Hope everyone enjoyed their summer and took some vacations!
I checked a drive off my bucket list. My dad and I drove Tail of the Dragon which is an 11 mile stretch of Highway 129 along the North Carolina-Tennessee state line that has 318 curves!! It is a very popular destination for many motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts. We did some research to determine the best days and times to conquer the twisty highway. Driving the Tail of the Dragon on a weekday before 11AM or after 4PM was going to be the least crowded. We also verified there were no gatherings while we were there since many car and motorcycle clubs plan events around this section of road.
We left on a Saturday going through St. Louis and Nashville on our way to a hotel outside of Knoxville, TN. Monday morning we started around 9AM and headed towards the north starting point of the Tail of the Dragon. We happened to get behind a couple of motorcycles which allowed a few cars to get stacked up behind us. After the motorcycles pulled over, I had a clear road. However, with the 318 curves, 30 mph speed limit, and the threat of highway patrol it is very hard to break away from the crowd! After stopping at the picture/tourist stop in Deals Gap we continued east to Highway 28, also known as Moonshiner 28. We then looped south to Highway 143, also known as the Cherohala Skyway with several overlooks of the Smoky Mountatins. We eventually looped back north and headed back towards Knoxville. All the roads were fantastic!
Jim and Jen at Deals Gap with the Tail of the Dragon sculpture.
On Tuesday we started a bit earlier. I wanted to beat more of the crowd. The first day I noticed that there were a few photographer tents at corners. Monday night I looked up the pictures and in each one there was a navy Miata in it. I wanted a picture of our car without another car in it! Success! Ran the whole 11 miles without a car in front of or behind us and got some fabulous pictures of our car. I purposely slowed down around the corners with the photographer tents for them to get a lot of shots. It was difficult for us to decide which ones we wanted to buy! This day we stayed on Highway 129 and ended in Robbinsville before heading east towards the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. In the park we took the Newfoundland Gap Road on our way to the Little River Gorge Road. As its name states, this road follows the Little River all the way to Townsend. Again, all the roads were beautiful!
We headed back home on Wednesday with a stop in Nashville at the Johnny Cash Museum. (I asked a college roommate that has lived in Nashville for years what is something we could see that would only take a couple of hours. That was her recommendation. I knew nothing about Johnny Cash, but now I do!) On Thursday we stopped at Warm Springs Ranch outside of Columbia, MO. This is where Budweiser raises their Clydesdales. It is a fascinating place! If you are ever in the area, I highly suggest you book a tour.
I wish we could make Tail of the Dragon a club drive, but it is a two-day drive just to get there. I would recommend it to anyone that is interested in a place to go where any road you go down will definitely be worth it!
The club only has a few more events on the calendar for this year.
September 10th the club will have a tent and cars at Des Moines Concours d’ Elegance. If interested in volunteering please email Ken Watkins at kenwatkinslaw@gmail.com.
September 16th is the MA Hill Charity Drive.
Starting September 28th is the multi-night Red Wing Drive.
October 14th is the Dragoon Trail Drive. This is our last drive of the season. Be sure not to miss it since it’ll be a few months before there is another one!
Also remember that our holiday party is scheduled for December 9th at Noce in Des Moines. More information and registration to come!!
Please see www.schonesland.com/ calendar for more info and for links to register for the events!!
Jen Scharff President, Schonesland Region of the PCA
April 22 - Mad Warren
May 6 & 7 - Loess Hills to Sioux City
June 9 & 10 - Omaha Cars and Coffee
July 13 to 16 - Wisconsin Drive
August 5 - Brucemore Estate in Cedar Rapids
August 26 - Porsche Track Day at RPM
August 31 to September 4 - Eureka Springs
September 16 - MA Hill Charity Drive
September 28 to October 1 - Redwing
October 14 Dragoon Trail Drive
When: Sept 20 – 24
Where: Ritz-Carlton
Clayton, MO
Website: treffen.pca.org
Make this your Gateway to Rennsport as we head to the trendy suburb of Clayton, MO to celebrate Oktoberfest. About 10 miles west of downtown St Louis, the Ritz-Carlton is our host hotel and launching point to the Missouri Rhineland. Our tours will follow the Lewis and Clark Trail and Route 66 to some of the most scenic destinations along the Missouri and Mississippi River Valleys. You will get the chance to win one of ten early registration spots for Treffen Wine Country at this event. Registration opens on June 28, 2023 Check the PCA and Treffen websites for additional info and follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/treffennorthamerica for latest updates.
“Touring the Missouri Rhineland & River Valley”
Perfect August weather greeted another great Cars and Coffee turnout. 15 cars and over 20 people compared notes on a wide variety of Porsches.
