2005 Rally Thanks....................

[D and M On The Road]

Our ride home from Lake Siskiyou was spent talking about the rally and the people we met. We had such a great time and the people who attended the rally were the nicest group of people we’ve ever come across….. Bob Pasternak who turned Mike Brown (Gofnuts) into an expert Montana “backer-upper”.... Which by the way.... Does anyone know how many MOC members it takes to backup a Montana?.... DougHenry (Doug & Sharon) who showed us the family jewels of their “male” Montana.... Gofnuts (Mike & Renee Brown) Mike did great standup comedy drawing names at the end of the potluck for the gift giveaway.... ToolManRoy (Roy & Nancy) with their very macho kitchen faucet that might really be Roy’s beer kegarator in disguise..... RLWhit ( Dick & Toni) who we sat next to at the potluck dinner and made us laugh so hard.... BarbLarry who showed up Saturday evening after the potluck and claimed their late arrival on Larry’s “blondness”.... Searchers (Don & Claudia) for supplying firewood and having campfires at the end of each evening for those who wanted to bring chairs and socialize.... it was just a great time from start to finish for us.

As we were just about ready to leave today for the trip home, there was a group of MOC members who were staying on for at least one more day and they were planning dinner & margaritas at a local Mexican restaurant. Searchers (Don) went off to make a reservation for 16, and then they were going to meet afterwards at BarbLarry’s Montana for a dessert of Drunken Strawberry Shortcake. It took all of our will power not to call in sick at work and stay another day with this fabulous group of people.

Thanks to everyone, it was probably the best camping trip we’ve had. Let’s do another Western Regional Rally next year, how does the Southern Coast of Oregon sound?

[vickster]

Sounds like a great time was had by all. Soooooo, just what is "drunken strawberry shortcake"? Sounds yummy.

[FireTruckerWife]

My favorite place would be the Southern Oregon Coast for next year. Our A/c would be fixed by then The coast is where we were headed after the Rally, so now we'll probably go in the fall.

I'm so glad you all had such a good time. I've been watching the thread all weekend, and we are sooooooo sorry we had to miss it.

[DHenry]

Margee and Don did a wonderful job putting this rally together. Sharon and I had a wonderful time this last week thanks to them. The people that we met will become our friends forever and we certainly are anxious to get together with all of you again. My "Big Guy Montana" is also looking forward to seeing some of the younger Montanas again. Thanks again guys and hope to see all of you again soon.

[Gypsy]

Sorry you couldn't join us for dinner, Margee and Doug. We ended up with 23 people, and at least double that many Margaritas. Only one tee-totaler in the group, but the rest of us made up for her. When it came time to pay the bill, the waiter presented it to Dave Anderson, whose shocked reaction (total over $460!) was caught by a photo snapped at the perfect time by Mary Kay Hill. HamRad will be posting it.

The rally was such fun - definitely the best I've been to, for getting to know everyone and having so many laughs.

As for doing this again next year, some of us talked about coming back to the same place. What does everyone think about that? Don (Searcher) and I checked with the office and found out only 3 spaces in the same area are already reserved for Memorial Day weekend next year. (Someone already reserved the space Doug & Margee had.) If we want to come here again, on the same holiday weekend, everyone will need to make their reservations in the same manner. That is, put down a deposit of one night $25 plus $3.50 reservation fee. Spaces will assigned to keep us in the same area next to each other as much as possible, but it's first come, first served. So the earlier we reserve, the better.

It seems to me, IMHO, that it's a great campground and a great location and we wouldn't need to spend time and effort looking for another place. What do y'all think?

Sharon

[rlwhit]

We just got home about an hour ago. That is a long drive even staying overnight at Salem. YES !!!! Thanks everyone for the great vist. We will be in touch with several of you all about things. If I start naming names than I will forget someone. Good news is I found the right compo for the chip and other changes. Got 14.5 mpg on the way home. More than happy.

If we go back to Shasta that is Ok. I would vote though for southern Ore. coast. Just a new view.

Take care all

Dick and Toni

[Searchers]

I would like to thank all of you for attending the Lake Siskiyou campout, helping to make this event a success, and for all the great potluck dishes. A special thanks to Dave & Kelly for showing us the previously unknown storage area for adult beverages; Roy & Nancy for letting me bounce ideas off of them; Doug & Margee for doing the brochures, collecting goodie bag items and setting me straight on the correct pronunciation of Margee's name; Bob & Jeanne for making the long trip and providing backing instructions; Gary & Jennifer for assistance in replacing the 1/4" bolt on the million dollar Montana; Ed & Sue for sharing photos of the improvements on their unit even though they didn't haul it up; Sharon for setting up the show & tell as well as providing Gary & I with the opportunity to to try our hand at RV repair; Dennis & Mary Kay for the great job with the photos and encouragement; Tim & Lydia for the Sunsweet goodie bag items; Mike & Renee for the tropical scenery, turkey jerky, and backing entertainment; Dick & Toni for setting up the golf activities; Barb & Larry for the drunken strawberry shortcake; Mike & Amy for bringing their Lab, Parfait, so I can see what a well behaved Lab looks like; Doug & Sharon for bringing "Big Guy" which may have provided stud service for my rig parked next door while we were all out touring the area. We're not quite sure what the gestation period is for Montanas, but we're keeping a close eye out for a possible new "unit".

We enjoyed meeting you all and look forward to getting together again soon. MOC members are a great group!

Don & Claudia

[GOFNUTS]

We too, want to thank Doug and Margee, Don and Claudia, and Roy and Nancy for all their time and great ideas for this outing. It really was terrific, in fact, we will soon be making reservations for next year. Margee, Michael wants to thank you for being such a straight fun woman for his comedy act, he couldn't have done it without you, you were great!!! (By the way, he found another D and M on the Road card in his pocket from the drawing when we started the laundry.) We want to thank Sharon (GypsySCM) for organizing the show and tell. What a great learning experience for those of us new to the 5th wheel world!!! Don, thank you for the smokey smell to our clothes every night!! You and Claudia live in beautiful country!! Michael, also wants to thank, especially Bob, and the others who helped him back into the awkward spot we had with the trees. Michael said we would probably still be trying to back in!!! Ouch!!! Thanks Dick for getting the golf hackers together, what a great golf course. The ending diner was terrifice, oh those margaritas!!! We're looking forward to getting together again next year. Hopefully more will attend, you really missed out if you didn't attend this year, it was terrific!!!

[mike johnson]

Not having been to an RV rally before this one, we have nothing to compare with. But they all can't be as good as this one was. We only know that we have met some of the nicest people in the world and can't wait to hook up with our new friends next year. Our warmest thanks to the organizers. What a fine job they did! The potluck was outstanding. The nightly fires were so comfortable and fun just sitting around talking. The Show and Tell was inspiring. The golf was good too. Sorry we missed the margaritas and dinner. We really liked seeing the variety of Montys and the Show and Tell.