Start of the 2024 Hot Rod Power Tour. The 1966 Mustang once again declined to participate so I’m taking the convertible again. Still a very fun choice.
June 2
First day done. I drove Highway 2 across the north side of the state to Spokane. Rained on and off throughout the drive. I decided to go spend some time at Riverfront Park. The city has redone the park and it is very nice, My grandparents lived on the South Hill so I’ve spent a lot of my growing up life here visiting them. When I was 14 my twin brother and I spent a week at the World’s Fair that was held in the Riverfront Park area.
The Spokane river flows through the park. Beautiful river.
This is what is left of the United States Pavilion. During the World Fair I saw my first IMAX film. It was pretty impressive. It is at this location in 1985 I first told Renee I loved her. ❤
The Spokane River falls are impressive! When I was in college I joined a friend and floated on an inner tube from the base of these falls downstream for quite a ways. Quite fun!
June 3
Today I travelled from Coeur d’Alene to Bozeman Montana to visit a colleague and friend Tony Woodward. He is a board certified veterinary dentist as I am.
This is Tony and his house. Very beautiful place. And just a short distance from hiking, fishing and other outdoor activities that he loves to do. We had a rewarding time catching up on each other’s lives.
We were blessed to see a double rainbow from his deck!
On my way to Tony’s house I drove around Flathead Lake. There is an island on the lake called “Wild Horse Island”. When I was a senior in high school in 1978, one of the classes I took was advanced biology. The teacher, Mr Hutchinson, had a cabin on Wild Horse Island. The island at that point did not allow visitors but somehow Mr Hutchinson was grandfathered in and was able to use his cabin. So in the late spring of 1978 our entire class went there (accessible only by boat) for one week. At that time there was a wild donkey and some wild horses on the island. In addition, there was a remnant of the Hiawatha lodge that was destroyed in the 1930’s and not rebuilt. It was really a trip down memory lane as I have not been back since that trip.
June 4
I left Tony’s house early today and headed to Rapid City. I’m still following the same route I took in 2022 but the difference is that the rain went away a day early. Very beautiful day today. Temperatures reached 75 degrees. Yes, the top was down.
I appreciated the warning sign. :)
The Rocky Mountains were spectacular as I said good bye to them.
I stopped at the site of the “Battle of Little Bighorn”. Walking around hearing the crickets chirp and the meadowlarks sing it was so hard to imagine the battle that took place there. There are cemeteries there for the soldiers and native Americans who died there as well as armed forces personnel that lost their lives in other wars.
This particular monument disturbed me. I know this was put up when attitudes were different, but the white people were the aggressors and the native Americans were defending themselves and their land that was ultimately taken from them. Sad.
Tomorrow……the Bad Lands!
June 5
Best weather day of the trip so far. Started out in the low 60’s and ended up at 81 at my destination. Convertible top was down!!! The pictures today are of my trip through the Badlands. They are as impressive as they were the last time I went through them with Renee.
I was greeted at the entrance by a herd of bison. Beautiful and imposing animals.
The pictures say it all. Fantastic rock formations. It was very windy today so I didn’t get out to look for prairie dogs. But they must have been there because at the prairie dog parking lot there were a few cars with people walking around. Tomorrow won’t be very exciting. I’m running out of time to get to the start of the Hot Rod Power Tour. So all interstate tomorrow with the goal of reaching Kansas City.
It was quite warm and my blood sugar was low. Thankfully there was a Baskin and Robbins nearby! Then I went for a walk in the neighborhood around the hotel. Beautiful houses. They remind me of the houses in the Green Lake area.
The brick sidewalks were a nice touch.
This sidewalk with the grass growing between the bricks was especially inviting. Tomorrow my goal is reaching St. Louis.
June 7
A fabulous weather day today. Even though I’ll have to do it again, I washed the car as it was very dirty. Much happier driving it with it being clean again.
The eastern Kansas countryside can be so overwhelmingly beautiful. This is one of my favorite parts of the trip.
This location was one I found the last time I traveled through here. It is so quiet and peaceful. Other than the occasional car driving by, all you can hear is nature. Meadowlarks singing, crickets chirping, the wind blowing. It was so quiet that there was a bird 150 yards away that I could hear it’s wings as it was flying! James Herriot in his “All Creatures Great and Small” books talks about how he would frequently get out of his car on his farm calls and just sit and enjoy the view and calmness of the area. I feel the same way here. Just sitting with the warm sun, nature talking and the wind blowing along with the amazing view is so relaxing.
Gas is a bit cheaper here. 🙂
This is Harrisonville, Missouri. This small town is just south of Kansas City. I found this town on my last trip as well. To me it is the quintessential small town in this part of the country. The center of the town is the town hall with the brick streets around it with small shops. The bell in the tower rings every hour on the hour. People are walking around talking, moms with children in strollers, everything you would expect in a small town.
