JessN16 Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Folks, I'm considering a reboot of our old Mountain Lakes Drive meet, traditionally held in Scottsboro, Ala. We've been dormant the past couple of years, and it's time to tear it to the ground and start over. I'm collecting comments in this thread: http://www.starquestclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=108438 Please give input in the linked thread. Thanks! Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_B. Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 As mentioned in the PF post, I would love to see this meet come back to fruition. I still really like the idea of meeting at Stevenson park in the morning, having a two part (easy/scenic) cruise, and ending the day at a nice place to grub. Watching videos of our cruise later that night at the hotel also sounds like fun. Going to the baggage claim store is still pretty cool too. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pure_insanity Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 yes, do it. i will be there for sure. i always liked it, no matter what happened, even if it rained like the last one i attended. that still stands out as one of my fav meets. i think just cos i got to spend time with good people and there wasnt any pressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_B. Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 yes, do it. i will be there for sure. i always liked it, no matter what happened, even if it rained like the last one i attended. that still stands out as one of my fav meets. i think just cos i got to spend time with good people and there wasnt any pressure.It probably stands out in your mind because of the stuff that the previous occupant left in your hotel room...hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pure_insanity Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 It probably stands out in your mind because of the stuff that the previous occupant left in your hotel room...hehelol, i had forgotten all about that part. i got a nice addition to my porn collection while we were there. compliments of my rooms previous occupant. nah, it was all about the people and just hanging with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helrazr70 Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Ken, Actually the "items" got left in Jess' and Melena's room in the nightstand. You and Grant got the "proceeds". I like the way the meet was set up, but I did hear a lot of grumbling about the length of the drives though. Maybe a shorter day of driving would be a suggestion. Watching the video of the days events was great but we have to ensure that someone videos and brings a projector of the means to connect their camera to a TV. If Jeff Hall were to continue the filming, he would need a new driver after the passing of Jim Barber. Any volunteers crazy enough for the task? I may or may not be able to make the next Scottsboro meet due to my on call schedule and if I do I may be in a non-SQ ride. (if I am not a passenger with someone) It would be great to see this meet happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessN16 Posted July 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 The biggest issue we have with the drive length is the layout of the roads in the Tennessee portion once you get to Monteagle on Mountain 1. The only way to make a returning loop without backtracking on roads we've already traveled is to either (1) go down the mountain to Cowan and then on to where the Paint Rock highway picks up, which leaves us about an hour and a half of some really boring roads to travel, or (2) go up to the I-24 junction, go down the mountain that way and then cycle back down U.S. 72, which is also a bore-fest. However, if we simply went to Monteagle, then turned around and came back, then re-routed Mountain 2 to start with the SCCA hillclimb road, go up past the Walls of Jericho on 79 and then route back through Tennessee (cutting our "boring" time from an hour and a half down to about 30 minutes), we can cut this thing from 5.5-6 hours back to 4-4.5. I doubt we can get it any shorter than that, because there are four "must-do" runs: Monteagle, hillclimb, Paint Rock Valley Highway and the Lakes loop through the state park, and unfortunately those things are all scattered way apart from one another. I don't like the 6-hour drive, either. But I think 4-4.5 is very appropriate for what is, at its heart, a driving meet. As long as people don't mind hoofing it back down Monteagle to Stevenson, the problem is solved. Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetVelocity Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 a driving meet sounds awesome i could bring my tools in case someone broke down (im a mechanic) is there plenty of gas stops or solid driving? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessN16 Posted July 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 (edited) a driving meet sounds awesome i could bring my tools in case someone broke down (im a mechanic) is there plenty of gas stops or solid driving? Here's kind of how it breaks down, as the route used to go: Mountain 1: Started in Stevenson, went up to Monteagle (about 45 minutes) using Alabama 117 and Tennessee 56. At that point, we would turn down the mountain and go into Cowan on U.S. 41, which has a few service stations. From there, we would drive straight roads to Winchester, about 15 minutes away, where there was room to stop again. Then it would get dicey. The next town of any size is Huntland, on Tennessee 97. There are a couple of places to stop there. After that, though, you pick up Alabama 65, which is the Paint Rock River Valley Highway, and there is no place to stop -- as well as no shoulders on the road -- until you get all the way back to Scottsboro, which is a good 1.5 hours. And of course, that stretch is precisely where Brandon's car decided to detonate a head gasket one year. This first loop is by far the longest, clocking it at nearly 4 hours all by itself. Mountain 2: Short route. Start in Scottsboro, go up Jackson County Road 33, which is an actual SCCA Hillclimb Competition route, intersect Alabama 79 in Skyline (there is a gas station there) and come back. Total loop time is less than an hour. Only problem with this route is that the Hillclimb stage is a no-breakdown zone. No pull-off areas or anything close. Lakes: Another 1-hour route. Leave Scottsboro, go down Alabama 279 and 79 to Guntersville, turn on Alabama 227 and go through the Lake Guntersville complex, then exit out the back end on some unmarked Marshall County road that eventually turns into Jackson Count 67/John B. Benson Parkway and literally travels a couple of feet off the Tennessee River for 10-20 miles. Gas stations all over this route. We typically run this one at sunset for the epic views. The thinking for this year is to restructure Mountain 1 and Mountain 2. We would end up cutting Mountain 1 by almost 75 percent. We'd simply go to Monteagle, ride through the campus at The University of the South, u-turn and come home, maybe grab lunch at this Mexican joint they've got up there. Mountain 2 would then start with the Hillclimb, take Alabama 79 north to Winchester, then go back through Huntland and come back on Alabama 65. The Lakes loop would stay the same, as it's short anyway. That would cut the drive time to about 4-4.5 hours. Jess Edited July 10, 2010 by JessN16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessN16 Posted July 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Also fellas, we've got a lodging update in the main thread on the other forum that I need everyone to check out ASAP. Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helrazr70 Posted July 10, 2010 Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 a driving meet sounds awesome i could bring my tools in case someone broke down (im a mechanic) Great! You can take my place as the rolling toolbox! (I am an ex-Mercedes Benz Technician and I carried more lbs of tools than luggage/passengers/and gas combined--or so it seemed.) 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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