Lucy Hits the Road Again

[Overlander & Sea]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Thank you for the nice comments on the Hammer Chevrolet Dealership in Sheridan. It is a really interesting place. They Have many old photographs on the walls depicting their 80 years in business. It was originally a Chevrolet and Oldsmobile dealership. When Oldsmobile went away in 2004, Hammer continued as a Chevrolet only dealer. The dealership is now owned and run by a third generation of the Hammer family.

The art deco building and Chevrolet script were redone five years ago for the company's 75th Anniversary. They had to get special permission from Chevrolet to use the 1949 script as GM now wants dealers to look alike. They were given this special permission as Hammer originally put this script on their building during their 1949 remodel. The service bay area where Fred was worked on was the very same configuration as in the 1949 remodel of the dealership.

If you ever find yourself in downtown Sheridan, be sure to stop in at Hammer Chevrolet and take a look at the pictures and memorabilia. One of the more stunning original items is the marquee over the parts department. It is a very art deco cast aluminum sign that has been there since 1949. Below is a picture of this beautiful historic piece.

Brian

What a great story!! In addition to being an Airstream dealer, I am also a Chevrolet dealer. I think it's great that Chevrolet let Hammer keep their 1949 Art Deco look along with the Chevrolet sign from that same time period. Getting special permission for that is not always easy. I will definitely make plans to stop by if I am in ever in Sheridan. Thanks for posting Brian!

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Lucy is still tucked away in her campsite in Billings, Montana. Brian seems to have come down with the crud, so we got up late and took it easy. << snip<< ]

I've been enjoying your travels, again! Thanks for sharing the photos.

Sad to hear that Ethel and Fred have divorced ;-)

Your mention of having the crud reminded me that many people, especially those who are not from the south, may not know having crud is just a way of saying one has cold symptoms. When it was mentioned that I had the crud, while we were in the pool last year, people started getting out of the water while giving me the evil eye. They thought it was something terrible.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

I've been enjoying your travels, again! Thanks for sharing the photos.

Sad to hear that Ethel and Fred have divorced ;-)

Your mention of having the crud reminded me that many people, especially those who are not from the south, may not know having crud is just a way of saying one has cold symptoms. When it was mentioned that I had the crud, while we were in the pool last year, people started getting out of the water while giving me the evil eye. They thought it was something terrible.

That's correct. It has always been the crud to me. It has always been my way of saying, "I'm sick with something, but I don't really know what it is.

Brian

[moosetags]

Lucy is still camped in Billings. We slept in this morning. Brian seems to be doing better, and is hopefully on the mend. After a great lunch at Popeye's, we headed to Downtown Billings for further exploration. We also made stops at Sam', Costco, and Wal-Mart. We went back to Lucy early so that we could start breaking camp. Lucy will be heading out in the morning.


Tonight's pictures include:


- Lucy and Fred relaxing at their campsite in Billings.
- Neat truck graphics in the Wal-Mart parking loy.
- Old Cafe sign in Downtown Billings.
- Last remaining WPA mural in the Billings Post Office.
- Better shot of the wheat door at the Northern Hotel in Billings.
- More alley art in Downtown Billings.
- Old sign on the Roxy Hotel in Downtown Billings.
- Old harness and buggy company sign.
- Pawn Broker/Bail bondsman sign in Downtown billings.
- Cow on the Meadow Gold Dairy in Billings.


Brian

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the WPA mural and Northern Hotel entry again, as well as the other great shots. Funny graphics indeed on that pickup truck! Whose red pickup truck is that? Oh wait . . . it's yours . . . looks so different without the camper!

Glad Brian is on the mend.

Safe travels . . .

Peter

[moosetags]

Yes, Fred does look totally different now that Ethel is gone. He will be taking on a whole new look when he gets his new truck cap. His new Swiss Cap is currently being built as we speak. We got some pictures of Fed's new cap texted to us this morning. This is a photo of the driver side of the cap showing our custom tool box configuration and the access area for the generator.

