Last of the Wyoming shots

A view of the log house and out buildings taken from the other side of the Border River. The house you can just see through the trees on the left is the main building where we stayed, and the others on the right are two of the old cowboy cabins built back in the 1930's.


This is how the great Salt Lake is looking at the moment. It's an amazing sight from 2,000 feet above it. Got some more photos showing all the colours in the lake, but this one is the part where speed week is held, so thought that was more important!


A view out the window after landing back on the drag strip.

Heading home from Wyoming

Getting the plane organised ready for an early morning take-off. It's normally kept in Dave's hanger at the Pinedale airport, but because the truck keys were left at home, the truck spent the weekend there instead!


Managed to pack an awful lot of luggage into a very small storage area. Weight is a factor with flying, and Dave told us he once flew Slim Pickings home...yes...the cowboy actor and one of his neighbours at the ranch, and unbeknown to him, Slim had put a whole bunch of his bronze horse statues on board. The take-off was pretty hairy when the plane didn't lift as soon as expected and Dave reckons he was getting a bit panicky before he finally got it in the air!

Me and Matty braving the flight over the great Salt Lake. She was a real little trooper on the way home...looking out the window and smiling all the way. It was surprising how quickly she took to the whole flying business, as on the way up there she just cowered and shivered. Guess she was sitting too close to Colin!

Out in the wilderness in Wyoming

Hiking along one of the horse trails used by the neighbouring Dude Ranch.

Us pretending to be happy and having a wonderful time!!!

The bridge that crosses the Bolder Creek (more like a river by our standards.) It runs through the bottom of the Smith property and is full of trout.

Wyoming Cowboy Bar

Called the Million Dollar Bar because of the silver dollars set into the wooden bar, this is a place you would imagine REAL cowboys hang out! By the way...you don't mention the movie "Brokeback Mountain" in that part of the world. In fact some towns have banned it from being screened!

Fishing in Wyoming

I guess there are some photos that just don't need words!

Final L.A. pics

Golly showing his usual flair and style while mixing a magnificent watermelon martini!

Colin too proved to be a dab hand in the martini mixing department, although from the look on his face, I fear he could have had ulterior motives!

More L.A. pics

This is the rig used to transport the roadster from Steve's work back to Sacramento raceway. The truck belongs to Mark...Dave's son-in-law, and the box trailer is one of Eltons (Pac West Trailers)... the race cars main sponser. They both kindly lent their gear to us, and it wasn't until we got back home after seven or so hours driving that Colin told me the trailer was neither registered or insured...he said he didn't tell me sooner as he didn't want to worry me. Nice guy!




Colin and Flathead Jack. These two had been talking for about an hour before posing for this pic. The team had just run an 8.02 at 175mph which was a new flathead speed record. I wonder what they were talking about...hmmmm!!!


Colin getting down and dirty under "Nitro Fever" at Pomona Nostalgia Drags

Trip to Wyoming pics

Dave and Nancy in the 'pilot' seats and Colin in the back seat on our way up to Wyoming.

24th May

Forgot some stuff...went to the Galt Market yesterday with Nancy. Got away to an early start as it gets pretty busy as the day goes by. Galt is about half an hour away from here and their markets are a treasure trove of bargains, as well as a dumping ground for Chinese junk. There's always something that catches my eye though and this time it was a tennis racket shaped battery powered fly swatter! They zap the flies dead in a spectacular fashion and only cost $4, so I bought all they had.

Colin's official name here is McGyver, as he fixed one of Dave's cars using a paper clip while they were on their way to a rod display. He's going to start restoring the '56 Ford F100 truck soon, and is busy gathering parts for it. Nice to just go down to the shop and get what you want without having to modify anything.

Was sitting up in bed last night doing some needlework, when I was presented with a hot fudge sundae! Dave had been out and decided we all needed one, so bought them home. Needless to say I ate mine, although felt a bit guilty about both the time and place for eating it, as well as my resolve to stay away from such treats. Oh well...will have to do 3 circuits of the strip today.

We are about to head off to Carmichael...one of Sacramentos suburbs. They have a whole heap of Op shops there as well as a DMV, so can get several chores done at once. Whoops...he's ready to roll, so better sign off.

