Minnesota Classic Glastron Forum

General Category => Iowa Events / Meets => Topic started by: WetRaider on January 11, 2013, 08:59:40 PM

Title: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on January 11, 2013, 08:59:40 PM
I'm starting the legwork for our Rathbun meet.

To those who made it last year - Let's do it again!  Bring a friend.

To those who thought about it - don't miss out this time.

Dates;

June 7, 8 & 9 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

General Information:

Lake Rathbun is located in southern Iowa.  It is a reservoir on the Chariton River, and is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The maintained surface area is 11,000 acres.  With heavy rain, and water levels at the spillway, the maximum surface area nearly doubles to 21,000 acres.  The maximum open water length is 21 miles from the dam to the river headway.  Evenings often bring a glassy smooth surface ... just ask our group from last year.  The lake is rarely busy ... last year's event overlapped a national Crappie Masters qualifier and we wouldn't have noticed without the Marina being crowded for official weigh in.

Speaking of Marina's.  There are two.  The marina's are privately owned.  The Buck Creek Marina has a small hotel, a deep water ramp, plenty of slips, a restaurant & bar, as well as fuel (on water), and a service shop.  The South Fork marina is owned by the same couple, they have fuel, bait, some slips ...

Our group will gather at the Honey Creek State Park Campgrounds.  Do not confuse the Honey Creek Resort with the Honey Creek State Park.  To spell it out, the State Park property is split in two by Honey Creek (hence the name, Honey Creek State Park).  The Resort was recently constructed on the north side of the state park, and the state park campgrounds remain on the south side.  You are welcome to stay where you are comfortable.  This is a great location for being family friendly - the Resort has a small indoor water park, a golf course, a restaurant (a comfortable place, not the greatest food - send me a PM for more details if you'd like to know more), and a bar.  The resort has regular hotel style rooms in the main lodge, they have cottages available in small cul-de-sac situations, and they have fully paved RV stations with full hook-ups.  There is two-lane boat ramp available on Resort property.  The camp grounds last year proved to be comfortable and spacious (Jeff, bring your spikes this time ... I don't want to drag your tent out of the trees again.  ;-) ).  The state park splits their campgrounds into the north campgrounds and south campgrounds - both of these are on the south side of the state park, so don't think your north campground will put you on the resort side of the creek.  The south campgrounds are linear - and individual spaces are marked on both sides of the street.  These campgrounds do have room for RV parking, the northern end of the south grounds were more level if you plan to bring a trailer or RV.  The north side has pull-thru RV lanes on gravel.  All campgrounds offer electricity at each site, the north grounds also offer water hookup.

We will get maps posted so that you can see where these spaces fall in relation to the water & ramps.  There are slips available at the resort, no slips at the campgrounds.  The positive is that the campgrounds have a huge 6-lane boat ramp with courtesy dock.  Ramp fees are included with your state park reservation - the Corps of Engineers charges $3.00 per day for ramp use at their facilities.  All boat ramps are concrete and in great shape.

Reservations:

This event is not organized in the same way as our Red Wing event.  Each member is responsible for his/her own reservation & payments. 

If you'd like to stay at the resort, visit www.honeycreekresort.com (http://www.honeycreekresort.com) ... I had discussed with their groups manager a reduced event rate, but have not received any specifics from him, yet.  Last year they had blocked 10 rooms for us at $109/night with their advertised rate being $169.  You do get 4 water park passes with a room at the lodge.  You do not have to being staying at the resort to purchase admission to their little water park.  The resort property is currently taking reservations as far out as our event, so if this is your choice, please reserve at your convenience.

If you choose to camp at the state park, your reservations cannot be made until March, as they do not accept campground reservations longer than 3 months out.  The website is www.reserveamerica.com (http://www.reserveamerica.com) ... from the main page, select Iowa in the state drop down menu, and type in Honey Creek under the park name box, enter your arrival date and length of stay.  From there, you'll have access to campground maps, etc.  You can select your own space.  As it turned out last year - we had a lot of reservations made, then some switching around so that we could choose our neighbors.  There were some who could not make it, due to various reasons and we had paid for grounds that were unoccupied.  The big boat ramp is almost exactly 1 mile away from the south grounds.  There is a beach on the back side of the camgrounds, visible from the tents, but the Corps of Engineers does not suggest beaching overnight - should someone decide to let water out of the dam, you could wake up with your boat completely out of water.

