Silver, Stars, and Stripes All-American Forums Rally!
Hello everyone,
As many of you know, I will be heading to Afghanistan in the fall. Amy and I will miss out on some great rallies in the fall, and miss the entire season next year. Most of my summer is booked up with pre-deployment training and certification at Fort Chaffee, AR, and at Camp Ashland, NE. I am planning this rally as my last bit of fun before I leave two weeks later.
This rally is in the planning infancy, but the theme is All-American (Stars and Stripes). Currently I am aiming for the final weekend in August for the rally. I know that Stars and Stripes for many mean July 4th, but many have family plans, or will be at the international during this time.
Planning for August will require Air Conditioning, and I am reviewing parks with full hookups. The two places I am considering right now are Pin Oaks RV Park in Villa Ridge, MO, and Coles Creek Campground at Carlyle Lake, IL. Currently the Army Corp of Engineer site is down, but I will contact them.
With the rising gas prices I have tried to pick a location with plenty to do, and central to all. Please post thoughts. We'll have a blast just like we always do.
More info to be posted as I receive it, and I will creat the signup page once I know for sure what the plans are.
Thanks for reading, and hope to see everyone there (Wherever we have it).
Great Idea... We need more of this in out Nation... Besides I think the dates are the same as the DMC in denver so this is the trip that would get me out of dodge and have fun doing it!
Steve, I just checked Reserve America who handles the Carlyle Lake sites and that weekend is already reserved. No sites available at the campground. Sorry.
Jack
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Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
The last weekend in August is Labor Day Weekend, and I am encountering resistance from locations. Pin Oak offers no discounts due to the holiday, but offers up to 30% off of their $35/ night cost for rallies with 21 or more trailers. Their scale slides from 10%-30% depending on the number of participants.
I may have to look at the 2nd to last weekend in August instead.
Steve - I wish you will with your posting overseas. Please stay safe and come home soon. I have lotsa respect for our women & men in service to our country.
Hey Steve & Amy, glad to see you are still making Rally plans. You know James and I might have our A/S back together by then. I painted the bathroom ABS plastic last weekend and ran out of paint had to order more "TUBBY". It sure looks great. James as we speak is putting in the new PEX for the water lines. The old copper lines had swollen from freezing so you couldn't find any connections to hook up to the old. So he is going PEX, blue for cold and red for hot. If nothing else it will look pretty. I have POR15 the frame that was exposed when we were putting in the new frame for the new pan and black tank. Won't be long and the floor will go in. We are ordering a small gray tank for the kitchen sink.
Meremac State Park is promissing for the 2nd to last weekend, and they offer a variety of sites from basic to Electric, and Full hookups. The bad thing is that they will not hold these sites for us, and unless we all booked ASAP, there is no guarantee there would be room for everyone. $10-20 per night.
McNair Campgrounds at Lake Carlyle offer a mix from 30-50 Amps with water points, but no full hookups. These are also under a no-hold rule, and there are not as many sites available. $12-17 per night
Pin Oak RV Park near St. Louis has all Full Hookup sites at $35/night. The discount ranges from 10-30% dependant on the number of trailers attending the rally with 30% for 21 trailers or more (Net cost of $24.50/trailer per night). Close to many attractions, and Old RTE 66.
Cole's Creek on the lake closes for the season on July 7th
Beaver Dam SP is non reservable.
There is a KOA in Eureka, MO, but that would be less than desireable for the group, and I have been there before (It isn't great).
CJ...lets hope you can make the rally...pictures aren't a good substitute for that beast of a trailer your two have. Bring it out, and join us.
We live near Pin Oak, and it isn't the greatest, nor is there much to do around there without driving to Washington (10+ miles) or into St. Louis. I'm surprised the rate is that high.
As you've noted, the MO State Parks are great but very difficult to reserve for groups. We did a unit rally at Coles Creek, and it required some creative abuse of the Recreation.gov website.
You might want to consider the campground at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis. The campground itself is mostly pavement with landscaped dividers, but it's very nice, well-maintained, and directly across the river from the Arch. I understand they're also group-friendly, and as I recall they offer decent group rates and good deals on breakfast in the Casino. There's also a Metro light rail stop there, making access to most of the highlights in St. Louis cheap and easy without requiring a car.
There are some good campgrounds at the Lake of the Ozarks, too, but as you know, the Lake is still pretty crazy that time of year. Springfield, IL, is also a great spot with lots to do, including the Lincoln museum and library, and the campground in Chatham just south of Springfield is pretty nice.
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Ben & Molly (but Ben never types, so it's always Molly )
Springfiled is nice...(I am currently in Springfield at Camp Lincoln typing this). Lake Springfield could be nice as well, but I think I may refrain from the Casino Queen. I have seen it, and it looks nice, but I don't know about camping in East St. Louis.
Meremac looks to be perfect if I can get everyone to reserve at once.
sign my family up will be there! if you need any help i will do what i can
just let me know
its been a while since i ve been on here i had comp problems and had to send mine off for repair but i just got it back and i will be checking out whats new on hear
The above two are more for fishing and basic park stuff like swimming and hiking than being near a tourist area like Branson. The fun for me with these rallies is staying at the campground and spending time with Airstreams and their families.
Susan
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1974 31' Excella (soon-to-be carhauler)
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