Spring found my wife and I on a road trip to collect parts for the project and show her parts of America she hadn‘t seen before. We started out on Monday April 22 with our F250 headed down the Alcan. We found out when planning the trip that not many places to stay were open along the Alcan, so did a few 500+ mile days. We got down to Seattle and met up with our daughter for a quick visit, then picked up a new truck camper in Tacoma, then headed East to Spokane to pick up a cargo trailer. On the way there we stopped in Sprague, WA where we found a bunch of old Chevy trucks and other makes to gawk at. While in Spokane, found a wrecking yard with a burnt out AD truck and got a spare tire carrier setup. Next stop was near Coeur d’Alene where we met with Gary Severence who had quite a few parts I could use.
Then some stops in Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore for some touristy stuff, then east thru the sand hills of Nebraska. We stopped by the little farm towns where my dad and mom were born just 35 miles apart, even though they never met till they wound up in California. In Seward, Nebraska, saw an AD Chevy pickup at a place that did frame setups for them, so stopped and talked with them for a bit. They told me about a wrecking yard in Wymore, NE where they got the cabs they used for mockups of their frames, so drove down there and browsed a bit. I found a front bumper with splash apron and drug it thru the mud about ¼ mile out of the back of the yard.
We spent the night with a cousin in Omaha then visited my wife’s sister in Ames, IA. After that we headed south to Independence, MO to pickup a big order of parts from Jim Carter. From there, we went OKC to pick up parts from Mar-K and then to visit with Martin (Justhorsenround) in El Reno. After a lunch with Martin and Kathy, we headed west on parts of old Route 66 (the dentist’s friend) and then down to Ruidoso, NM to meet up with Eugene (Alaska Gasser) and Jackie. We continued to SoCal to visit with my Mom and sisters for a few days, then north with a side trip to Yosemite, and another short visit with our daughter in Seattle. On the way North out of Seattle, we filled up the trailer with a machine tool that a friend needed transported. Then back home to Alaska. The trip was 12,500 miles and 45 days.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
