End of May we will be getting back from a trip to Williamsburg VA. I doubt wife will be up for a second on right away . trip home we have a 1,000 mile day to do.
Talking with a friend of mine that has a sidecar also maybe the two of us can make it.
I've been working on lining up tours, making arrangements for meals, and other 2023 National Rally things.
I'll address lodging in today's post.
The rally will be held at Gull Point State Park on the west shore of Lake Okoboji located north of Milford, IA in Dickinson County, with entry to the park off IA Highway 86. The Iowa DNR does not permit reservation of all campsites at their state parks. They want to have campsites available for drop-in campers. They begin taking reservations 3 months before you plan to arrive, so if you are arriving on June 22 you should probably check the availability of sites which can be reserved on March 21. If you can't book your dates on March 21 you should try again on March 22. There are several state parks with campsites available within several miles of Gull Point.
Persons with large motor homes should check with Marble Beach State Park for camping accommodations where they have drive-through sites. Marble Beach State Park is located on the west side of Spirit Lake, also in the Iowa Great Lakes Area.
None of the state parks in the Iowa Great Lakes Area have cabins available, though you may be able to find privately owned cabins available for rent in the area.
The Great Lakes Area is a popular summer resort area. If you are planning to stay in a motel, AirB&B, or similar accommodation, plan to book your lodging early. There are motels available in the Wahpeton, Milford, Arnolds Park, Okoboji, and Spirit Lake, IA area.
I'll periodically post more information regarding the rally.
Anyone know much about Gull Point State Park – Lake Okoboji, IA.
Is there any lodging at the camp ground? I spent to many years of my life in tents never going back to that.
Their WEB sight offering little information that works.
Ok, plans in the works. Question before I register. Is there group or a camp area for us Riff Raff at the site. Why I ask is at the Coeur D'Alene rally I had booked a camp site but they were about RV's with no facilities for us tenters. Luckily I discovered every one was just camping in a grassy area next to the rally buildings and I moved. Is this the case at Gull Point or do I need to really book a spot? I am sort of an Ad Lib traveller.
Quote from smitty901 on January 4, 2023, 12:31 pmAnyone know much about Gull Point State Park – Lake Okoboji, IA.
Is there any lodging at the camp ground? I spent to many years of my life in tents never going back to that.
Their WEB sight offering little information that works.
Agreed that the state’s website is not helpful in any real sense. As described earlier, reservations for campsites cannot be made more than 90 days in advance and FC-FS applies for half of the sites. I can’t say whether/what portion of the campsites are tent friendly, but I get the sense that most are intended for RV rather than primitive and tents.
Quote from MGV8 on January 7, 2023, 2:37 pmOk, plans in the works. Question before I register. Is there group or a camp area for us Riff Raff at the site. Why I ask is at the Coeur D'Alene rally I had booked a camp site but they were about RV's with no facilities for us tenters. Luckily I discovered every one was just camping in a grassy area next to the rally buildings and I moved. Is this the case at Gull Point or do I need to really book a spot? I am sort of an Ad Lib traveller.
inquiring minds want to know!
My initial searches for AirBNB and hotel/motel show very few but expensive options available on the Gull Point side of the lake complex for the rally weekend. In the “pocket” between West/East Okoboji are a number of options which begin at $175 per night and rapidly escalate due to it being high season in a highly desirable travel destination.
The pocket between the lakes seems like a cool place, but is several miles in RV/Boat trailer infested roads to the rally site. If I am mistaken about this assessment, I await correction.
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
Well...I just reserved a room at the Rodeway Inn, in Okoboji, Iowa, for the nights of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th....and not that I am happy about it, but those three nights came to $ 625.00.
