# Great North America Outback Rally



## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)




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## Not Yet (Dec 13, 2004)

Gentlemen,

That is truly a professional start. My hats off to the committee members and the audit group. Thank you very much for your dedication. I am excited.

Jared


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## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

What he said...

Great job.

Gary


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Just let us now when/where ASAP.

Should be an exciting event.

Jim


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Outstanding art work!!!! I love it.









Count us in. At least one Outback from north of the border will be there.









Thor


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

You can thank, BBB for all art and web site stuff! He did a good job!


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Nice job BBB









Putting the new Moderator right to work


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## Paul_in_Ohio (Sep 29, 2004)

WOW...

WOW!

Did I say WOW yet?!

NICE JOB!


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Wow,

You guys go all out!








I'm impressed.









I'll be there. Let me know if there's something I can do. I can't do much, but I'm willing to help.

Mark


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

It looks like this shindig is in good hands. PDX_Shannon and myself look forward to seeing how the whole thing shakes out! And look forward to meeting many of you next summer.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Bubba-j (Feb 19, 2005)

We're interested. Of course, though we look forward just to get back home, this is a great way for us to plan a vacation well in advance! We'll come from Northern CA.

Nice web site!


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## wingnut (Mar 21, 2005)

Great Job!!

I took a peak at the site and it is very nice. I for one think you are going about it in a good way. Please keep us informed and if we can help give us a shout. Again nice job.


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## shake1969 (Sep 21, 2004)

116 miles from home. Sweet. Looks like I'll miss out on the "Traveled Furthest" award.

Make sure your A/C is working. Late July/early August around here can be like camping on the sun.

I will be there!


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Great job to all!

Too bad I can't take any credit...









Keep up the good work!


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## Grandeken (Feb 16, 2004)

GREAT JOB to ALL
Looking into getting off then. I need about a year to make plans to get off work.


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## jallen58 (Oct 27, 2003)

I think I need to start working on the DW 1900+ miles may not sit well with her?

Maybe after So Dakota this year she may be more willing (or not)?

I would love to make it to meet all the great folks here so I better get busy









Jim


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

This may be redundant, but how's everything going? Any news to report yet?

Just curious (and itching to go!)

Mark


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## bojibnd (May 17, 2004)

Hey all. Count us in from Omaha. Either the last July weekend or the first of August would work.







Any updates yet?


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

For those interested, the website has been updated with an idea for consideration.

Please post responses to the idea here on this thread.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Well, Colorado *is* closer than Kentucky!







But I'm not real sure it's the distance that people are thinking about as much as it is "what are the kids gonna do?" I know that is a consideration of mine and I have been "planning" a few days in Branson during the trip. That's a long distance not to have some kind of set up for the kids, i.e., pool, playground, water park, arcade, something......

That's my 2 cents. See you there!!!(wherever)

Mark


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## Guest (Aug 10, 2005)

Sounds good to me. How much time are you considering for each "stage"? I think that they should overlap by at least one day, so that there is not a lost day while people are traveling from the East/West to the National. Maintaining contact between the rallies (sp?) by the forum would be neat. Just my 2 cents worth.

Happy Camping,
Gary


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

BBB,

This new idea sounds like it may be the way to go. The trip certainly becomes much more doable this way. On the one hand, we do miss out on the chance to meet many of the people from the opposite coast. Then again, there are alot of people from this side we have yet to meet as well.

As far as a Western U.S. rally location goes, it looks like Utah / Wyoming is the most central to all. Maybe Western Colorado, but much further East than that, and we may as well go all the way to Carthage.

My personal choice would be Southern Utah. Bryce, Glen Canyon, Zion... In other words, Heaven! About 1000 miles - two days, or a leisurely three - PDX to that area. Very doable!

Keep us posted.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

BBB,

Looks good to us. However, I do have to agree with MSWALT, it is not really a matter of distance, but what are my kids going to do when we get there. Playgrounds are paramount!

East Coast/West Coast would work. So would somewhere in the middle as long as there are decent facilities.

Again, my $.02.......We'll see you in August 2006

Tim action


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

Gotta agree with the recent posts. If we leave the "Central" rally at the same campground, we may have fewer takers. A CG with a pool & playground would be much better. Thanks for all the work you all are doing on this!


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I would not be able to do this in 06, but just another idea. Schedule East and West a week apart and maybe some people would try and do both.

For the East, a liitle more central would be better, like Tennesee?

Playground and pool a must.

Not concerned about sightseeing, I want to enjoy the campground with friends.

I am planning on Florida at Ft Wilderness next year and hope the rally could be my return weekend so ( I know the commitee is aware of this ) dates and location (s) need to be picked soon.

Did I mention, pool and playground.

John

Huge task to keep all happy but Thanks to the people who are trying!


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Some observations on the things that drive a site selection (call them criteria I guess - not in any particular order) for just about any rally:

1) Facilities - if Trailer Life Camping Guide gives it a 10 for completeness and cleanliness it is a strong contender.

2) Setting - not nearly as important but still a factor. People want to wake up to a beautiful campground.

3) Distance traveled vs pleasant road trip. If a person is going to drive a long way, the trip can be as important as the rally itself. This is particularly true for those who have limited vacation time.

4) Regional activities - things to do while at the rally also matter. Camping near the beach for the NW Spring Rally was a nice addition to the rally itself.

5) Timing - WHEN the rally is set is very important. People have other things in their lives besides camping (yeah, I know, it's shocking but true) and scheduling an extended camping trip like this can be difficult.

6) Weather - good weather is good, bad weather is bad. Rain? Heat? Bugs? (Yeah, I know bugs aren't weather but I dodn't know where else to put it).

