Event Coverage B-bop's Laid off, make the most of it Solo road trip

That's funny! Enjoying your travels.

 

Neat trip, if you make it over to the Black Hills I have a camper pad right here at the house.

 

That would be perfect, it would be like the rest of the end of the road middle of no where camp sites he stays at. B bop would be right at home.

 

Don't be an ass Tim.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Thanks blowby, most guys say its all good except the color, but what do they know? Ha ha

You got that right.
Chucky, I will try to put together a fuel mileage post at the end. I have all my receipts but have not calculated it yet.

Have fun lukey, interstates suck, but if you are looking to make time, I guess that is what they are there for. If you can, and have not been, you have to stop at Speedway in Lincoln, NB. And take your cheque book.

Thanks Tman, I may be through that way next summer on the way to Minneapolis for BTT 50's. Would love to visit your shop. Have followed many of your posts over the years.

 

Just to you and my sister and brother inlaw that live out there in the tall grass.

 

As I was sorting pics for the next post I noticed this one with the reflection of my hoodie on the piece of the passenger window that was not rolled all the way down. This was the first time I wore more than a T-shirt in my car since I drove through the blizzard on the way down south. Yep, it was a little nippy that morning.

 

From the last post I was in Duschene and I headed east on Hwy 191 and then north from Vernal on 191. The road climbs hard for a bunch of miles and some great switchback. Thoughts run through my head that this would be an awesome track for downhill soapbox derby's. There is very little traffic other than there is a mine at the bottom and the trucks hauling north are in first gear all the way up. A little further north I took Hwy 44 to the west side of the reservoir on the Green River. What a beautiful area. Got this one on my list of places to go back and spend a lot more time.

Hwy 44 in the north part of Utah. Utah has some of the most diverse terrain that I have ever been in. From the Salt Flats, to massive canyons, to flat dry desert plains, and alpine forest. What a great place to visit.


The view of the reservoir on the Green river. You can see the highway snaking down below the guardrail in the center of the picture. It you are looking at these pics on your smartphone, you are missing out.


The road below the viewpoint winding down the mountain towards the town of Manila.


Green River and the mountains of Wyoming at the horizon.



Another selfie from the viewpoint. Gotta remember this spot for a boondocking sleepover. Like I said befoer, there is very little traffic here and the peace and quiet are remarkable. GPS coordinates, in case you want to find it. 40.907770, -109.698833


Just another awesome canyon road.

 

Thanks for the heads-up on all the great drives.

I retire in 2 years.

 

Mannnn What a ride!!! We (my wife and I) have done some of the routes your on but in a civilian car. A question I have is----Does your Model A have a carb. or F.I.? A couple of my Hot Rod club mates went up Pikes Peak as a side trip to a Denver event. All 5 were s Hot Rods, 2 with F.I.----The F. I. guys definitely had less running issues with altitude. Could you tell much difference when you got in to the 9,000 ft range? Bill Rinaldi

 

Hey Bill, Its carbed. I didn't notice a whole bunch of difference. I live at 3600 feet. But the soot on the front of my tongue box tells me I was running a little rich in the thin air. Like I said earlier in this thread, I am really not that concerned about 1/4 mile times and off the line performance. Maybe it was all that fresh mountain air that I did not notice a big degradation in performance. I am not one to start rejetting my carb on every up and down. Some passes go from 4000 to 9000 feet in 1/2 hour, then back down again in 45 minutes. So I just point it down the road and head for the next adventure.

 

Thanks for sharing your trip. I loved the pics of you and your grandson at HB.

 

I'd been wondering about carbs vs FI myself for your hotrod. Glad to hear you're running regular ole carbs like they used to.
How about brakes? Hauling a trailer, did you convert to discs up front, or are you drums all around?
I used to have an F100 that I pulled a trailer with on occasion. I never had an issue stopping with the trailer with drums, but some guys like to be safe.

 

"So I just point it down the road and head for the next adventure."

This is the most profound thing i've read and great words to live by.

 

That is some killer photos, and that makes me won a ho start up my PC to look at them way bigger!!!
Awesome

 

Those are some nice pics....love that area around Green River for the 'visual' pleasures of just 'cruising along' and gawking/finger pointing out the windows at the sheer vastness of it all!....thanks for sharing!

 

That was a definite highlight of the trip. Sharing time with him and seeing the sights in So-Cal was a blast.

Speedy, Discs up front on a dropped I-beam and drums out back on an 8" Ford.

Thanks Kelly, Can't wait for you to get the truck done, so I can chase you down a couple of twisty canyon roads.

Volvo, you have to see them on a PC, the bigger the better Hey, we may be related, my wife was born in Denmark, on a little farm between Skyrdsrup and Vojens, her last name was Brink.

It is amazing, and I am sure I could easily spend 2 weeks exploring the area in more detail.

 

I followed secondary 530 up the west side of the Green River to the town of Green River. I had been heading north but hoping for a break in the weather over Colorado, but just did not seem to be getting a break. The plan was to drive aimlessly through some of the mountain passes and catch Durango, Steamboat Springs and Pikes Peak somewhere along the drive. The spring snow dumps just kept coming. In Green River I called home to check in with the warden.....otherwise known as my lovely and forgiving wife. We live on 5 acres out of town and she started telling me that she really did not like staying all by herself and started talking about getting another dog to keep her company. It was at that point that I figured I better start heading the ole bucket of bolts home.....and fast before this old dog was replaced by another food to doggie doo converter.
So I started to pick up the pace and headed east to Rock springs and then North on Hwy 191 to Jackson Hole. I was going to spend some time and maybe over night there, but the sunshine started to disappear behind some ugly clouds and liquid sunshine started falling out of the sky. No sense hanging around and getting wet, so over the pass I went. This was the first time I have been on a fairly busy highway with 10% grades going up and down through this windy pass.

