Travis' Trails: Northern Indiana Rally 2011

Naughty Gnomes here we come!

I was really looking forward to this rally. I had heard about the naughty gnomes but didn't know what they did that made them naughty. Plus, one of the events was going to be a toga party!

KC helped me get ready for the toga party so all I would have to do the night of the event was to get dressed quick.

It really helped a lot!

Thanks KC!

After arriving we got the campsite set up. We brought Bob the Burger on this trip.

I'm still trying to figure out what it is about flamingos that everybody has them.

These two kept to themselves during the rally and wouldn't let anyone near the cooler. The one on the left told me that if I wanted a beverage I had to give him the password. I spent the entire weekend trying to guess the password. When the cooler was empty they told me the password was beer. Duh!

Because this rally is so well attended and the number of campsites is limited so we shared a campsite with BJ & Bee Bee. BJ had a friend from college (whenever that was) come with this time, her name was Dawn. Dawn was very nice and we all got along great.

Here is Jules, Holly & me right before we went to see a presentation about the history of campers.

The presentation was given by the curator of the RV & Mobile Home Museum in Elkhart, Indiana, Al Hasselbart.

I have to admit, BJ makes a killer beverage for these events! Anytime this pitcher is around good things to drink are at hand. This was during the presentation.

This is me and Al.

Each evening during the rally there is something to do. After the presentation Jules, Norm and I went for a bike ride. We stopped at one of the little cabins that were at the park. Some rally members still attend, renting the cabins, when their campers are down for repairs. I thought the $3 a week was pretty good, but this one also said it rented by the hour too... Erins' mom & sister were in this one.

Ah, relaxing before bed. The pitcher was still in full swing. I met Sampson, BJ's monster dog.

Norm actually had an air conditioner set up for this rally because the other Indiana rallies have been so hot in the past. When we went in for the night we got a BIG surprise. If you can't read the thermometer it shows the temp to be 56 degrees! It was still in the upper 80s outside!

We had our complimentary breakfast Saturday morning, rather than Sunday. Pancakes, sausage, coffee & juice. Mmmmm.

Saturday there is a Show & Shine where anyone can walk through the attendees campers. There is also a little "garage sale" sort of thing where folks put different items out for sale. Joni sent along flower pens that she made for Norm & Jules put out.

Each one of these flowers is actually a pen! Who came up with this idea? Not only are they beautiful, they're functional!

During the show & shine I met the two "naughty gnomes" that were wandering around the campgrounds. I really didn't think they were all that naughty. A bit in need of a bath maybe, but other than showing up at peoples campers unannounced, they were pretty cool.

I tried to schedule a small poker game between us for later that evening. They said they had heard about my poker skills and decided it was best to not play.

Larry & Bob

I met a lot of great folks during the show & shine and got to see some of the campers.

I really liked the sticker in Larry & Bob's camper's window!

If you ever have one of these rallies near where you live, even if you don't have an old (oops, vintage) camper it is worth the time to go see them.

These campers and the rallies are beautiful reminders of bygone times.

I don't know this guys name but he was sharing watermelon with anyone that wanted some. He said there was a picnic nearby that was supplying it. It was really good too!

After the show & shine it was party time; TOGA, TOGA, TOGA...

Norm, Jules & I arriving. Yes, the togas were McDonald's themed to go with the burger camper.

I think a lot of the rally attendees are a bit off center.

Some are flat out crazy!

This is BJ & Dawn. I have to apologize to a lot of folks here because I didn't get everyone's picture during the event.

I will add those that I did.

See what I mean? The beer cans were still dripping!

Our wagonmasters for the rally were Mike & Sandy. I will not comment on WHAT Sandy was doing to my hat...

I didn't take any pictures after this. The band was great and we had a fantastic time. We did take a small road trip just before the band started, to the local McDonald's. We just HAD to see the reactions.