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| Scott Hicks Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
As our country opens up, rallies
are abounding! Starting in May, ACA
hosted the Salem (OR) rally, followed by the June NorCal Yo-Yo rally, and then the SoCal
Oregon Coast rolling rally. As I write
this, NorCal’s Etna, CA rally is wrapping up.
Next up is the NorCal/SoCal/ACA joint rally near Sonora, CA and the
NoWaca McMinnville, OR rally, both tasting wine in September. Then our own SoCal fall rally at Pala Casino
Resort in early November. The new year
begins with a return to the WMHA annual convention at the Indio Fairgrounds,
followed by the 20th Anniversary Quartzite Desert Rat XX. March of ’22 brings the Seven day (!!)
SoCal/ACA Yuma Pre-Rally right before the FMCA International gathering in
Tucson. Just 5 days later brings the
SoCal/NorCal Morro Dunes rally! Whew! I hope you are ready to rally.
On a more serious note, our club
membership continues a slow decline with recent non-renewals due to some retiring from RVing along with life changes for others.
With all these rallies coming up, please be on the lookout for possible
new Alpine owners to whom you can regale the many benefits of joining our
great club! A club application is
available on the SoCal website. Please
consider carrying a few copies in your coach.
I would be remiss if I didn’t
introduce you to our new newsletter editor. Let me go get her. Please welcome my wife Marcia! Outgoing editor Teresa Weitz partnered with Marcia for this edition, but will be retiring upon publication. Please thank Teresa for her service, and
welcome Marcia, when you see them at upcoming events.
Please continue to stay safe, and
enjoy an upcoming rally (or two).
Greetings from the FMCA convention in Gillette WY. We made it here in one piece, enjoyed a little down time between the daily thunderstorms, and made it through the brutal Governing Board business meeting… so life is good here on the road!
Here are some fun facts you may not know about Wyoming:
Wyoming is the 10th largest State in the Nation, and has the lowest population.
Wyoming is the biggest coal producing State ahead of Kentucky and West Virginia.
The tallest building in the State is 12 stories high.
They also are a State with a lot of firsts-
1st JC Penny store opened in Kemmerer, in 1902 and is still open today.
1st National Park (Yellowstone).
1st National Monument (Devil’s Tower).
1st State to allow women to vote.
1st Woman Governor (Nellie Ross 1925).
We did manage to connect with all the Alpine Coach owners in attendance, (about 10 coaches out of 1342). This was due to the efforts of Dwight and Carolyn Bevans out cruising the complex in their Side x Side. Some sad news though… after careful planning, our Alpine cocktail “meet up” got rained out Wednesday, and :got rescheduled on Friday before the Three Dog Night concert. We managed to take over an empty seminar room for a fun meet and greet with everyone in attendance. Now that the important stuff is on he table, I’ll get down to the mundane meat and potatoes.
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| Three Dog Night Concert Photo by: Gayle Picha |
There was a lot of business to take care of in the Governing Board meeting. We met the day before to review the proposed changes to both the By-laws, and Process and Procedures in an attempt to keep the official business meeting to a realistic time schedule… despite the effort, it still went into overtime.
I won’t go into detail on things but will hit the highlights of the things that affect most
members. The first being the election of officers for 2021 Executive Board. They are as follows:
President: Rhett Porter
Senior Vice President: Gary Milner
Treasurer: Barbara Smith
Secretary: Kathie Balogh (current secretary, ran un-opposed)
There were changes to both the By-laws, and Policy and Procedures that needed to be addressed to prevent a repeat of several issues that arose during the last term. The most important of these has to do with Budget and Reporting. The Budget was unanimously approved, but not without a lot of discussion and questions from governing board members about how things were reported and represented.
The good news is, six months into 2021, and I might add, for the first time in many years, we are operating in the black. John Reynolds, current Treasurer was heavily grilled by many members of the governing board early in the meeting. By the end of the day, he was credited with doing a great job in tough times.
Outgoing President, John Walker, also gave his report and farewell. He accomplished his goals despite challenges Covid threw in front of him. As of this point in time, FMCA is stable and on an uphill climb.
I want everyone to know that serving on the Executive Board is a volunteer position. For the most part, these jobs are a tough and thankless job, yet these people continue to serve under difficult and sometimes adverse conditions. They have my total respect.
Other pertinent bits of information I have to share are as follows:
“FMCA Assist”, a worthwhile benefit, will remain “as is” for the time being. Chubb, the current insurance carrier, has worked hand in hand to keep our policy affordable. Lloyds of London had previously been the carrier, and would not commit to a fixed rate.
Chubb has said that as long as the loss rate remains under 60%, rates will not change. Our loss rate is currently running between 37 and 40 percent.
Dues have been reduced and will remain at $50 for family members. Commercial members will also pay the $50 membership rate. Commercial members do not receive all the benefits FMCA offers, but must be members in order to offer their products and services in the magazine and at events. By not charging them a higher fee, it is hoped that more will
join and offer products and services that we, as RVer’s want and need. As members we should first seek to support those that support us.
