Kurt

We hoped to make it this time but unfortunately it isn't meant to be even though we will be up there from July 3rd through the 17th and part of that time we'll even be on Vancouver Island. Very fortunately though, we'll be cruising the islands on a 47 foot yacht. I talked to the other two couples about extending our itinerary to Living Forest to stop in and say hi but at 18 gallons per hour it would cost another $600 in fuel. Oh well, maybe next time. Have fun!

I just reviewed our reservation and saw they gave us the wrong days so, we won't be arriving a day early. Now we'll be there Fri thru Mon.

Made our reservation today for Thu 10th thru Sat 12th nights. Glad to finally get out in the toy again. It's been way too long. See you all there! Kurt & Kari (and Beau, Chirpy & Gizmo)

I agree, the Santa Fe area would be more fun than most places near Amarillo and it's only 280 miles west of the half-way point. It's only 70 miles north of Santa Fe to the he popular Taos Pueblo and art colony. There are several RV parks and campgrounds nearby and there's dry camping for $5/day at Capulin Campground about 6 miles outside of town that can accomodate small RVs (I'm not sure what the maximum length is but if it's under 22' then it counts me out). As for the suggestion to do the trip during the summer to accomodate people with school age kids, I suggest it be done as early as possible before it warms up too much and avoid the summer monsoon rains and thunderstorms, which occur almost daily. Their hottest month is July (upper 80's & 90's) and their wettest month is August. The Pow Wow is in July: http://taospueblopowwow.com/about-pow-wow/events If you've never been to one, it's worth checking out. They even have on-site dry camping. - Kurt

Got my 'Yes' vote on the poll. We'll have to travel the 400+ miles to L.A. first to start with the eastbounder though. There should plan a mid-point rally to meet-up with westbounders and others who can make it to a rally but can't take the Route 66 trip. The half-way point looks like the Texas panhandle area Since we're from NorCal, we'd probably take US 50 back to CA which could be an adventure in itself. As for the time of year, we need to avoid the part of the summer that has the worst thunderstorms as these little toys don't handle high winds very well.

My wife has three nice books picked out already but she's having trouble finding another two she's willing to part with (It's not like she doesn't have a ton of them). My mom is a great cook so I'm sure she'll have some excellent books too. As long as it's warmer and drier than this weekend, I'll be happy. I'll be at the concert Saturday so I hope it's not too hot. Weather report looks like Coloma will be 72 Friday, 74 Saturday and 78 on Sunday. We might make the 2-hour trek over to Columbia when we leave Sunday. They're having their "Diggins 1852" event with lots of activities and actors in period costume. June 2-5, Thurs-Sun daytime DIGGINS 1852 - Step back in time to the year 1852 and discover what life was like in a gold diggings encampment! Over 150 volunteers help recreate this time in history by living the life of a miner, merchant, actor/actress, and more. School tours are led Thursday and Friday by reservation. Sponsored by the Columbia State Historic Park and Friends of Columbia State Historic Park. Call 209-588-9128 for more information, http://www.columbiacalifornia.com/index.htm.

I think you mean Hwy 49 from 80 (Auburn). I've taken our that way before. The canyon down across the river is the slowest part due to the incline and sharp turns but it's only a couple miles. It's no problem at all with a V6 and 4.88 gears. A 4-cylinder and regular gears would be kind of slow. For anyone coming from Sacramento direction I'd suggest taking Hwy 50 to Hwy 49 at Placerville in either case. So, unless you're coming from east of Auburn or have a really slow rig, it's not that bad an idea to travel past Hwy 49 on 80 to Sierra College Blvd and take it to Hwy 50 and back up to Placerville. There are a couple slightly shorter routes if you're familiar with the area. Also, we've added a recipe book swap for anyone who wants to participate. Bring 5 cookbooks in at least decent condition for trading, they can even be collectables. We'll put them all on a table and people can pick what they want as long the table is empty by the end of it. P.S. I don't think anyone will argue if you bring additional books of other types too.

I just spoke with Chris at the American River Resort who said they only have a few RV sites left and only one of those is near the rest of our group (site #71) due to a group member who had to cancel. The next closest open site is #62.

NEW, MAY 22: We've added a recipe book swap for anyone who wants to participate. Bring 5 cookbooks in at least decent condition for trading, they can even be collectables. We'll put them all on a table and people can pick what they want as long the table is empty by the end of it. P.S. I don't think anyone will argue if you bring additional books of other types too. TOY-IN LOCATION: American River Resort 6019 New River Road Coloma, CA, 95613 Prices: $45/night/2 people, extra people $10 each PH: (530) 622-6700 Web: http://www.AmericanRiverResort.com/ Camp Site Map http://www.americanr...0Site%20Map.pdf WHEN: June 3 & 4th (depart June 5th) Early June is about the latest you want to want to visit the gold country (unless you're a fan of hot weather). I just spoke with Chris who said they have 9 full-hookup spaces available right now. I think they may have a few other sites elsewhere in the park. IMPORTANT: The sites are going fast due to the nearby blues concert on Saturday. Call to make your own reservations and mention you're with the Toyota motorhome group and she'll try to put everyone as close as possible. They're having a BBQ on Fri & Sat nights for $12.50/person in case anyone's interested in that. We'll be prepared for appetizers and get-together Friday night and a group potluck Saturday night anyway though. The resort is walking distance to the Marshall Gold Discovery site, park & museum with all the old buildings to walk around and check out like the live blacksmith, shop or whatever. Or, you can just order up a sarsaparilla or ice cream, sit down and people-watch. There are three wineries not far from the campground and I believe there is wine tasting in town too. If you've never been whitewater rafting, this is a fairly tame section of the river that's only a class II to try it out. The resort website's Visitors' Guide at http://www.americanriverresort.com/visitorsguide.html has lots of details on dining, wine tasting and things to do. Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park: - http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=484 - http://www.coloma.com/gold/marshall-park.php - http://www.marshallgold.org/ Coloma Blues Live: - Adults: $45 | Children 7-12: $10 | Children 6 & younger free - Doors open at 10 am – Show starts at 11 am (I think it finishes at 5 or 6 pm) - http://www.ColomaBluesLive.com The blues festival is by no means part of the Toy-in but will be a fun way to spend part of Saturday. There will be free shuttles from the campground to the concert. I previously mentioned the possibility of getting a couple of free tickets remaining from www.TheWorldOfBlues.com will be given away to listeners. For anyone looking for something more to do when you leave, Colombia "Ghost Town", about two-hours away, is having their annual "Diggins 1852" event with lots of activities and actors in period costume: DIGGINS 1852 - Step back in time to the year 1852 and discover what life was like in a gold diggings encampment! Over 150 volunteers help recreate this time in history by living the life of a miner, merchant, actor/actress, and more. School tours are led Thursday and Friday by reservation. Sponsored by the Columbia State Historic Park and Friends of Columbia State Historic Park. Call 209-588-9128 for more information, http://www.columbiacalifornia.com/index.htm. Hope to see you at the Toy-In! Kurt & Kari(Beau, Gizmo & Chirpy) 1990 Toyota Odyssey Ponderosa