Saturday morning June 9th was everything that the weatherman had predicted: warm, sunny, and clear; perfect top-down rallying weather! Since I dislike tollways so much, Michaela and I found our way from Wonder Lake to the Wisconsin Welcome Center without paying any tolls (no, I did not sneak my Midget under the crossbars!). Since I was the first to arrive, I staked a claim to the overflow parking where we could be visible without being too much in the way. A red MGA showed up shortly, followed by an assortment of MGBs and Bill Cantrall’s Bugeye Sprite.

Our charitably-challenged rally master, Tom Josefek, showed up in due time complete with the traditional pictogram route instructions (borrowed from the ancient Egyptians) and rally questions (kindly contributed by the Spanish Inquisition — “Nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition”). After a philosophical discussion on the art of reading Wisconsin fire-signs, we were on our way. Did I mention that the weather was outstanding?

As usual, I missed the very first clue. That way it just has to get better. By the time we arrived at the site for our picnic lunch, I had missed a couple more and I was sporting the beginnings of a lovely sunburn, but no complaints there. Another sadistic side of our rally master showed up there when he came round to man the checkpoint and ask questions. “What war did the plaque at the starting point commemorate?” “Name five newspapers for sale at the Welcome Center.” “Does your horn work?” “Do you have a compass?” I think that having a compass should have cost you points, but that’s probably just because I didn’t have one. Judy, ever the gracious hostess, opted for cold cuts this year; good thing since there was over an hour between the arrival of the first wave and when the stragglers pulled in.

Several people noticed that they had driven a complete loop in the morning run. Tom assured us that we had indeed if we had followed the instructions correctly and hinted that there was more to come. Oh so true!

The afternoon was sprinkled with such delights as trying to find Benj J Thomas’s gravestone in cemeteries where he wasn’t and figuring out what the large birds at the horse farm were. They were not ostriches, but whether they were emus or rheas is still uncertain because no one was home. Michaela and I drove one stretch of the rally twice, ostensibly to try to find a missing answer, but really because we had seen six baby skunks by the side of the road and we were hoping that if we came around again we could stop and watch them for a while. They were the cutest little critters and a lot of fun to watch playing in the grass on the side of the road. I still maintain that there was a route instruction missing on the last page, but I also believe that mistakes make rallies more interesting. You had better hope that I don’t start making the rally routes!

We all eventually ended up at the Courthouse Inn in Dodgeville, Wisconsin for the buffet dinner and the answers to the elusive questions. It was a good rally in great weather and I just wish more of you had been able to show up for it.