Mark your calendars! August 30 through September 2, 2005

Curve Cowboy Reunion for 2005 will be at the Lake Jackson Lodge in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

As always, our open registration will begin on or near the first of the year, next year.

This one is going to take us back to our roots of the first Reunion in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. You will be staying at a beautiful lodge on a gorgeous lake with wonderful riding in all directions. Your room will be set in the woods under the majestic peaks of the Grand Tetons in one of the finest parks in our National Park system. Right next door is Yellowstone National Park, our nation's first National Park. You will not have a TV in the room to distract - you might have to stay up all night actually talking with friends and family This one is going to be like a huge block party for several hundred of your best friends, and the focus is going to be all about riding and sightseeing. For those of you who would like to �rough it� in your RV, stay in a cabin or camp in a tent there are many different opportunities right next door at Coulter Bay, another unit of the Lake Jackson Lodge.

You will have to buy a pass to the parks which is good for seven days and will admit you to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The good news is that elk, moose, pronghorn, mule deer, and bison are commonly seen in the parks. You might even see black bears in forested areas, and an occasional grizzly in the northern part of the park. More than 300 species of birds can be observed, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons. In Yellowstone you can walk the geyser basins, tour the 100 year old Old Faithful Inn or any of the numerous historical, natural and geological wonders. You can also enjoy backpacking, horseback riding, rafting, fishing and hiking.

You can ride along the Snake River in Teton National Forrest, through Yellowstone and over Beartooth Pass or any other of dozens of great rides � but you are going to ride.

Ours is the first event of this nature the Lake Jackson Lodge (and the National Park system) has pursued and they are genuinely excited to host our reunion. We are looking forward again to the opportunity to help create a most memorable event for all of you.

This one�s going to be great!

Any Idea what the group rate will be I just looked at their web site and they show $235-240 for view rooms.

Frank

http://www.gtlc.com/lodgeJac.htm

I just checked the website, and surprised that there are only 385 rooms!!!

We have been growing at a great rate, and that would seem to make the 2005 CCR smaller than this year in Breckenridge! Am I missing something here?

David,

Remember, 60% of our attendees were 2-up. With 385 rooms, the hotel could theoretically host over 600. Considering the number of groups of people sharing multi-bedroom units (like they did in Breckenridge), that number could be higher. I am not privvy to the other venue limitations that the BoD will be forced to set.

FYI: Considering the feedback I received, I think the 2-up percentage for next year will be much higher.

David Shealey wondered: > ... there are only 385 rooms! . .Am I missing something here? <

The only thing you're missing is that:
(a) roughly 2/3 of this year's (and presumably next year's) attendees were two-up, so having 550+ people only required about 350 rooms;
(b) as a totally volunteer-run organization, it has been established that around 550-600 attendees is as many as we can effectively handle; and
(c) once you get over about 600 attendees, the choice of "choice" venues in great riding locations with sufficient capacity becomes very limited. Jackson Lodge is a classic example; if we needed a place that could hold 700 attendees, we wouldn't have been able to even consider Jackson.

IOW, the maximum number of attendees is not going to much different next year than it was this year, and Jackson Lodge (including surrounding RV and camping capacity) should definitely be able to handle that. I don't think the exact limit for number of attendees has been set yet, but it won't be much (if at all) higher than this year. And we don't EVER (at least at this point) envision having CCRs with 800 to 1000 attendees.

HTH,

I thought there were 400 or so LT's in Breck. Not so?? What was the count?

The multi room suites, and possibly more campers in '05 due to the campground being next to the lodge could certainly make a big difference though.

In any event, the Jackson Lodge sounds great.

I had heard someone say that there were around 400 LTs in Breck, so I assumed one room per LT, whether 2 up or not meant nothing.

The registration stats that I have show 345 bikes total (LT and non-LT). I'd say that number was pretty close, as there weren't that many no-shows. I'd say we had around 525 people there.

FYI: Nearly every vendor showed up. I noticed that the J-Pegs vendor was quite popular. Oh! And Darrel from TVNAV.com wanted to say thanks to everyone!!! He posted a nice 'thank you' on the Yahoo site.

Can't hardly wait! We had such a great time at Breck, and being newbies, we were able to meet a lot of people who were previously just names on the screen. It would be great if there were a way for the new folk to easily meet all you venerable veterans. Being the pushy broad that I am, Dean and I met quite a few folk, but I noticed several folk hanging on the fringes that probably would have liked some kind of organized way to socialize, whether it be signing up for an organized ride or perhaps having a designated lunch place and time. I don't have any great ideas for that, but would be interested in what others thought of figuring out a way to do so. Jackson Hole or Bust!

You weren't pushy enough to shake my hand. What's up with that?

Every time I saw you, you seemed so busy I didn't want to interrupt. Not quite pushy enough, eh?

Hooo weee!

I guess I can consider myself the first one to arrive for next year since I'm sitting here in Jackson WY having just gotten back from a trip to the Grand Teton National Park.

