Jo Daviess recap

Thanks for participating in the 9th Annual Secrets of Jo Daviess Tour. It was a great time, great roads, great driving, and we managed to fit in some scenic stops as well. We were lucky, overall, in terms of breakdowns and weather, and no mishaps with the route other than about a mile of inadvertent gravel (not too dusty, either, I hope -- we took it slow). We had a great lunch at the Brewpub in Mineral Point which turned out to be good timing for the lunch stop, although we stuck pretty much to Dan's route from last year up to that point. Yes, we missed a couple of turns, but it all turned out well.

We even called Dan on the speakerphone from the drivers meeting and at Baumgartner's at tour's end to show our support.

What you might not know is, after Baumgartner's, I went back on the road to find my way around that lake we missed (Yellowstone Lake State Park) and put another 80 miles on the car. Coming home, I explored some backcountry routes through Illinois as well, and have a route in mind and a place to start in Oregon for a possible first day (Tuesday) lunch start. If I start the group at the Breakers in Oregon at around 2 p.m., and then lead a caravan out to meet Dan and Nancy either at their place or in Stockton (and then proceed to Pearl City for the fish fry at Yellow Creek Inn), that might be nice and add something to the experience. I am going to price overnights in McGregor as well, and share all this with Dan. McGregor reminded me of Brigadoon, hope its there next year! We have some great ideas for stops and overnights next year, but the real talent and skill is the drivers' routes laid out in meticulous detail with a lot of research by Dan. What a drivers' ramble!

It was a good group, and I thank you all!

Thanks again!

John Kearns
'80 MGB LE
Safety Fast!