So Mini Met Roscoe...(pictures galore warning)

[Roscoe]

I figured I'd sneak a couple more photos in here before Mini does....

Not long after meeting, Cheyenne and Brenden? (can't remember if it's "Brenden" or "Brennen", I'm ashamed to admit)  discover that they have something in common- they both believe they're part monkey:


Shortly thereafter, we decided that it would be appropriate to take a pic of Mini next to the Miata...


There are other pics of the Miata being "put on like a suit" by a certain rather large gorilla, but I'll let said gorilla post them....

There will be several other photos, so these are not posted in the order that they may have happened. Saturday morning, after breakfast, Mini and I ditched the wives and kiddos and headed to the mountain. I stopped and showed him the overlook, and snapped a pic of " Mini the Mountain Goat" while he was moving for a better vantage point.

[Roscoe]

 I have purposfully left pics of the girls out so that Mini can insert them as needed and tell the story- this IS his thread after all. 
After leaving the overlook, we went to the car show, where, among other things, Mini proved he COULD fit into a Karmann Ghia- something I had my doubts of:


And yes, he could actually close the door. 'course, breathing after the door was closed might have been a chore. 
After wandering around the car show and Mini taking tons of pics, we reluctantly left the the swap meet area and began to tool around the mountain. At some point I got the wise idear that Mini needed to see Cedar Falls and the Rock House Cave. It had been more than a few years since I had walked that trail, and I recalled it being rather short and level, a easy walk. Apparently in the past 15 years or so, without my knowledge, we had an earthquake that relocated the trail, making it longer and very steep. This only became apparent AFTER we had walked down it. I got a snapshot of Bigfoot in his under ground liar:

and began the walk to the falls. We quickly decided that there was an easier way, and abandonded the hike in favor of a pleasant drive around to the other side of the falls. 

[Roscoe]

 I soon discovered that I pant like a bulldog when it's hot weather and I'm having to climb. After I told him to watch his step, Mini made a statement questioning my concerns if he fell and broke a leg, something along the lines of wondering if I would carry him out. I explained that I would call 911 and take pictures to be posted here- no need in both of us being hurt. 

Rusty never looked so good as he did when we crawled off of that trail and that red cooler that can be seen in his bed  in the pics Mini has already posted contained the nectar of the gods...... cold Dr. Pepper! We survived...

After our wandering around the mountain, we retreated to Bro Papa's and enjoyed some BBQ,  and cold Mexican Coca-Cola (made with cane sugar, much better than normal coca cola) but forgot to take pics- both of us! Bro Papa had to leave, so we said goodbye and I began showing Mini the route Chey  and I take nearly weekly.
we stopped by the circa 1890's store down the road from my house and heard the old ladiesof the community talking about having come from a birthday party for a 107 year old lady- the woman talking about it was every bit of 90 herself 
Mini bought some ice cream for us to enjoy:

Mini took some pics and enjoyed a spell driving Rusty as can be seen in an earlier post. He took every opportunity to spin Rusty's tires, too.
All too soon for me, evening came and we met up with the girls and kiddos so Mini and Chellebelle could leave Mini's ancestral homeland and he could return to Oklahoma.  I'll leave the many other pics and stories out until Mini gets his side and pics posted, but I will say that all in all, this weekend was one of the most enjoyable I've had in years. I personally think this needs to be a yearly event......

[Chseeads]

Well that little VW thingy or whatever it is there looks a lot bigger than your Barbie Dream Car.

[Roscoe]

Well that little VW thingy or whatever it is there looks a lot bigger than your Barbie Dream Car.

It's an optical illusion- the angle of the shot....

[mini]

Ok...now that I finally have a moment to place my account of the story out in the open, here goes.

Five-oh had invited me to go to the car show several times, and it finally looked like I was gonna have a chance to go.  Then it seemed like everything was working in a way that we would be unable to attend.  Then it looked back on...I'm sure by this time I was driving poor Five-oh crazy.

