The Gathering

Yesterday, some of our friends gathered in Howard, Colorado at the Pleasant Valley RV Park. Two of the couples we met at the RV-Dreams Rally in Branson last month, and the other two couples we've met several (or more!) times before. I guess we were a little jealous and had to plan our own gathering here in South Dakota.

Actually, the gathering here has been in the works for a couple of days now. Pat & Mike McFall, Doyle and Fiona, Reve and Susan, Jutta & Doug, and the owners of Broken Arrow Campground, Gerri and Larry, all gathered this evening for a pot luck dinner here at the campground. Another couple was supposed to be here, but I heard they've been having fun in Ouray, Colorado and have delayed their arrival here until early next week. Pat and Mike have a lot about 3 miles or so down the road from here, Reve and Susan are staying at a nearby campground, and the rest of the folks are here at Broken Arrow.

We were in the midst of Happy Hour, just getting our various meats on the grill, when Lee Ann and Larry pulled up to say hello. I just found their journal, thanks to Jenny, and had already corresponded with Lee Ann. It was great to meet them. They were on the way to another function, so they couldn't stay. But we hope to get together with them before we leave here. They are also staying at a nearby campground.

We had a fabulous dinner with all the side dishes that everyone brought. The campground has a pavilion for anyone to use, and we made good use of it. We enjoyed beans (my recipe), grilled potatoes, pasta salad, 7-layer salad, veggies, fruit salad, deviled eggs, and a Mississippi mud cake. Each couple brought their own meat to grill. Wow, we won't need to eat for awhile!

This is Gerri, one of the owners of Broken Arrow:

Susan is getting her place settings out:

Larry, the other campground owner, and Jim are supervising:

Reve, Pat, and Fiona enjoying happy hour:

Mike with Lee Ann and Larry, visiting:

As we visited with Reve and Susan, we realized we were in nearly the same places at the same time last winter. They were at Lake Cachuma just after we were, and they were at Desert Trails RV Park in Tucson at the same time we were next door at Doc Justin's Diamond J. Small world!

We paid for another week here, now our anticipated departure date is July 29. Plans made in jello, meeting new friends, keeping in touch with people all over the country who are also either anticipating getting on the road or are already traveling. It really doesn't get much better than this.