The RFTH # 21 will be held on September 16, 17, and 18, 2016. This year we're changing the format slightly. Rather than making a big circle and returning to the same place, we will meet and stay in Clayton, Ga. on Friday, September 16 and depart Saturday morning with our destination to be Gatlinburg, Tn. where we will spend Saturday night. As usual, we will depart for home on Sunday morning.
We will be visiting Bridal Veil Falls, Fontana Village and Fontana Dam, The Tail of The Dragon and the Foothills Parkway along the way. Vehicles not wishing to make the run can follow US 441 from Clayton to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and arrive in +- 1 hour. For the rest of us, it will be an all day event.
A trial run will be made on May 28 21. We will assemble and leave the Ingles Markets shopping center on US 441 in Clayton by 9AM. The straightest part of this event is expected to be the drive across the parking lot as we turn onto War Woman Road. BTW, anyone is welcome to join in the trial run.
Subscribe to this tread to keep abreast of updates for hotels, and other event happenings.
We can also be reached at GeorgiaFieroClub@Gmail.Com
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 06-17-2016).]
For anyone planning to make the scouting run with us on the 21st of May.
I want us to be gassed up and ready to pull out by 9am on the morning of the 21st.
We will meet at the Ingles Markets Grocery Store Shopping Center in Clayton, Ga. 176 US-441, Clayton, GA 30525
There is an Ingles Express gas station at that location. There's also a BP station next to it.
Everyone should bring an FRS radio. Be sure they're fully charged or bring batteries.
If anyone doesn't make it there on time, they can still intercept us along the route. Going North on Hwy 28 out of Franklin, NC, also known as Bryson City Road, there's what used to be a Citgo Gas Station. It's now called the Village Trader The Address is 453 Bryson City Rd, Franklin, NC 28734
Our path from start up to this point will be:
WarWoman Road out of the Ingles Parking Lot. Turn left at the end of WarWoman Road onto Hwy 28. Follow Hwy 28 through Highlands, NC and continue North through Franklin.
If anyone is too late to intercept us at this point, the next reasonable place is at: Lynns Place Restaurant 237 E Main St, Robbinsville, NC 28771 We will have lunch there.
We will return to Hwy 28, continue up through Fontana Village, passing Fontana Dam and will grab The Dragon's Tail at the very tip where Hwy 28 and US 129 meet.
Travel through The Dragon's Tail, pick up the Foothills Parkway about 3 miles north and follow it over to US 321 in Townsend.
If anyone hasn't hooked up with us by the time we leave Robbinsville lunch stop, it's just too late to try to join.
Our final destination will be Gatlinburg, TN. Depending upon time and traffic and consensus of participants, we may visit a hotel to set up event accommodations.
Return from Gatlinburg via US Hwy 441 through Cherokee, NC to Gainesville or Commerce, Ga. is about 3 hours.
Google Maps trip plotter suggests about 5 1/2 hours from Clayton to Gatlinburg. Don't believe it for one moment. It will be more like 7 hours.
I just heard from Capital City Fieros. Robert reports that they will be playing around on The Dragon on Thursday, September 15 and invite anyone to join them. Afterward, they will travel down to Clayton for Friday night and the beginning of the RFTH on Sept. 16.
I don't have any and at this time, there's only one other coming along with me. Don't think he has any, either. Text me your phone number and I'll try to let you know what time we'll be at Lynn's Place across from the jail. That's where we're having lunch.
The scouting run was done today and we clocked up 176 miles from Clayton, Ga. to Gatlinburg, Tn. We took some interesting pictures along the way. I'll post some of them tomorrow, along with hotel information.
For now, I'm tired. Worn out. Going to bed with a smile on my face, though.
My wife and I have vacationed in the gatlenburg area a few times. I love it there and would love to drive my Fiero there. I don't see it working out this year with 3 little kids and our wedding anniversary at that time.
This year will be some new territory never before included in RFTH.
A very enjoyable day, yesterday. Good weather with only a couple of sprinkles. Lots of Nissan Z's to play with on The Dragon and Hwy 28. We met up with Former Member and donor of the 88GT Warrior Project car, Mike Barr, when we got to Gatlinburg.
Here are a couple of pictures taken along our route. This year will include some territory never before included in RFTH.
Looking toward Knoxville from the Foothills Parkway.
Just a little of the 13 miles of river alongside the River Gorge Road as we approached Gatlinburg.
On River Gorge Road. Photo by Scott Brown
BEAR!
