The 2021 Epic Willys Adventure will be hitting the road .. or better put … the Oregon Trail, starting August 13th. Their goal is to follow the Oregon Trail, if I’m not mistaken, from Missouri to Oregon.

Word on the street is that the intrepid crew may seek some refuge near the end of their journey at the new World Headquarters of eWillys for a night. Let’s hope they make it!

More on this adventure as it unfolds. If you are interested in sponsoring the journey, feel free to contact them through the website: https://www.epicwillysadventure.com/about-us

I’ve been spending the last couple weeks stalking Craigslist, trying to find a good price on a drill press. A couple days ago I found a Jet in great condition for $250, but I called to late on that one. After searching some more, I finally found a 16 speed drill press for only $100. So, I drove up to Ellensburg (about an hour and a half north) and picked it up today.

It turned out the seller was a long time farmer who used to own a machine shop (along with a 3000 acre farm) outside of Hermiston, but he downsized to a hundred acre place in Ellensburg. Because of that, he didn’t need the drill press. He said it worked great, but sometimes one of the chuck teeth would stick when changing drill bits. One thing that made the deal worthwhile to me was that he included the drill press vice and a notcher, two tools that together, when new, are about the value what I paid for the whole package.

Add into that, $50 for a never-used 40″ John Deere Aerator (Piece at $489 and Home Depot) and I’d say I had a good day shopping!

The funny thing about the visit was that the guy had grown up in Prosser (where we now live) and owned several Willys Jeeps (a 1956 CJ-5 was his high school vehicle). Small world.