Past Events - Midwest 356 Club

Here's a new idea for a club drive: travel at a leisurely pace, don't worry about keeping the other cars in sight, and take the time to pay attention to the scenery along the way. If that sounds good to you, you would have had a great time on our club's first-ever Photo Rally, along the country roads of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

Ten cars convened at the designated starting point, a truck stop in Marengo, Illinois. Each team was given a route map, turn-by-turn directions and, most importantly, a set of 20 photographs that Wally and Jeff had taken of roadside landmarks when they laid out the route. Our task was simple enough: follow the route, spot the photographed objects, and sort the photos into the sequence in which we encountered their subjects.

The forecast for that day was for sunshine and 95-degree heat, and we came prepared to be broiled, with hats, sunscreen and bottles of ice water. Sure enough, by mid-morning the sky had clouded up, and by the time we reached our destination in Lake Geneva we had all driven through an hour of heavy rain. Not only did it never get hot that morning, we all had a chance to compare notes over lunch about where our cars leaked.

During lunch, while everyone else ate Pam Leas scored each team's reported sightings and identified the top finishers. Each of the top three teams was awarded a special commemorative trophy that featured vintage cameras and snowy mustaches. Word has reached us that there are more trophies where these came from, so there is good reason to hope we'll get to do this again next year.

The cars line up for the start, to be released by Wally at two-minute intervals.