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Touring Joara 2011 - NC Mountain Tour

2K views 11 replies 3 participants last post by  77 Dino 
#1 ·
To honor the 125th anniversary of Mercedes-Benz the Tarheel Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America will be a sponsor of Touring Joara 2011.
Touring Joara, a European and Sports Car Tour and poker run is set for October 1, 2011. This is the second annual tour to raise funds for Exploring Joara Foundation a 501(c) 3 non-profit which supports the archaeology at Fort San Juan at Joara in present day Burke County, N.C. Joara is the name of the Native American village where the Spanish explorer, Juan Pardo, built Fort San Juan in 1567 making this the earliest European settlement in North Carolina as well as in the interior of North America.
The tour will take participants on some of the most scenic and historic roads in western North Carolina. Included in the tour will be Hwy 226 A, “The Diamondback” one of North Carolina’s most challenging roads. From there participants will follow in the footsteps of Pioneers and Patriots as they drive over sections of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail. This trail is the route the Overmountain Men followed as they marched towards the Battle of Kings Mountain. At the Quaker Meadows stop you can step back into the 18th century with living history exhibits and tours of the historic McDowell House during the annual Revolutionary War Week.
Registration is just $75 per car; and a percentage is a tax deductible donation to the Exploring Joara Foundation. At the end of the tour participants will receive a Touring Joara Tour Badge and turn in their poker hand. The best 10 hands from the Poker Run will receive a prize. Last year three of the prizes went to MBCA Tarheel Section members Barry Reece, Doug Sanders, and Edwin Sechrist!
The first Touring Joara was a wonderful success with great cars, fun roads, interesting people, and beautiful weather. Some of the cars on the tour were Mercedes-Benz, Morgan’s, MGs, Fiats, Porches, BMWs, Jaguars, Volvos, Mini Coopers, Smart Cars, Austin Martins, an Aston Martin, Triumphs, T-Birds, Classic Mustangs, Corvettes, and Ferraris. The Tarheel Section will have a dinner after the tour and we would like to invite all Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts to attend. To register for the tour and to check out last year’s tour photos and tour map visit Exploring Joara Foundation. You can also contact Scott Coley Tarheel Section President for additional information at scottmci@directus.net.
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Registrations for Touring Joara

:cool:Registrations for Touring Joara have started coming in and I have had a few questions to answer recently that I thought I would post.

Start/end point? This year we will start in Marion NC and end in Morganton NC both locations are close to I-40 so it will be easy for those who are driving in on the day of the Tour.

Gravel roads? NO gravel roads!!

Overnight lodging options? I will put together a more in-depth hotel list but one suggestion would be the Switzerland Inn which is a stop on the tour and one of the sponsors of the Tour and I have reserved some rooms for the MBCA.
There address is:
Switzerland Inn
86 High Ridge Road
Little Switzerland, NC 28749
(828) 765-2153

$75 includes what…for one or two…? The $75 registration fee is per car not per person. I talked to our accountant this past weekend and the fee is mostly if not all deductable as a donation to the foundation which is a 501c3 non- profit. What each car will receive is a touring badge, that has tape on its back so it can be mounted anywhere on the car or wherever the driver wishes. The 2011tour booklet with map, a turn by turn, and each car will participate in the Poker Run. There will be prizes for the best ten hands for the poker run and last year’s prizes included item such as a GPS, a framed 2010 tour poster, a case of oil, and etcetera. Not to mention driving “great” roads with other enthusiasts.

I am sure these questions will spur some additional questions so please ask.
Scott Coley
 

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#3 ·
Tour Route

The route for the tour has been a “moving” target so I have been intentionally vague up to now. We have been approved by the Marion City Council to start in down town Marion and the tour will drive up 226-A, then around Lake James with stops on the lake, then out to the Berry Site “Joara”, then to Quaker Meadows Plantation, then to Judges for a break and live music, then finish at the Catawba Meadows Park in Morganton NC where we will give out the touring badges and participants will hand in there poker run cards. This route will be fun and just under 100 miles.
I will post a photo of one of the prizes for the poker run that I just received.
Scott
 

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#4 ·
Registration ends on September 23rd

Registration ends on September 23rd for the second annual Touring Joara, so register now if you want to be part of the fun!!! I went with Don who is one of my co-coordinators on the tour route this past Saturday and the route is fantastic. The roads are fun a bit challenging and the stops had good flow and are interesting. I hope you will consider coming it is going to be a fun day. Check out our new web site at Touring Joara . I look forward to seeing you on October 1st.
Scott Coley
Exploring Joara Foundation
 

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#5 ·
My wife and I are sending our registration in this week. We are coming up from Loganville, GA on Friday and staying nearby. We'll be driving our 1989 560SL. We have been out riding every weekend , and working through a few details on the car. I sure don't want to have any problems on a drive like that.

