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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

SNU Rallies at Lahontan Beach 7 dispersed area

September 1997 Rally Review

8 SNU - Total Rally Participation

Marge Grosch

Our Lake Lahontan Rally is now history. We have been going to Airstream Rallies since 1975 and none has been as gratifying as this one. As strange as it may seem, due to the makeup of the unit, many have not pulled their trailers to a Sierra Nevada Unit Rally in five years. This in itself was special, however, the real icing on the cake came when two perspective members came and looked us and our trailers over and decided to join WBCCI. We have not been able to touch ground since.

Those two new couples are Micheal and Debbie Smith and Neil and Vesta Teman. The Smiths are young, highly motivated couple enjoying life to its maximum, being involved with antique cars and other exciting activities. Neil and Vesta Temen who are a little older but very young at heart wanting to get out and enjoy the world as we do with our Airstreams. We are delighted to have these two couples as new members and looking forward to officially welcoming them into our unit.

Yet another occurrence that added to the enjoyment of the event and that was the maiden voyage of the Paul’s new/old Bambi trailer. Yes this was the first outing for them in their bundle of joy since its purchase. If our reading of their experience is correct, we will see much more of them and their bundle of joy down the road. Pete Rinne had not pulled his unit for some time, is talking of further travels which is great, by the waym there is more good news – the group had so much fun they want to do it again.

Another good reason for the Rally’s success is and we all know that it does not just happen spontaneously, that someone has put in a heck of a lot of work and that person and persons are the rally hosts Leippers and their son Bryan and daughter Diane. The Burnhams as usual provided much help in seeing to it that we were all well fed. Many thanks to them, simply stated, these rallies don’t succeed without members such as these.

1997 Lahontan dispersed participants (1st SNU rally in 5 years)

September 1998 - Rally Review

3 SNU, 2 guests - Total Rally Participation

Marge Grosch

Our Lake Lahontan Rally is now history. This was again one of the most gratifying ones. It was a different kind of weather, some wind, rain and cool but we enjoyed every moment of it.

Those attending were: Dale, Virginia, Bryan and Diane Leipper, Dale & Marge Grosch, and our Region 12 President David Hunter and First Lady Billie. Also one guest David Guaw (Gmur). Lee Brown came for a visit and Steve and Brank Burnham on Saturday for the meeting and salad luncheon. Margaret and Von Gallion visited us for the Barbecue on Saturday night. We sure missed Vesta and Neal Temen and Virginia and Len Paul. Vesta and Virginia are still on the sick list.

Another good reason for the rally’s success is, and we all know that it does not just happen spontaneously, that someone has put in a heck of a lot of work and this time the persons were all of us. It was very well planned and even in the rain we managed to have our meals under the awning which turned out to be very cozy.

1998 Lahontan dispersed participants

November 2004 Rally Review

5 SNU - Total Rally Participation

Diane Leipper

The November Lahontan Rally was a success despite some rather chilly temps. A nice fire and a hot cup of coffee helped warm us up. We had a great pot luck lunch on Saturday with lots of hot soups and beans. We had a short business meeting that included a discussion of the WBCCI media kit, the 2005 SNU rally schedule and rally fees among other items. The Douglas’s told us of their adventures getting to the Region Rally and gave us an overview of events and activities at the rally.

2004 Lahontan dispersed participants

September 2006 Rally Review

6 SNU, 2 guests - Total Rally Participation

Diane Leipper

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???

2006 Lahontan dispersed participants

April 2007 Rally Review

7 SNU - Total Rally Participation

Jerry Thornburg

Here we go again another month gone by. We had a wonderful rally at Lahonton. I appreciated not having to travel too far this time. The good thing about our rallies is you never know who will show up. From the new members, to the prospective members, to one of the older unit members. (Not talking about your age Von). I welcome our new members, hope to see you at more rallies in the future

