TheSamba.com :: View topic - 2018 SW Colorado Off-Road Adventure, July 27-29

Tue Jun 19, 2018 8:31 am

richparker wrote: How about September 22-23 like we did back in 2012?

The Durango and Silverton 4th of July fireworks were both cancelled in May. Article I read this afternoon said the San Juan NF needs 5” of rain to be considered safe.

That works for me. The Syncro is nearly done, ready for the road but waiting on some bling parts. :-)

Tue Jun 19, 2018 4:15 pm

That seems like a good call to me. Fremont county is now stage 2 fire ban, its never been implemented this early before..

Just my 2 cents.

Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:59 am

Manfred58sc wrote: Just my 2 cents.

I'll drop a dime... Sept is probably good for us too.

Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:35 pm

richparker wrote: How about September 22-23 like we did back in 2012?

The Durango and Silverton 4th of July fireworks were both cancelled in May. Article I read this afternoon said the San Juan NF needs 5” of rain to be considered safe.

My crew will be back at work. We're headed to the Rythms on the Rio bus camp after this.

I look forward to this event all year! This is stressing me out. I hope we can salvage some sort of a plan for the last week of July.

We've been camping all season without fires. Greenmtnjakes even has a little propane fire pit that we use to gather around on cold nights. What about moving it further north but keeping the same weekend?

Wed Jun 20, 2018 1:06 pm

What are things like north of there up by Buena Vista/Salida or even back where we were last year by Durango?

Wed Jun 20, 2018 2:14 pm

busboyjake wrote: What are things like north of there up by Buena Vista/Salida or even back where we were last year by Durango?

Where we held the trip last year is in the San Juan NF and is currently closed under stage 3 fire restrictions. The #416 fire is actually burning in the Hermosa Creek drainage area which is where we were last year.

Wed Jun 20, 2018 4:02 pm

What if we integrate the cruise with the Rhythms On The Rio...? Maybe start Thursday night (Aug. 2nd) at camp, then Friday find an off road route to the show and arrive a few busses deep? All dirty and stinky, they would love that.
Rumor has it, you show up in a VW Bus and you get VIP "Busses only" camp and weekend admission for free.
Plus, Keller Williams and Jeff Austin...! Yes Please!!
Any thoughts on that? :idea:

Wed Jun 20, 2018 6:00 pm

The San Juan NF will reopen to the public tomorrow 6/21. The areas around the #416 and Burro fires will still be closed.

Chris is organizing this year’s event and I’m sure he’ll put together a great alternate plan/route if necessary, he always does.

Doesn’t look like we are gonna make Rythem on the Rio. I did not see where admission was free to the event but they do have special pricing and I did see they have special bus camping on the river. We are going to The Ride Festival (another bus themed festival) 2 weeks before and we have The Four Corners Folk Festival 3 weeks after. So busy this summer. ;)

https://rhythmsontherio.com/buses-and-bluegrass/

Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:07 pm

Stupid little birds!!! #-o

Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:12 pm

richparker wrote: The San Juan NF will reopen to the public tomorrow 6/21. The areas around the #416 and Burro fires will still be closed.

Chris is organizing this year’s event and I’m sure he’ll put together a great alternate plan/route if necessary, he always does.

I agree, you da man Chris!!

Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:34 pm

I'm torn on what to do here. Honestly, I think stage 2 fire restrictions are too risky to be leading a group into the woods. And possibly even stage 1? Fortunately we've never had to deal with that with one of these trips in the past. We're still over a month out... The monsoons should come, but its still a gamble. Last year's monsoon was the weakest I've seen in 15+ years of living here.

We can look at moving the spot, but I can't say that I know of anywhere in CO that doesn't have fire restrictions, except maybe way up north around Steamboat. I can't go that far...

Would you guys rather roll the dice on the rains and lifting of the fire restrictions, or reschedule for Sept 22-23 (and hope its better by then)? I guess that is what is it boiling down to.

Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:35 pm

greenmtnjakes wrote: What if we integrate the cruise with the Rhythms On The Rio...? Maybe start Thursday night (Aug. 2nd) at camp, then Friday find an off road route to the show and arrive a few busses deep? All dirty and stinky, they would love that.
Rumor has it, you show up in a VW Bus and you get VIP "Busses only" camp and weekend admission for free.
Plus, Keller Williams and Jeff Austin...! Yes Please!!
Any thoughts on that? :idea:

I was considering this idea too, but with it only being a week out from the scheduled weekend I figured it was just as risky an option as what I already had planned. That said, we are planning to head to ROTR, and assuming the conditions do improve I'd be up for a Thursday night campout and Friday road run. There's a forest road that connects into that big road network I've always led us into on past trips, and pops out literally right across the road from the ROTR venue.

ROTR always has a great lineup! Can't wait to see Keller again!

Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:13 pm

Just sent the email to ROTR for my discounted tickets. ;)

As far a The Off Road event goes. I say we wait a couple of weeks and see what the weather does. Maybe it’ll rain, maybe it won’t. If it rains, we're on and we camp with each other 2 weekends in a row. If no rain we should change the date, I’m down with the September dates. If no rain at least we’ll have ROTR to campout together in July.

Thu Jun 21, 2018 8:33 am

I'm good with your decisions on this, your thinking safety first. Thank you.

Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:54 pm

I'm hoping the date stays, and crossing fingers for rain!

My plan was to do this thing, then camp/explore the area until ROTR!

I pretty much built a bus for the event this year, so I'm excited either way.

Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:58 pm

What is this ROTR thing like?? I'm getting old and too fond of crowds, I don't need some diggity-dank trying to sell me a nug at 2 am while he's rolling on Moly....

Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:15 pm

I’ve never been but I understand it is a small family oriented grass roots style festival. I was also told the bus camping is not right on top of everyone, it’s a little bit of a walk from the other campers. Here’s the link for the main page.

https://rhythmsontherio.com/#cntctfrm_contact_form

Fri Jun 22, 2018 2:00 pm

Manfred58sc wrote: What is this ROTR thing like?? I'm getting old and too fond of crowds, I don't need some diggity-dank trying to sell me a nug at 2 am while he's rolling on Moly....

I haven't been either, but I'm assuming it's a lot like the meadowgrass scene (family friendly, with adult fun options.) The bus camp would be really cool if we all got together. It would be cool to have you there Manfred!

Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:42 pm

Seems nice! I may add that to the trip or just do it if we cancel or re-schedule. I would assume there is no real limit to Bus's in the camping area.

Sun Jun 24, 2018 6:18 am

Yeah, I'd say ROTR is still a "small" festival, and is probably my favorite of the year. Its family friendly, but no doubt you could find the kid whacked out on whatever... I think that's just the reality of CO these days.

The venue is nice. Large ranch along the Rio Grande, with lots of space, both in the venue area and in the camping area. I've never seen it come close to filling up, although it does get a bit larger each year. I think we've been five or six times over the past 10 years or so. My only complaint is that shade is a bit scarce up near the stage area. (Tip: bring your sun hat!) I'm a wuss when it comes to standing in the sun these days. But there are some big cottonwoods lining the river, especially more back in the camping area, so there is shade to be found. And you can always get in the river. I think you'd enjoy it, Manfred. Nothing like the Tellurides and other big CO festivals.