TCD's Flippin' Awesome July 4 2011 Fort Trip Report!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Here it is!

TCD's Flippin' Awesome July 4, 2011 Trip Report.

And I have my work cut out for me.

There have already been several great July 4th Trip Reports posted.

And, a lot of the things I took photos of have already been seen and discussed.

Not to worry.

I have some unique things to share.

Like scans of the official schedules for the weekend and the month;

And some unique photos of things you have not yet seen (at least I haven't seen any photos of these things yet);

And, you will hear about some TCD detective work which led to the uncovering of a conspiracy relating to the judging of the golf cart parade;

And there was a genuine celebrity at the Fort, and I have his photo (actually a couple);

And, there was even a visit by my cousin Yuri.

Yes I said Yuri.

And, he went off with my camera.

You will want to check back to see what he brought back photos of.

So, let's get started.

First, the scans.

Some people want to know this stuff.

Here's the official schedule for the weekend:

This is about the same as last year.

There are a couple of new things.

Now, here's the schedule for the month:

It looks like they got themselves a new printer at the Fort.

Be sure to make note of the movie schedule.

Do you notice how they are repeating movies throughout the month?

What the Fort?

I don't like it.

It looks like we aren't going to get the opportunity to see The Apple Dumpling Gang or Snowball Express anymore.

And, also note that the double features on Fridays and Saturdays are still MIA.

Dislike.

Oh well, what can you do?

Let's get on with this report.

But first, are you wondering about the title?

Isn't it bit presumptuous for me to say that this is a Flippin' Awesome report?

Well, the truth is that we brought the Flippin' Awesome with us.

Really.

Here it is:

So, this really is a Flippin' Awesome report.

Read on and see for yourself.

TCD

This post has been promoted to an article

[campingpixi 11]

okay this is a tease so far!!! :rofl2:

More more more!!!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Can't wait to see more of this Flippin' Awesome report! BTW, what is it? Fireworks?

[HillBillyWhisperer 20]

I'm waiting..............................

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

Ha! I'm first! Let me see if my thread killer theory holds true on a TCD trip report!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

okay this is a tease so far!!! :rofl2:

More more more!!!

Yep.

That's true.

TCD is a tease.

Can't wait to see more of this Flippin' Awesome report! BTW, what is it? Fireworks?

Fireworks?

No.

Fireworks are not allowed at the Fort.

This was a new type of mosquito repellent that we were going to give a try.

It worked pretty well.

But, I think it's kind of dangerous.

I'm waiting..............................

I'm hurrying.

I'm hurrying.

TCD

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

Ha! I'm first! Let me see if my thread killer theory holds true on a TCD trip report!!

OMG, you people are fast.. you got three post in there before I finished typing this...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Ha! I'm first! Let me see if my thread killer theory holds true on a TCD trip report!!

Oh no!

The Thread Killer posted!

Ah well . . .

This was a fun thread while it lasted.

J/K

It's going to take more than your thread killing skills to stop this one.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

Thank you for getting this started so soon! You're like my own ray of sunshine I feel better already.

[Lou... 3,118]

Fireworks? No.

Were your fingers crossed while your wrote that?

[We4mickey 6]

I can't wait much longer....:sleep:

[SCTigerCock 171]

Thank you for getting this started so soon! You're like my own ray of sunshine I feel better already.

The song, You Are My Sunshine, will not stop playing now. Sorta like that MK attraction song, that won't leave you either...... :rofl2:

Thanks TCD for sharing, looking foward to the TR! :dance:

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Great Start!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK.

Let's get started.

How about we start at the beginning?

And, then we will get to the good stuff in due course.

Our visit to the Fort began on Saturday, July 2nd, 2011.

We stayed for three nights.

That's about the limit for the Summer.

It's hot in July.

And rainy.

And, we just have the TCD pop-up.

It has AC, but it's no match for the summer heat.

We left home at about 10:30 on Saturday morning.

And arrived at the Fort at around noon.

The check-in lanes were busy.

