The Western Sunsetters Leisure Travelers Club launched the 2024 rally season with their inaugural gathering set amidst the picturesque vineyards of South Okanagan Wine Country. Nestled in Osoyoos, British Columbia, the Nk’Mip RV Park & Campground (pronounced In-ka-Meep) offers a unique camping experience adjacent to Canada’s only true desert and the country’s warmest lake.
Day One: Registration Day
The rally kicked off with over 100 Leisure Travel Vans participating. Attendees registered and received event name tags, game cards, and prize raffle tickets. They could then sign up for free optional activities like the LTV RV Show and Tell guided bike rides and pickleball play bookings. Before the rally, interested members had pre-booked organized wine tours through Top Cat Tour or experiences at the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre. Others had booked golfing, trail rides, or spa treatments in advance.
After registration, attendees participated in an exhilarating meet-and-greet social event. Club Leaders and the event planning team warmly welcomed everyone to the gathering. The highlight was a unique passport game. Participants had the exciting challenge of seeking out and interacting with fellow Rally attendees to find 12 pre-selected Mystery LTV owners. This game swiftly broke the ice, sparked conversations, and fostered engagement among LTVers, setting the tone for the rest of the rally.
Day Two: Presentation Day
Gayle and Steve Maritsch, the LTV Western Sunsetters Travel Club members, kicked off the events on Wednesday and Thursday mornings by providing a wonderful coffee service. This included a wide variety of “Home Baked by Gayle” items, all of which received rave reviews from Club Members. Our club offers a huge Thank You to Steve and Gayle for donating all the hot beverages, baked goods, and beverage add-in supplies.
After the coffee club social, the rally day began with introducing the rally planning team, volunteers, and invited vendor guests. Dean Corrigal, Territory Sales Manager from Leisure Travel Vans, then took the stage. He paid tribute to Triple E co-founder Philipp R. Ens with a video and warmed up the crowd with some entertaining stories.
Following Dean, Robert Henderson from Henderson Line Up and Supersteer Suspension, as well as representatives from Valley Auto and RV in Vancouver, gave a presentation on products and offered complementary suspension inspections and recommendations for Sprinter-based chassis.
Matthew Pot from NomadiQ showcased their groundbreaking BBQ items, setting up an enticing display. Attendees enjoyed a coffee break while admiring the innovative products.
Next, Towney Sausville, the esteemed Club Leader of the Southwest Roadrunners, delivered an outstanding presentation that captivated the audience with its comprehensive insights into the intricacies of Leisure Travel Van systems and maintenance.
After Towney spoke, the group gathered outdoors for a drone photo, followed by a quick break and lunch.
Lunch was catered by Oliver Eats Ltd., and all agreed that the meal exceeded expectations with its exceptional quality. As lunch service was being set up, the owner of Oliver Eats spoke to rally attendees about the local food and wine industry in the Osoyoos area.
Once lunch concluded, a panel of invited “experts” gathered onstage to address pre-submitted questions from Rally participants. Our thanks to all the members of the experts panel.
Following the Ask the Expert Q&A panel, attendees were encouraged to take a break and view a Brand-New 2024 LTV Unity Corner Bed that Colin from Fraserway RV in Kelowna brought to the Rally. Colin and Dean from LTV were at the van, highlighting its features and responding to questions about it. Some lucky visitors who viewed the van won gift cards from Fraserway RV to be used in their parts department in Kelowna.
Later in the afternoon, during our happy hour get-together, we drew tickets for draw prizes donated by some of our event sponsors. Fraser Way RV in Kelowna and Traveland RV in Langley offered great prizes for our rally.
Colin drew tickets for draw prizes donated by Kelowna Fraser Way RV, who donated multiple sets of winterizing and de-winterizing service gift cards and a grand prize draw for a four-day RV rental from Fraser Way RV. Traveland RV donated 12 insulated travel mugs, a pair of Kuma chairs, and a light-up travel palm tree. IRVWPC donated one of its water controllers, and SnapPad donated a set of compact snap pads.
On Wednesday, after a supper break at their Leisure Travel Vans, club members gathered in the clubhouse to enjoy a Travel Talk presented by Lori Rabey. In addition to being a Western Sunsetters Travel Club member, Lori is one of the official Leisure Travel Van Explorers.
Day Three: Activity Day
After a delightful coffee service, Double O Bikes and Sports, based in Osoyoos, offered an engaging outdoor presentation on Bike Tire Maintenance. The presentation focused on the necessity of proper tire maintenance due to the abundance of thorns in the region.
The day was a tapestry of exciting activities. Volunteer club members led scenic bike rides and pickleball games, providing a physical workout. Wine tours offered picturesque views, socialization, and wine-tasting experiences. Guided tours of the interesting Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre were offered. Some club members enjoyed playing Golf, and others took adventurous trail rides. Some members opened their LTVs to share their owner modifications for show and tell.
In the clubhouse, one of our members, a published author, led a group in a relaxing Zentangle session. She modeled various designs and techniques and provided materials to support participants in creating their Zentangle art pieces. A few of our musical club members enjoyed a Jam Session together. Some members enjoyed a walk up to the NK’Mip Spirit Ridge Resort behind the Campground.
The evening’s festivities commenced with unveiling the 12 mystery LTVer guests who participated in the passport game. Following this, a drawing of passport game cards took place, and many prizes were generously donated by Leisure Travel Vans as well as some donated by Club Members. The passport Mystery LTVers gave out the prizes.
A surprise guest, “The Professional Photographer” from the passport game, took the stage, presented a captivating showcase of his professional photography, and shared valuable photo-taking tips. Everyone was in awe of the images he shared with the group.
Day Four: Departure Day
We started our final day with a “stretch and travel” session delivered by two club members. The session focused on maintaining physical fitness and mobility while traveling. Soon, members started saying their goodbyes to each other and began packing up for their trips home or for further RV adventures.
It was an extraordinary event, brimming with enthusiasm and joy, leaving attendees eagerly anticipating the next Leisure Travel Vans Club Event. Thank you to our Osoyoos Rally planning team members who helped make this fantastic rally possible—an extra thank you to Tim Morris for assuming the role of photographer during our rally at Nk’Mip. In addition to the images included in this post, Tim has posted many rally images on our Western Sunsetters Website.
Thank you to Drew McArthur for acting as the MC for all of the indoor rally sessions and to Heather McArthur for researching and arranging the tours and activity options as well as for creating the rally brochure.
Written by: Rob & Linda Clark
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