BBQ *latest update opinnions needed*

[Freebird01]

Ok After doing some checking I remebered a great place that would be fairly central to everyone. It is a bit further north then the DWG area but I know the place and the facilities.

Shore Forest Manor Campground in Hop Bottom,Pa

This place has nice bathhouses, a pool and is just a nice campground in general. the owner is a super cool guy and is also a motor head (just sold a 396 chevelle ss conv.!!!)

My dad has camped there perm. site for years. The got a really nice tent field thats level and most of the tent sites if not all have water and electric. its only like $22-24 a night too..

It is right off of Route 11 just above Clark Summit. you can search map quest by using the zip code 18824.

According to their schedule of events the best weekends are either the weekend of the 21st of May or the weekend of the 11th in June. However that may change after I talk with Rick (owner).

I just wanted your input before i called this place!!

[sentinal02]

Ok After doing some checking I remebered a great place that would be fairly central to everyone. It is a bit further north then the DWG area but I know the place and the facilities.

works for me, as it's about the same for either place, and would work for the guys further north in NY, but anyone traveling along 80 would end up with another hour on their trip. it's 75 miles north of the DWG area. sounds like a nice place though.

[badzook]

Freebird 01

I'm not familiar with that CG but the area is really scenic and rural..

I'm actually somewhat familiar with that area.. There's a few unofficial wheeling areas up that way.. Don't know if they are legal or not..

I like the idea..

badzook 8) 8) 8)

[Freebird01]

this place is only about 5 miles from jeff (luvmyzuki)'s house.

it really is a nice campground. it is 90% permenent sites so it is pretty well groomed.

not to mention is mostly under shade too...

it is right off of RTE 11 pretty much up in the hills.

[mybigredjeep]

IM game for this place...............i want to camp.

[Cris_XJ]

Will be too far for me for a BBQ ....will rather wait for Raush Creek ,can wheel ,camp ,BBQ at nite and wheel again the next day.

[Freebird01]

**this message has been cross posted for anyone else having questions or doubts**

im not looking for anyone to commit to anything at this point for that exact reason.

there has to be interest there to go out and contact places for a potential place to stay....

it makes dealing with campgrounds much easier when you can tell them.."im so and so from such and such group and im looking to hold an event...im looking at roughly xx amount of people....etc."

rather then..."im so and so from such and such group and im looking to hold an event...i have no idea how many people are comming but i would like to set something up anyway..."

the dates we are looking at in the other thread is end of may beginning of june. i wont know exact dates until a place is contacted. with a small semi unorganized group such as this you tend to have to work around the campground schedules rather then work around us. Campgrounds usually have their own activities which could hinder a gathering on a any given weekend. but in order to call campgrounds you need a rough number of how many your expecting to attend.

If an hour of driving is going to make or break you from comming thats just the way the cookie crumbles. Other factors have to be considered when choosing a place for something like this. Central locale is a big one, but facilities is another. you dont want to go to some place where all the restrooms and bath houses are nasty and the sites are unlevel.

I personally drive a little over an hour to go to paragon to wheel. Rausch creek would be even further and I still would like to explore that place. I have also gone to Attica,Indiana tot he bad lands and i hope to make it to North Carolina to Uwharrie National Forrest for a different suzuki gathering.

An extra hour to a campground to have a weekend of good food, possibly some parts swaping, maybe a small show and shine show....and who knows, maybe other stuff is a small price to pay to have a good time.

thats why the questions are being posted. got to generate the interest before you just go and blow a bunch of money on a whim. It would suck to have to shell out cash for a pig, charcoal, other food, drinks, anything else and have 3 people show up cause the idea wasnt openly discussed among the group.

The whole 4 wheeling enviroment has spawned around real people just out to have a good time. It is pretty much a family enviroment. The thought behind this is why not have a get together that doesnt have to revolve around exclusively trail riding and wheeling. That seems to be the consensus i recieved in the other thread. Not everyone may want to bring their family to paragon and bounced around the trails all day. This will give a chance to bring the family into the equation. think about it. if the wife/girlfriend knows the group, she may be a little more open to you spending money on your rig or on admission fees to paragon(this alone is expensive after awhile).

