Are you up for a Burger Quest?

By Colin Date

What a great time of year! Summer is pretty much a guaranteed good time just about anywhere in this country. I was sitting in my car today at lunchtime, munching on a burger, thinking about another place and time long ago. I was living in Portland, Oregon back in the mid ’90s, and had been doing some freelance writing and photography for Tom Shaw at Muscle Car Review magazine. Seems like back then, ol’ Tom was always wanting some unique stories for his magazine– real human interest stuff. So, my idea ended up turning into a six-page feature in MCR entitled “Burger Quest”. Needless to say, it was a blast putting the story together.

First off, there was no way I was going to do this epic adventure in my wife’s Camry (my own car was down and out at that point). I needed a good muscle car, so I borrowed a friend’s 1969 Firebird Formula 400 convertible– Carousel Red with an interior to match. Of course, I wasn’t going to take this trip alone. When I tossed the idea out to my friend Paul, he enthusiastically volunteered. “Paul, you know this could take some time, right?” “Hopefully!” he quickly shot back, grinning from ear to ear (Paul was always looking for ways to avoid his daily job.) It ended up taking almost three days, and lightened my wallet by 300 bucks for food, gas, and Tums.