Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cobras In A Blizzard! (Only In Montana)

So I wake up this morning all excited to head over to Hamilton, Montana to attend the gunshow there and do the gunshops north of there.
Its 130 miles each way and as I peek out my window I see its snowing!
Hard!
And it was just 80 degrees here two days ago.
Oh well.
I shift my gear from my high mileage car to my 4x4 VarmintMobile and head out at 9:30 A.M. and its now snowing harder.
65 miles later I arrive at the tiny town of Wisdom, Montana (elevation 6,000'+!) and its still snowing - and its cold.
This is all very welcome because there are 40 some wildfires in western Montana still active.
Anyway I am two blocks away from town central and the only gas station for over 65 miles in any direction comes in to view.
What do I see but 21 (twenty one!) Cobras - not the snake animals but the high performance race cars from the mid 1960's!
I am astounded - I mean how did they get there without four wheel drive, how many have been wrecked on their way to this remote, forlorn and now snowed in tiny corner of the world?
All the cars are either in line to gas up or just in front of the station aimed west (the direction I am headed).
All the Cobras have California license plates and all the Cobras but one have a man driving and a woman passenger!
The other Cobra only has a man in it and a cover over the passengers seat.
I am dumbfounded, maybe incredulous is a better description.
I wheel the VarmintMobile over to the curb and turn off my Cummins diesel engine.
I roll down my window and the sound coming from the eight or ten Cobras running and revving then was erotic, mesmerizing and amazing!
I still could not believe what I am seeing and exit the VarmintMobile to see what I can see up close.
Cobras are roaring and squealing tires and peeling out and jockeying for position at the tiny two pump gas station.
Many of the women are inside a small store buying coffee and warming their hands and faces.
If you are not familiar with Cobras (and I am NO expert!) they are convertibles - or should I say open cockpitted cars with NO roof capabilities - at least NONE of these Cobras had tops!
Its still snowing and I assume these folks are out for some kind of road trip/tour and things weather wise have gone wrong, REALLY WRONG!
There is no where in this tiny burg to get a Cobra under cover unless they drive to a barn or something like that.
I just can not imagine what these folks are gonna do in this snow storm?
I am on a time schedule to be in Hamilton for the show at 1:00 P.M. for the door opening so I must leave despite the amazing allure of nearly two dozen beautiful cars with engines making such a sublime and captivating roaring chorus - I just did not want to leave.
But alas I did and as I am loading up so it seems are most of the Cobras and their now bundled up to the max occupants!
I head out on the long west bound stretch of the Bighole Valley with visibility at no more than half a mile - when I get about 5 miles west of Wisdom I see in my rear view mirror a line of Cobras coming up behind me.
Wowsers I say, these folks are now heading for two high Rocky Mountain passes (one is 7,420 feet high!) in a snow storm, in convertible cars, without four wheel drive and they are doing so at about 70 miles per hour!
I decide to pull over and let them pass at a long pullout near the Bighole Battlefield - I also decide to renew my love of the sound of these cars by shutting down the diesel again and rolling down my window.
It was worth it - it was so cool!
15 (fifteen) Cobras pass me by and the sound was just mesmerizing!
I notice as I am counting them that 13 out of the 15 Cobras to pass me, at speed, have their hoods ajar (not fully closed at the rear but maybe two inches ajar)?
A sixteenth Cobra pulls in behind me and I watch the driver get out and close down the hood on his California plated Cobra (personalized plate "REAL 65").
I am watching him from two hundred yards distant and he jumps back into his ultra cool ride and on that perfectly flat stretch of highway covered with slush this fella puts the hammer down!
I mean his rig was squalling and he hit second gear just before he got to me and incredulously he power shifted into third gear with barely a fishtail as he went out of sight!
I started crying and coming at the same time - it was THE coolest thing I have seen in about 50 years - WOW.
Well I wait several minutes and no more Cobras come from the east to catch up with their friends heading west.
I decide to head out and on up to Chief Joseph Pass and watch for Cobra cars in the burrow pits and willows.
I am literally trembling from the excitement and the cold and watching all the way for distressed Californians - alas and thankfully I saw nary an off road sports car or driver.
Once over Chief Joseph pass and on down to Lost trail Pass I was getting control of myself and wondered which direction the now most certainly numb tourists may have gone - south to Salmon, Idaho and Sun Valley or North to Missoula.
If I would have come across them again I would have thanked each and every one of them for the show and wished them safe travels in their expensive rides.
WOW what a happening.
And me with NO camera along.
I will have some high performance dreams tonight I am sure.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Bullshit.

