Thanks, Lane. I was about to say the same thing. I should mention that the 9 includes me.
It is no longer a couple of weeks away. I plan to head that way Saturday. If there is still a high probability of rain in the forecast I may not drive the Speedster.
@Lane Anderson how about a current list of attendees?
No changes since the last list, at least to my knowledge, Mike.
Let's give it a bit and see if folks respond. I have some of their phone numbers in my phone, but I hesitate to forward without permission.
My wife (Thatsana) and I will be attending.
OK, I just thought that if the list was reposted people wouldn't have to search through the thread until they find it on page 5.
@Michael McKelvey - Here you go.
I put together a list with a few caveats.
Add my wife Patti to list - I did provide Mike my email/cell phone via a PM
Tom Blankinship posted:I won’t be coming.
>
Tom, he's the new Gerd......
It's Luebbert, Lane, so UE!
PM to Mike with cell number.
So @Lane Anderson are you actually committing now?
My wife Chris will be joining me for dinner on Thursday. No cruises. (ue)
an east coast Gerd, who woulda thunk it
barncobob posted:an east coast Gerd, who woulda thunk it
Heck no, he's in Dearborn MI area. He visits the east coast.
WOLFGANG posted:Add my wife Patti to list - I did provide Mike my email/cell phone via a PM
Wolfgang, gotcha covered for Thurs Night---and everyone on the list Lane just posted. We can get a final count Thurs morning, 9/27. Except for the usual late summer rains mixed with sunny days, the Maggie Valley/Asheville area should be high and dry.
DannyP posted:So @Lane Anderson are you actually committing now?
Still tentative, but not due to the dogs. Pam's mother's stroke is the wild card here. I think I can work it out, but I won't know for a couple of days. I may be able to combine some time in Asheville with some time in Maggie Valley.
I’d be honored to be known as Midwest Gerd, although it sounds like a digestive tract problem :-)
Bam! there's your new band name!
DannyP posted:Bam! there's your new band name!
LOL. That’s probably what we’ll sound like, but I’m pretty sure we’re taking their name. The singer is Lisa and the band is called Belisima.
Ciao, Belisima.
On Friday is the Dragon/ Cherohala loop. Some wish to drive back to Maggie Valley after traveling west on the Dragon. These folks will go back east through the Dragon and then back to the hotel or lunch or whatever. The rest of us will continue to the Cherohala. 9 miles west of the Dragon is Dragon Pitt BBQ. I thought we would stop there before venturing on to the Cherohala. Folks heading back to Maggie Valley could also join the rest of us for lunch at Dragon Pitt BBQ. It only 9 miles west of the Dragon. We will probably still stop at the river just west of the Dragon to game plan.
Gentlemen (and Cory), really bummed that I will not see you next weekend as I will be attending Rennsport (a mega PCA event) at Laguna Seca on the left coast. A trip with you guys is always a blast. Seeing that Cory, Lane, Leon, Ron, etc will be in attendance, I know it will be great fun.
Perhaps I will monitor the NC Highway Patrol FB page to see what you guys get into ?!?!
Thursday's "Rattler Run" is pretty short-- Google Maps says it's about 75 minutes from the Maggie Valley Creekside Inn up to Hot Springs.
There's a diner next door to the Inn, so I would assume everybody will waddle over and back in little groups. Leon will be up, dressed and ready to go at 4:15 AM, and I'm pretty sure Jeanie will skip the whole thing altogether. There is no formality to grits and sour-dough toast, so find somebody you'd be OK spending an hour with over bad coffee, and get-'r-done.
We'll probably leave base-camp around 10:00 AM or so to accommodate Cory's need to replace something on his car (a part that won't fit, doubtless) in the parking lot. Lane's lonely dachshunds should have plenty of time to stretch their stubby little legs, assuming Lane can make it to his own party.
Everybody should have time for their morning constitutional, to go for a brisk run, get gas, properly air up the tires (22 psi? 22-1/2 psi? whatever it takes), dial in more rebound on their shocks, re-jet their carbs, defragment their hard-drives, get propane for the camp-stove, buy c-store fountain pops and Red Bull, purchase bottle rockets, re-string their banjos, and stow the K-rations and fire shovels.
Leaving on the first day is like herding cats, but we'll try to have it all together by mid-morning.
There's a couple of bar/grill-type places in Hot Springs. I would assume it's going to take a group our size a bit to find our places in the world, and eat our fill of onion rings and greasy food. I'd suspect we'll be ready to pull out at 1:30- 2:00 PM.
Last year, we just ran The Rattler in reverse, which was great. That'd put everybody back in their rooms around 3:00 PM. If our time looks OK, I may try another route back to the stable, because I hate to backtrack. If we're pressed for time, we'll just head back the way we came. I want everybody to have a chance to get cleaned up for the evening. I'll work on this over the next week.
