On the Road Again

And with wireless Internet access....

So, on Friday, reported rainfall 12-13 miles west of the farm was about 1.5 inches to midnight...and it kept raining all day Saturday. I was a bit concerned, but I knew if Max had any issues, I could always use the tractor to help out.

Max did OK, then there was a break in the rain, and Ellie did her thing, even though it was a bit of a tight squeeze.

Sunday was uneventful...the border crossing went easily...of course the fellow made me open up the trailer :cool: The only thing was pulling through without wrecking their signs.

Oh, highway 281 west of Devil's Lake, ND has been moved. :eek: We were driving along, and suddenly there's water on the road with a road closed sign...we detoured...can I haul a car to a National without driving on gravel? It was kind of amusing watching the TomTom try to get me back on the road...we went further west and found...highway 281 :confused: We kept going south on it...if I had the nag feature enabled, I'm sure I'd have been told to get back on a road.

We eventually made it to Steele and checked in. Then we checked out the world's largest sandhill crane.

We got going about an hour earlier today than yesterday (no surprise) and things went relatively well...I suspect the diesel pump set up for semis caused me to not quite fill the tank, which created some difficulty as the somewhat sparse communities made planning fuel stops difficult. A bit of construction slowed things down as well, but it wasn't too bad.

For any motorcyclists, highway 83 through SD would be a dream...with a truck pulling a 22' full of Buick, not so much...not quite nightmare, but doable. We saw a couple of deer and pheasants (we have them around home, but not in so many numbers).

Finally hit NE...the TomTom was again confused regarding routes, so it is good to have a map. Here's a shot of Valentine...thought it was kind of neat.

We're now in Thedford and on to COS tomorrow...the time we arrive will depend somewhat on whether or not we get going on my time or on other peoples' time.

Derek, "other people" better not see that post. You may be sleeping alone.

Ben

It would be cooler that way...temperature has been rising as we've been driving south

I'm the son of a farmer...and a man on a mission...I'd rather get up with the sun (or shortly thereafter) and get there rather than lollygagging in bed

I've been there!

Well, we are still on the road...on the last day of our travels SW (last Tuesday), we came across this little guy at the gas station / eatery.

A little (or a lot) further along, I hurriedly stop at a rest area...there's a '38 Buick stopped there. I chatted for a bit and they mentioned a '59 had just gone by. At the next town, I caught up to Tom and crew. Following that (at Limon perhaps - going from 71 to 24), we caught our first glimpse of Pike's Peak.

Then there was the show...I had trouble sleeping around 3:30 a.m., so I got up and washed Ellie. It was nice - being cool and without the sun (but with artificial light), I was able to take my time...not to mention nobody trying to rush me. That being said, I wish someone would have told me that it would rain every day :mad: Of course, I couldn't do that until I had put the poster up on the message board...MrEarl was sort of with us.

On Wednesday afternoon, we toured the US Air Force Academy and Garden of the Gods. We would never have gone to the USAFA were it not for the tour - that chapel is spectacular. I'll check through the photos - they tended not to turn out that well. It was raining by the time we got to the Garden of the Gods, so it was less stellar than it could have been, but the power of water and wind is truly amazing.

On Thursday, we did the cog railway, and saw a few Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep...and scads of marmots.

Friday was the forum breakfast and judging school. I don't want to start a fight (well, perhaps I do), but I wish ALL the judges would attend the entire judging school and pay attention to a couple of points Pete makes - "don't kill the car" and "5-10 minutes per car". I could continue to rant, but that is where I'll leave it.

Saturday was the big show, which I missed. I attended the judges' breakfast and attempted to help Suzanne with prepping Ellie. Again, I judged the unrestored class. There was an amazing '52 Super and a '66 LeSabre that could really help out with my cars of the same year. As a result of being out in the heat, then being burned out, I didn't see much of the show. Of course there was the banquet. The highlight was Teresa being recognized for her article on the Oshawa centennial meet and the kids for their junior judging efforts.

On Sunday we managed to get to Mass...before leaving I left a DVD of photos for Pete on Ed's '59 windshield. We wound up seeing a movie and just sort of recuperating.

On Monday we attempted to get to Seven Falls. We took an incorrect road near the end and wound up at Helen Hunt Falls instead. There was an interpretive centre and being a public park it was free. We then drove Gold Camp Road and went to the Focus on the Family Welcome Center.

Tuesday saw a return to Garden of the Gods (much later than planned, therefore much warmer than hoped), along with some wandering around Manitou Springs.

Today was the longest travel day thus far. We did manage to leave around 8:30 after eating, finishing packing, and hitching up the trailer again. Denver was something else. Coming north through eastern Wyoming was neat - pronghorn alley. Suzanne didn't bother to try taking any pictures as we went by at about 65.