T-shirts, etc.

I will complete some graphics again, as I did last year, and make a store available through cafe press for t-shirts.  We will have pre-designed t-shirts that you can purchase (this time, I might tack a buck or two "profit" onto the t-shirts to pay for the trophies).  I will also create a post under these events with the graphic files so that if you wish to have your own shirts made or personalized, you can. 

Shall we use Run On Rathbun II, or Return to Rathbun?  I asked Doran the same, privately, and for now I'll keep my opinion to myself ... this is a group event ... let your opinions out ...

OK - that's enough for the first post.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: 75starflight on January 11, 2013, 09:18:06 PM
I vote CGOA's Return to Rathbun
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 11, 2013, 10:32:25 PM
Me and the dolphin (Marissa) will be there!  There's even talk of full family attendance!

Since I like to keep these boat meets as cheap as possible (less chance of the General revoking the weekend pass), I'll be camping like we did last year.

Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: 75starflight on January 11, 2013, 10:36:22 PM
I thought you reserved a Cabin already Doran? Oh well, it will be great having you camping with the rest of us!
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 11, 2013, 10:44:11 PM
No, I didn't...someone else got it before I did.  Its cool, I really liked beaching the boat and walking up to the tent.

I *may* rent an RV for the weekend, but we'll see.  Either way, I'd be down by you guys.

Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: OleRed on January 16, 2013, 09:42:22 PM
me and the Fox are planning on making it this year, as some of you know she has changed jobs, kinda, she is now working for the hospital full time where she was working part time, she has already put in for the time off but she has not got a confirmation yet, it's a much bigger hospital with a Lot more employee's, but she is pretty confident she can get the time off since she has been working there actually for about 17 years.   I'd like to get the same site I reserved last year #106, but as I understand it, we can not reserve the site until May,  is that right ?


Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on January 16, 2013, 09:54:45 PM
March, Red ...
March 7 should open them up ...

Excited to see you!
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 16, 2013, 10:15:02 PM
I'm expecting to be in the same area as last year. 

The farther 'down' the camp area you are, the closer to the beach you are, the farther 'up' you are, the closer to the bathrooms/showers you are...so its a trade off...the walk isn't bad either way.

Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: thedeuceman on January 17, 2013, 10:28:42 AM
I just took a few minutes to look on Google maps satellite view...
WOW, that is a nice looking place.
it looks like spots 115 to 127 are the best, are we going to try to congregate in 1 area ?
i'm still trying to sell Laurie on the camping (she has some issues that make it difficult not staying in a bed) but the resort price is... well im just a "cheep skate", she may sleep in the explorer or ?
either way it will be a blast.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 17, 2013, 11:54:45 AM
Joe - I'll keep track of registrations via the map like we did last year.  Yeah, we generally congregated down the same row.  

My wife isn't a camper either, but yep, Honey Creek Resort is beautiful, and a bit pricey!

Last year's registration map, things changed quite a bit as a few couldn't make it, but we'll try to map it out again:

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EyYcG39izcY/T1L_uQ8tj5I/AAAAAAAAHj8/VuL1qtzQUnM/s640/Campground_reservations.jpg)
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on January 17, 2013, 12:46:17 PM
Joe -

The hotel is expensive.  It is the one thing I would change.  The resort is nice, relatively new ... but the rooms are just a regular ole hotel room.  The trap is, the nearest hotel is about 20 minutes away in Centerville ... an old Villa Motel 60, and a Super 8.  Both of those hotels get quite a few of the crappie fishermen. 

When planning this event for the first time last year, I felt confident the location was good because of the range of accommodations offered.  I view the group as family friendly - we welcome wives (or husbands), girlfriends (or boyfriends), children, pets ... the lake is a good size for some fun running around on the water & it's not heavily trafficked.  The Corps of Engineers has a couple parks with playground equipment & picnic shelters, The resort offers golfing, a nature trail, bicycle rentals, the water park, a protected swimming beach ... the state park has decent facilities for those in RV's, or those with tents.  The showers are good, and there is plenty of room to beach the boats behind the campsites during the day.  You can use slips at the resort if you want to eat there, or visit the bar ... In short, I just hoped that the range of accommodations would tempt a larger group to show up than what otherwise might if it were straight up only tent camping.

