Hudsons love their Hudson

Saturday was the exciting Nevada Day Parade in Carson City and the 144th anniversary of Nevada's statehood. There are a lot of street rods here in Fish Springs but one in particular belongs to our good neighbors Kathie and Bill Hudson. This cool car, the Hudson, even has their name! Along with Gary Hegarty, they've been working on a 1950 Hudson Pacemaker for about four years now, and they were anxious to drive it in the Nevada Day Parade.

The Hudson Pacemaker is named for its racing heritage. In its day it was the top racing vehicle before the advent of the modern day NASCAR Championship series. Most people miss the story line in the animated movie "Cars" concerning the racing history.

The parade had a Hollywood theme so Bill wore his flashy fedora hat while Kathie wore her long white fur coat. The Hudson hot rod is black-primed and has air suspension so it can move up and down and lower the car down to two inches from the ground. It's really neat to watch that!

Hegarty built the car from frame up and it's been called the coolest "lead sled," as these cars used to use lead to piece them together. It's scheduled to be upholstered in November and then all they will need is to paint it some day. It's been a long journey, but the Hudsons are ready to ride. Kathie said they'll really celebrate when it's completely done as it's certainly been a long "work in progress" indeed.

Apple Hill visit

It's that time of the year that we take our annual ride over the mountain to see "the hill" " Apple Hill, that is. The weather was perfect and the scenery was spectacular. Several friends from our motorcycle club cruised along with us. It seems like each year Apple Hill gets more popular and more crowded.

If your main concern is getting some of those delicious apples, then you better go there in the morning. By afternoon it's really crowded. We went there on a Saturday " the busiest day. Next year we'll go on a weekday so there will be fewer crowds and less traffic. At least we had time to get some of our favorite apples: Granny Smith, Fuji and Golden Delicious. My husband especially loves Arkansas Red but they were kind of difficult to find. I liked having free samples of each kind of apple so I could find the real sweet ones to buy.

I discovered a worm hole in my Gravenstein. Perhaps that means it's really ripe and juicy and organic. Probably very healthy for me too. You know how the critters start eating your juicy tomatoes and grapes just when you're ready to pick them? If a worm got to this apple before me I might just get a little protein if I finish eating the whole thing. Bon appetite.

The route we took in the morning was on Highway 88 to Emigrant Trail to Apple Hill. There wasn't much traffic at all that morning. It was very beautiful and we've never seen Caples Lake so low. Sly Park Lake was pretty low too. We came home a different route on Highway 50 where the American River sometimes is really raging, but right now it is moving very slow and low, exposing thousands of large boulders. The whole day was wonderful.

n Linda Monohan may be reached at 782-5802.