TO VIEW ENTIRE NEWSLETTER, SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM:
"[Message clipped] View entire message"
|
|
Greetings Fellow Chinookers,
At this time of the year when we are all beginning to run around like a "turkey without a head", we must take a few minutes to acknowledge all our blessings. One of which is the wonderful friendships we've developed in our club. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day in the company of family and or friends.
Our group has been so fortunate to have had so many enthusiastic leaders who gave generously of their time, energy and knowledge. Among those are Bob and Debbie Shetland. We will sorely miss them. Their contributions are immeasurable and their departure leaves a HUGH hole in our leadership. Some of us older members have talked for quite a while now about getting the "younger" members to take over some of the leadership roles. We no longer have time to wait. Those positions will be vacant in three months unless we can get folks to serve. Whether you are young or young at heart please consider serving in any of the following positions, Secretary, Rally VP or Newsletter Editor.
We need to book rallies, especially an Annual Rally so that we can hold elections. Please consider hosting a rally. Special thanks to John and Jan Colabella for hosting a great rally in Paso Robles.
I'm sad to announce that Nancy Donald, wife of Jim, recently passed. They were members for many years. I will miss her sweet smile.
Christmas and the New Year are only a few weeks away. I hope you will all have a wonderful holiday season and please consider serving in one of the leadership positions that are now open. Or at least volunteer to host a rally.
Happy Trails,
Mary Esther Chavarela, President
|
|
- Sonya Chambliss and Sherry Henley - Surprise, AZ
- Phil Buchanan - Ontario, OH
- Molly Hutsinpiller - Spokane, WA
- Terry and Mike Runkel - Livermore, CA
- Therese and Michael Jennings - Sebastopol, CA
- David and Laura Kelly - Tumwater, WA
|
|
For a myriad of reasons, I'm sad to say that
our RVing days have come to an end.
|
|
Bob and I bought our Chinook Destiny back in 2004 and joined the club soon after. We live in Orange County, California, and have travelled with the club as far as British Columbia to the North and Branson, MO, to the East. We've also hosted rallies in Canyonville, OR; Las Vegas, NV; Pahrump, NV; Watsonville, CA; Temecula, CA; and Pismo Beach, CA; some of those locations more than once.
Besides hosting a number of rallies, Bob and I have taken on other functions to support the club. After serving as President for seven years, Bob stepped down last November and, thankfully, Mary Esther agreed to run for the office and was elected. In 2016 I volunteered to take over the roll of Newsletter Editor after our good friend Mike Froess passed away, and shortly thereafter I also became the V.P. Rallies after Linda Blackburn stepped down from that position.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being the Newsletter Editor and the V.P. Rallies all these years, but now I am reaching out to all of my fellow Chinookers to ask you to take a more active role in your club and either volunteer to take over as Newsletter Editor, or agree to run for V.P. Rallies. Seriously, you only have to choose one of them! Just because I took on both positions, that doesn't mean someone else has to do the same thing.
The Newsletter Editor role is to gather information and pictures from the club officers and others and get that information out to the entire membership in a newsletter. Currently, the newsletter is created and processed through an easy online application called Constant Contact, where you can simply make a copy of a previous newsletter or message and make changes.
The V.P. Rallies role is to communicate with club members about becoming hosts for rallies and to support and facilitate the efforts of the hosts. When I first became V.P. Rallies, I was told that the best way to find hosts for rallies was to talk to people about hosting rallies at every rally you attend, with a goal of getting at least one proposed rally in the works. (I have checklists for both Mini and Annual Rallies that can be used as guidance.)
~ Debbie Shetland, V.P. Rallies and Newsletter Editor
|
|
Membership Report November 2023 |
|
The Fall renewal process has virtually finished. Here are the results:
- 56 New and Returning Members
- 7 Members Resigning
- 18 members Not Responding
Of the 7 members resigning, most are folks who are leaving the RV life and letting others do the driving for them.
Of the 18 not responding, I feel that 9 likely fall into the same category as the 7 resigning. The remaining 9 are people who joined in 2023 and chose not to follow through with their membership for whatever personal reasons.
56 members is in the same range as our usual number of members after renewals and a good base to build on for the future of the club.
~ Dave Shehane, V.P. Membership and Webmaster
|
|
UPCOMING RALLIES SNAPSHOT |
|
-
Quartzsite, AZ Dry Camping Rally - Any time between January 17th and 24th, 2024 or longer. Everyone dry camps in the desert about two miles from town for a part of the time that the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show is being held (see article).
|
|
One of the most important purposes of the Chinook RV Club is to get together at rallies with other Chinook owners, where we can make all sorts of great memories together. To fulfill that purpose, wonderful members of the club make the decision to host those rallies, and we are all very grateful to them.