Most of us will be in tents - even if we're not cheapskates, we just want to be near the group.  Since you saw the satellite view, you can see there is no bridge connecting the two sides of the state park  -  which means you have to drive around.  If I remember correctly, it's somewhere between 9 and 10 miles of road travel, even though they're several hundred yards apart. 
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: 75starflight on January 17, 2013, 12:50:55 PM
Thanks for putting up the map from last year Doran!

I was trying to remember what spot amber and I had last year. Hopefully we get it again.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 17, 2013, 01:44:30 PM
Yeah, we'd like to camp in the same area to Brandon.  I miss my raccoon buddy.

Joe - You can kind of get a feel for the beach/camping area in this video:

http://youtu.be/KX8cMtayR6I (http://youtu.be/KX8cMtayR6I)
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: thedeuceman on January 17, 2013, 01:49:33 PM
So do you spose there server is gonna have a "melt down" when we all try to get the same few spaces march first at 12:01 am  ;)
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 17, 2013, 01:50:23 PM
So do you spose there server is gonna have a "melt down" when we all try to get the same few spaces march first at 12:01 am  ;)

Not if you wait until 12:05!   ;)
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: iowa cv-23 on January 17, 2013, 08:43:47 PM
Joe -

The hotel is expensive.  It is the one thing I would change.  The resort is nice, relatively new ... but the rooms are just a regular ole hotel room.  The trap is, the nearest hotel is about 20 minutes away in Centerville ... an old Villa Motel 60, and a Super 8.  Both of those hotels get quite a few of the crappie fishermen. 

When planning this event for the first time last year, I felt confident the location was good because of the range of accommodations offered.  I view the group as family friendly - we welcome wives (or husbands), girlfriends (or boyfriends), children, pets ... the lake is a good size for some fun running around on the water & it's not heavily trafficked.  The Corps of Engineers has a couple parks with playground equipment & picnic shelters, The resort offers golfing, a nature trail, bicycle rentals, the water park, a protected swimming beach ... the state park has decent facilities for those in RV's, or those with tents.  The showers are good, and there is plenty of room to beach the boats behind the campsites during the day.  You can use slips at the resort if you want to eat there, or visit the bar ... In short, I just hoped that the range of accommodations would tempt a larger group to show up than what otherwise might if it were straight up only tent camping.

Most of us will be in tents - even if we're not cheapskates, we just want to be near the group.  Since you saw the satellite view, you can see there is no bridge connecting the two sides of the state park  -  which means you have to drive around.  If I remember correctly, it's somewhere between 9 and 10 miles of road travel, even though they're several hundred yards apart. 


Speaking from experience - we stayed in the resort last year - & while a very very nice facility, you are not very near the group, + if you want to hang out in the evening once the boats are put away you're a heck of a drive away.  So, if your a newbie I'd gently steer you towards the campground...just my $.02
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 17, 2013, 08:53:31 PM
You going to have your's ready for the meet Erik?
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on January 18, 2013, 12:35:29 PM
Front of Shirt graphic ... Yea or Nay ?
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: iowa cv-23 on January 18, 2013, 12:59:46 PM
You going to have your's ready for the meet Erik?


yep - "Sparkly's extreme makeover" won't start until after boating season - knowing  my skill-set  :-/  if I break ground now I'll have a 1/2 finished boat for the entire summer.   So, the game plan is to just putz around this summer, gather intel from this team of experts on what to do w/ the motor & how to go about replacing the floor, then break ground right after the Red Wing rally.

Thanks for checking in,
Erik
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: iowa cv-23 on January 18, 2013, 01:00:46 PM
Front of Shirt graphic ... Yea or Nay ?


looks good for the shirt...and my new back tattoo!!!
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: 75starflight on January 18, 2013, 07:02:02 PM
Front of Shirt graphic ... Yea or Nay ?