Brian

[moosetags]

Lucy broke camp this morning in Billings, Montana. We towed her over to Laurel, Montana on I-90 when we made a Wal-Mart stop. We then took US 212 west to Red Lodge, Montana. Red Lodge is a small town at the east end of the Beartooth Highway. The Beartooth Highway winds its way about seventy miles through the Montana and Wyoming mountains on its way to Cooke City, Montana at the Northeast Gate to Yellowstone National Park. The Beartooth Highway was described by Correspondent Charles Kuralt as " the most beautiful highway in America". We plan to find out for ourselves tomorrow.

We got Lucy a really nice campsite at Perry's RV Campground just outside of Red Lodge. We took a ride and toured the town of Red Lodge before returning to Lucy for the night.


Tonight's pictures include:


- Huge railroad yard in Laurel, Montana.
- Vintage neon sign at the Russell Motel in Laurel, Montana.
- Palace Bowling Alley sign in Laurel, Montana.
- Airstream Argosy resting in a yard in Laurel, Montana.
- Main Street, Red Lodge, Montana.
- Lucy tucked into her campsite in Red Lodge.
- US 212 looking toward the mountains.
- Rock Creek in right behind Lucy's campground.
- Vintage Shasta travel trailer.
- Old neon sign at the Red Lodge Cafe.


Brian

[OTRA15]

Thanks once again for some fine photographs. We have always had Red Lodge in mind for another cross-country trip. The nearby mountains in your 5th shot are amazing, as this Google satellite view will confirm:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Re...4d-109.2468211

Wow! . . . now those are some mountains . . . kinda makes one want to hitch up the rig and head west on the Beartooth Highway.

Apparently gold and coal mining was a big draw until The Depression:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Lodge,_Montana

The post office was established in 1884 but doubt if the original building is still there. Nope, the PO looks pretty new!

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.1853...7i13312!8i6656


Fred's new Swiss Cap looks great, and the bins/work bench will hold a good assortment of items close to the driver. Great idea to locate the gen near its own door, and the tailgate. I guess you can run it just by opening the back window/tailgate, with controls on the side? Electric start? I had no idea you could still order a cap like this custom. Well done!

Do you have a CG reservation for the eclipse? Your earlier posts suggested you would camp further north and drive down for the event. Hope the traffic is OK. What an amazing time the total darkness should be!

Happy Trails . . . and thanks again for bringin' us along.

Peter

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Fred's new Swiss Cap looks great, and the bins/work bench will hold a good assortment of items close to the driver. Great idea to locate the gen near its own door, and the tailgate. I guess you can run it just by opening the back window/tailgate, with controls on the side? Electric start? I had no idea you could still order a cap like this custom. Well done!

Do you have a CG reservation for the eclipse? Your earlier posts suggested you would camp further north and drive down for the event. Hope the traffic is OK. What an amazing time the total darkness should be!

Happy Trails . . . and thanks again for bringin' us along.

Peter

Regarding the generator in Fred's new cap, we plan to run with the cap closed up. We have gotten a flexible exhaust pipe extender that will allow us to run the generator exhaust out through the bottom of the truck bed. The door at the rear of the left side of the cap will give us access to the generator from the top and other items in that area.

As to a spot for Lucy for the Eclipse, we are going over to Cody, Wyoming on Friday or Saturday. We will be visiting friends who have a ranch about fifteen miles out of Cody. They have RV hook-ups at the ranch, so Lucy will be tucked in there.

Brian

[crispyboy]

Most of the work trucks in our neck of the woods (Cincinnati area) use the Swiss Caps and they hold up well. They have a good name around here.
Enjoy the Red Lodge area and Beartooth Highway - been there a few times and always enjoyed the trip. I can get giddy just looking at your photo's. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Regarding the generator in Fred's new cap, we plan to run with the cap closed up. We have gotten a flexible exhaust pipe extender that will allow us to run the generator exhaust out through the bottom of the truck bed. The door at the rear of the left side of the cap will give us access to the generator from the top and other items in that area.
<<snip<<
Brian

I'm curious how the generator will will have enough air flow to cool itself if the cap is all closed up.
Is that round opening/frame for an exhaust fan?
A Fantastic fan maybe would move enough air, but where will it intake?

