figured out and we all enjoyed some delicious BBQ.
After two rather atypical rallies (The South Lake and the Region 12 Rally) it was great to have the October SNU rally at Scout Camp. This rally was unique too in that it had a very special happy ending. Scout Camp is part of the Ft. Churchill State Park. It is a dispersed area right on the Carson River. The weather was absolutely perfect, in particular, no wind! By Friday there were six of us at the rally. The Thornburg's and Leipper's arrived at Scout Camp on Monday afternoon. We all decided a few extra days in the boonies was a great way to relax after the Region Rally. We did get some work accomplished though. The park service had made a large pile of tree limbs and logs earlier in the year. There was still a large pile left so we loaded it in Jerry's truck and hauled it to our campsite. Jerry got out his electric chain saw and went to work. We had enough wood to keep a nice campfire going all week and burned the last of it on Sunday morning. The rally was the usual SNU event with morning coffee and goodies, inspirational naps, short walks along the trails, shared dinners, and all day campfires. We had evening serenades by cows and coyotes. We spent a lot of time visiting and sharing ideas and information including reviewing the Region Rally and winterizing your rig. The big project for the weekend though ended up being power systems. Wes and Roy woke up Friday morning with no electricity. Jerry and Bryan soon discovered it was a faulty GFI circuit breaker. After some clean up and tweaking, Wes and Roy were back in business. Paul, the Ranger came by every morning. His new assistant is a young woman named Kim. She apparently had lots of plans for tours and other activities at Ft Churchill and at Buckland Station. They would stop by for coffee when making morning rounds and we had a great time chatting with them. We had noticed that there was what appeared to be a stray dog roaming around. Wes and Doris had put out some food for it. Not long after Gene and Carmen's grandkids arrived, they had managed to befriend the dog. The dog seemed to be less than a year old, a mixed breed with huge paws. Needless to say, all of us took a liking to him and knew we couldn't leave him at Scout Camp. As it turned out, Wes and Roy ended up taking him after the pup had met with the initial approval of Sam, Lilly, and Hugo. Talking to Roy a week after the rally, she says that “Scout” has adapted very well, is gaining weight and that recently Sam took his ball to Scout to get him to play. The ultimate sign of acceptance. We'll all look forward to seeing Scout at many more SNU rallies, watching him grow and be a happy healthy dog with a family who loves him.
Nothing like the sound of road construction and traffic with a heavy dose of motorcycles and the smell of hot asphalt to let you know you are NOT at a typical SNU rally. Despite the road construction during the day, what a fantastic weekend we had at Campground by the Lake in South Lake Tahoe. Even the weather cooperated. The campground is located right across the highway from Lake Tahoe in a pine forest. The pine trees provided some interesting challenges for maneuvering a trailer. We all met the challenge with no scratches or dents on the Airstreams and no nicks in the trees. Friday we had happy hour about 4:30 then dinner. As usual, the SNU cooks outdid themselves. After dinner we sat around the campfire and just enjoyed a quiet evening. Saturday, after morning coffee we all headed off to the Lake Tahoe Historical Society Museum. A very unusual sight seeing the whole group hiking together through the woods. That museum is really worth a visit. It is small but full of wonderful exhibits that give you a great overview of the history of the Lake Tahoe area. Lynn was our tour guide and she was just chock full of interesting information. Then it was back to camp to rest up for the evening. About 3pm we were surprised and delighted to see the Gorsuch's pull into the campground. We had been expecting them Thursday and were wondering what happened. A ball joint in their motorhome broke. Thank goodness they were at a dump station just leaving an RV park when the MoHo just dropped down. With a little effort and luck they were able to get the joint replaced and made it to the rally in time to join us for dinner on the Dixie. At 4pm we gathered for a short walk across the street to catch the shuttle to the M.S. Dixie. The second group walk in one day! A record for the SNU. What a great time that was. The dinner was excellent. Watching the sun set on Lake Tahoe was beautiful. Seeing the lights along the shore and all the stars in the sky made the return trip something special. Listening to the live band, even doing a little dancing and watching the other cruise participants also provided some entertainment. Sunday while enjoying a leisurely coffee and goodies gathering. Vicki provided a little morning entertainment by her dance rendition of some of the more interesting cruise participants. Unlike our cruise buddies, Vicki was a little overdressed but she certainly had us all laughing. After that, everyone finished packing up and the Airstreams started to depart the campground. We had 12 rigs at this rally. Participants included Randy & Vicki Grossmann & Vicki's sister, Ann, Wes & RoyLaine Warn, Don & Gail Williams, Jerry & Dyann Thornburg, Gary & Anita Haskett, Bryan and Diane Leipper, Jim & Barbara Muff, Wheels & Doris Wheeler, Rich & Barbara Osborn, Richard and Sylvia Gorsuch, Bob & Cecilia Stansbury, and Ken & Judy Bechthold. Saturday two of the Muff's grandchildren and new SNU members. Baxter & Marlene Swaffer joined us for the dinner cruise on the M.S. Dixie. Judy Bechthold is current President of Region 12. Bob Stansbury is the 2nd VP of Region 12 and the chair of the 2011 Region 12 Rally. Cecilia Stansbury is the Region 12 Recording Secretary. With the Region 12 rally and business meeting coming up on October 13th, it was great that they all could take the time to join us for the SNU Anniversary Rally. Randy did an outstanding job of putting this rally all together. His contact for the M.S. Dixie and the campground staff were great to work with. That made Randy's job easier and helped ensure that everything went smoothly. The SNU wanted to do something special for it's 35th Anniversary and this rally more than met expectations.
Nine rigs from 3 different Units attended the August Rally at Obsidian. Unique at this rally was that we had more California residents than Nevada residents. Rally participants included Victor & Bobbi Kingsland and Jerry & Jackie Freeman from the San Fernando Valley Unit. Gregg & Valri Ayer represented the NorCal Unit. SNU members included Jerry & Dyann Thornburg, Mike & Cindy Gower, Don & Gail Williams, Dan Randall, Rick & Jeanne Sassin LaBorde, and Bryan & Diane Leipper. Among the highlights of this rally were the pancake breakfast on Friday and the omelets in a bag breakfast on Saturday. Don thinks we have started a new tradition for the SNU with these special breakfasts. It is always nice to have the right equipment when you are doing things like this. Victor and Bobbi brought their electric griddle which was hooked to a generator to cook pancakes. Jerry brought his propane griddle which was put to good use cooking sausage and bacon. Jerry also brought his propane stand burner and that along with the one Mike and Cindy brought, were used to boil big pots of water to cook the omelets in. Having breakfast was Bobbi's idea and it was a huge success. Our Friday night BBQ was also a success. Don made a peach cobbler in his dutch oven. It turned out great. Jerry & Dyann BBQ'd some great tasting ribs. Gregg & Valri also had some tasty ribs. Along with all the other contributions we were not lacking in variety and we definitely were not in fear of going hungry. Other than eating, we had a great time, exploring the area and just visiting. Friday night the skies clouded up but other than a few sprinkles, it didn't rain. We were treated with an exceptionally beautiful double rainbow during our dinner. Sunday after most people had headed home, we were fortunate to spot a deer family walking down to the stream. A nice buck with a good set of horns, a doe and a fawn. About 1pm Victor & Bobbi, Don & Gail, and Bryan & Diane head on to Mammoth to spend the night at Mammoth Mountain RV park. Jerry and Jackie were already there. Everyone went to a local restaurant for dinner Sunday night. Two other Airstreams were spotted in the campground and needless to say, they received visitors. One couple, the Swaffers were home and were invited for breakfast Monday morning. Bobbi caught up with the other Airstream owners later. As it turned out it looks like both the San Fernando Unit and the SNU gained potential new members. The Swaffers live in Reno and the other Airstream owners live near Victor & Bobbi. Bobbi outdid herself with Monday breakfast. She had all sorts of muffins, bagels, fruit, jams and jellies. It was a great way to end a rally and it left us all excited about next year's rally at Obsidian.
Hickison was well worth the drive out Hwy 50 past Austin. The campground sits up on pine and juniper covered hills with panoramic views of the Eastern Nevada landscape. Other than a few overnight campers we were the only ones there for the weekend. There was a well maintained interpretive trail that included several petroglyph sites and a hike along the ridges with more breathtaking views. Rally participants included Wheels & Doris, Bryan & Diane, Randy & Vicki and Jerry & Dyann. We all agreed that Hickison is definitely on the SNU top 10 rally site list. Wheels & Doris arrived first. Doris met us all decked out in her pink flamingo finery. Saturday Dyann and Vicki took turns getting photographed in Doris's flamingo vest, crown, and necklace. All in all it was nice relaxing weekend with good food, good friends, and a great location.
Our June rally at Sweetwater Summit was great as usual. By Friday we had five rigs at the rally, six counting the Bvan. Jerry says since Bryan was using it as a ham shack it could be counted as an independent rig. Rally participants included Jerry & Dyann, Bryan, Diane, Randy & Vicki, Roger & Janet, and Wes & Roy. Bryan had just gotten some radio equipment from Gary so this Field Day rally was the perfect time to test things out. Over the weekend, we finally figured out why most WBCCI Units schedule at least some activities for their rallies. People get into too much mischief sitting around brainstorming, swapping stories, and throwing out ideas. That's how the SNU ended up with inspirational naps, hap-hazzard parallel parking and, at this rally ideas about tatoos among other things. The highlight of the rally was Sunday morning when Bruce Rhymes flew down in his Cessna to visit us. He's the guy Randy and Vicki met at Ft Sage. We saw Bruce circle over us and we thought he was landing, then we noticed him circling again. Jerry drove over to pick him up. What had happened was there were cows on the landing strip and Bruce had to try and shoo them off, then had to wait for one who was walking down the center of the airstrip to move before he could land. Bruce's wife Kathy wasn't able to make this trip but we hope to meet her soon. Bruce is also a ham radio operator so he has a lot in common with the SNU. Also, as usual, we enjoyed our morning coffee and goodies and we had some great shared meals for dinner. Roger cooked a roast on his Cobb Cooker. It was the highlight of Saturday's dinner. Sunday it was time to head home and get ready for the next rally.
Once again, Mother Nature and circumstances provided the entertainment for a rally. Once again, it was clear why we don't let weather forecasts impede rally plans. Even though it seems yet another frontal system or two were supposed to move in over the weekend, we had a great rally at Ft Sage. For the most part the weather was moderate and wind was minimal. We enjoyed beautiful mornings around the campfire and were able to have our Friday shared meal outside. The wildflowers at Ft Sage were spectacular. Paintbrush, lupine, and many other varieties were blanketed amongst the sagebrush. We did have to share the campground with some other campers this year. Except for letting the kids drive noisy off road vehicles in circles around the campground they were good neighbors. SNU members at Ft Sage included Randy & Vicki, Wes & Roylaine, Jerry & Dyann, Bryan and Diane. It's been a while since Randy & Vicki have made a rally. The same with Wes & Roy. Randy has been busy putting in another Fantastic fan and doing some other projects on his Airstream. Wes & Roy ended up getting a new refrigerator for their Airstream. It seems like all the new pieces and parts worked just fine this weekend. Saturday things got a little interesting. Just as we were getting ready for dinner, we began to have some rain showers. Not to be deterred, Jerry rolled out his awning and we set up tables, hauled in our chairs, sat almost knee to knee and enjoyed another great meal with rain, thunder, and even a little hail providing the entertainment. Of course, as soon as we finished eating the showers stopped. The storm clouds made for a spectacular sunset. Sunday was warm and sunny. After morning coffee and goodies, we began to pack up and head home. Another great weekend with good friends.
Although it was a rather windy and cold start to the Boca rally, the weekend ended with almost perfect weather on Sunday. We had a great turnout including 10 kids! A new record for the SNU. Gene & Carmen had six of their kids and grandkids. Jerry & Dyann had two kids, Taylor and Sammy. Tom & Kristy and their two kids, Patrick and Brien also attended. In addition to the kids, other rally participants were Roger & Janet, Rich & Barbara, and Bryan & Diane. Tom had a neat game he set up that the kids really enjoyed. Then there was attempts to catch fish and crawdads in the lake, riding bikes around the campsite, and cooking hotdogs and other treats on the campfire. We also enjoyed shared meals for dinner on Friday and lunch and dinner on Saturday. We spent a lot of time sitting around the campfire swapping stories, maintenance tips, ideas for other Airstream related projects and just enjoying the views and the company. This was Tom and Kristy's first SNU rally and we hope to see at many more rallies. All in all it was a great weekend
What a wild start to the 2011 rally season, at least weather wise! The cold stormy weather was just not conducive to prepping the Airstream, never mind getting ready for, or traveling to a rally. Never the less, a few of us did make it to Weed Heights, It turned out to be an interesting first SNU rally for Rich and Marian. They were assisting with the Friends of NRA dinner on Saturday so the rally served a dual purpose for them. They got a sample of the SNU's flexibility and adaptability. The other rally participants were Jerry & Dyann and Bryan and Diane. Our hosts, Mike and Cindy weren't able to come because Mike got the flu. Wes and Roy were also planning to come but their dog Sam needed a little surgery on Friday. We missed them all. We hope that Mike is feeling better and that Sam's surgery went well. We made a few changes in the rally plans. Instead of doing omelets in a bag, we did scrambled eggs with sausage, mushrooms, cheese & olives. Since Rich and Marian were going to be involved with the NRA dinner Saturday, we moved the crock pot pot luck to Friday so they could participate. We were delighted to have Wheels and Doris drive out on Saturday for the afternoon and join us for dinner. Anita stopped by on Sunday on her way up to Goose Lake. The weather was windy most of the weekend which made us really appreciate the nice warm club house. Thursday there was a good snow flurry but it didn't stick. Saturday we were rocked to sleep by wind gusts. The activity level at this rally was anything but wild. It was a great weekend just to visit, to do some reading, take dogs for walks, take some inspirational naps, and play cards. One of the most exciting highlights was a card game between Wheels & Dyann on Saturday. Check the link in this newsletter to see the video – don't fall asleep! All in all it was an enjoyable weekend. We are all looking forward to April at Boca. Hopefully by then spring really will be here.
