Don't even think of stopping here.

Upon entering the enchanted state of New Mexico, we came upon a dust bowl of a town called Nara Visa. Right off the main road through town is this plot of land.  Where I am guessing is the humble abode of some crazy old hermit.  Although, I really can't be sure because as it was very apparent by all the literature on every glass and metal surface; we were not welcome.

Not that we would usually stop anyways.  Seeing as there were no Volkwagens in sight.  Man, we had to stop, after cruising by and seeing all of the signs.   In fact we made a u turn and pulled right up to all of these old cars.  I rolled down my window and started taking photos.  Just like some crazy tourist visiting a new and strange land.

It really makes one wonder what the last draw was for this old hermit to just go crazy all over his old cars.  Who was the one that ticked him off so much that he got a can of white paint and painted craziness all over his cars.  To who ever that person was, I say thanks.  Those signs made me laugh all the way  to Arizona.  I just kept looking at them and cracked up every time.

Just remember, don't get caught here.  I'm sure the old man has a shotgun that he is more than willing to use. At least that's how I see it in my minds eye.

The Stash

I know it's gettin' harder and harder for all of you hard core Volkswagen enthusiasts out there to find a good stash of V-dubs anymore.  What with all the buses being sold out in California and shipped overseas to the Japanese. Then, there are all the idjuts turning 'em into dune buggies and what not.  There just aren't a whole lot of 'em left.  Not to mention the ones totalled in all the movies over the years.  I hate to admit it, but I've totalled two in my lifetime.  They're especially not sitting in a field somewhere, waiting to be restored.  

 Well, I'm here to say that the Old Man has found a stash.  That's right somewhere between Kansas and Arizona is this stash.  He found it over fifteen years ago and we drove by it again on our trip out to my folks in Az, this past Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately, no one was home.  

We have been lucky over the years to come upon such stashes, but I swear, they are becoming few and far between.  It's a sad fact.  Almost all of the older Volkswagens we own were found out in the desert of New Mexico.  That's one of the few good things the Old Man has with his job, he drives all over the damn place and many a country road.  That type of driving gives you a lot of time to keep your eyes open for old cars.

 There is something about finding an old VW just sitting out in a field somewhere.  Waiting for someone like you, to come by and try to swindle it away for nothing at all, from someone that thinks it is just a piece of junk to begin with.  Usually, the automobile belonged to a now dead so and so relative and no one in the family wants it or knows what to do with it.  Yeah, those type a stashes are becoming a thing of  the past for the cool old Volkswagens.

So, here's to all the lonely dwindling stashes out there.  Us enthusiast, out there, are searching and we will find you.  Gotta love a good stash!

Gotta start 'em young.

I know it's been MONTHS since I've posted.  What can I say, this Mama has been busy.  Good news is I have lots of stuff to post soon.  In the meantime enjoy an old photo of the old man and his sis, hanging out in the family bus, back in the day.

This Bus Driving Mama has some new tee's!

So, I've been waiting for this crazy Kansas weather to get nice enough to take the Rattler outta the garage.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature has her own plans that she is working on.  In the meantime I have been hanging out, going to school, beading, and surfing the net.  One of my favorite places to browse on the net is Etsy.  I just purchased two new tees for my upcoming summer of cruising with the kiddos in the Rattler from one of the artists on there.  By the way, there are quite a few cool VW pieces on Etsy, in case you were wondering.

Now, I know they are ultra hippieish.  Not that I have anything against you hippies out there, I'm just not one of 'em.  Naw, I just love the Volkswagen's for the cool factor that they entail.  That and my old man is really good at makin' em go fast.  And there is nothing more fun than blowing past some yuppie, in his new such and such, with my old Volkswagen.  Anyways, I thought the first one here was really cool with the teepee's and bus.  Seeing as I am Indian and I have a bus, it is almost like it was made for me.  Of course I'm sure the artist was just imagining a bunch of hippies in the teepee's tripping out on some drug or another.  Then there is the cheese factor of it all.  It is a cheesy tee.  I like that it's kinda cheesy.  I can't wait to wear it.  It kinda reminds me of those coyotes howling at the moon t-shirts you see people wearing sometimes, but better(because it has a bus and teepee's of course).

 

This next tee is pretty cool too, what with the bus cruising down the road and the mountains and the night sky and all.  That and the star border around the whole picture.  Definitely a Bus Driving Mama kinda shirt.  Anyways, I know all you crazy VW folks out there want to know where these cool tees came from so here is the link for it.

Hy-Class Ragtop

Well, it is definitely winter here in the Midwest and the Rattler and the rest of the air cooled fleet are all tucked away for a nice winters nap.  The kiddos and I are already missing our cruises in the Rattler, but not enough to pull her out and freeze our ca hones off in the freezing temps.  Not to mention scraping the ice off of the inside of the safari windows as we drive.  I'm sorry to say that my days of cruising around in the freezing cold in an air cooled VW have come and gone.  I prefer to drive a my heated jetta in the cold these days.