18th - 23rd May

The weeks continue to roll around, and we've just realised we've been here a month tomorrow. Colin's feeling he's not getting anywhere, as we haven't bought any vehicles yet, and have been mostly 'playing' since we arrived.

I have to admit, the only sweat I've worked up is walking up the strip in temperatures of around 85F. Quite pleasant really. You'll be pleased to hear the weather turned to shyte last weekend, and we actually had to put jackets on. Prior to that it had reached the 90's and we were getting a taste of summer. The rain came at a bad time, as it was one of the big drag events here at the racetrack. The Fremont Reunion Drags, held in conjunction with Street Rod and Nostalgia Eliminator Drags.

Friday night was also sprint cars on the Oval Track here, and after a light shower in the afternoon, the rain began more seriously about 7.00pm. All further racing was cancelled, but fortunately the test and tune guys on the strip had pretty much finished by then anyway. Colin was the starter for the day, and enjoyed his new role (don't worry Plank...you're job is safe!)

I was told there were some Kiwis at the strip, so set out to find them. Not too hard, just cruised around the pits in Nancy's golf cart, listening for the tell tale accents. It wasn't long before I found them...four blokes from Pukekohe club. Took them on a guided tour of the outfit here, and Nancy organised some free passes for the rest of the weekend for them. Think they were pretty stoked. Met up again on Saturday and arranged for them to get on the back of the crew truck with the Nitro Fever gang. Don't know if they'd experienced Nitro at close quarters before, but their eyes were sure shining!

We've experienced a bit of everything this week. Have seen two street people lying on the footpaths on different occasions. One looked dead, so I got out of the car to check him out. Kept a reasonable distance in case he either had a gun or some unsavoury disease, but soon detected slight movement in his chest area, so figured he was just sleeping. It's hard to believe America still thinks it's such a wonderful country while these people are still around.

The vice President was in town yesterday on some form of political propaganda mission, so traffic was a bit sluggish. Not sure why they feel the need to close roads while these people drive through...paranoia I guess. Having said that... a policeman was shot yesterday while trying to catch 4 Mexicans in a stolen car. He was on foot trying to stop them and they ran into him. He ended up on the bonnet of the car, and shot one of them through the windscreen! They returned fire and shot him in the leg. I hear he's doing O.K.

Colin and I went to a Mexican Flea Market on Sunday, seeing as the drags were cancelled. It really is bargain city but after a couple of hours, everything begins to look and sound the same. I could have wandered around a bit more, but HE reckons there's only so much foreign cr*p he can take! No soul that man! Think I'll have to go to Mexico without him. We then went to the pictures to see The Da Vince Code. Good movie and very faithful to the book. Hanks plays a good role and there's some pretty believable special effects. Finally got to see King Kong too. Not all that impressed, but the effects were amazing.

To date, I have still not had a lot of success with the photos on this blog. Tried again last night, but it wouldn't accept them. (They were all clean too!!!) I've got myself a library card now, so don't have to get temporary code numbers all the time. Lots quicker.

Better publish this before this computer drops me off like last time. Take care everyone.

Goodguys Nostalgia Drags

In case you didn't recognise the short critter...it's "T.V." Tommy Ivo. Real nice guy and a friend of Dave & Nancy's. Of course the big guy is Dave!

This shot shows the set-up in the pits. It's pretty roomy, and the trailer includes all the spares parts, as well as a shower & Loo. The Kodiac truck that hauls the trailer has a nice lounging room with T.V. microwave etc. All terribly civilized!

Me 'n' Nancy in our new red pants!!! (She found them in a sale for $3.27 each, so decided we should be the Red Pant Pit Pals!)

This is how a bunch of crew members feel when a record has just been broken. Speed was 259.8mph...time 5.88 secs

Still feels good at the end of the strip too!


Guess all these shots are out of sequence, but you get the general idea! It's always pretty tense at the start line, and by this time the nitro fumes are causing havoc to the team on the back of the truck. Great stuff!

Some interesting information was exchanged during this encounter!

Wyoming 12th-17th May

What a pain in the butt! I had a HUGE story here, then lost the lot after adding a bit more! Starting to go right off this blog idea!

