As far as desert driving, it is 106 right now at my house at 9pm (but will be hotter in a few weeks) and that prompts me to drive hard, fast and long for the North.

I hope everyone has safe travels and looking forward to seeing everyone again at Cody!

Best Regards,

P.S. Calculated round trip fuel cost for the Cummins is $520 so we will be bringing the Dodge "mini van" instead.....

Baja Oklahoma is just now finishing up False Summer and about to enter Hell's Front Porch, the season when motorcycle riding and lawn mowing end by 10:am.

The Comanche, when still roaming free across Comancheria, would be breaking camp about now and heading North into Minnesota. I'm pleased Mike and Jeremy will be able to emulate them,  eventually turning West. I wish I were going, too. 

Zebulon said

You have not yet written down everything you know about Winchesters. We, your friends, would like you to get that done before you and your Dodge emulate the Burning Man spectacle on some desert road. 
  

If I started writing tomorrow, I might get it all done in 20-years!  My wife already complains about the time I spend on my Winchester related projects.  Just today, I had to waste another 4-hours doing yard work   On the plus side though, it was a beautiful 78-degree day.

I do not drive in the desert!  The driest part of the country that I drive through these days is the eastern half of Washington along I-90.

Bert H. said
Hmmm... I am just a youngster compared to some of you (I will be 66-years old in August).  That stated, I drive just over 700-miles per day when traveling (and I do 100% of the wheel time). 
I used to make the trip to Reno, NV for the Big Reno show three times a year, and I always drove it straight through... 769-miles.  If I push it real hard, I can get just over 840-miles on a full fuel load in my old Dodge.
Bert
  

I do not doubt it. However, a common realization among my peers - those who survive into their Eighties -- is, having seen most of their friends die,  that they are not promised tomorrow, that endurance and reaction times diminish with age in a non-linear fashion, and prudence is not a weakness. 

A good friend now departed,  a well decorated Army aviator with thousands of hours of flying time,  used to lecture me when I was a low-time private pilot: 

"There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are very few old, bold pilots." 

It is a point of pride with me that I used to leave small aircraft all over the Southwest and take Greyhound home. I am still here. Several people I used to know aren't because they wouldn't ride the 'hound.

What you can endure safely in your Sixties may or may not be an intelligent thing to do in 10 years, much less 15.

You have not yet written down everything you know about Winchesters. We, your friends, would like you to get that done before you and your Dodge emulate the Burning Man spectacle on some desert road. 

Bert H. said
Hmmm... I am just a youngster compared to some of you (I will be 66-years old in August).  That stated, I drive just over 700-miles per day when traveling (and I do 100% of the wheel time). 
I used to make the trip to Reno, NV for the Big Reno show three times a year, and I always drove it straight through... 769-miles.  If I push it real hard, I can get just over 840-miles on a full fuel load in my old Dodge.
Bert
  

I'm a youngster as well, my dad was a much better long-distance driver into his 70's than I ever was or will be. I break my 1200 mile drive into two days and it's a beating for me. I'm getting better, it used to take me over a day to recover. Might be one of those Navy things.

Mike

Mike

I used to make the trip to Reno, NV for the Big Reno show three times a year, and I always drove it straight through... 769-miles.  If I push it real hard, I can get just over 840-miles on a full fuel load in my old Dodge.

Bert

Henry Mero said
We're gunna' do Our darndest, Brenda has a dr.'s appointment on the 6th, so that makes for a lot of drivin' in 2 days..
  

Henry, in 2024 Barbara and I drove her Subaru Forester 1,115 miles from DFW to Cody and we swapped off at the wheel. We had to stop overnight in Salina, KS at the end of 6.5 driving hours [Day 1], and again in Denver at the end of 6.75 driving hours [Day 2]. We got to Cody after a long 9 driving hours [Day 3.] 

I was then 80 and she 74. We could still make that drive today, safely. But adding another 4.5 hours of driving to each of the first two days would have left us dangerously tired after the first 8 hours on the road. It also would have required staying one night in unspeakable accommodations comparable to what one might have found on Devil's Island in 1875. 

The only thing I would do differently is avoid Denver like the Plague and drive further to Fort Collins. 

If your distance to Cody is over a thousand miles, please don't try to drive it in two days. Leave that to our youthful Darwin Award candidates. We would miss our favorite Canadian. 

 Brisket please

I expect to be there (just me) by mid-afternoon Wednesday barring travel delays.

I've not eaten there before, but will likely go for ribs.

Best,

Lou