IAC midwest get together

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Hippie
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Location: 41º 35' 27" N, 93º 37' 15" W
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Post by Hippie » Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:32 pm

Oh here's the thread I was looking for. Pretty sure we can make Galena in early June. Count me in if we can set a date.
Galena is awesome, and some of the camping in the Mississippi River valley is the the best!
First time I ever traveled the Great River Road was in a '64 Beetle.

Rob

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chitwnvw
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Post by chitwnvw » Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:56 pm

Hippie wrote:Oh here's the thread I was looking for. Pretty sure we can make Galena in early June. Count me in if we can set a date.
Galena is awesome, and some of the camping in the Mississippi River valley is the the best!
First time I ever traveled the Great River Road was in a '64 Beetle.

Rob
Hambone is going to be in town then, Turk and I'd like to pick time when he can make it. So I guess we're waiting on them. I think they know at least roughly when he's going to be in town, I think it's for a graduation or something like that.

I was going to try and get Colin to stop by, but he has to be in Missoula a couple of days after his last Chicago stop, so I don't think it's possible. The Wooded Wonderland is beautiful, but it's also got something else, I don't know if the work 'character' really sums it up. :joker:

It would be great if you can make it.

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hambone
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Post by hambone » Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:30 pm

The Deschutes Rendevous is the FOLLOWING weekend, I'm not sure how he's gonna make it.
Yeah my big girl is graduating from Lane Tech then off to college somewheres. She's been goin to Galena since she was 4 but the last time was before I moved out to Oregon. Still negotiating the extra time away from home, it's hard to leave my wife with the little one for so long! Hope to be able to swing it. 2 VW/IAC events in one week, that would be pretty freaky.
Turk, would we be able to ride with you?
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turk
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Post by turk » Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:22 pm

I will cancel the pig roast thing at my girlfriend's mechanic's house. It is June 7th. Maybe Jen will not go with us to Galena as we have other camping related activities already planned for May and the pig roast is supposed to be pretty cool and she'll want to go to that. I wanted to make it, but since Hammie will be in town I will cancel. They have a huge wooded lot and throw couches into the bonfire. It's in the Hawthorne Woods up in the north suburbs.
I'm getting ready for Morel season. It starts in May pretty much, weather permitting. I want to hit the Wonderland or some other cool spot in Illinois or Indiana or Iowa, besides the Mushroom Club's outing in Wisconsin (May 8- 12). I think the Wonderland might be a huge morel hotspot though. So, I'd like to hit that in the time frame of last week of April to first week in May, or maybe the third weekend in May. I'll set aside June 7 - 9 tentatively now though.

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chitwnvw
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Post by chitwnvw » Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:33 pm

Let set it at June 7-9.

I'll pm other Midwesterners. Let's make this a happening!

Galena and Wooded Wonderland are awesome. I can't imagine wanting to be anywhere else.

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Hippie
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Post by Hippie » Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:13 pm

chitwnvw wrote:Let set it at June 7-9.
Sounds good to me. =D>


Rob

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locoqueso
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Post by locoqueso » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:47 am

Colin is scheduled to work on my bus 6/7, but I'd like to come out to Galena for at least one night. It looks nice out there.
1978 VW Campmobile (P-21) Westfalia - T2 2.0L F.I.- 151,000m
1982 Mercedes-Benz Estate Wagon (300TD-T) - S123 3.0L T.D. - 142,000m
1993 Dodge Maxi Van (190 SLF) InterVec Falcon - B350 Magnum 5.9L F.I. - 70,000m

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Hippie
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Post by Hippie » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:12 pm

locoqueso wrote:Colin is scheduled to work on my bus 6/7, but I'd like to come out to Galena for at least one night. It looks nice out there.
The more the merrier!

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Hippie
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Post by Hippie » Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:31 am

Well that was fun! Even with the mud. Nice folks...I'm really glad to meet all of you. =D> Hope nobody got stuck on the way out.

Rob

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chitwnvw
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Post by chitwnvw » Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:47 pm

Hippie wrote:Well that was fun! Even with the mud. Nice folks...I'm really glad to meet all of you. =D> Hope nobody got stuck on the way out.

Rob
Oh, boy. This was one for the books. More to come...

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Hippie
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Post by Hippie » Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:34 am

That doesn't sound too good....