Despite some questionable weather, we had a good turnout for the February lunch at El Charro. Participants included Jerry & Dyann, Wes & Roy, Mike & Cindy, Vaughn, Roger & Janet, Randy & Vicki, and Bryan & Diane. As usual, we had a great time catching up on all the news while enjoying some great Mexican food. Mike and Cindy just recently returned from a trip to Daytona where the main attraction was the Daytona 500. They got to watch Trevor Bayne win the race. Trevor, who at one day after his 20th birthday, is the youngest person to ever win that race. Mike said one of the best parts was being able to go on the track itself and walk around the pit areas. Mike and Cindy did some other sightseeing while they were in Florida. There was so much to see and do, they now want to go back and spend a little more time exploring. Roger and Janet have now moved up to a 1st alternate position for a WBCCI Caravan next fall covering the Northeastern U.S. We'll keep our fingers crossed that they will be able to go as this will be their first caravan. Randy has some work ahead of him correcting a problem with the wheels on his Airstream. He got some good tips and ideas from Mike and others at the lunch. It's been a while since we have seen Vaughn so it was nice to have him at the lunch. Vaughn's wife Donna recently passed away after a long illness. Vaughn is planning on attending the WBCCI International Rally in DuQuoin in June. Dyann, Diane, and RoyLaine had a brief discussion about an unofficial rally this coming Thanksgiving. We all enjoyed Thanksgiving at Scout Camp in 2009 and agreed it would be fun to do it again this year. More information on this plan will be forthcoming. Anyone who wishes to participate would be welcome. Lunch at El Charro was a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a cold Saturday. Now we are all looking forward to the first SNU rally of 2011 at Weed Heights in March.
The January lunch at Bavarian World reminded us all of why it is one of our favorite restaurants. Great food, great service and easy access. Top it off with a visit to the bakery after lunch and it doesn't get much better. We had a great turnout for the lunch including Robert and Cecilia Stansbury and Richard and Marian Rego whom we haven't seen in about a year. In fact, the Rego's have now become affiliate members of the SNU. We are glad to have them aboard. Others attending the lunch included Jerry & Dyann, Gary & Anita, Wes & Roy, Mike & Cindy, Roger & Janet, Jim & Barbara, Dave, Diane, & Bryan. Listening to all the conversations it sounds like there are a lot of travel plans in the works for various SNU members in 2011. These plans include Robert & Cecilia attending the Mardi Gras Rally and then going on their first WBCCI Caravan. Roger and Janet are on the reserve list for their first caravan of the Northeastern U.S. Jim and Barbara have plans for a trip to Mexico with Rotary International. Rich and Marian will be heading for the Hobo Rally along with Robert & Cecilia. Vaughn Peak will also be at the Hobo rally. There seem to be various other plans in the works as well. Rumor has it that one of our roving correspondents, Frank Colligan will soon be sending us an article about the Rose Parade Rally that he and Carol attended. We hope to hear from everyone about their travels. Their stories will certainly make for a lot of interesting SNU newsletters. There was also conversations about the special rallies the SNU has planned for 2011. It looks like everyone is looking forward to the joint rally with the San Fernando Valley Unit in August at Obsidian Dome and the SNU Anniversary rally at Zephyr Cove in September. All in all, 2011 seems to be shaping up for a very special year. After a delicious meal and a lot of visiting, we all adjourned to the bakery where everyone picked up a few treats to take home.
What a great turnout for our holiday lunch at J.T.'s Basque restaurant in Gardnerville. Among those present were Fred and Ann Hersey and Don and MaryLou Damoth. The Hersey's and Damoth's are long time members of the SNU. They were instrumental in keeping the SNU alive during some difficult years at the beginning of this decade. It was great to see them and to let them know that the SNU is still going strong. The SNU's 2011 President, Dyann Thornburg, shared a few items of business. First, since we didn't have a quorum at the October rally, she asked that the slate of officers be affirmed at this meeting. Everyone approved. Dyann also discussed the two special rallies planned for 2011 and the need for people to indicate their intention to participate. Firm rsvp's are needed ASAP in order to move ahead with reservations and planning. Business taken care of, we finished a very tasty lunch and enjoyed more visiting and catching up with everyone's past, present, and future activities.
Those of us who went to the rally in Death Valley from Reno, we seem to have gotten out of town just in time to miss a projected big winter storm. We didn't miss it all though. The wind was a major factor all weekend. Gusts of at least 30 MPH as verified by Pat with her hand held anemometer. We were able to eat dinner outside on Friday but we did have to hold on to our plates. The rest of the weekend we ate in our Airstreams, visited in our Airstreams, and were rocked to sleep in our Airstreams at night. It wasn't all indoor activities though. Several people took some nice hikes. Friday, Randy, Susan, and Gordon took a awe inspiring ride through Titus Canyon. Paul and Pat also drove through Titus Canyon. Saturday the winds kicked up the dust in the lower part of Death Valley and sent a huge wall of dust towards Mesquite. We were spared direct assault though. There were seven rigs at the rally. Participants came from various home bases. Jim & Barbara and Bryan & Diane from Reno, Gordon & Susan from Michigan, Randy & Vicki from Carson City, Wheels & Doris from Minden, Don & Gail from Riverside, and our guests Paul & Patricia Buescher from Portland OR. It seems the rally was a starting off point for various other trips. Wheels & Doris headed towards Phoenix for Thanksgiving, Randy & Vicki were heading to Las Vegas. Bryan & Diane were heading to Kingman & Quartzsite. Paul & Patricia were heading towards Bosque del Apache birding area in New Mexico. We were delighted to have Paul & Patricia join us at Death Valley. They are members of the Oregon Unit. It was fun to hear about the Oregon Unit and to tell them more about the SNU. Maybe one of these days we can plan a joint rally with the Oregon Unit. Despite the less than perfect weather, we had a great time. As usual we spent a lot of it swapping stories, sharing ideas and experiences and just relaxing and enjoying the scenery and the weather.
Weather didn't prevent six SNU members for gathering for lunch at Pioneer Crossing in Fernley. Wes & Roy, Jerry & Dyann, and Roger and Janet enjoyed a good lunch and of course, time to share stories and catch up on news. Roger and Janet have been traveling lately. Wes and Roy just bought an SOB Moho. They had a good time swapping stories with Jerry and Dyann about engine troubles. So while some SNU members were sitting in their Airstreams to keep from being blown away while eating lunch, others were relaxing in a nice warm restaurant having their lunch served to them.
The Giant's won! Frank and Carol came to the rally! Our newest members John and Christine came to the rally! The weather cooperated! We enjoyed another full moon rising over the reservoir! What a great way to end the 2010 SNU rally season. We were delighted to welcome John and Christine Noellert to the SNU at the Lahontan Rally. John even sacrificed staying home to watch the baseball games on TV to come to the rally and listen to them on the radio. Saturday, what a game it was. John and Christine's team, the San Francisco Giant's won the playoff's and are now playing in the World Series. We were also delighted to see Frank and Carol Colligan drive up on Saturday. They were on their way home from a recent caravan and also from the Region 12 rally in Hemet. They made a slight detour to come to the rally. Frank and Carol said the Region 12 rally had some very interesting lectures, some good entertainment and of course a lot of great opportunities to visit with friends from throughout the Region. Among others, they ran into Von Gallion and Yvonne DeRoule. Frank and Carol were a little surprised to see the SNU holding a rally in a rather civilized location. Beach 7 at Lahontan is just off the paved road rather than the usual situation where you have to drive a few miles on gravel roads. In addition to the Noellert's and the Colligan's, the other rally participants included Jerry & Dyann, Bryan & Diane, and Gene and Carmen along with about nine of their family members. Gene and Carmen made use of the guest accommodations provided by the BVan since tents were not a good option at this rally. Despite predictions, the weather was just about perfect most of the weekend. Other than a few intermittent gusts of wind, it was very enjoyable to be outside. Saturday we had a few sprinkles off and on. Sunday morning was really nice for one last gathering before heading home. About the time everyone started to leave, the winds kicked up and wind warnings were in place. Everyone got home safe and sound though. Now to winterize the Airstreams, get together at SNU lunches and look forward to the 2011 Rally season and celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the SNU.
A full moon, the Autumnal Equinox, and perfect weather. What better weekend for a rally. It was an amazing site when the moon came up and reflected off the glassy surfaces of the Obsidian. The whole hillside sparkled. Several other interesting things happened at this rally. For one, we were delighted to have Gregg and Valri Ayer, who are members of the NorCal Unit participate in this rally. For another, thanks to a little luck, we had visitors from a WBCCI Caravan come by. We also invited a nearby camper to join us for our Saturday dinner. Gregg and Valri have a 17ft Safari Sport. This was their longest off grid experience with that Airstream and of course, it did just fine. They really liked the Obsidian area. Gregg, who is training for an upcoming event, took a 100 mile bike ride on Friday. Saturday he and Valri spend some time at June Lakes fishing. They had a great time although they didn't catch any fish. Gregg and Valri are hosting a NorCal rally at Bodega Bay in April 2011. We'll be sure and post info on that rally when it becomes available. SNU members Frank and Carol Colligan are on the Wild West Caravan which is traveling down the Eastern slopes of the Sierra's. They were at the Zephyr Cove RV Park when Randy and Vicki went to check it out for our September 2011 rally. Because we didn't get our communications in order, they didn't catch up with each other though. By accident, Jim and Barbara Muff decided to stay in Lee Vining Wednesday night before heading to Obsidian. While Jim was in the deli he ran into Frank and that is how we happened to have some of the caravanners visit the Obsidian rally site. Saturday the first caravanners to stop by were a couple from Pennsylvania. A little later Frank and Carol, along with Dick and Judy Martiny came by. Turns out Dick and Judy are new friends of Wheels and Doris. The Wheelers met them on the WBCCI caravan they had participated in after the WBCCI International Rally. It was like Old Home Week at the rally Saturday afternoon. All of our visitors were very impressed with Obsidian. One even mentioned that this was his idea of what and where an Airstream rally should be. Our guest on Saturday was a woman in her 30's who was camping nearby. Julie is currently a nomad and tent camping in the Eastern Sierra's as well as other parts of the country. We all enjoyed visiting with her. Rick LaBorde came by for a visit on Saturday. He wasn't able to bring his Airstream this time but he says he has been doing a few things to it lately to extend the amount of time he can spend off grid with it. Another highlight of this rally was Jim and Barbara's dutch oven cooking. They started out with bacon and eggs on Friday morning. Friday evening they cooked Chicken Cacciatore with home grown basil and vegetables with biscuits on top. It was delicious. Our shared meal on Saturday included enchiladas and another chicken dish, salads and other goodies. For dessert we had ice cream with fresh peaches. As usual, we didn't need to worry about running short of great food. This rally provided a great opportunity to relax and enjoy the ambiance. Many of us took time to catch up on reading, take an inspirational nap, take a hike up to a nearby waterfall and meadow, climb the obsidian dome, or take a day trip into June Lakes, Lee Vining or Mammoth. wheels and Doris filled us in on their adventures at the International Rally and on the Northwestern Landmarks Caravan. Gregg and Valri talked with us about the activities of the NorCal Unit. Everyone agrees, Obsidian Dome is a great place for an SNU rally.
Eagle Lake, Rocky Point turned out to be an almost perfect SNU rally site. It was right on the lake, there was plenty of room for Airstreams, and amazingly the parking area was fairly level. The almost two miles of gravel road to the campsite made it quite clear why the area is called Rocky Point. The road traversed an ancient lava flow and it was rocky! It required some careful and slow driving but the destination was well worth the extra caution. Thanks to Anita Leipper for discovering this site for the SNU. We'll definitely be holding future rallies there. Weatherwise we had quite a variety. Almost record high temps, wind on Thursday and Friday, showers on Saturday, close to record low temps, and of course an almost perfect day on Sunday. Thursday the weather was pretty good. We had a relaxing happy hour about 4:30 and after dinner we were treated with an awesome sight watching a full moon rise over the mountains across the lake. Friday's shared meal required us to hold on to plates and dishes to make sure they weren't blown away. Saturday we used the awnings to keep us dry during dinner. Thanks to our guest Dan, we had wood for a campfire all day Saturday. It really helped with the dreary weather. Gene and Carmen's kids and grandkids befriended a fisherman camping nearby and all weekend one or the other of the kids would walk by with a freshly caught fish. They even caught some themselves. Gene was kept busy cleaning the fish and cooking them over a campfire. Some of the fish were over 20 inches long. Don had gotten a lot of RV plumbing supplies from a store that had gone out of business. Everyone was able to replenish their supply of hoses, chemicals and other things necessary to keep the trailer plumbing in good working order. Rally participants included Jerry & Dyann, Don & Gail, their friend Dan, Wes & RoyLaine, Bryan & Diane and Gene & Carmen with eight kids and grandkids. We were delighted to see Don and Gail as they have been busy with home remodeling projects this year. We were also glad to meet their friend Dan Randall and glad they brought him along to the rally. Dan is a ham radio operator (KD6ETF) and he has a dog (Cleo) so he fits right in with the SNU. Hopefully we'll see Dan and Cleo at some future SNU rallies. We all had a great time at this rally. We agree that Rocky Point will definitely go on the SNU list of favorite sites.
The July rally at Crocker Campground will definitely be one to add to the SNU memory books! This was a new location for the SNU and it seems the general opinion is that it should definitely be included in the list of favorite rally sites. Crocker is an older U.S. Forest Service campground with somewhat hap-hazard camping spaces in a nice grove of pine trees. Level sites were not a priority when planning this campground although may of the sites have definitely been “leveled” by previous campers. The trees provided an opportunity for those of us who are maybe getting a little jaded by our leveling experiences at Unionville to practice an additional skill – that of maneuvering around and through trees to get into our chosen parking site. Everyone passed with flying colors! Not a dent, scratch, or even close call on any Airstream. There were seven Airstreams at the rally. Participants included Jerry & Dyann, Randy, Gary, Wes. & Roy, Bryan & Diane, Gene & Carmen, and Rich and Barbara Osborn. Gary's wife, Anita and Randy's wife, Vicki didn't make the rally. We missed them both and know they would have really enjoyed this new rally site. Jerry and Dyann brought their grandkids, Sydney and Cole. Gene and Carmen had six kids and grandkids with them! Two of them had just arrived from the Philippines the Monday before the rally. This is the first time the SNU has had eight kids from ages 7 to 18 at one rally. We were delighted to have Rich and Barbara join us. They have a 1976 20ft Argosy motorhome and live in Truckee. Rich had come across a PSA for an SNU rally back in 2004 but we didn't manage to make a connection. Needless to say we hope we will see more of Rich and Barbara in the future. In addition to our rally participants, Sunday Tim Shepard from Reno stopped by. He was camping with his Airstream down at Davis Lake. Turns out Tim also had previous contact with the SNU. A year ago he called and talked to Bryan about some problems he was having with his Airstream. We hope that in the near future Tim and his wife Theresa will attend an SNU rally. Rally activities included lots of sitting and enjoying the views out over the meadow, shared dinners on Friday and Saturday evenings, and just hunkering down for a nap or quiet time during the middle of the day. The trees and elevation kept the temps from getting too hot but it was hot enough to make less activity during the day desirable. The mornings and evenings were wonderful. Cool enough for walks and for doing some exploring. The almost full moon was an absolutely gorgeous site rising across the meadow. Several people took rides over to check out Davis lake and other nearby sites. Friday afternoon things got a little interesting. It began to get cloudy and we started hearing thunder around us. We had our shared evening meal though without incident. Soon after a gust of wind came up and the next thing we knew the meadow was full of smoke. Needless to say, that put us on alert. We started considering evacuation options and other such things. Shortly though it started to rain, The more it rained, the better we felt. We even got some hail but nothing big enough to cause any harm to an Airstream. We found out later the fire was near Doyle, CA. Saturday afternoon looked like a repeat so we set up the food tables under Jerry and Dyann's awning and after we got our food we sat under Bryan and Diane's awning. The rain, once again held off till after dinner. We've had several rallies with snow storms, we've had a few rain sprinkles during the night but this is the first time we have had an honest to goodness thunderstorm during a rally. Driving home on Sunday you could see smoke on the North side of Hwy 70 and even see flames from one of the forest fires. We didn't have much SNU business to discuss but we did have some conversations about the 2011 rallies. It looks like that schedule is pretty well set. We also discussed plans for the special rally and dinner cruise at South Lake Tahoe in September of 2011. Randy and Vicki are spearheading that effort and plans are coming along. We do need to begin looking for officers for the SNU board for 2011. So far, Dyann Thornburg has agreed to run for President. If anyone else is interested in serving on the board, please let us know. All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend with great friends in a beautiful location.
