On our Facebook page today I started the day off by saying “today we cruise.” My Sunday morning started early with getting some work done here on Infinite-Garage.com, then doing a little work to the company car so it was cruise ready. I met up with some fellow car guys in my home town and soon we were off to the start point of today’s cruise, some 30 miles away.
I was snapping photos of the cruise all day long, so if you like pictures of cool old cars, well, as luck would have it, that’s what we do here. So you might want to continue reading. Pictured above is one of the local cars I met up with early today. It’s a sweet Chevy II and I thought it was worthy of the feature photo for today’s story.
We left Pittsfield around 10am headed for White Hall, Illinois. As luck would have it, I got in right behind the Hemi Cuda of the group. So for the next 30 miles, the IG Cobalt SS Supercharged sounded like it had a Hemi. Every stop sign, every hill, the Hemi would come to life and I’d be grinning ear to ear. I think some people underestimate how much sound plays a role in the experience of a car. It’s a huge reason why I love cars like the Cuda, new Challenger, and even something like an E63 Mercedes. They have this epic sound. No Mercedes on the cruise today though. Just American muscle and some guy in a Chevy Cobalt SS.
Our first stop of the day was at the high school in White Hall, Illinois, to meet up with our good friends from the White Hall Drag O Way. They were hosting this cruise. You may remember I went on the Fun Cruise last year, which happened to go right through my home town. Meanwhile, back at the high school, the cars assembled.
This old 1959 Mack Truck is at a lot of the events in the area and I probably have not given it the attention it deserves. It’s just stunning and it sounds great too.
After making our way through White Hall, we made another quick stop in Jerseyville, Illinois to pick up another big group of cars. I, of course, focused on the Hemi Cuda in front of me. Not to mention a sweet SRT8 Challenger.
Then it was time to hit the open road for a while, as we made our way to the great river road, which, ironically, isn’t along the river for most of it’s course. However, once you reach Pierre Marquette State Park, you find the Illinois River to your west and the scenery is just beautiful. Of course the dozens of muscle cars does not hurt things.
Another shot of some of our group. The Cobalt probably sticks out a little here as the black sheep.
In our group was a second Chevy II. It sounded awesome and had the performance to back it up.
That, my friends, is a Valiant Wagon. Very cool!
It’s not just old muscle and Mopar in the group. There were even some modern Fords making the trip.
South of Pierre Marquette, and the small tourist town of Grafton, Illinois, the Great River Road finally lives up to it’s name, as the beautiful river bluffs tower over the highway. There’s what looks like an ocean of water to our right,as the Mississippi River has now merged with the Illinois River.
We are there! After crossing over into the “Show Me State” and taking a nice cruse through the river bottoms, we arrive in St. Charles Missouri. St. Charles is a historic river town on the banks of the Missouri River. With a quaint historic downtown area, it was a nice place to stop and spend the afternoon.
All good things must come to an end, and soon it was time for us to head home. As the sun left the sky, we stopped for a quick fill up. With all this muscle pulling into the station, the owner was probably thinking of retirement tomorrow. I took the time for one quick snap shot out the window as we were readying to pull out.
One last snap on the road home. This time taking the Missouri side of the river home. Our group broke off from the main group to take a significantly shorter route home. So it was one last shot as the sun faded. With me now following the blue Chevy II. The bluffs on the left of us.
At the end of the day, today was just what you wanted it to be. Great cars, great people, and a great time. A nice big turn out made for some fun times and the great weather did not hurt either. I’ve always said that I will try and use cars for good. Good comes in many forms. Whether it’s charity, cruising for a cause, or just cruising for fun, like today. We cruised through numerous small towns. When a group of 50 muscle cars and hot rods (and one Cobalt) comes through a small midwestern town, that town takes notice. There were people waving, smiling, taking pictures, pulling over to look at the cars all day long. I can imagine the conversations. Fathers telling sons about the time when they had a car like that. A young guy dreaming about what he will do someday when he gets a cool car like that. You see people of all ages, with ear to ear smiles on their faces. That is what it is all about. Not only using cars for your personal enjoyment, but sharing that enjoyment with others.
So if you are thinking you’d love to do one of these cruises, well, what are you waiting for? I’ll bet there is a group of great car guys in your area who do this sort of thing. I’d also bet they’d gladly include you. Heck, you could even get your own group together! Why not? The main thing is get out there and start driving. Oh yeah, and keep it shiny side up.