This is a story of hard work that ended up paying off - big! We had a wonderful three-day, 475-mile trip, with good roads, great scenery, nice weather, and lots of fun and camaraderie - all the things that make an event like this a success. In fact, it can honestly be said that this event turned out even better than the organizers had hoped. How did this happen, and what did we do? If you're interested, please read on.....

Icons of Design: E-Types outside the Visitor Center
at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin

February 2001

The story actually starts back in February of this year. Organizers Tom and Daria Durham had been thinking about putting together an overnight driving event for the club for some time, and they knew from the many trips they had made to Wisconsin that there were interesting destinations in that state a few hours northwest of Chicago. Armed with this information and an idea that they also wanted to cross the Mississippi at Prairie du Chien, WI, they set off in the cold of winter to explore some of the territory that might make up a multi-day scenic drive. They visited some of the destinations that would make it into the final driving route: New Glarus and Little Norway, WI, Prairie du Chien, WI and McGregor, IA, two towns situated across the Mississippi from one another, and Pike's Peak State Park, just south of McGregor. From here they found themselves heading south toward Dubuque, IA, where they found a wonderful bed and breakfast inn nestled in the hills just west of the river. This B&B, the Hancock House, also ended up figuring significantly in the final event.

Soon after the Durham's made this trip, my wife Cindy and I signed on as assistant organizers. Nearly three months of talking on the phone, surfing the net, poring over maps, and emailing each other passed. By this time we had the bulk of the route had been mapped out and the main destinations decided upon. An additional stop at the Taliesin Visitor Center had been added as the result of conversations with interested parties.

Six Weeks Before

Now we were ready to make another reconnaissance trip. The function of this second trip was to drive the entire route, both to debug it and to determine point-to-point and total distances, such that we could write out the route instructions and be confident that they would be correct! To this end, we took two vehicles, so that we would have redundant distance readings and also so we could investigate multiple routes where choices occurred. In addition we would also check out some of our stopping points along the way. As it happened we couldn't drive every road on our planned route as some of them ran along the Wisconsin river and in mid-May it was flooded!

As it happened the May organizing trip was very enjoyable, despite lousy weather. By this time we were happy with the route, the stops, and the lodging, and were confident it would be an enjoyable trip. In the remaining time between May and the actual event, now scheduled for June 30th - July 2nd, the primary tasks were to arrange meals (always a big concern) and to generate the route book. Daria had already made inquiries with various restaurants; what turned out to be a great idea came about when we decided to have our Sunday evening dinner catered at the Hancock House using their massive dining table (which seats 20!). The owner heartily supported this plan as he had already worked with a caterer on such events. Dinner on Saturday was arranged at a renowned restaurant in New Glarus, WI, which was just a few blocks from our hotel.

So, now things are coming together and the excitement is building. Weather forecasts are being monitored and worried about on an hourly basis. A few weeks prior to the event the route book is finished (here's a hint: bind the route book with a spiral-type binding so it can lay flat when it's opened) and sent out to those planning on attending (lodging reservations were made months in advance so by now the attendee list was pretty definite). The current attendee list included fifteen cars (!) for the Saturday drive and Saturday night stay (June 30), with ten of those staying on for the Sunday drive, Sunday night, and the drive home Monday morning. In addition, the Durham's also brought along their van for use as a support vehicle, to carry our spare parts kit and any excess luggage, and to provide A/C for anyone who needed it. I have to say here that when we started work on the event, which was the first overnight event in the history of the IJC and its predecessor clubs, we were afraid that we would have so little turnout as to make it not worthwhile. Instead, we had an excellent turnout, such that we even had the entire Hancock House reserved Sunday night! I think that sometimes it's easy to underestimate peoples' enthusiasm for club events such as this.

Saturday Morning

June 30th. McDonalds, I-90 and US-20, near Hampshire, IL. Our group began assembling around 8:30 a.m. The weather looked good: warm (80's) and humid, but no rain forecast. Cellular phones began ringing early, as a few peoples' plans began to go awry. One Jaguar gave up soon after leaving home, to be replaced by a daily driver, and another wasn't out of the shop in time! In total, three cars ended up not being able to make the trip. For those that did, a quick breakfast at McDonalds was followed by a drivers' meeting in the parking lot, then it was time to get the show on the road. We traveled 40 miles by freeway to the Wisconsin border, then it was on to the back roads for 80 miles until we reached Little Norway. A minor glitch occurred when one of our selected roads was closed for construction, but with the detailed maps in our route book an equally enjoyable detour was soon worked out.

Saturday morning, left to right: morning driver's meeting; midmorning gas stop; Little Norway.

Saturday Afternoon

Little Norway is a Norwegian pioneer homestead settled in 1856, located just north of New Glarus. Here we stopped and enjoyed a catered box lunch in a quiet wooded area. After lunch we took guided tours of the homestead, which boasts among other things original handwritten work by composer Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907). After leaving Little Norway we had an easy 25-mile drive to our lodging, the Chalet Landhaus in New Glarus. This drive was all on twisty, scenic back roads, which were beautifully traffic-free. Despite being fairly warm (upper 80's) there were no reports of overheating - we even ran the A/C in our car. After arriving at the Chalet Landhaus, everyone had plenty of time to relax before dinner. Since Deininger's restaurant was just a few blocks from the hotel, most of us planned to walk to dinner. But then, just as we were leaving, the clouds that had been hanging around opened up, and we got a good soaking for about 30 minutes. This was the only rain we'd see all weekend. Dinner that night was excellent, with the food and service at Deininger's more than meeting the expectations of a bunch of restaurant-spoiled Chicagoans.

Saturday afternoon, left to right: New Glarus-area roads; the group at Chalet Landhaus, dinner at Deininger's.