Anyway...got back from Wyoming this afternoon, after being away for 6 days. We flew up there in Dave's two-ten 6-seater Centurion private plane last Friday, taking off from the dragstrip here. Landed in Elko for refueling and a bite to eat, then on to Pinedale airport where he keeps his big Chevy dual-cab truck. Did the old Te Teko two-step while landing at Pinedale, due to a sudden cross wind just as we were about to put down. Colin turned several shades lighter, but survived the trauma O.K.

Arrived at their 'cabin'... it's actually a large log house, complete with several cabins built in the 1930's for the cowboys who worked the ranch. A magical spot, with no main roads, near neighbours or other complications to spoil your peace. We had been there on our trip last year, so were ready for the breathlessness you get at altitude. Knocks you around a bit, but then there was nothing strenuous planned...just a week of relaxation, so it didn't worry us too much.

Went for walks through the woods...constantly looking out for bears, mountain lions, cougars etc, but managed to survive and only saw deer, elk, buffalo and many little woodland critters. A swift flowing, trout infested river flows through the property, but unfortunately we were a bit early for river fishing, so after fixing the jeep runabout, we set out for Boulder Lake dam instead. Caught 3 trout amid the most glorious setting imaginable. I though New Zealand was beautiful, but this place sure gives it a run for it's money.

Sunday, being Mothers Day, Nancy and I were treated to all kinds of treats, including a huge breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, elk sausage etc etc. Dave prides himself on being handy in the kitchen, and cooks all the meals. He reluctantly allowed Colin to take over cooking duties that night, and the resulting roast with all the veges was well recieved. D reckons it was a ten out of ten effort, which coming from the master, was high praise indeed. Personally, I think it was the cheese sauce I made that carried the meal!

A visit to Jackson Hole on the way to Yellowstone Park saw us at a real live cowboy bar! It's called the Million Dollar Bar...mainly because the wooden bar has hundreds of silver dollar coins imbedded into it. The place was build in 1936 and was once owned by friends of the Smiths. We heard all sorts of tales of crazy antics the bar had seen over the years. We moved on to the Cadillac Restaurant for a traditional Black Angus Steak burger. Dave then guided us ladies into the shopping centre and announced we should shop 'til we dropped. This was because he was unable to take us out on Mothers Day and wanted to make it up to us!. Nancy is a lot like me and Colin and is always up for a bargain, but Dave prefers to spend his money on expensive items, and encourages us to help him spend! I love this man!

After exhausting ourselves in retail therapy, we moved on to the 'Ripleys Believe it or Not' Museum. What a hard case outfit...with all sorts of wierd and wonderful items on display. I had a bout of helpless laughter. I had gone on ahead of the others and had looked at a display that provided a mirror to check if you could roll your tongue or not. When I got around the corner, I saw the mirror was a two-way affair, so waited to see what the others would do. Sure enough...they each stood in front of the mirror, trying to get their tongues to curl! It's absolutely hilarious standing behind a mirror and watching people, and my mission now is to get one of these mirrors. Great intertainment at a party!

Nancy has a pomeranian puppy called Matty. It was decided that Matty should go to Wyoming too, and as she had not been in the plane before, it was all a bit nerve racking as to how she would react. During the flight up there, the poor little blighter just sat trembling, giving off the occasional pathetic squeak. However by the time we headed back home today, she had undergone a total transformation, and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. She sat up at the window watching the world go by and was not bothered by the fact that everything was infinitely smaller than she remembered it.

We accidently flew over a Military area, and were buzzed by an Air Force jet. Don't know what they had down there, but it was obviously something they didn't want us to see! Colin spotted some old cars in the middle of the desert, so Dave took a bearing on the site in case he wanted to return to check them out. He also flew us over the great Salt Lake. Hey guys...you'll be pleased to hear the lake is drying out nicely and should be perfect for speed week.

Have got heaps of photos of all of the above, but once again can't find a system here that I can download them on. Very frustrating. Will keep trying.

L.A. to Sacramento

After asking the likely lads to line up for a photo...I just couldn't get the image of the three wise monkeys out of my mind. What a line-up!

It seems a long time since we were at the drags, and much has happened since. Will try to udate in some sort of sequence. I'm having huge problems with the computer system here at the strip. They run on dial-up and it drops off with infuriatng frequency! I've had drag photos all set and downloading, then poof...lost the lot! DUH!!!!