Original plan was for me to go over Thursday, then head back home Friday.  Then Chelleebelle worked it out to be off those days, so we were just gonna make it a weekend with the family.  Then a lady in our church passed away Wednesday morning, so we had to help take care of the church all day Thursday for the funeral Friday morning.  Finally, we were able to leave about noon and head toward Arkansas.

As you can tell, my kiddos enjoyed the trip....



Let me make a point here...in Oklahoma, all paved roads are 65mph.  As soon as we hit Arkansas...55MPH.  I was not expecting that!  LOL  But driving through the small towns was a blast.  Had a great time.

After a couple hours driving HWY 64 out of Checotah all the way to Ozark Arkansas, we stopped at Rivertowne BBQ.  We have ate there before, and were looking forward to some good BBQ.  I kid you not, Rivertowne BBQ is located between two biker bars.  LOL  But man, it has some forEVERmore good BBQ.  And...it was closed till 4 pm.  I nearly cried.



Right to the left of Rivertowne is this old jail cell/law office.  I guess if you have a law office downstairs, and the inmates upstairs, it saves on the bills...



After rolling into the Morrilton area, Five-oh told us where to meet him and we headed his way.  I wish I had got a picture of Rusty right then.  There is something cool about seeing a nearly 70 year old truck rolling down the road to meet you.  After a few introductions (and my first ride in Rusty) we headed to Five-ohs house to wait on LouLou.

Brennen took to Domino (the dog) and they had a blast.



Then it was time to see the WORLD FAMOUS MIATA!



Thats one SHORT car.  LOL

It fits its owner well....*cough*





That bump above my head is my head hitting the top.  LOL



Notice my bald head sticking out and Brennen in the background looking at me like I was crazy...LOL



Then we found out Five-oh DOES have a thing for pink cars...ROFLOL

So after we get Five-oh prayed through, and the girls decide its time to eat, we get ready to load up in the truck...and...wha?!?



The girls are taking Rusty!



We put up a serious argument when suddenly LouLou pulls out something...at first we thought she was pulling a gun on us, but it was worse.  It was Five-Oh's wallet.





She had it all!  Best quote of the night:  Five-Oh "Oh man, now she found the money I had stashed in there!"

My favorite shot of Rusty of the night...



More later....

[mini]

Well that little VW thingy or whatever it is there looks a lot bigger than your Barbie Dream Car.

It's an optical illusion- the angle of the shot....

You forget, Roscoe is about 3 foot tall.  EVERYTHING looks bigger when hes taking the picture.

[Chseeads]

I think Roscoe needs to give the Miata to Taco and Rainbowjingles as a wedding gift....they need a clown car.....  You could probably fit like 20 clowns in there....  We see only 2 pictured above.

[Roscoe]

Well that little VW thingy or whatever it is there looks a lot bigger than your Barbie Dream Car.

It's an optical illusion- the angle of the shot....

You forget, Roscoe is about 3 foot tall.  EVERYTHING looks bigger when hes taking the picture.

I'll have you to know I'm at least five feet tall! God gave you height- me he blessed with above average intelligence intellegance brains.

[mini]

So Saturday morning rolls around, and we meet up with Roscoe and LouLou for a bite to eat.  And what does Roscoe order?



Then he heaps a helping of butter right on top of the chocolate...



Now, I know it may be pratically unarkansasasy of me, but chocolate gravy?!?  Chelleebelle ordered it too...I mean, I eat strange stuff.  Sardines.  Squid.  Octopus.  Goat.  But I draw a line at two things.  Lasagna and Chocolate Gravy.  But I digress...LOL

More later...been editing a photo of Rusty that I will post tomorrow.

[Lynx]

BLASPHEMY!  Chocolate gravy is not weird!  You'd best not come up to Tennessee with heretical talk like that.   They serve it in restaurants up here, and they sell a lot of it.