Unfortunately, we don't have any rallies scheduled at this time, so please think about hosting a rally.
Lots of Reasons to Host a Rally!
-
You choose the location! Wouldn't it be great to share a favorite RV Park with your fellow Chinookers or choose a new location that you can experience together for the first time?
-
It's your chance to be creative! Have your own ideas about what would be fun to do at a rally? Now's your chance to shine!
-
Save $$$! Hosts have a budget for rally expenses, including your site. You can even arrive a day early and leave a day after.
-
See your name in lights! Just kidding, but in our minds you'll be the star of the show :)
If you're thinking about hosting a rally, email me at debbieshetland@gmail.com, or just reply to this email. I'll send you some more information and, if you decide to move forward, I'll help as much or as little as you would like. Hope to hear from you soon!
For those of you who have hosted a rally before . . . wouldn't it be fun to do it again?!!!
|
|
Flash Rallies Are Also a Great Alternative! |
|
A Flash Rally is just an informal get-together. If you have plans to go camping somewhere, just give me the details about where and when you're going. If you have anything you'd like to share about the location, include that too, and a website link would be great. I'll let the membership know in case other Chinookers would like to join you. That's just about it. You don't have to organize anything, and everyone makes their own arrangements. |
|
<<< OCTOBER RALLY RECAP >>> |
|
PASO ROBLES, CA Mini Rally
Held October 17-20, 2023
At Sun Outdoors Paso Robles - Hosted by Jan Pavia-Colabella
|
|
Putting Paso Robles on the calendar was important to me as the club is having fewer rallies. Many of us that have joined the club over the last 5 years or so should consider putting one on. I did hear from a few people that they are considering doing so next year including myself. I’m thinking of going back to Utah with the club as weather permits. |
|
Our Paso Robles rally started with our meet n greet which was catered by the onsite restaurant Field and Fork. The restaurant was closed so we had sole use of the dining area and an open bar adjacent if anyone wanted something other than wine. The food was a hit, especially the strawberry blue cheese salad with a delicious dressing and the Paso Robles wines. We had plenty of leftovers for the following day's lunch. We all introduced ourselves and said a little about ourselves. |
|
John and I set up multiple tables at our site so we could have morning coffee, lunches and pot luck there.
On our first full day after lunch we went to The Re-Find Distillery and Villicana. We had spirits and wine tasting in a beautiful garden. The host was fantastic, giving us some history of the owners and explaining the tasting each step of the way. Our potluck followed and as usual we had delicious food from everyone and Paso Robles wines.
|
|
Thursday we went to the Estrella War Museum which is also a car museum. We had our own docent that walked us through and had lot’s of history to share with us. We followed with the leftovers from the potluck and a short talk from our president Mary Esther.
We had some guests!! A new member Terry Runkle joined us at potluck and the war museum. She didn’t drive her new to her Chinook but rather stayed in one of the onsite houses. She also had some special one on one ‘Tech Talk” time with Bill Jory who answered many questions for her. Our second guests were a lovely couple Les and Mike Terry from Carmel, CA who were in their Chinook and spent Thursday night. They came to the campground knowing we would be there and are joining the club.
So fun meeting new people!
~ Jan Pavia-Colabella
|
|
QUARTZSITE, AZ Dry Camping Rally
Any time between January 17th and 24th, 2024 or longer
|
|
|
|
Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show:
|
|
The Quartzsite Rally will be held off Plomosa Road at about mile marker 2.2 miles. Plomosa Road is about 6 miles north of the town of Quartzsite on Hwy 95. I’ll be there by the 17th. The rally can happen, or we can just park together anytime between 17th and 24th or longer.
The coordinates are N33.759693 W114.181322.
You will be looking for a dirt road on the left after 2.2 miles, hopefully with a “CHINOOK RALLY” sign still standing. At the same location, will be a Solos “Happy Face” and also a Christian Fellowship sign. Turn left, then immediately turn left again and travel across the gravel and dirt about a quarter of a mile to my rig.
Please come with propane and water tanks full and gray and black tanks empty depending on how long you plan to stay, but you can easily drive into town when needed. In Quartzsite, there are several places to fill up and empty your tanks. One such “one stop shopping” is the RV Pit Stop, 425 N Central Blvd.
Some pieces of firewood would be nice for evening fires and chairs for sitting.
There are places in town to take showers, and I will give you a list. There are 3 small groceries.
Clothing: In previous years, I have experienced rainy, cold, windy, dusty, sunny and warm weather in Quartzsite--so be ready for anything.
A morning Happy Hour (BYO) will be starting at 8:30 (weather permitting) with campers bringing their own drinks. We could also have an early evening Happy Hour (BYO) at 4:30, once again if weather permitting.
When you first turn onto Plomosa Road, and cross the metal grates, please turn right into the BLM checkpoint to register your vehicle for your 14 days of free camping. Then proceed down the road to our meeting point.
