Teardrop Trail Log: June 17, 2017

The third day of Red Power dawned humid with a light overcast, but we still enjoyed our morning coffee before heading into the fair. Catching up on Instagram and eMail, it was a pleasant way to spend an hour or two. Marilyn had a book signing event though, so we had to shake a leg.

Normally we fix breakfast in camp, but our laziness and the late hour combined to encourage a little fair foraging. The breakfast croissants had been good, but we wanted something different. On the way to the Varied Industries Building, we encountered a breakfast stand hawking the “Three-buck Breakfast Bowl”. Promising eggs, cheese and potatoes skins, it looked interesting — we decided to indulge. Very tasty, it was arguably one of the most inexpensive but delicious breakfasts we had enjoyed on any of our trips. Definitely unique.

Marilyn headed in to sign books, and I checked out the machinery behind the building. This time, I made for the large machinery, the brontosaurs and tyrannosaurs of the tractor world. They certainly dwarfed the “letter” tractors of my grandfather’s era. As I perused them, I noticed a line of tractors around the grounds. Apparently, a parade was forming up, and with a little haste, I could enjoy it. I headed for Main street.

I’ve seen these parades at every Red Power, and they never fail to entertain. Like a family business, each machine seems to be driven by the owner/restorer or a member of their family and range from the tiny Cub Cadets to the enormous and rare 7488’s. I decided to capture a few in pictures and video:

 

After the parade, it was time to collect Marilyn and take a few last passes before the fair closed down. We wanted to say “hi” to our friends from Austin, Minnesota, Rachel and Charlie. We found them at their trailer on the machinery lot where Charlie, always busy with customers for his tractor parts and machinery stands were completing the last bits of business before the end of the day.

It looked like rain — we had a campsite to pack up before a trip to Pella. Better get a move on!