[Chseeads]

Who knew Roscoe was a Railroad Engineer on the side....


And why didn't he order donuts!?!

[Lynx]

Good chocolate gravy pwns donuts any day of the year.

[Melody]

That's just wrong. 

I like sweets as much as the average person but chocolate gravy? That looks a little nauseating.  I'm baffled that anyone would choose that over bacon or sausage gravy.  In fact, I'm hungry for real gravy just talking about it. LOL 

[Roscoe]

That's just wrong. 

I like sweets as much as the average person but chocolate gravy? That looks a little nauseating.  I'm baffled that anyone would choose that over bacon or sausage gravy.  In fact, I'm hungry for real gravy just talking about it. LOL 

MY, Real chocolate gravy with a gob of fresh butter melted in it takes a TRUE southerner to levels of heaven previously unknown to exist. Ain't nothing like it. Of course good sausage gravy is hard to beat, but pales in comparision to chocolate gravy....

Who knew Roscoe was a Railroad Engineer on the side....


And why didn't he order donuts!?!

And Cheesie, the railroad stripe overalls is my usual "uniform" for swap meet crawling and driving Rusty. That may change since my father's day gift was a NEW pair of Big Smith overalls in blue. And to answer your last question- the owner of the diner we ate at doesn't sell donuts.  I don't know why, he's a former cop and knows how important donuts are to us.
  But- if mini posts it, you'll see that after we got to the swap meet, someone tried to bait me..... kinda like you and your traps....

[mini]

Ill be loading some more as the day goes on.

Roscoe, remember the one that I said I would make a panoramic view of?  Its so big that I am having trouble loading it online...LOL

[mini]

Ill have a link that I need to add here at some point. Took large # of photos, and stitched it into a panoramic view of the valley below Petit Jean state park.  Its something like 25mb, and it has a rare photo of a leprechaun in it.

Ok, I finally got the picture uploaded.  Had to shrink it down quite a bit, but you get the idea of what it looked like. 

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y256/minnesota68/Petit%20Jean/DSC00040Stitch-Copy.jpg

At this point, I heard one of the funniest quotes of the day.  I had just got done taking the photos right on the edge of Petit Jean (hundreds of feet drop below) when a little girl comes right out to the edge.  Her mother is standing back on top, well away from the edge, and yells something to the effect "If you fall off there and get killed, I will KILL you!"  Me and Roscoe laughed about that for a good while.  Then as we were leaving, the woman drove by and said to us "I didn't have to kill her!"    Somewhere along the line, I made the comment to Roscoe I wonder where she is from, to which he replied, she sounded like a southern mom.  As she left, I noticed she had Arkansas plates on her car...LOL

As we were leaving the top of Petit Jean, I took my favorite shot of Rusty.



I knew this was ripe for a little editing, and learned last night how to get the desired outcome.



Heres one of Rusty sitting in front of a abandoned hotel that use to operate on the top of Petit Jean:



As you can see, we were having a good time....

[mini]

Ok, so now we get to the swap meet.  Let me tell you, its a overload.  I will post some pictures, and let Roscoe explain what they are if he feels like it.











Chellebelle wants a Karmann Ghia




I looked around at one point, and Roscoe was GONE!  Guess where I found him?

It took everything in me to keep him from spending all his money at that one spot.  LOL

Just so you can get a idea of the vastness of this thing, heres a couple photos:





Corvair Pickup anyone?

[okieoliveoyl]

glad you got your photo shopped like you were questioning me on.  

and out of the mouth of one of the monkeys mentioned earlier...he was enamored with the other monkey

lol

[Roscoe]

 First of all let, me address the "leprachaun" comment-  I thought I'd stayed outta your camera's veiwfinder at that spot.
And, as for the cars- we'll take it from the top, if anyone cares:

1) is a "brass era" Ford Model T Runabout. I *think * it is a 1915 model. The owner told me that he had dragged it out of a barn where it had been parked since the late 60's, and was unrestored. He was asking $16k for it.....if I were a rich man, this probably would've come home with me.