We are excited to meet other enthusiasts and find out where some of the other Tours may be happening soon.
 
#6 ·
I am glad you are coming and there are a few other registrations that have come in from GA. If you are interested in staying at the Switzerland Inn in Little Switzerland NC on Friday night I have several rooms reserved for the MBCA that are in place until the 12th and they are having a Prime Rib and seafood buffet on Friday night at around 7:00.
On Saturday night the MBCA will have a dinner at Root and Vine in Morganton NC, after the tour at 6:00 and you are welcome to come to that dinner as well. It will be a fine dining experience with fellow M-B enthusiast and you do not need to be a member of MBCA to attend just let me know.
Scott Coley
 
#9 ·
Great day to drive!!!

Touring Joara is just around the corner and if you have been waiting to see how the weather is going to be to register weight no more. Saturday is going to be dry and beautiful according to Ray’s Weather forecast and the Weather Channel. So plan to come to Marion for the start and register from 8:00 till 8:30. We will be gathering at the corner of Logan and W. Henderson Street in down town. It is going to be a great day to drive!!!!
Scott Coley
 
#10 ·
A great day to drive!!!!!

I have now put together all of the 10 prizes for the poker run and I am very pleased with them. The First place “best hand” is an amazing piece of art using aluminum to recreate my poster design in 3-D and it is truly first class. It was designed and made by Rodger Carter who was challenged to create it by Don Haugen. Don had purchased a Ferrari laser cut aluminum statue at the Ferrari National Event in Savanna and Rodger meet the challenge very well. We also have a piece of NC art pottery, a Night Rider GPS system so that you can relive the days when” KIT” was on T V. A framed 2011 Touring Joara Poster, a case of oil, and lots of car cleaning stuff.
The weather is going to be beautiful so if you have not registered come over to Marion at the corner of Logan and W. Henderson street from 8:00-8:30 am and register. I hope to see you there it is going to be fun!!!!!
Scott Coley
 
#11 ·
Great Event

What a great drive this was!

A buddy of mine and I attended in a '10 C class and it was a blast, the mountain roads, the twisty back roads of North Carolina!

Some great stops to learn more about the dig that is being done to find out about the early communities that made that area their home 400 years ago!

We had some great folks out on the rally with us as well.

Great event all around, I hope it will be repeated again next year.
 
#12 ·
Feedback for Touring Joara please...

Touring Joara 2011 was a great success with beautiful weather neat roads and cool car’s. I have had a lot of very positive feedback about the tour even though we had two mishaps. One caused by a deer that chose to end its life in front of a BMW and the other caused by me. After working for 9 months picking the route, finding worthwhile stopping locations, and driving it several times, I managed to have some issues. There were some misleading directions, questionable mileage between stops, and someone stole at least one road sign since I last drove the route. But that being said everyone proved to be very serious drivers and they all made it to the Catawba Meadows in time for the conclusion. So I tip my hat to everyone’s navigation abilities and fortitude.
Now I am looking for some feedback… This the second year for Touring Joara and it is time to decide if it ends here or goes on for 2012. I spent several hundred hours working on behalf of Exploring Joara Foundation on this event and I need to determine if it is time well spent. So if you drove on the tour in 2010 or 2011 let me know what you think. If you did not come on the tour let me know how I could have enticed you to come. And if you have ideas on how to get the word out about the tour please let me know your thoughts.
We had 9 less cars in 2012 than in 2011 and unless the numbers increase this event is not a finical benefit to the foundation which it is striving to raise funds for. Is it possible to have more than 60 cars on a tour such as this? Touring Joara 2011 was fun for me and now it is time to figure out if there will be a Touring Joara 2012.
 

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