Sun, rain and wind in Borrego Springs

It was a crazy weather week in Borrego for the Rally. Seventeen rigs showed up for a week of fun in the sun but instead had a few days of rain and clouds. For the most part that doesn't slow down this group especially since we had access to the clubhouse for our gatherings.

The Sunday early arrivals enjoyed dinner at Carleighs and got caught up with Mike and Marcy Parker after their 5 month visit to Europe. Monday was one of the hot, sunny days so we sat outside to watch the arrivals while our Host, John Pumphrey, helped to back people in. Some went out to lunch at the Red Ocotillo (already decked out in Christmas stuff). In the evening, the entire group gathered for Happy Hour, chili and Monday Night Football. More groans than cheers were heard but that's typical when watching the Chargers.😏

 

Over the next few days, in between downpours, people visited the metal sculptures scattered throughout the area.There are over 130 and as you are driving around they just seem to pop up out of nowhere. Ricardo Breceda  crafted these amazing sculptures. Mr. Breceda often claims that he is done creating the sculptures but then another one appears in the barren landscape and the speculation continues. The sea dragon is one of the most impressive as it rises about 15 feet out of the ground and is 350 feet long.

Another between downpour excursion was to Fonts Point. The area is a sharp contrast from the surrounding flat desert area. It is a bit out of town but worth the drive. The road is firm sand for several miles. Visitors describe it as a "mini Grand Canyon" and the best viewing is at sunrise or sunset to see the colors dance among the ridges.

By Thursday, the sun was back but the temperature remained cool. Perfect for golf,  a nature walk, bike ride or visit to the Anza-Borrego Visitor Center.

No rally would be compete without a PotLuck. It was a nice surprise to see Clark and Betty Paxton visit. Their daughter drove in the drizzly rain to bring them. It was so nice to hear her tell everyone thanks for being so nice to her parents and that the Shanty Shakers are very important to them. 

Many thanks to John and Wendy P for hosting the rally. Also, thanks to all who submitted pictures (Larry, Victor, Ron, Mike P to name a few.)

Rally in Prescott, AZ

Submitted by Larry Rice

We took a hint from Mike & Marcy Parker, who advised us that going early and staying a day late was so much better than just sticking to the Rally dates.  Sandy & I arrived a week early and proceeded to roam the surrounding sights. In that week, we went to Jerome, and once again with the Chapter, Sedona (twice), caught the end of a Corvette Rally on Whiskey Row, downtown Prescott. (That’s pronounced ‘Preskit,’ NOT Pres-cot), in case you want to sound like a local.  

We also took a day to drive to Williams and board the Grand Canyon Railway bound for the canyon of the same name.  The train ride was replete with singing cowboys, two to be exact, train robbers (they got $2 from us) who walked through our car so fast that it prompted Sandy to say, “That wasn’t worth $2.00!”  One of the other passengers said, “That’s because YOU WERE ROBBED!”

Chapter members started to arrive late Saturday and more Sunday in time for the Chili Dog Cookout at Garth & Judy’s House.  There were newbies and oldies alike.  New faces for a lot of us to meet.  Chili, hot dogs and all the fixin’s were there with a special Chocolate Wine and ice cream.

Monday was ‘on your own’ for relaxing, exploring or wandering around Orchard Ranch RV Resort.  Their own library was where you could also get Wi-Fi, beautiful laundry room, billiards, that giant “Ping Pong’ on a small tennis court thing, clay (lawn) bowling or riding your bike.  Like old people, by 4 o'clock, we were at Gabby’s Mexican Restaurant for dinner that evening. 

The next night, Tuesday, was a Potluck Dinner at John & Debbie Lupton’s House, also residents of Prescott, but Shanty Shakers just the same.  We met John & Debbie at Escapades 59, last year.  They were both very busy volunteering their time then, so it was good to spend some more leisurely time getting to know them this trip.  During the day on Tuesday, Judy had arranged a tour of the campus at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, one of the top aviation and aerospace schools in America.  It was interesting to see the young (smart) people learning all about flight and space travel.  They even taught drone flying there.

