Location: Riverview Ranch and Resort in Galena IL
Click Here for directions.

Host: Roger and Sabina Burton
Roger is the third of five sons of Floyd and Elinor (Tilley) Burton
Floyd’s siblings listed in order are: Irene, Myrtle, Jim, Mary, PeeWee, Richard, Maxine, Dorothy, Floyd. Roger’s grandmother passed away and his grandfather remarried and had four more children. I do not know all of them but Geraldine was one of them. Anybody know who the others are?
Roger’s Mom, Elinor, was Pauline Tilley’s oldest child. I don’t remember all her siblings names but they include Elinor, Richard, David, Steve, Margaret, Eddie. Somebody help me with the other names.
Sabina and I own and operate Riverview Ranch and Resort as a business. We rent apartments, give pony rides, offer canoe/kayak tours etc. We expect to be pretty busy this summer but we have blocked all our business for the weekend of June 21-23 so we will have time to host this family reunion. We intend to make our offerings available for our family for no charge while you are here. Look through the pages of this website to see what we offer. There are safety rules – please follow them. We want everyone to be safe. We also want everyone to have fun, get dirty, and enjoy our animals and the beautiful nature around us.

No Pets

We love animals but please do not bring any pets onto the ranch. Our animals are all very friendly but they get excited if someone brings a new pet over. Dogs that have never seen a duck or horse will want to bark and chase it. Our dogs have been trained to leave them alone but will get excited if a new dog barks and chases the other animals. Sorry, please, no pets of any kind, no matter how well behaved. Please, please, please watch for our little dogs as you come and go in the parking lot, especially backing up. Thanks.

Transportation

The closest airport is Dubuque Regional airport (DBQ). It is about 45 minutes drive away. Someone can pick you up if you fly into DBQ. If you cannot get a flight into DBQ you can fly into Chicago O’Hare ORD, or Midway MDW airports. It is about a 2.5 hour drive so I can’t really get away to pick you up. You can rent a car. It might be a good idea to let me know your flight numbers and times of arrival and which airport you are coming into. If we have relatives coming into the same airport at the same time maybe we can carpool. I will put names/dates/ETAs and contact info on this page so you can hook up with relatives if you want to carpool.

Liability Waiver

We want all of our family guests to understand that there is risk involved in being around horses and in participating in the activities we offer. For this reason, and because it is an insurance requirement, we ask that all adults who come on our property or use our equipment to sign the same waiver our business customers must sign:
Liability waiver-Horse-n-Pet.
Liability waiver-Boats.
You can either print, sign and bring a copy with you or sign a copy when you arrive. We keep paper copies here.

Schedule

I have not set up a hard schedule. I think we can figure that out as the time gets closer. Let me know your ideas about when we should do what. Below are some thoughts and local attractions.

Horseback/Pony Rides and Petting Zoo is available when Roger and Sabina are available to make sure everyone is safe. Normally we do these events at 9 am or 2 pm. We limit the number of people in the horse enclosure to 6 at a time. Each child must have a parent/guardian with them. Everyone who rides a horse must wear a helmet. If you want to meet the critters just ask Roger or Sabina. If we are not too busy we’ll take you to meet them.

Canoe/kayaks are available for relatives who want to take them out. (no charge)

Campfires are available any time the weather permits. Just let Roger know when you want to have it. We have a grate to go over coals for barbeque and we also have a gas barbeque grill. I like to sing songs and tell stories around the campfire. It is a great way to get your kids to practice public speaking. Maybe you have a scary story you can tell? Also, Dad Jokes are fun. Maybe we can have three or four small campfires and the best story teller from each fire get to tell their stories again at a big gathering.

The Great Galena Baloon Race will be during the reunion. If you want to take a ride on a hot air baloon this will be your chance.

CORKLESS IN GALENA Wine Festival on Saturday June 22 from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Visit the city of Galena. At some point everyone should spend some time browsing the shops in Galena. Just plan on walking down main street to see this quaint tourist town.

Branding Iron:
We have Bunyan Burton’s Lazy B over B branding iron. If you would like to brand a piece of leather or block of wood we can heat up the iron in a campfire. Let me know if this interests you. Bring something to brand or use a block of wood we have here.

Cost

I will put up a donation jar in the lobby. Just give what you feel is appropriate. We’ll use the donations to pay for food and expenses.

Food and Drinks

At some point we think a catered Mexican meal will be nice. Our favorite restaurant in town is Los Aztecas.

We have barbeque grills and a grate to go over a campfire. So, we can cook chicken or steaks etc. We can have hot dogs and S’mores too. BYOB There are two grocery stores in Galena. Piggly Wiggly (15 minutes away) and Walmart (17 minutes away).