Mountain Ranch Rally , So. Cal

[Gina D.]

oh, great Bob!

We'll miss ya, but do drop by for a visit!

[Gina D.]

And I am askeered of turtlies!

[Gina D.]

Well, here is an overview of the early turnout..





actually, everyone is here except for Val and Kayla.. they should be arriving shortly.

I did more, but I will post em in the morning!

[Donna D.]

Everyone okay? Watchng CNN and I understand there's a fire in your area... they've just said that several campgrounds have been evacuated in the San Bernardinos

[Lauren]

The location looks beautiful! Hope you all have a great time.

[Bobbie Mayer]

The location is beautiful, and it was great to meet everyone.

Unfortunately, on our way down my oldest corgi, Merlin, had a seizure (first ever) and then at 2 AM he had another, so I packed up before dawn and left to get back to our vet before they closed for the weekend. So far we don't know the cause of the seizures but have some phenobarbital in case another occurs.

Let's hope the Lake Casitas Rally goes better for us.

By the way, the fire is well north of the ranch, not even the slightest smell of smoke there. (Still plenty here in Fresno.)

Bobbie

[Jeanne and Steve]

Unfortunately, on our way down my oldest corgi, Merlin, had a seizure (first ever) and then at 2 AM he had another...

Bobbie,

We're so sorry to hear about your dog's health troubles. Our best wishes are with both of you.

Jeanne and Steve

[Gina D.]

and that folks, is called being a responsible pet owner. Don't blame her a bit for the sudden departure, and we were sorry to see her go. It was nice to see the famous trailer in person, she is doing great work with it.

Here is a pic of her "herd".





The fire is huge, yes, but it is near Big Bear and does not effect this end of the mountain. We all took a drive out to the "rim" to look at antique stores in some of the small bergs along the way here and saw the mushroom clouds. It is indescribable, but.. it is also part of modern life here in the San Bernardinos. The evactuated camprgrounds are very popular ones, and I am sure many folks were upset, but..

A couple small towns have been evaced too.

[Gina D.]

Val and Kayla arrived at o dark 30 last nite in their beautiful Bigfoot, and Cindy a Bob arrived in their 13 ft Scamp they are redoing.

Tonite everyone played sequence (Well, Fred and I were the hold outs) ate tons at the pot luck and we visited under electric light for the evening.

Tomorrow, I want to show folks our lake. We can't go to the ghost towns as the hiway is shut for the fire

Jim and Val have done LOTS of pictures, so I didn't do so many, but here are a couple more.. Fred expressing his opinion at my opinion..

and my pigsty..

[Gina D.]

and here is "Casita Corner"

[Bobbie Mayer]

I'm bummed out about not seeing the Bigfoot.

Merlin seems better today- yesterday he was zonked. (So was I, though!) He's the one trying to climb into my lap in the picture.

Bobbie

[Linda R002]

Sorry you had to leave Bobbie, but glad everyone is feeling better today.

[Bobbie Mayer]

At least I got to test out the new bed arrangement in the Campster. It works great- the bed is now about a short full size widthwise across the front of the trailer, and two seats near the kitchen. It lets me walk in and sit down, or get into the bed with a lot less effort than it used to be, and it makes for a lot more floor space. Plus I was able to kick the dogs out onto the seats when they wanted to take all my foot space up.

I still need to figure out a table to use there. I looked at Gina's and liked it but I think I want something that can be angled over the opening or moved out of reach. I'm thinking of finding one of those little desks with the side-arm table that rotates up and modifying it to mount on the wall between the kitchen and bed area.

Once I straighten up a bit I'll post a photo of the new bed setup. In my hurry to pack up I left a door not quite tightly latched... and you know the rest of the story! Nothing opened, luckily, but stuff all over the floor.

Bobbie

[Lisa M.]

I'm glad Merlin is okay and you got to test out your Campster. It's weird that he should have had those seizures. It really strikes me as peculiar because the first real camping trip we took with the Casita that we took Jobi on (my 3 year old shepherd mix), she also had two seizure-sort-of-episodes. It was kind of scary at the time, especially since it took us awhile to bring her around. She's been fine since then though. It makes me wonder if traveling stresses their system or something, even when they enjoy it.

[V'sGlassSleeper]

Hi Everyone!

