The end of the rally

all the diesels rolling away....

The FMCA regional rally ended on Sunday. By the time we returned from our glass float excursion, the RV's were streaming out of the casino grounds to their next destinations. 

By early afternoon, the grounds had emptied out and it was very quiet compared to the hubbub of the previous four days.

empty vendor and dining tent 

We had planned to stay one more night before continuing on to Bend, Oregon. However, the entire northwest corner of the country has been experiencing an uncharacteristic heat wave for this time of year, including three-digit temperatures inland where we would be traveling. 
We do have air-conditioners but the prospect of enduring such excessively hot weather is not particularly appealing when the coast is lovely and cool. So we changed our plans and are staying in Coos Bay at the Casino RV Park through the 4th of July, with an eye on any further weather changes. 
That is the appeal and benefit of a nomadic life in an Alpine... have wheels and will travel to where the weather is best.
Besides, a few days of R&R along the bay, the upcoming fireworks put on by the casino, places to explore nearby, and a very handy buffet a few steps away at the casino restaurant, sounds quite pleasant to me.
Oh, and did I mention that my Bernina is with me, as well as several flannel strips that are beckoning to be turned into a scrappy quilt top...

Speeders

Gadding about in our Alpine is an ongoing education. I learned something new on Sunday morning. We were getting ourselves ready to leave for the glass float excursion when we noticed what looked like a miniature rail-car moving along the railroad that passes through the casino grounds. 

It was hilarious. It reminded me of a Smart Car on a train track.

Inside were a couple of people who waved as they chugged past. We waved back and noticed that several more were approaching. I grabbed my camera.

This was a first for me so I looked it up. Now I know that these noisy vehicles are speeders, also known as a railway car, putt-putt, track-maintenance car, crew jigger, trike, quad, trolley, inspection car or draisine, once used as railroad inspection cars. 

I also found out that these vehicles are sought after by folks around the US and Canada. They belong to clubs and venture out together on outings, traveling along railroads in convoy. The speeder group we saw was granted permission to use the Coos Bay rail line for their annual rally, which happened to coincide with our rally.

It is always fascinating to discover the various interests folks have, and the different types of organizations there are. We are no different, I suppose, traveling with our Alpine group. But at least we travel in comfort. It must be a long and very noisy journey in these slow-moving speeders and surely only the very committed enthusiast must want to travel in this novel if not unique way.

Ah, the places we go and the things we see and learn....

Here are a couple of links for further information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speeder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlVgUrdvgME

Excursion to Bastendorff Beach

We signed up for the Glass Float excursion organized for the FMCA rally, to a secret beach location, thinking this might have something to do with Japanese glass fishing floats. It turned out to be more like an Easter egg hunt for seniors!  But it was still fun. 
The bus took us out to Bastendorff Beach, a few miles south of us. Ahead of time, the organizers hid lovely glass floats (we were educated that these are not "balls" but floats) in the grasses along the dunes. These blown glass floats are made by a local Indian artist, and the name of the Sawmill Casino is stamped on the bottom.
We were entitled to a glass float each and found them in no time. 

posing in the manner that Red explained at the Red&Bernie show: To look good
in photos, stand sideways to the camera lens, chin up, shoulders back and suck
your cheeks in.... not sure how well that worked, but it was fun trying!

Then the two of us went for a quick walk before heading back to camp.  We could happily have spent more time on this scenic beach.

pretty cliffs with a lighthouse perched on top  - can you see the hole in the
cliff wall?

oh what fun we seniors have!

panoramic shot of Bastendorff Beach

Here's a link about Bastendorff Beach and park:  http://www.oregonsadventurecoast.com/listings/bastendorff-beach/

And here is a link to information about glass floats (and why we thought we would be looking for ones described here):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_float

A traditional Indian salmon dinner

The Mill Casino, where the FMCA rally was held, is on tribal land, as are most casinos. This area is home to the Coquille Tribe and the rally attendees were treated to a traditionally cooked salmon dinner.

There is a cooking pit on the casino grounds where we were able to observe the process. The traditional Coquille method is to wrap the fish, and place it on top of hot wood coals. In the good old days, the Indians used seaweed and grasses to wrap the fish which they then covered with a layer of mud but today, several layers of heavy-duty tin foil is the modern method for achieving similar results.  Likewise, in days of yore, Indians included seal grease, myrtle leaves and berries to flavor the fish while it was cooking, and today butter, lemon, bay leaves, onion, salt and pepper season the fish.


