Northern Exposure--Day 7

This evening was the official kickoff of the Monaco America Spring Rally here in Amana Colonies, Iowa. Since this past Thursday I have been a part of the Parking Committee for the rally. As the coaches come in we get them registered and then escort them to their site and help them get backed in. Thursday, Friday and Saturday we did this in 30 to 40 mile per hour winds with threatening rain. Today we got the rain for real. It started raining about 6:30 am, when I got out of bed, and by 8:00 am, when it was time to go to work, we had received one and a half inches of rain. It continued to rain off and on all day. As you can see from this picture we spent the day in rain gear rather than just our usual orange vest and red caps. We had 93 coaches scheduled to attend this rally but two called to cancel due to fear from the bad weather this area has been receiving. By 5:00pm today all but four of them were here and properly parked.

Tonight we had our rally opening welcome get together. The caterer set up a small buffet of snacks and we had an open bar. This gives everyone a chance to visit, get reacquainted with old friends and meet the first time attendees. Joanne and I had a good time visiting with everyone there. Tomorrow morning will start off with breakfast served by the caterer starting at 7:45 am.

Northern Exposure--Day 6

The Monaco America Spring Rally has not officially started yet and I'm exhausted. I volunteered to serve on the Parking Committee again at this rally. This consist of waiting up at the entrance of the RV Park for the coaches to arrive. When they come in we get them checked in, help them get their toad (the car we all usually tow behind the coach) unhooked and then escort them to their site on a golf cart. Once at the site we assist them in getting parked, usually by backing in. We have been doing this now from 7:30 am to around 5:30 to 6:30 pm for the last three days. This is all done out in the weather, which so far has been in 30 to 40 mile per hour wind blowing out of the southwest. Even though we are not doing really physical work the blowing wind really tires a person out.

We are expecting 90 coaches at this rally. As of this evening we have all but 20 or so here and set up. The rally officially kicks off tomorrow evening with a scheduled welcome party. At that point the caterer of the events will start serving. It has become traditional for many of our members to come in anywhere from one to several days early for the rallies. (Many of the large rallies do not allow any one to enter prior to the day before the official start date.) Due to so many of us coming in early, a few years ago we started having a potluck dinner the night before the official start of the rally. That is what we did tonight. As is typical with potluck dinners, there was an exceptional assortment of food and plenty to go around. After everyone ate we spent a lot of time sitting around visiting and catching up with old friends and making new ones. One of the great things about the RV lifestyle is the vast number of friends we have made from all over the country.

As stated, the rally officially starts tomorrow night with a welcome party complete with an open bar and light snacks provided by the caterer. We'll have a chance to meet the first time attendees and welcome them into the Monaco America family. Starting Monday and running through Wednesday the caterer will provide breakfast and dinner for everyone. We also get to have good entertainment each evening those three days following the dinner hour. Over the years we have had the pleasure of having a very talented couple, Ron and Kay Rivoli, provide our entertainment at some of our rallies. We are excited at seeing and hearing from them again this year in that they will be providing music for dancing on Monday night and then their Rivoli RV Revue on Wednesday. They are full-time RVer's who spend their time traveling the country performing their music. Not only have they provided great entertainment they have become great friends. After they arrived today I got the chance to visit with them for awhile (picture to left is me greeting Kay). Kay writes the songs and Ron sets them to music.

Northern Exposure--Day 3

Amana Colonies RV Park. Not one of the best parks we've been to but not one of the worst either. The sites are gravel and grass and not all that level. I had to do some fancy arranging to get the coach level. Had to put some boards under our right, rear tires or they would have been off the ground once the jacks leveled the coach. We have gotten fairly level. The coach is down a wee bit in the rear but we did not notice it while we slept last night.

Spent this morning cleaning the bugs off the front of the coach and put up the sun shade. Not sure how much we will need the sun shade though since it was overcast and dreary most of the day. The sun did peak out a little this afternoon and by 5:00 or so we had full sunshine. But, after dark the clouds came back and it rained for a little while. We're hoping that it clears off some so the RV sites can dry out before the bulk of the coaches arrive this weekend. Currently we have around 20 coaches here, mostly the club officer's and the volunteers that make these rallies work. We have had a good time visiting with old friends we have made over the years at the rallies.

Tonight 27 of us loaded into cars and went to dine at the Ox Yoke Inn in Amana. Although we had made reservations the place had not set up tables for us so we wound up in groups of six to eight at a table scattered around their dinning room. The food, mostly traditional German fare, was exceptionally good. One thing we have found that all RVer's seem to have in common is they like to eat well.

