Feel Good Stuff – Page 24 – The ExhaustNotes Blog

The New Ford Bronco

The new Ford Bronco is a cool looking little vehicle. I saw the bright yellow one parked in front of a Ford dealer and I stopped by to get a few photos.

I was afraid the dealer might chase me away as I was taking photos (I remembered my experience with the Rivian dude), but Ford dealership guys basically ignored me. I couldn’t even get any of them to come over to try to sell me a car.

I called the dealership when I got home to ask a few questions and the nice young lady on the phone told me the yellow one I kind of fell in love with is called the Badlands model. It’s not available yet, but she invited to visit the dealership and test drive it. I may do that. She also told me the MSRP on that vehicle was just north of $52K, and the dealer had a $5K “market adjustment” tacked on.

There are other Bronco models available, including the gray and silver ones shown here. These carried more reasonable stickers (around $30K), but they still had that objectionable $5K dealer larceny fee.

The interior of the Badlands model I checked out was cramped, but it looked cool. I liked the yellow accents.

The new Bronco comes standard with a 300-horsepower EcoBoost engine (it’s a four cylinder engine), and there’s an optional 330-horsepower engine. The $52K (plus $5K markup) yellow Badlands model had the standard engine. When you throw in taxes and the other dealer fees, that Bronco will be well over $60K, and that’s a lot for a four-banger.

Phavorite Photos: Sensorio!

An interesting dilemma…is this a Phavorite Photos blog, or just a regular blog? Hey, I’m going with both. Susie and I were on a content safari (a term I stole from Gresh) and one of the safari stops was the Sensorio light show in Paso Robles. Paso Robles is a cool little town along Highway 101 in central California. I initially wasn’t that keen on the concept, until I saw it. The artist, Bruce Unro, covered acres of rolling hills with lights. It sounded to me like the thing that guy did with umbrellas a few years ago, and I thought that was a goofy concept. But hey, what do I know? My wife has a better sense for these things than I do, I went with her better judgment, and I’m glad I did.

We arrived just as it was starting to get dark, and we could see the bulbs and their stems.

As it got dark, the lights started to stand out a bit more.

There are columns made of wine bottles about halfway through the exhibit. They were cool, too. Paso Robles is a wine-growing region.

The full effect came into focus when it was completely dark, and it was something to see.

The folks who organized this show thought it through. There’s a lot of walking involved, and you sign up for a specific time to get in. They do that to limit the number of people at any one time, and that worked well. There were other people there, but we never felt crowded.

The website for the light show posted prohibitions about commercial use of any photos, so I left the Nikon home and used my cell phone to snap the photos you see here. The iPhone 12 has great capabilities, way more than I expected for available light photography. I’d like to tell you I knew what I was doing, but I just held the phone as steady as I could and let the camera do its thing. It was a three second exposure, so I suspect it has some kind of algorithm that acts like a gyroscope. The photos are great and I wanted to share them on the ExNotes blog, so I emailed the organizers and they gave me permission to do so (thanks, guys). In their response, they also sent their press release, which contains good info on the show so I included it here.

I enjoyed Sensorio and I think you will, too. If you get a chance, this is worth the trip to Paso Robles.

SENSORIO ADDS DATES FOR
BRUCE MUNRO: LIGHT AT SENSORIO
NOW EXTENDED THROUGH JANUARY 2, 2022

PASO ROBLES, CA (16 July 2021) — Due to overwhelming public demand, Sensorio announces the extension of the stunning outdoor art exhibit Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio through January 2, 2022. The immersive installation includes Munro’s 15-acre Field of Light, an array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics which gently illuminate the landscape in subtle blooms of morphing color, and the adjacent Light Towers, featuring 69 towers composed of more than 17,000 wine bottles illuminated with glowing optic fibers modulating to a custom musical score. Since reopening in April 2021 following a mandated closure due to the pandemic, the exhibit has been sold out weeks in advance. Says Sensorio Executive Director Paul Haught, “We are thrilled to announce this extension, so that all interested visitors can have the opportunity to experience this one-of-a-kind immersive exhibit.” Sensorio enhances the experience with live entertainment by local musicians, and offers food and beverages including wine/beer, snacks and meals. A VIP experience option is also available, which includes exclusive access to a terrace overlooking Field of Light, with an Airstream bar, private tables and fire pits, and other amenities. Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio tickets are available for timed entry on Thursday-Sunday evenings, now through January 2, 2022, at Sensorio, 4380 Highway 46 East, Paso Robles, California. For more information, the public may visit SensorioPaso.com.

