Ice Cream, anyone?
By Scot Anderson
The day tour to Farson can be likened to a walk in the park – two of them to be exact. We started with 15 cars and 28 attendees. Not bad for a leisurely jaunt to Farson, Wyoming. Who knew going to get ice cream could be so much fun. It all started at the Jackson Hole High School parking lot on Saturday morning, the 27th of August. Mike Faems, board member extraordinaire, showed up to make sure we had a safe start and to wish us well. It seems he brought the perfect weather with him, as it has been unusually hot and humid this past month, it was the perfect weather for a drive.
We were graced by 12 Porsches, Tom Bryans 2004 Corvette, Jim and Bobbi Moses BMW 3 series convertible and of course Stan and Pat Siegel’s Mini Cooper, all with the same goal in mind, to have a good time.
Traveling through the Hoback Canyon was a sight to see. I’m not sure who dialed in the open roads, but they were there with hardly any traffic to be found. Fifteen cars zooming in and out of the twisties being led heroically by Eric Weber in his supercharged Porsche Boxster. My attempts at maintaining contact with Eric were futile via the two way radio, but it didn’t matter, my top was down, the sun was shining and my co-pilot, Mike Mielke’s son Bailie, was in charge of the tunes.
Our first stop came quickly as Eric found our way to the Town Park in Pinedale. It was the perfect stop with green grass and trees, benches and even a pond, but more importantly, those trusty public restrooms. In the park we talked amongst the shade and enjoyed eachother’s company for a while. Unfortunately, one of our newest members, Marty Quadland, suffered a mechanical failure in his beautiful red 1986 911 coupe. Thanks to Brian Moore, Jacksons’ trusty Porsche mechanic, who joined us for the journey, was able to assist Marty and diagnose the problem as a wheal bearing issue. Sadly, however, Marty was not able to continue on for the tour and had to be towed back to Jackson. And as they say, its a sad day when you see a man down.
But not to worry, I bounced back quickly as my new copilot, Marty’s wife Paula, joined me as we made our way to Farson. Some say she’s a sucker for ice cream. And all you could hear in the back ground was, “See ya at home Marty”. With Bailie Mielke opting to take a ride with Bobbi Moses in her BMW, we were off to Farson to get our fix. Mike Mielke went ahead of the crowd to scout for the police, giving the signal that there were none to be found, we made record time to the Farson Mercantile. Having parked our cars, we gathered for a group shot. The anticipation could be seen in all of our faces as we made our way in to the store to get the flavor of our dreams.
“Double Chocolate,” I shouted, per the advice of Dick Beck, our 2011 Member of the year, Augusta Green Jacket winner and ice cream connoisseur, who unfortunately couldn’t make the trip. Not sure why I was shouting, but I was rewarded with some of the best ice cream south of Jackson. It really hit the spot as the weather was close to 85 (that’s hot for us Jackson softies). I think everyone got what they wanted and then some as I noticed some really big cones.
On our return trip, a part of our entourage decided to continue on to Lander for a steak dinner and to make the trip back to Jackson through Dubois. Christian and Kara Yost, who happily joined us in their beautiful 911 GT2, decided to make their way home through Farson, Wyoming. The rest of us headed back to Pinedale to pick up Brian, our trusty mechanic. Heading back to the same park we first visited, once again we sat beneath the trees to enjoy a leisurely lunch. I can’t tell you how relaxing that trip was as it forced me to put a stop to my frantic lifestyle, to sit amongst the grass and to enjoy a lazy afternoon.
As we headed back to Jackson, I could only think to myself what a fun club we have… people who come from all walks of life, who can gather together because we love to drive our cars and can share in the good fortune of oneanother’s company. It is that aspect that makes life a joy and a pleasure. And it is that aspect that makes life one hell of a walk in the park.
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