So out of curiosity....
I looked for a " members map" did not see one,
#1 are most of the rank and file members on the east coast/ midwest?
#2 what about making up a fundraiser to possibly ship a host out west as the rules are " must have attended"
This would possibly open up some new host's/venues???!
I agree about the aging situation of these rigs.
But this does not necessarily kill the attendance!
Running antique iron +500 miles for fun one way can be a daunting task.
Keeping this stirred up may be all it takes to breath some new life into it.
there's no reason why the west coast can't have their own event. put one together and they will show up.
as far as membership goes, at one time, the bias was heavily east coast. over time, rust, rust, and more rust, the membership is starting to even out to the whole country but it's still biased in the east.
I included my yearly run to TX with the 2012 rally and that round trip was 5500 miles on a truck with 304k on the ODO
one more thing about west coasters vs. east coast........three maybe four months out of the year, those poor ******** in the east and midwest are either snowed in or iced over. when it's sunny out, they like to maximize their outdoor time camping even if it is roasting hot, humidity so bad it's the same if you towel off after a shower or not, and hordes of bugs waiting for you to sit still so they have a literal buffet of human blood all in one place. No matter how bad it is in the summer, it is worth it to them to be outside.
Aside from taking for granted our exceptional climate out here, most of us are slaves to our house payment to the point where a 40 hour work week is only the starting point. finding the time to take a whole week off like how the rally folks do is absolutely unheard of. The best you will be able to do is a 3 day weekend. maybe just maybe a 4 day weekend, but someone has ti die in order to make that happen.
it's different out here, not bad or good, just the priorities of life are a little different when comparing the geographical areas.