Albert & BC owners unite-spring 08'

OK. Thanks.

I'll see if I can get flights to get to my meeting and back all on the same day on the 12th so I don't have to miss more than the one day.

This is gonna be a blast!!

an added bonus The Great Race is coming through Canmore on June 11, 2008. Hope this does not cause accomodation problems. Merry Xmas! http://www.greatrace.com/newsite/

here are my recommendations for accomodations in Canmore. All units have full kitchens, well appointed & are walking distance to downtown for all eating and shopping/grocery needs. Also most offer underground parking. Canmore is a small town with about 11,000 permanent and 4,000 part time residents. There is a very congested area with short term vacation rentals which I would stay away from....construction is under way on many buildings with no parking and big equipment travelling the streets. It is the "Kananaskis Way" area. www.canmorealberta.com

1. www.bellstar.ca
- go to "Canadian Rockies" tab -
Canmore Crossing building

2. www.ultimaterm.com
- go to "Canmore" tab
Boardwalk building; Canmore Crossing building; Penthouse at Cascade; any private house rental.
Owner of Ultimate Properties - Eric Watson

3. there are also a variety of B&B's - www.bbcanmore.com

4. the Bear and Bison Inn - no indoor parking but very nice. The owner used to be the chef at the Banff Springs Hotel....excellent food. 15 min walk to downtown. Cafe, small store, restaurant and liquor store nearby - www.bearandbisoninn.com/

5. the Creekside Country Inn - beside the Bear and Bison Inn is a more basic choice and more affordable. No indoor parking and a 15 min. walk to downtown. Cafe, small store, restaurant and liquor store nearby. www.creeksidecountryinn.com/

Hope this info helps.
Would be great to have a good turn out!

Blake

Blake:

Is there one place among the choices you have listed that has potential to serve as the primary hub for the event?

Also, are you suggesting that we make reservations right away? In other words, is the event now confirmed and a definite go? If so, then we will need to firm up the exact dates. Will it be June 11-18 or June 10-17?

- Peter

Bake,

Is there a tentative event/route plan? Are people meeting somewhere (Calgary?, Canmore?) and then going to somewhere else, or just loop around?

You mentioned the Great Race. Is there a plan to watch them zoom by, or are you suggesting that we make sure we're nowhere near?

It would be helpful to know because those of us from out East have lots to plan and coordinate if we come, and I in particular would like to try to arrange to see some friends in Kelowna afterwards (or before?). Knowing the general plan would help in my planning and booking of accommodations as well.

Thanks!
Mark

all suggestion are within walking distance of one another. Canmore Crossing has three large buildings and will have the most units available. All building have underground parking. This would be the "hub" location. If a group wished to rent a private home, which can be quite large, this may become an alternative spot to meet. My house will certainly also become an entertainment spot also.
Asfar as dates....I would suggest the 13th-16th of June being the core days and the event running from the 11th-18th of June. This will allow flexibility, especially for those coming from far who may wish to visit a bit more of Western Canada.
I don't believe it is necessary to book right away. High season begins when the school are out for he summer. My guess would be to book by the end of Mar/beginning of April. Probably good to give a call and check with the property management companies that I listed....Bellstar and Ultimate. Make sure the questions are directed towards the Canmore Crossing and Boardwalk buildings. You do not want to be on Kananaskis Way.

Blake

as far as routes go...my plan is the four core days(June 13th-16th) are "out and back" trips from Canmore. Peter mentioned a two day round trip. He may want to lead a group who wishes to discover another area. There are a few "loupe" routes that come to mind...I shall ask Peter make a plan. He is familiar with the area. My plan would be to stay in Canmore and be the host for those who may arrive early or late. I would like the four main days to stay intact as Canmore day trips. Make sense?

Blake

I really need to read my text before posting.....sorry about the grammatical errors.

I believe the four core days are the important ones. Days surrounding these dates are best to be flexible. Everyone has a different agenda...people to visit and things to see. I will remail in Canmore for the week.

Blake

Blake:

I will get to work on generating suggestions for he longer, overnight trip. I'm thinking that a run to Nelson might be a good bet. There are a variety of ways to get there and back, all of which go through some beautiful country with amazing, winding roads.

If people wanted to drive for a few more hours each day, or stay more than one night afield, then we could make it to Penticton or Kelowna, which would be an interesting experience of a unique part of Canada for those folks coming from out East. If we did it as the first thing on the schedule, then we could arrange to meet the drivers from Vancouver and Victoria at the mid-point of their drive to Canmore. In the alternative, we could do it last thing, and in that way accompany the West Coast guys half way home. You have previously suggested this as follows, "...if we wanted to do an extended loop and meet the BC gents, the group could go over Highwood to Hwy 22 and meet in Fernie(golf). Come back through Fairmont(golf & hot springs) Invermere(swim/waterski in Lake Windemere), Radium(hot springs), Golden(Eagle's Eye restaurant at the top of Kicking Horse Resort), Lake Louise(Post Hotel for cocktails/supper), Banff(fun for everyone) and back to Canmore."

I'd like to hear from everyone as to your preferences for the intensity of each day's driving. The alternatives range from early morning starts and driving all day to more leisurely days with the emphasis on sightseeing and shopping. My recommendation is to err on the side of the former. Some of the day trips from Canmore can be made easy so as to give us a good mix, but I would think the overnight trip is our one chance to get into some serious driving terrain and to cover some ground in a way that allows participants to see more of the geographic variety of Western Canada.

