• Sunday-What'sUP October 20 - 11:05 pm

In the early years of the Pasty Cam our MTU student son Jonathan provided most of the daily scenes. He tried to bring a taste of every kind of experience in the U.P. Among the various pursuits that Jonathan photographed was the Lake Superior PRO Rally in the fall of 1998.

That was almost half a lifetime ago for Jon. On Friday he went back to this event (now with a slightly different name) along with wife Katriina and daughter Ellie. They caught up with the cars in the Baraga Plains, and the sequence above gives a glimpse of the experience, out in the cool fresh air in the woods near Lake Superior, just before and after sundown. They say even Ellie was cheering with her Subaru cowbell.

Ellie is adorable!

Love the sunset!
Ellie is such a precious little lady.;)

As I'm reading about the rally (which I don't
understand at all), I'm thinking we need a new photo
of Ellie. And I scroll down, and there she is!
What a doll! She is so beautiful!

One question about the rally: Isn't there a concern
about animals (esp. deer) along the course?

OMG, thanks for the ride..........

Ellie looks like a very happy little one.;O)

Eugenia,

It is really an all out high speed race, except
they force the cars to go one at a time to avoid
passing and collisions. So they are racing against
the clock. There are several separate sections of
"road" they use called stages. They all speed
through one stage, one at a time, then move on to
another stage getting there using public roads but
not racing. It lasts one long extended weekend.
Add up all the times for all the stages and low
time wins.

Yes, hitting deer can be a problem, as well as
trees, ditches etc. In the video the voice you
hear is the navigator or co-driver who calls out
the upcoming turns, crests, etc.

In the 70's while at MTU I worked in the pit crew
for an old high school buddy who went on to win it
in later years and still races today.

Fun times! And Ellie is so darn cute!

Thanks for sharing the rally AND your granddaughter with us!

To put that video into perspective:

That stage was #15 out of 17 total for the
weekend. It was 4.14 miles long. The team in the
video was Chris Greenhouse & Billy Mann. Their
time was 4 minuntes, 5 seconds, but was a full 50
seconds slower than the winner of the stage at 3
min. 15 sec. They really fly.

Oh, and the winner in 2011 DID hit a deer.
http://tinyurl.
com/k2lqzyc

Excellent thanks for the ride along. did get to work
the rally several years ago for im an amatuer radio
op..and had a friend that run as well..was an
awesome time sure missed this year wanted to photo
the rally hopefully next year..nice hearing the blow
off valve on the race car..wonder if the brockway
mountain stage was run this year..would love to see
that one....lucky you ellie"s a beautiful little
granddaughter...

Cool video and I was thinking the same thing...deer in the headlights.

Thanks, D A, for the explanation -- it makes a lot
more sense now. In fact, I think it would be kind
of fun. (One of my fantasies used to be riding in a
race car on the track, maybe even driving it!)

We rarely travel over 45-50 mph on the highways at
night here because of deer, and I've seen many in
the middle of the day so they're always on my mind
in a scene like that on the video.

Ellie is a beauty. My husband also enjoyed rally racing in the Ann
Arbor area--but that was before my time (with him).

Sure wish I could of seen the rally this year, it's so cool and a real good time!

cute baby picture!

THE VIDEO IS FANTASTIC! Reminds me of 4 wheelin with Marty at deer hunting!

Picked a nice Autumn day.

That video was amazing to watch! Never did this style of racing but back when Bob & I were dating he had a '66 Cyclone GT set up for 1/4 mile drag strip. Ran the 1/4 in 8.7 seconds. It was fun times, his mother never warmed up to the car, she was glad to see it go to our house when we married as it would rattle her dishes in the cupboards when he would start it in the garage. I learned to do some drag racing after we married, with our '69 Roadrunner and '66 Shelby GT-350, not quite the intense race cars as the Cyclone, but it was a rush!

Thanks for the ride-along! That looks like a total blast to do! I've done 3 laps around Daytona Speedway (check that off the bucket-list!) at 170 mph but I think this would be more of a rush, especially with the knowledge that there are no cars coming at you. Though the deer factor would be a bit nerve-wracking. What a way to see the fall colors!

Way cool Taana!

It was a blast Janie, I highly recommend doing it if you get the chance! Two friends and I went to FL for a vacation and planned a day trip to Daytona. They were all about the beach but I talked them into doing a quick tour of the track. When the the tour ended, it was in the pits and they were pushing the Richard Petty Ride-Along and I *had* to do it. Fastest (and best!) $150 I ever spent! :D

I have never been to Daytona, been to Talladega as it has a family interest, my grandmother's brother owned part of the land Talladega is built on and he was one of the guys on the committee that made the track happen. You're like me horsepower either with 4 tires or 4 legs!

I want to get to a race at 'Dega eventually. I was so rooting for Jr in yesterdays race! It was awesome seeing him running at the front for the majority of the day. That is so cool that part of the land was in your family. You also owned my dream car, a Shelby! I've wanted one for many years, another item on the bucket list. I do love my horses! Now that we're into fall it's my favorite time for riding, no bugs!

We actually owned 3 Shelby's, the '66, a '68 GT-500, and a '70 GT-350. Bob & I have owned over 200 cars since 1975. Crazy! Yes! no or very little flies, gnats, etc. is making life with horses more comfortable! Happy Trails!

Not surprised you horse people would own cars called "Mustangs".;)

Love the Autumn leaves and sunset.