goolsbee.org, serving useless content from an undisclosed location since 1997
Yet another VP shot for Mad Dog to dream about.
By the way John, I spoke with my Navigator and he confirmed that our entries and hotel reservations are made for both the “2009 Annie & Steve Norman Classic Motorcar Rally” and the “2009 Monte Shelton Northwest Classic.”
Now (like you) I just have to make sure the car is sorted out… but at least my car is a few steps away, not three states away! 😉
Taken on the eastern approaches of the Going To The Sun Road as it winds past St. Marys Lake. This is an amazing road, truly a national treasure. If you haven’t been there and driven it yet, plan on it soon. You won’t be sorry.
Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday… I was asleep pretty much all day long. I was at work Tuesday and at the end of the day an illness hit me like a ton of bricks. High fever alternating with chills. All I could do was just lay down and shiver for about 3 hours. I eventually got up and drove myself home, arriving about 10pm. I crashed into bed and stayed there all night and all the next day… and all the next night. Appears to be the flu. I’m still not feeling very well, but really can’t sleep much more. At least now I can post a few pics!
Here is a nice shot of Jim Sitton’s Jaguar XK 140 ascending the Beartooth Highway leaving Red Lodge, Montana.
via Steelworks: Do the right thing…
“I mean, who wants to see a D-type Jag with mirrors underneath it? That gives me the same awful feeling as seeing a polar bear in a zoo laying on a fiberglass rock in 90 degree summer heat. Gives me a strong sense that someone somewhere needs to be reprimanded in a big way for going against nature.”
I read this and had to link. It is saying something I often say, and honestly I’ll go beyond David’s application of it to Vintage Racing and say just get out and DRIVE any old car. Even if it is your mom’s 1979 Buick Le Sabre. There is something about an old car that drops social barriers and serves as an invitation into people’s lives. I LOVE to drive my dad’s old Jaguar places. People smile. People wave. People come up and talk to you at gas stations. They stop and offer to help when you have problems. No matter if you are driving something as ubiquitous as a ’65 Mustang or as rare as that D-type Jaguar, old cars need to get out and drive.
Take them to your local car show and let people (especially kids!) sit inside. Drive them on trips. Take them on vintage rallies and tours. Make up your own vintage rally or tour! The last place these machines should be is under glass at some museum, languishing like David’s metaphorical polar bear. Going against nature indeed.
GET OUT AND DRIVE!
I’ve been browsing my way through the films at Archive.org. The above film is essentially identical to the one I posted on Sunday, but taken roughly a year later after the devastating 1906 earthquake & fire that almost destroyed San Francisco. In this view rubble, and smoke still dominate the scenery. It is eerie to see when compared to the “before” footage.
Look for more links to their content soon, as I’m finding their archives amazing.
Not much to say about this bit o’ fin. Instantly recognizable, and considered desirable by many (though not this author, oddly.) But, when I do see one I have to pause and consider how the mighty have fallen. Will people in the middle of this century pine for a 2009 Malibu the same way they desire a ’57 Bel-Air? Somehow I doubt it. Detroit lost the plot a long time ago. A fat lady is likely warming up in the wings of the RenCen as we speak. Lutz already bailed with his golden parachute. I’m shocked that Rick Waggoner still has a job to be honest.
As useful as General Eisenhower’s Autobahns Interstates are for getting somewhere swiftly, I actually much prefer smaller US and State highways. You’ll note that none of my RPotD images have been shot on an Interstate. That is because Interstates are, from the driver’s perspective, rather dull. Unless of course you want to drive at Autobahn speeds, at which point they redeem themselves. Unfortunately the local constabulary in the vast majority of jurisdictions here in the ironically called “home of the free” won’t allow us to travel at autobahn speeds on US Interstate freeways. Ha! “Freeways” … another bit of ironic terminology! But I digress.
When traveling, with travel itself being the object, two-lane roads are much preferable. They go through towns, often being the main street of said small towns here in the western US. You can stop and have a look around, or just roll through slowly and get a sense of the character of place. (Ironically, my hometown of Arlington, Washington is an exception to this rule, as both SR 9 and SR 530 have been rebuilt in the last 25 years to bypass the heart of town.) But once out of town they follow routes that have been established by history and human convention: river valleys, high passes, and railroad rights-of-way. Places filled with history, forgotten or fondly recalled. Places where time is marked, or lost. Places less travelled.
When wanderlust comes upon me I often peruse road atlases I find my eye drawn to thin lines that squiggle, rather fat ones with blue & red shields super-imposed. Sure, it will take me longer to get where I’m going, but I’ll say that despite what the speedometer often says, I’m rarely in a hurry.
This image was taken somewhere in either western Montana or south-eastern British Columbia. Can anyone name the car up ahead?