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Holy Sprite, from the road.

jlaird

Great Pumpkin
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So outstanding I had to pass along.


I have only been sitting under this tree in Glens yard for a short
time but heard a rummer that I was about to set off on another
adventure.



Some guy named Bob is going from Fallbrook to this guy Buster in
Anaheim to pick up a trailer to take me on a journey.



Bob has arrived and with Glen they are putting the last of the
plywood on the trailer. Here I go - - uuuppps - - careful - - aaahh
- I am on board and ready to leave in the morning.



We are away on a bright sunny day. After about 100 miles Bob stops
to see if I am still tied down nicely, which I am. But the license
plate on the trailer is about to fall off. He gets that fixed. Then
has a nice talk with a California Highway Patrolman who thinks that
all the folks that are going to get me across country have to be
really great people. He also warns us of a bad section of road
coming up which proves to be very helpful. The rest of the day is
spent watching the changing scenery go by till we arrive at Kates.
I get to sleep while Bob enjoys a BBQ dinner and visiting with Kate
and friends.



Day Two.



We are away early (5:45 a.m.), stop for gas, check the tie downs then
hit the road. We have only gone about 30 miles when one of the tie
downs for the tires on the trailer tongue decides it has done enough
work and leaves. I try to warn Bob but not having all my parts makes
communicating difficult. So one of the tires decides to take a
scenic side trip. Bob sees this and get us stopped. Fortunately
there were no other cars or trucks within miles of us and the tire
missed me, the trailer and the tow vehicle, so no damage done. But
Bob has to take a hike in the cool crisp mid 50s morning air.
Being a SoCa guy he is in shorts Tee shirt and sandals. I see his
knees shaking but so is his jaw - - hummm. Shortly he returns with
the wayward tire and has some extra rope to use as a tie down. Ten
miles up the road is a small town with a Flying J. With some new tie
downs and breakfast in Bob things are looking better.



Over the last mountains in NV and into Utah. As we pass the
Bonneville Salt Flats I am sure that I can heard Donald and Geoff
talking and the sounds of my relatives setting records - what a
thrill. We pass through some of Utahs red rock country with
enormous thunder clouds in the distance. Around a corner and I get a
bath, boy that felt good after the heat we have been going through.
With the Rocky Mountains in sight the day ends in Grand Junction. I
meet a new friend in the morning to take me the next step of the way.

Well, Here I am sitting in the hotel parking lot in a really hot, dry place. A
>few people come by and look at me as if they'd never seen a Bugeye before,
>then Bob comes out and pulls me up in front of the hotel and starts packing
>his belongings into his car- Where are we going now?
>Then someone comes up and starts tugging at my straps- What's going on here?
>He talks to Bob, and then they hook me up to a different car-Hey BOB! You
>gonna leave me alone with this guy?
>They take a picture, shake hands, and off I go, towards the Mountains. First,
>it's flat and hot, then I'm in a canyon, with a big river next to me with
>people rafting in it and hey! This road's just hanging out over the river! I'm
>no boat, get me out of here! No water though, despite my panic. Up we go
>higher and higher, it's nice and cool up here. Through a long tunnel and then
>Whoa, what a ride down!
>
>We stop after a long downhill, and what's going on now? Another guy shows up,
>they shake hands, and put me behind yet another car (truck this time). It's
>easier to breathe now, and the landscape looks flatter I hope that's the last
>of these big hills.


Bob Kitterer - recorder.
 
Travels will be documented with story and pics. In fact I have seen some of the pics and know most of the folks.
 
Can somebody redo the link to what's needed so I don't have to try & figure out what program wrote it?
 
A long day. We left Dodge City at 7:00 am and were in Denver in plenty of
time to meet up with Mark Haynes and the Holy Sprite as he rolled in from
Grand Junction. Only took a few minutes to pop the trailer off his van and
onto our pick-up. Checked the lights and found a bulb burned out on the left
rear of the trailer. 1157 - got one at a Kwik Shop. Actually picked up
several to pass along just in case.

The Holy Sprite is traveling well despite concerns about the small trailer.
Of more concern is the Interstate speeds. The tires are rated at 55 mph
under maximum trailer load. Bob Kitterer, Mark Haynes and now us have all
kept it between 55 and 60 and it has behaved itself nicely. As we neared
Burlington, CO we ran into a multi-cell severe storm complex with downburst
winds and occasional heavy rains. Lots of lightning. I got some pictures of
the Holy Sprite with a high plains severe storm in the background.
Unfortunately the one with the double rainbows didn't come out that well.

