Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Day 28 - 400 more miles and still moving

We left Logan in four different groups this morning. Everyone had specific sights they wanted to see but the end destination was Winnemucca, Nevada. As usual John G. came by to bid us a safe trip as we departed at 5:20 AM. We have now found a lonelier road than route 50 (The Loneliest Highway) and it is Utah route 30 From Snowville, UT to Oasis, NV (a ghost town- without a sign). Route 30 is hawk heaven, we counted 85 hawks (that’s the sort of thing you do when the road is lonely and endless). There was one on almost each power pole along the road side. When the power poles stopped there were no more hawks except one lonely pair by a very lonely tree, where one hawk was perched and her mate was perched nearby on a fence post.

TDSCF5689Yahoo, we changed to Pacific Daylight time and gained an hour at the border. You know you are getting closer to California when you are on the same time. Saw many triple trailer trucks and yes, they could pass us on the long hills even with their heavy loads. The tag team of Guzzettas, Hazletons and Fontaines caught us (Bob and Pat) the first time in Wells at 10:00am. Took off towards Elko while they stopped for food and fuel (in true SCVC touring fashion) and Bill Perry (All-Ford) and his band of street rods passed us also heading west (way faster than our 49 mph). What are the chances of meeting them twice on this trip? And now they are staying at the motel next to us in Winnemucca. Our ambassador, Ray, went next door to visit and found out that they are going to the same Basque restaurant tonight.

TDSCF5685Once again Bob and Pat have a room right out of Winchester Mystery house. When you see the picture you will understand. Can’t wait to get home and sleep in my own bed. Everyone is still having a great time and can you believe we talked about the tour we want to take next year, NO not to Texas.

Tomorrow, the final push,,,, home sweet home.

TDSCF5690Late breaking news!:
Jack and Don ground to a halt just 30 miles short of Winnemucca, stripped timing gear. Came in on the AAA truck, and the guys swarmed it and had a new gear in in about an hour. Pic included..

10 comments:

Pat said...

Well, you would think be now we would know better than to follow Bob and Ray's advice on dinner. They found a Basque place and we
ate and ate and ate. Not so sure we will fit in our cars.

Guess by now you have realized that this has been a wonderful trip. It is beyond description and I feel very fortunate to have traveled with this group.

Tune up your model A's and don't miss the next journey.

Anonymous said...

Hello to all,
Well the Party is over. It has been a blast. Our traveling buddies are the greatest, but we're ready to head for home. It will be good to see the kids and grandkids and Jackson, too!

M3 said...

Alrighty - point to the west and start your engines...!

See you guys soon.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely fantastic! The backroads are the best way to travel with good friends.

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed it all, particularly traveling the back roads at a slower pace in Jack's roadster. Also, the reunions with family and friends were most enjoyable. Even the minor problems of a 76 year old car have made it interesting. Looking forward to the family reunion next week in Indiana and finally back home with Carol.

Kryssie and Chad said...

I'm dying to know . . . do you get the same flavor of ice cream each time?

I think that "ONCE in a lifetime trip" should be the caption for this event.

Thanks so much for the text and pictures. You can put your feet up for a couple of days when you get home, but then you'll need to start on another adventure. Otherwise, what will I look forward to reading each night?

Kryssie

Anonymous said...

Day 29 (I think) August 2, 2006

Sneaking out of motel parking lots in the dark is becoming standard procedure with this group. We left the best motel we ever stayed at in Logan Utah this morning at 6 AM. We knew we had a long day ahead of us, so Bob & Patti left an hour before us while the stars twinkled brightly overhead. Bill snuck out a few minutes later, headed for Promontory Point.

How can you report on a monotonous two lane highway stretching out to the high desert plains? We simply drove until Bob H needed a gas stop, and then we drove some more. The first fifty miles in the morning is the worst…the engine sounds wrong, the tires are square, and the typical Model A sounds like it’s ready to fall apart. More than one morning, I’ve thought “well that’s it…I finally broke it”. So I have this superstition about looking at the odometer. If you can resist watching the miles pile up first thing in the morning, the trip will go faster. It doesn’t work, but I have this idiosyncrasy. First time I glanced down at the odometer this morning, it read 21.7. So much for self discipline.

Snowville for gas, then Montello, where the only gas pumps in town had a closed sign…woke up the clerk for business while her cat ate breakfast on the store counter. Lunch in Wells, then on to Elko and straight on down Highway 80 to Winnemucca (est. 1861…and growing!). Went to a Basque restaurant for our final dinner together, although I don’t think most of us grasp the idea yet that we’ll be separating tomorrow for the road home.

A final note: as we bloated ourselves in true Basque fashion, got a phone call from Jack & Don. They were stranded about 30 miles outside of town, when the roadster suddenly quit running. Don got a ride into town, and Jack was waiting with the car for a tow/lift in. Arriving at the motel just before sundown, the ailing Model A was found to have a broken timing gear. Now the roadster has a new Bob timing gear installed tonight, along with the Bob alternator installed in Bloomington, and some other Bob parts…I’m not sure, but I think legally, the car now belongs to Bob!

Home tomorrow. No more of this nonsense.

John & Judy, Bob (the parts man) & Patti, Bill, Bob & Shirley, Ray & Linda, Don & Jack

Dispersing for home

Winnemucca, Nevada

M3 said...

Hooray - congratulations to the emergency parking lot mechanics on another victory!!!

Anonymous said...

Great to hear you're on the home
stretch. Sorry for Jack & Don's
car problems, but they were with
the right group when it happened!
We've enjoyed the descriptions and
pictures. Thanks for sharing.
Happy Driving tomorrow.

Kim M.

Pat said...

Good morning, it is only 5:00 AM but I'm ready to go and the little black coupe says, "Get in the car, now." It will be a long haul today but the group is ready and hopefully so are the cars.

Next post from home.