After a day of rest on Saturday, we set out early Sunday morning in great weather destined for Deadwood, SD. This was the first day that four Cords would be traveling together. We had a little trouble coordinating the start but by the time we reached Cody all the cars were in sight. Gail pulled into a latte stand and in short order everyone was out of their car standing in line to order a coffee. With coffee in hand, we were back on the road again.
Our route that morning took us over Route 14a. We stopped an hour later for breakfast in a small cafe -- and once again we lost Gail & Joyce. A quick cell phone call found them looking at junk cars, train cars and more. They continued to explore, while we ordered breakfast. By the time we were done, Gail & Joyce were in the parking lot.
We took off as a group and shortly found ourselves climbing through the Beartooth Mountains. The pass was intimidating. We were already at 5,000 feet when we began the climb -- some stretches were 10%. Every time we came around a switchback, we'd see an even steeper climb ahead. We are in second gear and making good progress up the mountain when Betty calls to say that Josh needs to stop to add some transmission fluid. We pull to the side of the road and open the hood to wait. The temperature of our engine in climbing quickly. Don & Arlene are also waiting on the side of the road with a very hot engine. Gail & Joyce also pull over and offer to wait while we push on.
Don & Arlene led the way up the mountain and we followed behind. For miles and miles we drive in 2nd gear up the hill. Amazingly both cars continue to perform well. We finally reach the summit and pull over at a lodge to use the facilities and wait for Gail & Joyce and Josh & Betty. Several minutes later we see Gail crest the hill and not too far behind Josh can be seen. We all gather and wonder if this is the first time four Cords successfully summited a 9,000 foot pass. In any event, we are thrilled that all the cars made the grade and are still running well. Now for the down-grade.
Before leaving, Don decides to check his radiator fluid. He opens the hood and discovers that he left his radiator cap at the gas station at the bottom of the pass. Noone is going back. We improvise with a piece of foil obtained from the coffee shop and a zip tie. This is definitely a non-standard Cord part but we hope it will do the trick. Not too long ago, Barrie installed a "burp bottle" as an addition to our cooling system. It temporarily holds the overflow and we haven't had to add a drop of water. Josh has a similar set-up on his car. Both Barrie and Josh were feeling pretty smug when Gail had to add over a gallon of water to his radiator.
The trip up the pass was absolutely spectacular. We were simply stunned by the vistas. The trip down the pass to Sheridan was just as incredible. We regroup just outside Sheridan and agree to put some miles behind us before taking a break. We drive 120 miles on I-90 and then stop for gas in Gillette WY.
A stop for gas and a quick driver's meeting. Josh & Betty opt for a leisurely late lunch and a drive down I-90 to Deadwood. The rest of us grab a bite on the go and head north a byway to view Devil's Tower. Another great road for driving and the scenery is breath-taking. We stop at Devil's Tower for photos and a soft drink before continuing the backroads to Belle Fourche. Miles and miles of open road and rolling hills. This is an afternoon to remember. We are however pressed for time as the sun will soon go down. We arrive in Deadwood just before 7 pm. None of us knew what to expect but I don't think any of us were expecting a combination of Disneyland and Las Vegas. The restored main street is bursting with people and activity -- and slot machines are everywhere. Two couples are staying at the historic Bullock Hotel and two couples are next door at the Celebrity. We park on the main street to check-in and immediately draw a crowd.
Betty has made reservations for us for dinner at Saloon 10 on Main Street. Good news, it is walking distance and the cars can all stay parked. We all gather at the restaurant and spend the rest of the evening relaxing with good food and wine. Two east coast bikers are at the bar and Josh & Betty discover that they have lived in many of the same places. After a very pleasant evening we say good-night and head back to our respective hotels.
Tomorrow we are headed to the South Dakota monuments and national parks before arriving at our final destination of the "big" town of Winner SD.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Lazy Saturday
Finally, a day for sleeping in but we are up before 7. We putter around and talk with the folks who have already gathered around the cars. Four Cords parked in a row and visible from the highway draw a crowd. This will be our first real breakfast of the trip. We grab a table and start with a cup of coffee. The Wohlwend's have joined us for breakfast -- the others are sleeping in.
