Alright everyone. We all know the low down on the closing of Tellico. Well its time to make a stand. We are trying to form a mass gathering of all who want to protest the closing of our local trails. Tellico means so much to us in many ways and its time for us to show that.
Here's what we are shooting for. Everyone meeting in town at a designated area on June 20-21st 2009. We are thinking the old Goody's parking lot next to the Ingles super market. Maybe around 8am or 9am. Then from there we will drive through the town of Murphy and all the way to Tellico. We will ride through trail 1 to the Tenn side so that even the people trout fishing will see us. From there we are still trying to come up with ideas. Crawfords Camp this is where you come in. Give us some idea from there.
This is going to take the efforts of everyone out there who cares about our trail systems and what they mean to us. Spread the word. We need a lot of people. We are thinking twice the size of the Dixie Run. Everyone bring their Jeeps, buggies, trucks, atv's, or whatever it is you four wheel in, bring it. WHO CARES IF IT'S STREET LEGAL! It's a chance we have to take.

LETS TAKE A STAND! TELLICO TEA PARTY!!! June 20-21st

o yeah i like this idea im going to try to be there and im going to invite all of my buddy's:mr-t:

We need to get some media coverage on this folks from the national level. Our rights as citizens are under attack by the left wing extremist and with people already being fed up with the government, this is a good time to get the issue covered. As we can see from the bias government report, we have proof the we are being excluded The last time I spoke to Ryan Fitzpatrick (Con. Shuler's Go For) I made mention as to how many veterans that come to Tellico OHV, some disabled and some not. He told me not to bring the Vet's into the issue as they are not as concerned with Tellico as I was putting it. I quickly brought to his attention the Army Strong Commercial where the Dad and Army daughter were spending quality time in a tubed out Jeep in the woods. I asked him why the US Government would use such a commercial if they did not know the demographic they were targeting. I also told him there was a Veterans Day Rally being planned. I was quickly dismissed and told that Con. Shuler stood behind whatever decision the FS made. These politicians need to be dragged into the light and forced to make a decision, it is not acceptible to sit on the fence. Wait until a decision is made and then side with the group that has won. This also goes for our local politicians here in Cherokee County and Murphy. They act the same way!
Whatever is needed to get a group protest under way I am in!:flipoff2:

Come on everyone lets do this! --- June 20-21 @ 9am

Whatever is decided I'm in since I live 15 minutes from the rally meet-up :grinpimp: But what I'm concerned about is what it is going to look like to the general public on that day. If we don't have a unified statement then it's gonna look thrown together. During the rally are there banners/shirts/placards/stickers/handouts that will identify our cause to the locals and media in case they don't know? Why can't this be a whole day thing in a public area? Why not stay in Murphy instead of just driving through, lets get a permit and hold a huge gathering with a stage for speakers to tell our side? Bring in local/state representatives or FS personnel to answer questions? If we don't have a huge media coverage the local/regional public is going to think that it's some kinda wheelin' festival and not care. If we don't behave professionally and start driving illegal vehicles on the state roads that's just gonna be another strike against us. Are we sure that we want to do this without a UFWDA, SFWDA, Blueribbon, or Tread Lightly backing? What about corporate sponsors to help with making this? Heck if we are gonna do this lets do it BIG!

Don't get me wrong, I want to do this. I just want it to be done right so that we don't look like goons whining about not being able to ride some trails. This should not be a 'Let's take a stand and screw the world' type of thing. It needs to be planned, calculated, organized, hyped up, and effective. A 'tea party' that is not well thought out looks like a 'kegger'.

Oh must certainly. We need it to be organized. However haven't we already tried to be organized. I mean don't get me wrong. We don't need any strikes on our side. We don't need to be showing our ass out here. We need to make a point and take a stand. We need to be alittle tougher though. Think of the nations past. The Boston Tea Party got things done. Now so will the Tellico Tea Party. Thanks for your support and we are working on keeping this organized and trying to come up with some events. We will keep everyone updated on some events for that day. Just help spread the word brother. Trust me it will be good. lets do this everybody... Lets Save Tellico!

