North America gathering at Yellowstone, Euro Cars EPIC road trip 2013

m3dragon · #1 04-06-2013, 11:42 AM

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons Epic drive and meet 2013

First item: I have gotten some flak from people on the different forms for putting this on as well as asking people to only post if they were going or at least seriously interested. I am not being paid to do this nor am I asking for money. I am doing this because I love to drive and seem to be one of the few people out in the community willing to take on such a headache. All I ask is if you are going to post on this thread, please be serious about attending. Just posting to say "say not for me" or "to far" makes the thread long and does not add value. Thank you.

Second item: There is no way I can please everyone for this event and nor am I trying to do so. I have done my best to make an event that balances the areas I felt were important.

Being able to see the sights you have not seen as well as take your ride on a drive you normally would never do.
Being able to drive the car in a fun manner at some points to “stretch its legs”.
Make a successful event that we can have move across North America to see the sights.

Dates of the event

June 24-28 – for meet and group activities. If you include driving to base camp it would be June 22nd – June 30th possibly depending on location you are starting from.

Base camp will be West Yellowstone. There is plenty of lodging, parking and activities for a hopefully big group. I will be working on group rates at the first of the year for everyone.

June 24th, 2013 - Yellowstone park North loop
June 25th, 2013 – Yellowstone park South Loop
June 26th, 2013 – Beartooth Pass drive. (This will be the drive day and will make for some great roads. This will be a LONG day, as we will cover some miles)
June 27th, 2013 – Leave West Yellowstone and travel to Jackson WY
- Explore Grand Tetons during the day on the way to Jackson WY
June 28th, 2013 – Explore Grand Tetons

In an effort to help facilitate getting people in touch with each other to arrange caravans, I have made a form that I will use to populate a Google document. I am the only one who will see this as a FYI.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...eW9RcFlhQUE6MQ

What will we be doing there?

We are in the oldest national park in the world so we will be seeing the sights and doing some walking around. In addition, a few others and I are trying to arrange some group photo shots at the parks attractions. I have included one day for just pure driving for those who are interested.

What will this cost me to go?

You will be responsible for fuel, lodging, food, park fees and anything else you might want to do. The only fee that is 100% for sure is the $25 for a 7 day pass which allows you to see both Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

If I get enough people interested, I could have some removable decals made to be placed on the side of the car to be like we are on a rally event. If you want me to look into these costs, let me know on the form above.

This sounds LAME!

I know some of you have posted you hated Yellowstone and would just do the Grand Teton or you just want to hall ass around all day seeing what your car can do. Sorry this is not the place to do that. The best explanation I can say why this is not lame is because you are going on a ROAD TRIP, which to me has always been a reason to go to places. This also is a continental wide event that hopefully will be the first of many more to come. Therefore, if you still think this is a lame idea then I wish you a safe summer in your adventures.

Currently I have four cars from Sacramento area 100% going. In addition, I know of a few in Montana that will be attending. This means we have about eight cars ranging from BMW, Audi, Ferrari and Lotus already attending.

If you wish to email me directly my email is [email protected]. Please make sure to let me know you are asking about Yellowstone as I organize many drives for the NorCal enthusiasts.

Cheers

Adam

Here are some sample images of the visit my wife and I did in 2011 in our 2006 E90.

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m3dragon · #2 04-06-2013, 11:45 AM

So I had a member on one of the forums about this event offer to make decals. Below is a sample of the decals that would be available for the drive.

Not sure if we will do pick your number or assign a number. So far most people seem to want a decal number.

If you plan on attending even please make sure to fill out the Google form so i can start getting a better idea of numbers when i call the hotels towards the beginning of the year.

Please feel free to email you regional Euro car clubs to see if more people would be interested. I plan on inviting the CA Euro car marks that I know of.

m3dragon · #3 04-06-2013, 11:46 AM

Just a bump and a update that we crossed the 108 person mark for information request to attend. Not to shabby.

If you signed up and have not gotten the info, please email me directly. [email protected]

motordavid · #4 04-06-2013, 12:21 PM

Sounds like a good time with some great drives...
Beartooth Pass Road may be one of the Top 10 roads to drive in the US, imo...
GL, mD

m3dragon · #5 04-09-2013, 07:49 PM

74 days to go already. Time sure does fly.

ukrcan · #6 04-09-2013, 10:39 PM

We were planning a family vacation this summer to go and see Yellowstone, so this will work out perfect for us...This sounds like a great road trip...

m3dragon · #7 04-09-2013, 11:11 PM

Sign up and join the fun

m3dragon · #8 04-11-2013, 09:33 PM

For kicks I took the time to map out all the people that requested info. This is the caravan routes according to Google for the fastest route there based on ZIPs provided.

If everyone that requested info is able to attend, that will make for a truly continental event. Alaska is winning for furthest traveled as you can see.

If you have questions or have not gotten the last email update, please email direct - [email protected]

m3dragon · #9 04-26-2013, 12:53 PM

April is almost over so that means we are getting close. WOOT

m3dragon · #10 07-08-2013, 10:23 PM

For those who were unable to make this trip, we must say you missed one hell of a week. The group was 14 cars strong, and we did have a few additional cars join us along the way, making the final group 16 cars at the largest point.