After breakfast, I head out for a run. Just a few yards up the road there is a horse trail that heads back into the hills. The trail follows from one fence-line to the next as I head north. At each turn another ranch comes into view. It is simply spectacular. I run for 30 minutes and then change direction and begin to work my way back to the motel. No cars, no people, not even a horse to spoil the peacefulness of this place.
Three Cords head into town to run errands. Don picks up his fuel pump. We pick up a fuse for our GPS charger, and we all head to the Buffalo Bill Museum. Barrie is anxious to spend some time working on the car so we pass on the museum (I have seen it several times but it just gets better and better). We stop at the store for a sandwich and some car-snacks and then head back west. I am now caught up on the blog but I do want to post an update on how the new wheels. That will come next.
The Adventure Continues -- will it ever end.
Friday morning and we are up early. The focus has turned to the cars and whether or not we can get three cars running again. But, first things first. We head to the local coffee shop for a latte and a scone. Montana has caught-on to the coffee craze. Back in the parking lot, all hoods are up.
It turns out that we are actually parked in spaces belonging to the local post office -- good news the post-master is a car nut. He is offering tools and even crawling on the pavement under the cars. If we had time, he'd take us out on the Yellowstone River.
Maybe the cars were just hot and tired. With a little tinkering they are all back up and running. Barrie has discovered that our battery cables were loose (from all the fiddling around on the first day) and once he tightens them down, the electrical problems simply disappear. An adjustment to the choke and the points and we are set to roll. One concern is that our water pump is showing signs of distress. A trip to NAPA produces the necessary bearing and we tuck it away "just in case".
Don does nothing more that talk nicely to his car and it seems to be running happily. We are wondering if there isn't still an underlying fuel issue but since it seems to be running so well, we decide to press on. Gail makes a few minor adjustments and he is also back up and running.
Our next destination is Yellowstone Park and from there we head east to catch up with Josh & Betty near Cody. We drive 90 happy miles through the North Gate of Yellowstone (where everyone submits their "Geezer Passes" and all three cars are now in the park. We are in the lead and shortly notice that we are alone. We reach Don & Arlene by cell phone and they are again stuck with the dreaded vapor-lock. Gail & Joyce are with them so we press on to Mammoth where we relax in the shade and enjoy an ice cream cone. We expect the other cars to arrive any moment but they are not in sight. Finally we start driving back down the hill -- and find them still on the side of the road in sight of the Park entrance.
Lots of tools are laying on the ground, but it doesn't appear that they have resolved the problem. Barrie joins in on the fun and crawls under the car. In short order, the consensus is that Don needs to get the car on a lift and attend to the fuel filter. The good news is that we can see Gardiner from where we are parked. Somehow we get all three cars rolling in a downhill direction toward town. We stop at the gas station long enough to ask where to find a REAL service station -- one with a lift. We are pointed to Cooper Tire and sure enough the have a lift and the Cooper Tire man has time to help. Voila, the filter is replaced and a new fuel pump is ordered for pick-up in Cody. While we wait, we all find a bite of lunch and in no time we are on the road again. (Well okay, we've been in Gardiner for a bit over an hour but at least we are moving forward again). It is just after 3 pm when we gather the gang for the next leg of the journey.
We head back to the parks with high hopes that this is the fix that works. Nobody (and certainly not Don) wants to call AAA two days in a row. All cars are running well but we don't want to attempt any mountain passes so we won't be taking the scenic route out through the Northeast Entrance of the Park. We take a scenic less challenging route through Mammoth, Norris, Canyon and Fishing Bridge. We expect that along this route we may find some traffic jams but at least we won't find a major mountain pass. Amazingly, there is almost no traffic. We see a bit of wildlife -- elk, geese, ducks and several bison. One of the bison was actually walking across Fishing Bridge creating quite a gaper's block. Cars are running well and we are making great time through the Park. With luck, we will be at our evening's destination before 6 pm.