Photo by Charles Sewell ELK!
Photo by Scott Brown ELKS!
One dumb woman with New York plates on her vehicle actually got out and walked to the middle of the lane to take a picture. Had to yell at her that it wasn't such a good idea because they could be dangerous. But the most stupid of all were the 50 or so people standing in the roadway looking up the tree at the BEAR!
This is what I have for hotel reservations in Gatlinburg, and Clayton, Ga.
CLAYTON, GA. HOTEL ARRANGEMENTS AT DAYS INN Address: 54 Hwy 441 N, Clayton, GA 30525 Phone (706) 782-4258
1 NIGHT, SEPT. 16
DOUBLE ROOMS $76.46 PLUS $19.66 TAX. SOME HAVE MADE RESERVATIONS AT LOWER RATES THROUGH AARP OR ONLINE SERVICES. WE HAVE BLOCKED 20 ROOMS, BUT I SUGGEST THAT YOU TRY TO FIND LOWER RATES ONLINE. THEY WOULDN'T BUDGE FROM THEIR STANDARD RATES, EVEN FOR OUR GROUP. IF YOU DO MAKE DIRECT RESERVATIONS, PLEASE TELL THEM YOU ARE PART OF THE GEORGIA FIEROS GROUP.
NO PETS ALLOWED AT THE EDGEWATER HOTEL
You must tell them you are part of the Georgia Fieros or Georgia Fiero Club Group
Rooms are all Double Queen. There are only a limited number of King bed rooms available so we didn't get a price. Possibly some jaccuzzi rooms too, but those are also outside our group rates.
Double/Queen $100.00
I have asked for all rooms to be on the front overlooking the river and the city. All rooms have private balconies.
Group rate includes a complimentary continental breakfast.
Served 7:00 am – 10:00 am daily.
Rates are net, non-commissionable and do not include current state and local tax which is 12.75%.
Arrival & Departure Dates September 17-18, 2016
Sat/09/17
Double/Queen 20 Rooms have been blocked for our group.
Cut-off Date
Cut-off Date Thursday, August 18, 2016
Reservations received within your organization’s room block will be accepted until the cut-off date,
which is Thursday, August 18, 2016. Any remaining unreserved rooms will be released back to the
hotel. Reservation requests received after the cut-off date are subject to rack rate and space availability.
While we do our best to honor every request that is made, unfortunately we cannot guarantee room types
or floor levels.
Reservations Policies
INDIVIDUAL CALL-IN RESERVATIONS: Georgia Fiero Club is set up for their attendees to call
in and make their own reservations. The Individuals will be required to pay first nights room and tax at
the time the reservation is being made. Reservations can be made by contacting our 24-hour reservations
department at 1-800-423-9582 and identifying themselves as a ”Georgia Fiero Club” attendee to receive
the above discounted rate.
Reservations received within your organization’s room block will be accepted until the cut-off date, which is 30
days prior to the group’s arrival date. (Aug. 17 cut-off) Any remaining unreserved rooms will be released back to the hotel.
Reservation requests received after the cut-off date are subject to rate and space availability. While we do our
best to honor every request that is made, unfortunately we cannot guarantee special group room rate or room
types.
Reservation Policies
All reservations must be guaranteed by a major credit card or advance deposit of first nights room and tax by
contacting our 24-hour reservation department at 1-800-423-9582.
Check-in time is 4:00pm and check-out time is 11:00am.
Parking in Gatlinburg is at a premium and is Pay Parking. Edgewater has a parking deck free to hotel guests. It's also located on the Gatlinburg Trolley to make getting to and from our restaurant hassle-free. There is a stop directly in front of the hotel.
NO PETS ALLOWED IN THE HOTEL SATURDAY EVENING GROUP DINNER
SATURDAY EVENING DINING WILL BE 7:30 PM AT CALHOUN'S BBQ. WE HAVE A RESERVED PATIO. EACH PERSON WILL BE ABLE TO ORDER FROM THEIR STANDARD DINNER MENU AND WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN MEAL. ADULT BEVERAGES ALSO SERVED.
Another reminder to get your hotel reservations made. Gatlinburg is a popular area and lodging can sometimes be difficult to find and gets pricier as summer vacation times end and the fall color season approaches.
Just 1 month left to make your reservations at the Edgewater in Gatlinburg and receive the club discount. The Clayton, Ga. window is essentially open up until the day of the event as the Days Inn wouldn't give us a group discount. You may find better prices at Days Inn on some of the online sites.
