Much as I wanted to, and location drama notwithstanding, I had really planned on coming down this year, as I have for the past three. Unfortunately, work has taken a turn for the suicidally busy (and also unfortunately, I am on salary). I've been holding out until the last minute, hoping something would break free, even if it meant coming down for an evening. But, it's just not going to happen.
Reading some of the issues with Pine Grove, I must say I'm not entirely surprised. Each of the previous three years, we seemed to be getting squeezed into a less and less desirable area. They seem to be catering much more to the large RV groups, and far less to the smaller ad hoc camping group. I don't have a good solution for that, when there appears to be no other reasonable alternatives in the area.
Going into the future, are there other wheeling areas that could be considered where there would be camping and/or hotels available nearby, that is located towards the southern part of this region? I know the east coast has far fewer places than I'm used to (SoCal, Death Valley, Johnson Valley, etc).
I'd love to consider coming to RockoberFest, but then distance does get to be an issue. I'm not a big long distance driver - 6 hours and usually about done, but I will make an attempt. Maybe I need to get an XJ on this coast as well, to provide me a larger incentive.
David Bricker / SYR