So... Is it crazy to ask the opinnion of the group about all this before running out and doing something? I didn't think so...

I know the locale im looking at is a bit further north but its the difference in a half a tank of gas even in the worst of vehicles...and @ $22-24/night for a site that has electric and water and good facilities. Its well worth the extra distance.

I just got prices for a campground for Carlisle all truck nationals and they want $27/night for a site with 3/4 less trees and no water or electric...

**see thread in the "meet and greet" for other post

[badzook]

Freebird 01,

Just going to put in my 02 cents. I'm not looking to get flamed here just making a suggestion...

I love to go camping and I love to wheel also. Sometimes I will travel up to 8 hours to events ( Like Zuwahrrie ) . and camp there or "Motel it"...

Apparently, a few people don't want to travel 2 hours or more to just camp?

I think it might be a good idea to try to accomodate as many people as you can to generate a better interest.

Why not set this up close to a legal wheeling area so that those people who would like to wheel can..

Those who choose not to wheel don't have to... Let's put it in a central place where there are other things for the rest of the familyy to do also...

Maybe something a little closer to Rausch Creek / Paragon .

I don't think saving a few bucks on a campground matters all that much...

There is a campground just a few miles from PAP that I stayed at a few years ago but I can't remember the name of it.. I'm sure there are plenty of others..

Just my 02 cents...


Any input from other members here is definitely welcomed..


Thanks, Freebird 01 for your time and efforts put forth in pursuing this event...

Come on everybody let's talk about this..... Freebird 01 is right, we need to start planning this soon...

badzook 8)

[XEON]

I like freebirds ideas but, it might be a good idea for us to maybe find a place near PAP or creek. Because we can stay a night and wheel the next morning and stuff. That would be ideal I think :) And the night we stay and camp before its night we can have our show and shine. Maybe the park will host it at the front or something. So people can check out the rigs and what not. Maybe a local place will host an show and shine 4x4 event and everyone not just tri-state people can join in the show and shine.

Just my 9 cents :D :lol:

[Freebird01]

i thought the idea of the bbq was more of a meet and greet event....not so much a wheeling event?

*edit*

the reason i post this question is because if it is still going to revolve around wheelin is there a point to have our own event? the jeep crowd does this sort of thing witht he camp jeep and other private events...the suzuki crowd does it once a year at paragon (gonzookin), the early bronco crowd does it once a year???

im not flaming everyone but what i am doing at this point is questioning the motive for the bbq suggestion. With all the talk of this now moving from just a camping enviroment to a camp/wheeling enviroment its not just a bbq....it starts to turn into a regular event and im not sure if thats the direction we want to go with this. please dont misunderstand me and think i am thinking on backing out because thats not the case.

I just got the impression that there was interest in a non-wheeling,but still tri-state group driven, event since the group has a monthly ride already setup now.

[bondo303]

I think the name of the CG by PAP is Red Ridge. If camping is involved, we should set it up as the 1st official 2 day trail ride. So, if you can't come on Saturday you can go on Sunday and vice versa. There is always a conflict with some people unable to attend a Saturday ride because of their work schedule. So this can work as an advantage in a few ways and it gives us many options......camping for 1 night or 2 nights if you want to come up on that Friday, and your choice of day to wheel if you can only make 1 day. I am ready for this. Let's get it organized!!!!!! :lol:

[Freebird01]

if anyone is interested in discussing this in a more real time fashion please message me!!!

im on aolim as Freebird01JM
yahoo: rhinozuk87
icq: 18103928


btw badzook...i used to be a vol. firefighter so my flame suit is pretty good :wink: :wink: :wink:

suggestions are good...i want opinnions and ideas!!! :wtg: :wtg:

[Cris_XJ]

This just applys to me : Im in easterNJ like many of the members and it will take about 2 1/2 hours for me to get to the BBQ if it is 75miles from the watergap .Im down for just a BBQ day with no wheeling but a 5 hour round trip is a bit much for a BBQ day.
If it was a weekend event mixing a few things I will have no problem.

