8/27/06: Sunday afternoon . . . Well here we go. we are on the road again! I've checked, rechecked and rechecked the car again and hopefully we will have a relatively uneventful trip car breakdown wise.

We left Kings Beach, CA at Lake Tahoe about 2p.m. for Rocklin, CA, a stop along our way to Sacramento where we were to spend the night. We had been invited to fellow Mustang traveler Vic (Stangmeister) and Lynn's house in Rocklin for a pre-trip BBQ. Even though they were not going on the trip, they wanted to share some in the excitement. Kevin (Birdman) Baucom from San Luis Obisbo, CA, Brian (Luckyman) Lissimore from Vancouver, BC Canada and his son Cody, Ken (Mach1Me) Masterman and his girlfriend from Sacramento, CA, Rich and Elsie (HHead or Wildcard) and locals enjoyed a magnificent BBQ of Tri Tip, Carroll Shelby Chili, Potato Salad, deviled eggs, garlic bread and tossed green salad. A feast fit for a long road trip. On behalf of all of us Vic and Lynn - THANK YOU! It was then early to bed, as we were to meet at 8:15 in the morning for our instructions of the day.

08/28/06: On Monday morning, Chuck and Marilyn Brown of San Jose, CA driving their 66 GT-350 and his son driving a 66 GT-350H Hertz fastback joined up with us - so now we are six strong heading out.

Heading north in California up I-5 is a boring drive. You drive through the Sacramento Valley, with the coast range on your left and the Sierra's on the right, and at some point, if you are lucky, Mt Shasta right in front of you. The road is as straight as an arrow. Today was hazy, so the view of the mountains was somewhat limited. We stopped in Corning for gas, potty and Olive samples - since olives are one of the big cash crops in that area. Another stop in Dunsmur for a photo op at the Caboose Motel (a motel mostly made up of railroad caboose cars.) Then it was lunch in Mt Shasta, some more gas and on northward.

At Weed, CA we left I-5 and headed north on US 97 to Klamath Falls, OR. A pretty drive, nice to be off the interstate and away from the trucks. We got into Klamath Falls about 4p.m. Time to rest relax and cool off before dinner.

So far, car wise, not to many problems. My '67 Mustang convertible runs hot most of the time, but don't seem to be losing any fluid. Rich ran out of gas coming into Klamath Falls. Chuck has a bit of white smoke coming from his left tailpipe, just a bit.

In the morning we continue north to Washington, where we meet up with several more folks from the Washington state as we make our way to the great country of Canada and the International Mustang Meet.

08/29/06: Tuesday, we left early this morning from Klamath Falls, OR and headed north on US-97. After 30 minutes or so, we stopped at an exhibit of old logging equipment, where we spent about 30 minutes viewing the "stuff".

Then further north we stopped again, near Bend at the High Desert Museum where we ate lunch and spent a couple of hours looking at the exhibits. This is an interesting place and I do recommend your taking the time to go through it if you are ever in the area.

The highway is a nice 2 lane road, with lots of trees on both sides of the road. Lots of green and not to much traffic. However, once you get north of Bend, it becomes mostly desert, dry, sagebrush and boring. The road is good, and traffic light but boring. (Just so you know, I do not like the desert)

Today we had wind, lots of wind which pushed these old cars around a bit. Many times during the day it was just us, Brian in the lead, with Kevin behind him, followed by Jeff in the Hertz GT-350, Rich myself, then Chuck. From time to time the positions changed, usually after a gas or potty stop.

Since we were expected for a BBQ in Kennewick WA at a relative of Doug and Carol Peters from the Seattle, WA area we kind of put pedal to the metal most of the afternoon, with a quick stop in a cute little old town (who's name escapes me now) for a break and an ice cream cone . . . then it was onward.

We arrived at Kennewick at 7p.m. and Carol met us at the motel and showed us the way to the BBQ. They had prepared, potato Salad, baked beans, BBQ chicken, fruit salad and a nice cake with "Have A Safe Trip" on the frosted top. Also present were several people who had gone on the Mustangs Across America Nashville trip in 04 with us. It was a festive feast, an enjoyable way to end a great day.


