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Enjoyment of the whispering winds, the zephyrs, the airstreams of the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin areas of the United States in a recreational vehicle.

Sierra Nevada Unit

Eagle Lake BLM North Campground

Rally Reviews - total member (rigs) attendance in parentheses. Does not include guests and visitors

September 2005 – Rally at Eagle Lake (4)

Diane Leipper

What a neat site! The BLM campground on the North end of Eagle Lake has about 20 individual sites, great views of the lake, and lots of trees. We were delighted to welcome Spencer Thomas, SNU member from Adin, CA. Although he caught a flu bug and had to go home early we were glad we had the opportunity to meet him and hope to see him again soon. The weather was a little gray on Friday with a few sprinkles. The majority of the weekend was sunny, reasonably warm and only some light breezes - perfect weather for a rally! We had a great potluck lunch and potluck dinner on Saturday. Sitting around the campfire on Saturday gave us all a chance to enjoy a beautiful evening and discuss a wide range of topics, including of course, Airstreams. We confirmed the rally schedule for 2006 and also have most of the officers for the 2006 SNU board in place. All in all a great weekend.

2005 Eagle Lake participants

Last	First	First	mbr/guest	Unit	Year	Month	type
Grossmann	Randy	Vicki	mbr	SNU	2005	09	rally
Leipper2	Bryan	Diane	mbr	SNU	2005	09	rally
Leipper6	Virginia		mbr	SNU	2005	09	rally
Thomas	Spencer		mbr	SNU	2005	09	rally
Thornburg	Jerry	Dyann	mbr	SNU	2005	09	rally

August 2008 – Eagle Lake Rally (8)

Diane Leipper

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.

2008 Eagle Lake participants

Last	First	First	mbr/guest	contact	Unit	Year	Month	type	Notes
Baleme	Eugene		guest	Leipper	SNU	2008	08	rally
Damoth	Don	MaryLou	mbr		SNU	2008	08	visit	came up for lunch
Leipper2	Bryan	Diane	mbr		SNU	2008	08	rally
Leipper5	Anita		mbr		SNU	2008	08	rally
Seasholtz	Mark	Cary	mbr		SNU	2008	08	rally
Thomas	Spencer		mbr		SNU	2008	08	visit
Thornburg	Jerry	Dyann	mbr		SNU	2008	08	rally
Warn	Wes	RoyLaine	mbr		SNU	2008	08	rally
Wheeler	Richard H.	Doris	mbr		SNU	2008	08	rally	1st rally, new Airstream
Williams	Don	Gail	mbr		SNU	2008	08	rally

May 2017 – Rally at Eagle Lake (5)

Diane Leipper

What a weekend!! Perfect weather, great location, great food, and of course, great people. Russell had arrived early and made friends with the camp host so the rest of us had a warm welcome. Friday we had our sandwich and salad dinner. Randy had gotten a variety of meats and cheeses and Diane brought a variety of breads. Others contributed a variety of salads. A special treat after dinner was a guitar concert by Russell. He played and sang all the favorites. Check the website for a sample of his singing as well as photo galleries of the rally. It was a great way to end the day. Saturday was our special Mexican Fiesta. Eric and Terry outdid themselves. Eric BBQ’d skirt steak for tacos and Terry made her special fresh guacamole and salsa. Put that together with beans and other condiments in a crisply fried flour tortilla and you have something pretty extraordinary. Add to that, fruit salad, chips and dip, and Mexican cookies and it was a feast to remember. Needless to say, we all stuffed ourselves. We even had a pinata to decorate the table. That hasn’t been used since a May rally in 2005. We had several visitors at this rally. Gary & Anita’s friends Milo and Arlene joined us for dinner on Saturday. Russell’s friends Ted & Cynthia stopped by overnight on Friday on their way North. Russell’s son Derek, his wife Kristen and their kids Travis, Audrey & Reagan also came up on Friday and joined us for dinners. Phil and his wife Wendy, the camp hosts also joined us for dinners. This campground is not used much which suits us just fine. Phil said we were the largest group up there in a couple of years. He enjoyed morning coffee and conversations with us and now is trying to figure out how to turn his motorhome into an Airstream. This rally was the first time Gary tried out his new alternative fuel tank for his generator. There are a few glitches still to be worked out but the basic concept was a success. Eric is having a hard time with s’mores. We have the campfire, Eric has the ingredients but for one reason of another, it just doesn’t all come together. I guess we might have to make s’mores a highlight of one of our upcoming rallies. Saturday after dinner, Randy gave a short presentation on plans for the SNU rally at Lassen RV resort in September. This is definitely a rally you don’t want to miss. In addition to a fantastic campfire concert, we want to thank Russell for helping to promote the Unit. This includes posting photos and comments about the rally on the Region 12 facebook page. Russell has always been a big supporter of the SNU and his desire to help promote us is greatly appreciated. We can all follow his example and promote the SNU in various ways. In addition, as a member of the Washington Unit, Russell invited any of us to come to one of their rallies. As a big unit, they can put on some interesting rallies and some pretty fantastic feasts. I think the sign that Terry got at a craft fair is a good way to wrap up this rally. It says “Welcome to our firepit – where friends and marshmallows get toasted at the same time.”

