By: Ranee M., Southern Pot of Gold Reporter

What’s up, California Rainbow.  I’ve got an amazing story to tell you and you’re never going to guess what it’s about.  I call it…..“Southern Rainbow Camp 2022!”  So put on your hat and sunscreen and take in the fresh air, chattering wildlife, trees, birds, the pool, the SMORES and (if you ask Mr. Mark Read) the often elusive BIG SHOWER SPIDER!, then you’re ready for camp.

This year’s camp theme was “STORYBOOK CAMP”, and it was unforgettable.  From the food, to the games, to the pool, to the amazing new activities.  Of course, there were old favorites too.  It wouldn’t be camp without a picture in the big chair or a night of Bingo.  Everyone had something fun to do and friends to hang out with – if you were bored, you must not have been in the same place as we all were that weekend.

Almost everyone arrived Friday night in time for dinner before starting our annual movie night.  This year we got to watch “Rise of the Guardians!” What a coincidence and very appropriate for our Camp theme, as the movie is based on the book series The Guardians of Childhood and the short film The Man in the Moon by William Joyce. Such an amazing movie, if I do say so myself.  Then it was lights out because tomorrow was going to be a busy day!

The next morning, after staying up late to create our posters everyone was a little slow getting down to the main hall.  I heard, there may have even been a visitor of the small, four-legged, long-tailed and whiskery type that visited a cabin or two and kept everyone up to the wee hours.  After breakfast, we had our annual Pantaloon Parade and Poster Parade.  These girls are all so creative and talented.  The day was spent Zip Lining – did you see Mrs. Garcia our State Mother Advisor for 2023 on the zip line??  There was also tree climbing and Grandie Pool Jumping.  Each of the California Grand Officers in attendance and Lexie Grand Rep to California from Nevada jumped off the diving board. Who did you think had the best form at the pool?  You certainly can’t forget the Grandie Auction on Saturday night.  The bidding was heated at times. Wow, there appeared to be a lot of purple, with purple wigs and purple boas and purple, purple, purple.  This year, Southern Rainbow Camp raised $3162.75 for the Grand Service Project – Pawsitive Teams, Service and Therapy Dogs.  Wow, that is amazing!  Mrs. Regier arrived to join us on Saturday too and we waited this year to have skits on Saturday instead of the normal Friday night, so Mrs. Regier could watch all the fun!  And BINGO happened.  Sydney did a bingotastic job of calling numbers and Lexie from Nevada got to call a few numbers too.

A big thank you to Ms. Jenni Orozco and her team for putting together a super camp experience.  We couldn’t do it without you.  You kept the activities going and the fun happening.  Thanks to Mr. Mark Read for some fabulous pictures.  

Hope you’ll all be able to join us next year for a super spectacular spooky “HAPPY HALLOWEEN CAMP”.  Until next year – make sure to keep the sunburns to a minimum, leave the place better than you found it and ..….Happy Camping!

By: Addy T., Northern Pot of Gold Reporter

What did you do this summer? Well, I can tell you this summer I got to go camping, now what is camping? Camping is the outdoor activity where you live outside your house in the wild with a tent, some other essential camping equipment, and gear. Camping is actually a great hobby and people love to go camping because of entertaining activities like hunting, fishing, boating, hiking and roasting marshmallows with a campfire

The California Rainbow Girls got the chance this summer to attend Northern summer camp for the weekend. This gave the girls the opportunity to gather around the campfire, sing campfire songs with some of the Pioneering Wolfpack’s Grand Officers, play games, swim in the lake, and they even got to watch some of the Grand Officers jump in the lake. Then the girls were given the opportunity to dress up the Grand Officers. Cloud 7 got to dress up Carley L. The next day the girls had a devotional led by San Jose Assembly and they did an amazing job! At the end of the day, everyone’s feet were dirty, their hair was messy, and the girls got to leave with memories for a lifetime. The highlight of the weekend was Mr. Whitten in his Superman costume and raising $3,100 for the Grand Service Project! The international Order of Rainbow for Girls is a nonprofit organization for girls between the ages of 11 and 20. Our organization prepares the girls of today to be the leaders of tomorrow through leadership, sisterhood, and service. If you are interested in supporting California Rainbow check out www.gocarainbow.org !

