"Live" from the Western Swing

[Larry Hill]

The condition of I-90 for the most part was good, it had some construction but never got slowed down under the the posted speed limit. The view from the road in some areas is just tremendous with its beauty and structure. Other views, as my best friend says (who is unconfortable of heights) are nothing short of ball tingling.

The motor home performed flawlessly on the road. We topped all the hills at least 42 mph including the 10 mile pull from the Columbia River to a height of 2500' at the Ryegrass Summit. Danny,Tiger Mt. was no piece of cake either. And the use of the Jake brake controlled going down the other side without having to use the brakes.

Larry

[Randie Baldree]

Hello Larry & Pat, I'm enjoying your blogs and really envy you two. The country looks beautiful and to be able to go and have fun is what its all about, I really enjoy the car pics as you know I love cars, be safe and I hope to be able to see yall when you get home.

[Larry Hill]

It is a beautiful day here at Pacific Raceways. It is supposed to be 90 later, but right now it feels great. We are going up to tech in a while and I will try to get some pics then.

Here are some more road shots:
This one is of Larry filling up the motorhome with water at a rest area in Washington. South Dakota and Washington both have dump stations and fresh water at some of their rest areas. We saw one in Washington that was a 2-holer!


Washington pics: Some taken out the motorhome windows. It is really hard to find a spot to pull over and take pics!

[butch8908]

Thanks Larry and Pat for all the info and the great scenic pictures. Makes an ole southern boy want to go sightseeing. Keep up the great narative and the pictures. Look forward to your posts throughout the swing. Hopefully ya'll will come to Charlotte in Sept, would like to meet ya'll. I'm not a racer, but do take a lot of action pictures. Butch

[Alan Roehrich]

If they'd let Larry stand on the rail for the Mount Rushmore picture, he's nearly tall enough that his head would have fit perfectly between Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. No one else but my friend Larry could pull that off. Glad to see the two of you enjoying a well deserved and hard earned trip of a lifetime. Thank you for sharing it with us, and good luck.

[Larry Hill]

Columbia River

Big wind farm--there were probably 100 windmills!

[Larry Hill]

To catch up on some replys:
Paula,
Larry said he didn't know that QT hired children. You must have been only 5 when they hired you! See you in Sonoma and Congrats on your retirement.

Debbie Loge,
So where are you and Mike cruising to? We met your son Chad last year at Indy. Looking forward to meeting the rest of the Loges in Sonoma!

To all of you who have wished us well:
Thanks, we are really enjoying our vacation. And thanks to Chris and the guys back home for keeping everything going for us.

Hey Randie,
We will see you when we get home!

[roseracing]

This is one of the best threads of the year! Very interesting to read and to see the pictures.

You're accomplishing something that a lot of us WISH we could do (the western swing), but either don't have the funds or vacation time to do so.

I wish you the best of luck at all the races and we'll be rooting for you.

Even though we're not S/SS racers, we still enjoy watching you race and following your travels across the country.

Keep up the good work. If you're going to be in Earlville, IA this year, let me know. From what I've read - I'll be happy to supply you with a nice bottle of wine.

Again, good luck and have fun!
Brad Rose
Rose Racing

[Larry Hill]

thanks, Brad. Right now the plans include a trip to Earlville after Indy. Earlville is always one of the best stops to run.

Some pics from today.

Bill Bushmaker in his daughter Angela's car G/SA

Jackie Alley SS/DA with Sammy the dog

Mick Alley AA/SA

Tony Mandella GT/DA doing a little tire changing

[Larry Hill]

Private Ryan's beautiful new car A/SA

Even the underside of the hood is pretty.

Jim Storms GT/FA

Jim Storms F/SA