I want to chime in a little bit on parking, although Herk has been doing an outstanding job of explaining items.
To help you get oriented, this photo is looking to the west/southwest.
Because of the huge expansion of the FROG Rally, we had to park quite a few units in the northeast area of the fairgrounds (north of the horse racing track, or in the lower right in this photo) where there is a hill. The rest of the areas on the fairgrounds are almost completely flat.
The large building at the top of the photo, just right of center, is where we have meals. The two buildings just to the right of that are where the vendors will be located. Immediately east of the vendor buildings (below them in the photo) is a park area where we'll have some outdoor concerts, weather permitting, and just south of that (to the left in the photo) in the trees is another grassy area where the new RV display is focused.
Most of the seminars take place in the two rows of pavilions just east of the concert area and the RV displays (below them in the photo).
The grey-roofed building shaped like a "T" is where the service center will be located. Most of the large buildings adjacent to it are animal barns and arenas that won't be open to the members, but will be used for parts, service tech and golf cart parking, and other service-related functions.
The only disagreement that I have with anything that Herk said is his assessment of the number of "souvenirs" that you might encounter. (Herk's view might be clouded by the fact that he's been in charge of parking in the center of the horse track for the last two rallies.) The county fair (not a rodeo) will have been in about a week and a half before us, and most of the grounds will have been used for midways, food concessions, shows, parking, camping, and other people-related activities, so on 95% of the grounds there's no cause for concern. Of course, there's always a risk right at the barns (the infamous "muck pile").
I've asked the fairgrounds to restrict early arrivals to start on Wednesday, unless I ask you to come earlier as part of the parking team or your division arranges for you to come earlier in connection with service. If you arrive early, the fairgrounds staff does not assign you a site. We'll get a list of early arrivals and assign sites to try to minimize the need to move anyone. Since there's an extra week this year between the fair and our arrival, there should be time for the fairgrounds staff to have all of the electric and water service in place to avoid having as many moves as there were last year.
NEITHER EARLY REGISTRATION NOR EARLY ARRIVAL GUARANTEES A FULL HOOKUP SITE, so we'll get that issue out of the way now.
IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL SITUATION THAT REQUIRES A SEWER HOOKUP, please let me know when you register so that we can try to accommodate that need. I'm aware of a few of those -- three that come to mind immediately. If your issue is just limited walking, we'll work to get you in close to most of the activities, but you won't necessarily have a sewer site.
As has already been mentioned, between the tractor and wagon shuttles and the golf cart taxis, we can get you any place you need to go if distance is an issue. Most of the grounds are flat, and most of the streets among the buildings are paved, so if you want to bring a scooter or a bike, you're welcome to do so.
If you want to park with someone, please let us know in advance and make arrangements to arrive together. Parking areas are assigned in advance and are parked on a "hobo parking" system -- you get the next available site in that area -- and trying to make and record changes at the arrival table with ten units behind you is not fun. Keep in mind that we not only have to park you, but we have to keep a record of where you are so that you can be located by the service teams as well as in the very rare case of emergency.
We understand better than we did last year the steepness of the northeast area and the issue of leveling there, especially with automatic leveling systems, and will endeavor to keep that in mind as we assign sites.
Hope this helps!
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