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Woodland ‘Tulip Festival’ 2009

Tulip Festival Rally
Woodland, WA
April 17 – 20, 2009

Hosted by Ken & Helen Anderson

While many were enjoying the tours and local points of interest in the Woodland area, at least four of the guys participated in the Rally Sewer Swill –- three drank coffee supervising the fourth while he attempted to clear obstructed sensors in the tanks.

April, the time of taxes, TREKs, and trips to the rally in Woodland; what a time we had! From the moment that we checked in until the last of us departed on Tuesday, Mother Nature gave us Washington weather to die for. Fresh-baked Pizza greeted everyone that first night and the conviviality generated initially kept us going for the entire rally. The views of the Columbia River and her vessel traffic from the clubhouse deck were unsurpassed. Twenty-two rigs showed up for the rally (We were worried that we wouldn’t have ten and use of the clubhouse.) and several members commuted between home and the RV Park. Happy Hour usually preceded our evening meals and everyone enjoyed sharing favorite hors’d’oevres.

Saturday morning found a group making cards and sharing views on everything from pets to grandchildren. Woodland offered a wide variety of choices in activities from the Ape Caves of Mt. St. Helens to observing the birds and critters in the Wildlife Refuge. The tulips were blooming, and several enjoyed visiting the Hulda Krueger Lilac Gardens. The premier tour was to the Grist Mill that was restored to operating condition and even produced specially ground grain flour as souvenirs for those who went. While many were enjoying the tours and local points of interest in the Woodland area, at least four of the guys participated in the Rally Sewer Swill – three drank coffee supervising the fourth while he attempted to clear obstructed sensors in the tanks.

As always, tinkering with a very well-designed coach never stopped and many of us came away from the House Walk About with lots of new ideas. Some ideas involved after-market upgrades ($), but many that were both practical and inexpensive.

We escaped the confines of the RV Park for a really tasty Mexican dinner at Casa Tapatia in Woodland on Saturday night. Carpooling brought many of us closer together and cemented new friendships.

No rally is complete without a Business Meeting and ours was very efficient, informative, and thought-provoking and we learned about national level policies and upcoming events for the club. LJ, from Dave and LJ’s RV Interiors, gave us an informative presentation about remodeling our rigs. We closed out that meeting with some SAFARI memorabilia door prizes. We fired up the big grill on the clubhouse deck making Sunday and Monday evenings both fun and entertaining, personally, I found a new BBQ tool that will be hard to do without. I think that the most important thing that we observed as Wagonmasters for the Rally was that everybody contributed to its success; setup, cleanup, meal preparation, entertainment, transportation, EVERYTHING! And don’t forget Mother Nature’s sunshine.

Fun, Food, and Games at the Columbia Riverfront RV Park in Woodland Wa.