Trailering women find Sisters a fun rendezvous

Vintage trailers, fly fishing, and "women only" is the name of the game for the Sisters on the Fly (SOTF), who descended on Sisters Country last week for the group's annual get-together.

Co-organizer of the event for the Northwest Region, Julie Niemeyer of Hillsboro, explained that the group includes members from all over the Northwest, it was "Oregon's turn" to host, and Sisters offered the perfect setting for the group's focus of fishing, fellowship, and fun.

In fact, the motto of Sisters on the Fly is "We have more fun than anyone!"

Vintage travel-trailers from the '50s and '60s, many with personalized paint-jobs, filled the Bend/Sisters Garden RV Resort, formerly the KOA, all week. The group's logo, emblazoned on most trailers, is styled after a fly rod. Many of the trailers sported cowgirl themes, which fit well in Sisters Country.

The resort provided a perfect home-base for the visitors, according to Niemeyer.

"For one, it is the nicest RV Park we've ever used as an organization, and the staff went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that we had everything we needed."

The location of the park allowed easy access for activities the group wanted to take part in, including fly fishing lessons, horseback riding and lots and lots of shopping, according to Niemeyer.

Two local businesses in particular reached out to the group: Leavitt's, which offered discounts to members, and Les Schwab, who sent an employee out to the park to do tire pressure and other safety checks on every trailer on the site.

Part of the mission of SOTF is to contribute to a local charity at the annual get-together, so each member brings an item to auction to raise funds.

"We buy each other's stuff for way more than it's worth, but it's always for a good cause," said Niemeyer.

Healing Reins, a local non-profit therapeutic horse riding center, was this year's beneficiary. Some members of the group visited the Healing Reins facility as part of the week's activities.

The auction raised $20,109.

"We were so impressed with Healing Reins that our auction went sort of crazy," said Niemeyer. "For heaven's sake, someone paid $600 for a decorative corkscrew and some wine. Seriously, charitable contributions are a key component to our organization, so we were delighted to be able to support Healing Reins."

Healing Reins has been connecting people with special needs to horses since 1999.

Carol Hill, a middle-school counselor from Pocatello, Idaho, a proud owner of a 1959 DeVille trailer and a veteran of eight of the annual get-togethers, describes it as the best part of her summer.

"Getting together with friends and making new ones each year trumps everything else I do in the summer," she said.

When asked how she settled on her particular model of trailer and where she found it, Hill indicated 1959 "might be" her birth year and that she found it, basically road-worthy, in someone's back yard.

"You'd be surprised how many old trailers are out behind barns, out in pastures, and down alleyways," she said.

Niemeyer noted that the group continues to grow nationally, with more and more young women joining the ranks. The group's website, http://www.sistersonthe

fly.com, provides extensive information about the group.

Next year's gathering will be in Washington, at an undisclosed location, but Niemeyer indicated that Sisters would be a hard place to

beat.

"Everyone has been great," she said. "We've had a good time here."