2013 Meet Us At The Rez Rally Recap

Memories of past rallies and caravans
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2013 Meet Us At The Rez Rally Recap

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They say if one goes south long enough, you start going north without even turning around. That phenomenon is what it felt like going to the Seminole (Rez) Rally. I thought we'd never get there, just about gave up when we saw the smoke signals. Someone down that way must be very accomplished at the rain dance because we got two days of a good soaking. Everyone was decked out in their slickers; never knew we had so many folks in the club named LL Bean.

Thursday upon arrival, our raiding party of 20 broke into the reservation wine locker and fortified our courage, to attack the next day's events. Friday Morning broke to ominous skies and more downpours, with the threat of area tornadoes. Somewhere out there the rain gods were restless. The first thing on the morning agenda was sweet treats and coffee and more coffee, not the best beverage in the world for old guys headed for a one hour swamp buggy ride with no bathroom. All the low hanging tree branches were soaked with water, so the gentleman gave up their front row seats to the ladies so they could uh, uh---get better views of the animals roaming the everglade meadows. Our knowledgeable guide stopped and pointed out ostriches, letting the adventurous examine their giant eggs. Water Buffalo, alligators, antelopes, horses and other grazing animals were abundant and roaming free, some rare to Florida. We even caught sight of an extinct species "the chicanery spoof". It continued to rain and those low hanging branches I mentioned were like highwaymen waiting to attack at every turn in the road. The path was narrow and we rubbed the trees and brushed the branches as we went; each time the water poured into the buggy. Remember those ladies up front? Well, they all had a bad hair day. It was soooo funny, the rest of us river rats just laughed and laughed.

The next event was an air boat ride; it had three virtues-- fast, wet and loud! That evening we were entertained by a Seminole storyteller who graciously shared his boyhood life on the reservation in song and prose and answered our many questions. Wonderful.... With the rain still falling we were advised of an imminent tornado threat and if it occurred the park would notify us with a loud horn, at which time we should all take shelter in the bath house. Well at 3 AM a horn started to blow and blow, Lions were leaping up all over the place, some getting dressed for the mad dash to shelter. I stayed in bed, planning to test BFs roll bars. After what seemed like forever, apparently the fog lifted because the horn stopped. I don't know about others, but I went back to sleep. The next morning the false alarm was solved. Seems like one couple, AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, decided to store an extra pillow on the steering wheel for the night. Be darned if, after a restless night, their 17 pound, blue eyed Russian cat decided that pillow might be a good place to sleep. " Now you know the rest of the story"!

Saturday morning we were treated to bacon and eggs by chefs Eric and Joel, who also served up clear skies. We visited the Seminole Museum then walked our legs off along the extended boardwalk where our private guide enriched our knowledge of life in the swamps. We came back from the bush "just that", hoping for a nap but our hosts Sandy and Joel had us out playing miniature golf, this writer got two holes-in-one but somehow top prize went to the same guy who owned that blue eyed cat....drats! Saturday evening we had one of our famous pot lucks with Sandy cooking a melt-in-your-mouth brisket, NY style. This event was followed by card games and a showing of the hilarious movie "Long, Long Trailer" starring Lucy and Desi.

Yes, it poured and Ramona's hair will never be the same, but we all had a ball. Thanks, Sandy & Joel!

George Boley reporting from the Big Cypress Reservation

Click on the following link for rally photo album prepared by Eric Sandstrom: https://picasaweb.google.com/esandstrom ... directlink

NOTE! This recap was posted for the author by the Website Administrator (bfadmin-2).
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