It’s history. A wonderfully successful fall rally was enjoyed by those attending. The campground was only a few miles off the main highway in a beautiful, wooded setting. But then, most of northern Wisconsin is forest land. The campground provided a relaxing and comfortable setting for our rally with a pavilion and field stone fire pit for group gathering (designed and built exclusively for our group per our request). The restaurant was opened for our use without exception. Talk about hospitality! So what happened during this week? I’m glad you asked. Since I’m a man of few words, as many of you know, allow me to continue for several pages. Sit back, close one eye (you have to read this with the other) and think about being there yourself if you weren’t able to attend. Also, keep in mind that the weather was beautiful. Highs were in the upper 70s to mid-80s, evenings were cool and comfortable. All the days were sunny – not once did we get rained upon.

Some of us arrived early to help get stuff organized. Talk about stuff - The goodie bags were over flowing with donated items. Not only was N9JIX Pat’s motorhome bulging at the seams, but the pump house was filled also. It was fortunate that several people arrived early and were a great help.

Tuesday arrived and so did most of the attendees. It was wonderful to watch the arrivals and getting the warm greetings this club is known for. To kick off the pre-rally, a smoked fish dinner was provided by one of our supporters in Superior WI. We enjoyed smoked Lake Trout and smoked White fish as the main course with all the supporting side dishes included. Once darkness came over us, we made a campfire and relaxed and talked.

Wednesday morning arrived all too soon for some of us BUT let the rally begin! The smell of coffee began spreading across the campground. Breakfast was on tap… suddenly cinnamon rolls appeared with baked muffins. Before you knew it, the pavilion was populated and the day was on a roll. The first timer meeting was held and attended by four couples. (Later in the day, another first timer couple arrived). Our sixth first timer re-arrived on Friday (they were there over the weekend) due to work commitments. The board meeting was held right after the first timers meeting. The Lady’s Tea was held in the pavilion and the men’s sardine lunch was just beyond. Later in the afternoon, a presentation by Ms. Fariba Pendleton described her life – starting in Iran and presently living in Superior, Wisconsin. She provided wonderful insight of Iran which we don’t readily see or hear in our news media. Her presentation was titled “Caspian Sea Palms meet Lake Superior Pines”. Our evening meal was catered by Eddie’s Supper Club. The meal was fantastic and plenty to go around. No body left hungry. A cake was donated to us for dessert thanking us for the return of the RVRN to Douglas County. After dinner, the Opening Ceremony was held. We were welcomed by the representatives of Douglas County, Town of Gordon, City of Superior, Chamber of Commerce, the owner of the campground and the owner of the restaurant. All these people provided great assistance and support for this rally. We raised our National Flag and recognized the 10 States present at the rally. (MO, TX, IL, MN, MI, OK, FL, MD, AZ, WI) After the ceremony, we retreated back to the campfire for more relaxation and conversation. We watched for the Northern Lights to appear, but started to fall asleep so called it a night.

Thursday arrived with gusto. The sun was shining and warming up the campground. We set up a camp stove and began to fry homemade wild blueberry pancakes, sausage and fresh fruit. I guess that food made outdoors tastes better – no one complained about the pancakes which were slightly “darker” than the normal golden color. Ladies crafts were held shortly after breakfast. They made a hanging decoration of a fish from a CD and fabric pieces. Fred Lloyd AA7BQ provided a presentation of how and why he founded his website QRZ.com. It was interesting how events happen for a reason and fall in place. He had an idea and QRZ.com was created. Fred continues to improve the website as technology and desires change. It is one of the top rated sites on the web. For those who didn’t go sightseeing, games where held in the afternoon. A sample of the country games played were Cow Chip toss, Javelin toss and a broad-jump contest. As it turned out, the game was hardly what the title implied. Hopefully some photos will be on our website showing these antics! Happy Hour (Munchie Crunchie) was held at the traditional hour of 4 pm. A special surprise – Song Ja made some Fried Dill Pickles and Fried Zucchini. What a taste treat! If you never had fried dill pickles, try them when you can. It was time for dinner again. We never tire of food do we! When in Wisconsin, a brat fry is a must – and so we did! Mighty tasty but that’s a Wisconsinite talking. Later that evening, we had some entertainment around the campfire. Richard W5UG and Fred AA7BQ brought out their guitars for a jam session. It was quite entertaining. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in search of the tune and words, but then, no one cared. We all had a good time. For some of us, another entertainment took place. The Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers opened the football season against the New Orleans Saints. It was a great game for the Packer fans.

Somehow, Friday was already here. I think I’m going to get a dinner bell like the one we used on the farm. The radio works almost as good. When it was announced that the sausage and gravy over biscuits was ready, the lineup was almost instant. After breakfast, the General Meeting was held. Several items of information were passed along to the membership. We welcomed the six first time couples present and the six new members present. A reading of 7 silent keys was made and a candle was lighted for each. After the General Meeting, ARRL Vice Director of the Central Division – Kermit Carlson W9XA gave a power point presentation of ARRL, the headquarters, staff and the future of QST. It was interesting – good things are coming for ARRL members. Yes, Kermit did become a new member of the RVRN! I must interject a note of interest right here… present at this rally were two Vice Directors of ARRL – our guest presenter Kermit Carlson W9XA and Tom Abernethy W3TOM. Dinner was on your own but most of us went over to the restaurant for the Friday night fish fry with our own evening entertainment and campfire later.

Wowza! Saturday snuck right up on us. Breakfast was made with the help of Song Ja’s baking of quick breads and muffins, fresh fruit and whatever else we had around. Right after breakfast, Bob Bingham K9WMP, Laura KB9BZY and Dave KI5OJ set up the VE testing. Upon completion of testing, we found out it was a 100% successful passing of the exam. One of our newest members and first timer Wayne Seegar KC9SGN passed the General. Congratulations Wayne! After the testing, we held our open house for the public, craft sale, flea market and book exchange. We had some visitors, provided information about Amateur Radio and the RV lifestyle. Russ Willoughby WB9TVV set up his radio to demonstrate to the public on the air activities. Later, for dinner we had hot beef sandwiches and all the fixings including homemade buns and a fresh from the garden salad. After dinner, a special style show was presented at the restaurant. What a hoot! The ladies out did themselves showing the latest of fine fashion from Paris (South Dakota). We also found out that when the local patrons saw what we were doing, they went home and brought their families back to watch. It is always good to see that we have good family entertainment and share it with the public. We conducted the closing ceremony right after the style show. Everybody was awarded a prize several times over. Wayne Seegar KC9SGN was presented dual band HT donated by Fred AA7BQ and Robin Lloyd of QRZ.com for passing his General exam. Jan Heckman KB9LTA won the door prize of a Yaesu 2 meter mobile radio. Congratulations to both! We had a campfire again, but many of the members were getting ready to leave in the morning. While keeping warm at the fire, we were watching the stars overhead. What a clear sky and thousands of stars. We did see one satellite – the International Space Station was extremely bright for several minutes.

Sunday arrived and members soon departed. Like we met – so we left. Hugs, handshakes and the “until we meet again”. Waves from the windows, adios on the radio and the blasts from the horns when leaving the campgrounds… memories and friendships were made. What a great organization! It’s you, the members of the RV Radio Network that make a great organization. I hope to see more of you at the Spring Rally 2012 – location to be determined….