Doug and Nan's Excellent Adventure

What a Trip - Epilog

2010-09-11T22:35:00.041-04:00

Well, it's been a few weeks since we arrived home after spending 6 weeks on the road for our "Excellent Adventure." I must admit I haven't even looked at the Model A in the garage. But, that will change soon as I need to prepare the Model A for a weekend trip to the 54th New England Model A Meet. I will have to do some maintenance, like replacing the broken brake rod, changing the oil, etc. and washing off the dried mud I picked up from road construction in Glacier National Park. I think I'm going to miss that mud as it's kind of like a merit badge! Taking your "A" on a long journey is a great experience and I would highly recommend it. We traveled to so many places that we have never visited before. And driving the Model A seems to be a catylist for meeting so many nice people, who all added to the total experience of the journey. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting our National Parks and Monuments that we had placed on our "must see list." Memories of the sights, sounds and smells of Glacier and Yellowstone (and the Alaskan cruise) will be forever etched in our minds.

Our pre trip planning scoped out a proposed route and nightly overnight stops. However, since we only needed two rooms we didn't feel the need to make advanced hotel reservations and that would give us flexibility to modify our schedule. Nan was a great navigator, finding interesting places to visit along the way and finding some good roads that kept us out of traffic if we needed to modify our planned route. Armed with her GPS, maps, AAA books and cell phone she kept us going and She was also the key to us having a place to sleep each night as she would call ahead each day when we determined where we thought we would be for the night.

Preparing the Model A for a trip like this varies, for me I rebuilt my Borg-Warner overdrive to make sure it was up to the task. Replacing my front spring lead to a whole new front axle being installed. I replaced all the brake linings. New tires were put on last year for our trip to Dearborn, MI so they were fine. I also installed LED taillights for an extra margin of safety. I had rebuilt my engine two years ago for this trip, but unfortunately that engine was replaced after it suffered a problem 80 miles into the trip. The replacement engine did the job. Other spare parts were probably pretty consistent with what we all carry for most tours. My actual mechanical problems consisted of:

Engine #1 was replaced by engine #2 which was replaced by engine #3.

A loose spindle nut causing the front wheel to come close to falling off. This situation caused the brake shoes to wear badly and had to be replaced. Thankfully I did have a spare set of brake shoes with me.

Ignition coil replaced

The CB inverter died and was replaced

I have a few statistics that I thought some of you might find interesting.

We drove almost 7400 miles, 3400 miles from Home to Vancouver and 4000 miles from Vancouver back home.

Averaged 19.9 MPG for the trip, excluding the first 3 days (lost some records) and the final day of driving (I haven't fill the tank yet.)

The highest MPG was 23.6 on the return trip from Douglas, WY to Chadron, NE.

The lowest MPG was 16.9 in from Manitowoc to Tomah, WI.

I can see the high mileage from WY to NE as it was flat and we had a tail wind, but I can't figure out the low mileage in Wisconsin. It was hilly but nothing that I would call taxing for the Model As.

The longest driving day was 366 miles from Sheridan, WY to Butte, MT

The shortest driving day was 60 miles from Bellingham, WA to Vancouver, BC

The average driving per day was 246 miles for the trip.

We traveled through 14 states and 3 Canadian provinces.

Traveled in 5 different time zones. (Alaska, Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern)

Crossed the Continental Divide 6 times

I'm not sure how many unique visitors the blog had, but I do know the blog has had visitors from the following countries: USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Cote d' Ivore (The Ivory Coast), Japan, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Latvia, Croatia, India, Russia, Mauritius, Belarus, Indonesia, France, Malta, United Arab Emerites, Greece, Finland, Vietnam, Cambodia, Paraguay, Pakistan, Romania, Austria, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Shri Lanka, Malaysia and The Philippines. I'm amazed that we have had visitors from such far reaching places.

Don't forget to vote.

2010-09-04T20:07:00.002-04:00

Just a reminder to all the MAFCA members out there to be sure to vote and return your ballot. And while your doing so, I would like to ask that you consider casting a vote for me for the board.

I am also compiling the statistics of our trip. I will have all of those details ready early next week, so be sure to check back.

Newspaper Interviews

2010-09-01T14:34:00.003-04:00

Our little caravan caught the fancy of a couple of local newspapers and I thought that you may find the articles interesting.

The first link is from our local paper, The Metrowest Daily News, that called us about the trip while we were in Idaho. Reporter Dave Riley had read our blog and wanted to get a little more information for his story.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/features/x23931189/Southborough-couple-driving-to-Vancouver-in-vintage-automobile

You may also recall that while we in Spencer, Iowa we were interviewed by Randy Cauthron of the Spencer Daily Reporter, a link to his story is below.

http://www.spencerdailyreporter.com/story/1660164.html

Day 46 – We Made It – Almost

2010-08-30T22:09:00.011-04:00

OK, today was going to be the last day of our adventure that started 6 weeks ago. We left Albany and continued on RT 20 through the city without any trouble other than a few turns that weren’t marked very well. The GPS got us over the river and past the hustle and bustle of the city.

The Model A’s were running well and we were just enjoying the drive. The weather forecast was for temperatures in the 90’s and as it got later in the morning we could tell it was getting hotter. The miles ticked away and soon we crossed back into Massachusetts. We stopped to take a picture as we crossed the border but the sign was pretty boring. I guess the sign with more glitz was probably on the Mass Pike. But, we are now back on home ground.

The western part of RT 20 through the Berkshires to me is one of the nicest drives in the state. The road follows the Housatonic and West Rivers with high rock walls in many places. It was in this area the Dick had to remind me we were passing through Blandford, where my troubles started on the first day of our journey. We were about to get on the bypass around Springfield when I hit a pothole while braking and I heard something break and then a scraping sound. Dick was already on the bypass when I radioed that I had to pull over. A quick look showed that the left front brake rod had broken and the scraping noise was the broken piece, which got bent, dragging on the ground. I pulled the two clevis pins and was ready to go by the time Dick circled back to me. A test of the three brakes remaining seemed to be fine, no pulling noticeable. Nan also commented that we now knew which brake was making the squealing noise, because it was now gone.

Our lunch stop was at the Steaming Tender (http://www.steamingtender.com/) in Palmer. The restored old train station looked great and while we were eating an AMTRAK passenger train went roaring by which startled many of us.

The CB crackled with Dick saying he needed to check a rear tire. We pulled into a gas station and sure enough it was low. A little air and we went another 10 miles before Dick radioed that the tire was going low again. We pulled into a parking lot and put on the spare. Good thing Dick fixed that tire a few days ago.

It wasn’t long before Nan & I turned off to head home. It seemed strange to break away from Dick & Barbara as both of us went our separate ways. The good thing is that we would both be going home after an unbelievable Model A adventure.

We pulled into our driveway and got a reception from our neighbors, our daughter and grandkids who gave us huge hugs. Ah…it’s good to be home.

Day 44 & 45 - Homing in on Home

2010-08-29T22:42:00.009-04:00

The first thing Dick did in the morning was check the tire pressure in the spare. The patch was holding as the pressure was the same as he measured last night. He was feeling better about having a spare again. At breakfast we got talking to some guys who were here for the week fishing on Lake Erie. They were happy they had caught their limit on Perch and Bass; I think they had hundreds of each. They reminded me of the guys returning from a fishing trip with all those boxes of fish with them in Vancouver. They had been fishing Lake Erie for years, sounds like us going to Hershey.

We followed the Lake Erie Ohio Coastal Trail which afforded us a pleasant drive through some nice towns and great views of the lake. We managed to make good time and didn’t get caught up in traffic in Cleveland or Erie PA which was good. We stopped in Dunkirk, NY to visit the Historic Dunkirk Lighthouse. We got a history of the light house and how it came into the hands of the Veterans group who now help maintain the light which is still active, although it is now fully automatic. Some interesting points: the lens that multiplies the power of the lamp cost $10,000 in 1857, about a Million dollars in today’s money; and local fishermen still use the light house tower as a reference when establishing fishing locations. I asked about taking some pictures of the Model A’s at the light and was given the green light. Even the lighthouse staff came out to take some pictures. We bid the lighthouse good bye and off we continued, eventually stopping in Henrietta, NY for the night.

Off and running in the morning we could really feel the call of home. We thought today would be a good day for some antiquing. We managed to find some interesting shops along the way, with Nan & I buying some old magazines. We took a pleasant break in Skaneateles, NY for lunch at our favorite place in that area, the Sherwood Inn. Lunch was great, especially since I was able to get a Yuengling beer, which is not available outside of NY and PA. We also did some shopping in the town before continuing.

We have been travelling on RT 20 for much of the time since leaving Yellowstone NP. In this section of NY it is quite hilly and some of the grades really tested the Model A’s strength. I think we went over the Rockies easier. We forged on and eventually put the “big” hills behind us and finally stopped for the final time in Albany.

Day 43 - Gilmore is more!

2010-08-28T21:22:00.016-04:00

It was another beautiful morning and we were looking forward to our visit to the Gilmore Museum. The motel was close by so it was a short ride back to the museum. As we were entering the grounds we could see the motorhome so we knew that Jack & Jo were here. The first thing we did was to head to the vintage Shell Gas Station to take some pictures of the Model A's in front of it as the sun was just right for pictures. How convenient that admissions was inside the gift shop. Oh well, we all managed to find something we needed to take home with us.

The first thing I noticed in the gift shop was a huge car door, then the rear seat area of a Yellow Rolls Royce which was a set used in the Disney movie the "Gnome Mobile." It was fun to check out the detail of this 4 time normal set. The detail was really great. As for the museum itself, I must say that my first impression of this place was "Top Shelf" as everything was at this facility was done with the highest quality and attention to detail. Those of us who are MAFFI members are excited about our museum to be built on the grounds of this beautiful facility.

We headed out to visit the rest of the buildings to check out not only the amazing cars but also the beautiful buildings (barns) in which they are housed. It was nice to see everything from a Waltham Orient Buckboard to Duesenburgs and everything in between. Some of the cars I liked were; the beautiful unrestored 1935 Ford with only 20K miles on it, the Tucker exhibit, and all of the very early vehicles from 1903. I have to say there wasn't any area I didn't like, the whole place was amazing.

When it was time for lunch, what better place to have it then at the 1940's restored Silk City diner. Great atmosphere and food.

Leaving the museum we headed the Model A's southeast towards Ohio. We circled around Toledo and got on the Shore Route and arrived in Port Clinton for the night. Since we got in early Dick wanted to repair the flat tire he got a few days ago. We got the tube out and repaired a 1/2 inch cut on the tube. With the tire remounted Dick filled it up with air. Hopefully it will still be holding air in the morning.

Day 42 - Just in Time

2010-08-27T22:27:00.014-04:00

Our ride thru Madison last night was a "white knuckle” trip for sure. The traffic was very heavy and in the dark it was even more of a concern. BUT, we made it to the hotel without any incident and got settled in for the night. We did this in order to get closer to the Ferry terminal in Milwaukee. Only problem was we had no ferry reservations. So, first thing in the morning I called the ferry office and when I got the agent to make a reservation for the two Model A’s I was told I got the last two spots on the 12:30 ferry. Boy what luck! Just in time again. We had to be at the terminal 1 ½ hours before which would be easy to do if we got back on the interstate. We did and fortunately we didn’t have any problems getting to the ferry terminal in time, in fact we were the first two cars in line. When we got loaded on the ferry we were parked up against the front door.

