hutchman

Great pics Dave, but I may never be able to see straight again!

That might work. I will keep it in mind and see how the move goes.

No, it is not proprietary, but certainly subjective. BTW, the burger at Inca's was only $4.95.....! What a great value!

LOL ...... There is a place called the Burger Ranch on the main drag in almost downtown The Dalles. It has a decent burger. If we weren't going to be moving, it would be worth a trip to say hi and have one. However, the move is going to keep me tied down for several weeks. Hutch

Denny, are you planning on getting any farther east than Hood River or The Dalles? If so let me know, I would love to meet you for a burger or just to say hi. I live about 130 miles east of The Dalles............ If you get out this way, let's hook up. Hutch What the heck happened to my avatar...............?

I had another good burger a couple of days ago at an Inca's Mexican restaurant of all places. It was a hand made patty that appeared to be a good 1/2 pound prior to cooking. It came with a sharp cheddar cheese and bacon in addition to all the usual stuff. I could find absolutely nothing wrong with it.......very tasty, great flavor, fresh lettuce and bread, and the fries were excellent. It rates a solid 7.5 on the Hutch scale..........!

Dave, I have lived out here for 30 years and have always wanted to take that trip, but never have. Please do take lots of pics! Hutch

Welp, he just left......He told me he has no memory of any such route, but I know he talked about it when I was a kid. I guess that's that....... I was kind of hoping he had some knowledge to share.

Hmmmmmm, this has tweaked my memory. I used to live in Princeton, which seems to be just about 1/2 way on the route. I remember my Dad talking about the "Cannon Ball Route" when I was but a wee lad. He will be here later and I will ask him. Hutch

Nice looking Corvair..........Nader ought to be put in jail for what he did to that car.

I coast with my foot off the gas as much as possible, but not in neutral. This new truck seems to roll easier than most cars I have had. I do keep my tires on the high end of normal. I try to drive no faster than the speed limit, and if I don't have far to go or am just not in a hurry, I drive 5 mph less. One of the tricks I learned years ago was to run a vacuum meter and drive the car for max vacuum, as vacuum is directly related to fuel economy......the higher the vacuum, the less fuel you are burning. I do not run a vacuum meter in the truck though......... A hint I read years ago during the 73 gas crisis was to drive like you have an egg under the gas pedal. This reduces the amount of throttle opening and results in better mileage. One very simple was to increase you mileage is to simply use the cruise control. It is much better than you in maintaining a steady throttle opening and reduces our natural tendency to push the gas pedal too hard. Every time you push on the throttle and the TPS sees an increase in throttle position, the computer will tell the injection system to squirt a little gas to cover up the lean condition caused by the throttle opening. Each one of these little squirts adds up to reduced fuel economy. Correct front end alignment is another way to help. Anything you can do to reduce drag or friction helps. I guess I am done for now!

Dave, You are correct about the mileage. They ran with pumped up tires and my guess is with one eye on a vacuum gauge! However, there might be a lesson for all of us if we think about it. Maintain our vehicles with correct tire pressure and using conservative driving techniques might just get us an extra 20% boost in our mileage and NO COST to us. Yep, zero, zip, notta, none..........no cost to us at all. That's like getting some free gas, and that is a good thing! Hutch

Ahh yes, those were the days. Chrome, 4 headlights, and fins...........it just don't get any better than that. The results of the mobile economy run are kind of eye opening however. Big luxury cars of today are not much better than the big Chrysler was............. From January or 1958...... Bah-bah-bah-bah, bah-bah-bah-bah Bah-bah-bah-bah. bah-bah-bah-bah, at the hop! Well, you can rock it you can roll it You can stop and you can stroll it at the hop When the record starts spinnin' You *chalypso* when you chicken at the hop Do the dance sensation that is sweepin' the nation at the hop Ah, let's go to the hop Let's go to the hop, (oh baby) Let's go to the hop, (oh baby) Let's go to the hop Come on, let's go to the hop Well, you can swing it you can groove it You can really start to move it at the hop Where the jockey is the smoothest And the music is the coolest at the hop All the cats and chicks can get their kicks at the hop Let's go! Let's go to the hop Let's go to the hop, (oh baby) Let's go to the hop, (oh baby) Let's go to the hop Come on, let's go to the hop Let's go! Well, you can rock it you can roll it You can stop and you can stroll it at the hop When the record starts spinnin' You *chalypso* when you chicken at the hop Do the dance sensation that is sweepin' the nation at the hop You can swing it you can groove it You can really start to move it at the hop Where the jockey is the smoothest And the music is the coolest at the hop. All the cats and chicks can get their kicks at the hop. Let's go! Let's go to the hop Let's go to the hop, (oh baby) Let's go to the hop, (oh baby) Let's go to the hop Come on, let's go to the hop Bah-bah-bah-bah, bah-bah-bah-bah Bah-bah-bah-bah. bah-bah-bah-bah, at the hop! Thank you Danny and the Juniors, the music was special then!