Hwy 191 North of Rock Springs.....lots of wide open spaces left in Wyoming


Aiming for the little bump on the horizon.


If you are heading west coming out of Pinedale WY and you see the sign that says Deer Cossing, yes it is there for a reason. These bastards were running around on the road. Ever since one of these little F$%kers rearranged the radiator, hood, axle, and fenders on my A, I have wanted to put a machine gun on the front of my car.
The rest of that story is here, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...lights-actually-just-below-them.939365/page-2


Heading north towards Jackson Hole, WY


Climbing up the 10% grade on Hwy 22 west of Jackson Hole. I tried to get a picture of the valley behind me in the mirror as I was driving, but caught the only group of trees on the side of the road.



Still lots of snow on the mountains at the end of March for those guys that like to ride planks of wood down the hill.

 

On the west side of the pass, the weather started to let up a bit. Scattered showers that you could see for miles coming at you. As I drove through Driggs ID, I reminisced about the first time I had heard of the town of Driggs, ID. When I first subscribed to Hot Rod Mechanics. Founder and writer extraordinaire, Tex Smith had moved there with his publishing empire. I met him on the Salt one summer and what a down to earth human being. I would put him in the same class as other greats that I have met and as famous as they are in the car culture they are still very down to earth and not full of themselves. Chip Foose, Charlie Hutton, Vic Edelbrock, and George Poteet are some of the other guys that I have met in my travels and are all awesome guys.


Just south of Driggs, ID, is this great old Drive in. Cool COE with a fricken huge potato. Lots of tater chips in that one.


Looks like time for a little more Rain-x on the old bug smasher screen.


Yellowstone park was also on the list for this trip, but lo and behold, I was too early.

 

I hate deer too.

 

Actually they are quite tasty if properly prepared.

 

Great travel log.... I spent an hour reading your adventure last night...... Thanks for sharing......if your ever in the KC area....I'll take you out for some BBQ.

Chris Nelson
Kansas

 

Fantastic Chris, I am on my way.

 

Here is a small update. If you have been reading along for the whole adventure, you know that my grandson and I visited Foose's shop in Huntington Beach. Chip was supposed to visit Calgary for the World of Wheels this spring so I went to Walmart and was going to get some photo's from our trip blown up to get signed. Something came up in Chips world and he never made it up. So I sent the pics down to his shop and asked him to sign them. They came back in the mail. I hope some day Braxton will really treasure these.

 

This is the last stop on the way home. Yellowstone was another place I wanted to visit. But low and behold, I get there and the park is closed. Really? I somehow did not know about this. I stopped in the town of West Yellowstone and was filling up with gas and ready for an adventure in the park for a full day and a couple came up to talk to me about the car and teardrop. They had driven in from Wisconsin to tour the park on bicycles. They tell me the park is closed to vehicle traffic, but all of the roads are plowed and it is open to bicycles for two weeks. What a cool idea, if I had my bike along. So I wandered around town for a bit and then with nothing else to see, I pointed ACE (my daughters name for my Model A) north, and headed for home.
I encountered a couple herds of Buffalo or Bison if you prefer on the way north. I promise I did not pick up any little guys and put them in my car. You may have heard the story of the stupid Canadian moron, who decided a baby buffalo was cold so he put it in his Toyota Sequoia and took it to the ranger station. Rangers tried to reunite it with its mother but the mother rejected it. It never ceases to amaze me, how stupid people are with wildlife. I would have been a great BBQ though.

These guys were just hanging out on the side of the road.


Still nice and furry with their winter coats


Heading west towards Earthquake Lake. Yup, that's really what it's called


They are everywhere and could not care less that you are there. This would have done a little more damage than the deer that I hit. These boys are "SOLID"


Looks like it getting colder as we head north.

 

As I headed north on Hwy 287, The snow started to disappear. Spring had come very early to Montana and Alberta. This part of Montana is beautiful to drive through. The people are all very friendly and totally down to earth. If I were not a die hard Canuck, I would be living in Montana.

South of Helena, MT


The pass between Helena and Great Falls


Headwaters of the Missouri River, yeah it start way up here.


This guy and I swapped positions a couple times. I was thinking, "How the hell do you sleep in that thing?"
I caught his wife taking a pic of my teardrop too.

 

And speaking of Buffalo, here is the little fella I have hanging on my wall. He was a 2200 pound bull before he moved on to the big prairie in the sky. I picked him up on another road trip to Montana with my wife. I have always loved these beasts of the prairies, and even my wife has started to like the looks of Norman hanging out in our living room. Both my grandsons that can talk, know his name is Norman and say hi to him when they visit.

 

So there you have it. That is the entire trip. Just over 5700 miles, or 9600km for my Canadian and overseas buddies. It was a ton of fun. When I got back home my wife was very happy to see me. A couple days after I got back she asked me if I had figured out what I wanted to do now (in reference to being unemployed) I told her Yeah, I wanna do my laundry, change the fluids in the A, and get back on the road. She has other plans for me.
As I was rolling down the highway into Calgary, just outside of a little town called Nanton, the sun was setting, a perfect sunset, somehow, very fitting way to end my journey.

 

Thanks for the trip, I sure enjoyed it.

 

Now that you have the trip story wrapped up, don't neglect to tell us the rest of the story in regards to your employment situation and your wife's idea on how it should all go

We know that we have to keep them happy after all