*Please note that some of the information below is tentative, and can change in the next few weeks until everything is nailed down.* Join us in commemorating the 1959 African Caravan from Capetown to Cairo.
For the last month I have been thinking of hosting this rally to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Wally's Caravan across Africa. After speaking with several forum friends, I decided to proceed with it. The dates are set, and will not change from the 11-13th. I have also spoken with Dale "Pee-Wee" Schwamborn who was on the 1959 Caravan, and asked him to join us for the caravan and rally. Hopefully Pee-Wee will be available to tell us some stories about the caravan, Wally and his mother, and Airstream during the times he worked there.
The event will start on Friday the 11th of September with a caravan from
Cape (Girardeau), MO to Cairo, IL. The trip is only 34 miles each way. This is nice because it will not take a lot of time out of the day, but will give us the experience of traveling in a caravan. Many people have not participated in a caravan before, and this small journey should be a pleasant introduction. A definite start time has not been established yet, but will be once we move closer to the event. I have been in touch with the Cape Girardeau chamber of commerce, and they will be securing us a start point using the town's mall or the Show Me Convention Center.
After the caravan, we will rally Friday evening, Saturday, and head home on Sunday. Historically, September is very warm still in the Midwest, and hook-ups will most likely be wanted by those attending. The
Cape RV Park in town offers 90 Pull through sites with full hook-ups, a recreation center that seats 120 people, and full amenities. I have also looked into the
Trail of Tears State Park, but there is not near the amount of sites, and the will not hold spots for us while people take time to make reservations.
I am planning for a potluck on Friday evening, and a catered meal on Saturday (If people are interested). If we do the catering we will have a very small rally fee assessed. Possible ideas for the potluck would be dishes that were popular in the 50's when the caravan was going on, or dishes that would have been seen on the African trip.
Custom T-shirts will be available from artist at large,
Michael Depraida (Artstream), and will cost $25.00. I urge everyone to check out his site, and see his new work.
I will post more information as I receive it. Any thoughts and suggestions are greatly encouraged and appreciated.