We found seats in the main cabin and settled in for the 2 ½ hour ride across Lake Michigan. What a difference between this ship and the S.S. Badger we took earlier which was huge and slow. This ship was a catamaran and fast. The other difference was the lake was pretty rough today and the ferry was really rolling with the swells. You needed sea legs if you tried to walk around. Dick and I hoped the emergency brakes held with all this movement. When we were asked to return to the cars we were glad to see them still in the same place. Dick was first off the ship and I was right behind him.

About the time we got off the ferry the phone rang; it was Jo who was at the Gilmore Museum and told us about the Cruise night tonight. It would be great if we could make it. We set the GPS to Hickory Corners and the Gilmore Museum and headed the Model A’s in that direction. Oh but wait…one thing did manage to stop us and that was the Whippy Dip for ice cream. Dick says a day isn’t complete without Ice Cream. We also got the ROCK weather. On the road again we eventually arrived at the museum just around 6:45. When we pulled in we could hear the PA announcer say the Model A’s from Boston were now pulling into the show. Just in time again. Dick and I found spots to park and we were greeted by Jack & Jo. It was good to see them again. We answered lots of questions from other visitors about our trip which is always fun. We loved looking at the cars and especially liked eating at the restored diner. Edsel even got a chance to ride on an Edsel! We had a wonderful time and looked forward to returning to the museum for a full visit in the morning.

Leaving the museum for our motel we were warned about the deer and to be careful driving the roads. We were only gone a few minutes when we spotted 3 deer on the side of the road, but that was it. No more sightings all the way top the motel.

Day 40 & 41 - Trouble in River City

2010-08-25T22:35:00.018-04:00

Leaving Valentine, NB there was no specific plan other than crossing the state and over the border into Iowa. RT 20 continued its straight and fairly flat terrain. With more farms and equipment. We changed direction in Sioux City, IA and adjusted our route to US RT 18 in order to make our trip to Milwaukee more direct. Unfortunately the road was not as good as RT 20 but since this was a travel day it wasn’t much of a concern. We stopped for the night in Spencer, IA

Packing up in Spencer, IA the next morning, we were given a note from the local paper looking to do an interview on our trip and stay in Spencer. I called the reporter and did an interview over the phone. Randy, reporter for the Spencer Daily Report, also came by to take a few pictures. While talking to Randy he asked if we were here looking for “Dewey the Cat”? Well, no, who is Dewey? Turns out it was a story about a cat that was abandoned at the library and lived there for 15 years. When old Dewey went to Kitty Heaven, the librarian decided to write a book about Dewey and it became an international best seller. Well, we had to go to the Library to see where the story began. Pictures were taken and then it was off on our eastward trek.

The eastern part of Iowa was dominated by farms, LARGE farms. Fields of corn stretched as far as you could see. We had set our sights on a Pioneer Museum in the town of Mason City, but when we got there it didn’t open until 1:00 PM. Nuts! Oh well, it was time for lunch so we hit our first McDonald's of the entire trip. Mason City was the boyhood home of Meredith Willson (yes, two LLs). Name doesn’t ring a bell? How about the musicals “The Music Man” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”, he was the author/composer of both of those hit plays. We stopped at the museum dedicated to his life and works, which was complete with a Streetscape of the town of River City and the infamous Pool Hall that was going to bring “Trouble to River City!” It was a great stop and all we could think of was our Super Tours to Watkins Glenn, NY when we attended the play of The Music Man at the Summer Theater in Auburn. The gift shop was calling Nan and she managed to find some items that she just had to bring home with us.

Continuing on after “River City” we were cruising along enjoying the ride. The CB woke up with a call from Dick saying the woody was acting funny and as we were pulling over he realized it was a flat tire. The right rear tire was flat as a pancake, so out came the jack and we changed it without any trouble. Now we just need to hope he doesn’t get another.

The weather had changed after some rain last night and the driving was very comfortable. As a result we made a decision to reach Madison, WI for the night. A phone call got us rooms, which meant we would be lined up for our trip to Milwaukee and hopefully the ferry ride to Michigan.

Day 39 - Jackalope?? what's that you say!

2010-08-24T23:32:00.014-04:00

OK, leaving Douglas we had to go downtown and check out this urban legend. Actually, the Jackalope was the brainchild of Doug Herrick of Douglas, WY and thus Douglas was named "Home of the Jackalope." Doug and his brother were on a hunting trip and tossed a jackrabbit carcass into the taxidermy store and it landed by a pair of deer antlers. That gave Jack and idea and the first Jackalope was sold for $10. As they say the rest is history. Douglas issues thousands of Jackalope hunting licenses every year. BTW the state trademarked the name Jackalope in 1965.

Leaving Jackalope Park we continued east on US RT 20. The landscape continued to be pretty barren and the hills were somewhat challenging to the Model A's, nothing that they couldn't handle though. The biggest issue we had was with the weather. It was clear, but hot and VERY windy. The wind was really strong and seemed to blasting us constantly. We needed a break and found Fort Robinson near Crawford, NB. We parked the Model A's under some large Cottonwood trees. The Fort was just what we needed; a place to stretch and walk about and also to get something cold to drink. Reading the history of the Fort we found it had one significant event that linked it to one of our earlier stops. Fort Robinson was where the legendary Sioux warrior Crazy Horse was brought to when he was captured and it was also where Crazy Horse died while trying to escape. It seemed appropriate to have the rest of the story after visiting the Crazy Horse memorial near Rapid City.

The other thing we noticed was the size of the trains. They were huge and mostly carrying coal from the local mines. It was nothing to count over 100 cars. Incidentally, we were told that the cities were spaced about 25 - 30 miles apart in Wyoming and about 15-20 mile in Nebraska. This was primarily due to the distance steam engine could go between water stops. Development occurred first in NB and moved west to WY and as steam engines improved the distance between towns also extended. Makes sense to me...

The heat and wind forced us to seek refuge and we stopped early in Valentine, NB. Even Edsel and Squeek were running low on energy. The Dunes Inn was a welcome stop. It also gave Nan & I a chance to do laundry. Dinner with Dick & Barbara at the Peppermill was great. The Prime Rib sandwich was huge, good and priced right, what more could you ask for. OK, want more, our waitress came for Portsmouth, NH and has relatives in Kittery Point.

Day 38 - History and Buffalo Bill

2010-08-23T23:54:00.016-04:00

The Model A’s were all packed and we headed downtown to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Museum. Downtown Cody was pretty quiet Saturday morning, so quite that Dick thought he might stop for a haircut when he saw a sign Cowboy Haircuts! What ever that meant? He decided to keep his hair.

The museum is a major attraction in Cody and the facility is extremely nice. Our plan was to stay only an hour as we had to head east, but this is one place where you could spend a day or more if you wanted to absorb all the information. Nan & I focused on the William F Cody and the Plains Indians sections. The displays were interesting. I liked the saddle with all the silver dollars that Buffalo Bill shot when tossed in the air. The Indian display did a great job showing their daily lives. And Nan found the dresses worn by the daughter of Buffalo Bill interesting. I believe Dick & Barbara and Jack & Jo did the same sections. I also did a quick pass in part of the Firearms collection which I also thought was very good. Nan also found some time to visit the outdoor gardens which she said were very good too.

We were back in the Model A’s after our visit and continued our journey east on US RT 20.

RT 20 headed into the Wind River Canyon area. What a beautiful location. We also know why the place got its name. Boy was the wind blowing in that canyon. The road actually went through three tunnels that were carved out of the granite. It looked like the railroad tracks on the other side of the river also went through tunnels in the mountains too.

Unfortunately once we left the canyon, the landscape was pretty barren and it was very warm. The roads were also very straight and hilly. The conditions really made travel uncomfortable so we made the decision to stop ealry. We stopped for the night at the Best Western in Douglas, WY. The parking lot contained a number of Street Rods, which turned out to be a meeting of the Wyoming Street Road Association.

Tomorrow we will be another travel day as we head east.

Day 36 & 37 – Good Bye Yellowstone; Hello Buffalo Bill

2010-08-23T00:15:00.023-04:00

Today our plan was to visit the Norris Basin area and it geysers, the Yellowstone River and Canyon and visit the Fishing Bridge area before we exit the park at East Yellowstone. Jack & Jo joined us from the RV Park at our hotel for breakfast and then we all headed back into the park. Our first stop was Norris Basin to check out the geysers. There was a great view of the basin from the Museum. The Museum is the only building in the park with a breezeway. We took a walk to the view some of the geysers which were smelly (sulphur) and bubbling hot. The bookstore had the patches that Nan was looking for so it was a good stop. The new recruit rangers however looked like they were not ready for prime time.

The next stop was the south rim loop along the canyon. This was one of those areas where the views got better with each stop. The lower falls was spectacular as it fell in the deep canyon. We stopped at each viewing location and found the photo ops great. we did the same for the upper falls loop. We all walked down to the brink of the falls and it was again a must see.

The drive down to Fishing Bridge was loaded with Elk and Buffalo, actually lots of Buffalo. At one point I was leading and had to stop to make sure they weren’t going to move or charge the Model A. Fortunately they stayed put as I passed by….slowly!

At Fishing Bridge, Dick wanted to change his carburetor, while we got some lunch. This solved his idling problem. The drive by Yellowstone Lake was very picturesque. In fact the wind was blowing so hard waves were crashing on the beach. It was a long ride to the East Yellowstone exit but very scenic. We stopped for a photo op at the park exit, which was a little cloudy due to the control burn forest fire the park was conducting.

Once back on the road we stayed on US RT 20. In case you weren't aware, RT 20 is called the Yellowstone Highway and goes from Massachusetts thru Yellowstone and on to Oregon.
http://www.yellowstonetrail.org/index.htm) We decided on staying in Cody, WY. We just cruised along as the road was pretty straight. We got a call from Jack that we might like to stop at the Buffalo Bill Dam, which we did. We got some good travel advice from the “Dam Guy” on duty at the visitor center. Leaving the Dam we noticed the tunnels through the rocks which impressive.

Cody is a town founded by William F (Buffalo Bill) Cody. He had the Irma Hotel built for tourists when they came by train to visit Yellowstone. The bar is a beautiful Cherry piece and the focal point of the hotel. The costumed players of Buffalo Bill, the Sheriff, the bad guy and the barmaid were all part of the fun. Oh, BTW, the food was good too.

Tomorrow we will visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center before heading east.

Day 34 & 35 - Yellowstone Experience

2010-08-22T00:13:00.027-04:00

We really enjoyed our stay at the Glacier Park Lodge as it was an unexpected treat. We enjoyed a great breakfast buffet in the dining room before heading to the next stop on our itinerary, Yellowstone National Park. We made a decision that we were going to drive straight through to Yellowstone and we did. It was a longer day than we expected, but we made it. We were able to get rooms at the Days Inn in West Yellowstone and would be ready to enter the park in the morning.

The West Yellowstone park entrance was just down the street from the hotel. We showed our passes and headed off hoping we would see the wildlife we have always heard about. It wasn’t long before we pulled off the road to watch Elk grazing. No sooner had we pulled off the road when we saw Jack & Jo pulling into the turn out too. They got an early start from their visit to Glacier National Park yesterday and were able to join us as we toured Yellowstone. Our next stop was to an area where Buffalo were also grazing. Neither of these sightings was large, but they were hopefully representative of what we might see during our visit.

Of course Yellowstone is also famous for its geysers and we saw plenty of them, in all shapes and sizes. We did the typical tourist thing and took the small loops, one of which took us to White Dome Geyser. It looked pretty cool, with its tall cone spewing steam. We were just about ready to leave when it erupted.

