Sierra Nevada Airstreams -|- Memories -|- Sierra Nevada Unit

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

Mesquite in Death Valley

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

November 2008 – Rally at Death Valley (2)

Short version printed in the December 2008 newsletter Don Williams

Wheels and Willy made it to Death Valley and we had a surprise guest; a surprise to him too! Jim Dodd, Jimmini on the AIR Forums, Four Corners Unit member and Squarestream owner, was camped at Mesquite Spring Campground when Gail and I arrived Tuesday night. Zorro and I walked over in the morning and greeted Jim who we met at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, was there expecting to have a quiet leisurely week. We invited Jim to our Rally which brought the total attendance to 3 trailers, 5 people. We had great weather the entire time, some wind but nothing that interrupted our activities. I have lots of pictures, some of Jim's Squarestream which is in nice condition and several stories

Long version printed in the January 2009 newsletter- Gail and Don (Motoman) Williams

The Sierra Nevada Unit closed out its 2008 season with a special November rally in Death Valley. Gail and I, the most southern members in the Sierra Nevada Unit, hosted this unique rally with some concern; would our unit members travel almost 300 miles to visit some of the most beautiful desert in California?

Gail, Zorro and I left Riverside in early afternoon and stopped in Baker, California at the historic Mad Greek Restaurant for a late lunch; 5 PM! Our hunger appeased, we drove north on CA-127 and then west on CA-178 across Jubilee Pass into the south end of the valley. The south end of the valley is usually a great drive but the darkness and the 25+ miles of construction and graveled roadway made it an early evening nightmare. The one highlight was the valley floor, which seemed to glow like snow in the dim light before the moonrise. We reached Mesquite Spring Campground at 9 PM, picked a pull through site and settled in for the night.

Dawn brought the sun and an obligatory walk with Zorro and what did we see, a Squarestream! It turns out that the first to arrive on Monday and unknowingly for our rally, was Jim Dodds or jimmini on the AIR Forums. Wait a minute, Jim is a Four Corners Unit member and what’s he doing here? Jim was off for a couple of weeks by himself relaxing at different campgrounds through out Arizona and Southern California. Little did he know he would be swept up into and be the focal point of the Sierra Nevada Unit rally at Death Valley.

Gail and I spent Wednesday visiting with Jim, setting up my amateur radio station for a California statewide emergency exercise on Thursday and checking out the campground. Mesquite Spring Campground is located about two miles south of the northern entrance into Death Valley near Scotty’s Castle. The campground has 30 campsites and sits next to Death Valley Wash with a large sloping plateau flanking Tin Mountain to the west. That night we sat around Jim’s small propane fire pit and shared Airstream stories. On Thursday I had a brief breakfast and then turned on my amateur radio and checked in with operators that work in Riverside County Office of Emergency Services’ Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service or RACES. RACES operators are sworn volunteer amateur radio operators that provide emergency communications throughout the county at no cost to the taxpayers. Conditions were very good in the early morning allowing very clear communications with operators in the Coachella Valley area near Palm Springs and in the western county area near the city of Riverside. While this was a statewide exercise, each county and/or municipality developed its own scenario around the theme of a major earthquake on the San Andreas Fault. I monitored stations in LA County, Mariposa, California, Reno, NV and Las Vegas, NV checking in with various agencies to offer help if they needed assistance.

I took a break from the radio and we took a break from the rally tradition and held our first potluck as a luncheon so we could cook Gail’s spicy chili and Jim’s hot links with solar power and our 12-volt lunch-box cooker. After lunch I returned to monitoring the exercise however conditions for communications deteriorated in the early afternoon so I shut down my station around 2 PM. While I wasn’t able to participate in the same capacity as being at the emergency operations center, listening remotely gave me a different perspective of the communications activity for the exercise, what we do well, what we need to improve and were it not for our commitment to host the Rally in Death Valley, I would have been back in Riverside helping with the exercise instead of sitting in a beautiful setting next to our Airstream. Hard choice huh?

Our third rally guests, Wheels and Doris Wheeler, arrived in mid afternoon, as Gail and I were getting ready to take the underground tour of the basements and tunnels at Scotty’s Castle. Wheels and Doris had setup their camp by the time we returned so we congregated at Jim’s trailer around his fire pit for the evening. Friday Wheels and Doris toured Scotty’s Castle and wore themselves out taking both the standard tour through the home and grounds and then the underground tour. In retrospect they might now recommend a taking the two on different days unless you like a lot of walking and standing for almost four hours! While the Wheelers enjoyed Scotty’s Castle I took a hike to a low peak and on the long sloping plateau to the west of the campground. I missed finding the ancient rock petroglyphs but did find more recent rock art in the form of geometric shapes, Cairns, a peace sign and even a caricature of a woman. We all closed out the day with a potluck dinner and campfire at Jim’s Squarestream.

