We wake to the mournful wail of a throttled back steam whistle. Kent is up and starts the coffee.  Thirty minutes later a much more energetic “toot” of the whistle pierces the morning silence.  Plumes of black smoke darken the skies over the show grounds as more and more boilers are stoked and tended.  A faint chuga chuga and low whistle of a steam train engine add to the sounds.  We are here as the Steam Thrashers Reunion comes to life.

I am served delicious wild blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Thank you Kent!

The forecast is a bit questionable but we head out to check out the engines of every size from 25 ton to as small as a toy tractor. Rain holds off for the 10AM parade but the skies look threatening and we hurry off toward home.  We have timed it about right and are in safe and warm when the skies open up.  It rains hard for just a half hour or so then calms to a drizzle but that is all it takes to make for the really unusual part of the day.

Remember, we are camped in a hay field, right. Well combine a lot of rain and a lot of traffic on a rolling field and guess what you get?  A mud bog.  We are parked right on the main thoroughfare into camp and it is an absolute circus to watch people spinning and slipping up the hill.  A 40’ class A is the first to get the Thrashers Reunion treatment; it is pulled backwards by its hitch up the slope, around the corner and into its camping spot.   Individuals continue to attempt to drive past us spinning and slipping very much out of control.  It is a bit harrowing now and then.  Finally someone decides “no more”.   A half dozen tractors show up and they pull every single vehicle into camp.  Class As, lots of 5^th wheels pickup and all, trailers, even 4 wheel drive pickups.  Crowds gather all around us to watch the spectacle.  It looks like this is going to go on all evening.  How romantic!  It will certainly be a memorable anniversary.