2017 Southeast Adirondacks Meet - July 8

[cl94]

Greetings, everyone. From what I posted on the "2017 Meets" thread, there seems to be a little bit of interest in a meet centered on the southeastern Adirondack Mountains. This would be the first meet I've hosted and the center/lunch location would likely be in Glens Falls, about 45 miles north of Albany. From what I can tell, there haven't been many (if any) meets in this general area even though there are a ton of items that would be of interest to roadgeeks.

Possible items on the tour may include, but are not limited to:

- The Hadley Parabolic Bridge, one of only 3 bridges of its type ever constructed and the last remaining. This would likely be the meet photo location and will certainly be on the route if a meet does occur.
- A clinch of NY 418
- The Schroon River bridges in Warrensburg
- A section of the Northway, rated the most scenic freeway in the country when it opened. Stretch between 21 and 24 has its original bridge decks and railings in most places.
- The Northway stub at Exit 22 and its A-15 shields
- Washington County's former style of CR signage
- Old Hudson River bridges in Hudson Falls and Fort Edward
- Covered bridges in Washington County
- The US 9 bridge over the Hudson in Glens Falls

I included a poll of possible dates for a meet. If you have any interest in attending, choose as many dates as you think you can attend and you can change your choices at any time. A couple notes on the dates I chose:

- I purposely chose dates that do not coincide with holiday weekends. This is because tourist traffic is way up those weekends.
- June 10 is the last day of Americade and, having grown up in the area, I know that none of us want to be driving around that week and it'll be impossible for anyone to get a hotel room
- The later we go, the more traffic there will be and the more hotel rooms will cost, especially at the end of July as horse racing season starts up

Location:
Cooper's Cave Ale Company ( 2 Sagamore St, Glens Falls, NY 12801 )
11:30 AM
Park on the street or at the back of the Price Chopper parking lot across the street

[Roadgeek Adam]

Be it I don't get home until after May 20, it's not easy. Also, having seen a majority of these, where is the old signage left aside of Huletts Landing for Washington County?

[cl94]

Yeah, I was hoping for a June date myself if it does happen because the 20th is immediately after I finish, but I threw it in in case people prefer an earlier date.

Original signs remain on CR 35 just west of CR 36 in Kingsbury, which just happens to be on the fastest route between Lake George and Hudson Falls.

My planned route to/from the Hadley bridge would involve Saratoga CR 24 and Warren CRs 3/12 with a possible detour over the Stewart's Bridge Dam. For those unfamiliar, CR 24 runs alongside Spier Falls, which was the largest waterfall on the Hudson before the hydroelectric dam was built,

[vdeane]

I'm not aware of any conflicts as of yet, but mid/late June is typically when the family picnic is, introducing potential conflicts with June 17 and June 24.  Also, the fact that the Alaska meet will be next year around that time (to maximize daylight for driving the Dalton Highway) certainly makes things more complicated.

[hbelkins]

I'm not aware of any conflicts as of yet, but mid/late June is typically when the family picnic is, introducing potential conflicts with June 17 and June 24.  Also, the fact that the Alaska meet will be next year around that time (to maximize daylight for driving the Dalton Highway) certainly makes things more complicated.

Realistically, how many people are going to Alaska?

[noelbotevera]

I could catch this one on my way back from Montreal. Maybe if there's time and I can convince my dad. I'm hoping for June or July so I can work out how to do plan my Toronto/Montreal trip next year.

I'm also going to Boston sometime before or after this timeframe, so I have a second chance if it doesn't work out, but only after I come home from Montreal.

[Alps]

I'm not aware of any conflicts as of yet, but mid/late June is typically when the family picnic is, introducing potential conflicts with June 17 and June 24.  Also, the fact that the Alaska meet will be next year around that time (to maximize daylight for driving the Dalton Highway) certainly makes things more complicated.

Realistically, how many people are going to Alaska?

At least two, maybe three of those who would consider attending this meet.

[cl94]

We could just as easily do this thing in mid to late July. As long as it isn't a festival weekend, traffic wouldn't be miserable.

[noelbotevera]

We could just as easily do this thing in mid to late July. As long as it isn't a festival weekend, traffic wouldn't be miserable.

What do you mean by festival? I haven't heard of such.

[cl94]

We could just as easily do this thing in mid to late July. As long as it isn't a festival weekend, traffic wouldn't be miserable.

What do you mean by festival? I haven't heard of such.

Lake George and the surrounding communities run festivals some weekends (because they need any more tourists clogging the roads up). Americade is the big one (early June), but there are a few others.

[Roadgeek Adam]

We could just as easily do this thing in mid to late July. As long as it isn't a festival weekend, traffic wouldn't be miserable.

What do you mean by festival? I haven't heard of such.

Lake George and the surrounding communities run festivals some weekends (because they need any more tourists clogging the roads up). Americade is the big one (early June), but there are a few others.

As a post meet, we should totally go in House of Frankenstein or take a boat ride

[cl94]

We could just as easily do this thing in mid to late July. As long as it isn't a festival weekend, traffic wouldn't be miserable.

What do you mean by festival? I haven't heard of such.

Lake George and the surrounding communities run festivals some weekends (because they need any more tourists clogging the roads up). Americade is the big one (early June), but there are a few others.