We were surprised with the area and the people when we arrived. We previously have had rallies where there are an abundance of Amish people and were expecting the same here, not knowing anything about the Amana Colonies. As it turns out these are two completely different sects and are very different, although they both come from a German/Switzerland background. The Amish have their roots in the Anabaptist movement, evolving from the Mennonites. They maintain the theology and lifestyle practiced 300 years ago, preferring to live without modern conveniences. The Amana people emerged as a part of the Pietist movement within the Lutheran Church in Germany, creating the Community of True Inspiration. They lived in a communal lifestyle from their migration to America in 1843 until this lifestyle was discontinued in 1932. Church life continues with very few changes, however, and many of the unique cultural traditions remain. The local Lutheran churches have two services on Sunday, one in German and one in English.

The Amana Colonies are made up of several communities, including Amana, East Amana, Middle Amana, High Amana, West Amana, South Amana and Homestead. As we get to explore the area we will be adding more information on the Amana Colonies.

Northern Exposure--Day 2

We were originally scheduled to arrive at the Amana Colonies RV Park in Amana, Iowa, tomorrow, June 4. After we made suck good progress yesterday we only had a little over 300 miles to go. We got up early this morning and headed out. Getting up early was easy considering we went to bed by 9:00 pm last night. Anyway, we headed north on U.S. 63 and just kept going. We arrived at the park about 3:30 this afternoon.



There are several coach's already here getting ready for the rally. The rally does not actually start until next Sunday but most of the Club officer's and key volunteers come in early to get everything ready. I usually help on the parking committee so we'll be getting all the sites ready and site assignments made. This makes it much easier when the main body of coaches start arriving on Friday and Saturday.



They have had a great deal of rain in this area. Driving up through northern Missouri and southern Iowa we were amazed at how many of the creeks and rivers were out of their banks and the fields that were covered with water. The RV park here received another inch or so of rain this morning. Everything is pretty wet and muddy. One coach has already gotten stuck and had to be pulled out by a tractor. They got off the edge of the gravel road when turning into their assigned site and buried their rear axle. The only way to pull these big coaches out of the mud is to pull them from behind with a VERY large tractor.



By the time we got parked, got the car unhooked and all the utilities set up it was time to relax and visit with some of our old friends. Tomorrow it will be time to get the bug and grim off the front of the coach so I can put the sun screen over the windshield. Of course, if the weather does not get better we may not see the sun while we are here.

Northern Exposure--Day 1

We finally returned to the road today. Left home around 7:00 am and headed up I-44 toward Tulsa. We had an appointment at the Monaco dealer in Claremore to get our windshield fixed where it was leaking around the seal. The glassman was there when we arrived and completed the job in about 20 minutes. We really had expected to be there several hours.

When the work was done we stopped at Flying J and topped off the fuel tank and then headed out. Original plan was we hoped to get as far as Joplin, MO, since we expected an extended period of time in Claremore. As it turned out we moved right along and decided to take I-44 all the way to Rolla, MO, before stopping for the night. Rolla is where we planned to leave the interstate and head north on U.S. 63. About fifty miles out from Rolla we hit a major rainstorm. Things were working fine until my windshield wiper decided to break. The clip that held the wiper frame to the arm popped off and the wiper frame/blade broke and fell down on the arm. So, here we are in a driving rain and no wiper on the driver's side. About 20 miles west of Rolla we saw a Wal-Mart so we pulled in there. I was able to get a new wiper, although not the exact same size, and then spent awhile installing it. At this point we decided to not move on and just spent the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Stopping over night at Wal-Mart is something we, along with many other RVer's, have done many times. We always check with the manager of the store to be sure it is okay. Thought Wal-Mart welcomes us with open arms some cities have ordinances against over night parking in public lots. There was not problem here. With the cost of diesel fuel I really did not want to run the generator to be able to fire up the TV so we just relaxed until it got dark around 9:00 and then went to bed. A good first day for being back on the road.

Some more pictures from the mini-reunion

As was mentioned in my previous post the mini-reunion was held in the American Farmers & Ranchers building. This building was originally the first high school built in Oklahoma City and was called Oklahoma High School. The name was later changed to Central High School. It is a four story building but when it was redesigned for offices the center was opened up for an large atrium going all the way up with a huge skylight in the middle. The above picture is in the atrium area and was the original school auditorium. In the background, behind where the tables are set up you can see what is left of the original stage. This picture was taken from what was the balcony level of the old auditorium.