Anyway, we reached Colby, KS around 10:30 pm CDT, found a motel and are
crashing. Up at Oh Dark Thirty to head for Topeka. The 60 mph top end will
make the trip a little longer than planned but we should have lunch in
Topeka at Bobo's Drive In with Mike Osipik and Mac Humphries of the Kansas
City Healey club. Then we can cut for home.

I have a fair number of pictures including some video capture but they will
have to wait until I get home to be posted. The hotel wireless is only
slightly faster than pony express so I couldn't send up any pics...

Very tired. Lights out. Taps. Whatever.....
--
Cheers!!
Jim

P.S. Holy Sprite is now in Colby, KS and will be in Kansas City by Tuesday
evening where it will visit the Kansas City Austin Healey Club meeting and
tech session Tuesday evening ;-)
 
I'm having flashbacks... they're taking the same route that I took when I drove my '78 from CA to Ontario. But they're not breaking down nearly as often! :p
 
For those that don't know this is the O.S.H.I.T. gang. This time they are really in transit.
 
durn forum only allows so many edits.
 
So outstanding I had to pass along.


I have only been sitting under this tree in Glens yard for a short
time but heard a rummer that I was about to set off on another
adventure.



Some guy named Bob is going from Fallbrook to this guy Buster in
Anaheim to pick up a trailer to take me on a journey.



Bob has arrived and with Glen they are putting the last of the
plywood on the trailer. Here I go - - uuuppps - - careful - - aaahh
- I am on board and ready to leave in the morning.



We are away on a bright sunny day. After about 100 miles Bob stops
to see if I am still tied down nicely, which I am. But the license
plate on the trailer is about to fall off. He gets that fixed. Then
has a nice talk with a California Highway Patrolman who thinks that
all the folks that are going to get me across country have to be
really great people. He also warns us of a bad section of road
coming up which proves to be very helpful. The rest of the day is
spent watching the changing scenery go by till we arrive at Kates.
I get to sleep while Bob enjoys a BBQ dinner and visiting with Kate
and friends.



Day Two.



We are away early (5:45 a.m.), stop for gas, check the tie downs then
hit the road. We have only gone about 30 miles when one of the tie
downs for the tires on the trailer tongue decides it has done enough
work and leaves. I try to warn Bob but not having all my parts makes
communicating difficult. So one of the tires decides to take a
scenic side trip. Bob sees this and get us stopped. Fortunately
there were no other cars or trucks within miles of us and the tire
missed me, the trailer and the tow vehicle, so no damage done. But
Bob has to take a hike in the cool crisp mid 50s morning air.
Being a SoCa guy he is in shorts Tee shirt and sandals. I see his
knees shaking but so is his jaw - - hummm. Shortly he returns with
the wayward tire and has some extra rope to use as a tie down. Ten
miles up the road is a small town with a Flying J. With some new tie
downs and breakfast in Bob things are looking better.



Over the last mountains in NV and into Utah. As we pass the
Bonneville Salt Flats I am sure that I can heard Donald and Geoff
talking and the sounds of my relatives setting records - what a
thrill. We pass through some of Utahs red rock country with
enormous thunder clouds in the distance. Around a corner and I get a
bath, boy that felt good after the heat we have been going through.
With the Rocky Mountains in sight the day ends in Grand Junction. I
meet a new friend in the morning to take me the next step of the way.


Well, Here I am sitting in the hotel parking lot in a really hot, dry place. A
few people come by and look at me as if they'd never seen a Bugeye before,
then Bob comes out and pulls me up in front of the hotel and starts packing
his belongings into his car- Where are we going now?
Then someone comes up and starts tugging at my straps- What's going on here?
He talks to Bob, and then they hook me up to a different car-Hey BOB! You
gonna leave me alone with this guy?
They take a picture, shake hands, and off I go, towards the Mountains. First,
it's flat and hot, then I'm in a canyon, with a big river next to me with
people rafting in it and hey! This road's just hanging out over the river! I'm
no boat, get me out of here! No water though, despite my panic. Up we go
higher and higher, it's nice and cool up here. Through a long tunnel and then
Whoa, what a ride down!

We stop after a long downhill, and what's going on now? Another guy shows up,
they shake hands, and put me behind yet another car (truck this time). It's
easier to breathe now, and the landscape looks flatter I hope that's the last
of these big hills.
 
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