What a great turnout! What a great rally! We had eight rigs at the rally including Frank and Carol Colligan and Jim and Barbara Muff. This was the first Unionville rally for them. It was the first ever rally for Jim and Barbara. Frank and Carol were at our Sweetwater Summit rally last June. Then we got a wonderful surprise. Von Gallion and Yvonne DeRoule showed up. We thought they'd be in Gillette playing in the band. Other rally participants included Gene & Carmen & four grandkids, Jerry & Dyann, Wes & Roy, Roger & Janet, and Bryan & Diane. Weather wise, we had some cloudy windy weather with a few drops of rain and then it turned sunny and hot - a little different from the snow last month. This was Amateur radio field day weekend and Frank came prepared. We weren't sure what the reception would be like in the canyon but skip conditions enabled Frank to end up with even more contacts than he got last year at Sweetwater. Bryan also made a few contacts. Roger discovered he had a water leak and it turned out to be a cracked water pump. That necessitated a trip into Winemmucca for a new pump which he and Jerry then installed. Saturday we had our shared dinner in the picnic area. Roger had cooked a roast in his Cobb cooker that was an great addition to the dinner. We cut the evening short though as the wind was a little too gusty and cool. Saturday we had planned to have a “formal” dinner to celebrate our 5th year at Unionville. Come to find out it was Roger's birthday so we had a double reason to celebrate. Jerry, with some assistance from Gene, cooked a roast over the campfire on his battery operated spit. As usual, it was excellent. We had a white table cloth with a candelabra and champagne glasses with sparkling cider. Janet brought a birthday cake. Then there was the usual excellent variety of contributions of salads and other items. All in all a dinner worthy of the celebration. We had a great campfire Saturday night. Gene and Carmen's grandkids had a good time with marshmallows. The majority of the weekend was filled with the usual SNU activities – morning coffee and conversation sessions, Airstream discussions and tweaking and maintenance, reading, hiking, staying cool, walking dogs, ham radio sessions, eating, and recuperating from all the activity with inspirational naps. Frank and Carol have participated in two WBCCI Caravans and are planning on a third this fall. We really enjoyed hearing about their experiences. Roger and Janet in particular, talked with them about caravans as they have been interested in possibly participating in one that piqued their curiosity. Jim and Barbara have done a lot of personal traveling in their Airstream and really enjoyed it. Now that he has a better picture of what we like, Jim has a few ideas for potential SNU rally sites that he plans on checking out. It was great catching up with Von and Yvonne. Von has had a lot of work done getting the 1987 Sovereign he bought fixed up after his previous Airstream bit the dust. The result is a nice comfortable Airstream with some updated features . He and Yvonne have been busy as usual including attending various rallies. They apparently enjoy sharing tales of their experiences with the SNU. In particular the story of our BBQ in a blizzard at Washoe Lake one year. The SNU must have an interesting reputation in Region 12. Von will be 90 this December and he and Yvonne both are an inspiration for us all. It is now time to start renewing membership for 2011. Everyone at the rally has renewed so the SNU is off to a good start. We thank you all. We also thank you for another great rally.
Six rigs spent an enjoyable weekend at Ft Sage despite some less than perfect weather. Randy and Vicki, Wheels & Doris, Jerry & Dyann, Wes & RoyLaine, Bryan & Diane, and Gene and Carmen participated in the rally. Jerry and Dyann were a little delayed in getting to the rally. They stopped to get gas before leaving Fallon and apparently the Motorhome decided to take off without getting fuel. It rolled right into the ditch in front of the gas station. Apparently the parking break wasn't quite set. Nobody was hurt and the MoHo wasn't damaged. After the tow truck came and pulled the MoHo out, Jerry and Dyann finally got on the road and arrived safely at the rally. Weatherwise we had a little bit of everything including wind, rain, wind, snow, wind, and even some sun. There was an additional rig that should be included in the rally. Tom and Kristy Guy with their kids Brien and Patrick attended the pre-rally. They got so excited about finally getting their 1975 Tradewind all fixed up and ready to camp they showed up at Ft Sage the weekend prior to the scheduled rally. I think maybe we should have followed their lead though as they had great weather for their first campout. Pictures of their Tradewind at the Ft Sage rally are posted on the website. Check the link listed in this newsletter. Tom and Kristy assure us that we will get to meet them at a rally sometime before the end of this year. We look forward to that. Gene and Carmen had four grandkids with them. They had recently arrived from the Philippines. This was the first time they had seen any snow. The kids also had a great time taking Andy, the Wheeler's sheltie on walks all around the campground. It was nice to have Carmen for the whole rally. Hopefully she and Gene and the grandkids will be able to come to rallies more often. Gene was directly impacted by the wind. One gust blew the cover off his air conditioner. Thankfully Randy had a ladder and Gene was able to get on top of his Airstream and secure everything. On the other hand, Gene got the gas valve on his heater replaced and working. This greatly improved the function and effectiveness of his heater. Thursday evening was probably the nicest so to take advantage of the relative calm we had a delightful evening around the campfire. This rally was a testament to the flexibility of the SNU. Friday, the weather encouraged us to change plans and instead of our usual shared meal we did our own dinners individually. Saturday, again because of iffy weather we changed our shared meal to lunchtime and had leftovers for dinner on our own. We were able to have other campfires during lulls in the wind. We had coffee and goodies on Saturday morning. Randy and Vicki enjoyed hiking over hill and dale and getting a close up view of the wildflower display. The wildflowers were truly amazing, especially the paintbrush and the lupine. The hills were covered with them. When the weather got a little much we visited in each others trailers or spend some quiet time reading, and enjoying the views out the windows. Ft Sage is definitely a place for fantastic views and weather watching.
We actually had almost perfect weather for the April Rally at Pyramid Lake. Although Thursday was cloudy, windy, and cold with a few showers the rest of the weekend was fantastic. Sunny, just the right temperature and best of all NO WIND! We had a great turn out too. Rally participants included Roman and Melissa, Gene and Carmen, Jerry and Dyann, Wes and Roy, Wheels and Doris, and Bryan and Diane. Friday Stephen & Heather Hall stopped for a visit with their kids. They are considering purchasing an Airstream. Saturday we were delighted to have Fred and Ann Hersey come out and spend some time with us. We hadn't seen them in a while and it was great catching up. Also on Saturday Roger drove out in his shiny red 1951 MG Midget. What a beautiful car. We all enjoyed oohing and aahing over it. Roman spend a lot of time fishing but other than Thursday when the catching was really good, nothing seemed to bite. Melissa has taken up fly tying to keep herself occupied while Roman fishes and even her efforts didn't attract the fish. This rally provided Jerry an opportunity to try out his new exhaust system for the generator on the MoHo. It seems to work real well in keeping exhaust fumes outside. Speaking of the MoHo, it looks like Dyann and Jerry will have to keep a close eye on it. Everyone who sees it wants it. Carmen and Melissa were both very enthused about it and all the work Dyann and Jerry have done to it. The parts for Gene and Carmen's water system didn't arrive on time so buckets and other containers provided water over the weekend. Gene was also having some problems with his heater. After some investigation, he discovered the problem and will get the necessary parts to get things in working order. Roman and Melissa have finally officially initiated their Airstream, a 2008 International. After many miles of travel, they backed into a snow bank close to home and now sport a dent in the lower rear panel. Melissa says this may motivate them to make a trip to Jackson Center to visit the Airstream factory. Speaking of travel, not only are Wheels and Doris going to Gillette for the WBCCI International Rally, they will be joining a WBCCI caravan after the rally. They Caravan will tour many historic and scenic locations in the Western U.S. We look forward to hearing about their adventures and seeing pictures. We enjoyed the usual SNU fantastic shared meals on Friday and Saturday night. This time using Roman's tailgate as a buffet table. Doris made a chocolate cake that seemed to be a favorite of everyone. Mornings were spent enjoying the views with a good cup of coffee and catching up on news and activities.
The SNU started of the 2010 rally season on a high note. Members who attended included Jerry and Dyann and Dyann's sister Ann, Mike and Cindy, Wes and Roylaine, Gary and Bryan and Diane. Gary's wife, Anita had to work so she wasn't able to come. Being at an RV park with facilities proved beneficial for Jerry and Dyann. They discovered their water heater leaked. They had quite a time sopping up the water and drying out the carpets. Mike and Cindy were having some problems with their furnace wiring. Between plumbing, heaters and other issues, Jerry and Dyann and Mike and Cindy make several trips into Yerington to the nearby thrift store and the hardware store. After a previous experience of a cold night with no heat, Wes and Roy are taking no chances. Not only are they sure the heater in their Airstream works, they have a portable propane heater and a catalytic heater. Another accomplishment at this rally was getting Gary's computer set up and coordinating between his computer and his GPS system.
Other than plumbing and heaters, a major topic of discussion was water heaters and appliances. Mike found someone parting out an RV as a resource for updating his Airstream. Mike and Cindy will also have a new (used) frig in their Airstream by the Pryamid Lake rally. This frig has an ice maker! So guess who will be suppling ice at SNU rallies :) One of the parted out appliances was a 10 gallon water heater. Jerry needs one but doesn't have space for one that big. Bryan was going to swap the DSI B-Van water heater with the trailer pilot lit one. So maybe the big one will work in the trailer and the B-Van one will work in Jerry's motorhome and the motorhome DSI hardware will work in the trailer water heater that will fit in the B-Van.
The real highlight of this rally was our experiment with omelets in a bag on Saturday morning. Wow! It was easy, it was fun, and it was delicious. Cindy and Mike's chickens provided fresh eggs. The rest of us brought various items such as ham, cheese, olives, and onions. Cindy labeled a zip lock bag for each person and we all got to add our own ingredients to our eggs. Once all the bags were full we popped them in pots of boiling water for about 15 minutes. The omelets turned out perfect and doing them this way we all got to eat at the same time. Diane provided some sausage to accompany the omelets. Needless to say, we weren't too hungry for lunch, especially since we knew our crockpot pot luck was coming up for dinner. We spent the afternoon with delicious smells from crockpots wafting through the air. By dinnertime we were ready to enjoy a variety of dishes cooked in crockpots. George, the campground host and Wheels joined us for dinner. Wheels had driven up earlier in the afternoon. Doris was home visiting with her daughter. Wheels informed us that he and Doris will be going to the WBCCI International Rally in Gillette in June. After that they will participate in the WBCCI National Landmarks West Caravan. This will be their first International Rally and their first Caravan. We look forward to hearing about their adventures and seeing some pictures of their travels. Mike and Cindy did a great job hosting this rally. Not only did they coordinate the omelet breakfast they brought horseshoes in case anyone got ambitious. The horseshoes never made it out of the truck. We did have an organized activity of sorts though. Jerry, Wheels and Cindy finished up a jigsaw puzzle and made a good start on another one. Mike and Cindy also provided happy hour treats on Saturday. Ann had provided some happy hour treats on Friday. Saturday Mike got out their propane “campfire” so we had all the key elements of an SNU rally – great food, a few hap-hazard activities, happy hours, a little repair and maintenance, lots of great discussions, an obligatory campfire, and best of all, great friends to share it all with.
Another great lunch with great service at El Charro Avita on Saturday February 27th. We were glad to be joined by Robert and Cecelia Stansbury. Due to hectic schedules we haven't seen them since the El Charro lunch last year. It seems that we were lucky to catch Robert and Cecelia as they are about to take to the road again and won't be back out west till October. We were also very glad to have Richard and Marian Rego as our guests. Anita had run into them at the Hobo Rally and discovered they lived near Carson City. Richard and Marian are active with the San Diego Unit. They are also on the committee for the 2011 Hobo Rally. In addition to our guests, other luncheon participants were Jerry and Dyann, Roger, Randy and Vickie, Anita, Bryan, and Diane. This was another social event rather than a business meeting. We did however, get a little update on Region 12 business. Robert informed us that since the current Region 12 President is moving up to the National WBCCI level a year early, officers will be shuffled on the Region level. Robert is running for 1st Vice President. Judy Bechthold, the current 1st VP will take over as President. Cecelia also mentioned that she will also be assuming a role at the National level of WBCCI. It is great to have such active WBCCI members attend some of our events and keep us posted on what's happening in the Region and National levels. I think we are all looking forward to the SNU March rally. Again, we were delighted to have all our guests at this lunch and we hope that we will see Richard and Marian at a rally sometime soon. As for Robert and Cecelia, when you get home from your travels, we'll look forward to seeing you again and hearing about your adventures.
We had a great turnout for our lunch at Cabela's on January 23rd. Participants included several guests. Tom & Karen Long and Howard & Kristin Depew. Diane noticed that Howard and Kristin were local when they registered on the WBCCI forum and invited them to the lunch. Karen's sister saw the announcement for our lunch in the Reno Gazette and passed the word along. Speaking of newspaper announcements. We received two other calls from people who had seen the announcement for the lunch at Cabela's. The SNU has been doing these announcements in local news media since 2000 and as this lunch and past responses to announcements prove, this is a great way to get the word out about the SNU. For the last several years Randy Grossman has been in charge of getting these announcements to the local media. So thanks Randy. Your time and efforts do pay off. In addition to our guests, SNU members attending the lunch included Gary & Anita, Mike & Cindy, Jerry & Dyann, Roger & Janet, Gene & Carmen, Mark, Madelyn, Dave, Bryan, and Diane. This was a visiting lunch rather than a business lunch. Discussions included such things as winterizing Airstreams, water system maintenance and repair, recent travels, and upcoming SNU rallies. Madelyn told us about her recent 2 week trip with her Airstream and a friend. Her friend helped her become more familiar with the Aistreams various systems and she gained a lot of experience driving, parking, and just enjoying her trailer. We hope that by March, Madelyn will have her Airstream up here and join us at the Weed Heights rally. After a very enjoyable lunch, most of us did a little shopping in Cabela's. Thanks Mark for setting this lunch up for us. We were delighted to meet Howard & Kristin and Tom & Karen and we hope that we will see them all again soon.