George and Max Stone. One of the main reasons for this mini-reunion was to help celebrate our folks 71st wedding anniversary which occurred on May 15, 2008. Dad is the Patriarch of this Stone clan since is is the oldest surviving member.

We were some of the first to arrive. Here we are seated with my folks waiting for the others to arrive. In the picture, l to r, are my oldest grand daughter Aurora, my wife Joanne, my mother-in-law Mardell, my folks, and me.

Our family, from r to l, George, Max, George Jr (Bill), Chester, David and Richard (Rick). We are lined up in order of age.

And here is my family posing with the folks. R to l, George, Max, Cadence (youngest grand daughter), Rick, Joanne, Alex, Aurora (middle grand daughter) and Alan.

This is the whole group of family members who showed up to honor my parents. These include many of their extened family, including the some of the children of Dad's siblings and also his surviving brother and sister.

A mini Stone family reunion

Today we had a family get together. We normally have a family reunion every other year in June. The one today was an impromptu gathering put together by my father to get the family together for some pictures and visiting. This also was to help celebrate my parents 71 wedding anniversary, which was this past Thursday, May 15. We had the gathering at the American Farmers Ranchers building in downtown Oklahoma City. This historic building was the first high school in Oklahoma City, built in 1907, and was originally called Oklahoma High School. As other high schools were built in the city the name was changed to Central High School. The school closed some years ago due to the low number of school aged residents in the downtown area. Southwestern Bell Telephone (now AT&T) bought the building after the school closed and completely remodeled the interior. When they moved out a couple of years ago Oklahoma Farmers Union bought the building. My father had served as President of OFU from 1956 to 1980. He still sits on the Board of Directors of this organization which has now changed it's name to American Farmers & Ranchers. In the picture to the left my father welcomes everyone as my mother looks on.


We had around 40 people show up today. In addition to us four sons and our families, several cousins were there along with Dad's younger brother and sister. My folks are both 89 years old. Dad is the sixth of eight children in his family. Only the youngest three are still living. Mom is the middle of three children. Both her younger brother and older sister have passed on. In the picture to the right is my brother, David, with his family plus Ray Wulf, current President of American Farmers & Ranchers, and my oldest son, Alex.


As to my family, all were there except for my oldest grand daughter. Emma was sick and her mother decided to keep her home. Both of my sons, Alex and Alan, were there along with Alan's two youngest daughters, Aurora and Cadence. Aurora is two years old and Cadence is one. The picture to the left is Alex, holding Aurora, and Alan, holding Cadence. Although all three of my grand daughters have different mothers they all have a major resemblance to Alan, their daddy.



Here is a picture of the proud grandpa with his girls. The families don't see as much of each other as we did when I was growing up. With every ones busy lives today it just does not seem to work out. It is a real shame. I was fortunate to be able to grow up knowing and socializing with my many cousins. Most of our kids today hardly know each other. Bill, the oldest of my brothers has a daughter and grand daughter that both live in Florida. His son passed away several years ago. Chester, the next oldest, has three sons and a daughter plus four grand kids. David has a son and a daughter plus a daughter-in-law who live in Tulsa. As mentioned I, the youngest, have two sons and three grand daughters. None of our kids have grown up around each other. Again, that is unfortunate and I think they really missed out.


Anyway, this was a great day for all the family and a great show of respect to my parents.

Getting on the road again soon

I've been finishing up our schedule for this summer, getting reservations completed, etc. We're getting anxious to get on the road and back into the RV lifestyle. Included in our next travels will be time in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. We'll go completely across Missouri on our way up. When we start home we will most likely head over to North Dakota, since we've never been there, and then work our way back south through South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.

Here is our schedule for June and July:

06/02 Gaston Melon RV, Claremore, OK (Windshield repair)
06/03 Enroute
06/04-06/07 Amana, IA, Amana Colonies RV Park
06/08-06/11 Amana, IA, Monaco America Spring Rally
06/12-06/15 Amana, IA, Amana Colonies RV Park
06/16-06/21 Eastman, WI, Frenchmans Landing Campground
06/22-06/25 Baraboo, WI, Fox Hill RV Park
06/26-06/30 Fairchild, WI, Briarwood RV Park
07/01-07/06 Prior Lake, MN, Dakotah Meadows RV Park
07/07-07/11 Willmar, MN, Monaco International Pre-Rally

07/12- 07/25 Duluth, MN, Lakehead Boat Basin

We'll have to make a stop off in Claremore, at the Monaco RV Dealer, on the way out. They replaced our windshield this past October. Since we had not used the coach much we did not realize it did not seal well. After a major storm last week we discovered a major leak around the top windshield gasket.