Anyway...had a great time with Golly and Jeanna in Granada Hills just out of Los Angeles. We left there on Monday morning and called into Steve Curle's workshop
to collect the roadster . He'd done a magnificent job in getting the car safely to Long Beach, where he'd unloaded it and stored it for us until we arrived. Can thoroughly recommend this guy to any Kiwis reading this.

The infamous Duane Jones was also visiting while we were there, so caught up on his latest exploits too. Looked at some very interesting photos of him and a luscious pin-up girl, and helped him select one suitable for sending to his mother. Duane is another Kiwi in L.A. who's services you can rely on for getting your car transported around the States with speed and efficiency.

Got the roadster into the system, with just a final inspection by the California Highway Patrol once we're back in Sacramento. Towed it back behind Mark's big Chevy truck, in a new box trailer courtesy of Elton (Pac West Trailers).


Took about 7 hours to get back to the strip, and the first thing Dave said was "Have you eaten?"
After a hearty repast, we unloaded the old girl and proceeded to take everyone for a cruise up the strip and back at full throttle. She purred along nicely and America seems to suit her.

Los Angeles 4th-7th May

I've got the opportunity to work on a 'non-dial-up' computer, along with Gollys photos from today, so will get this down quickly. There's still more martinis to drink!! Cheers...hic

Left the drags and headed to Golly & Jeana's. Straight off to the Cantina where we spent time during last years visit on the double-deck bus pub crawl. Live band, clear sunny day, cold beer, great company...Bugger!
.

Next was an Island bar...think it was called the Islander. The womens toilet door said "Wahine". We decided they should be serving Kiwi food and a competition ensued over what would be the most typical meal. Golly won with a Hangi Pie.

Heading off now to Steves to pick up the roadster, then back to Sacramento via Bakersfield. Dave's flying us up to their ranch in Wyoming tomorrow, and we'll be away until the 16th, so not sure when I'll get to report next.

Got lots of pics from the drags. Car went well...2 runs at 5.99 (259mph), then blew the clutch in the second round. Had a neat time and met some nostalgia celebrities. Will post photos later

May 1st-3rd

Colin left for Bakersfield on Monday morning to stay the night at Duanes, before heading down to Steve Curles Tuesday morning. Spoke to him that night and found out the roadster had survived her journey without any bumps or bruises. He'll be there until he gets all the documentation done to make it legal to drive over here...then we'll be cruisin'.

Saw my first live snake for 2006 yesterday. It was on the dragstrip and I nearly stepped on it. Was out walking with Lisa...(the ticket booth Queen) who lives here at the strip. She yelled STOP...SNAKE. Needless to say I froze mid step!
It was only a little one and I was assured it was harmless, so we coninued our walk, although I must admit I kept my eyes down for the rest of the walk.

Have been doing the 1.6 mile stint up the strip and around the return road each morning and night, trying to get into shape for the Taupo Marathon. Even though I managed it last year...it took me 5 days before I could walk upright again, so don't really want to go through that pain again!

My Dean Koontz book is absolutely riviting, and much of my time at present is spent between that and the computer. Will start doing some promotional work next week I think, although Dave is talking about flying us up to his Ranch in Wyoming. It all depends on the weather, and since he's read my book and now knows about Colin's 'apprehension' in planes, he says there's no way he'll let us hop in his little plane unless the weather is perfect all the way.! Very considerate!

The men are packing the big rig with the race car and all the supplies ready for an early start in the morning (Thursday). It's about 7 hours from here to the drags, and we're meeting up with Colin down there in L.A. Guess there'll be a trip to the grocery store this afternoon. I think our crew is the best fed team in the pits...people flock around just to see what we're eating! Whoops...digressing back to food again. Will leave it at that for now!