Dyann Thornburg
Despite, for the first time in over 6 years weather being a factor in participation, there were 9 of us who attended lunch at the Overland in Fallon. Wes and Roylaine, Roger, Jim and Barbara, Madelyn, Fran Reid, and Jerry and I. Jim and Barbara are new SNU members and it was great to meet them. Jerry tried up until the time we left to go to the lunch to get ahold of some new Airstream owners recently referred to the SNU who live in Fallon and encourage them to come. The food was great and a lot of it. Everyone ordered off the menu and we had it served family style. After lunch Madelyn stopped by the house on her way out of town to see the MoHo. Another great lunch and companions to enjoy it with us.
Lunch at the Gold Hill Hotel and restaurant was a special treat. Many of us had been wanting to go there for years and never got around to it. The SNU lunch on November 14 provided the perfect opportunity. I think we all felt that it met with our expectations. What a neat old historic place. The luncheon menu also met with our expectations. The food and service was great. We had a choice of salmon, chicken or meatloaf and apple crisp for dessert. We definitely want to go back. SNU members attending the lunch included Roger & Janet, John & Sandy, Scott & Icyl, Gary & Anita, Randy & Vicki, Jerry & Dyann, Bryan, Diane, Don & MaryLou, Wes & Roy, Madelyn, Gordon & Susan, and Cindy. We all enjoyed a nice relaxing lunch and just catching up on what everyone had been doing since the rally at Mason Valley. We couldn't have asked for better weather for a nice drive up to Gold Hill near Virginia City. All in all, a great day.
Five Airstreams were at the Death Valley NP rally at Mesquite
Springs campground. Tom and Donna Faker, Vaughn Peak, Vicki and
Randy Grossman, Susan and Gordon Barber, and Anita Leipper enjoyed
another great SNU rally. We were happy to have Tom and Donna,
longtime members of SNU. One of their airstream trips this year
took them to North and South Carolina. Vaughn Peak provided us
with a perfect gathering site, on the south side of his Class A.
This airstream provided a great wind break, and the heat from the
south exposure radiating from the airstream felt wonderful. Susan
provided a very nice contribution to our potluck, with Michigan
inspired flavors. Gordon walked up and down the area hills several
times, providing us with some nice aerial photos of our rally
site. Randy was able to have a relaxing rally, this being his
second rally to have no leveling chores. Vicki had nice paved
roads to walk Ashley and Lucy. I think she did very well enjoying
the beauty of the local rocks without disturbing them. Vaughn had
nice stories of the Death Valley '49er days that he participated
in, the first of November. November 2010 the 49er days will be
closer to our rally, so maybe more of us could attend both events.
Vaughn was also our source for news and weather, since he had the
only satellite dish.
One night during the rally we had a big geology class camping with
their tents, and the next night some Boy Scouts were camped next
to us. Most of us stayed through Sunday night. Anita was the only
one to see a tarantula. See the photo gallery. She also saw a lone
duck, a coot, that was difficult to recognize because even though
coots are a familiar duck in the water, they are not usually seen
walking about the desert. The perfect ending , while leaving
Mesquite Springs, a Road Runner was seen on the road, basking in
the morning sun.
What a great way to wrap up another rally year! A new location, perfect weather and a great turnout made the October rally at the Mason Valley Wildlife Area a memorable event. We had 9 Airstreams, 18 people, 14 dogs, 1 cat and 1 parakeet. We were delighted to welcome Gordon and Susan Barber. They had just recently purchased their first Airstream and Mason Valley was their inaugural rally. Other rally participants included Roger & Janet, Jerry & Dyann, Randy & Vicki, Wes & Roy, Mike & Cindy, Wheels & Doris, Anita, Bryan, & Diane. We were also glad to have Dyann's sister Ann as a guest at this rally. Saturday Don and MaryLou came out for a visit. It is always good to see them and catch up on their activities. This was supposed to be the inaugural rally for Jerry and Dyann's Airstream MoHo but a last minute electrical problem derailed that idea much to everyone's disappointment. Mike and Cindy have been doing a lot of work on their Airstream. It's looking really good but there is still a pesky water leak so various containers provided water. Roger spent several weeks in Michigan this summer and during that time he and his daughter did some Airstream remodeling. Roger and Janet now have beautiful wood laminate floors, new upholstery and new valences on the windows. It looks really great. Wheels and Doris had just returned from attending the Region 12 Rally. They had a great time and met some old friends and made some new ones. Among the many highlights of this rally were Jerry and Dyann's contribution to Saturday dinner and Cindy's contribution to Sunday breakfast. Jerry brought his battery operated spit and cooked a roast over the campfire. Dyann had prepared and marinated it and the result was fantastic. Cindy cooked us a skillet of eggs and hash for breakfast. A welcome treat before packing up and heading home. Vicki had brought the table decoration she made for a previous rally so we had a pretty fancy buffet table for our shared meals. Wes and Roy, once again helped promote the SNU by flying their flags at the rally. We all agreed that this location should be added to the SNU list of favorite spots. The only problem was that it was flat. All you had to do was drive in and park. No leveling required. That took away one of our primary entertainments – watching everyone try to get their trailer level. Aside from that the mountain vistas, the colorful trees and the easy access made it perfect for early spring or fall rallies. We'll be back for sure.
It was a perfect September weekend for a rally in Unionville although the daytime temps were a little higher than average for this time of year. We had a great turnout but we were missing some spouses. Dyann came up with Bryan and Diane and made use of their BVan as Jerry had to work. Gary and Gene were also on their own. Both Anita and Carmen had work related commitments. Other SNU members attending the rally were Anita, Don and Gail, Wes and RoyLaine, and Brian, Jeni, and Nick. That made a total of eight rigs. It was great to see Brian, Jeni and son Nick as it has been quite a while and we had a lot of catching up to do. After the rally Don and Gail will be heading to Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival. We hope to get a report for a future SNU newsletter. Activities at the rally consisted of the usual, informal, do whatever suits you type stuff. We had fantastic shared meals on Friday and Saturday evenings and also morning coffee and goodies. Some of the more energetic participants – Gene, Don, Brian, Jeni, and Nick took a nice long hike up the canyon. Don got some great pictures. The Roots also brought some lighted boccie balls. The grassy park provided the perfect place for a nighttime game of boccie. Dyann filled us in on all the upgrades and remodeling she and Jerry have done on their Classic Airstream Motorhome. Wes and Roy's frig quit working and after a little checking around, Don found a fried bug in the igniter. Once that was cleaned up, their frig was working just fine. Friday night we had a gas campfire thanks to Don and Gail. Saturday we had a wood campfire thanks to Gene. I think the SNU has sunk to a new low though, as we spent some time around the campfire checking our blood pressures. Don said it was because of our business meeting and the discussion of the need for officers and rally hosts. Others wondered if it was because SNU rallies are so laid back we had to check and make sure everyone's heart was still beating. It gave us all a good laugh though. A more appropriate campfire entertainment was provided by Nick, who serenaded us with some really nice music on his guitar. Our planned special event didn't work out much to our disappointment but the SNU once again lived up to it's creed of flexibility. We may not have had a gourmet brunch but we did have margaritas made with home grown limes. We had Jeni's special home canned salsa to go with chips and the margaritas. We had salads with home grown carrots, grapes, and apples. A special treat was Dyann's first from scratch apple pie made of course, with home grown apples. We also had special “home grown” double yolk hard boiled eggs. In addition to all that, Gary cooked us a delicious pork roast in his Cobb cooker. There were other contributions to the menu as well so needless to say, we didn't go hungry. To add to the ambiance, Jeni brought some really cute pink flamingo candles for the dinner table. A beautiful site, great weather, great food, great company, it doesn't get much better. On the way home Sunday, several of us stopped at the local truck stop for lunch before hitting the road. Another SNU rally has now been added to the collective Unit stories repertoire.
It seems that every rally we have had since April was during a hot spell with near record temperatures. August at Obsidian Dome started out that way but by Saturday night we had rain showers. We had several guests at the rally including Bobbie and Victor Kingsland along with their 14 yr old son William. Bobbie is the current president of the San Fernando Valley Unit and a second generation Airstreamer. The Kingsland's have a 1969 Overlander. The other guests were Rich and Sylvia Gorsuch. Rich and Sylvia had made arrangements to take advantage of the Wheeler's courtesy parking. Little did they know that would lead them to participating in an SNU rally. Sylvia was even willing to pass up a pre-season Cowboys game to come to the rally. The Gorsuch's have a 1996 Aristream moho. They are adventurous travelers and have even spent time in Burma so the road to Obsidian didn't faze them. Although her Airstream is still in Southern CA, Madelyn Cutler, a new SNU member, brought her tent joined us at Obsidian. I think now she is even more anxious to get her Airstream closer to home. Other rally participants included Wheels and Doris, Jerry and Dyann, Rick, Anita, Bryan and Diane. Two new 4 legged members were also introduced at this rally. Sola, Rick's 11 month old Golden Retriever and Andy, Wheels and Doris's 11 month old Sheltie. Wheels and Doris decided sharing Jerry and Dyann's Shelties just wasn't the same as having one of your own. Dyann provided some tips to Wheels and Doris about training Andy and after doing a little work with him herself you could see the difference. We spent a lot of time enjoying the dogs, enjoying great food at our shared meals, and of course, just sharing stories and catching up. We haven't seen Wheels and Doris since May. Since then they have added a few more flamingos to their flock. Doris's daughter found a solar flamingo bug zapper. She even found Doris a pink umbrella to match. Check the picture in the rally photo gallery. Jerry and Dyann just barely got back from Jarbidge in time to make the Obsidian rally. They hadn't had time to transfer all their necessities from the SOB (like solar lights and flags) back to the Airstream. It was up to Wheels and Doris as well as Victor and Bobbie to provide lawn décor for the rally, primarily pink flamingos of course. Victor and William had a great time chopping up a recently downed tree for firewood. With no fire restrictions, we were able to keep a fire going all day Saturday and have really nice campfires in the evening. Friday evening Doris brought out her guitar and treated us to a campfire concert. She didn't have much luck getting us to sing along but we sure enjoyed listening to her. Sylvia and Rich brought out marshmallows and made S'mores for us. Saturday, Bobbie and Victor brought out their campfire popcorn popper and treated us to a bowl of popcorn. Saturday evening Rick's wife Jeannie and son Guy came to the rally. Jeannie had been busy getting ready for the first day of school. It was nice to see them both. In addition to Victor and William doing a lot of clean up on the downed tree, we got some other service work in at this rally. Wheels was acting as a downed aircraft so that the Civil Air Patrol could practice emergency procedures and try and locate him. He had a locater beacon on the front top of his Airstream. Rick and Jerry did some road construction on a section that had suffered from some washout. All in all, another great rally at Obsidian Dome. We enjoyed meeting Victor, Bobbie, William, Richard, and Sylvia. We hope to see them again at another rally.
Randy Grossmann
The July SNU rally at the Petersen ranch in Northern California near the town of McArthur was arguably the dirtiest rally in recent memory. But all attendees loved it. Perhaps in some way the dirt just added to the wonderful time experienced by all. The rally site was as clean as any camping rally, but getting to the site over about eight miles of dirt road was quite a dusty experience. The road to the ranch was comparable to the road into Obsidian. Because of some 18 wheeler traffic this year some of the road consisted of several inches of powdery dirt, much of which ended up on the rigs. As the rigs arrived at the camp site they were more brown than their real color. At least we didn't have to worry about Nevada pinstriping. Instead we got a California back road paint job.
Everyone thought that this was a really neat place for an SNU
rally! The Petersen ranch covers over a thousand acres and we had
it all to ourselves. A beautiful meadow was surrounded by
mountains and trees with views of Mt Shasta and Mt. Lassen.
Between Anita's pictorial directions and signs she posted at
critical points, finding the rally site was easy. We were parked
on level ground beneath some huge pine trees. The shade and a nice
breeze most of the time, were a welcome relief from the heat.
There were five rigs at the rally. The participants were Diane and
Bryan Leipper, Dave Gmur, Anita Leipper, Randy and Vicki
Grossmann, and Gene and Carmen Baleme. Gene and Carmen could stay
only about 24 hours because Carmen had to get back for work.
Nevertheless, we were very happy to have them even for that short
a time. Their stay did allow them to partake of a waffle breakfast
on Saturday morning which was provided by Randy Grossmann and his
trusty upside down waffle making machine. Toppings included
strawberries, blueberries, a variety of syrups, and whipped cream.
We also had sausage and, of course, coffee. By all accounts the
waffles were a resounding success with people clamoring for a
repeat performance sometime in the future. We are sure that Randy
will again provide his signature waffles at a future rally.
The rally site was remote and private. All attendees thought that
a rally like this is nice for occasionally getting away from
civilization for a while. We were all grateful to Spencer Thomas
for providing us with this site. He was a gracious host who
stopped by to chat several times during the rally, including
dinner on Friday night. Spencer invited us back and it was
unanimous that we should return to this site for one
of the rallies sometime next year.
Because of the heat extensive use was made of generators to power
the air conditioners each afternoon. Toward the end of the rally
generator gas was running low and members shared with each other
so that nobody would end up sweltering because of a lack of
generator power. Speaking of power, SNU members have been
replacing their Airsteam converters with Inteli Power converters
for better battery charging and management. Much of the rally
consisted of giving the new converters stress tests to see how
they performed. They all performed really well and proved to be
much better than the ones they replaced.
On Friday, Bryan, Dave and Gene drove over to a cargo container
Spencer had gotten from the Forrest Service that was full of radio
equipment. They loaded up Gene's truck and on a later trip, loaded
up Dave's truck. What the three of them can't use they plan to
donate or take to the scrap yard. Also on Friday Randy decided he
didn't have quite enough dust on his truck as you could still see
some white paint, so he, Vicki, and Gene took a ride around the
ranch checking out various nooks and crannies. One of the points
of interest were some old log cabins, one of which Spencer lived
in when he was in high school. There are lots of great places to
hike in the area. Although the heat kept the hiking to rather
short excursions this year. Friday and Saturday evenings we had
our shared meals and then sat around until late in the evening
just enjoying the peace and quiet in a really beautiful setting.
