We had a great trip to Emmett. Chloe and I drove down Friday afternoon and, after a few mis-turns on back country roads, we arrived.

I setup shop in Grandma’s garage and proceeded to work thru a large collection of terribly interesting objects - most of which I remember directly being used on the ranch when I was a kid. I worked all day Saturday (with a break for lunch and a quick dinner visit to my Uncle Mike’s house close by). By mid-day it was 90 degrees in that garage and the lights sure didn’t seem to help.

On finishing for the day, we then went over to “Cruise Night” which was an annual vintage car festival in Emmett. We saw lots of what you’d expect - hot rods, Harley’s and lots of people. I also managed to take a few bike rides on a sweet cruiser and visit a few interesting places in this slightly out-of-the-way community on the edge of the sprawling Boise metropolis.

I’m just starting to go thru the results of the marathon Saturday shoot, but here are some fun pictures from the trip itself.

More to come on the tools series later this week.

And what of my hypermiling experiment. I drove my 1998 Nissan Frontier pickup down and back for a total of just under 1000 miles 99% of it on the freeway. First, consider the Federal EPA rating for this car (and these are the revised EPA estimates that better reflect current driving habits):

Thanks to my Scanguage II, I was able to monitor fuel consumption, efficiency and cost in real time. I averaged 33 MPG the entire trip, spending a total of $130 for the trip in gas. I beat the EPA estimate by 66% and save almost $50 in gas. Of course, it took me an extra hour at least each way, but it certainly was less stressful, quieter and the knowledge that I was being 66% more efficient was a big plus - its a stewardship/moral thing and I consider it to be a total success. Hypermiling works.

Taking it to the petro-sociopaths, one gallon at a time...

Tags:Personal Work