This year, there will not be a fundraising raffle. Each year, we request product and service donations from the many Fiero product and service vendors, but we won't be doing that due to the difficulty of transporting donated products from one point to another during our travels.
The only item we will have for fundraising this year will be our Event T-shirts. The profit from their sales will help us to continue our charity events. I would like to urge you to purchase a shirt this year, even if you don't wear it, put it away as a souvenir of the event. This is the base image of the T-shirt design, before we apply the graphics.
Our printer is dragging his feet on getting the copy on the image. I was waiting for finished art and prices. I believe we can hold prices for all shirts at between $20-25. Hopefully 1 price for all adult sizes. Shirts will be delivered at the event. Mailing will be a few dollars additional.
We will put up a link in this thread with the finished design and price(s) that will lead you to the Georgia Fieros Club Merchandise section. Orders will be accepted through September 9.
What's going on with reservations in Gatlinburg? They report that only I and 1 other person have reserved rooms. If you've made reservations, let me know so I can make some inquiries.
I'll be arriving in Gatlinburg as you all leave, so maybe I'll actually see a Fiero this year. Wish I could adjust my travel dates and bring a Fiero instead of a motorcycle, but it's too late for that. So if you see someone on a Sportster waiving like crazy, it's me!!!!!
[This message has been edited by fierochic1 (edited 08-17-2016).]
I'll be arriving in Gatlinburg as you all leave, so maybe I'll actually see a Fiero this year. Wish I could adjust my travel dates and bring a Fiero instead of a motorcycle, but it's too late for that. So if you see someone on a Sportster waiving like crazy, it's me!!!!!
I expect to be at the Days Inn in Clayton at least by 2PM, Friday Sept. 16. I will have your Tshirts and participant packages that includes registration forms, route sheets, and some information about Gatlinburg and the surrounding National Parks area. Please find me to get your information package.
Thanks to the Georgia Fiero Club for a great 21st RFTH. Charlie sure knows how to pace the group over some of the most exciting and challenging roads this side of the Rockies. Looking forward to doing it again!!
ps: everybody should do this event at least once.
[This message has been edited by Kevin87FieroGT (edited 09-18-2016).]
The only reason I ran as hard as I did was because I had 12 cars riding my bumper, wanting to get past me. I think all of you will back me up on this. "We can honestly say that while we were running The Dragon, I had to flash the high beams and blow the horn at a Corvette because he was holding us up."
The group at Bridal Veil Falls, Highlands, NC. Unfortunately, the drive-behind road was still closed.
Photo-op on the Foothills Parkway, NC.
A small portion of the endlessly beautiful weather and scenery we enjoyed during Run For The Hills 21.
Former Georgia Fiero Club member, benevolent benefactor (Warrior Project Car) and current Gatlinburg, Tn. resident Mike Barr, met us at our dinner restaurant. Here, he's relating something to us as only Mike Barr can tell a story.
And then telling us how much truth there is to the story. LOL
Looking North at our dinner table.
And looking South at our dinner table.
Looking North from the room's balcony.
And South.
If anyone has one, I need a picture of Joe and his car to complete the lineup.
Thanks to all the Michigan folks for coming down and supporting us. (Robert, Joe, Jack, Kevin. I'm sure I forgot someone.) Brian from Florida, and Lloyd and Mike from Texas, too. And all the GA regulars and "sometimes regulars". It was really good to see everyone again. (Tom, Ronnie and Carolyn... Y'all.) You guys really made it what it was.
Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this a success (especially you, Charlie.) It was very much appreciated. This was one of the few times I've run the Dragon that traffic didn't get in the way. (Well... except for that one Corvette - edited out.) Here's a few minutes of video I captured. A first attempt...
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 09-20-2016).]
Thank you, Steve. Thank you ScottB for the help in doing the scouting. Thanks Georgia Fieros.
Every year, we wonder if it's worth doing another event. The Fiero Factory always said of their swap meet "....and maybe the last." Lots of people say of Run For The Hills, "I've got to do this next year" or "There's always next year." Don't let the one you didn't attend be the last one. It takes participants to make the RFTH a success or for that matter, to even make it an event. We welcome your suggestions and help for RFTH 22. I've already received a phone call today, offering to scout some new territory for us.
_1.JPG)
_1.jpg)
_2.jpg)
_1.jpg)
_1.jpg)
I personally think this is the best Fiero event by far.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
_1.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
_1.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
_(Custom).jpg)
