River Valley Christmas Party-Dec 1st

[Dr. Steve Yaney]

River Valley Chapter will have our annual Christmas part on Sat. Dec. 1st at 5 PM. The location will be the same as last year, Ron Robbins house. Directions are: I-40 east to Mulberry (exit 24) then North 4 miles on Hwy 215 then right on Wilson Lane and go 1.5 miles to Ron's The location will be marked with the ACC banner!! Ron welcomes any and all to camp overnight. Further, ther are many hiking and biking oppotunities in the area, so you may head up anytime on Sat. and have some fun. They have been working on Mountain Biking trails and Ron says a group will head out around 1:00 PM. If you camp then you can enjoy the outdoor activities on Sunday as well. If we get 7 or 8 inches of rain ther might be some paddling involved too!!!
The club is providing brisket and the rest is pot luck (bring whatever you want to) and we will eat right around 5 PM. We are having the band Mas Agua for entertainment and they will lead us in a rain dance. Also, Roxanne will be in charge of the tradional dirty santa gift exchange. You must bring a gift to be included. There are no rules on what you can bring as your gift but there are some white elephant gifts that have been exchanged many times over the years. Some gifts are homemade, some are edible, and some are drinkable(always popular). The gift can be as expensive as you desire but be not dissappointed when the gift you take home is of only emotinal value......It is all for fun!!!! In the past we have said that a gift may be "stolen" from the recipient 2 or 3 times. Roxanne may modify the rules to try to speed up the process so we can enjoy the band a little longer.
The party is outside!!! Ron has a nice pavillion with a fire place to hang around and later in the evening he generally has a huge bon fire (conditions permitting). Dress appropriately. You may want to bring your chair also. This party is family/kid friendly. Ron has a "Rumpus Room" inside that the kids and JR can hang out in. All are welcome, membership is not required. I will extend the invitation to the message board and specifically the Northwest Chapter. Coolers filled with your President's (no not Obama) favorite beverage are also welcome. I will have some soft drinks available.
We also have a very brief meeting mainly to elect officers for next year ( my advice is to step backwards when everyone else does...no one told me this last year). I so look forward to seeing you at this awesome event. Dec 1st:Don't forget!!
Dr. Steve, Pres.

[GN YAKN]

This is shaping up to be another "EPIC" event. Our 18th Annual River Valley Chapter Christmas Party.

The Crazy Santa (White Elephant) gift exchange is always a riot.

Mas Agua is a 'Jammin' four-piece reggae enfluenced rock band. Bunch of young guns that have loads of talent!

Bike ride(s) on single track trails that are easy to intermediate beginning around 1:00 Saturday afternoon to work up an appetite for the potluck dinner around 5:00 ish........

Plenty of room to camp for the night at Ron's or at our place on the other side of the creek.

Probably going to be a hike on Sunday morning if we have any takers. We can explore Fern Gulley, watch climbers, check out the Catacombes, or even get in another bike ride!

Hoping all ACC members feel welcome to come and join us regardless of Chapter affiliation!!!

Dave

[kru1]

I'll be out there early Saturday afternoon to set camp. Then I will lead a hike from FR 1003 from where the East Loop Shores Lake Trail (Salt Fork Trail) crosses to Potato Knob utilizing the Ozark Highlands Trail. It is less then 3 miles one way (if we run shuttle). Should have several Northwesterners accompanying me, and it is open to anyone.

On Sunday Liz and I will be leading a hike from Potato Knob to Fane Creek (~9.3 miles). Again this is open to anyone, just post up or find me at the party.

Can't wait,
kru

[Dr. Steve Yaney]

Wow! What a party! I couldn't get everyone to hold still long enough to get an accurate count but when I had number 4 or 5 more people showed up and this seemed to go on all night....85 counting the band. Huge thanks to everyone involved in putting this 18th annual Christmas party together: Ron for hosting ( which involves a crew for cleaning,clearing,cooking,etc.), Karen for preparing the brisket even though she wasn't coming to the party(then actually showed up), Nick for bringing the brisket(I think Karen played you!), Rocky for doing the dirty santa gift exchange(Close to 50 gifts were exchanged and once again we had extra gifts????) Dave for handling the band and sound arrangements(and also joining in with the band on his harmonica),Michelle for putting all the details together(and getting everything paid for!!), members of other chapters for showing up, River Valley members for the always impressive potluck(words can't describe the feast, but if I say "crawfish cornbread" I think you'll have hint of understanding).
Too bad Christmas only comes once a year! We hope for peace,prosperity,and rain for 2013!

[Danimal]

Great party indeed! The bike ride and late night "Toddy Run" were also a blast. Big thanks to Ron and all the others! Dan-o