[Wayne&Sam]

Enjoy the Beartooth. It is magnificent.

[Protagonist]

A pair of Nicro/Marinco solar-powered mushroom vents on the cap, one set to exhaust and the other with the blades reversed to pull air in, would be just the ticket. Even the 3" vent will move up to 800 cubic feet of air per hour, plenty enough to keep the generator's engine both cool and aspirated.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?...144&id=3857882

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

I'm curious how the generator will will have enough air flow to cool itself if the cap is all closed up.
Is that round opening/frame for an exhaust fan?
A Fantastic fan maybe would move enough air, but where will it intake?

We have had a six inch 12 volt exhaust fan installed in the center rear of the cap. We used the same Ventline fan that comes in the Airstream bathrooms. We plan to run the exhaust fan and open the sliding front window on the cap.

Brian

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by moosetags

We have had a six inch 12 volt exhaust fan installed in the center rear of the cap. We used the same Ventline fan that comes in the Airstream bathrooms. We plan to run the exhaust fan and open the sliding front window on the cap.

Brian

That should work out. When the geny is running you can plug it directly into its 12v outlet.
If I remember correctly the Ventline VanAir only moves about 100 cfm. That would exchange the air every ~2 minutes.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

That should work out. When the geny is running you can plug it directly into its 12v outlet.
If I remember correctly the Ventline VanAir only moves about 100 cfm. That would exchange the air every ~2 minutes.

You are correct on the 100 cfm figure. The enclosed truck bed will be right at 200 cubic feet. So, air exchange every two minutes would be correct.

We are hoping that this system will work. If not, we will come up with something else.

Brian

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

A pair of Nicro/Marinco solar-powered mushroom vents on the cap, one set to exhaust and the other with the blades reversed to pull air in, would be just the ticket. Even the 3" vent will move up to 800 cubic feet of air per hour, plenty enough to keep the generator's engine both cool and aspirated.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?...144&id=3857882

Thanks for this information. If my current plan does not work out, I will give these a try.

Brian

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by moosetags

Thanks for this information. If my current plan does not work out, I will give these a try.

Nice thing is, being solar-powered, they require no electrical connection. A 3" vent has a 9" mushroom cap, so the chance of getting rainwater inside the vent is minimal, even while driving.

[moosetags]

Lucy is still camped in Red Lodge, Montana. We set out in Fred this morning to drive the Beartooth Highway which is US 212 between Red Lodge and Cooke City, Montana. About half of this 68 mile run is actually in Wyoming. The road starts in Montana, dips into Wyoming, and comes back into Montana. This highway originally opened in 1936.

The scenery on the Beartooth Highway is absolutely fantastic. The elevations range from 5,000' to 11,000' at Beartooth Summit. The temperature change is also quite significant. It was 75 degrees when we started up, and it was 45 degrees at the summit.

We did see two mountain goats in a glacier near the summit. This was a significant sighting as the official count of mountain goats remaining in these mountains is 208.

We drove the whole Beartooth Highway over to Cooke City Montana, which is at the Northeast Gate of Yellowstone National Park. We took a break in Cooke city before making the return drive to Red Lodge. Each way took us about two and a half hours as much of the trip in the switch backs is done at 25 mph.

We arrived back in Red Lodge at about four o'clock and decided to dine in this evening. We got some fried chicken from the local supermarket in Red Lodge and brought it back to Lucy. I am typing this as I partake of the chicken. The keys are now very greasy. Please excuse the typos. As I finish this, SuEllyn is vacuuming chicken debris off of my lap.

If you ever get the opportunity, we would most highly recommend that you experience the Beartooth Highway for yourself.


Tonight's pictures include:


- Cute little Scamp 5th wheel at the campground this morning.
- Mountain view from Beartooth Highway.
- More views from the highway.
- Lake among the glaciers.
- Severe switchbacks on our GPS.
- Glaciers in the mountains.
- SuEllyn on a glacier right by the highway.
- Main Street, Cooke City, Montana.
- Roadway twists.
- Rare mountain goat sighting.


Brian

[PKI]

The Bear Tooth is a must do. Thanks for sharing. Pat