[RHClarke]

Bob and I decided to take another road trip. This time for parts, and a new area (for us) to explore. Our plan was to visit Angus Buisseneau near Bruce Mines to take him up on his invitation he made at the Caldwell Convoy this summer.

Leaving Ottawa at o'dark thirty, Bob and I were one of three or four souls on the Queensway- what a treat! We hit a few snow sqaualls and showers, but no moose or deer were seen or hit. A few hours later, we got to see the sun rise in our rear view mirrors. At North Bay we had a quick breakfast, and hit the road again. It is amazing that our TransCanada Highway thru this part of Ontario amounts to two lanes of bi-directional traffic, yet you can travel thru Quebec from west to east on your choice of superhighways...The good folks of the near north have to start kicking some Toronto butt and get the roads twinned - and not just for us parts runners either.

We noted with amusement the number of pickup trucks with ATVs mounted on trailers we saw. What kind of people are these ATV guys? They get up early in the morning, drive in bad weather, expose themselves to the elements and pay a lot of money to enjoy their hobby. Bob mused drily that they should have picked a saner hobby...

When we could see, we scanned the sides of the roads for treasure - a 5 ton, a few deuce and a halfs, and one older jeep with a plow were spotted on the way up. As we got closer to Bruce Mines, Bob quipped that it was no use looking for other treasures as we were now in Angus's stomping grounds.

After passing through the 45th small town/village, we finally arrived at Bruce Mines. Our trip math was slightly off (by three hours), but Angus was the graceful host. As soon as we arrived we were up to our necks in mud stripping down a 45 HUP frame and taking parts of a cab 11 wreck. Angus mentioned that all of the snow that fell earlier that week had melted from the subsequent three days of rain.

Angus has a virtual "field of dreams" with many unique military and civilian vehicles in various stages of restoration. He is well kitted out with a large workshop, splendid isolation, and no ball and chain henpecking him about wasting a weekend travelling long distances, spending good money for rusty truck bits and then driving home again...some guys have all the luck.

After loading up the truck with some really rare parts, we settled accounts. Bob and I were then treated to the royal tour of Angus's empire - a "What is it" is attached for the curious. He has been very busy since CC and his UC looks close to 90 percent restored. Following the tour, we said our goodbyes and hit the road for home.

We were just passing thru Blind River, when Neil Young came on the radio singing "Long May You Run" - talk about coincidences. Outside Espanola, we had a good chuckle - someone had modified a MUTT M151 by turning it into what appeared to be a 6X4 vehicle. We didn't have the camera ready as we were both surprised and amused at the wonder we had just seen.

After a few coffees and steeped teas, we stopped for supper in Sudbury (no, Stompin Tom did not come on the radio with "Sudbury Saturday Night"...that would have been too funny!). At North Bay we stopped the truck and paid homage to the last honest politician, Mike Harris and then we Willie Nelsoned.

The remainder of the trip was like the start of the trip - dark. We pulled into Sucking Central (AKA Ottawa - the Town Fun Forgot) at about 1:00 AM. There was plenty of traffic on the Queensway, and we were welcomed by a suicide jockey in a small car with out-of-province plates who thought it would be nice to cut us off at high speed. Fortunately, our load was well tied down and we just missed embedding a Honda in our grill. I hope he enjoyed the high beam Morse code message we sent him...

Bob slowed down enough for me to jump out and then he headed for the Hammond barn. Bob will provide the stats for the trip later on. The trip was worth the time and effort for me as I now have about 90 percent of the parts I need for a full restoration.

After typing this post, my memory recalled a quote from a good friend in the hobby, who put things into perspective: "You don't have to be insane to enjoy this hobby, but it certainly helps."