Thursday, December 1, 2011

2011 Iron Bowl Weekend

On Thanksgiving Day 2011 we left Chewacla State Park and moved onto campus for the Iron Bowl game to be played Saturday afternoon.  Our usual place in the Fish Biodiversity Lab hayfield was already almost full and we were unable to find a suitable space. We pulled Mona onto a grassy, flat spot on Devall Street. Another motorhome and a camping trailer were nearby and across the street, in a vacant field, several others had already set up for the game.
Bad news: We a bit farther away from tailgating activities.
Good news: Plenty of good concrete sidewalks for dog walking.
The sun was bright and temperatures were nice. We went about setting up an outside patio area, taking Ozzie and Lexie for long walks and generally enjoyed being on campus.  Rain is predicted for Saturday, probably beginning around gametime and lasting through Sunday night at least with cool weather following.

Lynn and Helen came down from Birmingham Friday and Lindsey was returning too, to work her stadium boxes for the game Saturday.  We met them at Lindsey's dorm so Wayne could help take a small TV table upstairs for Lindsey.  After, we drove home and waited for them to come out to see us and watch the Arkansas-LSU game.  Wayne bought two game tickets for Cam and Amy from the neighbor in the camping trailer down the street. The afternoon was great fun and we enjoyed good eats. Cam called to say they would stop at a motel for the night and planned to arrive early Saturday morning to avoid gameday rush. Lynn, Lindsey and Helen were gone by early evening and we settled in for the evening.
Helen and Lindsey (the photo crasher)
Helen, Lynn, Wayne (with mouth open) and Lindsey.
We're watching the Arkansas-LSU game.


Cam and Amy arrived later than expected Saturday and we enjoyed a good visit with them before they walked to the stadium for 2:30 kickoff.
Wayne and Cam
Alabama's team was just better this year than Auburn and won the game handily. Cam and Amy stayed only until halftime and watched the second half on tv with us. Before dark they were on their way back home in hopes of getting a day of rest Sunday before returning to work Monday. Their long Thanksgiving weekend was spread across hundreds of miles and I'm sure they were very tired.

The expected rain had not arrived even by Sunday morning. The temperatures were mild and the sky was overcast when we took a drive around campus to see the remains of gameday.  Surprisingly, cleanup crews had made great progress and trash was being managed with efficiency.
Day after. Remarkably clean.

There's a great deal of good organization in the cleanup process.
They have lots of experience.

Where "it all happens"... Jordan Hare Stadium.
Some of our usual favorite spots were visited and we took a few pictures again this year..
The oak trees that were poisoned by a crazy Alabama fan last year.
The trees are expected to die.  Here they are protected from the crowds by a barricade.

Toomer's Corner is a "must" for every Auburn fan and visitor.
Samford Hall and the famous clock tower.


By noon we had pulled away from our site on Devall Street and were on our way back to Chewacla for a few more days.   Lexie's dental appointment at the University Small Animal Clinic will take all day on Wednesday, November 30.  We'll leave Auburn after that.

1 comment:

  1. Hello, my Wife and I are considering going to the Iron Bowl in 2013. My Nephew and his Wife are natives to Alabama and he tells me that I need to go to a Iron Bowl game for the week. Could you email me at stewartfan@mac.com so I can respond with some questions regarding staying in our RV at the University. Thanks, Gene BTW love your blog..

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