I spent most of yesterday working on the new issue of the Gypsy Journal, making and receiving telephone calls about our upcoming Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally, and making plans for future rallies.

I had hoped to be almost done with the new issue by now, but I got lazy and didn’t keep on top of things, so now I have to push a little harder to make our deadline. It’s no big deal, we’re not behind schedule, I just have to knuckle down for a few days.

One call I got was from the manager of the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina, Ohio, to discuss the dates for our 2011 Eastern rally. That’s a long time from now, but it takes a lot of planning to get things arranged, and venues large enough to handle our size group book well in advance. We didn’t lock anything in yet, but right now we’re looking at either the third or last week of September.

We don’t want to go back to the same place over and over, but it’s not easy to find a venue that has the facilities that we need and that will work within our budget. We had a commitment with the good folks in Celina for three rallies, and we are looking forward to going back to the friendly little town. It’s a very nice fairgrounds, and they really bend over backwards to accommodate our needs. We have never found anybody we can work with as easily.

I also talked for a bit with Daryl Lawrence from Lawrence RV Accessories, and I already have his commitment to be a vendor at the 2011 Eastern rally. We are pleased that so many of our vendors return again and again. That tells us that we must be doing something right.

Daryl and I lamented the fact that it is very hard for vendors to make long range plans, because some RV clubs and organizations don’t seem to be willing to communicate with each other about rally plans, even after they have the dates and locations locked in. I’ve never been able to figure out that thinking. If everybody knows what everybody else is planning, we can work together, rather than planning events with conflicting schedules that only reduce the numbers of attendees and vendors, who can’t be in two places at once. It’s hard enough for vendors to make a profit in this economy as it is, but having to play silly waiting games to find out where and when some of the rallies are going to be held makes it almost impossible.

I also got a telephone call from my daughter Tiffany, to tell me that she and hubby Jim had stopped to check out some Indian petroglyphs on the banks of a dry wash about halfway between Snowflake and Holbrook, some 35 miles north of Show Low. They came around a bend in the wash and spotted a mountain lion feeding on something up ahead. The cougar quickly ran off, but Tiffany said its paw prints were as big as the palm of Jim’s hand up to the second knuckle. And that young man has big hands! They took their clue from the cat and took their leave too, in the opposite direction. Yes folks, some places remain where the West is still wild!

About 4:30 I escaped from my desk long enough for us to drive to Pinetop with Greg and Jan for dinner at the Chuck Wagon Steakhouse, which was a favorite of mine when we lived here. The restaurant is very rustic looking, with an Old West theme that includes an impressive bar, saddles, mounted big game heads, and a chandelier made from elk antlers.  

Greg and I had rib eye steaks, while Miss Terry and Jan choose the petite sirloins. I was pleased to learn that the food and service were both just as good as I remembered.  Greg, Jan, and Terry were all very happy with their meals also. When the waitress came by to inquire if we wanted dessert, we were all too full to say yes.

Back at the Elks campground, I worked some more on the new issue of the paper and then just before dark we decided that dessert wasn’t such a bad idea after all. So we all piled back in Greg and Jan’s truck and went to Dairy Queen!

Thought For The Day – When you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!

After telling you in yesterday’s blog that I had uploaded the registration page for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally, we had a great response. By yesterday evening we had 25 reservations come in, the greatest majority of them for 50 amp full hookup sites.

I guess a lot of folks are quite happy to pay more for a rally at a campground.  Keeping in mind that we only had 80 of the 50 amp full hookup sites to begin with, available on a first come basis, I wouldn’t want to wait too long to register if I absolutely had to have one. Once they are gone, they’re gone.

To hopefully meet the needs of rally attendees who prefer limited services at a lower price, yesterday I called Bob Patel at Elkhart Campground, and was able to negotiate some basic RV sites with 20 amp electric and water at a discounted rate. For more information, check out on the Rally Registration Page.

At past rallies, we have had Early Bird arrivals, and also a lot of people that just show up at the last minute without pre-registering. That has not been a real problem at fairgrounds, where we have lots of space.  Due to the Escapees RV Club Escapade rally two weeks after our event, a lot of people will be arriving in Elkhart early. I cannot guarantee that we can accommodate last minute arrivals who have not preregistered, because once the campground is full, we won’t have a place to put you.

If you want to arrive early or stay at the campground after the rally, you can call Elkhart Campground at (574) 264-2914  and register for those days. Reservations for the rally dates have to be made through us to get the rally rate.

I spent much of yesterday trying to wade through a big backlog of paperwork that I had allowed to stack up. It’s the least favorite part of my job, so I tend to put it off until I can’t see the top of my desk any longer, and then I force myself to deal with it.

