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Day Sixty-Two - October 24, 2014


BONUS: Home at last in North Vancouver, BC - 0 miles (0 kms)








Day Sixty-One - October 23, 2014


Port Angeles, WA to North Vancouver, BC (HOME) - 106 miles (170 kms)









Day Sixty - October 22, 2014


North Bend, OR to Port Angeles, WA - 470 miles (756 kms)








Day Fifty-Nine - October 21, 2014


Bodega Bay, CA to North Bend, OR - 469 miles (755 kms)
















Day Fifty-Eight - October 20, 2014


Bakersfield to Bodega Bay, CA - 424 miles (682 kms)


















Day Fifty-Seven - October 19, 2014


Bakersfield, CA - California Hot Rod Reunion








Day Fifty-Six - October 18, 2014


Bakersfield, CA - California Hot Rod Reunion








Day Fifty-Five - October 17, 2014


Bakersfield, CA - California Hot Rod Reunion








Day Fifty-Four - October 16, 2014


Flagstaff, AZ to Bakersfield, CA (via Santa Monica) - 593 miles (954 kms)








Day Fifty-Three - October 15, 2014


Amarillo, TX to Flagstaff, AZ - 607 miles (977 kms)








Day Fifty-Two - October 14, 2014


Springfield, MO to Amarillo, TX - 544 miles (875 kms)








Day Fifty-One - October 13, 2014


Chicago, Il to Springfield, MO - 511 miles (822 kms)








Day Fifty - October 12, 2014


New York City to Chicago, IL - 804 miles (1294 kms)








Day Forty-Nine - October 11, 2014


New York City








Day Forty-Eight - October 10, 2014


New York City








Day Forty-Seven - October 9, 2014


New York City








Day Forty-Six - October 8, 2014


New York City








Day Forty-Five - October 7, 2014


New York City








Day Forty-Four - October 6, 2014


New York City








Day Forty-Three - October 5, 2014


Schenectady to Long Island City, NY - 165 miles (265 kms)








Day Forty-Two - October 4, 2014


Peterborough, ON to Schenectady, NY - 328 miles (528 kms)








Day Forty-One - October 3, 2014


Peterborough, ON








Day Forty - October 2, 2014


Peterborough, ON








Day Thirty-Nine - October 1, 2014


Peterborough, ON








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Day Thirty-Eight - September 30, 2014


Peterborough, ON








Day Thirty-Seven - September 29, 2014


Terre Haute, IN to Peterborough, ON - 665 miles (1071 kms)








Day Thirty-Six - September 28, 2014


St. Louis, MO - AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals + Madison, IL to Terre Haute, IN - 185 miles (298 kms)








Day Thirty-Five - September 27, 2014


St. Louis, MO - AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals








Day Thirty-Four - September 26, 2014


St. Louis, MO - AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals






Let's start with the spectacular stuff and move on to the regular items later. First up is a proud spectator holding part of the remains of Harold Martin's hoodscoop which landed 20 rows up in the far grandstands following a massive nitrous "we've got an iginition problem" explosion in the first qualifying session. That's followed with several shots from a sequence of destruction as Pete Farber slammed into the wall when the car got away from him early in his qualifying pass.



As mentioned on the home page, here's a pic of my new-found friend "Hoppy". The biggest grasshopper I've ever encountered; he was the size of a jalapeno pepper with legs and feelers. Next to him are Roger Richards and Sandy Karamesines enjoying a minute of downtime on the guardwall before husband Chris "The Golden Greek" made his qualifying attempt.



Backing up her husband in fine fashion, Leeza Diehl set Jeff up well enough to record another career best elapsed time of 4.136 and cement his position in the provisional 12-car field. Then rookie Brian Stewart put out nice flames as the sun disappeared behind the spectator side grandstands. Finally, a pair of Top Fuel cars really lit 'em up on the launch.



Finishing the evening on a high note, the final pair of Top Fuel cars - Steve Torrence (far lane) and Tony Schumacher (near lane) lit up the sky with wing-high flames.


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Day Thirty-Three - September 25, 2014


Memphis, TN to O'Fallon, IL - 300 miles (483 kms)


Compared to some of the long days on the road early in the trip, today's jaunt was much shorter and quicker. But it still visited four states, as we left Memphis, Tennessee behind and as soon as I crossed the Mississippi, I was in Arkansas. A few hours later, it was time to see Missouri, and finally, for the last half hour, cross the river again to end up in Illinois.



