Boise to Dallas in November

[Southwest Dave]

A nice looking truck !

Have a safe journey and let us know how it all turns out.

Dave.

[Txcurtis]

Somewhere in Utah the main tourist attraction is a railroad spike exhibit. The cooler attraction is the rocket ship display, made even cooler by the farmer herding his cows down the road, the herd gently splitting to either side of the truck, the dogs expertly keeping them moving.

Others were annoyed by this, it was one of the highlights of our trip so far.

[Mark Sedenquist]

....made even cooler by the farmer herding his cows down the road, the herd gently splitting to either side of the truck, the dogs expertly keeping them moving.

I love seeing that too. Nothing compares with the skill of cow dogs working!

Mark

[DonnaR57]

Just in case someone reading this wonders where that "spike" and the rockets were that TXCurtis mentioned above ...

In north central Utah, take Utah-83 northwest out of Brigham City (off I-15). Along that route you will see rockets on the right hand side of the road -- Morton-Thiokoll (sp???). Wonderful display, or at least it was a few years back when we were there! Right near there is the turn-off to Promontory Point, or the Golden Spike monument. It was where the two railroads, one being built heading east and the other being built headed west, had to meet. There's a nice visitor center/museum and a few exhibits outside. If you have the time and the want-to, you can head down these gut-buster roads that take you along some of the old track and see some of the places where the railroad workers had to hang out.


Donna

[Txcurtis]

I guess it's time to post about the road trip and share some pictures with y'all in the 1971 Ford F100 passed down to me by my grandfather who bought it in 1972 with 600 miles on it. Shown below with myself, my grandfather, and my daughter who was an awesome road trip companion:

Day 1: We traveled from Boise, ID to Salt Lake City, UT. Along the way I saw a sign for the ATK Rocket Display just outside of Brigham City, UT and followed signs for it and a golden railroad spike exhibit which I did not stop at.
On the way to exhibit I saw a bunch of cows in the road - some other drivers were really annoyed but I thought the working dogs and the experience of being surrounded by the herd was awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...6lIhHfia4#t=7s
We stopped and looked at the rockets - amazing how big some of the weaponry and personell carrying rockets are!

After a good nights sleep in Salt Lake City we were Albuquerque bound.
Along the way we saw a turned over truck.

And we stopped at Wilson Arch Just south of Moab, UT

And decided to climb it (see the truck down there?)

We made it to Albuquerque and had a good nights rest - up an attem early the next morning only to see signs for the dinosaur museum in Tucumcari, NM - which happens to be a vibrant route 66 town. Website said they opened at 10, we were set to arrive at 9:30 - well worth the wait... Once we got there we noted that those were SUMMER hours and they didn't open till noon. Almost moved on but I had a heartbroken 8 year old so we explored the town for a while.
We checked out the old tow trucks

We visited the feed store and checked out the old cowboy hat wearing bear

And we visited a couple junk shops and had a decent lunch at Rockin Y's Roadhouse. The green chili cheeseburger was pretty darn good.
Dinosaur museum was great - kid had a blast

Not 30 miles later was a "free car museum" (Russel's Truck Stop in Glen Rio, NM) which I loved seeing - kid's becoming a bit of a car nut herself.

Onward to Amarillo, TX we went - thoughts of Cadillac Ranch on our mind


I probably should have stayed in Amarillo or a town a few hours down the road but pushed home - it was near 1 am when I walked in the door. Truck ran well most of the way, started running a bit rough a ways out of town - wouldn't start the next day. Swapping out the condenser and re-setting the points got her running sweet again - electronic ignition is top on the list.

All in all, I'm thrilled that I chose to drive rather than ship the truck and my daughter and I have many great memories we'll cherish forever.

[Midwest Michael]

Great report and pictures! Thanks for stopping back to share your experience!

[noFanofCB]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Memorable trip for you little girl.

Cool that you know about points. That's a vanishing knowlege.

So.... what's the story on the roto-tiller?? ;-)

[Txcurtis]

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Memorable trip for you little girl.

Cool that you know about points. That's a vanishing knowlege.

So.... what's the story on the roto-tiller?? ;-)

The tiller is a 1960something merry tiller that I bought at a garage sale years ago for $10 not running. A bit of tinkering and I had her running on first pull, just had to make sure I started her every couple months.

I moved from Salem, OR to Dallas in search of (and found) better economic climate 2 years ago- there was no room in the over stuffed U-Haul for it so I took it to my parents knowing this roadtrip was upcoming some day. They brought it to boise and in the truck it rode. She's not running, I'll get her running when I have time to mess with her.

[Southwest Dave]

I too enjoyed your tale and pictures, a real nice experience to share with your daughter, thanks for sharing.

[Lifemagician]

Loved the story. Was keen to read how and where the old truck went. What a great adventure to share with your daughter. Lucky girl!

Lifey