When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
NOW CANCELED !!!!! Crossfires at The Snake - April 16-20 2020
Crossfire Events and MeetsThis section is intended for threads to organize and plan Crossfire meets.
A place for everyone here to see where meets are happening and participate in discussions
NOW CANCELED !!!!! Crossfires at The Snake - April 16-20 2020
Attention:
If you have been sent here from Facebook and found this thread/post and are not yet a member on this forum please join us here for free.
Then you can submit a post and sign up for this event as well as become a forum member with no costs. CLICK HEREto join today ************************************************** **********
For the third time, the Crossfires will meet at "The Snake", with lodging in Johnson City, Tennessee.
History of This Event
Charlie ("Kleito"), is credited with our first two meets, in June of 2016 and 2017. These were small events that showed attendees just how unique and entertaining the northeast Tennessee area can be. These weekends had a relaxed feel, with a mix of roads, attractions and dining opportunities that made an impression similar to our experiences in Eureka Springs Arkansas (also held in June). You will find an almost unlimited supply of restaurants and attractions within a few miles of the hotel.
The Snake and the Dragon
Charlie never intended to replace any meet, Dragon or otherwise, with "The Snake". And the Fall Dragon appears set to continue to be the most heavily attended event the Crossfires have in north America. Recently, several Spring Dragon attendees have observed that our attendance has stagnated around 15-24 cars. Planning committee members have begun to question if we are not 'overexposing' "The Dragon" with two meets a year. After much discussion (mostly at the 2019 Spring Dragon) the idea of trading the Spring Dragon for a Snake meet seemed to agree with most (all?) attendees - with the assurance that the Fall Dragon will, of course, continue.
I (Pizzaguy) want everyone to know that this was not my idea, but it was an idea suggested to me. Polling my planning team as well as past Dragon and Snake attendees made me realize that, perhaps, I should listen. It became clear that it was time to give this idea a try. Once we see what our attendance is, we will know what we will do in 2021 and beyond - so don't ask, cause no one knows.
Our contract is with Holiday Inn:
Holiday Inn Johnson City 101 West Springbrook Drive Johnson City, TN 37604 423-282-4611
Our room rate is $104 per night plus taxes of 16.5%. Breakfast is included with your room charge - thanks to Tar Heel David and Charlie for that.
To book your room, call the number above and mention "Crossfires at the Snake". Keep in mind this arrangement is with the Hotel, not with Holiday Inn Corporate, calling the national number will get you nowhere. Here is a direct quote from the Group Event Manager:
"Individuals can start calling into the Hotel to make reservations. Please have them contact the front desk at 423-282-4611. If the phone rings more than 3 times it will roll over into our (national) reservation line and they will not have access to the group block. The best times to call would be 10am-2:30pm or after 8-9pm in the evening. Thanks, we look forward to your group being our guests."
From the girl at the desk as I made my reservation:
"Tell them about five rings, if they get an automated voice welcoming them to ING, hang up - I get the complaint often that those call takers can barely speak English."
So, if it rolls over, HANG UP and try again/later.
When you call, they will need a credit card to reserve the room. Upon checkin, a hold will be placed on the card for the entire stay's room rate, taxes and $20 a day incidentals. Upon checkout the hold will be released and a permanent charge will be made of the room rate, taxes and any incidentals you actually bought or used. If you are a "no show", you are charged one night plus taxes.
Our contract is for rooms from Thursday, April 16 to Monday April 20. Our block is released to the general public on March 16, 2020. Those calling after March 16, 2020 for a room may get a room at the contract rate, or at a higher rate, or may not be able to book at all. To book your room, call 423-282-4611 and mention "Crossfires at the Snake" to be added to the group block.
Please note: This is not the lodge, things will be a bit different. Some things you all should know about my talks with them:
The Bar and Restaurant will stay open until 11pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. (Usual close is 10pm.)
We will have a meeting room Thursday and Friday evening from 9 to 10pm for our driver's meetings.
Rooms will all be "two queen beds" and will be assigned at checkin.
Those wanting a King room, or other option, will be given one as they are available at no extra charge.
They are going to try to keep us all in the same hallway(s) if possible.
Pool is outdoor and will not be open that early in the year.
This facility worked well in the past, it is not the "Holiday Inn Express", it offers the following amenities that seem to matter to those of us who attend overnight GTGs:
All in one building:
Adequate number of rooms for our group
Full restaurant (will be open)
Bar/Lounge (will be open)
Meeting room
Adequate parking
Close by:
Numerous off-site Restaurants
Numerous Convenience and Drug stores
Before anyone asks, let me ask and answer a question: "What is going on at Bristol Raceway that weekend?"
Essentially, nothing. That is another reason to choose these dates, if we were trying for a weekend where something is happening at Bristol, the contact at the Holiday Inn told me that "local hotels would be already booked by now".
As always, once you book your room, please post in this thread and I will add you to the list in post #2.
Last edited by pizzaguy; Oct 17, 2019 at 06:37 PM.
First, to get an idea of what waits for you in this part of the Smokies, click here: Southern Dozen | Home
Do not skip over this link. Our daily excursions will consist of, essentially, the drives described in the link above. However, some of us have found relaxing and beautiful drives that are not included in the "southern dozen". Should "The Snake" become an annual event, it will take several years for us to discover all that the area has to offer.
