.......and away we
went!
Six Canyon Country Model T Club members are off to attend a 100th birthday party - for Henry's Model T Ford. The festivities will be held in Richmond, IN, July 21-26, 2008.
Five of us are enjoying the early 1900's method of travel, which means driving every mile from Arizona to Indiana in Model T Fords. What a way to enjoy our beautiful country "up close and personal". Nothing can surpass the sound of a Model T engine (when it is running smoothly, that is!). These five adventuresome Model T'ers include: Russ and Kathy Furstnow of Flagstaff, driving their 1915 Runabout named "Rocky", Gary and Marti Hays of Chino Valley, driving their 1915 Runabout named "Penelope", and David Chance of Gilbert, driving his 1916 Runabout Pickup named "Charlie".
And one of us (Marilyn Petersen, your reporter from Flagstaff) is enjoying the early 2000's method of travel, which means driving every mile in a new motorhome. Nothing can surpass the sound of satellite radio, with the dash air conditioner humming softly in the background. In order to redeem myself (ever so slightly, I must admit) from appearing to be a complete comfort-seeker, I am towing a trailer which contains every tool and Model T part known to man, and still has enough room to load a Model T in the event of a breakdown. I drive directly behind the Model T's and display a "caution" symbol along with emergency flashing lights for their safety.
Please enjoy the fun with us:
| July 4 | Independence Day Parade in Flagstaff announcers noted the 100th birthday celebration as the four CCMTC Model T's passed along the main streets. Our Model T's were decorated with "Arizona to Indiana" decals as well as American Flags, flowers, garlands and ribbons. T drivers and passengers included: Russ and Kathy Furstnow, Gary Hays, Harold and Karen Crutcher and guests, and Marilyn Petersen. Enormous crowds cheered, and of course wanted a horn demo. Dave Chance's Model T was scheduled to join the others, but displayed a tantrum in the 113-degree heat in the Phoenix area and insisted upon being towed rather than driven. Dave and wife Jean arrived in Flagstaff after the parade had finished. |
| July 5 | The big day!!! By 7:00 a.m. friends and neighbors had gathered at Furstnows' home for the send-off, and the three Model T's were ready to roll. It was the perfect driving day - overcast and cool. We drove through Flagstaff and began the route north-east on Highway 89. I (driving behind the T's) noticed the large number of people waving, cheering and "thumbs-upping" the Model T's and I was waving also, until I remembered that I was no longer in my Model T. Somehow motorhomes do not attract the same amount of attention! As we traveled on out of town, we realized that the Model T out in front was Charlie - he was running perfectly. He just likes cool weather like the rest of us. The trip to Kayenta was driven at approximately 40 mph, and was thankfully uneventful. We miss you, Clayt and Rose! |
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| July 6 | The T's continued to roll along
beautifully. As I drove along behind the three vehicles, I could n't
help but admire their physical and mechanical condition. I thought
about the fact that they are nearly 100 years old, and yet they continue
to perform and appear as though they were new! Henry Ford would be
very proud. These cars attain approximately 18-20 mpg, and
travel
40 mph even when ascending some fairly steep inclines. Gary, Russ, and
Dave have done wonderful maintenance and restoration over the past year
to successfully accomplish this drive to Indiana. The only
small problem encountered was today when Charlie's fan began to
hit the radiator, and after Dave replaced the fan,
Charlie ran
perfectly. We decided Gary and Marti hold the die-hard Model T'er
award for July 6 for driving this entire very warm day with Penelope's
top down. The Bloomfield Best Western Hotel swimming pool felt ever-so-good
to all six of us when we ended today's drive. We decided to
end the day with dinner at the Triangle Restaurant, a touch of
"Americana" in Bloomfield. Linda, the waitress, served us a
wonderful homemade dinner equaled only by Grandma. |
| July 7 |
 Today was a longer driving day
for the Model T's - but they traveled the 181 miles with no incidents.
It was a beautiful driving day in that the temperature was cool and the
rain stopped at a sprinkle. The trip took us through the San Juan
mountains, and what a breathtaking view it was! We wore jackets
while eating lunch at the top. If you have not taken Highway 64
from Bloomfield to Taos, you are missing some gorgeous scenery.