A rather antiquated brdige was my introduction to Arkansas, and the large, easy to read highway signage confirmed what the GPS unit kept telling me.



After negotiating a wall of trucks and ten miles of very narrow lanes due to roadwork, things opened up considerably as I got further north of Memphis and into the very wide, and very open spaces of Arkansas. One thing they do well there is FLAT. As in the land is flat, the scenery is flat, the whole vibe is flat.



Crossing another state boundary - and frankly, I've lost track, but it's over 20 by this point of the trip - and another friendly state welcome sign attached to those oh-so-necessary rest stops. It's one thing America does well. Interestingly, most have a state or regional theme to them.



Oh oh, looks like trouble; but the next picture shows that it's just a truck chassis being towed back to front. And some more helpful road signs with options galore.



The largest fireworks store in the world, they claim (but I've passed several other pyrotechnic outlets that made the same statement). Boomland. Cigarettes and fireworks. Does anyone see a possible problem with their product mix? Unless matches and lighters are sold in a separate store.



Yesterday was classic cars and trucks on open flatdeck trailers, but today is fully enclosed expensive haulers are heading in the same direction as me: north to Gateway Motorsports Park across the river from St. Louis.



One more quick rest stop for a late lunch, then onward to St. Louis, passing some interesting rock formations created by the blasting required to carve out Interstate 55.



The destination: Drury Inn & Suites in O'Fallon, Illinois. A real step up from the Motel 6's and Super 8's of the past. Hot breakfast AND happy hour(s) in the evening, featuring dinner items and free bar (3 drink maximum).




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Day Thirty-Two - September 24, 2014


New Orleans, LA to Memphis, TN - 398 miles (641 kms)


















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Day Thirty-One - September 23, 2014


New Orleans, LA










































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Day Thirty - September 22, 2014


Corsicana, TX to New Orleans, LA - 491 miles (791 kms)











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Day Twenty-Nine - September 21, 2014


Dallas, TX - AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals








At the end of a long four day stint at the Texas Motorplex, I got back to the car after the seeminglyt interminable winners circle "festivities" and found the dashboard temp was 40 (C) or 104 (F).... AND the gas tank was on empty. Good start to the drive back to Corsicana, and when I arrived at the hotel, a giant inflatable cowboy was hovering over the entrance. Somehow or other he had something to do with a chili cookoff in the coming week.


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Day Twenty-Eight - September 20, 2014


Dallas, TX - AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals



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Day Twenty-Seven - September 19, 2014


Dallas, TX - AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals




A wander through the pits in the morning allowed me to take some candid shots of cars and equipment away from the track surface. Even found a new way to grab a "selfie" via the polished stainless siding on Steve Harker's trailer. Then it was time to go through the staging lanes and see the Pro Stock motorcycles (Angie Smith pictured), before heading downtrack to assume my position beside the guardwall. That's Leeza Diehl visiting with fellow photo guys, Roger Richards and Gary Nastase.






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Day Twenty-Six - September 18, 2014


Dallas, TX - AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals



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Day Twenty-Five - September 17, 2014


Galveston to Corsicana, TX - 233 miles (375 kms)






































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Day Twenty-Four - September 16, 2014


Mobile, AL to Galveston, TX - 488 miles (785 kms)


























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Day Twenty-Three - September 15, 2014


Charlotte, NC to Mobile, AL - 586 miles (943 kms)







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Day Twenty-Two - September 14, 2014


Charlotte, NC - NHRA Carolina Nationals







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Day Twenty-One - September 13, 2014


Charlotte, NC - NHRA Carolina Nationals



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Day Twenty - September 12, 2014


Charlotte, NC - NHRA Carolina Nationals



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Day Nineteen - September 11, 2014


Carolina Beach to Charlotte, NC - 213 miles (342 kms)











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Day Eighteen - September 10, 2014


Kill Devil Hills to Carolina Beach, NC - 253 miles (408 kms)















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Day Seventeen - September 9, 2014


Kill Devil Hills to Cape Hatteras and back - 140 miles (225 kms)


Today's mission was to drive down the peninsula known as The Outer Banks and see the famed Cape Hatteras lighthouse. Then, if there was time to do so, drive to the very end of the peninsula. After that, and again, time permitting, race back up to Kill Devil Hills to check out the Wright Brothers National Memorial.