The issue is, not that many of us want to "camp" anymore. And to try to find a "decent" room at a hotel, or motel, in a Summer Resort, during high season, is darn near improbable.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
VRBO has a few that are not too bad, they are constantly adding and deleting units so I have been checking occasionally.
https://www.vrbo.com/search/keywords:spirit-lake-iowa-united-states-of-america/arrival:2023-06-22/departure:2023-06-25/@43.27436670916682,-95.29080506664883,43.484474286080896,-94.97288819653164,11z/minNightlyPrice/0?petIncluded=false&CID=a_cj_100225472&CJEVENT=843484578f6311ed834e417f0a1c0e0b&affcid=VRBO-US.NETWORK.CJ.100225472&filterByTotalPrice=true&k_clickid=843484578f6311ed834e417f0a1c0e0b&ssr=true&utm_campaign=Skimlinks_100225472&utm_content=14002097_130832X1685020X89cd2d72fc8524fd8fa6c58c81d8a665&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=aff_cj
They do say that only %25 of properties are available for those dates. Popular place.
Quote from Thane Lewis on January 7, 2023, 5:40 pmMy initial searches for AirBNB and hotel/motel show very few but expensive options available on the Gull Point side of the lake complex for the rally weekend. In the “pocket” between West/East Okoboji are a number of options which begin at $175 per night and rapidly escalate due to it being high season in a highly desirable travel destination.
The pocket between the lakes seems like a cool place, but is several miles in RV/Boat trailer infested roads to the rally site. If I am mistaken about this assessment, I await correction.
We decided to stay at the Holiday Inn Express down in Spencer. It's not that far, and what the heck, we're there to ride anyway! Besides, I had points to burn up. We had hoped to stay at a friend's house in Okoboji, but that didn't work out.
Looking forward to meeting y'all!!
Ride on!!
Joe
Don't mind camping, actually look forward to it. So I think we have that part sorted. 🙂 Now, do I head out two weeks early and go North. Northern Quebec is calling. Or do I spend two weeks going home and see some USA that I haven't seen yet. I figure a week to get there on the slow meander. Hmmm decisions decisions. Family stuff happening in July so that might make it for me.
If the lodging close to the rally is over budget for you and you don't mind a short ride, Estherville Iowa is about 25 miles away and show a Super 8 and a Estherville Hotel and suites which both showed availability at the time of this post in the $100-$125 range.
Personally, room reservations made and registered for the rally and looking forward to it!
Would suggest a visit here while you are riding around Iowa. They are permanently closing the doors in September 2023
Here is a link to the article about closing of the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa next September. Last time to see it on your way to or from the National USCA Rally in June.
Question for the Leaders That Be:
Since the Rally T-Shirt is not included with the entrance cost of attending the rally this year (and I am okay with that, and understand)....has a new Rally T-shirt been designed, and has a decision been made as to whether Long Sleeve or Short Sleeve, colors, image design, etc?
It may still be in the design process, so what I am really asking is.....when decisions have been made, will you folks inform us HERE of the details of the Rally T-Shirts, so we can know in advance as to whether to order one in advance, or take the chance of waiting to get to the National Rally, seeing the Rally T-shirt in person, and making a decision at that point as to whether to buy one, or not (gulp).
Yes, I know, some people will just order a Rally T-Shirt in advance, sight unseen, because they love the idea of a Rally T-Shirt.
But....when some of us (me) has more rally t-shirts in their closet than any other type or form of shirts, and we are at the point that we start giving away 30 to 40 year old rally t-shirts to the Goodwill......decisions have to be made as to whether or not to add a new rally shirt to the borg collective.
TIP: if you have anyone in your family that makes quilts.....hand them 20 rally t-shirts, and ask them to take a 12" x 12" square of the t-shirt off the front or back of the shirt, and use those squares of material to form a two-sided quilt, that you can use as a wall hanging, or a bed covering, or....as a lap blanket for the monkey in your sidecar.
Two Million Mile Rider...All 7 Continents
Exploring the World in Comfort
An unofficial note about camping.
According to Iowa State Parks;
" Camp in the popular campground, which is well shaded and features paved roads, playground equipment, modern restroom and shower facilities, as well as a sanitary dump station. A variety of campsites are available, including electrical hookups. Advance campsite reservations can be made online through the park reservation system. Half of the campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis."
Reservations via https://www.reserveamerica.com reservations cannot be made until 90 days prior to the camping date. That means that if you want to reserve one of the reservable sites you need to wait until March 24th to make a reservation for June 22nd.
This is just what I have dug up and not official by any means. Official Iowa State Parks map of the Gull Point campground showing the reservable and non-reservable sites.
Oops, math as a second language. I really did know better.
