HalfDome Hyjinx II

[mustang]

Yosemite Update: Well Nick did make it to the rally, after 13 hours, a blown engine, and borrowing an Expedition!  I'm sure he'll fill everyone in.  We made it home safely today and had a great time!  Most are staying another night or 2.  The potluck was wonderful, followed by an evening of "entertainment"!    The karaoke was a hit and we even got to sing 'til 11pm without getting shut down!  It was a great weekend...can't wait until next time we see everyone!

[Surfcal]

(Yosemite, CA) If you haven't been to one of America's finest National Parks lately, well, the Half Dome Hijinx Rally was just the right prescription. Despite soaring temperatures, nothing could temper the enthusiasm of a vintage Nick-Neff-Cough rally.
 
Camping within a stone's throw from the main gate, the park itself served as a magnetic force that drew NNC'ers to the park, battling heat, crowds and traffic. But as Neff said, "go to Toulumne Meadows young man, it's not as crowded." Wherever you chose to go, whether it was the tourist infested valley floor, the unpretentious south side, the glorious meadows or one of its lofty vistas, the Yosemite experience is a lesson in humility. The grandeur of the park is simply too vast, too beautiful and too extraordinary to comprehend.
 
The Yosemite Rally lives up to one of the best things about Nick-Neff-Cough, in that it opens up a selection of first class destinations and what you'll find at the other end are always the warm welcomes, the familiar jokes & laughter and those unmistakable trailers/village that seem to travel together as if tied together by a giant rubber band.
 
Every rally seems to take on its signature quality, and for the Saturday night potluck, Joan's birthday was our excuse to party. After the birthday song was sung, the single candle birthday cake devoured, and timidity was cast into the wind, the Karaoke session proceeded to serenade Joan way beyond her heart's (and ears') content. Perhaps, to the uninitiated and to our poor unsuspecting neighbors, it sounded like a cocaphony in a distance.
 
But for Al Cohol and those that were there, Nick sounded so much like Frank Sinatra, Mustang-Mike like Phil Collins, Margaret incredilbly close to Faith Hill and Donna as Tina Turner, no one argued much about each performer's personal styles. And all this mass hysteria was happening under the watchful eye of General Coughing who after all these years, finally showed, much to the delight of the NNC'ers.
 
So, a hearty toast to the Wagonmasters (Thousand Trail members), Sal & Joan, for making a wonderful event possible that brought good friends together again. And if we can borrow and mangle an old passage, it's become a sort of NNC creed...
 
"neither rain, heat or a stinkin' job would stay us from making our appointed rallies."

[towrod]

Well our day is off to a horrible start.  We left at 4:00am and right before Tracy I lost oil preasure.  By the time I got to the next exit the engine was making a terrible noise.  So here we sit waiting for a shop to open. Hope we make it to the rally.  If you are going and see this post please let the wagonmaster know.

Posted via blackberry

ARRG - i guess you call it Exploder for a good reason.

[6Quigs]

We're home safely.
HaD a fun ride home, following Neff with his Popup and  Neff's BIL with his Motorhome, and us with our Hybrid, taking over the parking lot of the fruit stands in Oakdale when we stopped.
Sorry I have to go to work now, but will post more later.

p.s. we all had a blast

[Gwenzilla]

We just got home from the HiJinx rally (safely with no problems) and are dumping off the trailer and packing for a trip down to Disneyland tomorrow morning.  So briefly we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you who made our first NNC rally such a pleasurable event!  Donna and I are hoping to attend more rallys (rallies?) in the future.  Great people, great fun, it doesn't get any better than that!  Will try to post more kudos when we get back from Anaheim.

Special thanks to Joan & Sal for hosting such a great event.


George, Donna & Anthony (AJ aka spudzilla)

[otter]

The Otters got home just afternoon with a (fortunately) uneventful journey from the "mouth" Yosemite to our waiting dogs.  Wish we had waited a few minutes and caravaned with the Quigs, Jeff's and BIL.  
What a GREAT weekend!.  SurfCal is right, it doesn't matter what the weather man throws at us we do just fine.  Hiking, swimming, singing, whatever...
Thanks to Joan and Sal (who won't be home for several more days) for arranging it all.  Yosemite is awesome.  Let us know when the White Wolf Campground Rally happens...
Mike and Michelle also won't be home again for a while as they are heading for
Hat Creek and a family campout after Yosemite.  They seemed undaunted by blown engines and stitched fingers.  The Bloody Bud was superb.  The best yet.
Thanks to everyone for a great time.  Austin, Brenden and Ashing are bear experts now and great tales to tell about falling trees in the forest (and yes! it did make noise) and bear scat.
You kids are fantastic and you parents..THE BEST!.. I'm delighted to call you our friends.  
Hello to ALL the new folks.  Hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we enjoyed your company.  What the boards and see you at the next rally!
Now I must run and go screw up the Zoom threads.
hugs to all