Regardless, this will give everybody a chance to have the menservants brush their tuxes and wipe down the spats for the big night out in Asheville. We'll laugh, we'll cry, we'll be moved. We'll tear up the town, wining and dining and carrying on till all hours of 7:00 or so, at which point we'll head back to Lane's Campfire 'o Love and Storytellin'. With any luck, I will have drifted off to nod by 10:00 or so.
The next day, Doc Luebert is charge, and there'll be no such lollygagging and carrying on. The Dragon and Chernobyl Meltdown Loop will allow no such tomfoolery. We'll need to leave quite a bit earlier.
... but you are all coming to drive, no?
Yes. If'n ahm comin', ahm comin' ta drive!
FYI - The pups are no longer involved. If I can make it the dogs will be in doggie jail.
Yup. Friday we really need to be pulling out by 9am. It would be nice if folks were gassed up before we head out. We can gas up again at the gift shop at the base of the Dragon or half way between the Dragon and Cherohala. Friday will be a long day for those committed to doing the loop. But it will be a fun (driving kind of) day. 
Tom is on the north coast.
There is a Quality Plus gas station just East of the Creekside about a mile or so that has ethanol free 93 octane. Just in case someone is looking.
I filled up there on the way in to meet you guys last year.
What time does everyone want to start on Saturday? I think we started at 9am last year. And who are going to sacrifice to the rain god?
And we thought it only rained during Carlisle. 
Yeah, see-- that's not so good.
“...And who are going to sacrifice to the rain god?”
i made my suggestion a couple of pages back.
Its going to look like this.
So do you dance around the fire pit clockwise or counterclockwise to prevent rain? The naked part is a given.
“The naked part is a given.”
Uh, Greg, you DO remember that most of us aren’t young anymore, don’t you? You really don’t want to think what that would look like.
Greg is just a free wheelin' kind of guy!
Listen, I have to hear all this weather crap every year on the Carlisle thread.
The point is, thunderstorms and/or rain has been forecast EVERY DAY all summer there, isn't that what Carlos said?
As we get closer, there is more certainty of what it should be like. Why don't we all wait until next Tuesday to panic?
If you were going to call the hotel and cancel, you can do so up until 3 p.m. on Tuesday if your reservation starts Wednesday afternoon. I'm thinking you've got a whole week to fret and get your panties in a bunch before you may have to make the call.
We're coming. I don't care what the forecast is, short of another hurricane turned tropical storm next week.
Damn straight, Danny! Since all the potential roadblocks appear to have been removed from my trip I will be there rain or shine, but I will be in a tin-top car, so there's that. While the weather may not be picture perfect for the whole gathering like it was last year, some nice weather is guaranteed.
DannyP posted:Listen, I have to hear all this weather crap every year on the Carlisle thread.
The point is, thunderstorms and/or rain has been forecast EVERY DAY all summer there, isn't that what Carlos said?
That is what Carlos said.
He also said that the weather up there has been highly unusual, and that it has indeed rained nearly every day. I believe the Maggie Valley is at 2x the average rainfall for the entire year already (in September).
The reason everybody talks about rain at Carlisle every year is because it rains more often than not in Pennsylvania in May. I love driving my car, but there is no joy in driving a Speedster, through the rain, top up (for 2 days), to sit in the rain, to drive home through the rain, top up (for 2 more days).
That’s why this particular event has been scheduled where/when it has. Rain really does make a “driving” event into an ordeal, rather than a vacation. Keeping a watchful eye on the sky is a legitimate exercise.
You are free to do as you wish. I’ve said from the beginning that a life-threatening illness or a high probability of rain are the only two things that would keep me away.
Right now, we’re at a 50% probability every day. That will likely shift a bit as the time approaches. If it stays there, I’ll risk it. If the probability increases, I’ll revaluate.
Maggie Valley is not very far from where I live. It indeed has been the rainiest summer in memory. However, it’s not unusual to see a forecast of rain in the south during the summer. It just goes with program. Unless we have a major system heading our way, I would take any forecast this far out with a huge grain of salt.
BTW, the weather has been typical for the last couple of weeks. Beautiful in the morning and hot in the afternoon. No rain.
Driving in the the rain sucks. A very modest investment in a trailer was the one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.
Rainstorms, bonfires, human sacrifices, banjos, dachshunds?, parts that don't fit...
I am going to be missing so much. 
(Except for the naked dancing, that is...)
"(Except for the naked dancing, that is...)"
Yeah, ewwwww! 
Stan says "there is no joy in driving a Speedster, through the rain, top up (for 2 days), to sit in the rain, to drive home through the rain, top up (for 2 more days)."
I feel the same way. But, we are coming no matter what the forecast. If the precipitation probability stays at 50 or 60 I won't drive my Speedster. Then I will feel really bad if the sun is out. I have to decide by Saturday morning since we are coming early.
The nude dancing reminds me of when Ann Arbor had its own version of a nude beach.
