2019 WRTR web site updated

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Suanne

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I've started updating the Women's Rubber Tramp Rendezvous site at http://cheaprvliving.com/womensrtr.  Check out January's schedule!

2019 Women’s Rubber Tramp Rendezvous
Dates: January 4-8, 2019
Location: Bouse, AZ (33.827526, -114.054367)

The Women’s Rubber Tramp Rendezvous is less than a month away!  Your organizers and advisory committee are working diligently to make this a great, meaningful event for all.  We are in a beautiful location with awesome views.  I expect a repeat of last year’s camaraderie — lots of laughter, lots of learning, lots of memories.

Goals:

1) To help participants be successful in the vandwelling lifestyle long term, and​

2) To build a supportive community of women.​

 
2019 Women’s Rubber Tramp Rendezvous
Outline of Schedule

The schedule below gives you an idea of the basic structure.

You may arrive as early as December 26 and be within BLM’s 14-day rule if you stay at the WRTR location until January 8.  As we get close to the event, areas will be identified for meetings, camping and parking; so, if you come early, you may need to move your camp once the event begins.

Specific topic information will be provided about the Mini-Talks in the days to come. Also, sign up to lead a Discussion or Mentoring Session on January 4th.

Note: “Networking with Food” is NOT a conventional potluck. Women do not bring big dishes of food to share. Rather, just bring and share what you would have fixed yourself for that meal. It ends up being more like snacks. The focus is on networking, meeting other supportive women. We had a great time last January.

We have a lot of sessions and activities going on at the same times throughout the event. So, come prepared to make choices. And, yes, it’s OK if you don’t want to do any of the stuff on the schedule. Pick and choose what works for you.

Fri, Jan 4

10am – Orientation Session at main circle
11am – Sign up to lead Mentoring or Discussion Session
Noon – Lunch Break
2pm – 20-Minute Mini-Talks (2:00, 2:30, 3:00)
4pm – Networking with food
5pm – Fire rings, or
5pm – Evening Walk About

Sat, Jan 5

7am – Fire ring, or
7am – Morning Walk About, or
7am – Meditation and Yoga
8am – Networking with food
10am – Q&A and discussion of yesterday’s Mini-Talks
Noon – Lunch, and
Noon – Van Open House (w/personal free piles)
2pm – Mentoring and Discussion Sessions
4pm – Networking with food
5pm – Fire rings, or
5pm – Evening Walk About
6pm – Campout with the New Moon and Stars

Sun, Jan 6

7am – Fire ring, or
7am – Morning Walk About, or
7am – Meditation and Yoga
8am – Networking with food
10am – Personal Hygiene Panel, or
10am – Discussion and Mentoring Sessions
Noon – Lunch, and
Noon – Car and SUV Open House (w/personal free piles)
2pm – Dancing, or
2pm – Mentoring and Discussion Sessions
4pm – Networking with food
5pm – Fire rings, or
5pm – Evening Walk About

Mon, Jan 7

7am – Fire ring, or
7am – Morning Walk About, or
7am – Meditation and Yoga
8am – Networking with food
10am – Safety Panel, or
10am – Discussion and Mentoring Sessions
Noon – Lunch, and
Noon – RV and other Open House (w/personal free piles)
2pm – Dancing, or
2pm – Mentoring and Discussion Sessions
4pm – Networking with food
5pm – Fire rings, or
5pm – Evening Walk About

Tues, Jan 8

7am – Fire ring, or
7am – Morning Walk About, or
7am – Meditation and Yoga
8am – Networking with food
10am – Closing Session
Break Camp, Pack Up and Clean Up
Lunch Break
Go to RTR
 
Thank you so much for your excellent organization, Suanne!
 
Bob posted a new video about the WRTR:
 Below is the summary from the youtube site and an edited transcript of the video. To keep it short I included only the new facts. The video includes Silvianne's thoughts and experiences which should be helpful to all new vandwellers so you may want to watch the entire video.

"The Women's Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (WRTR) is for five days in Bouse, AZ (33.827526, -114.054367), January 4-8.  In this video Bob, Suanne and Silvianne discuss the specifics of the WRTR, as well as what women might expect.  The purpose of the WRTR is to help build a supportive community of women, and to help women create long-term success for themselves in the vandwelling lifestyle.  More information about the event is available at https://www.cheaprvliving.com/womensrtr/.   For even more information and to interact with a helpful group of other women on Facebook who plan to go to the WRTR, search for "Women's RTR, 2018 and Beyond" and request to join."