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chitwnvw
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Post by chitwnvw » Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:35 am

I headed out on Friday only to be greeted by some of the worst crosswinds I have ever experienced. They were so bad that I got off I-90 and decided to hoof it on the side roads, but even with the reduced speeds it was still bad, a steady 40 mph, with gusts of 60 to 70. It took me nearly twice as long to get out to WW, and I was tense and tired, but there's nothing in the world like coming into a clearing and seeing a couple of other Bays parked there and decked out for camping. I got myself set up, had a beer and was happy to not be going anywhere for awhile.

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The first night, it was Hippie, Turk, their SOs and myself and my youngest daughter. My Wife and older daugher were coming the next day. I turned into a beautiful night. The winds had died down and the hot weather had given way to a cool evening.

Saturday was hot and muggy, we did some hiking, in the evening my wife and other daughter showed up. We all sat around the fire gabbing and making a delicious dinner. Both the Turk and the Hippie households are very gracious and generous.

Sunday, just as Hippie was breaking down to leave, it started to rain...and rain...and rain. Actually, looking back it wasn't so bad, it only came down for 3 or 4 hours. Hippie was able to make it down the muddy hill and escape the Wooded Wonderland.

Hippie called later in the morning and warned that flash floods were being forcast and that we should leave. We went down to talk to the owner of the Wooded Wonderland and were told that those predictions had been revised, and downgraded. All was fine.

That evening Turk also made it out, in his quest for ice and supplies, he didn't quite make it back.

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He found him self ankle deep in the muck. Luckily it was a fairly level spot.


Later that evening Locoqueso showed up and wisely parked in the Blueberry patch.

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So we had a few beers, checked out each other's buses, the usual.

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Colin had called and said he was heading our way. It was looking to be a nice gathering.

We just getting ready to start dinner. I had gotten a fire pretty well started, when it started to rain. It had rained a few times after the morning storm, but only for a few minutes and then it was over. So we decided to try and protect the fire. Two hours hour later it was still raining hard. Colin called and said it was too rough and he wasn't going to be making it, we had long stopped protecting the fire, but somehow it still burned on. It was fairly warm, so we all stood in the rain around this crazy fire, drinking beer and wine for a couple of hours. Why? I don't really know.

We went to bed. It kept raining.

The next morning.

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This isn't standing water. It's flowing down from the hills.

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The crazy fire now an island.

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A bowl that had been empty the night before.

Thank to loco and his magic rug, and a few extra horsepower from Turk and Loco, I was somehow able to make it through the spongy, muddy ground.

Last I saw of Turk, he was riding away in the back of a 4WD pickup, hopefully to pull his baby to freedom.

The ride home was a dream. Smooth and sweet. If there was any wind, it was at my back.

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Post by mattg » Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:30 pm

Nice pictures, looks like a nice spot - crazy weather that has been going on lately across the country. Tornadoes, rain, snow out west and wind, wind, wind. Glad to hear you all made it out.
I'm all out of ideas and I've tried nothing.

77 Westy 2.0 FI

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Hippie
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Post by Hippie » Tue Jun 10, 2008 3:21 pm

It was a beautiful spot and a beautiful time. The company was awesome. Great, great people.
The rain didn't ruin the time we were there, just added to the story.
I had to do the white-knuckle-don't talk-to-me-I'm-driving-second-gear-all-the-way-don't-slow-down-no-matter-what-bounce all the way to the camp store before I stopped...Then a little more of the same until we hit paved road.
By the third telling of the story, I'll have added cliffs, a rope bridge, and a savage attack by natives with poison blow guns.


Rob

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locoqueso
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Post by locoqueso » Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:17 pm

chitwnvw wrote:Later that evening Locoqueso showed up and wisely parked in the Blueberry patch.
Before I saw the other buses I made it part way up the hill going around the corner to the camp site. Unaware if the camp site was really around the bend I soon had second thoughts. Could this just be a 4X4 path to where I would lose my bus forever in the hills??? Surely I must have missed the road to the camp site where I'd find everyone else on dry ground. I backed down only to get stuck in the muck at the bottom (sigh...@#$%!!!)

It turned out to be a good time, even if I did just catch the last night. The rain made it a fun adventure and I think everyone made it out alive (turk?). I met some really great people and look forward to the next trip! Thanks all...
1978 VW Campmobile (P-21) Westfalia - T2 2.0L F.I.- 151,000m
1982 Mercedes-Benz Estate Wagon (300TD-T) - S123 3.0L T.D. - 142,000m
1993 Dodge Maxi Van (190 SLF) InterVec Falcon - B350 Magnum 5.9L F.I. - 70,000m

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