The National Serro Scotty Organization

Gary, of St. Augustine, Florida, had been looking for a Scotty for a long time, when he finally won the Ebay bid, in March of 2009, on a 1971 15' Gaucho, located in Pontiac, Missouri. This is Gary's tale of his journey to pick up his Scotty and taking an opportunity to explore some of historic Route 66.

Monday, 4-6-09
Beginning mileage: 181,968. I left my home in St. Augustine, FL. at 10 p.m., fueling up my 1992 Dodge Van about 1 mile from the house with 22.018 gallons. The journey began on I-95, and transitioned to I-295 in Jacksonville, FL. Near the center of Jacksonville on the west side, I took the I-10 exit and headed west across north Florida. At exit 130, I took US231 and headed north into Alabama. At Dothan, AL., I stopped for 20.584 gallons of fuel. Mileage: 182,283, or 315 miles from home.

US231 ended for me in Montgomery, AL. A very short jaunt to the west on US80 took me to I-65 which headed north to Birmingham, AL. At Birmingham, I got onto US78 and headed northwest through Mississippi. I stopped in Tupelo, MS. for 22.011 gallons of fuel. Mileage: 182,633, or 665 miles from home. From there it was on to Memphis, TN.

At Memphis, I took I-55 northwest into Arkansas. Not far over the Arkansas state line, I took US63 through Jonesboro to Imboden, AR. At Imboden, I took US412 west to Mountain Home, AR. Along this section of road, I saw more old cars and vintage travel trailers than at any point during the entire trip. On US412 in Hardy, AR., it was time for another fuel stop. 16.069 gallons. Mileage: 182,878. 910 miles from home. At Mountain Home, I picked up SR5 and headed north to Missouri.

Not far into Missouri, I took Hwy W approximately 8 miles to Pontiac, MO. At this point, it was about 4:30PM on Tuesday, 4-7-09. Ron, the owner of the Scotty was not expecting me until the following morning. Since I was in the area, I decided to go by Ron’s house and check out the Scotty. He was not home, so I looked the Scotty over, took a few photos, then began to look for a place to spend the night. There is a camping area in Pontiac, but no shower facilities.

I decided to head towards Gainesville, MO. It was the next closest town to the north, only 15 miles away from the Scotty. There I found Vaught’s Motel and Restaurant, a 15 room paradise for someone who had been up for well over 30 hours. Room #8 was mine. It was a big room with a king size bed and a hot shower. By the time my head hit the pillow, I had been awake for 37 hours and had driven 1028 miles. I don’t remember ever feeling more tired.

Wednesday, 4-8-09
7 a.m. I had slept like a rock for 10 hours, and was ready for breakfast. I had talked with Ron on the phone when I arrived at the motel, and told him I would be at his place around 9AM. I had the best bacon & cheese omelette I’ve ever had at Vaught’s Restaurant adjoining the motel, and was eager to get the Scotty. 15 miles later, I arrived at Ron’s place. Mileage: 183,011. 1043 miles from home.

Ron was waiting for me when I arrived. The two of us got right to work on doing what was necessary to get the Scotty on the road. The tires didn’t look too bad, but they were at least 16 years old. Ron had them put on the Scotty when he bought it back in 1993. Since the Scotty and the older Chrysler vehicles that I love so dearly share the same bolt pattern, I had brought a couple of good tires and wheels along to install. I found out what little clearance there is between the wheel hub and the sides of the Scotty. My tires and wheels wouldn’t even begin to fit. So, the old tires were my only hope. I attached my Florida license plate from my Terry travel trailer, then Ron guided me through the adjustments of electric trailer brake controllers. I had recently installed the controller in my van, but had not used it yet and had no previous experience with them. After that, we completed all the necessary paperwork, and I was ready to hit the road with the Scotty in tow.

Ron was, without question, the best guy I have ever dealt with on eBay. From the very start, he did everything he could to make our transaction a smooth one. It was really great to meet him, to see his beautiful home, and to give his old camping pal a really good home.

I left Pontiac, MO., and headed north on SR5. I stopped at a Wal-Mart in Ava, MO. thinking they had a tire center, but they didn’t. The Scotty still seemed fine with the existing tires, but I was nervous about their age. I was on the phone with my sister Pat and her husband Dan throughout the entire trip. They updated me on weather conditions, and the locations of the all-important Wal-Mart Supercenters. The next Supercenter with a tire center was near I-44 in Lebanon, MO. Since that was where I wanted to go anyway due to the proximity to Route 66, I went for it. I made it to the Wal-Mart, but they didn’t have the tires for the Scotty in stock. They recommended a tire store nearby, but they didn’t have the tires either.

