Believe it or not, I really do love animals!

Day 11

By the time Brian and I woke up, Dave had already left us.  He needed to be in Boise, ID, and was on a schedule so we understood.  So it was just Brian and I.  I went out to check out my poor baby and see how she fared the run-in with the #$%@! deer.  There was blood on the front gutter and there is some pitting of the wing window glass, along with a dent in the aluminum trim -- dang it all!!

Blood in gutter (center of picture), mirror gone, scuffing of wing window and black trim.

I'm angry that the glass is damaged but, ya know what, it could've been a LOT worse so I'm dang lucky!

Must be something with my car.  Yesterday I saw a piece of trash tumble across the road so I maneuvered my car to pass over it when suddenly the 'trash' stood up -- it was a ground squirrel.  And judging by the thump on the right side of my baby and what Brian saw fly away from my baby, it suddenly was a very dead ground squirrel.

Anyway, there was no killing spree today, just a long drive.  Utah was on the very warm side, almost hot, but things cooled down in Idaho.  The only thing was, we hit a major league head wind!  I was getting buffeted in the front and the left side.  My only respite was the zooming trucker that would temporarily block the wind.

The Devil's Slide - A cool rock formation along the way.

My 1972 VW air-conditioning was working strong!

We stopped in Parma, ID, for dinner.  This is where the Invasion was first held.  By this time the winds had died down and driving wasn't as bad.  When we hit beautiful Oregon the winds were gone and temps were wonderfully cooler.

Deja vu.

 As we approached Burns there was one long, long grade we...I...had to pull.  Please little stock engine, get us up!  Yup, I had to down-shift to third gear but she got us up and over the hill.  After a couple of miles of cooling down we pulled over, let the engine sit, and took some pictures of our girls.  When I checked the oil it was ever so slightly touching the BOTTOM of the dip stick.  This engine drinks and burps oil like Brian with Diet Coke!  So I topped her up and we were on our merry way.  By the way, thanks again to Mike and Jake for letting me borrow their engine!

Photo op 23 miles or so from Burns.

Brian's '64 Notchback.

My '72 Sqauareback.

What're you lookin' at, white boy?  (The Infamous Brian)

We're spending the night at the same hotel in Burns that we did on the last Invasion.  While we were unloading a group of older folks came up to check out our cars.  We had a good chat about our cars, their factory history in the scheme of VW, and about racing as two of the gents had done it (one drag racing, the other track).  Pretty neat.

For once the weather was so chilly I had to bust out my Levi 501s, a sweatshirt, and my fleece hoodie.  The beautiful Oregon sky was deep blue and cloud-free as I had my second Carlos Torano but it was a little bland...maybe the mind and body decompression, along with the chilly air, altered the taste.  But it drew well and gave a thick smoke, which is what I like.  Tomorrow we will be headed for beautiful Roseburg and then beautiful Portland for me.  I can't wait to see my Sweetie and the kiddos.  And snore in my own comfy bed.  But with the stress of the last few days, I miss my Trini Girl the most.

One thing (of many, by the way) I got from this trip is how beautiful Oregon is.  Just thought I'd mention that if I hadn't already.