Vehicles We Have Owned

This is a list of all the cars, trucks and motorcycles we have owned over the years.  Some were owned with Louise, some with my brother, Gary, and some with my son, Dan.

I was really surprised at the number although I shouldn't have since I'm OLD!  This is roughly in the chronological order that we had them, starting in about 1958:

Year Make and Model Notes 1955 Allstate Moped Red 1951 Rambler American Brown and Beige, shared with Gary 1959 Rambler Station Wagon Blue 1961 Rambler Station Wagon Red with Black Skunk Stripes 1965 Honda S90 Black 1965 Rambler 2-Door HT, Wrecked 1064 Corvair White Convertible 1963 Harley Sportster Blue, then Maroon 1963 Chevy Biscayne White 2-Door 1969 Ford XL Reddish Brown with White Vinyl Top 1972 Ford Ranchero Yellow with Woody Trim 1965 Ford Econoline Van Blue with Camping Stuff in Back 1969 Ford XL Red Convertible "Beater" 1972 Chevy Impala 4-Door Company Car, Blue 1974 Chevy Impala 4-Door Company Car, Maroon 1967 Pontiac Firebird Gold Color with White Interior 1963 Chevy Pickup 3/4 Ton, Lots of Rust 1972 Chevy Pickup 1/2 Ton, Beige, with Log Splitter 1983 Buick LeSabre Grey, Eckart's Old Car 1984 Buick LeSabre Blue, Company Car 1979 Volkswagen Rabbit Light Blue 1965 Ford Econoline Pickup Black 1986 Olds Cutlass Ciera 4-Door, Gray 1989 Ford Mustang White GT 1990 Ford Thunderbird Light Brown, bad car 1991 Ford Aerostar Van Two Tone Blue 1993 Meredes 300 Black 1994 Harley Sportster Custom Gleghorn Paint 1995 Harley Road King Turquoise Blue 1946 Chevy Cabover Butt Ugly 1999 Harley Ultra Classic Silver and Brown 1993 Ford Pickup Blue, Short Wide 1968 Chevy Camaro Red with Black Vinyl Roof 1996 Dodge Durango Silver 1971 Chevy Nova Drag Car 1995 Ford 1 Ton Dump Truck Red 1999 Dodge 1 Ton Dump Truck White 1999 International 4700 White, 4-Door 2003 Dodge Dakota Pickup White Extended  Cab 1974 Honda Trail 90 Yellow, Gave to Milt 1966 Harley Sportster Red and White 2003 BMW K1200 Navy and White 1981 Chevy Pickup Blue, Short Narrow 1974 Moto Guzzi Rusty White, From Jerry Adair 2005 Ford Pickup Dark Blue 4WD, Short Wide 2007 Dodge Nitro Brown 2009 Yamaha TW200 2004 Toyota Tacoma Pickup Red, 4WD, 4-Door 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Silver 2008 Holiday Rambler Motorhome Brown

Have you ever thought about making a list like this?  It is an interesting exercise although I'm not sure what it says about us?  I guess it indicates that Americans love their cars!

Genealogy

Louise and I have been interested in genealogy for several years now and have spent our share of time looking through cemeteries for specific tombstones.  Its the kind of hobby where you can kind of run hot or cold; we just finished a stretch of three or four years where we didn't do anything at all.

Probably my best success was with my father's family.  Dad knew his own father but no one beyond that.  We were able to track his family back several generations and found out a lot of interesting things.  This was all done while he was still alive so he got to learn his family a bit better.

My mother's family is interesting in that HER mother's side has been well documented back to before the American Revolution.  In fact, there have been widely circulated books about this family.  On the other hand, her father's side (my maternal grandfather) is a complete dead end.  We know my grandfather's parents' names but nothing else about them.  Its kind of frustrating but perhaps some day we will find the key.  Ironically, Granddad was a member of the LDS church which is completely dedicated to genealogy.

As you may have guessed, we have started doing a bit more genealogy lately.  It is absolutely amazing how much "stuff" has been added on the Internet since we were involved last.  We just purchased a subscription to Ancestry.com and have already learned a lot just by going through their files.  Another interesting website is Findagrave.com, where volunteers have listed millions of tombstones from around the World.

It is a very fascinating hobby and if you have some spare time and interest in your family's past, you should look into it.  It has been very rewarding for us.

The Finished Loop Antenna

I finally got the poles purchased and set and now have my loop (skywire) antenna up in the air.  Here's a picture.

The feedline is on the steel tower over by the house and there are four other poles arranged in a pentagram.  The poles are about 117' apart and the wire is 536 feet long.  The results are spectacular!  The bad news is that the loop out-performs my three element beam on 20, 15, and 10 meters.

I do need to experiment with the feedline length.  Right now I'm at about 70 feet and it probably should be increased to 130 feet.  Anyway, if you have the room, I would strongly recommend a skywire or loop antenna.

If I have any more breakthroughs, I'll let you know.