I was at MOTD that year, staying down in a tent trailer at the campground. That would have been a very interesting night had I not walked into the brewswap and been drafted into a beer pong team (at 6'4" and 300+ lbs, I'm a very likely candidate to be drafted). I had WAY more to drink than I should have and a friend drove me down the hill. I got into bed and fell fast asleep. I vaguely remember waking up in the middle of the night with the trailer shaking, but I assumed it was a few friends in a tent next door giving the trailer a shake so I just rolled over and fell back asleep. I got up to find my outdoor things very wet and tossed around a bit, but still all there.
I led a group drive that morning... it was an 'interesting' excursion... we drove around 4-5 trees, pulled a couple off of the road so we could continue on and I had to improvise a drive with 25 cars behind me because of all of the road closures.
More than 2 years ago. Chads own tent got wiped out by the winds that night.
The best part was in the middle of the storm with rain going sideway, wild winds with leaves and branches flowing around. We saw a MINI coming in from our end (gas station) entrance with its high beams on. Wondering who in the world is the ass driving in this weather....
Out of the darkness comes a Gen One GP full on race car driven by Colin (Greene Performance) and Jan (Owner of RMW) in the passengers seat. They had just finished a several days of driving from So-Cal to Fontana in a RACECAR with full race suspension, cage, fixed seats in a hell of a storm and drove in on the Dragon fully loaded.
That takes some big balls.
FYI we went out for a run the next morning and trees were down everywhere on Hellbender, the Dragon and you could not get to the Harley place that was a Gas station that sold 101 race fuel. Trees everywhere and you could see exactly where the Tornado touched down on the other side of the big lake at the bottom, ripped down hundreds of trees in a circle, crossed the lake and took out the big power tower and came up on the Dragon side and went up into the woods again. Big trees where splintered like twigs. It was a crazy site to see. All the trees by or near the roads where cleaned up by noon and the Dragon was full open by Noon with access to the 101 race fuel gas station.
Scanning back through my photos, I'd say 2011. I found some very fuzzy shots of me in front of some very muddy MINIs on my camera and one of a tree across the road somewhere on the far end of the Dragon just past the cool-down lot.
Yep, you are both right and I am wrong. While the storm 2 years ago seemed pretty rough at the time, I now remember that other one years earlier...when we watched the skies towards Knoxville light up as we sat on the Porch for the Cigar Salon. We remarked that any travelers outside Fontana on 129 were getting slammed...and, we were right.
The next morning, we were amazed that Killboy's girlfriend had driven thru on 129 during the storms and her MINI looked pretty much like the after effects of hell on earth...broken windows and huge hailstone dents that appeared to have been done by a sledge hammer.
This was the same storm system that tore thru the University of Alabama's campus that Spring
Just don't forget about them and leave them on the table too long. If you don't pick them up before they pack up shop you'll never see them again. I found that out last year when I forgot to pick up a new car cover and a couple other parts that I tried to sell. My fault for forgetting. I called Way and they said if it was left they didn't do anything with it. Said to call Fontana Lodge. That was a waste of time.
A few years back, I sold some stuff on Way's table an but had to return to pick up some items that didn't sell. It was early in the morning when I returned and there were a few other people there, who drifted off when I walked in. Tthey had been taking stuff that was leftover and I guess I caught them in the act. Fortunately, my crapola was still there....LOL, but I noticed some items that I could use [the had the owner's name/addy on them], so I took them and notified the owner that I had them and would pay what he was asking. He notified me that I was an honest guy, since he had left Fontana during the evening for his home and had forgotten to reclaim them from the table.
I don't think Way was involved in the taking of leftover stuff. However, there are lots of Fontana "maintenance" employees who are there round the clock. Calling Fontana Lodge WAS useless, because their supervisory staff is not working 24/7 [just the phone operators are] and so, the guilty party got away Scot free.
I wish I could, but with my health and the quickly aging conditions of my cars, it doesn't look good. Still, that said, never say "never", even though that is a VERY long shot.
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