Sunday Morning

Chalet Landhaus, New Glarus, WI. Sunday morning dawned cloudy and surprisingly cool (especially for those of us who didn't bring a jacket), but the skies quickly cleared. After breakfast, we packed up the Jags and headed out early for our first stop of the day, Taliesin, 50 miles away in Spring Green. We again were treated to great roads that morning, hilly and twisty. Living in an urban area, we don't get to exercise our cars properly and drive them as their maker intended. This trip allowed us the opportunity to do just that.

Sunday morning, left to right: IJC co-president Allan Price goes for petrol in his recently-acquired golden sand E-Type; Wisconsin back roads had occasional traffic - but not the kind we see in Chicago!

After spending some time at the Visitor's center (which was originally designed by Wright as a restaurant), some of our party headed back towards home, while the remaining seven cars speared west toward the Mississippi. We crossed over the river at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and then stopped for lunch at the Alexander Hotel in McGregor, IA, an historic building dating from 1899.

Sunday Afternoon

After lunch, we stormed up the hill south of town on our way to Pike's Peak State Park, just south of the city. At the park we stopped for a while to take in stunning views of the Mississippi. The weather was perfect, with gorgeous blue sky and breezy 70-degree air.

Sunday, left two photos: Jaguars parked at the Taliesin Visitor's Center; right center: marvelous views of the Mississippi from the lookouts at Pike's Peak State Park; right: Durham's E-Type didn't want to leave Pike's Peak, but was eventually convinced.

Upon leaving Pike's Peak we encountered our first trouble with one of the Jaguars: the Durham's E-Type had a faulty ignition switch. After a bit of work an appropriate bodge was in place, and we were on our way to Dubuque. This part of the drive presented us with what was probably the best scenery on the trip. We headed south from the park on the Great River Road, which runs along the Mississippi. I highly recommend this drive to anyone who is ever near northeastern Iowa. This area of the state is amazingly hilly, and part of the road runs along a ridge which gives you views for miles on both sides. Driving the E-Type on this wonderful road, with essentially no traffic, was thoroughly invigorating.

Sunday afternoon, far left: Great River Road between Pike's peak and Dubuque; others: the Hancock House.

After we arrived at Dubuque and got settled in at the Hancock House, we had a bit of time to relax before dinner. Chuck, our host, was most gracious in helping us arrange a catered dinner to be set up in the House's massive dining room. This was possibly the crowning achievement of the trip: enjoying dinner together at this cozy setting, with folks that one had spent two days on the road with, really created a sense of camaraderie and close friendship that was very special. Cindy and I made new friendships and deepened existing ones. It didn't hurt either that we had excellent food and abundant wine, with no worries about driving. All one had to be able to do when the evening was over was to waddle upstairs to your room! After eating we all stayed up and talked and drank for several hours. Particularly engaging was the view of the city at night from the House's front porch, enjoyed with a glass of wine and a cool breeze.

Monday Morning

Hancock House, Dubuque, IA. Monday morning came too early for most of us. Now it was time to head back to real life: the traffic, congestion, and flat terrain of Chicago-land After enjoying breakfast together (with lots of coffee) at the big table, some people immediately headed homeward while four couples did a little sightseeing in Dubuque prior to leaving, taking in the well-known Fenelon Place (definitely worth a ride).

Monday morning, far left: everyone at breakfast; center left: Jim and Cathy Kakuska head home in their XK-150; center right: looking out over Dubuque; far right: Fenelon Place elevator.

Then, the rest of us set off for Chicago. As we were heading east along US-20 our final adventure started. We were just east of Galena on the two-lane section. Cindy and I were in the lead with Daria Durham following in their E-Type. I was checking my rearview mirror frequently as we were concerned about the ignition switch problem. Then, all of a sudden, their car was gone! Fearing an accident, we pulled over, spun around, and headed back to find the rest of our party at the side of the road. Their car was dead, apparently from a bad alternator. Deciding we could make progress with a newly-charged battery, Mike Ksaizek valiantly went off in search of a battery that would fit. After five stops he was able to find the correct battery for the car, a '67 E-Type - keep in mind this is the wilds of northwestern Illinois! Truly heroic, in my opinion.

Meanwhile, we had been able to get one of our portable power packs (the kind used for jump-starting) installed in the Durham's car in place of its dead battery. The rest of us now headed east again to rendezvous with Mike about twenty miles down the road, where we installed the new battery and ate a much-needed lunch! The rest of the trip home was relatively uneventful, albeit a little nerve-wracking with one car having no charging system. It ended up taking us eight hours to get home when it should have been four. But, what's a trip like this for if not to have a bit of adventure.......... In fairness I must mention that, other than a bad steering column bushing, none of the rest of the Jaguars had any problems at all.

In all, it was a thoroughly excellent weekend. Everything had come together in a way that was even better than we had hoped. For those of you who have thought about organizing such an event, but were afraid to try it, I say go for it! With a bit of work in the planning stages I predict you will amazed both at the enthusiastic responses of your fellow club members and at the great and memorable times you can have.

Useful Links:
Little Norway - New Glarus area; Saturday lunch.
Deininger's Restaurant - New Glarus; Saturday dinner.
Chalet Landhaus - New Glarus; Saturday lodging.
Taliesin - the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation website.
Marquette, McGregor, Prairie du Chien - Website for this area of the Mississippi.
Great River Road - One of several websites on the subject.
Hancock House - Dubuque; Sunday lodging.
Fenelon Place Elevator - The world's shortest, steepest scenic railway.

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About the author - John Harwood is webmaster for the Illinois Jaguar Club and he also provides website support and calendar maintenance for JCNA.com. John and his wife Cindy own a 1969 E-Type FHC. Some photos were provided courtesy of Rod Lindoo; Rod is the newsletter editor for the IJC.

Posted: 9/2001