On another note Hot VW's published the article about my old man's oval ragtop and it is now available to purchase wherever Hot VW mags are sold.  His car is not only on the cover, it is the centerfold also!  How cool is that?!  Finally, after 13 long years of being hitched to a Volkswagen nut, all of the long nights and every waking free minute restoring multiple cars has finally paid off.  The old man can't seem to put his copy down.  He just looks at it and looks at it over and over again.  He is now all geared up to restore his '59 Karmann Ghia.  So, here's to the next restoration and the restorations before that gave my old man the knowledge and skills needed to produce such a fine piece of work for all of you VW lovers out there to enjoy!

The proud restorator of said ragtop bug and his son.

Hy's dad is the man that got Hy started on his first VW as a teenager.

The Rattler Needs a New Key

What do you do when your key breaks off in the ignition? 

That was my question of the day a few days ago when my daughter and I decided to cruise an hour away to a pumpkin patch in the bus.  You need to know that there is only one key to the Rattler.  We just never got around to making a copy, not that it would have mattered in this situation. 

Of course my first inclination was to call my talented old man and see what he thought.  He stopped working on whatever cherry picker he was working on and headed our way.  An hour later, our hero arrived with one of his fancy snap on screwdrivers and stuck it in the ignition with the broken off part of the key and turned the screwdriver.  It was so simple and yet not something that this bus driving mama would have thought of.  The Rattler came to life and rumbled and roared and we were off.  The old man followed us home and headed back off to work.

Come to find out, the tumbler part of the ignition literally had fallen apart and caused the key to break.  So, the old man took the old tumbler out and headed over to his folks to search through another 1967 bus to get a new tumbler.  I guess 1967 was a one year only for many of its parts.  Luckily, he was able to find the part.  Next, he found a guy online that could re-key keys if you have the tumbler number.  So we are awaiting the arrival of the new keys. 

Greaserama 2010

The Greaserama is by far our favorite car show of the whole year.  If you have never been and are in the Kansas City area around Labor Day, you should definitely check it out.  There are many things that I love about this show, but the two best things about the show are the accumulation of rat-rods and all the people that go with them.  Everyone is welcome and no one is outta place.  I love it!  The vehicles are all driven and well worn and loved.  The Rattler (our bus) fits in perfectly here.  If you want a fancy-schmancy car show where every car has a fresh coat a paint and new interior, you better head on over to the Good Guys Car Show at the Speedway. 

So we gussied up the Rattler by washing the bugs off the windshield and loaded her up for a day out at the old Boulevard Drive-In.   It was a perfect day out and we came prepared this year with the makings for green chili cheese burgers, hot dogs for the kids,chips, cookies and cold drinks to wash it all down with.  We met up with our long time friends Andy and Sarah and their '63 double cab, that rattles even more than the Rattler if you can imagine that, and we headed out to the show.

Karmann sporting her new Vdub shirt.

Lots of Pin-up girls at the show.  They rocked!

Everyone had a story about a VW.  Either they had one, totaled one, rolled one, sold one, or wanted one.

Hy sporting the Greaserama cap that came with the show.

I think this couple thought they were going to the beach.

This guy clear coated his bus so it all looked shiny.  He, he...

The Greaserama was sporting a bunch of custom bicycles too.  This kids is my favorite, I like the bat holder in the back.

Our generation, trying to be grown-up.

Lawrence's bus from T-town.  I know all you Californians thought you had all the 21 windows, right.

Another bug at the show.

Heston winking at me.

The Boulevard still has all of its old metal playground equipment that we all used to play on as kids, but for some reason it has been deemed to dangerous for our kids.  Go figure, my kids had a ball, burning their hands on the metal and almost falling off of the equipment.  This year the playground was also equipped with a couple of tether balls and a big plastic tube that the boys all rolled around in.  Fun, fun, fun.

Heston was the smallest kid in the tube, he just kept rolling out and jumping in for more.  That kid is tough!

Last year I took photos of all the cars, this year I had more fun taking photos of all the people.  Ya, that's right I was people watching.  I hope you enjoy the shots as much as I do.

All I can say is nice hair.

I'm glad I didn't have to watch this guy try and get these jeans on.  Not a fan of the skinny jean.

I think this guy came in a vert. 

Like father, like son.

Heston posing with Drag Daddy.

Andys double cab and the Rattler.

Hy, Karmann and Andy

I don't know which is better the kid in the little car or the lady taking the photo.  Too funny

I think these guys were from Salina. 

Real men eat funnel cake!

2 minutes after we loaded the kids up to go home.

Well that's all folks.  I can't wait for next year already.