SUNDAY - November 19, 2006

River Resorts Regional - Karen Ray

We had a spectacular weekend at the Colorado River. Temperatures reached the low 80s during the day with very brisk mornings and evenings. AND NO WIND! This is very much a camping situation. We arrived at midafternoon on Thursday to find some contestants and judges already waiting for instructions as to where to park their rigs. These motorhomes and trailers are getting bigger and bigger, so we just spread out our cookoff area some more. Fortunately we have additional space available to us.

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On Friday more cooks and judges arrived. Captain Jim Maehl usually directs the parking of the rigs. This year he was unable to come due to work commitments. (It's a real shame when work interferes with the important stuff!) But Fred and Patti Summers arrived that morning, and Fred capably assumed the position of Parking Director. That was a good thing, since Bill Ray, Joel Erickson, Tony Dalbis and George Swick had their hands full with cooking up the meats and potatoes for the Saturday morning breakfast.

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Speaking of breakfast, when this cookoff was begun twenty years ago, we established a tradition of serving breakfast to the cooks and judges and helpers at the beginning of the day. As the cookoff has grown, so has the menu. At 6:00 am we plug in the 45-cup coffeemaker. At 7:00 am Armando Sanchez began serving beverages to all who wanted them---1-1/2 gallons of Bloody Marys, along with Mimosas and Screwdrivers quickly disappeared while breakfast was laid out. Ray Little, our former Chief Judge who passed away last May, began this tradition. Mike and Bonnie Ford furnished Krispy Kreme doughnuts and others contributed mini doughnuts and coffeecakes. We served fruit cups (with or without champagne), 12 pounds of bacon, 270 link sausages, O'Brien potatoes, 72 biscuits and three gallons of homemade sausage gravy.

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At the start of the Red Chili portion of the cookoff, the owner of Lost Lake Resort, Bob Brown, was recognized for his unwavering commitment to this event for the last twenty years. Bill and Karen Ray presented him with a quilt made from the various years' t-shirt logos by Marilee Barrett. Bob was totally surprised and at a loss for words.

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And then there was a chili cookoff. Tony Dalbis officiated as Chief Judge, his first time to do so, and he acquitted himself very well. He was assisted by Donnie Gordon as Chief Scorekeeper. Donnie was helped by Beverly Erickson, Marilou Corraeo, Louise Dinnewith and Sharon Ayres. Steve Porter, who has been the Master of Ceremonies for 19 of the 20 years of this cookoff, did his usual excellent job of handling the stage activities. And the winners were:

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Booth/Showmanship:

3rd, Fred and Patti Summers, NV

2nd, Wayne and Debbie La Farr, CA

1st, Mike Austin, CA

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People's Choice Chili:

Tony Inglese of CA won $408 (half of the proceeds from the sale of tasting kits)

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Salsa (12 entries):

3rd, Jim Stoddard, TX

2nd, Jodi Wiseman, NV

1st, Mark Haught, NV

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Chili Verde (12 entries):

3rd, Nancy Swenberger, AZ

2nd, Paul Whitney, AZ

1st, George Swick, CA

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Traditional Red Chili:

5th, Ron Burt, CA tied with Bill Woodring, CA

4th, Mike Austin, CA

3rd, Fred Summers, NV

2nd, Tony Inglese, CA

1st, Armando Sanchez, CA

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LAUGHLIN REGIONAL & NEVADA STATE

Jan 6th & 7th 2007
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We are limited on tables so please let me know by
e mail or Phone at 775-727-9790 if you are in need
of a table.
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Also, Patty does have a cut off date Dec 20th for those
GREAT room rates so get your Resv. in soon.
Looking forward to seeing you all !!!!!!!!!!
Desert Dawn
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JEEP TOLD ME WE WILL HAVE GREAT WEATHER
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Thanksgiving AVI Double-Header

The Mojave Desert Regional will be held at the Avi Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, on Friday, November 24, 2006 (the day after Thanksgiving). The High Desert Robinson Regional will be held on Saturday, November 25, 2006, also at the Avi. Discount rooms appear to be sold out, but rooms at the standard prices may still be available. There are ample RV spaces available. Weather is expected to be warm, sunny and clear during the days, cool at nights. Cooks may leave their canopies/tables, etc. at their selected cooksite overnight (security provided). Currently, we have 21 red cooks signed up for Mojave Desert Regional and 20 red cooks signed up for High Desert Robinson Regional, so we will be keeping our world-qualifying status (yay!). People's Choice is voluntary with the proceeds divided half to the charity, half to first place. Cook times are red 12-3, green 10-2, salsa turn-in 11:30. See you on the river!
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Ref. Susan Burt Baumberger
43356 20th Street West
Lancaster, CA 93534
661-714-6234

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