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Autumn is here and among thoughts of Halloween, raking leaves and taking down the screens, it’s a good time to get one last cruise and M&G in before winter locks us in its grasp. And what better time than the peak of the Fall colors along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. With that in mind, please plan to join us for the first of what we hope will become an annual event.
We’re planning to meet on Saturday morning, October 27th at 10:15-10:30at the Riverview Rest Stop on the MO side of the Mississippi River at Chain of Rocks. The lot is at the NW corner of I-270 and Riverview Drive on Dunn Road. (see attached map)
Departure will be at 10:45. We’ll take I-270 Westbound to Rte. 367, which we’ll take north to Alton IL, crossing the beautiful Alton Bridge. At that point, we’ll head through town to pick up the Great River Road (Rte 3) through Elsa and Grafton, passing Raging Rivers and the Brussels Ferry to Pere Marquette State Park. We have the campground shelter reserved there from noon until 4:00
After a repast and an opportunity to enjoy each others cars, we’ll convoy up again and head up to the bluffs through the park with opportunities to stop, take photos and enjoy the fall colors and the views of the Illinois River Valley below. Continue on the bluff road back down as it joins Rte 3.
From there, we’ll head to take the Brussels Ferry (free) and on to the Winfield Ferry (toll) to Rte. 79 for the return trip to I-70 at O’Fallon, MO. Some IL folks may want to pass on this phase and return through Alton for the trip home. Also, extremely lowered cars may want to consider whether or not to use the ferry crossings
What to bring:
We’re planning to meet on Saturday morning, October 27th at 10:15-10:30at the Riverview Rest Stop on the MO side of the Mississippi River at Chain of Rocks. The lot is at the NW corner of I-270 and Riverview Drive on Dunn Road. (see attached map)
Departure will be at 10:45. We’ll take I-270 Westbound to Rte. 367, which we’ll take north to Alton IL, crossing the beautiful Alton Bridge. At that point, we’ll head through town to pick up the Great River Road (Rte 3) through Elsa and Grafton, passing Raging Rivers and the Brussels Ferry to Pere Marquette State Park. We have the campground shelter reserved there from noon until 4:00
After a repast and an opportunity to enjoy each others cars, we’ll convoy up again and head up to the bluffs through the park with opportunities to stop, take photos and enjoy the fall colors and the views of the Illinois River Valley below. Continue on the bluff road back down as it joins Rte 3.
From there, we’ll head to take the Brussels Ferry (free) and on to the Winfield Ferry (toll) to Rte. 79 for the return trip to I-70 at O’Fallon, MO. Some IL folks may want to pass on this phase and return through Alton for the trip home. Also, extremely lowered cars may want to consider whether or not to use the ferry crossings
What to bring:
- Something to eat/drink at the park. We’re going to bring charcoal for a fire if you want to BBQ something hot, but sandwiches, snacks, etc… are certainly appropriate as well. Without knowing how many people to expect, it’s impossible to buy and provide food for all and this way everyone can bring what they like
- Camera
- Binoculars]
- FRS radio if you have one (convoys are much more fun when you can talk)
- A clean car (because we’ll all be looking at each others rides)
- We’ll observe posted speed limits. This is an event that we hope to make appropriate for the family and for everyone and want to make sure everyone’s comfortable. Besides, we already know that our cars are powerful so there’s nothing to prove.
- Tight convoys are nice, but we want to be respectful of others on the road, so we’ll keep an eye out for cars that need to break in and out of our convoy.
- If you bring an FRS radio, it will certainly add to the enjoyment of the cruise, however please keep in mind that these frequencies are non-licensed FCC frequencies used by many people of all ages. Please keep communications appropriate and without profanity.[/SIZE][/FONT]
