Follow a specific route and answer fun questions. |
What tree is in business here?
SMOKE |
What's in the Container?
DART |
What's in the Container?
FOAM (possible second answer for same question) |
What comes with a truck?
TWO MEN |
What comes to "529"?
BUS or PACE |
Who are the brothers?
VIKING |
Who makes paint for your British car?
PITTSBURG or PPG |
How many rivers are here?
TWO (Someone thought Pittsburgh has Three-Rivers) |
Who is Venkateswara?
SWAMI |
What color are the trees?
GOLDEN |
What's in the river?
LIFE |
Where does safety begin?
HERE (not EXEL) |
Who are #30?
PAINTERS |
Not a British Car.
TOYOTA (2nd non-Brit car sign, but had to be after #30) |
How fast can you get a lube job? -- JIFFY |
How large is the Academy?
PETITE |
Who keeps you well?
LeBEAU (or Beau) |
Name a ridge and a valley.
VERONA ORCHARD (opposing corners of same intersection at Stop) |
What's being restored in the West? -- WETLAND |
As we floated west out of North Aurora and grazed past Sugar Grove, the questions started out easy with words on signs. Then it progressed to requiring multiple signs to answer a single question. Once out of town it came to recognizing antique farm machinery and its function. No one got the word "Dump" in Dump Rake, so it didn't favor or hurt anyone, but it was fun guessing. Most people knew a Windmill would pump water. Amazing how old some things are in small towns and farming country, and we were getting introduced to a different life style.
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Where did the first people live?
RIDGE |
What machine is near the two bottom plow? -- DUMP RAKE (or Hay Rake) |
What machine pumps water?
WINDMILL |
Where does the duck live?
MALLARD LN or
MALLARD POINT |
What's crossing here?
HORSE (or Horses) |
How much is for sale at McCannon? -- LOTS |
What's the number for Bluff Creek? -- 630-556-4808 |
What can you polish on Saturday morning? -- POTTERY |
(No question) |
Who meets on Thursdays?
LIONS |
Who comes after Schoger and Underwood? -- RHOADES |
What's the security for Town Hall? -- CANNON |
Small town USA is immediately fun when there is old and antique everything everywhere (and friendly people too). I was amazed that a 1.5 mile tour of Big Rock took about 45 minutes for four or five of the rally cars. Couldn't figure out if they were lost or just wanted another look at everything, as you can drive the whole town in about five minutes. Turned out that Big Rock Historical Society was one of the youngest items on the whole tour.
|
What's on top of 305?
WIDOWS WALK |
What's English here?
CHURCH |
How old is Big Rock?
176 |
How good is the construction?
ACCURATE |
Who owns the Place? -- ESTHER |
What famous musical is seen at 208? -- HAIR |
Brand of tires, batteries and accessories. -- GILLETTE |
How old is the Historical Society? -- 16 |
What machine is under the Stables? -- SULKY (or Buggy)
(the sign fell down) |
What did Red give to Kenny?
FENCE |
Who's park is it?
PLOWMANS |
Where do you find licensed hunting? -- BEAR'S LN (or Bear's Lane, 2-words req'd) |
Now taking a quiet side road from Big Rock to Hinkley, we are challenged with a dozen questions in four miles. The entire country used to be horse country before we had steam engines and tractors and trucks and cars. There still are lots of horses around, but today more riding horses than work horses. Historically Plowman's Park at Kenny Field is a big deal, hosting a horse drawn plowing contest. As so happens the tractor drawn plows are now obsolete antiques, as farmers have turned to chisel plows, field cultivators and minimum tillage as a matter of efficiency, so the plows are now yard decorations along with steel rimmed wooden wheel wagons.
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What lives on Cottonwood?
EQUINE (or Horses) |
What's in the yard at 435?
PLOW |
What's in the tree at 745?
SWING (or Tire) |
What is the answer?
JESUS |
Who built the rusty tractor.
McCORMICK-DEERING |
First name of the stable.
CABALLERIZA |
What kind of lube-n-oil would your car like? -- DIAMOND |
(No question, but a
cool place for a snack) |
Where can you get your British Car insured? -- BMC |
What kind of moon at BBQ?
SOUTH |
What kind of moon at J&K's?
HALF |
Who is carrying a torch for you? -- LIBERTY |
Touring around Hinkley for a while, the town is a whole mile long, but only a couple of side streets. Too bad "The Best Little Horse House In Illinois" recently closed up shop; I will miss it. The Moon restaurants and antique shops are still there, and the one-lane route through the city park is quite charming if you can find it).
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What's the final score of the ball game? -- 11-9 (trick) |
What color is the Pub?
BROWN
(more fun two years earlier when it was tan with red trim) |
How old is Carl's Oil?
64 |
Who is Lois Lane's sister?
SHARON |
Could Superman steal the trash cans? -- NO
Superman cannot steal; it's against his morals. |
Who played here 84 years ago? -- GLOBETROTTERS |
Who won the ball game?
CORTLAND (trick) |
What color is the wood on the big hill? -- GREEN
(the cemetery is on a big hill) |
What is the span between the gates? -- 46 |
How old is Oak Dale?
