Category Archives: Wisconsin

International Auto Buggy Rides

Teardrop Trail Log: June 17, 2016

After breakfast, Marilyn went to her first book signing event, and I was free to explore Red Power. I see new things each time, and this year was no different. Walking into a shed at the far end of the fairgrounds, I was transported back to yesteryear — A line of International Auto Buggys from the turn of the 20th century. We had seen Auto Wagons — the farm truck version from the same time period — at the Sedalia Red Power, but here was a line of several motorized carriages that were more elegant and clearly intended for passengers. Best of all, they were in running condition and the owners were giving rides!

International Auto Buggy

The Auto Buggy was a 2-cylinder, air-cooled motor car produced between 1907 and 1916. An immediate success, it marked International’s first foray into the world of motorized vehicles. Octane Press has an excellent article about the vehicle and a sales catalog is also available to scratch that curiosity itch.

Some started easier than others and I watched one owner struggle with the buggy, while his colleagues were driving away. Patience paid off though, and he was finally successful. It was such fun to see passengers load up — especially one gentleman who appeared old enough to have ridden in one of these wagons the first time around. It was clear he relished the opportunity.

International Logo from early sales catalog

Tasty Trail Red Power Food

Teardrop Trail Log: June 17, 2016

The Tasty Trail has taken us to some amazing culinary adventures with a variety of great eats and fairground cuisine at each of the Red Power Round Up events. At the Racine County fairgrounds, many of the food concessions were operated by community organizations like the Kiwanis, Future Farmers of America and 4H bringing a local perspective to the menu.

A fairground 4H breakfast

For breakfast, we selected the 4H concession. They were serving up biscuits with ham and cream gravy, like the gravy often found on Chicken Fried Steak. This comfort food has a long history, with a balance between flour and grease for the perfect consistency. As we waited for our food, we watched as the adults teaching youngsters to take orders, write tickets and place orders while preparing the iconic fairground breakfast. It was so tasty, we returned the next day.

Another day, we waited in line for mouth-watering brats for lunch at the stand run by members of the Kiwanis club. It seemed that everyone else had been lured in by the amazing smell of brats that wafted around the grassy area in the middle of the grounds.

photo of Proctor Silex 33116Y Slow Cooker

Proctor Silex Slow Cooker

For dinner – we decided to add a small crockpot to our Teardrop kitchen. It was a perfect way to have a wonderful dinner at our campsite at the Racine County Fairgrounds. I loaded up the tiny cooker before going out for the book signing and my presentation on Irma Harding. Dinner was waiting when we returned. Here is our recipe.

Teardrop Pork Chops

2 boneless Pork chops (3/4″ thick)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup hot water
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 small onions
freshly ground pepper

Sear the pork chops. Dissolve bouillion in the hot water, add mustard and stir.
Cut off the ends, and peel the onions, then cut in half cross wise to make 4 thick “wheels”.
Place the onions on the bottom of the Crockpot in a single layer.
Once chops are seared, place them atop the onions.
Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, and slowly add the liquid over all.
Cook for 4.5 hours

Octane Press Red Power Reception at Waterstreet Brewery

Teardrop Trail Log: Thursday, June 16

Canning, Pickling and Freezing with Irma Harding

Octane Press, the publisher of my cookbook, Canning, Pickling and Freezing with Irma Harding was holding a meet-and-greet in conjunction with Red Power Round Up. The invitation offered an evening of appetizers and libations. We established camp at the Racine County fairgrounds and un-hitched the Ambassador. Then Jim and I headed down the Teardrop Trail to the Water Street Brewery in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

Octane Press, founded by Lee Klancher, began in the Mid-2000s. Lee had always loved books and the company now publishes his own work and the work of others. Octane has more than 50 titles in print with about 6 – 12 new projects each year. Octane has been working with International Harvester on a variety of projects that range from calendars to coffee table books.

