What a great summer Micki and I have had in the White Mountains of Arizona at 7,000 feet elevation. Those of us with

Multiple Sclerosis experience heat as a devastating experience, as it causes extreme fatigue. Because of the high heat in

Tucson, we seek out higher elevations and cooler temperatures. After discovering White Mountain Vacation Village in Show

Low, Arizona, right in the heart of the White Mountains, we have returned for the past four summers.

Nearby we have dozens of lakes and streams that are filled with trout and bass and we have fished in many of them. Micki and

I have relished some of the best trout we have ever eaten. Summers in Arizona is the monsoon season. We have enjoyed many

days of rain which soaked the forest, a definite detriment to forest fires . Nearby Greer, AZ is recognized as the number 1 elk

population in the SW united states; and it is not uncommon to see large herds in the fields and meadows at this elevation. Additionally, just a few miles away is Whiteriver, AZ home of the Apache Indians and is the location of the historic Fort

Apache, which is open daily for tours.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my presidency of our incredible organization. Due to my MS and various medical conditions, on

Sept. 14 I am scheduled for another back surgery. Hopefully this will be successful, reduce the pain and enable us to travel, at

least minimally.

I sincerely hope you get involved with our great club as we are in need of new officers, wagon masters, 2nd vice president, and

other positions that open up periodically. We need your thoughts and ideas in order not just to maintain, but as Dr Seuss

preaches “ON BEYOND ZEBRA” and continue with our upward spiral of travels, fun and camaraderie.

Joe Darling, President

Alpine SoCal

(520)603-7292

A Chapter of FMCA

Joe Darling, President Issue #41 Patti & Jim Warren, Editors

Jdarling10@aol.com September 2015 AlpineNews2014@gmail.com

www.alpinesocal.com

The President’s Message

Joe & Micki at

Bryce Canyon

David Hobden, President Issue #43 Lorraine Foster davidhobden@mac.com June, 2016 & www.alpinesocal.com Ann Fleming

The President's Message

WOW!… it’s been a quick 3 months since my first newsletter article in the March issue of the Matterhorn. Stilla and I have had the pleasure of attending two more awesome SoCal Rallies since that newsletter went to print. I had just finished writing that last newsletter article while in Casa Grande, AZ when we made our way over to the Spring Training Rally (5-12 March) at the Cotton Lane RV Resort in Goodyear, AZ. If you missed that rally, be sure to check out my travel blog @ UrbanEscapeVehicle.com. Just type in keywords “Cotton Lane” or “Goodyear” in the “search” window or another method is to just click on the month of March under the “Archives” section to catch up on all our activities and see pictures of your fellow Alpine friends. What a great time! Many of us arrived early and stayed late to get the most out of the fine fellowship and fun activities in and around Phoenix. Many thanks go out to our Rally Wagon masters, Bob & Connie Bowers along with Jim & Stephanie Archer for making this rally another successful one. After the Goodyear rally we stayed in the Phoenix area to help our daughter and grandson get settled in after her recent relocation from Colorado Springs. Then we took them with us to the next awesome SoCal rally in Newport Beach, CA (April 22nd thru 24th)… and what a great rally it was! Once again, many ‘Alpiners’ arrived early and left late, effectively making it a week-long rally. For those of you interested in seeing more… use search keyword “Newport Dunes” on the Urban Escape Vehicle website. We also took the opportunity to visit Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure (DCA) park(s) after the rally was officially over. What fun! Our thanks for another highly successful rally this time go out to Mike & Donna Hambarian along with Greg & Marcy Vaughan. We headed back to Phoenix after the Newport Beach rally with a short overnight ‘boondocking’ stop in Quartzsite. Then in June we moved down to Casa Grande where we currently are, to visit with relatives and watch the grandson during some of his summer break. Thank goodness for 50 amp power and working air conditioners Unfortunately (for us) we weren’t able to attend the most recent rally in Paso Robles (1-8 June) but heard it was awesome fun (as usual) for those lucky enough to be there. Here’s a perfect example of why it’s good to sign up on the Alpine Coach Owners Facebook page (www.facebook.com/groups/AlpineOwners) managed by our very own Mary Langord, so you can get updates and keep up with what our other members are doing. All reports from the rally were glowing with much talk of wine and merriment. David & Nicole Guhse along with Mike & Mike Collins get credit and many thanks for heading up this rally. We’re looking forward to the next SoCal rally in Pahrump, NV (29 Sept – 3 Oct) to be hosted by long-time SoCal members John & Gail Stacy along with relatively new members Ron & Jeanne Maxwell. As most of you already know, Gail Stacy is a past-president and I’m told she really knows how to put on a rally In closing, I would like to say; “Congratulations to us!” This month’s newsletter includes some exciting news about our illustrious 15 years of success as the Alpine SoCal chapter. What a great milestone achievement! I’m confident we can keep it going just as strong for another 15! I’m also told our membership numbers are at an all time high! I challenge everyone to keep up the great work and please think about volunteering for some of the upcoming rally hosting positions and/or board member positions, e.g., SARC. And finally, join me in congratulating our new newsletter editor team Lorraine Foster and Ann Fleming! It was reported that they have graciously agreed to continue taking on the responsibility for the rest of the year. Thank you Ann and Lorraine! So enjoy your summer travels and remember… if you see any Alpine Coaches along the way, please make contact and tell them about our fine organization… we always have room for more friends, right? Hope to see you all at the next rally Faithfully Yours, David W. HobdenPresident, Alpine SoCal

