Artful Codger, most of the western Mudcatters congregate in high population areas like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego...

If a spot in Wyoming, for instance, were chosen just about everyone attending would have to make intricate travel arrangements.

And that isn't a small thing. As Joe Offer noted, flying to a hub and then having to catch one or more smaller planes fairly close to the destination adds a lot of money to the equation.

I, for instance, live in Alaska. I can fly to Seattle (dependent on the lead time, costing anywhere from $400 to $900- and Seattle is my closest southern destinatio!). From Seattle, if I were to change planes and fly to Elko, Nevada that would be another $200 or more. The same would be true of Pocatello, Idaho, although the cost might be slightly less.

If, however, the destination would be drivable from the hub the cost would be much less.