FMCA Rally, Driving Lessons & Heading East

The past couple of weeks have passed quickly because we were so busy. We attended the FMCA Northwest Area Rally at the Mill Casino in N. Bend, Oregon with George & Valerie Mayleben of the RV Driving School.

Only a small percentage of the 574 RVs at the rally were parked with hookups, and we weren’t among them. Our boondocking site wasn’t bad until the rain created a huge muddy area right in front of us. The sun was out in this picture.

We were lucky to have an almost unobstructed view of the bay from our site.

We enjoyed this rally more than we have previously with the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) organization. People were friendlier and it was fun to help with the Driving School booth and give one of two seminars – George gave the other one – both to SRO audiences!

One of the times when the sun was peeking out from the clouds was when we saw a demonstration of the traditional Native American method of cooking salmon fresh off the boats.

Later, we had baked salmon for dinner, but I think it was cooked inside the hotel/casino’s kitchen. There were certainly a lot of rally attendees enjoying the dinner, and this was just the first seating of two that evening..

At the end of the rally, I gave three mini-lessons (3.5 hours each) for RV drivers in their own rigs, two on Sunday and one on Monday, and George gave one on Sunday. Don and I then went to Coburg (near Eugene) where I gave two 2-day lessons, one to a single man (two 4-hr. days) and one to a couple (two 6-hr. days). Whew! Six students in 7 days! I don’t think this is how the School normally breaks in new instructors, but I sure feel like I know my job a lot better now.

Throughout the rally and subsequent lessons in the N. Bend/Coos Bay area, it rained or drizzled with occasional partial sun. We hoped to get away from the rain and clouds when we moved inland to Coberg, but it just continued. I got lots of experience setting up and moving markers in parking lots while wearing my rain jacket, to teach new RV drivers to back and maneuver their motor homes.

We left Coberg this morning and the rain held off while we were getting ready to roll. It wasn’t long before it started to drizzle again, though.

Our path along US Hwy 20 took us through lots of tight turns over narrow roads. And yes, it rained most of the way until we left the mountains.

We were getting a little nervous when we saw several signs referring to “Snow Zone” and “Chains.”

Gladly, we didn’t experience snow, but it was nice to see it far away on these mountain peaks.

We arrived in Burns around 3 pm, and had several hours to enjoy the high-70 degree temps and sunshine before turning in for the night.

Tomorrow we’ll drive further east to Twin Falls, ID.