Another short adventure in the RV

We were able to take a few days and get out in the RV. Last Thursday we loaded up and headed east of Oklahoma City to Wes Watkins Lake to join our local RV club the Birds of a Feather. After getting parked and set up we joined the other couples to visit and catch up to date on each other since last month. A major part of our monthly outings consist of circling the lawn chairs and kicking back and visiting. Up until recently Joanne and I were the youngest folks in the club but a new couple has joined that are a year or so younger than me.

We had ten coaches come together for this outing. On Thursday evening several of us went up to the Firelake Grand Casino for dinner to enjoy their buffet. This was an outstanding meal but, as with most buffet meals, most of us ate way too much in an attempt to get our monies worth. After dinner it was back to our lawn chair circle to visit. Later that evening a storm front moved though the area producing tornadoes a few miles directly north of us but left us alone. Later, in the wee hours of the morning, we did get some rain, small hail and much wind. Or at least I was told that is what happened. I slept through the whole thing.

Friday morning we got up to no hot water in our coach. I learned this after getting in the shower and turning on the tap. At first I figured we had popped a 12v fuse since heater would not work on either propane or electric. With the help of some of the other guys it was discovered a thermo cut-off had gone bad. Fortunately one of the other men had an extra one and got us back up. Later I drove into town to an RV dealer and purchased a couple, one to return to my friend and the other to have as a spare. Friday evening all 20 of us went to a small cafe just down the road for a great meal. This was a small, family owned restaurant and the food was delicious.

During the weekend several folks entertained themselves with playing games. A game of RV Scavenger Hunt was played Friday evening. Each couple was given a list of things that had to find in their coach. One of the guys set up a television on a picnic table and hooked up his Wii gameset. A fun time was had with the folks trying to bowl without actually holding a bowling ball. Also, a rousing game of Mexican Train domino's was played. There is never a loss of things to do when this group gets together.

A major hit of the weekend was our little dog, Buddy Joe. As it turned out he was the only dog in attendance this month. Wherever we go the RV park rules always require dogs to be kept on a leash when outside the coach. Since this is early in the season there were very few other campers in the park and they were a ways from us. Due to this Buddy was able to pretty much roam free while we were with the group. Everyone adopted him and he was more spoiled than ever by the time the weekend was over. The biggest problem was to keep everyone from sharing their food with him.

On a more serious note, we received a call on Friday from our dear friends, Don & Vicki Leith. These are one of the couples that we traveled to Florida with in 2007 and have become great friends. They have spent the better part of the past year building their dream home on a lake in central Arkansas after being full time RVer's the past three years. They originally lived in southern California. Anyway, it seems the storm that went past us Thursday night continued east and went directly through their community. That was the first night they had spent in their new home after taking possession this past week. The tornado's that came down hit their house, completely destroying it and their car. Fortunately they had a safe room built into the house and we able to seek cover there. Although they are devastated right now we are very glad that they did not suffer any personal injuries. The picture of their house is from the local Arkansas newspaper story on the storm.

A family gathering

We were able to have a good visit with Joanne's brother and his family, from Minnesota, last week. First, her nephew, Mark, along with his wife, Wendy, and his kids, Zack and Lexie, arrived on Wednesday, April 23. Jo's brother, Roger, arrived on Thursday, April 24, along with his wife, Marilyn, and daughter, Heather. During their time here we had several meals out together and they also made a trip down to Texas to take in a Texas Rangers/Minnesota Twins baseball game. We also had a cookout at our house on that Sunday evening, thanks to the large box of steaks that Mark brought with him. They all try to make it down to Oklahoma at least once per year to visit Jo's mom, who lives here in Oklahoma City. Additionally, Roger always has a list of things that need to be done around his mom's house waiting for him. The timing for this year's trip was so that Heather could compete in the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Marathon Race. She ran the half-marathon this year.

During the several visits and dinners together we also got to visit with Joanne's niece, Carrie, and her family, who live here in the Oklahoma City area. If you've read my previous blogs along the way you will find that Carrie, John and little J.J. are very special to us and we throughly enjoying seeing them. In the picture here Joanne's mom, Mardell, is holding J.J. with Carrie and John looking on. Also in the picture are Zack and Lexie.

J.J., who turned one this past December, really took to Lexie, who is nearly four, and would jump at her, grab her around the neck and wrestle her to the ground. It has been decided that J.J. definitely prefers blonds.