Russ and Dave entertained themselves with a driving competition - Russ
won the "fastest uphill" and Dave won "fastest downhill". We
haven't seen any trophies yet, but possibly the competition video has
appeared on ESPN. If anyone sees it, please notify us. |
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| July 8 | We left Taos at 7:00 a.m., which has become our standard daily departure time. Today's route took us along Highway 64 through Eagle Nest and Cimarron Canyon. Hills were steep and plentiful, and we enjoyed every mile of the extremely beautiful scenery. Even though we all assume Model T's are slow, you should try driving behind them on a narrow, curvy downhill run - I simply could not keep up with them with my motorhome and trailer! Model T's were made for the roads we drove today. All the cars performed well, but Charlie had a few difficult moments. It would appear that he was going to give up the run, but with encouragement from Dave he would pick up the pace and drive perfectly. The three Model T Masterminds (Dave, Russ and Gary) suspect he is having a carburetor problem, so he will be receiving some attention and bonding time any minute. As you notice in the picture on the left below, the three Model T's are gathered together probably discussing which car will receive the attention on tomorrow's drive. CCMTC members Art and Tommie Wimmer joined us around noon today for the remainder of the trip to the Centennial - now we have four T's (theirs is a 1913 Runabout Pickup and is being trailered). We enjoyed the hotel pool and hot tub after stopping for the day in Clayton, which is very near the eastern NM border. Can't wait for tomorrow! |
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| July 9 |
 We reached the half-way point of the drive - 856 miles in five days (209 miles today). Today's travel was a textbook drive on Highway 56 from Clayton to Dodge City. All three T's were on their very best behavior, with not even one miss or sputter from any of them. We're all so very proud of those little cars. We drove into Kansas, and are spending the night in Dodge City. Today's skies were absolutely black to the south of us, but only sprinkles and about five minutes of hard rain were encountered. Great day! It was also a special day for one of our members who had a birthday. I wouldn't dare tell Kathy's age for the world to read, but it was a |
| July 10 |
Hi!! I'm Marti, one
of the Model T'ers, and I'm |
| July 11 | The T's are running so well and we are making such good time on the trip that we decided to do a little sight seeing. We spent the morning visiting the Cosmosphere/Space Center Museum in Hutchinson. This museum is extremely well organized and contains very impressive displays. We have rated it as a "must-see". Next we took a six-mile drive south to Yoder, which is an Amish community. We drove through the town, and then stopped for a delicious lunch at the Carriage Crossing Restaurant and Gift Shop. This is another "don't miss". We ended our 80-mile drive today in El Dorado, with the Model T drivers and passengers completely beaten up by constant 45 mph side winds. We had a few nervous minutes when one of the Model T's (good old Charlie) decided to part company with Rocky and Penelope by making the wrong choice at a "Y" on a freeway, but Dave convinced him to find his way back to the group. We like all our chicks in a row where we can keep them safe. Looking forward to another great day tomorrow - yea!! |
| July 12 | What a day this was!
About twenty minutes before we were to leave El Dorado this
morning, a huge storm moved in. By the time we drove out of the
parking lot it was sprinkling, then pouring! Model T's lack air
conditioning, heaters and seat belts (most of you already know that),
but they also lack windows and windshield wipers. So when oncoming
traffic passes, all rainwater sprays directly inside the car.
 Our
five drivers and passengers were drenched, but not one of them
complained. They all preferred the rain to yesterday's wind.
It rained almost steadily until 7 p.m. In the meantime, we were
driving along
nicely when Penelope pulled off the road with a serious ailment.
