Seven Feathers Casino & RV Park – Canyonville, OR

This is the last leg of our Progressive Rally. Seven Feathers Casino & RV Park, located in Canyonville, Oregon.

Our stay began with a "Meet & Greet". A questionnaire is handed out. On it are questions about people at the rally. For example "Who in his youth was an Eagle Scout". You have to go around asking different people and at some point you zero in on the person and he has to initial your page. It took about an hour to complete. Along the way people came to me for my initial. The question concerning me was "Who is a self proclaimed hermit?" While at Seven Feathers the girls really got into full swing with beading. Roxanne learned how to make a few different bracelets.

One day we had a "Show & Tell". This is where the guys show or demonstrate modifications they have made to their Montana's. It's one thing to read about "MODS" on the Montana Forum but it's really different when you can see and touch and ask questions on the spot. It’s pretty cool to see what people invent to make life better on the road. Turns out the women were just as interested in all the MODS and traveled from trailer to trailer taking in all the improvements others have made. Some had pencil and paper in hand making a honey-do list. It's this kind of interaction that makes the group feel more like family rather than just a member of an RV club. Good thing I put my pajamas under my pillow because one minute I was showing off my bicycle rack outside and the next thing people I didn’t even know were inside checking out my heater installation. We all had a great time meeting and checking out each others Monty.

One evening a bunch of us got together and took a shuttle bus to a Mexican Restaurant in Canyonville. Here we are waiting for our shuttle. We took the shuttle because if we each brought our vehicle we would overwhelm the parking lot at the restaurant.

They served BIG Margarita’s!

Dick Driver on the left in light blue, his wife Jackie in a matching light blue shirt. Me in the middle. Opposite me is Roxanne’s camera case because she’s taking the picture. Dick Carr on the right sitting across from his wife Joy. We are all waiting for the waiter to take our order.

After dinner waiting for the shuttle to take us home. Don says he is stuffed. John verifies and confirms Don has a long way to go before he can catch up with John.

During the day there was plenty of time to do your own thing. While Roxanne stayed at the club house with the ladies making bracelets, John and Dick Driver tried their hand at gold prospecting at the Umpqua River. Here John looks into his sluice box for any sign of gold.

As is the custom we have a campfire every evening. I think this is where the famous “Circle” was born. The early birds show up sitting close to the fire. As new comers arrive people back away from the fire making room for the new guys. Over and over we back away from the fire making more room for our friends. Eventually you realize the real warmth you feel is not so much from the fire but is coming from the family you are visiting with.

Here is what I am talking about. The “Circle” January 2009 in Quartzsite Arizona. If you double click this (and all) pictures here you see in the center is the campfire. Notice the trampled down area around the campfire? That is because as more people arrive at the campfire we all scoot away from the fire to make room for the newcomers. Is it obvious yet? YEP, that’s right next year we are going to have to move the Monty’s out to make room for MORE trailers! More and more folks will make the trip from all over the United States to get together and share their travel experiences. Look CLOSELY. At about 12:00 at the top of the circle you see the dirt road pathway where people can drive into the circle. Just to the left of that driveway are two saguaro cactus. See them?

Here is a better picture of those two cactus. Roxanne and I came to Quartzsite for a week maybe two. We ended staying a whole month and we were the LAST Monty to leave the “CIRCLE", The remaining trailer there was a visitor. He is known as an SOB. Stands for Some Other Brand other than a MONTANA brand trailer. Anyway I thought it was cool to draw the connection between the circle around the campfire and circle of trailers around the campfire. Back to 7 Feathers and the present.

It was a sad day as we traveled home complete with rain, thunder and lightning. If you look closely you can see a rainbow.

Here is a better picture. Well there you have it. We made it home safe and sound. The following week, friends from the MOC, (Montana Owners Club) emailed us and said they had moved from Seven Feathers and were now at Eagle Lake. They invited us to visit for the evening. We loaded up the car and an hour later we arrived. Doug and Sharon Henry, Mike and Renee Brown, Carl and Sue Youngren were sitting around the campfire. As we walked up, they all scooted away from the campfire making their circle bigger so we could join them. Next trip? As I write this 6/22/09 we plan to go to Lake Almanor for the weekend……. Maybe longer!