Looks great Dan
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: MarkS on January 25, 2013, 11:37:28 AM
Dan, did you get the email I sent you a week or so ago?  I'm thinking the Run on Rathbun II event might make a lot more sense for me to try for.  It would shorten the long trip (towing the GT) up north considerably, as I'll more than likely be coming alone.  (I do have a couple brothers still living in eastern Iowa, one may come down to visit while I'm there?)  Since I have no experience on the big river, the lake setting/venue would make me feel more comfortable too.  I'd really like to meet as many of you good folks as possible, maybe I can fly up to the Red Wing meet some other time.  Really want a chance to boat with some of my fellow Glastroholics and get some pics/video of my boat on the water as well.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 25, 2013, 11:53:52 AM
Looks like it can be done in a very long day's drive Mark...I'm toying with arriving Thursday now so I can mess around on the lake with the kids on Friday.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: 75starflight on January 25, 2013, 01:12:06 PM
Amber and I will be there Thursday afternoon for sure. Looking foward to meeting you Mark. Just wish my V-179 and your old V-178 could have been seen together since you don't see too many of that hull type. 
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: MarkS on January 25, 2013, 02:05:09 PM
There was a time when I could leave Atlanta and be sitting in Coggon (north of Cedar Rapids about 20 miles on Hwy 13) 17 hours later.  Of course that wasn't pulling a boat on a trailer, and I would probably need a nap somewhere along the way now days!  Anyway, if I leave here Wed morning I should be up there Thursday mid-day.  Enough time to set up camp and relax a little.  Not sure how much of my camping gear is still up in the attic, pretty sure the tent and sleeping bags are still there.  I'll have to get it down and check it all out ahead of time, of course.

Me too Brandon, very much looking forward to meeting as many of the gang as possible.  I also agree about the Starflites, that WOULD have been too cool to have two of them represented.  (Still kicking myself in the butt for letting it go!)  The GT150 is fun and a little "quicker" ride than my V-178, but that boat had a much smoother, roomier, and more comfortable "feel" to it.  Sellers remorse - ya, I got it.

I know it's still a long ways off, but I'm really getting excited about the trip!
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on January 25, 2013, 03:34:28 PM
Mark,

I did get your e-mail ... and I sincerely apologize for having not responded sooner.  Activity levels in the house lately have been on a high amplitude sine wave ...

I enjoy the lake setting out here, and feel it's very conducive to our group.  The campgrounds are plenty big and there's room for everyone to stretch out.  I didn't have any trouble in the river with my GT150 last August ... but I didn't make the run down to Pepin, either.   The advantage of a river is that there is current ... if you wind up dead on the water, you can at least steer yourself (generally) towards shore.  In the lake, you just bob and bob until someone comes by.  I was smoking pretty bad and kept myself to the rear of our group during the parade to keep from choking everyone behind me with 2 cycle fumes.  When everyone opened up, we decided to not go quite so far - still made a good run downstream & then back up to camp, though.

I think you'll enjoy it, wherever you choose to attend.  The people make it what it is.  We look forward to having you out!

Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on January 25, 2013, 03:51:41 PM
Its definitely your call on which to attend Mark.  The river isn't nearly as daunting as you might think, and its kind of cool to realize you've just gone 20 miles in a boat.  Some year, I'm going to stick around Sunday morning and go through the lock up river with the group.

I think the gt-150 is one of the more popular models at Red Wing, and most make the trip on the river without issue.  The smaller boats generally hang back and let the speed demons race ahead. 

So, I wouldn't be afraid of either meet location Mark...if my 85HP Force/Bayliner can make it...your GT-150 will be just fine.

That said, if you want to be on a lake, then Rathbun is it!
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: Bayflite73 on January 28, 2013, 01:13:03 PM
Front of Shirt graphic ... Yea or Nay ?


Looks great Dan! Red Wing falls on the weekend of my 10th anniversary (8/16) so I doubt my better half will be on board with that.  :( so Rathbun will have to be it for me for the big meet this year!
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: MarkS on January 28, 2013, 03:15:30 PM
I talked to my youngest brother last night, he's definitely up for the Rathbun trip, said it sounded like a great idea.  I may even be able to talk him into bringing his pontoon, would be great as a floating camera / video shoot station.   
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on February 04, 2013, 07:13:36 PM
Ok ...
Made a scouting drive around the lake today.  Water levels are low, but not terrible.  There's a lot of time, still, and it's a Corps of Engineers lake, so they should maintain a boatable level.

I'm thinking that I might want to reserve a picnic shelter on the south side of the lake for Saturday.  We can do pictures mid morning and afternoon - but have some beach time and lunch where a grill is provided.  There were two picnic shelters I looked at in the Island View area.  I'd like to plan on providing a Saturday lunch again - maybe some teriyaki steak skewers and hot dogs.  Or something. 

