Date: June 13 & 14, 2009
Scheduled Stops: Rhinelander & Hurley WI
Un-Scheduled Stop: Mercer WI
Miles: Approximately 500 miles round trip
Webmaster's Note:
Club member Rick P. did a great write-up over on the forum. I'm just going to use his narrative here, with a few comments of my own... photos by Rick P., Stan S. and John D.)
Well this is about the trip last weekend to Wisconsin.
I met John & Sheryl D. at Home Depot around 6:30 a.m. Then we traveled to Blaine to meet up with the rest of the club. Once
there. We talked for a few minutes then took off right around 7:30 a.m. A Beautiful morning for a trip sunny & mild.
The 6 of us headed toward Wisconsin. A couple of hours down the road east of Taylor’s Falls we stopped for breakfast. Sat
around, ate and talked a bit. Then we got back on the road. Hwy 8 is pretty much a straight shot into Rhinelander. By the time we
arrived it was just too late to register the cars for judging or any prizes, so we parked our cars at the end of the “run” near the
Police Station, and proceeded to wipe them down (and scrape/chisel/scrub ½ of Wisconsin’s bug population off the grilles & glass….
Ed.).Then go have a beer or three. (Yeah, 2/3rds of the group made it FOUR CARS DOWN THE LINE until a “beer detour” was in
order…Ed.) Then we walked around town looking at cars & trucks. Some nice stuff up there! John S. made a new friend “Richie”
with his 32 Ford. Richie had John’s number right off. This old guy was a riot to listen to. He had us all laughing. (Then saw a ’10
Camaro and spent a ½ hour gawking at it…Ed.)
We then walked down the street (towards the Arts & Crafts Fair) to get some ice cream and/or Cheese Curds. Nice and warm
there. We sat around in the City Park, a talked a bit till the show was over, then left to go to the Motel…. but Mother Nature had
other ideas about that. A big storm was on its way with possible HAIL. Some guys from a Corvette Club had commandeered the
awnings under a bank drive through. There was room left over, so we joined them for the better part of an hour & 1/2. We took
this time to plan dinner, and then tried to head out to dinner… still raining cats & dogs.
We somehow got split up into two groups. John & Sheryl D, ‘Vette Bob, & myself, and Stan & Tina, John S, and Ray. Well that's a
whole other story. 1-1/2 hours later we met the rest of them at the restaurant. The main discussion topic was both groups
getting lost, one worse than the other, each with a GPS!! (‘Vette Bob gave up the ghost and settled on the Culver’s next to the
motel, Rick, Sheryl & I persevered and finally found the restaurant. Cost me a corner off my “Man Card” though… had to ask for
directions from a local… We did have a wonderful dinner, great service, and reasonable prices – Al Gen Supper Club…Ed.)
Well after all the kidding about getting lost we ate. Had a few after dinner beers then headed over to the Motel where we
checked in. After settling in we met down in the lobby to shoot the breeze. The Clerk had an idea and set us up in the conference
room, so we would be out of the way. We could watch a Nascar race and all of us could talk. Around 11 p.m. after a long day we
made plans to leave around 7:30 a.m., and we went to our rooms.
I got up around 5:30 a.m. took a shower then went outside to wipe the Chevelle down. A little while later everyone was out doing
the same. Well not everyone. The ladies were busy getting beautiful for the trip.
We pulled out and headed toward Hurley. That’s when TROUBLE hit us, approaching Mercer WI. John S. in the lead car, me, and
then Roy. We didn't see anyone behind us going thru this small town! Just then I get a phone call. A call that Stan's car threw a
belt. So I called John S. and told him to “turn around, Stan's in trouble”. As the three of us pulled into this parking lot. John D &
Stan were already hard at it. They find out not only a thrown belt, but ½ of the whole serpentine drive system came off!