Diane Leipper

The SNU April rally at Lahontan was full of surprises and lots of fun. By Saturday night we had six Airstreams, ten people, six dogs, one guinea pig, one parakeet, and one cat. The weather was a mix of sun and warmth, rain, and cold wind. The wind and clouds kept the campers and boaters home so we had a nice quiet peaceful weekend. We were able to have all our lunches and dinners outside as it seemed the wind died down and the weather cleared just so we could enjoy our meals. We even had a great fire Saturday night although it did began to drizzle. We were delighted to meet our members, Don and Gail Williams from Riverside CA. They arrived Thursday afternoon with their dog Zorro. The The Leipper's, Bryan, Diane, and Anita, also arrived by noon on Thursday. Jerry and Dyann Thornburg arrived in time for Happy Hour on Thursday. Von Gallion arrived on Friday. It was great to see him again and help him get reacquainted with the SNU dry camping style rally. He has been to too many rallies in full hookup sites and ran his batteries down. No matter, we charged him up again. Saturday, just about dinner time another Airstream pulled up. It was Roman Kreminski and Melissa Wong and their dog Indy. Thanks to some valiant last minute effort on the part of Lenny at MFRV, they got the rear lights on the 1974 Trade Wind they have just purchased working and made it to the rally. So once again, the SNU helped inaugurate an “new” Airstream. Roman and Melissa spent their first night in their Airstream listening to rain pitty patting on the roof and got verification that their Trade Wind is apparently free of leaks. As Melisa said, the rain was also a great way to wash off the trailer.

On Friday SNU friend Gene Baleme came by for a visit with his fiancée, Carmen. Gene wanted to introduce her to the group and give her an opportunity to see our Airstreams. Saturday, Don and MaryLou Damoth came out, as did Roger Jeppson. B Martin and John Yokela also came out and visited with us most of the afternoon and evening. B brought pictures of their 76 Sovereign. They have made a lot of progress since we saw it a year ago. It is now a really nice looking Airstream. Can't wait to have them join us at a rally.

Saturday, Don, set up his laptop in his trailer and we all climbed in and enjoyed his presentation. His pictures included some of his motorcycle adventures, the 1st CCD they had, the rollover Airstream he recently purchased, and the 18 ft Airstream they are beginning to restore. The focus of the presentation was the installation of solar panels on their current CCD. He also had pictures of other ideas for power generation that after some consideration Don rejected. He just couldn't figure out how to mount a windmill even a miniature, on his CCD. But maybe that is something for the SNU to consider – make one day of our rallies, maybe Friday, an alternative power day. Instead of generators use batteries, solar, wind, or some other imaginative method.

The rally also included the usual efforts to make sure everybody was well fed. We shared lots of Airstream stories and in general, did a lot of catching up. We also spent a lot of time worrying about some baby owls that had apparently got blown out of their nest. The parents kept flying over and providing some food. One finally moved over to a more protected grassy area. Eventually Jerry helped encourage the other one to join his sibling in the grass. Hopefully they will be OK and soon be flying and on their own.

Roman and Melissa were enjoying themselves so much they stayed over Sunday night as did Anita Leipper. That gave them more to to visit, to figure out their Airstream and to just enjoy the scenery.

2007 April Lahontan dispersed participants

September 2007 Rally Review

5 SNU, 1 guest - Total Rally Participation

Jerry Thornburg

Lahontan was fun, we did find some good weather to be able to sit outside and shoot the breeze. Not mother nature’s breeze either, that would come soon enough and sent most people back inside their rigs. We were able to watch one car get stuck and have to be dug out. Luckily it wasn’t one of us. The winds did a lot of digging out for us, as many of the stabilizers were hanging in the air come Saturday morning. Gary’s area looked more like a basin. The wind managed to take a lot of the sand out from under his trailer tires also, looked real weird with the tires hanging in the air.

As brought to our attention earlier, the process of designing an electrical circuit for the charging of batteries is progressing. Kind of hard to get the right sequence of transfer switches going. The preliminary design incorporates Randy’s generators first, so he will have to make all rallies. It would be nice if he brought a bunch of extension cords also. He who doesn’t show up at the rallies is fair game in the ramblins.

I just read a newsletter from another unit and figured out what we were doing wrong. We didn’t sweep and mop the ground before we left. I thought the wind and rain did a pretty good job of it though. But that’s my redneck showing through. I believe everybody might have had to do a little sweeping out of their own rigs when they got home, maybe that will count. Gary had a little leak in the roof, he should have remembered while growing up that was called a shower, and when it puddles on the floor it’s called a bath. I remember when I would wait until it started raining then run out with a bucket of soapy water, wash the truck and let the rain rinse it off. That’s my lazy side. Course I guess you could just stand out in the rain and take your monthly shower also. Ah these days of modern conveniences, those were the good old days. Maybe that’s why we like to do camping in out of the way campgrounds.

