88xt6joe Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 With everything in my power the plan is to make it. Leave on Fri and camp Fri and Sat night and go home on Sun. I can't wait. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrinx Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 Shawn you have mail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyesore Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Well, I'm back from the recon with Shawn (sort of) Never actually met Shawn, we couldn't seem to find each other, and cell phones don't work. CBs or at least 2 way radios are going to be a must. Other than that little stumble, I (we) think this area is going to be a lot of fun. Absolutely gorgeous views, lots of hiking trails and small picnic areas. Also a goodly number of fun roads, including one I decided not to go down that looks like you are decending into the bowels of the earth......Shawn ended up going down it in a Honda!!!! It will be a lot of fun taking turns trying to go back up it. (especially if it's at all wet.) A sutible area large enough to accomidate all of us may be a little tricky, but I think Shawn has a spot in mind. I'll let him give more details, he's got info on camping options & prices, and some more detailed maps. figuring out exactly where I was supposed to be was a little tricky. It's a pretty simple area, just not super well labeled. He's also got a route planned for the mud inclined, and one for the Imprezza/street crowd. (and his eagle eye spotted an old Subie hatch in someones field.......parts run!!! ) Yup, this is going to be a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chef_tim Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 We just picked up 2 CBs from walmart, $35 each. Should be simple and effective. Looking forward to details of the recon. Later, tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLance Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Hey, if anybody needs 78-82 wagon parts or gen 1 BRAT parts, let me know and I can bring some to the meet. I'll be in my XT, hopefully, so I won't be able to bring tranny's or engines, or anything too big... RedLance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted March 22, 2004 Author Share Posted March 22, 2004 I am very excited about the meet location and there is no reason to change it. This area is amazing. Even if the weather isn't good we will have fun because the roads and scenery here are great. The area is very remote. When you leave home give plenty of warning to friends and family that just because you have your cell phone doesn't mean you are going to be able to be reached. I had roam or no signal much of the time today. Outgoing calls work most of the time but incoming calls are probably going to be blocked by most networks. This is CB country 4 sure. The park is small. I think it will be fine for our purposes especially if the shelter is reserved for the $20 fee. May need to park nice and close to one another and overflow down the side of the road but it doesn't strike me as a problem for a bit until everybody shows up for the drive. The state park is nothing fancy at all but the location and scenery are what you come for. I have come up with a revised route for the meet drive and I have a way for the guys that want to tackle a muddy road to fork off one way and the not so offroad crowd to take another and meet up with each other at the other side. I have scouted all the little towns in the area and have explored all the camping options. I don't feel theres any gain in camping at the state park (see below) and have found a private campground with cabins that was mentioned above in an earlier post to be an excellent option if it isnt booked. I will be calling them to get further details. That would get just about everybody covered for the level of "roughing it" that they might desire and its only 3 miles from the park. Roads in this area are a huge mix. The Honda CRV that we drove today was capable of everything we did and I think Subaru's should be able to handle what it did without problems. The hill that Tom mentioned was not a whole lot of fun in the Honda and I would not take an Impreza on this road. The road was really messy and I pretty much slid all the way down it. Pure mud, 1' deep ruts all the way down and a tree that I had to pick up and move by hand to get thru. Thank god it was a Birch or we would not be home tonight. This is because this hill we went down....I would not have made it back UP. Should be great in a lifted Brat, hatch, etc though!!!!!! There wasn't a lot of this kind of mud/messy road but there were a ton of dirt roads around (just most were flat). I can already see attempts being made at a hillclimb "who can get up the furthest" thing. The camping at the state park is "primative." Its backpacking tent only. There is no restroom for around 2 miles of hiking or a 5-10 min drive, and the $9 fee gets you a picnic table and a fire ring on a path that requires a hike in of no less than 1/2 mile from the parking lot. Not a difficult hike. Parking and sleeping in your car in the lot is illegal there. Probably be best to go to the campground I found but it would be a lot of fun for the right people. We are going to have to make sure we obey rules in this area. There aren't a lot of areas that are off limits but the ones that are, I certainly do not recommend messing with. Government access roads along a waterway come to mind on this. One min u are on a public access area and the next min u come to a sign saying you need permission to be out there. Pictures and further details are coming in the next few days. I need to make some phone calls before I know much for sure. The cabin choice is certainly not cheap and a motel might actually be a better way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 1. where is sleeping in the wagon allowed? 