The Heartland LTV’ers Fall Rally was held September 17-20, 2024, at the COE Prairie Flower Recreation Area near Polk City, Iowa, with 26 LTVs and 50 people in attendance. The group site at Prairie Flower Rec Area turned out to be lovely, with two circles–one circle accommodating 14 LTVs and the other hosting 12. The walking areas to the group shelter were well groomed, contrasting the surrounding natural prairie, which had various wildflowers and tall grasses.
This offered the group camping area an appreciated amount of privacy. It was a beautiful fall setting with warm weather, but each day, it brought a gentle breeze strong enough to keep the bugs away, making it a perfect setting for our fall rally in Iowa.
There is always something you can glean while at a Heartland Rally, whether it be a one-on-one with a fellow owner, a presentation, or a show and tell. The following classes were held: Do It Yourself RV Maintenance and All About RV Inspections with Win Semmler. Winterizing your RV by Rob and Kelly Westphal, Using Your Oven in Your RV by Anita Reid, and Weighing your RV, Starlink, and Trip Planning by Ken Johnson. The show-and-tell roundtable is always fun and introduces many new ideas on products that support our RV lifestyle, led by Angie Kramer and Pat Reid.
Food brings us together, and what better way to enjoy our first evening meal after a long day of travel than a BBQ meal made possible by Schaaps RV Traveland, Sioux Falls, South Dakota? We sincerely thank Schaaps RV Traveland for their generosity and financial support for our Fall Rally. The remaining meals, snacks, etc., were made possible with the financial support of Leisure Travel Vans, which we greatly appreciate. Without their support, we would not have been able to hold these rallies.
One of the rally’s highlights was a breakfast meal that was put together and baked by volunteers from the afternoon cooking class–a scrumptious egg bake and cinnamon rolls.
Another cooperative meal was a cream can supper, where everyone helped to prepare the veggies and put them in a cream can, which was cooked and served for supper. We had so many potatoes left over that we enjoyed the leftovers the following day for breakfast.
The group gathered for the annual business meeting with reports given by Ken and Kendra Johnson, and Angela Kramer. The Heartland Club decided to increase our Rally fees from $10.00 per RV to $10.00 a person beginning with the 2025 Spring Rally in Branson, Missouri. Ken and Kendra shared with everyone that they have been leading the Heartland group for two years and would like to add co-leaders who could support and assist in planning and organizing future rallies. If you’d like to learn more about this, please let us know if you would like to pursue this adventure!
Evenings are always special with a campfire, but one evening was extra special because we viewed a super full moon and a partial lunar eclipse with friends around a campfire.
The final evening featured a gift giveaway of items provided by Leisure Travel Vans, including apparel, accessories, and products from the online store. Also given were pot strainers from Arlig.
All in all, it was informative but relaxing. It was a time to play games, go on a bike ride, and have wonderful conversations with old friends and new ones. Thank you to everyone who attended, which made this a very special event with our LTV friends!
A big thank you to Patrick Reid for all the pictures!
Until our next Rally–best wishes to all!
Written by: Kendra Johnson
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