Wife said we should tailgate party in down town. Bring our own food. Hang out with signs "$8 million Murphy will be missing out on this year" "Mayor doesnt care" " Tellico OHV brought money and jobs to Murphy" "FS applies unrealistic standards to the OHV area"

or protest at all the intersections around murphy...rigs parked on the side of the road, signs up.

Any one else emailed the mayor of murphy yet to ask him to support tellico...I did once but no response..

We need to get some media coverage on this folks from the national level. Our rights as citizens are under attack by the left wing extremist and with people already being fed up with the government, this is a good time to get the issue covered. As we can see from the bias government report, we have proof the we are being excluded The last time I spoke to Ryan Fitzpatrick (Con. Shuler's Go For) I made mention as to how many veterans that come to Tellico OHV, some disabled and some not. He told me not to bring the Vet's into the issue as they are not as concerned with Tellico as I was putting it. I quickly brought to his attention the Army Strong Commercial where the Dad and Army daughter were spending quality time in a tubed out Jeep in the woods. I asked him why the US Government would use such a commercial if they did not know the demographic they were targeting. I also told him there was a Veterans Day Rally being planned. I was quickly dismissed and told that Con. Shuler stood behind whatever decision the FS made. These politicians need to be dragged into the light and forced to make a decision, it is not acceptible to sit on the fence. Wait until a decision is made and then side with the group that has won. This also goes for our local politicians here in Cherokee County and Murphy. They act the same way!
Whatever is needed to get a group protest under way I am in!:flipoff2:

Heath Shuler was a dumbfuck when he was QB for Tennessee. This just shows he's even more of a dumbfuck by sidestepping the issue. Even though I'm 5 hrs away I might play hookey from work and join this party. Might even hang an orange #21 jersey upside down.....:flipoff2:

come on.. keep spreading the word.. June 20-21st

Maybe we should setup base right outside of Moose Hollow since the politicians love it so much. :D

(hey tellico_rocks fix your signature it's all "[size/8][I]Font}{][" )

already have a memorial day ride planned that weekend.

im just gonna call it dumb to try and get people to show up for this on MDay. (a 3day wknd for most) just sayin Im sure a lot of peeps have already made plans for a big wknd and wouldnt want to give up 3 days riding for 1 day of protest. not a bad idea just bad timing.

id be in for any other weekend.

maybe the locals that dont have another good place to go or whose businesses depended heavily on tellico will have the time to go down town memorial day weekend with some signs. I dont have the gas money to drive 4 hours to ride somewhere and I dont have any real trail jeeps left cause I've been selling them all to pay the mortgage on a shop that doesnt have many customers anymore...so I've got time. I didnt know that was memorial day weekend but that makes hanging out down town even better. The mayor will love us. Maybe there will be a parade and local news coverage will be out.

We are talking about a possible date change. Didn't think about it being Memorial Weekend. Lets keep spreading the word and We will try to have a better date by this afternoon.

you need to get more than just murphy involved. i was slamed on here when i talked about a mass protest that would draw national attention. thats what you need not local. the local attention can be pushed under a rug for the FS you need national news that cant be ignored. that draws people to look at whats happening here and other places that are being closed down. to bad people on here are scared or dont care enough to try and put what i suggested into action. it whould have made them have to show proof that is undisputable when you get lots of public and government involved. protest there state headquarters. somplace that gets lots of media attention. localy we would look like desperate people. when you plan multiple states and multiple groups on the same day thats big news and attention. but what did i know im just a dumb fourwheeler that misses tellico.