I located old Route 66 with the help of some very accurate maps that my friends Marty and Linda had given me for Christmas. So, I found the “Mother Road” in Lebanon, and made my way west to Marshfield, MO.

With directions from my relatives, I found the Wal-Mart store. My sister had called ahead to see if they had the tires. Wal-Mart took care of me immediately, and with new tires on the Scotty, I felt confident for whatever would lie ahead. I made my way west, stopping in Springfield, MO. for 20.065 gallons of fuel. Mileage: 183,184. 1216 miles from home. 173 miles since I picked up the Scotty. I continued west on old 66, following the map directions closely. In a little place called Ash Grove, MO., I met a man named Gary Turner who had built a replica of a 1930 Sinclair gas station. I had fun visiting with him, and he was interested in my Scotty, having spent some time in one many years ago. I spent WAY too much time there, and the sun was setting fast.

I continued west and made it to Carthage, MO., where I camped out in a Wal-Mart parking lot for the night. My van was equipped with a comfy air mattress, so I opted to sleep there instead of the unfamiliar Scotty. By the time I stopped for the night, I had travelled 251 miles that day, 236 of them with the Scotty.

Thursday, 4-9-09
7AM. Had a good night’s sleep in the van, and was ready for more adventures on Route 66. While I was right there at Wal-Mart, I got the idea of collecting those little plastic license plates that they sell in the bicycle department. They don’t make a plate that says Scotty on it, but they do have a blank plate from each state that comes with a lettering kit to make your own name. I got the Missouri plate while there in Carthage, and picked them up in every state that I passed through with the Scotty. Sometimes, this took trips to several Wal-Marts in whatever area I was in to find the plates. My sister and brother-in-law guided me to each store as needed.

I went far out of my way sometimes to find the plates, but it was all part of the adventure. I’ll use them as decoration in the Scotty when he’s all fixed up. Drove through town and made my way past the restored 66 Drive-In Theatre, then on to Joplin, MO.

I had originally planned for this to be the end of the line for my time on Route 66, but since Kansas and Oklahoma were so close, I decided to keep going.

This was only the second Scotty I saw on the whole trip. The other one was near Jonesboro, AR., and traffic was too heavy for me to safely stop for a photo. It looked to be in good condition and had a tarp over most of it. I went to several towns in Kansas looking for the illusive “Scotty” bike plate, then continued on along old 66. Oklahoma proved to be less picturesque than Missouri, but was still fun.

I had a great burger and fries at Hemi’s Café in Quapaw, OK. I’m kicking myself for not taking pictures of the place.

I continued on through Commerce, Miami, and Narcissa, OK., then took a picture of the van and Scotty at the old Avon Motel in Afton, OK.

It was time for fuel again, this time 17.468 gallons in Vinita,OK. Mileage: 183,440. 1472 miles from home, and 429 miles since the Scotty joined in the fun. By now, it was mid-afternoon and the weather was looking bad towards the west. I ended my time on Route 66, and headed south on US69. My sister warned me about the severe weather I was heading into. In hindsight, I should have found a motel and parked for the night, but I was determined to make it to Arkansas by the end of the day. I continued on, taking the Muskogee Turnpike in a southeast direction and headed towards I-40. It was raining, but the worst was yet to come. Just a few miles after the toll booth on the turnpike, it began to hail. The 75mph speed limit was a joke, since hardly anyone was going faster than 30. Visibility was very low, and it was SO dark and windy.

The hail pounded my windshield, and I was worried about how the Scotty was doing. Like many others, I pulled over on the shoulder of the road several times. Space beneath overpasses was at a premium. There was no escaping this. In all my years of hurricane weather in Florida, I had never been in anything as intense as this was. Several times, I stopped and got into the Scotty, looking for leaks and making sure the windows were still intact with the damaging hail. Slowly, I made my way to I-40 and headed directly east towards Arkansas. It was nearly 8PM by the time I got to Van Buren, AR. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. There was a Motel 6 just off the interstate, and I took refuge there for the night. The van was fine, but the Scotty received a few hail dimples in the front sheet metal. Weather sirens were sounding in the area as soon as I checked into my room. The winds were still strong, but the rain had tapered off and the hail had ended near the Arkansas border.

