October 31st - November 2nd, 1997
Big Lynn Lodge, Little Switzerland, NC.
Dawn shines on a couple of 2002s and a 320is parked in front of "Rocking Chair Row"
The view from "Rocking Chair Row" is worth the trip.
Resting at Tall Paul's Restaurant in Spruce Pine , after an invigorating run through the North Carolina countryside.
The following account was written by Mark Hanna of Traveler's Rest.
In the fall, leaves change color. This act of nature signals that its time for the Fall Mountain Run, a trek which has become an annual pilgrimage for some of the Sandlappers. This is the time of year that the flatlanders jump in their "Bimmer of choice" and converge upon some part of the Blue Ridge Parkway for a weekend of hiking, driving, good food, entertainment, driving, contemplation, driving, beautiful scenery, and a host of other thoughtful prepositional phrases. Did I mention driving?
This Year, the Big Lynn Lodge in Little Switzerland, NC became the base camp for 27 Sandlappers and their respective BMWs. The gamut ranged from M3 to 525I, with a corral of 2002's sprinkled in for good measure. A 320is, a 318ti, a325is and another 525I rounded out the complement. There were no Z3s present - in a place where nimbleness counted. What happened to you roadster folks? We heard the roads calling, and we answered that call. The Duke would probably have said: "Iff'n ya didn't go, pardner; then 'ya doggone just missed out!"
There were Friday and Sunday driving excursions, but the highlight of the weekend was the Saturday driving event, a fun rally with zero checkpoints and 2 planned stops, covering 50-some odd miles of most excellent twisty turn, off-camber, uphill and downhill asphalt, some of which turned back on itself more than once while going through ear-popping elevation changes of hundreds of feet, of which a mere 20 or 30 seconds was all it took to traverse. It seemed like the route was one great and never-ending undulation. The word "rollercoaster" comes handily to mind. For those of you who rallied with us back in May or at Euro '97, it was THAT kind of fun transplanted to the mountains, although this time we didn't count mailboxes or cows. Apparently, there was an unofficial poll as to whether the lead cars had functioning brake lights. They did, but were seldom used, according to an unnamed source.
This year, to spice things up a bit (like a mountain tour really needed spicing up), the main driving event was aptly entitled Trips' Trivia Tour '97 complete with thirteen questions (hey, it was Halloween); some tricky, some straightforward. The resourceful Sandlappers devised arcane methods of answering the questions; methods ranging from triple M 'Math Made Easy' logarithms to 'Sleep and Dream Therapy'. The overall rally winners were Watson and Kay Johnson and they were ALSO the grand door prize winners as well! Upon Interrogation, they refused to answer how they arrived at the ONLY correct solution to the question: "How tall is Tall Paul?"
Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we were treated to some excellent Italian cuisine for both lunch and dinner (at separate dining facilities), and then a truly exceptional musical concert at the lodge which ranged from Bach to Irish jigs. This music was performed by a local flute and hammered dulcimer duet, Jerry and Lisa Smith. Jerry has been making hammered dulcimers and psalteries in his Black Mountain shop for the last 23 years. They have 3 albums to their credit, yet Jerry maintains that he is really a woodworker, not a musician.
Muchos Congrats go to Trip and Brenda Binford who did an excellent job of organizing the Fall Mountain Run again this year. Both the rally and the evening entertainment were a huge success! The road deities blessed us with absolute perfect weather for the driving event interspersed with rain, wind, fog, heat and cold for the non-driving stuff. Leaves fell, wind blew, the fall colors were muted but fantastic and with parting sadness, one by one, we descended the mountain, it was all over - way too soon.
P.S. I will leave you with one bit of wisdom and insight gleaned from the late Saturday evening philosophical discussion held by the most mentally-challenged of our group, on the lodge's porch called Rocking Chair Row. As the fog rolled in, both on the landscape and in our sensory-overloaded brains, the entire gist of several hours worth of conversation can be condensed into the following two sentences: "The future is now." And "Owens, we want a flame-painted Terminator M-something BM Dubble U; you know, the one with the big head!"