We arrived at lake five resort at West Glacier Montana on wednesday the 20th. There was one other rig that followed us to the resort from Spokane WA. By the end of the day there were 5 truck campers at the resort already. We gathered and chatted for a while and enjoyed our surroundings. It was a beautiful day.

I  had to get some things done. so early evening I started setting up for the rally. Welcome bags ready at the lodge, check...banners set up at the stage, check.... ready to meet people and watch them come in, check. Now where the heck did I set my favorite beverage?

For those that arrived on wednesday they seemed to be settling in and relaxing.

Gary on left.
Ken on the right.

On thursday they all started rolling in. No events were planed for this day as people were coming in at all different times. There were some gatherings though as you can imagine with people meeting each other.

Friday morning came around and for those of us who were doing the Avalanche Lake hike in Glacier National Park, we were off. Avalanche Lake trail from the road side to the lake is 3.1 miles one way, with a 505 foot elevation gain. The first .3 miles is on boardwalk and paved trail and very easy. The whole hike is actually marked as easy but I know for some it was still a good hike. The great news...everyone who started, finished! The hike was park ranger lead. She had lots of information and I do believe we all learned a little something from her information on the hike.

front row left to right: (me) rich, joanne and son cody

back row left to right: gerard & carin, gary & penny, philip & debra, richard & nancy,
bob & janet

When we returned back to the resort from the hike, Joanne (the mrs tc life) gathered up the kids and they did some crafts.

After everyone had their dinner we all gathered at the stage area. We had karaoke set up for those that wanted to sing. It took a while for some to come up to the stage but in the end they did. There even was a chicken dance but strangely I don't have any pictures of that. The weather was fantastic.

Saturday morning for those that were on the "red bus tour", to the lodge we went. We drove to Lake McDonald Lodge inside Glacier National Park to get on the buses. The ride on the buses was about a 3 1/2 hour tour. The weather was fair but it did get wet, windy and foggy at the top of the
 Going To The Sun Road. We all still had fun no matter the weather.

After the tour it was back to the resort. Our potluck dinner was at 6 p.m.
The weather was nice at the resort, but whats that coming from the south? Yep, a big down pour right at potluck time. No big deal, we just moved the potluck from the outside stage area to the pavilion. We all stayed dry and even though it poured the temperature was still warm. Now, on to the food. As usual at rallies there was a huge amount of food. It always amazes me what people cook up while "camping". After the dinner, prizes were handed out to rally attendees. Everyone walked away with something.

After the prizes were handed out we just hung out. There was some singing going on at the stage area and some of us stayed at the pavilion for a while. Others headed back to their campers. It was still pretty wet out so the after potluck campfire didn't happen. It was still a very nice and relaxing end to the day.

On sunday morning we had our farewell breakfast. The breakfast menu was sausage, pancakes and eggs to order....as long as they were scrambled. Some left earlier in the morning before the breakfast as they had to hit the road to head back home.

It was a great rally. Everyone said they had a wonderful time. We ended up with 20 truck campers for the rally, with one extra that was able to stay for one night. 

People came from:

Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska,
New Hampshire and Washington.

For me there was only one thing that I wished could have been different. I wished I was able to talk to everyone who was there longer and get to know them more.
 I hope to come across everyone again somewhere down the road.

I would like to say THANK YOU to the following companies and organizations for their support with the Montana Truck Camper Rally 2012...

LAKE FIVE RESORT, NATCOA, LANCE OWNERS OF AMERICA, EAGLE CAP OWNERS, RV.NET, TORKLIFT, VALTERRA, MAXX AIR, KOA, WOODALLS, 

JOHNSON RV (SPOKANE WA.), ETERNABOND, CAMPCO, MONTANA STATE TOURISM, GEORGE, ART, BONNIE, ERIC & JULIA.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, EVERYONE WHO WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THE RALLY. WITHOUT YOU THERE WOULD BE NO RALLY.

People have asked...."what about next year".

GLACIER CAMPGROUND, WEST GLACIER MONTANA

JULY 11TH - 14TH 2013

There will be information about next years rally sometime in autumn of 2012.