Me and the lovely wife tied the knot at the Chapel of the Transfiguration which is in GTNP so we made a return to the scene of the crime.

Awesome selection guys and gals.

Heading toward home tomorrow after all the newbie camper and trailer pilots are home from the long weekend.

later,

Stick

Yes, it was quite the job being the awfishul CCR eye candy, never a slack moment, always on, but someone's gots to do it.

Beautiful pics, when will the registration begin for the 2004 CCR attendees begin?
Can't wait, this will be one to arrive early and stay late.

Hmm..here is a view of the Jackson Hole valley from the west looking east as you descend into Teton Village.

Hey, Arlie -

I've been doin' the 'arrive early' thang, but am now thinkin' 'bout taggin' on a coupla dayz at the end and do the 'stay late' thang next year.

BTW - how'd Sway take to you guyz goin' off and stayin' away for a week?? Man - my paw print gang mopes around for a coupla dayz, then tries to get even ................. and succeeds!!

Take care, Arlie - was nice to see you guyz in Breck. Say hi to Mrs. C. - and Sway.

Cheers

Dick

randy, how does one register for the ccr? i can't find it anywhere!!! i must be daft!!

thanks, Bruce Olandt

General registration will open on or about January 1, 2005. Online registration can be found at www.curvecowboyreunion.com

Is there any way to "pre"register if you didn't attend the last CCR? I'll be riding down from Kodiak, Alaska, and don't want to be stuck in a tent once I get there.

John Michael,
Not to worry, early registration is just that, and only for last years attendees. I feel your pain however and just want to assure you that if you jump on the list once regular registration is open to the board, you will have a spot. Basically the only people that are to late are the last minute registrant.
I did not attend in '04 due to previous commitments and was not able to register till it opened up to everyone for Breckenridge in '05. I'm happy to say I got in just fine and had a wonderful time meeting all the great people on this list.
So, don't stress we planned ahead with plenty of openings in two different locations:Jackson Lake Lodge & Colter Bay Village.
Take Care,

Like Connie says, not to worry. And do make your plans early for the Tustumena if you are riding down! That will be one heck of a trip John! You can go ahead and bank on the dates that are posted on the CCR web site as far as making your travel plans and just sign up as soon as the registration opens in Jan.

This is all coming from a fellow Kodiak alumni who ended up in Juneau later in life and made the CCR trip from there (Juneau) on the "Blue Canoe". And I thought that took planning! So tell me, are you coming all the way on the LT? And don't you get just a little tired of the roads you have on Kodiak? Juneau was certainly limiting enough for me!

Whatever your plans, come on down, cause there will be fellow Alaskans as well as Bikers just dying to meet you!

John

John -- Things have gotten better in Kodiak. Still not enough pavement, but in a couple of years the road will be paved all the way out to the rocket launch facility at Narrow Cape (Pasagshak). Right now it's paved almost to the American River and we can ride about a 50 mile loop, from one end of the pavement to the other. It takes a long time to reach 100K making 50 mile circles! Yes, I plan on riding my '00 LTC all the way down. My wife is taking our oldest daughter to Europe for two or three weeks next summer. My vacation is going to be the ride to CCR.

Mike

Mike, you're gonna love CCR! There is really no way to describe it here, you'll just have to see it for yourself. I do know that if you have any technical questions this group here can answer them better than most BMW shops. And usually quicker too! And I don't have to tell you how valuable that resource is to someone who is at least a Ferry ride away from the nearest dealer!

And you don't need to tell me about putting miles on the bike in a limited space, I put the first 1000 miles on ours in Juneau, where it is only 40 miles to the end of the road!

We now live in Portland, Oregon, but sure do get nostalgic over Alaska! If you need anything from down South here feel free to PM me. Know any of the Coasties stationed there? I was once a member of that great group.

John

John -- I know a fair number of the coasties. I've been the DA here for the last 10 years. We work closely with the base legal commander and the MP and CGI investigators. I bought my boat from a coastie turned State Trooper who was transferring to Bethel, and kept it parked in their locked storage yard on base in the winter until they figured out it wasn't a coastie boat anymore. It took them a couple years to figure it out. Our next door neighbor the last 3 years was the work life "commander" (not sure of his title or grade, but he ran work-life), Kirk LeClere, and his wife Jodi. They just transferred out this fall. Their house is still for sale if you'd be interested! Ex base commander Jimmy Ng retired here, and I know him pretty well. One of the current KPD officers, Jeff Holden, is a retired coast guard investigator. And a big Red Sox fan -- which is our mutual passion at the moment. He was also an assist coach on our high school baseball team, which won the state championship this summer, beating defending champion Juneau-Douglas in the semi-final game. Undefeated season. Pretty cool for little ole Kodiak.

My good friend and our former probation officer, Bill Rhodes, lives someplace down there in Oregon and has some land at Canon Beach. They were going to build at Canon Beach, but ran into some kind of good deal inland someplace that he and his wife are quite pleased with. He's got 1970s-something electra glide and is a big Harley fan. I had planned on flying down this fall and renting a bike and we were going to ride the coast road to San Francisco and back. But right before I was to go we hooked a new murder case, which kept me occupied and busier than I wanted to be for the 2 week window which we were looking at. So another time.