Then this young kid around 19 or 20 came along. I looked at some of the guys & girls with us. He said “What is this a car show or
something?” We explained to him what happened. It turns out this kid had a heart of GOLD. He offered to tow Stan to a rental
place down the street. (While Stan & I were wrenching on the car – exhausting “broken bolt extraction plan A & B”, John S. had run
into town and found an auto workshop that was open – AND had a welder we could use for "Plan C"…Ed.)
Enter “Mercer Rentals & Sales” where we met a guy even CRABBYIER THEN ME. MAN DID HE NEED A TUNE UP. But we worked
on him and his attitude, and he came around. Found out he restores car & trucks, but a crabby s.o.b. Then he was gone! No one
could find him! Then a few minutes later he pulls in with his old Chevy pickup. Bright orange & black. Really a nice truck. Well we
got to use his welder and some nuts & bolts. He took some of us into the office to show us some of his car & trucks that he did. By
now he was really cool with us. Joking around and talking about his truck. By this time Stan, Snake & John D finished up on Stan’s
car & we were off.
A Nice slow ride thru town about 15 to 20 miles an hour when a deer just walked in between us! Excuse me if we’re holding you
up! Damn that scared some of us that saw it. Then on to another small town for lunch. (And a photo op…Ed.) After about 3 hrs on
the side of the road with Stan's car we thought we'd eat something then head for home. No more mishaps, a few gas &
stretching stops, and we were back in MN.
After a long drive and a long day I got home, parked the Chevelle in the garage, and closed the door. Enough of this for one day.
I headed up stairs for a shower & some dinner. (Thanks to my wife having it ready when I pulled in. It was great.) I then laid
back on the couch for a few hours after what seemed a 24 hr drive.
These are memories that we will hang on to for life. It was a great time & we met some pretty cool people. The folks on this trip
were some of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure of traveling with. Thanks to all that came out for this trip. Rick
To see the pictures taken by Rick H at the Rhinelander show, click HERE
To see the pictures taken by Rick P, Stan S, and John D, click HERE
Scheduled Stops: Rhinelander & Hurley WI
Un-Scheduled Stop: Mercer WI
Miles: Approximately 500 miles round trip
Webmaster's Note:
Club member Rick P. did a great write-up over on the forum. I'm just going to use his narrative here, with a few comments of my own... photos by Rick P., Stan S. and John D.)
Well this is about the trip last weekend to Wisconsin.
I met John & Sheryl D. at Home Depot around 6:30 a.m. Then we traveled to Blaine to meet up with the rest of the club. Once
there. We talked for a few minutes then took off right around 7:30 a.m. A Beautiful morning for a trip sunny & mild.
The 6 of us headed toward Wisconsin. A couple of hours down the road east of Taylor’s Falls we stopped for breakfast. Sat
around, ate and talked a bit. Then we got back on the road. Hwy 8 is pretty much a straight shot into Rhinelander. By the time we
arrived it was just too late to register the cars for judging or any prizes, so we parked our cars at the end of the “run” near the
Police Station, and proceeded to wipe them down (and scrape/chisel/scrub ½ of Wisconsin’s bug population off the grilles & glass….
Ed.).Then go have a beer or three. (Yeah, 2/3rds of the group made it FOUR CARS DOWN THE LINE until a “beer detour” was in
order…Ed.) Then we walked around town looking at cars & trucks. Some nice stuff up there! John S. made a new friend “Richie”
with his 32 Ford. Richie had John’s number right off. This old guy was a riot to listen to. He had us all laughing. (Then saw a ’10
Camaro and spent a ½ hour gawking at it…Ed.)
We then walked down the street (towards the Arts & Crafts Fair) to get some ice cream and/or Cheese Curds. Nice and warm
there. We sat around in the City Park, a talked a bit till the show was over, then left to go to the Motel…. but Mother Nature had
other ideas about that. A big storm was on its way with possible HAIL. Some guys from a Corvette Club had commandeered the
awnings under a bank drive through. There was room left over, so we joined them for the better part of an hour & 1/2. We took
this time to plan dinner, and then tried to head out to dinner… still raining cats & dogs.