We are enjoying the scenery along the way but there is no time to stop. Long ago, I gave up on the idea of a leisurely lunch at one of the Park Lodges. But really, the good news is that we are all rolling along under our own power. We stop to make sure everyone is doing okay and I suggest to Gail that since our GPS is on the fritz, that he lead the way to our night's lodging. Instead he hands me his GPS -- so we are still in the lead. Halfway down the mountain, Gail & Joyce pass up -- I figure they must know where they are going. We continue on at a more legal pace and find the Yellowstone Valley Lodge (YVI) 50 miles down the road.
We pull into the parking lot with Don & Arlene close behind. One look at Don and you can tell that he is not too sure about this place. It is an RV park, motel, and rental cabins all rolled into one. There is also a restaurant, bar, swimming pool and hot tub on the property. It is on the river but it really is in the middle of nowhere. The motel part backs up to the river and our rooms on the second floor provide a very beautiful and peaceful view of the river -- but we don't know that yet.
We decide the sensible thing to do is to head for the bar. The question is where are Gail and Joyce? Once seated in the bar things start to look up. We meet the owner who is great and gives us a bit of background about the place. He also provides us with free samples of Rocky Mountain Oysters. Some of us have had this experience before but for Arlene this is new territory. We finally track Gail down by cell phone and discover that he is 18 miles down the road in Cody. They'll be back in plenty of time for dinner. Meanwhile Josh and Betty have arrived and are settling in. So the gang is together at last.
Dinner reservations are for 7:30 and there is plenty of good food and good company. We are all tired and head back to our rooms after dinner. Saturday will be a lay-over day. We are staying put so Betty can observe the sabbath but we are also all looking forward to a chance to relax, work on cars, and see a bit of Cody.
We are indeed in the middle of nowhere and I have never seen so many stars! The night is still and with the sliding door open we fall asleep to the relaxing sound of the river flowing by.
Friday, August 28, 2009
More Adventure
So much has happened that it has been nearly impossible to blog. I'll do what I can to catch up on yesterday so I can get to the excitement of today.
Okay - our plan was to get to Livingston. We stopped and tour Glenn Vaughn's restoration shop and then headed down the highway. What could be simpler? A few miles down the road Gail calls and says he has stopped at the local auto parts store to buy a part for our car. He says it will fix all our problems. He then tells us that he and Joyce have stopped at a bakery for some fresh bread. All seems to be well. Barrie & I and Don & Arlene continue down I-90. We seem to making progress but it is not to last. Without too much trouble we make it to Missoula for lunch. I ask our GPS (Jill) for a place for lunch and up comes the Depot and Bar. Sounds like a good choice and not too far off the freeway. Since Joyce and Gail are somewhere else -- it is just our car and the Wohlwends that head into Missoula. The Depot cannot be found!!! So we ask at the local Pawn Shop and they suggest the James Bar. Nice lunch on the patio.
Now we have to figure out how to get two cranky Cords to start so we can head off down the road. Ours is clearly NOT going to start!! Finally, I ask the two cars that are thinking about parking in front of us to move so we can push the Cord. This is desperation. Barrie is driving the Cord and two octogenarians and his wife are pushing. This cannot continue. The good news is that the Wohlwend's car starts. We stop for gas (Barrie is not turning off the engine) and head back to I-90. Still a couple hundred miles to travel and no sign of Gail.
What could be easier than driving I-90? Our car is over-heating and Don is struggling with vapor-lock. Arlene calls on the cell phone to say that they are pulling over - the car simply can't continue in a forward direction. We think about going back -- but the only thing worse than 1 car stuck on the side of the road is TWO!! We continue on and promise to stay in touch by cell phone.
We finally connect with Gail just east of the continental divide and push on for Livingston. Waiting to hear if Don manages to get the car restarted. Finally, it seems that the only logical choice is to call AAA for a tow. Don & Arlene wait for the tow truck and we continue on to the historic Murray Hotel in Livingston.
Barrie pulls our car into the parking lot and it QUITS. The car is not going to move. Gail pulls in behind us and his car QUITS!! We can't get it started again. Finally we push both cars into a corner of the parking lot and head to the bar. We are stopped for the night and will worry about the cars in the morning.
The Murray Hotel is just like the Auburn Hotel only restored. Our rooms are well-appointed but they are on the 4th floor and the elevator (which is older than our cars) is not working. We haul our things four flights of steps thinking that this is just more of the adventure. We enjoy a glass of wine (or two or three) and head downstairs to dinner at 7:30 at the Bistro.
