Big Bend area in April?

[Chemist]

The HRB asked me last night if anything was planned out here in the Western part of the state of Texas for the spring.

I am planning a run in/around Big Bend National park for the weekend of April 18-20.

Lodging:

Hotel Limpia, P.O. Box 1838, Fort Davis, TX 79734 ( The Hotel Limpia In Fort Davis Texas ) (located on east side of HWY 17/118) 1-800-662-5517. Mention “SOLSTICE CAR GROUP” when making reservations. You will receive a $10/night discount from the normal $89-109/night room and $119-170/night suite rates. Donna Adams is the Group Coordinator for the Hotel, but she is not there every day. Whomever you speak to should be aware of our group rate status.



(Tentative) Itenerary:

Friday, April 18:

5:30-6:00 pm - Gather at Hotel Limpia for orientation meet.
6:30 pm - Dinner (possibilities are Hotel Limpia, The Café at the Old Texas Inn, Murphy’s Pizzeria, and Pop’s Grill)
8:00 pm – Depart for McDonald Observatory
8:30-8:45 pm - Arrive at McDonald Observatory for Star Party (beginning at 9:00 pm)
?:?? pm - Arrive back at Hotel

Saturday, April 19:

8:00 am – Breakfast at the Drugstore (Old Texas Inn)
9:00 am - Hit the road toward Marfa
10:30 am - bio-break/fuel in Presidio
12:30 pm – bio-break/lunch in Terlingua (Roadrunner Deli)
3:00 pm - biobreak/photo op/gas/snack in Big Bend
5:30-6:00 pm - begin Dinner in Alpine (Eidelweiss Restaurant or Longhorn Steakhouse)
7:30 pm - Drive back to Fort Davis
8:00 pm – Arrive back at Hotel Limpia


Sunday, April 20:

8:00 am – Breakfast at the Drugstore (Old Texas Inn)
9:00 am - (optional) Drive HWY 118 portion of Scenic Loop (to Kent on I-10) (52 miles ~ 1 hour)
10:00 am - Say "goodbye"s at I-10 ramp and point ourselves toward our respective homes.


Below is the tentative list of (hopeful) attendees. I will update the list as it develops.

Persons of Interest: (solo or partnered -if known)

Chemist (2) +1 (Mom of Chemist = "Gran" ) Sol
JBD (1) Sol
jrdallas (2) Sol
Clark90 (2) Sky
Soltex (2) Sol
Duck (1 + Gran as "O my!"-handle holder ) Sol
AWhatstice? (2) Sol
tommyO (2) Sol
Rowdy (1) Sky
flagrl (2) Sol
RC (1) Sol
pauliwog (2) Sol

[Red Storm]

Originally Posted by Chemist

I'm in the first stages of planning a meet/run in the Big Bend area of Texas in April 2008 (probably April 18-20).

This would include a good run through Big Bend National Park (Maxwell scenic drive), the run on 170 from the park through Terlingua and Presidio, a trip to the McDonald Observatory, and a short loop around Fort Davis including a stop in the Davis Mountains State Park.

Lodging and food options are still being explored.

Anyone interested?

Got experience with the area and have good ideas where to stay and eat?

Would love to have a good group of Skys and Solstices make this meet (assuming I can get it planned. ).

--Chemist (Solstice owner in Lubbock, TX)

Hey Chemist...My wife and I drove the exact same route last month. It was awesome! We were talking about going back in the spring when everything will be in bloom. Best place to stay is Alpine. Lots of hotels/places to eat. The Maverick Inn was nice. A bit pricey but was very quaint with nice secure parking. Had a southwest feel to it for sure. We also stayed at the Limpia Inn up in Ft. Davis. Was also nice. It is more of a older restored home.

Keep me posted. That is about a 800 mile drive or so from east Texas...but worth it. By the way.....do you have any info on Texas sky/sol clubs??

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by Red Storm

Hey Chemist...My wife and I drove the exact same route last month. It was awesome! We were talking about going back in the spring when everything will be in bloom. Best place to stay is Alpine. Lots of hotels/places to eat. The Maverick Inn was nice. A bit pricey but was very quaint with nice secure parking. Had a southwest feel to it for sure. We also stayed at the Limpia Inn up in Ft. Davis. Was also nice. It is more of a older restored home.

Keep me posted. That is about a 800 mile drive or so from east Texas...but worth it. By the way.....do you have any info on Texas sky/sol clubs??

Thanks for the info, Red Storm! We're hoping to do a pre-run in January.

The Southwest Solstice Club (of which I am a member) has strong chapters in the DFW area as well as the Houston area. We are a bit sparse out her in the western part of the state, but we are as active as time and space allows.

You can find our "home site" at http://www.solstice-forum.com/swsc/ .

I should warn you that we are a "familiar" group, having been running together since early 2006. Don't take any of the banter too seriously.

We've had runs in Kerrville, the Panhandle (my area ), Lake Livingston, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and caravaned to both National Solstice Meets (KC and Nashville). While we are predominantly Solstice owners, we have a good representation of Sky owners as well, so don;t let the club name put you off. We welcome all Solstice and Sky owners (and their cars! ). I'm "Alchemist" over on the club board. The hosting board for the club ( http://www.solstice-forum.com/ ) is a fun place with Sky and Solstice members from all over the country. Please drop by!

--Chemist

[Red Storm]

Originally Posted by Chemist

Thanks for the info, Red Storm! We're hoping to do a pre-run in January.

