Dynamat Road Tour - The 2010 Amsoil/Street Rodder

There was a hard rain most of the night but the skies had cleared by Wednesday morning. Some street rodders came down from the Twin Cities to greet us on Wednesday morning as we headed out for our destination of the small Minnesota town of Northfield. This pretty little town was thrust into the history books back in 1876 when Jesse James, his brother, Frank, and the Younger gang came to rob the bank. The townsfolk of Northfield would have no part of that and they foiled the robbery attempt in a battle that is legendary to this day. The drive to Northfield was beautiful and we visited the bank where the robbery attempt occurred. By 11 a.m. it was time for the Road Tourians to make their getaway and we headed out for a lunch stop in Mankato, Minnesota. I learned about Culvers Restaurants on a Road Tour to Back to the 50's a few years ago and thought that some burgers and their famous cement mixer milk shakes would be the perfect nourishment for the afternoon. We were greeted at Culvers by a contingent of street rodders from the Mankato area. There was also a reporter on hand from the local newspaper. It was a brief stop in Mankato but between the good food and the great welcome it was worth the effort.

Wednesday afternoon's destination was the town of Brandon, South Dakota. We had been invited by car enthusiast Larry Olson and his wife, Carol, to stop by and see their fantastic collection of vehicles and they even offered to feed us. That sealed the deal and we all arrived at Larry's beautiful facility by 5 p.m. Larry's taste in cars ranges from traditional, high-end street rods to potent muscle cars with some exotics included in the mix. The barbecue was great and the hospitality was genuine. Also on hand and helping with our visit were Kevin Bowman and the crew from Bowman's Real Hot Rods shop, which is just around the corner from Larry's facility. Kevin and his craftsman are responsible for many of Larry's beautiful hot rods and there are more in progress that will soon be added to Larry's stable. The Bowman Bunch went out of their way to help some of the Road Tourians who had some car issues and made sure that everyone and everything was in good shape before we left for our hotel. Many thanks to Larry and Carol Olson and everyone at Bowman's Real Hot Rods for making it a great evening in Brandon.

Thursday morning we were up and rolling again. Just down the highway from Brandon are Sioux Falls and the facility of Dakota Digital. We have used Dakota Digital gauges on some of our previous Road Tour cars. In 2011 we are excited to have Dakota Digital on board with the just-announced VHX line of gauges that mate's digital technology with a traditional look. The VHX Dakota gauges will be right at home in our '55 Chevy Road Tour car for 2011. Sales Manager Scott Johnson greeted us and we broke into two groups for a real behind-the-scenes look at the work and detail that goes into the gauges and taillight assemblies. It was a very interesting morning at Dakota Digital. Owner and President Ross Ortman joined us on Friday at Larry Ruth's Rod Shop in Spearfish. Ross and many of the Dakota Digital staff were in the Black Hills area promoting the company's motorcycle products during Bike Week.

From Sioux Falls it was a short drive to Mitchell, South Dakota, and the world-famous Corn Palace. Built over 100 years ago, this huge auditorium is decorated inside and out; corn takes on a very striking and different look, as murals are added and changed each year. It is unusual to say the least. We also took time to grab a bite to eat in Mitchell before continuing west to our evening destination of Pierre, South Dakota. Because of the huge crowds in the Black Hills for Bike Week we decided that we would stay in Pierre on Thursday evening, visit Spearfish and Spearfish Street Rods Friday afternoon, and continue onto Douglas, Wyoming, for Friday evening.