156 |
What has four spoke wheels and a bonnet?
COVERED WAGON |
What's under the plow hitch?
MILK CAN |
Next tour leg is a swift trip south from Hinkley to Somonauk, mostly county highway because most of the side roads here are gravel. But there were a few miles of one paved side road, with some nifty historical interest stuff. Then we cruised past Historical Sandwich Fairgrounds on a day when the fair is in full swing.
|
How many years has the Fraser family lived here?
163 |
How many years has the annual fair been held?
124 -- (count the first year and this year, as the fair is going on today). |
How old is the Village?
177 |
What do the Guys sell?
FENCE (or Fences) |
What's in the wagon at 500?
BARREL & WHEEL |
Now many wheels on a Standard wagon? -- THREE |
What's the memorial to Olmstead? -- MUSEUM |
Who's between Doug and Rambo? -- MILTY |
Somonauk again is about mile long, but this time with a few side streets. We find more Antiques, a museum, and a vintage version of the strip mall (stores on both sides of the main highway). The back street on way out of town appears to be the "seemlier" side of affairs, all in good fun.
|
No question, but good food. (Sorry, the BBQ Express was gone to the Fair today). |
How old is the department with the bell? -- 23 |
What can you buy at 130?
FLOWERS |
What does TJ run?
SALON |
What club is high?
GENTLMEN'S
(You have to misspell the answer, just like the sign). |
What does Nelson run in his home? -- CREMATORY
("Funeral" is an adjective) |
What Post is the security guarding? -- 1486 or VFW |
What part of your car will Larson fix? (Hint: No word more than 4 letters long)
-- ALL OF IT |
Sandwich is a substantially larger town, so we slip through a couple of streets on the south edge to save time. Then around the east end of town before heading north again, glance off of the north-east corner of Plano with hardly a notice, keeping to the country roads.
|
Who's driving the hay wagon?
FLOWER POT MAN
(or Clay Pot Woman/Person) |
Who uses the Trails?
HUNTSMAN |
Reed instrument.
WOODWIND |
What's on the wagon?
BUNTING
(or Banner or Draping) |
Who farms trees?
SMITH |
What kind of birds are in the woods? -- JAY (this was a popular pit stop) |
What was here before cars?
STAGE COACH |
(No question) |
After a bit of zig-zagging we pass through Little Rock in one minute flat, true to its name, then heading north-east on Granart Road toward Aurora Municipal Airport (actually passing through a bit of Sugar Grove again).
|
What did Gilbert start 167 years ago? -- CEMETERY |
(No question) |
What does the caddy carry, other than clubs? -- LANTERN |
What corp is in the park?
AERO |
We travel north past the airport, then jog back west a couple of miles before continuing north to Kaneville. Hard to say how big Kaneville is, as it is essentially an intersection or two with a general store a few utility shops, and some more good old houses, but the friendly locals like our old British cars. Claim to fame here seems to be the state Championship athletic teams, in spite of the tiny size of the town.
|
Who lives on a one-way road?
PATTERMANN |
He deals WHAT???
CROWS |
How old is the township?
175 |
How many years were the Knights champs? -- SEVEN (Boys and girls were both champs in 1987). |
How high is the blacksmith?
785
(two different signs here) |
How old is the Colonial?
110 |
Two things to cook with.
(Service) GAS &
(Seasoned) FIREWOOD |
What brand of tractor is on the hill? -- JOHN DEERE (Sorry the tractor was gone today, possibly to the Sandwich Fair) |
After Kaneville we take a the last few side roads available en-route to the blackberry Inn to close out the rally and celebrate a bit. The Jag XK-140 had taken his leave a couple hours earlier from Hinkley, as he had a late afternoon appointment in Chicago, so we don't have their feedback. Six of the seven other Little British Cars (including rallymaster in the MGA) are finished by a quarter-to-five, well within the non-penalty five hour time limit. The TR6 finally arrived about 5:40, slightly more than a half hour past the deadline for the maximum 20 point penalty,but even with the penalty they were not the last place team. One car just slipped over the 100 mile limit for a 4 point distance penalty, while five other cars kept their distance on the slim side of 100. The fastest car in the rally was a real screamer, flying along with average speed of 26.3 mph for 3-1/4 hours, finishing nearly a full hour before the second arrival (and 1-1/2 hours before the rallymaster).
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Who has cider?
GOULD (or Gould's) |
Green bird.
MARTIN (a green sign on Green Road) |
Hybrid fruit trees.
BLACKBERRY MAPLES |
Ah, finally the end.
Time for an ale. |
There were 99 questions with 113 answer words, 2 points each when correct (-1 if wrong, 0 if blank, so 226 possible points. The three best finishers scored, 191, 184, 173, so it must have been a tough enough test this time, and no tie breaker needed. First place team got 88% of the answer words correct, several simply misspelled. There was ample conversation about creative answers to odd questions, but otherwise no complaints voiced, and a good time was had by all, on a day with absolutely perfect weather for a top down rally.
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