Once again on my last trip I found this coffee shop by the town hall. I enjoyed it so much that Renee and I stopped by and had lunch here on our way back from the 2022 HRPT. The people are friendly, the food and coffee is excellent. Today the place was busy. There was a group of women of various ages having coffee, chatting and knitting. Other small groups of people drinking coffee and chatting. It had such a comfortable feeling to it.
June 8
Yesterday was hot (94 degrees) and sunny. Very nice day. This morning I woke up to lots of rain. I only had a 2 hour drive to my next stop so I decided to visit some Route 66 areas as the highway came through St. Louis.
This is of course a “must have” picture.
This is the Chain of Rocks Bridge. The name comes from rock ledges just under the surface of the water in this location that made navigation of the river extremely dangerous. The bridge is 5353 feet in length, which is one mile. The bridge is over the Mississippi River. Although its initial use was cars, now it is a pedestrian bridge. The bridge connects over 300 miles of trails and bike paths on both sides of the river. I walked to the mid point of the bridge. These two pictures are showing both ends.
This restaurant is a remnant of Route 66 that has not been restored as of now.
Cicadas. Seeing cicadas is on my bucket list. Check! Yesterday there was stop and go traffic on the interstate due to an accident. Several cicadas flew by while I was waiting. Today I stopped at a very nice rest area in southern Indiana. The trees were filled with cicadas. (I didn’t see them but could definitely hear them as this video shows). That buzzing hum you hear is the cicadas talking. After I left the rest area, the interstate had lots of trees along the road. Cicadas, only a few, flew by as I was driving.
The day, although it started out very wet ended up with a very glorious and warm afternoon and evening. Tomorrow I arrive at the starting point for the HRPT to pick up my packet and check into my hotel.
June 9
Last night my hotel was sketchy in a sketchy area. Think Sea Tac area. The room smelled like, oh I don’t know, B.O? The best restaurant nearby was Applebees.
However, at least there was outside seating with a place to put your cigarette butts. 🙁
The good news was the nearby Starbucks to get coffee for the next day.
If you are old enough to remember the “Herbie, the Love Bug” movies, I have some sad news for you.
I’ve seen several places where planes or tanks are displayed. Seems to be a popular item in this part of the country.
Picked up my stuff, bought shirts, hoodie and cap. I’m ready for the Tour!
After getting my credentials and “goodie bag”, I still had 2-3 hours before I could check in to my hotel. I stopped at a nearby Starbucks (see the pattern?) to get a cup of coffee. In there I met Patrick, a man my age who was doing the HRPT with his 31 year old son Brian. We had a nice conversation. He is driving the 1964 Chevy station wagon in the above pictures. He did almost all the work himself since he is retired. He had quite a lot to say about the car. 11.5 sec quarter mile, 0-60 in 4.5 sec. Pretty impressive for any car, especially for a station wagon. A real sleeper.
For dinner I went to the Texan Roadhouse steak restaurant. Very good food.
My server, Andrea, was very fun. We talked about what my trip was about. She hopes to do something like this someday!
A catchy song came on and some of the servers stopped what they were doing and did a little line dancing in the aisle. Pretty fun!
When I got back to the hotel, I decided to park with the cool kids.
This is what the hotel parking lots look like at the HRPT. In some parking lots, burnt out contests are performed.
Here are the spectators for the upcoming burnouts.
This was the best of the burnouts I watched. Cobra replica. Was careful in case any of the cars lost control.
June 10
Arrived at the first venue today. Beech Bend Raceway Park. The line wasn’t too long when I drove there. Probably 30 minutes.
Not everyone made it without issues.
The venue was nice. I especially appreciated the outside temperatures. Mid 70’s. Very comfortable.
The corn dog was delicious!
I watched the drag racing for a bit. Any one could sign up for this. So from a screaming top speed of 135 mph with a quarter time of under 10 seconds, there were also cars with a top speed of 69 mph and a quarter time of around 20 seconds. In one race a car took off too early and did the run by themselves. Which was probably good as that car was very slow and the other car was the 135 mph car (did the run by themselves).
I found this place out in the Kentucky countryside. Reid’s Livery Winery. This location offers wine from grapes and berries and also offers horse services. Riding lessons, horse camps, etc. It was tucked away 5 miles off of a main road in the beautiful countryside. When I got there I wasn’t sure it was even open. Found the tasting room with a large Great Pyrenees blocking the entrance. I’m assumed dog must be ok even though it was growling as it was a tasting room. As I approached he got up and let me enter the tasting room.
Inside the tasting room I met Diane (behind the counter) and a group of 4 young women from Alabama. These women have been friends for 12+ years and get together yearly on vacations such as this. Diane was very communicative describing the wine that we were tasting. Her husband, Rex, is a self taught wine maker and has won awards, both locally and internationally. After a bit of this, I got a glass of wine and went outside to enjoy the sunshine and pet the dogs.
