Gophers and Cheese

I missed the first two Heavy Thursdays of the year but was glad to catch the last one at 331 Club in Northeast Minneapolis.

August ended up being another very nice night for bike night at Forgotten Star , hosted by The Litas Twin Cities .

One last giant photo-filled blogpost from Full Tilt Boogie 2025 is about to begin.  With the bike show and most of the bike games out of the way, the bands started up.  Way too many people started leaving at this point.  The bands were great and played well into the night.  If you didn't stay and camp, you messed up.  Maybe next year???  First up was " The Region's Premiere Van Halen Cover Band ".  Yes, that's the band's full name.  These guys rock and are really fun.

Full Tilt Boogie coverage continues... It wasn't my first bike rodeo so it wasn't my first time seeing a weenie bite competition, but it's always entertaining and really fun to watch.  More on that in a minute...

I have a lot more photos from Full Tilt Boogie to share so let's get after it.  Vitzy Boys had Time Slip and the Highland Acre Shaker there.

Full Tilt Boogie 2025 coverage continues with bike games.  The benefit of having all the grass and lawn area was that a few biker rodeo-type games could be played.  I somewhat regret not throwing a bike in the back of the van to participate but after a week at the Van Nats, I wanted to keep things simple.  Custom belt buckles, knives, and other awards were at stake for the games and bike show.  First up was plank ride.

One week after the Van Nationals (see blogposts here ), I was back in the van and headed to Full Tilt Boogie .  This year, it changed venues again.  For 2025, it moved to the Gas-Lite, which is just across the border from Red Wing, MN in Wisconsin (which is the "cheese" in "Gophers and Cheese").  I hadn't been there for an event since the SCVR Chili Feed, many years ago (2011 - see blogposts  here ).

We've made it to the last post from the 52nd Annual National Truck-In , the Van Nationals.  Picking up where I left off, we continue with the long line of vans heading out of the fairgrounds for the lake cruise and downtown public show.

We've made it to the last day of the 52nd Annual Van Nationals , Saturday July 12th.  The big things happening on Saturday were a lake cruise followed by a public van show in downtown Albert Lea as well as awards and the last band on the main stage, Uncle Chunk.  I worked gate most of the day and had to pack up my V-A-N-S signs and R/C ramps so I couldn't go on the cruise.  I ended up missing awards too and only caught a few songs by Uncle Chunk (no photos though - just had a couple of beers and enjoyed the moment).  What I did take a ton of photos of was the line up and departure for the lake cruise that morning.  If you went on that cruise, there's a very good chance I got a photo of your van and maybe even you driving it.

Here's the 3rd and last set of photos from Friday at the 52nd Annual National Truck-In , but only because there were a lot of things I didn't get photos of (if you can believe that).  We'll start with Red Desert on the DSV stage.

Continuing coverage of the Show & Shine field at the 52nd Annual Van Nats ...

Friday was a really big day at the 52nd Annual National Truck-In with both Show & Shine and Bright & Shine on the schedule along with more bands and other events.  A large rain system stayed just to the south leaving the sky full of clouds but mostly rain-free.  There was a lot of talk about how we might handle Show & Shine if it rained, but I'm really glad it worked out.  While I was pretty sure I wouldn't be taking home any awards, I still very much wanted to show my van so I got it out there on the show field in the Dodge section.

Thursday evening at the 52nd Annual Van Nationals was all about the bands.  Yesterday I posted photos of Beast Eagle and Year of the Cobra .  Next up in the DSV building was Rifflord !

Thursday at the 52nd Annual National Truck-In featured (among other things) the swap meet, pub crawl, and a bunch of bands.  Oh yeah, and it was Aaron's birthday.

Coverage continues from Wednesday July 9th at the 52nd Annual National Truck-In ... I mentioned in yesterday's blogpost how vans were arranging themselves for the aerial photo before the opening ceremony and cruise to the Surf Ballroom .  Well, this is the result.  My van is the top-right corner of the "n" in "52nd".  It was pretty cool to be a part of that.

The 52nd Annual Van Nationals officially started Wednesday July 9th.  Here are a bunch of shots I took walking around the fairgrounds that morning.

I joined Twin City Vans a few years ago and we just finished hosting the 52nd Annual National Truck-In (aka Van Nationals or "Van Nats" for short) in Albert Lea, MN with help and support from a few other local clubs.  It was a good time and I took a ton of photos.  Get ready for a series of very photo-heavy blogposts.  Since I was part of the host club, I spent a decent chunk of time working and helping out.  I couldn't go to all the events or get photos of all the things that went on.  That said, what I did go to was fun and lots of photos will be shared but there was even more going on than what you'll see here.

I went to  Forgotten Star  Bike night hosted by  The Litas Twin Cities  on July 1st and it was packed!!  It was the busiest I think I've ever seen it.  Great weather led to a very big turnout.  I brought my Schwinn Stingray because... why not?

Wrapping up coverage from the 2025 Twin City Vans Good Times Truck-In in Albert Lea, MN.  After the cruise, R/C Van races were up next.  I built a foldable ramp and brought cones to help lay out the course.  It was a lot of fun.  Some people really sent it over the ramp leading to a lot of thrills & spills and at least one van had a wheel break completely off!

Yes, I have even more photos from Twin City Vans 48th Annual Good Times Truck-In to share.  Check out the mirror on the ceiling.  I didn't even notice it until I was reviewing the photos I took.  Some of these vans have so many details it's overwhelming.