And, not even *good* bullshit.

That's a great story. That is really wild. Imagine those hot sports cars, highballing down the road in the snow with no tops. That is wild.
All my life I have heard of the Cobra, but have never seen one.

Here is the Cobra song from 1964, lots of great pics of Cobras:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc6FmZCT0Zc

furbarsky: If you don't believe me call the only gas station in Wisdom, Montana and ask them if a big pack of Cobra cars showed up at 10:30 A.M. on September 15th 2,017!
I am certain they wont forget that sight!
I am calling your bluff and bluster - give'em a call.
He-he.
You are about to get egg on your face, again, but by now I am sure you are used to that.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Simonkenton7: That was a cool song - I always thought Jan & Dean sang that but I saw on your link it was by the Rip Chords.
Thanks for the memories.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Hold into your breath, while I google the number for a gas station in Montana, moron.

Pulled full throttle into third, in the snow, in a genuine Cobra, with barely a fishtail? Moron.

Legit Cobras, kickin it in the snow? Happens every day. Moron.

Simonkenton7: I got curious and looked up on Wikipedia the Shelby Cobra - seems some of them had Ford 427 cubic inch engines and some of the early originals had Ford 289 cubic inch engines.
I wonder which I saw - maybe some of each and apparently some one is making look alike Cobra cars (which are also VERY expensive it seems?).
I do know this, those folks had to travel a LONG way in very poor conditions to find shelter or safe streets to drive on.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Every so often a paragraph will make the story easier to read.

Wowsers!

fubarski: YOU are proving yourself to be the moron.
I'll look up the number for you!
By the way they close early in the evening there but open early as well.
Try "Bighole Petroleum" at 1-406-689-3225.
That is the only "gas" related business I find in the Wisdom phone book - if that's NOT the gas station then I am certain they will have the phone number for the station.
I will be expecting YOUR apology about 9:00 A.M. (M.S.T.) tomorrow (September 16th).
He-he.
A sad sack you most certainly must be.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Great story, VG.

Jaguartx: Yeah it was a hoot.
I just felt sorry for all those folks obviously expecting a nice fall day for their excursion into one of the highest and most beautiful valleys in Montana and with not much warning if any at all they find themselves in a near whiteout.
By the way if buttfubarski is reading this I called the Antlers Saloon there in Wisdom, Montana which is next to the gas station and they verified the phone number I gave buttfubarski as being the correct one for the gas station.
I am sure looking forward to old egg in the face buttfubarski getting ANOTHER comeupance!
By the way the vehicles in question today were (IIRC) all one of four colors, white, blue, red and I think black.
I wonder if they have heaters in them?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Well, let's see.

Bullshit will out itself, wouldn't you agree?

21 Cobras, counted em? Amazing ability.

Astounded? I'm astounded you can count to 21.

They're in line to gas up. How long did that take? And you waited? Guess the gunshow can wait until midnight, no problem.

And the *all* got CA plates? You took the time to verify each plate? Anal retentive, but hey, I'll go with you so I can laugh harder, later.

ALL of em have a man driving, and a woman passenger, but one. You know this because they were all sitting in line to get gas, with a man driving, and a woman passenger.

Except that, many of the women are inside, a small store, apparently not the gas station, buying coffee and warming their hands and faces.

Which you observed, while watching Cobras roaring and squealing tires and jockeying for position at the gas pumps.

Remember, you're outside the cumshot bullshitmobile now, so you can see what you can see, up close (see how I added punctuation, there).

Later, after you've waited until they've all gassed up, you leave the gas station, even though the sound of the engines gives you an erection.