Later that evening, the TV news reported that a tornado had wiped out a portion of Mena, AR., a small town about 65 miles south of where I was staying. Three people died as the result. The van, the Scotty, and myself were all safe and sound. What little troubles we had during the storm seemed very insignificant under the circumstances. We travelled 338 miles that day, and made our way through parts of four states.

Friday, 4-10-09
7 a.m. The dawning of a new and beautiful day. The terrible weather was gone, and the sun was peeking through what remained of the clouds. Back on I-40 and heading east to the first stop of the day in Russellville, AR. While there, it was time to find the “Scotty” Arkansas bike plate at Wal-Mart, breakfast at McDonald’s, and gas for the van. Mileage: 183,663. 15.313 gallons. 1695 miles travelled so far, 652 of those with the Scotty.

Continued on I-40 to Little Rock, AR., and I-530 southeast from there to Pine Bluff, AR. From Pine Bluff, I took US65 southeast all the way to Tallulah, LA.

Several stops were made in northern Louisiana, looking for a State “Scotty” plate, and getting food and fuel. 16.587 gallons of gas was purchased in Oak Grove, LA. Mileage: 183,909. 1941 miles so far, 898 of those with the Scotty.

At Tallulah, LA., I picked up I-20, heading east to Jackson, MS. Just slightly west of Jackson, I stopped for 10.760 gallons of fuel in Clinton, MS. Mileage: 184,089. 2121 miles completed, 1078 of those with the Scotty. In Jackson, I found US49 and headed southeast to Hattiesburg, MS.

I picked up US 98 there, and headed east to Mobile, AL. It was nearly midnight at this point, and time for some sleep in the local Wal-Mart parking lot. 695 miles were logged for the day in four different states.

Saturday, 4-11-09
7 a.m. Didn’t sleep well in the unusually noisy Wal-Mart parking lot, but it was time to hit the road. Bought breakfast at a nearby McDonald’s. I got my Alabama “Scotty” plate at Wal-Mart, then headed down the road towards I-10. Just before I got to the interstate, the van got a little breakfast of it’s own: 12.893 gallons of fuel in a town known as Theodore. Mileage: 184,289. 2321miles completed. 1278 miles with Scotty in tow.

Got on I-10 and headed east towards the Florida border. I-10 is a long and boring interstate, and there’s only so much of it that I can take. Drove to exit 120 at Chipley, FL., and needed a break. Got 13.113 gallons of fuel for the van, hit the local Wal-Mart, then continued on. Mileage at this fuel stop: 184,494. 2526 miles completed, 1483 of them with Scotty in tow.

Headed east on I-10 to exit 203, then north on US319 to Thomasville, GA. This was a good diversion away from the monotony of I-10, and a chance to get a Georgia “Scotty” bike plate. Took US84 east from Thomasville to Valdosta, GA. Got 10.817 gallons of fuel there. Mileage: 184,669 miles. 2701 miles completed, 1658 of them towing the Scotty.

At Valdosta, GA., I got on I-75 and headed southeast towards the dreaded I-10. I thought of going past I-10 and heading home on smaller and slower side roads. With the previous night’s lack of sleep, I was feeling tired and wanted to get home as soon as possible. I-10 was my best option. Once on I-10, it was 60 miles east to I-295 in Jacksonville, then 42 miles on I-295 and I-95 to home. One more stop to top off the fuel tank near my house. Mileage: 184,837. 10.220 gallons. One mile to home. Ending mileage for trip: 184,838. A total of 2870 miles were completed, 1827 of those with the Scotty in tow.

The only state that I was in without the Scotty was Tennessee, and that was on the way up to get him. Since Wednesday 4-8-09, when I took possession of the Scotty, we drove through parts of 9 states (Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida). And Scotty got his name plates and photos for proof he was in every state! More adventures after a few repairs and some much needed rest. Until next time…..Happy Trailering!

Gary's plates, all lettered by him using the lettering kit with the blank plates

Gary Adds: there is a small order form on the cards that the plates come on. For $4.95 each, you can order engraved plates from the manufacturer. All 50 plates are available and there are 15 spaces available for engraving. The blank plates with lettering kits at Walmart are about $2.00 each. The letters are a little tricky to get straight, but not too bad. Part of the fun of getting the plates is having to hunt for them, but to save time and fuel, ordering them directly is a good option. Here's the info:

Getting Their Kicks on Route 66 (and Beyond)