Click to Return to RVeCafe Homepage

2005 Great North American RV Rally
Part 1

The volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains ovelook the rally.
Click to see What's New at RVeCafe What a wonderful RV Rally. I'll admit that this is my first so I have nothing to compare but it was everything it was advertised to be and more. The rally was at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon on July 11 - 14. There were 5,600 rigs parked around the fairgrounds with 15,000 people attending the four day event. I did not move our fifth wheel from Howard Prairie Lake Resort to attend but it looked like those that did bring their rigs were parked in a very well organized fashion with plenty of personal space between rigs.
 

The days were clear and warm, not hot and usually a nice breeze to keep attendees refreshed. There was always the cool of the mountains of the Cascades to view from nearly every angle at the rally. These units to the right are on display. The personal units had much more space.

One activity I noticed immediately were the many RV, tow vehicle and accessory manufacturers present to repair or install their products. You could, for example, order a new set of tires and/or batteries then have them installed on your RV at it's rally location. Or you could schedule a repair on your Monacco Motor Home from the Monacco service team attending in force at the rally.

One of the Three Sisters (mountains) and the display RV's
  Lining up for Pam Tillis Entertainment was available each evening in the Hooker Creek Event Center. These folks are lined up for Pam Tillis. There were two large viewing screens for those in the back of the center who could not see the live action on the stage.
  Pam Tillis and her band played two concerts on Tuesday evening. The concert was well attended but I'll admit to leaving after 20 minutes of country music. :-) Pam Tillis in Concert
  Entrance to the rally with Mt. Hood in the background
  Staying in touch with an FRS walky talky .. everyone had one.

The rally entrance, above, is where everyone must enter the first time. After you have your "credentials" there were many entrance points.

Besides entertainment, there were hundreds of exhibit booths with every RV gadget for sale. Outdoor displays included hundreds of RV's to view as well as accessories to large for the exhibit tents. It seemed nearly everyone had an FRS walk-talky to stay in touch with attending partners.

  Lining up for free coffee and donuts, coffee in the dark containers on the right.
Matching numbers during the Camping World Day
 

Each day had a theme sponsor. The above crowd is looking for a person with a matching number sponsored by Camping World. When you find the matching number, you get a prize and a chance to win bigger raffle prizes at the end of the day.

To the right is an example of an outdoor exhibit. This fellow is trying the Segway, a two wheeled personal mover, a fun $5,000 toy.

Part 2 will continue with my personal activities including the five seminars I attended and how I spent my one night at the rally.

Want to try a Segway?
Mt. Hood over the many display RV's
Continue to Part 2
Join the Good Sam Club! 
Return to Adventure Stories Copyright, 2005 by RVeCafe.com