We chatted with Don, a Vietnam veteran and elder of the neighboring tribe, who has handed down and taught the traditional secrets of this tribal cooking method to the Coquille's.










We watched the hotel chef, an expert in this cooking method, dig the foil packet out of the sand, and unwrap the whole cooked salmon with its two delicacies.... which were offered to us to try. One brave lady popped the eyeball into her mouth and declared it quite tasty, similar to eating an oyster. The other delicacy, a cheek, was snatched up by another brave lady who also said it was tasty, like fish.

Interestingly, I didn't see any men jump to accept the tempting offer!

an eyeball and a cheek

We were all given generous portions of the salmon.  Traditionally, one would eat it out of one's hand, though we were given napkins. The fish was delicious, and so moist that it melted like butter in the mouth.

The other method of cooking salmon, which is the traditional way of the tribes further north, is to barbecue the fish over a fire. The salmon fillets are skewered on special wood stakes that lean over the wood fire. Towards the end of the cooking process, they are smeared with berries. We watched this process too, and enjoyed the result at the FMCA dinner. At the dinner we also sampled a traditional fried bun with accompanying berry butter and berry jam.

Northwest Motor Home Association's Play by the Bay Rally

We have had an active few days. This rally is on a smaller scale than the national Pomona rally we attended earlier this year, so it was not quite as hectic or overwhelming. 
Not all the Alpiners continued on to Coos Bay. The early birds who registered right away stayed in the RV Park at the Casino with full hookups. The rest stayed in the overflow dry camping area. Many, including us, had 30-amp electricity, while others dry-camped, relying on their generators.
As is typical with these rallies, there is a set program with meals, seminars, excursions, and entertainment. And of course, there are the vendors who carry all the absolute "must-haves" for RV-ers. RV dealers also come to these rallies to entice and convince, whether it's to down-size to a smaller model, move up to a larger one, or consider a newer model with all the latest bells and whistles. The new coaches and RV-s parked in neat rows, sparkle and beckon, and are an attraction for all. 

We enjoyed this rally. There were a few seminars that we missed in Pomona and were able to attend here. Michael's main interest is of course the technical aspects of the coach, like steering safety, and tow bars (for that eventual day when we also tow a car behind us). 

For me, the seminar on cleaning tips was interesting and I learned a few clever tips that apply specifically to RV's but also to general cleaning in our homes. I plan to post more about this later.

This time we attended a couple of interesting seminars together, about the National Parks and the geology of this area.  We live along a volatile subduction plate off the west coast that will one day let us know that it is there. Since Mother Nature is pretty much in control here, the best we can do is to be prepared just in case, and live life to the fullest.  In fact, the saying about eating dessert first seems to make a lot of sense!  Twice during the rally we were treated to the locally made ice-cream, and relished every scoop. 
In any case, the best information we came away with is that there are two types of tsunamis. A distant tsunami is caused by a large undersea earthquake, and will take at least a few hours to travel across the Pacific Ocean before it comes ashore. So, if we hear a siren, at least we can rest assured that we have up to four hours to move to higher ground. But, as the lecturer explained, it is the local tsunami that is of far greater concern. This would be the case when an earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction zone occurs. The Cascadia tsunami will reach the Oregon coast within 15 to 20 minutes. Such a massive earthquake, of magnitude 9 or greater, would be so strong as to knock us off our feet and we would find it hard to stand back up again. That is the clue to immediately move to high ground. While it is a certainty that an event of this magnitude is likely to happen, I definitely hope that it won't be in our life time. Or at least while we are Alpining along the coast somewhere.

Michael, being the plane nut that he is [in all senses of the word;) ], enjoyed the seminar on radio controlled aircraft. IF, and it's a big if, there is enough room in the basement storage, it would be fun to have one of those. However, I really would not like it if his plane displaced any of my allocated storage bins. Storage space is an on-going banter between us, as I have watched more and more "necessary equipment" find its way into the bays below.

The technology seminar is always interesting. It can be quite mind-boggling (for me) to keep up with this rapidly changing sector. We still subscribe to the good old-fashioned flip phone so it's quite enlightening to learn the various Apps that folks with their smart phones need to know. As smart as they may be, these phones also seem to complicate lives. 
The other aspects of technology relating to computers and televisions are also interesting. And quite startling at how quickly things have changed. When we did our around the country trip in our little Eurovan Pop-top in 2002, we stopped at various local libraries to log on to check emails. I sent emails to family and friends about our trip and more often than not would lose an entire document before I was able to save to disk or press send. Years later, we were so glad to be able to log on to the campground WiFi inside the camper. Many provided free access, though several charged a nominal fee. Now, WiFi is standard everywhere, but with so many of us using computers and smart phones, it often becomes a challenge to be able to log on. There are of course devices and add-ons that are available to make your Internet and TV viewing experience less of a hassle. I leave that to my tech-savvy hub who often helps me out with what I call the "tower of power", a WiFi booster antenna, that I use to upload photos to my blog.

