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So this weekend I found what looked to be a smokin' deal on two El Caminos on craigslist but they're in Joplin, MO-160 miles away, and neither are drivable. I sent Cobey (Oldsman71) a PM since that's his neck of the woods to see if he could/would be interested in helping me get them up here-a lot to ask I know. He called me within the hour and said "Sure man-no problem!" I can't express how much I appreciate his offer of help.
Well I had to go down and check these things out and do the deal in person, and it looked like the kind of deal you couldn't wait around for or someone else was going to get it so I had to road trip down there this afternoon. I was really not looking forward the drive at all-five long boring hours in the saddle-so I started out with less than a positive attitude. As soon as I got out past the edge of "town" I began noticing that there seemed to be quite a few "cars that didn't suck" out on the highway. Over the course of the day I saw 2 Challengers, 3 Solstices-all with the top down, 4 Pontiac G8's, 5 Corvettes, and 6 LS1 Z28's! By far more than I would see in a day around town where it's all baby suv's and fwd crapwagens. I was starting to cheer up. Then a 69 K20 came down the ramp and merged in right by me. Not a nice one, just an old farm truck-but it was BEAUTIFUL. A good, honest, work truck. I noticed that there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was a perfect day. I also noticed that farm land is BEAUTIFUL. It's especially nice this year because we've had such a mild summer with lots of rain and everything is so green and lush, but it's more than that. Farmland is also productivity, honest work, man using mature to better our lives, and that's a beautiful thing. 71 hiway through Missouri is wonderful road-four lanes divided like an Interstate but without the traffic and all "buildup" right next to it. It's not a "driver's" road-it's mostly straight and pretty flat. It is a great way to get where you need to be. There are a few places where you can see for a couple miles ahead of you laid out nice and straight and I was thinking "I could really shrink some distance here in a good car". It's a holiday weekend so there were a lot of out of state plates-Texas and Arkansas mostly-but it was people going where they wanted to go,self mobile,free to roam about the country-and that's a beautiful thing too. I was really into it now and not just enjoying it but appreciating it. I was in my own little personal space with the temperature set just like I like it and giving my speakers a thorough workout with just the music I wanted to hear right then yet I was still in that world going by outside the glass. I was no longer concerned with how much further I had to go, but for some reason my V-6 powered pickup insists on going 80mph-the motor just seems to be happy there-and it's Cadillac smooth at that speed. Soon enough I was there. Took me oh-less than a minute to figure out that neither car was as nice as I was expecting and I was going to pass. No matter, I was looking forward to the drive back. It was much the same as a the drive down except that I was enjoying myself from the start and everything I had just passed seemed to look better. I did pass a '70 or so C60 pulling a huge load of hay and it was beautiful-another good honest work truck doing it's job-still doing it's job. I got back home in what seemed like half the time it took to get there even though I was going the same speed both ways. It was a nothing special trip through nothing special scenery but when I stopped to look at what was around me there was a lot of good there to see. I don't think it would have been the same if it had been on the interstate, or maybe even on a different day, but it reminded me of the value of road trips, and especially of the fact that we are still free to take them-even for no reason at all. And there were a lot of other people out there enjoying the road with me today, or at least hope I they were. For me it was a day well spent.
I drove 342 miles in a fullsize pickup at 80mph with the a/c on and used 16.5 gallons of gas - 20.7 mpg. I spent $40 on gas for nothing and it was the best $40 I've spent in a while. I highly recommend it.
Well I had to go down and check these things out and do the deal in person, and it looked like the kind of deal you couldn't wait around for or someone else was going to get it so I had to road trip down there this afternoon. I was really not looking forward the drive at all-five long boring hours in the saddle-so I started out with less than a positive attitude. As soon as I got out past the edge of "town" I began noticing that there seemed to be quite a few "cars that didn't suck" out on the highway. Over the course of the day I saw 2 Challengers, 3 Solstices-all with the top down, 4 Pontiac G8's, 5 Corvettes, and 6 LS1 Z28's! By far more than I would see in a day around town where it's all baby suv's and fwd crapwagens. I was starting to cheer up. Then a 69 K20 came down the ramp and merged in right by me. Not a nice one, just an old farm truck-but it was BEAUTIFUL. A good, honest, work truck. I noticed that there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was a perfect day. I also noticed that farm land is BEAUTIFUL. It's especially nice this year because we've had such a mild summer with lots of rain and everything is so green and lush, but it's more than that. Farmland is also productivity, honest work, man using mature to better our lives, and that's a beautiful thing. 71 hiway through Missouri is wonderful road-four lanes divided like an Interstate but without the traffic and all "buildup" right next to it. It's not a "driver's" road-it's mostly straight and pretty flat. It is a great way to get where you need to be. There are a few places where you can see for a couple miles ahead of you laid out nice and straight and I was thinking "I could really shrink some distance here in a good car". It's a holiday weekend so there were a lot of out of state plates-Texas and Arkansas mostly-but it was people going where they wanted to go,self mobile,free to roam about the country-and that's a beautiful thing too. I was really into it now and not just enjoying it but appreciating it. I was in my own little personal space with the temperature set just like I like it and giving my speakers a thorough workout with just the music I wanted to hear right then yet I was still in that world going by outside the glass. I was no longer concerned with how much further I had to go, but for some reason my V-6 powered pickup insists on going 80mph-the motor just seems to be happy there-and it's Cadillac smooth at that speed. Soon enough I was there. Took me oh-less than a minute to figure out that neither car was as nice as I was expecting and I was going to pass. No matter, I was looking forward to the drive back. It was much the same as a the drive down except that I was enjoying myself from the start and everything I had just passed seemed to look better. I did pass a '70 or so C60 pulling a huge load of hay and it was beautiful-another good honest work truck doing it's job-still doing it's job. I got back home in what seemed like half the time it took to get there even though I was going the same speed both ways. It was a nothing special trip through nothing special scenery but when I stopped to look at what was around me there was a lot of good there to see. I don't think it would have been the same if it had been on the interstate, or maybe even on a different day, but it reminded me of the value of road trips, and especially of the fact that we are still free to take them-even for no reason at all. And there were a lot of other people out there enjoying the road with me today, or at least hope I they were. For me it was a day well spent.
I drove 342 miles in a fullsize pickup at 80mph with the a/c on and used 16.5 gallons of gas - 20.7 mpg. I spent $40 on gas for nothing and it was the best $40 I've spent in a while. I highly recommend it.
, 2013 LH, 2014 LH
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