June 14th, 2010:
We had an interesting week last week. On Monday, we loaded up our motor home and went to Humboldt to attend the Good Sam Provincial Samboree.
What is Good Sam? you may ask, as many did at Humboldt. It is an international association of recreational vehicles, divided into national organizations, further into state or provincial associations, and further yet into chapters such as ours. Most chapters have around 20 member couples (or singles).
I suspect the name originally came from Good Samaritan, the biblical character who went out of his way to assist a fellow traveller in trouble. Good Sams pride themselves on being ready to help others.
Each provincial or state association holds a Samboree each year, and Good Sam members attend from all over the US and Canada. At our Samboree, we had many from Alberta and Manitoba, several from British Columbia, plus a rig each from Maine, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Minnesota.
There were around three hundred rigs at our Samboree. Our chapter was responsible for parking, and what a nightmare it was! We lost a good third of our available parking space to mud as it just wouldn't quit raining. Luckily the City came to our rescue and gave us space at the Mall, the Airport, the former Co-op Bulk Fuel site, and they even let us park on the roads.
Towns and cities like to see the Samboree come to their locale, because RV travellers leave a lot of money behind them. They like to shop, to view the local points of interest, and of course, they buy an awful lot of fuel.
You can tell if a rig belongs to Good Sam because it will have a round decal with a head of a man or woman, with a halo. I'm not sure they are all so saintly, but give them the benefit of the doubt.
We were lucky; since we got there two days early (to help in laying out and planning the parking) we were parked quite close to the Uniplex, where the Samboree was held. We still had to wear raincoats when it was raining, which was most of the time until Saturday and Sunday, when it turned warm and sunny. We had power, too.
The Uniplex is a great facility, with an excellent hockey rink, six sheets of curling ice, a pool, and many meeting rooms of all sizes. Presently under construction is a collegiate at the south-east corner, and planned is a field house for the north-west.
The Samboree ended Sunday morning. We waited, thinking to avoid the traffic jams as everyone left, but it went very smoothly. A couple of units needed a pull from the Uniplex Bobcat but otherwise there was no trouble.
We get to spend this week at home, but on Sunday, we take off again. This time it will be a caravan to Rosetown, Biggar, the Battlefords, the Crooked Bush, Blaine Lake then on to Memorial Lake Regional Park (by Shell Lake) where we will spend three or four nights.
All that rain started a few new leaks in our motor home, so I am going to take it to a dealer on Wednesday and get him to go over the roof and seal all seams. Aside from the leaks, it is running like a dream, and we are enjoying it no end.
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