When Sensorio opened with Bruce Munro’s Field of Light in May 2019, it was an immediate hit, with thousands of visitors from around the globe flocking to experience this remarkable event. Sensorio’s installation is larger in size than any other Munro exhibition internationally and is Munro’s first US exhibit entirely powered by solar. It was singled out by The New York Times as #6 in its “52 Places to Go in 2020.” It has also attracted national and international media attention, applauded for creating a “movement that infuses culture in valleys of viticulture,” (The New York Times), and described as “the future of public wellness” (Forbes), and a “pilgrimage-worthy art escape” that is “meant to complement, never compete or detract, from the beauty of the landscape” (Travel + Leisure).

For Light Towers, Sensorio enlisted Munro to create a vibrant new illuminated work that pays tribute to the 200+ wineries and vineyards that blanket Paso Robles’ beautiful rolling hills. Light Towers is inspired by Munro’s earlier work Water-Towers, originally created for and exhibited at the spectacular arcaded cloisters at Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire, England. For Light Towers at Sensorio, Munro has utilized wine bottles for the first time, as an homage to Paso Robles’ abundant vineyards. The 69 towers are made from 17,388 wine bottles—252 bottles per tower—rising some seven feet high and illuminated in gently changing colors to visually represent the original composition “Rise and Shine,” composed by Orlando Gough and performed by an international vocal ensemble.

Sensorio was created by Central Valley locals Ken and Bobbi Hunter as a destination for entertainment, exploration, meditation, adventure, and delight, honoring the natural topography of the landscape. It opened with Bruce Munro: Field of Light, which became an international sensation. Sensorio launched its second phase with the addition of Light Towers, an extension of the current exhibition that is included in the admission fee. Both exhibitions will continue through January 2, 2022 at Sensorio. Other exhibitions and buildings are planned for future openings at the site.

London-born Bruce Munro is known for large-scale light-based artworks inspired by his continuous study of natural light and his curiosity for shared human experiences. With a fine arts degree, early career training in the lighting design industry, and an inventive urge for reuse, Munro creates art that captures his responses to literature, music, science, and the world around him. His work has been commissioned by and displayed in special exhibitions in galleries, parks, grand estates, cathedrals, botanical gardens, and museums around the globe, including Longwood Gardens, PA; the Guggenheim Museum, NY; the Sharjah Museum of Art, UAE; Montalvo Arts Center, CA; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ; Desert Botanical Garden, AZ; Jeju Light Art Festa, South Korea; the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, CO; Sotheby’s Beyond Limits at Chatsworth; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild Collection, Buckinghamshire; and Salisbury Cathedral, among others. Artworks by Munro are held in the permanent collections of museums and public art collections worldwide including the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, Oxford; Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Art Museum, TN; and Texas Tech University Public Art. More information is available at www.brucemunro.co.uk.