This is us in line:

This was the designated lane for on-line check in.

Which I hadn't done.

But, the helpful guard at the security hut told me to use this lane.

I'm lucky, too, because the lanes to my right were even busier:

The first person in line was taking for ever.

And, this may be TMI, but I really had to visit the restroom.

The TCD twins just turned 16 in May. They have their licenses now. So, they told me to go ahead and go into the reception building to use the facilities. One of them would pull the truck up if the line moved.

I ran.

I hurried.

When I got back, the line had moved.

And so had my truck and camper.

Without incident, I am happy to say.

It's a good thing I went to the restroom.

Because I saw something interesting.

There were several security guards and a Sheriff's Deputy in deep discussion:

And their cars were parked right there at the Reception Outpost:

As I walked back to my truck, I saw that the check-in lines continued to grow:

As I waited, I decided to snap a couple of photos of the building in the middle of the check in lanes. I believe that this building is original to the Fort:

You may have never noticed, but that rock-work is also used on the Trading Posts and the building at the Meadow Pool.

Over there in the corner of the parking area adjacent to the check-in lanes, another Sheriff's Deputy is having a discussion with someone in back of their motorhome:

I am not sure what this was all about.

We have already had reports here on FF.net about a golf cart theft and subsequent eviction of the thief and his family. I believe that all happened on July 1. This must have been something else.

I will say that I saw a lot of FW Security officers as well as Sheriff's Deputies throughout the weekend.

It turns out that our check-in line moved pretty fast.

As I pulled up to the window, there was a change in shifts, and the castmember who helped the two campers in front of me packed up and left. A cheerful young lady with a British accent replaced her. I have never seen this castmember before. She was great. Cheerful and efficient. We received our site assignment: 1501. I knew what that meant. We would be right behind the bus stop. And I mean right behind. I have hoped to never be assigned that spot. But, I would take any site on the 1500 loop over a site in the 2000 loop, so off we went to our site.

We got backed in, and then I picked up my cart. We rented from Richie. Lorna's husband. From here on FF.net I endorse them Great people.

As is our practice, I brought the TCD twins down to the marina so they could go off for lunch while I got set-up.

I noticed that the rangers were already directing traffic at the three-way stop, so I cut in to the 100 loop to avoid the mess that they create with their "helpful" traffic directing. I prefer to head into the Settlement area through the 100 loop access. Well today that wasn't going to happen:

This is dumb.

From what I gathered over the weekend, they were trying to control traffic flow. But, they should have left this open. It helps relieve traffic at the three-way stop. I think they figured this out later in the weekend, as the cones disappeared on the 3rd.

So, we had to go through the three way stop entrance after all.

After I dropped the girls off, I did a bit of looping before getting set up.

I noticed something new at the 800 loop bus stop.

This photo was taken in June, 2011:

Those cones were just installed some time in May or June.

Well, on July 2, here's what I saw:

That didn't last long, did it?

This was another dumb move.

Those cones forced folks exiting the 800 loop into oncoming traffic.

Now the cones are gone, but they really were there. The holes from them are still in the pavement:

Was all of that necessary?

As most of you know, no TCD trip report is complete without a photo of the best site in the Fort.

Site 617.

Here it is:

That's right.

It's empty.

You don't see that very often.

Especially on a busy weekend.

It got filled up later that afternoon.

I'll have a photo of that for you later.

From here, I headed back to 1501.

I had to get set-up.

It was hot.

But, really not as bad as last year.

Here we are:

I parked like that to allow room for my older DD to park. She was visiting us from Tallahassee.

For a long time, it was unacceptable to park like that.

And, then for a long time, nobody said anything about it.

You will find out later whether anyone said anything to me about this parking job.

Here's the good old TCD pop-up:

Mrs. TCD sent us off with a great 4th of July bomb pop balloon:

Here's the back of our site:

I told you we were right behind the bus stop.

But guess what?

I liked it.