It should be noted that FMCA’s #1 priority is Membership, and the key to the future of
FMCA. We all need to do our part to talk to and invite both RVers and suppliers that share our love of the lifestyle. Ask them to join with us to build and restore our organization. To insure long-term success, it is important to share the benefits of membership to this organization with the next generation of RVers.
So much of what has happened in the last few days has focused on “reviewing and adjusting
knobs”, resulting in major strides to improving the platform that is FMCA. I sincerely hope I haven’t missed any important highlights.
We wish everyone good health and safe travels, and hope to see you all again soon.
Steve and Gayle Picha
National Directors,
Alpine Coach NorCal and SoCal
On the last Wednesday of our Oregon Coast rally, I hosted a gearhead talk. The topic was Solar and
Lithium Batteries. I had just finished
upgrading our coach to lithium batteries with new solar panels. The rally was our first trip of actually
using the system. We were dry camping in
Newport, so it was an excellent opportunity to share how we liked the system.
We had a great group with varying experience ranging from
already having Solar and/or lithium batteries installed, to those interested
upgrading. Great input from all, and I
think everyone went away with something learned (including me!).
The talk began with a discussion of benefits of lithium
batteries, followed by potential issues and myths of the technology. Information on how many batteries you need,
various brand names, building your own battery, and technical terms were
covered.
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| Solar Panels install on our Alpine Photo by: Scott Hicks |
We then moved into solar, again demystifying some technical terms, determining how to calculate the number of solar panels needed, tips on DIY installation, and a review of types of charge controllers available.
By the end of the rally, we had spent 3 days in a row dry camping in Newport. The generator was never started! Despite overcast skies in the mornings, and partly sunny afternoons, our four 175w panels harvested more than enough power to fully recharge the batteries. Bring on Quartzite!
First off, we would like to introduce our newest member to our SARC Committee, Linda Matthews. Thank you Linda for joining us!
After our Pandemic Hiatus it appears that we are back with a vengeance. The Oregon Coast Rolling Rally was a huge success thanks to Scott & Marcia Hicks and Steve & Linda Matthews. (See the enclosed articles regarding the details of the rally.)
Below is the rally schedule for the balance of 2021 and 2022
2021
Location Date Wagon Masters
Black Oak Casino RV Park, Sonora, CA September 23-28 Matthews / Polk
(Joint NorCal/SoCal/ACA)
Our destination is in the Sierra Foothills. The RV park is fairly new and features concrete RV pads, full hook-ups, and a clubhouse, heated pool & spa, and shuttle service to the casino. The resort has a bocce ball court, cornhole, horseshoes and a fishing pond.
Our 6 day—5 night rally will include an optional private guided tour of the Gianelli Vineyards, premier producers of award winning Italian varietals. During our tasting we will have a spectacular view of the surrounding foothills seen from their picnic area. We encourage all non-tasters & tasters to bring a picnic lunch & enjoy the view.
We will also venture to Railtown 1897 State Historic Park where we will board a vintage steam train for an excursion through the golden Sierra Foothills. After our train ride we will tour the historic park and a working roundhouse.
Other activities include:
Fishing derby so bring your tackle with barbless hooks, you might catch the big one!
For the ultimate game of chance - The 2nd First Annual Pumpkin Bowl!
Lots of fun, good food & great camaraderie.
Pala RV Resort, Pala, CA November 5-8 Hambarian / Prodanovich
Pala RV Resort is located in Pala not far from the Wine Country of Temecula. Details still in the works
2022
WHMA Indio Rally, Indio, CA January 12-16
ACA Desert Rat 20th Anniversary Rally January 19-25
Quartzsite
FMCA Tucson Pre-Rally Yuma, AZ March 13-20 Picha / Barr
(Joint SoCal/ACA)
FMCA 106th Int’l Convention Tucson, AZ March 23-26
Morro Dunes RV Park, Morro Bay, CA March 31-Apr 5 Collins / Hasman
(Joint SoCal/NorCal)
Kinectic Sculpture Races Mad River RV Park May 25-Jun 1 Fichera / Mayfield
Arcata, CA (Joint NorCal/SoCal)
Railside RV Ranch, Williams AZ Sep 7 – 14
Tentative Spot Rally
Alpine SoCal 20th Anniversary Rally Nov 3 – 8 Prodanovich / Archer
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| www.clipartlibrary.com |
Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’
Up the Oregon Coast we’re goin’, Alpine. Through wind &
misty weather, we’re having fun together, With our Alpine friends right by our
side. Head ‘em up, Move ‘em out. Alpine.
Twenty one coaches met at Turtle Rock RV Park in Gold Beach,
Oregon to begin a nine-day trek up the Oregon Coast. Rally attendees came from California,
Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arkansas with Alpine club
representation from SoCal, NorCal, ACA and NoWaCa.
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| Turtle Rock-Oregon Coast Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
We were treated to a catered brisket dinner after arriving and setting up in Gold Beach. We huddled behind and between the wagon masters’ coaches for happy hour and dinner because the wind was really blowing off the ocean. The following morning a group of us took a 104-mile jet boat ride up and down the Rogue River. We saw sea lions, bald eagles, osprey, great blue heron and deer. During the warmest part of the day, the jet boat pilot did his best to get us wet, either making 360 degree turns in the middle of the river or speeding through the dips in the rapids.
