ROCKWOOD WEST

DECEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and didn't eat too much turkey.  The year is quickly coming to a close.  A big thank you to everyone for your help and support during the year, the chapter couldn't survive without you.  I'm looking forward to 2012 and all the outings already planned.  Have a wonderful Christmas and a safe and sane New Years.

MEETING MINUTES:

Lake Elsinore West Marina and RV Resort

Lake Elsinore, CA

November 19, 2011

The meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by president Paulette Kotan.

Members in attendance:  Gerry and Lin Chetelat, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Russ and Pat Himmer, Dennis and Paulette Kotan, Hal and Cookie Ringhand and Steve and Marylee Smith

A motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting as they appeared in the blog made by Ramona, seconded by Cookie.  The motion carried.

Treasurer's report:  $2,616.54 on hand.  Motion to accept by Pat, seconded by Marylee.  The motion carried.

National Director's report:  The national director was not present but Paulette reminded us of FMCA's plight and their loss of revenue due to the decline in membership.  Brad Koshland resigned as the executive director of FMCA effective November 30, 2011.

New business:  None

Old business:  Paulette reported she had made 12 reservations for the group for the Indio rally in January.  She also asked everyone to contact Greg and Debbie and let them know whether or not you will be attending the Quartzsite rally in January so they can locate a space large enough for the group.  Lin reminded everyone that annual dues are due by December 31.  If you haven't paid your dues, please send a check to Linda Chetelat, 4205 Middlesex Dr., San Diego, CA 92116.

Motion to adjourn by Ramona, seconded by Pat.  The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 10:13 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Chetelat

RALLY SCHEDULE:

January 11-15     WMHA Rally, Indio

January 18-23     Dome Rock BLM, Quartzsite hosted by Greg and Debbie Murrell

March TBA        hosted by Ringhand and Rose

April 27-29         Chula Vista RV Resort hosted by Gerry and Linda Chetelat

May 25-28          Boulder Creek RV Resort, Lone Pine hosted by Nick and Ramona Escamilla

June 10-16          North Rim-Grand Canyon arranged by Dennis and Paulette Kotan

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

We had six coaches attend the rally at Lake Elsinore plus the Smiths brought their son Scott and grandsons Trevor and Hunter.  Even through it threatened to rain we didn't have any but it was cool, perfect soup weather.

Friday night heavy happy hour was followed by a rousing game of Farkle.

Saturday morning was breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage and either tortillas or english muffins.

Linda, Cookie and Pat helped prepare breakfast.

The breakfast line.

We were sharing the room with a Gulfstream group so we had our meeting outside on the patio.  It was cool and windy so we had a very short meeting so we could get back inside where it was warm.

After the meeting Linda got the craft projects set up and the ladies made several necklaces and trivets using corks donated by Greg.


During the afternoon Nita and Mac joined us.  Their coach was in the shop so they couldn't camp with us.

For dinner there were 7 pots of homemade soup and fresh garlic bread for us to sample and enjoy.

The winner for the best tasting soup was Linda with her zucchini soup.  She won a bottle of wine (not 2 buck Chuck) for her efforts.

After dinner we had a Farkle tournament.  Nita was in the lead but had to leave so Russ took her place and eventually won.  Pat was second and Cookie won the boobie prize for the lowest score.

At the mid-point in the tournament we stopped for dessert of either banana splits or sundaes.  Yum!

On Sunday we had breakfast of muffins, strudel and raisin bread followed by goodbyes.

Thanks to everyone who helped us with the rally.  

Paulette and Dennis

ROCKWOOD WEST

NOVEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

We had a wonderful time at the Pismo Beach rally and I'm looking forward to all the rallies scheduled for 2012.  If you haven't attended a rally lately you have certainly missed out on a lot of fun and good fellowship.  I again urge you to look at the rally schedule and consider hosting a rally in the available months.  If you are hesitant to host a rally on your own, ask someone to co-host with you and I will also help as much as possible.  It takes all of us to be involved to make this a successful chapter.  

