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Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:19 am
by hambone
*BUMP* is anyone goin to Spiff-land? Will I be making the journey solo?

Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:43 pm
by Westy78
Unfortunately I spoke before I was sure I could make it. For some reason it didn't register that it was this weekend. I have a union meeting that I have to be at on Saturday. #-o

Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:45 pm
by hambone
The UNION MUST, AND SHALL BE PRESERVED.
Good for you man. I've had enough of Johnny Reb.
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Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:01 pm
by spiffy
Sorry you couldn't make Jasan...I'm sure we'll catch up with you later.

Stephan...what's your excuse...got your engine on the floor er somethin'?

:blackeye:

Have a good weekend fellas! Let me now if ya' need any Miller support.

Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:38 am
by hambone
I'll be splitting in a couple hours...what a busy morning geesh. Eva is making it very clear that she's being neglected. But she's sitting in my lap right now so it's all OK.
:cherry: <she likes the "tomato"
Man it's raining buckets out there! Gonna be a nice mellow drive.

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:32 am
by Gypsie
Very envious, Hambone. Would have loved to have made the journey with my new super clean machine.

Sorry I didn't make it Spiffy and CoPilot. will definitely make an effort for a future run.

Hope y'all can find a cool camping spot in your area (for our northerly campout).

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:19 pm
by spiffy
Hammie just took off for a nice sunday drive, good ta' have ya here! We got some good beer and drove busses around a little. :cheers:

Hammies machine is a thing of mechanical beauty and the early bays just seem to be more solid and 'chunky' I have a serious itch to pick one up now.

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:07 am
by hambone
O! What a trip. Rain/sun/clouds/rain/sun/clouds into infinity. I needed a chance to get outa town and what a nice place to visit. Never been to Tacoma before but it's a nice lil' city. Felt like I was in fever dream Portland, the same but weirdly different.
Spiffy and Copilot were gracious hosts, can't thank them enuff. Also enjoyed quaffing local beers, very tasty.
Such a long drive...after a nice hometown breakfast I needed to hit the hiway. I5 is a 80 mph madhouse, so I decided to take all local county roads back home. Very interesting trip, it was most certainly a circuitous route. A trip that would have been taken before US highways were constructed, so it was a snapshot in time. I also stumbled onto a former Milwaukee Road branchline that was being used by another RR.
It was good to get home, but I had trouble falling asleep after the trip...I was WOUND UP. Eva was very happy to see me too, very sweet.
Ok next time we're bus-pooling and somebody else is driving.
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Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:52 pm
by spiffy
Thanks for coming up hambone it was great havin' ya and it was a blast to get to drive your bus......FIRST time I have had the chance to drive a manual bus!! And it was glorious!! Those early bays are little tanks man....the difference between the 69' and my 78' are amazing.


Hope the drive went well on the way back and was better the fly-bye-5 on the way up. :geek:

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:21 pm
by hambone
Yeah, the drive home was inspiring...seeing the backroads of Washington before the Rainier foothills. Lots of RR activity, old branch lines. Must have pulled a lot of trees out of there.
It was cool seeing that Milwaukee Road stuff! Reminds me of where I grew up so it's a little like old home.
You have a nice bus too. Very healthy and unique. It didn't have any trouble goin down the Clacky. We'll see what it's made of!

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:19 pm
by Emily's Owner
My dad said that it would take 8 hours from Portland to Seattle in the "olden" days before I-5. He also mentioned that when the din got to deafening level, my grandpa could smack all three kids in a row without turning around while driving.....

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:18 am
by hambone
I can imagine! Lots of little towns too. Any idea what route he took? I was on the Matilda Jackson Hiway for a while, apparently some early settler who's cabin still remains.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:33 pm
by Emily's Owner
Pretty much all the little towns along I-5 that sort of parallel the current freeway (Vader, Ryderwood, Winlock....) - I imagine they sort of bounced from one road to another in a semi-straight trajectory on either side all the way up.