The Model A’s gave lots of other visitors some Kodak moments while we visited as many of the geysers, pools and mud pots as we could. We eventually wound up at Old Faithful to see the famous geyser. Needless to say, the parking lot was very crowded, but we did find parking. The new gift shop was a hit with us as we all managed to find something to take home. We did make it to Old Faithful in time to watch the eruption which was deemed “short” by the Park Ranger. It still looked good to us. Dick was experiencing some skipping in the Woody, so the O’Briens went back to the hotel to fix the problem (it turned out to be a broken spark plug). We (Doug & Nan and Jack & Jo) wanted to visit Old Faithful Hotel which was really spectacular. I’m so glad it was spared during the 1988 forest fire. The structure of the hotel was really unique and the lobby is something you have to stand in to appreciate. The Hotel also had some unique items in the gift shop which some how managed to make it into our bags.

Leaving Old Faithful we followed the Lower Loop Road which was going to take us through an area where large amounts of Buffalo were reported. Not only were there buffalo, we also saw more elk and even a BEAR. Yes, a bear! Well, OK so it was a guy dressed in a bear suit. It turned out to be the funniest thing of the day, thanks to Chris Klingel, the ultimate Chicago Bear fan. We would have missed this performance if we hadn’t turned around to take some pictures of Elk on the side of the road.

We left Chris and his bear suit, still laughing, and we soon came upon a large heard of buffalo that were grazing and crossing the street. We had to wait for them to move. Nan was so busy taking pictures that she didn’t see the two buffalo that were right beside her door. Hello! But please go away. Park Rangers soon came to get them moving off the road by using their cruisers PA to make clicking noises that got them moving. We ran into two more of these large herds that caused the same traffic jam. Fortunately we were heading the opposite direction as the line of traffic was very, very long.

Buy the time we got back to West Yellowstone it was 7:30 PM and we met the O’Briens at the Montana Steak House. Tomorrow it would be back to Yellowstone for more sightseeing.

Day 33 - Road to the Sun

2010-08-21T00:59:00.027-04:00

We left Pincher Creek heading south towards the US border and Glacier National Park. The weather was over cast with some light showers as we were driving. What a bummer as we sure would like sunny weather for visiting the park. We arrived in time to see a video on the park. Of course the highlight of this park is the Going-to-the-Sun Road. This is listed as one of the most beautiful roads in the world and was high on our list of activities on our trip.

Let me say right off that if you are in this area you MUST drive this road or take a ride in one of the cool looking park tour buses that will let you take all the pictures you want without having to worry about driving. The mountains are very large and ominous looking, so Dick was a little hesitant on taking the Model A’s over the top. I assured him the drive wouldn’t be any trouble for them. The other nice surprise was that the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day.

At first I was a little concerned the speed limit was 45 MPH, that turned out not to be a problem at all as the actual speed was less than that and there were so many turn outs for pictures. Our first turn out was a good one as when we parked everyone was taking pictures of a bear walking down by the water’s edge. Nan and Dick had cameras out and were snapping away. Fortunately the bear was at the bottom of very rocky cliff from our parking spot. In addition Edsel made friends with Nomad the Gnome from Minnesota. What a special day for them.

Our Model A’s were also a hit as every where we stopped people gathered around to take pictures. The reason we stopped so much was the scenery. Every turn revealed a new spectacular site. The only down side was there was considerable road work underway and the Model A’s got pretty dirty, on the other hand traffic moved slowly so we weren’t a hindrance to traffic flow. The Model A’s made it up and over Logan Pass (6646 ft) without any problems. It was all down hill from there on, now we just had to hope the brakes worked. They did.

I can’t tell you how many pictures Nan took, but it must have been a lot as I don’t think the camera was ever out of her hand. We did talk to Jack & Jo. It seems they were in the visitor center just after we headed out on the Road. Since larger RVs can’t do the road, they were going to take the classic bus ride the next day. We finished up the drive by having lunch at the Lake MacDonald Jammin Joe Cafe. We also decided to check out the very impressive lodge. We couldn't help taking a walk around and through the place. We even parked the Model A's in front for a picture. Those classic lodges are nice, too bad they get booked up so far in advance.

Leaving the park the first thing we needed was ice cream which we found at West Glacier entrance. Umm, that was good. Leaving West Glacier I headed east towards East Glacier. Later, talking with Dick, I realized that he was trying to get me to go a different direction, but his CB was not working. Our change in plans to do Yellowstone on the way home had me mixed up on routes on how we would head to Yellowstone. We did arrive in East Glacier and the selection of places to stay was slim. Dick suggested we try the historic Glacier Park Lodge. I was not hopeful as these places fill up long in advance. Well, guess what, they had two rooms and we were home for the night. What a surprise. These old hotels were built at a time when only the rich could afford to stay here. It was a a beautiful place.

What an ending to a spectacular day of Model A’ing.

Day 32 – Roaming Roadblocks

2010-08-20T01:41:00.011-04:00

We left Golden, BC with the intentions of getting as close to Glacier National Park as we could. We were in the mountains and I have to tell you that it was pretty chilly the first thing in the morning. We continued on Hwy 1 and we hadn’t been on the road long when Dick called over the CB that he saw a bear. So we did a quick U-Turn (no penalty for this one) and returned to catch some pictures of Bear #9 (we found that out later) munching on berries on the side of the road. What a special treat to see.

The mountains that surrounded us were just amazing. We were in awe of them as they are so different than the mountains back east. We left Banff and took Hwy 40 south toward the US border. This road paralleled the mountains. We weren’t on this road long before we started to see sheep (or goats, we weren’t sure.) The further we went the more we saw and eventually they started blocking the road. These guys were a little skittish and you had to be careful and watch their actions. This scenario played out a number of times. We stopped again at a rocky area and there were two large Big Horn Sheep keeping an eye on us. We learned that the ones we had been seeing were females and their young. What a sight.

We stopped in the little town of Longview for, what else, ice cream. While we were there we met an elderly gentleman named Loren Fuller, who had restored a number of Fords, including the 1928 Tudor he had while he was in high school. He had pictures of the other cars he had which had been modified with V8s and modern drive train. As Nan said, with the long distances between towns up here and the straight roads, it was probably a necessity. Leaving Longview, we headed straight to Pincher Creek for our overnight.

Day 30 & 31 - Bumps in the Road

2010-08-19T01:15:00.013-04:00

The first thing Dick did in the morning was to check the repair and the J-B Weld looked great. Jack & Jo returned in the motorhome which gave Jack a chance to do some tinkering with the Model A again. While they were putting the radiator together I needed to replace my inverter for the CB. Of course, I needed a few items so Jack and I went to Home Depot and got what we needed. With all our projects fixed we finally got on the road at 10 AM.

The drive was pretty smooth and we were making good time. We were cruising along when I spotted a sign for an Auto Museum so we pulled in for a visit. The front collection focused on 57 Chevys and the main area had 3 Model A’s along with a good variety of other makes. An area of parts was fun to poke through and the outside lot was full of unrestored beauties waiting for the right person to come along who needed a project.

We continued our ride east and soaked in the scenery, it was really a sight to see. We went through what looked like avalanche tunnels. I guess this area does get lots of snow.

Our route took us along the shore of Shuswap Lake which was not only very large but very picturesque. Things were looking good until someone pulled out in front of me and I had to hit the brakes and swerve, unfortunately I hit a hole at the same time. The car seemed to pull to the left after that so Dick, Jack & I checked the steering and brakes. The only thing that appeared to wrong was the left brake was tighter that the right. We did some adjustments and there was no more pulling so off we went.

We stopped for the night in Golden, BC after going over Rogers Pass and crossing the time zone. The scenery all day was really very impressive and we are looking forward to getting to Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.

Day 28 & 29 - On the Road Again...almost

2010-08-19T00:41:00.009-04:00

Back on terra-firma again. The cruise was nice, but it was good to be back and return to the Model A’s. I’m still trying to figure out how come we had so many bags coming off the ship? Oh well, they did all fit in the Model A. We (Lindens, O’Briens, and Jack & Jo, in the motorhome) left the Cruisepark and headed towards Hope, BC. The drive was pretty easy, with few hills so it was an easy drive for the Model A’s. The only concern was the heat, as the area was having an unseasonably hot day. We left Hope after lunch and set our sites on Kamloops for our over night stop.

Things were going along pretty well, but as we headed east the hills turned into some serious grades which saw the temperature gauges rise. About three quarters of the way up the first grade Dick pulled over and had to add water, after that we continued onward and upward. The further east we went, the more the temperature rose. So it was no surprise that Dick had to stop three more times to add water. We were adding water the third time when we saw water coming out between the top tank and the shell. Only now Jack was able to see daylight at the tank neck. No wonder the Woody was losing water, as soon as it heated up it just flowed out the neck.

It was late Saturday (4:45 PM) when we got to Kamloops and the radiator shop was closed. Jack and I thought that J-B Weld would fix the problem so we all went to Canadian Tire to get our supplies. With the shell off we cleaned the neck inside and out and did the repair with J-B Weld. It looked real good after we finished. We all went to dinner and let the repair set overnight just to make sure the repair was fully cured. We would finish the repair tomorrow morning before heading off to the Canadian Rockies.

Day 26 & 27 - Ketchikan and back to Vancouver

2010-08-17T00:15:00.010-04:00

We had a rocky ride last night as we sailed to Ketchikan; the ship was rolling so much that we really did get rocked to sleep. The morning however was host to a brilliant blue sky. We were having breakfast as the ship pulled into dock and joined three other cruise ships already tied up. Our excursion today was to a Bear and Wildlife Refuge. However, because of the limited amount of time we had in port Nan wanted to get to the shops first thing, so off the ship we hustled. She had me going all over the place, which really was no big deal as the tourist district of the city was interesting. We eventually boarded our shuttle to the Reserve and were whisked out of town about 8 miles. Our guide was a nice young guy who was very knowledgeable about the rain forest that we were walking through. We saw some rally large trees and saw a lot of different plants and learned how the animals (mainly bears) used them for hibernation. The trail we were walking lead us to a series of suspension bridges so we could go high above the ground and hopefully see some wildlife. We were almost finished when our guide spotted a bear in a clearing by the marsh. It was one bear, but at least it was not in a cage, and walking around in his territory. Back at the ship we all shared stories of our excursions, but no one could beat Wayne & Sue’s flight-seeing trip to see bears. The pictures Wayne got were spectacular.

Leaving Ketchikan we sailed all the next day back to arrive in Vancouver on Saturday. It was a nice day so we spent time on our verandas and enjoyed the scenery. We saw many of the sights that we didn’t see on our departure because we passed them in the dark. We saw whales breaching and even saw the dorsal fin of a killer whale…and all from our balconies.

Tomorrow we will be in Vancouver and ready for our return trip home.

Day 25 & 26 - Skagway & Glacier Bay National Park

2010-08-15T02:06:00.015-04:00

We sailed overnight and arrived in Skagway in the morning. Nan was up early and woke me up to tell me we were passing another ship. It turned out we were just docking and two other ships were already in town. Our Model A group had a tour scheduled on the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. We took a motor coach ride to Frazer, BC that was supposed to be scenic and it was for part of the way, but the clouds were hanging low today and we didn’t see much from then on. In Frazer we boarded the train for the ride back to Skagway. The narrow gauge train dates back to the turn of the century and is just like the Edaville Railroad. Fortunately the clouds/fog lifted and we had a great ride over narrow trestles, through tunnels and beside some pretty deep ravines. All in all it made for quite a nice ride.