Wednesday, like all the other days, had perfect weather.  Clear blue skies, light cool breeze and warm sun, about 74.  This day, most of us, caravanned to Jerome, up State Route 89-A – known as 156 turns in 12 miles.  Ron & Elaine Guidotti rode with us and we ended up roaming the town together, where we ate lunch at “Grapes,” a little restaurant that looked like it was originally built in about 1888, with an old west saloon styling inside.  I strongly recommend the “Tuscan Berry” Salad.  I ranked it in the top three salads of all-time; certainly, a Hall of Fame shoe-in. 

While wandering around the shops, Ron received a text from Richard & Shirley Melendez, tipping us off to an Old Ghost Town that was about a mile behind the Sedona Fire Department.  It turned out to be a highlight of the day.  I won’t ruin the eventual trip that you might make to this location someday, but it ended with ‘chicken taming’ and that’s not something you get to do every day.  

Wednesday night was Taco Tuesday at the local Elks Lodge, (they’re on Arizona time, so they were a day late).  We filled our share of tables and we got to spend a little time with Karl & Janis Schaefer, been in our Chapter for a year, but this was their first trip with us.

Thursday was departure day for us as we had to be back home by Saturday, but most members were still there for a tour of Touchmark (an upscale retirement community) and lunch was served for us there.  (I guess Judy & Garth want more friends to move there in their old age). 😉

There was a dinner at Carle’s the final evening – but I can’t comment, as I said, we had an earlier departure that morning. (maybe Sharan can comment on the dinner 😃)

We went to several great museums, ate lunch in some cute restaurants, bought some useless stuff, t-shirts for the grandkids and even took a Haunted Walking Tour of the Haunts of Whiskey Row in Old Town ‘Preskit.’ Learned how to take Ghost pictures and other memorable stuff.

It felt good, as the last slide was powered in, when several of the remaining Chapter Members filtered over to say, “Good-bye” with hugs and handshakes at our almost vacant campsite.  We left what was our longest-ever campsite with a warm feeling of being a real part of the Shanty Shakers.

And as always, “Honey, I’m sorry for the things I said while we parked the rig.”

- Larry Rice

Spaghetti Factory Lunch

Submitted by Faith Foster:

Old friends and new friends met at the Spaghetti Factory  in San Marcos for lunch, conversation and hugs. It was wonderful to see each other. Clark and Betty topped off the meal with two cakes. They celebrated 72 years of marriage  I heard one girl say (they have been married longer than  I have been alive). Congratulation and see all next year.

Hugs Vern & Faith

Thank you to Jeanne Hawkins for the pictures !!

Summer Picnic at the Beach

Submitted by Sharan Harrison:

About 34 Shanty Shakers enjoyed the lovely breezes at Crown Point Shores in the shade of a giant tree on July 24th.  A few people brought rigs and there was plenty of parking for them. The event was hosted by the new Wagonmaster committee spearheaded by Jim and Sharan Harrison

Jim brought 2 kayaks and Mary Ann Cathey graciously accompanied people out on the water with them as she is the experienced kayaker.  Jim also brought a Tandem Bicycle which was a hoot to pedal around on.  A bunch of people went on a bide ride by the Bay to work up an appetite.

This cute, young lifeguard paddled out to the kayakers to make sure the ol timers could make their way back in against the wind. Sure fooled her !!

 Energizer bunny Jim, fashioned a large grill to fit over the fire pit on the beach and brought copious amounts of wood so he could grill the burgers and dogs the old fashioned way (he also used charcoal).

We had some salads and desserts to accompany the meal. And everyone seemed to have a good time doing what we love to do best and that is EAT and visit with each other.  Many agreed that this should be an annual event as July is usually stay at home in San Diego month while the rest of the world swelters and jockeys with vacationers for camping spots at favorite destinations.

