Ever since our nice little layover in Boise, it has been a whirlwind of activity out here on the road. We’ve hit some big markets, had lots of guests, flown in a ‘sky-motorcycle’ and are running a great new giveaway! Now we are caught somewhere between nostalgia and carpe diem as we count down the last few weeks of our 2015 tour.
Straight out of the gate we took the truck over to Eastern Idaho, which is truly the land that it represents. The Potato Basket of Idaho hosted the glorious duck race and us on our first-last weekend out of Boise. We met up with some familiar faces from the industry and got acquainted with several more. James Hoff, the second ‘real Idaho Potato farmer’ in our last commercial, decided to switch teams and take us up in the biplane so we could plot our escape and not get caught by old man Coombes. To say we are persuasive would be an understatement… or maybe it’s to say he’s ‘just a good’ guy is an understatement.
From there we pushed onward and eastward and tucked down in Chicago. The week was spent stuffing our faces with deep-dish pizza and ice cream. Some of us are still jiggling from the gluttony of those couple days. Out here we were fortunate to spend the weekend with the fine folks at Mokena’s Farm and Barn Fest. We fit right in next to the white haunted house and big red barn as people perused a flea market, sheep shearing and a petting zoo.
This last week we’ve been putt-ing all over Tennessee. We did an interview in Nashville with RFD TV, donated $500 to two charities in Knoxville and then ‘raced’ over to Bristol for the Food City 300. We greatly expanded our wolf pack and spent the weekend hanging out with our tour boss, truck designer, two commissioners (and family) and a couple of retail fellas from the IPC. It was awesome having the opportunity to share our world with them and they couldn’t have come at a better time… because Bristol was nuts! We were swamped all day in Bristol (both because we were soaked from the rain and because there were so many people) and we desperately needed the extra hands.
The night climaxed with our third tour in the Nighthauler Parade. Rowdy race fans lined the streets as dozens of semi trucks came through with their favorite drivers’ vehicles and, of course, their favorite potato. The rest of our weekend was spent enjoying the NASCAR races and culture and making new friends with the Peanutters… who drive the Nutmobile… is that strange or an obvious association?
Yes these past few weeks have been a blur out here on the road. Since leaving Boise we’ve been fortunate enough to see and do a lot. We’ve also put together some videos for you guys that can be seen by going to our Youtube page here. On top of that, we kicked off our #PotatoPlank challenge to celebrate the health benefits of Idaho spuds and help you win $500 for a charity of your choice. This contest is going on until September 13 and there are a lot of opportunities for you to win a $150 Fitbit just by signing up! Check out our contest page for more information and to enter.
Well guys it is time to sign off… we are heading for Philadelphia and there is a Philly Cheesesteak calling my name. Now if only we could get it with some real Idaho Potatoes…
Ellis the Spud Stud
