Wooded Wonderland 2009

chitwnvw · Post by **chitwnvw** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:52 am

I am heading out to the Wooded Wonderland this Saturday (Aug 1st) through Monday Aug (3rd). Manfred is heading out Friday (July 31st) if any of you Midwesterners are looking for a little getaway.

Site website:

http://www.woodedwonderland.com/

Some past excursions:

http://itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtop ... wonderland

http://itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtop ... wonderland

http://itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtop ... wonderland

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:10 am

Did you ever find Grant's skull again?

chitwnvw · Post by **chitwnvw** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:46 am

hambone wrote:Did you ever find Grant's skull again?

Is that a reference to the old days when Turk and Hambone held court on the hills of Galena?

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:58 am

That was before "Turk". He was just Eric then. Almost 10 years ago, a lot changes.
Have a good trip! We'll be up at Hambone thinkin about ya. Maybe we can link thru the ether.

Manfred · Post by **Manfred** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:31 pm

I'm psyched! Betty's second camping trip under new management. New doors installed. Upgraded my speakers. Engine is tuned up and ready to go! Should be fun!

Woot! Woot! Yea, I said it.

chitwnvw · Post by **chitwnvw** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:38 pm

hambone wrote:That was before "Turk". He was just Eric then. Almost 10 years ago, a lot changes.
Have a good trip! We'll be up at Hambone thinkin about ya. Maybe we can link thru the ether.

I thought it was Meyers? Meyers and Koz. Well the new Turks (no pun intended) are taking over and living the dream anew.

chitwnvw · Post by **chitwnvw** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:11 pm

Eli and I ended up getting to the Wooded Wonderland around 11pm on Friday. Had some craziness with Eli finishing his summer camp and having to attend an End-of-camp-Jr.-Counselors-swim/guitar-hero party. Earlier, Manfred had called, he'd had some adventures trying to find the official IAC camping spot. In the process, Manfred, really tested the limits of his bus, climbing mountains, etc...He ended up spending the night across from the saw mill after giving up on trying to find the secret IAC campground, he would get his revenge by rousing me plenty early the next morning.

At 6 am, I think..., I was woken by Manfred and his gal, Meg, plus their two dogs, Monty and Fletcher.

[albumimg]2686[/albumimg]

I stumbled from my bus and said something, I think, maybe hello, then confident that Manfred could handle getting his bus up the ridge, I re-retired, not getting back up until 10, by then Manfred had gotten his camp set up. He believes in traveling in style. He and Meg already had an extra room set up and were relaxing to a nice game of cards.

[albumimg]2679[/albumimg]

We had quite the black and white dog convention:

Truman
[albumimg]2685[/albumimg]
Lola
[albumimg]2683[/albumimg]
Fletcher
[albumimg]2687[/albumimg]

Monty is coolest little-big dog I've met.
[albumimg]2684[/albumimg]
After romping with the big dogs, he'd relax and be the lapdog.
[albumimg]2681[/albumimg]

Highlights included, Trader Joe's beer, opened with Manfred's sandal/bottle opener. What will they think of next?

Meg raided the blueberry bushes and we had a nice pancake breakfast on Sunday morning.

[albumimg]2680[/albumimg]

We also went into scenic Galena, after which I took a joy ride in the rolling hills south of Galena.

I've picked up the Fiamma bike rack that I saw Deschutestrout was using when I was in Oregon. Eli, myself and our dogs had a lot of fun riding our bikes in the back hills of Galena, while the dogs ran along side.

Sunday, about noon, Manfred headed back to civilization. Eli and I stayed on doing the Father/Son bonding thing...mostly we played with fire and talked about technology.

The drive back was very windy, and thanks to Obama stimulus money, big chunks of US 20 were getting treated to a repaving. There was a good amount of waiting for our turn on the one open lane, who was in a hurry, it was a beautiful day. Overall, a nice getaway.

Ryno · Post by **Ryno** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:50 pm

Sounds like ya'll had a good time. My engine is now back in so maybe I can make the next one.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:59 pm

Sorry I couldn't make it this time.

Y'all come to my house and I'll put you up for the fair!

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:44 pm

IAC MIDWEST REPRESENT!

You guys need to do more of that. What about an upper Wisconsin trip?

Ryno · Post by **Ryno** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 6:14 pm

hambone wrote:IAC MIDWEST REPRESENT!
You guys need to do more of that. What about an upper Wisconsin trip?

This. Brule River valley. WI/MI border.

locoqueso · Post by **locoqueso** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 6:43 pm

Sorry I missed it. Sounds like it was a nice time.

Was the Fiamma rack missing any parts?

bretski · Post by **bretski** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 6:58 pm

chitwnvw wrote:Highlights included, Trader Joe's beer, opened with Manfred's sandal/bottle opener. What will they think of next?

Ah, the Reef Fanning sandal. My footwear of choice, when I'm not barefoot...

Manfred · Post by **Manfred** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:33 am

Meg and I had a great time. I haven't had a chance to post some of our pictures. I will up date this thread shortly.

Hopefully, next time I will have a solar shower. I liked the looks of Chitwnvw's. Simple and cheap. I love it.

We will be going back for sure. Very short trip for us (3hrs), but it feels like you are in another world. I had no idea that any place in IL was that hilly.

I drove up every road I could find looking for that damned campsite. But guess what? There was no real road going to the secret campsite. The joke was on me. But I couldn't believe how well the bus performed off road. I was amazed. The bus is the perfect vehicle. No doubt about it; great it the city, even better in the country. I thought my first gear was a bit too short and torquey for my needs. I was loving it last weekend.

chitwnvw · Post by **chitwnvw** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:25 am

Yes!, the solar shower! Almost forgot.

[albumimg]2688[/albumimg]

I didn't use it until after Manfred and Meg left (poor them), but it worked remarkably well. 5 gallons easily gives 2 or 3 warm showers.

Who needs civilization? We can live off the grid, in a 'bus' down by the river.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Wooded Wonderland 2009

Wooded Wonderland 2009