I can fill in some details.
We just caught the edge of the Hurricane Joaquin system, so while we got about four inches of rain, it could have been much worse. The event was indeed never shut down; however, we did have to close all day parking after the sloped field that is the only area available for day parking got so treacherous that a couple of cars slid a bit—with no one in them. Our only choice was to tell day visitors to park elsewhere and take public transportation to the site. Those vehicles in the camping area had to stay put; we laid down several thousand dollars worth of substrate on the road leading up the hill prior to the event, which helped a lot but couldn't compensate for that much rain.
Unfortunately—we're still trying to figure out exactly how this happened—for several hours on Saturday morning the Taylor Ranch staff stationed at the gate told those arriving that the event had been cancelled. We only discovered this when we began receiving frantic, and angry, texts, at which point Roseann, Jason Peraza, and Brian DeArmon went down and manned the gate themselves to straighten things out. That was too late for many who had driven home.
The Expo itself continued, and functioned perfectly. Land Rover kept the driving course open all weekend, and those taking advantage of it had a much more exciting experience than if the course had been dry—it was likely the only time they'd have a driving instructor telling them "Faster! Faster!" Several impromptu winching demonstrations ensued. Likewise, the BFGoodrich demonstration course turned into much more of a challenge than it would have been, highlighting the efficiency of BFG Mud-Terrains quite well. There were spectators cheering each time a demo Jeep or Defender made it through an obstacle.
I taught several classes on winching, tire repair, and tool selection, and all were full. The Camel Trophy Skills Area was packed all weekend, with many demonstrations including rolling and recovering our demo Disco. The weather on Saturday was actually pretty mild, with intermittent showers, and Sunday was better.
The vendors we've talked to so far did extremely well; the Camp Champ people alone sold 15 of their exquisite, four-figure galley kits.
We did face a hefty restoration bill at the end of the event, and we have decided that, as lovely as it is, Taylor Ranch is inadequate to accommodate the Overland Expo in anything like inclement weather. Statistically October has the lowest precipitation of the year in Asheville, but hurricanes pay little attention to statistics . . .
Thus we are now negotiating for a new venue site in the Asheville region (which we love), a site that would better suit us and our activities and be even more attractive for camping. There will be news as we have it.
Our thanks to everyone who came and had a great time despite the weather. Once again conditions seemed to bring out the best in everyone; we had more people than ever stopping us and asking how they could help. That's what the Overland Expo community is all about.
D) at this point, but it appears they are following through and doing the right thing for those who could not register or camp. I cannot speak for vendors or people who checked in before it was shut down.
