We had plans for this evening so we mostly laid low during the day. Peggy broke out a 1951 Singer sewing machine that had been salvaged from her mother’s estate and given to her by her sister, Tonie. I don’t like weighty items being smuggled into our trailer because we are heavy enough but I’ll gladly make an exception for this gorgeous little antique. It is an outstanding example of primitive mechanical engineering and works perfectly, in addition to being provided with its own very sturdy box.
The only problem with it was a rather shabby power cord that exhibited a few spots where touching the cord could provide lusty screams and quick movements, possibly due to cats gnawing on the elderly insulation. We made a quick trip to the hardware store in nearby Concrete which was about what I expected in a very tiny town. They probably have anything one might need but, due to space constraints in the store, finding anything is problematic. Unlike Home Depot, however, I very quickly found myself being attentively attended to by a smiling employee who immediately found some electrical tape and sold it to me. The sewing machine power cord issue is temporarily solved.
In the afternoon we made an early departure for our trip to Skagit Speedway so we could stop at a place called Skagit Valley Burgers. Despite the rather mundane-sounding name, Skagit Valley Burgers served both Peggy and me what we believe are the best burgers we have ever had. Peggy got a blue cheese burger that they properly dosed with all the fixings like grilled onions, blue cheese and really tasty meat that did not resemble chain restaurant burgers in any fashion. I got the Skagit western burger which had ample bacon, very savory fried onion rings, savory BBQ sauce and plenty of cheddar. Foolishly, we also purchased an order of their garlic fries which, although delicious, were entirely too much food because the burgers were massive. The fries ended up traveling home with us for later dining.
We were finally on our way to the races. Tonight the lineup was 360 Sprints, modified Sprints, modified dirt racers and something called the “tuner” class. Back on the 20th of July, we stopped by the nearby garage of Bud Ash to admire his Sprint cars and hobnob about his nifty stuff. Bud was scheduled to drive his number 57 360 Sprint car in some of tonight’s contests and he got a great start by winning his first heat race. Unfortunately, number 57 wouldn’t start for the second heat race and Bud’s car got pushed to the pits. In the main event, he still got into the race because he won the first heat race but he ended up having bad luck by getting caught up in a spectacular wreck on the third lap that destroyed too many parts for him to go on.
It turns out the tuner class is old beaters with 4 cylinder engines that make a variety of furious noises but do not go very fast. It looks like a very fun class because all the cars have numerous repaired dents, no glass, cheap tires and novice drivers. Chaos reigns but nobody gets hurt. The modified dirt racers resemble cars only superficially because they have some body parts but mostly they are a tubular frame with way too much of an engine. They roar around the track only colliding about five times per lap per car. We noted that, probably due to flimsy body parts and efforts to keep weight down, the modifieds sort of shimmy when they run with all the parts listening to different tunes. Peggy and I seem to have the most fun at races where older cars are used and wrecked.