One part of this event which deserves mention is the public safety team. For instance, this is what was preventing someone from going all “allahu akbar” on one Bismarck-Mandan’s biggest events.

You would not want to launch yourself at the crowd here, because you’d be eating windshield – and then other things. These were the barriers which were missing from a high-profile attack in another state a while back. Kudos for law enforcement here for being proactive and saying “not on my watch” with their actions.

Now let’s get to some TRUCKS. These guys look like they know how to have a good time! They’re my kind of guys…I never struck up a conversation with any of the hot rod folks – except over at the Opel GT – but spent some time chatting up one of these guys.

After learning about the reasoning behind putting a brake on the pinion instead of on each wheel, I found out that these guys got to drive these trucks down Main Street – with police escort – to their parking spots. They’re not legal, so they have to be trailered…except today. I’m told it was fun, too.

The license plate declares, “too much fun”. I believe it. What a beast. Let’s go find some mud, brother!

Scout, Scout, let it all out! Did I just put a Depeche Mode song into your head? If not, you most certainly ain’t no Gen-Xer like me. My little brother used to have one of these. Any truck with a removable top automatically gets extra points in my book. I miss that ’73 GMC Jimmy…

…and, I’m spent. Time to go out on a high note: with a Little Red Corvette. There, more music from my era. I will say, though, out of all the cars and trucks I featured in these posts, this would be my first choice without a millisecond of hesitation. The hot rods are cool – breathtaking, actually – but if I’m gonna pick something to drive I want the best in acceleration, deceleration, and handling. Not to mention the sound of that flat plane V8!

I really didn’t intend to take many photos on my way to Buggies ‘n’ Blues this year. I wanted to just look around. I’d just bought a new lens – my current dream lens, in fact – a couple of hours earlier, so I wanted to put it to the test. I was as delighted with my new purchase as I was with the cars on display this year. I hope the photos I brought back with it have been pleasing to you, as well!