2010 RALLY REPORTS

Pre-Rally to National Trek Rally, Rapid City, SD (June 2-5, 2010)

After an impromptu “pre-pre-rally” happening at an RV park near Devil’s Tower National Monument when 6 of our Treks unexpectedly showed up at the same park, we continued on our way to the scheduled pre-rally NWTFC held in Rapid City, SD and very capably hosted by Bob & Peggy Beers. 

Ten coaches attended our National Trek Pre-Rally at the Hart Ranch that started with a potluck getting to know new friends and renew old friendships We enjoyed the “All-You-Can-Eat Cowboy Breakfast” at the Fort Hayes Dances With Wolves movie set, then boarded the coach for an all day, driver-narrated tour. The tour included stops at Mount Rushmore; a winding drive over the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway, traveling over Iron Mountain, through scenic (very narrow!) tunnels and bridges; and a stop at Custer State park, where we saw several buffaloes, a beautiful lake, and fantastic rock formations. (We stopped when it was safe to take pictures.) We stopped for lunch at the State Game Lodge, the Presidential Summer White House of former president Calvin Coolidge. The buffalo soup was great! As we continued through Custer State Park, along the Needles Highway, we passed through scenic tunnels and by overlooks of Sylvan Lake - the spectacular man-made lake located at the bottom of Harney Peak. Needless to say, we took lots of pictures. At Crazy Horse Mountain and Memorial, we stayed for an hour visiting the largest mountain carving in the world and learning about the sculptor, Korzak Ziolkowski, in his home studio museum and his dream that his family is continuing.

We returned to the Fort Hays “Dances with Wolves” film set, with time to look at the set’s buildings before the chuck wagon dinner and western music show. June 4th was a free day to see local Rapid City sites, using a very informative packet provided by the Chamber of Commerce. We met back at the Ranch for dinner and visiting.

After several eventful and well-planned days of fun, food & friendship, we all headed off to Amana, IO, for the 3^rd National Trek Rally, where we met up with 93 of our fellow Trekkers.  Our sponsors did an excellent job of planning a great rally.

Pre-Rally to FMCA, Keeler Ranch (August 5-8, 2010)

NW Trek Fun Club was fortunate to have another "What's Cookin'" pre-rally hosted at the Keeler Ranch at Salem in early August.  Lee & Judy Keeler were able to stuff 15 of our rigs onto their property, where they proceeded to feed us for the next 4 days with fantastic BBQ'd meals prepared by them. 

We had several laid-back days of visiting, comparing our summer travels, and relaxing (all except the Keelers who were busy catering for us!) before caravanning to Redmond for the FMCA convention.  There we all parked more or less together on the close-in grass lots and volunteered at the FMCA store to sell out most of their inventory!  The weather was not as hot as usual, and it was a busy time.  We held impromptu happy hour get-togethers most evenings and continued our visiting, even acquiring some new members.

Tahoe, NV  (September 16-21, 2010)

Zephyr Cove Resort on the southeast shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada saw 10 Treks and an Alpha arrive for a five night  NWTFC rally September 16-21, 2010.  The rally’s intrepid organizers (Lynne and Terry Baker, and co-hosts, Janna Caughron and Wayne Vandergriff), presented us with an itinerary complete with interesting, educational, and diverse activities. 

Thursday, friends gathered for happy hour, made new acquaintances and renewed friendships.  The Zephyr Cove Resort is a clean, well groomed campground with campsites arranged under large Ponderosa and lodgepole pine trees.  We were blessed with fabulous Tahoe fall weather – clear sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s.  Lake Tahoe was as spectacularly beautiful as it always seems to be, and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains delighted the eye with emerging fall colors in the sumac and aspens.

Friday morning we drove around the south shore of Lake Tahoe across Stateline to visit the Taylor Creek trails, stream profile, and the Tallac historic site.  The dogs were all excited to be out on a lovely trail, and Lynne’s Newfoundland dogs (aka ponies) stopped people in their tracks.  A few of us spotted a large pileated woodpecker hunting on downed wood.  Everyone enjoyed viewing the trout and other stream dwellers in the underground stream profile chamber, where a glass wall separated the air breathers from the stream.   Unfortunately the kokanee salmon had not been apprised of our visit, and waited until Saturday to begin their spawning run up Taylor creek. 

After spending some time touring the historic Tallac mansion and support buildings, we hurried home for a quick lunch, and carpooled up to the Thunderbird Lodge on the east shore of Lake Tahoe.  We were treated to an excellent tour by a humorous and seemingly all-knowing guide.  We learned all about George Whittell - he had owned 40,000 acres - essentially the entire east shore of Lake Tahoe.  The tour included a trip through the tunnel from the main house to the boat house and card room “cottage”.  It turned out to be our lucky day after all, as the 73 year old Thunderbird yacht went out for a spin.  Some of our group were trying to figure out how to come up with the $5,000 per hour operating costs, so they could have cocktails at 70 mph too. 

On Saturday we drove an hour east to tour Virginia City.  The tram and train tours were fun and informative about the Silver Rush in the1860s.  Visiting the old historical buildings, saloons and shops completed the visit.  Lynne and Terry had discovered an excellent Basque restaurant in Minden, and the entire group met for a typical huge delicious Basque meal.  The drive home up the Kingsbury grade at sunset was glorious. 

Sunday turned out to be a more leisurely day than planned.  Due to the highway being closed for a race, our plans to hike down to Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay were scuttled.  We took a late morning boat ride on the Tahoe Queen stern wheeler from Zephyr Cove to Emerald Bay.  During the two hour cruise we experienced a few different Lake Tahoe moods, from sunny, warm, and clear, to wind whipped rain, blue water to gray water.   The squall brought chilly temperatures to the campground, yet the rain cleared in time for our special guest, Margaret Breen.  Mrs. Breen talked with us for two hours, explaining what happened  to her and her family during the fateful winter of 1846-1847 at the west end of Donner Lake.  Her tale and presentation were enthralling.  (Thanks to Nevada Humanities for sharing Prof. Doris Dwyer.)

Brazel's RV, Centralia, WA (October 27-31, 2010)

Nineteen TREKs descended on Brazel's RV Park on Wednesday, October 27th to renew friendships at our rally hosted by Penny Braden and Ben Paschall in Centralia, WA. For those of you who aren't familiar with Brazel's, they are probably the premier RV repair and performance shop on the west coast. Al, Chris, Mike, Allan, Kathy and the staff replaced recalled brakes on many of the coaches while others of us took advantage of their expertise and replaced refrigerators, repaired leaks, and installed lotsa improvements on our rigs. We exchanged stories, met new members, and generally enjoyed ourselves at Happy Hours and meals that we shared.

President Penny Braden chaired our business meeting, introducing the new officers of the NWTFC and outlining some plans for the next year while we enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant. The Halloween mask contest closed out our Brazel's-sponsored steak dinner on Friday evening.

We had some really nice weather, but the featured Chariot Races(aka Golf Cart Races) had to be cancelled because of rain on Saturday. Saturday night we shared the culinary talents of every coach with the traditional potluck dinner - Yum!  Following a continental breakfast on Sunday, we hit the road for either more adventures or the return home.