Skagway is a little town with lots of history. We had lunch in the Red Onion which was a brothel and bar back in its day. It’s still a bar (well, pub now) and the brothel is still the same price; $5 for 15 minutes, only now it's for a tour of the upstairs. The food was good and the ambiance was fun. With lunch out of the way it was time for some serious shopping. Nan and Barbara Tallone gave Gene and I a good work out carrying all their purchases. I have never seen so many jewelry stores in one area; I’m amazed that they can all stay in business. In any event, we managed to get back to the ship before it sailed so we could visit the next stop on our itinerary which was Glacier Bay National Park.

When we woke up in the morning we were entering the park and fortunately the weather was cooperating as the sun was shining brightly and things were looking good. The ship picked up staff from the NPS who acted as our guides. The day was spent cruising in the high points that the ship could visit, which covered most of the parks highlighted attractions. The mountains and glaciers were magnificent. The major attraction was the calving of the Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. Grand Pacific is the largest in the park and disappears out of sight. Margerie is the most photo graphed as it puts on a spectacular display of thunderous noise and giant splashes as ice calves off the glacier and crashes to the water. Needless to say everyone wanted to stay longer to get more pictures. The park rangers did a great job of narrating the activities and sights while they were on board. Upon leaving we were also saw a great display of whales breaching as they were feeding. One time we counted as many as 6 spouts in an area then the whales would break the surface and crash down making a huge splash…what a sight. We all agreed that this was a special sight to witness and one we won’t soon forget.

Day 24 & 25 - Cruising to Juneau

2010-08-15T01:44:00.011-04:00

Our starboard cabin was facing east and Nan was up at the crack of dawn (on Sunday) to take some pictures of the sun coming up over the mountains. Well, so I’ve been told, as I was still sleeping. Today will be a sailing day as we travel from Vancouver to Juneau. The day was pretty much spent getting acquainted with ship and finding our way to the food, which I might add is plentiful and good. Everything that I have heard about the food on cruises is true. The other good thing about the cruise is that we are always in site of land, so there is something different to see every time you walk on deck or look out the window. The ship is over 900 feet long and has 1900 passengers, but as you know, we are on this cruise with 170 people who attended the Model A meet in Vancouver so we always seem to be running into someone from that event. Of course it would be hard to identify them if it weren’t for the fact that many of them are wearing some kind of Model A attire.

Monday morning was another early rise as the staff advised us that when we approached Tracy Arm we would likely see whales. Well, that’s all some of our group had to hear and they were on deck by 6 AM. As for me I was still sleeping, but I too, eventually made my way there just in case there were whales. Thankfully there were whales, but mostly we just saw them spout. Then it was on to the Tracy Arm fjord which was beautiful with its sky high mountains coming right down to the water line. The scenery was beautiful.

Juneau was next on the itinerary and when we docked we were off to our prearranged excursion. Nan & I were on a Photo Safari where we would learn techniques on how to compose landscape and wildlife pictures. Our guide took us to a rain forest area to practice on flora and fauna and then to the Mendenhal Glacier, which was a spectacular site to experiment taking pictures. Nan loved her mushroom photo the best though. Next we were off to the ocean to photograph whales. Our boat sped us out to the whales where we all tried to get Whale tails in motion. It was hard to time but most of us got the picture, although for me it was easy as I just videoed them.

No matter what excursion we took everyone had a great time and back on the ship we shared stories of our day. Tomorrow we’ll be in Skagway and the following day we will cruise Glacier National Park.

Day 23 - Welcome Aboard

2010-08-15T01:26:00.007-04:00

Saturday morning at the convention things were really winding down. The parking lot was almost empty of Model A’s with just a few stragglers heading home or those of us headed to the post convention Alaska Cruise. With our Model A’s loaded, Dick and I headed for the cruise terminal with Jack & Jo in the motor home following behind us. I set the GPS to the address for the Cruisepark, but the GPS had a hard time trying to find the lot and we ultimately had to ask for directions. Thanks to Jack, he was able to lead us to the parking lot. Getting on the ship was like getting on an airplane, with all the security checks. We finally made it on board and settled into our room which was very nice with a veranda affording a great place to view the wild country side. We were all hungry and the Lido deck was open and ready for us to chow down. In spite of the cloudy weather, with some occasional showers, we still enjoyed the sightseeing. We did some more exploring of the ship and the ladies managed to find the gift shops, fortunately they weren’t too large so we guys figure we were pretty safe. Dinner was very nice, we had a table of 10 which was served without any delay. We all enjoyed the meal and it was kind of nice to not think about any prices on the menu. As I write this it’s late and very dark outside, but we are close enough to the shore that the ship lights are dimly lighting the land. You can also feel the movement of the ship and it’s really very relaxing. We are all looking forward to our cruise and seeing the sights of southern Alaska.

Day 22 - The Final Day

2010-08-07T04:01:00.014-04:00

Today marks the last day of the Convention and although some great activities were schedule during the day, many people could be seen heading for home. Our plan for the day though included a trip to Grouse Mountain, in North Vancouver. Before leaving a few of us had signed up for the horn seminar, where valuable information was presented on restoring your Model A horn or the MAFFI Museum Overview where we learned of the plans for the new museum in Michigan.

We, the Lindens, Tallones and Jack & Jo, arrived at Grouse Mountain and got our tickets, which included a ride to the top of the mountain, the Lumber Jack show, the Birds in Motion show and the Grizzly Bears. The tram ride whisked us to the top of the mountain in no time. We were just in time to watch the Lumber Jack show, which was a combination of shtick and actual skill. The show was entertaining.

The views from the top were great, with the mountains looking so majestic off in the distance. We were even treated by being able to watch two Bald Eagles soaring near the giant wind turbine at the top of the mountain. We could see some excitement ahead and found out the Grizzly Bears were roaming around. We scurried over and sure enough there were the two bears. Boy, they were impressive. We had the opportunity to spend some time talking with the bear’s wildlife biologist who filled us in on the operation of the Grouse Mtn bear preserve. It was very informative. We left the bears for the Birds in Motion Show. This show was geared to explaining the differences between the various birds of prey, starting with owls and ending up with the bald eagle. Wow was he big, but we learned that in the birds of prey family it was the females who were the biggest. The crowd was amazed at how graceful these birds were.

Back at the hotel we had some chores to do, which was to find a laundromat to get our clothes washed before the cruise tomorrow. Let me say that this experience was something that would have been right at home in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo‘s Nest. In spite of our high jinks, we managed to get our laundry done. We raced back to the hotel and got changed so we could attend the Awards Banquet. Unfortunately we missed the presentation to the Minuteman club for initiating the MAFFI Museum Challenge.

We were on hand however to see Dick O’Brien receive his 3rd Place award for his 1929 Woody. We also were there when Dick received the Longest Distance Award for driving to the meet (he beat me by 12 miles). I received the Hard Luck trophy. I guess they figured it was hard to beat using 3 engines to make it to the meet.

It has been a good convention and a big thank you goes out to the Lionsgate club for hosting this event. Tomorrow we will board the ship for our cruise to Alaska. It may be difficult for me to get WiFi, but I will store my posts to the blog and download them when access is available. Nan will also have to say good bye to all her "Lobby Buddies" who have been meeting in the lobby in the morning as they get coffee, read the paper or log on to their computers. I guess it's been quite a group.

Day 21 - The Grand Tour

2010-08-06T02:28:00.013-04:00

Today was the convention's Grand Tour to Burnaby Village. Breakfast was quick and we were outside by 8:30 to get our directions covering the route we would be taking. Dick & Barbara had a full load in the Station Wagon, with Wayne & Sue and Harold & Robyn riding with them. Our passengers were Gene & Barbara for the trip, which was 20 miles over “scenic” roads. I guess the term scenic is subjective, but we did find the river with it’s cargo of logs floating in it a real surprise. I thought this method of transporting logs was discontinued long ago.

We arrived at Burnaby Village and joined the 100’s of other Model A’s spread throughout the property. Burnaby Village is a recreation of what the Village of Burnaby might have been like in early 1900’s. Our first stop was wonderful Carousel which was restored by a large team of volunteers. It looked great with all its finely painted horses and what impressed me was the speed it was turning…it seemed like it was really flying by, good thing there was no brass ring to try to grab on this ride. Upon leaving the building we saw Jack in a familiar pose…looks like he was doing some free-lancing while on vacation.

The rest of the village had a variety of buildings that displayed the various shops and businesses that would have been available at the time. The ones that I enjoyed were the Auto Garage, the General Store and the steam engine display. Of course the one Mr. O’Brien like was, yes, you guessed it, the Ice Cream Shoppe. The restored street car was very impressive too. And, of course, what would a village in Canada be without a couple of Mounties for protection.

Back at the hotel Dick decided to check the front end alignment of the Woody. Good thing he did as it had way too much toe-in. Using a primitive tool the toe-in was brought back to normal after which he rotated the wheels: back to front, front to back. Hopefully they will now last the trip back home.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Convention and the plan is to visit Grouse Mountain. Hopefully we will have good visibility, which could be an issue as the area is experiencing some problems due to smoke wildfires.

Day 20 - Shopping, Seeing and Starting (not)

2010-08-05T02:30:00.012-04:00

It was another beautiful day in Vancouver, sunny and in the high 70’s. On the agenda today was a visit to Granville Island and its markets and shops very similar to Quincy Market in Boston or the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. There sure was plenty to see, from fish markets to jewelry stores and bakeries to breweries. I guess, just about something for everyone. We, the Lindens, Tallones and O’Briens, enjoyed the shops and its wonderful waterfront setting.

After lunch we headed to the Richmond Curling Center to view the Model A’s being judged. I mentioned yesterday that Dick O’Brien decided to enter his 1929 Station Wagon into the competition, so we wanted to see it with all the other show cars. I must admit that Dick did a super job cleaning it up, as it looked great, especially after the run in with all those nasty grass hoppers in South Dakota. It was interesting to watch the cars being inspected, but when the inspection was being done to Dick’s Station Wagon, we could see his anxiety level go up. We figured we better get Dick out of there before he started to hyper-ventilate.

This afternoon was also the “Gentlemen Start Your Engine” contest. We were in the first group to participate and when we managed to diagnose all the defects, except we couldn’t find the timing mark to time the engine. It was no where to be found. How could we not find the timing mark? Oh well, #@$% Happens. Now the fun began, as the team responsible for setting up the vehicles for the competition could not get the car running either. They tried everything and finally, after 40 minutes they got it running. Back into the competition the A went and again the team assigned to it ran out of time to get it running. Back came the “team” and again they could not get it running. After lots of head scratching, hand waving and cranking the old Ford sputtered to life, but fortunately a decision was made to retire it. The sponsors offered the two teams a chance to redo the test, but we felt since we knew all the problems keeping the engine from running it would be unfair for us to try again. A cold beer at the hotel was a good alternative.

With the grand tour the major event for tomorrow I had to do a little house cleaning after dinner tonight in the Model A to make room for our guest (the Tallones).

Day 19 - A Touring Day

2010-08-04T02:17:00.013-04:00

Following breakfast, our plan for today was to tour the famous Capilano Bridge, which we all saw during the Olympic coverage this past winter. We also had tickets for a tour of the Steveston Cannery later in the afternoon. The we in this case was "us" and Gene & Barbara Tallone. The ride to Capilano Bridge took us through the spectacular Stanley Park. Stanley Park is an oasis in the city of Vancouver that provides an almost endless array of family activities. One of the popular stops is the Totem Pole area. The gardens were in bloom and the Cypress Trees were huge. I guess they like the Vancouver weather. It was a great place to visit.