#45

December, 2016

I hope this December issue of the Matterhorn finds everyone in the Alpine SoCal community doing well. Since the last issue of the Matterhorn, Stilla and I enjoyed some very good times at the awesome Betabel rally in San Juan Batista. What fun we had at that NorCal/SoCal joint Rally! We got to meet a lot of new people and spent quality time with many old friends. After the Betabel Rally, we took the rest of the month getting to know the California coastline between San Francisco and Los Angeles before slowly heading back to my Mom's house in Casa Grande, AZ just in time for Thanksgiving. Since then we've been spending a lot of time traveling around the Phoenix area looking at houses. Yes, I said it...looking for houses. The oldest daughter and grandson are back from South Dakota and it looks like we're going to need to find a place to help her out. It's been a fun three years on the road as full-timers, but Stilla is ready for a spot to call a home-base that doubles as a safe, secure place for the daughter/grandson. Plus it will give us a location to put our stuff instead of keeping things in storage with relatives. We feel that we lucked out and found a beautiful 3 bedroom in a nice Mesa neighborhood with no HOAs and an RV gate. We put in a bid that was accepted! So now we're just going through all the inspections and paperwork hassle associated with buying a house. Hopefully, we'll be done with the closing before it's time for the ACA Desert Rat Rally in Quartzsite. Please don't forget about the Havasu Winter Blast (Feb. 16-20) which is the next great Alpine SoCal Rally hosted by the illustrious Joel and Mary Langord and co-hosted by yours truly (US)! It's shaping up to be a great 2017 which is our 15th Anniversary year with a big celebration planned for March 31-thru April 3rd in Chula Vista...make sure to plan now and put it on your calendar! We also plan on attending the Chandler Pre-Rally, (Feb. 28-Mar. 5) in Goodyear, AZ before going into the Chandler FMCA 95th Convention (Mar. 7-10). The Pre -Rally will be hosted by ACA and promises to be a lot of fun (we attended last year). Get your regristrations in ASAP. The Pre-Rally registration at Cotton Lane RV Resort is due before Feb. 13th. As I mentioned in the last issue of the Matterhorn - we still need someone to step up to fill the Alternate FMCA Natiional Director Position. Joel Langord will be stepping down from his position after a long and fruitful run. Joel and Mary will not be able to travel east in the near future due to at home commitments which limits their exposure to future FMCA related events. Again, please join me in expressing our deepest gratitude to Joel for the untiring dedication and loyal support he has given to the club in the past years. Please consider taking on the position, the duty description is outlined in the Policies & Procedures Manual located on the Alpine SOCal.Com website under the Members Only section in Club Documents. Page 3 of Newsletter is an article by Joel Langord about his time in the position of Alternate FMCA DirectorPage 4 of Newletter has the Description of the Job. In other news -- I put in an order for some of the "Alpine Coach" stickers that you may have seen on many of our members's tow vechicles. I researched the source that I got from another of our fine ACA members and ordered 10 sets of both the popular sizes. I hope to have them on hand (at cost-no profit) for our members in the next 2-3 weeks, just contact me if you want a set or ask me at the next rally. Hope to see ya there!! HAPPY NEW YEAR Your faithful PresidentDavid HobdenAlpine SoCa...