WHAT: Due to overwhelming public demand, Sensorio announces the extension of the stunning outdoor art exhibit Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio through January 2, 2022. The immersive installation includes Munro’s 15-acre Field of Light, an array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics which gently illuminate the landscape in subtle blooms of morphing color, and the adjacent Light Towers, featuring 69 towers composed of more than 17,000 wine bottles illuminated with glowing optic fibers modulating to a custom musical score. Sensorio enhances the experience with live entertainment by local musicians, and offers food and beverages including wine/beer, snacks and meals. A VIP experience option is also available, which includes exclusive access to a terrace overlooking Field of Light, with an Airstream bar, private tables and fire pits, and other amenities.
WHEN: Now through January 2, 2022
DAYS/TIMES: July-August: Thursdays/Sundays 7pm-10pm, Fridays/Saturdays 7pm-11pm
September: Thursdays through Sundays 6pm-10pm
October – November 6: Thursdays through Sundays 5:30pm-10pm
November 7 – January 2: Thursdays/Sundays 4:30pm-9pm, Fridays/Saturdays 4:30pm-10pm (Additional holiday dates to be announced.)
WHERE: Sensorio, 4380 Highway 46 East, Paso Robles
TICKETS: LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS AVAILABLE NIGHTLY. To guarantee admission, tickets must be purchased in advance at sensoriopaso.com for a specific date/entry time. A limited number of walk-up tickets may be made available at the door, sold only as on-site guests depart to ensure safe distancing at all times.
ADULT ADMISSION: $31.50 to $41 + ticket fees
CHILD ADMISSION (12 and under): $9.50 to $20 + ticket fees. Children under 2 are admitted free.
VIP TERRACE: $81-110 + ticket fees. VIP patrons enjoy priority entry at opening and can arrive anytime during open hours. VIP tickets include exclusive access to the Private VIP Terrace with reserved seating, private restrooms, Airstream bar, fireside tables, and the best views of the exhibition. Includes 1 drink ticket. “VIP Experience + VIP Platter” tickets also include a charcuterie or crudités platter.

Cancellations may be caused by inclement weather or future mandated closures for COVID safety. In that event, ticket holders can reschedule to a future date.

COVID precautions: unvaccinated guests are kindly asked to wear a mask/face covering.

INFO: For information visit sensoriopaso.com.

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Endurofest 2021: Part 1

After a Covid-cancelled year in 2020 Endurofest came roaring back in 2021. Unfortunately the 2-year lay-off has already eroded my meager off-road skills.

On our very first ride I managed to do a header in a rough rocky section. I was bouncing along ricocheting from rock to rock when a combination of tired arms, inattention and poor riding skills pitched Godzilla’s front wheel sideways and down I went on my right side.

It was a hard landing on rocks and for a moment I couldn’t move, like in those dreams where you can’t move except I was awake. Or maybe I wasn’t awake. It was probably only a few seconds. As my senses returned I rolled over onto my back and looked up at the brilliant blue Utah sky in wonder. How did I get here?

My foot was pinned under the motorcycle and Larry had to lift the bike off me. I stood up pretty well and managed to get Godzilla started. I went very slow the rest of the trail.

Never one to miss plugging sponsor’s freebies, my BMG jacket and ancient, Speed & Strength helmet from The Helmet House took the brunt of the crash and I am only a little sore. Godzilla suffered a bent foot peg and a damaged front food platter.

I really need to ride more dirt to stay sharp. Dirt riding, like any skill, improves with repetition so I’ll go attack some more rocks.

I think we have about eight Enduros at this year’s fest. Down a bit but understandable considering the crappy year our entire planet had in 2020. It’s just good to see your old friends and shoot the breeze without worrying about dying.

Endurofest headquarters this year is at the Beaver, Utah Quality Inn. It’s a great location if you’re into a Fawlty Towers kind of management. I showed up early and the manager was freaking out saying “I can’t put you in the room the people haven’t left yet!” There was no panic from my end. I mean, I get it. Just asking.

I got a suspicious look when I asked for a room with two beds. “There’s only one of you. Why do you want two beds?” I don’t know why but I defended my request,”My buddy Hunter might show up.” That seemed to satisfy Basil so the deal went down as planned.

This blog may be riddled with errors as I’m typing it on a cell phone and can’t actually read what it says. More riding tomorrow!

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Badlands National Park

Located in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park is one of life’s bucket list destinations. We visited it in 2008 when we were doing South Dakota’s Black Hills and, by accident, the Sturgis Rally. I’m not big on Sturgis, but we were in the area to see Mt. Rushmore and we caught the tail end of the rally. Okay, Sturgis: Check. If anybody asks, I can say I’ve been. But there are far more interesting things to see and do in this part of the world, and Badlands National Park is one of them.

