Well, I guess we are going to own a campground.

Hey all,


Well not us exactly, but our family.

Bonnie's brother Darrin and her Dad Warren (which several of you know) have decided to buy a campground and lake that is adjacent to there farming property. It is known as Wally World in FM if anyone has herd of it. They have already got the deal done on the timber ground and shelter house/ktichen/rec room deal. Just waiting for the sale of the campground sites and the lake to be released and then they will be buying it also.
Looking forward to it. Could be a great place for us to have an outing. Prices should be right. Sounds like they are going to do some renovation and of coarse I will get involved in making the lake as good as it can be. Its not a big lake but it does have a nice boat ramp and bass, crappie, gills and cats in it now. Bonnie's sister that moved back from AZ is going to run it the way it sounds. Should be a cool adventure.

If anyone remembers during the Elite series event when the storms rolled through in practice and a couple of giant tree's fell on a couple of the guys boats. That was the campground.


So stay tuned. Should make for another good ice fishing spot too. :woo_hoo:

That sounds awesome!

Is it one of those private campgrounds where you have to be a member? Like that place north of West Point we talked about.

That all sounds like a pretty cool deal. Hope everything works out OK, and it becomes a profitable venture! :dollar:

If you are over that way, take a few pictures of the place and lake and post them up. Would be cool to see. That would make a pretty good outing place, with both that lake and the river right there.

hookemhard wrote:

Is it one of those private campgrounds where you have to be a member? Like that place north of West Point we talked about.

That all sounds like a pretty cool deal. Hope everything works out OK, and it becomes a profitable venture! :dollar:

If you are over that way, take a few pictures of the place and lake and post them up. Would be cool to see. That would make a pretty good outing place, with both that lake and the river right there.

I will get some pics as soon as we get to run down and look things over. I have been back to it but its been a while and I really don't remember a lot about it.

Yes, before this it was private and you had to be a member. Not going to be that way now. It is going to be open to public. Park has around 20 sites with electric right now. No water at every site but several places to get water on the grounds. Also has a completely inside shelter/dining area. With a full working kitchen. So if it was cold or bad weather or we were having an outing we would have a great place to do our cooking and gathering.

Also has a ramp to the river very close by. Only thing is the water would have to be at at least normal pool or a little higher to use it. Cause it is very close to "the ditch" area you have heard us talk about. Trav may have even noticed the ramp when coming in or out of the ditch. Its more made for duck hunters and mudd motors though cause your pretty much launching right into a giant lilly pad field. I have launched my boat from it though and the ramp has decent slope.

Also, again we have tons of wheelin trails in the area and can get all the way back to where Becky and Warren live via our trail system. So wheelin is always an option for entertainment at this campground too. Warren pretty much owns every lick of ground from town to the river to there house and this campground is right in the middle of it.

rellison8 wrote:

Also, again we have tons of wheelin trails in the area and can get all the way back to where Becky and Warren live via our trail system. So wheelin is always an option for entertainment at this campground too. Warren pretty much owns every lick of ground from town to the river to there house and this campground is right in the middle of it.

That would be sweet!!

Awesome!

Be fun managing the lake too. Hope it works out well.

Sounds cool Randy, you will have your own playground and lake! Now, you gonna be the park ranger in charge of stopping people from keeping big bass?? :D

Cowboy wrote:

Sounds cool Randy, you will have your own playground and lake! Now, you gonna be the park ranger in charge of stopping people from keeping big bass?? :D

Well, I will wait and see about the lake once I get a better idea of what is really in it for fish and the size. I'd like to set it up 100% catch and release on any bass. However there is no guarantee that would be good for the lake.

I will figure something out though.


Far as how this will play out as I see it. I predict this will become a Hoenig family hang out more than anything. Yes it will have camping for the public and such but for the most part I just see the Hoenig family using it as a place for everyone to gather and get away from things. Several of there friends have campers and I know Warren. He did not buy this place with any interest in making much money on it. It will just be nice to have as a place for the family to gather and have fun, camp, go riding, on the river and this and that. He would have never made this investment if it was about money.

Warren may be one of the roughest, drunkest farmers any of you have ever met. However, when it comes to business, he is as good as anyone I have ever known at getting something for nothing and turning it into big $$$$$. Unless it is just for his family and fun, and that's what I see this as. He blew the money on this deal cause he had it blow, I am sure of it.