Sometime in mid-afternoon, just about the time when I really needed a break, my daughter Tiffany, her husband Jim, and our two granddaughters came by for a visit. They had not seen our Winnebago motorhome yet, and they all loved it. In fact, Tiffany suggested that with all this extra room, it would be perfect for taking the little ones on a trip. Grandpa quickly nixed that idea. Our motorhome seats six, but only sleeps two!

I know a lot of RVers who love taking their grandkids on trips with them, but I’m just not sure I could handle that at this stage in my life. Those two little ones have more energy than a boxful of kittens! I prefer to visit them at their house, feed them junk food, wrestle with them and get them bouncing off the walls, and then retreat back to my home on wheels and leave their parents to deal with them. Hey Tiffany, it’s payback for those sleepless nights you gave me, sweetie!

Actually, my daughter was never a problem child, and she has grown up to be a fine young woman whom I am very proud of. (I have to say that, or she’ll drop off her kids and keep right on going!)

While I was working, and then snuggling up with those little girls, Bad Nick was busy writing a new Bad Nick Blog titled One Extreme To The Other. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally! 

A lot of readers have been asking me when I will upload the registration page for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally, which will be held August 30 to September 3, at Elkhart Campground, in Elkhart, Indiana. I got the page uploaded yesterday, and you can access it with this Registration Link.

We are trying something that we have never done before with this rally, in holding it at a regular RV park instead of at a fairgrounds, like we have in the past. This is an experiment to answer the many requests of rally attendees for full hookups, instead of the standard 20 amp electric we usually have at fairgrounds. We are offering both 50 and 30 amp full hookups, as well as 50 and 30 water and electric only. We have a limited number of RV sites, so register soon to reserve your site.

Of course, it costs more to offer these amenities, and the price is reflected in the rally registration costs. Registration costs are on a sliding scale, based upon the type of hookups you choose.

I know we can’t please everybody, and I have already had a few people complain that the cost is higher than at previous rallies. I’m sorry folks, but we can’t have it both ways. If you want fairgrounds prices, you get fairgrounds accommodations. If you want RV park accommodations, you have to pay RV park prices.

However, in looking at the cost for other RV rallies, I think you will find that we are charging less than most other events, and offering a lot more than many of them.

The timing and location for this rally are perfect for anybody who will be going to the Escapees RV Club’s  Fall Escapade, which will be in nearby Goshen, Indiana September 12-17. This will be the Escapees’ 50th Escapade rally, and it’s going to be a great event that you won’t want to miss. Elkhart Campground owners Bob and Gita Patel welcome our Gypsy Gathering attendees to stay over after our rally while they wait to go into Escapade.

Elkhart Campground is our summer base, and we have been going there for so many years that it feels like home to us. We have watched Bob and Gita’s two sons grow up over the years, and they treat us like family. The campground has a swimming pool, WiFi internet access, rec room, and clean showers and restrooms.

Elkhart and the surrounding area have a lot to see and do, including touring such great places as the RV Hall of Fame Museum, the Midwest Museum of American Art, the Ruthmere Museum, the National New York Central Railroad Museum, the Studebaker National Museum, Hostetler’s Hudson Automobile Museum, Amish Acres Historic Farm and Heritage Resort, and the Meono-Hof Amish Mennonite Cultural Center. There are also RV factory tours, exploring Amish country, and the huge Shipshewana Flea Market.    

I am working on the seminar lineup now, and if you have been to any of our past events, you know we’ll have a fine lineup of seminars on many aspects of RVing and the RV lifestyle. It is always a challenge to come up with new and interesting seminars, and we have some old favorites and interesting new ones to offer you at our Eastern Rally. If you would like to present a seminar at the rally, please contact me at editor@gypsyjournal.net with a brief description of what you have in mind. We especially need RV technical and craft seminars.

We look forward to seeing you in Elkhart!

Thought For The Day – Those most willing to consider an offense “water under the bridge” are generally those most responsible.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally! 

We had 221 RVs at the rally, and nearly 300 people who are staying in local RV parks here in Yuma came in on day passes. That’s a pretty good turnout, and we were very pleased with the numbers.

In looking over the feedback forms and the e-mails we have received about the rally, we see a common theme in them. The biggest complaints we had were about a lack of power. A lot of people said that they expected 30 amp hookups, but we seldom find that at fairgrounds or RV rallies. The 20 amp power more commonly available is enough to keep your batteries charged, but as soon as people start using coffee pots, microwave ovens, and curling irons, circuit breakers start tripping.

The noise caused by aircraft from the Marine Air Station was also a problem for some people, but there really isn’t anything we can do about that. But, a lot of people said that while the noise was somewhat bothersome, it was no big deal, and that they would rather put up with that than wading through the mud at the Pinal County Fairgrounds in Casa Grande, or the noxious smell from the nearby dairy there.

