Castlewood was cold (but dry!) this morning

There was dust.  The only reason there is splatter on the bike was because I didn't avoid a little bog the size of a trash can lid.  Missed it by THAT much.

The leaves, however, are the stuff of legends.  Not on Grotpeter proper, but Ranger Station and much of roller coaster was carpeted in leaves. 

Halloween - What're you supposed to be?

Harry Potter ninja football player.  Whatever gets the job done, right?

Car Watching - 1958 Corvette

 I am so fortunate to be able to capture such classic beauties in the parking lot where I work.  They just roll up and present themselves to me.  This 1958 Corvette parked right by the front door.  (I say 1958...to the best of my knowledge, let's say.)  I think the front is the best view of this car.

 This guy is a daily driver.  It is not in show condition at all, but it is in great shape for being 56 years old.

 The trunk has quite a few cracks.  But the bumpers are nice, and I'm a real fan of the exhaust pipes peeking out of the trailing edges of the them.  The 283 V8 under the hood could have anywhere between 230 and 290 horsepower, the latter being achieved with early fuel injection. I believe this to be a 4-speed manual.

 Although the 3/4 view from the rear is not bad. It would have been so awesome to catch this bad boy without the top on.

The interiors of these things take me way back.  If I didn't mind looking like a stalker, I would have gotten closer photos.  This one appears to have a pretty solid interior.

A quick view online says that average prices for a '58 range between $45k and $90k.   I don't know whether to call this example average, but it sure makes an impression.

My Baby and Her Homecoming Adventure

 Hanna and her Freshman co-candidate in the Homecoming court riding along in the Homecoming parade. This was the first time I saw her in her dress.  She was stunning!

 They were riding atop a Plymouth Prowler, a car that somewhat matched her dress.

 It was nice to see that the boys in the Homecoming Court were dressed very snappy and seemed to be having a great time, too.

 Of course, there were super cool cars in the Homecoming parade.

 This Plymouth Road Runner was a beauty, too.  It was a gorgeous 383 car.

 Did someone say gorgeous?

 Hanna and her grandmothers.  These women treat this girl like the Princess that she is.

 Hanna's mom made sure that Hanna had everything she needed for this momentous occasion.

 Deanna and I were very happy to be able to attend.  We also went to the Homecoming football game after the parade...after some Subway sandwiches, of course.

Hanna and her little brothers.  They love this girl.  Who doesn't?

Baseball is over for the season

 Tonight was the last set of games for the boys for this season.  I caught Tyson just as the pitcher was releasing the ball.  Pretty cool, eh?

Eli's team won tonight, making the record for "The Lightning" Fall Ball season 3 and 3.  Not bad.

Greensfelder - Truly a Multi-Use Trail

 Quite possibly the finest mountain bike weather in St. Louis today that you'd find anywhere.  And the trail conditions were perfect!  Except....lots of users.  Not many mountain bikers, although I did see the DRJ guys.  Mostly, horses and hikers.  The horse back riders were very cordial, however.  I had to wait for three different sets of them in the ten mile loop (clockwise, anti-race direction), and nothing but smiles and "have-a-nice-day".  The strange obstruction of the day was on the Dogwood, only 1/4 from being done....35-40 walkers on the trail.   Mostly teenagers, well-behaved, with a few adults thrown in.  That wasn't a bad interaction either, as they were more than willing to let me pass, albeit slowly.  Right now, I own the Strava KOM for that loop in that direction.  I'm sure as soon as Chris Ploch finds out, he'll knock 7 or 8 minutes off that.  Maybe 9.

Let me take a Greensfelder selfie!

Ford Fusion - 88,888.8 miles

Sorry so blurry.  There is only so much I'm willing to do while driving.  Nothing but gas and oil up to this point.  Very proud of it.

Car Watching - 1964 Buick Electra Limo

 While at Eckert's orchard on Sunday, I spotted this fine 1960's automobile.  I was on the trailer with the family, being pulled by the tractor, heading out to pick apples.  I had hoped it would still be available when we were done.  And it was!  It's a 1964 Buick Electra 225.  Normally a very long car, I noticed something funny abut the rear doors and windows...they appeared to be longer than normal.

 Walking to the front of the car, the plates gave away it's secret.  It's a personal limo.  Something someone might own if they had a private driver to whisk them around in.  I would love to have seen under the hood.  The 401 "Nail Head" V8 is usually nothing to look at, but many of Buick's cars were powered by them and it still would have been a treat.

 This one was completely unrestored, but in good shape...a daily driver, it looked to be.  The interior was passable, and a perfect example of 60's tech.

 Love the individual letters used for the name.

 The rear has a commanding presence.  Very 70's Lincoln-like...only this was 1964.

 My favorite view.  Such strong lines.  Very formal.  You can tell that it's supposed to have skirts over the rear wheels.  Probably removed for convenience, or maybe they had corroded.

The picture that tells it all:  a third row of seats in the middle.  And they folded down to allow the rear passengers to get past.  Wait...aren't minivans credited with this sort of thing?  Well, 1964 called and they want their seats back.  I don't know how rare they are, or if they were an aftermarket creation, but I am thrilled to have caught this thing in the wild.