2019 Great Smoky Mountain/Appalacian Mountain Marauder Run. [October 2-6,2019]

[Roadwarrior]

I'm posting this now so that those that are interested in attending can schedule the time off. This year, there are several different activities planned, in which the details will be posted at a later date, including attending & if interested, entering your Marauder or any Ford vehicle for display only or judging at a Mustang & All Ford car show in Maggie Valley, NC on October 5, sponsored by the Northeast Georgia Mustang Club. At this time of year, the fall foliage starts to change colors & the mountain areas of GA, SC, NC, Virginia and points north and westward are very popular areas to visit & hotel room availability could be a problem if you procrastinate in reserving one in advance. For the time being, the city of Maggie Valley has quite a few hotel rooms available for these dates & that is where I'm planning to stay & base all activities from there.

October 2 (Wednesday)
Travel day/hotel check-in

October 3 (Thursday)
Breakfast at either Country Vittles - 3589 Soco Road or Joey's Pancake House - 4309 Soco Road
9:30-12 noon - Dale's Wheels through Time Museum - 62 Vintage Lane, Maggie Valley,NC http://wheelsthroughtime.com
Lunch - TBD later
Elevated Mountain Distillery - 3732 Soco Road (Will have to book tour in advance & will do so when I get a final count on how many are going) http://elevatedmountain.com

October 4 (Friday)
For this year's scenic drive, the group would be leaving Maggie Valley after breakfast (around 9:00-9:30 am) to drive on the Great Smoky Mountain Loop, which is US 19 going past Bryson City to NC 28 north going towards Fontana Dam to stop over, Fontana Village for lunch & heading towards the beginning of the Tail of the Dragon to drive into into Tennessee (US 129). At the end of the Dragon at mile marker 11, turning right on The Foothills Parkway (just opened last year) towards the town of Wear Valley on US 321, then turning right. Then from US 321 turning left on Wear Gap Road (TN 73) & driving several miles towards the intersection of US 441 at the Great Smoky Mountain Welcome Center. After this stop, we'll proceed on US 441 going back to North Carolina side, past Newfound Gap & stopping over to Clingman's Dome. From that point, as time permits, have dinner either in the city of Cherokee or head back to Maggie Valley. Details on time & a map of the route TBA later.50510

October 5 (Saturday)
46th Annual Fall Regional Shelby/Mustang and Ford Meet from 8:30 am-3:00 pm at;
Maggie Valley Fairgrounds
3374 Soco Road
Maggie Valley,NC 28751

Here is the link to the car show flyer; https://motosho.com/event/5c93b18af148c

October 6 (Sunday)
Breakfast, then either attend the rain date for the Maggie Valley car show and/or travel home.

[vonirkinshtine]

Interested! I have family in Hendersonville so I wouldn't need to worry about Lodging...or the kiddos!

[Roadwarrior]

Updated information for October 3 schedule of events posted on post #1.

[Roadwarrior]

Interested! I have family in Hendersonville so I wouldn't need to worry about Lodging...or the kiddos!
Stay tuned for further updates here. I'm in the process of finalizing plans for Friday's road trip.

[Granddaddy Marq]

Deb and I are planning on participating in some if not all of this. We love our fall rides in the Smoky's. Let's see how work is going as we get closer to it.

[Roadwarrior]

I had already made hotel reservations for the dates posted on the 1st post. For those that are interested in where I'll be staying, send me a private message. I had been real busy within the last 2 weeks with work and other stuff, but hopefully within a week or so, I'll post up the details of Friday's road trip.

[james79stang]

looking on trying to see if i can schedule this in 1200 miles 1 way

[Granddaddy Marq]

I've put in for the time off. But I don't know if it will get approved. I can tell you where I won't be the 4th,5th, and 6th of October.

[Roadwarrior]

looking on trying to see if i can schedule this in 1200 miles 1 way

I hope you can make this trip. You're more than welcome to join the group.