June 11
This is a picture of the line of cars heading down to Nashville I’ll be honest, I got a little tired of the line and halfway down I switched to another route that was not packed with cars I wasn’t the only one who felt that way as there were multiple other cars on the Tour doing the same thing.
There was more than one car with the hoods open trying to cool their cars. And the temperature was only mid 70’s.
This beautiful American Motors AMX arrived at the hotel on a tow truck. Hope he gets it going by tomorrow.
June 12
Today’s trip is to Louisville, Kentucky. Renee flew into Nashville last night (can you say midnight) and I went to her hotel and picked her up before the drive to L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. We joined in the long parade of other HRPT participants. It was fun driving with all the classic cars and other cars.
Saw this drive through at a Liquor Barn. I wonder if they give you a straw and napkin with it? 😂
At the venue we came upon this modified VW van. And I do mean modified!
It is actually a driveable vehicle. It has an air suspension to lower the entire chassis to the ground as you see.
Saw this sign on a church in Louisville. It made me proud to see this. I wish more churches were loving and accepting of all people.
After we were done at the stadium, Renee and I went to downtown Louisville to do bourbon tasting. It was a great experience. The proprietor was very friendly and informative. The tasting was his personal 3 picks (other employees get to make their own tasting suggestions). All 3 were good. I bought a bottle of one of the 3 to bring home.
June 13
Today’s trip was to Hebron Ohio. Only once picture to share today. Although we walked among many cars and talked to car owners, forgot to take pictures :(
Renee had this shirt made for me. It was a surprise that she gave me today. So my 66 Mustang can be on the drive in spirit!
June 14
Made it to Indianapolis, the last stop.
The route that the HRPT people recommended was all interstate. Renee and I didn’t want to do that so we took an alternate route that went on smaller roads. This line up of cars is not HRPT cars, it is traffic due to road construction. 😁. This road was further north but then we cut down to highway 36 which paralleled the interstate just to the north. Ended up being an excellent choice.
I have been wanting to get a covered bridge picture with my mustang. Either one. Today was the day! What a picture. We were driving down Hwy 36 and there was a small sign saying “Covered Bridge”. And this is what we found. What a great picture!
Renee proudly displaying her Long Hauler plaque! (I have one also). Now my plan is this summer to redo one wall of the garage so I can display this year’s HRPT items as well as 2022 HRPT items. Plus, of course, various mustang bling.
June 15
This morning was went out to get breakfast at a local restaurant (with outside seating of course).
The US swimming tryouts are occurring today. Lots of young, athletic looking people with their parents walking around. In addition, the Indiana Republican Party was having their convention in the area. Lots of people walking around.
The downtown area had beautiful parks, the White River, Lucas Oil stadium where the Indianapolis Colts play among other attractions.
There is a canal that starts from a point in the downtown region. I’m not sure where the water comes from (Google maps doesn’t show anything), but it runs through the downtown area and ultimately connecting to the White river. Along this canal are sidewalks on both sides with parks, a museum and other sites to enjoy.
As part of Juneteenth, the museum had an outdoor location with different types of performances going on. We sat and listened to a decent jazz band play.
We rented a swan boat and pedaled our way up and down the canal for an hour. It is harder than you think it would be!
It’s just a smoothie, not a hurricane drink. 🙄
Then we went back to the hotel and sat outside having salads for lunch. Then I took Renee to the airport (😢) to fly back home. Tomorrow I start the westward journey home. The plan is to do Route 66 as much as is feasible. The temperatures are supposed to get quite hot so it will be a game day decision as to where I go.
This was a fun sculpture at a corner of a park.
There were Route 66 road signs along the route through Bloomington.
A remodeled gas station from the Route 66 era. Many of these are seen along the route.
A little further down the road in Atlanta was another reminder of the era.
There are sections of the highway that can be found that aren’t functional but are there to appreciate.
I found this in Lincoln, Illinois. This is called a “Railsplitter Covered Wagon”. It’s considered the world’s largest covered wagon. Lincoln is the only town in the US that was named after Abraham Lincoln before he became president.
A couple more photos.
This is Springfield, the capital of Illinois.
This area is the neighborhood where Abraham Lincoln lived before he became president. The neighborhood has been restored (2 blocks) and is a National Park area. It is blocked off to traffic and people can walk the streets and read about the people, including Abraham Lincoln, who lived here. One of the residents was an individual who played a large role in the success of Sears and Robebucks.
This was Abraham Lincoln’s home.
June 17
Today’s trip was through Missouri. First stop was in Pacific where a classic car museum is located. Unfortunately I got there too early and it wasn’t open yet.
The place was filled with many classic cars. Many cars, as I was peering through the windows, appear to be original, unrestored.
This is a 1967 Camaro SS. Beautiful!
