OR 090 : Sisters, OR Rally

[jordandvm]

Our first Rally, Sisters Quilt Show,
We arrived a day after the start of the Rally, since I had to work, but we got to see how these things work on our first (near) boondocking adventure (we had water hookup) . Wow, what can I say, except it was an awesome setting amongst a small group (11 other) of Airstreamers. There were folks from Florida, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Washington, and of course Oregon. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be at a regional or international Airstream Rally. We learned so much from everyone there. They took us under their wings and gave us so many tips. Most of the attendees were "Escapees" or "Fulltimers" (we're considered "weekenders"), and were eager to show us how they live on the road. We learned tips on conserving battery power, water, LP gas, and just how to have more fun!

While the women attended a quilting seminar, the men got together to discuss the fine art of packing wheel bearings, checking air pressures in tires, and check lists to hitch and unhitch the trailer. I learned that running my heater and fan at night runs down the battery, so need to pack a heavier blanket for cool nights. I got up at 4:30 am the first night (temps in the low 30's) to see why we didn't have heat, started up the generator thinking we were low on battery power (which we were), which didn't help (and got the ire of someone in the group). Turns out that the LP tank needed to be turned over the the other tank for more heat. I did get to use my generator to run the Airconditioner during some hot afternoons....it worked flawlessly!

We had a variety of AS sizes, from a 19' Bambi to a 34' Classic. Although we're not into vintage AS restoration, there was a '62 Overlander there that was being refurbished.

And talk about hobnobbing with the WBCCI, we had a past president and first lady present, really nice folk! Central Oregon was beautiful as usual, and our hosts were most gracious in organizing activities to keep us all busy. We visited an Elk ranch (formerly Llamas), Cheryl visited all the quilt stores in the area, and I was able to paint the "Three Sisters" from the Patterson Ranch. During the stay in Sisters, Cheryl brought her sewing machine to see if she could work on some of her quilting projects in the Airstream on the desk provided in the 22' CCD.....and it worked great! She also brought along some work from OSU, and was able to work comfortably on the dinette with our laptop computer. We wanted to see if these were feasible in the trailer, and by golly, they worked fine!
On the way home, we took a different route, driving down the McKenzie river. Stopped at Belnap Hot Springs campground to see if they had any vacancies, and we lucked out in getting a camp spot for two nights.....really a neat place! So we had our longest outing to date, 6 nights, and we are finally learning how to use everything. We hope to have one more long outing before we head back to Kansas in October for a month long trek to see family.

[67caravel]

Nice write up and great pics. Thanks Birthday Boy!

[jordandvm]

Originally Posted by Xray

Nice write up and great pics. Thanks Birthday Boy!

Thought I might try writing Airstream Soaps in retirement!

BTW...Forgot to mention two reeeeeeeeeeeally good tips I picked up at the rally (real lifesavers).
1. Wax your toilet bowl so that solids slide down easier with less water (great for boondocking)!
2. Put waxed paper over your hitch ball instead of greasing it.....keeps things cleaner & still provides lubrication.

Now you gotta love going to Rallies! Right!

Jim

[alan]

While it sounds like you had a good time at the Sisters rally, I find there is zero attraction for me to spend my vacation time this way.

I would enjoy meeting other Airstream owners and sharing experiences during the evenings. During the day, I prefer hiking and mountain biking (by the way, I will be 54 in a few months, so I'm not that young).

Please understand, I mean no criticism of what works for you. It's just that the activities described here and for other rallies hold no interest for me (so far). I guess that's why I continue to seek out quiet Nat'l Forest locations that appeal to my interests.

It would be great to see some portion of the Airstream community express similar interests.

[Stefrobrts]

JordanDVM, Good write-up, sounds like you got a lot more out of it than we did last year. We were only able to show up for the weekend, and bailed out early because it was so dog-gone hot. We spent the quilt-show day in Bend exploring the farmers market and then hiking up at Smith Rock. Don't ask why we went to a quilt show rally even though neither of us is even slightly interested in quilting! Luckily, there's still a lot to do around there.

I'm jealous though, we've never gotten that much advice about using our rig! I might have to go wax the toilet now

[53flyingcloud]

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

I'm jealous though, we've never gotten that much advice about using our rig! I might have to go wax the toilet now

ROFLMAO...
You just made my day`
ciao
53FC

[Barbara Peerenboom]

jordandvm-

Sounds like you had a very successful trip; you got to hang with the aluminitus crowd and learn more about your hobby and your wife got to hang with the quilters and learn new quilting tecniques- AND on top of that you got to travel and camp in some of the most beautiful county in the US!
WHAT MORE COULD ANYONE ASK FOR?

Congrats!
Barb

[jordandvm]

Originally Posted by alan

It's just that the activities described here and for other rallies hold no interest for me (so far). I guess that's why I continue to seek out quiet Nat'l Forest locations that appeal to my interests.

It would be great to see some portion of the Airstream community express similar interests.

Alan,
My wife and I have been to this area many times for vacations. The attraction for us was to meet other AS'ers (which we've only talked to on these forums), and to attend the Quilt Show, which my wife only went for three hours, while I painted the Three Sisters mountains. Besides the Elk Ranch tour, the other organized activities we did not attend because we had already done them. The nice thing about these rallies as I see them is that you can do whatever you want to do (no pressure to join the group). One of the participants rode his BMW motorcycle up through Cascade Lakes scenic drive by himself during the quilt show. Another participant went "Birding". Another participant went to look at real estate (and ended up buying a house). So there were a myriad of interests in the group.
I also enjoy camping in quiet National Forest locations, hiking, and mountain biking. And we will continue to seek these venues as well in our outings. It would be neat if rallies could be held at National Forest campgrounds, but I don't think it's possible. The rally afforded a time at the end of the day (around 5 pm) where we all gathered to talk and visit with each other about anything we wanted to (no set agenda). This was the neat part of the rally for us. There were two other newbies at this rally, and they echoed the same satisfaction of their experiences.

Jim

[Stefrobrts]

Along those lines, I will be proposing a series of monthly rallys for our Oregon unit when I see them next month, which will focus on low-key, simple rallys in places like national/state parks or forests. Hopefully by next year we can have something going along those lines for the folks in our group who prefer hiking, paddling, etc to the usual 'in town' rally activities.