We settle in for a wonderful dinner and a good bottle of wine. We are waiting for a call from Don -- and discover they have the car on the truck and should arrive by 10:00. You'll have to ask Arlene about the 150 mile drive in. The good news is that they have arrived. All cars are safe and so are the people. We are going to call it a night.
Okay - our plan was to get to Livingston. We stopped and tour Glenn Vaughn's restoration shop and then headed down the highway. What could be simpler? A few miles down the road Gail calls and says he has stopped at the local auto parts store to buy a part for our car. He says it will fix all our problems. He then tells us that he and Joyce have stopped at a bakery for some fresh bread. All seems to be well. Barrie & I and Don & Arlene continue down I-90. We seem to making progress but it is not to last. Without too much trouble we make it to Missoula for lunch. I ask our GPS (Jill) for a place for lunch and up comes the Depot and Bar. Sounds like a good choice and not too far off the freeway. Since Joyce and Gail are somewhere else -- it is just our car and the Wohlwends that head into Missoula. The Depot cannot be found!!! So we ask at the local Pawn Shop and they suggest the James Bar. Nice lunch on the patio.
Now we have to figure out how to get two cranky Cords to start so we can head off down the road. Ours is clearly NOT going to start!! Finally, I ask the two cars that are thinking about parking in front of us to move so we can push the Cord. This is desperation. Barrie is driving the Cord and two octogenarians and his wife are pushing. This cannot continue. The good news is that the Wohlwend's car starts. We stop for gas (Barrie is not turning off the engine) and head back to I-90. Still a couple hundred miles to travel and no sign of Gail.
What could be easier than driving I-90? Our car is over-heating and Don is struggling with vapor-lock. Arlene calls on the cell phone to say that they are pulling over - the car simply can't continue in a forward direction. We think about going back -- but the only thing worse than 1 car stuck on the side of the road is TWO!! We continue on and promise to stay in touch by cell phone.
We finally connect with Gail just east of the continental divide and push on for Livingston. Waiting to hear if Don manages to get the car restarted. Finally, it seems that the only logical choice is to call AAA for a tow. Don & Arlene wait for the tow truck and we continue on to the historic Murray Hotel in Livingston.
Barrie pulls our car into the parking lot and it QUITS. The car is not going to move. Gail pulls in behind us and his car QUITS!! We can't get it started again. Finally we push both cars into a corner of the parking lot and head to the bar. We are stopped for the night and will worry about the cars in the morning.
The Murray Hotel is just like the Auburn Hotel only restored. Our rooms are well-appointed but they are on the 4th floor and the elevator (which is older than our cars) is not working. We haul our things four flights of steps thinking that this is just more of the adventure. We enjoy a glass of wine (or two or three) and head downstairs to dinner at 7:30 at the Bistro.
We settle in for a wonderful dinner and a good bottle of wine. We are waiting for a call from Don -- and discover they have the car on the truck and should arrive by 10:00. You'll have to ask Arlene about the 150 mile drive in. The good news is that they have arrived. All cars are safe and so are the people. We are going to call it a night.
All in the name of Adventure
If we thought yesterday was long, I guess we didn't really know what long was -- but it was all in the name of adventure.
Great start to the day. Glenn Vaugh met us at his shop and we spent a half an hour walking through and seeing the many, many projects that they are working on. Certainly enjoyed meeting Glenn and wish we could have spent more time, but we know we had many miles to travel. So a quick stop to gas up and we were headed out only I90. Our goal is to Livingston MT this evening and we have 425 miles ahead of us.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A very, very long day
It is 9:30 pm and we are finally sitting down with a glass of wine. This is either a day to remember or a day to forget. Got off on time and had a beautiful drive up Whidbey Island. Blue skies and sunshine. We arrived on time at the designated Starbucks and the Wohlwend's were there with lattes in hand waiting for us. Gail and I grabbed a cup of coffee and we all headed back to the cars.