Like Kingston, Obsidian, and Unionville, this ranch is at the
outer edge of the SNU rally range but we all agreed the drive was
well worth it.
Randy and Vicki headed for Medicine Lake after the rally. When
they got there they found a huge mass of humanity. People were
crowded all over the place and there were no available camping
spaces. They immediately headed back to McArthur where they then
spent some time. They are now saying that during July and August
they are initiating the policy of avoiding public campgrounds.
While in McArthur Randy experienced a severe battery drain
situation. He made a call to Bryan who then consulted with Dave
and they came up with some suggestions that helped solve Randys
problem. This is one of the many nice things about associating
with SNU members. If someone has a problem there is both the
expertise and desire to help.
The June rally at Sweetwater Summit was a great success. We had a total of eight rigs. The main activity for this rally was amateur radio field day. We had four ham radio stations set up with five active operators. KD6UVT Don, KA7VLL Dave, KF6LOP Frank, KE7UVC Jerry, and K1CD Bryan. We also had one visiting ham, AD7RS George, who set up his station nearby. In addition we had visitors come up on Saturday and spend most of the afternoon with us. Ron and Linda Ott are not only Airstream owners, Ron is also a ham (W6XY). They live in Minden and just happened across our website with information on the rally and decided it was a great opportunity for a visit. Of the eight rigs at the rally, we were delighted to have Frank and Carol Colligan join us. They live near Grass Valley and were excited to find out about our Field Day rally at Sweetwater in the Blue Beret. SNU members at this rally included Jerry and Dyann, Roger and Janet, Scott and Icyl, Don and Gail and grandson Brandon, Dave, Anita, Bryan, and Diane. It has been about a year since we have seen Don and Gail and Icyl and Scott. We had a good time catching up on their news and adventures. Other than Field Day activities much of our time was spend just relaxing, swapping stories, hiking the nearby hills, and of course our shared meals on Friday and Saturday evenings. We were also able to have a campfire since there are no fire restrictions – yet. Another highlight of this rally was what happened to Jerry on his way back to camp after going to Yerington to get a new battery. Turned out to be a pretty expensive battery since between the store and the highway back to Sweetwater, he and Bryan spied an Airstream motorhome. They just had to stop and take a look. Jerry got back and told Dyann. The next day Jerry, Dyann and Roger went back for another look. Roger was supposed to help resist the temptation but he thought it was a pretty neat rig and a good deal too. So to make a long story short, it looks like Jerry and Dyann have added another Airstream to their fleet. On the way home Sunday, Jerry and Dyann, Bryan and Diane, and Dave stopped by for another look. Kind of looked liked the rally had just moved to town with three Airstreams parked near the motorhome. It was great having Frank and Carol and Ron and Linda visit with us at this rally. We hope to see all of them at a rally again sometime soon. All in all just about perfect weather, great company, beautiful rally site, good food made for a great weekend.
The only thing typical about the May SNU rally was the dirt parking area and dry camping. The week before the rally we discovered we were to be parked right smack in the center of all the activity of the air show. So when we arrived we parked our rigs fairly parallel and for the SNU, close together in the front corner of the parking area. Ten rigs from the SNU participated in this rally. Our rigs just about covered the gamut of Airstream RV's. We had a class A, a Bvan, several vintage, and several post 2000 era Airstreams. Rally participants included Randy and Vicki, Anita, Jerry and Dyann, Mike and Cindy, Gene and Carmen, Vaughn, Bryan and Diane, Dave, Roman and Melissa, and Roger and Janet. Friday morning we got to work. Bryan and Dave helped set up some of the vendor tents. Dyann, Diane and Anita fixed up the pilot goody bags. The rest of us helped out as needed. Saturday was the big day for the air show. Jerry, Eric, Wheels, and Anita pitched in on the pancake breakfast set up. When things really got going, everyone chipped in. Among other things, Jerry and Eric were the primary cooks. Wheels cooked, served and assisted in other ways. Dyann helped serve breakfast. Janet, Sidney, and Melissa helped out taking tickets, Vicki and Anita made sure there was enough syrup and butter and that the tables were clean. Everyone helped out one way or another. Jerry experimented with making Airstream pancakes with the special cookie cutters made by Wes Warn for the SNU's 30th Anniversary. While it is possible, Airstream pancakes are a little difficult for mass production efforts. See pictures of the pancakes in the photo gallery link in this newsletter. The team effort made for an efficient and well organized breakfast. Most of us had on our SNU nametags and many of us were wearing SNU aprons. Jerry wore his special Redneck (past)President apron. Along with that, his nametag and his SNU shirt, it was clear that the chief pancake flipper was a member of a pretty unique group.
As it turned out it was an eventful weekend for Jerry and Dyann. Jerry had quite a surprise. He ran across two men who were in the same military unit that he had been in, at about the same time. Because of the nature of the unit, it is rare to run across other members. Dyann ran across her old boss whom she hadn't seen in quite a while. They also ran across the former owner of the truck that is their current tow vehicle.
Gene and Carmen took advantage of a special opportunity to take a ride in a WWII AT6 military airplane. Gene decided to be a little daring so he got strapped into a parachute and the pilot did a few rolls and other maneuvers. Gene got some great pictures of the air show, our Airstreams and nearby Lahonton reservoir from the air. He even got some pictures while the plane was upside down. Check out the photo galleries.
Vaughn has a 39ft Class A Airstream. For most of us, we hadn't seen one of those before so we kept Vaughn busy giving tours. He was having some problems with his amateur radio antenna so he and Dave spend some quality time figuring out the problem and fixing it.
Randy and Vicki have been busy refreshing and enhancing the diorama. We set it up during the air show and people who passed by were very impressed. The diorama started out to be just the topping for a cake for the SNU's 30th anniversary in 2006. It grew too big for a cake and has since taken on a life of it's own. The diorama has been displayed at Open Houses at Mt Family RV, at the 2006 WBCCI International Rally, and it has been to several SNU rallies. If you haven't seen it be sure to check the link to the photo gallery listed in this newsletter.
Friday night we had a potluck to inaugurate the new tailgate on Mike and Cindy's truck. We used the tailgate as our buffet table. Recently someone who was busy sending a text message ran straight into the back of their truck causing quite a bit of damage. The repair job got done just in time for them to get to the rally.
Saturday, along with all the activity at the air show, we had a few visitors stop by. It has been a while since we have seen Fran Reid. She pitched right in and helped with the pancake breakfast. Madelyn Cutler stopped by and had a nice visit with everyone. We hope to see her at a rally soon. Robert Hartman, a friend of Roman and Melissa's stopped by. He is in the market for an Airstream. As soon as he finds one, we hope to see him towing it to SNU rallies. Bryan and Diane's neighbor George stopped by for a visit and Mike and Cindy's grandkids came out Saturday night after their ball game.
We made good use of our generators during the day as Silver Springs was getting close to record high temps. Air show festivities ended by about 3pm. This provided us with an opportunity to relax and enjoy nice quiet evenings when it was a little cooler.
All in all a very successful weekend. Despite heat and having to get up at 6am to cook pancakes, despite being parked in close formation on hard packed ground everyone had a great time. I think the consensus is that we all wouldn't mind participating in the Lyon County Fly-In again. A special thanks to Jerry, Vaughn and others who stayed till mid afternoon on Sunday. Although we weren't scheduled to volunteer on Sunday, they cooked hot dogs and did other things to help out.
The Boca rally was definitely the more traditional SNU spring rally. The sign at the entrance of Boca Rest Campground said no water, no garbage service and no fees. The weather was a little of everything. We had wind, sun, snow, cold, and warm temperatures. Fourteen hardy SNU members in seven rigs attended this rally along with ten dogs. Participants included Jerry & Dyann, Gary & Anita, Roman & Melissa, Roger & Janet, Bryan & Diane, Gene & Carmen, and Wes & Roy. In addition Don and MaryLou drove up on Saturday and had lunch with us. That was during one of the sunnier and warmer periods. Thursday wasn't bad, a little blustery but enjoyable. Friday started out with a morning snow shower. Big fat wet flakes. That didn't deter Bryan and Jerry from morning coffee outside. They just put out the awning on the BVan and watched the flurries while occasionally sweeping the snow off the awning. Friday we did have our dinner outside although a cool wind made it a little ify and we had to eat fast if we wanted our food warm. We had a nice campfire going and that helped. Anita brought marshmallows so we cooked our dessert on the campfire. Saturday we awoke to a light dusting of snow but the rest of the day was mostly sunny. Dinner outside was a little more enjoyable. Sunday we were treated to a really nice breakfast and of course, the weather was the best of the entire rally. The breakfast was prepared by Jerry's son Eric and his wife Traci. They had come up Saturday afternoon with their two kids and spent the night. Breakfast consisted of bacon, biscuits with sausage gravy, and eggs and potatoes. We all figure we need to put some effort into converting them to Airstream owners and eventual members of the SNU so we can look forward to more such meals in the future. Friday Roman and Melissa took a drive into Truckee and discovered a unique hardware store that had all sorts of interesting stuff. Gary and Anita also visited Truckee. Their discovery was a really neat thrift store. All four came back to the rally with some new purchases. Jerry and his grandkids, Sidney and Cole got in some fishing. So did Roman. I don't think anyone caught anything though. Other than that we spent most of our time around the campfire or taking a break from the wind in our Airstrreams. We had a great time and we all thought that Boca Rest was a good choice for this time of year. I think we all agreed that the weather, rather than being a deterrent, just provided more entertainment and more stories.
It was great getting out in our Airsstreams again and have a nice relaxing weekend to visit with each other. The rally at Weed Heights RV park was a unique experience for the SNU. This is only the second time in at least 15 years that the SNU has held a rally at any sort of RV park or campground with any facilities. Although we had a really nice club house at our disposal, we spent a lot of time outdoors. We did eat our meals in the club house. It took a while for us to catch on that we could wash our dishes in the sink instead of taking them back to our trailers. That we could turn on lights when it started to get a little dark. That we had a refrigerator we could use. Melissa was tickled with the idea that she could be at a rally and be looking for vintage Airstreams on Craig's list. The RV park also had a very nice shuffle board court and horse shoe pit. Several of us did take a look at them but it seemed the favorite activities were visiting and inspirational naps. Jerry did get is light and antenna bar rigged and installed on his truck. Roger got the aerator on his faucet cleaned so now he has a nice flow of water. Gene got his plumbing checked out and discovered he'll need to replace a pipe or two. Mike and Cindy got to test out their heater after cleaning a decade of hornets nests and other debris out of it. Mike and Cindy also had a new view of the world. They had replaced the cracked front windows in their Airstream. All in all a fairly productive weekend. Several of us took advantage of having electricity and put up decorative outdoor lights. It looked really neat. It was also kind of odd to see so many trailers lit up as we didn't have to worry about running batteries down.
Wheels and Doris showed up with the latest and greatest pink flamingo. An image created by a relative and put on the side of their Airstream. It is really neat. Wheels also had the SNU logo made up as a stick on signs. He has one on each side of his propane tank cover and on the rear of the Airstream. They turned out really nice and several of the rest of us plan on getting some from him. Saturday Mike and Cindy showed off their SNU T'shirts. They had ordered them from the CafePress Aluminitus site. Nice to see everyone supporting the SNU in such visible ways.
Our Friday night crock pot pot luck turned out really great. We had stew, chili, chicken and beans, and sloppy joes along with some salads and desserts. Saturday's must go dinner provided a great variety of left overs as well as some new additions to the menu. Saturday we were glad to have an indoor place to eat as the wind picked up and we would have had to hold on to our plates and everything else if we had eaten outdoors. The winds kept up all night and rocked us to sleep. Having an indoor facility enabled us to set out the SNU photo albums and other materials which everyone enjoyed browsing through. We also had a selection of spare parts that anyone in need could pick up. Diane brought a CD copy of the Long Long Trailer, a promotional video from WBCCI and a whole collection of pictures from Dale Schwamborn that were available to view.
We had several visitors at this rally. Dyann's sister Ann came up on Saturday. Mike and Cindy picked up their grandsons and they spend Saturday night at the rally. Also on Saturday, Bill and Jan Heaton stopped by for a visit. We haven't seen them since the SNU rally at Washoe Lake in 2006. One of these days we look forward to seeing them at a rally with their Airstream. In the meantime we were happy to see them again. We had seven rigs at this rally. They included Jerry & Dyann, Roger & Janet, Bryan & Diane, Wheels & Doris, Mike & Cindy, Roman & Melissa and Gene who came alone as Carmen had to work. Hopefully we will see her in April.
Weed Heights was a great start to the 2009 SNU rally season. We have some neat things planned for the rest of the year and we hope all of our SNU members will be able to make at least one of the 2009 rallies
Lunches at El Charro Avita seem to bring good things to the SNU as well as provide an excellent meal. Last year it was Mike Gower who saw the notice in the local paper. He and wife Cindy have since become members of the SNU. This year it was several guests. Madelyn Cutler has been on the SNU mailing list for about a year. She saw the notice in the paper and decided to come check us out. I think we met with her approval as she plans to become a member. Other guests were Robert and Cecilia Stansbury and Fred and Maxine Nietz. The Stansbury's are with the Santa Clara Unit. Cecilia is the current president. She is also the parliamentarian for Region 12. Cecilia gave us an overview of the Santa Clara Unit and some of the special activities they have done. She invited SNU members to attend Santa Clara Unit rallies if they are in the area. Some of their rallies are fairly close by. The Stansbury's live part time in Carson City so this was a great opportunity for them to come and meet members of the SNU. They also decided to become affiliate members of the SNU so welcome Bob and Cecilia! Maxine and Fred are representatives from the Lyon County Fly In. They handed out postcards advertising this years event. They talked about the activities planned for the event and described a little more what the SNU will be doing and can do as volunteers for the Fly-In. (See the special note in this newsletter). More about this rally will be in future SNU newsletters. In addition to our guests SNU members at the lunch included Jerry & Dyann, Gary & Anita, Wheels & Doris, Randy & Vcki, Mike & Cindy, Vaughn & his granddaughter Leann, Roger & Jan, Dave, Bryan, and Diane. We want to thank our hosts, Randy and Vicki for making arrangements for this luncheon. We all had a great time. For more details on the El Charro lunch check the link listed in this newsletter.
