Well it seems weird that it has been a week already, and I am really just now in a position to post about it. Such is how it goes when your vacation and the rally are one and the same. I'm sure I may have missed some discussions so if I seem out of touch I probably am. Rather than try and back fill I figured I'd just write up my take on the thing and show my pics at the same time. I know other members of my family have more pics to show too, so keep checking the album. Our departure for Kentucky was typical for us. Too much to do and not enough time to do it all. My consious decision to not grease my U-joints would come back to bite me later, but I figured since the Moose Truck only went about 500 miles last year, that they were still good from the last greasing (whenever that was 
) 
We rolled into the warm summer evening of the 1st as planned, and bright sunshine was replaced about 15 minutes into the trip with the expected attempt by mother nature to begin the rusting process in earnest of the Moose fleet. Driving into the lightning and thunder, we found a cold front that extended over most of the country it seemed, and the rest of our journey to Kentucky would remain wet. About an hour into the trip, the Night Moose was having alternator problems. We hoped it was just a loose wire, and we found an exit with a sheltered gas pump, and pulled under it to check it out. We found the problem quickly, repaired it, and were on our way. We pulled into Bedford 8 minutes after Matthias provisional license timed out for the evening. By 6 AM the next day, we were back on the road for what would be an uneventful but damp trip. Several fuel stops and one meal pushed our travel time to 13 hours. It was great arriving and seeing our old friends as well as anticipating meeting a few new ones. I got a few shots that first night, and they are here.
Notice our awning lights, that a storm the next day or so would knock down and bust up.
The next day it was off to Mammoth Cave.
The caves were neat, and they told us a lot about them, but the thing that interested me the most was outside.
Somehow this little railroad connected with the Louisville and Nashville and brought passengers up for tours.
Each night we all enjoyed each others company at rally central (Heath and Missy's cabin), and were regalled with tales of ****** girl and her superfriends. The first night we got to meet Gary, who came all the way from California becoming truely a first in both IDI Weekend history and proving that an IDI can be easily counted on to get anywhere in the country even with a bum Moose Pump. There was no doubt who drove the farthest and considering that my round trip of about 1800 miles was a drop in the bucket to his probably 4000 or so, he definitely deserved all the accolades for both the willingness, the stamina, and the wherewithall to make this rally the first truely national event we've ever had.
Saturday seemed to see a lot of maintainance tasks going on around the camp. Gary was putting in an IP while we went to Mammoth cave, and was seen here putting in a pyrometer.
Ben was wrestling with a bad front wheel bearing, resulting in a less than pleasant activity at his tent site.
Great thing about these events is they mimick very much in real life, what goes on in this board. You need to know how to do something, and somebody can tell you. In real life, you really NEED to do something, and the tools, parts, and know how just come together like magic. Don't have the right tool? Somebody else will offer it. Need a connector or a piece of wire? Somebody will have that too. Even John had his shorts blown off when a somewhat rare connector was readily available. Starters, alternators, belts, oil, filters... it was all there.
The next night it was show and tell time. I had, courtesy of ToddC from Easton PA, a broken crankshaft for all to see, and told the story of his truck and how it was totaled, rebuilt, and is being revived again. Typ4's cutaway head was on display again, as was various other items including Gary's amazing ported and polished heads, and testing apparatus. Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the show and tell table, but Gary's heads and many other pics are in this album.
Sorry I haven't had time to label a lot of the pics yet.
Of course who could forget our good looking BOOB women who look every bit the party animals they are.
The National Corvette Museum was the next activity and most of us were able to enjoy the visit. There are lots of pics from inside and the trucks in the parking lot before this final pic.
The tell tale drops of water on the Moose Truck attest to the fact that our scheduled drag race at Beach Bend was rained out. This was I think the biggest disappointment for most of us, not that it could be helped, but sometimes blessings come in disguise, and unbeknownst to me, my front U-Joint was slowly spitting needles out by this point. Disappointed and with no outlet for our excess testosterone, we all turned into girls and wanted ice cream and chocolate.