One evening, we were entertained by Bernie and Red, a senior Canadian RV-traveling couple, whose comedic act and songs had us all laughing. The thing that struck me is that all the jibes were about aging and poked fun at this process and the changes that we gray-hairs now find ourselves facing, particularly with our bodies. I think the biggest hit was the bun-enhancing underwear that Red thought her husband ought to wear since the aging process seems to change that anatomically attractive area on older men. 
Likewise, for us women, she gave several good tips on how to pose for a photograph so that we all look at least ten pounds slimmer. However her truthful husband assured her that even from that vantage point, her "behind" still looked the same size to him. 
It's good therapy to laugh. And the evening with Bernie and Red was certainly therapeutic. Of course, the audience is retired, very gray (well, for those who embrace that fact without help), and in that autumnal period of life. Yet that does not deter us from living life to the fullest, traveling about in our RV's, and enjoying new experiences. And poking fun at ourselves.
The highlight of the evening, I think, was Bernie's rendition of the operatic version of O Sole Mio in Italian.... however, the only Italian lyrics he knows included every possible Italian food with a few Sophia Loren and Mario Lanza's thrown in for good measure. Bernie has a fine voice, which only made the spoof more hilarious. 

the big tent where we gathered for meals, and entertainment

On our way to Coos Bay

Next stop: Coos Bay and the Mill Casino where the FMCA northwest regional rally is being held. Coos Bay is a short hop from Winchester Bay, so it didn't take very long to drive the 20-some miles. 
The drive was pretty.  Here is what we saw - water, trees in abundance, and hills.... and eventually, sandy dunes, for which the Oregon coast is famous.

This striking bridge took as across the bay. 

Coos Bay is located just a few miles beyond North Bend. We could see the casino as we rounded a corner along Route 101.  Logging is still a major industry here, and the Mill Casino is appropriately named.

 We fell in line, and were ushered to our spot in the dry camping area, arriving with dozens of other coaches and RV's.  This will be our home for the next several days as we experience our first northwest regional FMCA rally.

The NoWACA group

This is our third rally and the first with the Northwest Alpine group.  After attending just three rallies so far, we can see that those who own Alpines love their coaches, enjoy getting together, and have made lasting friendships that span many years, no matter which association they belong to or which state they live in. We learned that next year NoWACA will be celebrating their tenth anniversary which means that this group has been having fun for a good long time. 
Just like the SoCal (Southern California) group, the NoWACA group also holds rallies every year. But unlike the Californians for whom the sun shines pretty much year-round, those of us living in the northwest experience colder winters, which limits the number of rallies. We may have fewer opportunities to gather but that just means that the time we spend together is relished to its fullest.

The Royce's renewing their vows with great jollity and laughter  - they were
good sports, coerced into donning "wedding attire"

At this rally, we also celebrated the 60th anniversary of a special couple, Fred and Carol Royce, one of the original founders and members of NoWACA. 
The rally hosts showered the Royce's  with a surprise celebration and it was a splendid affair, with lots of laughter and fun.  For me, it was heartwarming to learn that this wonderful couple is enjoying the RV lifestyle after 60 years together. Since we just celebrated our 40th, we can easily look forward to at least another 20 years of vagabonding about in our Alpine. 
Happy thought indeed.

We have now met many more Alpiners, several from our state and some who live close to us. We look forward to future rallies and get-togethers with them. And we have some good memories of good times, good laughs, and good food....and a lot of photos too.

good company, good food and plenty of wine (courtesy of the Royce's)

delicious chowder dinner

NoWACA newbies, T&M

A fine time was enjoyed by all.  The next rally will be in September...and yes, we are going to be there for the Ellensburg Rodeo...yee ha!

Winchester Bay

Winchester Bay is a unique place. We are all staying at the private RV Resort, but across the street from us are two state park campgrounds, and across the bay is a marina with more RV spots.
We took a stroll to see what we could see....

a striking wood sculpture at the marina

RV's, boats, and hawks

we watched these three graceful hawks for quite a while

the Umpqua River

the view across the bay

freshly caught, a fine feast for someone

back in camp, our friendly seal came by to say hello

Alpine living sure is fine....