We somehow got split up into two groups. John & Sheryl D, ‘Vette Bob, & myself, and Stan & Tina, John S, and Ray. Well that's a
whole other story. 1-1/2 hours later we met the rest of them at the restaurant. The main discussion topic was both groups
getting lost, one worse than the other, each with a GPS!! (‘Vette Bob gave up the ghost and settled on the Culver’s next to the
motel, Rick, Sheryl & I persevered and finally found the restaurant. Cost me a corner off my “Man Card” though… had to ask for
directions from a local… We did have a wonderful dinner, great service, and reasonable prices – Al Gen Supper Club…Ed.)
Well after all the kidding about getting lost we ate. Had a few after dinner beers then headed over to the Motel where we
checked in. After settling in we met down in the lobby to shoot the breeze. The Clerk had an idea and set us up in the conference
room, so we would be out of the way. We could watch a Nascar race and all of us could talk. Around 11 p.m. after a long day we
made plans to leave around 7:30 a.m., and we went to our rooms.
I got up around 5:30 a.m. took a shower then went outside to wipe the Chevelle down. A little while later everyone was out doing
the same. Well not everyone. The ladies were busy getting beautiful for the trip.
We pulled out and headed toward Hurley. That’s when TROUBLE hit us, approaching Mercer WI. John S. in the lead car, me, and
then Roy. We didn't see anyone behind us going thru this small town! Just then I get a phone call. A call that Stan's car threw a
belt. So I called John S. and told him to “turn around, Stan's in trouble”. As the three of us pulled into this parking lot. John D &
Stan were already hard at it. They find out not only a thrown belt, but ½ of the whole serpentine drive system came off!
Then this young kid around 19 or 20 came along. I looked at some of the guys & girls with us. He said “What is this a car show or
something?” We explained to him what happened. It turns out this kid had a heart of GOLD. He offered to tow Stan to a rental
place down the street. (While Stan & I were wrenching on the car – exhausting “broken bolt extraction plan A & B”, John S. had run
into town and found an auto workshop that was open – AND had a welder we could use for "Plan C"…Ed.)
Enter “Mercer Rentals & Sales” where we met a guy even CRABBYIER THEN ME. MAN DID HE NEED A TUNE UP. But we worked
on him and his attitude, and he came around. Found out he restores car & trucks, but a crabby s.o.b. Then he was gone! No one
could find him! Then a few minutes later he pulls in with his old Chevy pickup. Bright orange & black. Really a nice truck. Well we
got to use his welder and some nuts & bolts. He took some of us into the office to show us some of his car & trucks that he did. By
now he was really cool with us. Joking around and talking about his truck. By this time Stan, Snake & John D finished up on Stan’s
car & we were off.
A Nice slow ride thru town about 15 to 20 miles an hour when a deer just walked in between us! Excuse me if we’re holding you
up! Damn that scared some of us that saw it. Then on to another small town for lunch. (And a photo op…Ed.) After about 3 hrs on
the side of the road with Stan's car we thought we'd eat something then head for home. No more mishaps, a few gas &
stretching stops, and we were back in MN.
After a long drive and a long day I got home, parked the Chevelle in the garage, and closed the door. Enough of this for one day.
I headed up stairs for a shower & some dinner. (Thanks to my wife having it ready when I pulled in. It was great.) I then laid
back on the couch for a few hours after what seemed a 24 hr drive.
These are memories that we will hang on to for life. It was a great time & we met some pretty cool people. The folks on this trip
were some of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure of traveling with. Thanks to all that came out for this trip. Rick
To see the pictures taken by Rick H at the Rhinelander show, click HERE
To see the pictures taken by Rick P, Stan S, and John D, click HERE
|
A man with his Chevelle
and a grin an undertaker can't wipe off!
One of a few stops to top-off...
On the road...