Capilano Bridge is only a few miles north of Stanley Park and is an interesting place to visit. The suspension bridge is not for the faint of heart, the bridge shakes and wiggles all over the place. In spite of this, Nan and Barbara gave it their best shot but just couldn't make it; they had to turn around after only going a short way. Gene and I on the other hand marched across the bridge and toured the rest of the park. We thought they had big trees at Stanley Park, but in this place they were even larger. Big Doug…yes that was its name, is a 205 ft Douglas Fir Tree that is 1300 years old. It was very impressive. There is also another suspension bridge complex that explores the Fir canopy and looks like it’s 100 ft in the air. Back over the bridge we met the ladies and regrouped for our trip to Steveston Cannery. Although Nan and Barabra didn't make the bridge crossing, we congratulated them for really trying.

We made it to the cannery in time for our 2:00 PM tour, where we got a good understanding of the fish canning industry, which we learned was a very hard place to work. This was a labor intensive industry with very poor working conditions. Automation did speed up the process causing workers to loose their jobs or become skilled in other operations. With the tour over, we met up with our NZ friends, David & Karen Mossman.

Since we were on the waterfront we decided on an early dinner at a local restaurant which was excellent. Back at the hotel we found Dick & Barbara O’Brien. Dick had decided to enter his woody wagon into the Modified Judging class and spent the day cleaning the 3300 miles of trail dust off the A. I sure wish him well in this first venture into national judging.

Tomorrow, I've been told we will be going to Granville Island to visit this unique island's "Quincy Market" like retail area. I think that means more shopping. I also think we will stop by the Richmond Curling Club on the way back to view the show cars while they are being judged.

Day 18 - Let the Convention Begin

2010-08-03T02:03:00.007-04:00

Today was the first real day of activities at the convention. Although, for Dick and I, it was time to visit the local Canadian Tire Store to change the oil in our Model A’s. We stealthily changed the oil in their parking lot and then dropped the old oil off at their recycle area. That was easy. While in the parking lot a family came by to view the Model A’s as their young son was very interested in the cars. Before they left we asked where we could buy some beer, which they said a liquor store was just down the road. Nan also asked about finding some Vancouver Olympic souvenirs and was told the nearby mall may have some…but we checked and it didn’t. Here’s the rest of that story, later in the day, that same women came by the hotel, found Nan and gave her two sets of Olympic mascots and trading pins. Can you believe that, she had only talked to us for ten minutes, how nice was she to do something like that. Thank you.

I attended a seminar on Speedometer repair. It sure was interesting, but I think if I ever had a problem I would send it to a professional to be repaired. By this time Jack Stokinger had arrived and shortly there after Gene & Barbara Tallone checked in too.

The Welcome Social was tonight and we got a chance to spend some time with our new friends from New Zealand. Being able to spend time with members from around the world is one of the best aspects of attending these (inter) national conventions.

Mileage today was about 6 miles. Tomorrow we plan to visit Catalano Bridge and the historic Cannery.

Day 17 - Drive-Free Day

2010-08-02T01:59:00.012-04:00

Today was our first day since leaving that we did not have to drive anywhere. Edsel and Squeak - the Prairie Dog, seemed to like the rest too, however they spent a lot of time telling people we did drive all the way. Today was also the day that many of the attendees arrived, so the parking lot was bustling with Model A’s driving around. The convention hosts were gearing up for Monday, the first full day of activities, although the Hospitality room and Raffle room were up and running. The host club was able to get a good assortment of Model A and era related raffle items that should be popular.

Nan and I spent a lot of the day chatting with Model A friends from around the country that we haven’t seen since Dallas. We also were handing out cards to folks we talked to with our blog site and a request for their vote since I’m a candidate for the MAFCA Board of Directors. We were also happy to meet up with Dave & Peggy Gill again, who we were able to visit with last year in Niagara Falls while they were on their Model A tour of the Four Corners of the US and we were on our way to Dearborn in our Model A.

It was also a good day to do some maintenance on the Model A’s. I decided to check to see if I could find out what was causing my brakes to squeal. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so I repacked the front wheel bearings, greased everything, repaired a directional light and checked the CB inverter which is temperamental. Dick and I were also able to finally wash the Model A’s. They look a lot better now, especially since I think we finally got rid of the last remains of all those grasshoppers.

For dinner we walked over the bridge to a waterfront restaurant and then returned to the hotel where we had a President’s Reception to attend. Tomorrow all the events get underway and the rest of the Minuteman member will finally arrive.

Some of the Model A's on display are really unique. Here are a couple of them.

Day 16 - We're Only Going to Vancouver!

2010-08-01T01:57:00.010-04:00

To paraphrase our friend Harold Legge, who cracked us up by responding to my suggestions to check various parts on the Model A before we left with: “Your Only Going to Vancouver!” Well, today, Dick and I achieved our objective of driving our Model A's from Boston to Vancouver. Today was a short day as we only travelled about 65 miles from Bellingham, WA to Vancouver, BC. Before leaving for Vancouver though, we had to stop at the local mall to get some special items made for use at the convention. Nan was in her glory spending so much time in the mall. With that accomplished we were off for the border where we breezed through Canadian customs.

Once over the border Dick and I changed places as Dick’s GPS had the Canadian maps installed. With Dick now in the lead he guided us through a circuitous, non highway route to the host hotel. We pulled up to the front door and felt so relived to actually be at our destination. It was great to be greeted by Dick & Mazie. It was nice to see Jeff Richardson, who we haven’t heard from in quite a while. I was also able to connect with Derek & Judy Thomason and David & Karen Mossman from New Zealand. I was lucky to meet up with Derek so quickly, as he had carried a part all the way from NZ for a fellow Cape Cod club member.

Even though we had arrived before the event officially kicked off, the parking lot was already filling up with Model A’s. It was great to watch them arrive.

Club members present on Saturday included Dick & Mazie Stitt, JJ & Shirley Jacobson, Wayne & Sue Champagne, Dick & Barbara O’Brien, Gene Bunce, and of course Nan & I.

The thing I like about these national events is that you get to meet so many nice people from all over the US (and world). Everyone has a story to tell of there journey to get here. Nan & I are looking forward to reuniting with additional club friends who will be arriving tomorrow. Tomorrow, the event gets underway, but I think Dick and I will take the off day to do some maintenance on the Model A’s.

Day 15 - Over the top

2010-07-31T01:02:00.023-04:00

The sun was shining brightly today so it looked like it was going to be another great day for a Model A ride. However, before we got started Dick wanted to reset the timing on the Woody. Just as he raised the hood the Model A group from Oregon went by with Ahooga horns blaring. The good thing is the timing adjustment made a big difference in performance.

We left the hotel, stopped for gas and then took a side trip to the Fish Hatchery which was just down the road. Even the ride to get there was nice as it followed a fast moving river. We were given a brief explanation of the facility which raises King and Chinook Salmon. The holding tanks for the juvenile fish held 1.2 million fish. But it's the giant ones in the mature tank that were the stars of the show. Boy were these guys huge...I bet 3 to 4 feet in length. Although the river looked great, there were no fish at this time. It was past season.

Back on the road it was time to head over Stevens Pass and down into the coastal area of Seattle. The pass is at 4000 ft so we had some climbing to do. The good thing was that it was cold outside which kept the radiator temperature down. The scenery along the road was spectacular, with the mountains rising sharply, the river raging down along side of the road and snow on some of the mountain peaks. Up we went, although at a gradual rate until we got close to the pass and then the grade increased to the point where I had to shift into second gear overdrive. (Boy, I do miss the added power of my touring engine.) We made it over the pass and on the way down stopped at the Iron Goat Scenic area to check out some of the relics of the past, which included an old railroad caboose. The mountains rising in the background was a sight to see. A little further down the road was Deception Falls. The water was roaring down the rocks, making quite a racket. In spite of the noise, it was kind of restful too.

We were soon out of the mountain area and the air temperature started to go up. It was lunch by now so we stopped at an Applebee's. When leaving we had a nice conversation with a local woman who's grandfather, who just turned 100, had a 1930 Chevy years ago. She had just found some old pictures of the Chevy and wanted to show him pictures of our cars and let him know about our Model A adventure.

The plan was to head for the Mukilteo to Clinton ferry and take it to Whidbey Island, a picturesque island in Puget Sound which is about 60 miles long. Unfortunately there was over an hour wait, but fortunately the time seemed to go quickly. It was a long wait for a short ride to the island. We stopped and visited Fort Casey State Park and Lighthouse. The wind was blowing and it was cold but the view was spectacular. The "Model A Passport" was put into action and we were allowed to park the A's in front of the lighthouse for some picture taking. In addition to the lighthouse was a fort that had two 10" canons for coastal protection. The view of the mountains from the island was specatcular also, with Glacier Mtn being the tallest visable.

We left the island heading for Bellingham and our hotel for the night. The GPS took us over secondary roads, but one of those roads, Chuckanut Drive http://www.chuckanutdrive.com/ was really spectacular. This narrow road followed the coast with steep cliffs down to the water. It may have been slow but it was a road we all thought was great.

For a day that we didn't have much planned we found a lot to see and enjoy and we did manage to put on 230 miles today. Tomorrow it's across the border to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Day 14 - Cool Dam Tour

2010-07-30T01:02:00.026-04:00

It was a beautiful morning in Couer d'Alene. Fortunately Dick & Barbara somehow managed to resist the red heart shaped hot tub in their bridal suite and met us for breakfast at the suggested time.
We got underway with the plan to stop at the Spokane Valley Mall to have Lens Crafters repair my sunglasses. We got there when the mall opened and 15 minutes later we were back on the road. We left I 90 for US 2 with a plan to visit the Grand Coulee Dam.

The loop to the dam was via RT 174/155 and have I mentioned that this area is FLAT! I think I could see the curvature of the earth it was so flat. The only problem was it was also hot. But the Model A's just purred along oblivious to the heat. During our trip we have seen a lot of farming, but I think this area has to have the largest fields of wheat I have seen in all our travels. It made me think of Steve Plucker in Walla Walla, WA doing his harvesting now and not being able to attend the Vancouver meet. Thanks for the offer to help you Steve, but I think I'll pass. Also of note, was the road which was straight as an arrow, nothing but a line of black surrounded by golden wheat.

The view of the blue lake as we approached the dam was quite a contrast to parched landscape. We arrived at the visitor center and were amazed at the size of the dam. I'm kind of a details nut and enjoyed the displays of the dam construction and power generating facilities. The video on the flood control aspects of the dam was also very interesting as I was amazed to see the destruction the river caused before the dam. Lunch was at a local eatery (R & A Cafe) which was excellent if you ever happen to be in the town of Grand Coulee.

Leaving the area, RT 155 skirts Banks Lake and is a beautiful ride with great views of the high cliffs and blue waters of the lake. Have I also mentioned that it was hot! The road was pretty Model A friendly as far as traffic goes, but downright nasty when it came to hills. We had to pull a few that tested the little 40 HP engines, but only one required a stop to give the Model A's a rest. A little breather and we were up and over the top without further incident.

We needed a people break and a little Ice Cream stand provided the relief needed. It was there that I spotted a thermometer (in the shade) that was reading 92 degrees. It wasn't long until we arrived in Leavenworth, WA which is a quaint little town that has a Bavarian theme. All the buildings in the town have a Bavarian look and it is really something to see. Granted, it's all geared towards the tourist and there are plenty of them. We enjoyed walking around downtown and visiting a small portion of the shops before stopping for dinner and trying some Wiener Schnitzel and beer.