End of the day firepit

We have to come up with a Rally for September!  It will still be summer but the tourists have all gone home by then to put their little darlings back in school! 

Credit to Jeanne Hawkins, Sue Pace. and Sharan Harrison for the photos. Thanks !!

Peaceful Julian rally

Relaxing and cozy. That would be a good description of the Rally at Pinezanita Campground In Julian. With only five rigs there was plenty of time to sit and chat, getting to know friends even better. Coffee and sweet rolls in the morning, happy hours with munchies and a pot luck all on the agenda. There were long walks through the campground and sitting in the evening until the bugs chased in for an evening or reading or watching DVDs.

 

The highlight was an outing to Lions, Tigers and Bears, a big cat and exotic animal rescue located in Alpine.

LIONS, TIGERS AND BEARS

submitted by Mike Formico

For those of you who didn’t go, you should put this on your bucket list. The place is a sanctuary for large rescued animals, who will live out the rest of their lives in this wonderful setting. Our tour started out with a video presentation and a short intro talk by one of the volunteers. Did you know that many states do not have any laws concerning the keeping of exotic animals. They are cute till they start to get big. We were able to stand as close as 5 feet from lions, tigers and bears. Up close these are beautiful animals. One thing that really struck me was in a zoo setting these are big animals but standing next to them they are REALLY BIG ANIMALS. When they stand on their hind legs, we look very very small. I think everyone both enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about the exotic animal trade in the U.S.

The rally itself was very small. In total we only had 5 rigs.

While it was 105 in town, we were very comfortable amid the trees. Hopefully we can do better next time.

Mike

Tom and MaryAnn C stayed at near-by Cuyamaca Lake. Tom wanted to go fishing. Other than a tree stump, here is his catch of the day.😃

CARE Auction: A new record !!

Submitted by Mike Formico:

I want to thank everyone who helped make our rally and 30^th anniversary a success. I believe we had 25 rigs at Pechanga and a number of folks drove out both Tuesday and Wednesday. The auction was a great success with over 60 people attending. Don, as usual, was a great auctioneer. We took in over $2,300 for CARE. The items everyone brought for the auction were great. I don’t think anyone went away from the pot luck hungry.

The 30^th anniversary was standing room only. We completely filled the main room and used the second room for serving. Herb, Dayle, John and Wendy and their crew served an excellent dinner. If you missed it, you missed a great meal.

I would also like to thank Herb and Dayle Sands for all their years of helping to make Shanty Shakers a success. As you may or may not know, they are moving to Colorado to be close to family. Maybe in the future we might have a rally in their neighborhood. I hope everyone enjoyed the rally as much as I did.

Mike Formico

(President)

Sunday was very windy for the early arrivals and Monday had scattered rain showers and cool temperatures. As always, the group found a way to have Happy Hour and gathered under an area for shade by the pool. Nothing stops this group !

Tuesday started off with a Pot Luck followed by the auction for CARE.

 

Don Regnier does a great job as auctioneer and pumping up the bids. His able assistant John Pumphrey would give some clues about the weight or smell of the wrapped gift. There are always  good laughs as the bidding becomes lively then the fun of seeing what the gift was.

On Wednesday the Chapter celebrated their 30th anniversary with a yummy, catered lunch. Thanks again to John &Wendy P and Herb & Dayle Sands for arranging the special celebration

The cake was cut by members who have been with the Chapter the longest, Clark and Betty Paxton and members who were the most recent to join, Marty and Sue McMahon.

Thank you to Brian Downing and Sue Ford for contributing the pictures for this post. 

59th Escapade in Tucson, AZ

(From Escapees.com)

"Escapade, our national rally is the largest and most extensive gathering of the Escapees community. It is a fantastic way to learn more about the RV lifestyle from professionals, as well as from experienced RVers, all while having an amazing time! Escapade packs a wide variety of seminars, social gatherings, nightly entertainment and much more into five, fun-filled days."