After a very welcome sunny start to the day, the clouds soon rolled in but I managed to outrace them south and get into clearer skies and only occasional spots of rain. One very long bridge - two miles or more - connected Cape Hatteras - which is actually an island - with the rest of the peninsula.



Almost the entire peninsula seems to be formed of sand dunes and the vegetation cover is easily torn away by the weather and waves to show the base of the land. Note that the houses shown in these photos are not actually leaning but it's difficult to accurately frame a picture while driving.



More "slanted" houses, which appear to have most of their living areas starting on the second floor due to the regular flooding that occurs here. Quite a few times I had to drive through several inches of standing water on the highway due to the recent heavy rains and high tides. First casualty of the trip was a pair of cheap sunglasses that I bought in Indianapolis. Didn't like them anyway as the rubberized frames were kind of sticky and hot on my face.



Here is the lighthouse. No, I didn't go inside and climb to the top as the view would be nothing much more than the ocean and I'm not really in shape for that many stairs. Also, it was a little underwhelming as when I arrived I remembered that the lighthouse had been moved from its original location. Perched rather precariously just 150 feet from the shoreline at the time, the entire structure was moved half a mile south to its present site, which is well inland from the water and surrounded by trees. While the move was necessary to preserve it, the "house" has lost some of its natural charm being so far inland and cut off from the ocean.



After a rather slow trip to the very tip of the cape, it was time to start heading north and this time, with the 35 mph speed limit helping the camera work, a few buildings were captured at the correct angle. Even saw a very large fish - of the not-so-rare fibreglass sword variety - in front of a (strangely enough) fish shop.



The sun actually peeked out on the way back for a few minutes before it degenrated into another rain shower. Kangaroo gas? I guess they really "hop to It" when it comes to pumping, eh?



I arrived at the Wright Brothers National Memorial just 20 minutes before closing, and was warned that if I wasn't out by then that I'd be locked in the park overnight. That left just enough time to do a quick scan of the museum and catch a few shots of full-size replicas of the original planes they used to first take flight.



There was no time to hike up the hill and take a closer look at the plinth at the top, but it looks impressive even from a distance. I came away from the memorial with quite an appreciation for the amazing work the Wright brothers did in advancing humankind's desire to take flight. We've certainly come a long way from a 600-lb fabric winged machine with a 12-hp engine to the latest Boeing Dreamliners, but it all started here.



One final note on the memorial: while the first Wright Brothers first flights have always been known as taking place in Kitty Hawk, it was actually done right on this site in Kill Devil Hills, an unincorporated area at the time.




Back to the motel and this time the weather was good enough for a quick dip of my toes in the Atlantic Ocean. The beach behind the motel stretches for many miles in either direction, with beautiful soft sand and a not-so-warm ocean that looks a little rough for swimming. Surprisingly, considering the lateness of the day, the brisk wind, and the rather cool temperatues, there were quite a few people in and around the water.


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Day Sixteen - September 8, 2014


Southern Pines, NC to KIll Devil Hills, NC - 266 miles (429 kms)


After five days in the Souther Pines/Rockingham area, it was time to leave the center of the state and head for the coast and my first ground-level look at the Atlantic Ocean from North America. With three days of rest and recreation before I have to be in Charlotte for the next race, the NHRA Carolina Nationals, this was to be an easy day of driving and relaxing.



After a very rainy Sunday spent partly at Rockingham Dragway, and mainly indoors after the real deluge began in mid-afternoon, Monday dawned with more rain. Light at times, but a few patches of really heavy downpours made the drive out to the Carolina coast not as enjoyable as it might have been. Thankfully, traffic was fairly light and I was able to make good time despite some rather "pedestrian" (aka: 55 mph) speed limits. Three hours into the drive, the first, and only, rest stop of the day appeared and gave me another look at the very well-designed rest areas that dot America. Across the road was a rather uninviting restaurant and winery that I decided to pass by.



The first signs of nearing the coast appeared soon after. Ablemarle Sound was on my left according to the GPS, but there were only occasional glimpses of water as the scenery gradually changed from heavy pine forests to coastal plains.