The were all running well today, the weather has cooled down somewhat so my car isn't running as warm. Chuck has solved his oil problem (he put to much in when he changed it) and Rich alternates between 3 batteries but, like the Timex, he keeps on running. Tomorrow, Brian gives up the lead to Doug Peters, and we continue to make our way north. By evening, with luck, we will be in Canada

08/30/06: Greetings from Canada.Yes, they let all of us into the country!

Our journey continues . . . Doug and Carol Peters met us this morning at the Motel in Kennewick at 8:30 and the lead changed officially. Now, Carol was the lead car with Doug as navigator, and Brian became the back up car, at the back of the pack keeping everyone in line and moving forward.

The drive east/northeast on 395 reminded me of the early days of I-5 (as in the early 70's) with miles and miles of road with few on/off ramps and no business's at most of them. Some day soon I am sure all that will change, but for now it was us, a few trucks, and miles of empty road. Both sides of the road were rolling hills with lots of wheat, grain or some kind of yellow crop and occasionally onion fields or some other kind of green crop.

Once we hit I-90 east we began to see evergreen trees, which became thicker the further east we went. I was amazed at the size of Spokane. In my mind it was a small city, not so. It's a big city with lots of traffic.

Lunch was at the Hot Rod Cafe in Post Falls Idaho - a cafe dedicated to the automobile, then it was north on US-95. Shortly after leaving the restaurant Jeff said that he heard a noise so he pulled over - of course, so did the rest of us. He started the Hertz GT-350 a couple of times and sure enough there was a not so nice sounding noise. Very quickly Chuck and Jeff had the right side valve cover off and sure enough, they uncovered a broken stud connecting the rocker assembly to the head. Chuck and Jeff were adamant that we should continue on, and that they would be OK, so after much discussion we left them, there at the side of the highway. Shortly after we left, the Highway Patrol came by, and once he found out the problem, fixed them up with a High Performance Machine Shop, who helped them find the proper stud, and very quickly they had the car fixed and were on their way north, also.

After leaving Chuck, Marilyn and Jeff we continued north on 95. Both sides of the road now full of green trees, some evergreen and some deciduous, with rivers, lakes, wildlife (Linda saw a bear) and just beautiful scenery. The trip through Customs at the border was a piece of cake. They look at our passports, asked a couple of questions (any firearms, any booze, why are you here) and said have a nice stay. Once in Canada we stopped for an Ice Cream Cone then continued our drive with a couple of sightseeing stops along the way. At one stop, Marilyn phoned me and said that they were fixed and on the way also.

Much to late, 9PM (don't forget we lost an hour because of a time zone change) we arrived at our stop for the night, Invermere, British Columbia, Canada. Most of us still needed to have some dinner. Just after we checked in, the roar of the Shelby Mustangs was heard, Chuck, Marilyn and Jeff had arrived, our flock was complete - all the ponies were in the corral.

At least once each day,someone asks the Question "Are We Having Fun" and for a moment our thoughts reflect on our departed friend and Mustangs Across America traveler, Tony Souza. He may be gone, but he is not forgotten.

Tomorrow is another long day, but it should be full of scenery as we go into the Rockies, visit Banaff and Lake Louise and end up in Edmonton. And yes . . . we are having fun!

08/31/06: I bring you greetings from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada this evening. We arrived at 7p.m. this evening after a memorable day.

Our trip to Edmonton covered 1,566 miles from Lake Tahoe to Edmonton.

First, I need to tell you that in addition to Doug and Carol Peters joining us in Kennewick, Monica Kirkland also joined up in her blue '02 coupe. She is a veteran of Mustangs Across America '04, Steamboat in '05 and now this trip.

At breakfast this morning Kevin and I were talking about the make up of our little caravan. We have two 2006 Mustangs, a coupe and a convertible, two 2002 Mustangs, a coupe and a convertible, two 1967 Mustangs, a coupe and a convertible and the two 66 Shelby's. Eight ponies running hard down the road, 2 by 2.

Today started out with several mishaps but ended well. As we left Invermere this morning we all stopped for gas, since there were no stations open when we pulled in the night before. Rich and I pulled into the same island, he behind me. After I finished filling my car, he was working under the hood of his car, and Elsie was turning the starter for him, when the car moved forward, pinning him between his car and mine. For awhile we thought that he was going to the hospital, but being the tough Southern California gut that he is, he toughed it out. The cars were OK, and even Rich by the end of the day was acting like nothing had happened. We'll see how sore he is in the morning. A lucky ending to what could have been a real ugly situation.