2. where's the showers? 3. the cheap cb may be good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 I have uploaded the pictures to my recon album. http://usmb.net/gallery/Prep-Canyon-Recon?page=1 Key: Pictures 1-9 are not close to the park, a road I found on the way from Council Bluffs up to the park. Only fun for people traveling from Omaha. Picture 10 is of the first shelter at the park. Probably not going to use this one as the restroom is down by the other one. Picture 11 is just a note about the camping area. Picture 12 is the map that is found at the beginning of the park. Picture 13 is just a shot of this sign further away. Picture 14 (blurry sorry) is the shelter I have chosen. Picture 15 is the restroom near picture 14. This is a pit toilet, no running water. Picture 16 is a birch tree I saw that had been hit by lightning. Picture 17 is the street sign at the top of the fun hill (OLIVE RD). Pictures 18 and 19 are Olive Road from the top. Can't see the bottom so well. Pictures 20 and 21 are a bridge west of the park and a shot of the side of Loess Hills. Picture 22 is a Subaru I spotted behind a house. (Addict? Yes!) Pictures 23-26 are Olive from top again, after I came back around from going down it and around the area. Pictures 27-30 is Peach Road. Nice little dirt road along the edge of the park area. Pictures 31-34 are the primative camping area lower level sites. I didnt hike up into the hills to find the others. Any questions on the pictures just ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archemitis Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 3rd down first row second page, pic. is that a white hatch in the backround? my monitor is old, and i cant tell. looks like a good spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted March 24, 2004 Author Share Posted March 24, 2004 Yep white hatch indeed, I spotted it while cruising around. My girlfriend was like "what car" and then we peeked thru the trees and saw it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archemitis Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 wow, it must be fate. did you say hill climb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Man after reading all the updates im SO excited for this. *gets to work franticly on subaru* What should we be doing about camping. Are spots reserved or shoudl we be calling individually and reserving spots ourselves? Got prices on the hike-ins? cabins? State park sticker required? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 state park sticker is a thing of the past, it was in the 80's active camping plan on about $/nite only tent spots, remote, at preparation canyon state park Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted March 28, 2004 Author Share Posted March 28, 2004 Anybody that is thinking about Camping I highly recommend you consider Loess Hills Hideaway. Its only a few bucks more and you dont have to hike and you don't have to go without a shower in the morning/evening (whatever trips ur trigger). Youre also more likely to have fellow Subaru people with you as there are cabins there. Please call and reserve a site yourself. I don't believe you can reserve a site at the state park but I could be wrong. Camping at Loess Hills Hideaway would probably make it possible to camp in your car too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Called up Loess Hills Hideaway: Here's what is available. http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/accommodations.html Lodge: Open Cabin's: 1 and 3 are open (2 is currently reserved) Camping: 1,2,4,5,6 are open (3 is currently reserved) Waiting for a call back on confirmation of availibility. Apparently we are competing with turkey hunting season in the area. Note that hunting IS ALLOWED at Preperation Canyon State Park so be aware when we are out and about! Will inquire about group rate/discount when I get a call back. Here is some more info: Loess Hills Hideaway: http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/index.html http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/rates.html Preperation State Park: http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/state_park.html http://www.state.ia.us/parks/prepcan.