Gophers and Cheese

10 years ago, the very last Bearded Lady Motorcycle Freakshow was held in Northeast Minneapolis on July 18, 2015.

Over the past year, I've really been thoroughly enjoying the 1978 Dodge Tradesman I bought last October, but it's not my first van.  It's my second.  I mentioned it a long time ago ( here ) but I was feeling nostalgic and felt my first van was worth revisiting.  I bought my first van in February 2015 and it was a 1999 GMC Savana conversion van (conversion by Jayco).  It had a 5.7L V8 and about 110K miles on it.  I bought it from a guy in St. Paul.  All the photos in this blogpost are from when I listed the van for sale later that same year... more on that in a bit.

Chariots of the Gods 2015 had some pretty awesome vans.  I love that people open their doors and let you look inside.  It's like looking inside someone's house and seeing their living room, den, or sometimes bedroom. I think seeing this Tamiya Lunchbox re-sparked my interest in radio controlled cars.  That, and because I ended up selling my full-size van, I figured there's always room for an R/C van.  I built my very own Lunchbox over the winter and just need to finish the body. As if the wall-to-wall shag carpet above wasn't enough, check out the incredible interior on this one. Here's a more classic shaggin' wagon: This van's interior was cool and there was a cover between the front seats where you could access the motor and even see the ground which would be pretty surreal while driving. I'll wrap up with some pop-up camper vans that would look perfect in a national park. Feet! This year's sho...

Here are more custom vans from the 2015 Chariots of the Gods show.  Airbrushed murals are key.  "Ramblin' Fever": Airbrushed cityscape plus porthole window: Road Toad!  I love the stained glass windows.  Vanity license plates featuring the name of your van are a key accessory. Case in point, Watermelon Pete was there selling parts (of course).  His van is cool but his plates are fantastic.  I love the handpainted dollar sign on the back and lightning bolt on the front. This van belongs to CeeTee, another motorcycle guy who happens to be into vans.  It might not have an airbrushed mural on the side but it was hauling motorcycles and that's cool. Another van with a bike in it was this rusty VW: Nice old Dodge: There were some vintage Winnebagos lined up along the fence. People were just making themselves at home. Coverage wraps up tomorrow and I saved some of the best for last.

The Chariots of the Gods show is organized by Vinyl-Lux sewing.  Here's their van: Vinyl and 8-tracks were everywhere. Until I attended the show in 2013, I didn't realize there was a custom van scene in the Twin Cities.  Twin City Vans is the local club and they're hosting their 41st Annual Good Times Truck-In 6/10-6/12 down in Preston, MN (southeast of Rochester). You can tell some people have been going to vanning events for a long time. Here's a sampling of vans at the show: The old "Don't Laugh Your Daughter May Be In Here" sticker is classic: More photos tomorrow!