Page 2 Matterhorn

Membership Report

By Mary Langord

Happy New Year to each and every one of our Alpine families. Our current membership in our Alpine SoCal Chapter is 75 coaches. We are very pleased with the enthusiasm and participation of our many members. Unfortunately Joel and I have been unable to attend a couple of rallies, but sure plan to be back out there just as soon as we lose the “creeping crud” chest cold that seems to hit us every late December - early January timeframe. Our chapter is by far one of the most active chapters, and interest in membership from new owners have helped us achieve 75. As our coaches become a bit older, we are hoping that we will retain our current members as they move to a newer coach, in addition to welcoming new members who may purchase their lovingly used Alpine coach. Who knows? We may still see an increasing number in the future. Spread the word! Alpiners are the BEST!. Keep enjoying your beautiful Alpines. Stay safe as you travel this great country, and I hope to see you “down the road apiece” soon! Mary Langord lst Vice President-Membership

Come Celebrate our 15th

Anniversary

Additionally, SoCal will be celebrating our Fifteenth Anniversary at Chula Vista RV

Resort March 31-April 03, 2017. Please plan to attend and help make this a memorable

celebration. See page10 for information & page 11 for the registration!

Page 3 Matterhorn

Joel Langord – Alternate FMCA National

Director

Back in 2008 Mary and I attended the Alpine SoCal rally held at Yucaipa regional park as novice members of our great group. We had such a good time that we knew we wanted to be active participants in the future. So, when it was announced at the membership meeting that the group needed an alternate national director, Mary volunteered me. Now one would think that a person like Mary would step forward and volunteer herself, but she obviously had set her sights on higher office. I didn’t have any idea what the job entailed at the time, but was encouraged to jump in by our regional vice president at the time who had joined our rally. He even told me about all the neat perks I would get at the various national and regional events. (I am still waiting for those.) But I did jump in and have been very happy with my decision for a number of reasons. It’s been a rewarding experience without being a burden on our RV activities. First, I was able to see first-hand how FMCA works by participating at the club level and in both regional and national meetings. As the alternate to Carolyn Swan, our national director, I quickly learned from her what the position entailed. It simply is the alternate to the national director, so if the director cannot attend a club, national or regional meeting the alternate represents Alpine SoCal, if his/her RVing plans permit. Even if the director does represent our group at an event, the alternate director can and should also attend to better understand the scope and direction of activities under consideration. The FMCA encourages this because it prepares the alternate to take on the role of director when that position becomes available. However, there is no requirement to disrupt ones plans or expend personal funds to fulfill these functions. Second, the alternate national director, is a voting member of the Alpine SoCal board of directors. I have enjoyed this aspect of the position because I get to put in my two cents every now and then about where and how the club should proceed. And finally, as an Alpine SoCal officer I have been able to greatly expand my circle of great RV friends both at the club level and throughout FMCA. It’s been a really good experience for me and I hope my replacement will enjoy the job as much as I have.

Joel Langord

Page 4 Matterhorn

�

POLICIES�&�PROCEDURES�

NATIONAL�DIRECTOR�&�ALTERNATE�NATIONAL�DIRECTOR�

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

National Director serves on the Governing Board of FMCA, as well as on the Board of FMCA’s

Western Area (Western Motor Home Assn/WMHA).

The Alternate National Director shall serve whenever the National Director is unable to attend

meetings of the FMCA Governing Board or WMHA Board, or is otherwise unable to serve. Another

chapter officer is not precluded from election as the Alternate National Director.