[Red neff Barchetta]

Well, we got home about 1:45 or so, but had to go pick up the dog, un-pack the PU, get Amy a Starbuck's latte within 15 minutes of getting home ( :yikes:   ), shuffle through the mail (luckily 85% junk mail), check in on work (always the worst part of returning home :mad: ), etc...

What a wonderful time we had with everyone!  Such great friends have been made in this group.
Hiking to Vernal Falls & Luken's Lake with wonderful company, swimming in the river at the cg and at Luken's Lake, scoping out Yosemite cg's (White Wolf here we come!), eating lunch at Tenaya Lake while naked bather's let it all hang out nearby (how come every time I looked the woman had her back turned, lol?), enjoying the 20 degree temperature drop in Yosemite from the cg, watching through binoculars the awesome rock climber's throughout the park, the Valley floor on Friday (until all the crowds showed up), Tuolumne Meadows (my favorite part (& drive) of Yosemite), getting a spark of backpacking interest out of Amy (       ), incredible kids, parents, & friends!!, great first timer's, Champ & Champette as next-door neighbors, watching the dollar reel on the gas pump at the cg spin faster than I have ever seen while my BIL filled up his Yukon ($3.10/gallon), then watching his face as he watched me fill up in Tuolumne Meadows ($2.33/gallon), everyone rabble-rousing my BIL (especially Kevin - good job Kev   ) as if he belonged right from the start (I'm still giving him s^#@ for his MH oil gauge measuring in gallons not quarts, yes GALLONS!), wonderful home brew & food, etc.....

We want to pass along a very special thank you to everyone for all of their concern, support, and quick action when my niece fell off the slide, passed out, & turned blue (after a quick trip to the Sonora emergency room she was pronounced perfectly fine).  Definitely one of the scariest moments of my life without-a-doubt!  My SIL & BIL could not believe all of the help and concern everyone gave them.  They were and are very touched by it.  Thanks again!!!!!!

Convoying home with Kevin & Dave blazing the trail was a fun final touch.

Thanks for a great rally Sal & Joan!  

Now I have to start making money for our new backyard .........

- next trip is in 3 weeks though   .

[6Quigs]

PHOTOS

[Surfcal]

Here too are more photos from the event.  Have fun viewing!

http://community.webshots.com/album/173208064SvhnkD

[otter]

great photos Ray and Kevin!!!!
It was a great weekend.

[Red neff Barchetta]

Wonderful photo's Ray & Kevin!!

That General Coughing sure is a great guy!    

[6Quigs]

Great Photos Ray, and even better comments!!


As for that General Coughing guy, I think he was the one who stole Dave's firewood!!

[champ521]

We made it home Sunday around 1:30 in the afternoon to a 101 degree tempreture. The entire time we were on the road all I could think about was all the bad luck everybody had enroute to the rally; Sal's two blown tires and a blown television. Mike/Nick's (Charlie Brown) blown engine. Ray's leaky valve stem. I had my fingers crossed the whole time. Luckily the only difficultly we encountered was going down Priest Grade in second gear. We had a wonderful time and would like to thank the Cal States for putting this on. Here's to no SPUT's :!

[Red neff Barchetta]

Since we all love 12-volt gadgets so much I thought our resident home brewer's Mike & Rod might be interested in this;
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040809/ap_on_re_us/keg_enterprise_1
John Belushi would be proud of these "Animal House" entrepreneurs.  

[Red neff Barchetta]

Thought I'd post this before I get back into work mode -

Fleetwood sure is trying to persuade PU consumer's towards their pricey "Highlander" PU's or onto another form of RV (& they don't even make canvas Hybrid's).
'05 changes;
Utah - they removed the rear king bed.
Bayside - removed the rear king bed, added a weird sized couch (more like a love seat), & did away with the popular top-down-fridge-access.
Niagara - gone completely!
Hemlock - re-named it the Niagara.
Brought back the Sea Pine name, but now it is an entry level model.
Etc...
   :eyecrazy:  :confused: