I Drive a 55

June 4th & 5th was the Goodguys Summer Get Together in Pleasanton, CA – just east of San Francisco.
As always, it was a good show and it was fun to get out and see everyone again.
I left the hotel Monday morning, June 6th for my first real road-trip of the year.
I’m the host of the Hot Rod Power Tour, and ever since they gave me the ok to drive The 55 on the Power Tour I’ve been doing it.
Just to get to the Power Tour I’d have to drive through eight states and travel over 2000 miles.
Giddy-up!!
We started in Pleasanton, CA and drove towards Salt Lake City.
Our first stop was in Sacramento to check out this Orbit station.

I’m a big fan of the old Phillips 66 Batwing gas stations, but these Orbit stations take it to the next level!!
From Sacramento we took Interstate-80 east to Truckee and this Flying A station.

Pretty cool right?
Reno was our next stop.
There’s a bunch of mid-century gold in Reno – like Jack’s Cafe.

I dig that roof.
It reminds me of one of those bowls you get a taco salad in that’s made out of a taco shell.
From Reno we continued east to Winnemucca and the Scott Shady Court.

It was built in the 1920’s and is still in service today.
Stop in and say hi if you’re in Winnemucca.
Better yet – stay the night and support the local economy.
We continued east and made it to the Bonneville Salt Flats.

I’d been there before, but I always have to stop on The Salt.
I mean, Bonneville is the World Capitol of Speed!!
It was closed to motor vehicles so we didn’t make any land speed record attempts in The 55 this time.
A few miles down the Interstate is one of my favorite rest stops – the Salt Flats Rest Area.
There’s an east-bound and a west-bound rest area and I think they’re pretty cool.

We spent the night in Salt Lake City and continued on to Helper, UT in the morning.
Helper is about 110 miles from Salt Lake City and is named for the extra “Helper” engines that were required to help trains up the steep mountain grade to Soldier Summit.
It’s also got this cool old Conoco station that was built back in 1924.

From Helper I stopped in Green River for fuel and for a burger at Ray’s Tavern.
I always stop at Ray’s Tavern whenever I drive through Green River.
I love that place!!
From Ray’s we drove into Colorado and crossed over the Continental Divide at the Eisenhower Tunnel.
It’s the Highest point in the Interstate Highway System at 11,013 feet above sea level.
When I stopped for the night at my Pop’s place in Evergreen, CO I noticed my grill wasn’t lined up right.

And upon further inspection I discovered the painter hadn’t reattached it.
You can see the second “tooth” from the left is crooked and the entire grill was flopping around on the front valance panel.
It flopped around so much it ground through the new paint down to bare metal in two spots.
Wonderful…
I’ll get to the paint and the painter later.
The next morning I was off to Kansas to see a gas station.
Yeah, a gas station.
It was built in 1954 and is the first station in the U.S. to feature the unique “Hyperbolic Paraboloid” roof – or “Batwing.”

As the story goes – this station is one of the only buildings left standing on the east side of Main Street in Haysville after the Tornado of 1999!!
It’s so cool it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. 
If you’re around the Wichita, KS area you’ve got to stop in and say hi to Danielle – she’s the Economic Development Director for the City of Haysville and she’s awesome!!
From Haysville I headed east and was awarded a certificate of speed – 77 in a 65…
Doh!!
But officer, I don’t think this old car can go that fast.
Yeah, right.
After my ticket I proceeded to West Mineral, Kansas – the home of Big Brutus.

Big Brutus is the nickname of the Bucyrus-Erie model 1850-B electric shovel.
It was built in 1963 and is the largest electric shovel still in existence.
It – is – amazing!!
From Big Brutus I was close to Kansas’s Route 66 and the Brush Creek Bridge – more commonly known as the “Rainbow Bridge.”

The Rainbow Bridge was built in 1923 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
I drove down into Arkansas and Hot Springs National Park.

Hot Springs National Park is National Park number 28 for us.
From Hot Springs National Park I caught a few Phillips 66 Batwing stations on my way to Memphis.

I crossed over into Tennessee on the Hernando de Soto Bridge.

I had to stop by and see Sun Recording Studio.

This is where Elvis Presley recorded “That’s Alright” and Johnny Cash recorded “Cry Cry Cry.”
They were both produced by the legendary Sam Phillips.
When Sam outgrew Sun Studios he opened up his own recording studio right down the street.

We made it to Memphis!!
Now we’re ready to start the 2022 Hot Rod Power Tour!!
If you’d like to come along for the ride with me in The 55 here are some links:
The Tour to The Hot Rod Power Tour Part 1 – Goodguys Pleasanton to Salt Lake City:
https://youtu.be/WLBEJMGPY20
The Tour to The Hot Rod Power Tour Part 2 – we go from Salt Lake City, UT to Denver, CO
https://youtu.be/qp591sXivUU
The Tour to The Hot Rod Power Tour Part 3 – we go from Denver, CO to Haysville, KS
https://youtu.be/piLNTqZ20EQ
The Tour to The Hot Rod Power Tour Part 4 – from Haysville, KS to Hot Springs, AR
https://youtu.be/pZEdD1OQ490
The Tour to The Hot Rod Power Tour Part 5 – from Hot Springs, AR to Memphis, TN
https://youtu.be/WmjdrpxsnFk
Thanks for coming along for the ride with me.
Let me know what you think in the comment section.
#idrivea55