Well it seems we had some feed back on the original date of May 23rd. We've decide to move our rally to June 20-21st because of Memorial Day weekend. We are in the process of planning a weekend filled with events. A rock crawl competition, truck show and shine, camping, and more. Most importantly the Tellico Tea Party Rally. We are planning to flood the streets with a rally drive from the town of Murphy through trail 1 in Tellico Ohv, handing out flyers and "PEACEFULLY PROTESTING". We want to show the media and town officials what Tellico means to us and the lost revenue this has caused. This is going to be a big chance to make a stand. Please spread the word and try your hardest to come. We ask for everyone who has ever rode these trails to be here and help fight. I also encourage that all troubled trail systems take part in this all over the country on the same day. We will work on meda coverage and spreading the word to all local and national news stations. Please join in and be here. Keep posted for more info and please post if you can help...
June 20-21st --- Tellico Tea Party---

This is an awesome idea. Please everyone consider it, and count on me to be there!

Along with the "peacefull protest signs", people should put up the average anual amount of money they spend in Murphy to show what is missed by Tellico being closed. Break it down by fuel, food, lodging etc......

I agree that keeping it down town centralized or on every corner would make a larger impact and easier for the media to cover.

I'm in.

this would probably be a good fit for foxnews. they are pretty anti big govt anyways and love to jump on stuff about taking people rights away

You are totally right. I sent an e-mail to Glenn Beck and Fox News in regards to the seige of Public Lands. If we can get a couple hundred to do the same thing I think they will start a topic. Here are the addresses. It will take a couple of minutes to basically cut and past your responses that you sent to the FS, or type up a new one. It is worth the effort!
Glenn Beck: me@glennbeck.com
This is the general contact for reaching Glenn Beck. Please note that Glenn gets hundreds of emails everyday and while he does read them he does not always have the opportunity to answer them all.

Stu: stu@glennbeck.com
Stu is the Executive Producer and Head Writer for the Glenn Beck Program.

Well it seems we had some feed back on the original date of May 23rd. We've decide to move our rally to June 20-21st because of Memorial Day weekend.

Hey ya'lll, Crawfords is booked for that weekend with Upstate Cruiser's Great Smoky Mountain Trail Ride (GSMTR). We are still having the event, but are using it as a fundraiser for Tellico. So that weekend might get complicated. I'd suggest you check with the person coordinating GSMTR. http://forum.ih8mud.com/sc-upstate-cruisers/239881-gsmtr-09-june-15th-21st-2.html

Ah hell. Sorry guys just was made aware of this. I'm the GSMTR Chairman.

Gonna need a day or so to talk the logistics over with the Upstate Cruisers BOD and see what we can do to make this come a reality. There is a lot involved in pulling this off. You cannot just gather 500 vehicles and go through downtown Murphy, trail 1 or any other place without first getting permission. Unless you would like to see me behind bars and my kids college fund vanish. I'm not worried about Murphy. The FS plays by a whole different set of rules.

That being said I'm always up for a challange. I spent 8 months and hundreds of hours planning this years GSMTR only to have it all made worthless with the stoke of a pen. I've been working for the past month on making a new event and rewriting the 300 GSMTR sponsorship letters. Now if we open it up to everyone that will jump to about 3000 letters.

What you can do for me is if you have some ideas, comments, connections or concerns e-mail me marshall at trollhole@upstatecruisers.net


Danny I'll call you this afternoon.

There is a lot involved in pulling this off. You cannot just gather 500 vehicles and go through downtown Murphy, trail 1 or any other place without first getting permission.

Who needs permission? Why not surprise them? What's illegal or "requires permission" about a bunch of friends arriving in a small town simultaneously and driving around real slow?

I think we oughta find out when some important USFS or TU event is to occur and clog that up as well.

We need to get some media coverage on this folks from the national level. Our rights as citizens are under attack by the left wing extremist and with people already being fed up with the government, this is a good time to get the issue covered. As we can see from the bias government report, we have proof the we are being excluded The last time I spoke to Ryan Fitzpatrick (Con. Shuler's Go For) I made mention as to how many veterans that come to Tellico OHV, some disabled and some not. He told me not to bring the Vet's into the issue as they are not as concerned with Tellico as I was putting it. I quickly brought to his attention the Army Strong Commercial where the Dad and Army daughter were spending quality time in a tubed out Jeep in the woods. I asked him why the US Government would use such a commercial if they did not know the demographic they were targeting. I also told him there was a Veterans Day Rally being planned. I was quickly dismissed and told that Con. Shuler stood behind whatever decision the FS made. These politicians need to be dragged into the light and forced to make a decision, it is not acceptible to sit on the fence. Wait until a decision is made and then side with the group that has won. This also goes for our local politicians here in Cherokee County and Murphy. They act the same way!
Whatever is needed to get a group protest under way I am in!:flipoff2:

I hear what you are saying but let's not forget that Tellico was closed due to the actions of Trout Unlimited and the Southeastern Law Center and muddying the waters by throwing in the kitchen sink may be theraputic but will likely not help our cause at all.

It is very important that the event have a message and everyone reads off the same script. Otherwise we come off as looneys in loud trucks and sway the public to their side instead of ours.

It is very important that the event have a message and everyone reads off the same script. Otherwise we come off as looneys in loud trucks and sway the public to their side instead of ours.

Hey, my Toyota is NOT loud!:rolleyes:

TEA Party could be

Tellico's Economy Assaulted
Tellico is Everyone's Area
Tellico Eliminates Anglers
Trails Earned by All
Tellico Economics of Access
Trails, Economics and Access

Others?

If you really want national attention then you have to ditch the "tea party" moniker as it already has a set of issues associated with it, and it has already occured. This event would be dismissed as an "also ran" by the media if it is tea related.

It should be what it is, the loss of our use of a public resource caused by lawyers. Decisions made because of law suits or threats of lawsuits against gov't agencies. The SELC said that the forest service was breaking their own rules in the way they were running Tellico and was going to sue them over it.

It is not a left vs right issue, not GOP vs Dems. It is people competing for the use of public lands.

Lawyers vs. people and the people lost. The towns lost, the local economy lost.

Because the lawyers don't share resources, plain and simple.

Trout Party?
I'm sure we could find some sort of symbolic rainbow trout and dump em somewhere

Need to find the next Trout Unlimited or USFS gathering and pop in with about 200 peaceful protesters.

and we could hand out 'tracks' with neat stories of how TU steals your soul!

Need to find the next Trout Unlimited or USFS gathering and pop in with about 200 peaceful protesters.

here you go ---> http://www.tu50.org/site/c.qkIZL6MMJrE/b.4863541/k.B38B/Calendar_of_Events.htm

Email sent to Glen Beck!

And I'll be there for it!!

If someone wanted to cover the cost, I can make some vehicle flags (like the vehicle sports flags you see on cars) with vehicle window brackets for the event to draw even further attention. PM me if interested.

Im in, so what is the official date? and where are we meeting? I can make some protest signs maybe, and I'll get some friends involved as well. I agree; lets do this, and BIG!

What should we be telling the media??

Still shooting for June 20th weekend. If we can just keep everyone focused on making this happen. We need to work together on gathering the media and getting the people here to protest instead of worrying about the date, name or who has what planned for that weekend (gsmtr). Lets keep this thread going and keep spreading the word. *** I've been emailing as many news papers and news stations as i can about this deal. If everyone else will follow suit maybe they will get the picture. Thanks

Sorry guys about getting back so late.

Event will still be Thursday Thru Sunday June 18th-21st at Crawford's. It's going to be an open event. Open to all people willing to support the cause.

Upstate Cruisers will pay for the event insurance out of it's budget.

Our webmaster is going to set up a registration page and an online raffle page. The event registration will not cost any money but will hopefully give us an idea of who is planning on coming. That way we or Danny can try to have enough food on hand to sell to keep everyone happy. We can work out the specifics on food later this month.

Events for kids will be limited. We still are planning on having a movie screen and show movies all 3 nights for the kids and then later for adults. We have a giant canopy that can be set somewhere near the pavilion so parents can keep an eye on kids while still enjoying the festivities.

We will have a rock crawling competition and vehicle tug of war but those vehicle entering it will be required to pass safety inspection. I'll post those rules up this month.