The bridge to the pool was right across the street. In fact, if you look through the fence next to the bus stop in this photo, you can see people at the pool:

There's the bridge right there:

Here's the TCD hammock:

These are some of our neighbors around the loop:

These folks knew how to party.

The girls were back from lunch after long, and my oldest DD showed up too.

After a while we headed down to Trail's End for our traditional first meal- the Giddyap And Go chicken dinner.

I snapped these photos while we waited for the chicken:

Looks great, doesn't it?

We brought the food back to our site, and had a great meal at the picnic table.

We headed down to the campfire later for smores.

And we did some looping too.

And, that pretty much covers our first day.

Don't worry, day two is much more action-packed.

TCD

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

:popcorn:

Did you say "Disboards?" :suspense:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

:popcorn:

Did you say "Disboards?" :suspense:

Whoops.

I didn't mean to.

I think I fixed it.

TCD

[Lou... 3,118]

Did you say "Disboards?"

Quick, Andrew, make the correction. No one will ever know.

[BouncingTiggers 98]

Another TCD trip report.

This day can't get any better!!

[Keylime359 2]

:popcorn: Very excited for the TP!

[Keylime359 2]

Another TCD trip report.

This day can't get any better!!

Oh yeah shake that moneymaker!

[We4mickey 6]

Another TCD trip report.

This day can't get any better!!

:rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

In my haste to get that first set of photos posted, I forgot to mention something important.

That first afternoon and evening, I saw a bunch of Fiends.

A bunch.

Some I have met before.

Others, I was meeting for the first time.

Let's see if I can give a shout out to everyone I saw on Saturday: Lornaduck and her DH, Richie (he goes by a more colorful name on here); Auburn Jen and Chris, MagicBus, Stacktester, TnBob and Mrs. TnBob, Total Joker, MandM,etc. (Melissa), Hillybilly Whisperer, Devores, Keylime359, Princess Nana, TiggerinBama, and OKGirlie.

Most of them have been around for a while. OKGirlie is a newbie. She had done her homework, She and her family were there on the 1500 loop. I think they had a Kenny Cart. They were doing it up right. They were really appreciative of all the information they learned here.

As many of you know, I found a few FWRR spikes earlier this year. I had a good time passing those out to the Fiends. I tried to make sure everyone got one, but I know that I missed a few folks. Sorry if I missed you. But, I tried.

And, this isn't all the Fiends I met over the weekend. This was just Saturday.

I am going to upload some more photos, and try to get another batch in today.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Great start, but what is that shirt you are wearing? Were you abducted by hippies between reports :rofl2: I can't wait to see what intrigue Yuri has in store for us :suspense:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

This report is off to a good start. The Yuri tease is effective...i am eagerly awaiting a post about his antics. Carry on....

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thank you for getting this started so soon! You're like my own ray of sunshine I feel better already.

Glad to hear it.

I'll try to get another bunch of photos posted today.

You should be good to go then.

Were your fingers crossed while your wrote that?

Yes.

Shhhhh!

How was I supposed to know they were fireworks?

Who puts a dolphin on fireworks?

The song, You Are My Sunshine, will not stop playing now. Sorta like that MK attraction song, that won't leave you either...... :rofl2:

Thanks TCD for sharing, looking foward to the TR! :dance:

Thanks, and there is more on the way!

Great Start!!

Thanks. It was a lot like last year. Minus you and a couple of other Fiends.

Another TCD trip report.

This day can't get any better!!

Wow!

Great start, but what is that shirt you are wearing? Were you abducted by hippies between reports :rofl2: I can't wait to see what intrigue Yuri has in store for us :suspense:

That's my 4th of July shirt.

My DD's hate it.

So I only wear it on the 4th.

This report is off to a good start. The Yuri tease is effective...i am eagerly awaiting a post about his antics. Carry on....

How about another tease?

I thought I saw a piece of construction equipment in River Country.

I saw it when we were on the MK boat on Sunday night.

I snapped a photo of it.

Yuri showed up and went to check on this on Monday morning.

You will see what he saw.

In due time.

TCD