Edited Video Transcript:

"I am here with Suanne who is the executive director of the Homes on
Wheels Alliance and also in charge of the women's rubber trap rendezvous
and Sylvianne, an old friend. The three of us have known each other for a
very long time. We've stayed in touch over the years and that's
kind of the way that the relationships among nomads work

Suanne, why don't you give us the details about the WRTR?
It's January 4th through the 8th. The location is in Bouse Arizona.
The thing that you need to know when you come out is that nothing is going to be
provided. That is you need to bring everything so be prepared for all kinds
of weather, hot weather, freezing, rain and then high wind as well.


 We will have a few porta-potties and those are primarily for emergency.
The other thing that is different about the WRTR as opposed to
the RTR  - for the WRTR you do not need camping permits so be aware that we've
gotten a permit for the event but you as individuals do not need a camping permit.

There is a website that has a lot more detail has a schedule on it has written
directions has a GPS coordinates. (this is all in the first post above)

 We also have a Facebook group that I would encourage you to join where there's lots
 of discussion with women that plan to be there. Just go ahead and do a search
in Facebook for women's RTR 2018 and beyond.


Married couples can come. We have a camp that we call our allies camp for women who have
partners that they travel with. There is a camp that's closer to the road if people need
 to run generators and then allies camp that's a little bit
further west that is for those men and women that went something quieter. 

So if you're a couple you are more than welcome but it is a women only
event. The large meeting area and camping area which is about a half a
mile square is for women.


The one exception to that is that we do have a handicapped area next to the main
women's meeting circle and if you are a woman who is handicapped and your male
partner is your caretaker then you are more than welcome to camp there as well."
 
You're just awesome, RVW! Thanks for taking the time!!!
 
Hello everyone, I’ll be traveling to the WRTR in my large school bus. Do you think I’ll have any problems pulling into Bouse?

Thanks, can’t wait to meet everyone,
Jacqueline
 
I don't have GPS, can someone please give directions on how to find the WRTR, like from a map?.....Thank in advance.
 
From Quartzsite:
1-Starting at Main Street, go north on AZ-95 (aka N Central Blvd),
2-Travel 5.7 miles,
3-Turn right on Plomosa Rd,
4-Travel 11.5 miles, and
5-Turn right on dirt road

From Parker:
1- Starting at Riverside Drive, go south on AZ-95 (aka S California Ave),
2-Travel 26 miles (after 12.3 miles, go straight at light onto AZ-72)
3-Turn right onto Plomosa Rd (in town of Bouse),
4-Travel 8.3 miles, and
5-Turn left on dirt road
 
Bob's latest video with Suanne. RTR and WRTR info: 

An edited and shortened transcript:

Okay questions and answers: Let me start with the big one - the government shutdown
and is there going to be an RTR? Let me tell you everything I know so that you know everything I
know. The field office where we're holding the women's rubber trap rendezvous called
and said “You've got your permit. You're set. This is not going to affect you. “.
The RTR is actually in the field office of a different district
region of the BLM in Arizona and so we're dealing with different people for
the RTR. We do not communicate well and they're not allowed to do that kind of official
business during the shutdown so we haven't heard anything from them. I'm
nearly certain it's exactly the same situation as the WRT and we've heard
officially that it's on so I'm going to assume that it's exactly the same thing
and everything will be okay. That's the best I can tell right now, so,yes
we're proceeding full speed ahead

An announcement I need to make is that that we are going to
continue the caravans after the RTR.W e need caravan leaders if you're at all
interested in a caravan leader contact me CRVL caravans at gmail.com
We would like to have a female only caravan so we're definitely looking for female
leaders so please let me know if you are interested in that also

Jude wanted me to announce that we now have plenty of volunteers.

There's only one entrance in and out, well, it's not the only entrance in and out there are
other ways you go out on Mitchell Mine Road. Last year we had 5,000 people. Add the
south part where the music camp was with three
thousand people in there and with only one entrance and exit. It wasn't a problem
folks. I went and out of that entrance every day of the RTR and at the most I waited
five minutes.

If there is an emergency how are we all going to get out?
If there is an emergency we can all get out anywhere along the
Mitchell Mine Road that we need.

A youtuber found a way in. There are multiple
ways in. It's just a little berm there and any of the vans could jump that berm at
almost any place. The RVs will have a little harder time but
there are places where you could jump that burn and get out
But what he did was illegal. He drove out there on the land illegally
No one is ever allowed back there except for the RTR and that seems to confuse a lot
of people. We've been given a special recreation permit and that means we have
got a permit for this one time, this one period of time, this one event to change
the rules. We can go drive around out there we can go camp there. Those things we
can do.