[ROCKREADYXJ]

I don't know where most of the guys are going to be comming from but My good neighbor owns 500 acres of farm land and woods If you want a central location I am south west Orange county right were all three states meet. It would be good for a bbq and if we are complete with the trails a little wheeling. I don't know about 2 days of camping for a bbq seems like a lot of wasted time. If you want to just socialize I think one day is good. Besides I think the reason most guys are on this board is to wheel Not sit around and talk for two days.

If you want to make it a weekend thing than I vote Paragon!! wheel in the light and bs at night.

[Freebird01]

I don't know where most of the guys are going to be comming from but My good neighbor owns 500 acres of farm land and woods If you want a central location I am south west Orange county right were all three states meet. It would be good for a bbq and if we are complete with the trails a little wheeling. I don't know about 2 days of camping for a bbq seems like a lot of wasted time. If you want to just socialize I think one day is good. Besides I think the reason most guys are on this board is to wheel Not sit around and talk for two days.

If you want to make it a weekend thing than I vote Paragon!! wheel in the light and bs at night.


Yep....youve mentioned this twice now ;) im not ruling it out but if its a farm i doubt it would have facilities for a large group. bathrooms...showers...running water period or electric... im picturing an open field. you also mentioned about liability insurance to wheel....this is not an organized club so there is no insurance.

If this is the way the group wants to go which is what i keep seeing. my vote would either be red ridge or sandy valley campgrounds. they are right near paragon.

but again...if you go back and look at the messages from when this idea came about it, the idea was a gathering NOT focused on wheeling. The only reason i suggested a 2 day thing was just because it made logistics easier with setup and cleanup.

[ROCKREADYXJ]

Yep....youve mentioned this twice now ;) im not ruling it out but if its a farm i doubt it would have facilities for a large group. bathrooms...showers...running water period or electric... im picturing an open field. you also mentioned about liability insurance to wheel....this is not an organized club so there is no insurance.

If this is the way the group wants to go which is what i keep seeing. my vote would either be red ridge or sandy valley campgrounds. they are right near paragon.

but again...if you go back and look at the messages from when this idea came about it, the idea was a gathering NOT focused on wheeling. The only reason i suggested a 2 day thing was just because it made logistics easier with setup and cleanup.

I mentioned insurance because when you have a organized group you have insurance that covers all the individuals in it the group and any property damage that may occure from parties in the group. A organized group would not have to sign a waiver to wheel. But if you wanted to wheel on all the trails we are building you will have to sign a waiver.

As far as bathroom and shower facilities bathrooms wont be a problem there are pleanty of houses on the farm. I was thinking one day so who needs a shower facilitys. start early and go late. there are pleanty of hotels in the area if someone can't drive home.

And where do you think a farm is now with out water or electricity?there is no time warp up here that takes you back to 1920. we got phones up here and cable. this ain't green acres if thats what you are thinking. I was not thinking of having it down in the corn or hay fields.

There is a large pond with an island and a bridge to get to it. We usually have bond fires at night. and the wheeling is in the upland in the woods.

You sound like you want to plan a weekend getaway to bs. I know I don't have time to bs all weekend. One day is enough for me

[Freebird01]

if you want to take the torch and plan something go right ahead. so far you keep pushing this farm location and havent really described whats there and whats not. all the farms i have ever been around (im from berks county,PA mostly farm land) dont have any type of facilities to support an event like this.

this is not an organized group so to speak. badzook and xeon started it and pretty much run things but other then a website and a couple of meetings there really is nothing else. there are no monthly meetings or officers or anything like that.

