Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Larry and Patsie,

Thanks so much for the updated "Trails and Tribulations" of the Western Swing. Fun reading for sure.
Dic Geary....my Trailer Toad man...he is way cool. Glad he won class. I can't imagine anyone who puts more time and effort into a Stocker than he does.

Have a safe trip back. If you have any trouble in Iowa (if you take I-80) give me a call if there is anything I can do to help.

PS- I never did find the post as to why the three guys (especially Koski) were DQ'ed at Denver.

Jok Nicholson
Trailer Toad LLC

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Larry and Patsy, thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. It has really been great! Hope to see you at Indy; I will be there before the gates open on Wednesday Sept.1. I wanted to introduce myself last year, but I just kept missing you. Have a safe trip back to Kentucky.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Post 305 on page 31

Greg

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Well, we are still in Kansas. We had our 1st little incident this morning. Larry went out to check the trailer when we were ready to hit the road again and the chain holding the golf cart had broken and bumped into the car. It hadn't been loose long, because it only scratched a little of the paint on the car. Since we were at Walmart, he went in and got what he needed to fix it and we were back on the road.

A couple of questions for ya'll--when we were in eastern Colorado yesterday, we saw cows that were black at the head and tail with a wide band of white in the middle. What kind were they?

Also we don't have any wind farms in KY and we have seen them all along the trip in KS, CO, CA, WA, SD, and lots of others. Why is it that even with the wind blowing, some of them are not moving?

Thanks,
Patsy

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Patsy,

My wife works for a Community College here that recently put up a windmill and when it is stopped we are told it could be for maintenance, battery discharge, or a number of things, but it is usually up and going within a hours or the most a day

I want one so I can tell the power co to shove their rate hikes.

Steve

PS, Loved the thread and I wish you safe travels home.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Patsy, Those cows are named Oreo Cookie cows.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Those cattle are called Belted Galloways.

Who ever painted them had the paint scheme reversed. Instead of oreos, they should be painted like hamburgers....



__________________________________

Andy Stone 1102 A/S 1112 SS/C

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Larry and Patsy: Pauline and I saw them in Canada when I working up there. Belted Galloway and the Dutch Belted are they are expensive cows don't hit one!

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

All cows are expensive... How do you think I afford to race.. One once asked me "how is it going on the udder side"? Right Jerry!!!!!!

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Hey Larry & Pasty
Fred and I have been watching and reading all of your post from this trip. Knowing you guy as well as we do we have laughed and our imagination has gone wild of all the crazy things you have seen and done. I guess it is a good thing they don't let alot of us HILLBILLYS go out west to far. We hope to have our car back together soon. We lost oil pressure . It spun a cam bearing. Maybe the Combo Meet in Bowling Green in August.
You guys be safe , Pasty ,you drink the wine and tell Larry how to drive.

Fred and JoAnn Connell
2918 Stock & Super Stock

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Well, we got as far as St. Louis last night. We should get home by noon or so today. I can't wait to see our granddaughters Aubrey and Reagan, and the dog Cali. I have a few more pics that I will try to post later. Back on the road for now. It is a lot warmer here than what we have been seeing, but I can breathe better!

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Hurry back! I have a multiple, large stacks of stuff for you to do!

Love,

Chris

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

No such luck for you, Chris. Ever notice how tired people are when they get back from a vacation? :D

Thanks for the ride, folks, it was quite a trip. Pretty nice of you to find room for all of us to go along.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

it has been a good trip
thanks

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

We are home and acording to the gps it was 5713.7 miles with an adverage fule economy of 7.51 mpg.
More later

Larry

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Larry, that's a lot of diesel. 760 gallons x $3 gal. is $2280. But I guess you know that. Great trip, thanks for keeping us informed.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Thank you ! Great ride, glad you are safe and at home.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Greg,

Cheaper & better than a cruise and way more Fun ..... Also , you don't get to meet such nice people on Cruise ... I agree with you , Patsy & Larry have had a trip of a life time, which they will never forget .... Visited some great places and meet many interesting people along the way .... But most of all they took us along with them every step of the way .... That was great, just like being there for every round.... It doesn't get any better than this, thanks for all the pictures and reporting ( 1 st class )... Just look at the interest level in the reporting from ; Toby, Jack, Ken, Larry and others from track side ... Real big numbers of pages... Keep it coming ... Also, congrats on being a TV Movie Star .....

Just wanted to say Thanks, for all extra work you did and for letting us come along for the ride ... Good Luck, racing in 2010 ...

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME,,,,,Theres no place like home,,,theres no pl,,,,,,,,,I wonder if Patsy clicked her heels 3 times before they left Denver?
Thread of the year???? It certainly gets my vote. Glad you made it back safely. Hope you liked the Merlot.
Danny Durham

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

A word of thanks to Dave Rampy, Dan Fletcher, Mark Faul, and Steve Koppein for the good information on how to stay under the radar while traveling. Words of wisdom: your going to need a Jake Brake, stay in the slow lane, and don't and I mean don't speed in Ca. Or. or Wa.; and don't do anything stupid.

The biggest "Thank You" goes to Wal-Mart for allowing us to stay overnight at various locations along the way. At Wal-mart it is always clean, well lit, safe and secure.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Thanks Jason, you're sweet. It was really the car and not me that got the award. I did however get to be in the pictures they took with the car. :D:D

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

A big THANKS to larry and Patsy for taking us along on your trip, we all enjoyed it.

JimR

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

No, Thank you! Specifically for the grammar of you're and not your...lol...Take good care of the team and keep their spirits/moral high!

Maybe I will see you guys at the Indy open in October..Hopefully, my father will let me drive so I can finally prove how damn good I really am...I miss racing so much.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Larry and Patsy,

Thanks bunches for the ride, great reporting as always.

