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Old 10-03-2011, 12:54 PM   #1
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A Rockwood/Flagstaff A-Frame Rendezvous?

During a perfect camping day this past weekend we were idly wishing there could be a get-together for Rockwood/Flagstaff and other A-frame owners. Spousal Unit #1 was saying how fun it would be to meet the other owners on this forum. I agreed, though it would take some organization, such as collecting an email list, arranging to take over a campground for several days, maybe even collecting ideas for a vendor fair and then contacting the vendors, etc. I readily admit to having zero organizational skills, but someone out there must be a champion event planner...?

An alternative to all that work would be to set a date and place to go camping, then let folks make their own reservation decisions.
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Old 10-03-2011, 04:00 PM   #2
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there was a big A-frame get-together this past weekend at the Napa Valley Expo's CG. i've never seen them there in the 10 years i've lived here.
had to be about 25 of them.
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Old 10-04-2011, 12:30 AM   #3
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If a few ideas get thrown around and some like it, maybe a date or two agreed upon, and a central location for the interested parties to meet up at, that would be a good read.....deciphered-- whatchallwannado??
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Old 10-04-2011, 06:02 AM   #4
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Check out the Rally Zone / F.R.O.G. Events section of this forum. You'll find some good ideas there.
The Rally Zone | F.R.O.G. Events - Forest River Forums
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Old 10-04-2011, 11:30 AM   #5
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Sounds interesting to me. I'm limited on distance to travel right now but close enough and I'd be game.
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Old 10-05-2011, 11:14 AM   #6
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I nominate Jester Park. It's a well maintained county park with 6 campgrounds totaling over 250 sites, it's a beautiful area, migrating pelicans stop there, it's 16 miles from my house and 6-1/2 paved miles off two major Interstates... And people 62 and up can rent an electric site for $10 per night or a non-electric site for $8/night Sundays through Thursdays. The upper end of Saylorville Lake--a Corps of Engineers project--runs alongside the park. http://www.conservationboard.org/Pages/jp.aspx

It's an Iowa park so you know it's got to be wholesome and pure (grin).
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Old 07-07-2013, 10:53 PM   #7
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Lee, did anyone ever get together? It would be great for FR A-Framers to meet and have mini rally of owners/users. Our trailers are still in a niche as far as rv purchases go....I would love to rally regionally given adequate notice!
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Old 07-08-2013, 08:58 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by handbuilder View Post
Lee, did anyone ever get together? It would be great for FR A-Framers to meet and have mini rally of owners/users. Our trailers are still in a niche as far as rv purchases go....I would love to rally regionally given adequate notice!
Not that I know of, Tamara. I think in my part of the country we're far enough apart that a good part of anyone's vacation time would be spent in just getting together. One in Omaha, one in Des Moines, another in central Illinois, one or two each in South Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri and Minnesota, and that's about it.

It WOULD be fun to be able to meet somewhere, but maybe the only effective way to do it would be via a FROG regional rally. Or, as Graeme (ExTenter) suggested, one person could set up an itinerary and publicize it. Then whomever could rendezvous along the route could contact them. We're thinking of reprising our Alaska trip next summer, for example. If we got dates and destinations out soon enough, others could arrange to meet at different spots and either travel along or just visit a day or two. Free software for smartphones could help keep track of each member as they worked their way to the meeting point (Find Friends and Glympse are two such apps for iOS devices).

If you haven't already met Graeme, he lives in BC and camps along the western US coast as well as in Canada. And there are a couple of Albertans who have Aframes of various vintages. Don't forget Yukon Don in Manitoba (but who prefers Yukon Territory) and ko777 in Ontario, who's about to take a long trip east and thus prove his willingness to travel far. There's a possible mini-rally right there!

Would you travel as far east as Devil's Tower, WY, or the Black Hills? We're kicking around the idea of a September trip to that area, which is 7- to 800 miles each way for us.

It was at Devil's Tower that we saw our first Aliner in the fall of 2010 and decided we had to have a folding camper. In January of 2011 we did it.
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Old 07-15-2013, 05:56 PM   #9
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I've got it:
The International Peace Garden on the Manitoba/North Dakota border.
The closest major city is...well actually there isn't one...but it's supposed to be really nice there.

We could set up a volleyball net right along the 49th parallel and settle this whole War of 1812 business once and for all!
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Old 07-15-2013, 08:22 PM   #10
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I like that idea, Don. I've been looking to get even with someone for the burning of the White House (or was it the Capitol?) during that war. A volleyball victory would just about even up my need for compensation. Actually it would probably overpay it. In fact, come to think of it, I'm not fussed about it at all, but I do like volleyball. They don't call me Spike for nothing (I have to pay them).
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Old 07-29-2013, 06:26 PM   #11
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OK. When is this A Rally happening! Are any of you going to the FROG Rally Aug 4? Maybe we could meet there and plan something...
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Old 07-30-2013, 07:08 PM   #12
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So far nothing's been planned. Every time we make up our minds about where and when to travel something comes up. Now we're trying to decide where to go sometime in September. The Black Hills and Michigan's Upper Peninsula are the current contenders. If we went to the U.P. we'd probably travel SW to NE through Wisconsin to get there. We camped in The Porkies last time we went to the U.P.; we'd probably try that again.
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Old 07-31-2013, 03:10 PM   #13
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Gee .. i would kinda like to meet some of you guys ...
im thinking this should be planned well in advance ... perhaps a year .. in a very central location .. kinda like some place below the Great Lakes .. in the early summer or fall ... that way things dont get too complicated ... and booking sites is really not a big issue.