Badlands National Park is about 100 miles east of Sturgis, and it’s one of a half dozen cool things to see if you ever make Sturgis. There’s Rapid City (a cool town with one of the best gun stores I’ve ever visited), Custer State Park (magnificent roads and scenery), Mt. Rushmore (amazing; words can’t do it justice), Devils Tower 100 miles to the west in Wyoming (think Close Encounters), Badlands (today’s topic), and the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (I’ll touch on that, too). South Dakota is a great place to visit.

So, back to Badlands. This place is magic, but that’s not just my opinion. It’s a view I share with my hero Theodore (as in Theodore Roosevelt). Roosevelt came here in 1883 to hunt buffalo (we call them buffalo; the correct term is bison), and then again to remake himself when dealt a double whammy a year or two later (his wife and mother died on the same day). He came as a dandy (a skinny, Harvard-educated, New York politician) and left as a rancher, a true Westerner, a future Rough Rider and President of the United States.

50 bison were transferred to Badlands National Park from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in 1963; today, the Badlands bison population is north of 1,000 animals.

To call the Badlands terrain dramatic is a massive understatement; you really need to stand before the landscape and take in the erosion-formed pinnacles and colors to get the full effect.

Badlands National Park in one word: Wow!

Stunning panoramas are the norm in Badlands National Park.

Highway 240, the Badlands Loop, through Badlands National Park.

The region’s history is a story of persistence, paleontology, politics, and (from a Native American perspective), duplicity. Paleo-Indians hunted the area 11,000 years ago, followed by the Arikara people, and then the Great Sioux Nation. The Oglala Lakota (one of seven Sioux tribes) named the area “mako sica” (it translates to “bad lands”). Homesteading by white settlers began in the 1850s, continued during the Civil War, and then picked up dramatically before and after the turn of the century. In an 1868 treaty, the US government promised the Sioux the area would be theirs forever, but you can guess how that went (we broke the treaty a short 21 years later). Calvin Coolidge designated the area Badlands National Monument in 1929, it was formally established as such in 1939 by Franklin Roosevelt, and then redesignated a National Park in 1978.

The Lakota Native American people were the first to find fossils in the area and they correctly ascertained the area was formerly an ancient sea. The Badlands are one of the richest fossil fields in the world with specimens reaching 33 million years into the past (there are 84 known extinct species; 77 of them are from this area). Here’s another tidbit worth knowing if you plan a visit to the region: The South Dakota School of Mines in nearby Rapid City has an outstanding museum displaying some of these prehistoric finds.

A School of Mines dinosaur in Rapid City.

A fossil on display in South Dakota’s School of Mines.

Like much of South Dakota, the Badlands are rich with bison, badger, bighorn sheep, bird species galore, prairie dogs, bobcat, coyote, fox, elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, rattlesnake, and porcupine. We saw many, including a princely, portly porcupine proudly padding along as if he owned the place (in retrospect, I suppose he did).

There’s all kinds of critters out there. We didn’t see any snakes, but we probably walked right by a few.

Parts of Dances with Wolves and Thunderheart were filmed here.

Here’s another cool little secret about the area: The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is positioned right at the northeast edge of the Park. The U.S. Government took a former operational intercontinental nuclear missile site and turned it into a national historic site. You can’t just show up and get in, though. You have to make reservations and they only take a few people at a time, but wow, is it ever cool. You go down to the control module, which is this tiny, thick wall, metal, electronics-crammed structure way underground. The command capsule is mounted on giant springs, you know, to protect the occupants from an incoming bad guy nuclear intercontinental missile. After you’ve seen that, the park rangers (all former USAF senior NCOs who actually served on Minuteman sites) take you outside to peer into a silo and view a Minuteman missile (presumably, one that’s been disarmed). It’s shades of the Cold War, Dr. Strangelove, and Mutually Assured Destruction all rolled into a tourist attaction. Trust me on this: It’s cool and unless you stood guard against Ivan during the Cold War, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

A Park Ranger and former USAF ICBM NCO at the Minuteman National Historic Site. This is cool, folks.