Please keep Roger Gibson, Duke Heffern and Richard Strobel in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with their health issues.

Paulette Kotan, president

MEETING MINUTES:

Pismo Coast Village RV Resort,

Pismo Beach, CA

October 22, 2011, 9:07 a.m.

The meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by president Paulette Kotan.

Members present:  Lenny and Gloria Blake, Gerry and Lin Chetelat, Lloyd and Wendy Holloway, Bob and Linda Lee Karr, Steve and Mary Lee Smith, Rich and Linda Strobel, Bill and Sandy Vargo,  Henry and Lucille Yanoff.  Guest, Julie Blake.

The president thanked our hosts Steve, Mary Lee, Henry and Lucille for a great rally.

Motion to approve the last minutes as they appeared in the blog was made by Dennis, seconded by Lloyd and the motion carried.

Treasurer's Report:  Balance in the checking account $2,199.11.  Motion to accept by Wendy, seconded by Linda and the motion carried.  Everyone was reminded that dues for 2012 are now due.  Please remit your check to Linda Chetelat.

National Director's Report:  Lloyd once again stated FMCA's continuing money problems and their planned budget cuts to remedy existing problems, etc. and the drive to promote new memberships.  Paulette spoke to bringing new members who are not FMCA members to the chapter rallies and the fact we have a few free memberships in FMCA to offer anyone who joins our chapter.  She also discussed the differences between FMCA and Escapees, noting the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Committee Reports:  Gerry spoke for the nominating committee and swore in the new officers who were elected by proclamation during the September meeting at Viejas.  They are:

President-Paulette Kotan

Vice-President-Cookie Ringhand

Secretary/Treasurer-Linda Chetelat

National Director-Lloyd Holloway

Alternate National Director-Nick Escamilla

Nominating Committee-Ramona Escamilla, Gerry Chetelat and Dennis Kotan

   

Old business:  None

New business:  Steve and MaryLee collected the monies due for camping since we did not have the required rigs present to receive the group discount.

Motion to adjourn made by Steve, seconded by Lucille and the motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 9:35 a.m.

Wagonmaster's Report:

The October rally was held at Pismo Coast Village RV Resort in Pismo Beach, CA.  We had 9 rigs sign up so unfortunately we were unable to qualify for the group rates.  It was a great rally!  The park is nestled on a beautiful site right on the beach and close to the little town of Pismo and the pier.  The management was very helpful and even let us use the wood pit BBQ from their old restaurant for our Santa Maria Tri-Tip dinner.  The clubhouse and facilities were terrific and included a heated swimming pool, showers, miniature golf and a well stocked general store. 

The activities started on Thursday evening in the clubhouse with our usual "Happy Hour" followed by a bountiful table of hearty appetizers and lots of fun socializing.  The Blakes brought their daughter, Julie, as their guest.

The next morning we had egg casseroles and a chile relleno casserole with tortillas, english muffins, bagels and fruit.  After breakfast, our great craft lady, Linda Chetelat, taught us how to make cute Holloween ghost door hangers out of foam.  Then she realy challenged us not so "craftily gifted" people with a beaded Christmas tree ornament.  Only with her assistance did we leave with two beautiful projects.  Thank you Linda for your time and PATIENCE!!!

 The rest of the day was spent relaxing around the camp, riding bikes into town, or sightseeing locally.  For those who had arrived earlier in the week, the days were spent having lots of fun scouring the local thrift shops for pirate costumes (yes, Sandy I did spend only a quarter on that pathetic crow!) for the Indio rally in January and trips to Avila Beach on a quest for the best clam chowder on the coast and then a visit to a local apple farm.
We were all given a tour of the Holloway's beautiful new coach shown here decorated with toilet paper.
   That evening we had a great Santa Maria BBQ dinner.  Steve wanted to especially thank Dennis and Paulette and their friends from San Luis who provided the "required" red oak for the traditional flavoring we needed for our tri-tips and the homemade sausage appetizer.  We filled up on delicious tri-tip, salsa, red beans, mac'n cheese, grilled french bread and salad.

