Monday, April 28, 2014

Enjoying the Drive part 10 and a little competition added to it!

Spring is really bringing out some cool cars. Here are the latest drivers that have been seen on the road. This one was in Clearfield. I talked to the driver. He was a little old man and he said he drives this car everywhere, everyday. I'm glad that there are others out there like me. I think I will be driving old stuff for the rest of my life.
This one is hard to see but it is a really cool jeep. I was getting gas when it drove by and by the time I got my camera out this is the best shot I got.
 I came out of Auto Zone and spotted this one in the parking lot. I usually don't like really tall wheels like these but for some reason I digged these. They fit the car nicely. I saw this car later in the day driving down the road and it looked good cruising also.
The family and I were driving in Sandy when we came across this truck. It's nice but it would be so much cooler if it was lower in the back. I like it though because it's different. In my book, different is good.
 If you look hard in the mirror, you will see an SS Chevelle. This car pulled up in back of me today as I was driving home from the library. It was mint!
 Driving home from work I managed to catch up to and pass this corvette on SR-201. The guy was enjoying the sunshine with his window down and the T-tops removed. It's not my favorite year for a corvette but I would drive it if I was given the chance.
Those are the cars I found and was able to get pictures of since my last post about enjoying the drive. These next pictures are from my friend Vance who is addicted to cars just as much as I am. He sends me pictures for this blog all the time as he travels around. He spotted this one in Magna Utah. I have seen this van for years just off main street in Magna and I always wish it was mine. It's in great shape.
The next three pictures were taken in California. Vance ran into all 3 in less then 10 minutes as he was out for a morning run. You really have to love California cars! I like everything about this one.
The good weather brings out the Corvette owners.
 I saved the best for last! This is by far my favorite picture of all the cars that were spotted in this post. It sits perfect, I like the white walls, and I love the colors on it.
So as I write this, I think I will add something more to the posts on "Enjoying the drive". I am going to pick my favorite one for each post from now on. So send me your pictures as you come across cool cars in your travels. See if you can win the best of the week as I post them. Some of the rules are No car show pictures (unless you catch them being driven to the car show), No pictures of cars in garages or museums. The object of the game is to find cars that are being driven so more consideration will be given if you get a photo of the car actually going down the road.  So, for the first one it looks like you win Vance. You better watch out now though because I am on the hunt for the coolest cars out there!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

It's was a nice day for a car show.

On Saturday the weather was awesome. I had the kids for the day so we decided to go to a car show up in clearfield. It turned out to be a really good car show. Here Isaac is checking out the hemi in a super bee. 
 I fell in love with this falcon. I like falcons but I I have never had one catch my eye like this one did. It was sitting perfect and the wheels were cool. I didn't really take a very good picture of it but I admired it for quite awhile.
 Ellie found the stuffed Kermit the frog and ran over to give it a hug. Steven and Isaac drooled all over the army truck in the back ground.
 This truck was all made by hand. It was interesting.
I caught a picture of this car as it was driving up. I have seen this one before and it's one of my favorites.
 When I saw this Trans Am I had flash backs of high school. I owned one that looked just like it. Mine was white also and it had a 455 with a 4 speed just like this one. I loved that car and I had a lot of good times in it. I also won a lot of races in it. It was screaming fast and I had put nitrous on it to boot.
 Mine didn't have the bird on the hood but I had the little 455 on the shaker. That was the only indication that it was fast.
 I had to take a picture of this Opel because I almost bought one when I was in my early teens. They are cool little cars. The one I was going to buy was orange just like this one. I didn't buy it because I was worried it would have been hard to get parts for. It would be a fun car to drive around in though.
I wish I could get my old international to sit like this ford does.
 This car was great. The metal work was inspiring, you had to really study this car to see all the cool stuff that was done to it.
 The headlights were made out of some old pistons.
 I hope that with time my metal working skills will be this good.
These 2 carbs were on an old Chevy truck. I think it would be cool to fit dual carbs on the international.
 I took the next 2 pictures for Dixie. She loves camaro's and these 2 were top notch.

It was a good day for a car show. We had time later that day to get Steven on the little 80cc Yamaha we acquired and he rode it all over the yard for awhile. It was fun to see him riding it. I am having spring fever really bad right now. I am expecting the weather to turn cold again for one last time but hopefully I am wrong. This show was motivating for me to get the international up and running. Hopefully this summer that will happen.  

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Spring Break Camping.

We decided on a whim to go camping on Thursday. There is not a lot of options when you have no reservations when camping in Utah. I have always loved antelope island and so we decided to go there. You can usually get a spot there unless they have some event going that weekend. We just drove up and got a spot that day so it worked out perfectly. The weather wasn't the best. The wind was a little bit chilly and it was in the lower 30's at night but it didn't rain on us and the wind was minimal. The heater kicked on a few times in the night but overall it was a great trip. This was the view from our campsite. You can see for miles on all sides of the island.
 The first day we set up camp and then went to the visitor center on the island. There is a lot to look at in the visitor center and you can learn all about the history of the island, the wildlife and the vegetation that grows there and other interesting facts. Ellie found a statue of a buffalo that was just her size.
 Standing by it wasn't enough for her so she climbed on top of it.
 There are hiking trails all over the island that range from easy to difficult. Here we are checking out some of them trying to decide which ones to take.
We took a hike on the north west side of the island. I couldn't believe how jagged the rocks were on this part of the island. They all had little alcoves in them and it made me wonder what kind of critters sleep in them at night. We hiked up and over the rocks and enjoyed the nice weather.
I was glad that it wasn't too windy. A couple years ago Steven, Isaac and myself camped out on the island and I have never had a night that was as windy as that one. This trip the winds were very light.
 Off in the distance on the left side of the picture is egg island. It is all rocks out there and it is covered with birds. You can see and hear them from where we were. I guess every spring the birds come back and lay their eggs there. It is a good spot because there are no predators that can get to them. Dixie is looking beautiful as ever in this picture.
 Isaac likes to climb around on the rocks. He had to retrieve his water bottle a few times because it kept falling out of his pocket.
We drove over to the other side of the island and decided to take a hike there. Here Isaac is getting ready to go. The weather was looking a little bit iffy when we started this hike.
 Halfway there! Ellie walked the whole way there. She just kept going and going.
 We stopped for a few water breaks along the way. The views were really spectacular.
 I thought we might get caught in this storm that looked like it was coming our way but it turned and went off to the east. We never even felt a rain drop.
Enjoying the end of the road.
 That night we ate dinner, played games and roasted marshmallows. The next morning we went to the Garr ranch on the east side of the island. It was a working ranch up until the 80's. A lot of the buildings are still there and they let you tour them on a self guided tour. We wanted to check out this old Dodge truck but this buffalo wandered into the area so we kept our distance. A guy that works on the ranch said that this buffalo likes to come here and eat the grass.
 The ranch is cool because they let you climb on everything and encourage you to touch everything. Here Steven is on an old Case tractor. It looks like it is still running. I would have loved to take it for a spin around the ranch. Ha Ha.
 Steven, Isaac and Ellie lassoed the horse a few times and then they decided to ride it.
It was a successful 1st camping trip for the year. Hopefully we will get a bunch more in this summer. It was nice to get out and enjoy some time together before school starts up again for the boys.