Directions: Interstate 290 to exit 17 (just east of the “Hillside Strangler” Interstate 294 interchange) Go South on Mannheim and West on Roosevelt to the restaurant. Tel. no. 708-449-1000

Choice of entree: Roast beef, Baked Chicken quarter, Roast Pork Loin, Fried Breaded Catfish, Baked Catfish. Includes: Appetizers, Salad, Desert, and tea or coffee.

The rally was held at Amboy 4H fairgrounds. Fourteen trailers came in on Friday and another 2 trailers plus a B-van came in on Saturday and stayed overnight. Seven couples drove-in Saturday to join in the fellowship. We had a little rain Friday and a small 1/8 to ¼ inch hail storm at 5:00 PM, which did no damage. The tables were decorated in a Harvest Theme with pumpkins, and gourds. Our First Lady, Sharon White, set up a “guess the number of candy corns in the jars” contest. The two winners received the jars of candy. That evening, we had a good time playing a “Golf” card game. For future unit entertainment, the Executive Board approved the purchase of a $600 DLP color projector and sound system.

Saturday morning we had “Omelets in a bag”. To encourage more rally participation, Dwight Dixon proposed (and the membership approved) giving one free rally fee to members who had not previously attended a unit rally. Saturday afternoon, we raised $303.50 at the club white elephant auction. The weather cleared on Saturday, so Dwight was able to deep fry one turkey outdoors. The other two birds were baked in the Nesco’s. All enjoyed the turkey dinner with all the fixings’. Al’s Motorhome of Rockford donated five coupons of $25 each for merchandise or service for our door prizes. One $25 gift coupon was given to new member, Monique Clark, and her mother, Martha, won another one at the evening drawing. As normal, we also gave away the very nice table centerpieces. Dave Toeppen’s Alaska movie that evening was very entertaining.

Sunday was cool, clear and windy. We had a church service and brunch before our departure.

Eight Northern Illinois couples participated in the caravan including, Bob Whitesell, our past president, and Norm White, our new incoming President. Other Northern Illinois couples included: Aarup’s, De Hahn’s, Dixon’s, Dutton’s, Mayo’s and Stuart’s. The caravan was led by Jerry and Louise Humble from the Southern Illinois Unit. Three other Southern Illinois couples came along.

The caravan started with a visit to the cranberry museum and a tour of the cranberry marshes in Warren, WI. The next day we traveled to Little Falls MN. to visit the Lindberghs’ home and air museum. On our way north on Interstate 94, we saw three Airstreams returning from the Alaska Caravan. It was Cristy’s, Koch’s and Matkovich’s. We waved but we were not able to reach them on the CB. We continued to Bemidji, MN and Lake Itasca, which is the source of the Mississippi River. We even walked across the stones at the very beginning of the river.

We followed the River east to Grand Rapids, MN. and toured the Forestry History Museum as well as visiting a mining museum and the Hull-Rust open pit iron mine, which is the largest in the world. Next it was a whirlwind tour of Minneapolis, MN. Five of us did the tour on Segway People Movers. The many bridges and multiple uses of the river make it an interesting old city with a modern flare.

The next stop was Wabasha, MN with its Eagle center. While we were camped in Wabasha, we also visited the Redwing Shoe factory and Red Wing Pottery as well as a day trip to Winona, MN for a guided tour of its colorful past. A midday stop in Prairie du Chien allowed us to tour Villa Louis and replace tires on Mayo’s and Whitesell’s Airstreams, which had gone flat. The next day we visited the Mississippi River museum in Dubuque, IA. Next, it was a day trip to Galena, IL and a guided trolley tour of the city.

Three couples dropped off the caravan after the Galena tour to return to work and other appointments. The rest continued on to Davenport, IA. Weather was great 95% of the time and the fall colors were at their peak.

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Ten couples came out to enjoy excellent weather at this Mississippi riverfront campsite. The park is run by the Army Corp. of Engineers which also operates lock and dam #13 at this location. Most of us visited the locks to watch them process the large amounts of barge traffic going up and down the river. The Dutton’s arrived two days early and Warren waded out to catch some excellent bass which he fried for our Friday Pot luck dinner.
The Dixon’s brought their canoe for some still early morning river trips. President Bob Whitesell and VP Norm White found it more challenging to paddle against some headwinds later in the day. Many people brought their bikes to explore the portion of the Great River Bike trail that went through the park. Nightly campfires were held on the banks of Mississippi. A road scavenger hunt revealed the details of the nearby towns of Thomson and Fulton, IL. Individual member groups visited the Fulton Hertiage Canyon to explore the history of limestone quarrying and the mid-1800’s village. Crossing the river, we encountered the large ADM Clinton, IA facility which processes huge quantities of corn to make sweeteners, ethanol, starch products and a new section that will make the first commercial quantities of a corn based (PHA) biodegradable plastic.