A thermonuclear threat…the real deal. Peering down into the silo was a bit unnerving. What is really unnerving is that there are similar missiles on the other side of the world still pointed at us.

So there you have it…Badlands National Park, the Minuteman National Historic Site, and more. South Dakota is one of my all time favorite places to visit. If you are headed that way, don’t just wallow in the weirdness that is Sturgis. There’s much more to see and do in South Dakota, and these two spots should be high on anyone’s list.

I took these photos back in 2008 with my Nikon D200 camera and a first-generation Nikon 24-120 lens. As I view them today, they are not up to the richness and quality I would get from my current D810 Nikon and its VR 24-120 lens. I may have to return to get better photos.

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ExhaustNotes Shed Slab Review: By The Numbers

I’ve finally finished the new floor in The Shed® at Tinfiny Ranch©. I didn’t really want to mix and pour the floor myself but events out of my control lead to that fateful decision. To understand how the floor ended up like it ended up you have to have an understanding of those aforementioned events.

The first thing everyone asks me is why didn’t I pour the floor first. It’s a valid question. The reason the shed went up on graded dirt had to do with time and money. Money was a problem because we had just bought Tinfiny ranch and our house budget allowed for a building or a slab, but not both.

Time was a problem because we were moving from a 3000 square foot rental house into a 600 square foot garage converted into a one bed, one bath home. All that junk from the big house had to go somewhere and renting a storage shed was out of the question. We were done renting crap.

We ended up buying a 30 X 50 Eagle Building for $13,000. Eagle buildings are the best square foot per dollar on the market and that price includes assembly on your land. The buildings are designed with a continuous steel sill that can be set up on bare ground as long as the ground is fairly even. No foundation needed.

The bad part about Eagle buildings is that they are not super heavy duty. They are a little stronger than a typical metal lawn building but not nearly as strong as a Mueller type building. Mueller buildings are very sturdy but cost twice as much as an Eagle and are delivered to your land on a series of pallets. You have to assemble the building yourself. Muellers also require a pre-poured slab with a foundation and all the attendant costs associated. I priced a 30 X 50 Mueller at $23,000. The foundation and slab was $26,000 from a local contractor. That $49,000 left you with a nice slab and numerous stacks of steel: you still had to build the building. I got a price of $6000 to assemble the Mueller from another local contractor.

Besides the fact that we couldn’t afford the Mueller and all that the Mueller involved, it would have been many months before we had storage for our junk. Three weeks after we bought the Eagle Building it was erected on Tinfiny Ranch and full of the junk we had dragged across country along with furnishings from the big rental.

I tried to get a local guy interested in pouring the shed floor but the job must have seemed too involved what with the building already in place and full of junk. I gave up for a year; just let the situation stay as is for a while. Then mice started burrowing under the edge of the building and wreaking havoc.

One of my Internet buddies is fond of saying, “Do it right or don’t do it at all.” He’s right, of course, but “Don’t do it at all” was not an option. That left “Do it wrong.” Sometimes in life stupid moves are the only moves you have left.

I started shunting junk towards the middle of the shed and pouring small sections whenever I felt in the mood. The solar power junction area was the first section I completed which allowed me to finish the off grid power system and shut that damn generator off.

The shed needed a foundation so I poured 16-inch J-bolts every 4 feet or so and once they were set I could excavate under the edge and pour a section of footer. I may not have needed the support from the J-bolts but the Eagle was flimsy and if the thing sagged or buckled even a little it would be a bear to fix. I erred in favor of not buckling the shed.

Progress was slow because there was so much stuff stored in the shed I could barely make room for a pour. When she wasn’t working CT and I would go through the hundreds of plastic tubs and each time we got rid of a few. Pieces of furniture neither of us liked were donated to the thrift store. Slowly I made headway and had enough room to build a loft where a couple hundred tubs of really good junk could be moved. The floor space kept increasing and I kept pouring.

