Mid December Rod Run in Kansas

Every year in mid December my nephew Travis organizes what he calls his Decembrrr Rod Run and it is fun. Things got started early here at the Flats as Mrs. PF was up and baking at 5:30 am and was working her rolling pin on the dough to make rolls to take along.

And right on cue about the same time she took them from the hot oven my pal Neal showed up outside our home is his rare and cool 1949 GMC canopy express truck. He was just arriving from his 2.5 hour drive here that morning and needed some food and coffee to help "keep his strength up."

Soon it was time to leave for Salina and our friends Tom and Judy arrived and Mrs. PF and I rode with them instead of taking our own car. We were to meet Travis and the rest of the gang downtown Salina at an old AMC dealership bldg. that now houses Calvin's Customs, a cool hot rod shop owned by our friend Calvin Culp who opened up for us and let us look around at the projects. Here is a photo of our host himself...

We had a look around and shook hands with old friends and caught up on the latest news...

I really like this old Ford bus that sits outside awaiting it's turn to be restored or hot rodded and I gathered up some kids to capture what I think is a good photo with them...

Soon Travis said it was time to begin our road trip west. He is the one on the left in this photo...

And so began our 120 mile drive along old US 40 Highway which is scenic and picturesque but not colorful this time of year. But that is ok as the cars themselves provided the color...

And after a couple of hours we arrived at the next stop which was BCR or Big Creek Restoration owned by my buddy Mike Keller in Ellis, KS which is in an old Ford dealership building. Here is Mike and his pretty wife Vanessa and they welcomed us to their place...

The place looked great and has really changed recently with much remodeling and decorating changes. Mike has built some big time show winners and magazine cars recently and is a real rock star in my opinion. They had lunch ready for us which was pulled pork and hamburgers and we ate heartily. I had a great time looking at all the car projects and talking to everyone at the same time...

Mike's own 56 Chevy Nomad wagon was sitting outside and I bought a shop t shirt that matches the car itself...

These two rides were inside the showroom area...

And I got to catch up with some of my favorite friends such as Bruce the Engine Pro on the left and his sidekick Matt on the right in this photo. They had made the trip up from about 200 miles away and it was good to see them...

And many of my other friends like Cuzzin Deke my trusty side kick, Neal, Ron, Tom, and my helper Blake were along  as well. What a great day it was....

Then suddenly before it was time to leave I realized I was only 2 doors down from the Walter P. Chrysler boyhood home museum and so four of us went over there to have a look around. It was small and the house itself was not open but the little museum behind it was and it cost $3-4 to get in depending on your age. As far as I could tell we were the only visitors for the day on this Saturday in December.

We didn't stay long as it was time to begin the journey back to Salina on the same route we had arrived on. We got back to downtown Salina and gathered at an old bar that is very cool looking where we visited and ate supper provided by Travis' mom Nancy. I came home later that night and looked at the many photos I took and this one kind of summed up the day for me. 
I call it "Reflections."

What a great way to reflect on a nice day with car friends in December in small town USA where the simple life is indeed the good life. Thanks for riding along and let's do it again next year !!