Here is a summary of the week:

Day 1 - The day started with the usual introduction, paperwork and review of the week’s itinerary. We then headed out to drive the North Loop of Yellowstone Park, stopping at all the major attractions along the way. Everyone enjoyed seeing the sights and getting to know one another. Towards the end of the day, we quickly noticed that our group was becoming a side attraction to the park due to the Yellowstone decals we had on our cars to identify who belonged with the road trip group. The day ended with a fun dinner at a local BBQ joint where everyone continued to get to know each other.

Day 2 - The morning started off a little wet and chilly. We picked up two additional cars for the day as we headed out to explore the South Loop of Yellowstone Park. We had a few issues with parking as we toured the South Loop, as the tourist season had already started and some of the parking lots were small. However, we managed and were able to see everything we set out to see. Since we were in the busier parts of the Park, we started to gain even more notice due our Yellowstone Road Trip decals. We had park rangers and tourists alike, coming up to ask us all about the group. They were curious to know who we were, where we came from and what the road trip entailed. The day ended with dinner and drinks out at a local bar.

Day 3 - Today the trip began to gain more energy as we set out to tackle a drive over Beartooth Pass. We started our day at the Visitor Center, as we had in days past, and had more and more park rangers come up to admire our Yellowstone Road Trip decals and to ask about our group. Once we had everyone together, we headed out the East Entrance of the Park and picked up speed once we turned onto Beartooth Pass. The road winds its way up to a max altitude of 10,990 feet, before switch-backing its way down the other side of the mountain and into the small mountain town of Red Lodge. The speed limit over the pass is 70mph, but good luck keeping that average through the incredibly tight and continuous switchbacks. The drive itself was exhilarating, and the views of the surrounding valleys and mountain ranges were epic. The drive, to say the least, is one of the most thrilling, breath-taking and amazing stretches of road I have been on. We stopped in Red Lodge for an arranged lunch, and also made a few stops on the way back in order to take some group pictures and do some souvenir shopping at The Top of The World Store. The day ended with everyone grinning ear to ear and re-living the adventure over dinner.

Day 4 - We said good-bye to Yellowstone and hello to the Tetons. Our first stop was for an arranged group shot at the Old Faithful Inn, with the Old Faithful Geyser in the background. The photo shoot went fine, and a few park employees stood around commenting favorably on our group and cars. Then, things went sour very quickly when I was confronted by a head park ranger who was very angry he had not been informed that I had already completed all the necessary paperwork for our group to be there. After getting chewed out by the ranger, I was able to clear up the misunderstanding and we were allowed to finish taking our pictures. However, the ranger did inform us that our decals looked too close to the official park logo, and therefore it was unlawful for us to be using them. Keep in mind, the decals were about three times the size of the official park logo found on ranger uniforms and official park vehicles, and they were clearly labeled as, “2013 Euro Car Road Trip, Yellowstone.” The ranger did not make us remove the decals, and we only received favorable comments about them for the remainder of the trip. (It is worth noting that I received an email when I returned home from one of my contacts saying that there is a law which states no facsimiles of the official park logo can be made. I continue to argue it is not a facsimile, and note that only one individual made a negative comment about the logo throughout the trip). After the photo shoot, we made our way to Teton National Park, where we enjoyed the stunning views and enjoyed the plethora of blooming wild flowers. Some participants took a ferry across Lake Jenny and hiked to a waterfall and vista point; while others took in the views and then went on to explore the town of Jackson. The day ended with everyone sharing an AWESOME meal at the Cowboy Bar, which is below The Million Dollar Bar. I definitely recommend this place for dinner and drinks if you are ever staying in Jackson.

Day 5 – For the last day of the trip we had a smaller group, as some participants had to start their trek home. For those who were able to stay, we made a trip to Teton Village, where we enjoyed a fun Aerial Tram ride 4,139 vertical feet to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, where we could see endless views of the valley floor and Teton Mountain Range. After riding the tram back down the mountain, we drove around the valley floor to see the Chapel of the Transfiguration, Menor’s Ferry, as well as some old abandoned settlements. As the temperature started to climb, we decided to head back to Jackson and further explore the town. Dinner was at a great Mexican restaurant where many of us said our goodbyes before leaving for home the following day.

This is only a summary of the week’s events, and it fails to fully convey the amount of fun the group had. Everyone got along incredibly well, and many new friendships we made. We were all sad to end the trip, as we were starting to become one big and diverse family.

The goal of this trip is to be the start of a bi-annual road trip series, which will provide future opportunities to discover more of our amazing country, enjoy our cars and continue to make new friendships. We are already looking forward to 2015 and our next chance to do some sightseeing, fun driving, relax and catch up. All I can say to you if you are reading this is, if you can join us in 2015, I highly recommend doing so! The event will have the same laid back, and social feel, intermixed with some fun driving and sightseeing.

Here are a few sample images with more coming. I will post the album link once I have them created. We have a LOT of images which all will be posted soon.

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