Things to do: Visit the big tent with all its RV offerings, lots of solar companies available in the area if you are in the market, travel to Boise for great fish and chips for Friday lunch, Flea market, Gem show, etc.
Feel free to contact me at any time if you have any concerns or questions.
P.S. If you plan additionally to camp on Arizona State Land, (not BLM) as you travel around the entire state, there is a yearly recreational parking pass available for $15 per year. http://land.az.gov/applications-permits Good idea to get and print for your dashboard before you leave home. ~ Chris Rynhart
|
|
Great Forum for Technical Questions |
|
A valuable resource that is not a part of the club is the free group site ChinookRVOwners, which I run and moderate. Most all members of the club are members of the site as well but there are many that are not part of the club. This forum is mostly technical – troubleshooting, problem solving, references and questions. Link is https://groups.io/g/Chinookrvowners. This site was at Yahoo Groups for nearly 15 years and is now moved to groups.io. ~ Dave Shehane, V.P. Membership and Webmaster
|
|
To Join the Chinook RV Club Facebook Page |
|
Our Facebook Page is private and hidden, so if you haven't already joined, there's a little process you need to follow:
- If a club member wants to join our club's FB page they must first be signed up with Facebook.
- I can only send invitations to FB Friends, so send me a friend request.
- I will then issue an invitation to the club's FB page, which the member must accept to complete the process.
- Then, I will “unfriend” the member in my personal FB account. Please do not take this as a slight! Our friendship will still exist at the Chinook RV Club page, but there is no telling if our social media preferences align, and I do not want to take a chance that our individual preferences would in any way endanger our Chinook related relationship!
~ Dave Shehane, V.P. Membership and Webmaster
|
|
Chinook History Since 1938 |
|
First Generation
1971 Chinook 18 Plus
|
|
Second Generation
1988 Chinook Concourse 18+
|
|
Third Generation
1998 Chinook Concourse XL
|
|
THE CHINOOK SONG (OPUS THREE) by Al Enriquez 9/17/2003
(Sung to the tune of On Top of Old Smokey)
|
|
WE ARE HAPPY RV'ERS
WE SELDOM GET SHOOK
AND OF ALL OUR POSSESSIONS
WE LOVE OUR CHINOOK
WE TRAVEL THE HIGHWAYS
WITH NO CARES TO BEAR
WHEN WE STOP AND HOOK-UP
MOST PEOPLE STARE
THEY GATHER AROUND
TO ADMIRE OUR RIG
WE ASK THEM INSIDE
IF THEY'RE NOT TOO BIG
REFRAIN
WE'VE TRAVELED THE COUNTRY
AND WHEREVER WE ROAM
IN OUR TWENTY-ONE FOOTER
WE NEVER MISS HOME
|
|
WE GO EAST AND WEST
NORTH AND SOUTH TOO
WE FACE HILLS AND MOUNTAINS
THEY'RE EASY TO DO
WITH ONLY TWO SEATS
IT IS QUITE A THRILL
TO NOT HAVE TO WORRY
IF GRANDKIDS ARE STILL
TRAILWAGONS GO FORWARD
KEEP CHINOOKS WITH ZEST
FOR AS LONG AS WE'RE ABLE
WE'LL BE DRIVING THE BEST!
WE ARE HAPPY RV'ERS
WE SELDOM GET SHOOK
AND OF ALL OUR POSSESSIONS
WE LOVE OUR CHINOOK
|
|
|
Club Officers 2022-2023
President:
Mary Esther Chavarela mechavarela@earthlink.net
V. P. Membership:
Dave Shehane dshehane@gmail.com
V. P. Rallies:
Debbie Shetland debbieshetland@gmail.com
Secretary:
TBD
Treasurer:
Mary Coleman maryccoleman@hotmail.com
Co-Members-at-Large:
Dale Frank dale.frank@centurytel.net and Jane Earley earleyjane@gmail.com
Immediate Past President:
Bob Shetland bshetland2@gmail.com
|
|
Other Club Positions
Webmaster:
Dave Shehane webmaster@chinookrvclub.com
Editor:
Debbie Shetland debbieshetland@gmail.com
Club Historian:
TBD
|
|
PURPOSE: This Club (Chinook RV Club) exists to promote social, recreational & informational exchange activities that provide for the enjoyment and pleasurable use of all its members. Our club functions primarily in the western and central US, although it is open to qualified members from the Eastern club (Chinook Camping Club).
DUES: Our dues are $35.00/year. Our fiscal and membership year is October 1 through September 30. Prompt payment not only helps Treasurer in budgeting expenses, but also helps the V.P. Membership to produce our Membership Directory. Please advise V.P. Membership of any changes in e-mail and mailing addresses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