This is not the rainy season. I've been coming to the Quartzite area in the
winter for ten years now and I have seen three flooding events in those ten years
and by a flooding event I mean there was water standing on the ground and
there was water flowing pretty rapidly down washes.
It's just it's extremely unlikely. It's never happened during the RTR.
It would take an enormous event to have any impact on us at all and there
will be plenty of warning. The BLM will come out and
say “Hey we got a big storm coming you may have to evacuate” That's the kind of
thing that is required that happens

Let's talk about permits
It's a great big desert folks. You don't have to camp right there at the
RTR. There's 14-day camping all around it
You can go outside the RTR and camp and be all alone

Where do we get my permit if I stay out in the 14-day land ?
Go to the regular check-in on Kuhn Road.
If you are going to the RTR too you need a permit so just come over
and get a permit from us. The big thing is
the BLM wants to know how many people were there and this is
the only way. If you come into the RTR you get a permit and then we'll all know
how many. I'm kind of curious to know myself. We're just throwing numbers around
that we think but we don't know.

Do you need a permit for just one
day. Yeah if you are there overnight.

I'd like to encourage you to leave the old Ecsapees Boomer location open for the big rigs.
The biggest rigs probably cannot get into the RTR site.

WRTR
If you happen to be in the area and would like to join us please feel welcome. We have
probably between a hundred to two hundred people already. We just ask that if
you come early that you go ahead and go about a quarter
mile down main that dirt road to the Y which is main and Near East and go
ahead and camp beyond that because that area that's closer in we're currently
setting up and we have lots of things to do there that we don't want you to camp
there and then ask you and move
so we have lots of volunteers they are doing a marvelous marvelous job.
If you would like to come a day early and check in which basically
means getting your name button.
Beth is running that button booth and she will be opening open at
ten o'clock in the morning until about 2:30 that afternoon.

Men are more than welcome. Friends that I have that are men are there and other
people's friends and partners are there. So feel free to come on in.
We just ask that you stay through the third only.

If you come in late during the WRTR, it's really the same process as if you
come in on time. You'll drive in you go past the handicapped area. You'll be past
the staff area you go past the porta-potties you'll go past the main
meeting circle and then you'll find a large parking area that will fit up to
about 400 different rigs so go ahead and park there go ahead and then walk back
the way that you drove to the information center and that's where the
white shade tent will be. You can get your button and find out information
about where you want to camp and so forth.

Where can we donate to the RTR?
We have a couple of ways that you can donate during the RTR
One is for cheap RV living specifically and we'll have a container both at the
RTR and at the WRTR for CRVL because both of them are events of cheap RV living and we'll also have containers for Homes on Wheels Alliance.

People want to donate directly to cheap RV living and that will be there as well .
Home on Wheels Alliance web page is homes on
wheels Alliance dot org and it's a org because it's a 501c3 nonprofit charity
and we are currently building it and we expected up sometime in January fully up
however you can go ahead and still donate there. There's a donate button
that will take you to PayPal.

Can children attend the RTR?
Yes they will be there. There won't be a lot but
there definitely will be children and they're welcome.
I would caution parents to really take a look at the topic of the
session that's being covered . For instance we do talk about safety for women
and sometimes in detail. Some of that information may not be good for
children to hear, so parents be cautious but yes, children are welcome.

Alcohol: What you're doing the privacy of your rig is 100% your decision.
It's none of our business but if you get drunk and you come out and
you're annoying then it becomes our problem, We're gonna have a conversation,
Wel,l we're not gonna have a conversation. We're going to call the BLM Rangers.
They're law enforcement officers and they're going to have a conversation
because I don't have any authority and I can't tell you what to do.

Marijuana: This is federal land and it's illegal to have marijuana. That's the bottom line
and they wanted us to tell you that so we are telling you that. We don't
know what that's going to mean. We don't know.
They're doing their due diligence for sure letting us
know what is legal and what is not legal. Just because you have a card doesn't 7
matter on federal land, a medical card means nothing on
federal land. They could still arrest you


ATVs are perfectly legal it's public land.
We just ask you to always be polite and considerate.
Don't make noise, don't kick up dust. We ask that for cars too.
ATVs are only allowed on the main road
where we're camping so you can't just go wandering around in the desert
on ATVs. That's not allowed anywhere.

I'm gonna vlog every day during the RTR and I'll upload that onto
the channel and let you know what's going on. We'll try and live stream
whenever we can.

For the WRTR and the women's meetings historically
we haven't had any photography or video or audio recording. The
reason is that we wanted to create a safe space for women to talk about
whatever they felt like feel like talking about which is sometimes very
personal things without fearing that their image or what they said would
make it to the public space so we're asking people again not to take
photographs or video recordings or anything of the sessions however
if you're just with your friends feel okay
about you taking a picture of them.

If you just absolutely cannot have your picture on screen you might
reconsider coming right seriously because we tell everyone to be
considerate and thoughtful but it's it's out of our control and it's out of your
control. I have two or three different media crews that are
coming to make documentaries and they're gonna set the
camera up and it's gonna run. You walk behind it, they'll never notice you ,
you'll never notice them but there you are -you're on a documentary and we can't
control that.
 
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