Made a similar trip in 2001, Massachusetts to Pomona for the 50th anniversary race(4th of july) up to Woodburn ,OR for the points meet and back home to Mass. Sights were unreal, Mt Rushmore may be my favorite.

We went to lots of Nat Parks and it was very easy to park a rig, we did more flying j's than walmarts. no problems.

Thanks again

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Here are a couple of more pics from Denver:
http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ket/002-26.jpg
Jim Beuthel GT/BA

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ket/003-25.jpg
Carroll Warling, & his brother and grandson, I think
These are along the way home:
http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ket/007-24.jpg
Wind farms in Kansas
http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ket/005-25.jpg
Oil well in Illinois

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

All in all we had a wonderful trip. The combo race in South Dakota was a blast along with the good food we enjoyed. The new people we met in Seattle were just terrific. Going out with Mike and Paula in Sonoma and seeing old friends there was lots of fun. In Denver getting better acquainted with Dic & Deb Geary was nice and seeing (and beating) Ronnie West was great. But getting home to the family and dog was even better.
http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ket/008-25.jpg
Aubrey & Reagan and the flowers they picked for Grandma

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ket/004-28.jpg
Cali, our border collie

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

We are now going to recuperate from vacation and get back to work for a while. We hope to see ya'll in Bowling Green, Indy, and Earlville next month. If we don't see you, we will be posting and letting you know what we are up to.

Thanks for coming along on our wonderful trip.

Patsy & Larry

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Thanks for taking us along-I hope we'll get to do this with our comp cars one of these years-your posts have certainly made me want to do this.

Professor Dave

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Dave, I couldn't agree with you more! I've always wanted to race E-town, Indy, Bowling Green, Madison, plus do the western swing! After seeing those great pictures from Marion, Seattle, Sonoma, and (of course) Denver, I wish someday to do the same thing! Thanks again Larry & Patsy...you two are GREAT PEOPLE!!! :)

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

They say never comment on someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. Since we just walked 5503 miles enjoying the lifestyle of the touring pro, let me tell you up front "It ain't easy". Every little vibration or noise that the motorhome makes always gives you concern on what could be going wrong. And then you have all the road hazards, just trying to make any tire on your rig go flat. And then you check on the racecar in the trailer 3 times a day to make sure everything is still where it needs to be. The pressure you put on yourself to get to the next race without anything going wrong and if something does go wrong, you are always formulating "Plan B".

My driving did improve over the 5 week span of racing . I believe the touring professional has the advantage of always getting to race on a properly prepared racetrack all the time. And as always in any athletic endevour, there is a certain amount of talent and acquired skill with a passion for winning. I think every touring pro should be sponsored by Target because everyone is taking a shot at that bullseye on their back. Here is the secret on how to beat Dan Fletcher: 1. Have him drive 2700 miles in 3 days. 2. Now that he is totally exhausted both mentally and physically, catch him before he gets dialed in.

Larry

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Just ONE question......IF you are that good why don't you build your OWN car ??
Instead of waiting for a hand out ?
Maybe you and Mike Voth could team up on a car and take turns driving :-)....

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Thanks Larry and Patsy for ya blogs.

I'm glad that you've put an exclamation point on the fact that driving all over the country can be, well, a huge chore and can drain you out and, yes, it ain't easy. I've been there (longer stay out from home than 4 1/2 weeks). There are some that still attempt it and as far as I'm concerned they can have it to them self's. I was somewhat relieved when Valvoline pulled the plug because it meant that I didn't have to haul my stuff all over the country after many years doing so.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Bernie! What in the world did you do to your car to gain so much performance? You are scarry fast right now...much more faster than when Big Mike Iacono drove it...Boy did he gain some weight..Saw him at international this year and was at least 285lbs.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Ha, now that's a thought! Actually, with all my pops has done for me over the years, I can't imagine driving any other car, silly as it may sound. It's a blast to drive and a one of a kind. When he finally retires, I don't want it going anywhere but my garage, and I can't afford 2 racecars. No hand outs here.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

great article by BOB FREY on drag race central about Larry & Patsy Hill-----Comp 387

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Well Jason, I did what everybody says to do, got off the keyboard and spent some money in the right direction, it sure paid off. Thanks to the guys at RWR, Gary Hettler and Tibor Kadar. Stay tuned, there's more work to do yet !!!!!!!!!!

The BIG GOOMBA drove my other car (the one that's for sale) that Lloyd MacKay drives now on the west coast.

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Not only did Bernie spend some of that California money on the right thing, but he spent it in the right place too..Arizona!

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

I thought Ca. was boycotting Arizona businesses?

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Smart place to spend it!

Re: "Live" from the Western Swing
 

Contrary to popular belief we did have a few bumps in the road on the "Swing"
Allowing the fuel hose to fly out of the tank dousing the motorhome with diesel. That was a twenty minute clean up.

Running into a shoping cart with the trailer at Wal-Mart while trying to use least amount room so other mortorhomes could park in Rapid City, SD. We were parked so well that we almost did not have enough room to get out the next morning at 6:00 am.

Having the electric commode stop working. We ordered new parts from NRC and picked them up in Seattle. It was a loose conection, thank goodness and we never needed the parts.

I forgot to tighten the ''Front Runner" to the wall of the trailer and found it just in time before it fell on the car.

The front tie down broke on the golf cart allowing it to make contact with the front bumper of the car. A little touch up paint and it will be fine. As always Wal-Mart had the parts to fix it.

Disappointments of the trip:

1. Sorensen not making a full pass at Seattle.

2. My .114 light in the second round in Sonoma.


Larry