That about sums it up ! Five jam packed days and nights ! Shanty Shakers had about 22 rigs attend this year (that is why there were only 12 people at the monthly meeting 😄). Most of us were able to park together but some were in the Staff area, some in Handicap area and a few in Boomers area. 

We gathered Thursday night at the Spotted Bull Eatery one exit away from Fairgrounds so we could caravan in as a group. Dinner was good, the beer was better but the Karaoke in the Saloon was not so good according to our sources. 😝

We spent Friday getting settled in and registered. Despite the chilly wind a small die-hard group still gathered for the beloved Happy Hour.

Sunday morning started with opening of the Row of Chapters (aka: the Row). Wayne and Lynn Selden represented Chapter 25 and stayed very busy talking to fellow RVers. Later that afternoon was the official start of events with the Opening Ceremony. There were two highlights from that time. The first was the recognition of the Chapters celebrating milestone anniversaries. Our group stood and whooped and hollered when Chapter 25 was announced for announcing their 30 year anniversary.

The second highlight was hearing John Luptons name drawn for the $250 prize of the night. But why did Debbie go up to collect the money and was later seen sticking it in her pocket? 😉 (Note: John was working on the sound system).

Speaking of John and Debbie, they graciously hosted a St Patrick's Day potluck with corn beef, cabbage, potatoes and Irish stew (provided by Barbara Downing) that evening. It was a great time ! Then back to the event center for the evening entertainment provided by the American Rogues, an American/Canadian Celtic Band to "help get your Irish on" 

Monday the seminars began along with the Arts and Crafts. The Row stayed very busy and Chapter Director Lockie Sailer presented Wayne and Lynn with the Certificate recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Chapter's formation. Do you want to know what the most frequently asked question was to our Row Reps? It was "what is a Shanty Shaker?"  Do you know how to answer that?  (hint: Look carefully at our logo)

Brian Downing taught a beginners and intermediate painting and a few of our members attended. Never thought Wayne had it in him 👌 Speaking of Brian, he also won 3rd place in two categories in the photo contest. Proud of you, Brian !!     

 Since the wind finally died down, the group had a Happy Hour. People passing by told us we had the best HH going on !

The next few days were filled with seminars, shopping at the Vendor Fair then more of the same.

Tuesday evening we had a huge Bar-b-Que with hamburgers, brats, side salads and desserts. By this time our gatherings were growing as we picked up several new Chapter members and of course invited the neighbors since we were taking over the area. Thanks to the guys for grilling !

 

The gathering continued on past sunset and out came the propane firepit. It was a good day with good food and great friends !!

We need to give recognition to our Chapter members who served many long hours working as Staff.

Carol and Matt Matteson worked as Assistant Coordinators. They were both so busy, their pictures had to be taken separately.

John Lupton worked with the Sound Team. Debbie worked as Seminar Host and wherever else she was needed.

Marty and Peggy McCauley worked the Registration table,  and Marty taught a seminar on VA benefits.

Bruce and Sue Herriott volunteered to work the Volunteer Desk

Others gave a few hours of their time to provide transportation or serve popcorn

Bob and Dianna Simons had a table on the Row representing the WARE (Western Area Rally for Escapees) rally and attempted to recruit the next hosts. (anybody have a picture of them? Please email to Shantyshakers25@gmail.com to be added)

Wednesday evening we had a group dinner back at the Spotted Bull Eatery. Garth and Judy Carle as well as Don and Tracy Braun came for the day to visit everyone.

Thursday evening if you were not totally exhausted yet, there was a Fiesta by the Cantina with food trucks and live music. (sorry no pictures)

Carol and Matt made the table decorations in the Hospitality area. When all the coffee and donuts were served, the decorations were sold and the money donated to CARE.

Speaking of coffee and donuts...here is a screenshot from a Facebook post

It was a great week with a lot of camaraderie. The 60th Escapades will be in Rock Springs, Wyoming on June 21-26, 2020. SAVE THE DATES NOW !! The venue has 1200 FHU sites so there will be plenty for whoever wants one.