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.

DEATH VALLEY continued:

On Tuesday, after breakfast, we broke up into two groups. One group went to Scotty's Castle and the others went to Rhyolite and Titus Canyon. This post will only cover Rhyolite and Titus Canyon.

The town of Rhyolite, Nevada was born as a result of a gold strike made in August 1904 by Shorty Harris and E. L. Cross. While several towns sprang up as a result of this strike Rhyolite grew to become the cosmopolitan city that eclipsed them all.
The ruins in town include a bottle house built by a 76 year old miner in 1906. The house has been restored.

Around the house are several small structures made of glass scraps and odds and ends found on the ground.

The skeletal remains of a 3 story bank building, a concrete school, train depot, jail, stores and foundations and partial adobe walls. This town was unique because it was built of more permanent materials than the usual canvas and wood.

There is a poem about Rhyolite, author unknown, that is interesting:

"In the night, hear Rhyolite

she's gently calling you

and if you come, then she will make

all of your dreams come true

Is it love, or gold you seek?

Then whisper it in the wind

for Rhyolite is a land of dreams

and dreams will never end."

When we left Rhyolite we returned to the national park and entered the road to Titus Canyon. Here are some of our members along the road. The terrain is varied, starting on the floor of the desert and climbing into the mountains. The scenery is spectacular and the weather was clear.

If you look closely in the background of the picture you can see parts of the roadway we traveled on through the mountains.

Along the road we came to Leadfield another ghost town. There are very few structures left but our group did some exploring in the hills.

Building in Leadfield.

Greg exploring the entrance to a mine.

After leaving Leadfield the terrain changed again and we entered Titus Canyon. The roadway became very narrow and the rock walls reached for the sky.

Richard took this wonderful picture in the canyon area. The sun on the canyon walls turns them to gold.

The drive through Titus Canyon is something not to be missed if you plan a trip to Death Valley. A high clearance vehicle is recommended but you don't need any off road experience to negotiate the roadway.