Our timing was perfect for our January lunch at Cabela's. The snow waited till Sunday so Saturday we had fairly clear skies and clear roads. The meeting room at Cabela's worked out really well. We had plenty of room and it was nice and quiet so we could visit. Everyone went through the grill line and got their own lunch. We were delighted to be joined by Vaughn Peak and his granddaughter Leanne. Vaughn and his wife Donna have been members of the Arizona Unit. Since they live in Carson City, he decided to join the SNU. Vaughn is also a ham, call sign N7ODT and active in the WBCCI Amateur Radio Intra-club. Vaughn and his granddaughter both attended the WBCCI International Rally in Bozeman last year. Other members attending the lunch were John and Sandra Shields, Randy and Vicki Grossmann, Roger Jeppson (Janet is in Michigan), Gary and Anita Haskett, Mark Seasholtz, Bryan and Diane Leipper, and our birthday kids – Jerry and Dyann Thornburg. Last but not least, Roman and Melissa arrived. The only business we had was to vote on whether or not we would cook hot dogs as well as pancakes at the Silver Springs Air Show – the site of our May rally. The vote was unanimous in favor of hot dogs. This means we will be doing pancakes Saturday and Sunday morning and hot dogs on Saturday till about 3pm. Diane brought some items she recently ordered from the SNU section of Cafe Press. The items included an apron, some metal buttons, a calendar, and a yard sign. Everyone agreed that the items look really nice and the SNU logo in particular looks fantastic. All in all it was a great lunch. We want to thank Mark Seasholts for making arrangements for us. I think Cabela's will go on the SNU list of favorite places.
The dire predictions for a major storm didn't quite meet expectations and the SNU December luncheon at J.T.'s had a great turn out. 19 in all! We were delighted to see several people we haven't seen much this past year. We were especially glad to meet John and Sandra Shields. The have been members for several years but scheduling conflicts have made rallies hard to arrange. We certainly hope to see them more often in the future. We were also delighted to welcome guests Ken and Judy Bechthold. Judy is the 2nd VP of Region 12. They came to our November 2007 lunch and it was really good to seem them again this year. Mike and Cindy Gower have had a busy year which has included getting ready to do some plumbing and water pipe work as well as other repairs on their Airstream. Scott and Icyl Mulligan have also been busy sprucing up their Argosy. Among other things they have been repainting the exterior and have a new rock guard to put over the front window. Randy and Vicki have spent a lot of time with family this year so we had a lot of catching up to do at this lunch. Gary and Anita Haskett have also been busy with family and other commitments. A special surprise was Fran Reid. She has been involved with the SNU off and on for four years and she came to the lunch with Jerry and Dyann. Other luncheon participants were Jerry and Dyann Thornburg, Don and MaryLou Damoth and Bryan and Diane Leipper. The only business type activity conducted at this lunch was passing out copies of the SNU 2008 Achievements and a thank you to members. Go to the links page listed in this newsletter to see both of these documents. As usual, the food at J.T.'s was great and the holiday decoration made it very festive. Lunches are a great way to stay in touch during the winter. I think though, we are all looking forward to March and our first rally so we have plenty of time to share stories, catch up on news.
The SNU had a great turnout for our November luncheon at Chuckars in Fernley. We were delighted to see Von Gallion and Yvonne DeRoule as for one reason or another they hadn't been able to attend a rally this year. Other luncheon participants included Jerry & Dyann, Wes & Roy, Gene & Carmen, Roger & Jan, Don and MaryLou, and Bryan & Diane. Jerry and Dyann also brought their granddaughter, Sidney. We didn't have any business to attend to so we spent the time catching up on news and activities. Diane did mention she had heard from Don Williams and that the SNU rally in Death Valley was a success and that the participants had a great time. Three rigs showed up. Not bad for a first effort. Don and MaryLou are back in Reno having had their planned winter travels cut short by a run in with a tree with their Airstream. Roger and Jan have been having fun getting a controller replaced on the slide-out of their Airstream. Gene and Carmen have been doing a little tweaking with their Airstream and making plans for what else needs done before the first SNU 2009 rally next Spring. Jerry and Dyann have been busy getting Jerry's Mom moved to Washington State. They have also been helping their grandson Eric (Sidney's dad) get set up to park Jerry and Dyann's SOB in his yard so he can use it for outings next spring. Von has gotten his new to him Airstream all squared away. He and Yvonne alternate between using his Airstream or hers on their travels. We look forward to seeing them at a rally next year in one or the other of their trailers. All is quiet for the most part with Wes and Roy and also with Bryan and Diane. Everyone is looking forward to next years rallies and we hope those of you who weren't able to come in 2008 will join us in 2009. Thanks to Wes and Roy for coordinating our lunch at Chuckars. The food was good and all in all it was a great place for our luncheon.
SNU members participating in the October rally at Blue Lakes set two new records. One for the fastest tear down and move of a rally site and the other for the shortest SNU caravan on record. Before this is explained further, lets start at the beginning. The rally started off like a normal SNU rally – whatever that might be. People arrived at the designated site and set up camp as usual. Thursday arrivals included Wheels and Doris Wheeler, Roman Kreminski and Melissa Wong, and Bryan and Diane Leipper. Friday Jerry and Dyann Thornburg arrived. We spent most of the time in typical SNU fashion, catching up on news, enjoying the views, throwing balls for Cody, walking Jack, and untangling Indy's lead from around chair legs. Since fire restrictions are lifted we also kept a campfire going. We enjoyed our usual pot luck meals and morning coffee and treats. Saturday the weather got a little cloudy and windy. Melissa decided to get creative and started collecting and stacking rocks around the campfire to make a chimney so the smoke would go up instead of on us. Bryan discovered that one of the bolts holding his hitch on had sheared off. After some discussion he decided to drive to South Lake Tahoe for a bolt. Jerry had also called his son Eric to bring one up. Then just about noon, things began to change. We were low on firewood so Roman and Melissa went to gather some more. They got back and unloaded the truck. Then it was decided this was a good time to go check out some future rally sites. Dyann and Diane hopped in the truck with Melissa and Roman and headed up the road. Melissa and Roman showed us another spot right on the banks of a stream in the pine trees. We all took one look and decided why wait for another rally. Lets move now!
So we headed back to our rally site. When we got back we found that not only Eric and his family had arrived, Gary and Anita Haskett had also stopped by for a visit. Bryan, with help from the others had replaced the bolt on his hitch. We announced the decision to move to a somewhat stunned but willing group. We set a speed record that included loading up all the wood Roman and Melissa had gathered, putting out the campfire, hitching up the rigs, battening down the hatches, loading up the dogs and people and in less than 30 minutes we were heading up the road. We had a four Airstream caravan for the whole three miles to the new rally site in the trees and protected from the wind. Eric's wife Traci was pretty amazed. She is more used to tent camping and she couldn't believe how fast we picked up and moved. Bryan determined though, that this was really an SNU evacuation drill. To see how fast we could break camp and move in case of fire or other natural disaster. I think we passed the test with flying colors. Bryan also suggested that our first rally site was just the SNU following the WBCCI procedure of parking in the bullpen until everyone arrives. Then the parking committee – Roman and Melissa – moved us to our real rally site. Needless to say, the whole adventure left us all chuckling. We all agreed though that the move was definitely worth it. We built a new campfire, but got caught by the Ranger because we had forgotten to get a permit from Rick while we were at Obsidian. That taken care of we had our Saturday potluck and spend a delightful evening around the campfire. Eric, Traci and kids Sidney and Cole stayed for our potluck and campfire gathering. When they left we could let go of our pretenses of being a bunch of late night party animals. Everyone headed for their Airstream to watch a movie, read a book or just relax after such an exhausting day and get ready for a well deserved rest.
Other rally highlights included initiation rights, homemade salsa, and fish. The Wheelers passed the final SNU initiation rights. They added a pink flamingo to their décor. A pretty little plaque painted by Doris. They also got their first Nevada pin striping from a pine tree that wouldn't fold up enough branches to allow easy access to their parking spot. The salsa was a contribution from the Root Family. Jeni and Brian Root, kids, Erika, Sidney, and Nicholas all chip in on the families canning business making all sorts of goodies. The salsa was a treat and enjoyed by everyone at the rally. I think we will have to stock up for next year. Another Sidney, Jerry's granddaughter caught her first fish at this rally. Jerry helped her prepare it and roasted it on the fire. Nothing like a little fresh trout to finish off a perfect evening. The October rally proved yet again that flexibility is a hallmark of the SNU. In addition we have added even more great stories to the lore of the Unit. All in all a great way to end the rally season for 2008.
A beautiful fall weekend at Obsidian Dome. Although it was a little cool and windy, we had a great rally. Nine rigs showed up including some special guests. SNU members at Obsidian included Jerry and Dyann Thornburg, Rick LaBorde, Don and Gail Williams, Anita Leipper, Gene and Carmen Baleme, Wheels and Doris Wheeler, Bryan and Diane Leipper, and Roman Kreminski and Melissa Wong. We were delighted to be joined by Joe and Teressa Ten Berge from the Monterey Bay California Unit. Teressa is the current secretary for Region 12 and also chair of the WBCCI membership committee. We enjoyed hearing about the Monterey Bay Unit and how they do things and sharing SNU ideas with Teressa and Joe. Roman and Melissa get the prize for longest distance traveled for this rally although part of it was by plane. They arrived home from Hawaii just a few days before the rally. At the last minute they realized this was the weekend of a rally. They scrambled around, got everything in the Airstream and hit the road after 11pm to arrive at Obsidian on Saturday. We were happy to see them. On Saturday Ed and Paula Poll and grandson Lucas came by for a visit. Their Airstream is in the process of being totally refurbished. One of these days we look forward to seeing them at an SNU rally with their Airstream. In the meantime we were glad they could come for a visit and join us for our pot luck dinner on Saturday. In an email after the rally Paula said that Lucas had told his Mom that he had a great time at the rally. We are glad he did and hope he too will come with his grandparents to another SNU rally. Other than eating and inspirational naps, some of the more energetic people took hikes to the nearby meadow and up to the summit of a nearby mountain. Others visited nearby attractions such as Mammoth, June Lakes and the Devil's Postpile. We also did a little Airstream maintenance. Don had his pressure meter so he could test various gas lines. All in all another great SNU rally. Everyone is eager to return in 2009.
Eight rigs showed up for the SNU rally at the North end of Eagle Lake. We also had some special guests come for a visit on Saturday. Don and Gail Williams came the furthest. They traveled 530 miles in one day from their home in Riverside, CA. Other rally participants were new SNU members Doris and Richard (Wheels) Wheeler, Jerry and Dyann Thornburg, Wes and RoyLaine Warn, Mark and Cary Seasholtz, Gene Baleme, Anita Leipper and Bryan, and Diane Leipper. Our special guests were Spencer Thomas, a long time SNU member who lives in nearby Adin and Don and Mary Lou Damoth who came all the way up from Reno to spend the afternoon with us. We haven't seen either Spencer or Don and Mary Lou in a long time so it was great to be able to spend some time with them and catch up on all the news. Other highlights of the rally included new lawn art, testing a dutch oven, dinner at a restaurant, oohing and aahing over the SNU poster and welcoming another 4 legged member.
Jerry and Dyann got the prize this time for lawn art. They found some new solar lighted glass ornaments – a dragonfly, a butterfly, and a hummingbird. At night each glows a different color. Really beautiful. Now it will be up to Randy and Vicki to see if they can come up with something to top the Thornburg's solar lights. Don and Gail got a small dutch oven on their recent travels and also a cookbook to go with it. Don decided on a unique chili recipe. We were the willing guinea pigs. This recipe called for sweetened condensed milk and cream of asparagus soup among more traditional ingredients. If an almost empty pot is any indicator, this recipe was a success. An unusual combination of flavors but really good.
Following up on a suggestion by Dyann at the recent WBCCI International rally, Don and Gail created a poster for the SNU to submit in the Unit poster contest. It is is amazing what they came up with on the spur of the moment, especially since there were certain colors and content elements that had to be included. Don had a great picture of last years Obsidian Dome rally and one of the Twin Lakes rally. They had these pictures enlarged at the local Wal-Mart and included them as well as a picture of their own rig on the way to Bozeman. They apparently got a lot of comments on the pictures.
Anita Leipper, who arrived at the Eagle Lake rally site on Tuesday, discovered a nearby restaurant that served beef from a local Susanville market that has been around for several decades. We all decided that dinner out would be a great idea. So Saturday we carpooled over to the Mariner's Resort Restaurant. We had dinner on the patio with views through nearby houses of Eagle Lake. Good dinner, wonderful ambiance, and a great way to relax and enjoy the evening.
The new 4 legged member of the SNU seemed to really enjoy his first rally. He – Hugo – is a pug who has joined Wes and Roy's family. Hugo makes the third dog for Wes and Roy. They have now caught up with Jerry and Dyann who also have three dogs. Wes and Roy have also joined the ranks of SNU members flying flags. Wes created a very nice flag holder for flag poles he bought at Harbor Freight, the same ones Jerry and Bryan had purchased earlier.
Speaking of the recent WBCCI International Rally in Bozeman, The SNU had five members in attendance, a new record. What's really special is that each member contributed to the rally in one form or another. Marge and Dale Grosch volunteered for various committees, Robert Sobsey carried the SNU flag in the opening ceremony, Von Gallion played in various musical groups, Don and Gail Williams created the Unit poster, Dyann Thornburg put together the SNU newsletters for entry in the Unit newsletter contest, and Jerry Thornburg carried out one of the most important tasks of a Unit President. He met with various officials and officers including the incoming WBCCI President, the Chairman of Airstream, and the Region 12 officers, promoting the efforts of the SNU and creating stronger communication links between the SNU and key people throughout the organization.
Back to the rally – we had our usual long list of tiring activities – morning coffee, walking dogs, watching tortoises, shared meals at lunch and dinner and most critical, inspirational naps. Friday, just before dark, Diane, Gail, and Anita spotted a bald eagle which soared almost right over their heads. Jerry and Dyann shared their adventures of their recent annual trip to Jarbidge. Gail showed off some of her souvenirs from their recent travels. This BLM campground is on a hillside so we got a little more exercise than usual walking up and down to various trailers. The weather was just about perfect although Saturday it did get a little warm in the middle of the day. This campground is an under utilized gem. We had the entire place to ourselves except for one or two overnighters. All in all another great rally. The consensus is that Eagle Lake is definitely a place to keep on the SNU rally site list.
