I started the week with a trip to Fremont, NE. About a 275 mile drive from home. Most of it out on the prairie. First town west of me is Springfield. I posted some pics from there the other day. Here's a couple more cars. The first is one the guy drives regularly in the summer. The red front and door signage is new this year.
This is his 56 caddy. My daughter told me he drove past our house today. I drove past his yesterday.
Heres the OPPD Lake Calhoun Nuclear Generating station. It's rated at 484 MW, making it the smallest nuclear plant in America. As a comparison, I think the reactor on a trident submarine is rated at 175 MW and most of that power is used to propel the boat and fits in a 42' diameter tube with room to spare.
A few miles west of this in the town of Arlington I found these beauties. First is a rambler parked by a tiny antique shop. Dig the luggage.
And behind there was a body shop with a couple chevys parked under a carport (under a canoe).
Eventually I made it to Fremont. It was getting late, I hadn't eaten, instead of checking into the hotel I scouted around town looking for a restaurant to get my attention. You ever have that feeling of being hungry but not being able to find anything that sounds good to eat? Fast food? Yuck. Applebees? No thanks. Pizza/subs/chicken? Nah. Anyway, while I'm cruising town, I end up on the wrong side of the tracks and happened by the place I was going to be visiting for work, I smelled it a minute before I saw it. Hog kill plants all smell the same, nasty. But shortly after that I found this pair of 57 Chevys and there was another body parked in the weeds nearby also.
Opposite of those was an old building with this parked out front...
Eventually I found food that was worth driving around to find, in a tiny place called Hueys Smokehouse BBQ. It was very good. Not the best ever, but I enjoyed it. And the girl working the counter was very cute and friendly. Always a bonus.
The point of this short story was that I enjoyed the meal enough to go back for lunch today. The pulled pork was outstanding, some of the best I've had. And how does that fit in here? This was parked next door at the oil change place...
You can see the roof of Hueys behind the truck in the second pic. Ignore the Arbys.
After lunch I hit the road home. No sense in lingering in town more than I need to. I gots a family to go home to. I head north on US 77 and go through Lyons and right along the hwy is a tractor salvage yard. One of the bigger ones I've seen anyway. A lot of old iron here.
Enough of that, time to hit the pavement again, still have a loooong way to go. I normally take Hwy 75/60 through NW Iowa when I make a trip to the Omaha area. Near the MN border is this sign...
Not that impressive I know. But when you consider that the lowest point of Iowa is 1650', well, that is something special.
I crack myself up sometimes.
I stopped in Windom, MN at a farmers market and bought the biggest bell peppers I've ever seen (sorry, no pics), but the seller said they had 3000 pepper plants and they supply 20 stores. They have a good selection to pick from for the local market.
One more pic from this trip. Also in Windom, at the local junkyard is this 72 tow truck he uses.
Nothing better than a junkyard owner that has an affinity for 67-72 chevy trucks. And this guy does. Always has some in the yard. Currently there is a 67 GMC C-30 flatbed and a 68 C-10, and a couple others out back. At his house, which is across the hwy and down a block or so he has a bunch more. I think there were about 15 of them last year, but he has thinned it out quite a bit since then. Maybe 8 left in his yard.
Windom is also the town where Bruce Horkeys Wood and Parts is located. They have a bunch of parts trucks around the place, which is basically a farm a few miles west of Windom. Nice people to deal with. If what you want isn't listed, call and ask because they probably have it or can get it.
http://www.horkeyswoodandparts.com/
And just to let you people know, the junkyard east of Melrose and the one between New Richland and Ellendale are also owned by 67-72 Chevy truck fans and usually have some in the U-pull-it. Want to know exactly where? Go out and find them, it's not hard.