2017 Eagle Lake participants

Last	First	First	mbr/guest	contact	Unit	Year	Month	type	Notes
Decker	Russell		guest/mbr		WA Unit, SNU affiliate	2017	05	rally
Grossmann	Randy	Vicki	mbr		SNU	2017	05	rally
Haskett	Gary	Anita	mbr		SNU	2017	05	rally
Larson	Eric	Terry	mbr		SNU	2017	05	rally
Leipper2	Bryan	Diane	mbr		SNU	2017	05	rally
	Derek	Kristen	guest	Decker		2017	05	rally	came on Friday with kids Travis, Audrey, and Reagan
	Milo	Arlene	guest	Haskett		2017	05	visit	Rally dinner guests
	Phil	Wendy	guest	Camp hosts Eagle Lake		2017	05	visit	Rally dinner guests
	Ted	Cynthia	guest	Decker		2017	05	visit	Stayed overnight on Friday

June 2018 – Rally at Eagle Lake North BLM Campground

Don Williams, SNU President

Eagle Lake Rally: Gail and I can say we had a great time in June; first outing with our repaired Airstream. A few quirks to have C&G fix but it performed well for our 2200 mile holiday. Our first stop was not at our previous turn around point past Fort Independence (thank God)! Instead we drove north in clear blue skies 350 miles to the Willow Springs Motel and RV Park just outside of Bridgeport, CA. A short 1⁄4 mile walk found us at the Virginia Creek Settlement Restaurant for a great meal. Friday’s leisurely 230 miles drive found us arriving at Eagle Lake in early afternoon. Handshakes, hugs and greetings with SNU members followed by introductions to Bruce, our newest canine family member, led to a happy hour and pot luck meal with the everyone at Rally Central, Jerry and Dyann’s Airstream MoHo. On a whim, guest Joe Smedley #2999 from Florida, drove 3000 miles to attend our SNU rally.

There is a rumor that he was looking for courtesy parking on his way to the International in Salem but I like my story better. Saturday started with moderate temps and blue skies but clouded up for a predicted 6 PM rain shower. It never materialized but sprinkled that evening with some small showers thru the night. We had 6 rigs present and the BLM campground almost all to ourselves. There were lots of unused level sites near us and some of the ridge top sites (requires a short walk to Rally Central) offer great views of Eagle Lake. I would have tried to catch our meal for Saturday if we had arrived earlier!

On Sunday Gail and I went our separate way following a road less traveled, Joe might have followed us but his desire for a large RV park with laundry dictated a different route. We headed northeasterly up CA-139 to Adin, CA-299, then on to Alturas and US-395 into Oregon. Clouds, light to steady rain and temps ranging from 47 to 57 made it an ideal day to travel. Did I mention the dry lakes, there weren’t any! This is the first time we have traveled past Honey Lake, Goose Lake and Lake Albert when they were filled with water! We broke away from 395 at Lake Albert and headed northwesterly for Salem. A brief stop for respite at the Summer Lake Rest Area treated us to a short slushy hail-storm (it didn’t even make noise on the Airstream). We stayed the night a few miles further at Ana Reservoir RV Park with full hookups and a laundry (you should have followed us Joe). 211 miles for the day.

Monday found us arriving at the WBCCI International Rally in Salem a day early but we pulled strings. In reality, Gail being a committee chairperson (Flea Market) and I responsible for setting up the WBCCI Amateur Radio Station but no committee chair privilege, we were parked that day instead of waiting overnight in the Bull Pen. 250 miles this day.

Diane Leipper

We had a guest all the way from Florida at the SNU June Rally at Eagle Lake. Joe Smedley #2999 was on his way to the WBCCI rally in Salem. He called Bryan about courtesy parking and Bryan told him we were heading to Eagle lake and that he was welcome to join us. Joe showed up on Thursday afternoon. SNU members that showed up on Thursday were Bryan & Diane, Jerry & Dyann and Gary. Don and Gail arrived on Friday. When we arrived on Thurs there was no camp host. He showed up on Friday. This is his first camp hosting job. Apparently a ranger had approached him when he was camping at Rocky Point. Lawrence will be the host at the North Eagle Lake campground for the next four months. We filled him in on the campground and invited him to join us for dinners and coffee.

As usual for an SNU rally, food and a morning campfire were highlights of the rally. We had KFC on Thursday and shared meals with lots of great food on Friday and Saturday. Gail had brought a bunch of homegrown oranges right off their tree. What a treat. They were sweet and juicy.

Don got the award for advanced SNU leveling at this rally. The parking spot he chose required quite a few blocks to get his rig leveled. Most of our time was spent relaxing or visiting with Joe and Lawrence. The weather cooperated and we only had to contend with a few bugs. Joe, Don and Gail will be heading to Salem after the rally. Safe travels for them and for the rest of us heading home on Sunday.

2018 Eagle Lake participants

Last	First	First	mbr/guest	contact	Unit	Year	Month	type	Notes
Haskett	Gary		mbr		SNU	2018	06	rally
Leipper2	Bryan	Diane	mbr		SNU	2018	06	rally
Smedley	Jim		guest/mbr		Florida	2018	06	rally	called Leippers for courtesy parking invited him to come to Eagle Lake
Thornburg	Jerry	Dyann	mbr		SNU	2018	06	rally
Williams	Don	Gail	mbr		SNU	2018	06	rally
	Lawrence		guest	camp host Eagle Lake		2018	06	visit	dinner and coffee guest

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