Yan’s Roadtrek Silver Falls Get-Together
I don't know why, but every once in a while the stars align and something wonderful happens – last year, we had a really nice get-together that just spontaneously happened. Sort of. Back in June of last year on the Roadtrek Yahoo forum, there was some talk about meeting somewhere, and Yan Seiner took the initiative to set a date and place, and reserved a group campsite at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon for a mid-September weekend, hoping that enough people would show up so he wouldn't get stuck with the whole rental fee.
Fortunately for Yan and for the participants, the thing sort of snowballed, and by the time mid-September rolled around, the Roadtreks were converging on Silver Falls from all over the western US and Canada. I think we ended up with sixteen or seventeen Roadtreks overnighting the two nights of the get-together, plus a couple of day visitors. Click here for a super-wide-angle shot showing everyone's rig. Yan bravely vouched for our behavior to the park staff, and we had three days and two nights of relaxing fun.
Yan took pains to stress that this was an ad-hoc, non-official, unsponsored event. There was no umbrella organization, no corporate sponsorship, no rules and by-laws, no election of officers (except Yan, whom we referred to as our spiritual leader, much to his annoyance), no name tags, no seating chart, nothing. Despite this lack of structure, and the somewhat sparse agenda, we all had a great time. The “agenda” consisted of vague talk about a meet and greet Friday as people arrived, and a pot luck dinner Saturday night, times to be determined by the consensus of the people present, and that was it. People sort of wandered around, looked at each other's rigs, talked about stuff, and hung out. There were hikes to the falls for the adventurous, or you could sit around and people watch – it was up to you.
I'm not partial to organized activities myself – I camp out in the middle of nowhere, don't go to rallies (although I'm a member of FMCA and Roadtrek International), and generally prefer to pursue solitary recreational activities. I am most comfortable when I can look out from my campsite and not see another sign of civilization. And yet I had a great time at the get-together, thanks to the loosey-goosey vibe and spontaneous nature of the proceedings. I got to meet many people who were just names to me from the Yahoo Roadtrek forum, and I got to discuss the intricacies of my solar set-up with Yan and others there who had solar themselves. Fiona the Fearless Kitty made the rounds, although she disapproved of all the dogs attending. Unlike me, she thinks there ought to be stricter controls over who gets to attend and how they should behave 😉
Thanks to the success of last year's get-together, Yan is doing it again next month, and we are all booked up for a mid-September weekend for both group sites now – 50 Roadtreks, and more on the waiting list. I was the first to sign up, and I'm looking forward to seeing Yan and his family, Lana, Mike and Bev, Gretchen, Esther, Vince and Sara, Nelda and Jerry, Linda, and all the other folks who were there last year, plus a bunch of people from the Facebook group who signed up and I haven't had the chance to meet yet. It ought to be fun – unless they start organizing charades games and scavenger hunts and three-legged races and stuff like that…
Couldn’t agree more. The best times always seem to be the ones that just spontaneously occur without months of planning and organizing and scheduling. The KISS method. Keep it simple … well, you know the rest. Wish it weren’t so far away and the dates don’t work for us, but maybe some day down the road … please do some reporting back for us slackards who don’t get to go :).
Hi Judi
I live in Portland too – would love to meet you. My email is [email protected]
Rats! I didn’t know this was happening, and I live in Portland and love Silver Falls! I will be volunteering at the Christmas festival there in December. It’s a beautiful place. There is even an off-leash area for dogs. Where will this be posted for next year?
Judi – see my comment above – if there is a next year, Yan will post a link to Eventbrite signup around June or so. He usually posts it on the yahoo Roadtrek group: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/roadtrek/ and on the Roadtrek Facebook group.
My husband and I visited Silver Falls State Park last year on the recommendation of fellow 5th-wheelers here in Colorado. A wonderful (!) location.
Referring to Silver Falls SP…..not Colorado….as a wonderful place; although Colorado is beautiful and a great place to live.
Hi Steve! Yes, we, too, are looking forward to Silver Falls. And see Fiona again! One of my favorite part was seeing other rigs and the personal touches everyone has done.
Also, there would be no problem for people to camp in the regular campgound and come over during the day like some did last year.
Nelda
there are still 11 individual sites available for Friday night, 9/13 – dunno about Saturday night. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=151
We live in Portland – short drive from Silver Falls. How do we get on the list for next year? Not so sure about 50 – but it would be fun to meet other RoadTrekkers.
Yan, or the enlightened one as we like to call him, usually posts notices on the Yahoo Roadtrek group and on the Roadtrek Facebook group, starting in early summer sometime. this year he used Eventbrite, a website for scheduling attendance at events. https://www.eventbrite.com/event/5543729444
Ditto and me too! Hope to join you next year. Sounds like such fun. These social media sites make it easy for people to connect if they want to. Hope to read a “report” on your event. Nicely written article…thanks.
Maybe next year for me, too!
I understand the solo travelling aspect of RVing. I too am generally a solo traveller and like to do my own thing at my own pace when I feel like it. This past May was the first time I attended an organized rally in Michigan with a group from RV.Net. It was a rally for Class B owners only. This was my first time ever being in a campground and meeting other RVers in a somewhat semi-formal setting. To my delight I had a great time and meet some wonderful folks.
Hence I signed up to attend another gathering in September with the BEE Social Group from Facebook. Again a group of mostly Class B owners or wanna B’s.
I still enjoy my solo travels but am already looking forward to next years’ RV.NET B-Rally. It is interesting to put a face and a personality to someone you meet in “cyber space”.
Enjoy your gathering.
Sounds like fun…maybe next year…yet another place on my list. Wish you all good times!!!