This is where it all started. Our car wouldn't start. Barrie tried and tried but no luck was to be had. Although he really hates to do it, Barrie finally decided he had no choice but to push start the car. It worked!!! At least we were off and rolling again. Our route took us up the North Cascade Highway (20) and we planned to spend a bit of time in the National Park before heading to Winthrop for lunch. As they say, the best laid plans.......
Just 75 miles up the road, our car quit!! Just quit!! And wouldn't you know, we were at the back of the pack. So we pulled off the road in driveway of a home that looked to be closed up for the season. The house was next to the Skagit river and the location was really quite beautiful. Eventually Gail & Joyce noticed we were no longer following them and they turned around to find us. Not too much later, Don & Arlene turned around and came back to see what was taking us so long. They had been receiving reports of our status from passers by.
After several attempts to start the car, we had run out of battery power. Just as we were deciding what our next course of action should be, a small pick-up driven by a local man stopped. Given his druthers, Barrie preferred to avoid trying to jump start the car with a 12 volt battery. Mel said, no problem, he could return in a few moments with a full size generator and battery charger that should do the trick. And sure enough it did. It was time to search for the root cause and it quickly became apparent that the voltage regulator was not working correctly. This was a modern regulator that Barrie had installed recently. Mel suggested we travel 1/2 mile down the road to his place where there many more tools to work with.
So, all three Cords headed to Mel's place. And with tools aplenty, the fellows went to work. They replaced the modern voltage regulator with a 70 year old spare that Barrie was carrying and sure enough we were back in business. Sounds easy, right. Well as you can probably guess, it didn't really go that fast. We spent well over 2 hours diagnosing and fixing the problem.
Finally back on the road at about 12:30 with 75 more miles to go before reaching Winthrop. We missed our lunch date with Gail's friend Steve but he met us alongside the road to say a quick hello as we passed through town. We had eaten lunch at the historic Winthrop hotel with Steve on our 2007 Auburn trip -- so a quick reunion was in order. By the time we gassed-up and headed out of town it was 3:00 -- and we still had 200 miles to drive.
The first 100 miles took us past Chief Joseph Dam and Grand Coulee Dam. Huge massive structures. It would have been fun to stop and see the sights but we were now tight on time so we pressed on. Stopped 20 miles further down the road at Billy's Burgers (reputed to be the best burgers for miles around) and had a so-so meal with very slow service. Maybe it just wasn't to be our day. The problem is that while we were waiting for service, we were burning daylight. Finally back on the road at 6:45 with another 100 miles to go. Don & Arlene and Barrie & I get started down the road while Gail & Joyce are just begin to enjoy their meal. Gail actually has headlights that work -- why don't the rest of us? We are trying to make it to Post Falls ID before darkness sets in and it is going to be a real race.
We are counting the miles and watching darkness set-in. We unplug the GPS to preserve precious power, then we turn off the dash lights -- still not enough power to shift. OK, next we turn off the headlights to shift. This is not the way the trip was supposed to start. Finally we have our motel in sight -- we pull into the parking lot and the car quits. Luckily, we can coast into a parking spot. We are done driving for the day. Don & Arlene pull in right behind us, and sure enough their car quits. They too coast into their parking spot. As it turns out Gail and Joyce are not far behind. Good news, we all made it safely. Tomorrow has to be an easier day.
This is where it all started. Our car wouldn't start. Barrie tried and tried but no luck was to be had. Although he really hates to do it, Barrie finally decided he had no choice but to push start the car. It worked!!! At least we were off and rolling again. Our route took us up the North Cascade Highway (20) and we planned to spend a bit of time in the National Park before heading to Winthrop for lunch. As they say, the best laid plans.......
Just 75 miles up the road, our car quit!! Just quit!! And wouldn't you know, we were at the back of the pack. So we pulled off the road in driveway of a home that looked to be closed up for the season. The house was next to the Skagit river and the location was really quite beautiful. Eventually Gail & Joyce noticed we were no longer following them and they turned around to find us. Not too much later, Don & Arlene turned around and came back to see what was taking us so long. They had been receiving reports of our status from passers by.
