Marla stayed home this round. Doug was solo with Pendleton #20, headed toward friends while the trailer picked up a few more shop items — the ordinary business of making a new Airstream feel settled before summer travel.
Private Grass Airpark Retreat in Erie, Illinois was an overnight on the way, not a destination. That suited the place. This is a small grass airstrip, not an airport with a control tower — open turf, a gravel approach, cornfields nearby, and an unhurried feel that starts the minute you turn in.
Pulling in was peaceful and quiet. No engines running, no prop wash, no radio chatter — just level grass and room to back the Pendleton in. Doug set the levelers, opened the door, and let the evening stay simple.
Drinks, as usual, came from the galley: a Banana Chocolate Old Fashioned from the HomeBartender recipe collection — bourbon, banana liqueur, spiced turbinado syrup, chocolate bitters, built the classic way. Hosts were friendly and easy to talk with. Conversation touched on flying, the way it does around a strip like this — Doug’s old hours came up in passing, along with talk of Challenger Aircraft out of Davenport, Iowa and whether anyone was planning for Oshkosh later in the summer. Nothing heavy; just people who like airplanes swapping the usual stories.
Morning was the surprise. Doug woke to a rainbow arched over the Pendleton — full enough to make him stand outside in sock feet and wonder, half-seriously, if that counted as a sign. Maybe for the trailer. Maybe for the trip. Maybe just for a quiet night on a grass strip that asked nothing in return.
Silver Trekker verdict: Erie is a calm Harvest Hosts stop — level grass, low drama, good company if you want it. Solo or paired, it works.
