The weekend after Rose City Roundup, we hit the road west yet again with our trailer full of merchandise.
This time we had company on the drive - this car show was a sanctioned event for the club so we got to travel in a caravan with our car club friends and their head-turning rides! A few of us took off early in the morning and stopped by Sunnyside to get a few things at the huge junkyard there. Forrest, Andy, and I had spent hours here an earlier weekend, and this time we weren't going to walk away empty-handed. We brought portable tools and spent half the day crawling in and out of piles of cars, taking the parts and pieces we need for our projects. It was a productive trip for my pile of a Model A, and really a lot of fun!
Near the end of our adventures in the junkyard, we got a call from the group of club members traveling a few hours behind us. Marc had busted part of his suspension, fixed it temporarily on the roadside, and would be rolling into town looking for a welder to use. Luckily, our new friends at Rocket's Hot Rod Garage were browsing through the junkyard with us and volunteered a couple of options for a welder there. They fixed it up in no time, and we hit the road as a whole group. Always a good time!
We rolled into the Chehalis fairgrounds right before dark. The show did not start until the next morning, but we were there to camp as well! They had two sections of the grounds designated for camping, and there were cars and tents everywhere! We had reserved spots, not knowing what the place looked like, and it turned out to be just a big open grass field with no real designations. We piled our group of tents and vehicles right in the middle of it all, explored the fairgrounds to find restrooms, and huddled around Aaron's propane campfire until we couldn't stay awake.
All night long, trains went by every hour or so and blew their whistle at some unfortunate intersection. Cars driving by on the nearby road felt the need to honk, and at 5:00 am, the hot rods started firing up. The show wasn't for another 3 hours, but we had heard about the line-up to get in. For some, parking spots at shows are a big deal! For us, as vendors, it was time to get up anyhow. We had a booth to set up!
We were in a prime location to watch all the cars drive into the show - right in front of our booth. This was especially great because we rarely get a chance to break away and play spectator!
A few snapshots of the show's attractions:
After the show, the crowd moved downtown to cruise the streets for awhile.
We went out for pizza with the club friends, and then back to the fairgrounds to hang out around the campfire. It was Randall's birthday, and he was happy to be with friends for it. Since he moved to the west side, we only get to see him once a month! As the night wore on, our neighbors became more and more interesting, and we discovered the invention of PajamaJeans. What a concept!
After all the excitement and sleep deprivation, we were all incredibly exhausted and managed to sleep through the trains. We were ready to pack up and hit the long road home early the next morning. The mountain roads are beautiful, but they work the big old cars pretty hard! We stopped at the top of the steepest grade along White Pass to let them cool down, and to check out the views.
The entire side of the cliff is exposed basalt columns - incredible to see!
There was also a perfectly framed view of Mt. Rainier. Stark white on that cloudless day.
We stopped another time along a beautiful stretch of Highway 12, and captured a glimpse of a roaring waterfall. Given the opportunity, you should take a drive along this scenic highway.
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