Diane Leipper

Due to a last minute change in plans the September rally was held at Lahontan Beach 7. Mother Nature provided quite a smorgasbord for us. Thursday was perfect. We sat in the moonlight till around 8:30 pm enjoying the evening and sharing stories. Friday morning was calm and warm. By noon the wind started up and by evening we were all hunkered down in our Airstreams watching the sand blowing all around us. The wind scoured out the sand around stabilizing jacks and wheels, several of which needed adjusting to return the trailers to level. The rest of the weekend was a mix of a little rain, some thunder and lightning, some wind, some calm periods and some beautiful clouds and sunsets. It was a great example of why the SNU doesn't cancel rallies unless there are road controls in place. There are almost always nice spells when we can get out, have a campfire, share a meal, or just sit and enjoy the out of doors and each other's company. Despite the weather we had a good turnout. Jerry and Dyann Thornburg, Wes and RoyLaine Warn, Gary Haskett, Bryan, Diane, and Anita Leipper, and guests, Gene and Carmen Baleme. Our pot lucks were great as usual although even more hap hazard due to the weather. Flexibility was the key. We were able to enjoy lunch and dinner outside on Saturday and even had a campfire. Rally discussions were wide ranging and imaginative. Jerry has an idea of trailer steps and is planning to draw out a concept. He, Gary, and Bryan discussed a grid system with automatic switching capabilities to hook up and exercise everyone's generators. The idea is to hook up all generators to all rigs to ensure a good load. When one generator runs out of gas the system switches to the next generator and so on till all are well exercised and out of gas. Gary discovered a ceiling leak and is now in the process of figuring out how best to fix that. All in all a great time was had by all. We look forward to testing out a new rally site at Ft Sage near Doyle in October.

2007 September Lahontan dispersed participants

October 2010 Rally Review

5 SNU - Total Rally Participation

Diane Leipper

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 35^th Anniversary of the SNU.

2010 Lahontan dispersed participants

March 2014 Rally Review

5 SNU - Total Rally Participation

Diane Leipper

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.

2014 Lahontan dispersed participants

March 2015 Rally Review

5 SNU - Total Rally Participation

Diane Leipper

The first rally of 2015 was held at Lahontan Beach 7 dispersed area. This was the 9th rally the SNU has held at this location. Five rigs participated. Wheels & Doris, Gary & Anita, Bryan & Diane, and RoyLaine & Jim. On Friday Don & Gail surprised everyone with their arrival at the rally. They have been on the road a lot. This was the first time they have been able to make an SNU rally in almost a year. We spent a good part of the weekend catching up on Don and Gail's adventures, especially in hearing their stories of the Alyska Caravan. We were also happy to have Bob & Cecilia come out for a visit on Friday afternoon. The Park Ranger had been on the lookout for us. He remembered we like to come out about this time of year. He was all prepared when he came by on Friday morning. He had a senior pass for everyone. He entertained us with stories of some of the more interesting adventures he has had here at Lahontan. These stories included Santa Claus and the duck hunters and the discovery of a dead body. There was water in the reservoir. Huge numbers of pelicans were to be seen on the far side on the water and in the air. If you were ready for a laid back, relaxing rally, this one fit the bill. The weather cooperated, especially on Thursday afternoon. The temps were perfect, the sun was out and there was no wind. For the most part the only noise was the grackles, seagulls, and other birds. All in all, a great weekend to visit with friends, relax in the sun, take a good nap, read a book, share some great meals, and indulge in other such strenuous activities. Friday it got a little breezy but it didn't prevent us from celebrating a belated St. Patrick's Day dinner outside with a corned beef and cabbage and chocolate cake for dessert. Saturday morning was calm and sunny. Perfect for a morning campfire. By evening a brisk wind made it more enjoyable to have dinner in Wheel's & Doris's Airstream. It seems everyone's Airstream made it through the winter months with no major issues. A few problems were discovered at the rally, namely a problem with Roy & Jim's frig when it was running on gas and a smell in Don & Gail's water tank but nothing that required emergency repairs or a quick trip to town.

Those of you who attended the SNU rally at Ft Churchill, Scout Camp in 2011 will remember the black dog that was abandoned and left to fend for himself. He wasn't more than a year old, skin and bones, and fearful of people. Gene & Carmen's grandkids managed to befriend him and several of the rally participants provided food for him. Roylaine couldn't stand the thought of leaving him, especially when she heard the nearby coyotes. With the approval of their 3 dogs, Roylaine and Wes, took him home with them. It seems it was a match that was meant to be. Scout, as the dog was named, has grown into a large, healthy, friendly, well behaved dog. It was great to see him again at Lahontan.

2015 Lahontan dispersed participants

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