The job was not a continuous thing. I might work on it one week and leave it for a month, or 4 months. Mice were a blessing and a curse. Once they chewed up an item or tub full of clothing it was an easy decision to take it to the dump. The dust was incredible; each breeze sent a cloud of fine sand whirling around the interior of the building.

I’ve been sporadically working on the shed floor for 3 years. It was overwhelming at times but as I got closer to the finish line I kicked it into high gear: This last month I could smell the barn if you don’t mind that sort of lame wordplay. It’s funny, I have no common recollection of the work I did. I mean, if I think about it I can remember pouring each slab but I feel no personal connection, the slab is just a slab, like it has always been there or I hired a guy to do the job. It’s enough for me that the floor is done and done wrong. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

- Number of individual slabs poured: 35
- Average number of 60# bags per pour: 42
- Thickness of floor: 4-inches
- Thickness of footing: 8-inches
- Thickness of sheer wall footing 10-inches
- Number of 60# bags of concrete used: 1500
- Total weight of concrete: 90,000 pounds
- Amount of concrete in square yards: 22.5
- Number of loads mixed @ 120# each: 750
- Number of 16-inch J-bolt piers: 45
- Estimated man-days to pour slabs: 80
- Cost of concrete: $4410
- Number of feet of ½” rebar: 250
- Number of feet of 3/8” rebar: 1600

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Product Review: Black Rifle Coffee

Good buddy Mike was in town for a few days, and what better way to spend it than on the range ringing the gongs that good buddy Duane built for me. We had a blast. We’ve known each other since the 7th grade. Mike and I joke about who’s the better shot, and after our session at the West End Gun Club, that’s still an open question. The man can shoot (and so can I).

Mike wanted to stop at a nearby 5-11 outlet to pick up a few clothing items, and while we were there he pointed out the Black Rifle coffee. If you read the blog you know that I’m not a member of the Mattel crowd and I have negative interest in so-called black rifles. In fact, the closest thing I have to a black rifle is my Ruger GSR (it’s what you see Mike ringing gongs with above). It has a green and black laminate stock that Ruger calls black laminate, so I guess maybe it could be called a black rifle. The GSR is a fine weapon, and Mike and I were both making the gongs sing with those big 173 grain full metal jacket .308 bullets.

But I diverge. This blog is about Black Rifle Coffee and the company that makes it.

In a word, Black Rifle Coffee is great. I wish we had it when we rode across China, but like they say, better late than never. You know, they don’t drink coffee in other than the big cities in China, and staying awake on the bike was a challenge for me on that ride. But here at home I start every day with a cup of black coffee (the only way to drink it), and Black Rifle Coffee was rings my gong well.

Black Rifle Coffee is veteran owned and a portion of the profits go to veterans’ groups, police, and other first responders. That’s a good thing. And Black Rifle Coffee is a U.S. company. Reading the labels tells me that the owners have a sense of humor, too. That’s good. Good coffee and a good sense of humor make the world more fun, I think.

It’s good stuff, and it became my coffee of choice as soon as I had my first taste. Give Black Rifle Coffee a try. You can thank me later.

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Book Review: The Director

As a kid growing up in the 50s and 60s I only heard good stuff about J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. One example is a classic movie most folks my age have seen called The FBI Story. It starred Jimmy Stewart and featured a cameo appearance by J. Edgar Hoover:

Then the 1970s came and with it the protest era. Everything that was good was now bad, and there were a string of books (mostly written by disgruntled former FBI execs) about J. Edgar Hoover. I’ve read them all, and I pretty much dismissed them as the whinings of guys who had an agenda. After college and the Army, I spent a few years in the US defense industry, and the security manager in one of the companies was a retired FBI agent. I asked him if all the negative J. Edgar Hoover stuff had any truth to it and his answer was an emphatic no. “J. Edgar Hoover was a charismatic guy and a real gentleman,” he said. “We all thought the world of him.”