[Roadwarrior]

This is the forecast map for this year's fall foliage colors.50434

[Gryphonzus]

Hotel reservations made. We will arrive sometime late Thursday afternoon. Looking forward to meeting up with ya'll.

[Roadwarrior]

I've put in for the time off. But I don't know if it will get approved. I can tell you where I won't be the 4th,5th, and 6th of October.

Work?:burnout:

[Roadwarrior]

Hotel reservations made. We will arrive sometime late Thursday afternoon. Looking forward to meeting up with ya'll.

That's good news. Looking forward to seeing you & the missus.

[Roadwarrior]

More details on Friday's scenic fall foliage drive (October 4) has been updated on the original post. Due to the possible changing of next year's annual Louisville Marauder meet from spring to the fall season & to avoid any schedule conflicts that would occur, this year's Western Carolina Marauder Run will be the last one scheduled for the fall season. If there's enough interest in meeting during the spring time in this area, the earliest date will be in mid-March to April 2021. :bump: :bump: :bump:

[SilverPhoenix]

Even though I no longer live in that area, I am interested. I'll give you a call at some point over the upcoming weekend to discuss, Rick. Been a hell of a summer with my Dad's passing, moving from Asheville to Charlotte, and one of my Aunts passed away a couple weeks ago. Trying to break away from being an introvert (which is what I slowly had become after my heart attack 2 years ago), but it's been harder than I expected. Been meaning to call Russ and bring my car over to his place for months now, but just haven't been able to. Seeing a good number of folks I consider friends from this site disappear or no longer have their MM is a bit depressing as well. Meh...just life, right? :depress:

[Roadwarrior]

For those that are planning to attend, please post your username and what day you would be arriving in the Maggie Valley area. I'm trying to get an accurate count on doing the Distillery tour that is planned on Thursday (October 3rd) or if there would be enough in attendance to do the activities planned for that day as well.

[Roadwarrior]

T minus a little over a month & counting... :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump:

[Roadwarrior]

Even though I no longer live in that area, I am interested. I'll give you a call at some point over the upcoming weekend to discuss, Rick. Been a hell of a summer with my Dad's passing, moving from Asheville to Charlotte, and one of my Aunts passed away a couple weeks ago. Trying to break away from being an introvert (which is what I slowly had become after my heart attack 2 years ago), but it's been harder than I expected. Been meaning to call Russ and bring my car over to his place for months now, but just haven't been able to. Seeing a good number of folks I consider friends from this site disappear or no longer have their MM is a bit depressing as well. Meh...just life, right? :depress:

I'll be awaiting your phone call. Let me know via PM if you don't have my mobile number.

[james79stang]

james, eta Wednesday

[Roadwarrior]

4 weeks & counting... :bump: :bump: :bump: :bump:
:bump:
:bump:

[Roadwarrior]

2 weeks & counting for The Marauder Run. :bump: :bump: :bump:

[Roadwarrior]

A situation has arisen recently that may affect my ability to attend this event. My elderly mother was placed in home hospice care in late August and her health has had its ups and downs, but for the most part, it has been stabilized. Along with my siblings, I had paid a visit to her in Florida 2 weeks ago to spend some time with her for a week. I had talked with one of my sisters that has been taken care of her yesterday, and and there are indications that she is losing her usually healthy appetite of eating her meals due to the organs in her body are starting to shut down. I am not saying that this event is cancelled, but if I should receive the phone call that my mother had passed away within the next 2 weeks from today, I'm going to have to bow out of this event on short notice. For those that had planned to attend the Marauder run, I would hope that you would still be attending it and the outline that was on the original post on activities planned for this event would serve as a guideline on what to do during the three days that are planned. I'll be posting here on any updates of my status on attending this. I would recommend that no one else that has plan to attend cancels because of this.

