Centurion Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 I've been gradually collecting some digital images snapped by those who traveled with me from Seattle to Flint last summer. One couple, Bill & Dana Sprouse, put together our travel guides for the caravan and also snapped more than 1,200 digital photos during the drive to Flint. Last week, they passed along a CD with 100 images that represented candidate photos for a North Cascade Chapter calendar project. Among those 100 images were a few shots that tell a bit about our trip, and I'm eager to share some of these with you.To those with dial-up modems (like me), please let me know if this takes too long to upload, and I can break this down into multiple threads. Here goes:At the conclusion of the first day's drive from the Seattle area, we overnighted in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. BCA member Tad Leach organized an all Buick show for us at Robideaux Motors (Buick dealership), a giant Buick parade through the city, and a dinner at the Hot Rod Cafe in nearby Post Falls, Idaho. This first shot shows Gary Klecka's '55 Roadmaster (fresh from the 2,600 mile trek from Alaska and one day's travel with the caravan) at the Hot Rod Cafe, flanked by Buicks owned by some of the locals. Next shot shows some of the other Buicks in the Hot Rod Cafe's parking lot. All but the yellow '39 in this shot had driven 300-plus miles from Seattle earlier in the day. Dale and Diane Wilkins had just completed the magnificent restoration of their '57 Roadmaster convertible. They had originally intended to trailer the car to Flint, but remembered that the car is a Buick and was built to be driven. Drive it they did -- to everyone's delight! Dean and Linda Eldridge, who live not far from me in Lake Stevens, Washington, showed three of their cars in Flint. The '57 Caballero Estate Wagon towed a restored '59 Airstream trailer cross-country, and some friends trailered the red '53 Skylark. Here are the Caballero and Skylark at the Hot Rod Cafe. The Skylark won an award from the restaurant's owner. A favorite side trip in North Dakota was the Enchanted Highway, which features enormous works of metal sculpture. We added some fantastic metal sculpture of our own, with this shot of some of our '59 through '64 Buicks. The black '59 LeSabre joined us from Bozeman, Montana (owner: Tom Crystal); the other Buicks all departed the Seattle area with the caravan. Gary & Shirley Cummings inspired all of us with their majestic 1931 Buick 96C. We did a show for a small dealership (Nyhus Chevrolet-Buick) in Staples, Minnesota, and here's the '31 parked in the lot. The dealership is still housed in its 1932 structure. By the way, Gary & Shirley are so excited about touring together in the old Buicks that they are busily researching the Yellowstone Trail and developing plans for a group to drive to the BCA National Meet in New York in 2005! I won't make it to that one, but I can hardly think of anything more fun than thundering down the road among a group of vintage Buicks. I think of that day as "The Day the Buicks Invaded Staples, Minnesota". Here we see Robb Johnson giving rides to one of our Australian passengers in the 1909 Buick he brought from the Seattle area. Tony Rolfes from Brainerd, MN joined us that morning with his Copper Glow '59 Electra sedan (with rare automatic heater control option), and we see a '79 LeSabre Palm Beach with distinctive paint scheme across the street. Roger Bourm from Bellingham, Washington traveled in his fine, original '64 Riviera, and David Chaffey from Tasmania joined him for this leg of the trip. (I wanted to buy that Riviera when the original owner's widow traded it on a new Skylark in '83. The car had 44,000 miles on it at the time, and it was close to perfect. But, it wasn't the right time for me.) This photo was taken at an overlook right outside of Duluth, Minnesota. One of my favorite overnight stops was at the beautiful Hotel Chequamegon in Ashland, Wisconsin. Steve and Judy Jordan's '57 Century convertible (from Astoria, Oregon) and Dean and Linda Eldridge's '68 Riviera (on loan to another couple) created the perfect photo opportunity. Joining us in Ashland for the overnight and part of the following day's run were the Straub brothers, who had performed the restoration on the Cummings' '31 Buick. They joined us with this spectacular '31 90-Series limousine originally configured as a hearse. By the time we reached Michigan, we were traveling with about 56 vintage Buicks in the caravan. Bob and Judy Leets of the Buicktown Chapter in Flint graciously offered to meet us at a rest area a few miles north of the city, and joined with the Michigan State Police in escorting us the Centennial meet. The following shots show some of the cars lining up for the final leg of the journey. Rod and Pat Hanggi joined us from Fargo, ND with their 1908 Buick, followed by Robb and Julie Johnson's 1909. The mid-1950's segment featured such beautiful examples as Bob Cusson's 1954 Super 2-door Riviera from Langley, British Columbia. Hopefully, these shots will give all of us something to look forward to next summer as we take to the roads in the old Buicks. This was an experience that we will never forget. The Centennial Meet was fabulous, and we had a tremendous time getting there.We have many more photos than I can put up here. If we can get some of these placed on our chapter's website for everyone to see, I'll let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 Post deleted by Dave@Moon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted December 6, 2003 Author Share Posted December 6, 2003 I found the problem. It's now working for me. Are you all able to see the images? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 A OK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 And I thought I was sorry before when I missed your caravan's arrival by 30 minutes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 Brian, the photos are outstanding.....Flint 2003 was an experience that none of us will ever forget!................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest my3buicks Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 Brian, It was just by luck we got to watch your spectacular caravan pulling in to Flint. After seeing these pictures it just makes you realize again what a spectacular awesome sight this would have been traveling across the country. What you organized was one of the great highlights of the 100th anniversary of Buick, the publicity for the Buick name that this caravan would have generated would have been staggering. We can never thank you enough for organizing this great spectical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSTURBO Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 Thanks for the great pictures,and the descriptions also. Norb , Buicktown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireballV8 Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 So How about forming some caravans to Plano?I am going for sure from Los Angeles, Flint was excellent, how about we make this a tradition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted December 8, 2003 Author Share Posted December 8, 2003 Thank you to everyone for your kind comments. A number of you have sent me e-mails over the weekend after seeing the photos here, and I appreciate your encouraging words.Are any of you familiar with the old Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day"? The basic premise of the film is that Bill Murray wakes up every morning and finds that it is still February 2. Well, a number of us in the North Cascade Chapter have said that we wish we awakened every morning to find that we were still driving to Flint. The comment illustrates how significant a trip like this can be for a group of drivers. For our Chapter, this has proven to be a "transforming" event, and we have gained a significant number of new members as a result. At last night's Chapter Christmas party, we rolled out a draft version of a 2004 club calendar, comprised of photos of our Chapter cars on the way to Flint. Most members were ordering five or six copies, expressing an eagerness to share the pictures and memories with friends and family. We've already scheduled a July 17 "Flint Reunion Tour" for 2004; the plans for that day include a backroads tour to our Seattle-area departure point for the Flint trip. We're following up with a three-day tour in September.FireballV8, I would be excited to see annual caravans traveling to the BCA National Meets. In my view, this could happen if a few individuals or chapters take the initiative to plan a caravan from their areas. The groups need not be large; even a caravan of five or six cars is tremendously enjoyable. Since you have an interest in driving to Plano for the 2004 meet, I suggest that you put the word out to others in your area. You may also want to contact chapters located along your route to learn whether some of their members might have an interest in joining with you. Placing an item in the Buick Bugle and using this forum as a tool for generating interest in your trip can also be very useful. Please keep us posted about your plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Brink Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Thank you, Brian! I was almost over the melancholy feeling of not having been able to attend the meet in Flint but now am feeling down about it again (just a little). Worth it though and I'd love to see any other pictures you would like to post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Nice! That '57 Roadmaster convertible is a heartbreaker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUICK RACER Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Brian, your pictures are fabulous, and you should write an article for the Bugle if you haven't already! Also if you want to send me a CD with the pictures I will post on the BCA web page with all the other pictures, or if you put them on your Chapter web page, please let me know and I will put a link to them from the Centennial Pictures web page. You folks had such a great time, I can understand the comparison to "Groundhog Day"! I wish I wasn't so busy that week with family, the event and BCA Board obligations, the number of people I didn't get to see or meet far exceeds the ones I did see, there was no way to be able to see or meet everyone unfortunately, another couple of days would have made a difference but that was not to happen. Keep the pics coming everyone, one of the best way to relive the most exciting event in BUICK HISTORY!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted December 9, 2003 Author Share Posted December 9, 2003 Thanks, Roberta. A Bugle article is in the works, and I'll be certain to send you a CD if our chapter webmaster is unable to put up all the pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 What a pictorial! Beautiful!I traveled in with the Minuteman chapter to the show, and I agree that it was a fablous feeling to be a member of this club and driving among such distinguished cars. Unfortunately, three of us got disassociated from the rest of the Caravan after crossing into Michigan, and we missed the chance to arrive with the rest of the caravan. Your parade onto the show field had to be the most special time. I too wish it was mid july 2003 once again!John D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GS70Stage1 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 This is a great picture story book. Thanks for putting it here. I traveled with an 8 car caravan and thought it was a lot of fun - can't imagine what it would have been like to be in your group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_Rhinelander Rob Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 These pictures are Great! Thanks for sharing them. I wish I could relive the 100th celebration again this year, I had a blast.Also, I ordered the video that was advertised in the Bugle, the guy did a pretty good job on covering the event. It was worth the $20 I spent.Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted December 13, 2003 Author Share Posted December 13, 2003 Rob, thanks for the feedback on the video advertised in the Bugle. I had been curious about this. Is the one put together by someone from Michigan? Do you recall whom you bought this one from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6219_Rules Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Thank you so much for such a wonderful set of photos....that must have been a marvelous experience. I hope to take my first National Tour in 2004 here in Colorado.I can only hope it will be as much fun as what you reported!! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_Rhinelander Rob Posted December 20, 2003 Share Posted December 20, 2003 Hi Centurion,Yes the video I bought was put together by Leonard Thygesen from Michigan.His company is called The "Light Production Company". He also sells the video of the demolition of Buick City. I did not buy that one. He advertised in the November Bugle on page 37. It was worth the $20 as a keepsake. A little to much time spent on the fireworks and the street dancing though. The car coverage was great! I see there is someone else selling a video in the December Bugle for $29. Does anyone have a critique of that video? Maybe I'll order that one next. I can't get enough of the 100th celebration. It's like a disease. (Good one though)Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted December 22, 2003 Author Share Posted December 22, 2003 Rob, thanks for the review of the video you've purchased. It seems that the quality of these videotapes can vary significantly. I have purchased one covering a previous Flint national meet, and the tape was very poorly done. (This was offered by a different vendor than the "Light Production Company.") It's great to have a recommendation regarding tapes that are worthwhile.It is my understanding that the Buicktown Chapter is putting together a videotape that will be offered for sale. This would include some of the television film footage shot during the event, and sounds like it will be worth waiting for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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