quote:

Originally posted by carlflack:
Will the GTG in 2010 located 80 miles from Memphis
have Pull Throughs, 50 Amp Hook Ups, Clean Hot Showers, Dump Stations, etc.?? If this is the case, we'll be there. Good luck Mary.........

Carl and Mary,
Don't forget level paved parking pads, fire rings, picnic tables, cable tv, WiFi, free fire wood, and a hot tub would be nice.
Nick

And not more than 5-10 dolla's a nite.

Sadly, Deerlick doesn't allow inside or outside fires (except propane/NG) after dark, due to the smoke affecting the visibility.

Scratch the fire rings, but are we still good to go on the hot tub?

Lee,
I have not been online for a while but appreciate your input as you are located in the D.C. area. My wife worked and lived there for 16 years before moving back home, so she is good for input also. Initial response sounds to me as if this might be a good idea. As I previously stated, what better place to hold a eastern region GTG than our nations capital. And, it looks from some of the responses so far that folks have not been there for some time or not at all. I think we should continue to persue this idea and need MORE INPUT FROM OTHER MEMBERS OF THIS GREAT WEBSITE.
My own opinion would be though dry camping is not out of the picture, full hook ups would be nice for those who might plan to stay longer than a weekend. Maybe we can gather a list of local campgrounds and follow up with them to pick the best available spot. But first we need to get a couple of prospective dates together.
A fall gathering seems to be good idea for many reasons. Obviously, there is the point of less people in D.C. because of the start of school (and I agree...those with kids should tell the teacher they won't be there because they are going to D.C.). My wife says that the weekends are usually not as crowded most of the time. Most importantly, traveling in the cooler weather allows those Barth's to run much cooler down the road. There is also less traffic out than during the summer months, so getting there is easier.
Just some more input from me. I would have no problem in helping put this together. Right now, WE NEED MORE INPUT!!!
Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by Lee:
As to timing, I'd suggest late-Sept.- early-Oct.
Kids are in school so fewer family vacations, but too early in school year for school bus trips.

NY State is one of the last ones to start the school year. Our school year starts 2-3 days after Labor Day. Anyone else have a thought about this?

As for me, I like it. I don't think the wife and kids will protest too loudly if they don't go to school. Electrical hookups and showers close by will pretty much clinch the deal for our family.

quote:

Originally posted by Lee:
Also, there's an under-utilized campground a little further out - nice wooded flat sites w/showers....can virtually guarantee it would be exclusive-use for Barth G-T-G....

What is the name of this campground and does it have a website?

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce & Kathleen:
Right now, WE NEED MORE INPUT!!!

To our good friends, from the great State of New Jersey, I concur and will second the motion. Yes, more input is needed.

We are talking about DC right?

Rusty, when is the 2009 Peach state Star party scheduled?

I like the end of September for the DC GTG. Would also like full hookups as we will probably stay a week or longer.
Nick

It's not published yet, but will be the week of the new moon in October.

Yes, Bill, we are talking D.C.
And Lee, I also would like to know the name of the campground you refered to. Might be the one we need for a MAJOR BARTH GATHERING on the EAST COAST.
And for Rusty and Nick...The later part of Setember would be good. This way it does not interfere with a possible October star fest.
Bruce

A brief summary of DC area campgrounds can be found at:

http://www.title-3.com/DCCamping.htm

I concur with most of what they say........

The isolated campground I have in mind is within Watkins Regional Park, about 5 miles outside the Beltway and 20 minutes from a Metrorail station.
The park's website is at:

http://www.pgparks.com/places/parks/watkins.html

The park itself is heavily used, but the campground is not promoted and sees little use. We have an annual extended-family weekend there (5 tents, two pop-ups & one old Barth) and we've seldom seen more than 1-3 of the approximately 40 sites occupied. Acceptable showers, random water taps but no electric....Total shade by mature trees throughout....If I catch the right person in the right mood, probably little if any fees.

If "civilization" is the choice, then I'd certainly recommend Cherry Hill in College Park.....Ya just can't beat the amenities and convenience for doing the DC thing....Local transportation is a non-issue, with front door bus service, Grayline pick-up, shuttle to Metrorail, etc. Just keep in mind: About $60/day for 2 people, might need earplugs for sleeping next to the Beltway and if your neighbor has a slide-out, make sure it doesn't rub against your Barth

Over the next few days, I'll get around to Greenbelt & Watkins to snap a few pics so you'll have a better lay of the land.......

Virginia has a lot of very nice state parks, but none are very close to the capital. If there is anything I can do to help let me know.
dougsgift(at)comcast.net
I am an hour west of the capital next the skyline drive a National Park, which is a very nice part of VA.
We are in Gettysburg PA now (in the SOB) which is another really great area of history, and not too far from Washington DC.

No doubt about it...Virginia has some of the most premier state parks on the Eastern Seaboard. Unfortunately, none of them are close enough to make DC tourism convenient.

There's a couple of regional park campgrounds in northern VA, but since I'm with the MD-National Capital park system, I'm not familiar with them. (Guess I could be, if the group wants me to check them out.)

Went to Gettysburg last month....the new Visitor Center & Museum is worth the trip alone!

To add to Lee's post about no electric, I know this is nothing new but maybe something to think about. At Homestead speedway, they have a big gathering of Featherlite Prevosts in the campgrounds, usually about 18 to 20, and they rent a large very quiet diesel genset trailer to power all the coaches and the meal-gathering tent. This way they don't all have to run their own gennys, cutting down on the noise and air pollution. In my experience, most commercial rental outfits prefer to do their own delivery- set-up and pickup, so if one is sorta nearby it shouldn't make a big chore for anyone, and perhaps the cost would be offset by cheaper camping rates.

One thing that I believe everyone must keep in mind is that if we get enough interest in this GTG, we can negoiate with campgrounds, parks, tour operators, generator suppliers,caterers, liquor stores, etc... The key to keeping rates down is quantity of Barth's showing up!!! Fuel costs , well, that we cannot do anything about. But hopefully no matter where we decide to try to hold this, the excitement of this GTG being centrally located to most east coast owners will offset the idea of how much it costs and we will have a great turnout.
Another fact...the sooner we try to put something together, the better choices and negoiating power we will have.
The reason I like the D.C. idea is there is lots to do, especially for those who have not been there or have not been there for a while. Heck, even the zoo is great and I believe it is still free! Might want to check out that Capital KOA campground if they truely can provide shuttle service. At other KOA campgrounds, I have found they will negoiate with groups and they are usually pretty decent. This might be a good option if we decide on somewhere with full hook ups (or at least electric and water) and Cherry Hill Park is too much $$$'s or not comfortable for a Barth GTG.
But, I am not blind to another central location. Remember, I initially said that it seemed that Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Southern Pensylvania seemed to be centrally located areas according to our map. Need more input from others.
Bruce

Recap of east coast members that have posted on this thread and shown interest:

• Nick Cagle
• Mary Ray
• Sky
• Bill N.Y.
• Tom Johns
• Lee
• Bruce & Kathleen
• Danny Z
• Rusty
• carlflack
• Bywaters

That's 11 coaches just in the planning stage. I think we can make this happen.
Nick