As a post meet, we should totally go in House of Frankenstein or take a boat ride

I was actually thinking that. Bunch of stuff like that in the area.

[jpi]

I went ahead and voted for June 3, my wife and I may be in central PA around that time for our nephews high school graduation and since this is only a few hours away, this may be doable and the best date for us to make it to such a meet.

[froggie]

WAY TOO EARLY to be picking a date.

[cl94]

WAY TOO EARLY to be picking a date.

Good point. Good point. Just gauging interest then.

[dgolub]

WAY TOO EARLY to be picking a date.

Good point. Good point. Just gauging interest then.

Agreed.  I'd definitely be interested.  At this point, I don't have any known conflicts with any of the proposed dates.

[Dougtone]

Yeah, I was hoping for a June date myself if it does happen because the 20th is immediately after I finish, but I threw it in in case people prefer an earlier date.

Original signs remain on CR 35 just west of CR 36 in Kingsbury, which just happens to be on the fastest route between Lake George and Hudson Falls.

My planned route to/from the Hadley bridge would involve Saratoga CR 24 and Warren CRs 3/12 with a possible detour over the Stewart's Bridge Dam. For those unfamiliar, CR 24 runs alongside Spier Falls, which was the largest waterfall on the Hudson before the hydroelectric dam was built,

If you go a little further east on Washington CR 36, you will find a very, very old sign at the corner of CR 36 and Bentley Road. The sign is blade sign sized and is for Smiths Basin. Not sure if you've spotted that.

[tckma]

I might be interested.  As far as I know, I have no conflicts as of yet, but it's still quite a ways off!

[A.J. Bertin]

WAY TOO EARLY to be picking a date.

I don't agree with that. Nowadays meets are planned often up to a year in advance. It's not unheard of by any means. When Patrick Lilja was in the early planning stages of his Duluth MN meet which took place in July 2016, I believe he was suggesting possible dates as early as August or September 2015.

There's nothing wrong with advance planning.

[cl94]

Part of my thought with having a general date range penciled in is to avoid conflict with future meets. For example, I don't want anything to conflict with Alps's Alaska meet, as it would get a few people from this region. The last thing anyone wants is to have competing meets.

[hbelkins]

Part of my thought with having a general date range penciled in is to avoid conflict with future meets. For example, I don't want anything to conflict with Alps's Alaska meet, as it would get a few people from this region. The last thing anyone wants is to have competing meets.

There have been competing meets before -- such as Lawrence, Kan. and Columbus, Ohio back about five years ago. As long as they're in relatively distant geographical areas, it's not really an issue except for those who are willing to drive long distances and are relatively equidistant from the meet sites. I chose Kansas over Ohio because Columbus is close enough that I can make a day trip of it if I'm so inclined. There have been at least two Columbus meets and I've missed both of them.

Other than that, I'd go by the rule of first come, first served. If you're inclined to set a date now, the Alaska meet can either pick a different date, or the organizer can pick the same date as what you choose and make attendees pick between them.

[Alps]

Alaska is a distinct happening. It probably wouldn't even be on a Saturday, given that no one is spending just a weekend in Alaska flying up and back. Midweek is the most likely meet time - maybe a Tuesday in Fairbanks and then a Wed-Thu drive on the Dalton. Need to do some thinking.

[cl94]

Alaska is a distinct happening. It probably wouldn't even be on a Saturday, given that no one is spending just a weekend in Alaska flying up and back. Midweek is the most likely meet time - maybe a Tuesday in Fairbanks and then a Wed-Thu drive on the Dalton. Need to do some thinking.

Which is why I'm deferring everything until your date is set and not scheduling within a couple of weeks of it. Heck, if it wasn't for my crazy grad school summer research schedule, I'd love to be there as well. I just can't take that much time off at once before the TRB deadline.

Alaska is different from the other meets for a couple of reasons:

1. It's long distance for everyone
2. It'll be many times longer than the typical meet

Most meets don't draw a bunch of long-distance travelers. Birmingham was the exception, as multiple people traveled over 8 hours to get there and having it on a holiday weekend at the end of the meet season certainly helped. Alaska will be an even bigger exception, as nobody will be local and plans will need to be made much further in advance.

[A.J. Bertin]

Most meets don't draw a bunch of long-distance travelers.

I'm not 100 percent sure I agree with this. It seems like it's often the case that road meets do draw at least a few people from a few states away.

[froggie]

At least a few people, perhaps, but that's still a minority of meet attendees in virtually every case.  There's only a small subset of people that have the means and the time to travel significant distances to attend a meet.  As HB noted, there is nothing wrong with having more than one meet on the same day in different geographical regions.  If you guys don't like having to choose, I would point out that life is nothing but choices.

Something else to consider when it comes to scheduling is that there are plenty of other things and events and family to consider when it comes to figuring out if one's available on a given day.  Sure, I may say I'm available for something on day X.  But what if a family or other obligation comes up between now and then?  In my experience, it's easier and safer to commit closer to the event than it is several months out.

Lastly, some of you seem to think that "bigger is better" when it comes to meets and the size of them.  But that's not always the case (the restaurant mess at SE PA 5 or 6 years ago if you want an example).  There is something to be said for quality over quantity.  I've seen/had several very good meets that were as few as 4-6 people.