On Friday July 26 we moved a whopping 37 miles south to Pueblo CO to attend the Newmar Kountry Klub (NKK) 2024 International Rally. About 5 miles before arriving at the event venue we topped off the tank, pumping about 45 gallons of diesel. It always feels good to have a full tank! This event was originally scheduled for a venue in Berrien County Michigan, but had to be moved due to the inability of that venue to adequately handle a rally with this number of coaches. It turned out this venue really couldn't handle it either. More on that later.
We caravanned with about 45 member coaches of the NKK Fulltimers Chapter from our previous rally site in Colorado Springs. In truth we did not actually all drive together in a long line down the interstate, but instead we were all scheduled to arrive during the same time window, so we would be parked in the same area. The venue was the Colorado State Fairgrounds. Parking went very smoothly. We had not towed the car, instead Dorcas drove it separately since it was such a short drive. Since we didn't have to unhitch the car from the coach, we were parked almost immediately at our assigned site along the south wall in the Carnival lot. We paid for a "full hookup" site, meaning electric, water and sewer. In fact, we could not reach the sewer dump at our site, so we could have saved some $$$ and registered for a water and electric site. That was not a problem though, we are pretty conservative with our tank usage and were able to wait to dump our tanks until we pulled out 8 days later.
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| The Carnival lot at the Colorado State Fairgrounds |
There are a couple of reasons why we would have preferred the rally at the Michigan site. First, we would have been able to combine that trip with our annual Boundary Waters trip. Second, it is HOT is southeast Colorado! The temperatures were consistently in the upper 90s, soaring to over 100 degrees a few days. There were 384 member coaches in attendance (not counting vender coaches) and the electrical facilities could not handle the load of all those coaches, each running 2 or 3 air conditioners nonstop. Power outages were a problem throughout the rally. Thankfully we were only out for a few hours on the first day. This is why it is good to keep your fuel tank full. You never know when you will need to run your generator to keep from roasting. But it's a dry heat, right? Yeah, right.
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| But it's a dry heat, right? Yeah, right. |
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| Our parking spot on the south wall |
The majority of the coaches were parked in the Carnival lot, but many others, particularly Klub officers, were parked in more central sections along roadways throughout the fairgrounds.
People who had attended a prior NKK International Rally at Pueblo several years ago warned us that there was no grass in the parking area for the pups to go. They suggested we buy an artificial pee pee pad or go to Home Depot and buy a few squares of sod. We were very pleased to see that rally management had provided 3-4 "Piddle Pads" around our parking area. Ginger was ecstatic!
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| Piddle Pad |
We also found that the fairgrounds had erected a really nice temporary fenced dog run in a shady grassy area. There were two sections, one for large dogs and one for small dogs. At about 35 pounds, Ginger can swing both ways. She made many new puppy friends. The only down side was it was located on the very far side of the fairgrounds, about as far from our parking site as it could be.
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| Ginger and friend at the dog run |
On Sunday we took an excursion to the Flying W Ranch in Colorado Springs for dinner and a show.
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| A "Flying W Wrangler" greeted us on the bus |
Scenes at the Flying W Ranch:
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| See the Indian riding a buffalo? Sure ya do! |
They had axe throwing and archery. It's a wonder no one was killed!
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| Check out the toilet seat banjo |
Click HERE for a video montage featuring the Flying W Wranglers.
One great thing about going to the annual NKK International rally is that Newmar Corporation sends factory technicians to service coaches. The first 1/2 hour is free, and additional labor is offered at a discounted rate. They also send a semi-trailer load of parts. It's kinda like going to the candy store. We had Newmar repair a gasket in one of our storage bay doors. There are also systems supplier representatives present. Girard made some adjustments to our patio awning and replaced a broken motion sensor. Last year we bought a number of lithium batteries from Solar Energy Systems. This time they made some modifications, better integrating our Auto Generator System (AGS).
The other great thing about the NKK International Rally is the number of great seminars. We attended technical seminars on a number of topics related to the systems and operations of our coach. There were also seminars on other topics including: the RV lifestyle, hobbies and crafts, travel destinations, etc. We were not able to attend all the classes we wanted to attend. So many seminars, so little time.
Many attendees volunteer for various duties to keep the rally running smoothly. Dorcas and I volunteered to supervise and manage the transport cart drivers, providing instruction and checking them in and out at the beginning and end of their shifts and refueling the carts. There was a shortage of volunteer drivers, so we both drove cart routes for most of a day, transporting members to different points about the venue. It was actually a lot of fun. We quickly learned where all the activities were located and made a lot of new friends. 100 degree heat, offering free rides and a breeze? They loved us!
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| My Sweetie, the chauffeur |
We had several catered breakfasts and dinners. In addition to complaints about the electrical service, there were also a number of complaints about the food. Frankly, it just wasn't very good. And I'm not a picky eater. Also, at several meals they ran out of entrees and desserts. That's never a good thing.
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| The grub line |
There were more than a dozen display coaches in the arena were we had meals and entertainment. There were perhaps another dozen display coaches outdoors, and 4-5 coaches available for test drives.
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| Casey Tubman, President Newmar Corporation |
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| A number of other Newmar honchos were also present |
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| Kenny Ray Horton |
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| Three Men and a Tenor |
RVers tend to be a feeble lot and like to go to bed early. At both shows the audience was pretty thin at the end.
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| Sunrise along the south wall |
Eventually, all adventures end and another begins. On Saturday Aug 3, after two back-to-back rallies, we broke camp and departed Pueblo, headed north and west and upward in elevation, seeking cooler temperatures... It was time to get off on our own for a while and on to the better parts of Colorado.
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