I just tried the chat room and was late to the party. I think that is a great idea, especially if schedules ahead of time for Sunday night....or what ever is good for everyone. I also tried to post to the announcement, but must have hit the post button just at the moment it was taken down.......LOL. My timing remains unexplainable to a normal human! LOL Again, the chat room is a great idea.........

My "adventure" vehicle is a 2007 GMC Sierra 1500 with the Z71 Off Road Package. This Off Road Package includes the so called "on/off" road P265/70R17 blackwall tire. The tires on my truck are a Goodyear with a tread pattern that is more aggressive than a straight highway tire, but much less aggressive than a typical mud tire like a BFG Mud Terrain. They seemed to be a decent compromise between off road performance and a quiet highway tire. On our recent visit to the Midwest, I suffered a cut tire on a gravel road in southern Missouri. I replaced it with the spare and headed back to WA State, where I ordered a replacement tire and had it installed. All seemed well and good until two days ago when my son and I were looking at the new tire. He noticed the tire rating and stated that it was a standard load rated tire...........really only a PASSENGER CAR RATED TIRE! I had not paid that much attention.......Hmmmmmmm, this could cause some real problems when up in the mountains on Forrest Service Roads. There is a lot of sharp gravel in the mountains, which is very similar to the gravel on the road in MO. These sharp rocks can and will puncture a tire easily if the tire is not build for heavy duty service. Back in the day, bias ply tires had a "ply" rating based on the number of "plies" or layers of rubber in the casing. A 2 ply tire had 2 layers and was less strong than a 4 or 6 ply tire. It was easy to tell how tough a tire was by the number of layers of rubber. You could feel every pebble on the street on true 10 ply tires! Today it is not as easy to know how tough your tire might be. Due to modern manufacturing techniques, tires toughness is no longer indicated by counting plies as in the past but by an equivalent rating based on the old ply system. Here is a link to some good basic info on how tough the tire is you might be purchasing: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tec...e.jsp?techid=55 The "on/off" tires on my truck are really no more than 2 ply passenger car snow tires in toughness. They are not good off road tires.......period. It kind of makes you wonder why they would be installed with a so called "off road" package.......... When I replace these tires, I will purchase a much heavier LT rated aggressive tire which should resist punctures much better and be a better back country tire. These are the type of tire that should be include in the Z71 Package, but probably aren't due to cost. But what do I know?!?! Maybe most people using this type of truck never leave the pavement and therefore do not need a true LT rated tire. There are of course, disadvantages to this type of tire.........fuel economy. These tires are much heavier and have more rolling ressistance than the passenger car tires and because of this, will cause a reduction in fuel economy, drivability, and be noisier. There are trade offs to deal with in tires as in life! Just remember that when driving in the back country that all of your equipment must be up to the task. It can be a long walk out!

Update on the GM Incentives and the new truck. Good sense got the best of me and I realized a new truck at this time would really be pointless. So that means some mods to this one over the next year in addition to some miles on the Oregon Trail.

Today my father and I had a burger at Red Robin. For those of you who have never been to one, they have an extensive menu of what they term "gourmet' hamburgers. However, they seemed to have changed to a "cook a bunch of patties and microblast them when ordered" establishment. Something has changed them over the last few years as they burger itself is only barely adequate in the taste department. At best it is forgettable.......so sad as they used to be a very good burger. I ordered a "Whiskey River" Burger which is a 1/4 pound burger with crinkly onions, I order sauteed instead, cheddar cheese, lettuce, mayo, and their secret BBQ sauce. The bun was fresh and condiments were good, but the burger itself reduces the rating of the burger like I stated to "forgettable" at best. This should result in a rating on the "Hutch Scale" of 2 or 3, but at Red Robin you get the best steak fries I have ever tasted.....and they are unlimited. The fries bring the rating to a solid 4......not great but not bad either.

Your blog takes me back to the riding time in my life and I thank you for that. Riding in my imagination may not be quite the same, but it is good for the soul! Your photography is really beautifully done. What are you shooting with and how much post processing do you do? Your username certainly sounds familiar to me...........do you post on ADVRider? maybe? Thanks for sharing you experiences on the road! Oh, and BTW, happy birthday!

