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21-22 August, 2005 We were offered an overnight stay with Joe Maurer, and headed to his place on leaving the Baraboo show, which is just another indication of what a great bunch of folk there are on the ATIS list, to take in a family of complete strangers! The Webres were also on the guest list, and we all enjoyed a great meal cooked by Joe's wife, followed by a tour of the premises and a look at some of Joe's toys. In the morning, after a hearty breakfast, we were ready to take on the world! Here's Joe with Jim, Tom, Steve and Chris. The first part of our tour of the local area took us to the Silver Creek and Stephenson Railroad museum, and a look at one of their trains and the museum, then it was across the road to the Silvercreek museum which houses a 130 ton Cooper Corliss steam engine. It was rescued by the club members, moved from its former home 100 miles south of Freeport, rebuilt and restored to running condition. To give some idea of the size of it, here's Steve and Jim by the flywheel. The route back to Joe's through some lovely rolling countryside, also took in a detour to admire Joe's son's Indian motorcycle. Keen to convert us Brits to the joys of firearms, Dave Rotigel had lent us his shotgun to try out. The boys all had a go, with considerable success, but girls with guns make far better pictures! Here's Mel and Dolly, and yes, I did hit the target with one of my two shots (thanks to Steve for the instruction!). Finally, the toys which were the biggest hit with Tom and Chris were the quad bikes - what a great way to enjoy the scenery, get some fresh air and have FUN! A great time was had by all, the hospitality of Joe and his wife much appreciated.*
* Sincerest apologies for the hideous spelling error formerly seen here, as pointed out by Peter Forbes. I trust that no-one was harmed by this careless transposition of letters. |
