Pink Elephant Rally 2025

[CindyL]

2025, June 19 - 22. Pink Elephant Rally

The 2025 Pink Elephant Rally will be returning to the Pike's Peak State Park near McGregor, Iowa. The dates for the rally will be Thurs., June 19 - Sunday, June 22. The park is beautiful and there are lots of things to see and do in the nearby area.

Last year we had a nice group dinner Thursday evening at Huckleberry’s in Prairie du Chien, so we will plan on that again as long as they can accommodate us. We will reserve the stone shelter building for gatherings on Friday and Saturday nights, too. On Friday night, there will be a snack night and wine/beverage tasting. Saturday night will be a potluck dinner. We will also have coffee and light snacks Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings from 7:30-9:00 at our host site (hopefully #39 again).

Reservations for the campground are taken 3 months ahead of planned dates. So, if you want to arrive on June 19, the reservation window will open on March 19. Be sure to plan ahead to reserve your site and maybe even plan to arrive earlier in the week to get the site you want. We intend to get there plenty early! We can't urge you strongly enough to get online when your camping date window (3 months ahead) opens so that you can find a site! Sites are generally back-in standard electric with potable water available at common sites, though there are several pull-thru and full hookup sites scattered around. Here is the link to sign up: Pikes Peak State Park, IA



See you in June 2025!

Kevin and Cindy Anderson, Rally Organizers

 

[CindyL]

Today is the opening of registration being 3 months out from the rally. Pikes Peak State Park, IA

 

[JoanC]

We will be there this year. Gary and Joan

 

[CindyL]

Welcome aboard!

 

[KevinA-ESC]

The Pink Elephant Rally is just around the corner now (June 19 - 22). To help plan for the optional evening supper at Huckleberry’s at 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, we would like to have a tentative count of possible attendees. Huckleberry’s is a nice, family restaurant behind the BP gas station at the corner of highway 18 bypass and Business 18 on the east side of Prairie du Chien (about 15 minutes from the campground). Last year we had about 30 campers attend! If you are planning to join us please let us know ASAP here in this thread (# of attendees/names) so that we can alert the restaurant a few days ahead.

See you all soon! (We know of about 20 people coming to the rally already, but sometimes people are surprise attendees. Letting us know who you are and your site # would be appreciated.)

Kevin and Cindy Anderson, Hosts at site 39

 

[Kari Mastin]

The Pink Elephant Rally is just around the corner now (June 19 - 22). To help plan for the optional evening supper at Huckleberry’s at 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, we would like to have a tentative count of possible attendees. Huckleberry’s is a nice, family restaurant behind the BP gas station at the corner of highway 18 bypass and Business 18 on the east side of Prairie du Chien (about 15 minutes from the campground). Last year we had about 30 campers attend! If you are planning to join us please let us know ASAP here in this thread (# of attendees/names) so that we can alert the restaurant a few days ahead.

See you all soon! (We know of about 20 people coming to the rally already, but sometimes people are surprise attendees. Letting us know who you are and your site # would be appreciated.)

Kevin and Cindy Anderson, Hosts at site 3

 

[Kari Mastin]

We're Kari and Lori Mastin from Rochester, MN. We're in site 12. We'd like to go to Huckleberry's with the group.

 

[KevinA-ESC]

Thanks!

 

[RambleOn]

I have to ask - is this gathering named after the pink elephant of my youth that stood (stands) outside of Marquette on your way to McGregor? I always thought it was way cool but never really knew why it was there.

 

[KevinA-ESC]

Yes, the pink elephant stood at the base of the bluff near the Pink Elephant Restaurant and Motel for many years. The restaurant and motel were sold and torn down when the casino and riverboat were in the works. Since I played piano in the restaurant on weekends in 1981-82, we thought naming our rally after the pink elephant made sense.

 

[RambleOn]

Love it! We’d visit my grandparents near Giard every summer - I was young and never noticed the motel/restaurant. Hope you all have a wonderful rally!

 

[Iowa Dave]

Oops, Drove 572 miles today and am a little crispy.

 

[Iowa Dave]

The elephant is still standing in Marquette. He’s on street level near the casino boat. The pink elephant usually represents hallucinations associated with mind bending intake of certain substances. I’ve never seen the elephants myself although in my younger days I was known to imbibe to excess not becoming to my usual professional and stoic personality. “Hold my beer and watch this comes to mind.”
Giard is still there too.
In fact if you want to take a drive with a goal of “a blast from the past”, visit Froelich tractor museum, Protovin meat locker, Bily Brothers clock museum in Spillville, where Anton Dvorak wrote The new world symphony, and then slide on up to the dog friendly brewery south of Decorah called Toppling Goliath for a flight and an entree from their menu.
For your anthropology dose, the Effigy Mounds National parks facility north of Marquette will connect you to Iowa’s native Americans from the Woodland culture.
Iowa Dave

 

[JoanC]

The Pink Elephant Rally is just around the corner now (June 19 - 22). To help plan for the optional evening supper at Huckleberry’s at 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, we would like to have a tentative count of possible attendees. Huckleberry’s is a nice, family restaurant behind the BP gas station at the corner of highway 18 bypass and Business 18 on the east side of Prairie du Chien (about 15 minutes from the campground). Last year we had about 30 campers attend! If you are planning to join us please let us know ASAP here in this thread (# of attendees/names) so that we can alert the restaurant a few days ahead.

See you all soon! (We know of about 20 people coming to the rally already, but sometimes people are surprise attendees. Letting us know who you are and your site # would be appreciated.)

Kevin and Cindy Anderson, Hosts at site 39

Gary and Joan Carmichael would like to join you for the Huckleberry dinner. We are on site 49.

 

[Ron in BC]

Glad someone asked about the name.

Ron

 

[CindyL]

Glad someone asked about the name.

Ron

Like Kevin said, he played in the Pink Elephant Supper Club, now the casino, in the 80's. In front of the supper club was a fiberglass pink elephant named Pinky, and he is still in Marquette, just up the road from McGregor, the town nearest the rally. Hence, the name.

 

[Steven M]

Steven and Anita are up for a group dinner. We're in site 38. See you all soon.

 

[Iowa Dave]

Lokking Forward to catching up Steven and Anita.
Iowa Dave

 

[RambleOn]

Wish we could join you all, maybe next year. Say hello to the Pink Elephant for me.

 

[CindyL]

And Huckleberry's Restaurant response was, "Oh, sure. We can handle it." Same lady as last year.

So Thursday night Huckleberry's is on at 5 PM.

Cindy