Some very nice people living directly across the road offered to let us
use their driveway to examine her problem as the road was narrow with no
shoulder. Her diagnosis was a broken crankshaft, so she was
pushed into the trailer to ride until a replacement is found. Yes,
a LOT of rearranging took place to make room in the trailer. Dave
invited Gary to ride with him, and Marti is keeping me company in the motorhome. After we stopped for late lunch/early dinner we looked
at antiques, and then continued the drive toward Nevada, MO to spend the
night. On the way Charlie sputtered and died along the road, and
about fifteen minutes later Rocky followed suit. Both were out of
gas. Still a good day in the life of Model T's, though - we are all ready for
tomorrow! We traveled around 150 miles today. |
| July 13 | This was probably the best driving day so far - extremely humid when we left Nevada, but beautiful and relatively cool the rest of the day. Rocky and Charlie continue to run perfectly, and I could hardly keep up with them as we traveled the rolling hills of Missouri. We stopped at some antique shops along today's drive, and enjoyed the outdoor swimming pool at the hotel in Jefferson City. We intend to continue our northeast drive on Highway 54 through Missouri tomorrow, and hope to stop at Pittsfield IL tomorrow night if all goes well (we certainly expect that it will)! This is such a great trip, and I feel so lucky to be able to travel with these seven wonderful friends. Watch out, Richmond - here we come! |
| July 14 | Before leaving
Jefferson City we took time to drive around and photograph the beautiful
capitol building. Rocky and Charlie are running so well that we
have a little more free time to sightsee along the way. We spent
most of the morning at the Auto World Museum in Fulton, MO. We all
enjoyed the very large collection of vintage vehicles, displays and
historic photos housed there. Almost every auto maker was
represented, and most of the vehicles appeared to be "driver" condition. 
We appreciated the fact that we could walk up and look closely at the
cars without having to remain behind ropes or fences. We spent
some time driving around the town of Fulton and then returned to Highway
54. We found Louisiana MO to be especially intriguing. Many
styles of beautiful and well-kept old homes caused us all to stop to
admire them, and
our vehicles caused major traffic jams on the main street. Oh
well, we
attract a lot of attention that way.
 We
continued on to the river, where we could easily see the extent of last month's
flood damage. We were watching the barges transport their
loads and logs floating down the river, when suddenly a train stopped on
the tracks and completely blocked our exit. We spent time visiting
local residents there and having pictures taken by the Louisiana newspaper staff,
when finally the train left and we could continue our trip. We visited an antique
shop in Summerville before stopping in Pittsfield IL for the night.
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| July 15 | Heat and humidity
were extreme today, and those driving/riding in Model T's were very
uncomfortable. While we were stopped along the road for a break
during the morning, a car lover came out of his garage to look (the
Model T's attract crowds and newspaper editors every time we stop). He invited
us in to see his dad's Model T and many other vehicle-related items
that were for
sale in the garage. Russ became very
 interested in the Model T, so
we might be stopping there again after the Centennial Celebration.
We continued on to Springfield, where we visited the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum. The picture to the left shows the
train station across the street from the museum, with the capitol on the
right. This was considered by all of us
to be rated a "highly recommend" tourist stop. The displays are
impressive and very informative. We took time afterward to drive
around the downtown area and then finished the day's drive at
Taylorville IL. Less than 300 miles to Richmond - yea!!! |
| July 16 |
 We drove through some
of our beautiful U.S.A. farm country today. The corn and bean crops
are flourishing,
and the landscape is extremely green. Charlie and Rocky ran
perfectly, as usual. During the afternoon we took a rest stop and
noticed that Wimmers' trailer had not only a flat tire, but a completely
shredded tire. Luckily, we were in a very large parking lot where
there was room to work and avoid blocking traffic. Dave and Russ
immediately dismounted the tire and with the help of Gary's wire cutters
(which he packed at the last minute never expecting that they would be
necessary) removed the steel cord that had wound itself around the axle. Russ
had a new trailer spare of the same size, so he and Dave mounted it on
Art's trailer and we
were on our way again. We spent the night in Avon IN, which leaves
only 70 miles to drive. Searching for/moving into/moving out of
motels daily for two weeks has become laborious, and all five travelers
are anxious to move back into their RV's tomorrow in Richmond.