To be continued thanks to the dumb image limit......
) We rolled into the warm summer evening of the 1st as planned, and bright sunshine was replaced about 15 minutes into the trip with the expected attempt by mother nature to begin the rusting process in earnest of the Moose fleet. Driving into the lightning and thunder, we found a cold front that extended over most of the country it seemed, and the rest of our journey to Kentucky would remain wet. About an hour into the trip, the Night Moose was having alternator problems. We hoped it was just a loose wire, and we found an exit with a sheltered gas pump, and pulled under it to check it out. We found the problem quickly, repaired it, and were on our way. We pulled into Bedford 8 minutes after Matthias provisional license timed out for the evening. By 6 AM the next day, we were back on the road for what would be an uneventful but damp trip. Several fuel stops and one meal pushed our travel time to 13 hours. It was great arriving and seeing our old friends as well as anticipating meeting a few new ones. I got a few shots that first night, and they are here.
You must be registered for see images
Notice our awning lights, that a storm the next day or so would knock down and bust up.
The next day it was off to Mammoth Cave.
You must be registered for see images
The caves were neat, and they told us a lot about them, but the thing that interested me the most was outside.
You must be registered for see images
Somehow this little railroad connected with the Louisville and Nashville and brought passengers up for tours.
Each night we all enjoyed each others company at rally central (Heath and Missy's cabin), and were regalled with tales of ****** girl and her superfriends. The first night we got to meet Gary, who came all the way from California becoming truely a first in both IDI Weekend history and proving that an IDI can be easily counted on to get anywhere in the country even with a bum Moose Pump. There was no doubt who drove the farthest and considering that my round trip of about 1800 miles was a drop in the bucket to his probably 4000 or so, he definitely deserved all the accolades for both the willingness, the stamina, and the wherewithall to make this rally the first truely national event we've ever had.
Saturday seemed to see a lot of maintainance tasks going on around the camp. Gary was putting in an IP while we went to Mammoth cave, and was seen here putting in a pyrometer.
You must be registered for see images
Ben was wrestling with a bad front wheel bearing, resulting in a less than pleasant activity at his tent site.
You must be registered for see images
Great thing about these events is they mimick very much in real life, what goes on in this board. You need to know how to do something, and somebody can tell you. In real life, you really NEED to do something, and the tools, parts, and know how just come together like magic. Don't have the right tool? Somebody else will offer it. Need a connector or a piece of wire? Somebody will have that too. Even John had his shorts blown off when a somewhat rare connector was readily available. Starters, alternators, belts, oil, filters... it was all there.
The next night it was show and tell time. I had, courtesy of ToddC from Easton PA, a broken crankshaft for all to see, and told the story of his truck and how it was totaled, rebuilt, and is being revived again. Typ4's cutaway head was on display again, as was various other items including Gary's amazing ported and polished heads, and testing apparatus. Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the show and tell table, but Gary's heads and many other pics are in this album.
You must be registered for see images
Sorry I haven't had time to label a lot of the pics yet.
Of course who could forget our good looking BOOB women who look every bit the party animals they are.
You must be registered for see images
The National Corvette Museum was the next activity and most of us were able to enjoy the visit. There are lots of pics from inside and the trucks in the parking lot before this final pic.
You must be registered for see images
The tell tale drops of water on the Moose Truck attest to the fact that our scheduled drag race at Beach Bend was rained out. This was I think the biggest disappointment for most of us, not that it could be helped, but sometimes blessings come in disguise, and unbeknownst to me, my front U-Joint was slowly spitting needles out by this point. Disappointed and with no outlet for our excess testosterone, we all turned into girls and wanted ice cream and chocolate.
To be continued thanks to the dumb image limit......
Never should give that kind of power to a 16 year old. 
In summary, I had a great vacation, and thank everyone for a good time and great memories. 