I am a hamburgeraholic.......there I've said it.......it's out in the open. I am not ashamed as I cannot help it - it is a disease and I am taking treatment. As part of successful program I must confront the demon and describe my reactions to the best burgers I find. The following is my first, but not my last hamburger review: I posted this first in the Steak N' Shake thread, but realized that I am a hamburger nut and love to try new burgers given the chance. So if you have already read this review, I apologize, but I assure you there will be many more to come! As a kid we used to stop at SnS in Peoria on the way to my grandparents. I have never forgotten those burgers, maybe the best ever. Flash forward to last week when I was in Illinois due to a family illness. I took a trip to see an aunt who is 92 and in poor health. On the way back to Hillsboro, I stopped on the west side of St. Louis and tried a couple of SnS Double Cheese Burgers. I must say they are still the best fast food available.........IMHO of course. They will give some specialty burgers a run for their money on taste. But you may ask why are they special? I watched the cook make my burgers on a plain griddle. He took a pre-made patty about the shape and size of a hockey puck. As he placed it on the grill, he formed the patty a specific way using a spatula and fork for pressure. The resulting patty on the grill was about the size of a normal hamburger bun, but the secret to the taste I think is the way the patty is formed.......it is paper thin on the edge and thicker in the middle. The burger was allowed to cook on the grill until it was a golden brown and then turned. It was cooked a similar amount of time on the other side and placed on the toasted bun with the requested condiments. What makes it special is the effect the shape of the formed patty has on the finished product. The edge is a crispy golden brown while the center is very juicy with the expected texture of a well done, but not overcooked burger. The first bite is has a combination of the crispy crunch of the edge and the juicy well done center! It is a combination that I have not encountered anywhere else. I rate it a solid 9 out of 10 based on both texture and taste! This review is the first review on the never ending quest for the perfect burger...........

I realize this is an old thread, but............ As a kid we used to stop at SnS in Peoria on the way to my grandparents. I have never forgotten those burgers, maybe the best ever. Flash forward to last week when I was in Illinois due to a family illness. I took a trip to see an aunt who is 92 and in poor health. On the way back to Hillsboro, I stopped on the west side of St. Louis and tried a couple of SnS Double Cheese Burgers. I must say they are still the best fast food available.........IMHO of course. They will give some specialty burgers a run for their money on taste. But you may ask why are they special? I watched the cook make my burgers on a plain griddle. He took a pre-made paddy about the shape and size of a hockey puck. As he placed it on the grill, he formed the paddy a specific way using a spatula and fork for pressure. The resulting paddy on the grill was about the size of a normal hamburger bun, but the secret to the taste I think is the way the paddy is formed.......it is paper thin on the edge and thicker in the middle. The burger was allowed to cook on the grill until it was a golden brown and then turned. It was cooked a similar amount of time on the other side and placed on the toasted bun with the requested condiments. What makes it special is the effect the shape of the formed paddy has on the finished product. The edge is a crispy golden brown while the center is very juicy with the expected texture of a well done, but not overcooked burger. The first bite is has a combination of the crispy crunch of the edge and the juicy well done center! It is a combination that I have not encountered anywhere else. I rate it a solid 9 out of 10 based on both texture and taste! This review may start me on the never ending quest for the perfect burger...........

Hi Fran, That is certainly great news. I was just in your part of the world last week on my way to Brumley from Hillsboro, Il. My mother gew up in Bland, so we are almost cousins! You certainly have some beautiful county around you. Good luck in the future with your fight! Hutch

I just read some of your blog and am completely amazed at the treatment you received at the BMW Rally. I used to ride BMWs and while not much of a rally type, I did attend a few. I found them to be very cordial gatherings and much more laid back than the Harley Rallies I attended. There are bad apples in every group however, and you apparently found a few in that group. You have obviously traveled many miles with your companion and your bike. You also obviously know the healing the road brings and my wish for you is that it heal you completely. The road is a mystic place on a bike.......no other way to describe it. As much as I like traveling in a great car or my truck, it pales by comparison to a bike. The privilege of riding has be taken from me for health reasons and I yearn for the day when I might ride again.......although it will most likely never happen. Your writing and photography take me back to the time when I did ride and for that I thank you. If you are interested, here is a link to my last great riding adventure. We took this one only 6 weeks before I got sick. I am so glad we went as it would be impossible for me now. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread....hlight=hutchman I am thinking about trying this same trip in a Jeep or my truck. I would have to bypass some of the tougher sections, but it would stll be a great adventure. Hutch

I thought it might be kind of interesting to know what others use for "adventure touring." I define the term as, any trip taken by me for other than necessary travel. It might be a day trip in the Northwest, a trip up into the hills, or a cross country discovery trip/vacation. My current adventure vehicle is a 2007 Sierra Crew Cab 1500 with 4wd. For me it seems to have the almost perfect combination of ground clearance, comfort, and room that works. I originally was going to build a LWB TJ Jeep, but health issues forced a change to a more comfortable vehicle, hence the truck. It looks like GM is going to have some really good incentives starting tomorrow, so I may trade up to a newer truck, but I think it will be the same configuration as the current one. However, eventually I plan to do a 2" leveling lift - front only, 33 inch tires for a little more clearance, and a canopy for the bed. With these mods the truck should be perfect.......at least until I come up with a different idea! So............what do all of you drive?

Nothing much new at this point. I just returned from a flying trip to the mid west and did not have the opportunity to do any Oregon Trail explorations either on the way there or back. I did have many hours to marvel at the country through which the early travelers came. They were a hardy bunch of people! There will be more trail stuff coming in the next month. My grandson and I will be following the trail as closely as we can through Eastern Oregon.

That is a great story. I have done some motorcycle touring on a "modern" bike which is an adventure, but nothing like he did. That trip took a lot of guts!