We are currently working with the town of Murphy and the FS to have an escorted procession from Crawfords up into downtown Murphy. From there we will drive over and up the Skyway and then back down an access road to trail 1 where we will all drive through the State line and back to Crawford's. It will be most likely dusty but I think it will be worth it. Hopefully the FS will be cooperative. Only time will tell. If the FS will let me and assuming I can find a water truck willing to support the cause I will have it go in front of the group prior to us coming down. That should hold back a majority of the dust and allow for a nice peaceful ride.


I'm going to tailor the new Sponsor letter this week and get it out this weekend for sponsors. Anyone with sponsor contacts or someone willing to help me I welcome all. I currently have a list of over 300 potential sponsors. Though the majority of them are Toyota based. So any Jeep, Chevy, Ford or foreign vendors will need to be collected. That is where I need your help. Most likely I will need someone to volunteer for each specific list and follow up with the vendors. It's a short amount of time but I think the more stuff we have to raffle off the more people will come and the more money we will gain for the Rescue Tellico fund. 100% of all raffle money will be given to the Rescue Tellico fund.

We also will have an online raffle set up by Upstate Cruisers but it will not end in July. Most likely it will go thru August. We can easily do the drawing live on the web with my web cam somewhere. That will get people to tune in to see if they won and provide even more advertising for the Rescue Tellico cause. Once we get about 5-10 big raffle items we will start getting the word out. I will also need your help in doing this. Currently I have a set of 4 tires 37" and under (Will need to check again on Max size) from BFGoodrich for the online raffle.

If we can get someone to design a shirt we can take orders and have them shipped or given out at the event or up until the online raffle is done with people having the understanding that it may be 6 weeks for delivery. We can give a percentage of that money to Rescue Tellico also and keep a small percentage of it for Upstate Cruisers to help cover sponsor postage, insurance and other expenses I believe UC will have.

Also we would like to get the word out to all the other events and club meetings that are being held this weekend (June 18th-21) all over the US and see if we can get them to rally together at some time during the event and maybe pass a hat around or raffle off an item with the proceeds going to the Rescue Tellico Fund. I will also need some volunteers to help with this.

I'm going to need help getting an additional list of sponsors to donate for this event and fast. I'm hoping Southern and other clubs might be able to help in this.

The focus on this event is the Rescue Tellico Fund and supporting the people of Murphy and the surrounding area that rely on the trail being open. Nothing more. If any club wants to step up and help we will accept them with open arms.

UC had planned on renting out Crawford's for the whole week but with the trail closures we couldn't take the risk of loosing all the clubs money so we told Danny we would pay as we go. Now with us opening the event to everyone I think it's going to be a really good thing for Danny and the cause.

If it's possible I'd like to still call the event GSMTR. We have been having this event for the past 18 years in Tellico. I'd hate to stop the tradition. GSMTR stands for Great Smokey Mountain Trail Ride and has been a signature TLCA event. I would think that this year we could still keep the GSMTR initials but instead make it stand for Great Smokey Mountain Rally.


If there is any doubt as to our original event being planned this weekend this now useless video should give you an idea what UC and GSMTR are all about.
http://upstatecruisers.net/gsmtr.html Still gets me fired up.

If you would like to volunteer to help please e-mail me at
trollhole@upstatecruisers.net

From there I can get contact information and get the ball rolling.





