I do not even know where to start. The day began rather easy. The Pink Flamingo and another couple in a truck and trailer traveled with me. We got to North Platte and I said we were too early for our lunch stop so let's find a museum. So I googled it and thought the Cody Park Train Museum might be fun. We have been traveling Route 30 which parallels the tracks across the state of Nebraska. Needless to say it was a rather fascinating stop and I was able to get permission to park our cars next to the train for a photo op. Fred even got his 42 out of the trailer.
From there we were off to Ole's Big Game Restaurant in Paxton Nebraska. While on the way I got a phone call from Bill that he had a flat and was behind us. He was on the road but had no spare left so he was worried about traveling alone. I told him we would wait for him at the restaurant.
In the meantime we got there and had lunch. Met up with a few other people. Some were leaving. The restaurant has been there since the 30s and has a lot of taxidermy on display. Of course eating the buffalo burger with the buffalo staring sown at you can be a bit unnerving.
While waiting for Bill we did a little maintenance and relaxed in the small town of Paxton. Other than the occasional train it was very quiet. Bill finally arrived had lunch and we were on our way via 81 for a short distance as there was some road work on 30.
After being on the highway for a bit Arel noticed John's car in the rest area as we were passing it. We had to park after the exit and walk back to John. He thought he had it fixed and it was running so he joined our group and we were off for about 5 seconds when Arel's car overheated because he left the engine idling in 90 degree heat. A few more minutes to get coolant back into it and we were off. The pink flamingo got off an exit too soon and I followed him. We ended up hitting the freshly sanded road. Not too disastrous. I stopped at an Antique shop and the Pink Flaming was on his way. I did catch up and pass him and we drove into Kimball together only to find out John was still broke down. He ended up getting it trailered back. More to follow on that.
I am sorry to be long winded but this is where the excitement starts. Kimball Nebraska is a town of about 2500 people. They declared it National V8 Day and read a proclamation welcoming us to their town. They had a car show, a band, fed us and just showed us hospitality beyond our wildest dreams. I met a farmer who told me about farming. 18-20 hour days and he said his profit puts him at poverty level. He has a 3500 acre farm he maintains by himself. I told him I cannot even manage a small yard and a dog.
The party went on til 9:30. We also picked up an hour so that is like 10:30. I am wiped out.
http://s34.photobucket.com/user/frankm3/library/June%2011%202013
John
This message was edited by JM on 6-12-13 @ 5:33 AM
We still have not seen Craig Floyd. He started out and broke an axle not far from home so he turned around and was going to get another car.
Got a report from the "32 boys" from NY; Pat McFarlane & Mark Moriarty who left the tour Sunday morning and headed toward Kansas, Pikes Peak, and Grand Canyon. Both experiencing bad vapor lock problems with 109 degree temperatures. They have deceided to cancel their plan and are heading toward Lake Tahoe where they will rejoin the tour.
The folks at Kimball were awesome,and the Stahla-Ford band were super entertainment. They kept the crowd dancing all night. As the evening closed down all the V-8 Tour Participants gathered for a group picture with the band.