We then had a celebration for the Blake's 55th wedding anniversary.  Congratulations!!

We also celebrated Wendy's birthday with a special birthday girl tiara!  There were 2 cakes.

We had a surprise visit from our two oldest "kids," Scott and Christy who joined in the socializing and spent the night.  They confided that our friends were "really awesome" and they had a lot of fun with them!!!  Christy still cannot believe that Cleo, the Chetelat's cat, walks on a leash.  She was also impressed with Bob and Linda Karr's stories of backpacking in the wilderness.

Saturday morning our good weather continued and we had buttermilk pancakes and sausages.  Thank you Lloyd, you can flip for us anytime!

After breakfast Paulette conducted a great meeting and then we ate AGAIN!

Due to the melodrama time being moved up we had our potluck at 1 p.m.  Thanks to all our good cooks we had another yummy meal and then we were off to the theater.

"The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville" was full of crazy characters.  This time we saw 

"The Werewolf of Dr. Oz," a take off on Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz" in the form of Donny, a teenage boy living in Kansas who is horrified to discover that he is turning into a werewolf.  Instead of searching for the wizard, Donny searches for "Dr. Oz," the TV personality who can "cure" him.  Following the musical came the "Game of Life" with zany songs like "Seniors in the Night" (Strangers in the Night) complete with a hilarious dance routine with walkers.  

To add to all this fun we returned to the clubhouse for a wonderful ice cream social!

Sunday morning we had a nice continental breakfast before beginning to pack up and check out.  We would like to thank our co-hosts Henry and Lucille Yanoff for helping us put on this rally and also to all who helped in so many ways, sharing ovens, refrigerators, cooking, cleaning up, etc.  It was a lot of fun.

Steve and Mary Lee Smith

Chile Relleno Casserole Recipe

4 eggs

1/2 cup half and half

8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

2 T onion, finely chopped

4 oz can chopped green chiles, drained

2 T flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees, grease 8 or 9 inch square pan

In medium bowl beat eggs, stir in half and half and flour.  Blend until smooth.  Stir in remaining ingredients; blend.  Pour into pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes.

Cut into squares or use smaller squares for appetizers.

I doubled this recipe and used an oblong casserole dish for the rally.

RALLY SCHEDULE:

November 18-20  Lake Elsinore Marina hosted by the Kotans

2012

January 11-15  WMHA Rally, Indio

January 18-23  Dome Rock BLM, Quartzsite hosted by the Murrells

March TBA hosted by Roses and Ringhands

April 27-29  Chula Vista RV Resort hosted by the Chetelats

May 25-28  Boulder Creek RV Resort, Lone Pine hosted by the Escamillas

June 10-16  North Rim, Grand Canyon arranged by the Kotans

ROCKWOOD WEST NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2011

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:

I hope everyone had a great summer and you are all ready for lots of rallies and lots of fun this fall and winter.

We currently have rallies scheduled through June 2012 with the exception of December, which is usually dark, and February. Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to the plate. For those of you not hosting a rally, please consider doing so. I have lots of brochures for campgrounds from San Diego to Solvang so see me if you're having a problem selecting a place to hold a rally. I would like to see rallies scheduled for the remainder of 2012.

A special thank you to Cookie for taking my place at the September meeting so I could attend a 50th anniversary party in Las Vegas.

Paulette Kotan, president

MEETING MINUTES:

Mar-Tar-Awa RV Resort

Alpine, CA

September 10, 2011

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by vice-president Cookie Ringhand.

Members present: Dick and Vicki Bartlett, Gerry and Lin Chetelat, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Russ and Pat Himmer, Hal and Cookie Ringhand and Steve and MaryLee Smith.

Guests present: Pat and Russ Himmer's son Rusty, grandson Garrett, daughter Terri and husband Brian. Hal and Cookie Ringhand's friends Walt and Pam Rose.

