The Love
Every year in Moab, Easter weekend means it’s Jeep week. This is a time to be endured.
The following week is the Car Show, and conversely, I LOVE, L.O.V.E., the Car Show!
Beautiful, painstakingly restored old cars come in from all over the country and turn Moab into a cruiser’s dream for 2 days.
Yes, they burn lots of gas, just like I burn lots of gas every day when I drive to go climbing, running or base jumping.
These cars are works of art, people’s pride and joy.
All day Saturday and Sunday, the owners park them side by side in the Moab City Park for everyone to admire and look at.
And every year, the park is more crowded with shining, candy-colored vintage cars and trucks.
I walk around in awe looking at the flawless paint jobs, the immaculate engines, the hand-restored interiors.
What a beautiful thing, in this age of disposable everything, to see a vehicle built in 1942 that looks like it just came off the production line beside the person who devoted hours of time into bringing it back to life.
Today I met a 15 year old boy who had completely refurbished his grandfather’s truck by himself, with some guidance on things like the right way to bang out dings from a family friend.
He had a photo album of the entire project. This truck had originally been used to haul coal by his grandfather, so there was a lot of restoring involved. I couldn’t believe the love, care and pride he has for this gorgeous vehicle, and the amount of work and time that had gone into its restoration.
It made me so moved to see him talk about everything he had done, all he had learned, the wonderful moment when he discovered just the right color paint…. He loves that truck, and so he should. It’s a work of art and labor that this 15 year old boy poured his passion into. I could have watched the light in his face all day, pointing out the little features that made this truck so special. It’s a beautiful thing
It’s the same thing that drives a climber to spend days or months or years of life, traveling to far-off mountain ranges or grabbing the same little hold on a boulder eight hundred times. It’s pure love, expressed through care, effort and sacrifice, and it’s one of the most beautiful human qualities.
The atmosphere in our little town park during these two days is filled with that energy, to me the best of what it means to be human. I just love the car show.
nicely, and the IMG_9491 is a CITROEN 2CV, “La deuch” in french, my first car.
(But the mine was not so beautiful and most rusty)
🙂
cool!
Utah still has great events like this huh? What’s the name of that boy? He’s got talent! He even picked the best color; quite unique. Ooh, that pink truck is perfect for summer getaways. Everything is just lovely. These are beautiful photos, btw. 🙂