Our Runs
The Snake Run
The main route, "The Snake Ride", approximately 145 miles. This can be a long day (with stops and lunch, six hours or a bit more).
Carver's Gap Run
Pizza's favorite! 95 miles. With stops and lunch, it's about 4 1/2 hours (Half that if you just DRIVE....)
This has nothing to do with "The Tail of the Dragon". Route 16 near Tazewell, Virginia is one of many roads near Johnson City worth exploring. PNA (Paul) and Shamrock (Wayne) have recently discovered this adventurous road. I'v asked them to lead a run, this will be minimum of four hours of driving and with stops and lunch, plan on a 5-7 hour day. Paul and Wayne are planning an event centered around this road in the fall of 2019, before the Fall Dragon - watch for an event thread announcement here in "Meets".
Shown below is a map showing the main part of the "BoD", note our host hotel is in Johnson City, Tennessee, lower left corner of map.
There are SO many other options, the above are posted because the first two WILL happen; what other routes are offered will depend on attendance.
Last edited by pizzaguy; Jul 28, 2019 at 10:55 PM.
A great substitute for the cheap FRS radios has been found. I bought one of these from Lowes.com and tested it in my car and the lab at work. It is not quite the radio the Kenwoods are, but the Kenwoods are in limited supply. This radio is available for $99 (free shipping to store with Lowes as well). It runs the same power as the Kenwoods, but is WAY smaller and lighter.
It's only downfall is the TINY crappy speaker. You can overcome that by adding a quality external "CB" style speaker (you can get at any truck stop for $15-30). If you have an aftermarket AM/FM/CD player with an "AUX" jack, just buy an 1/8" (or 3.5mm) stereo to mono cable and plug the Midland into your AM/FM, set the AM/FM to "Aux" and you have six speakers to hear your Crossfire friends as you drive down the road with the top down at 80mph! How's THAT?
This radio mounts with Velcro strips (included) and plugs into your cigarette lighter. Current draw is minimal, you can put in a Y-adapter and also power your cellphone charger or other device with no problem.
Is this radio legal? The radio comes with channels 1-7 and 15-22. Use ONLY 1-7 unless you obtain a GMRS license. You are not legal on channels 15-22, also, those channels will often have repeaters on them that run HIGH power, you wont interfere them, but they WILL blast you off the channel. If you listen, you will hear a lot of professional sounding traffic and users will be giving out their call signs, if you dont have a call sign, stay off 15-22.
Presenting the MXT-105 by Midland. Comes complete with a TINY magnet mount antenna, and the radio itself is small as well:
Here is a link to an external CB/Scanner/Communications speaker that I did an engineering review on for management - we will now sell these under our brand name for $45 each.
Check out the Amazon price with the OEM's name on them:
Far below the earth's surface, in the timeless beauty of Bristol Caverns, a strange and exciting experience awaits you.
Paved, well lighted walkways wind through the vaulted chambers and along the banks of the ancient Underground River that carved these remarkable caverns from the hard core of the earth 200 to 400 million years ago. In the frontier days, Indians used the Underground River as an attack and escape route in their raids on settlers. Stealing into the area by way of the Underground River and the caverns, they swooped down on unsuspecting families, then disappeared as if swallowed up by the earth.
You will be retracing the same warrior paths while exploring the vast rooms and arches, columns, and natural stone formations of varying size and kinds. These formations, millions of years old, display rich veins of minerals which give the formations beautiful colors of red, blue, gray, brown and sparkling white.
Stalactites and stalagmites, some larger than tree trunks and others smaller than straws, fascinate and give play to the imagination. Where some of these formation have grown together, massive columns have been formed reaching from the floor to the ceiling of the lofty rooms. With every view, nature's artistry is at its best and can be seen in the remarkable tumbling cascades and billowing draperies - all of solid stone.
This is an hour drive from our host hotel (half the miles and time from Fontana lodge, perhaps more of us can go see it).
Built between 1889 and 1895, the Biltmore Estate is the largest privately owned estate in the country. Owned by the Vanderbilt family, it’s one of the longest-lasting and most prominent examples of properties from the Gilded Age. The best part is that you can tour the most exciting parts, transporting you into the home of one of America’s wealthiest families.
The Biltmore Mansion is the crown jewel of the Biltmore Estate, covering a whopping 178,000 square feet. To put this into perspective, the home contains over 250 rooms including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, three kitchens, and 65 fireplaces. It’s also filled with luxuries that seemed too modern for its construction date, boasting electric elevators, an in-ground pool in the basement, a bowling alley, forced air heating, and a two-story library containing over 10,000 volumes of literature. And that’s just the beginning.
Last edited by pizzaguy; Jul 27, 2019 at 03:01 PM.
re: NOW CANCELED !!!!! Crossfires at The Snake - April 16-20 2020
Attendance list updated. Also, I have updated post 1 with hotel room rate, credit card and billing information and added map/description of "The Back of the Dragon" in the third post about runs and routes.
re: NOW CANCELED !!!!! Crossfires at The Snake - April 16-20 2020
THanks to "Tar Heel David" harassing me, I have talked to the Hotel - breakfast is now included with your room charge of $104 per night.
This was something that Charlie managed to arrange, but I didn't know about it. They really want our business.
NOW CANCELED !!!!! Crossfires at The Snake - April 16-20 2020
