ROUTE 62 CRUISERS 9TH ANNUAL CAR SHOW, YUCCA VALLEY, CA, May 21, 2016
As visitors to Joshua Tree National Park drove along Highway 62 last Saturday they no doubt were startled when the usual tan and brown landscape transformed into a kaleidoscope of color as they passed the parking lot of the Tractor Supply store where about 100 cars were gathered for the 9th Annual Route 62 Cruisers Car Show.
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This show offered something for everyone as it welcomed hot rods, motorcycles, rat rods, trucks, and tractors. All were present save for the tractors. The show started with a pancake breakfast sponsored by the San Bernardino County Firemen. While many were enjoying their pancakes the parking area began to fill. By 9:00 a.m. when the show opened to the public the parking area was nearly full.
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There were a number of vendors on hand to supply the necessary items for lunch – the hot dogs were particularly good, and the frozen lemonade hit the spot. The High Desert Marines had a booth selling hats, etc. with the proceeds going to help the Veterans Home of California in Barstow, California.
The weather was particularly cooperative. Friday saw wind gusts of up to 36 mph in the high desert town of Yucca Valley, but by Saturday the winds went away and the sky was its usual bright blue; with temperatures in the low 70’s, it was a perfect day for a car show.
There were a lot of unique and interesting cars to look at. One was a 1930 Buick rat rod which took the best rat rod trophy.
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Another was a super comp rear-engine dragster which races in the NHRA Pacific Division.
With its cat-eye tail lights and swooping fins, this 1959 Chevy station wagon attracted a lot of attention.
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This future hot rodder found her favorite car.
Karl Krone is the owner of the 1958 BSA Thunderbolt motorcycle with a side car shown below. The occupant of the sidecar is Karl’s grandson, Jessy. Karl didn’t enter the motorcycle in the show, but came as a spectator. However, this motorcycle has history. The Thunderbolt was given to Karl by the owner of a motorcycle dealership for whom Karl had worked. The Thunderbolt, along with the Watsonian Monaco sidecar was originally owned by Ken Cravin and his wife. This duo rode the bike around the world in the late 1960’s. This outfit has as much luggage space and leg room as an average 20000 cc sports car (of its time) and has a maximum speed of 72 mph in 3rd gear – 4th gear is considered an overdrive. Karl says he and Jessy have had it up to 70 mph and it runs as “smooth as a whistle”. (We thank Jim Dunlap of Yucca Valley for providing us the information about this unique bike.)
The members of the Route 62 Cruisers put on a great show. It was well organized and parking went smoothly. The proceeds of the show in part benefit the Wounded Warrior Program at the 29 Palms Marine Base; appropriate since the show was held on Armed Forces Day. The 29 Palms Marine Base is located about 30 miles east of Yucca Valley and the men and women stationed there are a big part of the high desert communities.
Raffle tickets were sold with ticket numbers drawn throughout the morning. Some nice prizes were given away. There was also a 50/50 drawing. Sounds Devine provided the music and kept the oldies playing all day.
The awards ceremony started around 2:00 p.m. Trophies were given for best car, truck, bike, rat rod, and under construction. There was also a kids’ choice award and a best of show award. The 1970 El Camino shown below with it’s proud owner was chosen best of show.
Below are a few of the award winners – more winners can be seen on our SmugMug site.
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All of the photos in this article, and more, are for sale and can be found on our SmugMug site
The Route 62 Cruisers will hold the 10th Annual Car Show on Saturday, May 20, 2017 at Tractor Supply, Yucca Valley, CA. We thoroughly enjoyed this show and it will be on our calendar for 2017.