More roadside eye candy.
This is the location of the 2nd largest rocking chair in the world.
I went inside to buy some touristy stuff. They are pretty strict about shoplifters!
Continuing my mission to rescue sunbathing turtles on highways I found this one and put him back in the shoulder of the road. No, Barry Manilow was not involved this time. (If this doesn’t make sense, look at my blog from the 2022 HRPT). Sadly, further down the road a turtle was on the road. As it was 65 mph and there were cars behind me I couldn’t stop. The Cadillac behind me ran over him. Sad.
Had lunch at a Route 66 themed diner.
This was a cool hubcap sculpture.
Another park. This is re-creation of a sign from what is considered the first drive through restaurant. As you read this sign the reason for the lack of the ER at the end of HAMBURGER is funny.
Another car museum. Many old cars in excellent shape. The Ghostbusters car and the Batmobile were present.
I’ll be honest, driving through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois was a bit boring. Now I’m back in Missouri, the scenery has greatly improved.
Here is a short video of some of the small country roads I’ve been able to travel on.
This is a restored one room school house in Russell that was used from 1888 to 1952. Makes one think of “Little House on the Prairie”.
Last entry for the day. A man called “Lowell Davis” wanted to save a little of the “Simpler Life” so in 1987 he began buying homes from a town called Red Oak and moved them to his farm 23 miles away. He restored the structures and arranged them into what is now known as Red Oak II. It is quite an amazing collection setup as a small town.
Notice the difference in size of the bench for the Republicans versus the Democrats? 😂
These are just a few of the many buildings on this site. It is really quite impressive.
June 18
Today was a people day. I belong to an online forum called “Vintage Mustang Forum” for quite a few years. This forum has been instrumental in helping me with learning how to work on my 66 Mustang. During the years of my involvement there have been some members who I’ve had more interaction with. Today I went to visit two of those members.
This is Brian with his wife Eri. Brian lives in Sedgwick, OK. He is in the process of restoring his 1967 Cougar. At one point it was his daily driver but due to a car fire it is now in the restoration phase. He has been collecting parts for years and finally has enough to put it back together. When it is done it will be awesome based on the parts I saw in his garage.
Brian has provided me with very knowledgeable help with my 66. Both his experience and knowledge have been very helpful. But in addition to this, he has been kind and compassionate with his advice as I’ve done some unwise (can you say foolish) things with my car. Although there are many helpful people on VMF, there are also some not so kind with their comments. People like Brian help balance that out.
Brian is an extremely personable individual and visiting with him was very enjoyable. Brian, Eri and I had dinner at a local restaurant and spent much of the time telling cat stories. (If you are a true cat person you will realize how great this is).
This is Zray. Zray is another person who has been instrumental in my learning process of being a Mustang mechanic. In fact, I have one of his parts on my car, an engine crossmember with a jack pad. This crossmember really helps make the unibody chassis more rigid. Zray told me many stories of his life growing up in the Vietnam and overtly racist era. He is a rarity, a liberal Democrat in Oklahoma. He told me about dealing with racism in high school (he had a good friend who was black). One summer day in high school he and a few friends (including this black friend) went with him in his car to a whites only lake. When they got there a man came out with a double barreled shotgun and Zray got between the man and his black friend. The man with the shot gun shoved the gun into his chest so hard that he had impressions from the barrels in his chest for days afterwards. Zray also was involved in the Vietnam war protests and resistance. Hearing about the racism that was present (and unfortunately still is present) from a first person perspective was eye opening. I was between 8-12 years old during the Vietnam was era but have read about it. Once again, hearing it from a first person perspective was very interesting.
Tomorrow, back on Route 66!
June 19
Today’s drive took me from Wichita to Amarillo.
This is a section of unrestored Route 66 pavement. Complete with an abandoned gas station. It was really cool.
It is helpful with the historic Route 66 signs that are put up.
More fun Route 66 displays.
June 20
Today’s trip was from Amarillo to Winslow, AZ.
The famous Cadillac ranch. Many years ago someone buried these Cadillacs in the ground. It has become a tradition for tourists to spray paint them. Why, I don’t know.
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If you have heard the Eagles song “Take It Easy”, there is a line in the song “Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. So Winslow made this display commemorating the song. The restaurant shown is one I ate at last night.
The town of Seligman, AZ has a Main Street made up like a Main Street in the Route 66 era. Lots of touristy bling available.
Tonight I’m sleeping in a Motel 6 in Beatty, Nevada. It’s claim to fame is it sits at an entrance to Death Valley. Restaurant choices are slim pickings. This is what I had for dinner. Actually wasn’t too bad.
June 22
Drove 100 miles this morning to find a decent cup of coffee.
This ends this year’s HRPT blog. The next couple of days will just be long days driving home. Hope you enjoyed reading the blog as much as I liked posting my experiences