PROCEDURES�

--------------------�

�

o Attends the annual FMCA Governing Board meeting and casts votes on FMCA matters on behalf of

Alpine SoCal.

o Attends the annual WMHA Board meeting each fall and casts votes on behalf of Alpine SoCal.

o Keep Alpine SoCal informed of new developments at FMCA and WMHA.

o Keep FMCA and WMHA informed of issues or significant events at Alpine SoCal.

o May annually request one of the following items from FMCA: a banner, a coffeepot or a prize

package. Requests for these items must be made six to twelve weeks in advance of the final rally of

the year.

o If a vacancy occurs in the office of National Director, the Alternate National Director shall

immediately assume this office. An election will be held as soon as possible to then replace the

Alternate National Director.

o If the incumbent Alternate National Director is unable to fill this vacancy, Alpine SoCal will

promptly elect (not appoint) a member to fill the vacancy in the office of National Director.

o Any changes in persons holding these positions shall be promptly reported in writing to the FMCA

National Office.

Page 5 Matterhorn

SARC 4TH

QUARTER REPORT By Stephanie Archer

Happy New Year from SARC !

We want to share the most up to date 2017 & 2018 rally schedule with you.

All 2017 rallies have hosts and co-hosts. Because so many of our members plan to

attend ACA's Heritage rally and pre-rally in Texas during late October and early

November, we decided that our last rally for 2017 will begin in Mammoth Lakes, Sept

7 - 11 and move Sept 11 - 14 to Boulder Creek RV Park in Lone Pine, co-hosted by Mike

& Ann Fleming & John & Lorraine Foster. Since 2017 is an election year for club

officers, we will need to vote for the slate of officers at that rally, at whichever site

is more well attended.

Rallies for 2018 are shaping up nicely. Susan & Dean Vargo and Barry & Debi Lacy

(both first time wagon masters) have volunteered to host a February rally at either

Pala or Pechanga RV Resorts. Jerry & Toni Smith are hosting a rally for the

Rhododendron Festival, May 16 - 21, in Florence, OR. They will be selecting their co-

hosts. This will be a joint rally with NorCal. Mike & Donna Hambarian and Greg &

Marcy Vaughan are teaming up again (they hosted the Newport rally in April 2016)

to host an October rally at Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton. Jim & Stephanie

Archer are looking for co-hosts to help with a week long rally at Distant Drums RV

Resort in Camp Verde, AZ, April 9 -16. And Bill & Patti Figge are looking for co-hosts

to help with a week long rally at the Napa Expo Fairgrounds in Napa, Sept 4 - 11.

To complete the 2018 rally schedule, we need your help with the FMCA rally

dates...Indio, Perry, & Gillette. Please send dates to Stephanie Archer and she will

update the master rally schedule. Also, send any corrections or additions to

Stephanie. Thank you to our SSSSoCal AAAAlpine RRRRally CCCCommittee

Ramona Escamilla, Bill Figge and Stephanie Archer –-SARC

Page 6 Matterhorn

2017

Jan 11 - 15 WMHA Indio Rally Indio, CA - Register Directly

WMHA w/SoCal Caravan

Langord marylangord@mac.com Hobden davidhobden@mac.com

Jan 18 – 24 Desert Rat XVI Quartzsite, AZ ACA

Maurman smaurman@hotmail.com Sandmire jhsdds@earthlink.net

Feb 16 - 20

Winter Blast SARA Rodeo Grounds Lake Havasu, AZ SoCal

Joel & Mary Langord marylangord@mac.com David & Stilla Hobden davidhobden@mac.com

Feb 28 – Mar 5

ACA Pre-Rally for FMCA Chandler Cotton Lane RV Resort Goodyear, AZ ACA

Tom & Nancy Polk tomvending@msn.com

Mar 07 - 10 FMCA 95th Family Reunion Chandler, AZ - Register Directly FMCA

Mar 31 - Apr 03

Alpine SoCal 15th Anniversary Chula Vista RV Park Chula Vista, CA SoCal

Milo & Janet Prodanovich jmacneillo1@att.net Jack & Linda Giddens crazysingerlkg@yahoo.com

May 15 - 22 Jackson Rancheria RV Park Jackson, CA

SoCal NorCal

Jim & Stephanie Archer saarcher@cox.net Jerry & Toni Smith geraldsmith18@hotmail.com