7) Who's close? Finding a central location enters into who will sign up to attend. A long trip can be hard to manage. Are we there yet?

8) Advanced planning - this is more subtle than most. It goes to being able to schedule vacations but also it can be the avenue to scheduling event during the rally. Pot-lucks, campfires, outings, even visits by Keystone could be part of the rally but not if someone doesn't do a little work to set them up.

I'm sure there are a lot of others, feel free to add to the list. However, the point is that satisfying all of these considerations simultaneously is a tough assignment and somewhere, somehow, someone is going to be excluded because of one of these factors.

For myself, the order of importance is roughly 3, 2, 5, 1, and the others are kind of equal.

BBB


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Either way...we should set down some decisions soon for the "long range planners."

I'm in for either way.


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

I like John's idea about timing and location for the eastern outbackers. Tennesse if a good haul for us but OK with DW. Besides the ribs in Tennesse are outstanding.

How about Nashville area?

Thor


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

I like "Nashvegas"

action


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## Golden Mom (Apr 25, 2004)

I like the sound of this all the time.........it just keeps getting closer for me


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

It's interesting how Outbackers are arrayed throughout the East. I hauled out my trusty road atlas and tried to figure out a location that was relatively close to most people. I haven't picked it out yet but I can tell you it looks like people would be travelling three primary North-South routes (Interstates 75/85/95. I think the East-West routes don't factor as much (your opinion may vary). The Nashville idea has some merit. I would think somehing further east, say closer to Knoxville might work better.

Reverie


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

East Tennessee would work for us!!!!! Maybe we could see if "Farmer Bob" would let us boondock in his pastures in Bristol. For thouse of you who do not know. Farmer Bob is a Local in Bristol, TN who gave up Dairy Farming and started parking campers for the spring and fall races at Bristol. He even has trucks come in to empty black tanks!!!!
















Farmer Bob's is a joke, but anywhere in the Area would work.

Hey....Why don't we all just go to Fort Wilderness. They have got to give us a deal......Right
















Keep the ideas coming.

To the steering committee: Thanks for your work on this. It really is appreciated.

Tim


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## NMOutbacker (May 3, 2004)

I would like to see 2 rallies and 1 mega gathering with no overlap. That would let you attend 1 or all 3 rallies. Living in New Mexico I would be attending the western rally and would like to goto UT/CO/WY. The very first of Aug would be a good date. In NM, the schools start very early. My kids will start Aug 10, 2006. I would also like the location to have kids activities and the normal adult things to. There is my 2 cents worth.


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## Four4RVing (Aug 7, 2005)

We are brand new Outback owners (and campers) and found your posts for a National Rally. When we saw the dates, we kept reading through, hoping the rally hadn't happened yet. We were so excited that it hasn't and that it is going to be in our backyard! Count us in! Being newbies, we are so happy that we won't have far to pull our trailer, until we adjust to the feeling!

We also have kids - 2 teenagers - and something to keep them from being bored (like a pool and gameroom, etc.) would be great! We will go to either Carthage or Branson, whatever the committee decides, but since you said we could add preferences, we thought we might as well speak up. The end of July, or anytime will be fine with us!

Thanks!
Cindi


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## HappyKamper (Feb 17, 2004)

I agree with Four4RVing, I don't mind the location so much as having something for the kids to do when we get there (like a pool and gameroom, etc.). It make for a happyer trip coming back....


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

So what's up with the National Rally?









I see that the thread is no longer pinned, and it appears that the dedicated web site is gone.

Does this mean we have given up on the idea?









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## dougdogs (Jul 31, 2004)

I thought it was canceled??


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Doug,
I must be losing my mind but I cannot find the thread for the national. To summarize, the committee tried to find a workable solution for the National rally but we could never get it to gel. The number of things people threw out to us that were considerations provided a non-intersecting set of requirements. We couldn't find a set of conditions that worked for enough people to warrant the work it would take to set up a rally.

All that being said, if interest returns, there is nothing that says it couldn't be done. One of the ideas that is still a very good one is to have either a large regional rally or many smaller rallies on the same dates. OR, to have an East or West rally (my favorite idea).

Remember, the best rally organazation efforts start with someone saying - "Hey, I'm going to be camping at _______ on ______. If anyone wants to join us we'd be glad to see you!"

I am tentatively planning a trip to Utah next year to visit the canyonlands. We will be starting (our first destination) in Idaho and ending in, well, I'm not sure. I hope to make it a 4-week trip. So, as I get my planning further along, I will be posting plans in hopes that other Outbackers might join us if possible.

All the members on the committee were pretty bummed that we couldn't get it to come together. As I offered in the thread that annonced the cessation of planning for the National, I'm willing to put the website back up for anyone wanting to use it as a regional planning tool. Just let me know and I'll try and accomodate you.

BBB


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

The rally was cancelled. The cancellation notice was posted here.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Well, thats's a bummer!









Or, to put it another way - as so succinctly stated by NDJollyMon - "That sux!"









You leave town for a week, and the whole world goes to h***!

I guess I can understand the reasons, and fuel costs are certainly not helping, but a big dissapointment none the less. I was looking forward to the chance to meet some of our fellow Outbackers from other parts of the country. Oh, well... maybe in the future!









In the mean time, thanks to all the people that put so much effort into the planning. I know you all gave it your best shot, and I'm sure your decision was not easy.

Thanks again!









Happy trails,
Doug

P.S. BBB: As we have discussed earlier, I would love to get down into the Canyonlands area myself next summer. I don't think we can swing four weeks, but keep in touch. Let's see what we can work out.


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