Cookie thanked the Himmers for hosting a great rally and planning a wonderful menu just for the group.

A motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting in May as they appeared in the blog was made by Ramona and seconded by Steve. The motion carried.

The treasurer's report showed a balance of $2,212.11. A motion to approve was made by Pat and seconded by Hal. The motion carried.

Director's Report: Nick read the director's report prepared by our national director after the FMCA Governing Board meeting:

The 2011 meeting of the FMCA Governing Board was held on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. There were 373 members present (76% of the voting members.)

New officers elected were as follows:

National President: Charles M. Schrenkle

National Senior Vice President: Allen Rein

National Secretary: Vicki Ferrari

National Treasurer: Will Young

The budget was approved after much debate. This year National Directors will receive $155.00 each for attending the meeting. It was voted TO NOT receive any monies for National Directors for 2012. This was done to try and keep FMCA afloat. FMCA has been losing money due to low participation at conventions. This year's convention had 1,809 family members, 101 exhibitors, 194 display coaches and 39 demo units for a total of 2,143 coaches. Since we needed 3,000 coaches to break even, the loss for Madison is anticipated to be around $74,000.00.

FMCA is currently $620,000.00 in the hole. It was voted to take money from reserves to pay the bills.

In 2010 FMCA lost $1,942,617.00 and in 2009 FMCA lost $163,027.00.

Dan Couch, Finance Board Member (who was also running for National Treasurer this year) found 1.3 million dollars in IRS taxes FMCA had overpaid and we were fortunate to get it back. This was over the past four years. If it wasn't for this money, FMCA would have been in the hole $1,463,027 for 2009.

The Executive Board voted and approved to spend $143,000.00 to upgrade our outdated computer systems. This will be taken out of reserves and should be completed in three months.

It was decided to only have one convention a year in order to save money. The convention that was planned for Pomona, CA was cancelled. It would have cost $500,000.00 in up front money to have the convention there. It was decided to take the loss of $100,000.00 deposit rather than take a chance in having this convention and loosing more money. It was voted on by the Governing Board to take the loss.

The 2012 Convention will be held in Indianapolis, IN

The 2013 Convention will be held in Hutchinson, KS

2013 will be the 50th anniversary for FMCA and the theme for Hutchinson will be Mile Mark 50. They are looking for a mascot. FMCA is asking each chapter to make one and bring it to Indianapolis to be judged and one will be chosen. The chosen one will be awarded a prize and used for the 50th anniversary convention in Hutchinson.

It was my pleasure to attend this Governing Board meeting on behalf of Rockwood West. If anyone has any questions, please contact me.

Respectfully submitted,

Lloyd Kay Holloway

928-230-3556

lwholloway@frontiernet.net

OLD BUSINESS: None

NEW BUSINESS:

The nominating committee presented the current officers for an additional term. These are Paulette Kotan, president, Cookie Ringhand, vice-president and permanent sheriff, Lin Chetelat, secretary/treasurer, Lloyd Holloway, national director and Nick Escamilla, alternate national director. There was no opposition to these nominations and a motion to have the election by proclamation was made by Pat, seconded by MaryLee and the motion carried by unanimous vote. The officers will be sworn in at the October meeting.

Cookie presented her guests Walt (the duckman) and Pam Rose for membership. The motion to accept them as members was made by Lin and seconded by Ramona. The motion carried.

MaryLee reminded everyone of the deadline for reservations for the Pismo Beach rally and she passed out additional flyers. Flyers for the Lake Elsinore rally in November were also distributed.

A discussion of the Lone Pine rally result in Walt advising everyone of things to do in Bishop during "Mule Days" since we will be within driving distance.

Walt and Pam Rose volunteered to host a rally in March 2012 and Gerry and Lin Chetelat will host a rally in April 2012.

A motion to adjourn was made by Hal and seconded by Dick. The motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 11:35 a.m.