- Peter

I am starting route planning, and have not heard back from anyone as to your preferences for intensity. We have two clear choices; stay close to Canmore and meander around at a leisurely pace, or plan for longer driving days and overnight stays in order to get to the prime roads. Silence will be taken as consent. If I do not hear otherwise, I will default to the longer drives option with the overnight stays in the BC interior. I am into long drives on deserted winding mountain roads through spectacular scenery, so if you want to take it easy instead, then you better speak up and make your preference known!

I have confirmed the availability of my mechanic to come along to drive the truck and trailer. The trailer can be used for extra luggage, spare tires, etc in addition to bringing broken cars home. I will supply the truck and trailer. To keep the costs down, I will also supply the mechanic's accommodations and transportation to and from Canmore. He will be taking time off work to do this, so I suggested we would be willing to pay him an honourarium of some kind, as well as his meals and other disbursements. If we get enough people confirmed for this, the cost will be nominal.

There have been few firm confirmations, so be advised that I am now going to start hunting you guys. You will be receiving e-mails and phone calls, so talk to She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed so that you can say for sure if you are in or out. The guys from out East are really going out of their way to load up a semitrailer full of their Panteras and dragging them 3,000km to get to this event, so the least we can do is let them know there will be some of us here to welcome them.

Hi Peter & Blake,

First of all thanks for doing all the planning and prep work, this sounds like it will be a lot of fun!
As for the routes, I'll put my $0.02 in.
I'm personally not big on the idea of long drives over 2 hours at a stretch. I agree this limits the nice roads a bit, but there's still lots out there. I know there's nice twisty highway in the interior (Nelson, up the pass, over to Ainsworth, etc) but that's a bit far for me. I would prefer the local drives like Radium, Golden, Lake Louise, maybe a bit of the icefields parkway for pictures, maybe highwood pass as well. Is the road up spray lakes to mt. shark paved? That could be a nice drive as well. The drive from Castle Junction to Radium is maybe my favorite road in the world so that is a must. The good "twisty" road is probably going in to Golden. Are there others?

Andy

I'm with Andy on the drives over two hours (and he has nice new comfy seats that I do not...). Get up late, eat, drive, rest, eat, yak, drive, yak, relax, drive, eat, sleep... only leaves a few hours of driving.

Please make sure that we allow for some photo-shooting time. As my wife will tell you (sometimes even without being asked), it always take way too long to coordinate a bunch of old guys and their cars into nice groupings. Plus, any "on-the-road" shots require a drive ahead, set-up, return and then the drive-by. I'm not suggesting this will be all about the pics, but this will be a unique opportunity and I'm sure George will want to make space in the PI Magazine for a multi-page spread of this event. I haven't even included time to climb mountains to get those cool over-head shots (since we don't have helicopter budget).

Ultimately, for me, getting together and meeting/sharing is every bit (or more) important than long fantastic drives. I'm confident there will be plenty of both from what I'm reading. I hope all you west-coast guys have your cars ready.

Also Peter, I like the sounds of the trailer and mechanic and am pleased to chip in some.

I have to agree with Mark and Andy. Shorter day trips are fine with me. Meeting all you people and talking to long time pantera owners is what I'm looking forward to the most.

Also, I would be happy to offer a shuttle from Calgary International to Canmore for anybody flying in. Any day, any time, doesn't matter.

Doug M

I am also in favor of short drives...out and back. Peter, I do not know if your mechanic friend and trailer will be necessary. The Premium CAA membership covers 360 km of flatbed towing. This will always bring a car back to Canmore or Calgary where it can be worked on.

Realistically, after the drive from Victoria to Canmore, I will probably be ready for shorter day trips myself.

After all, I have the trip back to look forward to, as well. And I get to go through Golden both ways.

Google says its about 10 hours from Tsawwassen to Canmore. Maybe I'll bring ear plugs...

Here's a quick map that I did so I could get a handle on distances etc. Calgary to Canmore is about an hour (20 minutes if DEEB is driving). From Canmore as a home-base, really nice roads, destinations and vistas are within easy reach (Great choice, Blake). Jasper would, for me, be an over-night side trip if we wanted to do more than just drive there and back without taking anything in, but it would definitely be worth it.

Banff/Lake Louise, Radium and Golden would all be really easy days and a couple could probably be joined together (not crazy about the broken windshield reports on the road to Golden). I do want to note that I will be spending a lot of time in the car with my wife and she'll want to see some of these places beyond the washroom pit-stops. If Andy & David's wives are coming too, I won't be alone having this issue.

You guys who live/have lived out there are best equipped to keep refining the plan, but I like what I'm hearing so far, and now that I can visualize some of the distances involved, it all looks like it could be an awesome time!

Keep up the great work and let's finalize dates related to locations so we can start booking flights and rooms as this will get tight if we wait too long, I suspect.

Thanks!
Mark

Great stuff. Looks like some sweet drives and awesome scenery. What is the timing again? Will our kids be in the middle of exams then?

Guys, we have a week here. You can only drive back and forth to Golden so many times. We really should plan at least one overnight trip that will get us to the Nakusp/Kaslo/Nelson area - you will not regret it. Trust me. If the pitchfork, prancing pony and raging bull guys can cram themselves into their equally noisy and cramped rides for 8 or 10 hours at a stretch, I'm sure we can do it for 4 and survive.

Can we please have a straw vote on the mechanic and trailer thing, please? I need to give him an answer.

Yes to your mechanic. Cheap insurance if 10 or more of us are sharing. How many will we be if 6 are coming from the East?

What is the timing? What week are we there or is it a few days either side of a weekend? And is it Father's Day?

The dates are 11-18 June. If it is Father's Day in there somewhere, then this trip will be my Father's Day present to myself.

We have about ten confirmations so far (counting your six, Deeb)