A beautiful summer evening combined with an uber popular west side brewery produced a full parking lot of thirsty Schoneslanders. At the left from left to right: Chris Bump, Kloey Runyan, Competition Chair Bob Eddy and Don Parbs.
From left to right: Klay Kane, Jim Baker, Joe Watton and Shashi Perera.
From left to right: Safety Director Garry Seemann, Dave Hill, Jim Wright and Karen Wright.
I n t ro d uc i n g t h e n e w e s t a l l - e l e c tr i c Ta y c a n . A p e r f o r m a n c e b a t t e r y t h a t l e t s y o u d r i v e t h e w a y a Po r s ch e sh o u l d b e d r i v e n . I c o n i c Po r s ch e d e si g n D N A a p p a r e n t i n e v e r y d e t a i l A n i n t e r i o r t h a t i s t i m e l e s s y e t l i g h t y e a r s a h e a d O n c e y o u fe e l i t , y o u w o n ’ t w an t t o l e t g o
Discover electrifcation at it’s fnest .
Porsche Omaha 6625 L Street Omaha, NE 68117
( 402 ) 504-1510
www.PorscheOmaha.com
© 2023 Porsche Cars North America, Inc. Porsche recommends seat belt usage and observance of trafc laws at all times.
Just like Porsche is dedicated to building the highest-quality cars on the market, Pro-Staff Termite & Pest Control is committed to providing the absolute highest quality termite and pest control services in the industry. Not only do we kill bugs fast, we do it while providing premier customer service and complete satisfaction guaranteed.
Pro-Staff always puts customer satisfaction first. All of the materials we use are registered with the EPA, and we are always careful to apply materials in a safe and effective manner. Our expert technicians look forward to providing you with the level of service you have come to expect!
OUR PEST CONTROL SERVICES INCLUDE:
PESTS
CRAWLING INSECTS TERMITES
BED BUGS
MOSQUITOES
BATS
MICE
MOLES
New to the Schonesland calendar in 2023 was the one day drive to Brucemore Estate in Cedar Rapids. The drive started in Altoona with near perfect weather. Great for topdown driving. We drove the back roads to the Black Sheep Restaurant in downtown Cedar Rapids for lunch. After lunch the drive concluded with a tour of the Brucemore Estate.
Brucemore Estate is a Queen Annestyle mansion built between 1884 and 1886 by Caroline Sinclair widow of industrialist T.M. Sinclair. It sits on 26 acres near the heart of Cedar Rapids. Touring Brucemore is like looking through a window into the past.
The Black Sheep Restaurant was a great find for Schoneslanders.
Left, from left to right: Cindy Scott, Carolyn Torstenson and Emily Hillman.
From left to right: Craig Bassett, Klay Kane, Derrick Luttrell and Ben Nordman.
The Great Plains Region hosted Schonesland for a PCA Experience Day at RPM Auto Park in Omaha. Bob Eddy. Melissa Bremer, Chris Bump, Dave Sly and Don Parbs attended. There were 28 total entries. Seven novice, twelve intermediate and nine advanced drivers took part. The day started out at 7:00 a.m. with registration followed by an 8:00 driver's meeting. The novice group had four instructional sessions in the classroom. Between each session they got to her out on the track with their instructor learning how to handle the track. All in all, everybody got 4 - 20 minute sessions on track in the morning and then another 4 - 20 minutes sessions on track in the afternoon. The advanced and intermediate groups had track sessions all day. It was a great event put on by the Great Plains Region. Everyone had fun and plans on doing it again.
No, the above photo is not a commercial for a teeth whitener. It’s our own Dave Sly flashing his pearlies in his 928 as he prepares for the track.
For those interested, the Nebraska people are doing this event again on Saturday, October 7th. Registration is on their website along with additional information.
This is our inaugural MA Hill Charity Drive to honor Mary Alice Hill and everything she did for Schonesland.
Mary Alice was the first female president of Schonesland. Everyone knew Mary Alice! She was always smiling or laughing or singing! And MA was always wiling to listen or talk to you about whatever. She is definitely going to be missed.
This charity drive will be a poker run format. For those that do not know what that is basically you will be given a route with various stops. At each stop you will get a playing card. You then use your playing cards to make the best (or worst) poker hand. The route you can take at your own pace. So if you want to stop to grab a coffee, you can stop. If you want to swap drivers, swap drivers. You can go as fast or as slow as you want. There are no prizes for who ever gets to the end first though! The only prizes will be for your poker hand!
Each hand will be $25. Each person in attendance that purchases a hand will also receive a souvenir glass per hand commemorating the event. The design on the glass is below!
All proceeds will be donated to Mary Alice’s favorite charity, Big Sisters.
If you are unable to attend or would like to donate more without having to purchase more hands, Schonesland has a Venmo account. @SchoneslandPorscheClub or you can search under Business on Venmo. Be sure to put MA Hill in the comments section so we know what money needs to go to Big Sisters.