By: Carley L., Grand Charity, Assistant Grand Editor and Rep. to WA/ID

I was initiated into Rainbow at Grand Assembly on March 28th, 2018. After only two terms I was elected into the line as Faith. I was extremely excited and couldn’t wait to start planning my installation for when I became Worthy Advisor. I quickly knew I wanted to make it beach themed, as my favorite place to visit is the beach. After my mom and dad purchased all the decorations, dress material, and carry-ins, Covid said hello there! And decided to stay for a while. After my installation was delayed for a term, my Advisory Board decided it was time to move forward and start planning for our Assembly’s first Zoom installation. At first, I was devastated. I had seen all of my Rainbow sisters have their dream Worthy Advisor installation and mine was going to be virtual. After coming to terms with this decision, I decided to look at all the positives of having a virtual installation. My family and friends who wouldn’t have been able to travel to Sacramento for an in-person installation were now able to attend. My pets, who provide me with great joy and humor, were able to sit right next to me during the installation. My family and I decorated our living room which was super cool, delivered care packages to the girls & adults of the Assembly, and had delicious food and cupcakes delivered to our house to enjoy after the installation. Even our neighbors had an outdoor viewing party, so they could all watch the installation together. Overall, the day felt really special. 

During the early days of quarantining during the pandemic, my family and I tried to remain positive and enjoy events on Zoom, but just like many others, sometimes we struggled. Instead of staring at our computer screens all the time, we started taking trips in our RV and quarantining at various beaches. I hate to say this, but in some ways, Covid was a blessing. My sister and I were able to learn virtually while having a view of the ocean and beach. I remember I was supposed to have a really hard English test Sophomore year that I didn’t have to take due to “not having school for two weeks” which turned into a whole year. I was also able to make so many memories with my family that I would not have been able to make if it wasn’t for Covid. My family went on 12 different RV trips over Covid. Most of them were to beaches because we’re kind of a beach family. I found a love for the beach even more than I had before. All of those memories are ones I will have for a lifetime. I will always remember building unusual sand castles, seeing new places I had never seen before, and having ice cream daily… maybe more than once a day. Once school started I wished I could go back to the endless fun, the seagulls trying to take our food, making Tik Toks galore, and the hours of boogie boarding with my sister, Macey in the ocean. The memories we make with our family are some of the most important memories that you will ever make in your life. I will always cherish the memories I have with my family, not only through Covid but throughout my whole life. They are the ones I know I can always count on and who will always be there for me. They are my people and I will love them until the end of time.

By: Zoee S., Grand Editor

Ah, sorry you’ve caught me cooking some delicious ratatouille! Welcome back! Here for another story are you? What am I saying of course you are! Now let’s see which one to tell. Ah ha! I’ve got it! Let me tell you about the exciting origins of a chef I met in Paris. His name was Remy and he was the best chef ever to cook ratatouille! It all started one day when Remy and his family were kicked out of their home…

Remy became stranded in the middle of Paris until he came upon the sweet scent of cooking. The thing about Remy is that he wants to be a chef, now you might think, oh that is a fine profession, but Remy was no man, he was a rat! A rat that could cook, but still a rat! So you can imagine when Remy finds himself stuck in a restaurant he tries to flee. Seeing an open window Remy takes his chance to escape only to pass by a soup that Linguini, a garbage boy had ruined. Not willing to ignore this gross-smelling soup Remy runs to the scene and starts fixing up the soup by grabbing various spices and ingredients, freezing Remy finally notices the man from earlier staring at him. Seeing the chef approaching, asking for the soup, Linguini traps Remy under a straining bowl. Linguini gets mistaken for making the soup so he and Remy make a deal. Linguini protects Remy in the kitchen while Remy teaches Linguini how to remake the soup. Remy and Linguini proceed to have their ups and downs. Until Linguini reveals Remy to be the star chef rather than himself, almost everyone quits, so Remy’s family, despite his father’s disapproval of Remy being with humans at first, steps up and helps in the kitchen to save the restaurant just in time as a very famous food critique, Anton Argo, is coming. Anton loves the food Remy made, and gives back a positive review saying how he hated Gusteau’s motto, “anyone can cook” until just now realizing because of Remy what Gusteau really meant was, “Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” 