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| July 17 |
 Today's drive was going to be short, so we took advantage of stopping at several antique shops in the little towns along the way. While antique shopping in Knightstown, we inquired about recommendations for lunch. The overwhelming recommendation was the American Legion, and it proved to be correct. This trip has convinced us that the local residents are the best resources for information and contacts, but more importantly they have shown excitement and enthusiasm for what we are doing. They make the adventure so much more fun, and we appreciate them for their support. After lunch we stopped at one more antique shop in Lewisville, and then completed the remainder of the drive. Dave, Russ and Kathy drove up in front of the MTFCA headquarters in Centerville (Jay and Barbara Klehfoth's home) and we completely blocked one of the two lanes of traffic on Highway 40 for at least 15 minutes. Photographing the arrival of these two fantastic Model T's that had just driven 1965 miles in 13 days took precedence at that moment. To the right are our five travelers at the finish line. |
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July 18 July 19 |
We arrived a day earlier than initially planned, so we have spent two days setting up RV's, doing laundry, grocery shopping, etc. Rocky and Charlie received a well-deserved rest, bath, and brass polish job. We have also taken time to drive around checking out Richmond, and we are amazed at the excitement and support the town has given us. Tour logos are posted all along the main street, individual businesses display "Welcome to the Model T's" in their windows, and townspeople wave and cheer as we drive by. The town of Richmond is home of one of the most beautiful courthouses we have seen along the route, and we drove through many streets lined with very beautiful old homes. We are planning a trip to Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum tomorrow before tour registration begins. I'll continue to keep you up on our activities. |
| July 20 |
 Russ & Kathy, Dave,
Art & Tommie, John & Montana Renkema (who arrived from Camp Verde last
night), and I spent the day at Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum in
Dayton OH. This is a wonderful tourist stop - don't miss it if you
are ever in the area. It is free, enormous, and contains an
unbelievable collection of aircraft and
 other
memorabilia. No one we have spoken with has seen the entire museum
in one day - it is simply overwhelming. One of the displays is the
Model T ambulance shown here. Centennial registration was underway
at the fairgrounds, so that was our next stop. The Model T's were buzzing around, people
were visiting and shopping for t-shirts and vintage clothing, and
collecting their tour bags. Many MTFCA members as well as
Richmond residents volunteered to assist by welcoming tourers at the
fairgrounds entrance, working registration, and transporting people
around the fairgrounds in golf carts. The organization of the tour
has been incredible, and reflects the hard work and planning by the
Centennial Committee. |
| July 21 |
 The
tour began today at the fairgrounds. We parked the CCMTC Model T's
in the camping section, and I don't mean modern motorhomes! These
are Model T campers. One camper that attracted a lot of attention
belongs to Peter and Sally Kable, who spent three days in Flagstaff at
Furstnows' home while they repaired their vehicle. They shipped
their 1915 KampKar (shown here) from Australia two months ago, and they have
covered over 3500 miles touring the United States and sleeping in the
camper. While we were standing nearby, an extremely strong
wind gust blew a cloud of dirt, flattened a number of the antique
campers, and knocked down approximately 35 dining tables with huge
umbrellas as well as the fence surrounding them. The wind stopped as
suddenly as it appeared. After visiting many tour members,
volunteers and townspeople, we drove to Centerville for lunch at a
church and some antiquing. The humidity was extremely high today,
so we returned to the RV's to find some shade before dinner.
Approximately 2000 people attended the kick-off dinner in an enormous
building at the fairgrounds. We have no idea how they could
prepare that much delicious food and serve that number of people in 45
minutes, but it worked. Speakers included Jay Klehfoth (CEO of the
Celebration), Indiana Congressman Pate, and Edsel Ford. The heat
and humidity were very high in the building, so after dinner we headed
straight for the KOA pool!!! |
| July 22 | A car show held at
the fairgrounds attracted many Model T fans, including many townspeople.
Even though none of our club members entered the show, we all enjoyed
admiring the cars. Old car people enjoy visiting (I'm sure none of
you knew that) so we spent the entire morning at the fairgrounds.
A special treat was that Edsel Ford and his son Henry III
 were
signing Ford posters. We drove through town on Main Street again
after lunch, taking pictures and video of houses, buildings, and
"welcome to Model T" signs. An antique air show fly-in was the
highlight of the afternoon. It seemed that all 1,000 Model T's
attended, because the single line in and out of the grass airfield never
seemed to end. The porches of all the homes along the street were
full of waving residents. Many modern vehicles were also in
attendance at the show. CCMTC members Harold and Karen Crutcher
had flown in to attend part of the Centennial, so they joined us for the
fun. Rocky decided it was his turn for some special attention due
to the large crowd, so he punctured his driver rear tire just as he was
parking on the grass. People always seem to enjoy watching tire
changes, so a large crowd suddenly gathered. The highlight for our
club members was at the end of the show, when the last few Model T's
(and that happened to be ours) were invited to park between the aircraft
for pictures. Dave's 1916 runabout is shown here, and we also
convinced the pilot to stand next to her plane. She will make this
picture the home page of their club website. Another wonderful
day!!! |
| July 23 |
 Both
the heat and the humidity seemed to vanish today, which was a very nice
surprise. We traveled Highway 27, going north about five miles to
stop at the Levi Coffin House, which is an Indiana Historic Site.