Walking back to the hotel we noticed some Model A's in a hotel parking lot and had a nice chat with one of the owners, Dick Mace and his wife, from Oregon as they and some other members are touring to Vancouver. Dick was thankful to be on the tour considering the serious accident he and his Model A were in last summer. Check it out: http://www.mafca.com/seat_belts.html. Dick and the Model A are back on the road. Today we managed to put on 240 miles. Tomorrow we are headed over Stevens Pass and to the Pacific coast.

Day 13 - Eye-Dah-Hoe

2010-07-29T00:57:00.019-04:00

At breakfast today we had a nice visit with Harlan & Gini from Vancouver, WA who own a 1930 Tudor sedan. It's amazing how many Model A enthusiasts you meet on the road. We enjoyed our breakfast visit and wished each other pleasant travels.

The sun was shining brightly, but the temperature was only 48 degrees. However, it wasn't long before the sun did it's thing and it warmed up. We fired up the Model A's and headed off to the small town of Deer Lodge, MT. Why Deer Lodge? Well, it has the Montana Auto and Prison Museum there. Although we were again on I-90, we were almost the only cars on the roadway. Sure is nothing like riding the Mass Pike, 128 or 495 back home. Arriving at Deer Lodge it was pretty easy to spot the prison, although the sign was in plain view. Our admission included the car museum and the prison tour. Let me tell you right now, if you are in the area you should definitely stop here as it is a real gem. The car museum has about 130 cars, from 1899 to the 70's. Lot's of Model A's too. We all gave this place the "thumbs-up". They had some great cars, but the one that caught Dick's eye was the 1929 Woody that the owner ( Ed Towe) bought from the original owner when it had 13K miles on it. Ed Towe noted that when the Woody was on the trailer, a friend ask if Ed new where the side curtains were stored. Of course Ed had no idea, so the friend opened up the storage compartment and there, still in the original wrapper was the entire set of curtains... they had never been used.

We then toured the prison, which looked like it was something from and old gangster movie. But, this place was used until 1979. How they could have used that place that long still baffles me. We all agreed that this was no place to have to spend time in, but I guess if your a convicted criminal, you get what you deserve.

Back on the road we headed the radiator caps to Missoula, MT. We were almost there when Dick radioed that the Woody was skipping, so we got into a parking lot where Dick tried another carb. Seemed like a good bet, as when I took the carb apart it had a lot of sediment in the bowl.

Unfortunately a little driving and the problem came back. A new coil was tried and another road test seemed good, but that was short lived. Dick finally just changed the distributor (unfortunately on the side of the highway) and that solved the problem.

On the road again.

This time we were not settling for anything less than Coeur d'Alene, ID. We were cruising along now and just soaking in all the scenery, which was beautiful. I really do like Montana, but it takes so long to get through it. One thing I should mention is how much damage to the Pine Trees we are seeing. From SD to MT and ID we have seen dying trees from the Pine Beetle which is killing the trees in large numbers.

Getting into Idaho was like crossing the divide again, what a hill, I just made it before the temp gauge went Red! Fortunately once over the crest the water temp fell like a rock going downhill. The ride to Coeur d'Alene was very scenic as we had a great view of Lake Coeur d'Alene for miles. We checked into the La Quinta hotel and settled in for the night.

Mileage for the day was 320 which was pretty good when we include our museum visit and our roadside seminars. Tomorrow we will be in Washington state.

Day 12 - Beautiful Big Sky Country

2010-07-28T00:26:00.017-04:00

After breakfast Dick and I did some parking lot maintenance. Dick wanted to change his points since the woody was experiencing some skipping on the long upgrades we were doing. I wanted to repair the overflow tank as there was a leak at the radiator cap and the tank would not flow back to the radiator. (On a side note; I was able to cure the leak so the overflow tank is working again, but Dick still has an intermittent skipping problem.)

Leaving Sheridan on I 90 we were concerned about the overcast skies, but it wasn't long before the sun appeared making it a beautifully cool day. Our plan for today was to visit Custer National Park and the Little Bighorn Battlefield. We first stopped at the Custer Museum where Dick and I enjoyed the displays and actual artifacts from the battle and other items of the army and Indian culture. It was a five mile ride to the actual national park. Using our "old timers" passes we got in without paying and went to the visitor center where Dick and I checked out the vast collection of Custer artifacts. Our timing was good and we are able to take in a presentation on the time line of the battle. Our park ranger was a college professor who has authored books on the battle. You can tell when someone has a passion about something and he sure did, his program was (to quote Mr. O'Brien) Fantastic! All the time he was telling the details of the battle, from a viewpoint of both sides we were looking at the Memorial to the battle.

We left the park headed for Billings, where we had lunch and gassed up the Model A's. Montana is Big Sky Country and all we can say...It sure is. The mountains are just beautiful. Our sights were now set on Bozeman where we had, what else - ice cream and then decided on going on to Butte. This was going to present us with a challenge as we will have to cross the Continental Divide. The climb started about 9 miles out of Butte and just kept going and going. Fortunately it was a climb that we were able to do in 3rd gear. The other thing was that there was hardly any traffic on the highway. Oh yes, the weather helped a lot as it was pretty chilly today compared to the heat of yesterday, which, I'm sure, would have caused us problems.

We arrived in Butte and checked into the Best Western. We were surprised that we covered 360 miles today since we did get off to a late start and stopped at Custer National Park. Tomorrow we will head towards Idaho.

Day 11 - Close Encounters

2010-07-27T00:42:00.024-04:00

Breakfast at Arnold's Diner was the way we started off the day, which was sunny and forecasted to be a warm one. We didn't see The Fonz at the diner, oh well, maybe another time. Our first stop was going to be Deadwood, SD. Leaving Rapid City we took Highway 44 to US 385 and this turned out to be a very scenic drive. When we arrived in Deadwood we stopped at the visitor center and got directions to Nelson's Garage (at the Celebrity Casino) and to Boot Hill. Nelson's Garage is really a museum of movie cars and memorabilia. James Bond's new Aston Martin was on display as well as, Herbie the Love Bug, Mash's Jeep, the General Lee, and a number of other cars and costumes from various movies. We even tried our luck at the slots, but all we did was add to the profits. Back at the Model A's we talked to a few bikers (from Nashua, NH) who were also on a cross country tour. We drove up to Boot Hill (actually Mt Mariah Cemetery) where we wanted to visit the graves of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. As a young kid I used to watch all the TV westerns and of course one of my favorites was the Wild Bill Hickock show, so we had to check out his grave. Also, Calamity Jane was there too as she always claimed that she and Wild Bill were lovers, so her last wish was to be buried by him.

We left Deadwood and headed off to one of the most spectacular sites in the area, Devils Tower. If you are a fan of the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" http://www.dailywav.com/0805/darksideofmoon5tones.wav this site just seems to stick in your mind. Trying to stay off the interstate we approached the site from the north where we got a tremendous view of the tower from about 30 miles away. However when we got to the entrance of the National Park it was even more impressive. We drove to the visitor center and walked up to the base. OMG, this was one of the most unusual and spectacular places I've seen. The massiveness of the tower and the formation of the rock was really a site to see. But, it was hot (high 90's) so we headed back to take some more pictures of the red rock base. We also got a great chance to check out a Prairie Dog village. I never saw Nan run so fast when the little rodent seemed to chase her. LOL.

We were now interested in turning west and making some tracks. The bad thing about this area is there are few roads as alternatives to the interstate. The good thing is there was so little traffic on the highway that we could do our own speed (45-50) without causing any problems to the other drivers. The only thing we didn't count on was the lack of gas stations. We finally pulled into Buffalo, WY on fumes. Dick took 10.5 gallons and I took 10.3. I know, the 28/29 tank is 10 gals, but he did put in 10.5, albeit right to the top of the neck as the pump didn't shut off automatically. The other good thing is that the young clerk knew the best Ice Cream stand around...how appropriate was that. It was so hot that the ice cream really did the trick and before long we were cruising down I 90 to Sheridan,WY for our stop for the night.

Mileage for the day was 300, more than we expected since we did a lot of sightseeing. Tomorrow will head toward Missoula.

Day Ten - The Black Hills Experience

2010-07-26T00:27:00.021-04:00

48 degrees in the hills this morning ... Burr! OK, so the news said it was 58 in Rapid City, but it was chilly just the same. Nan & I had reservations for the Fort Hayes Chuckwagon Tour so we had to get an early start. Dick & Barbara had other plans so they didn't join us. Thanks to it being Sunday there was no traffic and we were at Fort Hayes in plenty of time for our chuckwagon breakfast. A little background of Fort Hayes. It is the fictitious Fort that Kevin Costner was sent to in the Movie "Dances with Wolves". A fellow by the name of Herman Jones bought the entire set and created a whole village around the Fort. We met two very nice couples at breakfast that we enjoyed talking to the rest of the day. Frank & Kathy and Gene & Darlene, both from California. In fact, Frank & Kathy have friends who will be attending the MAFCA meet in Vancouver too. Small world wouldn't you say.

Our first destination was Mt Rushmore. This is clearly the # 1 attractions in the area and rightly so. The view of the Presidents is spectacular. From every angle you get a different perspective and really appreciate what it took to carve this structure. Interesting fact is that most (90%) of the carving was done with dynamite. As it turned out, Mt Rushmore was the first stop on Dick & Barbara's itinerary too, so we were able to meet up with them.

Our tour was going to take us to all the typical tourist spots, which included drives on scenic roads with Pig Tail (hairpin) turns, tunnels and wooded bridges. Needless to say some of these tunnels were just barely big enough for the bus to pass. Lunch was in Custer State Park at the Game Lodge. I think Custer Park was one of the prettiest areas I have seen. It is noted for it's wild life, but we only saw antelope and deer, no Bisons this day. The Game Lodge was made famous by having Calvin Coolidge use it for 3 months as the summer White House.

It was off to the Crazy Horse Memorial via the Needles Highway. This afforded us spectacular views of Needle peak which looked like they would break anytime. We made a pit stop at Sylvan Lake before attempting to negotiate the last tunnel. Which was so tight the bus had to be carefully positioned to make. We had to go so slow that there was a crowd of people taking pictures of us squeezing through. Let me say that it was a tight fit. Crazy Horse was next and it did not disappoint. The immense size of the statue was made clear by a graphic which showed the heads of the Mt Rushmore Presidents fitting in the hair space behind Crazy Horse's head. The other thing that impressed me was the quality of the building at the visitor center. It was gorgeous. We took lots of pictures and really enjoyed the stop.

Back at Fort Hayes we were treated to a chuckwagon dinner and show. The dinner was pretty good and the show was excellent. A group did all kinds of music; country, western, oldies and rock & roll. One of the highlites was the girl fiddle player who did a great version of Charlie Daniels "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and she was only 15 years old.

What a day it was, so many things to see and someone else was doing the driving. And where else would the owner of this place wind up helping you fix a trunk strap. Yup, he was on the ground under the trunk in no time to fix a strap the broke. It's a long story, but all you need to know is the our sedan was parked beside his 32 Ford Coupe all day right in front of the main attraction.

It was a great day, and I only dove 34 miles. Tomorrow we will be heading to Deadwood and Devils Tower and where ever the motormeter takes us..