Despite our late arrival on Friday night, Kayla and I really enjoyed meeting everyone on Saturday and hanging out with y'all. I have a number of things to catch up on today, but will post photos and our two cents' worth soon, hopefully this evening.

We wanted to thank all of you for the friendly welcome, great company and expert guidance!

Val

[Bobbie Mayer]

Hi Everyone!

Despite our late arrival on Friday night, Kayla and I really enjoyed meeting everyone on Saturday and hanging out with y'all. I have a number of things to catch up on today, but will post photos and our two cents' worth soon, hopefully this evening.

We wanted to thank all of you for the friendly welcome, great company and expert guidance!

Val

What time did you get in? I looked before I left for a new addition but didn't see you.

Bobbie

[Linda R002]

Thanks Gina and tell Jody thanks too. We had a great time. You were a great host. Taking us to antique shops, and then leading us to the forest service station and showing us the best camp spot after the rally. We are camping here now enjoying the peace.

And it was great to meet so many wonderful people and animals. It was great to meet people who love to antique shop as much as we do. And playing cards was fun as well as the wonderful pot lucks. We sure hope to meet all of you again some time.

[Gina D.]

Linda, are you having fun watching the air show??? Great spot, isn't it? Whats on TV?????

Thanks to everyone for coming, it was a great group. I don't often get to show off the neighborhood. I hope ya'll got home safely! Sorry about that smoke thing.. but... I promised you a disaster, and at least this was just a "show" disaster and not a big one for this end of the mountain.

And thanks to everyone that played twister in my trailer trying to help with the plumbing disaster! Thats a subject for another thread... but, I think it was actually kind of funny. Where else can you get that wet and still walk away?

[V'sGlassSleeper]

What time did you get in? I looked before I left for a new addition but didn't see you.

Bobbie

Bobbie, We got in after midnight and drove down to where the Casitas were parked, pulled up as quietly as possible behind Linda and Dale's rig, and just went to bed without trying to unhitch, stabilize or level anything. We really missed seeing you, though we are glad Merlin's okay now, and could understand why you had to leave so suddenly. Hope to meet you at a future gathering!

Gina did an amazing job of organizing and hosting this gathering, piloting us around the Crestline area on Saturday, and providing expert step-by-step instructions on how to properly and safely level and hitch our trailer (with very important details on getting the Equalizer sway bars on and off) and dumping and clean out technique. Gina, you are AWESOME! And, BTW, your two beagles are adorable, but where were those infamous flying monkeys? Just read about your grey tank and hope that gets resolved quickly!

Chuck shared with us what tires to buy when our old ones wear out, the benefits of a good camper shell (I think you may have convinced Kayla, who was pretty set against one), Passport, Trailer Life & KOA info, and a very cool gizmo that prevents the 7-pin from working its way out while on the road...(what is it called again? )

Frederick lent us his extra block levelers, provided great info on the uses for solar panels, and identified what all our roof vents were for.

Cindy & Bob showed us how to put up our awning and gave us the requisite tent stakes that we didn't know to have on hand (we hadn't ever unrolled our awning yet and had assumed it would need replacing, but it turned out to be nearly new and, while lacking the technical sophistication of the mounted roll-up awnings that most people have, it does a fine job and made our trailer look very homey).

Jim and Carol shared Passport, Trailer Life & KOA info, and clued us in on the aerodynamics of towing and the related benefits of camper covers and driving 55-60 mph (you were absolutely right, we got 12-15 mpg on the way home, which is decent considering that the truck gets 17-19 not towing).

Linda and Dale introduced us to their cat, Dallas, possibly a very appropriate option for folks with cat fur allergies, and a sweetheart to boot.

Jody, Don and Dominique graciously shared delicious baked goods with everyone and were very welcoming hosts.

We learned so much and had a wonderful time hanging out with everyone. Below are some photos of the trip into town, the potluck and some of the sweet rigs there (think I'll have to add photos via a few separate posts... seems I ran out of space in this one) Thanks, all!

Val & Kayla



Gina


Gina's Burro


Frederick's Fiberstream


Chuck's Casita & Jim & Carol's Casita

[V'sGlassSleeper]

The potluck & Linda & Dale's Casita


Cindy & Bob's Scamp


Val & Kayla's Bigfoot


Frederick