2001 Hot Rod Virtual Power Tour - Day Six, May 8

LIST OF ALL DAYS

At our first gas stop on the way to Amarillo we came up with a brilliant way to stop the escalating cost of fuel. Okay, maybe it's not a permanent fix, but sending Jeff Koch up the ladder to adjust the gas station's price sign while supposedly shooting pictures of the Power Tour seemed like a good idea at the time. We heard lots of encouragement from onlookers, but this approach didn't seem to hold much water with the station's owner. Oh well, you can't blame us for trying.

Elk City was a bittersweet experience for some veteran Power Tourers, because they said it was the best overnight stop of the entire Tour last year. The local Chamber of Commerce (www.elkcitychamber.com) seemed to miss us a lot as well, and provided a free chili dog lunch and a drawing for a free motel room on next year's Tour. We hope that we can spend more time there next year and enjoy the town's numerous attractions and pleasant park (see www.elkcitychamber.com).

In contrast to the gnarly and dilapidated city streets of Detroit, the freeways on this portion of the Tour were smooth, scenic ribbons stretching straight for the horizon--what a place to drop the hammer! Winding out our engines didn't bode well for the swarms of moths we encountered, though, and nearly all of the rods arrived in Amarillo with splattered windshields and moth wings stuck to their grilles. It seemed like everybody spent most of their time in Amarillo cleaning off their cars. We overheard one Tourer quip: "Well, if the moths become extinct, we'll know what happened to 'em."

As for Amarillo, what the city may lack in atmosphere compared with our other stops was more than made up for by sheer enthusiasm. The town turned out in droves, and we received the most TV and radio coverage thus far. We continue to be astonished by the level of support and attention we receive as we head west. Next stop: Commanche country and Albuquerque, New Mexico