Day Nine - Attack of the killer bugs

2010-07-24T22:28:00.027-04:00

The tornado of last night touched down south of our motel and thankfully no damage was done there. With the Woody and Fordor all loaded up we had to take I 90 out of Chamberlain because the local bridge over the Missouri River was closed for repairs. We had to go 10 miles before we could get back on our secondary road that paralleled the highway. This was another perfect Model A road, not another car on the road but us. As we approached Murdo, SD Nan remembered there was a car museum there, and as if someone heard our discussion a sign for the Pioneer Auto Museum popped up. How could we not visit this roadside attractions. We are so glad we did as this was a real gem of a place. The staff was very friendly with good sense of humor and really loved that we were driving our Model A's. We toured the many buildings full of all kinds of cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles and all kinds of stuff. Dick and I saw a few car makes that we had never heard of before. Of course the gift shop was where I found Nan. We had a nice conversation with the owner who was extremely friendly and gave us all kinds of ideas for visiting in the Mt. Rushmore area.

Back on our Model A road we were again the only cars traveling on it. There may not have been any cars on the road but we began to notice some bugs on the roadway, then there were lots of bugs, and then it was down right like something out of a horror movie. The bugs were Grasshoppers and they were hopping everywhere, so much that we closed the windows, but poor Dick and Barbara couldn't do that in the woody. Nothing we could do but keep going. When we stopped for gas we couldn't believe our eyes. Yuck! Nan bought a wisk broom so Dick and I could try to clean the radiators. We did our best, but as we continued to the Bad Lands we accumulated more.

Our next stop was the Bad Lands National Park which was amazing. Every turn had a different view that made the entire drive spectacular. Of course we all asked how could this have been formed, which the park brochure gave us all the answers. Nan was clicking off picture almost everywhere. This is one of those places you can't describe you have to see it for yourself.

Still enjoying the beauty of the park, we headed the Model A's to Wall to visit the world famous Wall Drug. The story goes that the drug store owner gave himself one more year to make the drug store successful. One day his wife had an idea to offer free ice water to travelers on the highway. He didn't even finish putting up the signs when the cars started arriving. And the rest is history. This place is definitely geared to the tourist and has a little bit of everything. We did have a late lunch which was very good BTW.

We did our best to support the local economy then got on I 90 to make the last 50 miles to Rapid City and the Microtel Hotel where we would be staying for a few nights. I should also mention that Dick and I did find a do-it-yourself car wash to clean off the rest of the grasshoppers. It took a while but I think we got most of them.

This was a relatively short day with on 220 miles recorded.

Day Eight - An "A"-Maize-ing Day

2010-07-23T22:42:00.020-04:00

One of the benefits of driving the Model A's is that you get to talk to people who come by to look at the cars. This morning as we were packing up a young fella (Dan was his name) stopped to check out the cars. He really liked the Model A's and said he had a 47 chevy...I told him that was alright, I would still talk to him. He lived near Mankato so I asked him about back roads heading towards South Dakota. He offered a few routes that would get us on to RT's 30 & 34. All I can say is if you are ever driving your Model A between Minnesota and South Dakota this is the route to take. Great for the Model A's, no traffic, little if any hills and plenty of wide open spaces.

I was impressed with one railroad trestle we passed that was built out of timbers. I expected to see a steam engine roaring by.

Driving along at Model A speeds we were blown away (literally) with the vastness of the corn and soybean fields. If corn is King around here, then Soy is Queen as these fields are wonders of modern farming. And they went on for hundreds of miles. Dick and I marveled at the huge tractors and other harvest equipment displayed at the dealers along the way. Nan seems to find the storage facilities kind of like folk art...to me they looked like spare parts for the Tin Man.

We were cruising along looking for a place to take a break, when out of the blue we see a sign to the End Of The Line Railroad Museum in Currie, MN. A quick turn off the road and we were there. What a quaint little place this was. It started out as a 4-H project and now is a full blown museum to pay homage to the trains impact on the area. It may not be on the scale of the National Train Museum in Scranton, PA but it sure showed life as it was at the turn of the 20th century. It was a perfect stop.

The rest of the day was focused on making it to Chamberlain,SD. Along the way we noticed the switch from farming to ranching. The fields of corn and soy had changed to large cattle ranches. It was no surprise that we also saw more wind turbines...the wind is relentless. It would be interesting to find out how much energy they produce for the local community.

By late afternoon we were well into South Dakota and we were cruising on RT 34 heading to our destination of Chamberlain for the night. The route down from the Crow Creek Indian Reservation (RT 50) was spectacular. The road followed the Missouri River from the high bluffs. What a sight.

We arrived in Chamberlain and checked into the hotel just about the time a Tornado warning was posted on the TV. We unpacked and then went outside to see the sky really churning. Thunder in the distance warned us that a storm was approaching. Given that the weather may contain hail, Dick and I moved the Model A's under the motel portico, just in case. The storm got closer, lightning was everywhere and then the Tornado Sirens went off. OK, time to seek some cover. Thunder and lightning was popping everywhere. The trees were whipping back and forth and the hail came as part of the torrential rain. The power went out for a minute and the little kids in the lobby were whimpering. The actual storm was over in a short time and the sun came back out. It was quite a end to the day that's for sure.

For those keeping track today we put on about 350 miles. Tomorrow we will be in Rapid City to take in the sights of the Badlands and Black Hill National Parks.

Day Seven - Helping Hands Come to the rescue

2010-07-22T23:19:00.018-04:00

This morning the weather took a turn for the worse. It was raining and the forecast was for heavy rains and possible tornadoes in the afternoon. Oh, Well, the Model A's won't melt and after breakfast we managed to stay somewhat dry by pulling them under the portico of the hotel to put on an fresh coat of Rain-X. Off we went...well almost, as I came to a stop. A fuse seemed to act up causing the A to quit, of course right at the exit of the gas station. I got it running and headed off again, this time a major short showed up on the ammeter. I pulled into another gas station and was able to determine the high beams were somehow causing the discharge. OK, no Hi Beams today. Off I went again, only to get to the end of the driveway and the A died again. This time it was no spark. As Dick and I were pushing the A so Dick could get a tow rope on it and fella in his pick up offered to tow me over to his car wash and allow me to fix it in a nice dry bay. What a deal as it was still pouring rain. John towed me right inside a bay and closed the door. It was sure nice to be dry. After some diagnostics it sure looked like the coil was bad, but how could that be as the coil was never a problem. Believe it or not, this coil has been on the A for over 35 years. But, the tests didn't lie and when a new coil was installed the A fired right up again. Oh well, I guess a coil can go bad any time. I just can't thank John enough for the kindness he showed me, a perfect stranger. Life was good again.

As we left the car wash heading west we noticed a definite look of clearing weather, so maybe we could dodge all the forecasted bad weather after all.

As we headed to La Crosse to cross over the Mississippi River I could hear a noise, Nan could too, that sounded like a stuck brake. I pulled into a Chrysler dealership and pulled to the back of the lot. Dick and I took a look and what we saw we couldn't believe. The right front wheel didn't look right. When we jacked it up and took off the wheel we knew why. The spindle nut was almost off the spindle and the brake drum was just about ready to fall off. We took off the drum checked the bearings and decided to replace both the inner and outer. I also noticed the brake linings were badly damaged by the loose drum and needed to be replaced. Fortunately I had new brake shoes with me and we were able to replace them without any difficulty. With everything back together, Dick and I readjusted the front brakes and finally off we went again. I was also thinking how lucky we were and that someone must have been looking over us. My only thought was our old friend Bucky must have been looking down from above and held that wheel on long enough to keep us safe...Thanks Bucky.

This time we did cross over the Mississippi and found a nice road that seemed to be heading where we wanted to go. Unfortunately the road was closed after traveling about 10 miles and we were detoured into the back land of Minnesota. All I can say is that it's good to have the modern conveniences of a cell phone and GPS as we finally got on track and eventually arrived in Rushford, MN a little town where we got lunch at Stumpy's Cafe. We all agreed that Stumpy's was very good. We were getting ready to leave when an elderly man (Myron Bunker) came over to tell us about his 1929 Town Sedan he had owned many years ago. He was so thrilled to see our cars he just seemed to light up, but more importantly when I asked for directions he said that the road we were on (RT 30) was a good one, with a few hills, then it would become straight and smooth. Old Myron knew these roads well, we followed his recommendation and it turned out to be the best roads we've been on to date, no traffic and great scenery.

Even though we had a rocky start we were now making good time and what's more the weather was now sunny. What more could you ask for.

I am always amazed at how the Model A's break the ice and get people talking. Today was a good example of how nice people can be and thanks to John and Myron what started out to be dismal day turned just great. We arrived in Mankato, MN still doing over 200 miles in spite of our late start.

Day Six - A Ferry Nice Day

2010-07-21T23:15:00.025-04:00

Today would be a short ride, well at least in the morning. After quick breakfast at the motel and with the Model A's all packed we headed off about 3 miles to catch the ferry from Ludington to Manitowoc, WI. We got the Model A's in line and soon saw JJ & Shirley in their motorhome off to the side for loading as required by the crew. We, on the other hand, were placed in another line where Dick and I would be able to drive the Model A's on ourselves. I guess the crew didn't want to take a chance with these old cars. The only unusual part was that the vehicles were backed on to the S.S. Badger, which is a 410 ft former railroad car hauler. It is also one of the last coal fired steam engine vessels still operating. The two Model A's were the last few vehicles on, JJ's motorhome was next to last, which was good because we were off first (LIFO) which got us a head of the rest of the cars.

The actual ride takes about 4 hours and covers 60 miles and today the weather was perfect, sunny with smooth water. We all enjoyed the down time and managed to relax. I know it's hard to believe but the ladies somehow managed to find the gift shop. That was OK because Dick and I got new hats. We roamed around all the decks from bow to stern and enjoyed the sun. Other than getting some soot on our clothes from the coal smoke of the engine it was an uneventful sailing. When we docked Dick and I as well as the motorcycle drivers were escorted down to the vehicles so we could get them off the ship.

Once off, our plan was to head to the "world famous" Penquin Drive-In for a Penny burger. I had seen this on a TV show (Diners, Dive and Drive-Ins) and was looking forward to lunch. The good news is we found the place, the bad news was that it was closed and for sale. Say it ain't so! We had to at least stop for a picture. JJ and Shirley soon showed up too. We bid them good by and hoped to see them along the way again.

After lunch, nothing special - Arby's, we headed west on RT 151. We got a call from JJ alerting us about some Model A's on display. OK, we would keep an eye out for them. It wasn't long before we got to the little town of Valders and sure enough we saw Model A's and had to stop. It turned out to be a photo op for a story on the 100th anniversary of first Ford dealership ( http://valderslions.org/htr_rev_up_valders.php ) in the state. We had a very nice conversation with many of the owners of the old Fords on display. One car was a 1928 Special Coupe, unrestored, which was purchased at the dealership. It was a nice stop, but we had to get moving. They wished us well on our trip and off we went.

As we traveled west I was surprised at the terrain, which was very hilly, with some long and pretty steep. And the wind was still blowing making it very noisy in the A's. We also had a great view of Lake Winnebago due to an unexpected detour of RT 151.

It was also getting warmer and we were in need of something refreshing. As if it was a sign from above an A&W shop appeared. So in we went and relaxed in air conditioned comfort sipping a tasty Root Beer Float. Hmmm, with all the wind that was blowing around we soon saw one of the benefits, windmills for electric power.

A check of the watch show it was getting late and we wanted to get to Tomah, WI. So we kicked it up a notch and let the Model A's run a little faster. The roads weren't bad, not too much traffic, but enough for me to try to find an alternative. That turned out to be US 12 which was straight and ran parallel to I 90. We arrived in Tomah and stayed at the Holiday Inn.