Marshall Shepherd
GSMTR Chairman

Some of you might have seen this but I thought i would post it here anyways,


http://www.sharetrails.org/magazine/article.php?id=599

Thats a great article. We really should start off with something like that at the Tusquitee Ranger Office in Murphy. Build upon that rally and go to the Ashville Office with a larger rally. Then present a final message in Washington DC. This would generate a huge media blast and I believe the turnout would grow at each event. We really need to ban together on this issue. I have been riding dual sport bikes pretty heavy since last summer and have been to some rally's. I figured that the 4wd community was taking the blame for the trail closures, but that isn't the case at all. The Dual Sport guys majority are old ATVers, Dirt Biker's and 4wder's and are just as pissed off about trail availability and closures. Like that article, we need to show up together as a mixed interest, displaying our passions for public land opportunities. I WILL PROVIDE THE 1000 HOT DOGS IF WE CAN GET THE PEOPLE TO COME OUT IN THAT NUMBER!
I'm not kidding or just talking out of my ass...it will not cost you a ton of money to show up for an afternoon, bring any and everyone you can. We need bodies, ATVs, Dirt bikes, UTV's, go carts and 4wds. The FS will not have enough parking for us all and we will spill out into all available parking areas. Present yourselves as a professional, be polite to the public and FS personel, be informative to the local media and business owners. IT IS TIME FOR SOME OF THE CHANGE I KEEP HEARING ABOUT!

Any updates on the Rally?

As far as I understand it, because the Great Smokey Mountain Trail Ride was turned into a Rally...and it's the same weekend folks were discussing on this thread. Upstate Cruisers opened the event to everyone...it's at Crawfords. See Trollhole's post above.

I'll be there Thurs-Sunday AM.

Just a thought, but something that was done local by a company that gave out bonuses. Got a lot of local media attention. He gave out the $1,000 bonuses in $2.00 bills and they could only be used in the local town and within 30 days. The area was flooded with $2 bills. Made a big impact. Perhaps Crawford's camp or someone cound play bank and swap money for people into $2 bills. The town would have to notice, plus they get reused in the area. A bank would probably have to order them from the fed. But just think what the impression would be, if we left them with 5,000 $2 bills over the event at local establishments.

Anybody planning on coming???

I will be there, and I will tell all of my friends. Tea Party?
Torture Every Angler, Party.........
Check this out. This was last year, A video I made after returning from Dixie Run.YouTube - DIXIE RUN 2008 TELLICO IS STILL OPEN (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW9G4A8_02s)

It's coming up soon folks. We are keeing the name GSMTR because it's a tradtional event for the LandCruiser community, but we've opened it up to everyone. Tell you friends, tell your neighbors, bring your family!

We will drive through Murphy on Saturday. We will have a really nice raffle with lots of stuff for everyone. We will have fun for the whole family.

There are also some of us that are thinking of a run to a nearby (well sorta) area for a more expedition style run on Friday. Please post up if you are interested and if you plan on being at the rally!

I should be in town for the day of cruising around Murphy. I'll bring friends with me too. Picnic lunch down town for sure.

I will absolutely be there... trollhole.. i clicked register, and the page was down because of itenerary changes?
And crawfords, how much will primative camping be?

I will absolutely be there... trollhole.. i clicked register, and the page was down because of itenerary changes?
And crawfords, how much will primative camping be?

Don't worry about registering...it's come one, come all. As for camping rates, CrawfordsCampground (Danny) would be better to answer.

danny you lurkin around here?

Trout Camp 09'

I will absolutely be there... trollhole.. i clicked register, and the page was down because of itenerary changes?
And crawfords, how much will primative camping be?

It's fixed now. So please register. It doesn't cost a dime to. We need to know how many of you are coming. Since I posted this last night on Mud the registrations have been flooding in. I think a lot more people are coming than anyone thought.

Update.

Please go to the UC site and register if you are coming. It's free. We just want to know who is coming. Upstate Cruisers GSMTR ‘09 (http://upstatecruisers.net/gsmtr_main/)

Here is the skinny on the new GSMTR Rally. As I’m sure you are aware, Tellico is under severe threat with a recently announced “temporary” closure until 2011. All along, this years GSMTR was about raising funds for the “Rescue Tellico” effort. Even with Tellico temporarily closed, we are not giving up on supporting and fighting for the cause. So, what does that mean for GSMTR ‘09?



GSMTR ‘09 will still happen but it will be a rally more highly focused on raising funds for “Rescue Tellico”.


The event will run from Thursday through Sunday, June 18th through the 21st. If you want to come early then please do.


