Cross Country...or Bust? 'THE' trip!

[BigMike]

After seeing all of that beauty aren't you glad you didn't ship it?

[dbash]

Very cool thread, I have been waiting for this trip since you first posted about it.

I am happy to hear that You, your Wife and Gentle Ben are having a safe and memorable trip.

Enjoy!

[Hubscrub]

yall are just about walking in my footsteps of last summer, we drove from tn to LA via route 66 form ok west. Hope yall enjoy it that is some beautiful country and love the truck hope it makes it well. Some of the long stretches with nothing can be a crazy feeling when your used to back east but so peaceful. God bless and have fun

[bruceman1968]

Nice job on the coroner pic! You nailed it! The Grand Canyon and Painted Dessert pics look awesome too. Thanks again for posting your trip. It is cool to see.

[GCncsuHD]

Originally Posted by bruceman1968

Nice job on the coroner pic! You nailed it!

Wait, who died?

[Low Elco]

Thanks for the pics, glad you're having fun!

[bruceman1968]

Originally Posted by GCncsuHD

Wait, who died?

Smile, You got that one, but you missed dessert/desert

[BrianG]

Hey, Take it Easy out there.... some of those places.... such a fine sight to see!

sorry, someone had to do it!

[freezmcnally]

Originally Posted by BigMike

After seeing all of that beauty aren't you glad you didn't ship it?

without a doubt!

[TooManytooCount]

Hope you don't mind, but I am saving and printing out picture of the Truck in front of the TPs. I will hang it in the Garage and use it as motivation for taking a trip someday.

[steelhorse]

Great thread. Keep the pics coming.

[Mayo]

Cool thread and nice pics. A cross country trip is definitely on my bucket list. Last year I almost bought Nacho Truck and I was gonna drive it from CA back here to MD. I had everything planned out and it was pretty much the same route as you. I was gonna spend about 9 days on the road and stop at the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, drive along Route 66 and make a few stops on there, check out Nashville, drive down to Atlanta to visit my sister, and then catch the NASCAR Hall of Fame on my way back up. Hopefully I can find a truck soon to have Delmo build and then set off on an awesome adventure.

By the way, what kind of camera does your wife have?

[freezmcnally]

Originally Posted by TooManytooCount

Hope you don't mind, but I am saving and printing out picture of the Truck in front of the TPs. I will hang it in the Garage and use it as motivation for taking a trip someday.

that's great! hopefully it inspires many to do the same. just as I was unsure about doing the trip at first (but now glad I did) and 95% of the members on my original thread had many words of encouragement to help me decide to go for it.

[freezmcnally]

Originally Posted by Mayo

Cool thread and nice pics. A cross country trip is definitely on my bucket list. Last year I almost bought Nacho Truck and I was gonna drive it from CA back here to MD. I had everything planned out and it was pretty much the same route as you. I was gonna spend about 9 days on the road and stop at the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, drive along Route 66 and make a few stops on there, check out Nashville, drive down to Atlanta to visit my sister, and then catch the NASCAR Hall of Fame on my way back up. Hopefully I can find a truck soon to have Delmo build and then set off on an awesome adventure.

By the way, what kind of camera does your wife have?

that would be awesome and obviously I recommend it! it's been a ton of fun.
her camera is a Nikon d700.

[freezmcnally]

Originally Posted by GCncsuHD

Wait, who died?

lol!

[Coley]

What you are doing here is epitomizing the spirit of the classic car and truck hobby.
Its taking the appreciation for something different and doing something more with it....including this whole great adventure.
It has an element of risk and difference which is what makes it so appealing to all of us.
If you were travelling across the U.S in a new Toyota Corolla no one would effectively give a hoot....but everything on the menu here is what the best of life is about...particularly when mixed with motoring....which we all clearly love.
Keep it coming!!....its great stuff!!
Coley

[freezmcnally]

Originally Posted by Coley

What you are doing here is epitomizing the spirit of the classic car and truck hobby.
Its taking the appreciation for something different and doing something more with it....including this whole great adventure.
It has an element of risk and difference which is what makes it so appealing to all of us.
If you were travelling across the U.S in a new Toyota Corolla no one would effectively give a hoot....but everything on the menu here is what the best of life is about...particularly when mixed with motoring....which we all clearly love.
Keep it coming!!....its great stuff!!
Coley

very well said, I whole-heartedly concur and thanks!! yes, doubtful the dude from England asking me to see under the hood wat hackberry would have done so for a 2009 white Toyota corolla...even if it had baby moons.

[Boog]

Hey I'm glad to see you finally got this trip underway. Quite the adventure into the unknown in an old truck. Fantastic scenery out west. Standing on a corner in Winslow, Az. Neat.
Your trip is something most of us wish we had done in our younger years.
It's great you can update the thread daily on the trip.
The truck looks real smooth. Solid red is a winner and I am a chrome smoothy lover too. It sits nice and I bet it rides good too.
I guess you call this an "epic" road trip. It's especially nice your wife was brave enough to take it on with you. She's a keeper.

The line "oooooh what a lucky man he was" from an old song by Emerson, Lake and Palmer applies here.
Congrats my friend. Enjoy the ride.

[bruceman1968]

Originally Posted by gcncsuhd

wait, who died?

Originally Posted by freezmcnally

lol!

lol!

[Kennuck]

bruceman that's hilarious!!!

[Dunenutt]

In, for an epic trip! Late, but in all the same.

[Mike C]

Awesome trip and great pics. We did that in the BMW a couple of years ago, but to do Route 66 in a classic ride would be awesome. Good on you!

[Hubscrub]

we need updates!!!!!

[freezmcnally]

sorry guys! haven't had a moment.
so… after stopping Grants, New Mexico at El Cafecito (suggestion from one of the members…thank you) we pushed on to Sante Fe to stay at La Fonda. Great hotel and comfortable stylish rooms.
We walked around for the afternoon in the square, then went to dinner just around the corner to Luminaria. The Paella was one of the best meals we have ever had and was really really delicious. Highly recommend this restaurant for anybody who visits Sante Fe. We were stuffed and had no room for a nightcap, so we went and hung out in the hot tub instead.

[freezmcnally]

after a good night sleep and another walk around the sante fe square, we purchased a beautiful silver/turquoise bracelet for sarah as a nice momento and set out for home. it was going to be a push at about 13 hours, but we didn't really want to stop again, so I pushed gentle ben to the limits and he performed like a champ!
The light was beautiful as the sunset in oklahoma and the biggest annoyance was a stone hitting the windshield from a merging car on the highway…grrr. i hope this isn't something hard to fix.

we made it home at 1am last night. today i redid the rear brakes (first time doing drum brakes) and after figuring out where all the springs and pieces go on one side, the other side was a piece of cake.

He is now at his happy new home, where he awaits the many projects ahead, including getting the cigarette lighter hooked up /refinishing the bed wood, and getting an OE steering wheel back on it!!

thanks for all of the support and interest in the trip…hope you had a good ride. I know we did