And, amazingly, they are all leaving at the same time as you.

And, amazingly, they're all occupied to the max occupancy, which turns out to be, amazingly, two.

Except for the one guy that couldn't get any pussy, remember him?

So you left, with your erection (in hand?), not to be late for a gunshow.

Then, with visibility at a half mile, in a snowstorm, you look in the rearview mirror of the cumshot bullshitmobile, and see rear-wheel-drive, convertible, sports cars catching up to you, at 70 miles per hour, in a blinding snowstorm, so you decide to pull over and let them pass.

Pardon me while I wipe the egg offa my face.

OK, I'm back.

Then, (and this is where it gets good, if it wasn't already), you let 13 of the "21" pass you on the road, in a snowstorm. Apparently, the other 8 didn't show you their tits.

Except for the guy that was alone, who also didn't show you his tits.

The sound apparently kept your dick hard, so you were able to focus on the "fact" that 13 had their hoods "ajar", whatever the fck that means.

Cobras didn't have hood springs like a regular car, but you knew that, so there's no fcking way the hoods would be propped open at speed if the latches weren't in place.

They lay flat.

Your keen powers of observation would have immediately alerted you of that fact. Normally. But, I'm willing to allow that your erection may have clouded that basic observation.

SO, the 16th guy, out of 21, remember, pulls in behind you 200 yards away, and you can read his license plate.

Through the rearview mirror that served you so well before, apparently.

Please refer me to your optometrist.

But, maybe the erection focused your eyesight. In which case the optometrist won't help, dangit.

And, you're able to observe that he pulls over, for the sole reason to "put the hood down", on a hood that couldn't be up?

Was that when you started "crying and coming at the same time"?

That hadda make a mess, especially if ol' sound-hardener was aimed at your face.

Good call to take a break at that point, get the juices together.

I'm sure if you would have come across them again, it would only be because you came across them the first time.

Hopin for wet dreams for you, just like the last time.

Happy I'm wipin egg offa my face, steada what the Cobra drivers were wipin offa theirs.

buttfubarski: I will happily pick you apart, again!
He-he!
And I am eagerly awaiting your polite apology early tomorrow A.M. - IF.. you are man enough to do so!
He-he!
Yes-sirree bob - I can, and did count to 21 and then counted the cars that passed me there on Highway 43 just west of Wisdom - can't YOU count?
I have no idea how Cobra cars hoods "latch" but it was quite obvious that most of the Cobras had their hoods unlatched at the rear and the one fella that pulled in behind me got out of his car and pushed down on his hood, got back in his car and "varoomed" on past me, his hood was closed as he passed - again that was one of THE coolest things I have seen in decades.
And remember there buttfubarski (if thats possible for you?) that I got out and walked amongst the gathered sports cars and sport car drivers and passengers there at the Wisdom gas station and read that license plate both in the town of Wisdom and again when that car passed me their at the Bighole National Battlefield, yeah I can read license plates!
Sheesh.
When I pulled over there on Highway 43 I turned the VarmintMobile a bit so I could see the approaching convoy of Cobras in all their purring glory, go by - that was my purpose for pulling over (as explained previously).
Don't make TO much of my dallying into erotic comparisons there buttfubarski - I was makin a funny!
I tend to think you ought to get out more there buttfubarski - if you can?
The egg is STILL on your face there buttfubarski and will be until you apologize to me and maybe a little longer after that.
He-he.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My buddy's brother is one of the preeminent Cobra restoration and historian specialists. He's in Colorado and has a couple Shelby Cobras and restores a couple each year. Very cool cars and no doubt an unexpected sight on a snowy Montana backroad.

I hope the snow finds and quenches the fires.

Good story but unbelievable.

There ain't more than a couple dozen original Shelby Cobras in existence, all of them too valuable to drive on road trips.
Odds are great they were replicas, primarily based on the Mustang "fox" chassis of the late 80's and 90's, with second gen ford 302 motor, or chevy small blocks.
Google "Fast Five" replicars, one of biggest suppliers of Cobra kits.

Casey

^^^^

^^^