[Invective]

A situation has arisen recently that may affect my ability to attend this event. My elderly mother was placed in home hospice care in late August and her health has had its ups and downs, but for the most part, it has been stabilized. Along with my siblings, I had paid a visit to her in Florida 2 weeks ago to spend some time with her for a week. I had talked with one of my sisters that has been taken care of her yesterday, and and there are indications that she is losing her usually healthy appetite of eating her meals due to the organs in her body are starting to shut down. I am not saying that this event is cancelled, but if I should receive the phone call that my mother had passed away within the next 2 weeks from today, I'm going to have to bow out of this event on short notice. For those that had planned to attend the Marauder run, I would hope that you would still be attending it and the outline that was on the original post on activities planned for this event would serve as a guideline on what to do during the three days that are planned. I'll be posting here on any updates of my status on attending this. I would recommend that no one else that has plan to attend cancels because of this.


I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. Still hoping to join up with your group at some point.

Spent several months in Florida last fall/winter trying to get my sister and brother in law into some kind of supervised situation. He clearly belongs in a nursing home while she clearly belongs in an assisted living arrangement. State and local agencies are of no help - limited help from one private agency only. Police substation located in their crime ridden slum apartment complex know she is driving without a driver's license (she's never had a DL as she would never qualify). Too many hoops to jump through for the Baker Act and only one attorney agreed to take the case (contacted at least a dozen), treating the situation as a joke. Said legal costs would go well into 5 figures. I've done all that I can there and can't bring them here. What a mess.

[Gryphonzus]

Sorry to hear about your Mother. You do what you need to do and do not worry about the rest of us. My Dad is still at home and has in home care but I am not sure how much longer that will last. It took us forever to get him to wear one of those emergency call buttons. You take care and we will see you when we see you.

[Roadwarrior]

I got in touch with a representative of the Elevated Mountain Distillery concerning setting up an appointment for the tour on Thursday October 3, and they told me whenever we arrive at the distillery for the tour that they will accommodate the group upon arrival. If the tour guide is busy with a previous group, the wait time will only be a few minutes. As long as our group arrive by 6:30 p.m., we should be good to go.

[Roadwarrior]

here is a map of the Foothills Parkway that I had just found online.50528

[Roadwarrior]

The restaurant that we're planning to have lunch after visiting Fontana Dam on Friday's drive is the Wildwood Grill, located at 300 Woods Road in the Fontana Village Resort Marina.http://www.fontanavillage.com/dining/

[Roadwarrior]

I just arrived a half hour ago at the hotel in Maggie Valley. The Elevated Mountain Distillery is virtually across the street from the hotel. It was 78 degrees at the time that I checked in, an improvement from lower 90's during the drive over.

[Granddaddy Marq]

I just arrived a half hour ago at the hotel in Maggie Valley. The Elevated Mountain Distillery is virtually across the street from the hotel. It was 78 degrees at the time that I checked in, an improvement from lower 90's during the drive over.

Well this answers my question. "Will you be able to make it this year? " We should see you tomorrow evening.

[Roadwarrior]

Well this answers my question. "Will you be able to make it this year? " We should see you tomorrow evening.

I hope to see you and the wife tomorrow evening, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Have a safe drive coming over.

[Granddaddy Marq]

Deb and I made it home from a wonderful weekend in the Smokies with some of our Marauder friends. Thank you Rick for putting this together and for the consolation prize when I got in the wrong class at the car show.

[Roadwarrior]

Deb and I made it home from a wonderful weekend in the Smokies with some of our Marauder friends. Thank you Rick for putting this together and for the consolation prize when I got in the wrong class at the car show.

I left Maggie Valley much later than everyone else after having lunch with my childhood friend & his wife, so I got home a couple of hours after sunset. Thanks for everyone that attended the event & everybody had a good time, which is the purpose of this meet. I hope everyone arrived home safely.

[Mr. Man]

Anyone take any pics?

[Granddaddy Marq]

50532

Yeah, but they are hard to upload.

[james79stang]

Just got in... all good

[MyBlackBeasts]

50532

Yeah, but they are hard to upload.

I hate Tapatalk but I use it to upload pics as it is super simple.

[Gryphonzus]

We made it home no problems. As usual we had a great time and was glad to see some of our old Marauder buddies. Seeing as how we came Marauderless I got the privilege of driving the ladies to the shopping spots.