Option 1 - The larger picnic shelter had a larger playground, too.  A big swim beach (we'd have to beach the boats next to the swim beach, not on it), and a volleyball pit.  Downside was that from the picnic shelter, the beached boats would not be visible. 

Option 2 - The smaller shelter had a small playground - mainly just a couple slides and a "monkey bar" setup.  We could beach boats near the shelter, but they'd be clay beaches - not groomed sand. 

I did take pictures - but the ground is snow covered and lake is ice - I'll get them uploaded a little later and put in here. 

Option 3 might be Bridgeview - there's a big beach suitable for the boats there, and I'm almost positive they'd have a picnic shelter and grill available.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on February 06, 2013, 03:11:42 PM
Any word on the pictures being loaded Dan?

Rissa already asked to go through our camping list for June, so I know she's excited!
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on February 06, 2013, 03:20:09 PM
Doran ... I'm stuck looking for my MicroSD adapter so I can use the SD card slot ...
If I can't find it here shortly, I'll go get a new one ... Pictures up tonight ...
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: dorelse on February 06, 2013, 03:24:18 PM
Doran ... I'm stuck looking for my MicroSD adapter so I can use the SD card slot ...
If I can't find it here shortly, I'll go get a new one ... Pictures up tonight ...

I still don't have an SD adapter...I usually shove the card into an old phone or camera that has the same slot and hook that to the computer. 
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on February 06, 2013, 07:28:37 PM
Alright ... found my adapter.  Had a couple of those memory stick duo adapters, finally came across the MicroSD.
So, here are pictures of the Island View Shelter & Playground.  It's a nice area - swimming beach and volleyball pit ... a little walk to the shelter and playground from the water.

Someone give me a hint on how to copy a Google Maps Satellite Image to my computer on a Mac.  Too many people say drag and drop, but it just pans the map in my browser.  If all else fails, I'll use a camera to take a picture of the monitor ...
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: Hyperacme on February 06, 2013, 07:40:32 PM
Want more ?


(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic2/rathbun_zps27f54d66.jpg)
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on February 06, 2013, 07:49:12 PM
Gregg -
That's awesome - and yes, I need the south side of the lake, near the dam.  You should see a label for Island View ... see a big, groomed, sandy beach ...
How'd you get that image saved?

For those who don't remember, or planning to attend for the first time - you can see the label for Honey Creek State Park - that single road immediately below the label is the South Campgrounds where we'll stay.  The restrooms and shower facilities are in that "bubble" almost midway down the length.  Above and to the right, slightly, is the big 6-lane boat ramp.  Directly across the water from the boat ramp is the resort property ... Like I said, it's just right there, but a 9 mile drive to get to it.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on February 06, 2013, 07:56:32 PM
This is the second picnic shelter ... the beach is not groomed, so it would be clay, but all the boats would be in sight.  I can check the shoreline better without snow and ice ...

The big panorama is taken from the dam, looking back at the shelter ..
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: Hyperacme on February 06, 2013, 08:27:43 PM
Windows 7 has " Snipping Tool " ...
Hard to tell about "sandy beach" from Google Maps ...
Am I close ?


(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic2/iv4321_zpsa0731b1c.jpg)
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: Hyperacme on February 06, 2013, 08:33:13 PM
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic2/beach2_zps68891ed2.jpg)

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic2/beach1_zps528ed2c6.jpg)
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: Hyperacme on February 06, 2013, 08:38:20 PM
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic2/beach3_zpsc7faf979.jpg)
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on February 06, 2013, 08:41:00 PM
That's it ... in your close up, you can see the volleyball net on the bottom right side of the beach.
There are restroom facilities right there by the volleyball area, and restrooms up near the shelter, too.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: 75starflight on February 06, 2013, 09:16:43 PM
Dan, in your panoram picture off the dam of shelter 2 if you zoom in it looks like there is a lot of rip rap showing with the low water level.
Title: Re: Run On Rathbun II - Winter Update
Post by: WetRaider on February 06, 2013, 09:23:53 PM
Brandon - I see it there, and there is some, but it doesn't go all the way around.  That rip-rap is big, nasty stuff - the same big rocks that were on the face of the dam behind us on the beach last year.