2) Mini's Specialty, a Cj5 Jeep. We agreed it was a thrashed but usable $2500 beater.
3)One of my dream cars, a '67 Corvette convertible. Price? If you have to ask.....
4)  1965- I think- Ford Galaxey convertible. Definately a project, but one that would make a killer cruiser for a family. I'm thinking silver or black, black guts and top, 18" Torquethrust style wheels, a slight lowering job and a newer model Fuel injected 5.0/ six speed. Won't cost more than $50-60k tops.
5) '37 ford. Asking price- $$$$$$ Absolutely gorgeous interior
6) The Karmaan Ghia that Mini shoehorned himself into. We came to the conclusion that while he was definatly in it, there was no way he could operate it.
7) A run of the mill old Plymouth Valiant, also sold as a Dodge Dart. Probably powered by a slant six, about as low on the collectability scale as you can go, but can be made cool...
Bait. That's all I'm gonna say.
9) @ 10)- Self explainitory
11)  '65- I think- Covair Rampside truck. GM's answer to a question no one asked. Ugly as sin. Somewhat collectible- they're like a trainwreck, you can't help but look at the ugly son....

And I love the pic Mini took of Rusty on the mountain. Think I'm gonna see if I can get a poster made like that. 

[Roscoe]

and out of the mouth of one of the monkeys mentioned earlier...he was enamored with the other monkey

lol

I think it was mutual.....Chey said the other monkey was "funny" and got mad at Daddy when he teased her about her new boyfriend...

[chelleebelle]

6) The Karmaan Ghia that Mini shoehorned himself into. We came to the conclusion that while he was definatly in it, there was no way he could operate it.

Guess if I should ever get one of those lil cars, mini will not be able to ride with me without passing out! 

[mini]

To pick back up on our story, I will post pictures from the actual car show now...again, roscoe will have to help narrate the photos...

Just a idea of how vast this thing is, heres a few random shots.






Then a few of the cars/trucks.  Keep in mind, this place is sensory overload.




Roscoe saw this little vette and had drool hanging to his knees...LOL

And this one...

And this one...



This was one of my favorite cars.  Me thinks I have expensive taste....


The small details were what really got my attention.  Look at how the rear view mirrors were attached.


VW...


Rolls Royce



This 32 Packard was a impressive car!



Of course my favorite on the parade grounds was no show car...


More later...

[Roscoe]

 I think you did a pretty good job narrating these pics. Not sure theres much I could add-
The red ambulance you see in the background of the second picture has been a local car its whole life. I can remember seeing it when I was Brennen's age and begging the driver to sound its siren for me.
  4) The fourth pic is a '54 chevy truck. It'd be the perfect around town and to the hardware store truck. I wish rusty was that pretty.
  5)The gold Trans-Am makes me want to pretend to be Burt Reynolds and tear off through small towns for three states.
  6) & 7) Of the two objects of lust for me shown here- I'd perfer the second. It's a '57 with single, not double headlights and a manual tranny. The hard top is iceing on the cake.
Pre-73 'vette. Not uncommon, but very desirable for me.
9) It's a Cord. This means it's worth six figures. Guarenteed. So yeah- expensive taste.
10) If my VW had been this pretty, I'd still have it.
11) Rolls royce. See comment #9
12) 1932 Packard. One of my dream cars. I'd drive the wheels off of it. Also probably a very high five figure to mid six figure car.
13)This old Willys has been used by Museum staff for years to get around the swap meet. One of those things that has been around so long, regular attendees like me don't even notice it. Mini spotted it from across the show field and headed for it like a bee to honey. 

[Melody]

Totally enjoying this thread. I don't know much about cars, but they look cool! Looks like you guys had a great time.