We will have a parts swap Friday, Trail rides as well as a Rock Climb Competition. That’s right we have trails! Not the ones that are closed and not hardcore trails but Danny at Crawford's has mapped out over 100 miles of forestry service roads along with several scenic overlooks and places to stop for a meal and a pit stop. On these trails are numerous river crossings, winding gravel and dirt roads and some blacktop roads. But the majority is off road. It’s not what we all want but it’s better than nothing and will give you and the family something to do and have some fun. We will have maps at the event to pass out to those that lead up a group. A sign up board will be at the pavilion for those wanting to group up to do these rides. Rock climbing will start around 2pm on Friday. There will be at least three categories.


We will have a tug-o-war on Saturday. Having never tried this it will be a first so bear with us.


We will as a group drive through Murphy Saturday to show support for the local community. We will all park at Valley Village Shopping Center in Murphy. The owners of the shopping center have welcomed us with open arms. I say we show our support for them by supporting them. After we have had lunch and met with the media we will be splitting up into groups and traveling up the Skyway or on a lower gravel road that follows the Skyway down low. That way you can do what you want to do.


We will have a big raffle at the event on Saturday. We have been receiving steady shipments from sponsors so by next week we should have a good group of products to raffle off that night starting around 7:30. So far some of the big sponsors have been BFG and Iron Pig.


We will have a 5 big item online raffle. This will be announced around the first of July.


We will want to have dinner for Friday and Saturday night. It may be a spur of the moment dinner. As we have not asked for any money to pay for food. We will do what we can. Plan on there being my world famous Rotel for both nights. Just remember to check the forum early next week for more details. But for now plan on making your own dinner.


We will donate all (100%) profits to the Rescue Tellico fund for the fight to open Tellico back up. The event will be a pay as you go event. Book your reservations at Crawfords, and pay for meals, raffles etc… at the event.


We are asking those that are coming please register so we know how many plan on coming. If you have any questions please contact me. If you have an idea or want to help please call or e-mail me. Trollhole@upstatecruisers.net or call me Marshall at 864-414-0563

And, PLEASE support the “Rescue Tellico” cause, don’t change your plans to attend this years GSMTR! This may be the most important event of the year. The cause needs support, financial as well as through a show of support for the community. If your plan now is to go somewhere else during GSMTR your letting them win. We have a chance to make a difference. A very big difference. I will also promise you will have a really good time. It’s a beautiful place.

Thanks,
The Upstate Cruisers BOD

So far I have 75 people registered with what I'm sure is many more that have yet to get online and register. Looks to be a good turnout.

Also as an update Sat we will be going out to the Valley Village Shopping Center to show our support not the Wal-Mart as first posted.

BFG, Advanced Adapters, Warn, Iron Pig Off Road, Ready Welder, Borgeson, Summit, and many others have donated to the cause for this event. Please come hang out with us and show your support for a trail system that is second to none.

Made it in last night. Had a great time hanging out with the early crowd.

Beautiful day today. About 85 currently with a really nice wind. Great day. If you feel like coming out and having a good relaxing time this is the event for you. Will be firing up the grill tonight for anyone wanting to throw something on it and also cooking some of UC's famous Rotel. 10 gallons to be precise. Will be showing wheeling movies every night on the 5'x8' screen. Only cost for this event is to pay for your camping spot. Come on out and and help support Tellico

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-11/485145/IMG_3600.JPG

Rock Garden is calling your name.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-11/485145/IMG_3604.JPG

I wish I could go... I have a customer coming in Saturday and I cant afford to reschedule...if anyone is out cruising around and want to swing by the shop saturday please feel welcome. We have a little rock pile here and some short muddy trails. Then our monthly potluck dinner is Saturday at 6pm...I kinda cant miss that. We've only missed one in two years. 4820 Murphy Highway, Mineral Bluff, Georgia if you want to stop by.