RALLY SCHEDULE:

2011

October 20-23 Pismo Coast RV Resort hosted by Steve and MaryLee Smith and Henry and Lucille Yanoff

November 18-20 Lake Elsinore West Marina hosted by Dennis and Paulette Kotan

2012

January 11-15 WMHA Rally, Indio

January 18-23 Dome Rock BLM, Quartzsite hosted by Greg and Debbie Murrell

March TBA hosted by Walt and Pam Rose

April 27-29 Chula Vista RV Resort hosted by Gerry and Lin Chetelat

May 25-28 Boulder Creek RV Resort, Lone Pine hosted by Nick and Ramona Escamilla

June TBA North Rim, Grand Canyon arranged by Dennis and Paulette Kotan

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

The Viejas rally was very relaxing with beautiful weather. We had 9 rigs signed up but 2 had to cancel Friday night.

On Friday night we had three guests, friends of Hal and Cookie. Dick and Judy Keller with their granddaughter enjoyed our heavy hor d'oeuvres evening.

Saturday morning after a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage, Cookie handled a very professional meeting, it was great fun.

After the meeting people headed over to the outlet center. Naturally the men went to Black and Decker. Some of the woman went to the outlet center and some went to the casino. Then the whole group got together for sundaes and banana splits. Everyone was still able to eat dinner.

Saturday, our daughter Terri and husband Brian came for the day and later our son Rusty and grandson Garrett arrived. Rich and Linda Strobel also joined us to visit and have dinner. Dinner was good except the cooks started talking too much and dinner ended up with a smokey flavor. Everyone still enjoyed beef stew.

Our craft project was cancelled due to lost stencils. I am still unable to find them, sorry ladies. I will keep hunting.

Sunday, after a continental breakfast, we just kind of set around feeling lazy, at least I did. We were packed up and out of the campground by 1:00 p.m.

We enjoyed hosting the rally. It was nice seeing the group, it was a long time since we last got together.

Thanks,

Russ and Pat Himmer

ROCKWOOD WEST NEWSLETTER

MAY-JUNE 2011

President's Message: Rockwood West members had a wonderful rally in Lone Pine, the Escamillas and McAfees, as usual, did a marvelous job hosting the group. There were many interesting things to do in the area and everyone took advantage. We all missed Rich and Linda Strobel. Rich is undergoing treatment for bladder cancer and has to remain close to home during this time. Duke Heffern continues to recover from his heart attack. Please keep both Rich and Duke in your thoughts and prayers as they deal with their medical problems.

Our next rally isn't until September and I'm sorry we won't be together before then. I hope you all have a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing everyone at the next rally in September.

Minutes:

The meeting was called to order at Boulder Creek RV Resort on May 14, 2011 at 9:45 a.m. The president led the group in saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Members present: Gerry and Linda Chetelat, Jim and June Cheshire, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Bob and Karenann Evans, Dennis and Paulette Kotan, Mac and Nita McAfee, Greg and Debbie Murrell, Hal and Cookie Ringhand, Steve and Mary Lee Smith and Bill and Sandy Vargo. Guests present: Bob and Linda Karr who informed the membership they planned to join our fun filled chapter.

Dennis made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as printed in the blog, seconded by Ramona. The motion carried.

Treasurer's report: Linda reported a balance of $1,835.11. Motion to approve made by Nita, seconded by Hal. The motion carried.

Old business: None

New business: Paulette informed the members of the upcoming election of officers for FMCA. The names of those running will be found in the FMCA magazine along with their resumes. Everyone should let Lloyd know of their preferences so he can decide how to vote at the August convention. Since the Holloways are on the road, please notify Lloyd by email.

A discussion was held concerning the Oktoberfest in Hemet at the end of September and whether we will attend as a group. The Indio rally was also discussed. The theme for the January 11-15, 2012 rally is Pirate Treasure. Cookie said Wendy has already started collecting Pirate things for a float in the parade. We all need to get behind her effort and attend the rally. There was a show of hands of those interested but nothing was finalized. Paulette asked for a show of hands of anyone interested in going to the north rim of the Grand Canyon next spring. This was well received. Linda Chetelat gave us an update on the health concerns of Rich, Cathy Heffern and Duke Heffern. We hope to see all of them at our next rally.

