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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Roadrunner at Winnebago factory

We had an uneventful night at the WalMart in Sparta, WI. We left yesterday morning and had a beautiful drive through Wisconsin, into Minnesota and to Forest City, Iowa. I didn't realize Minnesota had so many beautiful rolling hills and valleys.We crossed the Mississippi River which looks a lot different than it does in Memphis, TN where I have crossed many times over the years.

We arrived in the Roadrunner at Forest City in time to register for the 1:00 Winnebago factory tour. It was a very interesting place. In fact, Winnebago has the largest motor home manufactoring facility in the world. It kind of reminded me of large (8 football fields large) aircraft assembly plants.
I also thought of the Corvette Assembly Plant tour we took years ago with Kirk & Susan in Bowling Green Kentucky.

Sadly, there were no pictures allowed in the factory. But I was able to take some of the Visitor Center and some of the Winnebago grounds.
We were able to park the Roadrunner overnite at the Visitor Center along with all the Winnebago's and Itascas.

What impressed me most about our time here was the history. The man who was the driving force behind it all (John Hanson) worked with some other men in town in 1957 to bring a trailer plant to Forest City. They were concerned that young people were leaving the area so they found a way to bring work to the area. Years later they are still at it and the largest motorhome maker in the world.

We have also been to other motor home factories: Newmar, Monica and Tiffin.

It was an interesting day. That's all for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles. Be safe and enjoy your summer.

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