Registration is open on Motorsportreg at http://msreg.com/ mahillcharitydrive2023.
Schonesland’s second visit to Red Wing, Minnesota is on September 28th to October 1st, but the remaining 13 rooms at the historic St. James Hotel will only be available until AUGUST 28th, just four weeks from now. This is a very popular area for fall touring and hotel rooms are virtually impossible to get at the last minute.
All the plans are set and you can view all the details by clicking on the link: http://msreg.com/2023redwing
Friday’s scenic fall colors drive in Wisconsin will be a spectacular day with lunch in Eau Claire and dinner at the Jewel Golf Club in Lake City, MN, just 13 miles south of Red Wing.
Saturday presents many options. As mentioned, a number of us will be making an early morning drive to Chanhassen, MN for the Octoberfest Cars and Cofee where we’ve been invited to show our cars with the other German exotics that will be on display among the many extravagant garages and man caves. After that, there’s Paisley Park, (4 blocks away) and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in nearby Chaska. Of course, there are many other places of interest in the Twin Cities to enjoy.
For those who want to sleep in and relax in Red Wing, the day is yours to enjoy until we all meet up for dinner at the SMOKIN’ OAK BBQ house in Red Wing on Saturday evening.
Saturday Red Wing options could be:
. More driving in Wisconsin
. Driving to Winona for lunch and a visit to the Winona Maritime Art Museum. We saw it last year- very worthwhile.
. Exploring Red Wing’s shops, galleries, museums and neighborhoods
For more info, visit www.red-wing.org
More details will be forthcoming in the next 30 days.
QUESTIONS?
Contact Jeff David 515-229-5626 je
.t.david@gmail.com
Vice President John Peeler, Zen Master of twisty roads to Fort Dodge, will lead a pilgrimage to Mineral City in downtown Fort Dodge for lunch. This one day drive is a staple for Schoneslanders and a great conclusion to a wonderful year of driving tours. The drive will loosely follow the Dragoon Trail north. Apparently, in 1835 the Dragoons did not prioritize straight lines because there are plenty of curves in-between Fort Dodge and Des Moines.
Autocross Events held by Des Moines Valley Region - SCCA Registration and information’s available @ www.motorsportreg.com
Sept 16-17Time Trial Track event at Raceway Park of the Midlands
Sept 23-24 Autocross at Valley West Mall, North East parking lot.
October 7Great Plains Drivers Education at RPM.
Helping you rediscover the way you should feel.
Silla and Olygie welcome you to their holistic wellness center. A place where you will have an experience that is completely unique to you.
We are a holistic wellness center: Mind, Body & Soul (not a SPA)
We have been helping people with their therapuetic massage needs for over 20 years and have been recognized by CityView Awards over the years. In 2023, we were rated #1 by ThreeBestRated com for massage therapy
What We Offer:
Deep Tissue Massages
Hot Stone Massage
Energy Enhancement System
Meditation Room (EES)
Couples Massages
Pregnancy Massages
TO CHECK OUT THE NEW daily specials!
Visit us at www.bladesmassage.com
Relaxation Massages
The Migun Bed
LifeWave Patches
Sept 9 Cars & Coffee @ Cozy Cafe, Johnston
Sept 10 Concours d’Elegance (non PCA event)
Sept 16 MA Hill Charity Drive
Sept 19 Drive & Dine Destination Grille, Grimes
Sept 28 Red Wing Driving Tour
Oct 14 Cars & Coffee @ Cozy Cafe, Johnston
Oct 14 Dragoon Trail Drive to Fort Dodge
Oct 17 Drive & Dine @ Americana, Des Moines
• Pictures must be landscape orientation NOT portrait
• Aspect Ratio 4x3 to 16x9
• Remember: “Beautiful land” background
• Submit as many photos as you wish
• Deadline: October 31st
• More details to come on photo submission
• Top 12 photos will be presented in the calendar and top three photos will receive canvas enlargements.
Submit to Ken Watkins kenwatkinslaw@gmail.com
PCA members can now opt in to the digital membership card, available for Apple and Android digital wallets. It’s easy and quick to download!
Once in your wallet, your card is easily accessible when you need it.
2006123456
• Call to Order
• Cars & Coffee Recap/Future Events
• Drive & Dine Recap/Future Events
• Driving Tours Update
• Holiday Party Update
• Financial Report
• Advertising Report
• Competition Events
• Valley Car Show Update
• Des Moines Concours Update
• New Member Update
• Planning Meeting Update
• Website
• Spinner
• New Business:
• Club Record Keeping Discussed
• Schonesland Window Stickers
• Next Meeting – Sept. 26, District 36 6PM if eating, 7PM for meeting
Belinda Nordman