International Scout Encyclopedia

Since this year’s Red Power Round Up was held in Racine where Case IH Headquarters is located, this party was an opportunity to meet Sarah Pickett, from Case IH Marketing Communications and many of the folks I’d been working with on the cookbook project. There were other Octane Press authors in attendance. Jim and I enjoyed meeting many of the folks, especially Jim Allen and John Glancy, who had just published the International Scout Encyclopedia.

Since 1987, The Water Street Brewery has produced more than 78,000 half-barrels which is approximately 12,987,700 glasses of beer. The Oak Creek location opened recently in a modern, well-lit building that has one-of-a kind beer and brewing artifacts, featured in the book “The World of Beer Memorabilia” Book. It was great to have Jim was accompanying me and we enjoyed a great dinner of fish tacos and tasted a few more of the delightful brews.

Good restaurant too

On to Union Grove and Red Power Roundup

Teardrop Trail Log: June 16, 2016

We were back on the Teardrop Trail, headed toward Red Power Round Up in Union Grove, Wisconsin. Just a quick stop at Wisconsin Welcome Center to pick up post cards, we parked the Ambassador with the big rigs. He was finally running with the big dogs. After locating the Racine County Fairgrounds, we pulled around to our camp site. This would be our third Red Power Round Up where collectors, vendors and members of the public gathered to celebrate the history of International Harvester and explore agriculture-related memorabilia. There was an impressive selection of tractors, engines, trucks and equipment. The exhibitions included household appliances, farming equipment and toy collections.

Red Power Roundup camp

I had reserved our campsite at last year’s event and we were conveniently located just outside the exhibition building where my publisher, Octane Press had a booth and where I would be signing copies of Canning, Pickling and Freezing with Irma Harding. We backed the Ambassador into the space, and set up Camp Red Power complete with the canopy over the galley. This would be home for the next few days.

Jim has always enjoyed coming to Red Power for the tractors, like the IH tractor his grandfather had on the farm. His cameras come out and he is in tractor heaven. Every year he buys a raffle ticket for an IH tractor. So far no tractors have followed us home.

There’s a few tractors over there

Planning Our Latest Adventure on the Teardrop Trail

Marilyn, July 25:

We got a jump start on this year’s trip as we pulled out of the Missouri State Fairgrounds in June of 2015. Someone mentioned that camping spaces would be very limited for the 2016 Red Power Round Up, so upon our return to Roy Creek Ranch, I got online and booked reservations for one of the coveted campsites.

I love planning trips and I’ve never been one to wing it. It is inspiring, like putting together a multi-dimensional puzzle. Making dreams reality. I started by making list of places we might want to visit on the route from Roy Creek Ranch to Red Power Round Up in Union Grove Wisconsin and the adventure home. I used Google Maps to get the distances between points of interest, inviting restaurants and camping possibilities. Then we have an idea of how long it will take to get to the next stop and the possible route. This list helps to answer the question, “Are we there yet?” Yes, adults still ask this time-honored question.

The next step was to create a list of optional activities in the states we’d be driving through. I’d put out an inquiry on Facebook to get recommendations from friends for must-see attractions. An extensive Internet search followed, investigating possibilities along the route. I compiled a list of activities and points of interest. The list included Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Taliesin, House on the Rock, Pullman National Monument and more.

Road atlas detail

In the past, we used Jim’s well-loved 2004 Road Master Atlas to plan our trips on the Teardrop Trail, but this year, he got us a New National Geographic Road Atlas, Adventure Edition. We sat down with the with the new atlas and sticky notes to mark the points of interest along our route.

I revisited many of the check lists I found online to make sure that we had everything for this trip. On the trip to West Texas, someone had forgotten a pair of flip flops. Some of our other treks have taken us off the retail track, making replacing forgotten items a challenge if not impossible.

As the departure date approached, details came into focus and reservations were made for the first two legs of our trip, but this would be a different kind of excursion down the Teardrop Trail – one without a complete itinerary. Another travel blogger ascribed luck as an important aspect of the trip. After our stop in Kansas City, we would be planning as we traveled. Each stop at a visitors’ center or tourism office could bring a wealth of new maps, magazines and opportunities. It would now be plan-as-you-go with a dash of serendipity thrown in.

Travel brochures

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