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| Jerry's Jet Boat Excursion! Photo by: Jerry's Jet Boats |
We stopped at a fishing lodge in Agnes for lunch and were treated to a
home cooked meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, coleslaw
and lemon berry cake. I’m surprised the
jet boat didn’t sink on the way back to the dock! The next day was a free day to explore the
towns around Gold Beach (Bandon & Brookings). Pizza and salad were served for dinner that
night with ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
Have I mentioned we’re eating really well on this trip?
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| Lunch in Agnes Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
Saturday was travel day to Winchester Bay RV Resort, a 2-hour drive north from Gold Beach. This resort is one of the premium RV resorts on the Oregon Coast….beautiful views of Salmon Harbor out your windshield! Once again, the wind was really blowing off the ocean. So we huddled between the two wagon masters’ coaches for happy hour and to “burn our own meat” for dinner.
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| Winchester Bay View Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
On Father’s Day we drove to Florence, where Scott grew up, for Scott’s famous “Old Towne” walking tour. While ambling along Bay Street, he shared lots of history about sights and buildings around town as well as stories about some of the town’s more colorful residents. After the one hour walking tour, the group split up to enjoy shopping and lunch. Later that afternoon, Linda Emory walked a group of junior Picassos through the process of creating an acrylic painting master piece – “SoCal Tsunami.” I named my master piece “Nessie,” because it looks more like a sea serpent than an ocean wave. It was my first “sip & paint” session. I think I should have done more “sipping.”
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| Sip & Paint Photo by: Debi Johnson |
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| Egyptian Theatre Photo by: Debi Johnson |
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| Historic Newport Bridge Photo by: Stephanie Archer |
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| Rock Formations Oregon Coast Photo: Stephanie Archer |
I want to extend a
gigantic THANK YOU to our wagon masters, Scott & Marcia Hicks and Steve
& Linda Matthews! A nine-day rally
with three separate stops was a tremendous undertaking. The rally was a roaring success. And from this attendee’s perspective, the
rally came off flawlessly. I’d also like
to thank Linda & Jay Emory for providing the art supplies and leading the
“Sip and Paint” session for junior Picassos to create their own “SoCal Tsunami”
master piece.
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| Rally Guests-Ray & Wendy Sell-Oregon City Photo by: Scott Hicks |
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| Mike and Donna Hambarian Photo by: Sue Vargo |
Jerry’s Rogue Jets and the Rogue River Mail Boats are a careful blend of adventurous jet boating, nature based tourism and unscripted narrated entertainment; all of the captains are veteran boatmen of the Rogue River.
We saw deer, Osprey, heron, American bald eagles and turtles. We enjoyed a delicious fried chicken supper at a lodge along the river. We all got wet, did lots of spins, hooted and hollered and had a great day. No doubt everyone slept well that night.
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| American Bald Eagle Photo: Debi Johnson |
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| https://clipartcraft.com/ |
(I have it on good authority that Georgie’s in Newport is very good as well. Too many restaurants, not enough time!)
La Maison is a little sort of hole-in-the-wall bistro in Newport that is outstanding for breakfast. They bake their own goodies (go early, they open at 9:00 and run out quickly!) I love this place.
Next time I want to explore Nye Beach restaurants.
- Thriftway grocery store in Newport has a very nice wine shop with local (Oregon) wines.
- For a hardy, diner breakfast, Pig-n-Pancake is located in various towns on the coast.
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| Jellyfish made from recycled materials Photo by: Linda Matthews |
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| Steve and Linda Matthews--Co-Rally Masters Photo by: Linda Matthews |
After the Rogue River Mail Boat Run, eating gobs of wonderful seafood, and a walking tour of Florence led by our own Scott Hicks, what else could we do to have fun? We got to participate in a Sip N Paint class, led by Linda Emory. Linda took us through each step of the process as we painted each color of the background and then we carefully made our "wave" come to life--it was like magic!!
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| Linda Emory Photo by: Debi Johnson |
We sipped our wine. We painted. We laughed. There were a few “Oh no!” and “Oh my!”(s). Some of us were beginners and some more experienced, but thanks to Linda, we were all artists. Our Alpine Tsunami Waves rolled into Winchester Bay.
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| Bill Barr - "Tsunami Wave" Photo by: Rhoda Barr |
FLORENCE, OREGON
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| Scott Hicks Florence Walking Tour Photo from 2018 Archive |
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| Siuslaw Bridge Photo by: Debi Johnson |
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| Shores Acres Garden and Arboretum Photo by:Cindy Langerstrom |
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| Floribunda Rose Photo by: Cindy Langerstrom |
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| Simpson Beach Photo by: Cindy Langerstrom |
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| Steve Matthews, Scott Hicks, Marcia Hicks, Linda Matthews Photo by: Teresa Weitz |
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| Turtle Rock RV Park Photo by: Teresa Weitz |