There were some other issues raised and suggestions made for future rallies at this venue, and in a meeting yesterday with the fairgrounds management, I think we resolved most of them. Unlike the people running the fairgrounds in Casa Grande, the management here in Yuma is eager to earn our continued business, they listen to our needs, and they try to address them.

The fairgrounds is going to increase the electrical power available for RV hookups, as well as the number of “spider boxes” used to supply temporary hookups during rallies. They hope to increase the amount of electric available in the north parking area (Lot B), as well as bringing power to a new area where we should be able to park 30 or more RVs. 

Next year the rally will be March 7-11, right here at the Yuma Fairgrounds. We plan to have a food vendor on site, we will rent a couple of six passenger golf carts to shuttle people around, and we have arranged for the use of an extra building for vendor seminars, which will solve the problem of noise in the large vendor building interfering with seminars. Another complaint was low water pressure in the north lot, which has been resolved already. Apparently there was an underground leak, which they fixed Monday.

This rally was a learning experience, and we are putting those lessons to use.  I also obtained permission for our parking crew to come in a day early and dry camp next year, which will speed things up on Early Bird parking day.

This year’s rally was a lot of hard work, and a lot of fun. We’re already looking forward to next year!

Our Winnebago Ultimate Advantage really needed a bath, and Greg and Jan White’s American Eagle was just about as bad. So yesterday we had a mobile crew come in from Road Runner RV Wash, and they washed and hand waxed both rigs from the roof down. There are several companies that provide this service to the snowbirds here in Yuma, and they keep pretty busy. The cost for our 40 foot motorhome, including hand waxing, was $100.

Our van was coated in mud from parking RVs in the rain last week, and when I asked how much it would be to do it too, I was told $10. It costs me more than that  do the job at a car wash myself!

Today we are going to leave Yuma and caravan north with Greg and Jan. They have never been to Lake Havasu City or seen the London Bridge, so we’ll make a stop there to play tourist, and then we’ll go on to Laughlin, Nevada for a night.

We have reservations at the Thousand Trails in Las Vegas on Wednesday, where we plan to just relax and unwind for a week or two, while we wait for the weather to warm up in our old hometown of Show Low, in northern Arizona. Once we’re sure winter really is over in the high country,. we’re headed there for a much needed grandkid fix.

Thought For The Day – ‘Normal’ is just a setting on the dryer.

We are confirmed night owls, never going to bed before midnight or 1 a.m., if not later. But Friday night, after a week of getting up early and going to bed late during the rally, Terry was sound asleep by 10 p.m., and less than an hour later, I was sawing logs too. Saturday morning we slept in, and then lay in bed snuggling and talking about how nice it was to be lazy for a while.

We finally opened the shades and greeted the world sometime close to noon, just in time to say goodbye to Tom and Barbara Westerfield, who were headed to Tucson for yet another rally. Talk about gluttons for punishment!

Soon after they pulled out, Miss Terry and Jan White loaded up a week’s dirty laundry and headed for a laundromat, while Greg White and I went back to the fairgrounds main building to check out the gun show. The place was packed with display tables holding every kind of firearm and accessory you could ever want or need, and people checking out the goodies for sale.

After we had drooled over everything on display, and agreeing that while we’d love to have a few dozen new shooting irons, Greg and I decided that our budgets and vehicle carrying capacities were both too limited to allow that. So we went back to our Winnebago, where Greg installed a new Star Light 1000 motion detector light that I got from one of the vendors at our rally, in place of our motorhome’s original equipment porch light.

About the time Greg finished up with that, the ladies came back from the laundry, and the four of us drove to Texas Roadhouse to meet Stu and Donna McNicol, who had helped on our rally parking crew, and served as room hosts during the rally. The six of us had a nice dinner while we discussed the rally, talked about the way things went wrong on Sunday when the Early Birds arrived in a pouring rainstorm, and planned ahead for next year’s rally and how we can handle the crowd more efficiently.

Stu and Donna followed us back to the fairgrounds, where we spent a few more hours visiting, and solving most of the problems of the world, or at least the RV world. Stu is a retired fire chief, and we loved hearing his stories about life in the station house.

Did I mention that the airplanes fly really low overhead as they take off and land at the Marine Air Station across the street from the fairgrounds? These photos my pal Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School took show what I mean! But after a couple of weeks here, we hardly even notice them any more. Some people at the rally found the noise of the aircraft to be too intrusive, but as I said before, that’s the sound of freedom, and I appreciate the men and women in the cockpits and on the flight line.

We have a lot of paperwork to catch up on from the rally, several orders to prepare to send out in Monday’s mail, and I need to wash off a thick layer of mud and crud that accumulated on our van while I was parking RVs in the storm Sunday. Monday we’ll settle our bill with the fairgrounds, try to find somebody to wash and wax our motorhome, and continue decompressing from our busy week.

Thought For The Day – The greatest grief is that which we cause ourselves.