When I saw a Wall Street Journal review of The Director (written by Paul Letersky, who was a personal assistant to J. Edgar Hoover), I knew I wanted to read it. I bought The Director on Amazon and thoroughly enjoyed the book. It countered the propaganda previously published about Hoover (and what motivated the urchins who wrote those lies) and told an interesting story. Some things I found fascinating included:

- Hoover didn’t carry a gun. I thought that was interesting. I knew that Hoover received one of the very first Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum revolvers in the 1930s, but he didn’t personally carry a gun.
- Hoover was never big on personal security. He didn’t keep a security contingent at his home, he dined out nearly every day, and he frequently went for walks around his neighborhood on his own.
- Contrary to what most folks think, Hoover deplored wiretaps and worked hard to minimize them. He knew they could backfire, and his principal concern was avoiding anything that could embarass the FBI.
- Hoover didn’t “blackmail” U.S. Presidents. The story about Hoover informing John F. Kennedy that the FBI knew about his affair with a Mafia kingpin’s mistress is true, but Hoover did it to protect Kennedy (who broke off the affair the next day). Hoover never used that information to his advantage, nor did he ever reveal it.

There’s a lot more, but I don’t want to spoil it for you. Trust me on this…if you want a good read, pick up a copy of The Director.

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The Buck Stops Here

No, I’m not going all Joe Biden (God forbid) or Harry Truman on you. The “buck” in this case refers to Buck Knives, the big folders that seem to be standard issue for bros worldwide. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a bro, mind you.

Talk about impulse buys and effective advertising: I need another folding knife like I need another gun, but the ad from Buck Knives popped up and before I knew it I had customized my Buck 110 and placed my order. It was a Facebook ad and it did what it was intended to do (it got me). I already have four other big folders (all of those were similarly impulse purchases), but I don’t wear or carry any. If I want to go armed it will be with my 1911 (never bring a knife to a gunfight). But I like these big Bucks. I didn’t know Buck offered custom knives or about their online customizing configurator (in fact, I had never even been to the Buck website), but when I saw it I had to click and start fooling around. It was fun, and before I realized it, my wallet (figuratively speaking) was a lot lighter.

Buck lets you change the handle material (about a dozen different materials), the bolsters (brass or nickel), rivets (yes or no), finger grooves (yes or no), the blade material (different types of steel, polished or brushed), the blade configuration (drop point or regular), serrations (several options), and engraving (potentially infinite options). Woweee!

I chose no rivets, no finger grooves, nickel bolsters, mirror-polished blade, and elk grips (it will match my 1917 Colt). It’s the one you see at the top of this blog, and the ticket in is $161.50 plus freight. It will be here in about two and a half months. Be a bro and don’t tell Susie.

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Yamaha RD350 Part 3: Possession is Nine-Tenths of The Law

The RD350 made a convoluted journey but at last it has arrived at Tinfiny Ranch. Originally I was going to fly out to my buddy Deet’s house in North Carolina and spend time there getting the bike in top shape for the ride back to New Mexico. That was a good plan but I’ve been stretched pretty thin around the ranch and the incomplete projects have been outnumbering the completed ones by a wide margin. Did I really want to take another motorcycle apart? Now? Not to mention that my New Mexico tag lady cannot issue temporary tags since some kind of rule change in August. That meant I would have to ride across most of the southern states with a license plate borrowed from one of the other bikes. Scenes from the movie Deliverance played in the theater of my mind.

Plan B was for me to drive out to North Carolina and retrieve the RD350, pile Deet into the truck and have a grand adventure on the way to New Mexico. This seemed like a solid plan until Deet started thinking about being stuck in a truck with me for three days and then sleeping on the concrete shed floor until I took him to El Paso for a flight home. He’s kinda funny in a George Thorogood way.

Plan C was for Deet to load the bike into his truck and drive it out to Tinfiny Ranch. “I’ve got to have my own wheels.” Deet told me over the phone, “I want to go when I feel like going.” Plan C-1 came about because it had been a while since we Messed With Hunter in real life. Videos are fine but nothing beats hand-to-hand smack talk. Plan C-1 had Deet driving to Hunter’s new house in Oklahoma with the RD350 in his truck and me driving to Hunter’s. There, the two of us would mercilessly tag-team harass the old sodturner.