Tomorrow morning we will be taking the 1880 train out of Hill City and attending a chuckwagon dinner. We'll probably add Rushmore and perhaps Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern. We also have tickets for Bear Country USA and Reptile Gardens.

When we leave Saturday, we will take a detour on our way to Bismarck via the Badlands park. Of course, near our hotel in Bismarck is a Famous Dave's, so you'll know where to find me Saturday evening. Sunday will be attending Mass, then heading north again for home.

I do have some more photos, but need to get at some other stuff...maybe I'll be able to update tomorrow night.

What a nice trip. It's so great that you and your family can take your time "somewhat" and visit these places on your way to and from the meet every year. I always look forward to hearing about it. Uh, got any people pictures, want to see mom and how the kids have grown. Thanks for sharing.

What a nice trip. It's so great that you and your family can take your time "somewhat" and visit these places on your way to and from the meet every year. I always look forward to hearing about it. Uh, got any people pictures, want to see mom and how the kids have grown. Thanks for sharing.

People pictures? Um...let me see....

From the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center on Tuesday:

Today:

Suzanne was really confused...she had been to Mt. Rushmore with her sister in 1991 or 1992. A lot has been built up since then...basically in the 1990s. You see in the second photo the Avenue of Flags, which contains four flags per pillar - state flags, for D.C., and territories, along with the order the states joined the Republic and the year. We didn't go through all that, but it was informative.

Edit - the noses are 20 to 21' long...therefore about the size of an enclosed car hauler....

Suzanne has taken to carrying the camera, so it is a bit harder to get her in front of it.

We went to a chuckwagon dinner tonight as well at the Circle B. I'm still pretty full. This is a family run operation and well worth the price of admission. The music after dinner was provided by the proprietor and two of his sons. The young fella makes guitars now and can sure do a mean job strumming and picking one. The 1880 train was pretty fun as was the visit to the Prairie Berry Winery. Unfortunately, they no longer give tours of the winery, but they do have tastings

Lamar's point is EXACTLY the purpose of the Nationals for younger family types - to make it THE summer vacation. The BCA does a great job IMO of positioning Nationals in locales that make it tempting to do so.

BCA has been to New England, Flint, Colorado, Seattle area etc allowing a family like Dereks to truly take an old fashioned vacation circa 1950's through 1970's.

I mean I remember the good old days when dad would load up the station wagon on off we would go, but it seems few families do this anymore. The National Meet is a good excuse.

Iowa can't match Colorado for mountain scenery but I hope we can put together a nice meet. 1st and foremost is the link to the Lincoln Highway (US Route 30 now). I hope to start at Nebraska and go all the way through to Illinois and take digitals of all the landmarks and their approximate mileage markers and share on the forum so anyone coming east to west or west to east can know approximately where the last few remaining "route 66" type road attractions are.

Anyway, don't mean to take your post over Derek but it looks like you had a great family vacation and maybe others seeing your post will be inspired. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for all the pictures Derek, it really makes me wish I could have made the trip to Colorado Springs. Mt. Rushmore sure has changed. I was there in 1968 and the only thing that is the same are the presidents and that tree on the right. Did you make a stop at Deadwood? That was quite an attraction.

Dan

No Deadwood for us. We had a pretty full, but enjoyable, itinerary. Today, we did the Badlands Loop through the Badlands National Park. I was a bit worried about the road with Ellie on behind, but those were baseless fears. I've been through the Badlands around Drumheller, Alberta, and a bit at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in ND, but this puts them both to shame in terms of variety of colours and sheer beauty. If anyone has a chance, don't miss the opportunity.

We made it to Bismarck today after trying to hook up the trailer last night, but another truck and trailer was in the way. They were gone when we got back from dinner, so I was able to hitch up. This morning, after I had first been out to the truck, one of the staff decided to park right in front of the truck, boxing me in. Suzanne was fuming. I don't think I can recall seeing her that angry. I don't know why it is that people don't understand some of the basic physics involved in towing a trailer.

(I don't know why it is that people don't understand some of the basic physics involved in towing a trailer.)

Try this sometime with a 53 foot trailer and 20 foot tractor. <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

I hear you Sid. It was pleasant on this trip to see many of the semis flashing their lights for me after I passed them to let me know it was clear. P=mv where P is momentum, m is mass, and v is velocity...the more of mass and / or velocity (speed), the greater the momentum, therefore more difficult to start.

