The 20th Dam Gathering of the tears, May 1-5, 2013 ...!

[DMcCam]

WE'RE IN THE EXTRA TP CLUB TOO!!!!!



It was a great time, thanks again Grant and Kay...and those little Teardrop paper fairies too.

Dave

[The Teardrop Nanny]

You are welcome, as it is a an honored rite to receive a newbie 's initiation with such high quality TP. & .

[atomaker]

Another Dam Gathering gone, and many more yet to come! We were able to loan our good friends our 5 wide for the event while we shook the bugs out of the new 4.5 X 10 , and I'm pretty sure that's all it took to convince them that Teardroppers are the finest folk around. Our thanks to the Legendary Grant, and Incomparable Kay for making everybody feel at home. The Tears were great, the food was incredible, the beer was amazing, but the friends were the best of all!
See you around the next bend in the road!

[doug hodder]

Wow...was that a fun time or what? I've been going for like 9 years now and I really think this was the best one ever. The weather cooperated, lots of people/ trailers, new and old friends, fantastic eats, and congratulations to Dean and Joanie for taking the plunge at an event where all your teardropping friends could be in attendance. I'm honored to have been there.

Also..a big thanks to the 5 wide guys for their temporary shop and the build that they did...you just had to see it to believe it. I could hear the tools running from across the campground, knowing that they were cranking out another great build. I wear "Norm's speed shop" shirts with pride.

Nice to see the new builds that I've followed in the construction threads, especially Miss Piggy. You just can't believe the amount of work that went into that creation...very well done guy, and deserving of the awards that it acquired!

Thanks Grant and Kay,....it was one helluva gathering! Doug

[jonw]

I'll add my kudos to Grant and Kay as well. We drove all the way from Mass. and it was worth it. Great TDs, great people, great times. We made a lot of new friends

During our trip out while camping along the Natchez Trace Parkway in Tenn. a gust of wind came up in the morning while I was packing up and blew the hatch over the top of the trailer, springing the hurricane hinge. We nursed and babied it as we travelled to New Orleans, Texas, and New Mexico, but just south of Phoenix AZ it apparently blew off, never to be seen again. I'd love to see the look on the highway workers faces when they find it and try to figure out what it is...

After rigging up a temporary tarp covering and then a sheet of plastic we continued onto the Dam and luckily had no rain. Afterwards we drove straight back to Mass and only had a day of rain on the second to the last day, but just a little leakage and no damage to the TD.

My thanks to everyone for their concern and well-wishes, for the Longest Trail award, and to Grant for giving us the hard-luck story award prize of a new hinge and molding to build another hatch with.

In a few days when I've gone thru all my picture and made a photo album I'll post links to it.

Even with our mishaps we had a Dam good time! and Lyn really likes her drill bit sharpener

Jon & Lyn
(hatchless from Mass.)

[grant whipp]

Dean and the Balloon Faire.

In lieu of a stripper for Dean's bachelor party ... ...! The Dam Gathering is mostly PG-rated ... and anyway, I'd have been shot, skinned, drawn & quartered by Joanie if I'd have tried to pull off anything more risque ... ...!
Congratulations! to Dean & Joanie! It was an honor and pleasure to have your wedding at the Dam Gathering!

And yes, Dean ... I know that payback is a bitch ... but I'll challenge you now to bring it on!

As always ...

CHEERS!

[grant whipp]

So, yes ... the 20th Dam Gathering is in the bag ... and yes, it was without a doubt the BEST Dam Gathering ever!
Best ... Weather!
Best ... turnout!
Best ... wedding!
Best ... FOOD!
Best ... people, in the world!
Best ... teardrops, in the world!
Best ... bunch of volunteers, hands down!
Best ... 4-day teardrop build!
Best ... campground conditions, ever!
Best ... oh, hell ... best everything!