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Old 07-31-2013, 03:36 PM   #14
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How about here: http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandt...pe=SPRK&id=426
It's "The Porkies" and there are a couple of nice campgrounds in the park. We stayed in the eastern one in 2011, but scouted the one at the western edge and decided it was the one we'd prefer. Easily reached from the US and Canadian Midwest. Ontarians could enter at Sault Ste Marie and head west along the Upper Peninsula.

We still haven't firmed up a Fall trip but we're leaning toward leaving central Iowa around September 5 and taking 2 to 3 days to get to wherever we head. If it's The Porkies we'd probably also spend time at a couple of other spots in the U. P., Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore comes to mind. Twelvemile Beach campground is a favorite although its nearly everyone else's too...we met families that've been going there every summer for generations.

I stress that we haven't decided for sure which way we'll head from home. Though a chance to meet up with friendly folks from the Forum would be a big draw...
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Old 07-31-2013, 03:58 PM   #15
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I procrastinated getting a passport before my East Coast trip so USA is out for me but next year if we plan a good date I may be able to join you guys and if we meet in the Canadian side then I could procrastinate another year getting a passport....LOL
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Old 08-01-2013, 01:33 PM   #16
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The Spousal Unit is excited about the prospect of meeting up with available Aframers at some campground in Upper Michigan in early September. Who else is up for that?

(Ko, you could Skype across. How long does it take to get a passport there? I think our last renewal here took 3 weeks.)
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Old 08-01-2013, 02:44 PM   #17
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When I get back from my trip, late August, I'll go for my passport and it should only take 2 weeks if I don't procrastinate...lol

What is the exact GPS location of the campground, I did a search and got this:
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I hope I got it wrong, kidda far for me, I could leave on a Friday after work and back on a Monday which I'll take time off from work.
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Old 08-01-2013, 04:49 PM   #18
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That's the place, in your attachment. I didn't realize it would be that far. There are places closer to the east end of the U.P.but they're likely to be harder to get sites in. Twelvemile Beach, for example, has only 40 or so sites, no showers, no electric sites I think, and lines of people waiting for vacant sites every morning. It's a federal campground in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, a very pretty locale. The PRNL is just east of Munising, Michigan. Not far west of that town is Bay Furnace campground (there are pics of these places in my FB album "2011 Camping"), which is also a federally-run mostly-primitive CG right on Superior's shore. There are dozens of public and private CGs in the U.P. but we've only been to three or four of them.

Tell you what: I'm a doctor (not "that kind" of doctor but no one has to know that). You can find some exotic disease that requires lots of rest and I'll write you a "doctor's" order for ten days off work. Then you can make it there and back with days to spare!
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Old 08-02-2013, 11:59 AM   #19
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Catching Up (pant, pant)

When I first looked at this thread on a itsy-bitsy screen I didn't realize that Lee's first post was in October 2011! That might explain the navigational whiplash between Wyoming and Michigan, I guess.

FWIW, although they are definitely the types of places we'd love to explore, even Devils Tower is a 2000 km/1250 mile trip for us. Our two week end of September trip will likely still be down the Oregon coast.

I hope the mid-continent get-together, large or small, works out and look forward to hearing about it.

As for next year, I'd be happy to tag along to a portion of a trip someone else plans out to somewhere like, say, Alaska. Hmmm...; who might that be? We would love to do the whole round trip but that's probably not possible and also I'm not sure which portion it might be. If other events intervene, it might be not at all. That's why I think no one person could take on such an event. I call it the Rolling Rockwood Round-up (yes, other brands/makes too) just to emphasize its' fluid nature. It would be the proverbial task of herding cats.

However, someone with a firm trip plan, subject to the usual expected or of course unexpected changes, could put it out there then others can do their own planning and join in along the way. As for the itinerary changes en-route, sounds like Lee knows an app for that. Would keep it interesting, no?
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Old 08-05-2013, 01:56 PM   #20
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We're new A frame owners, and a chance to see all of your mods would be cool as all get out. We live in the northern Lower Peninsula, about 40 miles southeast of The Bridge as the crow flies.

At the risk of being accused of trying to influence the date, I already have a week of vacation planned for the week of the 16th-20th. We're already toying with the idea of a camping tour of the U.P. to break in the new camper, and if possible we sure would like to make this a part of it.
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