the weekend to BS is exactally what was talked about in the beginning. please go back and read ALL of the posts on this subject and you will see that it made specific mention that it was to be geared as a non wheeling event. this was not my suggestion. i just thought it was a good idea and ran with it. Wheeling isnt simply taking your rig out in the woods and beating it to death for fun. With the way things have grown within the community over the past few years its turning into a more family oriented sport. Not everyone is going to take their family in a small cramped truck or SUV and bounce them along on the trails all day. This would give the group a chance to meet and bring the family along. I never said it HAD to be a two day thing. It would just work out easier for anyone organizing something like this. It would be a tremendous amount of work trying to setup for a dinner and any other activities and then after busting your ass all day have to go and clean up that same night and then drive home from all of that. I know I personally (flame suit on) am probably one of the further members of the active group here. The campground i suggested is a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive for me....red ridge is 1h 20 mins....this farm you speak of is over 4 hours. If I am going to go through the leg work to set something up I sure am not doing all that in a day. I am only human, not superman.

So if you or anyone else have any better ideas or want to take the torch and run with it I would be more then happy to pass it along and let someone else do all the work.

[ROCKREADYXJ]

I was simply offering a free place. we have had gatherings in the past like that I dont know where you are on the map but I am alot closer to 85% of those dots on the map than the dellaware gap. the location I offered has it all right there.

[rockdawg]

I dont mean to add any flame to a fire But just a freindly observaton.
I think a lot of people are in my situation, I dont have a lot of free time to get away but when I can I would like to do some wheeling.
I think Joe's offer was very generous.
Most people would love to have a friend with 500 acres that we could wheel on. I think a simple Thankyou or No thankyou would be the proper response to Joe's offer. It's not everyday I get invited to wheel for free somewhere.

[Freebird01]

ok well i just checkedon mapquest thats pretty much 3 hours from me. not too bad i guess..

Im not ruling it out. but we come back to the original question. what is the scope of this event? is it to bbq and wheel....or non wheeling event?

A non -wheeling event can be a good thing held in the proper location. I think a show and shine competition/parts swap/whatever could be a good thing also.

im just thinking to do something that is wheeling based....your just making another event that really wont get much growth. There are so many vehicle specific events that are exactally the way things are moving here that it may discourage people from comming to yet another event.

the same thing can be said for a non wheeling event though...with bloomsburg,pa and the carlisle events...

i dont know what the right answer is, but i got an idea. let me start a post with a poll....that well end this once and for all! then all we got to do is figure location. i would like to see this turn into a 2 day annual or bi-annual event since the montly rides are a one day thing.

[Freebird01]

I think Joe's offer was very generous.



I agree 100% it was a very generous offer. As i said in posts before I am not counting or discounting it. Just because its free doesnt make it a good place one type of event over another.

It all depends on what way you want the event to go. I was simply trying to debate the pro's and con's. there was no flaming going on nor bad blood here. You cant make an informed decision on something without playing devil's advocate to some extent.

So i believe a simple thanks/no thanks would have been pretty arrogant on my part.

Again with the scope we are talking here i am a strong believer in that i feel this should be a 2 day event. If bathroom facilites wouldnt be a problem great! But looking at logistics here I Really like the pig cooker idea. Those just dont get done in an hour. When my good friend does his every year the pig is starter between 4-5am and about 1-2pm its taken off and cut up. Thats all just to eat by 3-4pm. This is with the cooker already set up and ready to go the night before...any tables setout the night before...prep stuff of other food done the night before... not to mention someone needs to babysit the whole thing all day.

But even if your just grilling stuff setup would take at least an hour if not 2 minimum for setup.

Say you want to do a bbq/wheeling event...for argument sake I would start doing the setup friday night....be cookin most of the day saturday(with whatever volunteers that step up) then host the dinner....then after all that...clean up by that time it would be pretty late. pack up sunday and still have to drive 3hours home to unpack.

So i know at least myself would not be able to do any wheeling at all pretty much. not to mention at least one or two other people to help with setup/cleanup.

I know it looks like im making a big deal out of this...and pretty much I am becuase it is a lot of work setting up for 30+ people to make sure everything goes smooth and everyone has a good time. so location is a huge factor.

If we do decide to use this farm I would like to get together with you sometime between now and then to check everything out (maybe do a bit of wheelin why im up there ;) ). and i would also like to meet the owner and get his opinnions.