And that’s how it went. We unloaded the RD at Hunter’s and loaded it into my truck. Deet took back Hunter’s 1968 DT-1 for a full restoration job back at Enduro Central and I dragged the RD back to Tinfiny Ranch.

It’s tempting to put off the concrete floor project and mess with the RD350 but long time readers will remember that I also have the Z1 carbs apart on the work bench. It’s time I finished something. I can’t just keep taking things apart.

The RD is in beautiful condition considering its age. At $4,250 this is the most expensive motorcycle I’ve ever bought. The paintwork has a few small scratches and some fading but I’ll be leaving it as is. From 10 feet away it looks practically new. Everything looks stock, if not original. The gas tank is clean inside and may have been replaced some years ago. The paint matches well but the decals look a bit newer than the decals on the side covers.

There is a bit of confusion on the mileage. The title says 20,000 but the odometer says 4,000. I imagine the speedometer was replaced at some point in the distant past. The seller, a Flipper, was not sure how many miles were on the thing. The RD350 certainly looks low mileage.

The Flipper put a new battery in the RD350 and the lights and switches seem to work ok. I think there may be a bulb out in the speedometer backlighting. The battery seems to charge, even the blinkers work! This bike still has a headlamp switch unlike modern bikes that have the lights on all the time. I have a key, too!

Being original is less important to me than having all the stock parts. Over 47 years it would not be unusual for repairs to be made on a motorcycle. Normal wear items like foot pegs and the seat cover look in good condition. This bike has not been beat up. The engine starts first kick, revs and idles well with no unusual rattles or knocks. The chrome is in very good condition and will polish up like nobodies’ business. In a first for me, the stock tool kit is still under the seat in its original, thin, black plastic pouch.

A few things I’ll be doing on the RD350 when I get tucked in are a new air filter as they tend to crumble and clog the carbs, new tires and tubes, fix the front hydraulic brake, grease the wheel bearings, adjust the clutch, change all the fluids, replace the outer crank seals, clean the carbs, clean the exhaust baffles, re-grease the steering head bearings, lube all the cables, add inline fuel filters and whatever else I come up with. It sounds like a lot but this is typical for old bikes needing to be made street worthy after sitting. Really, you can hop on the bike and ride it right now.

Most of the vintage bikes I’ve had in my life were in terrible condition when I got them. This Rd350 breaks that mold. I paid more at the onset but I have much more to work with than usual. I’m amazed at how little I have to do to get it running and cosmetically the thing just needs a bath and a polish.

The concrete floor and the Z1 carbs come first but that doesn’t mean I won’t be ordering parts for the RD350. Watch this space for Hasty Conclusion reviews and further updates on the RD’s progress.

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Good Morning, Vietnam!

It was one of those crazy motorcycle adventure moments when a chance encounter leads to a lasting friendship. I was leading a group of maybe 10 guys on CSC RX3 motorcycles in Baja and we stopped to buy bottled gas from the capitalists along the Transpeninsular Highway in Cataviña. It was a crowded scene with two or three Bajaenos pouring gas from plastic water jugs into our motorcycles with bikes and bodies tightly crowded around. That’s when I noticed a tailpack on one of the bikes that looked different from the rest of our RX3s, and suddenly the difference hit me: It was bigger than the others and it had jump wings on the back.

Jump wings? That’s odd, I thought. I didn’t think any of the guys I was riding with was a fellow former paratrooper. That’s when I met Mike Huber. He hadn’t been riding with us; he just happened to get mixed into our group at the Catavina fuel stop.

Mike is a cool guy with a cool lifestyle. Most recently, that included a moto trip across Vietnam with his girlfriend, Bobbie. Mike published a story in ADVMoto, a magazine that has previouly published work by yours truly and Joe Gresh. Mike’s Vietnam adventure is here. I enjoyed reading it and I think you will, too.

One of these days, I keep thinking to myself. Vietnam must be one hell of a motorcycle destination. Good buddies Buffalo and his cousin Tim also rode Vietnam, and you can read that story here. It’s weird…I met both of those guys on a CSC Baja ride, too!

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