swingdancr

Come and join the largest annual gathering of Miatas in the country on July 23-25, 2010!

There will be vendors, free food, beer swaps, drives to area attractions (both natural and man-made), and of course... great roads, great people and great cars!

You'll see Miatas in every state of transformation, from bone stock to barely resembling the original vehicle. If you ever wanted to know if something could be done to a Miata, you'll probably see it here!

Vendors will be set up at Fontana with their wares for sale, show and shine will be just about everywhere there is to park and a few places in between.

There will be drives to different locations, including Wayah Road, the Cherohala Skyway, waterfall tours, Fat Buddies BBQ in Franklin, and of course, The Tail of the Dragon!

So come and sit a spell and relax with your new best friends.

If you plan on staying the night, I might suggest calling NOW! Lodgings fill up quickly and if they're already full, ask about a waiting list. I've heard a rumor that the Lodge at Fontana Village is already full for 2010!

See you at the Gap!


The MATG forum has moved to a new host. It's now based on the www.gapmiatas.com website. There's a redirect in place at the old location just in case you forget.

***Current road conditions***

Deal's Gap is open from 8am to 8pm until the rockslide is cleared near the Foothills Parkway. You can't get to the Dragon from Tennessee, only from the North Carolina side. Here is a map indicating the location of the slide and showing some detours around the slide.

The contractor is required to have all work on the rockslide completed by July 31, however, there is a $6,500 per day bonus if they complete the project early up to a maximum bonus of $200,000 if completed by July 1. Once road access has been restored (even if its only one lane) then the Dragon will again be open 24/7.

Regardless, the gathering is still scheduled as originally planned.

240_to_miata

iTrader: (2)

so yeah... dates?

EDIT found. july 23-25

swingdancr

I just spoke with Lacey at Fontana and all the room blocks have been released for the gathering in July.

Here's what's currently available in Fontana for the weekend of July 23-25, 2010:

7 tent camping sites
1 Fireplace Room
2 Savannah Rooms with King Bed
2 Honeymoon Suites
1 2BR Hemlock Cabin
1 2BR Azalea Cabin with Fireplace
4 2BR Azalea Cabins with Fireplace and Whirlpool tub
2 Log Cabins
2 3BR Azalea Cabins
5 3BR Magnolia Cabins
and
7 3BR Hemlock cabins

These last cabins (3BR Hemlock) have just been released. They've all just been completely remodeled with new interior, new roofs, new windows and doors, new decks, new appliances...everything! They're basically brand new! We'll be the first group to be able to rent them.

If you're interested in getting any of these rooms/cabins, please contact Fontana Village at 1-800-849-2258

flier129

iTrader: (7)

Who's planning on going?

I hope the rockslide is cleared by then, it'd make my 40min drive into 90 min :(

swingdancr

Just recently got everything worked out with Fontana....

Saturday evening, July 24th at 7pm is a BBQ Cookout.

It's scheduled in the baseball field at Fontana Village and is BYOC (bring your own chair).

The cost is $10 a plate and that includes:
- plate of fresh BBQ pork right off the smoker
- baked beans
- cole slaw or potato salad
- water, tea or soft drink

So, bring your folding chair or pull up a nice big comfy patch of grass and enjoy some fresh BBQ with some of your Miata friends.

Also happening at the same time in the vendor's area is the annual MATG Beer Swap. This year they've decided to also incorporate some wine tasting into the mix. Make sure you bring something to trade! Here's some of the sampling from last year:

swingdancr

I spoke with Fontana and they have released all the room blocks. So if you're interested in staying there, you'd better call. They have lodge rooms and cabins available, but they're in limited numbers!

1-800-849-2258

levnubhin

iTrader: (30)

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na8psi

iTrader: (1)

Ahhhh!! count me in a room with somebody I has moniessss

swingdancr

I spoke with the contractor that's doing the work on the rockslide and he says they've encountered an old "frozen blast" area on the side of the work site closest to Foothills Parkway. Most of the other scaling, bolting and meshing has been completed but they're still trying to figure out how to deal with this latest problem. It's apparently an area that was originally blasted when the road was initially paved. It appears to be an area that did not come down but was shaken loose. The vegetation that grew in the area somewhat stabilized it, but now that the Contractor has been blasting, scaling and removing vegetation, it has begun moving again. They're still hoping to get done by July 1 to collect the full incentive, but it's still too soon to call. I'll call him back in about a week and a half or so.

chicksdigmiatas

iTrader: (11)

The gap is a blast, i always went up there and raced bikes when there were no cops.... my ricer days huh. But it is gorgeous country, and I wish I was going to have my car home on leave, i would see you all there. I may make an apperance in a Z.

BarbyCar

iTrader: (1)

I'll be there. Leaving Toronto July 17th and have a Fontana room booked for Monday through Friday. A prior engagement back in Canada means I can't stay after about noon on Saturday.

My silver NB will have Miataphiles stickers on it and I'll be running with a sunburst NA similarly stickered. Come over and say hello.

flier129

iTrader: (7)

Est. completion date on the rock slide is July 31st :(

Unless something weird happens, come in from the NC side everybody. Its definitely a nice drive thru Telico Plains and Cherohala.


EDIT: Just read this from Killboy's site:


According to an inside source concerning the rockslide: "Paving tomorrow. Shoulder stone tomorrow and Friday. Striping tomorrow or Friday. Guardrail Friday. Plan is to open the road at 5 PM Friday if all goes as planned."

Looks like 129 will be open to through traffic again as of this weekend!

Woot!

swingdancr

It's now official... Deal's Gap to reopen this weekend.

http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/US129rockslide/default.htm