A motion to adjourn was made by Gerry, seconded by Ramona. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 11:15 a.m.

RALLY SCHEDULE:

Sept. 8-11, Viejas Casino Alpine, CA hosted by Himmers

Oct. 20-23, Pismo Coast RV Resort hosted by Smith and Yanoff

2012

Jan. 11-15, WMHA Rally, Indio

Jan. TBA, Quartzsite hosted by Murrells

June TBA, North Rim, Grand Canyon hosted by Kotan

June 25-28, Lone Pine Mule Days hosted by Escamilla and McAfee

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

The May rally was held at Boulder Creek RV Resort in Lone Pine, CA. As you can see the RV park welcomed the group. We had a nice turnout of 11 coaches. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. Those of you that couldn't make it missed a fun rally. The park has very nice facilities and sites and the management was great.

Everything started on Thursday evening with lots of good appetizers and many laughs. The weather was so nice that many of us stayed outside chatting well passed bedtime.

Friday we all got together for a nice breakfast of Chili Relleno casserole and an egg baked casserole made with crescent rolls along with fruit, English muffins and bagels. You can see the cooks busy in the lovely kitchen area.

Thanks to Linda, the ladies had another great craft time decorating mugs. We always amuse ourselves and poor Linda is trying to explain to us what to do.

Afterwards several people went to do some sightseeing. Among the favorite sites were the Alabama Hills, the Movie Museum for movies made in the Alabama Hills, Manzanar Museum/Japanese Internment Camp, the Whitney Portal and many others. So much to see and so little time. In the evening we discussed what we had seen and decided what we wanted to do the next day.

Friday night's dinner consisted of Tri-Tip and chicken served with potato salad and ranch style beans. The cooks did a wonderful job. Dessert consisted to Red Velvet Cake and Brownies. Yum-Yum!

The group couldn't get their dinner fast enough.

After dinner on Friday some of us played a new game - Farkle. It's a dice game and we had so much fun, laughing and yelling Farkle along with some other choice words that Nick and June arranged a "Farkle" tournament for Saturday night. After Saturday night's potluck it was time for the "Farkle" tournament. We had 20 out of the 22 attending the rally that participated in the tournament divided into 3 table of players. I think we could have made it to the million-dollar AFV show and easily have won. If only someone was video taping. Third place was won by Linda C, second was won by Steve and first was won by Ramona who is showing off her winnings.

Saturday evening it became extremely windy and extended to Sunday. After a continental breakfast, the Evans, Murrells, Karrs, Cheshires and Kotans braved the wind and left Sunday morning. The Chetelats left earlier before breakfast. The rest of us stayed, not wanting to attack the wind.

Those that remained did more sightseeing and went out to dinner together. It was a nice time for all and a big good-bye.

We would like to thank Nita and Mac for helping put on this great rally. Also all of those who attended, we would have no rally without you. And thanks to all of you who pitched in and helped us get ready to eat and with the mess of cleaning up.

Ramona and Nick

ROCKWOOD WEST NEWSLETTER

APRIL 2011

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: This year is off to a great start with another fun filled rally. Thank you Linda and Gerry Chetelat. It is good to see such an excellent turn out. We are a small chapter but we generally have a good turn out at our rallies. There are still no rallies booked for June or November so if you haven't hosted a rally in a while please consider hosting one. If you have never hosted a rally contact a member who has and they will be glad to co-host to help you out. I encourage all of you to invite your motorhoming friends to attend one of our rallies and if they join the chapter I can give them a coupon for a free one year membership in FMCA.

Paulette Kotan, president

MINUTES:

The meeting was called to order on April 2, 2011 at Chula Vista RV and Marina at 10:05 a.m. The president led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Members present: Gerry and Linda Chetelat, Jim and June Cheshire, Nick and Ramona Escamilla, Bob and Karenann Evans, Russ and Pat Himmer, Lloyd and Wendy Holloway, Dennis and Paulette Kotan, Greg and Debbie Murrell, Hal and Cookie Ringhand, Rich and Linda Strobel and Bill and Sandy Vargo.

Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes as printed in the blog was made by Ramona and seconded by Greg. The motion carried.

A motion to approve the treasurer's report was made by Linda S and seconded by Hal. The motion carried.

There was no official report of the national director as no governing board meeting was held at the Perry, GA rally. However, a discussion ensued regarding only one national convention per year beginning in 2012 and the reason for the date change for the Indianapolis convention. There was also a discussion regarding the advantages of attending area rallies. Paulette read a schedule of the various rallies being held this year from the FMCA magazine.

Old Business: Linda S. passed out more of the "Vial of Life" packets she obtained from Grossmont Hospital and reiterated the importance of having them in our vehicles.

New business: A motion was made by Linda C to eliminate the coffee pots and their container, seconded by Bill. The motion carried. At future rallies each rig in attendance will provide their own morning coffee. This will eliminate one box of supplies that needs to be carried by the wagonmasters.

Paulette nominated herself for the "Dummy Award" for printing incorrect directions on the flyer for the Death Valley rally. (Good thing almost everybody looked at a map). Shame on you Paulette! She tried to remove the attention from her faux pas by nominating Dennis for the destruction of their computer when he dropped it. Nice try Paulette! Luckily Lloyd moved the award be shared equally, seconded by Pat. The motion carried.

Nick asked for a show of hands for those planning to attend the May rally in Lone Pine. He emphasized the need for getting your reservations in soon.

Paulette read the list of future rallies and asked for volunteers for June and November. Alas, no takers.

Greg said he and Debbie would be hosting the first rally of 2012 in Quartzsite in January with the date to be announced in the future.

Wendy reminded us we had not attended the FMCA rally in Indio for the past 2 years, the theme for 2012 is "Pirates Adventure". It would be fun to participate in the parade again. This will be discussed at future meetings.

A motion to adjourn was made by Ramona, seconded by Karenann. The motion carried.

RALLY SCHEDULE:

MAY 13-15 Lone Pine hosted by Escamilla and McAfee

August TBA in Colorado hosted by Tom and Elaine Holloway

Sept 9-11 Viejas Indian Reservation hosted by Himmer

Oct 20-23 Pismo Coast RV Resort hosted by Smith and Yanoff

Jan 2012 TBA in Quartzsite hosted by Murrell

WAGONMASTER'S REPORT:

Our rally at Chula Vista RV Resort and Marina was blessed with the usual fair weather we find in the San Diego area. The event was attended by 11 of the 12 rigs that made reservations. Unfortunately, Kathy and her dad "Duke" were unable to attend due to his recent stay in the hospital. We were parked on two rows back to back.

Saturday morning we had a breakfast of egg bakes, english muffins, raisin bread and the usual condiments.

Following breakfast we had our meeting. After the meeting several of the ladies did some glass etching. Everyone was pleased with the results. Ramona is such a good sport, always entertaining us by not quite following the directions. You go girl!!!!

Dinner was a chili cookoff that was to be judged by the Bartletts who could not attend because Dick came down with the flu and they made the decision to return home to Prescott, AZ.

Thanks to Debbie everyone sampled each entry and voted secretly for the best chili. The affair was a huge success with the big winner being Cookie.

Cookie's prize was a battery operated motion sensor light.

After dinner dessert of apple pie and ice cream was served and Rich was anxious to get started.

Some of our members played a few games of Bingo after dinner. Pat would like to teach Rich the correct way of calling but doubts he would pay any attention.

On Friday night several of the ladies played Pokeno and Linda S was a big winner. On Saturday, even though we plied Linda with drink, she continued her winning ways.

Sunday morning after a breakfast of scones, cinnamon rolls and yep, you guessed it, leftover egg bake and various breads, those who were leaving said their "good-byes".