What a great place, especially for viewing sunsets and moon risings. Wow! We were glad to welcome Larry and Oonagh Cameron, their 10 yr old son, Forest and 5 yr old daughter Brook. They have a 1970 Trade Wind. Larry and Forest have done a lot of work restoring and fixing the inside. A lot of little maintenance projects got done at this rally. The float on the Jeppson's generator got fixed and their winch got tied down. The Thornburg's satellite TV system got straightened out and functioning. The Leipper's fold out step got fixed so that it works for the first time in years. The Cameron's got a lesson on the use of sway bars and also a short course on awing purchasing, installation, and maintenance. This was also a great rally to test out generators. During the heat of the day we all retreated to our Airstreams and used generators to run the air conditioners so we could stay cool. The mornings and evenings were fantastic. Most of the rally we spent catching up on Jerry and Dyann's stories of their trip to Bozeman and visiting relatives in Montana and South Dakota. Jerry almost brought home a new pet, a huge Hereford bull. It wouldn't fit in the Airstream though (it weighed near two tons) so they left it on the ranch. We also heard about Janet Jeppson's recent trip to Germany and Austria with a choral group. Between concerts and performances, they also participated in a local parade in one town. Sweetwater was near where they were searching for Steve Fossett who disappeared in his plane last fall. We had search planes fly over us several times over the weekend. We had pot luck dinners Friday and Saturday. Saturday we were on alert though as a nice thunderstorm started to build up and we weren't sure if we'd have to make a dash for cover or not. Some nice thunder and some lightning but we ended up with only a few sprinkles as the storm passed to the south of us. The storm made for a most amazing sunset. Clouds with the sun for back lighting, shadows on the mountains, really spectacular. Sunday morning we got an unexpected treat. We had seen some horse trailers come into the area the night before. As we were enjoying our morning coffee here comes a horse and cart up the road. Two women going for a morning outing with their Belgian draft horse named Alex. He was a huge but very friendly horse and he had a very deep and loud whinny. His owner has had him since he was six years old, he is now 19, and he has participated in several parades and shows. Alex will be at a Bodie Ghost Town celebration later this summer. Looks like we picked the perfect time for this rally. We just barely got out in time on Sunday because the weather service issued a flash flood warning for Sweetwater Summit on Monday evening. I think we all look forward to a return visit to Sweetwater in 2009.
A level rally site. Fairly uniformed parking. Walking distance to downtown. Dinner at a restaurant. Flags flying. Was this really an SNU rally?? You bet! And a very successful rally at that. There were some elements though that are more standard for an SNU rally – the parking area was dirt and it was dry camping – so we didn't quite feel like we had ended up in the wrong group somehow. David and Linda in the gift shop, the Railroad volunteers, and the rest of the museum people made us feel very welcome. We could explore the museum and the trains to our hearts content. They even made the shower and bathroom facilities used by volunteers available for us. We all had a turn and driving one of the engines and several us took multiple rides in the cabooses and other cars. We also got another opportunity to check out the 42ft Airstream and began developing some ideas as to what it will take to get it restored. Jerry pulled the old mattresses out of it and took them to the dump. Probably one of the first things we will do is get some roof vents on it and cover up the window openings. We had lots of visitors to help us enjoy this special weekend. Several members of Gene and Carmen's family and several members of Jerry and Dyann's family visited us during the weekend. Both families included lots of kids who really enjoyed rides in the caboose and driving the train engines. We were also delighted to be joined by guests, Jim and Kathleen Hawkins from Sacramento in their Airstream motorhome – the good one that looks like an Airstream. Other rally participants included Wes and Roylaine, Diane, Bryan, and Anita, Gary and Anita, and Clint and Kathy. This was our first opportunity to fly the new SNU Unit flags. Everyone agreed that they turned out really nice. Bryan and Jerry had created brackets to attach to the front of their Airstreams. Each flies three flags. The flags looked great flying in the breeze.
At our Friday night potluck Gary Haskett treated us to a roast he cooked in his COBB cooker that uses only six briquettes. It was delicious! I think none of us would have objections to a repeat performance with that cooker. Other rally activities included visits to Gary and Anita's friend's shop in Portola, walks around the old downtown section of Portola, and the usual morning coffee and conversation gatherings. For those of us who prefer a slower pace, we could sit in the shade and watch Diane's tortoises checking out the weeds in our parking area. Saturday night we had dinner at the nearby Log Cabin restaurant. Sunday, under smoky skies we all headed for home from another great rally.
Snow one month, record heat the next! One thing about the Great Basin area and SNU rallies, you never know what to expect weather wise. Unionville was just high enough and with trees and a breeze we stayed pretty comfortable. Nights were cool enough that a campfire was enjoyable. We had a great attendance at this rally – 11 Airstreams! Participants included Dyann and Jerry, Wes, and Roy, Dave G., Bryan, Diane, Anita, Randy and Vicki, Roger and Jan, Robert and Yvonne, Kathy and Clint, Melissa and Roman and Gene and Carmen. We haven't seen Clint and Kathy since last year, It was great to catch up on all their travels and everything else they have been doing this past year. Other commitments have kept Randy and Vicki and Roger and Jan from attending earlier rallies so it was great that they were able to come to Unionville. The week before the rally the Old Pioneer called and canceled plans for our anticipated brunch. Dyann got busy and worked out an alternative. She asked Randy to make his famous waffles. Jerry and Dyann provided sausage and Melissa brought her blender for fruit smoothies. It may not have been brunch at the Old Pioneer but I think we all were in agreement that the SNU brunch was a big success. In addition, a new tradition was born – fruit smoothies. Melissa had brought a variety of frozen fruits so everyone could just about have whatever they preferred. They really hit the spot with the waffles. Later in the afternoon Melissa got the blender going again and fruit smoothies were just what was needed on a warm afternoon. Roman even delivered smoothies right to people's door for those who weren't out sitting in the shade of the trees. Jerry got out his propane grill and cooked sausage and bacon for the brunch. I think that grill is going to get a lot more use at future rallies. Roy might have also started something new. She had some flowers she hadn't gotten planted in the yard yet so she brought them with her along with decorative pots. She placed these outside her Airstream and stuck in the solar lights. This created a really nice garden entry area in front of their trailer.
To back track, Unionville's notoriously uneven ground provided the usual exercise in leveling. SNU is obviously getting more experienced at leveling as it seemed to take less time to set up than previous years and everyone comes better prepared with blocks, chocks, and other items needed to get the bubbles in the center. Leveling still provides a lot of entertainment for those who arrive first. We can sit in the shade and watch the other arrivals try to find a spot then watch their creativity at work leveling their trailer. While Randy was busy getting his trailer adjusted Roger and Jan arrived. They took one turn in the parking area, backed out, came in the upper gate and with no effort at all parked in a spot that was level side to side. All they had to do was jack up the hitch. This time Jerry gets the prize. The rear of his Airstream ended up on stilts. It looked a lot like a house you see in flood prone areas. Pretty amazing.
All in all it was a nice relaxing weekend. Various participants hiked all over the hills. Gene and Carmen took off exploring on their ATV. Most of us chose just to sit and visit and watch the peacocks and hummingbirds. Tim had put hummingbird feeders in the apple trees and the birds had no problem feeding with us sitting close by. Saturday evening a father and his three boys set up camp in the park. The SNU campfire provided them with a ready made fire for hot dogs and marshmallows. Sunday we had our usual coffee, goodies, and conversation before loading up and heading home. Unionville, once again proved to be one of our favorite rally sites.
Once again, eight Airstreams at Ft Sage. Also, once again we got to indulge in a favorite SNU activity – inaugurating new Airstreams and new Airstreamers. This time it was Robert Sobsey and Yvonne De Marco and Norman Wong. For all of them it was their first rally. Robert and Yvonne in their new 16ft DWR, (their first Airstream). Norman in his new to him 1994 BVan. Robert and Yvonne and Norman are also the newest members of the SNU. Welcome to you all. I think this time, we might have overdone the initiation to Airstreaming and SNU rallies a little though. Sunny nice mornings with windy afternoons is OK but a snow storm on Saturday night and a drop in temps might be a little much. Despite this, they all seemed to enjoy the rally and we are sure we will see them again soon.
Other Rally participants included Melissa and Roman and Melissa's niece Daniella. That meant we had three generations of Melissa's family – Daniella, her father Norman, and Melissa. Melissa got to practice her towing capabilities. Norman's BVan arrived on Thursday morning and all they had time for was a preliminary check and throwing in some basic supplies before heading to Ft Sage. They didn't have time to get the wiring and other things checked out so that they could tow the Airstreram with the BVan. This meant that Melissa drove their truck pulling the Airstream and Roman drove the BVan with Norman.
Jerry and Dyann Thornburg, Wes and RoyLaine Warn, Dave Gmur, and Bryan and Diane Leipper made up the rest of the roster for the rally. We were delighted that Don and MaryLou Damoth were able to come up for the afternoon on Friday. We haven't seen them since December and it was nice to catch up. Larry Clark from Mt Family RV brought a Safari Sport to the rally for us to investigate. He also brought some donuts for our morning coffee. Thanks Larry! The weather, in particular the wind, caused us to cancel plans for meals outside. As usual, SNU members are good at adapting and last minute change of plans. Nobody starved. Saturday the weather started getting really threatening. We had what Jerry described as a “Go Around” dinner. In other words everyone took their contribution for what was supposed to be a pot luck around to everyones Airstream. Not long after the last dish was delivered to each Airstream it started to snow. Really wet heavy snow. So we all hunkered down and watched out the windows. Sunday morning though was clear, sunny and beautiful with a fresh coat of snow on everything. We built a campfire and enjoyed our usual morning coffee and conversation before heading home.
Friday night we got our only non SNU campers at Ft Sage. A big toy hauler came in around midnight and managed to shine lights in almost everyones trailer. Then as soon as they got parked they started up their generator and kept it going 24/7. It gave us all an opportunity to reflect on how much we appreciate camping with SNU members who are more respectful of each other and understand general camping courtesy.
Saturday, Bryan and Jerry headed over to Portola to check on the 42ft Airstream. For the most part the tarps we put on last fall were still in place. Several more windows had been broken out. Jerry and Bryan talked with the people at the museum and it looks like everything is still on target for the SNU to spearhead restoration of that Airstream and also for us to hold our June rally at the museum.
Mother nature was the primary entertainment at this rally. A full moon made for some spectacular evenings. Everyone had a great time regardless of the fact that we spent a little more time in our Airstreams rather than outside. I think we all are looking forward to Unionville and hopefully improved weather so we can spend more time outside and get back to pot luck meals.
If the March SNU rally is any indication we are off to a great start for 2008! We had a total of eight Airstreams including two first timers. The first timers were Mike and Cindy Gower with their 1977 Caravanner and Scott and Cindy Roller with son Carson and their 2008 Safari Special Edition. The Gower's haven't had their Airstream very long and they are planning several projects to spruce it up a little. It will be interesting to follow their progress. The Roller's just purchased their Airstream and this was their second night in it. Three year old Carson seems to totally approve of Airstream camping. After a good nights rest, he enjoyed watching the sun come up through the skylight and windows of the trailer. In addition to the first timers other rally participants included Wes and Roylaine Warn, Jerry and Dyann Thornburg, Bryan and Diane Leipper, Dave Gmur, Roman Kreminski and Melissa Wong, and Dave Strode who came all the way from Mendocino and surprised us. Rachel Strode had prior plans so she wasn't able to come. We also welcomed guests Gene and Carmen Balme. According to Melissa she had been suffering from ASA (Airstream Separation Anxiety). This was caused by the fact that neither of their Airstreams were parked in their yard due to snow and also that she hadn't been to a rally since last October. I think this rally ensured she is well on the way to recovery as are any other SNU members suffering from ASA. This was the first trip since Wes and Roy built a dog palace on the back of their truck. It is insulated, has a great window in the back, a view out the front of the truck and a nice comfy cushion to lounge on. Lilly and Sam are pretty lucky pooches. Jerry, Dave S. and Roman spend most of the weekend fishing. It seems the fish and the rocks were part of a conspiracy with Crosby's store as both Roman and Dave had to make several trips for more lures. Everyone caught some pretty nice sized fish, a few of which were kept but most went back into the lake. Two people, who shall remain nameless (but have a dog named Indy) celebrated birthday's at this rally. We all wish them Happy Birthday. Thanks to various members for bringing enough wood to keep a fire going all weekend. It was very much appreciated as the weather was a little windy and cold. The fire also made some great coals for marshmallows, hot dogs, and for Jerry to experiment with his new toy. He recently bought a battery operated rotisserie. He set it up by the fire and put a beef roast on the spit. After a few hours we all got to sample some delicious roast. As usual the primary activities at this rally (other than fishing) were keeping the campfire going, eating, sharing stories and information, and checking out each others Airstreams all interspersed with some inspirational naps. For a buffet table, we used Jerry's truck for an SNU version of tailgating. The food as always was diverse and delicious. Dave Strode brought some soup which really hit the spot with the weather we had. A great time was had by all and I know we are all looking forward to our April rally at Ft Sage. We look forward to seeing the Gower's, and Roller's again soon as well as other SNU members who weren't able to make it to Pyramid. Check Melissa's blog for her stories of the Pyramid Lake rally.
February continued our international trend – Mexican food at El Charro Avita in Carson City. It was a great lunch. Good food and excellent service. Another place to add to the SNU list of favorites. Thanks Randy and Vicki for finding this place for the SNU. Other SNU members who enjoyed this lunch were Roger and Jan, Dyann and Jerry, Bryan, Diane, and Dave. Were were also glad to have Larry Clark from MFRV and Mike Gower who saw Randy's PSA for the lunch in the Carson Appeal. Mike has a 1977 25ft Airstream Caravanner. He and his wife Cindy have taken a couple of short trips with it and discovered the assets of towing and Airstream. We hope they both will make it to the Rally at Pyramid Lake. Larry filled us in a little on some of the new models and features Airstream is planning. We hope he can also make it to Pyramid and show us a new Airstream trailer. All in all another great SNU gathering.
The SNU started off 2008 with an excellent German lunch at Bavarian World in Reno. Once again the weather cooperated and we had a good turn out. Participants included the Roger and Jan Jeppson, Jerry and Dyann Thornburg, Randy and Vicki Grossmann, Gary and Anita Haskett, Scott and Icyl Mulligan, Bryan Leipper, Diane Leipper and Dave Gmur. We were also delighted to have so and so, friends of the Haskett's join us for lunch. As much as we enjoy the lunches I think we will all be glad to get back to the rallies. Lunch just barely gives you time to say hi. Rallies on the other hand give you plenty of time to swap stories, catch up on adventures and just sit and relax and enjoy each other's company. In the meantime our February will continue our international trend – Mexican food in Carson City. Hope to see everyone there.