Thank You! to all of the wonderful attendees (all 315 of you, not including the dogs!) ... without you, there would be no Dam Gathering at all!
Thank You! for all the cooperation in stuffing teardrops & people where ever we could!
Thank You! to Dean & Joanie for choosing to get married during the Gathering!
Thank You! to Kirk for creating & hosting the Pinewood Gravity Races, for being our neighbors & tolerating our late-night shenanigans, and for feeding us!
Thank You! to Debbie & Randy for hosting the Bird Watch Hike, the Bearing School, and for all of Debbie's efforts with the wedding and bachelorette party!
Thank You! to Rob & Caryn for hosting our first and very successful Spirits & Sides Tasting Night ... it came off without a hitch, and if you'd like to continue this event, we'd be pleased & honored!
Thank You! to the Five Wide Club for providing a tremendous learning experience, plus tons of entertainment, while building that teardrop!
Thank You! to Sharon Heisley for creating the fabulous teardrop pinatas and all of the prizes for the kids!
Thank You! to Ingvar Svard from British Columbia for giving up most of one day to help me retrieve many of the things I forgot on Tuesday!
Thank You! to Richard Baize for donating the handy Worksharp tool bags that were part of everyone's Registration Packet, and to his lovely wife Cindy for all her help on a multitude of things!
Thank You! to the lovely Lydia, for without her, no one would have gotten their raffle prizes! Also to Debbie, Sandy, Carol & Carol for your help in handing out the prizes!
Thank You! to everyone who graciously & generously donated items for the Dutch Raffle!
Thank You! to Pyro Dean B. for all your support and efforts and Friendship for the past 19 years!
Thank You! to Dave and Mikey and the Bly Mountain Guys and Jake & Ian and everyone else who stepped up and offered assistance whenever it was asked for!
Thank You! to the Bly Mountain Guys for the fabulous 20th Dam Gathering Anniversary redwood burl table/sign!
Thank You! to Dano for the pleasant music on Friday night and the loan of mic & amp for Saturday night's festivities!
Thank You! to everyone who signed the wonderful "Saga of the Dam Gathering" card and Dean B.'s "Welcome!" sign, and especially to those who graciously & generously contributed to our "Retirement Fund"! (Lyn, "Hatchless from Mass." ... are you responsible for the beautiful artwork on that card? We love it!)
Thank You! for all the kind words and accolades expressed Saturday night, while leaving, and here on the Forum!
Thank You! to all those who stayed over for the Cinco de Mayo pot luck on Sunday night (best CdM potluck ever!) and to Chuck & Carol from MN who joined us on our late-night trek "back to the Dam" where it all started!
Thank You! to Marty & Nikki and the entire staff of Antlers RV Park & Campgrounds for letting us take over (and virtually over-run) your beautiful campgrounds, for putting up with all of our shenanigans, for cleaning up the dog poop, keeping the bathrooms up & functional under such a heavy load, for getting the pool ready in time this year, for the batch of firewood, providing the ice so no had to leave the 'grounds for that necessity, and for so many more things I can't think of right now!
And I want to express a very Special Thank You! to my Angel Kay and my "harem", Bridgette and Carol, for without them, this event would not have come off at all! I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful woman beside me in my life, along with her Friends (my Friends, too ...) ...!!!!
And, Thank You! to anyone who I may have left out, here ... our heads are still spinning, our bodies still sore and exhausted, and I don't think the impact of the whole event has yet been realized by either of us!

For the record, we had 172 trailers ... a new high for teardrop events, perhaps even a World Record! But, as I've been saying for almost 20 years, numbers are not a really important issue ... the really important thing is that great folks come together to share a common interest and bond, and enjoy each other and all of our surroundings! I never set out to have the biggest Gathering, the best Gathering, or the most popular Gathering ... just to provide the opportunity to come together in camaraderie!

Also, for the record, this was NOT the last Dam Gathering of the Tears ... it will continue for as long as great people with great trailers want to come together at a great campgrounds for a Dam Great Time! It's just going to be a lot more low-key from now on.

The dates for the 21st Dam Gathering are May 1-4, 2014 ... and Reservations can be made through Antlers Campgrounds now (some 30+ have already been arranged for!). There will be no Registration, no T-shirts, no dash plaques, no awards ... I think there will be the Pinewood Gravity Races again, and you can count on Pot Lucks on Friday and Saturday nights ... beyond that, it'll just be all of us getting together, and I'll actually have the time & opportunity to see all of your trailers and get to meet & know all of you much better!

Again, Thank You! And, as always ...

CHEERS!

[Gage]

"Worksharp tool bags"?

[campmaster-k]

I am calling antlers tomorrow. I will be on snob hill!

[Rhino Ray]

Photos from the DAM Gathering. More to come.

[Rhino Ray]

Being a car guy some of these caught my eye. I didn't get a photo of all the great combos out there but I think there is nothing like a Classic car pulling a Classy tear.

[Greg M]

Now I know what that warm glow over the Southern horizon was last weekend.

[Junkboy999]

Wow What a Gathering, What a Trip.

Dottie “ The Destroyer” and I made it back to Wichita yesterday afternoon. Not quite a Massachusetts to
CA and back run ( Hi Jon & Lyn ) but never less 4420 miles. It was nice to see the Grand Canyon finally.
Great to catch up on old Air Force buddies and their families in CA and WA. Even better was meeting all
the new friends I made at the gathering. I hope I got to talk to each and every one of your guys and gals.





Thanks Grant and company for arranging this gathering. I’m can’t say any thing that has not just been posted
already this week but thanks again.


I took so many pictures and will be putting them in a slide show and album and posting a link as well. It is going
to take a bit of time. I want to label the camper in the slide show with owner's first name and trailer name if I can
track them all down.



Dottie Hamming it up for a photo op. In case you're wondering where the, “ The Destroyer ” part of her name comes
from, just look at the half eaten harness and dog leash she is wearing.

[S. Heisley]

It was great, meeting you, Terry. Glad to hear that you and Dottie made it home safe. Looking forward to seeing all your pics! Really laughed at Dottie's halter and leash!

[robfisher]

Thanks again Terry, for transporting the pinball machine. It was great meeting you and I like your popup Benroy design. Looks like it will work very well.
Rob