Where are Cheryl and Dennis?: 2017 Heartland Owners Rally Goshen Indiana

Sunday June 11 thru Sunday June 18 - Goshen Indiana

This past Sunday we returned from spending a week in Goshen Indiana at the Heartland Owners Rally. The event was held at the Elkhart 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen. The rally is for owners of any type of Heartland RV and included seminars, a vendor building, group get-together and factory tours. This is the second time we have been to this rally. The last time was in 2015. Being newbies at the first rally we were very busy trying to see and do everything. This one seemed a little more relaxed.

We arrived on Sunday June 11^th after an uneventful drive from Campbellsport. Dennis woke up early and we were on the road by 4:00. This helped to avoid a lot of traffic in Milwaukee and Chicago. The first official day of the rally was not until Tuesday when the seminars and vendor building opens. We spent Sunday and Monday meeting up with old friends and meeting new.

Tuesday we spent the day attending rally events and seminar. Wednesday we took a drive to see some things in the area. In Shipshewana I found a place that sells solar equipment. Dennis is interested in using solar to charge the pontoon battery. Wellspring Components supplies solar equipment to the Amish in the area. In addition to the solar they also sell a wide variety of grills and outdoor cooking equipment. Dennis purchased a 20 watt solar panel and a controller. He may have been able to get it cheaper on line but was happy to be able to see and feel the items before he purchased.

Also in Shipshewana is Eash Sales. This place was huge with several buildings selling home decor, cooking equipment, outdoor furniture made from colorful plastic wood, sheds and cabins and bulk grocery items. We admired the outdoor furniture and purchased a few items from the grocery store. They also had a beautiful Clydesdale mare “on display”. We chatted with the Amish fellow that was her keeper for the day.

From there we headed to BonneyvilleMill County Park to see the working grist mill. The Mill is on the Little Elkhart River in a park maintained by Elkhart County. We spent about an hour at the mill talking to the docent and watching the mill run. I also purchased 2 Ibs of fresh ground corn meal. It should be wonderful the next time I make spoon bread.

We spent the rest of the week attending rally events as well as had service work done. Heartland, MORryde, Lippert and MCD Shades all had service teams at the rally. We had a couple of issues looked at including a squeaky slide, a broken recliner and had our shades adjusted. We had all of our issues fixed at no cost to us. Awesome! Also purchased new Glowstep steps for our fifth wheel from Torklift. When not used the steps occupy the same space as our current steps. They can be extended to fit various ground heights at your door and have legs that extend to the ground to provide stability. They are being shipped to our home. I will provide a review once they are installed.

The fairgrounds has a half mile dirt track used for sulky racing. Friday and Saturday we were treated with Trottingbred races. The Trottingbred Horse was developed in the early 1960's by crossing Welsh, Hackney, and Shetland Ponies with full Standardbred Horses for their speed. The cross created a very versatile horse willing to do anything asked of it. In 1977 the Trottingbred officially became a recognized breed of horse by the American Horse Council. Today, they are primarily used for Harness Racing in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, and Italy, but are also used for trail riding, driving teams, horse shows, and pulling Amish Buggies. The ponies were fast and cute to boot!

Where we are parked: Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds, Site 282, $25/night, water, 50 amp electric and sewer. This was the rally rate which included some meals and tours. The normal public rate is $23/night for water and 30 amp electric and $30/night for water, sewer and 30/50 amp electric. They also offer weekly and monthly rates.