After more than 40 years meeting in Everett, Everettes RV & Trailer Club now meets monthly in Marysville, and the club members are planning a busy schedule of weekend excursions for the upcoming season, even though the price of gas is climbing again.
They started meeting at Bethlehem Lutheran Church early this year, because it was cheaper, and more centrally located, Bob McCutchen said, while taking a break from loading up for the trip to Oak Harbor.
“We have members from Arlington, Stanwood, Granite Falls and Marysville, as well as Everett,” McCutchen said.
Along with viewing tulips on the way there, they will also be doing some square dancing, one of their favorite activities, although health issues may cramp Iris McCutchen’s dancing schedule this year. She enjoys playing mandolin and violin while on the weekend excursions.
“The dance is one of the reasons we go to Oak Harbor on the last weekend in April every year,” Bob McCutchen said.
One of the members, Doug Coleman, of Snohomish, is a square dance caller.
“Our meeting last night was fun, but only 19 members attended because a lot of the snow birds are still south,” said the club’s president, Truman Peterson, of Granite Falls, after last month’s meeting.
“We welcome all those interested in fun family camping and outdoor activities,” Peterson said.
“We are now planning our spring and summer camping activities.”
The 40-member group meets on the fourth Tuesday each month, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, at 7251 51st Ave NE, in Marysville.
The McCutchens have been camping since their children were small, and they switched to RVs in the early 1960s. They scaled back recently, to a 23 footer, because of the cost of gas, and, now in their mid-80s, they don’t go south for the winter any more.
Club members rendezvous at the reststop in Smokey Point, or at 128th, depending if they are heading north or south.
“We usually go early to claim the best spot,” Iris McCutchen said.
The long-time campers said they are sticking around Puget Sound these days, cause of the cost of gas.
In the past they have done long trips to Oregon, Eastern Washington, and the coast at Grayland, but now they settle for destinations like Gold Bar and Whidbey Island. The club plans one trip a month from April to October, and sometimes club members add trips at either end, “depending on the weather.”
When they aren’t out exploring the world, Bob does stained glass work. His living room features a working carousel made out of glass.
For information about the RV club, call Peterson at 360-691-7418, request a brochure at 425-344-2919 or visit the club’s Web site at www.everetgtestrailerrv.org.
