OK, Here is the website for this years First Generation Firebird national meet.


http://fgfcannonbirdrun.yolasite.com/


It has been named the Cannobird Run by majority vote. Its still in the works, but you will be able to get a general idea of what it looks like. All of the pages are ACTIVE , this means that if you put yourself on the Travel Route Map, you will be there unless you contact me to be removed, if you RSVP, you will be counted, and the Contact Us page is live as well. Please feel free to check it out and give any feedback, suggestions, or opinions.

You can contact me through here, the L-List, the contact us link on the site, or shelcon38342@yahoo.com , or fgfcannonbirdrun@yahoo.com

Thank You in Advance,

Jerry Shelton

looks like we have at least 4 or 5 preliminary HALFers, maybe more soon..

I also posted a thread about this on PY for FGFers there to see the website.

Very cool! I wish you all the best in this endvure. Stuff like this is a huge undertaking and I hope the turnout is huge!

Are you going to join us for the cruise? I have heard of a few others that plan on making the trip from FL...

Here is what happened (the condensed version) on Friday nights conference call regarding the FGF Cannonbird Run.

We have basically determined that unless something drastic happens, we will be lodging at the YMCA in Estes Park, CO.
Reasons:
1. The room rates are a few dollars higher than some of the other places in town, BUT... the rates include 3 meals (buffet style) per day.
2. There are plenty of activities for the wife and kids, both at the YMCA and in Estes Park via the free shuttle bus provided by the YMCA.
3. They have more than ample rooms available to accommodate the gathering for this year and lots of room for expansion in upcoming years.
4. They have enough private space for parking the cars, having the car show, parking trailers, and public parking for attending the Car Show.
4a. YES, this will be a true car show, not just a show-n-shine, there will be prizes, trophies, plaques, etc.
4b. Attached you will find the Car Show Scoring Sheet and the Car Show Rules that I designed... Comments or Suggestions are appreciated!
5. They have several Meeting/Banquet rooms to meet the needs of whatever size this may grow to in the future.
6. They have conceded to allow alcohol as long as it is not "sold" at the function...IE. No Cash Bar and No Kegs
7. The only concern anyone may have is that the only TVs are located in the Lobby or in the Private Cabins = Have Kids? - Bring Portable DVD Players! or Laptops!
8. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE YMCA YET TO MAKE RESERVATIONS! WE ARE STILL NEGOTIATING PRICES!!!!!!!

The schedule thus far (still not set in stone) is as follows:
Friday, August 13-
Registration Early, Golf Tournament with 10 a.m. Tee-Time, Short cruise in the afternoon, Meet & Greet @ the BBQ Friday Night, FGF Trivial Pursuit Game
Saturday, August 14-
Breakfast Buffet, 8 a.m., Cruise (approx 5 hours), Lunch Buffet, Car Show from 2-6 p.m., Award Ceremony from 6-7 p.m., Banquet Dinner @ 7 p.m.(ish)
Sunday, August 15-
Breakfast Buffet, 8 a.m., Organizational Meeting (for future cruises) ALL WELCOME, Family Time (kids go-carts, putt-putt, carving show, etc.), Back to the YMCA for Lunch Buffet, Short cruise,

We have a couple volunteers for organizing the Fund Raisers, Local and National Sponsors. We will still take anyone else that wants to help with this!
The way the Sponsorship will work is that we are setting a Graduated Scale for Monetary Donations... the higher the donation, the more exposure on the site and at the function as well as any advertising that is distributed.
The funds will be deposited into an account with 2 debit cards linked to it to pay for anything corresponding with this event... deposits, trophies, etc.

There will be a Registration Fee to attend this Function. The fee will be on a graduated scale as well. Base fee ( to be determined ) and then increments of an additional $10 per month for the feet-draggers. The cut off for registration will be mid-July due to constraints put on us by the Hotel.
Anyone that has RSVP'd on the site by the time this is fee is set will be eligible for the Base Registration Fee.

There were several other things discussed, but nothing that is really "important" (IE. bands, photographer, etc.)

If anyone has any questions or comments, PLEASE contact me directly through my personal email ( shelcon38342@yahoo.com ) or through the Contact Us link on the Website. I wish more of us had been on the call, thanks to Andy for his participation! The next call will be on Friday, February 12 at 6:45pm Central time, I'll get the details of the phone number and access code as soon as it becomes available.

Thanks to all,

Jerry

Thanks Jerry....I will post a link to this in the "ramblings section" just in case!

I've got a dumb question: I'm on the edge running premium gas near sea level. Will I need more octane a mile high?

you might want to ask that in a thread more designed for this type question...maybe under drive train? or such...not many will see it here.

Depends on if you are carbuerated or injected... injected, you shouldnt need any change, if running a carb, you can probably plan on a tweak of the air & fuel needles...