April 28th - 30th

Will try to keep these short 'cause when I look at my notes...it all seems to be about EATING! We had a big sleep-in the first day here (Friday), before getting re-oriented with the race track, its workings and its staff. We've been made to feel so welcome here and everyone seems genuinely pleased to have us back.
Went shopping with the 'big guy', and he told us we had to eat the compulsery American hot dog 'cause they were only $1.20 for a HUGE one, complete with all the trimmings and a 20oz 'soda' as well. (All soft drinks are sodas here). Dinner consisted of the biggest Alaskan crab legs I've ever seen. They were as long as our forearms and one each stuffed us full...although it was probably the melted butter dip that did most of the damage. I took photos, but later found there was no chip in the camera DUH!!! I'd taken the chip to Sam's Club to get prints of the grandkids done and forgotten to put it back. Oh well...they assure me there are plenty more legs where they came from! The legs were accompanied by scallops and lots of other goodies, all prepared by chef Dave. I regret to say I haven't lost any weight yet!

I had another sleep in on Saturday, but as there were drags on, it was a bit of a noisy one! Colin of course was out there amongst it all. We took one of the trucks and went for a cruise up the road to check out Sacramento Vintage Ford www.vintageford.com as well as our old haunt...the California Car Corral. www.CaliforniaCarCorral. They are both literally 5 minutes up the road, so we're now on a first name basis due to our yearly visits!
The Corral is always a good place to start when looking for something old and interesting, as they have everything from vintage tractors to Cabovers...top street rods to classic restoration projects. There was even a junior dragster being wheeled in while we were there, along with a Ferrari.

Back at the strip, Colin joined the rest of the crew working on the race car, as we're taking it down to the Pomona Goodguys Nitro Nationals this weekend. www.good-guys.com
I decided to rest up a little more before tackling a real Mexican feast that night with all the team. Have started a new Dean Koontz book which keeps me off the streets most nights.

Sunday dawned to the sound of throbbing V8's (bugger!)...there was a Ford Swap Meet and car show on in the pits, as well as test and tune on the strip. We cruised the swap meet in Nancy's golf cart, and picked up a few treasures. Decided Dave should enter his '40 Ford in the show, so we screamed back to the shed where it's kept, gave it a quick lick and a promise and parked it among the other gleaming Ford masterpieces. I then went to the Mall with the girls and left Colin doing what he does best.
Came home to find he had not only bought many car bits, but also a large neon Millers sign which was shining brightly in the "Bar" (previously known as the Barn.) Dave's son-in-law Mark is restoring a Camaro in there, so the boys have hooked up nicely! Got caught up with a few Millers before indulging in an incredibly tender and tasty 3 inch high steak...it's TRUE! Boy...these Americans sure know how to breed good steaks! Spent the rest of the evening shootin' the breeze and getting Mark's truck and Elton's trailer ready for the trip down to Bakersfield in the morning. ww.pacwesttrailers.com
Will hopefully post some photos soon.

At last....

Tauranga to Auckland was a short and enjoyable flight. It took Colin a little while to get used to being in the air again, but to his credit...he didn't scream too loud!
The trip from Auckland to San Francisco was very bumpy, so much so that they had to delay serving dinner! I had a decent sleep on the 'plane although Colin could not say the same! In fact I don't think he slept at all. His day didn't get any better.
Just as we got to the front of the immigration queue, all their computers went down! We stood around trying to be patient but not succeeding very well. I had put all the food and beer in our hand luggage ready for the agriculture inspection and the bags weighed a ton!

We finally made it out of there with no further problems, and were met at the exit by our hosts Dave and Nancy. They immediately whisked us away to Fisherman's wharf for a stroll around and a 'pre-lunch' snack of shrimp cocktails.

The sounds sights and smells of the wharf took us back to last year when we had been treated to the same experience. Lunch itself was at No 9 Fisherman's Grotto
www.fishermensgrotto.com. and was absolutely beautiful...posh too!
That San Francisco Sour Dough Bread really is something else! It's worth the flight over just for THAT!

We then headed off to the famous...or in our case infamous... Ghirardelli Chocolate outlet, where once again we made pigs of ourselves. Their hot chocolate fudge sundaes have to be experienced to be believed. www.ghirardelli.com Dave bought a huge bag of their famous chocolates for us to eat on the way to Sacramento, just on case we were still hungry! These people REALLY know how to eat!!!

Arrived back at the drag strip around 7.00pm, in time for Colin to help put Dave's dragster back together ready for this weekends meet at Pomona. The rest of the crew were thrilled to have us back and made a big fuss. I unpacked and set up our living quarters. Will post some photos as soon as I can figure it all out.