GYPSY JOURNAL WESTERN GATHERING in CASA GRANDE, AZ

Yes, we are packed in tighter than sardines here at the Pinal County Fairgrounds in Casa Grande. I feel LUCKY with our space, though! The row in front of us is shorter than ours, so Scoopy has a long view across the dusty fairgrounds lot. I know, I know... it doesn't sound appealing, but it IS a help when your neighbor is so close you can knock on their door without leaving your rig.

More importantly, though, we face north. When the temperatures rose into the 70's the first couple of days, we were grateful that our big front windshield didn't face the sun, as there is no way to run air conditioning on the 15 amps of electricity we are alloted here.

So why would anyone pay money to park like this?

In spite of the close quarters, we are having a great time. Seminars start daily at 9 am and end at 5 pm. My favorite so far has been "How to Write Travel & Life Stories" but I've learned at least one useful fact/tip from each seminar I've attended. I now understand the difference between "volume" and "pressure" when it comes to our water system. I understand the approximately 87 different acronyms (C2C, TTN, TTN/LTR, NACO, RPI, WHR, etc.) used to describe the multitude of campground memberships offered to RV'ers, and how to evaluate whether they are smart financial moves for us.

Then there are the vendors. We bought books about state park and Corps of Engineers campgrounds and renewed a club membership for close to half price. Best of all - Odel found a $45 product to brighten Scoopy's exterior stripes and return her shine, so we can defer an expensive re-striping job for a year (or longer).

This photo says it all about the range of RV'ers who attended the rally. The big, new, quad slide, Class A motorhome in the background belongs to a solo woman who I met at a seminar titled "RV Tech Tips for Women". She has been in her RV less than a year; after the class, I offered to help her figure out a thing or two about her electrical system, and got to see the inside of her impressive rig. Technology galore.

As I left, I noticed her tiny neighbor. I've seen popup trailers of this kind pulled by motorcycles - truely the other end of the RV'ing spectrum.