Saturday found Wheels and Doris touring the Furnace Creek and lower Death Valley, Jim relaxing at his Squarestream while Gail and I repeated a portion of my Friday hike. the main valley Gail and I hiked on the plateau. That evening we changed the routine; shared potluck dinner followed by Doris serenading us around the campfire with her beautiful country voice and guitar. We even attracted the attention of another amateur musician in the campground who brought over his banjo and joined in our sing along. All good things must end; Sunday found each of us following our own lead, Jimmini packed up and headed down to Furnace Creek to camp there for a few days, Gail and I packed up for our trip home to Riverside, leaving Wheels and Doris to spend another night at Mesquite Spring Campground before they headed off to camping at Edwards Air Force Base.

Ask any of the three and they will tell you that Death Valley was a great end of the season rally. Lets see if the Sierra Nevada Unit can make it a greater success in 2009.

P.S. The Wheelers traveled about 300 miles one way to the rally, Gail and I 330 miles and nobody knows how many Jim traveled but it exceeded 500 over a several day period.

2008 Mesquite Participants

Last	First	First	Mbr/guest	Unit	Year	Month	type
Dodd	Jim		guest/mbr	4CU	2008	11	rally
Wheeler	Richard H.	Doris	mbr	SNU	2008	11	rally
Williams	Don	Gail	mbr	SNU	2008	11	rally

November 2009 – Death Valley Rally (5)

Anita Leipper

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.

2009 Mesquite Participants

Last	First	First	Mbr/guest	Unit	Year	Month	type
Barber	Gordon	Susan	guest/mbr	SNU	2009	11	rally
Faker	Tom	Donna	mbr	SNU	2009	11	rally
Grossmann	Randy	Vicki	mbr	SNU	2009	11	rally
Leipper5	Anita		mbr	SNU	2009	11	rally
Peak	Vaughn		mbr	SNU	2009	11	rally

November 2010 - Death Valley Rally

Diane Leipper

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.

2010 Mesquite Participants

Last	First	First	Mbr/guest	Unit	Year	Month	type
Barber	Gordon	Susan	guest/mbr	SNU	2010	11	rally
Buescher	Paul	Patricia	guest/mbr	Oregon Unit	2010	11	rally
Grossmann	Randy	Vicki	mbr	SNU	2010	11	rally
Leipper2	Bryan	Diane	mbr	SNU	2010	11	rally
Muff	Jim	Barbara	mbr	SNU	2010	11	rally
Wheeler	Richard H.	Doris	mbr	SNU	2010	11	rally
Williams	Don	Gail	mbr	SNU	2010	11	rally

November 2013 Rally At Mesquite (2)

Don Williams

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.

2013 Mesquite Participants

Last	First	First	Mbr/guest	Unit	Year	Month	type
Grossmann	Randy	Vicki	mbr	SNU	2013	11	rally
Williams	Don	Gail	mbr	SNU	2013	11	rally

Sierra Nevada Airstreams home page-|- Destinations -|- Memories-|- Owner's Guide -|- WBCCI Sierra Nevada Unit home page-|- Community-|- Zephyrs weblog for the RV enthusiast-|- Commerce-|- Whispers weblog of touchy subjects-|- Our tip jar- support this website

note: all photographs on this site are for personal, private, and non-commercial use only. All other copyrights are retained by the individual photographers. See our policy. Disclaimer: any advice or suggestion presented is provided for informational purposes only and is correct and accurate only to the best of our knowledge at the time it was written. Anyone using such information does so at their own risk. Errors or omissions may exist and additional sources of information or appropriately licensed or qualified personnel should be consulted in deciding a course of action. We assume no liability or obligation by providing this information and warn any users of this information that they do so at their own risk. All links or references to commercial vendors or other sources of information and equipment do not intend or imply or convey any endorsement of that source or the product. They are provided strictly for informational purposes to illustrate the topic at hand. Sierra Nevada Airstreams Enjoyment of the whispering winds, the zephyrs, the airstreams of the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin areas of the United States is a personal, nonprofit, noncommercial web site intended for educational and recreational use only. This site is supported by volunteer effort and contributions. Donations accepted thanks to the Amazon.com