The Southwest Solstice Club (of which I am a member) has strong chapters in the DFW area as well as the Houston area. We are a bit sparse out her in the western part of the state, but we are as active as time and space allows.

You can find our "home site" at http://www.solstice-forum.com/swsc/ .

I should warn you that we are a "familiar" group, having been running together since early 2006. Don't take any of the banter too seriously.

We've had runs in Kerrville, the Panhandle (my area ), Lake Livingston, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and caravaned to both National Solstice Meets (KC and Nashville). While we are predominantly Solstice owners, we have a good representation of Sky owners as well, so don;t let the club name put you off. We welcome all Solstice and Sky owners (and their cars! ). I'm "Alchemist" over on the club board. The hosting board for the club ( http://www.solstice-forum.com/ ) is a fun place with Sky and Solstice members from all over the country. Please drop by!

--Chemist

Will check your site out for sure. Looking forward to running with you guys!

We're interested in the April Big Bend run. If we get a bunch of folks together I can call the Maverick Inn and see if we can get a group rate. We paid like $105 bucks a night which I thought was a bit much....but like I said..it was nice. There is also a motel in the park itself which looked pretty cool...and for the adventurous there were also some hotels in the "outlaw town" of Terlingua.

[Chemist]

OK, I uploaded some pics tonight from last weekends pre-run. Here's a couple, the rest are at http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s...view=slideshow . Enjoy!

Between Alpine and Marfa


Beautiful Downtown Marfa


Heading south to Presidio


The highest point on the River Road


At the Park entrance


Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park


Chillin' at the Veranda




I'm working on a tentative schedule for this April run. I'll get in contact with the hotels and restaurants and get back to y'all later.

[Chemist]

BUMP!

Lodging and (tentative) schedule added to first post.

[Chemist]

The waiver for this event is HERE.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in eight weeks.

[DHuffman]

Hey Guys! We're in! Just made reservations at the Hotel Limpia.

Clark, more commonly know as Clark90, has been involved in a slight sparring match with his computer, but should be back on soon...

Looking forward to seeing you all and a GREAT weekend !

See you in April !

Clark and Donna
2008 Sky RL
Sunburst Yellow (plus...)
Morgans Point Resort, Tx

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by DHuffman

Hey Guys! We're in! Just made reservations at the Hotel Limpia.

Clark, more commonly know as Clark90, has been involved in a slight sparring match with his computer, but should be back on soon...

Looking forward to seeing you all and a GREAT weekend !

See you in April !

Clark and Donna
2008 Sky RL
Sunburst Yellow (plus...)
Morgans Point Resort, Tx

Excellent! We are so looking forward to having y'all with us on this run!

Until April!

--Chemist

[DHuffman]

Hey Chemist !
What's the list looking like for the Big Bend trip???
We are certainly looking forward to it.

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by DHuffman

Hey Chemist !
What's the list looking like for the Big Bend trip???
We are certainly looking forward to it.

D,

We are presently at 13-14 cars with 22-23 folks! Should be a good time!

Dinner plans for Saturday night are still up in the air. I'll be posting options for a group decision next week.

Looking forward to seeing you!

--Chemist

[Chemist]

The Hotel Limpia is releasing any unrented rooms. If you have NOT yet reserved yours, do it now.

[Chemist]

Folks,

Here are the details regarding dinner on Saturday night. The Hotel Limpia Restaurant will cater the meal (see the attached menu). We look to have 25 people and so will have our choice of three entrees. I need everyone to examine the menu and post your top three choices for entree in order of preference. I will collect the choices,run the stats, and post the results. Note that I will need to submit our head count and entree choices before I leave Lubbock on the morning of the 18th.


For those of you mathematically inclined, here is how I will determine the top three vote getters:

Each entree voted for will be given 1 point if a 1st choice, 2 points if a second choice, and 3 points if a third choice. The three entrees that total the LOWEST points will be the three we will submit to the restaurant.

I do _not_ want to sway the results, but will tell you that the HRB and I ate there on the pre-run, and the chicken dishes were quite good.

Remember, if you don't vote, you can't complain about the menu.

Let me know.

--Chemist

[Chemist]

BUMP for food vote.

If you have not already done so, PLEASE go to the post just prior, read the attached menu and let me know your #1, #2, and #3 choice for entree. I need this info as soon as possible to get word to the restaurant.

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by Chemist

BUMP for food vote.

If you have not already done so, PLEASE go to the post just prior, read the attached menu and let me know your #1, #2, and #3 choice for entree. I need this info as soon as possible to get word to the restaurant.

BUMP-ity BUMP!

It's looking as if we will have only 21 or 22 folks on the run and so will be limited to two entree choices for Saturday night. At present, those would be the Burgundy Roast Beef and the Chicken Fried Chicken. These are not only the two highest vote getters, but are also virtually everyone's 1st or 2nd choice.

I have not heard back from Rowdy (from here) or SolTex and flagrl over on the SolsticeForum. I'm posting over there as well as doing one more PM. I'm hoping that I hear from them before Friday!


--Chemist

[Chemist]

Oh, BTW, bring your radios if you have them. Those of us with two, bring them both.

[Chemist]

A note regarding park fees on the run.

Friday night's Star Party at the McDonald Observatory is $9 per person.

Big Bend Admission is $20 per car.

[Chemist]

TO ALL:

Saturday dinner is now open menu!!! The folks at the Limpia are expecting us at 6:30 PM so we'll have to be careful to be back in time. Let's be sure and tip well!