What a finale to 2007! The holiday luncheon at the Damoth's was full of special treats. First, we want to thank Don and MaryLou for hosting our lunch at their home. Second, we must have all had our fingers crossed the right direction as the weather cooperated. It was a beautiful sunny day. Perfect for enjoying the Damoth's sun room. We were delighted to see Jack and Lindi Schroeder. Although they have been members since +++ this is the first event they have been able to attend. We hope the Schroeder's can work around their busy schedules and come to more activities in the future. We were also glad to see Don and Gail Williams. They must have had something to do with the weather as it provided the perfect window for them to travel to Reno from Riverside.CA without having to drive through ice and snow. Special guests were Ann and Fred Hersey. It has been a few years since we have seen them and it was great to catch up and to introduce them to all the members who have joined the SNU recently. Other guests at the lunch included Brian and Jeni Root and their son Nick. Their girls, Erika and Sydney were involved with the school ski program. Also in attendance were Randy and Vicki Grossmann, Roger and Jan Jeppson, Scott and Icyl Mulligan, Donna and Tom Faker, Bryan and Diane Leipper, Anita Haskett, Dyann Thornburg and our fearless leader, Jerry Thornburg. We missed Gary Haskett as he was out of town taking care of his son who had broken his leg while playing with his kids.
With the attendance of the Hersey's, this was the first time that three and a half past president's of the SNU have been in the same place at the same time. Jerry only counts as half as he has another year to serve before he officially becomes a past president. These president's, Fred (02 & 03), Diane (04 & 05), Don (06), and Jerry (07), are the leaders that have brought the SNU through a period of major transition. It is their belief in the SNU that has kept the unit going and helped set the stage for the success it has become.
Another thing to thank the Damoth's for were the special Christmas sand dollars. They had collected a bonanza of sand dollars on a trip to Florida. They attached green and red ribbons to each dollar so that they could be hung on a tree and wrote Merry Christmas on the front and the year on the back. Each of us took a few as a remembrance of this luncheon. The Damoth's had decorated their Christmas tree with sand dollars and it looked really spectacular.
Needless to say, the food as usual was abundant, varied, and very tasty. We all had a great time enjoying the food, sharing stories, and just relaxing with great company. The only thing that resembled business was that Don and Randy discussed the Death Valley rally planned for November 2008 and decided on the location. They also brainstormed some ideas as to plans and activities.
We missed those of you who were unable to come to the lunch and hope that we will see you all in 2008.
We had a great luncheon on December 3, at JT's in Gardnerville. The Hersey's, Jaggard's, Thornburg's, Grossmann's, Fell's, Leipper's and Gmur were there. JT's was beautifully decorated for the holidays and the food was great as usual. We had a good time visiting as well as eating. After lunch a few of us went over to the Jaggard's to see the 1947 teardrop trailer Rich had purchased recently. It was in pretty good shape for it's age.
We had a great time, as usual. New members Brian and Linda McKeand were there as well as Dyann and Jerry, Rich, Bryan, Dave, Virginia, Diane, and Janet and Roger. Discussion focused on Airstream stories and travel plans, current and future as well as other topics. The place wasn't conducive to much of a business meeting but we handed out a flyer with all the info members needed to make sure they were up to date. The topics on the flyer are also discussed in this newsletter. They include the Region 12 proposed amendment to the WBCCI constitution, a request for input on the SNU newsletter, and topics posted on the SNU discussion group forum. We need you input on these various issues so please provide your ideas on the topics included with this newsletter. The SNU treasurer also provided an update on the SNU financial status. As of November 17, 2006 we have $1,564.37 in the bank. Since July 1, 2006 we have collected $260.00 in dues (SNU dues only). There were no expenses in the months of October and November other than dues to WBCCI. An annual financial report for budgeting purposes will be submitted by the end of January 2007
Our site unseen choice for the October rally turned out great. It was across the road from Buckland Station on the old ranch property owned by the State of Nevada and part of Ft. Churchill State Park. We were parked near a new picnic area developed in an old apple orchard. It was right near the Carson River. By Friday we had five Airstreams parked under the trees. We also had some guests. Susan, a guest of Kimber's, Diane and Bryan's cousin, Karen from San Diego, and also their friend Gene from Reno. Roger and Jan Jeppson came out for a visit on Friday. Tim, who had to work this weekend did manage to get out for a visit on Saturday night. Our newest members, the Curtis's didn't waste any time putting many of the suggestions and ideas they got at the Lahonton Rally into effect. Since last month they have installed solar panels, gotten an outdoor rug, got a shell on their truck, and most important, they got their obligatory pink flamingo. They found a really neat one in Walker after a camping trip in the Bridgeport area. The weather for the rally was fantastic. Warm sunny days and cool nights. The rangers brought some barrels for us to use for a campfire and we cleaned up a lot of weeds and brush in the area to use as fuel. A highlight of this rally was a tour of Buckland Station historic site. This building is undergoing extensive renovation. At this time only the first floor is close to being finished. Once the entire structure is refurbished and furnishings installed it will be open to the public. Other rally activities included our usual pot lucks, catching up on The Thornburgs and the Curtis's remodeling projects, sharing information and ideas, and of course just relaxing around the campfire. A good time was had by all and I think the general opinion is that we should keep this site on our list of potential rally sites in the future.
Fantastic weather, warm and sunny. Not only was it a great weekend for Airstreamers, it was great for other campers and boaters. That raised the noise level considerably on Saturday. It was also a great weekend for a shakedown campout in a brand new 30ft Classic Airstream. Gary and Donetta Curtis just purchased their Airstream five days before the rally. We were delighted to meet them at the rally and of course we gave them an earful of ideas and suggestions. We also had several visitors on Saturday. Jerry and Dyann who couldn't come to the rally because they were in the middle of several home remodeling projects, spent a few hours with us. Mike and Phyllis Peyerl from Fallon also came by for a visit. Wes and Roylaine's neighbors who have an Airstream for sale stopped by and Dean from Yerrington brought his 1960 Globetrotter out. He too, is trying to sell his Airstream. In addition to our usual pot lucks, inspirational naps, walks, and gab sessions, the SNU introduced it's next effort to keep members minds active and bodies agile – yoyos. We all had a great time recalling childhood memories and testing our skills. Maybe by the end of 2007 we will have an SNU yoyo champion???
Perfect weather, great people and great food made for another great SNU rally. The group area at Hat Creek has changed since the early 1990's and is not quite as conducive to RV parking as it used to be but it is still a neat site right near the creek. We were delighted to have Claudia and Don East from Yreka with their 1963 Bambi join us for the rally. This rally ended up being an SNU version of a vintage rally as all the Airstreams were 25yrs old or older. Brian Jaggard caught quite a few nice trout. He also treated us to a campfire violin serenade after our pot luck on Saturday. Thank you Brian. We had a lot of fun with our ice cream social. Instead of mid afternoon we had ice cream for dessert. Umm Good! Don brought out his “pink” flamingo's to add to the ambiance of the event. I think his flamingo's are the reigning number one. First of all, instead of pink, his were Airstream aluminum in color. AND they had a nest made out of silver material. AND there were eggs in the nest. Little aluminum colored “airstream” eggs complete with wheels and hitch. We didn't really have a business meeting at this rally and no decisions were made. We did hand out the draft of the 2007 rally schedule and discussed various other items.
Thanks to Rick Laborde we had a great rally in July at Obsidian Dome. At a little over 9,000 ft elevation we got a reprieve from the heat. A few rain showers also helped cool things down. Rick's excellent directions and pictures made finding the campsite easy. He had also put up some SNU signs which provided additional assurance we were going the right direction, especially when the road began to narrow. After some discussion we decided that the road to the campsite rated a 4 on the SNU scale but it was well worth the drive and we all definitely agree that this site will be added to our favorite rally sites. We had a nice flat area to park right on the edge of a cinder cone and right in front of an Obsidian dome with glass creek just across the road. The weather was a mixture of showers and sunshine which made the gazebos a valuable asset. On Saturday Rick took us for a drive to the Sagehen area to check out another possible rally site. We also went up to the top of Sagehen Peak for some fantastic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys and Mono Lake. Just for fun, our pot lucks on Friday and Saturday were “formal” affairs. In other words we had white (paper) table cloths, with a candelabra and a beautiful flower arrangement made by Vicki Grossmann. We also served champagne/sparkling cider in crystal (plastic) wine glasses. Rick has supplied the site with a nice wood pile so we were able to enjoy some great campfires in the evenings. All in all, another successful rally.
Another great SNU rally. This time at Walker River Resort near Smith NV. The campground was in a grove of cottonwoods on a bluff overlooking the Walker River. The season hasn't begun yet so the hot tubs and swimming pool weren't open but we didn't miss them too much as we had a lot of visiting, brainstorming, and discussing to do. Of course we also had our informal pot lucks, a few inspirational naps and other strenuous activities to keep us busy. Rich and Brian Jaggard came by for a visit on Friday. They had spent the morning fishing in the Walker River. Other guests were Roger and Jan Jeppson and B Martin and John Yokela. Come to find out Roger is a native Nevadan whose family used to own the ranch where the Walker River Resort is located. When Roger and Jerry who is also a native Nevadan, got going on old time Nevada gossip it sure brought to mind small town big country society. It was like having our own living history discussion
The Sierra Nevada Unit rally at Washoe Lake State Park was a good exercise in getting the rig ready and making sure everything works. Friday, arrival day, had winds that tested rig stability on the road so you could check your sway control. Saturday started with rain pelting the rig and providing the wake up call. Wind gusts rocked the rig. Across the lake out the window at times was a rainbow. The mid day BBQ was a time to bundle up and gather around the coals. Snow flakes were visibile at times. Sunshine at other times. Wind nearly all the time. Get outside and get invigorated by the weather and then get back inside to a nice, warm, and dry RV. The system passed along Saturday night as forecast so Sunday morning was cold, clear, and crisp. It warmed up quickly. The beaver was out on a commute down the creek to the lake. The red-tail hawk family nesting in the tree on site was out and about as well. The geese and ducks on the lake were making lots of noise. What a day. Too bad we had to pack up and head home.
Despite the weather we had a great time. We were delighted to have Von Gallion and his friend Yvonne DeRoule join us. The Thornburg's had run into them the previous weekend and invited them to the rally. Von has been an active Airstreamer and WBCCI member for a long time and a member of the SNU since 1980. Von has attended several WBCCI international rallies and represented the SNU carrying the Unit flag in the opening ceremony. He and Yvonne are both saxophone players and play in the bands at the international rallies. It was great to visit with both Von and Yvonne and we hope to see both of them again soon. Other rally participants were the Warn's, Thornburg's and Leipper's. Saturday the Grossmann's, Rich Jaggard, and Dave Gmur came out to visit. They joined us for lunch which included hamburgers provided by Wes Warn and BBQ'd by Rich during intermittent snow showers. Because of the wind everyone adjourned to their trailers to eat their lunch. We spent the afternoon visiting each other in various trailers. At dinner time we had what Bryan defined as a Round Robin Pot Luck. In other words you went around to various trailers and picked up the different components of your dinner. Then you could go back to your own trailer to eat or share your meal with others. Bryan made the rounds after dinner with dessert and coffee. We were also delighted to see Bill and Jan Heaton who stopped by for a visit on Sunday morning. They are now retired and hopefully we will see them often at future SNU rallies.
The weather, once again prevented Region Vice President Don Clark form visiting with us but it looks like staying home was a good idea as he and his wife welcomed a new grand baby on Friday. Congratulations. Off and on during the weekend we discussed various topics including the proposed WBCCI name change, the SNU relationship with Mt Family RV, and upcoming rallies. Please take a moment to read the enclosed information on the WBCCI proposed name change and cast your vote. You can also go on-line and vote. Your opinion matters. The SNU wants to ensure that it's delegates are speaking for every member of the Unit. All things considered we had a great time and everyone is looking forward to our April rally at Walker River. Check out the pictures of the March rally
Amazingly enough the SNU was at a rally and a luncheon at the same time. How can that be? Check out the pictures of the SNU's 30th Anniversary Luncheon held February 18th at Silver Oak. When members and guests arrived they were greeted with the site of the SNU at a rally at Silver Oak. This rally was a miniature created by Vicki and Randy Grossmann. The scale and detail were extraordinary. They took a string of Airstream lights, paired them to vehicles that very closely matched the actual tow vehicles of our members and “parked” them in a pine forest reminiscent to Twin Lakes. The campground even included a campfire, birds in the trees, and deer. This campground was close to a lake, which just happened to be the decoration on the anniversary cake. Parked by the lake was another Airstream and someone catching a fish for dinner. Was that Jerry, or maybe Rich??
The Grossmann's have offered to be the keepers of the campground for at least the next 6 months. We plan to bring it to as many of our rallies as possible so everyone will have a chance to see it. Other possibilities are displaying it at Mt Family RV's open house in June and the WBCCI international rally at the end of June. This diorama is an incredible work of art. Don't miss an opportunity to see it at a rally or other event this year.
Mother Nature tried to remind us who was in charge the day of our Anniversary luncheon by providing some snowy blustery weather. Although that understandably prevented most of our guests from over the hill from attending, we did have a great turnout. The luncheon was well worth the effort to get there! Randy and Vicki Grossmann chose a great facility. Silver Oak had a nice big room for us, great food, and very helpful staff. The Grossmann's also arranged for our Anniversary cake. The cake, decorated with an Airstream camped by a lake was a great way to say happy anniversary to the SNU. Dave Putnam and his mother Ferne were our guests. Dave, former Membership Chair for Region 12 was very helpful in referring potential new members to the SNU and assisting us in other ways. This gathering was
A great start to 2006 for the SNU! We had 20 people including 4 guests at our lunch at Bavarian World on Saturday the 21st. The guests were Raffi and Susan Simon and Steve and Liz Wilson. Raffi and Susan are WBCCI members at large and live in Reno. Steve and Liz Wilson live in Stateline and are in the process of searching for just the right Airstream to purchase. We hope both the Simon's and the Wilson's will become frequent participants at SNU events. Everyone had a great time socializing and catching up on all the news. Vicki Grossman brought some really cute pictures of their pups all dressed up for the Holidays. Fred Hersey brought his album of Airstream photos so the Leipper's can scan them and add them to the on-line collection. Also, although we didn't sing, we want to wish Randy and Dyann Thornburg Happy Birthday. Their birthday was the day after our luncheon. During the business part of the lunch we discussed several topics including the proposed WBCCI name change, SNU membership update, upcoming SNU events, the treasurer's report, and the Monetary guidelines of the SNU. We voted on several items including electing Kimber Moore to be an SNU delegate at the WBCCI meeting in June 2006, a change in the bylaws to include electronic voting, and the potential for the SNU to offer the option to members to pay dues and an annual rally fee on line. To see the meeting agenda go to: http://sierranevadaairstreams.org/snu/pubdocs/index.html. We would like to hear from those of you who were not able to attend the meeting. You can print out the opinion form, fill it in and email, fax or mail it to the SNU. Fax number - 775 972 5011. Mail: PO Box 60572, Reno NV 89506.
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