It is not too late to sign up to join in on the fun of the second annual Excursion Diversion/Ford Truck Rally in Gatlinburg Tennessee!
The chosen campground again this year is Twin Creek RV Resort. Click HERE for their website. Their phone number is 1-800-252-8077. The campground owners are Mary and Duffy and they treated us incredible last year and the majority of those in attendance voted to return to Gatlinburg and Twin Creek for 2009.
I have once again arranged a group name to reserve under when you call tell them you are with the FORD-TRUCKS group and they will give you a site near the group.
Please note that while everyone will be placed ‘near the group’…you cannot request specific sites. Those staying longer will be placed right next to each other and those staying a shorter time will be next and so forth…the theory is that as folks leave…those remaining are still next to each other. So the longer you stay the closer you will be. But be aware that this is not a huge campground…so you won’t be too far regardless.
The 'official' weekend will be Friday July 17 to Sunday July 19 BUT many are coming long distances like myself and will be booking longer stays. Personally my family has booked for Thursday July 16 thru Thursday July 23.
As you book and make your reservations. I would ask that you send me a PM with the dates and a personal contact email for you so I can keep a list of who has booked and we can communicate thru email with personal information rather than in open forum. This worked very nicely last year.
Some important information:
Being a Good Sam's park we get a 10% discount for Good Sam's members (I have coupons in my possession that I can send you that you can join Good Sam's for $12 for 1 year membership or $33 for 3 years...BUT with the 3 year you get a $25 coupon for camping...so it costs you only $8 for a 3 year membership!!! PM me if you need a coupon to join or have questions on the coupons).
Rates for the campground were $44 per night (last year as I do not know 2009 rates yet but you can ask Mary...I booked but I do not have the exact rates). The rate includes 2 people as this appears to be 'customary' in this area. Kids/people over 6 are $4 extra per day.
Cabins do NOT ALLOW PETS or smoking . The cabins also have a 6 night minimum and I am not sure of the rates for the cabins. But please be aware of the 6 night minimum.
Also anyone entering the park staying somewhere else would be charged $4/person but that entitles them to use of the pool and facilities...To be honest Mary didn’t impose that on us as the rally folks not staying in the campground didn’t use any of the facilities except for coming in to join the rally at our rally site.
Your deposit is based on length of stay 3-4 nights is $100, 5-7 nights $150. If cancellation is necessary as long as more than 10 days prior to arrival you would get all but $10 back. Within 10 days you would forfeit full deposit. Do not trust my information on this…please check for yourself when you book as to the cancellation policy.
Some of the bigger restrictions folks need to know about
No 'dangerous' dogs are allowed and that seems to be kind of universal today...Rottweilers, Dobermans, Pit Bulls are NOT allowed.
Only 2 dogs per site are allowed.
Also not sure if anyone has a popup or Hybrid but if you do NO PETS are allowed in canvas skinned trailers which does make sense to me I guess.
No tents are allowed.
There is a trolley stop right outside the park and for $0.25 per person you can ride into town and not have to fight the traffic. However some long waits were experienced by our folks last year as the trolley’s were pretty full. Personally I found it easier to drive to the beginning of the strip and park at a public lot for $5 for the day and then walk from there.
A word on parking…Some parking lots view our ‘LARGE’ vehicles and charge DOUBLE the rate. The lot I used did not charge any extra. I can elaborate more on that if needed.
An agenda for the rally is included below. It is similar to last years and we had an awesome time!
If you are interested and wondering what happened last year see This VIDEO that I put together.
Just like last year it is our intent to design Rally T-Shirts. However this year we will be going with only ONE design to allow us to go with a silk screen shirt for higher quality. We are slightly behind schedule on this and it may or may not happen...stay tuned.
This year at the rally we will also be passing the hat to cover rally expenses. Items like name tags, paper products, kids crafts, customized wine bottles for meet and greet, etc can add up so this year we will simply ask for a small donation (maybe $10-15) from each family to cover those community consumable items. It is not mandatory however it helps to share the costs for these items. Keep in mind though that this rally makes NO PROFITS...those in attendance foot all the bills. It is a big deal to plan one of these and it does cost a little $$$ to make it fun for all. Any money not directly spent on rally stuff will be returned to each family or we will have a drawing to 'raffle' off any remaining proceeds...we'lll have to see...
Also just like last year we have received some goodies from various sponsors. We received some shirts, hats, pens, calendars, etc from local dealerships and businesses on here so if you are attending and know of a supplier that we could get some goodies from...SPEAK UP!
Here's the agenda
Ford Truck Rally 2009
July 17-July 19, 2009
Friday, July 17th-
7:30 pm-Meet & Greet wine tasting-Please bring one bottle of your favorite wine and an appetizer to share (cheese and crackers, dip, veggies, etc). We’ll supply the paper products. This will include Ford Truck Trivia and goodie give aways!!!
7:30 pm-Kid’s - Movie night under stars w/popcorn. Bring kid chairs & blankets
Saturday, July 18th-
12:00 pm-Go-Kart racing -Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. (Place TBD)
6:00 pm-Potluck dinner-please bring a main dish entrée, side dish, salad or finger dessert to share. Don’t forget to bring dishes and utensils for your family! Also please bring the recipe for your dish so Tracey can send to everyone after the rally.
7:00 pm-Ice cream social - Half the group will bring a half gallon of ice cream each and the other half will bring a fun topping to share(syrup, sprinkles, candy, nuts, fruit, etc.)-we will supply the
paper products and cones. As we get closer we will let folks know who brings what.
7:30 pm-Kid’s activity-T/B/D
Sunday, July 19th-
8:30 am-Omelet Ziploc bag boil-please bring a filling or topping for our omelets (cheese, cooked meat, veggies, salsa, etc.). We will supply the eggs, and Ziploc bags, Don’t forget to bring dishes and utensils for your family!
Dinner Theater show - Time and place T/B/D (late afternoon or early evening) More info to follow (we’re thinking possibly Sweet Fanny Adams or another)
Monday, July 20th-
Cades Cove or other down town activity if the group wants to go as group
Let me know if you have ANY questions at all...Hope to see one and all there!
Hey Joe, this sounds great! Reminds me of the Expedition Xpeditions we used to attend in Harrisonburg, VA with rides through the George Washington Natl forest. If you are familiar with the GWNF, you know it's not just gravel roads.........lots of washed out, rocky, challenging "trails". I was surprised at what the stock X was capable of I used to own a '00 Expedition and met a bunch of owners on an online forum and attended 3 years. I believe we had 30-35 X's at it's peak. It was some sight seeing all those trucks headin ' down those trails in the forest. I've since downsized, since my needs changed with the kids all grown, and too many other hobbies to maintain and support. Ya'll have a good time, I know we used to have a blast on these trips.
The price of the shirts on the website include me HAND DELIVERING the shirts to the rally goers...for anyone wishing other arrangements there will be ADDITIONAL costs so contact me first.
Shirts are printed on the front only and are white in color. Crew neck, Anvil brand 100% pre-shrunk cotton.
Hats are also available for those that are interested...hat color is a light khaki.
Offline
).jpg)
I used to own a '00 Expedition and met a bunch of owners on an online forum and attended 3 years. I believe we had 30-35 X's at it's peak. It was some sight seeing all those trucks headin ' down those trails in the forest. I've since downsized, since my needs changed with the kids all grown, and too many other hobbies to maintain and support. Ya'll have a good time, I know we used to have a blast on these trips.