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted March 29, 2004 Author Share Posted March 29, 2004 Excellent warning on Turkey Season Morgan, thanks very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Called up Loess Hills Hideaway: Here's what is available. http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/accommodations.html Lodge: Open Cabin's: 1 and 3 are open (2 is currently reserved) Camping: 1,2,4,5,6 are open (3 is currently reserved) Waiting for a call back on confirmation of availibility. Apparently we are competing with turkey hunting season in the area. Note that hunting IS ALLOWED at Preperation Canyon State Park so be aware when we are out and about! Will inquire about group rate/discount when I get a call back. Here is some more info: Loess Hills Hideaway: http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/index.html http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/rates.html Preperation State Park: http://www.loesshillshideaway.com/state_park.html http://www.state.ia.us/parks/prepcan.htm Recieved a call back from Loess Hills Hideaway. Got some more details on group rate and reserving spots. Here is the group discount deal. 2 Cabins @ 2 Nights = 10% off 3 Cabins @ 2 Nights = 15% off 4 Cabins @ 2 Nights = 20% off Problem is one cabin is already reserved. He said if we rented 3 cabins and 1 campsite for 2 nights we could get the 20% off. I dont see any problem getting enough ppl to get a group discount. Reservations can be made over the phone. Once we have enough confirmed people he will put a 1 week hold prior to deposite being recieved. Once the deposit is recieved then a solid reservation is made. If we dont act soon however we WILL get bumped. They are making it sound like the area is a real hotspot for turkey season and camping can get scarce quick. If you plan on staying at Loess Hills Hideaway reply here so we can get a confirmed headcount. This way I can get us the group discount penciled in. Then we can work on getting a deposit and solid reservation established. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 If we can get the group here, I'm in for the campsite. Son says Tent, no cabin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 original post... Date: Saturday April 3rd, 2004. (See bottom for date conflict, we may adjust date to April 10, 2004 instead, or April 17...) Location: Monona County, Iowa is the area. This county is located between Sioux City and Omaha/Council Bluffs. County features Preparation Canyon State Park and is part of the "Loess Hills." (pronounced "Luss") Loess Hills Other Loess Hills Attractions/Lodging This landform is unique to anywhere except China. The terrain is not typical flat farmland like the state is known for. The plan is do a tour drive of the area either originating at the State Park or ending at the State park, depending upon how many people are coming, when they are coming, and what direction they are primarily coming from. The drive will include interstate highway, gravel, County Road blacktop, small town streets and dirt roads. April is known for muddy conditions and we will try to allow for people that don't have 4wd Subaru's, or Subaru's that prefer to not get dirty, to have options for meeting up with us. After the tour drive we will do a show and shine back at the park. RC Brat races too. We will probably stop in Onawa during the drive to give everybody a chance to wash their Subaru's at a carwash if they wish. The State Park features include a campground. Iowa has pretty good campgrounds at its parks usually. Weather permitting some of us may be camping the night after the meet. Maps: 1) General Area so you can figure out where this is. 2) Detailed road map of the area. (Yellow highlighted areas are DIRT roads.) 3) Planned route for the "dirt road" portion of the tour is in orange alongside the roads on this map image I have added a Poll requesting an "RSVP" for the Event. Please comment in the thread here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88xt6joe Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 I think you can count me in on a cabin for the two nights. Message me or e-mail me if you have any questions. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 I'm planning on a campsite for fri and sat nite, prefer to sleep in wagon due to tent could fit in wagon when assembled!!, and I'll go for a shower 10th or 17th does not matter to me "rabbit season: duck season" repeat as necessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnW Posted March 31, 2004 Author Share Posted March 31, 2004 I am reserving the shelter at Prep Canyon Park. It costs $25. If any of you wouldn't mind chipping in a couple bucks toward this that would be great. Please also bring $1 per car for an award we are going to have at the meet. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbrat Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 any other updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 any other updates? Just got off the phone with Loess Hills Hideaway. The group rate ONLY applys to cabins BUT he said if we rent 3 campsites and atleast 1 cabin we could get 10% off. The cabins sleep 4 to 5 comfortably. He said there are 5 beds and the dimensions are 20'x13'. If we get one more cabin we can get the 20% discount I really need to hear from everybody who has curretnly RSVP'd to ShawnW to reply here IF they will be staying at Loess Hills and what they would prefert (campsite or cabin) Once I got a list of ppl confirmed at my end I can call in a reservation. I have emailed most everybody on the RSVP list. Right now it looks like we have: Myself, phantom, archemetis and his girlfriend: 1cabin McBrat and son: 1campsite 88xt6joe: 1cabin subiemech85: 1campsite Syrinx and family: 1campsite Redlance and family: 1cabin Still waiting to hear from: OmahaSubaru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syrinx Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 We'll be getting campsite. Me wife and Daughter Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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