As we made our run east, through the Kootaney and Banff National Parks, (after a $20 fee) we got to an area of absolutely magnificent mountains and we stopped for a photo op. Well, I need to stop anyway as I had taken in to much coffee and needed to get rid of some, so while everyone took pictures, I quickly ran across the road and into the trees to do you know what. Well, as I got into the brush, I quickly found that I was in a swampy area, and before I knew it, I stepped into a big rut, filled with water and probably moose piss. I ended up soaked on my right side - really soaked! I'm sure that one of the pictures taken of me will end up on the web site.

When we got to lake Louise, every gassed up, but I went in and changed my cloths. When I came out, everyone was gone. I assumed that they all went onto the Lake, so that's where I went - well they had gone to the restaurant and were waiting there for Linda and I. Long story short, we (Linda and I) got to see Lake Louise and everyone else decided to bag it.

One of the other thrills we are dealing with is the Canadian money. We give them American money and they give us this funny stuff back. Confusing! The other thrill is the speed up here is in KM. (Kilometers) Most of the time the speed limit is 100 or 110 and Brian has to keep reminding us of what that is in MPH.

Our ride today through these parks was absolutely wonderful. The Canadian Rockies are magnificent. We had clouds,but as the day wore on, the clouds became very broken and we actually saw some pretty interesting cloud formations. The rain last evening was snow in the mountains, so there was a light coat of fresh snow high up to add to our viewing pleasure. We saw some wildlife, a moose, (probably the one that pissed in the rut I fell into) deer, elk, day

As we move further north, we begin to see some signs of autumn, with some sighs of early color on some trees. Nature moves forward, and fall is coming.
Once through the mountains, you drop down onto the plains. Calgary and Edmonton are on the plains. You can see for a million miles in all directions. Once we got to, and threw Calgary we turned north on Canada 2. Other than the two large cities, most of the area is ranch land, or more specifically, farmland. Only saw a couple of cattle ranches, but lots of farms. Very much like our own middle America.

I am impressed with the roads. The highways are in very nice shape,(except where they are working on them) much better than California, Oregon or Washington roads.

Tomorrow is a day to clean the dirty cars, get them Tech Inspected (Tech Inspected for a car show? Yeah, they decide if you are stock or modified) and then in the evening a Welcome party. You probably will not have a post from me until after the show on Saturday. After the show there is a cruise and BBQ (more beans for Ken) then on Sunday a cruise to a park about an hour away, with a lunch and tour. The awards banquet is Sunday night. On Monday morning a farewell breakfast then we head for home.

09/01/06: It's day five, and we are all in Edmonton.

Today was spent cleaning up the car, although some did it last night. Chuck, Jeff and Brain cleaned cars last evening. As Jeff said, and I agree, "My car hasn't been this dirty since I've owned it!"

Linda and I had dinner last evening with Kevin, then this morning we ate breakfast with Chuck, Marilyn and Jeff. That's part of what these trips are all about, making friends and getting to know them even better.

The topic of conversation among our group is the Mustangs Across America '07 trip to Mustang, OK. Sam, I know of about 8 cars that will sign up. We can't wait - lets go!

The rest of the morning was spent washing, cleaning and polishing the cars - which we did along with Monica, and when she left, Doug and Carol. Then it was over to get the car Tech inspected, (I ended up in Modified) have our picture taken, then park the car where it is to be for the show. This parking space is ours for the duration of the time we are here - nice touch! We covered the car up, then went into the West Edmonton Mall, The Worlds Largest Mall [they say] to window shop and have a bite to eat.

Tonight is a welcome reception, then the show in the morning.

Edmonton is a large city, with [it seems] lots of people from all over the world. I see hairstyles and dress styles on the young people that I have yet to see "in the states".
Lots of spiked hair, and colored (as in purple) hair, but the people are friendly and seem interested on where you are from and why you are here. Any, yes, with the people is the traffic. We went several blocks to get the car washed, and on the way back there was a block long back up just to turn left at the corner.

Our weather is wonderful. After 2 days of showers, today the sun is out in all its glory and it's supposed to stay that way all weekend - top down weather.

We are having fun and now, we are going to go out and try to bring back to the United States as much gold as we can.