Here and There

Scott and Jackie's Travels – Thousand Trails Reviews, Campground Reviews, Fulltime RVing, European Travel

Tag: Ilinois

Review: John Deere, Moline, IL

grscott

We went to Moline, IL this afternoon and visited some of the John Deere facilities in the area. In 1848 John Deere moved his plow manufacturing business here from Grand Detour, IL. It has expanded to become an International organization with manufacturing and marketing facilities around the world. We wanted to take the factory tour but they were completely booked for the day so we went to the John Deere Pavilion and Store. The Pavilion has some antique tractors including the Waterloo Boy tractor with metal wheels and ran on Kerosene. They had a wheat harvester, forestry equipment as well as an autonomous tractor that uses GPS technology. The store is in an adjoining building. It has toys, games and clothing with John Deere logo including cute pink shirts and hats for the girls.

We finished there and drove down River Road along the Mississippi River. The water taxis and paddle wheelers were not running today because the river is at flood stage but not into the road at this time.

Deere & Company World Headquarters on One John Deere Place is a beautiful building designed by architect Eero Saarinen. It is set in wooded surroundings and is beautiful. In the lower level there are more antique tractors and plows along with heavy equipment and large harvesters. I am amazed at the size of the some of the equipment used now when compared to the old tractors and plows that were pulled by horses or oxen. We saw the golden plow that was at various World fairs and trade shows. Along one entire wall the history of the Company is shown with other historical memorabilia starting in the 1800’s.

We had a lot of fun visiting John Deere and recommend it as a great place to spend an afternoon.

Campground Review: Sunset Lakes Resort, near Moline, IL

grscott

A few miles east of Moline, Illinois just off of I88 is Sunset Lakes Resort. We’ve had just a short visit here before moving on to the central part of the state. We are at this resort as members of RPI (Resort Parks International) so our price is quite reasonable. The primary draw of the resort is a pretty lake and pond. The sites are standard size for a commercial park and the sites, in fact, the entire property is quite level.

There’s a great pool and activity center that has a small store, a grill, laundry, and workout center. We’ve enjoyed the plentiful shade and have taken several leisurely walks. The park has many seasonal residents who have made various improvements to their sites. However, it was no problem finding a good site.

Again, the site sizes are fairly standard for a commercial park and had we had neighbors on either side of us it would have felt rather crowded. As it was there happened to be no one on either side or behind us, so the site felt comfortably big.

The resort is bounded by the lake on one side and then large fields of corn and soybeans on the other sides. This is farming country and the fields feel just right for this part of the world.

The resort has good WiFi but they charge extra for it. I have a pretty good 4G signal and I’ve been using it for a reasonably fast connect. They offer 50 amps for an extra price.

I can see why area people might want to make this a destination camping spot for a family camping trip. For us, it has been a pleasant three day stop.