It would still be nearly an hour before I crossed the first of two very long bridges; this one across the Alligator River that has a drawbridge in the middle to allow boat traffic to go through the sound. Thankfully the wait for one very slow moving fishboat was less than ten minutes and we were on our way again.


Arriving in Kill Devil Hills in mid-afternoon, and really hungry at this point, it was time to search for lunch and my first choice didn't work - despite the "inviting" sign over the door. If you click on the pic, you'll notice that they close at 2:00. Time to head for the motel and worry about food later. As soon as I'd dropped my gear in the room it was time to see just how close the beach was.


Close enough as it turned out, with the boardwalk to the beach less than 100 feet from my room, and the water less than another 100 feet after that. The heavy skies were starting to unload more rain already, light at first, then gradually gaining in intensity, so I put a walk on the beach on the "later" list and retreated to the room.




Here's an example of a standard Outer Banks beach house, which all seem to have two or three stories so that they can enjoy fabulous water views from the upper level. Not too many seem to be painted or possibly the weather and salt air naturally age them but they do convey a classic Atlantic coast look. However, with climate change and rising sea levels, these homes may not be here longer than a few more decades.


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Day Fifteen - September 7, 2014


Southern Pines - Rockingham, NC - PDRA Dragstock at The Rock



After three days of occasionally cloudy, but very hot (90+ F - 32+C) temperatures, the forecast change in the weather arrived in force on Sunday morning. Driving out to the track under very heavy looking skies gave me an inkling of what was to come. Thankfully, we'd perservered last night and run the first round of eliminations, making today's schedule short and possible to complete if the rain held off for a few more hours.



Possibly due to the late finish on Saturday night (1:10 am), the second round of eliminations was delayed until noon, and didn't quite get going even then. By the time the junior dragsters had finished their round and Top Sportsman started to run, the first drops of rain were felt and very soon after a full-blown shower developed.


More than an hour later, just as the track appeared ready to run on again, the wind came up, and the rain came back with a vengeance. Another hour later, with the rain continuing to fall heavily, the balance of the event was postponed until the Championship Finals in Richmond on October 10th. Sayonara, Rockingham Dragway and across the highway, the famed NASCAR track, Rockingham Speedway.


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Day Fourteen - September 6, 2014


Southern Pines - Rockingham, NC - PDRA Dragstock at The Rock



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Day Thirteen - September 5, 2014


Southern Pines - Rockingham, NC - PDRA Dragstock at The Rock



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Day Twelve - September 4, 2014


Southern Pines - Rockingham, NC - PDRA Dragstock at The Rock



After last night's heavy thunderstorms, it was a welcome relief to see the first day of Dragstock start with beautiful sunshine as I headed south towards the track. Tree-lined highway gradually turned into open country and some rather rough roads for the last mile to the track.



It's hard to imagine how they can funnel large crowds in ahd out of the dragstrip and, on the other side of the road, the speedway oval. While the highway was four-lane divided roadway for most of the way south, for several miles on either side of the road, it's only one lane in each direction.


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Day Eleven - September 3, 2014


Charleston, WV to Southern Pines, NC - 313 miles (504 kms)


















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Day Ten - September 2, 2014


Indianapolis, IN to Charleston, WV - 363 miles (585 kms)




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Day Nine - September 1, 2014


Indianapolis, IN - NHRA U.S. Nationals



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Day Eight - August 31, 2014


Indianapolis, IN - NHRA U.S. Nationals



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Day Seven - August 30, 2014


Indianapolis, IN - NHRA U.S. Nationals




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Day Six - August 29, 2014


Indianapolis, IN - NHRA U.S. Nationals



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Day Five - August 28, 2014


Indianapolis, IN - NHRA U.S. Nationals







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Day Four - August 27, 2014


Sioux City, IA to Indianapolis, IN - 664 miles (1069 kms)


Four days, seven states, and three time zones..... and now we're in Indianapolis for the 60th annual Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals.



















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Day Three - August 26, 2014


Sheridan, WY to Sioux City, IA - 674 miles (1085 kms)









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Day Two - August 25, 2014


Spokane Valley, WA to Sheridan, WY - 683 miles (1099 kms)







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Day One - August 24, 2014


North Vancouver, BC to Spokane Valley, WA - 446 miles (719 kms)














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Day Zero - August 23, 2014


Mission Raceway Park - Smoke, Fire & Thunder show






















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