I 'get' the travel distance issue... but personally, I don't mind a bit of a trip to a state-wide event. I actually like getting out to a place a bit further than I would normally be able to go for a geo-caching event. Having something like a roast the night before (esp. if there is camping) is something I look forward too. I drove the 2+ hours to this year's event because is 'was so close' and ended up driving back and taking my honey to a movie that night. It was an AWESOME day.
Now, we won't be pulling very many 'new to newer' people like this - but we have other events like the SWAG and CAGE CB-Challenge to use as outreach and education events if we want to try and reach out a bit more.
just some thoughts... savy