An excellent volunteer tour guide led us through the underground
railroad safe house, and it was an interesting topic of discussion
during the remainder of the day. The photo shows the Coffin House,
our three Model T's, and a passing Amish buggy. Following lunch at
another "Americana" restaurant, we couldn't pass up Mrs. Wick's Pies.
It was so highly recommended that we couldn't continue without stopping to
try the sugar cream pie. We really didn't want to stop, but felt
obligated to add it to our trip rating system for those of you who might
be traveling in this area
. The
rating is "don't miss". Our next stop was the Winchester Speedway.
Model T's were allowed to race, and Dave and Charlie had a great time.
Next stop before heading back to the RV park was a very large antique
tractor show. A very nice tour day! |
| July 24 | This was the big
swap meet day. The guys all went early to see who could find the
best bargains. And find them they did! There were even some
items of interest to the ladies, so we all had fun (I know I keep
repeating "fun", but we
 all
agree that this trip has provided fun every minute - and we're not
through yet!). The swap meet began to fold up for the day when we
began lining up for the parade through Richmond. The gossip was
that we were attempting to be listed in the Guinness Book of World
Records for number of cars in a parade, so we're assuming this parade
might appear in the book. There are not words available to
describe the welcome we got from the thousands of people along the
route. Our group was near the end of the parade, Cars #356 and
#357, and the response was as though we were Cars #1 and #2! We
were amazed by the fact that the huge groups of people were still
smiling, cheering, requesting horn honks and waving "Thanks for coming
to Richmond" signs. Charlie and Rocky were in their glory as well
they should be - they're hunks!!! The "Arizona to Indiana" decals
attract much attention and many questions. An entire section of
the city near the train station was completely blocked off and the 375 Model T's
that participated in the parade were parked on both sides of the roads. It
was an unbelievable sight. |
| July 25 |
 The
swap meet was still active today, so the men continued to check
periodically for last-minute discounts. One can't allow that
perfect fender to escape! Russ presented a very informative and
well-received seminar entitled Early Ford Speedometers at 11:00
a.m., and participants were still looking at his examples, buying copies
of his speedometer book, and asking him questions until well after 12:30
p.m. He is very comfortable speaking to large groups of people,
and did a wonderful job as always. We spent part of the afternoon
at the fairgrounds and then visited the Model T Museum on I-70.
The men gathered on the huge porch of the museum, while the ladies went
next door to the largest and most attractive candle shop I have ever
seen. Our final banquet was held at 6:00 p.m. MTFCI
presented a well-deserved award to Jay and Barbara for planning and
executing this extremely impressive Centennial event, and Henry Ford III
was among the speakers. We are all so grateful that we were able
to be a part of this spectacular week to celebrate the 100th birthday
of Henry Ford's Model T. |
| We hope you enjoyed following our activities as much as we loved sharing them with you. | |
taking over the writing duties so I can tell you about Marilyn, our
support staff of one. Her motor home is a part-time chuck wagon,
doggie motel, internet cafe, and porta-potty. The trailer she tows
is our parts house, tool shop, luggage car, and local 7-11.
Heaven forbid that we have to try to put a disabled T in there!
Marilyn follows us patiently at 10-40 mph, like a mother hen fiercely
protecting her chicks. She takes the brunt of disgruntled
motorists trying to pass her, and doesn't even get the reward of a
friendly honk or wave when they pass us. When the rest of us are
relaxing at night, she's finding creative ways to share our experiences
with you on our website. She's our official photographer,
videographer, shoulder to cry on, and my giggling buddy! Our trip
would hardly be possible without Marilyn's help, and it certainly
wouldn't be as much fun!