Can't wait to see this thing! I may drive my heep up there tomorrow after work but we'll see if I get my crap together in time. Any word what people will have at the swap? If anyone is there post up some more picks with rigs! I want to see some boulder crawlin'! :D


Oh and is there a general timeline for the planned events?? And how much are the different things such as raffle tickets/food/etc? Do we have shirts??? thanks

when is the ride through murphy tomorow... i really want to come up i need to know quick

They are meeting at the Save A Lot plaza around 10am. They are going to hang out for a little while to show a presence and then line up and go for the ride.
I really thought with all of the big talk on Pirate there would have been a overwhelming presence...Action speaks louder than TYPE or talk folks. The biggest fight seems to be is keeping everyone involved. This is not an instant gradification situation and we will lose the battle if folks think that way. Tellico OHV isn't the only place on the chopping block.

just a little update for those thinking of coming out. There will be a rock crawl comp today sometime and the antcipated tug-o-war as well. Also the raffle is still on. If your thinking of coming out and in the area please do, the more people we have showing support the more fun this thing is! I've already played through the rock garden with my jeep a few times and had a blast all by myself, I hope some others will join in.

LETS SAVE TELLICO!

anyone got pics from the event? I'd love to see some pics of the fun. I had a blast playing in the rock garden with my YJ! Thanks DAN!!!!

:bawling: I never get to go to anything fun.

Don't worry, you aren't the only one that missed the fun. (By the way, I stopped by on Wed. to say hi, but you weren't in.)

In fact, funkskunk is the ONLY ONE THAT SHOWED UP from Pirate.

All the talk, all the demands, all the bullshit around here, and ONE person showed up.

I guess on a good note, we raised a respectable amount of money for Rescue Tellico. We don't know the final numbers, but decent. We had a total of about 60 Toyotas from all over, some as far away as South Florida and Illinois. We went to the lake one day, wheeled Beasley Knob one day, Had a rock crawling competition (short wheel base and long wheel base classes), had a raffle with a grand prize of a set of up to 42" BFG tires, paraded through town with a police escort, had a rally in town, passed out cards to local businesses when we spent money, lots of really productive things.

Wish more people would have come...so much for money where you mouth is around here.

Good to hear you did some PR in town :)

While taking a detour, the long way home, after the SFWDA 2nd Quarter Meeting in Blairsville, GA, I decided I would stop and talk to some folks about the trail closures at Upper Tellico OHV.

I stopped in to Murphy Auto Parts which is across from the NAPA dealer on the way out of town. Both he and the fellow in Appalachian Outfitters next door were positive that business was down, but they couldn’t state for a fact that the trail closures were to blame. With the current economic down turn they said business was so bad anyway that they really didn’t know how much the closures were affecting them.

At the Texaco convenience store on the left after you cross the bridge on the way out of town, the clerk was more positive that their business was hurting due to the closures. She said that they were always swamped on weekends, Saturdays especially, before but that now weekends were the same as the rest of the week.

A lady who was on her way into the store said that she could definitely tell that there was less traffic in town, especially weekends though she had no opinion on whether it was a good thing or bad.

Three fellows I spoke to in the parking lot were more definitie in their opinion. They said the closures were a good thing and that until the trout fishing improved they should keep the trails closed. I moved along quickly as their obvious level of intoxication and staunch ideas about the trails made me a little uneasy.

My last stop was at the store at the blinking light where you turn right off of Joe Brown highway. The clerk there knew nothing about trails, Tellico, 4x4s or anything else. All she know was that there was Hiwassee Lake just down the hill. I wonder if our presence is so little missed that she didn’t care or that she was just clueless?

Basically I guess, life goes on. Murphy is still Murphy. Maybe a little less traffic, maybe a little less money coming in, but hey, their attitude seemed to be; it’s the hand we were delt, we’re playing the cards we got!

lol, thanks Heather! Yeah and I brought my wife, my best friend & his wife! It was a small yet strong turn out for the cause, to bad it wasn't more people outside of the Toyota crew. Those guys were great to hang out with and sure were fighting for Tellico!

And for all you slackers that didn't show, remember that the Dixie Run is still on and it's to benefit the Tellico fight!!