SANTIAM PASS Rod Vessels peered from behind dark aviator glasses Sunday through a windshield the size of a dining table.

The CB radio next to him whined with activity. ”Caravan leader to group leader two-zero-one,” he said into the CB microphone. No response.

No matter. It was time to move anyway.

But Vessels’ cell phone rang from its perch on an expansive leather dashboard.

”You want us in at 11:45, is that correct?” he asked the cell phone caller, who was coordinating parking at the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) convention at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center. ”There’s two trains running through Redmond at 11:30?”

The delay confirmed, Vessels sat back in his cushy leather driver’s chair, eyeing the long line of motor homes still trying to pull into a parking lot high on the Santiam Pass on Sunday. Their engines rumbled like earthquakes as they filed in 215 motor homes in all.

”If they don’t all fit, the coaches that parked first won’t be able to get out,” he said, gesturing a long arm toward the narrow road that brought the motor home caravan to the snow park lot near Hoodoo Ski Area.

The coaches crammed into the parking lot, freeing the exit road.

”OK,” Vessels said, picking up the CB once more and pressing the broadcast button. ”Caravan leader to group one, we’re departing.”

With an almost undetectable shudder, Vessels’ 43-foot motor home lumbered down the road and onto Highway 20, passing through a swarm of mountain butterflies as it picked up steam.

Vessels was in charge of and at the front of Sunday’s massive motor coach caravan from Salem to Redmond, where the FMCA rally begins Tuesday. Members of his caravan all drive Monaco RVs, which are manufactured in Salem. It was the largest of the caravans that arrived this weekend in Redmond, where more than 5,000 RVs are expected for the FMCA convention.

Vessels and his wife, Judy, live year-round in their motor home, and have since 1996. After retiring from an accounting job at the Long Beach (Calif.) Naval Ship Yard, Rod Vessels wanted to see the country. So did Judy, who retired from a job as a consultant for commercial kitchens.

”When the opportunity presented itself, we said just do it,” Rod Vessels said.

And their motor home is no ordinary weekend camper. A 2002 Monaco Executive, the $400,000 machine is all brass fixtures, expanses of sophisticated beige floor tile and cool, tan leather upholstery. ”Slide-out” units in the living room and bedroom (there actually are different rooms) move entire walls furniture, cabinets and all out 20 inches when the coach stops.

Natural maple cabinetry is tucked in every nook and cranny to offer maximum storage. A refrigerator, freezer and even washer/dryer hide behind panels of maple in the kitchen.

Cruising at 60 mph down Highway 20, with more than 200 other coaches at his back, Vessels gripped the steering wheel with both hands. The coach glided smoothly along, bouncing gently on the imperfect roadway as if being carried by river currents.

Even in the coach’s tiny bathroom, the sway of the coach is not inconvenient. Business can be conducted, even flushed away, while the home rolls on.

”It’s surprisingly easy to drive,” said Judy Vessels. And looking ahead, only the squashed insects on the broad windshield marred the view of the highway.

A toothy grin broke out from beneath Vessels’ gray mustache at the mention of the bugs. He shrugged.

On a straight stretch, he leaned back and balanced his tanned left arm on the arm rest. The CB continued to chatter with developments in the rest of a caravan.

”This is caravan leader,” he said into the CB, waving out his window. ”We’ve got a friendly sheriff waving at us.”

Indeed, a Deschutes County Sheriff’s deputy flashed a wave from the roadside, then reached for a radio. He called ahead to traffic officers directing the caravan which stretched five miles from end to end.

Police stopped traffic to allow the caravan through to a detour around Sisters. The series of traffic police, signs and detours worked seamlessly and the caravan drove almost without stopping all the way to the fairgrounds.

Traffic officers set up at major intersections directed the motor homes to the fairgrounds without incident or accident, said Redmond police Capt. Larry Kanski.

Approaching the city of motor homes that sprung up overnight in Redmond, the Monaco caravan relayed a hiss of air brakes toward its end. Parking officials waved and pointed, as Vessels led the way toward the Monaco lot, where about 300 motor homes will spend the next five days.

Pulling diagonally into the gravel lot, Vessels hit the brakes, parked the machine and heaved a sigh of relief.

”We’re home,” Judy Vessels proclaimed brightly.