Chit-chat like this would probably make a better email than a post-reply, but I haven't figured that end of things out yet. And yeah, I'm a 13 hour ferry ride and then a 3 hour bike ride away from the nearest dealer. But man is it a beautiful ride!

Mike

Mike, you're correct about we ought to take this chat elsewhere in fairness to the others, so if you're not sure on how to use the PM feature, you can drop me an e-mail and we can continue this discussion there. My e-mail addee is:
[email protected]

And Kirk and I go way back. We served together right there in Kodiak about a decade ago.

Nice chatting with you. and sorry to those who this probably had no application other than possibly envying Alaska!

John

John sez;

and sorry to those who this probably had no application other than possibly envying Alaska!

And John, YOU KNOW that would be me!! And Kodiak is next on our to do list for the next trip up. Cannot wait! Don't know if we're going next year or 2006 (I'm lobbying hard for 2005!!), but whenever, I'm packed and ready!! And just might give Mike a head's up when we'll hit Kodiak.

Cheers

Dick
Boerne, TXican

Per Night?

Tom

Shoot I just caught the date,

School is in by then, Darnit!

Tom (maybe one day)

Sounds Awesome Stick, ya;l have fun there ok!

Tom

yes per night although there is a better rate for non-view, look at the ccr web site.

Frank

Okay, I have been patiently waiting for open enrollment to begin, I can Find many facts and figures but I can not find out how much enrollment is?

well school is back in by then, so I won't be there, and to tell the truth, that;s just a ton of money per night IMO



I can't play with you rich guys! <g>


Tom

Open registration begins on or about January 1, 2005. The registration fee will be announced at that time.

Good Mornin', I plan to attend...pending purchase of LT in Spring. ?? If I register for reunion and purchase falls through...what is the refund policy? From CCR ? From Hotels,etc ?? Just trying to plan...and work out the kinks.
Thanks, Harold Gaskill
Va. Beach, Va.
'01 Road King

Harold, speaking unofficially, there is no refunfd of the CCR fee, and the hotels policy on the deposit refund may vary, but mine reads 7 days prior to date of arrival, refund minus a $30. service fee.
Concerning the CCR fee, you can offer it for sale to late comers should you have to cancel, and the CCR # is needed to make a room reservation, so I would guess you would have some takers. Good luck.

when will the schedule of events be posted ??
H

When it is finalized in the spring. The schedule is normally not finalized until late spring.

We have never attended the rally before. What is included in the registration? (2000 K1200LT Canyon Metallic Red)

In the past, we have had a reception and a couple dinners. As always, we will have our finale banquet which is on the last night of the reunion. We will also have a couple days of technical sessions, and there is always the vendor area. Also, in past reunions, we've had other non-technical sessions. You might take a look at the website and check out the schedule of events for our past reunions.

As usual Jeff understated the situation. Last year we had one pre- ception (Monday night), one reception, one off site BBQ with band and bar, one banquet at the hotel with a great live band, bar and silent auction plus the wonderful comradrie of the LT community.

In reply to:

---

... one off site BBQ with band and bar ...

---

Actually, Marty, you missed one function. Thurs. nite was the live band with horse overies and bar, Friday was the final banquet with the auction, and we were our own entertainment.

There was some function each night of the rally, and each was better than the night before.

Hi Randy,

Just a quick question for you. Are you sending out registration pakcs or presenting them at the CCR? The reason I ask is that I have attended several events of this type, although in different interests, and each of them included a pin on identification tag/badge with the persons name and city/state on it.

If the CCR comittee plans this kind of accessory, perhaps you could add a yellow slash or a star on one corner of the id badge for those of us who have never attended a CCR. This way some of the veteran mambers of this event could recognise a new attendee and make welcome them accordingly.

One thing I have learned from gatherings like this is that recognition of 1st timers is (or at least should be) the goal of most successful events.

If you are already applying this formula then please disregard this post. If not, it's something I would like to suggest you consider.

Thank you for your time,

Stew Keene

That's a great idea, Stew. And maybe we could have a red slash for those people you'd rather avoid (Hi, Joe!). It could work both ways.

Now Ken..... Simma Don Nah.... We don't want to start a pissin' match

Thanks for the Kudos...

Randy,
Two of us are planning on attending the Cowboy Reunion.Due to work restrictions our travel has been cut. Can you suggest any shipping companies that are good at shipping bikes to reunion.
We are 1882 miles from Wy. and have only (2) day travel window.So shipping will enable us to enjoy the rally.
recbeemer2002
03 LTE
05 LT
randy : [email protected]

My computer crashed, I guess, and we can't find past emails --- so I can't seem to find my CCR registration number --- wondering if you could help me?

Can email at : [email protected] ; or [email protected]; or [email protected]

sorry for causing the problem. ---- I thought I had printed this out the last time, or written it down somewhere, but my mind crashed long ago.

thank you