Camping Season is Underway

Once again we Wisconsin Wanderers headed south - but only as far as Marengo IL this time. It was our second "Spring Fling" vintage camping trailer rally. The party was thrown by BJ Frantz. And once again she was a wonderful hostess at the Thomas Woods campground, Marengo Ridge in the McHenry County Conservation District. 

Rumor has it that this area was once the site of the Midwest Nudist Camp. Apparently there was no formal police department back in the day so the District staff worked out a deal with members of the Camp to help keep an eye on and patrol the area. It was a rather unusual sight to see two people patrolling the woods by motorcycle without a stitch of clothing. I wonder if they wore helmets!

We also heard that if the volunteer fire department was called to the Camp, everyone responded! They must have been expecting people who looked like centerfolds from Playboy, not the likes of most of us.

Lots of wild geraniums in the woods. "Flossie" our flamingo was in heaven.

We had read that there was a classic car show in the area - at the Boone County Fairgrounds - over the weekend. Unfortunately, the web site we saw didn't say that Saturday's event was just a swap meet - aka, junk yard.

This was some of the better looking junk.

Maybe a creative person could make art from these wheels.

These two Reos are more than 100 years old and the only "pretty" cars in sight.
Notice the steering columns on the right side of the vehicle. It was Henry Ford
who moved the steering column to the left when he started  the assembly line manufacture of automobiles.
At least, that was the story the owner of these antique cars told us.

We stopped for lunch at Smokin' Coop BBQ Pit, an outdoor restaurant a short distance from the Fairgrounds. Nothing fancy, but food that was very tasty. Rick and I had the brisket - some of the juiciest I've eaten. And cole slaw with pieces of bacon. Everything goes better with bacon, I guess.

We think Smokin' Coop must serve in cold months, too, since the building has
doors on the sides and heaters hanging from the ceiling.

It's the low and slow cooking that makes for the best barbeque.

My Mother's Day present from Rick was a gas stove. Sweet. Two burners light automatically and there's even an oven for baking. I don't like to cook inside the trailer because the smell of food lingers. Having this stovetop was perfect for the dishes I prepared over the weekend. I'll use the oven during our next outing.

I do have to remember to make sure that the stove is somewhat level so that
my fry pan doesn't keep slipping off the flame.

We were fascinated by this particular tent camper that was not part of our group. Not the easiest to get in and out of - especially in the middle of the night.

Once again, BJ awarded a prize for the best hat. Rick won for the second year in a row. The prize (shown here with my glasses) will be a perfect decoration for the vintage trailer rally that Rick and I will host next month. We're billing our rally "Birds & Bovines" since we'll be at Ledge Park (overlooking the Horicon Marsh with its hundreds of bird species) and it's June Dairy Month. 

My hope is that we have a nice long spring that slides into an equally long, relatively dry, and not too hot summer. Am I wishing for too much?