After several attempts to start the car, we had run out of battery power. Just as we were deciding what our next course of action should be, a small pick-up driven by a local man stopped. Given his druthers, Barrie preferred to avoid trying to jump start the car with a 12 volt battery. Mel said, no problem, he could return in a few moments with a full size generator and battery charger that should do the trick. And sure enough it did. It was time to search for the root cause and it quickly became apparent that the voltage regulator was not working correctly. This was a modern regulator that Barrie had installed recently. Mel suggested we travel 1/2 mile down the road to his place where there many more tools to work with.
So, all three Cords headed to Mel's place. And with tools aplenty, the fellows went to work. They replaced the modern voltage regulator with a 70 year old spare that Barrie was carrying and sure enough we were back in business. Sounds easy, right. Well as you can probably guess, it didn't really go that fast. We spent well over 2 hours diagnosing and fixing the problem.
Finally back on the road at about 12:30 with 75 more miles to go before reaching Winthrop. We missed our lunch date with Gail's friend Steve but he met us alongside the road to say a quick hello as we passed through town. We had eaten lunch at the historic Winthrop hotel with Steve on our 2007 Auburn trip -- so a quick reunion was in order. By the time we gassed-up and headed out of town it was 3:00 -- and we still had 200 miles to drive.
The first 100 miles took us past Chief Joseph Dam and Grand Coulee Dam. Huge massive structures. It would have been fun to stop and see the sights but we were now tight on time so we pressed on. Stopped 20 miles further down the road at Billy's Burgers (reputed to be the best burgers for miles around) and had a so-so meal with very slow service. Maybe it just wasn't to be our day. The problem is that while we were waiting for service, we were burning daylight. Finally back on the road at 6:45 with another 100 miles to go. Don & Arlene and Barrie & I get started down the road while Gail & Joyce are just begin to enjoy their meal. Gail actually has headlights that work -- why don't the rest of us? We are trying to make it to Post Falls ID before darkness sets in and it is going to be a real race.
We are counting the miles and watching darkness set-in. We unplug the GPS to preserve precious power, then we turn off the dash lights -- still not enough power to shift. OK, next we turn off the headlights to shift. This is not the way the trip was supposed to start. Finally we have our motel in sight -- we pull into the parking lot and the car quits. Luckily, we can coast into a parking spot. We are done driving for the day. Don & Arlene pull in right behind us, and sure enough their car quits. They too coast into their parking spot. As it turns out Gail and Joyce are not far behind. Good news, we all made it safely. Tomorrow has to be an easier day.
Early Morning Start
Everyone is up and quickly packing the cars. We are off this morning for the start of our adventure. Our day will take us over the North Cascade Highway before we drop down to Hwy 2 and head to Post Falls for the evening. Seems like that should be an apt place for our next post.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Ready, Set, Go
Well, here we go again -- heading from Whidbey Island to Auburn Indiana for the annual ACD Labor Day reunion. In many ways, this is a repeat performance of our 2007 trip. The same four Cords will be making the trip and many of the same characters will be along for the ride. Gail and Joyce Shaw arrived at our home on Whidbey Saturday evening (a full two days before we expected them). Last year Gail drove solo - this year he has Joyce as his co-pilot. They will be driving their 1936 Cord Westchester. Hard to imagine but they have already logged over 1,000 miles on their trip.
We'll head out as team early Wednesday morning. Planning to leave Whidbey by 7:30 and drive north over Deception Pass bridge. Barrie and I will be driving our trusty 1937 Cord Beverly. By the time we complete this trip, we will have driven "Tinkerbelle" over 40,000 in just 5 years. Just a few miles further down the road we'll meet up with Don and Arlene Wohlwend who will once again be driving their 1937 Cord S/C convertible coupe.
We'll head east as a team of three until we meet up with Josh & Betty Malks in Cody Wyoming.
More later
We'll head out as team early Wednesday morning. Planning to leave Whidbey by 7:30 and drive north over Deception Pass bridge. Barrie and I will be driving our trusty 1937 Cord Beverly. By the time we complete this trip, we will have driven "Tinkerbelle" over 40,000 in just 5 years. Just a few miles further down the road we'll meet up with Don and Arlene Wohlwend who will once again be driving their 1937 Cord S/C convertible coupe.
We'll head east as a team of three until we meet up with Josh & Betty Malks in Cody Wyoming.
More later
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)