Prior to the rally I took some of the early arrivals, the girls, that is, June, Wendy and Cookie to Ocean Beach where we strolled along Newport Ave. in and out of the antique shops. Wendy purchased a stool she found perfect for use at her computer in their RV. We all agreed it really was very comfortable to sit on. (It's a good thing I had nothing in the back of the jeep). I didn't have to do too much arm twisting to get them into the famous hamburger joint "Hodads" where we all enjoyed the drippy hamburgers and massive onion rings. Leaving OB, I drove back to Chula Vista via Harbor Dr. through the Embarcadero area past the Princess cruise ship and Midway aircraft carrier.

Gerry and I feel the rally was a real success and want to thank all who attended in making it so. I personally want to thank those who insisted on helping us with the set-up and the cleaning despite my insisting they don't. I have one more thing to add and that is we are looking forward to seeing everyone at Lone Pine. Thanks again.

Linda and Gerry, wagonmasters

DEATH VALLEY conclusion:

The Kotans and the Smiths spent a day on the Emigrant Canyon Road. The first stop was at the ghost town of Skidoo. Originally 23 Skidoo the name had to be changed to just Skidoo to satisfy Post Office requirements. There is nothing left of the town except debris on the ground. No foundations, no abandoned buildings, nothing.

We took the side road towards Aguereberry Point and stopped at an abandoned homestead.

Mary Lee is would be concerned, Steve looks like he has picked out his next restoration project. An old battered Buick.

They also found this abandoned mine shaft.

We drove through Nemo Canyon and Wildrose Canyon to get to the Charcoal Kilns. These kilns were built more than 100 years ago to manufacture smelter charcoal from the surrounding pinyon pine/juniper forest. You can still smell the smoke from the fires. The kilns have been restored twice and are in remarkable condition.

Another view of the charcoal kilns.

Inside the charcoal kilns.

There was snow on the ground and Dennis and Mary Lee brought some back to the campground where Dennis threw snowballs at Gerry.

After everyone returned to the campground we had our last potluck dinner. We were out of firewood so we sat around Murrell's fire in a can after dinner.

We all had a great time visiting Death Valley National Park. We enjoyed good food, wonderful weather and the interesting things to do in the park.

DEATH VALLEY continued:

A trip to Death Valley wouldn't be complete without a trip to Scotty's Castle. So after breakfast on our last day in the national park a large group went off to see the Castle.

This photo is an overview of the castle complex which consists of nine buildings.

This picture shows the chimes tower and Howard clock.

One of several handwrought weather vanes depicting scenes from Scotty's career.

One of the many elaborate gates.

Another elaborate gate.

This dinnerware made for the Death Valley Ranch contains the ranch emblem and a Latin phrase meaning "With perserverance we will succeed."

One of the many rooms in the Castle.

The Lower Music room with a player piano and 25-note keyboard that was wired to play the Deagan chimes in the Chimes Tower.

Some history on Scotty and Johnson: Walter Scott "Scotty" traveled with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show for 12 seasons. He gained national fame when he chartered a special Santa Fe train to break the speed record between Los Angeles and Chicago. While in Chicago Scott and Johnson met and Johnson gave numerous grubsteaks to Scotty to mine for gold in the Death Valley area.

Albert Johnson owned the controlling interest in National Life Insurance Company of Chicago. Johnson visited Death Valley on a recurring basis in an effort to locate Scotty's secret mine. Johnson had been injured in a railroad accident and was plagued with back problems. While visiting Death Valley, Johnson's back problems were eased. Initially, Johnson and Scotty camped out but eventually built wooden shacks for living quarters. Prodded by his wife's desire for more civilized accommodations, Johnson began construction on the present castle in 1925. Construction stopped in 1931 after the stock market crash and Johnson's financial problems. Johnson moved to Hollywood in 1933 and remained there in semi-retirement until his death in 1948. Scotty remained in the Castle until his death in 1954 and is buried on Windy Point, a barren hill overlooking the Castle.