Almost everyone coming to a mile high + will notice a loss of power. 20-25% less air. Local gas is 85 / 87 / 91. 93+ is hard to find. You don't need octane, you need good V ignition. We will arrange with a station or speed shop near Estes to have at least 93Octane. If you run good on 93 or less currently, you should be able to run fine on 91 in most areas of CO. If you decide to drive up above 8500ft is when lower altitude set carbs start to spit raw fuel it can't burn. Most cars still run OK, but you smell gas. We are also talking about a tech session on Friday afternoon, and helping to tune those birds not adjusting to a mile high well through a local speed shop and have quadrajet, holley needles/jets on site. DON'T LET THE ALTITUDE SCARE YA NOT TO COME. LET YOUR BIRD GET ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH!
Jay

Good choice on the YMCA. We had a wedding in the family there and everyone liked the place. The staff is friendly and helpful and the setting is beautiful.

My Bird has been to Estes a few times and it ran like it had no power. I never reset anything since it was only for a vacation. The worse part was on startup with the choke still on.

I hope we can come. I do have some reservations about taking the car that far in it's old age.

We will be in Colorado a couple times before next August: Easter for and again in early July to see family and spend time fishing and hiking in RMNP by Estes.

Jim, I know quite a few people are going to trailer their car to Estes and just drive it around up there. The YMCA has plenty of parking for trailers if its something you decide you might want to do.

We are looking forward to this meet, especially since it's only an hour drive. We stayed at the YMCA lodge with family a few years ago and it was a blast. They also rent cabins. There are several good fly fishing streams and back country beaver ponds if you want to get out. For those of you who want to gamble, Black Hawk is a gambling town just a few mountian tops away (maybe 1 1/2 drive). Lots of outdoors stuff to do.
As a side note.. At this altitude you can run higher compression at lower octane. Rule of thumb is to jet down two sizes from sea level.
Look forward to meeting some of you there!

Jim ,will be nice to meet up w ya there!
I`m planning to take my car...not planning on re jetting anything...(I may regret it, but it runs fine now and dont want to mess with it....at least it will run good to and from..lol,), mine runs good on regular and or plus....9.2 - 9.3 CR probably

That is one of the options I'll be thinking about Jerry. My daughter and family are only 1 1/4 hr from Estes so I could even leave the truck and trailer there. There is nothing much prettier than running the Big Thompson with the top down (see the '73 picture below).

Sounds like a good plan to me! Cant wait to see everyone there!

First of all, I really appreciate everyone's work to plan what I hope will be a fantastic event. I don't want to put a damper on this at all but here's something to consider. I went to Estes park only once so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. At the time, there was a very small forest fire somewhere near the highway and traffic was gridlocked (I think I was within 5 miles of Estes Park, coming in from Colorado Springs). As I recall it's just a small 2-lane road leading into Estes Park ? Let's hope it does not turn into a Woodstock kind of deal getting in/out, people abandoning cars, etc ? -from a hopeful Florida attendee

bring a water bottle! lol

lets hope nobody throws out burning cig. butts.

Regarding fires, small risk but anything that would spark up near Estes will have full CO. and National fire support immediately, because of the park. Estes Park itself is a small 2 lane western downtown but as soon as you get out of downtown south/east, you have 3 road options (1,34,36) to avoid any long traffic lines. Going into R.M. National Park, Trailridge Road and going over the Divide to Grand Lake will be a suggested on your own drive, because of stoppage, various acts of nature. We'll hand out detailed local maps, post on website closer to the event. Campfires are not allowed anywhere. Grilling only.
We have a good group that will deal on the fly with any situation that would effect our group during the event. All want to meet up with you Florida Bird Guys, so start planning!
Jay
Lakewood, CO

There are really five roads into Estes, two from east (although they merge to one), one from southwest, one from south and one over the pass from the west.

If you want a fantastic drive up to Estes to take in the Scenery and such, google the Peak to Peak HWY / road. It's an awesome drive that takes around 2 hours.

How far (Hour wise) is Estes Park from Say Denver? (Highlands Ranch) If I can work it out I may drive down and will be staying with friends in Highlands Ranch and Co Springs following the even. Then the family will fly in the next week-end for a family reunion of sorts on the wife's side. So you see, it will take some careful planning on my part to work it all out... Doh!

I'd say 2 hours or a little less from Highlands Ranch. We were checking for reservations last night... The Stanley looks sweet but dosent look like we got an event discount.

Mapquest said 81 miles and 1 hour 52 minutes. You would be better off planning to stop in Estes Park first instead of backtracking from Highlands Ranch.

The stanley is sweet, But no, there is no group discount nor do they have accomodations for the cars :-(...