Found: Awesome New Event Site!
Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 9:18 pmThe Frozen North hosted Melcaorme XI at a new site this year and it was the best event site I have ever been to. Until very recently it was the Winnebego Scout Reserve, but the Boy Scouts have just sold it to Floyd County (Iowa). As a former Boy Scout camp, it is perfectly set up to handle events with large numbers of campers.
A brief run down of the amienities are:
-A large fighting field located smack in the middle of the site.
-Very nice private camp sites with cabins, fire rings, and picnic pavillions.
-Modern shower/restroom facilities located directly on the fighting field, in the middle of the campground.
-A large indoor dining hall with a commercial grade kitchen.
-A variety of themed camp sites, including (I **** you not): Hobbit Town. Yes, you can sleep in Hobbit holes.
-A large central fire/ampitheater area with a large fire pit and stadium style seating.
-Good driving access to all the camp sites.
-It is large enough to handle our largest event of the year easily.
-There are enough cabins, pavilions, and dining shelters to keep EVERYONE dry during wet weather.
For all of the pros, there are a couple cons. The biggest one is that, yes, it is in Iowa (gasp!). It is located near the town of Marble Rock, Iowa in Floyd County. It is about 4 hours from Madison, 5 hours from Bloomington & DeKalb, 6 hours from Champaign, and 27 hours from Bend.
The other possible downside is that it just became a county park and they may eventually decide to change some the features that make it such a great location for us. It is my strong recommendation that if we think we might want to hold one of our larger events there, that we write to the county soon and indicate our interest. They have a survey up on their website right now soliciting opinions on what the best use for the property might be. I think if Belegarth and other organizations that might have a use for a similarly equipped campground wrote to them to explain our interest, we might stand a chance of them preserving some of the features that make it so attractive. Please take a look at some photos of the site and talk to your realm mates about how far you would be willing to drive for a great event at a really stellar site.
Link to a photo album of the park on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/? ... 041&type=3
Link to the survey on the Floyd County Conservation site about the future of the park (Tosanak Survey, top of page): http://www.fossilcenter.com/
Please look over the photo album and let me know what you think! I know many Illinois fighters are not accustomed to traveling so far for an event, but the site really is the best site I have ever been to for a Belegarth event, and that is worth a little time in the car!
A brief run down of the amienities are:
-A large fighting field located smack in the middle of the site.
-Very nice private camp sites with cabins, fire rings, and picnic pavillions.
-Modern shower/restroom facilities located directly on the fighting field, in the middle of the campground.
-A large indoor dining hall with a commercial grade kitchen.
-A variety of themed camp sites, including (I **** you not): Hobbit Town. Yes, you can sleep in Hobbit holes.
-A large central fire/ampitheater area with a large fire pit and stadium style seating.
-Good driving access to all the camp sites.
-It is large enough to handle our largest event of the year easily.
-There are enough cabins, pavilions, and dining shelters to keep EVERYONE dry during wet weather.
For all of the pros, there are a couple cons. The biggest one is that, yes, it is in Iowa (gasp!). It is located near the town of Marble Rock, Iowa in Floyd County. It is about 4 hours from Madison, 5 hours from Bloomington & DeKalb, 6 hours from Champaign, and 27 hours from Bend.
The other possible downside is that it just became a county park and they may eventually decide to change some the features that make it such a great location for us. It is my strong recommendation that if we think we might want to hold one of our larger events there, that we write to the county soon and indicate our interest. They have a survey up on their website right now soliciting opinions on what the best use for the property might be. I think if Belegarth and other organizations that might have a use for a similarly equipped campground wrote to them to explain our interest, we might stand a chance of them preserving some of the features that make it so attractive. Please take a look at some photos of the site and talk to your realm mates about how far you would be willing to drive for a great event at a really stellar site.
Link to a photo album of the park on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/? ... 041&type=3
Link to the survey on the Floyd County Conservation site about the future of the park (Tosanak Survey, top of page): http://www.fossilcenter.com/
Please look over the photo album and let me know what you think! I know many Illinois fighters are not accustomed to traveling so far for an event, but the site really is the best site I have ever been to for a Belegarth event, and that is worth a little time in the car!