[MSCW list] MSCW 2024 Destination Drive #1 - The Blue Ridge Hunt

[Timothy Metzinger]

Established in 1888, the Blue Ridge Hunt traverses land in Clarke County, in Warren County north of Front Royal, in Shenandoah County north of Route 675, in Frederick County south of Route 50 and west of Route 11 in Virginia and in Jefferson County, W.Va.  The members hunt with hounds, and also host an annual Point-to-Point Race as Spring begins each year.   They have invited our group to the Race on March 30, in Berryville, VA, to participate in a show of antique and exotic cars, and to watch the race.  The gates to the parking (in a large field) will open at 11:00 and the Race(s) start at 1:00 PM.

Our Drive will start at the Stone Springs Hospital Parking Lot next to US50.  We will take US50 westbound to Aldie, then get on the Snickersville Turnpike to Bluemont, where we'll take Clayton Hall Road to join VA7 westbound.  Before we cross the Shenandoah River, we'll make a left on River Road and follow that to Frogtown and on to Mt Garmel Rd, before tuning right on US17/US50 to cross the river and take a right on Millwood Rd and onto VA255 to Briggs Road and the Woodly Farm, where the races will be held.
This is a big deal to the local communities out there.  There are likely to be lots of people there and lots of children, so we will want to do a good job of representing our group.  I am NOT responsible if you bring a child along and he/she decides they NEED a horse or a pony.

Logistics:
Assembly - We'll assemble at the Hospital Parking Lot at 9:30 AM on Saturday, March 30th.  There is an Exxon just East of the Hospital, with available restrooms.
Departure - We'll depart the parking lot at 9:55 AM.
Time/Distance - the drive will take about 90 minutes, and the one-way distance is 45 miles.
Food - The Hunt Group will have food trucks there to serve the crowds.  Since they're giving us free admission, let's reciprocate their generosity by using their vendors for lunch.
Car limits - I'm going to set the initial limit at 40 cars, but will likely raise it if the ride fills.
Weather - I expect that the races will be cancelled or postponed if the weather is poor or the farmland is saturated.  Obviously we won't want to drive on ground that's not fit for horses to walk/run on.
Technology-  I will bring nine extra Midland GMRS radios.  If you want to bring your own GMRS radio, we will be using Channel 30 on Midland Radios, or 462.7000 MHz frequency and CTCSS 17 for the privacy code.  In Glympse, we'll use the !mscw_cruise tag to keep track of each other.

RSVP via signup genius at https://bit.ly/mscw2024-dd-1.  Don't use Facebook to indicate you're going.
Visit www.midatlanticscenicdrives.com<http://www.midatlanticscenicdrives.com> for maps and GPS files.

Drive safely and HAVE FUN,
Timothy (Tim) Metzinger
Scenic Drive Coordinator - Mazda Sport Cars of Washington, DC
tim.metzinger at outlook.com
703.963.3015