It is a beautiful sunny Washington day, as I sit under the rose arbor in the Garden of Mary at our home sipping a cup of coffee, with a piece of Mary's home baked orange slice cake, I am inspired to write about the recent Puget Sound VCCA tour on Sunday, August 12th to the Sunrise Visitor Center on Mt Rainier.
   It was 10:15 Sunday morning when Al Howe and Marsha Ullrich, with Mary and Jerry Brownell riding in the back seat of Al's 55 B/A Chevy arrived at the designated meeting place, the Enumclaw Safeway Store. In the distance we could see another red and white '55 Chev being fueled up at the ARCO Station. We waved, and Diane & Dave Haddock returned the greeting. In just a few minutes other Chevrolets arrived including: John Strampher and his mother, Edna Webster, in their '54 B/A Sport Coupe, Carol and Lee Folsom in their '78 Malibu Wagon, Sue and Jim Seiber in their (new) '62 Impala Sport Sedan, Fran and Dick Olson in their '50 Convertible, Betty and Dave Roberts in their '65 Convertible, Roger Orness in his '50 Bel Air Hardtop, Dot and John Ziegler & their dog "Chloe" in their '58 Impala Sport Coupe, Ann and Bill Damm in their '65 Ford Thunderbird and Evie and Rod Schein sporting a Volvo.
   After spectators finished admiring the vintage Chevs and much visiting with friends, our Wagon Master "Tall Al" gave a Wagon Train Driver's Briefing.  At 11:00 o'clock sharp the sound, "WAGONS HO" was heard and all 12 wagon train drivers and passengers headed up the trail via back roads to Mud Mountain Dam. There were interesting sights to be seen like the stump with vegetation growing out of it and a totem pole, as we drove the curvy mountain roads to the visitors center at the dam, and our first rest stop. Then the Chevy Wagon Train headed for Greenwater on highway (wagon trail) 410, where we stopped at Wapiti Willies Gift and Coffee Shop. Continuing on, the mountain road lead us through beautiful old growth forests of Douglas fir, Western red cedar and Western hemlock.
   (Flashback) I forgot to mention back at Enumclaw, when Dick and Fran Olson arrived, Dick's first words were, "They moved the Safeway Store!"  (It must have been a while since he was in Enumclaw.) And when someone asked Dave Haddock if he had a spare set of wheel bearings, the answer was an astounding, "Yes and we also have wheel bearing grease!" (He was referring to a previous breakdown on another Mt Rainier tour.)
   As we motored down Mather Memorial Parkway, our vintage Chevrolet caravan turned to the right toward the Mt Rainier Sunrise Visitor Center, and after about 13 miles of beautiful, breathtaking scenery and curvy mountain roads we arrived at a great view point. There was only one problem, the clouds had us socked in and you could look down the mountainside a long way, but not up. When we arrived at the Sunrise Visitor Center visibility was limited to zero, and it was, "put on your sweaters and jackets cold".
  After a brief stop John Strampher suggested we go back down the mountain (about 2,000 feet lower and warmer) to have our picnic lunch, to which we willingly agreed. The location of our picnic, White River Campground, is where John has been camping for many years. I don't need to tell you that each of our stops there were spectators admiring our vintage cars as well as lots of car comparisons going on and parking lot mechanic talk.
   The return trip down the mountain was at a faster pace, and not many of our Chevys were passed on this leg of the journey. When we arrived back at Enumclaw the caravan turned at the Pickle Factory, heading north and then west to the Brownell Flower Gardens, where Mary showed all the ladies and some of the men her beautiful flower gardens and cement & rock castle work. Jerry says all he has to do to make Mary happy is to periodically buy her a sack of cement. The guys and some of the ladies looked at Jerry's '54 Bel Air 2 door sedan still in an unfinished state. Jerry received some sage advice on the next restoration steps to take.
   The final leg of our journey was to Al Howe's house, where Marsha and Al were busy preparing spaghetti and setting out all the wonderful and tasty dishes of beef barley soup, salads and desserts that were brought by everyone. After much delicious food and enjoyable conversation, a garage tour was in order. It was not long before the hood was up on Al's '31 coupe, motor started and Dr. Lee Folsom was putting a stethoscope to Al's 6 cylinder Chev motor. There was a troubling chirp coming from the back cylinder. Dr. Lee's diagnosis was put in a can of Bardhal and drive it a thousand miles. (And don't call me in the morning.)  The day was great and appreciated by all. There was good food, great travel and some breathtaking scenery. The greatest of all was the friendship and camaraderie that was experienced by everyone. I am reminded of a comment made by Jim Farris that rings true to me. This is not a direct quote but Jim shared that the purpose of (PS-VCCA) is the preservation, restoration, fun and enjoyment of vintage Chevrolet cars and trucks. Most important are the people, the friendships that are developed, and the caring for others that is shared. It is just that the Chevrolet is the medium through which this occurs.                                                                                                                  Jerry Brownell