We did make it home...we got to the farm about 6:00 Sunday after having started the day by attending Mass in Bismarck. We were going to take a more scenic route back, but everything pointed to it taking considerably longer, and since we were getting moving after 10, we decided to take almost the same route back as we had taken south. Since we were coming up from the south, we didn't wind up in the road closed conundrum that we had going south. The border crossing was easy, even though we were in a bit of a panic over where our passports were located. Every passing minute brought us closer to home, so I was getting eager and excited. Suzanne only took a couple of ND scenic photos from the truck...water and canola - one is blue, the other is yellow....

This was a bit of a tight squeeze...Suzanne had to go in first to open the window so that I could get my fat self squeezed in there. Having a show car door on the trailer would certainly be nice to be able to make loading / unloading easier.

Before parking the trailer I started cutting grass (hay in spots, really...) where the trailer belongs. One thing led to another and I spent most of Monday on the tractor between cutting grass, cultivating, then tilling. Suzanne is sore from pulling weeds by hand. The land was the driest we've seen this year, so it was the best time to get out there and do some weeding as the garden is up and the weeds were tall.

All in all, it was a good trip, with a few frustrations and disappointments. For me, the real positives to National meets are the people and the scenery. Here are some of the natural impressions of locations:

ND - waterfowl

SD - pheasants, deer in the midday sun

NE - sandhills, yucca

CO - Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods

WY - pronghorn

SD - Black Hills, Badlands, Mt. Rushmore

ND - in the way of home!

Derek,

Glad to see you made it home okay and enjoyed your extened stay and sightseeing trip back home. As you know , Mary Kay & I extended our stay also and really had some beautiful weather for the remainder of the week that we spent up in Estes Park. We spent an entire day in Rock Mtn Nat'l Pk which is in Estes. Managed to take the 75 up Trail Ridge Road to the summit house climbing elevations up to 12,488 ft. Was a bit cooler and alot windier atop Trail Ridge, but it was neat to see the amount of snow that still remained along the roadside at those higher elevations. We saw & encountered several herd of Elk grazing in the pastures and eating and walking right up along the roadside-- got several teriffic photos of the higher mountain scenery and the Elk herds. Also encountered several Marmots lazing around sunning themselves on the rocks while the wind kept blowing thru their fur. Only had 1 small incident on I-76 heading out of Denver, about 50 miles out, when the semi in front of us threw up a nice1/4 size ball of asphalt that smacked the 75 dead square in the upper left edge of the header panel--- 2 seconds slower, I'd probably would be looking for a windshield or maybe even worse, if it would have hit the glass and kept coming at me. Will now have to have some minor cosmetic surgery and repainting done to the header as it now has a good 10 cent size dent and paint chip right along the top corner edge. Too Close for comfort. We left Denver Friday afternoon and drove straight thru, basically stopping only for gas and a couple rest stop/potty breaks-- 18 hours in all, arriving back home in Chicago's Southwest suburbs around 9 am. Saturday morning. Laid around and dragged arse the rest of the day after unpacking and washing all the Nebraska & Iowa night bugs off the front end. Had Sunday to relax and recover before having to return to work on Monday am. It was good to see you again and I am glad we had some time to spend together meeting each others spouses and the family. Next year in Ames!!!!!

Good to hear you got back safe and relatively sound Don. Between Famous Dave's and the Italian place, I think I may need to come up with some franchise money

I forgot to mention something else we saw...an Oscar Meyer weinermobile on the Interstate between Bismarck and Jamestown, ND on Sunday before we turned north...didn't get a photo as I noticed it too late for Suzanne to get the camera out.

Got my judging sheet in the mail for the Wildcat today...post-dated July 6 in Columbus. There's some stuff on there I'm scratching my head about and will need to look at the car myself to figure things out. According to this judging team at least, you either can't drive a car being judged, or you need to spend a couple days leading up to judging cleaning everything. I guess if I had spent more time on cleaning things up, the car could have gotten a silver even with the engine paint, but I'd rather spend my time at the National seeing the sites and enjoying the people than getting under the car with a toothbrush.

Good to hear you got back safe and relatively sound Don. Between Famous Dave's and the Italian place, I think I may need to come up with some franchise money

I forgot to mention something else we saw...an Oscar Meyer weinermobile on the Interstate between Bismarck and Jamestown, ND on Sunday before we turned north...didn't get a photo as I noticed it too late for Suzanne to get the camera out.

Got my judging sheet in the mail for the Wildcat today...post-dated July 6 in Columbus. There's some stuff on there I'm scratching my head about and will need to look at the car myself to figure things out. According to this judging team at least, you either can't drive a car being judged, or you need to spend a couple days leading up to judging cleaning everything. I guess if I had spent more time on cleaning things up, the car could have gotten a silver even with the engine paint, but I'd rather spend my time at the National seeing the sites and enjoying the people than getting under the car with a toothbrush.

