Alpine Coach rally in Sisters, Oregon

We were barely home a couple of weeks from the Canada rally when we were off again to Oregon for the Sisters rally from September 12-17th. 

We arrived in Bend a few days before the rally to meet up with our friends, the Johnsons, and to visit Michael's sister and family. Whenever we are in Bend, I take the opportunity to have a sewing machine serviced and like to do some no-sales-tax-shopping in Oregon. 

We stayed at Sun Outdoors Resort (it used to be Crown Villa). The Archers also arrived a few days early and we enjoyed seeing them and also the Smiths who were staying in Sunriver. 

set up and ready to rally at Bend/Sisters Garden RV Resort

On Tuesday the 12th, we headed to Sisters to the Bend/Sisters Garden RV Resort, a mere 20 miles from Bend. Pat & Marcella Mayfield were our hosts (filling in for Scott Hicks who was having back issuses) and Steve & Linda Matthews kindly jumped in to be co-hosts. 

By 5PM all 23 coaches arrived and were set up. We gathered for Happy Hour at the pool patio, meeting up with friends we have not seen for a while, and met several Alpine newbies.  Pizza, salad and dessert followed.

The following morning, Wednesday 13th, after breakfast on the patio, we carpooled to the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, located along the Metolius Rivera. However there is no longer a falls here. Since 1984 a section of river upstream was diverted to provide water for the rearing ponds when the hatchery was constructed. 

The tour was most educational since I know nothing much about fishing or fish in general, other than the fish we eat.
We saw the pools where the brook trout and cutthroat trout fingerlings are reared for the air stocking program on odd years. 

The hatchery has a rainbow trout broodstock that supplies rainbow trout to the Deschuttes sub-basin and southeast Oregon. Kokanee salmon and rainbow trout are incubated and reared here for recreational fishing, as are spring Chinnok and summer steelhead as part of the reintroduction program in the upper Deschuutes Basin. Our guide explained how the eggs and sperm are harvested then incubated. And once the fingerlings "hatch" and grow, they are released into the ponds and cared for until ready for relocation.  As a control, sterile tigerfish (called the mule of fish, a cross between a female brown trout and a male brook trout) are introduced into rivers and ponds when necessary. The fish are "tagged" by snipping their fin. 

In the hatchery building we saw the trays that incubate the fertilized eggs. And we also saw what happens when DNA goes awry resulting in deformed fish. Apparently there once was a two-headed fish although all we saw was fish with crooked, humped backs or perhaps one fin. 

After the most enlightening tour we had an opportunity to feed the "retired" fish in a lake, sent there after three years of breeding to either be whisked off by osprey or fished by children on their June fishing day. 

From there we drove to Camp Sherman where we enjoyed lunch and ice-cream outside, then headed back for Happy Hour and a free evening. 

McKenzie River

The next morning, Thursday 14th, the plan was to drive along the Old Willamette Pass Highway to the Dee Wright Observatory and continue to Belknap Hotsprings for lunch. However several of us missed the turnoff and ended up taking a longer scenic route to Belknap Hotpsrings first. This turned out to be a resort along the McKenzie river, located deep in the forest, with a mineral hotsprings pool. There was an active fire in the area so we couldn't walk across the bridge and along a trail into the forest. Instead we enjoyed the bountiful flowering gardens and carved sculptures, then continued along the highway towards the observatory.

striking carvings and sculptures

the piano is a fountain, two musicians are growing moss on their heads

We didn't know what to expect, and anticpated a typical observatory with telescopes. Located at the summit of McKenzie Pass, this observatory turned out to be a shelter with several observation windows built atop an immense lava flow. We walked the spiral walkway to the top where we were treated to panoramic 360° views, then along the paths through the lava fields. We learned that this was once a wagon trail negotiated by pioneers, though how they managed to traverse this rocky, spiky lava terrain is astonishing. In time, the wagon trail became an automobile route and eventually the two-way, 34-mile Old Mc Kenzie Highway with its hairpin bends and turns descending back to Sisters. 

Back at the RV Resort we gathered again for Happy Hour on the patio followed by a Country BBQ catered dinner. We certainly never feel hungry at rallies! And the social time and camaraderie is always enjoyable as we catch up with friends and get to know new folks and share experiences about our coaches and various trips, and issues we may have had and how to fix them. Newcomers are always appreciative of help and advice. 

Friday was the designated Free Day to pursue activities of choice. Or not. The golfers enjoyed time on the local golf course. We quilters started at the well-known Stitching Post quilt shop in town, then continued on to a couple of more quilt shops in Bend. And yes, the temptation is simply too much to resist which means we all came away with yet more fabric to add to our sizeable stashes at home.

Saturday morning after breakfast on the patio, we gathered at the resort's putt-putt course. This is now a tradition during our rallies in Sisters and always a fun activity with a mixture of excited cheers as well painful exclamations when a ball misses the hole. 

setting up for the winning shot  - Michael was the winner of this year's tournament!

In the afternoon a few hardy folks gathered for lawn games, braving the heat and wind. After Happy Hour on the patio, we had our final dinner, taco in a bag. It was certainly a new and different way to enjoy a taco.

filling our bags with taco fixings

dessert helpers

The next morning, Sunday, we said our farewells after a continental breakfast. One more terrific rally ended as folks departed for home or other destinations.  We stayed one more day, visited Michael's sister and had dinner together. And enjoyed one more spectacular sunset over the chain of peaks that are visible from their back deck.

Monday morning we and the Matthews departed to drive the 3 hour trip over the mountain to Junction City, where we each had appointments to have our coaches worked on. The Johnsons arrived at Bobby's a day earlier to remove the fridge that failed a few days into their trip up north, then decided to stay an extra night. With three Alpines in Bobby's lot, this qualified as a spot rally! We continued to enjoy each other's company and dinners together. At one point, Linda and we went exploring and wandered down a path that led to a small airport. On the way back we helped ourselves to figs and grapes, with permission of course. 

Once we pulled in, Bobby started work immediately: he installed the rest of the blinds that did not get completed this past June, and installed the new valances over the bedroom and toilet windows. We are happy with the new blinds which are so much better and easier to work, and to have the front window curtain gone.

On Tuesday, we drove in the Jeep back over to Bend, a 3-hour drive, to pick up my machine that Bill serviced that morning. Debi came with us hoping he could fix something on her machine too. After all that driving we were glad to get back and off the road. We gathered for potluck dinner in the parking lot. 

Wednesday morning we headed home, with an overnight stop in Midway RV Park in Centralia, a park we had not stayed at before.