Yes, it’s sad but true. We’ve given in and are joining the internet fad of offering contests. We like to think of it as just another way you can enjoy our trip from home. All contest winners will receive one of the many tacky tourist gifts that we’ll be collecting on the way. As with any contest there are rules and we’re sure Dave’s brothers, both of whom are attorneys would love to add lots of them, but we’ll keep it simple. Rule 1 – Enter by e-mailing notes@cuinak.com . Rule 2 – Entries must be received by September 10, 2003. Rule 3 - One entry per person. If we receive multiple entries only the first one received will count. Rule 4 – The decisions of the judges are final.
Simple enough, guess how many miles we put on the truck during the trip. The closest entry wins (hint: we will be including details on where we’ve been so if you’re going to try to figure the routes out on a map you may want to wait until the last minute to enter.)
Another simple one. Guess how many gallons of fuel we will use on the trip. The closest entry wins. (hint: the EPA does not require mileage estimates on trucks like ours so don’t bother going to Ford’s website to try to find one.)
Diesel engines can get a little cranky when they are operated at high elevations (unless they’re programmed for it) so we kept track of the altitude as we drove the truck through mountainous terrain. The contest is to guess (or figure out) what the highest elevation the truck was operated at. As usual, the closest entry wins.
We will be traveling on interstate 90 through
South Dakota on our return trip. The contest is to guess how many highway
miles away from Wall Drug we are when we see the first advertisement. By
advertisement we mean any sign, billboard or similar thing, not bumper stickers
or brochures in rest areas or graffiti in the men’s room. The closest entry
wins. (If you don’t know what Wall Drug is, we’re sure they must have a web
site.)
Wall Drug is famous for having billboards anywhere they can get them. The contest is to guess how many of their billboards we see on our route. The closest entry wins.
We’re going to see a whole bunch of cars and trucks on the trip. The question is how many states will be represented on all the license plates we see? The closest entry wins. (hint: we’re going through at least 14 states so you should probably guess higher than 14.)
How many times did we cross the “western” Continental Divide? In theory rain that falls on the east side of the divide will run to the Gulf of Mexico and rain that falls on the west side will run to the Pacific Ocean. The closest entry wins.