Jul 10 - 17 NorCal Mystery Rally & Poker Run ???, Western US

SoCal NorCal

Tom & Nancy Polk tomvending@msn.com

Jul 12 - 15 FMCA 96th Family Reunion Indianapolis, IN - Register Directly FMCA

Sep 07 - 14

Mammoth RV Park (9/7-9/11) Boulder Creek RV Park (9/11-9/14) Mammoth Lakes/Lone Pine, CA

SoCal

John & Lorraine Foster fostfreez@aol.com Mike & Ann Fleming meflemin@pacbell.net

Oct 25 – 29 ACA Heritage Pre-Rally Lajitas, TX w/ACA

Jan & Dean Sandmire jhsdds@earthlink.net

Nov 01 - 07 ACA Heritage Rally New Braunfels, TX w/ACA

Jan & Dean Sandmire jhsdds@earthlink.net

Feb 8 - 12, 2018

Pala RV Resort, Pala, CA

SoCal

Vargo dunejumper221@gmail.com Lacy blacy@r3construction.com Prodanovich jmacneillo1@att.net

April 9 – 16, 2018

Distant Drums RV Resort ***Co-Hosts Needed*** Capm Verde, AZ SoCal

Jim & Stephanie Archer saarcher@cox.net

May 16 – 21, 2018

Rhododendron Festival Jesse T Jones Odd Fellow RV Park Florence, OR

SoCal NorCal

Jerry & Toni Smith Geraldsmith18@hotmail.com

Sep 4 – 11, 2018

Napa Expo Fairgrounds ***Co-Hosts Needed*** Napa, CA SoCal

Bill & Patti Figge figgebp@mac.com

Oct 1 – 31, 2018 TBD Flying Flags RV Resort Buelton, CA SoCal

Hambarian GRBGMIKE@aol.com Vaughan gregvaughan@aol.com

*Last day listed is date of departure

FMCA

ACA

ACA

ACA

ACA

FMCA

Page 7 Matterhorn

We have a fair number of new members who have purchased coaches recently. For those folks (& any longer term owners for which this info may have slipped slowly into memorial obscurity), ACA's Tech Library has a wealth of information on our rigs. You can download & print the owners manual, chassis parts manuals, electrical parts manuals, etc., etc. Go to AlpineCoachAssociation.com and click of the Tech Library link. Click on a pull down list under the appropriate heading (chassis, electrical, etc.), and select the document you need, then click Go. To ask specific questions about any aspect of your coach, go to iRV2.com/forums/f104 and post the question. Or from that Alpine Coach forum, click on the Google search link at the top of the page and search the forum to see if your issue has been addressed in the past. On a personal note, Thanks a Million to Alpine SoCal for granting me a Lifetime Membership for service rendered. I was awarded the honor by our fearless leader, the Honorable Grand Wizard, David Hobden, at the San Juan Bautista Rally. It was a very well guarded secret (from me at least which was remarkable since Engineer Annie was in on it & never let anything slip). I was uncharacteristically speechless for a moment or two. Thanks again. That's my $0.02 Engineer Mike

Engineer Mike 916 240-2141

Mike@fleming.cc

Engineer Mike’s .02 centsEngineer Mike’s .02 centsEngineer Mike’s .02 centsEngineer Mike’s .02 cents

Page 8 Matterhorn

By: Teresa Weitz

From Monday October 31 through Friday November 4th, we were one of 26 coaches at the combined

North California (NorCal) and South California (SoCal) Alpine rally.

The rally was held at the Betabel RV Resort located close to San Juan Bautista.

Once again, we had a great time and met several new Alpine folks, in particular those from the NorCal

group. Our Alpine family keeps on growing.

Our hosts were terrific, and organized just the right mix of dinners, breakfasts, free time, happy hours,

and a planned outing. It gave us time to mix, mingle, and also pursue our own interests. I don't ever

remember laughing so much - there certainly are a lot of entertaining and amusing folks in the group.

Our first gathering was on Halloween. Our hosts came in disguise. Perhaps they were trying to trick us?

:) But it certainly was a treat to see Mr and Mrs Potato Head and the biker dude and his biker chick

again.

Mike and Mikey, Phil and Trudy -- Thanks for a great rally

Trick- or-Treat night is just not for kids and some of us still enjoy dressing up!