Nothing Wrong with that! Should be easier to manage that way.

I have never heard of this place but look forward to seeing it.

Hymes Inc. wrote:

I have never heard of this place but look forward to seeing it.

You never heard of it and you live in FM. WTF!!!

Its down past the old Gaylord Construction shop. Pretty sure you know where that is. It was the old Izzak Walton Club once upon a time. They built a new one of them I don't how many years ago.

Sweet Father in Law!

Sounds perfect on lots of levels for you and the family! I just can't wrap my brain around where it is. Don't think I have ever seen it. Does the river get into it?

Here is the map of where it is. Just on the other side of cryotech is "the ditch" Crytech is the plane de-icer plant if you know where that is.

Campground map!

Well I know where its at but had no idea it was there.

That looks like it will be really fun. Warren still have the inflatable hot tube :P

Yes, he still has the inflatable hot tub. I wouldn't get near it though. I think he calls that thing a bath. :shock:

I am working on a google map that will show you our trails to get all the way back to there house. Its quite a maze but we never have to take a lick of road. We either have to cross under 61 bridges at Devil's Creek or we can ride up closer to there house and cross under the highway in a box style culvert that is barely big enough to fit a wheeler in. Its pretty cool.

Here is a quick look at the map and wheelin trails to get over to the swamp land behind there house.


View Camping Area and wheelin trails. in a larger map

Guess you will have to pull it down toward FM to see the landmarks and routes. Don't know how to change that in the link.

There is also a 3 bedroom home on the property that would need someone to move into it. :D Just found that out this evening. Bonnie's mom was telling telling Warren we needed a bigger place.

rellison8 wrote:

There is also a 3 bedroom home on the property that would need someone to move into it. :D Just found that out this evening. Bonnie's mom was telling telling Warren we needed a bigger place.

That would be awesome Randy. But you would have my dilemma then. We have thought about moving to a newer house, but I don't think you can beat living a block from work!

Finally took the time to look at the map, that place looks pretty cool! When I was working on the subdivision in Ft Madison I would take my lunch and eat at that boat ramp. Never saw a boat or trailer there, it does look pretty shallow. I did find some driftwood there that I have sitting in my yard tho!

Cowboy wrote:

rellison8 wrote:

There is also a 3 bedroom home on the property that would need someone to move into it. :D Just found that out this evening. Bonnie's mom was telling telling Warren we needed a bigger place.

That would be awesome Randy. But you would have my dilemma then. We have thought about moving to a newer house, but I don't think you can beat living a block from work!

Yes I agree. Living so close for both of us now is very nice.

Wouldn't be a huge deal for me since I don't have to buy my gas in the company truck but it would mean more driving for Bonnie which she hates. I don't see that as really being a deal breaker though. We'll see, I am not super excited about moving to a house in the bottoms though. The place has flooded, only in 93 but obviously its been close a few other times and with the way the water is these days, prolly will be in the future too.

That is very true, never thought of the flooding thing. But wouldn't it be nice to be that close to the water, both the lake and the river! :party:

Cowboy wrote:

That is very true, never thought of the flooding thing. But wouldn't it be nice to be that close to the water, both the lake and the river! :party:

Well duh!!

Hard to say what will happen at this point. Gotta make everything final first cause right now he don't own the lake, the bank does. The company that owned all the ground and lake went bankrupt a while back and its still a matter of getting through all that legal crap to where it can be sold. He jumped on the property and got it bought as soon as possible and I think he said about 60 days before the lake property will be released. No reason to believe he won't get it though. Other than a stray house or two he owns everything in that bottom so whoever would want it would be one land locked mofo.

Deal's not a deal till its done though. I know it could make a great ice fishing hole though, with the building's close by and wheeler access. Plus they say guys walk north on that river from that ramp into the backwater up by rabbit island and hammer the crappies. There is deep water back in there and you know these is amazing bass fishing too. However no way to access it by boat. Other than an air boat. You have to basically cross land at one point to get into it and that's tough to do on much other than an air boat. Dude used to commercial fish it with an airboat and do awesome till they found out he was growing dope back in there too and far as I know now he in jail.

Far as I know all of rabbit island was seized in that raid and I don't know who would own it now. Maybe the government. He had a new house built up on stilts out on the island, we sold him the materials. It was a creepy place to drive too though.