GYPSY JOURNAL RALLY-CASA GRANDE, AZ

2009 WESTERN GYPSY GATHERING

02/08/09 - 02/12/09

We attended Nick Russell’s Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande, AZ. This was an RV rally where RV’ers had an opportunity to meet up with fellow RVers to learn more about RVing and relative topics from Nick and other special speakers.

Nick and his wife, Terry, have been RVing for many years and are fulltimers. Nick publishes an RV newspaper. He has written several books and has websites and blogs that he maintains with a “tell it like it is” style we all like.

Nick and Terry take their readers meandering with them wherever they go. They want you to go with them and see and do the things they write about. They also take awesome photos. They have a great following of RV’ers. And I can see why after meeting them both. They are good people! I hope someday that maybe one of my readers will be able to meet them. If so, I don’t think they will be disappointed.

Back to actually pulling into the Casa Grande fairgrounds on 02-08-09, in the rain with our fellow Boomer friends: Sam and Carolyn Kidd and George and Janice Olsen. The fairground was muddy and they parked us all in a mud puddle. I think Sam got the worst parking spot. He had to hook up his electric standing in water up to his ankles. Not Good! But we were able to all park along side each other.

Parked along the front row of RV's was this unique 1965 White 3000 with a 1946 Trailmobile owned by Bob and Jan Vanden Berge. Ken and Sam got a tour through their RV and they thought it was very nice.

Ken really wasn’t feeling well when we pulled into the fairgrounds and he just didn't get better. And the weather just wasn’t cooperating-windy and cold-and raining. He missed the welcome and vendor introductions by Nick. The next morning Ken gave up and went to the urgent care center in Casa Grande. He had bronchitis.

The first evening of the rally, all three of us ladies won door prizes. There was music-jam session-cards and games after the session.

Every morning of the rally donuts and coffee were served in the community building. Our good friends Jerry and Suzy LeRoy sold raffle tickets there each morning for daily cash drawings that were drawn each night of the rally. They were so much fun.

Then it was time to attend the seminars of your choice. At check-in everyone was given a list of daily seminars and another handout giving a description of each seminar. There was a wide range of seminars some funny, some related to hobbies, some technical RV related, insurance, photography, scrapbooking, and you name it topics.

There were one or two daily seminars before lunch and then one or two seminars after lunch. Then an evening performance was given with door prizes and a raffle ticket drawn.

The last evening performance had the “Rally Queen Contest” which had a twist-As you can see from the photo. The winner was a real beauty!

Nick and Terry made it a blast!