(Continued Page 9)

Alpine SoCal and Alpine NorCal

Joint Rally At Betabel RV Park

In San Juan Bautista near Monterey

Page 9 Matterhorn

(Betabel Rally Continued)

Our planned outing was a bus tour of Monterey and Carmel. The tour guide was exceptional, knew the

area intimately,and also wrote a book on Carmel, so we learned a lot of interesting facts and

information. During the drive-by tour through old town Monterey, we saw the main historical highlights.

Monterey grew from its original founding as a Spanish Catholic settlement, to a fishing industry town

that made Cannery Row famous, and then was further influenced with an Asian flavor introduced by

Chinese laborers.

Monterey Waterfront The Lone Cypress

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Following is a note sent in from Brian and Diane Enbom 1st time attendees

We hope that all those that attended enjoyed the planned events as much as we did the

opening Pizza dinner and Costume Party! GO ALPINES!!

Costume Party Saying Goodbye

Page 10 Matterhorn

Join Us in attending the 15th Anniversary Rally

Chula Vista, CA March 31 – April 3, 2017

Hosted By: Milo & Janet Prodanovich and Jack & Linda Giddens

Beautiful Chula Vista RV Resort

Alpine SoCal Coach Association 15 years & going strong!

REGISTRATION FORM --- Page 11

Alpine SoCal 15th

Anniversary Rally Registration Form

The Chula Vista RV Resort

460 Sandpiper Way Chula Vista, CA 91910

March 31, 2017 – April 3, 2017

Wagon Masters: Milo & Janet Prodanovich 858-750-5630 jmacneillo1@att.net Jack & Linda Giddens 619-318-6861 crazysingerlkg@yahoo.com Registrations must be postmarked by: February 17, 2017 Make Check Payable to: Alpine SoCal Mail Check and Form to: Janet Prodanovich 10395 Caminito Rio Branco San Diego, CA 92131

We have 35 full hook-up RV spaces reserved. SoCal members have priority. No SOBs please unless they are Alpine club members.

You may arrive Thursday and stay over Monday night at the group rate of $51.50 per night plus a $3.00 per day pet charge. Any additional days will be full fee. All additional day reservations must be arranged through the Resort’s Front Office by calling 1-800-770-2878. The Chula Vista RV Resort charges $3.00 per night for an extra person up to 4 persons maximum per site. The rally fee includes 3 nights camping per coach, meeting room fees, two continental breakfasts and 2 ½ dinners. Pot luck Saturday evening with glazed meatballs and sweet and sour chicken nuggets provided. Attendees asked to bring side dish. Names: ______________________________Phone: ___________ Email _________________ Arrival Date: _____________Departure Date: _____________ Coach length: _______________ EMERGENCY CONTACT____________________________________PHONE______________ Rally fee for coach with 2 persons = $300.00 Rally fee for coach with 1 person = $265.00 = $________ _____ Pets (cats & dogs) (at $3.00/night each coach) = $________ OPTIONAL _____ Sunday WHALE WATCHING $41 per/person = $________ See attached Hornblower brochure (Box lunch available for purchase) NO REFUNDS AFTER MARCH 1

st Total Amount of Check Enclosed $________

*** Are you willing to write a newsletter article about one of the rally activities??** __________

Page 12 Matterhorn

Hello Alpine friends, where in the world has the year gone? Wasn’t it just yesterday

when we did the previous Matterhorn? We’d like to thank you for your support this

past year as two rookies! We hope we brought you great words of wisdom from our

officers, some information and even a few laughs. We feel wonderful being able to

complete the year and carry on a tradition that benefits our Alpine SoCal Chapter. You

all are so great having given us fun and informative articles to make our newsletter

successful. This is not a one or two-person job but actually teamwork from a

wonderful group, so thank you!

We would like to introduce your new editor for 2017, the bubbly and sweet Teresa

Weitz! She looks forward to receiving all your stories and tales about everything

Alpine So Cal does. Even solo travels or spot rallies, so let’s give her a great round of

applause welcoming her as the Matterhorn Editor!!

May your new year shine with light as you reflect upon the past year… Lorraine Foster Ann Fleming