Tomorrow we will cross over the Mississippi River into Minnesota.

Day Five - Lake to Lake

2010-07-20T21:40:00.008-04:00

With a forecast of rain and the desire for a little extra security Dick was able to park the woody under the portico of the hotel entrance for the night. Good thing he did as it did rain during the night. Fortunately the morning was partly sunny, just right for traveling in the Model A's. Our route today was going to take us from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan via farm country. Traveling along Lake Huron in the morning was so pleasant. It sure looked like an ocean with the big freighters sailing along the horizon.

We turned west at Port Sanilac to make our way to Lake Michigan. But first we had to take care of few errands, namely buying a new GPS. The one I brought would stop working at the most in opportune time...very frustrating. We stopped at Wal-Mart for me to get new GPS, Nan to get some cold medicine (what a time to get a cold), and Dick to get shampoo and a new Vodka Tonic tumbler (guess which one was on top of that list?)

With a new GPS to guide us we headed off into the heart of Michigan farm country. I could only imagine the desire Henry Ford had to develop a low cost tractor to help the farmers work those huge fields back then. Corn and soybean are now the crops of choice for almost as far as you could see, except for one farm with nothing but sunflowers - Dick said we needed sunglasses there. The roads were flat so travel was very easy on the Model A's and us (no wind).

We headed into Mt. Pleasant when we saw the beautiful Soaring Eagle Casino, wow was it big. We decided to stop, but at a Bob Evans for lunch instead of gambling. Continuing on we decided to head towards the National Forest which turned out to be a great move as the roads had no traffic and we finally were able to get OB to stop for Ice Cream. We had past at least 3 ice cream joints, one was even on the water at a marina...but nooo, Dick just blasted by it. Finally we stopped, almost by accident, at a great little place where we got our fix of some Michigan Ice Cream.

We arrived in Ludington about the same time I got a call from JJ, who said he and Shirley were also in Ludington and at a camp ground, which turned out to be next to the Best Western where we were staying. After Dick and I did some maintenance on the Model A's, we met JJ and Shirley at the Chinese Buffet for dinner.

Tomorrow, we will load our small group of the two Model A's and one Motorhome on the SS Badger for the crossing to Manitowic, WI.

Day Four - O' Canada...

2010-07-19T23:22:00.014-04:00

Yesterday we put on about 220 miles and it was so good to be back on the road with the O'Briens. Today we would travel though Canada to get to Port Huron, Michigan. With the Model A's loaded we headed off for a quick bite to eat and then a quick stop at Mac's Antique Ford parts, which was just down the road. I must admit the facility was very impressive. They had a small "museum" of "T"s in the show room and a very organized parts counter. Dick and I managed to pick up some items we could use on the road. We were then off to Niagara Falls, albeit in a drizzle.

By the time we got to Rainbow Bridge the sun was shining, which we felt was a sign for the day. We crossed over to the Canadian side and marveled at the beauty of the falls.

We didn't spend a lot of time at the Falls as we really wanted to get on the road. We had no preference on a route so we decided to follow the one prepared by AAA. The roads were not primary routes for most traffic and we found them very Model A friendly. The one thing that we did notice again was the constant wind that really made it noisy driving. For the most part we were driving in farm country. The farms seemed to be pretty successful in spite of the fact that their former cash crop - tobacco - is no longer a being produced in any significant quantity.

Our final leg was on Lakeshore drive all the way to the bridge that would take us back to the USA at Port Huron. No surprise the largest homes had the best water views. The biggest problem was the fact that it took us almost two hours to get over the bridge and through customs...Ouch! At least we had a good view of the river from the bridge and could watch the ships pass under us.

We did have reservations at the Hampton Inn and after we enjoyed the Cracker Barrel for dinner we packed it in for the night.

Tomorrow it's off to Ludington to get the ferry to Wisconsin.

Day Three - Fantastically Quiet Day

2010-07-18T21:30:00.016-04:00

What a change from the past two days. This morning we awoke to sunny skies after spending the night at the Hotel Utica, which sounds like it was right out of a bad movie. But this was anything but that, in fact it was a beautifully restored hotel from the early 20th century. This was definitely a grand old hotel brought back to life. What's more, our Model A was in the parking lot ready to forge onward to Niagara Falls to meet up with the O'Briens. Nan & I talked over our travel strategy for the day while enjoying our complimentary breakfast (nice touch, thanks Hotel Utica). Then it was time to hit the road, after a quick torque check of the head nuts...which all checked out at 55#.

Through tremendous kindness of our friends Jack & Jo by trailering us out to Utica, we were left with an easy day's drive to reach Lockport, NY where the O'Briens were waiting for us. With a new outlook on our Excellent Adventure we fired up the Model A and headed west. Our strategy (yes we did come up with a plan at breakfast) was to drive at a nice leisurely pace over the "green dot" (scenic) roads.

The drive was very peaceful, quite a change from the last two days, through the rolling hills and farm country of western NY. Traffic was light since it was Sunday and we had no problems negotiating the cities of Syracuse and Rochester. Our route also followed the historic Erie Canal which was an engineering marvel and an economic boom to the whole area at the time.

The other thing we both noticed was the constant wind that came over from Lake Ontario. No wonder this area is blasted by that infamous Lake Effect Snow in the winter.

All this time the Model A was rolling along and hopefully enjoying the ride. I tried to listen for any strange sounds, which was hard because of the wind and I watched the temperature gauge constantly which BTW stayed at 160 degrees all the time except for one large hill when it crept up to 170.

At one time the phone rang and it was Dick O'Brien who said he had some visitors...John & Shirley Jacobson. John was part of the first day engine swap team and they left for Vancouver in their motorhome Saturday about the time we fired up engine #3. It was good to hear from them as they head west. I told Dick at the time the GPS said we would arrive about 3:00 PM and that was just about right. It was SO GOOD to be back with Dick and Barbara. Some nice comfy chairs in the gazebo, a few cold adult beverages and lots of stories made for a wonderful afternoon.

Isn't that what Model A'ing is all about?

Day Two - What a day....

2010-07-17T23:41:00.008-04:00

Yesterday was a disaster, but we weren't going to let some mechanical setbacks keep us from going on our adventure. So, bright and early Jack and I picked up the engine #3 from Gene Bunce. And yes, Gene assured us there was an oil pump in the engine! Back at Jack's garage we had the engine back in the Model A in two hours (we removed engine #2 late last night). We hit the starter and it fired right up, BUT there was a not so good sound from the radiator. Huh! It seems the fan (six blade plastic) was just rubbing the radiator. No damage done to the radiator but what was up with that? We solved the problem by moving the bottom of the radiator forward slightly. That actually took up more time than we expected. I fired up the engine again and it sounded very nice and was running smoothly.
After finishing putting the car back together it was time for a road test. That turned out very well, the engine performed just fine. I should mention the the engine from Gene had about 2500 miles on it. It was an inserted, balanced engine that had a valve keeper let go. The engine was sent to a local rebuilding shop that fixed the problem and was not used since. With that mileage, I didn't have to worry about a slow break-in period.

The forty mile test drive was deemed a success so Jack insisted on loading the "A" on a trailer and hauling Nan & I to NY so we would be able to catch up faster to Dick & Barbara who enjoyed the day by driving along Lake Ontario to the Buffalo area where they would wait for us to join them. Nan and I were happy to have Jack & Jo join us even if it was only for short part of our journey.

Words alone cannot begin to thank all our Model A friends that helped to get us back on the road again. Thank you to you all.

We can't wait to get back in line with the O'Brien's little woody wagon.

Day One - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

2010-07-17T05:58:00.009-04:00

The Good - The day started off with Dick & Barbara meeting us as planned for the start of our big Model A adventure. We took a few pictures and then headed off to the great northwest. All was going as planned and we were motoring along the Mass Pike without any problem. Passing through Worcester, Sturbridge and Springfield we were thankful that traffic was light. We were climbing one of the major hills as we approched the Berkshire Mountains when I notice a loss of power and the engine was really struggling, so we pulled into a rest area.

The Bad - Steam was coming out the exhaust, out of the oil filler and worse there was a major puddle of oil under the rear main. What do we do now? We were only 80 miles from home and since I had another engine (rebuilt) in the garage, we elected to have AAA tow us home. Thanks to Jack Stokinger the car was dropped off at his house since his garage was air conditioned as the weather today was to be hot and humid. Jack, Harold Legge and Bruce Marshall would pick up the engine from my house which was made easier with the help of my daughter Jill.
Since we are the Minuteman club, a call to muster was sent and a team of experts (the above mentioned plus Wayne Champagne, John Jacobson and Gene Tallone) assembled to make the engine swap. With wrenches flying the engine was out and the new one in four hours. I hit the starter, the new engine fired right up and sounded beautiful. We cycled the engine (warm it up and allowed it to cool) about four times, rechecking the head nuts and determined the engine was ready for some very light driving. Job done...the team heads home.

The Ugly - With the engine running Nan & I headed out for a test drive and if all sounded good we would put on some miles to help the break-in. We were in the process of making a loop back to Jack's when disaster struck. Not 7 miles into the test a clattering started that I new wasn't good. I called Jack and he came to give us a tow back to his house (less than a mile away) only problem was we were now having a thunder storm...kind of appropriated given Nan and my spirits. Back in the garage Jack and I were joined by Rick Gadbois and we dropped the pan to see what kind of issues we had. Well, it didn't take long to see...no Oil Pump. That new engine was toast in 7 miles. OUCH! Who knows how or why the pump was removed over the 20 years the engine sat.

So now what? I found out another member had a rebuilt engine in his garage which he was willing to sell to me. So on Saturday I will pick that engine up and the TEAM will again swap out yet another engine.

Oh yes, I forgot to let you know that Dick & Barbara motored on to Rochester, NY. They reported no problems and are anxious for us to catch up to them. We want to be with them too.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story.

2010-07-14T22:34:00.005-04:00

It won't be long now before we leave and Edsel sure looks like he is all packed and ready to go. We, Doug & Nan, on the other hand still have a few more things to pack in our bags. As for the Model A, it's been weighted down with extra tools and spare parts and everything that can be checked has been. Next up is trying to stuff everything into the Sedan, that should be fun.

With the help of grandson Blake (1 year old) Papa (Doug) had all the help needed to make sure the tires were inflated to their proper level.

Our next post will be after we get on the road and with blessings of the "Model A Gods" we will make it to Vancouver and back.

"Edsel" the Bear joins the Team

2010-06-23T22:16:00.000-04:00

Well, Nan decided that we need a companion on the trip, so "Edsel" the Bear will be riding with us and enjoying our trip to Alaska. As you can see Edsel is also a Red Sox fan. I don't think that Edsel will be able to share in the driving, but you never know. So be sure to look for Edsel's picture as we visit the sites of interest along the way.

Getting ready for the Trip

2010-06-14T21:45:00.001-04:00

It won't be long before we (Doug & Nan) and our friends (Dick & Barbara) will be starting our Model "A" adventure to Vancouver, BC and subsequent cruise to Alaska. Dick and I have been doing our preventative maintenance on our Model A's and so far all the large mechanical items have been checked and repaired if necessary. Now it's just taking care of the little items. Our 1931 (early) 155C Town Sedan has been on long tours before, traveling as far west as Nebraska when we attended the 2000 MAFCA meet in Kansas City and numerous other Minuteman Model A Club Super Tours. Now we have a chance to double that distance by attending the MAFCA meet in Vancouver. We are really looking forwad to visiting areas of the country that we have not visited, especially in our Model A's.