Derek, you have to think of your car as your trophy, and not what the judges think, I have only had one of my cars judged, the '86 GN at the BCA Nats in Kokomo, IN, it only had 5000 miles on it at that time, and yes, it got a Senior Award, but dirt, bad paint from the factory were the deductions! Would I have it or any other cars judged again, Nope, just like you, I go to the National Meets to see my freinds and look at the Buicks, that I might like to have, and enjoy time with my Buick friends, that's what it's really about!

It is starting to get that way around here for regular old local shows. The especially happens when one of the judges and you do not get along very well. I did not ask for the judging sheet for my car from the AACA show. I was at least equal or even better than a 47 that got a 3rd. I really do not give a rat's butt whether or not I have the kind of clamps they used in 1946. Oh, the 47 did not have them either if you could see through all of the dirt and oil.

The next show that a judge says anything, I will most emphatically tell him what I think. Both of our cars will be in a show next week but will not be judged because it is our chapter's show. At any rate, I wdo not think I will enter either in judging anymore.

Right on Roberta!

stevo

Its a shame to hear such negative feelings about the 400 judging system. Not that the 400 point system is to blame-- unfortunately, it is the quality & attitude of some BCA judges that go out of their way to find flaws with someone vehicle- -- stating that there is no such thing as a perfect car--- Right there is the most correct thing they have ever said--- even by todays quality control standards --there is no "perfect" car out there. The 3 biggest things that many of these "judges" forget are 1) these cars were not perfect from the factory the day they were built-- that's why the dealers were paid prep time to "pre-deliver" the "new" car to the owner. The same reason the owner was given a 12/12 warranty or whatever the time frame was-- to straighten out & adjust the flaws from the factory. They are forgetting the eras these cars were built and the quality or lack of quality control from that era. 2) At every judges meeting and judges breakfast I have ever attended, it is continually stated and emphasized- "DON'T KILL THE CAR". 3) this is still supposed to be a "FUN" hobby and something for ALL the owners and families to enjoy. Granted the judging does have to have a level and measure of seriousness taken, or every car at a meet would receive a "GOLD" or "GOLD SENIOR" award --- a level of standards does need to be maintained, but not at the risk of killing an owners ego for his /her "pride & joy and totally turning them off against the formal judging procedure. IMHO there should be 2 seperate 400 judges classes--- A drivers class, for those that are partially restored and/or are highly maintained and driven to the show-- allowing for "some" road dirt on the chassis etc, realizing the car may have been driven from its location to the show possibly thru rain (Nah, rain for a Buick show-- never happens-- LOL)and then for the "Trailer Queens" that are fully restored to above factory conditions and never placed on the road and hardly see the light of day--- These should be judged like a "concourse" show with white gloves checking everything, including the inside of the exhaust system for the slightest trace of residue, carbon , dirt, dust oil seepage, etc. Will it ever happen -- I doubt it--- not in my lifetime--- Lets' just let the overeager judges continue to kill the cars thru the 400 judging system and P-O more members into dropping out of the club or refusing to go thru the formal judging process or just say "to Hel_ with attending another National. These cars came DIRTY from the factory-- which one was ever delivered from a dealership without first being washed and cleaned by the dealers porters. We as owners try to clean and maintain them to the best level of show quality that each of us as individuals can afford and has the time for. Best to get off the soap box now before I say something that really gets me into trouble. I'm good enough at doing that on my own, without rambling on any further or putting in any more of my 2 cents. Lets' keep this a FUN hobby for everyone to enjoy!!!! Judges --- lighten up--- quit Killing the F'n cars!!!!

BRAVO!!!

Don,

Well said, I think you have got the major points and complaints that infuriates people. If I am not mistaken, the whole judging system is why the BDE was formed. Buicks are meant to be driven and if getting a little dirt on them or you need to put a different clamp on a hose because the original type leaks, than so be it.

Stevo

Stevo

You are correct !! The BDE was started for just that reason. It is a shame that many of the judges are almost vindictive whan it comes to judging. They feel they MUST find something wrong or they are not doing their job.

Alan Oldfield (chief Judge) continued to tell the judges " don't kill the car" but it still happens.

It appears the government now is stepping up to the plate and trying to kill the hobby.

Well stated Don, even with emotions seeping through the text

I am going to take some photos of the flaws noted on the Wildcat and have an off-line discussion with Alan and Pete. I am trying to improve the process for judging in my own little way. I am relatively new to this, but having the Wildcat get 4 points higher than the '41 did in Seattle is a bit unnerving. Granted, the '41 is a more original car, but the condition of the Wildcat is definitely a couple of notches higher.

Anyway, without prolonging this, I hope you all enjoyed some of the tales and photos from our trip to and from Colorado. It was fun to see some different country, take in some of the sites, and see some old friends, make new ones, and put faces to some names and monikers.