I told you this story simply because of its ending. When Anton makes those remarks, “not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” I want you to understand that you might think you don’t have a talent for something or maybe you haven’t realized you do have a talent. It doesn’t matter where you come from, as long as you believe you have the skills you can do it. My last challenge to you is to go out and show off your talent no matter how small you think it is. Any talent is a welcomed talent. Who knows your talent just might help someone you never thought you’d be able to help just like Remy and Linguini.

I am sad to say this is the final story I will be telling; the last time I am hosting this storytelling corner as the narrator. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. It was very fun. However, I must say adieu, I will miss telling you stories. I hope I have at least inspired you in some way to keep reading and spread the love and passion of storytelling. It’s not easy being a narrator but I’ve found I had a talent for it, so I shared it with the world, just as Remy did with his cooking. I hope you too can share your talents, everyone has one, you just might have to dig deep to find yours if you haven’t already. Goodbye.

By: Dana Regier, Supreme Inspector

It’s time for a road trip… that was how the thought began when Mr. Regier and I started talking about Supreme Assembly in Oklahoma City.  The more we thought about it the idea of driving became an adventure that we wanted to take.  The trip is just over 21 hours and 1,431 miles.  If we drove, what challenges did we need to work through and what opportunities were available?  So, we started to build the plan.

We started by reviewing the route and then we started to see that we could use the trip as the chance to travel Historic Route 66.  The highway was established in 1926 and originally ran from Chicago, Illinois through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and ended in Santa Monica, California.  A total of 2,448 miles and we now thought that we could travel a good portion of it with our trip to Oklahoma.  The highway has become part of our American history and culture from a TV series in the early 1960’s as well as being the primary route that those fleeing the dust blow of the 1930’s used to travel to California.  You might recognize some of the historic places and iconic scenery in the Pixar movie Cars.  We now had our goal, a road trip that would get us to our destination, but also provide us with the opportunity to see our country in a way we had never done before.

We would take four days to travel to Oklahoma City and had planned stops in Flagstaff, AZ; Albuquerque, NM; Amarillo, TX and then our arrival in OKC.  There were key things that we wanted to make sure we stopped at and others that happened as we traveled.  We watched for signs that would say ‘Take the next exit for Historic Route 66’ and these side trips provided us the opportunity to see original stretches of the highway that have not been replaced by Interstate 40.  During our trip we stood on the banks of the Colorado River, went to the Road Kill Café in Seligman and arrived in Flagstaff, AZ where we visited the Lowell Observatory.  No trip down Route 66 is complete without a stop in Winslow, AZ where we did stand on the corner and also found the local Masonic Lodge.  Day two sites also included Holbrook and the Tepee Motel and then the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert with its breathtaking scenery.  On our arrival in Albuquerque, we visited their historic old town including the San Felipe de Neri Church.  This is where we also did one of the most interesting and exciting parts of the trip and that was the Musical Highway located just outside of Albuquerque in Tijeras.  Yes, it is a musical highway where if you drive the designated speed limit and have your tires on the rumble strips you can hear the song “America the Beautiful” It took us several tries but it actually works and is amazing… you might want to add it to your bucket list or check and see if there is one in California (hint).

As we continued our road trip we also stopped at the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, Cadillac Ranch and the Texas Panhandle War Memorial and Museum.  We had amazing food and met interesting people including Tex who gave Mr. Regier his own personal tour of a vintage car collection.  Our last stop before arriving at our final destination was the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum.  

