CASCADE COUGAR CLUB
CAR D'ALENE
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
June 18-19,2010
Event Report by Heather Whitaker
On June 18th Scott and I left the soggy west coast and headed off to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for their fantastic two-day event called “Car d’Lane”. For various reasons, we, the Bingamans and Gehlhaars trailered our Cougars for the lengthy trip but Lance Ballard was firmly seated behind the wheel of his black 68 cat when we met him at a North Bend shopping center. Suffering showers, clouds of insects and loose gravel (Jeff now has a chip in his brand new windshield) along our route, we arrived at our destination mere hours before the start of this year’s cruise - just early enough to clean off road grime and make the paint sparkle.
Blue & white 68 XR7-G: Scott Ferguson .black 67 XR-7: Karl & LaDonna Gehlhaar .green 70: Jeff & Carol Bingaman
At 4:30 we left for the staging area which was filled with early 1900’s antiques, “family cars” from the 40’s and 50’s, muscle cars of every description from the 60’s, hot rods, trucks, buses, hippie vans and even motorized bar stools. Very few Cougars seem to attend this show (7 out of 900 total entries this year) so our members were rewarded for their efforts with hearty cheers from the crowd – it was a beautiful sight to behold.
On Saturday morning the Cougars are redetailed on the downtown street, looking at the fronts of the cars, right to left black 67 XR-7: Karl & LaDonna Gehlhaar (Olympia), competition green 70: Jeff & Carol Bingaman (Federal Way), black 68: Lance & Janet Ballard (Bellingham) , madras blue & white 68 XR7-G: Scott Ferguson (Delta, BC) . |
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. Along the route locals had barbecues smoking on every veranda while out-of-towners grabbed prime spots to set up mobile homes for comfortable viewing platforms. Needless to say the bars and restaurants were doing a roaring business. After one circuit, we dropped out and parked, some to get dinner and some to join the throngs of spectators lining the cruise route. We hungry ones were lucky to find a restaurant right in the heart of the action with a corner table framed by picture windows. As I sipped my wine I watched a vintage police car pull over and pat down a classic car driver where later there would be contests for best flames and best pipes. It was a raucous affair with thousands of people from grandparents to toddlers cheering and jeering the passing parade which lasted well into the evening. |
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| At 7:30 Saturday morning our “catavan” headed down Sherman street to park and detail in preparation for the show. It was pretty impressive to see the sun glinting off our four classic Cougars and hear the nice low rumble of horsepower filling the deserted streets. Karl Gehlhaar led in his black 67 XR7, followed by the Bingamans’ newly completed competition green 70, then the Ballards’ black 68 standard and Scott Ferguson’s blue and white 68 G closing out the field. By the time the cats were preened and our chairs were set up, we were surrounded by hundreds of other classics, so after a quick breakfast the boys and I grabbed our cameras and headed off to check out the competition. The girls (Carol, Noel, Lindsey, LaDonna & Janet) and Noel’s main man, Eric, chose to sleep in so we were on our own for the time being. As the sun rose higher in the sky, we were peering under hoods, checking interiors and talking with owners. During our walk, something caught my eye down at lakeside so we headed in that direction to discover several “woodies” and classic polished wood speedboats in the parking lot. What beauties! A little further along an auction was in full swing so we stopped to see what some of the classic cars would fetch before grabbing a bite to eat and heading back to our own classics. As the sun began its decline, we packed our chairs and sunburned hides back into our Cougars to make our hot dinner date at the Wolf Lodge Steakhouse (which was more important to us at the time than waiting for awards). Returning to the motel after an incredible meal (Rocky Mountain oysters not withstanding) I noticed a bank of dark clouds forming in the southeast and was thinking we were smart to load our cars on their trailers before retiring rather than waiting ‘til morning. It pays to be psychic as we no sooner turned out the lights than the first clap of thunder hit and the rain came down in earnest – timing, timing, timing. No surprise…our trip back to the coast on Sunday was fraught with showers but we have good memories of a terrific weekend in Idaho. |
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