Now you may say that is a long trip and how did you keep from going crazy for those many hours on the road and I would share that there was so much to see that the time was not the obstacle that I thought it would be.  There were several things that we noticed while on the road… first there are a lot of trains and super long ones as well, the scenery changes slowly as you travel east from the agricultural valley of California through the high desert and mountains of Northern Arizona to the breathtaking vistas in New Mexico.  As we traveled, we noticed the tribal nations we traveled through including Hopi, Navajo, Zuni and many more.  I became aware of the vast resources and people who are what make up our wonderful country.  That our diversity is a strength that should be celebrated and our resources and land should be protected.  It was on that road trip that I remembered how blessed we are to live where we do and that we have the opportunity to get in our cars or hop on a plane and travel to places we want to see and learn about.  Above all, it reminded me that while we have many challenges to overcome as a nation and many wounds to heal there is greatness in who we can become if we just stop and take the time to learn about each other, to share our cultures and our faiths and above all do it with kindness and curiosity knowing that God created each of us. Remember it takes many colors to make a rainbow just like it takes all of us to make America.  So, where is your next road trip to and what can you learn along the way?

By: Mollyann S.

Earth Day Adventures!

Wow, Earth Day clean-up was a blast!  New Hope Assembly has been cleaning up the  American River on Earth day for over 15 years. Due to COVID-19 our assembly streak of attendance was broken. This year was the first time in two years New Hope was able to participate again. I got to experience this amazing opportunity for the first time on Sunday, April 24, 2022.  Elliana St.Clair, one of our newest members, also got to experience this extraordinary opportunity for the first time. Megan, Elliana, Ms.Ishizaki, Mr. Larson, and I met at our lodge in Auburn and got fueled up at Baked and Brewed Cafe®. We drove over to the American River Canyon while eating our delicious bagels. Once we arrived at our destination, we got signed in and headed over to the trail. Together we hiked the Clementine trail. We saw over 100 people who also showed up early in the morning to hike the trails and pick up trash. Speaking of, while we were cleaning up the trash on our trail, we learned about new plants and flowers from Ms.Ishizaki. The hike itself was beautiful. There were a lot of wildflowers and plants growing this season, not to mention the weather.  Although it was a little breezy and cool in the morning, as the day went on it got warmer and very nice in the sun. We took a few group pictures and went to return our trash pickers and throw away the trash bag we had. After which we got to play a game. Megan, Ellianan, and I sorted through pictures of animals that could be found in the canyon and matched them with the skulls sitting out. Once we matched all the pictures we matched their scatt to the pictures and the skull. With a little extra help from Elliana, we finished the game and headed back over to the car. We met parents at Taco Tree®  and had an amazing lunch. Hiking and picking up trash for a few hours can really work up an appetite! I enjoyed getting to do such an amazing thing for my community on Earth Day, especially with my amazing assembly and adults. I can not wait for next year to participate in this wonderful event again! 

By: Kenna W.

Got the Gold!

Hello CA IORG! Kenna W. reporting for duty! Today we are going to be going over all the things Natoma Assembly has been up to this past term! Do I see a torch off in the distance? I do! It must be coming from District 32’s OV of Going For The Gold with District 32! Oh boy was this such an amazing event. Not only was this the first Official Visit of our very own Grand Worthy Advisor Sydney W. and Supreme Inspector but this was also the day that we found out that we would be supporting Pawsative Teams for the next year! Pawsative Teams is a non-profit organization that trains and places facility, service, and therapy dogs for people with disabilities in San Diego. And speaking on behalf of Natoma I can say that we are more than happy to support this amazing organization for the next year. 

Look at those beautiful Butterflies! They remind me of Natoma’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream 237th Installation Of Officers. With Aubree D. as our Retiring Worthy Advisor and Penryn B. as our Incoming Worthy Advisor. Penryn’s Dress was absolutely beautiful as was the ceremony. A big congrats to Sophia F. on being chosen to serve our assembly as Faith! Can’t wait to watch you shine as you move up the line! All the girls looked so amazing with their wonderful floorwork and their outstanding dresses! I simply cannot wait for this next term! 

Where might our next stop be too? Oh right! Natoma has been hard at work with their service! Every first Thursday of the month, Natoma serves at our stated meeting dinners! We also walked with the Masons at the Folsom City Founders Day Parade which was followed by some delicious chili! Natoma has done some awesome fun events as well! Such as A Top Golf Membership Event, A Founders Day Swim Party, and camping on Santa Cruz Beach! 

Be sure to watch for us on Facebook! Until next time California Rainbow!